Thea's hangover was something out of a nightmare as she stumbled down the stairs, cursing the suspect of the incessant knocking at this ungodly hour of- she glanced at the clock- one in the afternoon...

Fine, but in the last twenty four hours, she'd learned that her biological father- a man whom she'd truly believed had changed his evil and deceitful ways, a man whom she'd trusted to protect her and make her strong, a man who she'd stupidly believed loved her- had somehow brainwashed and used her in his sick and demented scheme to free himself from a League of Assassins, by forcing her to kill Sara. Sara Lance.

She deserved to drown alone in her misery. She deserved to rot in it.

Thea tasted bile in her throat again and it had nothing to do with the two empty bottles of vodka lying on the floor of her room. In fact, she'd vomited all the contents of her stomach, long before touching the alcohol.

Dragging her feet forward, struggling to remember the concept of 'one foot before the other', she threw open the door and squinted at her visitor. For a moment, in her alcohol/misery/trauma induced haziness, she didn't recognize the pretty, blonde in glasses- the girl's general brightness straining her eyes and coaxing a particularly painful throb through her skull. But then she remembered and her eyes narrowed.

"My brother's not here." She sneered in a very good impression of herself when she'd been an over indulgent, snobbish child- with every intention to slam the door shut.

"Actually, I'm here for you." Felicity said matter of factly. Thea stared at her for a moment, searching her face for signs of sympathy or pity. She found none.

Thea scoffed, before turning around, leaving the door open behind her. "Did my brother send you here? You can tell him that I don't need someone to pat my back and tell me everything's going to be okay."

"Good, because I'm not here to do either of those things." Felicity said, closing the door firmly behind her.

"So then why are you here? No offence, but I'm not exactly in the mood to entertain."

Felicity looked around the wide room in appraisal, before walking over to the windows, her heels clacking across the hardwood floors. She peered over the city pensively. "This really is a an amazing view."

Before Thea could snort out a sarcastic remark, she continued.

"I remember about a year ago, Sebastian Blood walked into Oliver's office and said the same thing, although he was a little less complimentary- 'you can see all the destruction your mother caused' were his exact words."

Thea winced.

"At the moment, I remember thinking he was wrong. What he should have said, was all the destruction Malcolm Merlyn caused." Felicity turned around.

"People love to remember the part Moira Queen played in the undertaking, and I mean- they're not entirely wrong. Your mother wasn't exactly a saint- sorry- but somehow everyone forgets what a monster Merlyn is."

Thea didn't really know what to make of this girl, she'd just insulted her dead mother, yet somehow Thea found herself warming up to her. "Yeah, he's evil- what else is new? Is that what you came here to tell me? Because I get it."

"No, Thea, you don't, because, like your brother tends to do, you also feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame and a knack for internalizing things, even when you have no business doing so. I'm not here to offer you my pity; I'm here to offer you the cold hard truth, which is that Malcolm Merlyn is an awful, terrible person. In fact, if I believed in the Devil- which I'm not really sure if I do or don't, my bubba and I have opposing views on that- but that's really beside the point- he would be it. He uses people and he hurts them without remorse because that is the person that he is. Just like loving and trusting, unconditionally and blindly is the person that you are. You can't change yourself any more than Merlyn can. You want to feel guilty and miserable because you chose to trust and believe the best in your father- fine, but Sara's death? That's on Merlyn and on Merlyn alone."

Thea sunk into the sofa, her rough demeanor deflating instantly. "You don't even know me."

Felicity smiled gently, before joining her. "No, but I know your brother."

There was silence.

"I had an argument with Oliver- well... I have a lot of arguments with Oliver- mostly because he's a hard headed ass sometimes- but again, really not the point."

Thea held back a reluctant smile. Who was this girl?

"The point is that Oliver also feels guilt, guilt for not protecting you from Malcolm-

Thea opened her mouth to argue.

"But you and I both know how stupid that is. Just like you taking blame for killing Sara is stupid. I have a bit of experience when it comes to neglectful fathers and an overwhelming need to feel parental love. It's crippling. But I've learned that there is only so much responsibility you can take."

Thea swallowed the swell in her throat. "I just- I hate him so much. I hate him for doing this to me, I hate him for fooling me into loving him- I hate him for making me hate myself!" Her voice caught and Felicity reached for her hand, cradling it between her own.

"I know. And you have the right to. But don't let that hate consume you."

Thea let out an animalistic growl. "I want him to suffer! The way I am- the way Sara probably did." She released a strangled sob. "Oh god, I don't even know if she was in pain." Her breath rattled.

