Discovery Devotion Destiny

by kayemen22

In the blink of an eye, everything changed. Oliver now had to figure out how to balance being the Mayor of Star City with being the Green Arrow. He had to do it all while being the parent to a crawling baby and a mischevous teen. New enemies would threaten all of it. He's going to need his wife...except she doesn't even remember he's her husband. Or that she has freaky powers.

24. Invasion: Part III

Chapter 24

Invasion: Part III

"Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good."

― Elizabeth Edwards

---

It was her face. Grace Robins. It had been years since Katie had taken a moment to just think of her mother. To sit and remember her, remember her face or her voice, her laugh or her relentless attempts to be funny.

Given everything that had happened, it was logical that Thea would want to sit the rest of the fight out. So she volunteered to watch Robyn and Ari since Nyssa had skipped out and was nowhere to be found. Nate navigated his time ship to the large backyard of Bruce and Felicity's where they were now. Katie sat on the edge of the bed in the guest room after her shower. She'd just changed before she sat down, once again pulled back to that face. A knock at the door brought her back to reality. She looked up and stood to her feet.

"Uh, come in." she said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She turned to see Ari who came in and folded her arms over her chest.

"Look I already know what you're going to say and-"

"Stop talking Ari." Katie says turning to the girl who rolled her eyes before turning away. "You bought a plane ticket and took that plane from Blue Hill to Star City alone."

"You and Oliver were MIA!" Ari snapped turning back to the woman. "Something was wrong and I needed to figure out what."

"No you needed to do what we told you to do. We told you to stay with Robyn and Nyssa. Instead you put yourself in danger." Ari just shakes her head as she turns away. "I needed you to be responsible Ari." Ari turned back to her.

"No you were abducted by aliens. You needed help." Ari said before turning and stalking out of the room.

Katie let out a sigh before following the girl out of the room. "Ari! Get back here, we're not finished!" Ari continued walking, heading downstairs, stopping at the sight of Bruce who glanced from the girl to Katie.

"It's your fault!" she yelled at the man. "She's gone! You yelled at her, and you-"

"Ari, stop!" Katie said moving to stand beside Bruce. "You think Nyssa left because Bruce yelled at her?" Ari turned away. "Nyssa didn't care about Bruce yelling her, hell she barely listens to Bruce." Ari still refused to turn around. "You know why she left and yet you're determined to point the finger at everyone but yourself." Ari dropped her shoulders and looked down. Katie let out a sigh. "You're going home with Thea and Robyn." Ari lifted her eyes. "These Dominators still need to be stopped and so we need to go."

"And what happens when you're abducted again?" Ari just let out a huff before turning and stalking upstairs to get her things.

"She reminds me of you." Bruce suddenly said and Katie turned with a quirked brow to him. "She doesn't listen to anyone, and does the opposite of what she's told when she thinks she's doing the right thing." Katie just looked at him with a shake of her head. "Forget it." Bruce turned to walk off.

"You yelled at Nyssa." Katie suddenly said and Bruce stopped and turned to her.

"Not you too. Listen, she was standing there yelling at your daughter. She's lucky I didn't do much worse than yell at her." Bruce said and Katie just looked over to him with amusement. "I can't believe Oliver asked her to be your back up. I can't believe you let him. You shouldn't have trusted her with those kids."

"And yet I did." Katie said with a shrug. "I think I still do." Bruce looked over to her like she was crazy. "The demon doesn't train us on how to take care of a child. To be vulnerable to those emotions, to be caring and to be lost and confused. He taught us to always win, but with a child the solution isn't always obvious. Sometimes you just make it up as you go."

"You're defending her."

"No, but I know they were safe with her. I know she probably did her absolute best and I also know that you probably caught her at the moment she realized she was out of her depth." Bruce shook his head. "I get it. I know how hard it is to admit that she isn't the evil, soulless person who hurt us. To not remember all those terrible things she did, but for me to believe that I'm not things I've done, I kind of have to give others the benefit of the doubt as well." Bruce didn't say anything as he stood in front of her, his eyes still not looking at her and Katie just sighed. "Thank you Bruce." he turned to her with a quirked brow. "In a moment you felt my child needed help, you stepped in and I really appreciate it."

"This was a step, wasn't it?" Bruce asked with a slight smile. "You're breaking." Katie rolled her eyes before walking from the man. "Sooner or later, you're going to be my friend again Robins!"

Katie walked into the kitchen to see Thea, Felicity and Sara standing near the back window.

"What's Bruce yelling about?" Felicity glanced over to Katie.

"I don't know." Katie said walking over to see what the women were looking at. She looked out to see Oliver outside, Robyn in his arms as he walked around the yard with her. "What's going on?"

"I tried to take Robyn from Oliver, but she wouldn't let him go." Thea said sadly as she looked out to her brother and his daughter.

"Yeah, she started screaming with this tight grip around his neck." Sara said looking over to Katie. "She's strong, and also stubborn. She's definitely you and Oliver's kid." Katie let out a chuckle before moving past them and walking out of the door. Katie walked over to Oliver who glanced over just as she took a seat in one of the patio chairs.

"I hear she's not letting you go." Katie says and Oliver just lets out a sigh as he continues to walk with the girl who's head is resting on his shoulder. "Maybe she sensed that it was you who didn't want to let her go."

"No one is tearing her from my arms crying." Oliver said placing a kiss to Robyn's head. "When she's ready to let me go, then we can leave, but only when she's ready." Katie looked over to Robyn whose eyes were wide open, her hands wrapped behind Oliver gripping his shirt.

"She hasn't been to sleep since we got here."

"I know." Oliver sighed. "I've been trying to get her to sleep but she's not going for it."

Katie looked at the girl. "She closed her eyes and you were gone and then she closed her eyes again and I was gone." Katie let out a sigh. "You think she believes that if she falls asleep we'll be gone again." Katie shook her head.

"Felicity said that she was calling for us when she woke up. That she was crying, calling out for us." Oliver said looking over to Katie. "I never want her to feel that I'm not here when she needs me and for three days she thought we abandoned her."

"Oliver she's one." Katie says and he looks over to her. "At most she probably just missed you. I don't think she believes we abandoned her." Oliver didn't say anything as he continued walking with her.

"They made me forget her." Oliver suddenly said and Katie watched as he placed a kiss to the child's head. "They took every memory I had of her and made it seem as if she didn't exist."

"Which is why we have to stop them." Katie says standing to her feet and walking over to him. "Whatever they're planning, it's probably not good." she stopped beside him and smiled at Robyn whose eyes were open and looking at her. "Hey Little Bird." Katie leaned forward, placing a kiss to the girl's cheek and then another on her head.

"Mama," Robyn tiredly whined.

"Oh," Katie brought an arm around the girl, and Robyn tiny hand reached for her letting Katie pull her from her father's arms. "It's ok." she bounced the girl gently against her chest. Katie turned to Oliver who sighed as he slid a hand over his face before turning to Katie. Katie closed her eyes and began softly humming as she continued rocking Robyn. Oliver smiled slightly as he watched them. He still really couldn't believe it. These things went into his head and took his family away. "She was never gone." Katie opened her eyes and looked over to Oliver. "No matter what they did to us, they couldn't take her away." Oliver placed a hand on Robyn's back and let out a heavy sigh. "She's why we're back. Why we couldn't accept that life. Why we fought it."

"It was a life without her and a life without her doesn't make sense." Oliver says placing a kiss to the back of Robyn's head. "But Twinkie, it was close."

"Liver, you shoot at bad guys with arrows who shoot bullets. It's always close."

"yeah, but in those situations, I at least have some control of the situation. This time, I was taken to a spaceship."

"Yeah, and you woke up and got us off of that space ship." Katie replied reaching out and placing a hand on his chest. "You got us home Oliver. You got us back to her and Ari." Oliver placed a kiss to Katie's head. "I should probably try to talk to her again."

"No, I'll talk to her." Oliver said looking down to Robyn.

"I'll see if Robyn will go with Thea now." Katie says and Oliver turned to her. "But only if she's ready."

Oliver placed a kiss to Robyn's head before turning and heading inside of the house.

Once alone, Katie began walking with the child. "Alright baby, I need you to know something." Katie tilted her head to look down to the girl. "Mommy and daddy will always, always come back to you. I know you were sad, and scared because we weren't there, but I promise we will always be here for you." she hugged the girl to her chest. "You know I got to see your grandma again. I mean it really wasn't her, just this illusion I guess, but it felt real, she-" Katie closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I know how it feels to miss your mommy and I never want you to feel that way." she placed a kiss to the child's head. "I promise to do everything in my power to make sure no one ever takes me and daddy away from you." Katie opened her eyes and glanced down to the child and smile to see Robyn's eyes closed as she slept.

Oliver stood outside of the guest room before knocking.

"Go away!" Ari called. Oliver shook his head before reaching forward and pushing open the door. Ari turned to him. "I didn't say you could come in, so just-" Oliver didn't say anything as he just walked in.

"Ari, sit down." Oliver said and the girl just turned away with a shake of her head. "Ari the last forty eight hours have been absolutely terrible. You have no idea what we're dealing with right now, and for us to come back and to find out that you totally disregarded the one thing we told you to do. I brought you to Blue Hill to keep you safe, and then you leave. How could you be so irresponsible?!"

"And how could you go off and fight freaking aliens and not tell me?!" she snapped angrily. "You both just disappeared and when I called, you didn't answer. What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to stay in Blue Hill where we left you because no matter where we were you are supposed to know that we can take care of ourselves and that we were coming back." Ari crossed her arms over her chest and turned away.

"And what happens when you don't come back?" Ari asked glancing over to him and he could see the girl fighting tears. "Look I get it. It was stupid but I couldn't just do nothing. Something felt wrong and I couldn't help but feel like you guys needed help and as it turns out you did." she turned away. "I needed you guys back because you needed to be here. We need you here." Oliver looked over to the girl, that guilt once again in his gut. Robyn wasn't the only one he'd let down and he let out a sigh.

"Hey Ari-" Oliver walked over to her, but she didn't turn to him. "I think the first thing you should know is that you really are in trouble." the girl scoffed with a shake of her head. "The second thing you should know is that we love you and that whenever we're not with you and Robyn, we make it a point to make sure we come back to you." he brought his arms around her, but she didn't return the hug. Oliver sighed as he placed a kiss to the top of the stubborn teen's head. After a moment, she dropped her head to his chest. "Thea is staying, you're going to go home with her. She is to know where you are at all times. No more running away because despite what you believe, it really isn't safe. I told you once that for me to do this, I need to know you're safe." he pulled back and looked down to the girl who turned to him. "I need you to be safe."

"Fine." she sighed turning away. Oliver placed a kiss to her head before pulling away and heading out to leave, but stopped short. She glanced over to him with a quirked brow. "What's wrong?" he glanced back to her and shook his head.

"I just-" he sighed. "I don't know how-" he suddenly remembered their conversation about the possibility of her going back to her Heather. Oliver had this picture in his head of his family. The people in his life that made his world turn and one Arianna Locke was one of those people. He wants to tell her that. He wants to tell her that he doesn't want her to go. He wants to tell her that they really want to adopt her so she could be their daughter. He wants to tell her so much, but he knows he can't. He doesn't want to be selfish. He just shakes his head. "Nothing. Just finish getting packed up, maybe you can try to get some more sleep once you get home." she just gave a nod before turning and grabbing her bag.

