Back at the cave, Felicity was trying to patch up Oliver's bruises.
"Yeow!" he let out.
"Sorry." Felicity responded.
"Thank you," Oliver said as he sat up straight and turned to Diggle. "You were right in asking if I knew more than I was letting on. I've seen men with abilities like that before."
"You have?" Felicity asked, shocked. "Where?"
"On the island." Oliver answered. "During my second year marooned there we… I came across the remains of a old Japanese World War II military project. It was a serum designed to create human weapons."
"Human weapons." Diggle remarked, "My God, what's next? Aliens?"
"Well I did hear some rumors in National City," Felicity began to interject.
"This is real." Oliver interrupted. "Those five years that I was away I came across things that just…defy explanation. There was a doctor named Ivo that came to the island…to test the serum on people. The ones that survived, their endurance, reflexes and strength, all enhanced."
"You think this Ivo's in Starling City?" Diggle asked.
"He's dead." Oliver responded before pausing for a moment. "And so is everyone he injected with the serum, the last of which I burned."
"You think someone found the recipe?" Diggle guessed.
"The centrifuge and a large supply of blood, I think someone wants to make more of it." Oliver surmised. "A lot more."
"Why couldn't you have been marooned on Aruba." Felicity joked somewhat.
"There's still one major component left." Oliver told them as he handed a bent arrow to Felicity. "A powerful sedative."
"I think I preferred it when you left these in people." Felicity remarked.
"I need you to analyze the blood on the arrowhead." Oliver instructed. "If we can figure out which sedative they're using-"
"We can figure out where the next robbery will be." Diggle deduced.
"Barry and I will get right on it." Felicity told them before walking off.
"I do believe our dear Ms. Smoak is smitten." Diggle remarked before turning and seeing Oliver's face. "You ok man?"
"I saw something else on the road tonight." Oliver told him. "Something… something even I've never seen before."
"Considering we've already dealt with sonic screams and human weapons, that doesn't surprise me." Diggle replied. "What was it?"
"I… I don't know." Oliver admitted before changing the subject. "Did you find anything on Barry Allen?"
"Yeah," Diggle confirmed. "He's not who he says he is."
…
The next day, Roy, Thea, and Sin went to Max's apartment to find any clues to his disappearance.
"Ugh it reeks in here." Thea commented, appalled by the smell and noting the dark themed paintings that graced the room. "Guess your friend wasn't too into painting seascapes."
As the three continued looking around, Roy saw a flyer for a blood drive sponsored by Sebastian Blood. He picked it up, feeling very intrigued.
"Max is like any starving artist." Sin told them. "Starving… but… I could always crash here when I didn't have a place to stay."
"Hey this blood drive was a week ago." Roy spoke up. "When did you say he went missing?"
Sin turned to see the flyer and the date on it.
"That day." She confirmed.
This came as a surprise to everyone, as it seemed a crucial piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.
As the three began to leave, a police officer watched them from across the street. He then picked up his phone and called a certain number.
"It's Daley." He spoke. "Someone's looking for Maxwell Stanton."
"Then they should find him." The voice on the other end suggested.
"Yes, Brother Blood." Daley replied before handing up.
…
Across town, Barry and Felicity were chatting in the offices of Queen Consolidated.
"So you saw the S.T.A.R Labs particle accelerator turn on?" Felicity asked.
"Well on TV yes," Barry admitted "But I could see the explosion from the window of the CCPD precinct."
"Not really surprised something like that happened." Felicity remarked. "There's been a hundred percent increase in earthquakes since they turned on the Large Hadron Collider."
"Hey, that data is misleading." Barry argued.
"Oh, do tell." Felicity replied, smiling.
"You know about misleading, don't you?" Oliver guessed, walking into the room.
"What are you talking about?" Felicity asked.
"Only that Mr. Allen's story is completely false." Oliver answered.
"What?" Felicity let out.
"What- what would make you think that?" Barry asked.
"A little digging." Oliver answered. "Digging that revealed you're not full CSI, just an assistant, and that there is no similar case in Central City. In fact, your bosses don't even know you're here. So tell me Barry, what are you doing here?"
Barry was speechless and defeated. He decided that the only thing left he could do was admit the truth.
"I told you my mother was murdered." He said to Felicity.
"By your father." Oliver interjected.
"He didn't do it." Barry insisted.
"You said the police didn't find the man who killed her." Felicity recalled.
"They didn't." Barry told her. "… but they think they did. My dad is serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit… they didn't believe me."
"About what?" Felicity asked with an eyebrow raised.
"… I was 11." Barry began. " one night… something just came into our house, like a tornado. A blur."
That choice of words caught Oliver's attention.
"And somewhere inside the blur, I saw a person. My dad went to fight it. I tried to get him when suddenly… I was 20 blocks away from our house… nobody believed me. They thought I was trying to cover for my father. But what I saw that night, was real. As real as the man who ripped down that metal door with his bare hands."
Oliver was still taken aback by all he had just heard.
"That's why I look into cases like this," Barry continued. "The ones nobody believes are possible. Maybe if I can just make sense of one, I might be able to find out who really killed my mother … and free my dad."