"I'll call the League myself, they can take care of him and he'll finally be out of our lives." She spat furiously. Felicity watched her pupils dilate and whip back and forth frantically.

She tightened her hands around Thea's fingers and leaned forward vehemently. "Listen to me, he has already taken so much from you, so much from your family. The only leverage he has left against you is to take away the things that make you different from him- that make you human. Don't give him what he wants. I hate him too. I want to see him get justice for everything that he's done, but sentencing him to death is not the way to do it. Oliver has fought so hard to keep you away from the League, don't give up now. I promise you, that Malcolm Merlyn will get what he deserves, but not by your hands...okay?"

Felicity's eyes pleaded with Thea's.

"What happened with your father?" Thea asked finally. Her voice was small, but she looked for the moment, lucid enough not to make any rash decisions that would put not only her life, but Oliver's life in danger as well. Felicity let out a sigh of relief.

"He left, and eventually I let him go." She answered simply.

When Oliver had come back to the Foundry, looking ashen and completely devastated, Felicity's anger and disappointment immediately dissipated, instead fading to concern.

He'd collapsed in his chair, before telling them that he'd confessed the truth to Thea, something she hadn't taken well to. In fact, according to him, she'd completely shut down after suffering through an anxiety attack and then stolen a few bottles of liquor from her stock, before fighting him off and taking a cab- he hoped- back home.

It took a lot of convincing on Felicity's part to keep him from rushing home. She argued that it wouldn't do any good attempting to speak to her when she was distraught and hysterical and that the best thing to do, was to give her time- time alone- to process things. Even if that meant drowning herself in alcohol.

"That's not the absolute worst thing she could do." Felicity had gently reminded him, as he buried his head in his hands. "Give her tonight."

"But what about tomorrow?" Roy had insisted and Felicity knew it was just as hard for him, as it was for Oliver, to leave her alone. "She's vulnerable and probably not thinking straight."

"We'll talk to her tomorrow. But right now she just needs to be left alone."

"I think maybe you should be the one to speak to her."

Felicity had looked to Diggle in a mix of surprise and confusion. "What?"

"Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone you don't know- besides, if he's any indication,-

Diggle jabbed his thumb in Oliver's direction. "-you're an expert at talking down a Queen."

That, and Oliver's blank eyes, silently pleading with her, had led Felicity to the loft the next afternoon.

She stuck around for a few hours, making sure that Thea showered and sobered up enough to stomach a light lunch.

She was texting something on her phone when Thea finally finished loading the dishes.

"That was your brother, he's coming up now." Felicity explained when Thea looked at her expectantly.

She rolled her eyes. "You gave him the all clear, then?"

Felicity shot back a wry smile. "Something like that."

As if on cue, the door creaked open and Oliver peered around hesitantly, before stepping inside. His face was haggard- like he hadn't slept at all. Although, when Thea offered a small smile in return, his shoulders lifted considerably higher.

They were all that was left of the Queen family, and Felicity knew they would find their way back again. They had to. She squeezed Thea's arm encouragingly and smiled. "I'll leave the two of you to it then."

"You're leaving?" Thea asked in surprise.

Felicity's eyes met Oliver's fleetingly before she nodded. "I have some work to finish up at the office."

"It's Saturday." Thea exclaimed, appalled at the thought of paperwork on a weekend.

Felicity's lip quirked. "If Oliver had done some work on a Saturday, he'd probably still be CEO." She quipped playfully. "No rest for the wicked."

Thea's expression was thoughtful as she stared back. When Felicity tilted her head to the side questioningly, the younger girl shuffled nervously and then taking both Felicity and Oliver by complete surprise, abruptly threw her arms around Felicity's neck.

"Thank you. You didn't have to be here, but you were. I'm glad Ollie has you in his life."

Felicity caught herself before she could stumble back and wrapped a tentative arm around Thea's waist. "He needs you in it too. Don't give up." She whispered back, before pulling away.

"I'll be right back Speedy." Oliver murmured, as he followed her outside. Felicity was painfully aware of his hand, floating lightly above the small of her back. He closed the door behind him and pursed his lips.

"She seems a lot better."

Felicity squeezed his hand. "She will be. Thea's strong- stronger than most people give her credit for." She pulled back and shrugged. "I know the feeling."

Oliver's face softened for the first time since he'd descended the foundry, eyes warming in a particular way that usually had Felicity's stomach in knots. She wasn't blind or stupid; she knew that the way Oliver looked at her and spoke to her was different than the way he was with everyone else. She didn't like to dwell much on what it meant.

"Anyone who questions your strength is an idiot. I want to say thank you, but that's not enough- and it will never be enough."

