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AN: And here we are; the conclusion of this particular project, as Oliver reflects on the changes brought into his life due to Barry's temporal jog and then has a chance to look to the future once again. It's more exposition than action, but I hope you all find it interesting to see this breakdown of how things unfolded in this new course of events…

Run and Repeat

When he got the call from Barry Allen, Oliver was only surprised that he was actually surprised to receive it. Ever since the particle accelerator explosion and his contact with Caitlin Snow and Francisco Ramon to develop the mirakuru cure, he had kept in discreet contact with both of them to be sure he was aware when Barry woke up, but he had still needed to take care about what he told them to be sure that he didn't give away any potential future knowledge.

He might have only had a few details to work with about the situation in his own city since Barry originally visited him, but those few details had been enough to give him some interesting opportunities. Amid the initial chaos in Starling City after it was discovered that one of its major citizens had been attempting to destroy it, Helena Bertinelli's latest attempt to kill her father had been almost easy after the stress of stopping the destruction of the Glades.

The confrontation with the Saviour had been disturbing despite its simplicity; as much as Oliver was still unsure about the idea of himself as a 'hero', seeing the way that man targeted people for such comparatively lesser crimes gave him a better sense of what he couldn't be if he wanted to properly inspire a hero like Barry. In a morbid way, he'd actually appreciated the brief return of Vertigo to the streets, as it gave him a case where he could look at what he'd done originally and explicitly try to be better, just capturing the Count's doctor rather than killing him. When Laurel's latest clients had reported their case against someone on the List, Oliver had recognised the need to turn his focus back to the original mission of cleaning up the city's corrupt elite, setting up surveillance of her client to capture the hitman sent to silence them and gain additional evidence against his potential target.

Laurel…

As far as Oliver was concerned, the most important thing that had happened to him since Barry's visit was his new relationship with Laurel. Being let in on his secret, much to Oliver's surprise, had actually prompted Laurel to affirm that she genuinely admired his efforts to help the city since he got back, encouraging him in turn to consider what he could do as himself rather than just as the Arrow. They'd spent some time just trying to be friends at first, but with Thea in particular offering subtle encouragement, such as arranging for the three of them to go out for dinner and then claiming that she had a date at the last minute so it was just him and Laurel…

He couldn't define the moment when everything had fallen back into their old routine, but he wasn't complaining. The idea that he was good enough for Laurel to forgive everything he'd done to her before his time on Lian Yu had been almost a big a shock as the idea that time travel was real, but the first time they'd properly kissed since he got back, Oliver knew he never wanted to let her go again.

Beyond his relationship with Laurel, Oliver had used his new status as Queen Consolidated CEO to try and organise various charity events to try and improve life in the Glades so that nobody could accuse the area of being a breeding ground for corruption like it had been back when Malcolm Merlyn had started the List. Laurel had gone over the information in the small book and been able to identify at least some candidates she could prosecute in a more legitimate court of law with sufficient evidence of the crimes Merlyn had been blackmailing them with, but Oliver had still made a point of going off to confront the more potentially dangerous ones.

He smiled as he recalled how bizarre it had been for him when he first crashed through into the office of his latest target and the man had immediately thrown up both hands and agreed to all of his demands. With the revelation that Malcolm Merlyn had been the Dark Archer, the knowledge that the Hood had defeated the man in battle had made a significant impact in terms of his reputation on the streets, especially when he turned his attention back to tracking some of the names on the List.

Laurel and Thea had encouraged him to keep an eye out for street crimes as well, and Oliver had been surprised to find that he'd enjoyed the straightforwardness of the new patrol routine. He'd set up the lair to include a police radio scanner that would alert him or the others to any urgent calls that came through, which had alerted him to a few problems before even most of the public, such as a small group of wannabe 'vigilantes' who'd been calling themselves 'the Hoods' but were killing almost indiscriminately, just targeting the rich where he at least double-checked the names on the List to confirm what they were guilty of.

The real surprise for him had been when he'd come to the Lair one day to find Thea and Laurel practising hand-to-hand combat with each other. Laurel had assured him that they'd each been taking classes at a gym in the Glades, and Thea in particular had promised that she only wanted to be able to defend herself rather than joining him in the field. Thea had actually settled into a role as a kind of 'mission control' for when her brother and Diggle were in the field, keeping track of things on the computer and running a few background checks where possible.

His sister might not be a professional hacker, but after Oliver officially became CEO, one of his first steps had been to talk with Felicity Smoak and confirm (on Laurel's encouragement) that she already at least suspected the real reason for his odd queries. She had expressed discomfort in actually joining the team directly, but had been willing to accept the compromise where she provided them with easy-to-use programs to run various searches that might help them identify and find key figures, and had also mentioned that she'd be willing to help more directly if they came across some particularly urgent problem that needed more detailed computer expertise than the programs could provide.

