Some say one choice can decide a million lives.

The choice that brought Oliver and his friends to where they are is difficult to say. Laurel Lance would argue that is was Oliver's choice to cheat on her with her sister that made them the way they were. Roy Harper thought it was Robert Queen's idea to join the Undertaking that everything hinged on. John Diggle would claim that it was Malcolm Merlyn's decision to sink the Queen's Gambit that changed fate. Thea Queen, despite her entire existence counting on this, thought that it was when her mother made the choice to cheat on her husband with Thea's father. Felicity Smoak would say it was yet again Oliver's, when he decided to become the vigilante. But she still did not know the full story, that that wasn't a choice, but a requirement. Because of this Oliver Queen is convinced it was the moment he killed for the first time. When he took the life out of someone without remorse that turned him into what he was today.

Even Malcolm Merlyn was incorrect. He was convinced that it was his choice to leave his son to go to Nanda Parbat that the future had rested on.

But he was wrong.

They were all wrong.

It was the most ridiculous and seemingly insignificant to most decision in their lives that created it. Danny Brickwell's choice to murder Rebecca Merlyn that night in the Glades would be the catalyst for the murder and rescue of hundreds of people, maybe thousands .

…But what if that choice was altered? What if that moment in time turned out differently? How would the world be different if he decided not to kill Rebecca Merlyn?

Central City,

4 months after Ra's al Ghul's attacks in Starling City,

4 months after Barry tried to close the worm hole

Oliver had to admit, it felt good to be back to crime fighting, however brief.

Barry had called yesterday about a big problem in Central City. Some sort of worm hole opening up again and people pouring in from alternate realties? Caitlin had given them the science talk, but it had basically gone straight over his head. He remembered something about residual energy from the original worm hole at opened 4 months ago but was quickly closed. He was a little more preoccupied by the fact that they had just taken down an evil version of Caitlin, a story that Felicity had folded at when Barry pleaded his case to her about needed all hands on deck. Felicity and he had been greeted by the Central City squad as well as the Arrow team, including his little sister, for the first time in an all out Meta situation. Cisco then directed the entire group to the growing worm hole in an abandoned factory outside of the city and they were off.

That's the short version of how Oliver ended up back in his Arrow costume in the middle of combat. It was annoyingly comforting to be fighting beside Laurel and Diggle again with Felicity screaming worriedly in his ear and the nagging sensation of his arrow supply depleting.

Diggle was apparently in the field fulltime now, he knew from the periodic rundowns he had gotten from Thea during the months he and Felicity were on vacation. He had, according to his sister, taken on the indentify of 'Guardian' and had a costume to boot. Although Oliver wasn't sure how he felt about the costume, the name was fitting. Diggle showed up dressed in blue Kevlar pants, a black shirt, a blue armored chest plate, a gold helmet, and gold pieces on his arms to soften the strain on his hands when he punched something.

Thea too had become a named hero. She was Speedy, as a homage to her childhood nickname. She claims she took the name by freewill, but everyone knows Oliver practically forced it. Her costume was nice and very 'Thea'. It was red, like Roy's, but the similarities stop there. She wore a long yellow cloak with a hood and mask to conceal her identity. On her chest was a yellow arrow symbol, not unlike the League of Assassins, but different. When Cisco had asked earlier she said, "You have your lightning bolt, why shouldn't the Arrows have their own symbol." She gained an approving nod from Felicity and a weary head shake from Diggle. She didn't only have a bow and quiver, but sword strapped to her back, and, knowing Malcolm Merlyn, probably had dozens of knives tucked in all sorts of places.

So here they were fighting an army of people from another dimension as well troops from a secret part of the US government that wanted complete access to the worm hole.

Everything looked like it was going great. Oliver was surprised by how well Laurel and Thea were holding their own, well, more by how well Laurel was holding her own. Part of him was proud of them all. It was because of him, he thought, that they had all ended up this way, saving people's lives together,.(though we have already determined that their fate was decided this way long before Oliver became the vigilante).

"Okay, take a left and then a right." Felicity instructed from the control of room of S.T.A.R. Labs. Although neither would admit it, both Felicity and Oliver missed this feeling, but both were terrified that the other would want to continue to fight crime after this assignment.

After following Felicity's guidelines the five heroes came to the door that led directly to the main room of the factory where the 'inter-dimensional subatomic pathway', in Caitlin's words, had been opened.

"All of you need to be incredibly careful. One false step and you could fall in." Caitlin said

"And we end up in the universe those crazy guys came from? No. Thank. You." Thea said.

"No," Cisco said over the comm. "There is no way to predict what universe you end up in. Or what time. The gateway's destination changes without warning. But for all we know that could lead to the future or the past when you go in."

Diggle grumbled. "Why couldn't the Legends take this one?"

No one answered, maybe because they didn't hear, maybe because there was no answer, or maybe the door had just ripped off its hinges.

And they were being sucked in.

Fast.

Oliver immediately grabbed Thea's hand and the side of the wall. Diggle, who was the closest to Laurel gripped her hand and took the other side of the wall, while Barry started to run around the worm hole to try and close it. But Laurel's hand was sweaty and she fell into the vortex first. Diggle and Oliver glanced at each other and then at Thea. She nodded and both men let go of the door frame they were clinging.

Barry watched as his partners fell away into some other reality. He heard Felicity shrieking for Oliver and Joe yelling at him to get out of there in his ear. The last thing he heard before he lost control and fell was Iris telling him to be strong.

And then he was gone.

Into the void.

The night of Rebecca Merlyn's death, 1992

…But not

Danny Brickwell crept along the alleyway, eyeing his prey. Rebecca Merlyn, the wife of Malcolm Merlyn, the billionaire CEO of Merlyn Global, stood alone on a street. She had a mirror out, checking her million dollar hair cut and make-up. He knew she worked in the Glades, trying to bring her wealth and fame higher by helping the poor, weak, lower-class citizens.

He scoffed quietly at her manicure and the diamond ring on her finger. He needed the money, her reminded himself. Danny stood tense, still glaring at the women. His hand was halfway to his coat pocket, ready to grab the gun inside it, when suddenly he remembered the women had a young son, seven, maybe eight.

When Danny was a boy he lost his mother. It was one of the worst experiences of his life. He couldn't make the boy be alone. No matter who Rebecca's husband was she had a child that should not be alone with only Malcolm Merlyn to raise him.

So the man who in another life would have been called "The Brick" crept off. Later that night he took another victim, but he would never get over the sympathy he felt for Merlyn's son, he would never become as ruthless as he could have been and stayed a low-class thug. But he didn't regret it, to have a father like that…well it was lucky that because of Danny the kid still had mother.

But it was also because of Danny that that night another boy lost his mother, a one year old baby.

Three years later that baby's life would be cut short when his father would beat him to death after a night of drinking. There was no mother there to remind the father about the consequences if he killed the boy, not that she would have cared. That baby would never get the life he was meant to have if Rebecca Merlyn had died that night. All the people that boy touched would remain unchanged.

And it only got worse from there.

So now Barry, Oliver, Thea, Diggle, and Laurel are all in an alternate reality. If it wasn't clear they're stuck in the reality were Rebecca Merlyn didn't die. My version of the way the multiverse works is very different than the comics (I think, never read them) and different than the TV will probably go.

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Lizzy