Soon Oliver stood at the driver's side door of his sister's car. He glanced back to Ari and Robyn in the backseat before turning to his sister.

"You sure you're alright?" Oliver asked and Thea sighed turning away.

"At this point, I'm not quite sure." Thea said turning back to her brother. "Right now I'm alright enough to be super-aunt so that's what I'm going to be." Oliver gave a nod before placing a kiss to her head.

"Hank has a team already there waiting for you to arrive. If anything doesn't feel right, don't hesitate to grab them and leave." Oliver said and Thea gave a nod. Oliver took a step back and closed her door before walking back to the back door, pulling it open. He smiled down to his daughter who was still sleeping before leaning down and placing a kiss to her head. When he glanced over to Ari, she was avoiding his gaze as she looked out the window. He simply placed a hand on her shoulder letting out a sigh as he pulls back and closes the door.

"Ollie-" Thea says and he turns to her. She gives him a look. Make sure you come back. He understands and he gives her a nod before she starts the car and pulls out of the driveway. Ari finally turns as they get further away from the house to see Oliver still standing there giving a small wave.

"What if they can't win this?" Ari suddenly asked and Thea glanced up to the rear view mirror to see a quiet tear fall from the teen's eye.

"Ari, we made it off of an alien space ship. These things aren't as smart as they think they are. And I have to assume they don't know who they're messing with. Ollie, Katie, the team. They're good at what they do and they can do this."

Oliver sighed when Thea's car was finally out of sight. He turned, heading back into the house. He searched around a bit before hearing voices in the kitchen where he found Sara, Felicity and Bruce who turned to them.

"Where's Twinkie?" he asked.

"She went back outside." Felicity said nudging her head. Oliver turned and Felicity moved to stop him. "Sara told us about how you found her on the ship. Are we sure she's alright?" Oliver lifted his eyes to the door that lead to the backyard.

"Right now she's safe. I'm going to keep her that way." Oliver moved around the woman and walked outside to find her standing there in the yard. She didn't turn or make any indication that she heard him. "Hey, Twinkie-" he placed a hand on her waist and moved around to meet her eyes, only they were closed. "Twinkie?" her eyes opened and she turned to him. "What's going on?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, I was just-" Katie let out a sigh as she turned in his arms. She glanced back to the house. "Are Thea and the kids gone?" she shook her head. "I don't think I would've been able to watch them go." she sighed before turning back to Oliver who was still watching her. "We should probably be getting back." she moved to head back to the house, but Oliver's hands on her waist kept her planted in front of him. "Liver-"

"Tell me what's wrong." he said and Katie closed her eyes. "Twinkie-"

"I miss my mom." she whispered to him before dropping her eyes. "And I never really acknowledged that. She died and yes I was sad about it, and I cried but I never really faced the fact that she was gone. That weird illusion or whatever made me realize just how much I miss her." she lifted her eyes to him. Oliver brought his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She chuckled as she brought her arms around him. "I forgot how corny she was. Her jokes were terrible."

Oliver chuckled. "Reminds me of someone I know." he placed a kiss to her head. They stood there for a few moments longer trying to extend this moment of stillness and quiet.

"We have to go." Katie said pulling back and looking up to meet the man's eyes. He looked down to her, knowing she was right and yet he didn't want to let this moment go. This moment with just him and her and no immediate dangers lurking. He gave a nod before taking her hand and heading back inside.

Back on the time ship Oliver stood at the view port. They were far above the clouds at the moment and he couldn't help his wandering thoughts. He assumed the mission was simple. Aliens were on earth and they needed to be stopped, but now there was the possibility that his wife was also a target and that just made him want to grab her and the kids and just fall off of the grid to keep them all safe.

"Hey," a hand touched his arm and he turned to Sara who'd been watching the man. "You've been in deep thought for a while. What's up?"

"Nothing, just never expected my life to get as crazy as aliens and time ships." Oliver said and Sara chuckled as she looked out the window as well.

"Story of my life." she said with a shake of her head. She nudged his arm. "But that's not what you were thinking about, was it?" Oliver let out a sigh as he looked back out to the window. "She's going to be fine." Oliver didn't say anything. "You know in that whole freak illusion or whatever, as much as I wanted some of it to be real, the being with my sister and my dad and having those moments that were taken from me, it didn't feel right."

"Which part?"

"Well the you part." she said and he turned to her with a quirked brow. "You and Laurel getting married." Oliver let out a sigh as he shook his head. "I actually attempted to get her to call it off multiple times, but she was just so adamant." she turned to Oliver. "I just couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't supposed to marry you." she shrugged. "Now I'm wondering if that's how it would've played out if things had gone differently."

"No, it wouldn't." Oliver said. "I wouldn't have let it gotten that far with Laurel." Sara fell back to lean against the wall as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You sound sure about that." she said and Oliver turned to her. "C'mon Oliver. Think about you and Laurel. You two were in love. Take the whole you and me thing out of the equation and Queen gambit and what's left is you and Laurel being the ones getting married." Oliver shook his head.

"It would've only taken one time." Oliver said with a slight smile as he turned away. "One time to run into Katie at a party or in coffee shop or just on the street and that would've been it." he turned back to Sara. "It's always been her, even when I didn't know it." Sara gave the man a smile and watched as he turned and let his eyes scan the ship, a frown coming to his face.

"She went for a walk. She said she wanted to look around."

"I should-" Oliver nudged his head before moving to walk away.

"Hey Ollie?" she said and the man stopped and turned back to her. "This is kind of a big fight." Oliver quirked a brow unsure why she felt the need to point out the obvious. "It's going to require all of your focus."

"If there's something you want to say Sara, you should say it." Oliver said turning fully to the woman.

"Fine, it just seems like when it comes to her, your attention isn't always on the matter at hand. On that spaceship, you weren't thinking. We were on an alien spaceship and you turned every corner without a second thought. It was risky." Oliver just looked at the woman with a shake of his head. "And even before that, in the hallucination in that last fight, you almost got yourself killed because instead of focusing on the bastard kicking your ass you were focused on her." Oliver heard her, heard the logic and he knew she was right. He also knows he wouldn't have done anything differently. "Look maybe I'm crossing a line here and-"

"You are." Oliver said suddenly and the woman stopped talking. Oliver looked over to her and just shook his head. "Just find me when it's time to land." the man let out a huff before turning and stalking off. He honestly had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get far away from words he already knew. He turned down a hall, his eyes glancing up finally spotting his wife who was sitting on some metal bench attached to the wall of the ship as she propped herself up to stare out the window. Oliver let out a sigh as he walked over and took a seat beside her.

She glanced over to him with a smile. "Hey you." he looked over to her with a smile.

"You found a window." Oliver said and Katie sighed before turning to looking back out to the clouds. "What are you thinking about?"

"So many things." she sighed.

Oliver looked over to her waiting for her to elaborate and yet she just continued to look out the window. "Tell me one of those things." Katie turned, dropping her head against the window as she looked over to Oliver who was still watching her.

"Ok, I'm thinking about you, me..." she bit the corner of her lip. "Naked with waffles and syrup." Oliver chuckled as she lifted her legs to rest in his lap. Oliver's hand slid up her leg to her thigh.

"Sounds...sticky." he said and Katie laughed.

"Well yeah, it will be, but there are ways around that if you're willing to get a little creative." she glanced around to make sure they were still alone before she slid over into his lap. She pulled on leg to the other side to straddle his lap as she crossed her arms behind his neck. Oliver lightly groaned as his hands moved over her hips. He lifted his eyes to hers but after a moment he dropped his head back closing his eyes and sighing. "Or not?" he opened his eyes and shook his head.

"No that's not—that's definitely a plan I can get behind, it's just something Sara said." Oliver said and Katie looked over to him in confusion. "She says I haven't been focused." Katie looked at him for a moment and let out a sigh.

"Because of me." he turned and didn't say anything. She silently slid from his lap and he shook his head turning to her as he watched her slide a bit to place some distance from him. "She's right." she slid a hand over her face.

"We never tried to figure this part out." Oliver looked over to the woman who turned her eyes to him. "I don't know how to not focus on you when you're around me. I don't know how to not worry about, to not search for you. I know you're not just my wife and the mother to our kids, you're—you're a hero, but I don't-" he reached out a hand to hers, but she moved to stand to her feet.

"We have to figure this out." she said and he stood to his feet, but she took a step back. "Right now aliens are here and we need to focus. No more distractions." she nudged her head. "I'm going to find somewhere to wait until we land." she began backing away. "Which we can't do together."

"Twinkie, wait, just-"

"She was right Liver. But it's not just you. You can swallow the whole world when we're together and I'm all too happy to let you. Pair that with the lack of sex and all the sexual tension and me focusing on anything else will be next to impossible. So you just stick to your side of the time ship and I'll stick to mine." with that she turned stopping at the sight of Sara who came around the corner.

"Oh we were about to-" Sara didn't even finish the sentence as Katie walked passed her. She turned to Oliver with a quirked brow. She saw the frown on his face and sighed. "You told her what I said." Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to the woman. "Look I'm just trying to watch your back. You without both eyes on the mission at hand puts you at risk. How will you stop these things if you're too busy focused on Twinkie?" he didn't say anything as he moved passed her.

Once the ship landed back in Central City outside of the hangar, they all filed out. Oliver glanced over to Katie who hadn't said or even looked in his direction since their conversation. Her tactics to force him to focus were definitely not working. He was about to walk over to her but she stopped and so did he following her eyes. That's when he saw them. Not too far from the hangar was Constantine and Zatanna.

"I'm going to-" Katie gestured over to the pair and Oliver turned to her and she could see the objection in his eyes. "I just want to see if they've figured out anything." she turned and began walking without waiting for a response, but she did hear his footsteps behind her. She stopped walking and turned back to him. "This is part of the problem, you realize that don't you?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what the exact problem is and I don't care. I just need to know you're safe and that you will make sure you stay safe." he said and Katie shook her head. "Twinkie-" she turned back to him.

"Oliver, if I'm going to be a member of this team, you have to actually treat me like one. You have to trust that I will be safe and in the event that unsafe things happen, you have to trust that I can find a way out of it."

"Except you haven't always found your way out it." he said and she once again turned away. "You're not just another member on this team, you know that. That's why I can't-" he let out another sigh and she turned back to him. He didn't finish the sentence, but she didn't need him to. He would always worry about her. Even when he should be worrying about himself and that's something she couldn't have. She walked over to stand in front of him.

"Ok." she said simply and he looked at her for a moment, unsure of what she was saying. "I'm going to head to Star Labs—wait there until this is all over."

"That's not what I-"

"Except, that's how this can work. You will know where I am, and know that I'm safe and you will be able to focus on what you should be focusing on right now." she shook her head. "Maybe that's what we have to realize. No matter how much I wish I could be the one watching your back, I won't risk you being so worried about me that you won't watch your own." they heard footsteps walking over, but didn't turn away from each other.

