"I can't believe that you guys escaped an alien spaceship. Key words: alien spaceship. I have questions," said Cisco, unable to contain his excitement as Oliver, Ray, Sara, Dig and Nate returned to the hall.

"They can wait," replied Oliver, before turning to Nate and thanking him for taking Thea back to Star City. The dream sequence that the Dominators had placed them in had really messed with her psyche. Oliver had the fortitude to continue with the mission, but it was best for Thea to go home, "What's our status?" he asked Barry.

"Nothing since the Dominators paid their little visit to mess with our heads," replied Barry.

"Why would they do that?" asked Nate.

"What if they were trying to pit us against each other in order to gain Intel about meta-humans?" suggested Ray.

"Well, metas pose the biggest threat to their invasion. It would make sense they'd want to get to know their enemies," said Kara.

"By kidnapping people. Perhaps they were searching your minds for potential meta-human vulnerabilities," said Dr Stein.

"I think it's time we return the favour," said Oliver.

"What do you want to do? Kidnap one of them now?" asked Diggle.

"Ever since we fought off that one ship, they've kind of been in short supply," said Barry.

"Actually, I know where to find one" said Nate, before walking over to the computer screen and starting to search for video footage, "I've been reviewing old Army footage of their first encounters with the Dominators, and I think I pegged the fight to… Redmond, Oregon. 1951."

"You're suggesting we travel to 1951, abduct a Dominator, and interrogate it to determine their intentions?" asked Dr Stein.

"They kidnapped us. Seems fair," said Sara.

"Time travel. I'm definitely in," said Cisco excitedly.

"Okay, hold on, though. Professor Stein and Caitlin have been talking about a way to take down the Dominators. They could probably use your help," said Barry to Cisco.

"Pass," replied Cisco nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm with him, mostly because I just don't want to lose my geek cred, but time travel!" said Felicity, squealing with excitement.

"I could take Amaya and Mick," suggested Nate.

"Do it," replied Oliver.

"And, uh, the new president called, which would be cool under different circumstances but she wants to meet with us," said Barry.

"Let's bring Ray and Sara as backup," said Oliver.

"What about me? I can do backup," said Kara enthusiastically.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Oliver requested to Kara as he turned and walked several meters away. Kara, confused by Oliver's request, turned to Barry who simply shook his shoulders. However, Kara noticed the look of dread on Sara and Diggle's faces. They definitely knew what this was about, as they preferred to not make eye contact with Kara when they walked past her.

"I would like to minimize your involvement in this," said Oliver.

"Why? Because I'm an alien? I also happen to be your biggest weapon"

"You are an unknown quantity, and this is not personal," said Oliver, lying through his teeth.

"Except that's exactly how this feels."

"Kara, when I started living this life, it was just me. I was going up against human threats that I could handle. Then it was meta-humans, and I can handle that. Now I learn that there are multiple Earths, and that I was brainwashed aboard an alien spacecraft."

"I am sure that was unnerving but…" Kara was interrupted by Oliver.

"I don't get unnerved," he said, with that now familiar scowl of his, "When I go up against something new, I push back. Right or wrong, it is who I am, and it is what I do, so I am asking for a little bit of space because I have to draw the line somewhere. I need to claw back a sense of normalcy. Please stay here."

Oliver walked a couple of steps past her, but she wasn't letting him go anywhere. She grabbed his arm, causing him to whip around and look her dead in the eyes.

"Why don't you just cut the crap and tell me what's really going on," said Kara sternly.

"I just told you!" replied Oliver angrily.

"No, you didn't! From the moment I arrived, you have had it out for me. The second I stepped through that breach, I noticed you and your sister's reaction, and you guys have acted weird around me ever since. Tell me what's going on Oliver!"

"I don't owe you an explanation! You're not accomplishing anything by making this more difficult than it has to be. Just stay here!"

Kara had the power and speed to snap Oliver's neck without him knowing, but she was frozen in place by the tone in his voice and the scowl on his face. Sure, she'd stay, but she was going to find out what he was hiding, sooner or later.

(2 March 2013)

Oliver sped through the road on his motorbike, overtaking cars and weaving in between them when the traffic was dense. The night before, he had tried to cross Palmer Cokes' name off The List. He failed. Now, he was racing to an abandoned warehouse where Cokes was keeping Kara hostage in an attempt to draw him out. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid. He'd already put Laurel in danger twice, and now the fact that Kara had been kidnapped was truly about to drive him over the edge.

