Chapter 11 FLASHPOINT: Turning Point Part 1

AN – This is the turning point as we start getting past the darkness and finding the OTA we all love!

*Please see Chapter 2 for SPOILER ALERT and DISCLAIMER!*

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"Oliver, I'm so sorry but he's right. We need to move. I can get someone here to help but not from here and we need help to save the city." Felicity's heart ached for the man kneeling beside her. She had actually known his father much longer and logically realized she knew Robert Queen better than his son. Working on missions to defeat villains just brought people closer together – that's how the Justice League had actually started. Her heart though recognized something in Oliver Queen, something that bound them together in ways she hadn't fully accepted. She couldn't even explain it but she couldn't walk away from him either. Tugging on his arm, she spoke again.

"Yes, your father was the Arrow. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you but there's more too. Oliver, please look at me."

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Oliver knew his father was gone but he couldn't look away from the familiar face nearly concealed by paint and black leather. He wasn't sure how long he sat there. It wasn't just his father's face he saw but also Tommy's, Laurel's, and his mom's. All had lied to him. All were gone. It felt like he was floating aimlessly, detached from himself, from the reality of the world. Adrift, alone. Flinching, he felt the warmth of Felicity's hand slide into his. Breath finally slid in and out as he again felt his heart beat. He turned to meet her eyes and saw pain, fear, and hope reflected there.

"Here, drink this." Diggle recognized the blank look in Oliver's eyes. He had seen shock on many soldiers' faces and on his own. There was no time for Oliver to face his losses though – there was still a job to do.

When Oliver didn't take the shot glass, Felicity did and then she pushed it into his hands. "Drink it." She ordered in a sharp tone.

Knocking back the vodka, Oliver again met first Felicity's eyes and then Diggle's. Warmth was spreading through him but he wasn't sure he was ready to feel again. He had barely rebuilt his life after Merlyn's attacks and now he needed to do it again. His relationship with his father was complicated but it was a relationship. Tommy had always been his best friend, had always had his back. Now all he had left was... "Thea!"

Felicity jerked slightly at Oliver's sudden exclamation and the tighter grip of his hand in hers. It took only a moment for her to understand. She squeezed gently back before releasing her grip and stepping away. "Communications are down. We can't reach her." She hated to reveal more to him but she hoped to ease his worry. "She's at the gym training, right? That means she's with Roy and he can keep her safe."

Nodding before he even processed the information, Oliver froze and frowned. "How do you know where she is?"

"I think it's clear that Ms. Smoak knows a lot more than she's letting on." Diggle spoke up. He was seated at one of the desks with the bottle of Russian vodka back on the counter where he'd found it. Unable to resist, he poured a shot for himself. He had left active service only to find a war zone in his own city and he didn't even know who the good guys or bad guys were. There was no time to dwell on the fact that he wasn't sure who he was anymore either.

Felicity frowned slightly at Diggle before returning her gaze to Oliver. "Everyone has secrets. Even you, Oliver Queen."

"True, but you seem to be the keeper of everyone's secrets." Diggle continued to prod ruthlessly. He and Oliver couldn't be the only ones whose worlds no longer made sense. "Can your knowledge save us or will it kill us too?"

Blinking at the bold question, Felicity realized she didn't know the answer. She had lived by the JLA rules for years and believed in them. In the last minutes though, she'd watched two heroes die and hadn't been able to help. It was impossible to know if she could have done anything differently to save them. The world she knew was crumbling around her and she wasn't sure if she could pick up the pieces and survive. The JLA wasn't there to help her, much less help the two men she had dragged down with her. She hated to admit it but Diggle was right to be suspicious and Oliver had every reason to be livid.

"To be honest, I don't know." Felicity met Oliver's eyes and then turned to Diggle. She was surprised to see him holding a shot glass out to her. As the men had, she quickly downed the liquid. However, unlike the men, she coughed when the warm liquid burned a line down her throat.

The threesome shared a look but no one spoke for several long moments – each one was lost in thoughts of the past, present, and even the future. Each knew the other two faced similar struggles and it was reassuring to realize they weren't actually alone. They were locked in a basement surrounded by darkness but that didn't mean they had to die there. Before anyone could voice any hope or plan, the building again shook with another series of explosions above them. They were plunged into absolute darkness for several long moments until back-up lights flickered to life.

In the dim light, they again exchanged brief looks to confirm they were all still there. A small bang, mere feet away, echoed loudly in the Arrow's lair. Together, the trio moved instinctively. Diggle pulled Felicity back behind a large cabinet while Oliver moved to the other side of the door.

