Chapter Eleven
X-X-X
The last evening and the current morning leaves Kara with a huge smile she does not think will come off of her face any time soon. And now, she scoots herself next to Barry on the bed. The large breakfast laid out before them causes Kara's mouth to water ever so slightly.
"It's going to be hard for me not to keep you after this. I guess I'm going to have to share you."
Getting some food in their stomachs allows both Barry and Kara to concentrate a bit more on the task at hand. Their bodies brush against each other. Thankfully most of their sexual urges satisfy themselves just enough to be able to function. And it's just in time as well.
A sheepish grin passes over Kara's face. While it takes two to tango, especially the horizontal way, she still thinks that their actions sidetrack Barry from the real reason he's up. Kara wraps her hand around Barry's and gives it a squeeze. Their eyes meet together as Kara sits back.
"So? You came here for a reason and I guess now that's out of the way, we better get down to business."
"Right. Just a second."
Less than a second later several notebooks come across the table along with several pictures. Kara's pang of disappointment of the breakfast before her disappearing only lasts a moment. Her eyes widen when looking at the symbols.
"That's interesting."
Those words snap Barry out of his thoughts.
"So, you know what they mean?"
Kara bites down on her lip deep in concentration. She flips through the symbols. The fact someone carves the damn things into his skin makes Kara kind of cringe. She tries not to lose all sense when flipping through one page at a time.
"Well, I don't know all of them. I know some of them...like this one for example."
Kara points out the symbol. Barry nods and gives her the opening to continue.
"This symbol right here translates into gateway. And this symbol right here translates into network. I guess the best way to describe it is some kind of interconnected hive mind. Connected to some higher entity, although I'm not sure what it is?"
Barry closes his eyes for a second. He processes everything.
"Whoever is responsible for those lights, they're connected. Those people with latent meta genes get power and those who don't...well...it's awful."
The police report about the babbling man shows how much of a damaging effect the light can have to people. Kara takes a deep breath and chews down on her lip.
"And there are people who say they saw some kind of ship? Did anyone by any chance get a close look at the ship?"
"No, they just saw bright lights. There's this one faded picture, but it's really hard to make out. And a lot of the people who did see it up close either went insane or disappeared."
Kara flips through the documentation Barry brought to her. She figures out some of the words while other words most certainly do not ring a bell in her mind. Kara finds herself taking a deep breath.
"Well, to be honest, I think when you did your little time travel adventure, you could have very well torn a hole through the fabric of time and space and allowed this thing to come in. Not intentionally of course but...you know it's possible that it happened."
A strong squeeze of Barry's knee gets his attention. The young man nods before Kara turns her thoughts back around.
"These symbols are an ancient form of Kryptonian. I have the gist of what some of them mean, of course. However, I really can't be for sure."
Barry takes a breath in. He's hoping to get some clearer answers to this entire mystery other than some very vague thoughts.
"I just wish that we could have clearer answers."
Kara's thoughts go in another direction. She leans in and puts a hand on Barry's cheek.
"Actually, I do know someone who might be able to shed some light on this. At least, I hope that she might. We'll be able to see sooner rather than later, won't we?"
There's a glimmer of hope they can find out some information. And with that hope, brings the possibility Barry can figure out the events of the missing month.
The two make their way outside of a door. Ordinary to the outside, but extraordinary to anyone who knows what lays on the inside. Kara presses her palm on the edge of the door and it begins to scan her eye. It opens up and allows Barry and Kara to enter inside.
"Alura?"
An image of an extremely attractive brunette woman turns up before them. She greets Kara with a smile.
"Hello, Kara. In which way can I assist you today."
"This is my friend, Barry Allen. And Barry, this is my mother, Alura."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Alura smiles at the young man. She senses a pleasant kind of energy coming from him and giving her daughter's closeness to the man, it seems logical that their bond goes deeper than being friends. Nevertheless, it is well outside of her parameters to ask such questions.
"As it is you, Barry Allen. If you would, Kara, could you show me the work you and your friend have brought before me?"
"Right."
Kara puts out the notebooks of symbols before her mother. Alura's eyes look over her.
