Chapter 12 FLASHPOINT: Turning Point Part 2

AN – Welcome to the new readers who have just followed (always glad to know whenever someone reads and enjoys)! Only one more 2 part chapter to wrap up the Alternate Timeline/ Flashpoint story!

*Please see Chapter 2 for SPOILER ALERT and DISCLAIMER!*

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"Oliver!"

Hearing the warning in Felicity's voice, Oliver spun and raised the bow at the same time. Barry was already there though and took down the first masked soldier. Oliver unleashed several arrows at the next ones and heard Diggle's gun as he also took aim. Turning back to Felicity, he found her swinging a staff against the back of another attacker's head. His arrow finished off the man but more masked men attacked.

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The skirmish was over in seconds but it felt like hours to Oliver. It was nothing like his training had been but instinct had kicked in and pushed him to fight. Every sense was alert and alive in ways he had never felt and his body almost seemed to move on its own – strike, shoot, dodge, move. He felt free, alive, powerful even. It was a rush until he looked around and actually saw the bodies lying all around him. Blood and darkness. Even the sudden silence seemed deafening. He could hear his own harsh breathing and the blood rush in his ears. Oliver even thought he could smell the coppery scent of the blood. There was a slight tremor in his hands so he clutched the bow tightly.

"You guys work pretty well together for not being a team." Barry spoke up to break the tense silence. It was strange to feel like you knew someone when you really didn't. These people were his friends but they were also strangers.

"How do you know how to use that? Arrows aren't Richard Dragon's weapon of choice." Felicity's gaze skimmed over all of the men but she focused only on Oliver. She moved closer when she noticed the blood on the corner of his mouth. Without thinking, she wiped it off with the tips of her fingers as she continued to speak. "Is anyone hurt? We need to—"

"What do you know about Richard?" Oliver grabbed her wrist to keep her close and virtually yelled the question. The adrenaline still coursing in his veins acted like gasoline fueling the flames of his rage at the mere possibility of another secret.

Felicity didn't even flinch at his raised voice. "He's a friend of the JLA, a friend of your father's. Robert arranged for him to train you for a year."

Hearing yet another truth that undermined his understanding of the world, Oliver swore under his breath and turned away to punch someone, something, anything. At least he tried to turn away but Felicity's hand on his arm stopped him. He wouldn't meet her eyes but he didn't pull away either. Her touch soothed and grounded him while the rest of his world again shifted and crumbled.

Neither Diggle nor Barry spoke but both watched the pair remain frozen in place for several long moments. They continued to watch when Felicity moved to stand directly in front of Oliver, so close that they were almost touching. It took another moment before he met her eyes. Giving him a soft smile, it was only then that Felicity started speaking again.

"Robert wanted to bring you in to all of this but he wanted to protect you too. He hoped after a year of training, you might be ready to hear the truth and choose your own path. Richard didn't stop training you but you didn't join either. No one knew what happened." Felicity tried to reach past his anger. She knew how it felt for loved ones to keep secrets and she wanted to help him. Perhaps one day she would tell him about her cocktail waitress mom who loved living in the bright lights of Sin City and the hacker father who taught her to live in the darkness.

Oliver pushed aside his anger and continued to stare into her eyes as the memories filled his mind. At the end of the first year of his training, Richard had asked him a couple cryptic questions about who he thought he was and who he wanted to be. His trainer had spoken about how a man couldn't live as two men, a choice needed to be made. They hadn't repeated the conversation but they had continued training even more intensely over the next years.

There was no more discussion as new sounds drew all of their attention. Oliver and Diggle reloaded while Barry moved next to Felicity. They were surprised by the next two people to join them.

"Aren't you happy to see me, big brother?" Thea asked before running to launch her body at Oliver for a hug. Regardless of the changes in her life, he was always a constant.

Roy met Felicity's eyes and raised a brow at the sight of an armed Oliver Queen. John Diggle and the stranger in the red suit made him tense. He still smiled though and teased Felicity while keeping an eye on the others. "Wanna catch me up, Blondie?"

"You first - there are more of us." Felicity replied with a relieved grin of her own. It was good to see the young man she considered not just a co-worker but a friend. It didn't hurt that she knew Roy was a very skilled member of the JLA who often worked just outside the system.

"We were training in the gym. Thea was determined to get here." Roy didn't address just how many masked men they had fought or the fact that Thea proved to be surprisingly handy with a bow and arrow.

Thea was taken aback by the fact that Roy knew the blonde since Oliver was the only person she knew. She was also shocked he had shortened the harrowing tale of their trip. Knowing Oliver wouldn't take the truth well, she didn't plan to elaborate either though…not until she knew more of what was going on anyway.