"Um, hey guys, sorry-" it was Barry who'd come out to make sure they were ok. "Is everything alright?" they didn't say anything for a moment before Katie turned to the speedster with a slight smile.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I was just telling Oliver that I was going to head over to Star Labs." Barry looked over to her in confusion before turning to Oliver who hadn't stopped looking at her. She turned back to Oliver and sighed. "I think it would be best if everyone here was on their best game and that doesn't happen when I'm here." she turned back to Barry who was already shaking his head.

"You can't be serious." he said before turning to Oliver. "Ollie?"

"Barry, just-" Oliver looked over to Barry. "Just give us a minute." Barry looked like he wanted to object, but he just sighed before turning to Katie.

"You know, you told me that the only thing that stands between the Dominators succeeding was the team of people I brought here. You said each person here has a purpose and you were right. Look I don't know what this is about, but if I can give my opinion on the matter then I say I think you should stay, and I'm almost positive, everyone in there feels the same." with that Barry gave a nod before turning and heading back into the hangar.

Katie turned back to Oliver who was looking back to her. "How do we do this?" he didn't say anything for a moment before lifting his eyes over to Constantine and Zatanna who now stood looking in their direction. He dropped his eyes back to Katie.

"You go over there and I go in there and we try to finish this thing." Oliver said and Katie smiled taking a slight step forward, but stopping herself.

"I was going to kiss you but that probably wouldn't help our issue with focusing." she said and he just shook his head reaching for her only for her to slip out of reach. "Go," she said before turning and walking away. He stood there for a moment, really wanting to just stand there and keep his eyes on her the whole time just so he knows she's alright. But she was right. He needed to trust her and so he turned and headed inside of the hangar. He let out a sigh before walking over.

Barry came up beside him and Oliver just looked over and gave a slight nod. Oliver turned his eyes to the rest of the group.

"What's the status?" He asked.

Katie looked between Constantine and Zatanna as she walked over. They both silently stared back as she neared. It was Constantine who closed the distance, coming uncomfortably close that she had to take a slight step back.

"What—what are you doing?" she looked from the man to Zatanna who was watching her as well. "What's wrong?"

"You were gone." Zatanna said and Katie looked over in confusion.

"Well yeah, I was in space in some weird alien illusion." she said looking over to Constantine who was still ridiculously close so she gave him a shove. "Will you back up." he stumbled back. Katie looked between the worried glances from the pair. "What's really going on?"

"You were gone." Zatanna said again, taking a step forward. Katie looked from the woman to the man finally understanding what she was inferring.

"Are you saying I was dead?" she asked but neither answered. The silence was answer enough. She turned away with a shake of her head. "They were doing something to me." she turned back to them. "The others seem to think they were trying to siphon my-" she looked down to her hands and sighed before turning away and looking up to the sky. "It didn't work. Whatever they were trying to do it didn't work."

"Well it couldn't." Constantine said and she turned to him. "Your abilities, love, are sort of beyond the realm of both intelligent and unintelligent life. It's embedded into every fiber of your being. It can't exist outside of you." Katie didn't know what to say to that. There were so many thoughts running through her head and she couldn't quite verbalize them at the moment. She turned her back to them, her eyes looking over to the hangar before once again glancing up to the sky.

"Their attempt to take your powers literally killed you." Zatanna said.

"But it didn't." Katie replied turning back to them. "I survived some how." she glanced back up to the sky.

"What are you thinking about over there, love?"

"Out of everyone on that ship, I was the only one with abilities. Abilities they seemed to have a whole room and devices to take. They came into contact with both Barry and Kara, two beings on this planet with powers and yet they take me." Katie dropped her eyes back to the pair. Zatanna and Constantine looked at her before turning to each other. "And you have no idea why, do you?" neither said a word, but they didn't have to. She let out a sigh before turning back to the hangar. "I'm going to head inside to see what's going on." she glanced over to the pair who just gave a nod. She wasn't sure what to make of their silence, but she didn't have time to figure it out before she turned and headed over to the bunker.

Katie walked into the hangar to find the team all staring at something on the screen. She quietly walked over, not wanting to divert their attention as she kept her eyes on the black and white video. It looked like some kind of old war movie, that ended with a glimpse of one of the Dominators before the video went off.

"You're suggesting we travel to 1951, abduct a Dominator, and interrogate it to determine their intentions." Professor Stein said his eyes going from the screen to Nate.

"They kidnapped us. Seems fair." Sara shrugged.

Katie's eyes remained on the screen, suddenly tuning out all the voices in the room. It was the image of the Dominator that triggered it. She turned and walked over to stand behind the shipping container, dropping her back against as she closed her eyes. Suddenly seeing a blurry image of figures she knows are the Dominators standing above her. They're speaking, but it's not in a language that she understands. Her eyes snap open, the remnants of the memory making her shutter. It was yet another moment she had no control. She had no idea what they did to her while she was incapacitated or how she found a way to use her abilities to stop them. She turned at the sound of footsteps, catching a glimpse of Nate, Cisco and Felicity all walking off together. Katie watched in confusion before taking a step.

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

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

"What about me? I can do backup." Kara said and Oliver glanced over to her and sighed.

"Actually can I talk to you for a minute." he said and Kara looked slightly confused, glancing over to Barry whose looked mirrored her own. But she turned back to Oliver and gave a nod before following behind him.

Katie took a step back to remain unseen, pressing her back against the shipping container as she listens.

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

Kara looked at him for a moment. "Why, because I'm an alien? I also happen to be your greatest weapon."

"You're an unknown entity. This is not personal."

"Except that's exactly how it feels."

"Kara, when I started living this life, it was just me. I was going up against human threats..." Oliver shook his head as he really thought about the course of events that has happened over the last couple of days. "That I could handle. Then it was meta-humans, and I can handle that. Now I learn that there are multiple Earths, and I was brainwashed aboard an alien spacecraft..."

"I am sure that was unnerving, but I don't..." Kara interjected, but Oliver just continued.

"I don't get unnerved." he turned back to the woman. "But 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'm asking for a little bit of space because I have to draw the line somewhere. I need to claw back a sense of normalcy." Katie was sure she wasn't supposed to hear this. She's sure he would never say those words with her around. A sense of normalcy. Those words kept replaying in her head. "Please stay here." he didn't wait for her to respond before turning and heading for the door, only to stop when he catches something in the corner of his eye. He turns, only now spotting his wife who is hidden behind the container and from the look on her face, he can tell that she's heard everything he just said. "Twinkie-"

"You should go." she said pushing from the container and glancing over to Kara who was still standing there. "If Kara stays then I should stay too."

"That's not what I meant, I'm just trying to wrap my head around this, but I-" he reached out to touch her but she pulled away. He let out a sigh. "Twinkie, I wasn't talking about you."

"Except you were and you don't even realize it. So go...claw back to a sense of normalcy." she said, turning at the sight of Sara nervously walking over. She let out a sigh before turning away. Oliver glanced over to see Sara as well.

"Sorry, I was just seeing where you were." Sara said glancing from Oliver to Katie who was still turned away. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, could you-" Oliver turned back to Katie who turned to face him with a shake of her head.

"No, it's fine." she turned from Sara to Oliver. "This can't happen now. You go, we'll talk about this later." she turned to Sara. "I'm going to head back over to Constantine and Zatanna, see what we can come up with on the mystical front." she cast a glance at Oliver before turning and walking off. Oliver watched her for a moment and Sara saw that look in his eyes.

"Ollie, we need to-" Oliver didn't let her finish before he was walking after Katie.

Katie heard his footsteps behind her and let out a sigh before stopping and turning back to him. "We can't do this now." she glanced over to Sara and gestured to the woman. "Let's not give Sara's accusations about your focus any more weight than it already has." she turned back to Oliver. "I'm not here to argue with you Oliver. I want to help find and stop aliens any way I can. To make the world safe again. So let's just do that."

Oliver looked at her, not liking the thought of walking away with her having some sort of misconception about anything he said. He wanted to fix this, right here and now, but she was right. There wasn't any time to make this moment about them, even though he really wished they could. So he said the one thing that summed up everything he wanted to say. "I love you."

"And I love you. Always." she gave the man a nod before nudging her head. "Go, they're waiting for you." Oliver clenched his jaw as he watched her turn and walk away. He shook his head as he slid a hand over his face.

"Ollie?" he turned at Sara's voice and stood up straight before walking to find the other. Sara walked over to stop him. "Are you good?" Oliver turned a look to her before shaking his head and walking around her. Sara let out a sigh before glancing over to Kara who wasn't moving. "You going?"

"Apparently not." Kara said, frustration clear in her tone.

Katie stalked back outside, glancing over to Constantine and Zatanna, the pair huddled together in what looked like a serious conversation. She stopped and once again glanced up to the sky. "Why me?" she muttered to herself before dropping her eyes to the pair. She glanced over her shoulder secretly hoping to see Oliver. Despite everything, being apart right now really did make her nervous. She shook her head before turning and heading back inside of the hangar. She walked in to see Kara still standing there.

"They're gone?" Katie asked and Kara turned and gave a nod. Katie could tell the woman was still upset and she understood. Kara hasn't done anything wrong, well consciously. But she's been here, helping just like everyone else. Oliver's words, though coming from a place of uncertainty, were not completely justified. "What Oliver said-"

"Don't, I think his words were clear."

Katie shook her head. "No, I think my husband has just been through a lot and he's trying to figure out a way to handle it and he just doesn't know how to do it. He's just trying get back control over his world." Katie turned away, suddenly thinking about how she's single handedly turned his world upside down. "And I don't think I'm much help in him doing that." those words were more of a whisper to herself, but the Kryptonian heard.

"Katie-"

"You should do a sweep." Katie quickly turned to her. "See if there's been any movement or any indication of what they're planning." Kara didn't move and Katie just shook her head. "Right now I feel like my entire world could be collapsing and there's nothing I can do to stop it. What I can do is help find a way to stop these bastards, so please just go." Kara stood there a second longer, giving a nod before turning and flying out of the hangar.

Alone, Katie turned back to the screen before reaching down and once again playing the black and white army footage. She paused the screen on the blurry image of the dominator. She walked around the table to get closer, her eyes never leaving the image. Her eyes closed, suddenly back to that moment on the ship. She's strapped down, and everything is blurry as she feels something being placed on her head. When she opened her eyes, she looked back up to the image before turning and heading outside of the hangar just as a car pulled up. She stopped and watched as Bruce and Diana stepped out of the car. Katie's eyes went from the man to the woman she hadn't seen in a while. This whole thing was turning into some messed up reunion of people who once tried to kill her.

"Robins?" Bruce walked around the car over to her. "Where is everyone?"

"Uh, they got a call from the new President. She wanted to meet." Katie said turning to Bruce who quirked a brow. She just shrugged. "I don't know, but I guess they're meeting with the president while Felicity, Cisco and team travel to 1951 to abduct and interrogate an Dominator." Bruce looked at her with wide eyes. "And from that look I guess you didn't know that. Felicity didn't call you?" she shook her head. "They haven't been gone long, I mean I haven't seen the ship fly out yet so there's a chance they're still here."

