Salvation Run

By Michael Weyer

I know, a lot of other fics to work on but this was in my head for a while. It was going to be something bigger but altered by Captain Marvel yet still stuck in there so decided to go ahead with it. All comments welcomed.

Earth-1

Star City

Most mayors have to handle the pressure of their jobs in different ways. In some cases, they golf or jog or some other form of exercise. Others partake in a movie or an evening out while others take...less than savory methods of handling their stress.

It was quite likely Oliver Queen was the only mayor who wound down a tiring day at the office by bounding the rooftops of Star City with a bow and arrow.

Yet here he was, once more risking his life by leaping off a rooftop and through the glass of a skylight. As soon as he landed, he was pulling out his bow to fire arrows, knocking several of the smugglers inside back. Before the others could react, the doors burst in as Canary, Wild Dog and Spartan burst in, soon on the attack. From the other end, Arsenal and Red Arrow were firing off their own weapons to knock several of the smugglers away.

Oliver ducked a blow to punch one enemy in the face. "Felicity? Eyes?"

"Security cameras were already taken down," his wife replied. "You know, I'm getting the feeling that folks are onto me…"

Nodding, Oliver punched a smuggler just before his sixth sense for danger alerted him. He spun just in time to avoid the metal shards flying by him. Standing on a platform was a highly attractive blonde-haired woman in a leather outfit, her eyes narrowed at Oliver. "So, the famous Green Arrow," she replied in a Cockney accent. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Amnuet Black," Arrow returned. "I thought you stuck to Central City."

"Well, old Flashie has been annoying what with the new sidekick so thought a change of scenery best," Black replied.

"Bad choice," Arrow snapped as he fired his bow off. Amunet was dodging it just as the doors burst open to reveal a pack of gun-toting figures led by a handsome black man with a golden chain wrapped around a fist. "Sorry I'm late, hon."

"That's all right, dearie," Black smirked as Goldface threw out the golden chain, letting it elongate to wrap around Oliver. He grunted as he struggled with Wild Dog firing off his guns to try and drive Goldface back. Black was on the attack, hurling out metallic shards that sent the rest of the team scattering for cover. Goldface grinned at Arrow as he tightened the golden whip. "Maybe see just who you are under that mask before I kill you…"

A whistling sound echoed as an arrow streaked through the air to cut right through the whip. Everyone looked up as a figure leaped down from the rafters, clad in a suit much like Oliver's with a hood over her head. She was firing off another arrow as a blur flowed through the air and suddenly Black was sent sailing off against some crates. For a brief moment, Oliver wondered what Barry was doing in Star City until he realized it wasn't the typical red and yellow lightning of the Flash.

Instead, an attractive woman in dark hair and a matching jumpsuit was moving, blurring in and out at high speed to knock back several of the attackers. Leaping down from the rafters came Daisy Johnson, her jumpsuit flowing over her body as she threw out a hand. A wave of energy knocked another pack of gunmen back. Behind her was the familiar form of Bucky Barnes, the light glinting off his metal arm as he fired off his own machine gun.

Oliver had gotten his arrow back out to fire another shaft at Black which she barely dodged. He saw two more figures enter, a heavyset black man who was punching a thug down while an attractive Asian woman in a leather suit bounded over a table and launched herself at Black, smashing a boot into the woman's face.

Quake sent another blast of seismic energy to send Goldface back as she nodded to Oliver. "Hey, been a while."

"The hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Sort of a complex story," Quake answered as she kept up her attacks. She nodded to the Asian woman. "That's May, the big guy is Mac and speedster is Yo-Yo."

"Yo-Yo?" Oliver sniffed. "That's it?'

"Well, she tried Slingshot for a bit but all the good speedster names seem to be taken." Winter Soldier was moving to Goldface as the man snarled, throwing a punch at him. Bucky took it on his metal arm with the man gasping before he punched him hard in the face with the arm, rattling him badly. The rest of Team Arrow were recovering to get back on the offensive, Yo-Yo expertly dodging the firing arrows and bullets to smash more of the enemies down.

Black was snarling to try and attack May, who easily dodged her blows, made several counters and then smashed an elbow into Black's face. She was rattled but kept pressing, throwing a fist covered in metal out. May swiftly ducked, grabbing Black by the waist and lifting her up to smack her against a wall. Grabbing the woman by the hair, May jammed her face into a steel pillar to knock Black out.

Winter Soldier grabbed Goldface and spun him around in time for Yo Yo to race over and punch him several times in the face. She then threw him over for Quake to send a wave of energy that sent Goldface flying into a wall and slumping to the ground.

The agents of SHIELD gathered together as Team Arrow came to face them. "Not that we're not appreciative," Oliver began. "But just what are you doing on our Earth, let alone my city."