After all that, Barry just let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry I lied to you." He spoke, before turning back to Felicity. "Better find another plus one."
With that, Barry walked out of the office, leaving Oliver with a very irritated Felicity.
"You know you can be an extreme jerk sometimes." She told him.
"There maybe some truth to his story." Oliver admitted, surprising Felicity.
"What?" she let out.
"The night I encountered the thief I also saw something chase after him as well." Oliver told her. "Some 'blur' that moved faster than anything I have ever seen. I think that might be the blur that Barry was talking about."
Felicity scoffed a bit.
"Would have appreciated the encouragement before you called him out like that." She remarked.
"Well he did lie about who he really was." Oliver countered.
"Yeah, and what do we do every day?" Felicity replied before walking out herself.
…
That night, the Queen family party to welcome back Moira began, with a very disappointing turn out. Very few guests had arrived, much to Oliver's disappointment. His mother tried to look alright with it, but he couldn't help but feel the disappointment. He casually walked up to a still irritated Felicity.
"Think this would be as good a time as any for a dance." He suggested.
"I'm not really in the mood to dance Oliver." Felicity remarked.
"Then it's a good thing I invited him." Oliver said, pointing out to the crowd.
Felicity turned to see Barry standing there in a tux, much to Felicity's surprise.
"Just so you know, they will card him at the bar." He informed before walking off.
Felicity just smiled as she walked over to Barry.
"Hi." She greeted.
"Hey," he greeted back. "I was serious earlier about not knowing how to dance. Want to just… hold hands and sway."
Felicity just chuckled a bit as the two held hands and swayed in place. While they were doing that, Thea walked up to Roy.
"Hey." Roy greeted. "You doing ok?"
"Of course." Thea replied. "You know us Queen women, we never let anything get to us."
"Then you must take after your dad." Roy remarked before his phone started ringing. He was quick to answer it.
"Hello?" he answered.
His face dropped a bit, hearing what the voice on the other end was saying,
"Alright I'm on my way." He replied before hanging up. "That was Sin."
"Did she find Max?" Thea asked.
"Uh, no she just wanted to meet with me about something." Roy told her. "Sorry."
With that, Roy went off to meet up with Sin, leaving Thea to wonder what was really going on.
…
"Max!" Sin cried out as some police officers were holding her back. "Get off me!"
It was at that moment that Roy showed up and ran over to try and help.
"Hey! " He yelled. "Let her go!"
The cops responded by shoving Sin behind the police barricade and into Roy.
"Stupid cops." Sin remarked, gaining composure. "They're saying Max OD'ed."
"Was he using?" Roy asked.
"No!" Sin quickly replied. "He made extra cash donating blood. You really think the hospital would let him be a donor if he was an addict?"
Taking all this in, Roy quickly slipped behind the police barricade and used his phone to take a picture of Max's face, which happened to have blood coming out from the eyes. Once he was done, he and Sin got the heck out of there, not knowing their actions were being watched by a certain officer Daley.
…
"Barry said that the sedative needed is ketamine." Felicity reported to Oliver and Diggle back in the Arrow Cave. "The police found trace amounts of it in the thief's blood. It's a common surgical anesthesia derived from hydrochloric salt."
"Can you use that to track him?" Oliver asked as Felicity took a seat at the computer.
"With the current concentration ratio in the blood sample there is only one possible location with a large enough quantity of the sedative that correlates with the amount of blood the stolen centrifuge can process." Felicity responded.
Diggle leaned over to take a look at the picture of the location on the screen.
"What is it?" Diggle asked. "There's no sign."
"Yeah, well ARGUS doesn't like to advertise." Felicity remarked. "It's a disaster bunker right on the edge of the Glades. ARGUS has them all over the country. They store food, clothes, supplies-"
"Medicine." Diggle finished.
"I'm on my way." Oliver let out.
Oliver then went for his bow and costume.
"Oliver," Felicity let out. "… be careful out there ok? With the way this arrowhead is bent… this guys muscle density is stronger than concrete."
"I beat someone like this before," Oliver reassured. "I can do it again."
"What if you can't?" Felicity asked.
Before Oliver could respond, a beeping from the computer went off. Oliver turned to the screen to see the red flechette imbedded in the wall. Roy wanted to talk.
…
Out in the alleyway, Green Arrow walked to where Roy was waiting for him.
"This better be important kid." Arrow told him.
"I need your help." Roy told him. "A friend of mine's friend is dead. The cops think he OD'ed but we think he might be murdered.
"Why?" Arrow inquired.
"Well he wasn't an addict for starters," Roy explained. "And this…"
Roy then showed Arrow the photo of Max.
"This doesn't look like any kind of OD I've ever seen."
Arrow was taken a back by the picture, knowing what caused it all too well.
"Stay away from that." Arrow told him.
"You know something?" Roy asked, not entirely meaning it as a question.
Arrow jut looked down in response
"What happened to him?!" Roy demanded. "You're the one who told me to be your eyes and ears on the streets. Well you know what, that's not good enough anymore!"
