Outside of Nanda Parbat, Oliver is making camp and a woman attacks him. They fight and Oliver realizes that he's fighting Thea... and she recognizes his brother. They settle down to eat and Oliver shows Thea a photo of Mia. Oliver asks where Nyssa is, and Thea says that she had League business to take care of after they destroyed the Lazarus Pits. She's after the Thanatos Guild for what they did to Roy, and has seen him since he left Star City.
Thea wonders why Oliver is there, and he explains that he made a deal with Mar Novu. However, Oliver needs to be 100% sure he can trust him, and hopes Nyssa can tell him what the League knows about Mar Novu. He tells Thea that Mar Novu has seen him die in the future, and Thea figures he'll cheat death once more. Oliver says that it's fundamentally different than anything they've dealt with before, and Thea gives in but points out that most of the League members they know are dead. Her brother thinks of one more.
2040
Mia, Connor, and Zoe return to the bunker, and Williams steps out of a closet and says that he shocked the floor under his attackers. The flash drive William has been decrypting that JJ is going after all the members of the Star City Reunification Movement, including William, and they realize there are 10 confirmed dead. Mia figures JJ will wipe out the entire movement, and William says that they can trap JJ using himself as bait. Connor reluctantly agrees, but Mia says that they'll take the fight to the Deathstrokes by breaking into their headquarters. Zoe warns that it's a mistake, but Zoe doesn't care.
Now
In Hong Kong, Diggle tells Lyla that JJ already went to sleep and they shouldn't call him back to wake their son off. He wonders why Lyla wanted him in Hong Kong, and Lyla says that she's been keeping an eye on Ben's family while he's on a deep-cover op. Sandra Hawke missed a call-in, and Lyla has spotted Sandra in Kasnia with Abdul Nardoc, who has ties to local terrorists. Nardoc is throwing a fundraiser at his home, and Lyla figures that Sandra and Connor are being held there. Lyla doesn't trust anyone at ARGUS and needs Diggle with her, and Diggle agrees.
Oliver and Thea approach Nanda Parbat, and assassins attack them. As they defend themselves, Tala steps out and orders her "students" away. Once they leave, Oliver tells Talia that she owes him a debt and he's come to collect. Talia asks Thea how Nyssa is, and notes that Oliver has survived prison. She says that Dr. Parker received the justice he deserved, and has come there to stabilize the region since the League is gone. Oliver tells her that he needs to know what the League knows about Mar Novu. Talia figures her debt will be paid if she helps Oliver. Once he agrees, Talia says that any information the League has on Mar Novu will be beneath the Karan Shah, the League stronghold. The Karan Shah was destroyed but there are still catacombs beneath. Talia tells them that they leave at sunset.
2040
The quartet sneak into the Deathstrokes' HQ via the air ducts, and hide as several gangers come down the hallway. William finds an office with cameras on the blueprints, and they go there. Mia thanks Zoe for coming despite her doubts, and Zoe warns Mia not to let fear of losing Willian affect her judgement. William says that the system is worse than he thought, and Connor and Zoe go to cover the door while Mia stays with William.
Now
Diggle and Lyla go to Nardoc's party and dance, and spot the man. As they work their way across the dance floor, the couple talk about their lives and how they were married and divorced and remarried. Lyla accesses the security feeds and finds Sandra and Connor, and then spots Farzad Qadir, the son of the man Ben killed to save her. She figures that he's there to kidnap Ben's family.
As they enter the catacombs, Talia says that the first Ra's Al Ghul, Al-Fatih, bestowed knowledge by primordial sky gods. She opens her father's secret chamber and the trio go in. Talia finds the scroll left behind, and Thea reads the Arabic talking about the Phoenix. Oliver figures that to join the League, one's old self must die so a new self can be reborn. He tells the women that he needs to burn the scroll. The scroll burns revealing a metal sphere., and Talia figures that the map on it leads to Al-Fatih's tomb and more knowledge.
Athena and her assassins come in and says that Talia betrayed them by bringing strangers into their sacred place. Talia hands the sphere over, and Athena's men attack the trio. To cover their escape, Talia tosses down a smoke bomb.
As the trio leave, Oliver and Thea wonder if Talia betrayed them. Talia points out that she and Athena are blood enemies, and Athena was probably tracking Thea. She figures that Athena is trying to get the holy relic, The Sword of Al-Fatih, and she memorized the map on the sphere. Oliver tells Thea to go back to their camp and wait. He says that he wasn't counting on Athena showing up, and Thea insists that she can take care of herself. Oliver points out that if Athena is trying to restart the League, that makes Thea her chief rival and he asks her to let him handle it.
Lyla figures that Qadir is using Ben's family to lure him out. Diggle warns that they're targets as well so they should leave, and Lyla should call in an ARGUS team. Kyla says that they couldn't get there in time, and Diggle tells her to let himself do it himself. He says that he's seen a universe wiped out and it changed him. Diggle won't risk losing Lyla. Lyla says that all they can do is make their choices from a place of strength, not fear, and she'd rather have Diggle at her side than anyone else if the world dies.
Oliver and Talia head for the Sword, and Talia points out that Thea is a Daughter of the Demon and has a claim to the sword. Talia recognizes that Oliver is carrying himself with a heavier burden than she's seen since Russia. They arrive at the mountain where Ra's Al Ghul vanished Oliver, and as they approach they set up a trap. Oliver disables the trap with an arrow, and they find the key to the Crypt of Ra's. Talia slaps Oliver with a contact anesthetic, says that she can't let him or Athena get the sword, and leaves.