"First, your city? Possessive much?" Quake asked. "Second, we've just been checking on some stuff and got pulled into an investigation here."

"Which is what?'

"Classified," May said in a flat tone.

"Tough, you're here for a reason, we want to know what it is."

Thea looked to the figure in the hood who she could tell was a woman. "And just when did you add an archer? Sort of flattered but it's a little offbeat."

"We sorta picked her up," Mac replied. "Actually, more like she chose us."

The woman was silent, the hood pulled low to make it hard to see her features but Oliver got the feeling she was sizing him up carefully. "Is that all you're going to tell us?"

The agents looked to each other with May holding a hand to her ear and nodding. "All right. Coulson says we should go in." She looked at Oliver. "Any chance we see your HQ without some sort of weird blindfolds or security stuff?"

Oliver cocked his head before nodding. "Fine. But keep your hands to yourself."

"Why so suspicious?"

"Well, it's his natural state," Thea dryly said. "Plus, the whole former brainwashed assassin guy," she nodded to Winter Soldier. "But don't worry, we've got experience handling that."

"Glad to hear," he dryly returned.

Quake looked around at the unconscious gang members. "Should we tie them up?"

"Police are on the way already," Diggle announced. "And they're used to finding guys in worse shape than this."

"That oddly is not as assuring as you think it is."

Oliver resisted a smile as the group filed out.

Phil Coulson was still the dry figure Oliver had met before, clad in a simple pair of dark pants and jacket. He was standing in the basement of the Queen Consolidated building, joined by a middle-aged man with thinning hair in a dark suit of his own, sipping on a straw from his drink cup. "Good to see you again," Phil stated. "Oh, this is Agent Keller, he's been aiding us for a while.

Oliver frowned. "How'd you know where to come?"

"We're SHIELD, it's our business to know." He shrugged. "Plus, from what I can tell, your secret identity is…not that much of a secret."

Oliver brushed it off as he accessed the elevator. The group filed in with the archer clearly keeping her distance from Oliver. He and Diggle exchanged a glance, sensing some tension but not wanting to press it further. The doors opened to allow them to enter the Lair with Felicity turning from her seat. "Hey, see we have guests! Cool, welcome aboard!"

"A pleasure," Coulson said with a nod as he looked about. "It's..not bad."

"Ahem? Not bad?" Felicity sounded almost insulted.

"Well, compared to the tech we're used to."

"I'm unique," Bucky stated as he looked around. "I was in the 1940s, then most of the middle decades muddled, then with Wakanda which is a century ahead. Sorta messes my views up."

"Well I'm proud of it," Felicity defended herself. She became aware of the archer staring at her. "What? Do I know you?"

"No," she spoke for the first time in a hard tone. "You don't."

Oliver looked to Coulson. "I thought you were dying."

"I was. I got better."

"It goes around," Thea had to note. She saw the female archer giving her a slow gaze that made her feel uncomfortable. "What is it?"

"Nothing," the woman stated. "Just...taking it in."

Keller was carefully stepping forward, his eyes fixed on Felicity. She frowned at his look. "Um, something on my face?"

"Yes," he said in a flat tone. "Someone else's face."

Felicity blinked in confusion. "What are..."

Keller began speaking but in a strange dialect that sounded like a series of complex clicking sounds and twisted intonations. The others in the bunker were thrown by it...but Felicity's eyes widened in horror. "Ah, there it is," Keller said in English. He glanced over his shoulder at the other humans. "Either they've got much better poker faces or she's the only one after all."

In a blinding fast move, Yo-Yo was moving at super speed and in seconds, a cable was wrapped around Felicity binding her to the chair. Oliver was moving forward but found himself faced with the female archer with an arrow pointed as his leg. "Don't," she said and while the tone was harsh, Oliver could tell there was a pressing part of her voice as if almost pleading. "I don't want to hurt you, believe me."

"Hey, what the hell-" was all Rene got out before Felicity twisted in the chair. It looked as if somehow, her bones were actually compressing in on themselves and her body managing to drop a few sizes in weight. She slid out of the ropes, leaping out onto the table and unleashing a kick at Keller. He managed to catch it as Quake unleashed a blast that sent Felicity sailing out to smash against a desk.

In seconds, Yo-Yo was on her, hitting what appeared to be a taser into her neck. Felicity let out a shriek before slumping, her body shaking hard. As it did, her face began to change. The blonde hair receded and then completely faded away. Her features shifted as well to remain female but now with solid green skin, long pointed ears and a chin marked with several pocketed wrinkles with solid black eyes.

"Lyja," Keller said in a knowing tone. "So it's Paibok behind this. He never could take a damned hint..."

"What...the screaming...shit?!" Thea spoke for pretty much everyone of Earth-1 inside the bunker, most frozen in shock. Oliver himself was staring, more dumbstruck than he'd been during the Dusting. May was moving to slap a pair of large manacles over "Felicity's" arms. The woman grunted, shifting in place but seemed unable to do much more. "That'll work?" May asked.