"It's not just the symbols, it's code. Jumbled and not connected, but someone made an honest attempt to copy the code for Project Gateway."
Curiosity hits Kara pretty hard at the worst possible times. The most obvious question comes to mind.
"What is project Gateway?"
"Project Gateway is an attempt to open up a doorway to all Fifty Two Earths in the known multiverse. Such an event can either merge all fifty-two Earths together into one unified world while erasing redundancies. Or it could bring about the destruction. And given that Earth is located at one of the central points of each Universe, it would lead to a cataclysmic event which would destroy all over worlds."
"Earth is at a Central Point?"
"Yes. It is one of the reasons why Jor-El sent your cousin this world and I sent you. Alongside the fact that Kryptonians can blend into humans."
Barry has a question which he hopes can have an answer.
"Central Point? What do you mean..."
"I mean a fixed point in the universe it's in. Remove it and the entire universe ceases to exist. Earth is far from the only point fixed at the fifty-two different points. The merger is only a last ditch effort to save the entire multiverse in the events of a crisis which effects infinite Earths."
"Who would have access to the code to open the gateways?"
"I'm afraid I'm not privy to this information."
And thus one of the flaws of an artificial intelligence rears its ugly head. They only have the information they are programmed for.
"I think we might be able to find the missing piece of the puzzle, if I can figure out what happened in the missing time. And I don't know what happened between the time I put Thawne back into the timeline and my return to my current timeline."
Kara crinkles her nose in frustration. Alura appears to have an answer to Barry's plight so both of them listen to it.
"Missing memories and missing time can be a cause of a traumatic event such as an abduction by an alien entity. The best known cause is a neural realignment to dig up the repressed memories from your subconscious."
"She means hypnosis."
A frown comes over Barry's face with this thought. Kara comes up with a thought.
"You know, you could just let J'onn read your mind. And then you should figure out if there's something going on there."
X-X
Creepy abandoned warehouse with plenty of blind spots is not the ideal place for an investigation. Black Canary takes a deep breath. One can argue that knowing that a month ago, you were technically dead and had been brought back to life due to a timeline shift is something. This ongoing investigation gives Black Canary something else to focus.
"The coast is clear on the outside. Wells said the signal came from here."
Black Canary turns around with a couple of thoughts on her mind. Impulse steps out of the shadows right and the two join together.
"Is he sure about that?"
Impulse shudders when taking a step forward.
"There's most certainly something going on. I don't know what it is, but there's something...something really going on."
They stop on the ground. Burn marks scorch the ground. Black Canary steps forward with her heart thumping a bit more steadily against her chest. She and Impulse walk a bit further up to see what the hell is going on.
A box sits in the center of the room. A blinking black box which makes Iris feel a bit uneasy. One stolen look towards Laurel makes her think more of the same thing. The Black Canary bends at the knees and studies it from every single angle. Touching the damn thing seems like a bad idea and a half.
A figure in the shadows makes Black Canary turn around. She enters a fighting stance until it comes into the light. She only relaxes ever so slightly when the Green Arrow arrives before her. There's a couple of thoughts which penetrate the Black Canary's mind. She decides to go for the most obvious.
"I thought you were out of commission."
"I'm well enough."
Black Canary just nods. Given the circumstances, she can honestly understand why Green Arrow would come over to the field.
"I'm studying the mysterious craft. Felicity dug up some information and it led me to here."
"Well all that is here is..."
"This thing. I know. I don't think it would be a good idea if you were to touch it."
They agree that much a second later. Green Arrow kneels down and runs a scan on the objection.
"Felicity will find something. She has to. And you should come back with me...because Felicity's dug up something that you might want to hear about."
"She has? Why hasn't she told me over the comm."
Oliver answers this question in a calm and cool tone.
"She just told me to tell you to return with me. She didn't offer any explanations. These days, it's a wonder that she says two words to me."
Given recent events, Black Canary can believe it. She so does not want to be caught in the middle of the drama involving her ex-boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend. That seems like bad idea written all over it for a number of reasons. Nevertheless, she figures that what information Felicity has for her will be important.
