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Queen Industrial, was once a steel manufacturing and welding plant.
This factory had been shut down and abandoned long before Oliver Queen had ever taken control of Queen Consolidated.
Laurel never expected she'd end up locked inside this place, by that guy.
She still wasn't entirely sure whether Allen had really intended to kidnap her or if he had something else in mind.
Either way, the result was the same: she was here now.
And she was going to gather any info she could about him.
But she wasn't the only one looking into Allen.
Far away in Gotham, Barbara Gordon and her father were also digging into Allen's identity.
Naturally, Talia al Ghul was investigating him as well.
And beyond all of them, an even greater force had started probing into Allen's background.
That organization was A.R.G.U.S.
Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans.
A.R.G.U.S. functioned as a secretive and powerful black-ops agency under the U.S. government.
It was responsible for overseeing metahuman activity and high-risk threats.
In the Arrowverse, it served a similar purpose to Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D, though with even fewer restrictions and a much darker reputation.
Its current director, Amanda Waller, was a calculating and ruthless woman with unmatched ambition.
She had long since established a covert team known as Task Force X, better known as the Suicide Squad, but she still wasn't satisfied.
As both the head of A.R.G.U.S. and the administrator of Belle Reve Penitentiary, Waller constantly sought ways to expand her roster.
Even going as far as recruiting supervillains and unstable metahumans into a team designed to carry out certain.
Missions that were so dangerous and classified that no one else would touch them.
These were tasks the U.S. government couldn't be seen authorizing, operations where plausible deniability was everything.
When the Gotham crisis broke out, Amanda Waller saw her chance to formally push forward the Suicide Squad initiative.
But just as the higher-ups began reviewing the plan, the situation was resolved through vigilante action before she could get official approval.
The program was shelved.
But Waller wasn't the kind of person to give up.
She quietly kept her eyes on potential recruits.
Allen then appeared on her radar.
She ordered a full investigation into him, and immediately classified the findings under the highest level of security clearance.
Not even federal law enforcement could access the file, let alone local authorities.
The fewer people who knew about Allen, the better.
Allen, of course, had no idea any of this was happening.
And even if he did, he probably wouldn't have cared.
If anything, he might have volunteered to join the Suicide Squad just for the excitement.
As for right now, he was standing in Felicity Smoak's apartment, casually cooking dinner while singing using the ladle as a mic.
****
They told him, "Don't you ever come around here
Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear"
The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it (Rrr)
You better run, you better do what you can (Ooh)
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man (Ooh)
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad
[Chorus]
Just beat it (Beat it), beat it (Beat it)
****
And where did he get the money to buy the groceries?
Obviously, from Laurel's wallet.
How had he entered the apartment without a key?
Well, the fifth floor wasn't exactly high.
Not for him.
The table was now full of hot, fragrant, and beautifully presented dishes when the sound of a key turning echoed through the apartment.
"Perfect timing," Allen said with a bright smile.
He took off his apron and stepped forward to greet Felicity as she walked in.
"It smells amazing. What is that?" Felicity asked the moment she opened the door.
"Dinner," Allen replied nonchalantly.
He reached out, took her bag and set it aside, then gently helped her out of her coat and hung it up.
Felicity blinked.
He'd made dinner.
He was greeting her with warmth and attention.
This… this was giving her serious boyfriend vibes.
Was she dreaming?
Click!
She felt a kiss land lightly on her cheek, followed by Allen's cheerful voice:
"What are you spacing out for? Go wash your hands and change. Dinner's ready."
Still dazed, Felicity was gently nudged toward the bathroom.
Allen's gaslighting was on another level… she was slowly getting used to him.
After washing up, she changed into her usual loungewear and wandered back to the dining room.
She sat at the table, watching Allen as he moved with ease between the kitchen and the table.
Eventually, she asked, "You seem to be in a really good mood today."
"Yep." Allen's smile was bright and carefree.
"Did something happen? And hey, didn't you say you were broke?"
"Also, where did you get all this food from? Did you go out? How did you even get in here without a key?" Felicity suddenly woke up from her daze and fired off questions like a rapid-fire turret.
Allen simply waved her off.
"None of that matters. What matters is to eat dinner."
"Oh..." Felicity, slightly flustered, decided to eat first and ask questions later.
To be fair, she hadn't expected Allen to be such an excellent cook.
His food was way better than any takeout she'd had in weeks.
Her original skepticism slowly melted into genuine appreciation, then admiration... and eventually, full-blown food worship.
"This is so good, I'm going to get fat again," Felicity mumbled, patting her stomach.
"Beauty or ugliness, fat or thin, it's all up to fate. Some people feel full after two bites. Others feel full but still say, 'I could go for more,'" Allen said with a smirk.
Felicity blushed.
"It's your fault for making it so delicious!"
"Washing the dishes is your job," Allen declared.
He wasn't about to expect her to cook, but washing dishes? That was fair.
She thought about, and felt it made sense. So, she got on with it.
He stretched out on the sofa and turned on the TV.
After a while, Felicity finished the dishes and came over to sit beside him.
"Okay, now spill. What's really going on with you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Allen smiled and laid his head on her lap.
Felicity stiffened for a second, glancing down, just in time to feel his hand slide under her T-shirt.
She grabbed his wrist in shock.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"Hey, don't ruin the fun…" Allen spoke up calmly.
His dark eyes were full of mischief, and his voice was soft and steady.
Felicity's grip weakened instinctively.
Her cheeks flushed deep red.
A soft, involuntary hum escaped her lips, and she was embarrassed.
Felicity was proving to be very entertaining.
Seeing her flustered face, Allen suddenly grinned.
"In an alternate reality, Snow White was rescued by seven dwarfs and lived in the forest for a while. Then one day, a prince came riding a white horse and took her away. They got married. But on their wedding night, the prince ran off, because he found dark spots (Imperfections) on her body."
He tilted his head.
"Are you Snow White?"
Felicity blinked, confused.
"Of course not!"
"Then let me take a look."
Before she could react…
Allen sat up, scooped her into his arms, and carried her straight into the bedroom.
"Ahh"