"It did on me," Keller pointed out.

"What...what is this?!" Diggle demanded. "What the hell happened to Felicity?"

"That's not Felicity," Keller intoned. "That, I'm sorry to say...is one of mine." His body took on the same shimmering and pulsing in place until transforming into a figure with the same skin, ears, and chin characteristics of the woman lying on the ground. "Hello there. The name's Talos."

"Holy shit," Renee whispered.

"Yeah, shapeshifting alien," Quake sighed. "If it helps, we can relate."

"I was replaced by a robot," May stated as if it was everyday conversation.

"And put in the weird virtual reality world," Mack added.

Roy rubbed his head. "I can't believe our lives seem dull right now."

Oliver stared at Lyja and shook his head. "Where...is my wife?"

"I hate to break it to you...but she's right there," Talos motioned to Lyja. "If my guess is right, Felicity Smoak hasn't been around for quite a while."

"He's right," the female archer spoke up. "But she's still out there. And so is Mom and we need to get them back."

"Mom?" Oliver roused himself to gawk at the archer. "Who are you?"

After a pause, the woman pulled back her hood to let loose a cascade of blonde hair. She peeled off the green mask to reveal a strikingly attractive young woman with a stern expression. "My name is Mia Queen. I'm your daughter from the future. But if we don't rescue Felicity and Laurel Lance, then I'm never going to be born."

A very long silence was finally broken by Diggle. "I swear to God, my life was normal once."

The crackling of the portal echoed before Barry Allen, Nora Allen, Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow stepped out into the Lair. The former two were in their bright costumes with Barry waving at the large group but Nora's eyes widened when she took in the green-garbed figure standing in the middle. "Mia?" She was at her side in a second, embracing her. "Oh my God, how did you get here?"

For the first time, Mia smiled as she returned the hug. "Hey, Nora. Yeah, it's complicated but had to come."

"Hey there," Quake waved. "Good to see you guys, sorry we couldn't really broadcast what we were up to before we came, we couldn't risk tipping our hand."

"Yeah, speaking of which," Barry spoke up. "You're telling us Felicity...isn't Felicity?'

"We're still working on that," Thea said, seemingly more on top of all this than the rest of the stunned group. Barry looked to Talos, a bit thrown but after all he'd seen over the years, a green-skinned alien sipping on a soda wasn't that bizarre. "He can tell it better."

The Skrull nodded. "Right, name's Talos. I'll give you the short version this time around. My people, Skrulls, in my universe, were a huge force once and I'll be the first to admit, we weren't the nicest bunch around. We'd been at war with the Kree for longer than your civilization has existed and it finally came down to them crushing us, destroying our homeworld and scattering us around."

His face soured. "But the Kree didn't just leave at that. They kept up the tale that not only were we as powerful as ever but out to infiltrate and take over other worlds." He snorted. "We barely had enough resources to maintain regular bases, let alone try and conquer some planet but a great way to keep control over their own populace by making us into some sort of threat. Plus, spreading the word to other civilizations, and to be honest, we're not the type folks trust to let in as refugees."

He smiled. "But, got on the good side of a friend who helped us out, got some of us to a world out of the main eye. We're doing a lot better and realizing the entire militaristic bent wasn't the right move so hope to be accepted." The smile faded. "Sadly, as with any civilization, we've got our share of radicals who want to bring back 'the good old days'. They don't get how weak we were but wanted to try and conquer other places. Me and my wife were tracking a couple of them down to Earth to run into Coulson's lot."

"The trail went cold," Coulson spoke up. "But then we realized one those agents had infiltrated a special division called Project Pegasus which had been doing research into alternate realms a few years ago. Said research ending when the building it was housed in mysteriously exploded."

Cisco frowned. "And you think they came here? Why?"

Talos shrugged. "A new world, a new place to reside, maybe try to take over best they can. At the least, resources they don't have in our reality. The fact you don't seem to have Skrulls, Kree, or a bunch of other races is no doubt a bonus."

"We called in a favor with Stark," Coulson went on. "He got us to Reed Richards who traced the signs of some...reality jump for lack of a better world to here and we used his tech to follow and track them down."

"And...they targeted Felicity?" Cisco scratched his had. "That's weird."

"Not like boss-man married to an alien ain't," Renee muttered under his breath, earning a smack from Thea.

Roy shrugged. "Still a better romance life than me." He winced at Thea's punch on the arm. "I meant besides you, hon!"

"Wow," Nora said, her eyes wide. "Felicity Smoak an alien, did not see that one coming."

"Speaking of," Caitlin spoke up. "Nora, how do you know this woman?"