This leaves Oliver to turn around to Iris.
"Where's Barry?"
"He's currently...he's currently dealing with something...chasing down a lead...off world. To figure out the source of the strange symbols."
A nod follows as Oliver processes the information.
"Right. When he returns, I need you to tell Barry to meet me in the usual place. We need to figure out how to coordinate. This threat is becoming beginning than anything."
Black Canary watches Green Arrow and his movements. There's something weird going on here. She locks eyes with Iris and nods.
"I better go see what Felicity's got for me. Call me if anything breaks."
Several pieces of equipment lay out on the table with Jesse looking over them with a smile on her face. Alex shifts over on the table with an amused look on her face.
"So, I think that if you boost the processor in that way, you can cause an even greater efficiency. And also you can be even more efficient if you use the type of metal I told you about. I'm not sure if it exists on this Earth. If it does, really look into it."
Alex nods in response. There's several sketches on the table which Jesse makes out of boredom. One of them is a more secure containment cell for dangerous alien prisoners.
"You really know your stuff."
"Yeah, Dad kept me underfoot a lot, especially after Mom died. And especially after Zoom showed up. Well it didn't stop me from getting captured by the bastard, but that's not another thing. Anyway, when I'm bored, I invent and it also keeps me out of trouble. And I've had a lot of time to think about improving. Granted, some of my inventions also cost money to create, so it's just a pipedream now. But the smaller more practical stuff is...well it can work, can't it? I mean, we can really find a way to make this work."
Jesse goes about a mile a minute when talking about her various scientific achievements and Alex just lets her go. Past them, J'onn walks alongside with Barry and Kara. He listens to what they have to say.
"With your consent, I can shift through your memories and help you determine the cause of this problem. Just sit down and focus on the point where you reversed time from this Flashpoint event."
Relieving having to make the choice to erase his parents and that world causes a stone to drop into the pit of Barry's stomach.
"I'll do it."
Kara stands away from him and allows J'onn to move in and do his thing.
Memories of Barry dropping Thawne back into the timeline flash before his mind. Then, the return back to the present, or what would be the new present, starts to take place. Barry runs towards a point. So far, so good, and so...well it's just as he expected.
Then boom, it happens, a force shoots through the tunnel and knocks Barry out from the other end. Some kind of bright blue light engulfs him as Barry lands right in the square of Central City where the alien ship had been found.
Out of the corner of his eye, Barry comes across Lisa Snart. He recognizes the babbling man from the Central City Police Department and a couple of other men who burn symbols into their flesh in the future. He catches a glimpse of Iris in the distance, something that Barry does not subconsciously remember.
He goes to shout at Iris to stand by, but realizes that he's only an observer in a memory. Then something else hits him. He looks over his shoulder and notices Felicity standing there, eyes widened. She moves underneath the ship which appears. It starts to glow different colors until it rests on a glowing Indigo light. Three symbols all in the shape of an upside triangle lock up.
"I can see the ship. I can see...I see Felicity Smoak...she's underneath the ship. The ship's glowing...and...FELICITY...GET AWAY!"
Both memory Barry and real Barry say that at the same time. Felicity's eyes roll into the back of her head as she drops down onto the ground. A glowing light emits from the small of her back and several symbols burn through her skin at the point where the chip to fix her spine is connected. Memory-Barry moves over.
"Barry Allen!"
"Felicity?"
"Felicity's not here. And you won't be here as well. Not for another month."
The detached voice and the glowing eyes show that Felicity's conscious body enters a state of shock and her unconscious body becomes the host to something. The next thing Barry knows a crystal emits and stabs him in the chest which causes his body to enter hyper speed.
And then after that, Barry lands back in time, memories blocked from that night, until now. By the time he lands back a month in the future, the wound on his chest fades thanks to his healing.
He snaps out of his mind. Barry grabs a pad of paper and draws down the symbols. Kara's holding his hand and both of their hands start to shake.
"Indigo."
"What?"
"I thought she was...of course she would have a backup plan. That's her core programming, the BrainInteractive Construct, Brainiac...I've got to take care of this right now...your friend's in serious danger."