"Right," Bruce took out his cell phone and dialed Felicity's number. Katie sighed before turning back to Diana who still hadn't said a word.

"Katherine-" Diana spoke, and for some reason Katie couldn't take another apology or explanation or whatever. She shook her head before turning and walking off. She glanced around noticing that Constantine and Zatanna were gone. She stopped and just shook her head. "Katherine, wait." Katie turned back to the woman. "I understand that I may not be someone you would like to speak with but-"

"You understand nothing, Diana. If you did, you'd know that I don't want to be standing here talking to you. You'd know that I would rather be in some super secret hideaway with my husband right now celebrating the fact that we've been married for a year without either of us wanting out." she gave a snort as an unexpected tear fell from her eyes. "I have a feeling that may be changing." she shook her head before turning back to Diana. "I don't care about what you guys did. I just-"she let out a heavy sigh. " Find me when they get back."

Katie turned and walked away, off behind the hangar. She could feel herself slowly spiraling. She thought she was ok, but she was thinking that maybe she wasn't as ok with the whole alien abduction either. Every second that passed she realized that coming here was a mistake. She closed her eyes and let the wind blow across her skin when a sudden chill crept down her spine. Katie opens her eyes and lifts her eyes to the sky. She doesn't see anything but she knows something's there.

"You never let me go, did you?" she whispered and in the next second she's gone in a beam of light.

Diana turns to Bruce who seems to be having quite the animated conversation on his phone. Whatever he's hearing definitely isn't making him happy before he ends the call and stalks over to her.

"I take it they're already gone." Diana said and Bruce turns a glare to her before looking around.

"Where'd Robins go?"

Diana shook her head. "She walked around back." Bruce glanced over to the building. "I'm not sure she's handling all of this well." Bruce turned back to her and without a word walked around her to the back of the hangar. He let his eyes scan the area, frowning when he didn't immediately see her.

"Robins!" he called, only hearing the echo of his voice in response. He turned around and spotted Diana who also looked around before meeting his eyes.

Oliver and the others returned with more problems than solutions. The meeting with the new president was a set up by an Agent Smith. They were attacked. Luckily they were able to get the upper hand and get answers from Smith. They finally figured out the big 'Why' of the reason the Dominators had come to earth and it was apparently because of Barry. When Barry created Flashpoint, it somehow got on their radar making them think Earth could somehow be a threat. Apparently the agent negotiated a truce that involved Barry turning himself over. Oliver was positive he was not going to let that happen.

Oliver came around the front while the others entered from the side. He was hoping to see Katie in hopes of smoothing over their last conversation. He came to a slight halt when he looked up and didn't see her, Constantine or Zatanna. He got nervous as he rushed inside, only stopping when he sees Bruce, Diana, Cisco and Nate. They all turned to him as he glanced around the hangar. When he didn't see her, he turned to Bruce.

"Where is she?" Oliver asked and Bruce just shrugged with a shake of his head.

"She's gone." Bruce replied walking over to Oliver. "She was here when we got here, maybe an hour or so a go."

"She seemed upset." Diana spoke and Oliver glanced over to her. "I assumed our first meeting might be a bit tense, but sure she was upset, but it didn't seem like it was because of me. She walked around the back of the hangar and when we went to check a few minutes later she was gone." Oliver didn't say anything before he turned back to Bruce.

"I did a search on the entire area, she's gone." Bruce said. Oliver shook his head before turning and stalking back toward the entrance of the hangar. The others began filtering in, noticing Oliver heading out.

"Ollie?" Sara began following after him, but he didn't stop. "What's wrong?" he didn't say anything as he walked around the hangar, seeing nothing but a large open field. "Will you say something?"

"Twinkie is gone." Oliver said letting his eyes scan the area for any sign that could tell him where she could've gone. Sara let out a sigh and Oliver turned to her. "What?"

"It's just she seemed upset the last time you were here. Maybe she just left." Sara said and Oliver turned away still searching.

"She wouldn't just leave and not tell me she was leaving. Even if she was upset. She would tell me where she was going." Oliver growled before sliding a hand inside of his vest and grabbing his phone to dial Katie's number. It only rang before going straight to voice mail. Something wasn't right. Oliver could feel it.

"Ollie-"

"Sara, just don't!" Oliver snapped. "Look I get you think my head isn't where it's supposed to be right now, but I don't know where my wife is."

"Uh we do mate." Oliver and Sara turned to see Constantine and Zatanna standing just a few feet a way. Oliver glared before stalking over to them and Constantine held up his hand. "Whoa, whoa, it wasn't our fault this time."

"Where the hell is she?" Oliver asked looking from Constantine to Zatanna. The woman simply pointed a finger to the sky and Oliver's gaze darkened.

A blinding bright light seemed to jolt Katie awake. She opened her eyes only to shut them again. She tried to lift an arm to shield her eyes, but she soon realized she couldn't. Katie opened her eyes once again, looking down to herself, only to find that she was strapped to some weird chair. Suddenly she remembered the moments before this. She was standing behind the hangar when suddenly she was once again pulled into a Dominator ship. Katie dropped her head back with a groan. There was movement around her and when she turned her head, her eyes widened at the sight of the alien beings moving around. They were all staring at some screen. She turned away, tugging at the straps that trapped her to the chair, but it was no use.

"Let me go!" Katie screamed, finally gaining their attention. Soon the beings moved, surrounding her, and an uneasy feeling settled in her gut. "What do you want from me?!" They didn't speak. She soon wondered if they could even understand her. "Please, just let me-" One of them moved closer, grabbing something she soon realized was some sort of helmet that it began strapping around her chin. They were trying to do it again. "Stop! This won't work! You can't take it!" they didn't listen before a mouth guard is jammed into her mouth, muffling her screams.

Barry understood their reluctance but they weren't seeing the bigger picture. He wasn't worth the world, and if sacrificing himself could save this planet, possibly save Katie then it was a no brainer.

"This isn't up for debate." Barry said looking over to the team who stood across from him. "It's not even close, I mean-" he shook his head. "I turn myself into the Dominators, they leave the rest of the world alone-" he turned to Oliver. "They give you your wife back. Simple."

"It's not simple Barry." Diana said and he turned to her with a sigh. "We don't know if they will keep their word. We don't even know if they would return Katherine if you did surrender."

"It would make sense. I'm the one who created Flash Point. They're here because of something I did." Barry said turning to the rest of them. "I made this mess, just let me clean it up."

"It doesn't matter what you've done Barry. You can't do this." John said. Barry shook his head.

"It's been an honor to know all of you and to fight along side of you." Barry turned to walk away.

"Barry!" Oliver called after him and Barry stopped. "I'm not letting you leave."

"No offense Oliver, but you and what army." Barry turned around to see the team all lined up in front of him.

"This one." Kara said.

"Listen, Red. I don't like you. But when you got a crew, you don't take a hit for the rest." Mick said and Barry couldn't help but to chuckle.

"That was actually pretty inspiring. I mean, up until the point that Mick compared us to a bunch of criminals, but..."

"According to the Dominators, we might as well be." Amaya said. Barry glanced over to her and she shrugged.

"And maybe they're right." Bruce said and Barry turned to the man with a quirked brow. "It wouldn't be the first time someone's made the comparison. But what we do, we do because we're trying to do what's right. We will make mistakes, but we won't let those mistakes dictate who we are and what we know is right. We keep trying until we succeed and we don't give up until we do."

"We're not letting you sacrifice yourself." Cisco said and Barry turned to the man in surprise. "There's no way. I don't care if that's what it means to be a hero. You're not a hero to me. You're my friend."

Barry soon realized that this was not a fight he was going to win and he wasn't too upset with losing. He smiled and gave Cisco a nod before looking over to Oliver.

"We still have to get Katie back." Barry said.

"Oh, we can help with that!" they all turned to see Constantine and Zatanna rushing inside. Zatanna turned to Cisco. "We're just going to need you and your neat vibing trick."

Cisco nodded. "I'm going to need something that belongs to her if I'm going to locate her." he turned to Felicity. "Maybe we can use the device to point to the exact location."

"We're not going to need any of that." Zatanna said and Cisco turned to her with a quirked brow.

Cisco soon found himself standing outside with Zatanna, Constantine and Oliver as the others were inside trying to come up with a plan to stop the Dominators.

"Ok, I'm not sure what is supposed to be happening, but I usually need an object from the person I actually want to see." Cisco said looking between the mystical pair.

"Right, you need something with their essence. That link that connects to them." Zatanna replied before turning a smile to Oliver. "And here he is." Cisco turned to Oliver with a quirked brow before turning back to the woman and shaking his head. "Trust me, it will work. This man is covered with that woman's essence. Other than her daughter, this is the strongest connection you will have to her."

"What do I have to do?" Oliver said, not even questioning something he's sure he won't understand. He just cares if it helps find Katie.

"Just think about her." Constantine said. Oliver looked over to the blonde who gave him a nod. Oliver just let out a sigh before closing his eyes. A smile came to his face when the image of Katie standing at the end of the aisle in her wedding dress seemed to come to him. The smile on her face taking his breath away.

"It worked." Oliver heard Cisco say and when he opened his eyes, Oliver found they were no longer standing outside of the hangar. They were on the spaceship. "I can't believe it actually worked." Oliver pulled away, glancing around the ship for Katie.

"Where is she?" Oliver asked. There was sudden glare of light from down the hall, and without thinking Oliver started walking.

"Oliver, wait-" Cisco moved to follow after him. "Look I don't know how long this will last. We just need to figure out which ship she's on and then maybe Zatanna can get a portal to her." Oliver didn't say anything as they walked upon a door, once again seeing the bright light shining from inside. It was the screaming that put him on alert.

"Katie!" Oliver moved to the door that opened and he came to sliding halt. The room seemed to be filled with Dominators, and they were all standing in front of something. He heard more screaming and he realized, they were standing around Katie. He took a step forward, but Cisco caught his arm.

"Oliver, you can't." Cisco said and Oliver turned to him. "We're not really here, here. We can't affect anything here, or help her." they heard more screaming and Oliver turned, anger, and fear now coursing through his veins. "Look we know she's here, we can-" the screaming stopped, and they saw the dominators rushing over to a monitor, finally revealing what he feared. Oliver took a step forward to see Katie strapped to a chair, a helmet on her head, and her eyes closed.

"Twinkie." he whispered wishing he could just reach forward and grab her.

"Uh Oliver?" Cisco said but Oliver didn't turn away. "Oliver!" Oliver turned to Cisco, before turning to what had caught the man's attention. There standing was his wife, but she was surrounded by light. "I don't know what we're looking at right now."

Katie's eyes were on Oliver. Her mouth was moving but no words were coming out.

"Twinkie, I can't-" he took a step toward her. "I can't hear you. What-" she seemed to understand and let out a sigh as she looked around before glancing down to her hand. She lifted her hand and pointed to her wedding ring. Oliver looked from her ring, back to her eyes and she just gave a nod before giving him a thumbs up and a wink.

In the next moment, Oliver found himself back outside of the hangar, Zatanna and Constantine standing in front of him. He turned to Cisco who looked over to him.

"So, did you see her?" Zatanna asked.

