Chapter Text
Curtis Holt walked into the interrogation room with a camera in one hand and two Big Belly Burger bags in another. He walked up to John Diggle and set one of the takeout bags in front of him.
"Here." He said to the burly man. "I got your favorite." He turned to Zoe who was twirling her hair and set the other bag in front of her. "Hey, Zo. Don't worry, I told them to add extra cheese to your burger. I also got fries, but I couldn't carry a milkshake with the camera and the bags so - you know, it just would have been a mess everywhere."
Zoe looked up and smiled at someone whom she considered to be her cool uncle, aside from Oliver Queen and the man in front of her. "It's ok, Curtis. It's cool you brought us food. Thank you."
"Alright." Curtis began setting up the tripod for the camera while John Diggle sat across the table from where Zoe was. There were a few lights overhead and two-way mirrors on parallel sides of the table. The back of the room was illuminated under the lights, making the sapphire blue paint of the wall even more soothing and inviting. If Zoe had to guess, she would say that they used this color scheme to make interrogations stress-free and appealing for open communication.
"Zoe?" John asked her in a gentle voice. "I know how hard this is for you considering everything that's happened, but I want you to know that your dad is right outside, so if you want to stop or take a minute, just let me know, ok?"
"It's ok." She said to him while twirling her hair. "I know they're listening." She looked at the mirrors on the wall, where she couldn't see the adults of Team Arrow, but she knew that they could see her. "I want them to listen." She picked at her burger but had no desire to eat at a moment's notice.
"We're all set," Curtis announced.
"All set." John sat down across the table from Zoe. "Thank you, Curtis." Zoe gave a brief smile at the taller man who gave a thumbs-up to her.
From the Transcript of the Zoe Ramirez Tapes:
John Diggle: Will you state your full name for the record, please?
Zoe Ramirez: Zoe Pássaro Ramirez.
John Diggle: Why have you come here today?
Zoe Ramirez: I came here to tell you the story about The Boy with Blue Hair.
John Diggle: Can you elaborate on that, please?
Zoe Ramirez: It's been two weeks since William went missing, and I know there's been a lot of debate on whether or not to arrest him, but before you do anything, I just need you to hear the whole story first.
John Diggle: So, you've come here to testify on William's behalf?
Zoe Ramirez: Yes.
John Diggle: Are you doing it a witness? To atone for your part in everything?
Zoe Ramirez: No, I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing it to set the record straight. Only (pause) I'm not really sure where to start.
John Diggle: Why don't you start from the beginning? Then go slow from there?
Zoe Ramirez: Ok, the beginning it is.
Ten Months Earlier
May 2018
Star City Middle School was a zoo, to say the least. The children were either roughhousing, taking selfies or throwing spitballs at someone's head. The classroom was filled with ambient chatter that was as loud as New York City traffic and their world history teacher had yet to arrive.
William was the only one who was quiet. He was texting his best friend, Zoe Ramirez and laughing at the funny emojis and memes she sent to him. She was in another class then, but they would always be free to hang out together after school let out.
Suddenly, the bell rang, and the teacher, Tyler Morris called out, "Alright, phones away. Eyes on the board."
As the class filled into their seats, Mr. Morris picked up a slip of paper on his desk.
"William Clayton?"
His back straightened at the speed of a bullet. "Present."
"I'm not taking attendance." Mr. Morris clarified. "You're excused per Ms. Cho's request. She wants to talk to you about the new tutoring schedule so you might as well head down to her office right now."
"Um, shouldn't people like that be homeschooled?" A girl called out while looking at an old tabloid article about Oliver Queen on her phone.
"People like what, Denise?"
"You know, kids who were conceived in a mansion after happy hour?"
As William came near the door, fiery rage burned inside him as he heard the other students laughing at him. But he never allowed it to rise. The last thing he needed was for another fight to ensue because he lost his temper. Besides, he was already used to such comments from his obnoxious classmates.
"Denise, turn off your phone." Mr. Morris said to her. He saw William who was still at the door. "I'll help you catch up during Study Hall."
"Mr. Morris?" Another classmate, Kenny, shot up his hand.
"What?" The teacher asked irritably.
"My dad couldn't keep it in his pants when he had me." He said. "Can I be excused?"
"Put a sock in it, Kenny." Mr. Morris responded just as William left the classroom while he heard the classmates laughing, but whether they were laughing at Kenny or his comment, William didn't want to be near them to find out.