Barry slides back. It's a bit emotionally draining to have to go through what he does. Kara extends a hand out and tries to jolt him back to a state of being more awake.
"We really have to go."
Jesse moves over and nods in response. The three of them have to leave right now because. Barry reaches over, holding onto Kara's hand as he activates the recall switch.
The portal bursts open with Jesse, Barry, and Kara flying out of the portal and landing on the ground. Wells bounces up and is about ready to open his mouth.
"We need to nab Felicity and nab her now. She was infected by the alien ship."
Caitlin and Sapphire step into the lab and there are questions.
"There's a dangerous alien computer known as Brainiac and one of his spawn, Indigo, she's found a way to cross over to your Earth. She's found a way to infect this Felicity girl and..."
"It was through the chip in her spine. It's a high level piece of technology."
Kara only can groan in response. The chip connects to her spine and thus connects to her entire nervous system including her brain. This will be the perfect window for Indigo to take control.
"We're going to have to get close enough to get the chip out and hope that she's already not been brain damaged because of what Indigo does."
"If we take the chip out she can't walk."
"Better not being able to walk them being a puppet for a destroyer of worlds."
Barry and Kara turn to head out the door. Unfortunately for them, several government agents block their way. ARGUS, judging by the dress of them. The woman leading them causes Barry's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise even though he should not be surprised. Not really surprised she's alive, and he really should not be surprised to see that she's here to cause him problems at the worst possible time.
"Surprised to see me alive, Mr. Allen?"
Amanda Waller turns up. Another consequence of Barry not being quite able to reset the timeline right, he remembers it well.
"I have cause to bring you in for a few questions. A warrant has been drawn up. The real question is whether we're going to do this the easy way or are you going to be stubborn and do this the hard way?"
A sidelong glance at Caitlin validates to Barry that her fingers began to ice up. If Barry does not shake his head to signal for her to stop, then Caitlin looks as if she folly intends to put Waller and her men completely on ice, in the literal sense of the term.
"Where's the warrant? And what do you think you're bringing me in on?"
Several weapons come across Barry. Kara shifts a little bit as does Jesse. Waller gives Barry one of the most nasty grins possible. She enjoys watching him squirm.
"You should know Mr. Allen these weapons were developed to help deal with Zoom during his reign of terror last year. They would have stopped him in his tracks. I'd hate to see what they would do to you."
Barry swallows for a second. He would also hate to see what those weapons might do to innocent bystanders. He finally lets out a deep breath.
"I'll come with you. But, I'm not going alone."
"I'll go."
Kara walks with Barry, Waller, and these ARGUS agents. She figures out pretty quickly that they are bad news.
Caitlin moves over to warn Iris about the fact Felicity's not completely Felicity. She frowns and realizes that something is jamming her signal.
X-X
The doors of the clocktower open up. Oliver leads Laurel over where Felicity is waiting. Felicity looks completely frantic and wrings her hands together.
"OH, LAUREL! I...IT'S TERRIBLE!"
She speaks in such a frantic voice that it causes Laurel taken aback. She reaches forward and grabs Laurel around the hand.
"What is it?"
"I've found out...well it's terrible, I can't believe it! I think that...well I think that Barry's been compromised by whatever was in the alien vessel. I'm not even sure if it is Barry, or if it's someone else...not sure if Iris or Caitlin have been the same...I think that's why Cisco's disappeared off of the face of the Earth! He found out and he was silenced...but I found out what was doing it. It is brilliant and terrifying at the same time."
Laurel can see Felicity's eyes darting all over the place. It's hard to keep someone like this overly calm although Laurel does her best to try.
"We're under siege from a group of race of super powerful and brilliant computers and they can...they can replicate humans so perfectly that you would be ignorant if they were underneath their nose. I've had some people I trust work up a counteragent and this should...well it should negate what's going on."
"Are you sure this will work?"
"LAUREL! YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME!"
Felicity breaks into a very strangled sob. She grabs Laurel by the hand in frantic fear.
"You have to...you have to...trust me! I only have your best interests in heart, you see! And I wouldn't want anything to happen...the last thing I would want is to see you die because of ignorance on your part!"