"I think we saw her ghost." Cisco said turning back to them. "She was strapped to that weird table again, and it was like she was dead, but we saw her spirit." Cisco turned to Oliver. "She was trying to tell you something. She pointed to her left hand."

"Her engagement ring." Oliver said before glancing up to the sky. "She wears her engagement ring and wedding ring." he looked back over to Zatanna and Constantine. "Inscribed on her engagement ring are the words, "Long, Live,Love." I think that's what she was trying to say."

"What does it mean?" Cisco asked.

Oliver let out a sigh. "I think she was telling me that she was still fighting." he shook his head. "That if she found herself in an unsafe situation, that she would find her way out of it." he slid a hand over his face and once again looked up to the sky where a piece of his heart was trapped. She wanted him to trust that she would come back to him, much like he would if he was in the same situation. The problem was, he didn't care. He wasn't going to stop. He turned back to Constantine and Zatanna.

"You can find a way to her?" Oliver asked and Zatanna gave a nod.

"Yeah, I just have to-" she placed a hand to Cisco's forehead and muttered some words, and after a few moments she smiled. She dropped her hand and looked down to Cisco before nudging her head. "You can go back to the others." she turned to Oliver. "You too." Oliver didn't move and the woman took a step toward him.

"Oliver, you said it yourself, she's fighting. Right now her fight's up there, and yours will be down here with the rest of your team."

"How can I be in this fight knowing she's up there, being hurt?" Oliver shook her head. "Sara was right, I can't get my head all in on this fight if I'm worried about her."

"That's not a bad thing, mate." Constantine said and Oliver looked over to him. "Focus on her. Think about her, because she is the fire that keeps you going. She is your fight and you are hers which is why I don't think you should worry too much about her." Oliver once again lifted his eyes to the sky.

"Ollie!" Oliver turned at Sara's voice. "It's starting." Oliver looked at her for a moment before turning back to Zatanna and Constantine.

"Just think about her, mate." Constantine once again said and Oliver gave a nod before he and Cisco turned and headed back into the hangar.

Katie felt strange. Well that was one emotion plaguing her as she seemed to be having some sort of out of body experience as she stared at her unconscious form laying in the alien spaceship.

She shook her head. "You're not dead." she glanced over to the Dominators who were all crowded around looking at some monitor. She turned back to her body, her eyes veering to her hands. She sees the light dimming her at her fingers.

"They can weaken you, but no you are definitely not dead." a voice spoke from behind her and Katie whipped around to see the smiling face of her mother. "Hi Sweetheart."

Katie took a step toward her, still unsure if this was even real. "This is another illusion." she looked around, attempting to prove that this wasn't real.

"No, this time, this is real." Grace spoke and Katie turned meeting her eyes. "I'm here. Right now, this moment because you need help." Grace took a step forward, and Katie found herself studying the woman, still hesitant to believe that this is really happening. Grace glanced over to the Dominators and let out a sigh. "This is my fault." she turned back to Katie. "They ensure their survival by finding threats before they are a threat. That's why they came to Earth in 1951. They were taking humans, trying to gather information to determine if they were threats."

"How is that your fault?" Katie asked and Grace let out a sigh. "It was 1951. You weren't even born yet." Grace didn't say anything as she looked at her daughter. "I don't understand."

"I wish I could explain it sweetie. I wish we had more time so I could prepare you for this, so I could teach you." Grace took another step forward, and Katie looked at the woman who had a slight glow. "We can't change that now. In 1951 I discovered that the Dominators were on earth and taking humans. I was able to locate one just as they were about to take another."

"What did you do?"

"Well I may or may not have killed a few of his friends and told him that if he didn't leave that I would finish off their entire race. I told them that I was the biggest threat on the planet and that I would leave them be if they would just leave." Grace said and Katie looked at her with a furrowed brow to the woman who just shrugged. "And they did. They left."

"Until they came back and forced me, my husband and friends into some sort of weird illusion." Katie said. "Why are they back?"

"They're here because a few months ago you opened your eyes." Grace said with a smile. "And they could feel it from light years away." Grace placed a hand to Katie's cheek. "The light within you grows with each breath you take and that much power, they perceived as a threat. I was able to keep them at bay once, but it's you and your friends who have to stop them now." Katie just looked at her mother, stuck in this moment that she still wasn't sure if it were real or not.

"I don't know how to stop this. I've pretty much been the weakest link during this entire thing. Well for the parts I can remember." Katie shook her head. "Whatever this is inside of me, I don't know how to use it."

"You will. I promise you will." Grace smiled. "And the key is for you to finally embrace who you are." Katie looked at her mother with nervous eyes. She wasn't sure she could do that. Embrace this unknown power that's already causing problems in her life...in her marriage. "Which you can't do." Grace looked at her daughter in confusion before shaking her head. "Unfortunately, you won't have much of a choice. One day, you're going to have to accept that this-" Grace placed a hand on Katie's chest above her heart. "This power...this light, it's not going anywhere." Grace looked over to the Dominators. "But for now, you need to get out of here, and you need to find their boss." Grace turned back to Katie. "I think it's time you gave him a little reminder of who he's really up against."

In an instant, Katie's eyes snapped open. She tilted her head to see the aliens still crowded around a monitor. Something was happening that had their attention. Katie turned her head and felt the strap at her wrists. She tugged slightly, but it was tight.

"How do you get out of this?" Katie thought. She had blades, but they were both in holsters around her ankle and impossible to reach. She turned her head, looking up the ceiling. She couldn't get out of this without using her powers. The problem was, she didn't know what exactly she should do. She closed her eyes and just pictured the straps around her wrists being gone when suddenly she felt something strange. Something hot. She open her eyes and tilted her head to her hands to see something glowing but, she couldn't see it clearly from this angle. Suddenly she felt the frayed edges of the straps freeing her hands and without a second thought she reached up and unstrapped the helmet from her head. She sat up quietly, the Dominators still too distracted by whatever was on that monitor. She reached down and unstrapped her legs, before turning and carefully standing to the floor. There was a door to her left, and so she cautiously moved toward it, coming to a stop when it slid open with a whooshing sound and all alien eyes turned to her.

She only glanced over for a second before she turned and ran out of that room.

The Dominators were fast and strong. Oliver, and the rest of the team were currently in a battle on the roof of a tall building in seemingly a never ending army of Dominator fighters. It was as if he didn't even have a chance to stop and breathe as they kept coming. He reached for arrow after arrow, firing them non stop. He couldn't help ever so often lifting his eyes to their ship, wondering if Katie was up there. He had to shake away the thought because he had to believe in her. He knew where ever she was right now, she was fighting to get back to him.

Oliver quickly came back to the moment, another alien coming right at him and before he could act, he was knocked from the roof. He thought that was it, that he was gone until a sudden hand grabbed him and before he knows it, he's being pulled back up to the roof. When his feet touch the ground, he turns to see Supergirl. Even he saw the irony of her saving his life. He knew he was going to have to apologize for his earlier words, but for now he just gives a nod before turning and heading back into the fight.

Batman had fought many a foes, but these Dominators were turning out to be a tough one to beat. It seemed like when ten were knocked down, twenty would take their place. They were outnumbered, but he had no doubt that they would ever stop. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out two small devices, throwing them where a group of Dominators were stalking toward them. With a push of a button, the devices exploded in a bright blue light that paused all fights for a moment.

"You've been holding out on us Bat Boy?" Mick said and Batman just looked over to him and just shrugged when the fight once again erupted. Batman turned, just as a group of Dominators ran right toward him and he lifted his gun to shoot. He shot all but two when his gun suddenly stalled.

"Fuck!" he snapped, when he looked up to see a glowing rope wrap around one of their necks, before Diana comes in and kicks the other, tossing them both aside easily. Wonder Woman looked over to him with an expectant look on her face. "I had that taken care of."

"Of course you did." she said with a shake of her head. She turned and heard Felicity mention the Dominators being all over the country.

"This looks like a job for Supergirl." Felicity said.

"Thanks Felicity. I'm not the least bit insulted." Barry responded.

"Sorry Barry, I meant Supergirl and Flash."

"And Wonder Woman." Diana said looking over to Bruce who gave her a nod. "Zatanna, want to take a girl's trip around the world?"

"You know-" they turned to see Zatanna dawned in her black tuxedo leotard. "I think I am." the woman muttered a spell before a portal opened up and both her and Diana jumped through.

"Did we just lose Wonder Woman and our magician with the really awesome powers?" Felicity asked, the stress clearly in her voice.

"Relax love." Constantine said with a cocky smirk. "There's lots of magic still on this roof." The man pulls out a match book from his pocket, striking a single match and letting it fall to the ground as he begins chanting. Suddenly the flame falls to the ground, taking the shape of a circle with symbols that appear under his feet and begin lifting him from the ground. Once in the air, the man spins his hands around each other, creating fire balls that he begins throwing.

"Did anyone else know our British friend can create fireballs and fly?" Felicity asked.

Katie felt like she was running in circles on this space ship. She'd found a door, and stepped inside hoping to give herself a minute to stop and think of a next move that didn't include running. She stopped inside of the room when she found that it wasn't empty. There was a lone Dominator standing in front of a screen. When her eyes lifted to the screen, she gasped. It was the team, fighting an army of aliens. She spotted Oliver and she took a step forward. They were outnumbered and if something didn't stop this now then they weren't going to make this.

"We weren't trying to kill you." spoke the voice of the alien being pulling Katie's attention back to it. She frowned slightly really not expecting it to speak English.

"No, you were trying to take my powers for your weapon." she said and it chuckled.

"Your power was never meant for our weapon. Our weapon has already been completed and is about to be detonated to destroy all metahumans on your planet." Katie looked at him in confusion. "Your power—the power of your mother—threatens the lives of so many and you don't even know it. Why do you think we're here?" Katie didn't say anything as the alien walked towards her. "Why do you-" she didn't hesitate to reach down to her ankle, grab her knife before tackling the Dominator down to the ground. She dug the knife in his neck.

"I don't care why you're here. What I care about is the safety of this planet and the people on it." she growled. "Years ago, my mother gave you a very clear order that you and your alien buddies didn't follow. You came back and even though she's not here, I am. My friends are. You're not going to win."

"We already have." the alien said with a slight chuckle and Katie let out a snort.

"Too bad you won't be alive to find out." and without a second thought she jammed her knife through the bottom of it's chin and watched as the life left it's eyes before she stood to her feet. She walked over to the monitor that sat above a very complicated looking control board. "What I wouldn't give to have a Felicity Smoak on board." She looked back up to the screen, seeing the fight still going strong. She turned to the other monitor that showed a big, round metal device. "Metahuman bomb I suppose." Her eyes went wide when she saw Jefferson, who was totally covered in flames appear on the bomb. "Ok, there's a plan." she turned seeing the fight and she shook her head. There was still too many Dominators. "You have to do something Katie."

She began inching back and taking a deep breath. "Embrace who you are and all that crap." she closed her eyes and focused. She been taught the art of focusing on your center. Funny enough it was the Demon who taught her. He taught her how to block out the noise of the world, to focus on the the quiet because that is where the answers always were. It was a sadistic kind of irony that her lessons from that monster could help her now. And yet, soon the noise stopped and silence surrounded her. The words were on the tip of her tongue fighting to get out and so she did.