Outside of her role on the team, Thea had also basically taken over as the 'official' manager of the Verdant, accompanied by her new boyfriend Roy. Oliver had thought about offering the job to Tommy, but his friend had withdrawn from the public eye after Malcolm's crimes had been exposed. Tommy still made appearances at the company board meetings when appropriate, but from what Oliver had heard, everyone could see that he was mainly there as a figurehead who didn't offer much input even if his old friend made sure he was clear on all the details before he made a final decision. Tommy had made a few unexpected trips out of the city over the first few months in particular, but since it had swiftly become clear that he had never actually been part of his father's plans none of the investigating officers had made a big deal about it.

Amid the challenges of the first few months after Malcolm's death and his mother's arrest, Oliver had almost forgotten some of Barry's warnings about the future, but when Isabel Rochev had come to attempt her corporate takeover of the company, just the idea that she was the 'Isabel' Barry had warned him about was enough to make him cautious. Laurel had managed to do some digging and confirm that Isabel had a past history with Queen Industries that raised more than a few red flags, which had assured Oliver that he was right to be suspicious. The discovery that she'd worked closely with his father had reinforced Oliver's distaste at the idea of doing anything with her even when Thea had suggested making Isabel think she was above suspicion, but even if it wouldn't have been real Oliver had refused to betray Laurel's faith in him like that no matter the circumstances.

Suspicions about Isabel aside, the first real shock had come when Sara Lance returned to the city during the hunt for Barton Mathias, defying one of the most significant details Oliver thought he had understood about his five years away (he chose not to question why Barry hadn't mentioned this detail; given Barry's memory problems and Oliver's own trust issues, Oliver could think of various reasons why Barry wouldn't have been aware that Sara's return would have been a big deal in his time). The younger Lance had tried to make a swift retreat when she saw Laurel fighting and winning against the twisted 'Dollmaker' killer, who clearly hadn't been expecting a target who could actually fight back. With almost a year of regular activity it wasn't hard to take Sara by surprise and confirm her identity, but she had insisted on staying underground for a while. There had been some tension between Laurel and Sara at first, but Oliver had made it clear that Laurel was his 'priority' now, and Sara had apologised for her own actions in getting on the Gambit in the first place.

It had been personally awkward when Moira was cleared of all charges and made the decision to run for mayor against Sebastian Blood, but for 'Team Arrow' (Oliver wasn't sure who had come up with that name), they had faced a more privately awkward moment when Barry showed up at the warehouse that had just been attacked by the mirakuru-enhanced man they later identified as Cyrus Gold, forcing Oliver to constantly remind himself that this wasn't the Barry Allen he'd met almost a year before. Fortunately he, Diggle, Thea and Laurel had never gotten around to telling Sara about Barry's 'first' visit; regardless of Sara's long-standing history with most of them, Barry's time with the group was protected by an unspoken pact not to speak about it with anyone outside the four of them. Even more fortunately, Tommy had been off on one of his excursions when Barry dropped in, so they didn't have to worry about trying to stop the two meeting and risk Tommy recognising Barry from their last brief encounter.

Aside from the visit being useful as a reminder of what they could expect in the future, Barry's visit had actually been a useful reminder for Diggle as well; they'd all been so caught up in other recent events, ranging from rescuing Diggle's ex-wife from the Russian gulag to Moira Queen's trial, that Diggle had been ashamed to realise that he'd nearly forgotten about Barry's request regarding Bette Sans Souci. Fortunately, after Barry's appearance jogged Diggle's memory, there had been enough time for him to call in a favour from Lyja and get Bette transferred to another hospital before the particle accelerator went off; at last report the young woman had made a full recovery from her injuries and showed no sign she'd develop the devastating powers that Barry had warned them about.

Of course, back in Starling, things had just become more difficult once Oliver was sure that they were dealing with Mirakuru, even before Slade Wilson confirmed his presence in the city. It was easy enough to determine that Isabel was part of Slade's plan, but it had been tricky to find a balance between keeping Isabel 'in play' so that they wouldn't give away their knowledge and doing something that would tip Slade off that they were on to him. Laurel's research had allowed them to determine Sebastian Blood's role in Slade's plan, which had in turn helped them gain access to samples of Mirakuru when they tracked Blood to Slade's lab. Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow at STAR Labs had been useful in helping them devise a proper cure for the mirakuru after a couple of weeks, while Slade's own attempt to capture Thea failed when her own training proved enough to take him by surprise and escape his car.

When Isabel learned that the abduction plan had failed, she tried to stage a more official corporate takeover (they had speculated that the plan was to keep Oliver busy and undermine confidence in his abilities), but Laurel was able to keep Isabel tied up in red tape after Oliver appointed her to act as his proxy, Laurel's own knowledge of corporate law being enough to make up for her lack of official CEO status. As Slade tried to step up his own efforts, Oliver was forced to expose his identity to try and protect his mother and sister from the latest attack, but the intervention of the rest of the team had forced Slade to withdraw without killing anyone and give them time to withdraw somewhere secret.