"You should really take the antidote. It would be a shame if you get compromised."
Everything hits Laurel instantly. She turns to face Oliver.
"Yes, it would be."
Her next action releases a Canary Cry which sends Oliver crashing into the wall hard. Sparks fly from his body.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Oliver Queen is naturally not Oliver Queen. The synthetic skin peels off of his face. He looks half-man, half-machine, and all intent in doing harm to Laurel. She dodges two of his attacks with ease and unleashes another Canary Cry which blows half of his face off.
"What did you do to the real Oliver? Who are you? What have you done to Felicity?"
"Alive and secured because I need him to harvest his DNA. I am the BrainInteractive Construct Module Eight, designated Indigo. And she's right here although not in control."
The imposter Green Arrow grabs Laurel around the back of the neck. She fights him off and hits a series of kicks.
"Was your plan to replace all of us with robotic duplicates."
"Merely just a means to the end."
Green Arrow flies down to the ground with Black Canary stabbing him through the chest with a broken staff end. He keeps coming back for more like some kind of deranged terminator.
The windows break and Iris appears to super speed punch Green Arrow down to the ground. He shatters from the impact.
The dust settles and before they can make their next move, a Cheshire cat grin flickers over Felicity's face. Iris's eyes go blank.
"It's like a puppet having it's strings cut."
Iris turns to Laurel with sparks flying through her hand.
"Those powers come at a price, honey."
"I've never meant for any of this happen. And you know something else! I'm sick of apologizing for everything! All of my past mistakes! I've got to worry about some real problems now."
Amanda Waller and her ARGUS agents lead Barry down the tunnel with Kara close behind. She's an unknown variable and allowing her to come along is a calculation and a risk.
"And you've made your share of miscues. There's a lot of things you done where you should be locked up in prison."
"All done for the Greater Good, Mr. Allen. Freedom does not come cheaply."
Phrases which draws a deep feeling of despair into the pit of Barry's stomach. He most certainly has words to say to Waller about that.
"There's something going on here that's far out of your comprehension. And I know that you've not an idiot, but even you know you can be completely out of your depth at times. And if Indigo opens these Gateways, it's not just our Earth which is going to be a problem."
Waller spends a second to give Barry one of those searching glares. She rarely betrays what truly goes on in that mind.
"Are you supposed to think that I would buy that there's going to be some kind of Crisis on Infinite Earths?"
Annoyance hits Kara full force. She puts a hand on her hip and looks Waller dead pin the eye.
"Believe what you want. The Brainiac and its predecessor, the Computer Tyrants of Colu, are capable of that much and a lot worse. On my world, Indigo was responsible for an attack which put all of my planet under her control and then tried to kill them all. Multiply that attack times fifty-two and you get a pretty good idea what's in store here."
All Kara can do is offer her best explanation. She cannot make people listen to reason. That's one thing her cousin told Kara a long time ago which is one of the more frustrating elements of being a protector and hero.
At that instant, one of the ARGUS agents blasts Barry from behind. Kara quickly takes the weapon out of his hand. Another ARGUS agent shoots the ARGUS agent down. Two more point weapons on Kara until she moves in and takes them down.
The three ARGUS agents who tried level an attack are down and looked over by the other five, along with Waller. Kara bends down to check on Barry. She spares a very agitated gaze towards Waller a second later.
"And don't you see the danger! Your own organization has been compromised! Are you too blind to see that?"
Waller says nothing. Barry struggles to get to his feet.
"It feels like someone stabbed hot knives through my legs and I can barely lift them. Thanks Waller! THANKS A LOT!"
"Don't look at me, Mr. Allen. I didn't give the order to shoot. Rest assure that this will be..."
Amanda Waller prides herself in control and now something that's out of her control enters. She wonders how many more ARGUS agents have been compromised by Indigo. The lack of trust within her organization leads to a huge problem.
The only thing Waller knows for certain is that she was not infected. Wasn't she?"
"Iris! I know you're in there! I and know you can..."