"Go home." those were spoke silently in a empty room with a dead alien somehow forced it's self into the minds of hundreds, upon thousands of Dominators on Earth. Suddenly the ship shook and Katie's eyes snapped open, slightly unsure what just happened. She felt something on her face and when she reached up she felt something wet. Pulling back her hand, she saw the blood that stained her fingers. The ship shook again, this time knocking her off her feet causing her to stumble to the floor. The fall seemed to hurt more than it should, and Katie couldn't help lingering for a moment, hoping the pain would go away. It didn't, but she knew she couldn't wait any longer. She pushed herself to her feet, stumbling a bit as she headed back for the door. She needed to get off of this ship, she just didn't know how that was going to happen.

She slid against the wall of the space shift searching for an exit. Seeing how she was probably in the air, she would need a way back to earth as well. She'd only turned a corner when she came to a stop to see lots of Dominators who all stopped when they saw her. She didn't move as she stared at them expecting them to make a move, but no one moved an inch. Katie didn't know that her voice was still playing in their head, on repeat. Two words, "Go Home" was tearing at their insides and they only saw one solution and that was following the order. They knew it was her voice. The voice they so desperately needed to get out of their heads and so Katie watched as the aliens moved aside, apparently creating a space for her to move past them. She was hesitant to move. Still wary that she was one woman and they were about a couple dozen aliens and that was just the one's in this little hall. This ship was probably filled with them. Pushing herself off the wall, she moved slowly passed them, keeping her eyes on them as she did. Once she passed, she glanced back to see that they weren't following her and so she let out a deep breath before continuing on.

When Katie entered a roomed filled with smaller spaceships, she figured this was her way out. She ran as fast as she could, climbing inside only to find another ridiculously complicated looking control panel. "What the hell? Why can't there just be a drive button?" she looked around when she felt the big ship start moving again. She cursed with a shake of her head before just placing a hand to the device in front of her. The moment she did, she felt something happening to the ship she was in. Lights started coming on, there was beeping and a loud whooshing sound as some sort of protective bracket came down, strapping her to her seat. In the next moment, she was just falling.

A team of heroes stood on the roof of that tall building watching as the Dominators run back to their ships.

"They're retreating." Ray announced what everyone was witnessing.

"Not just them." Felicity said looking at her computer and seeing all the ships seeming to be leaving. "It's all around the world."

"He did it." Oliver said referring to Jefferson as they stood looking up to the ships.

"No Oliver." Supergirl said. "We all-" the woman's eyes turned when she spotted something in the distance. They all followed her eyes to see what looked like a spaceship falling to the ground.

"Why is that space ship going the wrong way?" Ray asked.

Oliver felt his heart lurch in his chest. "Twinkie?" he took a step forward as if he could do something, but Supergirl caught his arm to stop him.

"Don't worry, I got-" they all looked up as something flew through the air passed them toward the ship. "Of course, he shows up when all the fighting is over."

Soon the ship is lowered to the roof and Oliver is the first to run over, stopping at the familiar face that flies down in front of him.

"Hey, sorry I'm late-" Superman said looking over to Oliver who just pushed him aside to get to the ship. "Oh, I should-" Superman turned and ripped the door off of the ship, and peaked inside at the woman who sat with her eyes closed as she gripped the bars holding her to her seat. "Katherine?"

She didn't say anything. Oliver dropped his bow and climbed into the ship, walking over to the woman and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. She was here. Right here, alive, just like she said she would.

"Twinkie." he kneeled down in front of her, placing his hands on her legs. "Twinkie, open your eyes."

"No." she said and he couldn't help but to let out a chuckle. "Am I dead? I feel like I should be dead. I just fell to earth in a space ship. People don't just survive that."

"They don't, but you did." he said reaching for the bracket and lifting it over her head. She finally cracked open her eyes and met his gaze and didn't hesitate to throw herself into his arms.

A shower and some new clothes did wonders. Sure Katie didn't totally forget the craptastic couple of days, but for right now everything was once again right with the world.

"And you're sure you're alright?" Came the worried voice of Thea Queen from her cell phone.

"Thea, I'm fine. The aliens are gone and we're back to stopping the bad guys from this planet." Katie said glancing up to the sky. She was standing outside of the hangar. "How's everything going there?"

"Pretty much how it went everywhere."Thea sighed. "I brought Ari and Robyn back to the bunker figuring it was the safest place to be during an alien attack." Thea let out a snort. "Ari is currently in some sort of knife throwing competition with Rene, and Curtis has Robyn trying to teach her tech words I think. It's probably time to head home."

"Yeah, call me when you get there. We will see you when we get back."

"Sure thing." Thea said before hanging up the call.

Katie slid her phone back into her pocket before once again turning her eyes back to the sky. She only half believed the things that happened up there really happened. The truth was, she didn't know how to believe any of it. Maybe that's what Oliver was feeling. She had her world, and she knew the ins and outs of it, and then suddenly aliens show up and totally turn everything she thought she knew on it's head. She let out a sigh before turning and heading inside.

Felicity and Cisco sat staring up to the monitors where the press conference was playing from the other side of the hangar. A smile came to Katie's lips as she looked up to her husband who stood along side a group of remarkable heroes.

"Today, it is my distinct honor to bestow upon you a small acknowledgment of the great debt that the world owes to you all." President Brayden said. "Know that, meta-human or not, masked or not, each and every one of you is a hero." the crowd stood and applauded.

Felicity looked over her shoulder to Katie who was still watching the screen. "You should be on that stage with them." Katie let out a snort before looking over to the blonde.

"I was kidnapped by aliens twice, and I missed the whole alien versus hero fight. I definitely shouldn't be on that stage." she turned back to the screen. "Probably shouldn't have even shown up here in the first place."

"You serious?" Cisco said and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "Because that's not what I saw."

Katie shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The people on that stage getting the praise and recognition are the people who should be up there." she shrugged and turned to leave.

"You know it's a huge coincidence that when the Dominators all turned and started to retreat, you came flying in on a spaceship." Cisco said and Katie stopped.

"I mean the first out of the two times you were on their spaceship, it took a whole team of you to escape." Felicity said and Katie turned around. "The second time, you managed to do it all on your own." Katie didn't say anything. "Whether you want to admit it of not, you're a part of the win and if my spidey senses are right, then I would say you were a big reason for the win, so thank you." Katie just shook her head before turning to leave.

"Why do I get the feeling that she's like this next level kind of hero and she doesn't even know it." Cisco said turning to Felicity who turned to the man.

"I think she does know it, and that's what's scaring her."

Once the crowd was gone, the team of heroes all changed, all with a feeling of pride and relief that this fight they were all nervous about was over. They won and the world was once again safe...well relatively safe.

Oliver rounded a corner into the hangar, his eyes scanning over the team, but frowning when he didn't see the face of the woman he was looking for.

"Oh, I know that look." Oliver turned to see Sara standing behind him. "Felicity said she went out to get some air." no other words needed, Oliver gave a nod moving around the woman. "Wait, Ollie-" Oliver stopped and turned back to the woman. "We should talk." he quirked a brow before turning to her fully. "What I said before...about your focus on Twinkie, I'm sorry, I really was out of line."

Oliver shook his head. "Don't be. You were right and I'm not upset about it." Oliver smiled. "But I think the part you don't understand is that when I'm in a fight, whether it's big or small, my mind is on it. When I'm fighting that fight with my wife, my mind is still on the fight, but it's also on her. My priorities change. My goal is to make sure she makes it to the other end of it safe and alive and able to get back to our children." He lets out a sigh. "And I've been recently made aware by her that she can usually find her way out of sticky situations without my help, it doesn't stop me from trying." he turned back to Sara.

"She tell you how she got off of that ship?" Sara asked and Oliver shook his head. "I imagine her escape was pretty badass. I'm going to have to get her to tell me when she gets back."

"Hey, hey." Barry came over to Oliver and Sara with smiles. "We were just about to pop the bubbly. Where's Twinkie?"

"Outside, I was just about to go grab her." Oliver nudged his head before turning and heading out of the hangar. It was pretty dark so he couldn't really see much. He took a few step around the side of the hangar before he finally spotted her lying on the ground staring up to the sky.

"It's freezing out here." Oliver said looking down to the woman who lifted her eyes to him. "Come on." he held out a hand to her and she took it without question letting him help her to her feet. The moment she was standing, she just brought her arms around him, dropping her head to his chest. Oliver brought his arms around her, tightening his embrace. Since finding her in that ship, she seemed different. Relieved mostly, which made him want to know what happened to her. "Talk to me."

"You know I would get it." she said suddenly and Oliver furrowed his brow. "My mother threatened the Dominators back in 1951. Told them to leave and they did. And this was all revealed to me by her spirit I think, in some sort of out of body experience I was having." she let out a deep breath. "The world was once this round, blue and green sphere, with mad men who called themselves demons, and soldiers hopped up on super soldier serum, or douche bags with magical powers along with the normal bad guys who want to destroy our city every other week and I accepted that. I could live with it and keep rolling with the punches. But ghost moms and come out of nowhere super powers." she pulled back and looked up to him. " I don't know how to fit that into my understanding of how the world should work and what should be possible. And I get it if you can't either. And I would understand if you couldn't claw your way back to normalcy with me."

Oliver placed his hands on the side of her face, forcing her eyes to look into his. "Twinkie-"

"No," she pulled away and took a few steps back. "The day Robyn was born, I told you-" she looked up to meet his eyes. "I told you about all the craziness happening with me. We didn't know what was going to be on the other side of that door and a year later, an evil entity takes over my body, hurts you, hurts our friends before trying and failing to destroy the world."

"Twinkie, listen to me-"

"And then I end up in a coma." She keeps going, not letting him speak because she needs to get this out. "Leaving you, leaving Robyn and Ari. Missing five months I can never get back." she shook her head as she turns to him. "Liver, these are not the things that are supposed to happen in the first year of a marriage!" she could feel her heart racing, and her chest was heaving. Oliver attempted to walk over to her once again, but she took a step back. "We're on the other side of the door Liver. It's not too late for you-"

"Will you just stop!" Oliver said taking another step forward, grabbing her hand and pulling her to his chest before she could back away. "Stop pulling away from me. Stop whatever thoughts are in your head right now telling you that I would ever leave you." he dropped his head against hers. "Yes, it has been a tough first year, but there were moments of happiness, joy-" he placed a kiss to her lips. "Love, passion-" another kiss, this one deeper. "excitement." he pulled back and once again met her eyes with his. "Twinkie, I stepped through that door with you way before we got married. Facing every fight, every fear, challenge that you will allow me to help you with and I plan on facing everything to come."

Relief once again shown on her face as she looked into his eyes with a smile. "I love you." Oliver's lips descended upon hers once again taking her breath away as his tongue swept inside of her mouth clouding all of her senses. When they pulled a part, Katie lifted her eyes to Oliver. "How horrible would we be if we decided to leave and go attempt that whole naked waffles and syrup experiment?" Oliver smiled as he slid an arm around her and pulling her against his chest.

