Five Months later
Green Arrow takes down the men guarding a ship in the harbor. He then swings out of the water, lands on the ship, and continues fighting his way through the remaining guards. He calls in that there's no sign of Alex Faust, and Spartan takes down other men and confirms that he hasn't seen Faust. An armored Wild Dog takes down a man before he can kill Spartan from behind.'
As a guard attacks Arrow, Faust comes out on deck and activates a missile launcher. He tells Arrow that next time, the mayor should pay. Faust fires the missile, and Arrow takes down his man and pins Faust to a scaffold. The crime lord warns that Arrow can't disarm it, but Arrow says that he has a friend who can.
On a rooftop, Mr. Terri throws one of his T-Spheres at the missile. It spoofs the guidance system and draws it back to the water, where it explodes over the harbor. Faust tells Arrow that he looks troubled as if the detonation stirred unfortunate memories.
The Past
Oliver tells Felicity that there's an Argus supply ship on the other side of the island and Slade knows where it is. Slade heads off on his own, figuring the others won't make it, and the others head for the plane to take shelter. Samantha goes off after William, and Thea goes after her. The bombs go off, and Diggle lags behind.
Now
At the HQ, Rene gives Oliver a speech he wrote for the police academy graduation ceremony. Felicity comes in with fast food and says that he had to put her mother on a flight to Las Vegas. Oliver says that he's going home, and the three men leave Oliver with Felicity. She says that she got food for William, and Oliver asks her to come with him. Oliver figures that William is getting used to him, but Felicity says that it would be confusing and promises to go another night.
The Past
Oliver takes William to the shore and explains that Adrian did it. William takes in that Oliver is his father, and Oliver tells him that he's going to find Samantha and make sure that she's safe.
Now
Oliver goes home and the nanny Raisa tells him that school is hard for William. William is playing video games and tells Oliver that he's not hungry. He mutters that school is fine, and Oliver suggests that they go to a baseball game. William says that he's tired and going to bed, and they say good night to each other.
At the station, Dinah questions Faust and asks where he got the muscle. She applies some pressure to his wounded shoulder and figures that someone paid Faust to launch the missile. She goes to get some water, and an officer tells her that Quentin's appointment as deputy mayor was an hour ago and he hasn't shown. Dinah gets a text from Quentin and says that she knows where he is.
Quentin is sitting in a bar looking at three glasses of whiskey when Dinah comes in. He thanks her for coming and says that he can't tell his sponsor what happened. Dinah tells him that Laurel wouldn't have wanted him to start drinking, and Quentin wonders which Laurel.
The officer gives Faust a can of pop and opens it for him. Faust slams his head into the table to knock a tooth loose, pulls it out, and explains that it's a C4 implant. He drops it into the pop can and it starts fizzling. The C4 goes off, and Black Siren comes in and tells Faust that he's right on schedule. She's brought mercenaries with her, and they open fire on the other officers. Alex activates a bomb and says that they're all set, and gives the remote to Black Siren. She sets it off as they leave, the station blowing up behind them.
The next day, Oliver, Quentin, and Rene look over the debris. Quentin suggests that they delay the graduation, but Oliver refuses to give in to terrorism. Dinah shows them video of Black Siren and assures them that she got to it before anyone else could see it.
At the bunker, Quentin and Dinah assure the others that Black Siren was dead on Lian Yu when they found her. They wonder why Faust is working with Black Siren, and Diggle sends the image to Lyla to identify the mercenaries. Oliver goes to take William to school. When he arrives home, William storms past him without a word. Raisa says that William didn't sleep, and that he puts on a good act for Oliver. He cried and said that his mother was dead because of the bad man.
The Past
Oliver finds Slade, who says that he came back looking for survivors. He explains of the team went to the monastery, and leads Oliver to Thea.
Now
Quentin visits Oliver in his office and finally talks about the other Laure. He explains that Dinah wasn't being straight when she said that they found her dead. Quentin explains that Black Siren went to the station looking for her. As Oliver wonders, Lyla sends a text to Oliver saying that they have a lead on Black Siren. Quentin insists on going with her.
That night, Black Canary intercepts Black Siren's van and uses her sonic scream to stop it. Black Siren gets out and the two of them unleash their sonic blasts on each other. Black Canary deflects it with her staff and the two fight hand to hand. Mercenaries charge out of the van and the rest of the team takes them on. Diggle prepares to threaten a man threatening Wild Dog, but misses. The mercenary shoots Wild dog in the chest, knocking him over the bridge railing. Arrow takes down the mercenary, leaps over the side, and grabs Wild Dog just in time. Mr. Terrific arrives and Arrow warns him that Rene is in bad shape.
Quentin and Curtis take Rene to Dr. Schwartz for treatment, and Oliver tells Felicity that Black Siren and the mercenaries escapes put they pulled a GPS off the van. He then asks if Dinah knows why Black siren targeted Quentin, and she claims that she doesn't know. Felicity says that the GPS' last location was a warehouse, and figures that Black Siren won't go there. Diggle and Dinah head there to see if they can pick up any clues.
The Past
Slade takes Oliver to where the blast blew Thea away. Oliver runs to his sister and breaks into tears.
Now
Black Canary and Spartan enter the warehouse and discover that the place is empty. As they look around, Black Canary says she saw Spartan miss. He asks about her, saying that he saw her reaction when Oliver asked Laurel if Black Siren targeted Quentin. Before she can answer, they spot a map showing an attack plan of city hall. The academy graduation is being moved there, and the relocation was kept under wraps for security reasons.