Years later, when asked about his middle school days, William would say to the agreement of his former classmates, that it was as though he were bathing in leeches on a regular basis.
From the Transcript of the Zoe Ramirez Tapes:
John Diggle: According to school reports, William would rarely participate in class but would spend two hours after school studying with his teachers nearly every day. After Black Siren stole the city's money earlier that year, all after-school programs were shut down and the tutoring sessions were moved to study hall and lunch period during the day to save on the school's budget. But getting back to William, it seems by all accounts, he was quiet, but he was also a good kid. What do you think, Zoe?
Zoe Ramirez: I think he wanted to focus on his grades so he could distract himself from all the rumors. I mean, he had a couple of friends besides me, but most kids just stayed away from him. So (pause) I guess that's why he seemed so mature to adults because he had practice talking to them. At least the teachers couldn't laugh about him behind his back.
John Diggle: Sounds like a pretty miserable life for a sixth-grader.
Zoe Ramirez: No, he wasn't miserable. He just didn't fit in.
John Diggle: Why do you say that?
Zoe Ramirez: With all due respect, Mr. Diggle, we are talking about middle school here. It's one thing to be the new kid there, but it's another if you're the new kid who happens to be the long-lost illegitimate son of a former billionaire playboy who's also the mayor and secretly fighting crime while shooting arrows. Who knows? Maybe he never spoke in class because he didn't want to be the center of attention any more than he already had been.
John Diggle: That sounds like a lot for a twelve-year-old kid to handle.
Zoe Ramirez: Yeah it was (Pause). Look, it wasn't easy for him to adjust to an entirely different life than the one he had with his mom, I mean, he was literally thrown into it. But William wasn't the person to just give up so easily. He just kept putting on a brave face and trying to make the situation as normal as possible. That was just the best way he knew how to deal with stress, especially when it happened.
John Diggle: When what happened?
William, Zoe, and a couple of their friends ate lunch like any other day. Grant was eating his chili cheese fries, Sandra, her salad, Zoe, her fried chicken, and William, his pizza. They didn't really care who the other was, as long as they had someone to eat lunch and make conversation with.
When the school bell rang and everyone filled into the hallway corridors, William walked with Zoe to their math class.
"Hey, Zo?" William stopped in the middle of the stream of students around them. "Can you save a seat for me? I'm just going be a few minutes late."
"Sure, is everything ok?" Zoe replied.
"Yeah, I just gotta use the restroom for a sec," William told her.
"Ok, but you shouldn't be late. Ms. Shenker might have a pop quiz today." Zoe said to her friend before she watched him move his way through the crowd.
When William came through the doors, the last remaining students rushed out to get to class, leaving him utterly alone in the somewhat clean bathroom.
Turning on the faucet, he put his books down and filled his hands with water before rubbing it on his face. He recoiled from the sting of the water's ice-cold temperature. It seemed to snap him out of his daze, but it did nothing to resolve the unsettling he was beginning to experience.
There was a pressure - no - an essence rising within him, but it wasn't red and destructive as though he were to explode with a sudden rage. This was something uniquely different and strange. People tend to fear what is strange, especially if it's coming from within their own bodies.
He couldn't have possibly known what was happening to him, but William realized quickly enough that there was Something in him - a presence that had been wanting to break through him as though it were a lonely prisoner trapped within a sealed vault for many years.
William didn't know if he was losing his sanity or not, but whatever the Something was, it was very real as it began to creep inside him. His stomach twisted and turned in all sorts of contortions as he suddenly began to experience a swarm of invisible ants crawling all over his skin.
He was about to open his eyes when he found himself stumbling his way into one of the bathroom stalls, the Something had let him fall through the door as if it never existed at all. A trail of silvery mist left his body once he fell into the stall and a chill traveled through him it did.
The Something in William had finally woken and it would not be put down to rest.
Before he could begin to comprehend the situation, he felt a light breeze brush his arms. He looked down on them and saw his suddenly transparent hands. The Something had risen again, this time spreading from the tips of his fingers to his elbows, replacing every cell of flesh, blood, and bone with air particles, while turning his arms completely invisible.
Despite his elevating emotions, William tried to apply logic to the changes he was suddenly facing. He tried to be brave and use the Scientific Method that he had known by heart since second grade, but he was too overwhelmed with shock to even think, never mind calling out for help. He tried to move but found himself unable to since his feet had started to slowly sink into the floor, pulling William further into the depths of confusion.
Puberty at its finest.