Felicity looked around the room and tried to decide just what to share. The truth was even more complicated than she could understand. The JLA would frown on her choice but she didn't want to lie to Oliver, to any of them. They deserved to know what was happening. "The Arrow and Laurel allowed us to escape most of the fighting but they didn't make it. We haven't been able to contact others and we need intel. We need a plan too. What do you know about what's going?"

"It's Lillian Worth. Her daughter must be the Ravager. Didn't you see the broadcast?" Roy pushed aside his grief at the losses and moved to a hidden back-up power station to bring the headquarters back to life. He met Felicity at a computer and quickly brought up a video clip.

All watched in silence as the local business leader decried the existence of heroes. She revealed detailed information on several JLA missions before blaming them for her son's death as well as the deaths of many other citizens.

"I will rid this city of all the true villains. The ones who claim to be heroes but still wear masks when they kill." Lillian half cried, half snarled.

After the screen went dark, Roy provided additional details. "Her anger is focused here. It was Robert Queen who killed Slade Wilson – the father of her children."

Oliver barely flinched at the revelation. Thea still moved to one side of him and Felicity to the other though. It was Oliver who spoke next. "We need to stop her."

"We? What 'we' are you talking about Ollie?" Thea asked in surprise.

"Your trainer Roy and Felicity here are with the Justice League of America. The league of superheroes that included Dad and Laurel – we'll both need to get the details on that later. I'm going to help them. I'm going to help them right this wrong."

Oliver stated the plan with authority as he remembered his father's dying words. He had been floundering, wondering how to move forward even before the recent tragedies. So much darkness within his city and within himself. Training had helped him heal and put some of the pieces of his life back together previously but the fighting had freed something deep inside him. He wanted to become something different, something better. His father had given him the chance and even told him who could help. He turned toward around until his gaze found hers, a single bright spot in the darkness.

"Felicity, will you help me?"

The blonde just stared – for once, her mouth worked but no words came out. Roy gave a nod and stepped up to offer his hand instead.

"I'll help you."

Oliver accepted the gesture but quickly turned back to Felicity. "This started with you, with us. I can't do it without you."

She gave a series of small nods before pushing her glasses up higher and smiling brightly. "I told you already, I've got you. We are definitely in this together." Felicity felt the bonds between them tighten. A choice had been made and she knew it was going to change her life, change her. She knew she belonged by his side.

Smiling, Oliver felt hope spring to life inside him. He had a purpose, a future…almost. "Can you find out where she is or—"

"I can try to trace the signal. I'm on it." Felicity interrupted Oliver as she started to work. "I think you should wait though. Let me see if anyone else is around so there's more than just the two of you."

"The three of us." Diggle corrected with a grim nod. "Try to reach Lyla too, Felicity, please."

All three men waited for Felicity's response. She agreed with a nod. "You need to suit up. Those soldiers have a lot more strength than normal humans."

"I'm already dressed for the occasion." Barry stated as he jumped into the fight. He knew he needed to keep trying to change the timeline but he couldn't just abandon his friends, even if they didn't know they were his friends.

"I'm going too. You aren't the only one Robert taught to use a bow, Ollie." Thea crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the protest she knew was coming.

Oliver did want to argue but he understood her drive. Both of their parents' had made mistakes and they had suffered for it. He couldn't deny her the right to choose her path when he intended to choose his own. However, that didn't stop him from glaring at Roy when he replied using her old nickname. "Okay, Speedy, but you have to be careful. Out there isn't the same as training."

Roy raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "She's well trained and stubborn. I think it must be a family trait."

"You do know that this is crazy, right? This Lillian has taken out part of the JLA and you all think we're going to be the ones who defeat her?!" Felicity knew better than anyone what made heroes tick. She wasn't surprised to find Oliver Queen was a hero but she wished he had picked a better time to discover it himself. What they were about to do was dangerous and despite wanting to believe there was a way, she couldn't see it any options that would allow them to win. It was almost unthinkable.

The ragtag group of impromptu heroes exchanged worried looks at the truth of her words. Lillian and her soldiers had proven unstoppable. Diggle was the first to notice Oliver's smile.

"What are you thinking?"

"If we can't defeat her then we make her defeat us." Oliver moved closer to Felicity's chair and continued. "She's been running the show, right? Determined to kill heroes and especially the Arrow. What will she do when the Arrow shows up with a group of superheroes?"

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AN2: So, I'm doing the family thing next week and unplugging! I'll try to post early on Monday (September 12) and will also reply to any reviews/ messages in the days that follow. Again, the next chapter is also a 2 parter and will conclude the Alternate Timeline Team Arrow story within the story. We'll then have another 2 part chapter to wrap up the original story (have I confused anyone other than myself?)! I do apologize for the delay in weekly postings but I'm on schedule and this will wrap up before September 25!