Nora smiled. "Oh, this is Mia, Oliver's daughter from the future, she's Green Arrow in my time."

Mia sighed. "God, Nora, you have to be this blabbermouth?"

"Hey, I've been refusing to give up Super Bowl scores no matter how much Ralph offers me!"

"So another daughter of the future taking up the costume," Cisco mused. "Interesting..."

Barry smiled to Oliver. "I know, it's very weird at first but then..." He paused. "No, actually it's still damn weird."

Mack leaned in toward Bucky. "I'm getting worried they're taking time travel so lightly in this universe." The Winter Soldier nodded in agreement.

"How are you here?" Barry pressed.

Mia brushed at her face. "Nora has no doubt told you that in our future, that entire 'Dusting' thing never happened. History took different turns and such. Frankly, the whole thing is way beyond me, I prefer a street fighting approach and leave the cosmic stuff to the League."

"As in Justice League?" Cisco nodded. "See, I told you we should get a version of our own here!"

"I swear to God, Cisco, you try coming up with a theme song again..." Caitlin snapped.

Mia continued. "But suddenly, things around me started to be altered. Friends I'd known all my life seemed to vanish, some people I'd never heard of were around and then I see a statue of the late Laurel Lance and wonder when my mom was supposed to have been killed."

"Your...mom?" Barry's eyes widened. "Laurel Lance is your mom? But..."

Mia held up her hand. "Again, I have no idea what's happening and before I can do anything, some...person...shows up to tell me time is being altered and unless I fix it, I'm going to wink out of existence and so many people get a lot worse off."

"This person," Thea spoke up. "Who are they?" She saw Mia quiet and raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell us? Or what happens to any of us in the future?"

Mia gave her a stern look. "No."

Thea returned the gaze and then looked to Oliver. "Definitely your daughter."

Oliver didn't reply as Mia continued. "They whisk me here, show me how suddenly, history says my mom is dead, Oliver married Aunt Felicity and so much more changed like Dad getting William sooner." She waved to Dinah. "No offense, but I've never heard of you or another Black Canary." Dinah was thrown at that as Mia glanced at Renee. "You...let's just say your daughter goes a lot of good places." He seemed oddly pleased at that.

Barry looked to Nora. "Did you know about this?'

His own daughter balanced. "Well...Yeah." She held up her hands. "I wasn't sure what to say, you had told me time travel could be really complicated and for all I knew, I'd landed in some alternate past and anything I said could mess it up majorly!"

Barry sighed. "Dammit, Nora, you promised me when you came clean on Thawne, you'd be more honest!"

"Again, I wasn't sure, things were so altered already with the Dusting and other heroes popping up..."

"So you were close to okay to me being erased from existence, good to know," Mia dryly said.

Nora sighed. "I'm sorry but when I went back, I had good intentions..."

"Wow, apple did not fall far from the impulsive tree."

"You can't blame her," Barry said. "Time is very complex..."

"Hey, Barry, when we're talking screwing up with time, you might want to sit this out," Diggle snapped with more anger than he intended but Barry had to concede the point.

"So I'm dropped off here and practically on the doorstep of them showing up in this reality," Mia went on, waving to the SHIELD agents. "As it happened, Talos was already working on a way of tracking any Skrulls on this world."

The Skrull took up the narrative. "Surprisingly not that difficult. Just had to take a splice of my own DNA, put it up with the STAR Labs satellite system, followed by Argus, and a secret scan of the globe."

Cisco frowned. "How'd you get into STAR Labs?"

Talos mimicked raising an eyebrow. "In case it's escaped your notice, I have a unique skill set that allows me access to areas that normally would be difficult to get into." At their blank looks, he sighed and his body shifted to transform into an exact duplicate of Iris Allen. After a few seconds, he shifted to become an exact replica of Lyla Diggle which made the man jump back.

Caitlin slowly looked to the others. "We really need to come up with a safe word." Barry and Cisco could only offer assessing nods.

As Talos transformed back, he continued to speak. "Surprisingly, only a few minor hits for a couple of politicians and a few newscasters, plus some millionaires, but one in Star City. A little more tracking and we narrowed it down." He nodded to the monitor showing Lyja locked into a cell in a side room, bound tightly with the manacles. "Now, we just need to find out where the rest of the bunch is with Ms. Smoak."

Renee coughed as he held up a hand. "Um, sorry if I sound too nasty here but...how do we know she's still alive?"

"He's got a point," Cisco agreed. "I've seen enough sci-fi films to know 'kill and replace' is standard fare for evil shapeshifters."

"And we've run into a few real ones," Caitlin added.

