xli.swirled tips & crimson ends
"You're going to have to kill me." Those were the first words to leave her mouth as she woke up to see Oliver standing over her. He hadn't slept in days, he'd take little naps but he just couldn't function knowing his love was hurt.
"What? Why would you say that?"I
"You put that magic herb on your shoulder after I stabbed you didn't you? So I wouldn't feel like crap about it when I woke up-"
"Lilith, no ones going to kill you." Oliver dismissed the thought interlocking their fingers and feeling her hot skin on his.
"Oliver, I feel the serum in me, I can feel my metabolism eating it away, I say I have a week left in me before that side of me comes out again." Tears threatened to slip down her face, "it's latched onto Violet, not me. I can barely hear her anymore, she's fighting with whatever that thing is inside of me, but even she doesn't have a solution."
Oliver quickly pulled Lily into his arms, "I just got you, y-you're the love of my life, it's you... I can't, no, I won't be the reason you die."
"It's not your fault Oliver, not everything is your fault baby." She raised her cold palm to lay in his scuffled beard that was growing in.
"Yes it is, Slade is only like this because-"
"On the island a man named Ivo made you choose between Sara or Shado but you jumped infront of Sara; that doesn't make you a bad person Oliver. If there was a gun pointed to you or Ray, I'd jump infront of you, if that was my only choice. That doesn't mean I don't love Ray, it just means I'm human. You're human Oliver."
"It's not that, I had a chance to save Slade with the cure, but instead I chose to put an arrow in his eye."
He looked away ashamed.
"Is there another cure?"
"No I wouldn't even be able to know where to start."
"I might." She jumped up, "the best scientific department ironically enough is S.T.A.R. Labs, is there any way I justcould get inside there?"
"Yeah, I have a friend that works there. Barry."
"Perfect. Take me there now."
"Now? Lilith you just woke up."
"Oliver, before I die-"
"Lilith-"
"No Oliver, I know how this plays out, so before I die, I need to know that Slade can never hurt you, and since killing him isn't the way, at least at human strength you can arrest him or have A.R.G.U.S. take care of him."
Oliver lifted her into his arms and made her look him in the eyes, "Lilith Logan, you're not dying. I put my life on it."
She squinted and wiped her nose looking away, too soft to tell him that she was probably dead the moment she started her vendetta against Slade.
After Oliver helped a weak Lilith clean up and dress they both realized that she didn't have her powers. She was no longer the woman of steel.
*****
"Hi I'm-"
"You're Barry Allen." She looked wide eyed at him, "you're forensic analysis and detective like approach is astounding."
The adorable man infront of her blushed violently, "it's not that-"
"And you're doing all this while zooming around as the Flash-"
"Oliver! It's called a secret identity, it's not a secret if everyone knows it."
"I didn't tell her, she's kind of a genius." Oliver smiled but couldn't help but to notice Lily's tone was off, he knew how interested she actually was in forensics but her voices trailed, her mind was someplace else.
Barry being the oblivious dork he was, looked her up and down, the girl with the bright silver hair and an olive tone dress and her off white heels, surprise! "Cool."
She took a moment to take him in, he was tall as all hell, pretty generic, brown hair, soft eyes, a cute smile.
Oliver looked at Lilith then at Barry, "yeah, she's V as in V and Arrow, as in-"
"You have a girlfriend?!"
"Guys, I thought we were on a deadline." A woman with brown hair that immediately pegged as Caitlin Snow walked in.
"Hay, I know you."
Lilith looked wide eyed when she realized that she went college with her for a year, though her goth years. "Yeah, we worked in the bio lab together."
"Yeah, you look less... um-"
"Like the spawn of satan?"
"Well less dark colors if that's what you mean, you were always nice to me and Ronnie."
She looked at her and quickly gave her condolences.
"How'd you know he was dead-"
Oliver pushed her along knowing that Lily being Lily would do a full analysis and Caitlin's emotional state and her night terrors, but they were kinda on a deadline.
"Alright, we need the liquified calcium-"
Lily on instinct went to lift the gigantic jug and tripped over her self and quickly flipped over herself. She had to mentally shutdown for a moment confused, but then she quickly remembered she was powerless. "Oh."
"It's okay baby." Oliver assured Lilith who seemed to be slipping into a depression.
He rushed her along and glared at Barry who quickly rushed to move the calcium into the lab.
"So how do you know about this stuff? Usually my friend Cisco would do the building but he's kinda caught up."
"I was a mechanical engineer before I moved the Star City."
"And now you work for Oliver? How does that happen?"
Lilith smirked to herself half heartedly , "long story."
Barry and Lily worked vigorously while Oliver, awkwardly to the side, waited to lift the heavy stuff. He watched as Lily worked, her hidden envy when she couldn't lift the heavy metal, her constant paranoia, she was out of her element, vulnerable.
She had never truly been this open since the accident, sure, in the past, if Oliver wanted to, he could kill her, but Violet would keep a smirk on her face until the bitter end. But not Lilith. Without Violet she was scared, insecure, like a small fish in a too large pond. All she had left was her fighting skills but mostly her brain.
It felt like a part of her was gone and honestly, if Oliver didn't find a way to get the virus out of her, the team would have no choice but to exterminate her.