"Fine." Arrow finally spoke. "Then we're done all together."
"I don't need you!" Roy yelled as Arrow turned around. "I have friends who can help me. You can't stop us."
"But I can slow you down." Arrow said quietly.
Arrow then spun around, pulled out an arrow, and fired it into Roy's leg. He fell over, clutching his leg in pain as Arrow walked off to put a stop to this threat.
…
Once at the warehouse, Green Arrow looked around for the masked mirakuru warrior. He was on high alert, not sure which direction the thief would come from.
Suddenly, a giant crate flew towards him. He quickly rolled out of the way. As he got to his feet, he saw the thief up on a catwalk near the ceiling and started firing arrows at him. The thief leapt down to the ground to engage Arrow head on. The thief took a swing at Arrow but he quickly ducked under it. Arrow then quickly turned around and shot an arrow that contained a cable which tied him to the pole behind him by the neck.
"Who are you?" Arrow questioned.
"Merely a follower." The thief told him.
"of who?"
"My brother."
"Did he give you the Mirakuru?" Arrow questioned. "Did he inject you with it?!"
"No." the thief replied. "He saved me with it."
The thief then broke the cable holding him. Arrow let loose several arrows, but they all bounced off the thief's chest as he walked towards him. He took another swing at Arrow but he ducked under that one as well. Arrow dealt several blows to the thief but they all seemed ineffective. Arrow then knelt down and struck the thief on the back of the leg, causing him to kneel down. The thief retaliated by backhanding Arrow, sending flying across the room. As Arrow landed, the thief walked over to him and grabbed him by the throat. The thief then lifted Arrow into the air and started crushing his throat. Arrow grabbed hold of his hand trying to pry it off, but to no avail.
Just then, a flash of red zoomed in and came to a stop at a wall near the two combatants, revealing the man in red that tried to thwart the truck robbery the previous night.
"Hey!" the streak called out, gaining the thief's attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size."
The thief tossed Arrow aside as he turned his attention to the flash.
"Surely you can't mean you." The thief replied, gripping another crate.
"I may not be as strong as you." The flash admitted as the thief threw the crate at him.
The flash then moved out of the way of the crate at breakneck speed.
"But you're not as fast as me."
The flash then zoomed towards the thief and sped around him, unleashing several super speed punches as he did so. The thief then punched the flash as he ran around him, sending him skidding across the floor. As the thief walked towards the flash, Green Arrow came up alongside him and shot two arrows at the thief's feet. With the thief pinned down, the flash ran around and came back and speed punched the thief, sending him crashing into some shelves. Arrow walked forward a bit to survey his fallen opponent.
"Nice work there." The flash complimented.
Instinctively, Green Arrow spun around and aimed an arrow at the flash, causing him to back up in surprise.
"Whoa whoa." The flash let out.
"Who are you?!" Arrow demanded.
"I-I'm one of the good guys." The flash insisted.
"What do you know about the murder of Nora Allen 15 years ago?!" Arrow pressed.
The flash was shocked by the question.
"W-what do you know about that?" the flash asked.
"There were reports of a blur in the house moving at inhuman speeds." Arrow continued. "And I seriously doubt there's two people running around at high speeds in red leather."
"Well technically it's not leather, it's a reinforced tri-poli-" the flash tried to explain until he noticed something behind Green Arrow. "Look out!"
Arrow turned around to see the thief coming up behind him. He quickly ducked as the thief tried to hit him, causing him to hit the flash and send him into a crate. The thief then uppercutted Arrow, sending him flying into the air. As he landed, the thief punched him into a shelf that collapsed on top of him. Arrow struggled to remain conscious as he saw several needles sticking into his leg. Before he could call for help, he passed out.
After a little while, the flash came to and saw the unconscious Green Arrow on the ground. Once he saw the needles imbedded in his leg he went over to help. As he knelt down and propped up his head, his hood fell back a bit, revealing his face.
"Oliver…?" the flash let out.
Thinking fast, the flash picked up Oliver and ran out of the building.
…
"Oliver?" Felicity tried to reach on the comms. "Oliver?... he's not answering."
"That's it." Diggle decided, pulling out a gun from one of the drawers. "I'm going after him."
Before he could get going, there was a rush of wind in the cave. Diggle and Felicity looked up to see Oliver on the table and the flash standing over him.
"Oliver!" Felicity let out.
"What did you do to him?!" Diggle demanded pointing the gun at him.
"Nothing!" the flash insisted. "But I can save him if you let me."
"Yeah, well why should we trust you?" Diggle questioned.
Unable to think of anything else, the flash pulled off his mask, revealing the face of Barry Allen, much to Diggle's and Felicity's surprise.
"… Barry?" Felicity spoke.
"Please," Barry begged. "Let me save him."
I gotta say folks, this is a chapter I've been looking forward to writing for a long time, and I gotta say it was well worth it. And the next part is gonna be even better, inserting the Flash into my favorite episode of season 2. And don't worry I haven't forgotten about Laurel, I just couldn't figure a way to include her in the episode without it feeling tacked on. Just stay tuned and brace yourselves for more!