"Actually, she has to be alive," Talos answered. "See, we Skrulls may be able to mimic an appearance perfectly but personality and memories is the tricky part. You've no doubt run into a few folks who gave themselves away off some minor detail. Hell, I fell for the old 'mention a secret operation that never happened' trick once. We have tech that gives us access to some prominent memories and can fake it but for a long-term infiltration operation, keeping the original alive makes sense. They'd be using her to keep up appearances with her personality, some memory access and the fact that should things go south, they can bolt and just drop her behind. More than once, some poor sap took the heat for what one our agents actually did."

Bucky glared at him. "You realize how that sounds."

"Oh, I'm sorry is the former assassin casting moral judgments on the actions of a race at war?" Talos waved a hand. "I never claimed our folks were saints but most of us are trying to change."

Oliver suddenly slammed his chair back, causing most of the group to jump. He moved to get into Talos' face with a hard look. "I don't give a damn about you, your war, your people, any of it. If you're saying Felicity is out there and..." He caught himself. "Laurel is still alive...then I'm getting answers where I can." He turned to storm out of the room. Diggle followed him with Talos falling in behind them. Oliver burst into the interrogation room, his eyes fixed on Lyja. For her part, the Skrull simply sat there, calmly looking back at him.

The long silence was broken by Oliver's quiet but hard tone. "How long?"

It looked like Lyja wasn't going to answer before finally speaking in a voice now marked by an odd accent. "We made the switch right before your trip to Nanda Parbat to face Ra's." At his jarred expression, she nodded. "That's right. You've never been with the real Felicity." She leaned back in her chair. "But don't worry. You don't have to worry about any alien diseases, I took on a form human right down to perfect DNA."

"She right," Talos intoned. "Really, for all intents and purposes, you were mating with a human all along." He saw Oliver's glare. "Course, you may not care for the nuances..."

Oliver looked back at Lyja. "Why her?" he hissed. "Why Felicity?"

"I was told because of how valuable she'd be as the tech supervisor," Lyja stated. "Her closeness to Ray Palmer also helped. I was also to pave the way for another agent to take the place of Laurel and then get close to you. Which we pulled just before that prison riot with Darkh." She shuffled in her chair. "Then Darkh had to stab her and the decision was made to remove her for worries that her recovering too quickly from a mortal wound could be suspicious. Took a little doing but faking a death is pretty easy for us."

She leaned back in her chair. "After that, my orders shifted to do what it took to get closer to you and try and give us an in. I'd say you becoming mayor worked out pretty well for our plans."

"Which are?"

Lyja shrugged. "'Above my pay grade' isn't just a human phrase. Really, I was surprised they targeted her too but was told it was part of some long game. But suffice to say, Paibok thinks we can make a good push on this Earth."

Talos snorted. "God, that man always had an over-inflated opinion of his abilities..."

Lyja glared at him. "Just because he cares for our history and wants to restore us to glory..."

"How many has he got, Lyja?" Talos snapped. "A few dozen? Maybe, at best, a hundred? How long is that going to last against a regular Earth, let alone one backed with metahumans?"

"How many worlds fell to us with just a few agents on the ground?" Lyja retorted. "Hell, half the time we didn't even need to do more than spread dissension, let them tear each other apart, and then roll in to take over."

"When we had armadas under our control," Telos fired back. "Not this." He shook his head. "Honestly, you don't get what a waste this is? We should be looking to the future, Lyja, not trying to return to a past that, frankly, you all love to paint as some golden age when it wasn't."

Lyja snorted. "You've always been weak, Talos. Even before you met that human. We were an incredibly powerful race who dominated the stars, we weren't meant to be hiding in some rag-tag world!"

"You. Can't. Win." Talos snapped.

Lyja smirked. "You have no idea how much we have going for us, Talos. For old time's sake, Paibok may give you a chance to join. Otherwise..."

Oliver banged his fist on a chair for attention. "Again, not caring for the intergalactic fight here." He leaned into Lyja's face. "Where is she?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Now which one do you mean? Felicity...or Laurel?" As Oliver's jaw tightened, Lyja continued. "I did my best to fit in and try to win you over but I could tell I was always the second choice. I wonder how the real Felicity takes it. Oh, she was rocked to hear about some stuff I've done yet I reminded her I was just enhancing some of what she already believed and acted. She also would have bankrupted Palmer Tech and her refusing to sacrifice Monument Point would have led to bigger problems. Plus, that infatuation with you would have gotten her in trouble anyway."

Lyja shrugged. "I did let my temper get the best of me now and then. Like with Black Siren, I was afraid you'd wonder how suddenly Felicity could knock her out with a single punch but somehow you missed it. Oh, that reminds me..." She shifted in her chair, seeming to wince as she leaned forward. Oliver was frowning as a small chip-shaped object emerged from the small of Lyja's back. She rose enough for it to hit the floor then used her boot to kick it over toward him. "You might as well return that to Holt, inform him that it never worked at all. But let him know I am grateful, having to spend so long faking being paralyzed to win your sympathy would have been annoying so it was a terrific excuse to be up on my feet so soon." She chuckled. "Honestly, you'd think he'd have insisted on watching the 'operation' himself rather than just take my word I was doing anything other than lounging in a room with my crew reading a book. Then again, you humans can be so short-sighted."