***
Lily laid back on the couch staring at the ceiling, Oliver was out stopping a robbery at a museum. She was to stay home alone until he came back. Before when everyone just thought she was dead it was better, she didn't have to be scared about someone bombing the house and her dying, but now she was so open.
She wanted to kill Laurel, she wanted to sever her head and carry it around on a stake like she was a French revolutionary.
But what if Laurel pulled out a knife?
Lily's fingers clenched into a straining ball until her knuckles went from brown to bleached white. She was so angry she felt like punching someone, anyone. Instead she felt tears slip down her face and although no noise came from her lips, she cried.
Knock knock
She didn't even bother to move, she envied Oliver, he was sure, no, convinced that they'd make the cure, that he'd tell Slade to fix her or he'd give him the cure.
Sweet Oliver.
In a week I'll be dead
The thought was surreal.
Thea was at the door, she walked in and saw Lilith laying on the couch; Lily was wearing Oliver's sweatshirt and sweatpants. She looked so tired, since she'd met Lilith, she's always looked always looked put together and just about perfect, but Lily looked almost like a stranger.
"Lily honey." Thea neared Lily who looked dead in the eyes.
Lily wanted to answer but everything just felt heavy, like the atmosphere was pressing her into a pit of tar.
Thea ran her hand though Lily's hair and touched her face. Usually the hair would feel cold and inhuman, but for the first time in the multiple months that Thea's known Lilith, she was burning hot with fever.
Lily felt Theas warm hand on her face wiping away her tears, she tried to make sure Oliver didn't see her crying. But she was in so much pain. Emotionally, but also her migraines were acting up. Her chest felt tight, like her air intake never really satisfied her. Her hearing was off, her sight was less magnified as it once was. She felt As a tless than physically extraordinary, she left common. Less than.
Thea didn't know what to say, "My Mom sabotaged my fathers ship."
Lily looked up shocked at Thea.
"Yeah, she was having an affair with Malcom Merlyn, something went south and my dad had to be exterminated."
"Thea I'm-"
"For the past couple of months she's been trying to get into contact with me, I told her to fuck off, that I had you, that I had Oliver, that I had Roy and that nothing was going to make me ever come back to her. She drugged me to kill everyone that I named to be friends with aside for Oliver using some herb.
I was on my way here to kill you, Roy was out with Oliver and I didn't know where they were, so you were on that list. I got into an accident on the way here and knocked whatever effects were in the herb right out of me. I've been on your front porch crying for the past hour. I....I'm so so-"
Lilith sat up and pulled Thea onto her and hugged her crying friend.
"It's not your fault."
"Lilith it's not even that I was going to kill you, it was that I could, because you don't have your powers, you've upset a lot of people, what if they get whiff that you're alive? What if my mom-"
"You won't have rot worry about that for long, I have a week left until you guys have to kill me."
Thea froze, "but Oliver said-"
"Oliver is in denial."
"No!" She pushed Lily back. "I will lose you! I already have Roy and Oliver risking their lives, even Diggle is in danger most of the time. Everyone in my life that I love is either crazy or a vigilante. It's hard to make friends when you live like that; when you live secluded from actually relationships. " Thea's words were becoming unintelligible and muffled through her tears, "do you remember how we met? Months ago? How no one was talking to me but everyone was staring at me like I was a show monkey? Do you?"
Lilith stifled a laugh, "Yeah, you told me coffee made you jittery when we both know I just gives you the shits."
Thea laughed and wiped her tears, "I can't lose you Lily, I just can't."
"I'm sorry Thea-"
"No!" She stood up angrily, she picked at Lilith shirt where she kept her dagger and Lilith flinched as Thea pressed it against Lily'sneck.
"Thea!"
"What?" Thea growled and pressed slightly harder against her neck.
"The herb-"
"No, this is me, all me, you want to die? Hm?"
"Go ahead." Lilith said honestly starting to relax, it honestly would be easy for everyone."
Thea felt her hands shake, "why aren't you fighting? Aren't you scared? Do you not care about Ollie? About me? Diggle?"
Lily didn't answer and waited for Thea to just get it over with, "just do it."
"You don't love us?"
Thea pressed harder than she meant to and blood slowly started to trickle from Lily's neck making her hick. Thea quickly realize what she was doing and froze before she backed up realizing that Lilith would have let her do it, she would've let her kill her.
"Oh god." Thea ran to the garbage and threw up in the trash while Lilith just looked to the ceiling as she let the blood fall from her neck. It wasn't enough to kill her, just a small cut.
Just enough to hurt. She slowly closed her lids.
Oliver walked in and was dumbfounded at the sight, he saw Thea bending over spewing her guts. He began to walk over and with each step he further analyzed the scene, he saw the dagger that was V's clenched in Thea's hand she threw up and then he saw Lilith. At first he thought she was merely sleeping but then then she saw the crimson stain on the couch and scrunched his brow.
Another step and he saw the cut on her neck, his direction quickly changed and he ran over to Lilith and shook her, "what? Lily-" he looked over to Thea, "Speedy, what happened?!"
Thea stood up and threw the knife the the door and angrily picked up her jacket and wiped her tears, "Ask.Her."
"What-"
"I'm out of here." Thea rushed out and left Oliver completely confused.
Lilith looked up to Oliver tears flowing down her cheek, "you're going to have to kill me."