He drifted sharply into the driveway leading to the small warehouse. He quickly hopped off his motorcycle and removed his helmet as he reached the door, kicking it open and swiftly nocking an arrow, ready to fire it. His eyes immediately scanned the entire area in front of him. No sign of Cokes, but Kara was in a chair towards the centre of the warehouse with her hands tied behind her back. He let the bow string relax and withdrew a flechette before raising his hand in a reassuring way.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm going to cut you loose," said Oliver, taking several steps towards her.

"Oh I wouldn't try do that if I were you," a voice with a slight Kentucky accent echoed out from the back of the hall.

Oliver immediately recognised the voice, dropping the flechette and pulling back his bow string once more. Slowly, Palmer Cokes stepped out from the shadows, the smirk on his face becoming clearer and clearer as did the gun in his hand pointed at Kara's head.

"Take one more step towards her, and you'll be sweeping her brains off this floor," said Cokes, "You know, I figured out pretty quickly how to draw you out. You've been working with this little reporter and that attorney. What's her name again? Laurel Lance. I knew I'd only need to get one of 'em to get your attention. This one was the easier prey."

"She has nothing to do with this! Let her go!" growled Oliver.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to. I'm a reasonable man. You only need to do one thing to ensure her safety."

"What?!"

"Take off that green hood of yours. It's not often that I come across someone with a set of skills to rival my own. I want to meet the man behind the hood."

Oliver didn't move. He kept his bow drawn and his target firmly on Cokes' chest, who was now standing right behind Kara, still pointing the gun at her head.

"Or do you want me to shoot her in the head?" said Cokes sarcastically.

"No!" screamed Oliver as he relaxed the bowstring, placing the arrow back in his quiver and lifting his hands up.

"Bow on the floor, now."

Oliver carefully knelt down, placing the bow by his right foot and standing back up. He took a deep breath before raising his hands towards his head. He never ever planned on telling Kara his secret, but choosing between his secret and her life was a no-brainer for him. Her life was in the balance here, he didn't have a choice. His fingers brushed against the corners of the hood before he slowly turned it back, removing it from his head and revealing his face. The look on Kara's face changed from fear to shock in an instant.

"Ol…Oliver?" she said, the words stuttering out of her mouth.

"Oh my, oh my. Playboy Oliver Queen is the vigilante trying to save the city. I must say, that island must have been one hell of a place to turn you into this."

"You have what you want, Cokes. Let her go."

"I'm a man of my word," he said, drawing a knife from his back pocket. Oliver flinched as he withdrew it, fearing that he was going to do something else with it for a second. He slashed the restraints on Kara's hand, who immediately jumped to her feet and ran towards the exit.

"You know, it's a shame that she gets to live… because she's now going to have to live the rest of her life without you!" said Palmer who raised his gun towards Oliver. Oliver, prepared for that, had already clasped a flechette and threw it towards Cokes' hand. Cokes' groaned in pain as the flechette penetrated the extensor tendons on his right hand, preventing him from curling his right index finger over the trigger. Oliver snapped his foot up, flinging his bow up into his hands. He drew an arrow just as Cokes flung the pistol into his left hand, with Oliver firing milliseconds before Cokes pulled the trigger. The arrow knocked the gun out of Cokes' hand, but he had managed to pull the trigger once, with the bullet winging Oliver in the shoulder.

They both sprinted towards each other, with Oliver throwing the first strike. Cokes ducked under Oliver's swing of his bow, striking Oliver with the palm of his right hand before launching a knee at Oliver's midsection. Oliver blocked the knee with his forearms, dropping his bow on the floor before grabbing Cokes' head and bashing it several times with elbows. Muay Thai, one of the first martial arts he had been taught.

Cokes' freed himself from Oliver's grip by throwing an uppercut right into Oliver's diaphragm, winding him. He spun around and tossed Oliver onto the floor with a judo throw, trying to stomp Oliver's head when he was on the ground. Oliver rolled out of the way and sprung back to his feet. They sized eachother up before engaging once again. They threw various techniques at one another for several seconds. Switch kicks, spinning attacks, each one of Oliver's being more effective than his opponent. Oliver felt like he was gaining the upper hand as he managed to duck under a punch and spin around to Cokes' back.

Oliver attempted to wrap his arms around Cokes' neck, but his forearms were not on the' throat. He couldn't finish the choke, but he squeezed nonetheless, cranking the jaw back. Suddenly, he saw movement several meters in front of him. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a closer look at who it was. His eyes flared up when he identified the person.

"Kara? What the hell are you doing here? Get out of here!" screamed Oliver.