"What about Laurel? She's still alive?'

"Last I heard," Lyja said as if discussing a sports game. "I admit, we were thrown when Black Siren showed up posing as her, I had to keep her existence silent from you as I was worried it might muddle things up. But she's there, I'm sure she and Felicity must be having some fascinating conversations in between whatever my teammates have planned for them." She shifted. "I am happy to finally come clean on all this. It was tricky working behind the scenes with Evelyn and such."

Oliver's eyes widened. "You knew she was with Prometheus."

"Of course we did," Lyja smirked. "Why do you think I pressed on you to let her join the team? Again, I don't know exactly why Paibok is so focused on you and such but I'm a soldier so orders are orders. If that meant doing my best to undermine you and try and sway you on darker paths, so be it." She shifted again in her chair. "I admit, being Dusted was a bit of an eye-opener and made me realize Diaz's games may be too dangerous. The way you were considering giving yourself up to the Feds, exposing your identity? That was not going to work for us so encouraging you to take him down was the best course of action."

Oliver just glared at her. "So...it was all a lie?"

Lyja's face was serene. "I'm a spy. It's what we do. I won't apologize for my duty. And I won't tell you where they are, no matter what you do to me." She saw his fist clench and smirked. "I was turned to dust and came back and frankly amazed I managed to hold my shape during it. Do you think you can intimidate me with a little torture? Ask Talos what the Shi'ar are like, you're a piker compared to them."

Oliver looked to the male Skrull who shrugged. "Hate to admit but she raises a good point. We're all trained to take some nasty stuff and frankly, you lot can't quite match what we can withstand."

Oliver was tight-lipped before turning to march out of the room. Diggle gave Lyja a long look before following his friend. He saw him leaning on the wall with his hands on the surface. Diggle knew asking if his friend was okay was foolish but had to say something. "You can't blame yourself."

"Why not?'

"Come on, Oliver, who could have seen this coming? I sure as hell didn't and I've known her as long as you."

"Not like I did."

"Again, can't blame yourself. You do that too much as it is."

"It was right there, John. Right in front of me." Oliver shook his head. "How she brushed off the deaths at Monument Point, not seeming to care about Ray's company... Okay, the pride was always there, we know she had that when she started but it got even worse. Then taking out Siren, being so much more strident, even more selfish, hijacking Iris' wedding, pressing me more on taking on Evelyn, ignoring others' advice..."

"Hey, Oliver, how many times have we both brushed off personality shifts? Hell, Thea's joining Malcolm should have been damn obvious and we both missed it." Diggle rubbed a hand across his brow. "Not like I'm in a position to be judging on mood swings, some of my actions could be seen out of character. The point is, even if we'd seen something off, exactly how were we going to jump to some alien?"

Oliver's face was set. "Still...that she's out there with Laurel, held captive for years and never knew it..."

Diggle studied him. "Lyja...may be a liar on a lot of things but she is dead right on you and Laurel. I saw it, so did Thea and Roy and I'm sure even the real Felicity did. I saw how torn up you were at her death, more than you would have been at Felicity falling to Darkh."

Oliver sighed deeply. "I know...I still loved her, all the way to the end. A lot of me did even with...her." He couldn't even say the alien's name. "To think she's still out there, alive all along..."

Diggle leaned on the wall next to him, mulling his words. "I haven't been there for you like I should have in the last year." As Oliver looked at him, Diggle held up a hand. "Don't say it hasn't been that bad, because it has. I got my blind spot with Andy, I let my own crap get to me. I spent too long judging you and being on a high horse when I was as bad. I've been a crap partner and a worse friend." He looked at Oliver. "But I know you, Oliver. You're the best man I've ever met in my life. You've made hard choices and I shouldn't have judged you without knowing how you've handled it. I'm sorry about that."

Oliver was quiet as Diggle went on. "Which is why I know you can get over this. Okay, I'm not going to say I know what you're going through exactly but I was fooled by her too. Same with Thea and the rest. Now, we can spend a while beating ourselves up and going over what we should have done but pretty sure Barry will tell us that trying to fix the past is a bad bet. The only thing we can do is move ahead and that means getting them both back." He put a hand to Oliver's shoulder. "I"m there. I'm with you every step of the way, even if it means invading a damn alien ship."

Oliver smiled. "Thanks, John," he whispered. He rubbed his face. "God, so much already, I've barely processed the idea of my grown daughter from the future..."

"That one I can't help you on," John said. "But sounds like one thing you and Barry should be able to talk over." He chuckled. "I can tell, it's no trick. If I had to dream up what the daughter of you and Laurel would be like, I couldn't do much better than her."