Laurel flies backwards from Iris hitting her. She rolls around on the ground and avoids Iris from attacking her. Laurel realizes that sooner or later, even with Iris fighting this possession and slowing her moments, it's going to be time.
"I don't want to do this!"
A kick blocks and Iris swats Laurel away like she's nothing other than an insect. Three more punches keep popping over and come close to knocking Laurel back. She pulls herself to her knees and Iris pulls Laurel up before hitting her with three punches right between the shoulder blades.
Felicity watches the table, her facial expressions turning from a frown to a big grin in a flash.
"Don't pretend you aren't getting off on this, Ms. Smoak."
Down to the ground causes Laurel. She tries to swing the staff only for Iris to block it and rip it out of her hand. Black Canary opens her mouth to unleash the cry. Iris claps a hand over her mouth to block.
"It's time to correct the fatal error Barry Allen performed when he caused you to live once. And the funny thing is, it was a mistake. And I am all about correcting logical fallacies."
Laurel presses against the walls. Her entire life flashes in and she experiences the strangest case of Deja-Vu. Felicity grins when Iris's hand starts to vibrate. It's a struggle with that annoying free will cropping up. Regardless, Felicity finally has her in position
She waves brightly at Laurel.
"Bye-bye, birdie!"
An arrow connects to the back of Iris's leg and sends an electric pulse through her body. It knocks her back onto the ground.
Another arrow towards Felicity does not hit it's target because the intended target disappears into a flash of light. Laurel turns her attention towards the newest guest.
Thea steps in and moves over to check on Iris.
"She still has a pulse...mind telling me what the hell is going on?"
Barry lays out on an operating table at Star Labs. It's a pretty bad situation for him to be, especially with everything going on. Barry grumbles and attempts his hardest to get up. He just collapses down onto the ground. Caitlin, Jesse, and Kara hover on her.
"The good news is, you'll be up and ready to go within the hour."
"The bad news is that I'm not up and ready to go any time sooner."
A soft smile pops over Caitlin's face. She leans down and gives Barry a brief kiss on the forehead to offer him reassurance that everything is going to be okay. And maybe offer herself the same kind of reassurance.
"You took a hit which was meant to take down Zoom. You should be happy that you're awake at all."
Happy may not be the best term. Caitlin walks over and collects Barry a glass of water. He takes it in hand and drinks it all in one solid gulp.
"Best to remain hydrated in a situation like this."
The next blink of an eye brings Jesse back with Iris in her arms. Laurel and Thea drop down the next thing they know in front of them. Laurel takes a second to compose herself before rushing over to Barry's bedside.
"It turns out that Felicity's been infected by something for weeks. I don't know what happened with Oliver, but...she may have him or Cisco locked up or they're dead or something...and..."
Barry tries to sit up. The visual of Iris on the bed next to him and barely breathing most certainly puts Barry in one of the worst states. Everything just goes completely wrong.
"I've looked up at her close and I think Felicity's all gone and this...whatever it is, has taken over."
"Indigo."
Laurel just shrugs in response. She turns around in the room and wonders if she should have seen the signs earlier. Then again, up until this point, Indigo's pretty much either played Felicity to a tea or limited the exposure to other people. And she may not have been completely in control at times.
Barry finally stands up straight. He grabs onto the bedside table to prop up before adjusting his barings.
"We're going to have to find her and get to her. Felicity's in there somewhere."
"I'm not sure...I'm not sure if she is."
The defeated tone from Laurel's voice shows just how pretty much dire this situation is. Barry wishes he can say anything to help alleviate the problems of this situation. Only, now at this very moment, Barry's not completely certain any situation can be fixed.
Kara bites down on her lip. She decides to let out the potential of a very horrifying conclusion.
"Indigo may have erased Felicity's brain or at least shredded her mind. There's a chance she's a glorified meat puppet. Good as dead."
She puts a hand on Barry's shoulder and finishes her statement.
"Worse than dead."
Barry refuses to accept that.
"And there's a chance she's still in there."
Kara takes a deep breath and nods.
"There's a chance, Barry. I'm just saying we should really prepare for the very worst...and also...Iris..."