"You know I've had some ideas about how to deal with the stickiness." Oliver said his hands sliding around her waist, and unbashfully grabbing her butt.

"Let's go." she said grabbing his hand and pulling him with her, but she noticed he wasn't moving and she turned back to him. "You're not moving quick enough for a guy about to get laid."

Oliver chuckled. "Right, well there's something I have to give you first." Oliver reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a jewelry box. Katie looked down to the box before looking back over to the man.

"Wait, is this the infamous anniversary present?" Katie asked and Oliver just laughed. "Did you buy it on your way back to the hangar?" she reached for the box, but Oliver just pulled it away.

"No, I've actually had this for the past couple of months. When you were—" Oliver let out a sigh as he looked up to her eyes. "When you were in a coma, to distract me Ari asked if I could help her redecorate her room." he shook his head. "So one day while she was pulling things out of her closet, she noticed some boxes on that top shelf." Oliver flipped open the jewelry box and Katie's eyes widened as she let out a gasp. "Inside one of those boxes was the bracelet I gifted you for your sixteenth birthday." he pulled the charm bracelet from the box and Katie held out her wrist.

Katie smiled as he clamped the bracelet on and she pulled it closer to see the familiar charms with a few news ones. "The gift you just left on my doorstep." she said before looking back to him. "Why didn't you stick around and give it to me yourself."

Oliver let out a sigh as he looked down to the bracelet. "You know I remember the day I bought that bracelet. I'd been racking my brain for months trying to figure out what I would get for you and then I remembered you talking about a charm bracelet your mom used to have that she lost and how you always wanted one, I thought it would be perfect. I knew it would be your first birthday without her and I don't know, I thought it would be like a piece of her you could have with you." he shook his head. "I had them wrap up that gift and the sales lady who handed it to me, told me that I was going to make my girlfriend very happy when she opened that box. And then I got nervous and I didn't even know why. I sat that gift on the desk in my room and every day I looked at it and I didn't know if what I was feeling was fear or anticipation for the moment I would give it to you. It wasn't until I was standing at your door and had rung the door bell did I realize what it was. So I put the box down on the ground and ran."

"What were you afraid of?" Katie asked and Oliver looked down to her before sliding his arms around her.

"I think I was going to finally do it." Oliver smiled down to the woman. "I think I was going to cross the line with us. That sales lady calling the girl getting that bracelet my girlfriend- I didn't correct her because a part of me wanted it to be true. So after school, I went home, grabbed your gift and I was going to finally tell you that I had non friend like feelings for you."

"Seriously?" She asked and Oliver nodded.

"My dad stopped me before I left." Oliver shook his head. "I can't believe I remember this, but he asked me where I was going in such a good mood and I told him I was going to see you to give you a present for your birthday." Oliver sighed. "I guess he could tell that I was going to do more than that and I guess he decided I needed some advice." Oliver turned away as his father's words crept up inside of his head and came out of his lips. "Son, you and Katherine are very different people, with different priorities and very different paths ahead of you. She knows where she's going in life and you haven't even thought about what you're going to do tomorrow. I just don't want you to get your hopes up." Katie placed her hand on the side of Oliver's face and his eyes looked back down to her.

"That was terrible advice." she said and Oliver smiled.

"Yeah, well I didn't know it at the time which is why I just dropped the bracelet off and left." he looked down to the bracelet. "And the next day I saw you wearing it at school."

"It did remind me of my mom. I thought it was from my dad, and when I asked him about it, he didn't know what I was talking about so I decided it was a secret admirer...or Ralph Higgins." Oliver laughed. "No seriously, I had no idea if that guy hated me or if he just had a crush on me and didn't know how to show it." Oliver just continued to laugh as he brought his lips back to hers.

"Let's say our goodbyes and get out of here." Oliver said with one final kiss before sliding an arm around her and heading back into the hangar.

"We should do one quick everyone goodbye wave and leave before anyone can stop us." Katie whispered as they walked back into the hangar and all eyes turned to them.

"Surprise!" everyone cheered and Katie and Oliver just smiled in confusion before turning to each other.

"What the hell is this?" Katie whispered through a smile and Oliver just shrugged as they turned back to their friends.

Barry walked over, two flutes of champagne in his hand that he handed to the couple. "I know you're both wondering what this is all about. We sort of decided to make this celebratory party for saving the world a joint anniversary party for my friends since I sort of threw a wrench in your plans by showing up with aliens." Oliver and Katie took the glasses.

"Barry you didn't have-"

"Mama! Dada!" Oliver and Katie turned at the voice to see Ari, Thea with Robyn in her arms step around the others.

Barry shook his head. "It really wasn't-" Katie pushed her glass back to his hands before heading over to Thea and scooping Robyn into her arms.

Katie pressed a kiss to the child's head before turning to Thea. "You could've given me a heads up about the party."

"Why, so you two could ditch?" Thea asked with a smile. Katie just shook her head before turning to Ari and bringing an arm around her as well.

"Ugh, why are you hugging me?" Ari squirmed, but didn't pull away. Katie just pressed a kiss to the teen's head before pulling back. Ari saw the relief in Katie's eyes and slightly frowned. "How close did it get?" Katie just placed a hand to the girl's cheek.

"Close enough." Katie said as Oliver came over to greet them as well.

A quick get away seemed totally impossible and so Katie and Oliver stuck around for their anniversary party.

Katie glanced over her shoulder, a smile coming to her face as she looks over to Robyn who is also making her rounds around the party. She's currently with Ray who seems to be making her laugh.

"You know I think your daughter might be more popular than you." Came the voice from behind her. She rolled her eyes before turning to see Bruce.

"As it should be." Katie says taking a sip from her glass before glancing around the party, avoiding his gaze.

"So-" Bruce said and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "What happened up there?" she sighed as she once again turned away. "Robins-"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." she said with a shake of her head and the man let out a snort.

"I'm standing in some hangar with a group of individuals, some of which have super powers." Katie turned back to him. "Try me." Katie turned away as memories of being on that ship and everything that occurred. "Hey-"

"Excuse me," she didn't wait for him to respond before she turned and made to leave, only for her path to be blocked by Sara.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Sara asked.

Katie just shook her head. "I was just-" she glanced over to the door that lead outside and she let out a sigh. It was her go to move for when she found herself in a situation she wanted to get out of. She ran, and hid, but that didn't make the problem go away. She shook her head before turning back to Sara and holding up her glass. "Getting another refill."

"Well you know, I have something a little stronger if you're interested?" Sara pulled a flask out of her jacket and Katie let out a laugh.

"I would love nothing more than to get wasted with you Sara, but my kids are here and they've never met drunk Twinkie before and I would like to keep it that way." she glanced over to see Oliver talking with Kara, and the pair seemed to be friendly again. He glanced over to her, meeting her gaze and she just smiled. Sara followed her eyes and sighed.

"you know I think I got it wrong." Sara said and Katie turned back to her. "About Oliver and him being distracted by you."

"Sara it's not-"

"It's him. The demon. Still in my head and his twisted lessons. I guess I was just projecting." Katie gave the woman a smile before taking her hand. "I'm sorry if I caused any problems with you two and if he said something stupid, I could beat him up for you."

Katie laughed. "I appreciate the gesture, but we're good. Just a lot of things happening at once and it gets tough sometimes, but we're good." Sara gave her hand a squeeze.

"Well if it gets too tough and you need me, just let me know and I'm there." Sara said with a smile. She glanced over to see Oliver still looking over to them. "And he's still looking. He probably thinks I'm hitting on you or something." Katie laughed before looking over to Oliver as well. "You know he said something pretty sweet the other day." Katie turned back to the woman with a quirked brow. "About that whole messed up illusion. He said he didn't believe his life would happen like that. That if the Queen's gambit didn't happen, that he and Laurel wouldn't be getting married." Katie scoffed and Sara laughed. "No, he said that he would've only needed to see you once and that would've been it. He said it's always been you even when he didn't know it." Katie smiled as she once again glanced over to Oliver who quirks a brow. She's sure he knows they're talking about him and so he turns back to Kara and says something before heading over to them. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Yeah, just wanted to make sure you weren't over here trying to steal my wife Sara." Oliver said bringing an arm around Katie who just laughed.

"Oh been there and done that." Sara laughed before walking away. Oliver looked over to her with a furrowed brow before turning to Katie who just couldn't stop laughing.

Ari sat in the chairs from the earlier press conference, her head resting on her hand as she twirls her hair waiting for the party to be over. She glanced over to the party, spotting Katie and Oliver laughing at something with each other. She let out a sigh because even though she hadn't said anything, she was relieved too. That in this impossible battle with aliens, they won and came back to them. Ari turned when she spotted John walking over to her and she rolled her eyes and turned back around. He took the seat behind her.

"Anti social much?" he said and she let out a snort.

"Yeah, this party full of old people is lit." she said sarcastically as she turned to him, resting her head on her arm. "How was fighting ET? Did they probe you?" he gave her an unamused look that made her laugh as she looked around the party. "So that's Supergirl, Wonder Woman-" she looked around. "I heard Superman was there, where is he?" she turned back to John who shrugged.

"Back home I guess." he nudged his head. "You should come meet them. You might find yourself working with them one day." Ari turned to him with slightly wide eyes before shaking her head.

"I doubt it." she turned and looked over to that group of people on the other side of the room and she doesn't see herself ever being in the same league as them. "I don't even know what I'm doing here?" she glanced over to John before turning back around.

"I thought Thea brought you." he joked and Ari turned an unamused look over to him that made him laugh. "One day you're going to figure it out. It doesn't have to happen today." he placed a hand on her shoulder before standing to his feet and walking back over to the party. Ari watched as he passed Oliver who was heading over to her, choosing to sit beside her handing her a can of soda.

"What, no champagne?" she asked looking up to him and he just chuckled before bringing an arm around the back of her chair. She opened the can of soda and took a sip. "You know I don't need a babysitter. You can go mingle with your friends at this old people rager." he turned to her. "Seriously, I'm afraid someone's going to break a hip if you guys don't calm it down."

"You're getting Twinkie's sense of humor and I feel I knew it would happen." he said looking over to the girl who dropped her head to his shoulder and he placed a kiss to her head. The pair sat there for a few moments in silence. "Ari-" Oliver said breaking the silence. "I have to say something. Something I probably shouldn't say, but I know the consequences of holding my tongue when it matters with the people who matter and-" he pulled away slightly to look over to her and she turned to him. "You matter...you matter very much." she looked at him in confusion. "Ari, I want you to know that I will always respect your decision no matter what you choose when it comes to going back to your mother." Ari turned away. "But I have to say that I don't want you to leave." she turned back to him. "You, Robyn and Katie,Thea, you're my family. My world spins because of all of you." Ari didn't say anything as she once again turned away. "And if you're doing this because of Heather's threat-" he saw a tear fall down the teen's cheek and he let out a sigh as he brought his arm around her and hugged her to his chest. "You don't have to."

"Except I do." she said, her head on his chest. "She won't give up. Plus she's my mom. Maybe I can help her like I wished someone could've helped my dad." Oliver didn't say anything as he placed a kiss to the top of her head once again before both he and Ari's phone dinged from a text message. They pulled a part and looked down to their phones that read the same message from Katie.