Oliver tapped his fingers on the wall. "I'm tempted to ask her what happens to me but I'm sure she won't answer. She hits me as really stubborn."

"Like I said, she's yours."

A cough got their attention as Talos exited the room. "Sadly, she won't talk. I know Lyja enough to know even if she wasn't so stubborn, she's afraid of what Paibok can do to her. So we need to figure out a way to fix this. Even if we could find out where they are, getting in is gonna be tricky."

Oliver frowned as he began heading toward the main part of the Lair with the other two following suit with Talos continuing. "Obviously, Lyja has a way to access the ship but it may be harder to find a way to get any of us there."

Dinah waved a hand. "Can't you just...I mean...make yourself...her?'

Talos offered a soft smile. "Sadly, due to a quirk of both genetics and fate, Skrulls can make themselves look like anyone except other Skrulls. Nope, we're gonna need her to gain access to that place and she's not cooperating."

Oliver brushed past Thea to pick up his phone dialing a number. "Constantine told me that if there was ever an issue where we had to break somebody into talking, to call in a favor from him. I guess this counts." He lifted up the phone to hear a few rings before the other end picked up.

"Speak, peon! How did you get this number?"

Frowning at the deep British accent, Oliver talked. "Um, this is Oliver Queen, John Constantine gave it to me."

"If that's meant to win my favor, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken. The only time I give Constantine a thought is to imagine the tortures awaiting him. It's almost enough to get me to go back home."

"Listen," Oliver snapped. "This is an emergency."

"Oh? Sounds serious." The voice shifted. "Well, then, Mr. Queen...tell me what it is you desire."

For some reason, Oliver felt compelled to answer. "I need you to interrogate a captured alien."

There was a pause and then a chuckle. "Well, now...That does sound like the sort of thing to spark an otherwise dull day. All right, hold on, I usually dislike the showy stuff but it sounds important."

Oliver frowned as the line went dead. Before he could do anything else, a shimmering circle of light flowed in the middle of the air. Stepping through it was a strikingly handsome man with five o'clock shadow, dressed in a dark suit, chatting on a cell phone. "Well, I am sorry, Detective but it just came up, sounds rather serious at that. I promise to be back soon." He paused as if listening to a reply and chuckle "Oh, promises, promises, Detective."

He hung up as he took in the group, the portal fading behind him. "Well, well...Folks from another Earth, the mayor of Star City, some lovely super-heroes, this is quite the gathering." He looked over May, Melinda, Yo-Yo, Caitlin, and Mia and smirked. "Oooooh, the possibilities here."

"Hey," Roy snapped at the way the man sized up Thea. "Back off."

"Oh, don't worry, you can join in too."

"Who the hell..." Mia began.

"Such a wonderful question." The man extended a hand. "Lucifer Morningstar, at your service."

Quake looked at him and laughed. "Lucifer Morningstar? As in...

"The Devil, Satan, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub, Rimmon, Shaitan, Old Scratch, makes it hell for business cards." The man smirked at her. He looked over to a disbelieving Mia. "Well, such an interesting aura, been a while since I saw someone out of time."

"The Devil," Coulson flatly stated. "We're going to listen to someone claiming to be the Devil?"

"I don't 'claim' anything, sir, I assure you, I am who I am. I never lie."

May snorted. "I may not have taken Sunday School but you're the Prince of Lies."

"No, actually, I'm not." His eyes flared and May swore she saw a flash of red deep inside that made her feel like stepping back in a rare dose of pure fear. "I am not the source of all evil, that was around way before I tempted Eve with the apple. I never started a war, I never traded in souls, every dictator in human history? That's all on you lot. Don't start blaming me for your issues, my dear, humans are the real bastards in this universe." He suddenly brightened into a smile again. "But hey, you do make wonderful vodka!"

"If you're the Devil, why are you not running Hell?" Mack asked, still disbelieving.

"Everyone keeps asking me that," Lucifer sighed. "Like I don't deserve a break from the same job after thousands of years? Believe me, the place can run itself just fine. After all, anyone can leave, they just don't feel they deserve to." He grinned. "Some folks do just love wallowing in their sin and allow me to have a little fun up here."

"So you what, set up shop selling souls?" Daisy was still in disbelief.

"I never barter souls, a waste of my time. I run a nightclub in Los Angeles, Lux. Oh, and I do help consult with the LAPD on occasion."

That got him more stares. "Let me get this straight," Bucky stated. "The Devil leaves Hell, comes to L.A. and helps the police solve crimes?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound like the ridiculous plot of some streaming service television show but I assure you, it's true."

Mia glared at him. "We're supposed to trust some nutjob?"