"I'm not leaving you behind Ollie!" she screamed back. Cokes' took advantage of the momentary distraction, ramming his fist into the shoulder of Oliver's that had been grazed by the bullet. The pain caused Oliver to let go of the hold, and he was quickly hit right in the gut by a spin kick, winding Oliver once again and forcing him down to one knee.

"You came back here to see him die," said Cokes towards Kara, "At least now, you'll be able to join him in the afterlife." He drew the same knife he used to cut her ropes, and readied himself to hurl it at her. He was about to fling it, before he felt a tug at his leg, forcing him off balance. The knife still left his hand, and it felt like slow-motion for Oliver as he watched it travel towards Kara.

It flew past the right side of her side, missing her by centimeters. Oliver, although slightly relieved by her survival, felt the same rage that possessed him at Iron Heights to boil up inside of him again. All of the pain had become mute as tackled Cokes to the ground, mounting him before throwing several concrete-breaking strikes at his head. Another, then another, then another.

"Ollie… Ollie!"

He was only snapped out of his rage upon hearing Kara screaming his name at the top of her lungs. He stopped himself from throwing another blow and looked towards her. A look of horror on her face. He looked back at Cokes, whose face was bruised and bleeding from every orifice, beaten beyond recognition. He could do nothing as he simply felt ashamed of what he'd done before her, feeling tremendously sorrowful as he observed the tears starting to form in her eyes. The police sirens started to become audible, and Oliver stood up, collecting his bow before walking towards the exit.

Sara stood by her gear bag in the hall, checking her staff and making sure that it was not faulty in anyway. She spun it around in her hand several times, making sure it was perfectly balanced. She'd overheard the latter part of Oliver's conversation with Kara, and she couldn't help but feel bad for both of them. Oliver was unable to cope with the embodiment of his failure and Kara not allowed to understand why. It would be best for all parties involved if this was resolved before things got ugly.

"Sara!" she heard someone call out her name, and turned to see Kara working towards her.

"Let me guess, you want to know why Oliver is alienating you?" asked Sara. She was confused for a second when Kara cracked a smile, but she immediately realised what she had just said, "No pun intended."

"Right," replied Kara, "Look, I noticed your reaction also when I first met you. I know you at least have some idea of why Oliver is acting the way he is. I know he is usually grumpy but I know something's up. Please tell me."

"Kara, what's happening with Oliver isn't something that… It's not exactly my place to tell you. The Dominators got inside our head, figuratively and literally. Oliver will come around to you, trust me, but it will happen on his own accord. Trying to push him to won't do you any favours."

"What about you?"

"Like I said, you look like someone I used to know."

"Barry, you cannot do this!" said Oliver irately. Ever since Agent Smith told Barry about the deal with the Dominators, Barry was sure that sacrificing himself to the Dominators was the right and only move.

"Oliver, you have almost sacrificed yourself countless times before. How is thing any different?"

"Because I didn't have a choice, Barry. You do. I was prepared to die because that was the only option I had, but we don't only have one option."

"Oliver, with all due respect, we're talking about aliens. I know you've fought against Mirakuru soldiers and Damien Darhk but this is a whole different ball-game. I would rather give myself in knowing that everybody I love is safe, than seeing you and everybody else get killed."

"Barry, do you really think they're going to be content with just you? You really think that they're not going to come back and exterminate other metas just because they have you."

"I'm sorry, Oliver. This isn't up for debate," said Barry before walking away from Oliver. Oliver sighed heavily, pinching his brow. Trying to convince Barry not to be the hero for once was difficult. He was way too prepared to give in.

"Any luck with Barry?"

Oliver heard the voice echo from behind him. It was Diggle.

"He's stubborn," replied Oliver.

"At least you know how I feel talking to you sometimes," quipped Diggle, walking closer to Oliver. Oliver cracked a half-smile before looking at Dig and recognising the all too familiar posture and facial expression, "I've seen that look on your face before, John."

"Yeah, right before I'm about to give you a lecture or tell you how full of crap you are."

"Right. Which one is it?"

"You know, Kara went to Sara and asked why you were behaving the way you were around her."

"Did she tell her anything?"

"Nope. Sara and I both agreed that it was best that she heard it from you." Oliver let out a deep breath before replying to Dig.

"Diggle, I can't tell her that she looks like the woman I loved. It's not just that she looks like her. She smiles like her, laughs like her. I have to stay focused on the mission."

"Oliver, I get that. Totally. Look, I know the Dominators screwed with your head man, but getting on the wrong side of her before this fight is ill-advised. When she came here, she respected you more than anyone else here, but she is slowly losing that respect. Make things right with her Oliver, quickly."