The past
Dinah and Quentin search the monastery and Black Siren attacks Dinah and puts a knife to her throat. She greets her "daddy", Quentin, as he draws on her.
Now
Oliver dresses for the graduation, and hears William call out for Raisa. He insists on going in, and tells William that Prometheus is gone. William says that the bad man is there, and points at Oliver.
Later, Oliver meets Felicity at the bunker and says that he's worried about William. He tells her that they have more pressing business, and Felicity explains that she identified the targeted areas at city hall. They wonders why Black Siren is attacking the graduation, and Quentin comes in and says that Black Siren didn't get him. Dinah tells him that he doesn't have to do it, but Quentin says that he's been living with the guilt too long. He explains that Black Siren wasn't dead when they found her.
The Past
Quentin shoots Black Siren before she can cut Dinah's throat.
Now
Dinah says that she told Quentin to tell them that Black Siren was dead when they found her. She points out that Black Siren was going to kill her and Quentin saved his life. Oliver tells Quentin to stay there, but Quentin refuses, figuring that they need to use him as bait. After a moment, Oliver agrees and Curtis shows them high-tech bomb detectors but Felicity and Curtis have to be there operating them. Diggle offers to stay behind and operate the comms, and Oliver agrees.
The Past
Samantha staggers out of the darkness and asks if William is okay. She collapses and Oliver tells her that William is fine and needs to see his mother. Samantha makes Oliver promise to be the boy's father and dies.
Now
At city hall, Curtis and Felicity check the crowd. Oliver begins the ceremony and says that the city is better off than ever. He thanks the police for protecting them and talks to Quentin privately. Quentin blames himself for unleashing Black Siren on the city, and Oliver tells him that Black Siren isn't Laurel. The older man insists that Black Siren is his daughter, but Oliver tells him that he protected his friend. He admits that William blames him for Samantha's death, and figures that he should be with Samantha's parents. Oliver wonders how to reach him, and Quentin tells him to just be a father.
Felicity reports that they've found something and figures that something is wrong. They check in with Diggle, just as a grenade rolls in. It goes off, stunning him as he takes cover, and Black Siren and his mercenaries come in. She tells Felicity that Diggle is fine and going to catch up with an old friend. She figures that Diggle lost his arm, and he slides a flash bang over to her and the others. He slips into the shadows and the mercenaries go after him while Black Siren tells Faust that it's time to go to work.
Diggle takes out several of the mercenaries, grabs a gun, and shoots at the others. He freezes up and a mercenary pistol-whips him. Arrow arrives and takes the remaining mercenaries down, Diggle tells him that he's pissed.
Faust plants explosives, and Mr. Terrific and Black Canary come in via the elevator shaft. Black Canary takes out the first wave of mercenaries, and she and Black Siren fight while Mr. Terrific fights the remaining mercenaries. The bomb sniffer determines the bombs are in the bunker, and the whole place is wired. Felicity says that she can jam the detonation signal remotely. A mercenary prepares to shoot Mr. Terrific, but Arrow takes him down from behind. Faust runs off and Diggle grabs him and throws him back. Black Siren says that they'll meet again and sets off an explosive to cover their escape.
Outside, Quentin tells Black siren not to move. She invites him to shoot for the heart this time, and asks if he'd choose his friend over her daughter. Quentin calls her Laurel and begs her to stop, and Black Siren tells him that back on Lian Yu she would have pulled the trigger if the roles were reversed. Quentin lowers the gun and Black Siren walks off.
Quentin enters the bunker and tells Oliver that the graduation went off without a problem. Diggle figures that the graduation was a distraction, and Curtis suggests that Black Siren had another objective. Oliver orders them to inventory the armory to determine if Black Siren stole something, and asks Quentin if he's fine. Quentin says that he is and apologizes for lying, and Oliver assures him that it's okay.
The next day, Oliver visits Rene at the hospital. He asks what would happen to Zoe if something happened to Rene, and Rene points out that his daughter has a new family. He figures that Zoe doesn't even think about him, and Oliver gives Rene an envelope and says that he deserves another chance. It's a notification of another custody hearing, and Oliver says that the new DA helped. Rene hugs him and Oliver tells him to pay him back by getting better.
Oliver leaves and goes into a Thea's room. She's in a coma and hooked up to life support. Slade comes in and Oliver tells him that Thea is the same. The older man says that the info on Joe panned out. He's heading to Calgary, and Oliver hopes that he finds what he's looking for. However, Oliver warns that finding one's son doesn't always go as planned. Slade tells him to be patient with William, but to also be prepared to choose between being a hero or a father. He explains that the two of them walk between two worlds, but they can only do that so long. Slade shakes Oliver's hand and wishes him luck, and leaves.
At the bunker, Diggle is checking his injuries from Lian Yu. Dinah comes in and asks if he's okay, and offers him his gun. She confirmed that Diggle didn't fire it, and gives it to him. Curtis comes in and says that he found what Black Siren took: a prototype T-Sphere. It's not weaponized, and they wonder what Black Siren can do with it.
The Past
A man flies to Lian Yu and helps Black Siren up.
Now
Oliver tells William that he knows William blames him for part of what happened. He talks about how Robert wasn't perfect and neither is he, but Robert loved him. Oliver says that he knows how much Samantha loved him, and she asked Oliver to take care of William. He promises that he is never walking away from William, and says that he can stay up late to watch a game. William asks if it's football or baseball, and then agrees.
When Oliver goes out, Felicity calls and tells him to turn on the news. Bethany Snow is showing a photo identifying Oliver as Oliver. Felicity wonders what they're going to do, and Oliver admits that he doesn't know.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 13, 2017