"Ah, it comes down to this." Lucifer looked at Mia, his voice shifting. "Tell me...what is it you desire?"

Mia blinked as an odd feeling washed over her. "I...I want my mom back for my real family."

"Ah, family issues, a platinum artist at that old song." Lucifer looked around as Mia shook her head in confusion. "This should be an intriguing conversation."

"You gonna help us or not?" Mack demanded.

Lucifer pointed at him. "You remind me of my brother. Tall, dark, annoyed by me but much more handsome." Lucifer slapped his hands together. "So then...where is this little minx of an alien to talk to?"

Oliver was still wary but led him down the hall and to the interrogation room. Lucifer merely arched an eyebrow at the sight of the alien sitting in the chair. "Oooooh, a Skrull? Been ages since I last saw one."

"Who are you?" Lyja asked. "Another human hoping to torture me?"

"Well, when it comes to torture, I am something of an expert," Lucifer said with amazing calm. "But, no, I handle this differently." He moved in, looking Lyja in the eye. "Tell me what it is you desire."

She stiffened, shuffling in her seat as if trying to fight her words. "I...I...want..." She looked to Oliver. "I want him to love me for myself, not who I'm posing as."

Oliver blinked in surprise as Lyja let out a breath, shaking her head. "Broke the first rule of espionage. Never fall in love for real."

"Except it wasn't," Oliver snapped. "Not when you were never yourself." She couldn't help but look ashamed at that.

Lucifer merely rolled his eyes. "Oh, I did not want to stumble onto some sort of soap opera here." He leaned in. "Listen, just be a good girl and give them what they want."

Lyja looked to him, regaining some of her fire. "I won't betray my people."

"I don't think you're quite getting the picture, my dear." With his back to Oliver, Lucifer's face changed. It became a twisted red mask that was purely inhuman with the bright red gleaming eyes focused on Lyja. She felt utter, bone-shaking terror looking into those eyes, seeing nothing but the promise of Hell, literally, within them. She couldn't even gasp or make a sound above squeaking as Lucifer hissed at her.

"There's a Hell for your kind, Skrull. I don't run it but I know the fellow who does and believe me, he doesn't play very nice with folks down there. Now, help these folks out and that might balance a few scales and might even try to put in a decent word for you. Don't...and you see what's in store."

Lucifer backed up, his face returning to normal as he faced Oliver, leaving Lyja panting for breath and a foul odor making Oliver realize he really didn't want to know what Skrull pee was like "I think you'll find her very much more reasonable now."

"Transmat center on the outskirts of town, leads to the ship cloaked on the dark side of your moon, I can have you there in minutes." For a few moments, Lyja was on a babble streak that would have done the classic Felicity proud.

Lucifer brushed past Oliver to reenter the main part of the Lair as the rest of the group stared in disbelief. "This has been a delightful experience, really, I'll cherish it always. I'd love to discuss things more but that would imply I actually give a damn about what's going to happen." He waved a hand to form a portal in mid-air. "Tell Constantine not to bother me again, sure I'll be seeing at least one or two of you down the line, ciao."

He paused to glance at the SHIELD agents. "Oh by the by, I would recommend trying to keep your noses clean, believe me, the fellow running things down below in your world makes me look like the angel I used to be, best to avoid him." He smiled warmly at Daisy and May. "But if you ever want to see how devilish I can be..." He placed a set of cards down on the table. "Free drinks at Lux, highly recommended, just be sure not to anger Maze. Be well, all." He vanished into the portal which winked out behind him.

Coulson slowly looked to Oliver. "You know some very fascinating people..."

Thea frowned. "That...I mean, that couldn't have been...Really..."

"I don't know," Renee mused. "But I'm lighting an extra candle at church just in case."

"I may join you," Dinah added.

Oliver just looked over at the group. "Get set and locked and loaded. We're going after them." He glanced to Barry. "I'm not asking..."

"You never have to," Barry was quick to say. "We're with you." Cisco and Caitlin nodded.

"Me too," Nora swiftly said. "I mean, Mia's mom was always so cool to me and didn't mind Felicity either so I'm in!"

Mia smirked. "You never could resist a team-up excuse." Nora beamed at that. "But again, tenth time, you're not my type."

"I can accept that."

Roy blinked. "Am I the only one who went to the scary visual place of Oliver and Barry's daughters dating?" The rest of his team gave assenting nods with Cisco and Caitlin.

Oliver nodded at the SHIELD Agents. "I assume that means you as well?'

"If you need us," Coulson stated, his team backing him up.

Oliver looked them over. "Let's go get them back."

I had considered keeping right on going for one big tale yet breaking it up like this sounded a bit better. But don't worry, working on part 2 already so not too long but this should be a nice whetting of the appetite.

And yes, expect more odd bonding of Oliver and Mia as well as more on just why Oliver seems so important to some Skrulls...