"Turn around!"

Oliver and Ari looked at each other before turning back to the party to see a small crowd standing around Robyn who was on her feet.

"Is she-" Ari said jumping to her feet and Oliver did the same before they both hurried over to see Katie fully sitting on the floor just a few feet away from Robyn. Oliver and Ari came over behind Katie to see Robyn take one wobbly step. "C'mon stinker, you can do it!" Robyn lifted her eyes to Ari with a smile. Oliver knelt down beside Katie and smiled over to his daughter as she took another step toward them.

"That's it Sweetie, you're almost there." Oliver said.

"Somebody better be recording this!" Katie said, her eyes never leaving Robyn who looked over to her mother before taking another step, and then another and soon she was standing in front of Katie who pulled the girl into a hug. "You did it." Katie kissed Robyn's cheek making the child laugh. Oliver leaned forward placing a kiss to her head and letting out a heavy sigh. Katie looked over to him and she could see that look in his eyes. "Don't you dare start freaking out."

"She's walking." was all Oliver said and Katie just rolled her eyes as she turned back to hug her daughter.

When the party was over, Ari leaned against the car looking down to her phone while waiting for Thea who was saying goodbye to the others.

"Arianna?" Ari looked up to the voice to see the blonde standing in front of her. The woman smiled before holding out a hand. "I think you're the only one here I haven't met. Hi, I'm Kara." Ari wordlessly shook the woman's hand.

"You're Supergirl." Ari said still shaking the woman's hand and Kara just laughed.

"And you're Firelight." Kara said and Ari's eyes widen. "Your team couldn't stop talking about you. Especially Felicity. I think she's like your superfan." Kara laughed.

Ari just nervously laughed finally realizing she was still shaking the woman's hand and finally pulled away. "Uh, it's kind of awesome to meet you. I mean you're Supergirl. You're like one of my role models."

"Well it's an honor." Kara said. "You know Felicity was telling me about your whole outlook on this whole crime fighting thing we're doing." Ari looked slightly nervous and just shook her head.

"I know it's stupid and-"

"Oh no, it's not stupid at all!" Kara said. "It's actually pretty awesome and I totally want to see it work. I couldn't agree with you more. Bad guys are bad for a reason right. What if we could help them...save them. I mean it's not the quick and easy fix we're all used to, but it could have long-lasting benefits."

"Right, who wants to fight the same bad guy every other year?" Ari asked and Kara just laughed.

"You know Arianna Locke, I think you have a very bright future ahead of you." Kara said and that just made Ari smile even wider. "It's been a pleasure meeting you and I'm sure we'll see each other again. I hear you have a totally awesome suit. Can't wait to see it." Kara waved before turning and heading back inside to say her goodbyes.

Thea stood and watched as Katie got Robyn all bundled up in her stroller. The child was already sleeping and oblivious to the world around her. Katie looked over to Thea and smiled.

"How you doing?" Katie asked and Thea sighed.

"I still see their faces, hear their voices." Thea shook her head. "It was hard walking away, but I knew it was the right decision. I mean if I didn't, I wouldn't have witnessed the first steps of the youngest Queen." Thea smiled down to the girl before turning back to Katie. "How are you doing?" Katie just smiled and Thea took a step forward.

"I'm ok." Katie said turning as Oliver, John and Barry walked over. She glanced around to see that everyone else was already gone.

"I'm out of here." John said and Katie looked over to him. "I'm meeting Lyla and we're heading back home together. She told me to tell you guys happy anniversary."

"Well tell her thank you." Katie says taking a step forward to give the man a hug. John pulled from the hug before turning and shaking Barry's hand.

"I may never understand you, but you're one of the best men I know." John said and Barry looked slightly surprised.

"Thank you, that means so much." Barry said. "So does that mean you forgive me?"

John just chuckled. "It's like I tell this guy, you have to forgive yourself." John gives him a pat on the shoulder before turning and heading out.

"I guess we should get going too." Thea said turning to Oliver and Katie.

"Right, I'm going to grab my bag and I will meet you at the car." Katie says heading off.

"She doesn't know she's not going back home right away?" Barry asked and Oliver looked over to him and shook his head.

"No, it's going to be a surprise." Oliver said before turning to Thea and grabbing Robyn's baby bag and heading out to the car. Thea and Barry followed behind him. "Felicity offered to watch Robyn when you decide to go back to work, otherwise if she's busy, she can go to daycare." Ari lifted her eyes from her phone to them and Oliver just snagged it from her hand. "I'm not sure where you got this, but you're still grounded." she opened her mouth to argue, but just closed it and folded her arms over her chest. "School, home. That's it for you until we get back and then we can have a conversation about where to go from there." Ari just rolled her eyes before turning and getting into the car. Oliver just shook his head before moving around to grab Robyn. Once Roybn was all strapped into the car, Oliver stopped next to the driver's window where Thea sat.

"This seems like deja vu." Thea chuckled. "I hope you two have some actual fun because when you get back, I expect you to Mayor your ass off." she smiled as she turned on the car. Oliver just shook his head before turning and waving goodbye as the car drove away.

"You're like a dad." Barry suddenly said and Oliver looked over to him with a quirked brow. "No, yeah, that sounded random, it just hit me as I watched you with Ari and Robyn. You're a dad to toddler who just took her first steps and a teenage girl who rolls her eyes when you speak." Oliver chuckled. "You risked a lot doing this, coming here and helping out with this."

"I think it was a greater risk not coming and helping out with this." Oliver said before turning at the sound of footsteps followed by the sound of a rolling suit case. Katie looked between him and Barry before looking around.

"Where'd Thea and the kids go?" she asked stopping in front of him.

"They went home." Oliver said simply and Katie looked at him waiting for him explain further. "I thought you and me could go find those waffles and syrup." Katie smiled over to him.

"Waffles and syrup sound pretty good right about now, you two mind if I join you?" Barry asked and Oliver and Katie turned to him and Barry could see from the looks that maybe that wasn't an open invitation. "Oh, that was-" he shook his head. "Of course you two probably want to get as far away from this place as possible." he waved. "I should-" he turned around and began walking away.

Katie turned to Oliver and pointed toward Barry and Oliver frowned with a shake of his head. Right now he just wanted to finally be alone with his wife without interruptions. She just smacked his chest before turning. "Hey Barry!" Barry stopped and turned to them. "Want to grab some breakfast with us?" Barry just smiled before walking back over.

"You sure, I don't want to mess up any plans?" Barry said looking over to Oliver. Katie turned to him as well to still see the slight frown and she just swat his arm again.

"Don't pay attention to him." Katie walked over and looped her arm with Barry's and began walking toward their car before glancing over to Oliver. "Broken plans just make room for bigger and better plans." she gave Oliver a wink before turning back to Barry. Oliver just smiled before grabbing her suit case and following behind them.

When Bruce and Felicity finally stepped inside of their house, both let out a sigh walking into the living room.

"It feels good to be home." Felicity said as she pulled off her coat, tossing it on the couch before she turned to Bruce who was staring at his cell phone. "Richie?"

"He has officially stopped answering my calls." Bruce said with a shake of his head as he pulled off his coat as well. "He really is a big baby some times."

"Or you're both stubborn men who never like to admit when their wrong." Felicity said and Bruce quirked a brow.

"How was I wrong? He'd just been mind warped by Dominators after I told him to stay away. He wasn't ready for this fight. I sent him home to keep him safe."

"You know he's not a kid any more, Bruce. He's a full grown adult man who is actually a pretty good hero. A hero you trained him to be. If you give him the opportunity, he may just surprise you." Bruce tossed his coat on the couch as well before pulling Felicity close to him.

"You know after fighting an army of aliens, when I return home with my beautiful wife, the last thing I want to talk about right now is Richard." Bruce said before placing a kiss to the crook of the woman's neck.

"You want to talk?" she asked in amusement before Bruce scooped her in his arms making her squeal with laughter. He began walking toward the steps before the sound of the doorbell stopped them. They both turned to the door in confusion. "It's like three o'clock in the morning, who is at our door?" Bruce placed Felicity back on her feet before taking his phone from his pocket and swiping to the camera that was just outside of the door. Felicity walked around to get a look as well. The camera seeming to be glitching so they couldn't see anyone clearly. "That's not supposed to happen."

"Go upstairs to the panic room. If I don't come up in ten minutes, call for help." Bruce said turning to Felicity who didn't move. "Smoaks-" she didn't say anything as she moved to open the door. Bruce just groaned before quickening his step to grab her arm to pull her to stand behind him. He reached behind him and pulled the gun from his waist band and handed it to the woman who took it without hesitation. Bruce glanced over to her and she just gave a nod before he turned and pulled open the door to a face he never expected to see ever again. "Talia?" Felicity took a slight step to the side to see that face that had Bruce so stunned. The woman was beautiful. Her hair was dark, brown, but seemed to pair perfectly with her beautiful olive skin. The woman's eyes were locked on Bruce while he stared back and Felicity just stood there in confusion and annoyance at not knowing what was going on.

"Hi," Felicity said switching the gun to her other hand still hidden behind Bruce as she holds out her hand to the woman in front of him. "I'm Felicity Wayne, Bruce's wife and you are?" Talia pulls her eyes from Bruce to the blonde behind him, letting her eyes move over the woman with a slight smirk before turning back to Bruce.

"My name is Talia Al Ghul." she said and Felicity's eyes widened at the realization of who was standing at their door.

"What the hell are you doing here Talia?" Bruce asked and the woman sighed.

"You know after I got news of my father's death, I knew this moment had to happen." she said as she stared into his eyes. "And I put it off as long as I could, but I can't put it off any longer."

"What are you talking about? Put off what any longer?" Bruce asked.

Talia took a deep breath before taking a step back and looking over to something Bruce and Felicity couldn't see. Talia just gave a nod and soon a young boy appeared. Talia brought her arm around him and brought him over to stand in front of Bruce.

"Bruce, this is Damian." Talia said and Bruce couldn't take his eyes from the boy with dark hair that matched his own and brown eyes that they seemed to share. Bruce wasn't even surprised at the next words out of Talia's mouth. "Damian, this is your father."

The young boy took a slight step forward, letting his eyes look over the man.

"Father." Damian said looking up to meet Bruce's eyes with a tilt of his head. "I imagined you taller."

---

Author's note:

I had no idea when you I would get to that final moment, but I knew it was coming! Damian Wayne everyone!

Review Replies

hunter41963801: Me too! But like he said, he wasn't leaving that ship without her. And I've checked out a few of your stories, and they're really good!

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Thank you! Sorry for the wait!

Adela: Thank You! I think I really wanted to show Nyssa struggling with something she was never taught.

Once again, thanks for the support from everyone following the story and to the few who left reviews. It's all appreciated!

Sneak Peek

Katie crossed the hall, and walked into Curtis' room catching the tail end of their conversation.

"Yeah which probably means..." Curtis says.

"He knows that I'm the Green Arrow." Oliver replies.

"Wait, what?" Katie says and Oliver and Curtis turn to her. Oliver sighs before walking over to her. "How could he possibly know that?" she shook her head before glancing over to Curtis and letting out a shaky breath.