Thea returns and wakes up Oliver, and he figures Talia will take the trail to the summit. Going up the face of the mountain is faster but harder, and Thea insists on going with him.
2040
William continues hacking the cameras and insists that he knows what he's doing. Mia says that she does, and they have to take out the Deathstrokes to reunify the city. She says that they can't risk William's life, and finally admits that William is the only family she has left. William says that they need to trust each other, just as he finishes hacking the cameras. They show dozens of Deathstrokes in the HQ, and Mia signals Connor and Zoe to be ready. As Mia goes, she tells William that she'll kill himself if he tells anyone about their conversation.
Now
Oliver and Thea climb and stop for a break. She wonders why Oliver is overprotective, and he says that he left his family behind and he misses them. Every day Oliver wonders if he made the right decision, and he saw a world where Thea died because he wasn't around to protect her counterpart. The only way he can bear his burden is if he's 100% certain his sacrifice will protect the people he loves. Thea wonders what their parents would think of the lives they've chosen, and how they thought they were protecting them. Their parents turned them into heroes, and Thea tells Oliver that they can't change the future. She says that she grew up a little bit, and start climbing again.
When Oliver and Thea reach the top, they find an open store door. Athena and her men step out with Talia as a captive, and Athena says that she's going to send them in to set off any traps. After surrendering their weapons, the trio go in first and enter a large empty chamber. They continue on and come to a stone coffin and says that to survive death, one must embrace it. They open the coffin, revealing a shaft down.
Diggle and Lyla take out the guards and Lyla suggests that she distract Qadir while Diggle hacks the security keypad. She goes down and "accidentally" bumps" into Qadir, and he recognizes her.
Diggle gets in and tells Sandra and Connor that he's a friend of Ben's, and is there to rescue them.
Qadir talks about how he saw his father murdered, pulls a gun, and says that he will have his vengeance. Lyla grabs his hand and swings him around to kill his bodyguards, and Diggle arrives and shoots Qadir dead.
Oliver goes down a rope to a lower floor first, and Thea and Talia follow. When Thea steps on a pressure plate, Oliver pulls her back just in time as a flame blast goes off. Athena and her men join them, and they realize that they need to use titles decorated with a phoenix to get across. Talia Thea and two of Athena's men go first, and they're caught in the flames. Thea tells Oliver to hold off the others while she gets Talia.
In the main room, Talia picks up the sword. Thea comes in and Talia says that she's too late. Unimpressed, Thea grabs a sword from a rack and says that she has the right to fight Talia in combat. Talia accepts and they fight each other.
Oliver holds off the assassins.
Talia and Thea fight, and Talia congratulates Thea on her fighting skills after slashing her arm.
In the trap chamber, the ceiling comes down on Athena and her remaining men. Oliver goes after Thea.
Talia disarms Talia, who lures her in and then wraps a chain around her neck. As Oliver arrives, Talia yields.
Later outside, Thea translates Al-Fatih's writing and says that Al-Fatih was visited by a "god". The god possessed the power to see all, and if he failed to keep the balance between good and evil, the god would annihilate all things. They figure Mar Novu is trying to cause what is going to happen. Talia prepares to leave, saying that she's betrayed her honor and the secret traditions of the League. She apologizes for the pain she caused them both, and she has released her students. Thea says that they need someone to follow who wield Al-Fatih's sword, and it's Thea's destiny. Thea suggests that the world could use a League of Heroes and she wants Talia at her side. After a moment, Talia smiles and says that her father would be shocked that two women are wielding her sword... and accepts Thea's offer.
Lyla gives Sandra and Connor new phones with better encryption, and gives them tickets home via Hong Kong. Diggle tells Connor that he was brave and his father would be proud of him. Mother and son leave, and Lyla assures Diggle that they're going to be okay. Diggle agrees and says that they will be as well. He figures that they can't stop the world for coming for them, but if they hold onto each other then they'll be. Lyla makes him promise that no matter what happens, she'll always remember the good times. He says that neither of them are going anywhere and they kiss.
As they head back, Oliver says that at least he got to see Thea. She wonders why Mar Novu brought Oliver there if he causes the coming Crisis, and Oliver figures that he'll stop Mar Novu if he ends up on the wrong side. Oliver figures that he has enough allies and Thea has her hands full rebuilding the League. Thea tells him that they'll meet again later and he shouldn't die, and they hug. They say their goodbyes and Thea leaves.
2040
JJ tells the Deathstrokes that it's the night they destroy the Reunification Movement and take the city. Mia steps out and fights her way through the Deathstrokes. Connor and Zoe join in, and William watches via the security cameras.
Mia and JJ fight, and JJ puts his sword to her throat. Zoe arrives and knocks JJ down. JJ recovers, rams his sword through Zoe, and runs off. Mia holds Zoe, who asks Mia to tell her father that she's sorry about everything and she loves him. Mia says that she's got her, and Zoe dies in her arms.
Connor goes after JJ, knocks him down, and beats him. He tries to stab him and JJ says that he doesn't have the guts. Connor says that he does, and a white flash of light surrounds them.
Oliver finds himself in the bunker with Diggle, Rene, and Dinah. They wonder what's going on... and Mia, William, and Connor appear and wonder what's going on. Mia realizes that she's facing her father.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 30, 2019