A slim young man moved cautiously through the remains of the building. He wasn't sure what timeline he had jumped to so he had no idea what to expect. There was no way to know if he had made things worse once again. According to the facial recognition program, Felicity and Oliver were nearby. They were his only hope.

"Felicity, are you here? It's Barry, I need your help."

Diggle and Felicity exchanged a look - he lifted a brow, she shook her head no and then shrugged. He signaled Oliver who remained hidden behind the intruder.

Checking the program again, Barry noted the signals for both remained in his location. When he looked up, he saw Diggle and breathed a sigh of relief. "Diggle, so you're all here. Good, I wasn't sure if I had made it back or not. Where's—"

Felicity stepped out as well and stared at the young man. It was his red suit that confused her.

"Felicity!" Barry moved to hug the young woman but before he could take the final step an arrow slammed into his back. Looking up from the floor, he saw Diggle holding a gun trained on him and Oliver aiming another arrow at him.

"Really? Again?" When neither man smiled nor laughed, Barry frowned and looked toward Felicity. Her expression of wary suspicion was not welcoming. It finally made sense that he hadn't made it back to his real time. After a heavy sigh, he spoke again.

"You don't know me, do you?"

Felicity shook her head no before asking a question of her own. "Where did you get that suit? Who are you, really?"

"My name is Barry Allen. The suit is mine." Barry moved slowly so as to not cause this also trigger happy version of Oliver to shoot again.

The other three shared a look. Felicity continued the conversation while neither man lowered his weapon.

"Did you make the suit? How do you know us?" Considering Oliver didn't know about her association with the JLA and had only just found out his father was the Arrow, Felicity didn't want to blurt out more information overload.

Sitting up cautiously, Barry removed the arrow as his body continued to heal. "A friend made the suit, just as I made the Arrow's mask." He glanced back but Oliver still hadn't moved. Issuing another frustrated sigh, he continued.

"Look, this isn't going to make a lot of sense so I'm just going to blurt it out. The suit was made for me because I needed something that wouldn't catch fire when I move...really fast. I'm the fastest man alive."

Felicity shook her head no which caused Oliver and Diggle to tense. "No, you're not. Wally is the fastest man alive. He's the Scarlet Speedster."

Despite the fact that neither Oliver nor Diggle could confirm her words, they believed her. Both tightened their grips and prepared to fire if the imposter tried anything. Oliver's mumbled question didn't reach anyone but Diggle's ears.

"Just how many masked superheroes does she know?"

"So there is someone here too?" Barry briefly pondered alternate realities - what remained the same, what changed. "And you three are together here fighting to save Starling City too?"

"What? No! We aren't together...I mean we aren't together, together, like a threesome. We are here together but we haven't even known each other more than a couple months. There's no way the three of us—" Felicity knew her face was as red as the man's suit but she didn't know why she couldn't stop talking.

"What did you mean 'here too'?" Oliver interrupted Felicity's rambling answer with his question.

"My speed allows me to time jump. I made some choices." Barry stopped and swallowed with difficulty. He didn't really want to talk about his mother. "I've jumped before to other realities, timelines. I'm trying to make things right but I don't know how. I was looking for you so you could help me. We've worked together before, all of us."

"Well, Barry, we kinda have a lot going on right now." Diggle interjected.

"The city is under attack, multiple cities actually. The JLA doesn't have enough people to help us so we're going to have to do this on our own." Felicity noted their confusion. After replaying her words, she answered the unspoken question. "The JLA - Justice League of America. It's a group of heroes who work together to defeat the bad guys and keep us all safe – that kind of thing."

Oliver lowered his dad's bow and just stared at Felicity. Everyone around him had lied to him. Everyone had a secret life they had kept from him just as his mom had done. Laurel. His dad. Felicity.

"Oliver!"

Hearing the warning in Felicity's voice, Oliver spun and raised the bow at the same time. Barry was already there though and took down the first masked soldier to crash through the door. Oliver unleashed several arrows at the next ones and heard Diggle's gun as he also took aim. Turning back to Felicity, he found her swinging a staff against the back of another attacker's head. His arrow finished off the man but more masked men attacked.

TO BE CONTINUED….Part 2 will be posted by Saturday!

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AN2 – I'll be blunt in that I gloss over the time travel plot points! It's not something I understand and my focus has been on exploring OTA relationships so it's really just a vehicle for me to do that! Sorry if my lack of details offends anyone!