Felicity paused just outside the kitchen. There were too many voices coming from within it. Oliver and Diggle's she recognized immediately, but there were two others she didn't. What was more, the two voices she didn't recognize were female, which was unexpected, perhaps even more so than the presence of two extra people in the Foundry. She poked her head curiously into the room and was greeted by the sight of Oliver and Diggle seated at the long kitchen table, deep in conversation with two women who were strangers to her, one dressed from head to toe in white leather, the other in black. The woman in black wore a matching mask, while the one in white was maskless, and while one had light brown hair and the other had blonde, they looked so alike that they could only be sisters.
Felicity cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the room's occupants to her.
"Who are they?" she asked, nodding to the two women. The question wasn't directed toward anyone in particular, but Oliver answered.
"The Lance sisters," he said, "Laurel and Sara, known as the Black and White Canaries, respectively. They've come to join the crusade."
"And you're alright with this?" Felicity asked Diggle, remembering his initial misgivings when she'd joined Oliver's crusade. "Where are the misgivings you had when Oliver brought me into all of this?" Diggle shrugged.
"Different circumstances here," he said. "Besides, the Lance sisters have been doing fairly well as vigilantes all on their own. As far as I'm concerned, their decision to join up is doing us a favor."
"Fair enough," Felicity replied, inclining her head. "I trust your judgement completely, as I'm sure Oliver does as well." Diggle dipped his head in silent acceptance of the compliment.
"White is a bold choice," Felicity said to blonde haired Lance sister, Sara. "Especially combined with the one you made not to wear a mask."
"I move quickly enough for the white not to be noticeable," Sara replied evenly. "Most of the time, I'm just a flash in their peripheral vision. Not to mention that nobody I've gone up against has had the chance to see my face."
"And if she misses anyone, I knock them out with this," the other Lance sister, Laurel, put in, pulling down the collar of her leather jerkin to reveal a tattooed spell across her collarbone, the second example Felicity had seen in as many days of Harrison Wells' work. When used, she saw, it turned Laurel's voice into a weapon. She shuddered to imagine what power like that might do in the wrong hands.
"Now that introductions are out of the way," Oliver cut in suddenly. "I imagine it should be about time for us to get things underway." He looked pointedly at Felicity.
"Of course," she said. "As you say. I imagine you'd like me to give Laurel and Sara spells for speed before the four of you head out?" She phrased it like a question, but it wasn't one, not really. If she didn't do as she'd just suggested, Laurel and Sara would be unable to keep up with Oliver and Diggle, thus making it impossible for the four of them to work as a team as they so obviously intended to do. Oliver nodded, and she made quick work of it, carving the necessary spell into the soles of Laurel and Sara's boots just as she had done for Oliver and Diggle not long ago.
Felicity had a lot on her mind as she retreated to her room and the others headed out, but she pushed her troubled thoughts aside the moment she sat down at her writing desk and called up her projection. Oliver and the others needed her complete focus. She couldn't afford to be distracted. Things proceeded smoothly and as normal from that point forward, even with the addition of two more people, which Felicity found comforting. It was nice to know that some things were constant. It made the shadow of the unknown threat they faced seem just a little less dark. And yet still it hung over everything they did.
"We're on our way back." Oliver's voice pulled Felicity out of her pensive mood.
"Alright," she said, knowing that Oliver expected a response. Take as long as you need. There's no rush. I'll be here patiently waiting for the four of you to return." It felt strange to say "four of you" instead of "two of you". If Oliver responded, she didn't hear it because she'd already deactivated the communication spell on her end of it. She trusted Oliver and the others to be able to get themselves home without her input.
The Oliver who returned to the Foundry with Diggle and the Lance sisters in tow was an Oliver Felicity had never seen before. The tension he normally carried in his posture and in the set of his shoulders had lessened considerably, and the shadows that normally lurked behind his eyes were, for the time being, gone. Something about the Lance sisters joining his crusade seemed to have improved his outlook. Whether that improvement was permanent or not remained to be seen.
Oliver surprised Felicity by striding across the room toward her and pulling her into his embrace. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the rhythmic thump of his heartbeat, and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of being held by him for only a moment before she pulled away.
"What was that about?" she asked.
"Nothing, really," Oliver replied with a smile. He shook his head, huffed out a laugh, and added, "I'm just in a really good mood right now."
"Odd, considering we still don't know what we're facing out there," Felicity said dryly. She tried not to let her worry over the matter show, but it must have crept into her voice because Oliver frowned, concern shadowing his brilliant blue eyes.
"Hey," he said soothingly, reaching out and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. And when we do, we will stop it. After all, there's five of us now, right?" He didn't seem to notice that he'd started running his hands up and down her arms, subconsciously seeking to calm her fears with his touch as much as with his words. Felicity offered him a weak half smile in return for his efforts, trying to tell him that she appreciated that he'd tried.