When Slade unleashed his mirakuru-enhanced army, they were forced to test the cure 'in the field', but fortunately Slade didn't have the contacts to be aware of the existence of the cure until it was too late. The cure was fortunately painful enough when it took effect that the team were able to neutralise the soldiers once they were brought down to a human level, even if Slade had been crazy enough that it was more of a challenge to stop him than it was to deal with his followers. Isabel had been so fixated on taking out the team that it had taken a car crash to properly stop her even after they managed to hit her with the cure, and Slade had been basically feral with rage even after they injected him.

Still, in a slightly selfish way, that had been another moment when Oliver had been glad to have Laurel on the team; he wouldn't like to think what he might have considered doing to stop Slade destroying the city if she hadn't been there to give him a reason to focus on living. Sara and Diggle had even managed to help recruit a few new allies for the fight with Slade's forces, ranging from Sara's mysterious ex (or possibly current) lover Nyssa to the various members of Amanda Waller's mysterious 'Task Force X', culminating in Slade being defeated and taken to a new prison on Lian Yu.

Since then, with Moira Queen now mayor of the city and actively seeking redemption for her past role in Tempest with an official alliance with the Arrow, crime in the city had gone down considerably. A second 'Count' had barely been an inconvenience for the team with Thea, her boyfriend Roy, and Laurel now taking an active role in fieldwork even as Diggle had chosen to step back to focus on his new family, and Felicity was comfortable in her role as essential tech support. There had been vague reports of a second 'Dark Archer' active in the city, but so far his victims had all been known criminals, and most of the time he aimed to incapacitate unless his victims had apparently been doing something serious. It was a point of concern, but since the other archer hadn't outright killed anyone so far Oliver was prepared to leave that issue to chance until he or the new Archer ran into each other directly.

Outside of his vigilante activities, Ray Palmer's new company was also bringing a good infusion of capital into the city's still-tentative economy, working with Queen Consolidated to focus on re-gentrifying the Glades. They were also working to donate what resources they could spare to help the people rebuilding Central after the particle accelerator explosion. Oliver was slightly put out that their efforts in reconstruction hadn't yet helped his own team track down the metahuman Barry had identified as 'Firestorm', but they were following a few potentially promising leads that could become useful with the right backing evidence…

Finally, after almost nine months of keeping a cautious ear out for news of the young man's condition, the day came when Oliver found himself standing on a rooftop opposite the now-awake Barry Allen, the young scientist back in the land of the living and moving at speeds that would make most aeroplanes seem slow.

"So that's my story," Barry said, pacing on the roof as he looked at Oliver. "I've spent my whole life searching for the impossible, never imagining that I would become the impossible."

"So why come to me?" Oliver asked, even as he was privately grateful he'd already heard at least part of Barry's 'origin story' once; he had a feeling it would have been even more confusing to hear it in full for the first time. "Something tells me you didn't just run six hundred miles to say 'hi' to a friend."

He obviously had an idea about where Barry was going with this, considering what he knew about his friend's future, but he couldn't just say it outright…

"All my life," Barry continued uncertainly, "I've wanted to just do more… be more… and now I am. And the first chance I get to help someone, I screw up. What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero? What if I'm just some guy who was struck by lightning?"

"I don't think you are," Oliver said, a part of him surprised at what he was about to say even as it felt right to say it. "I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Barry. I think it chose you."

"I'm just… not sure I'm like you, Oliver," Barry replied, even as the slight smile on his face made it clear that he appreciated the sentiment. "I don't know if I can be some… vigilante."

"You can be better," Oliver affirmed to his friend. "Because you can inspire people in a way that I never could, watching over your city like a guardian angel, saving lives in a flash and making a difference on a scale I could never achieve."

Watching the contemplative expression form on Barry's face, Oliver smiled

"Just remember," he added, indicating the green mask under his hood that he could never tell his remarkable friend had been his own contribution. "Wear a mask."

As he fired off an arrow and swung away from the rooftop, Oliver hoped that what he had said would be enough to set Barry on the right path, particularly when there was still the unknown factor of the yellow speedster to deal with at some future date.

Obviously, the fact that the unknown other time-traveller hadn't yet done anything to 'restore' the timeline as it had been before Barry changed it at least suggested everything was in order on that front, but if that man had been willing to kill Barry's mother when Barry was a child, Oliver doubted they'd seen the last of him…

In any case, that was a matter for the future; right now, Oliver's only concern was the red lightning racing back towards Central City, ready to begin the most remarkable life Oliver could imagine.

"Be brilliant, Barry Allen," he said as he looked after his friend. "And when February comes around again… I'll be there."

If everything the future Barry had told him about the time-travel method he'd 'used' was accurate, it could do no harm to have an extra pair of hands available to make sure that Barry's enemy couldn't attempt that same devastating attack…