The uneasy truce forged in the blood and chaos of the warehouse hung heavy in the air, punctuated only by the ragged breaths of the injured and the distant wail of sirens. Slade Wilson, stripped of the Overseer's manipulative influence but burdened by the raw weight of his grief, stood like a granite statue, his gaze fixed on the destruction he had wrought. "This…" he rumbled, his voice a gravelly whisper, "this is what he made me do."
Oliver, leaning against a support beam, his face a roadmap of bruises, regarded Slade with a wary gaze. "He's gone, Slade. The Overseer."
"But the… the anger," Slade clenched his fists, the metal groaning under the pressure. "It still feels… real."
Michael, his emerald energy fading from his fingertips, stepped forward. "It was real, Slade. Your pain. He just twisted it, aimed it. We need to understand how deep his influence went." Turning to Oliver, he added, "There were things Slade said… phrases. They weren't entirely his own. There might be others."
Moira Queen, ever composed despite the lingering threat, approached Slade cautiously. "Mr. Wilson," she said, her voice measured, "my son believes you can be an ally."
Thea, however, remained openly hostile. "An ally? He nearly killed you, Oliver!"
Slade's gaze flickered to Thea, a flicker of something akin to shame in his eyes. "I… I was not myself."
Michael interjected, "We need to know what else the Overseer touched. Slade's memories… they're fragmented. I can help, but it will be… invasive."
Slade met Michael's gaze, a flicker of resolve in their depths. "Do what you must. If it stops him… anyone… from going through what I did."
Later, during a tense exchange with Felicity, who was trying to piece together the warehouse attack, Michael murmured, "There was a name… a shadowy figure Slade glimpsed in his memories. It resonated with something I read on Lian Yu. Something… bigger."
Felicity, her fingers flying across the keyboard, frowned. "Bigger than a crazy island cult?"
Michael's gaze darkened. "Much bigger, Felicity. The world, it seems, is full of shadows we haven't even begun to see."