Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters in this story are owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

My name is Felicity Smoak. Hi!

My whole life I've worked hard to be the best, to rise upon where I came from. And while I've made mistakes, I like to think I did okay.

I've always hoped that one day I could make a difference in people's recently, I learned how much a difference I will make. But if I'm going to help Oliver save this city, I need to be… someone else. I need to… be… oh crap, why did I decide to start working out again?

WEDNESDAY

She had bought the exercise dvd on a lark a few years ago. She had meant to watch it before- she really had!- but her busy work schedule never gave her enough time to do so. That, and her natural aversion to strenuous physical activity. But after seeing what she had seen, Felicity had decided it was high time for her to start working out. So there she sat on the floor, trying to work along with the man on the screen even as her mind drifted back to earlier in the week.

FLASHBACK

When she returned, the first thing she did was download all the information she had stored in her phone's SD card onto her laptop, her desktop, and a portable hard drive. Then she sat down with a cup of Raman noodles and started going through it all.

Come Monday, she found herself back in her cubicle in Queen Consolidated. And for the first time since she started, she hated it. She hated the inane questions from corporate execs who didn't know how to turn their computers on, let alone how to fix the simplest of problems. She hated the few of her less-talented colleges that ran her down even as the begged her for help- and then took credit for her fixes. And she hated her supervisor, who was far less talented with a computer, but far more talented with playing politics- and who stole credit for her ideas every single day.

Actually, she had always hated Marv. That wasn't new.

The problem was, Felicity had just spent the past two weeks in her fantasy setting- a future space station!- hacking computes that she would help invent in a few decades (provided she didn't die earlier this time around), and watching herself do things that were so much more important than cleaning off Mark Fellows computer of the porn he was constantly downloading, or resetting the network when Andrew in accounting used his computer as a file-sharing server. By Tuesday afternoon, she was so frazzled that, when she was called up to the 40th floor, she wasn't exactly thinking straight.

Felicity took the elevator up, silently fuming to herself and thinking that Marv once again played politics and got her into trouble. Probably because she was getting better and making sure the credit for her wok went to herself, and not him. The elevator opened on the executive floor, and Felicity stalked off and headed towards Walter's office. Without knocking, she barged in and confronted the man, who was sitting behind his desk.

"I've got one question. Why am I being fired?" she demanded.

Walter looked up in bemusement. "Ms. Smoak, isn't it?" he clarified.

"Yes." She responded, and then pressed on. "And I am without a doubt the single most valuable member of your technical division. That's including my so-called 'supervisor'. Letting me go would be a major error for this company."

"I agree, which is why you're not being fired." A voice said from behind her. Felicity turned and saw Moira Queen sitting in a chair, staring at her in amusement.

"Oh." Felicity said. "Hi." She said after a moment.

"Moira filled me in on what happened over the past two weeks." Walter began. "And while I find it… unbelievable," he fidgeted, "I did see the video you made with Thea. That coupled with how they suddenly appeared in the mansion…"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's all true." Felicity assured him.

Walter cleared his throat. "Yes, well the truth is something I'm trying to get used to now." He said pointedly. This time Moira fidgeted.

"Look, Mr. Steele," Felicity began hesitantly, "I know what Mrs. Queen kept from you. And I saw how you reacted the first time, and in that case I really couldn't blame you. But this time she told you everything before it all went to hell, so try and look at it from her point of view. Her husband- first husband, that is- got involved in something that spun out of control. When he tried to make things right, he was killed. And the man who had killed him- and her son, and Sara Lance, in her mind-made it clear to her that she would continue in his place, or else." She sighed. "She had Thea to worry about, and later on, you. And she knew that Malcolm had no qualms about killing her family. So yes, she lied to you. She hid this from you. But she only did it because she loves you, and she wanted to protect you."

Walter looked at her with narrowed eyes, analyzing her even as Moira subtly wiped away a few tears. "I must say, I'm surprised to hear you defend Moira." He said after a moment. "She told me how she treated you in those… memories." He had a hard time saying the word- a part of him still didn't quite believe it.

"Yeah, well… that Moira Queen wasn't my favorite person either." Felicity said bluntly. "But even when she was being a terrible person to me, she was doing it, again, to protect her daughter. So I can't really fault her for that." She turned back to Moira. "Please don't fire me."

Moira chuckled. "Lord, Felicity. I have no interest in seeing you fired." She assured the hacker.

"Indeed, it was something else entirely that I wanted to talk to you about." He shuffled some papers on his desk. "We are currently putting together a new applied sciences division, and I want you to head it."

Felicity blinked. "What?"

"I should note that, while Moira did put in a word for you," he nodded towards his wife, "I did a fair amount of research on you myself." He lifted the file from his desk. "Ranked Second in the National Informative Technology Competition at age 19, Graduated from M.I.T. with a master's degree in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences. You were recruited by Robert straight out of college, and have done solid work since. Looking closer, I've noticed that a lot of work done by your direct supervisor seems to bear a striking resemblance to your own."

Felicity sighed. "That's because he likes taking credit for my stuff." She said finally. "And he knows how to play politics. Which is something I just can't do, because- hello! I can't shut up!"

Moira chuckled. "Felicity, we want to make you a deal." She began. "The Applied Sciences division won't be ready for another year and a half. And while we have our eyes on several key personnel, we won't truly start hiring for another 6 months. So while we get all of that in order, we'd like for you to continue in the IT department."

"Marvin Whitmore is a cunning politician, but he's proving to be a less-than-capable IT specialist." Walter continued. "And while it seems to me that we have several capable people in the department, I need help weeding out the ones who coast by on his favor."

"So… you want me to be a double agent?" Felicity hazarded.

"Quite right." Walter confirmed. "In six months we'll pull you out so you can help us in hiring the staff for the Applied Sciences division. I will, of course, have a contract written up explaining all of this and guaranteeing your transition. I don't want you to think we'll use you to ferret out the incapable, just to turn around and fire you as well."

"I never thought that you would. I always thought very highly of you, sir. And that was before the memories."

"Thank you." Walter said with a smile.

"So, I have to put up with inane tech questions and spy on my coworkers for six months; then afterwards I get to take over applied sciences." Felicity smiled. "Hopefully this time I won't have to blow it up!"

Moira coughed lightly, trying to hide her amusement . "Yes, we'd appreciate that." Walter said dryly. "I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy working with you, Miss Smoak." He held out his hand.

"I will, too." Felicity replied, shaking his hand. "Um, one question."

"Yes?"

"Where's the bathroom up here? I really got to go."

PRESENT

Felicity struggled mightily, and finally managed to finish her fifth sit-up. Cheering her small victory, she groaned as she clambered to her feet. She grabbed her water bottle and chugged- then nearly spit it up when there was a knock at the door. Setting the bottle down, she turned and opened the door without thinking-

And found herself staring at Malcolm Merlyn.

"You're not here to kill me, are you? Because if you are, I really wish you would have gotten here like twenty minutes ago."

To Be Continued…