"I didn't do anything Oliver." Felicity said, suddenly feeling very weary.

"That's not true." He said immediately and before she could object- or babble- he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Take the night off. I'll see you tomorrow." He murmured.

When he disappeared behind the door, Felicity was left again to wonder where her boundaries had gone.

Felicity drove to the foundry the next day, with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she could not shake. Her phone had received an alert exactly forty five minutes ago from the Starling City morgue where Thomas Randall was being examined, where she may or may not have 'hacked' to ensure his results would be shared promptly with Team Arrow.

What she'd found was a lot more disconcerting than any of them could have anticipated, but Felicity waited until she was in the foundry and with the others, before jumping to any conclusions.

Still, something was nagging at her.

"What did you find?" Oliver asked abruptly as she descended the steps into the foundry.

"Its- it's not good. But it explains a lot." She looked around. "Where's Roy?"

"He's with Thea."

Her eyes softened. "How is she?"

Felicity noticed he didn't seem as worn today; which was good news.

"She's alright; for the moment it seems she understands why keeping this from Laurel is necessary and it doesn't look like she'll be taking the first flight out to Nanda Parbat anytime soon."

Felicity nodded. "That's good. But sooner or later, we're going to have to tell Laurel."

Oliver rubbed his hand across his face. "I just don't know if either of them are ready for that yet."

"Maybe, but that's not up to you." She said gently.

"Maybe not, but I'm not willing to risk the consequences just yet." His voice left no room for argument and Felicity decided to let it go for the moment.

"So what did you find, Felicity?" John asked, effectively shifting the subject and she remembered what had brought her to the foundry in the first place.

Felicity sank into her chair and opened the screen to the morgue's results, before going straight to the point. "Nano-chip."

"What?" John's forehead wrinkled. It was almost comical.

"They did a full autopsy. Most injuries were from the Atom's blast-

"The Atom?" Digg raised his brow.

Felicity coughed. "It's what they're calling him- the injuries were all non-lethal. He was killed on impact by a bullet straight through his chest. And before you ask, I checked already; the bullet is untraceable- surprise, surprise." She took a breath and forced herself to keep on topic.

"The CAT scan is where it get's weird."

She swiped her screen and walked over to the secondary monitor. "There's a whole bunch of biological brain jargon that I could bore you to death with, but I have a feeling it would go unappreciated, so simply speaking, they found a nano-chip, planted in the fore brain, where his tumor was surgically removed."

"A nano-chip- as in something that can control your mind?" John asked disbelievingly.

"I can't know for sure what it was used for, unless I analyze the chip, but I mean, with everything we know, it seems likely. It explains the erratic behavior, the gaps... the murders. And then there's the shady neurosurgery clinic that mysteriously burned down..."

Felicity turned wide and troubled eyes towards Oliver. "Have you seen this before? Is this Argus?"

He stared at the screen with a reserved silence. When he spoke, his voice was low and uncertain. "Amanda made a comment- a few years back, when she first brought me to Hong Kong. It was meant to be a passing remark...I thought it was an empty threat, but..."

"But?" Felicity bristled.

"I'm thinking it wasn't so empty." Digg muttered.

"If they have this type of technology, who knows what they're capable of." Felicity breathed horrified.

"Something went wrong though. Argus lost control. The destroyed clinic, Randall falling off the grid, killing two cops and then initiating a hostage situation- that's sloppy, it's not the way Argus operates."

"Maybe this was Waller's version of damage control. Test subject becomes a liability- what do you do? Make him seem like a nut and then get rid of him. Burn all the evidence and wipe your hands clean." Digg suggested.

Oliver shook his head and then began to pace the room. "No, if this was damage control, there is no way Argus would have let them find the nano-chip, and the kill would have been quiet. Argus keeps things close to the belt. This wasn't damage control, this was a spectacle.

"Someone's putting on a show." Digg breathed in sudden realization.

"Question is, for who?"

"I guess that explains Brick." Felicity muttered. When they looked surprised, she raised her brow. "What's bigger news than a mass prison break- without the prison break?"

"I don't like this. We already have the League breathing down our necks." Oliver growled.

"We don't even know what this is." Felicity exclaimed.

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, before turning towards her. "Contact Waller, tell her I want a meet. In the meantime, we re-focus on the League. Keep all eyes and ears you can spare, out. I want to know the moment anyone on Argus' list pops up in Starling." She nodded briskly.

"And Digg-

Oliver turned towards John, who straightened automatically, a soldier awaiting instruction.

"I think you have a wedding to prepare for."