Caitlin moves over to check on Iris. It takes her a couple of minutes before reaching a diagnosis.
"Her vital functions appear to be normal. She's just in a state of shock..."
Laurel closes her eyes and Thea hangs her head. The two members of Team Arrow meet each other's eyes and decide it's now time to tell them what happened.
"Indigo took control of Iris and she came about an inch away from killing me. She fought it every step of the way and I'm pretty sure Indigo...well she relished making Iris do something like that."
Kara, Caitlin, and Barry all appear with with somber expresses. Thea decides to pick up.
"I shot her with an arrow which...my brother developed in case of a rogue speedster. I think it overloaded her nervous system."
The guilt in Thea's eyes causes Barry to place a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"You did what you had to do. And I know what you're talking about. I helped Oliver develop it just in case of the worst case scenario. I just never thought...I never thought it would be used on Iris."
Caitlin breaths in and runs one more check on Iris. She decides to present her findings to the rest of the group.
"She should be waking up. The question is will Iris be in the driver seat or not?"
There's most certainly a lot of problems and not much time to solve it. Another party makes himself known in the room. Wells finally speaks up.
"Indigo is the key. Finding her is the key, and to find her, you have to find Smoak."
His eyes fall on the duo across the room. Thea and Laurel look towards him.
"Do you have any idea where she might be?"
Each step of the spiraling staircase makes Felicity very well aware of the inevitable. She stalls on a couple of the steps and tries to fight. The fight continues with her almost making it up the steps.
"You're only useful enough until I complete the creation of my new body. You were not the body that I intended to use, but you work well enough."
"I can't...you can't make me do this...people will die!"
"Organic life is obsolete. And you did not necessarily mind killing when you destroyed Havenrock with a nuclear blast. It was one of the only times in your life which made a decision that was completely logical. It's the only thing that you've done that's admirable."
"Yes, because the admiration of a genocidal computer is really something I'm seeking out."
"Given you have such a low opinion of yourself deep down, you seek out the self-gratification from those around you. You do not assist Oliver Queen and his team out of any goodness of your heart. No, you seek it because it gives you a sense of that you have achieved something. It makes you feel a rush and a sense of smug satisfaction that others turn to you, who would have been a nobody lingering in a dead end job if you had not caught the interest of a man, a broken man, but a man none the less who was doing his best to help the people around him. A man you have caused to turn soft, physically and emotionally. A futile endeavor as humanity is nothing, if not self-destructive. But his motives were ultimately pure, unlike yours which were motivated out of a selfish desire to make yourself feel good."
"SHUT UP!"
"The truth hurts doesn't it..."
"You don't know me at all!"
"I know you better than you know yourself. If something does not go your way, you act as like a petulant child. You had no right to know about the deal Oliver Queen made with the mother of his son to keep his existence a secret and yet you act entitled. When you can't run his life, it destroys your illusion of control. Because deep down, you lack the control. And when you get it, it makes you feel good. It's the only thing that satisfies you."
Felicity's hands start to shake and her breathing gets even more. Indigo's trying to make her doubt everything she's doing. And rooting around in old insecurities that Felicity thought were long past squashed down.
"And you do this for all a man that you are at most a second-choice of. You know that deep down, his heart is still with Laurel and if he could choose, he would not get not make the mistakes he had in the past. And if that would have happened, you would have languished in mediocrity."
Her hands start to shake.
"The most amusing part of this is she's moved on with her life and become better without him. And you put value on whether or not you're with him. Truly, you are a vision of female empowerment and a shining example of the best humanity has to offer, Felicity Smoak."
A metaphorical knife stabs Felicity in the chest. It's all coming back, past insecurities rooting around in her mind. And Indigo's only too happy to remind her of.
"You enjoy having this power. The power to have control and being the one who can decide whether people live or die. And you can have power, you can have so much more."
The drive slips out of Felicity's pocket. Indigo's completely controlling every moment, but at the same time, keeps Felicity awake so she's conscious of what's being done and what her part in what's to come is.
Thousands of lines of code flash above the screen. Soon, the secrets of the multiverse will be hers.
To Be Continued on July 6th, 2018.
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