At a missile attack warning center in Russia, alarms go off and a technician informs the general in charge that the warheads are arming themselves.
At the bunker, Lyla informs the team that Hive now controls every nuclear missile in the world. They have just under 21 hours before Damien completes the start-up sequence and begins launching missiles. Felicity admits that she can't hack the Rubicon algorithm... but her father Noah can. Diggle points out that Noah is a criminal, but Felicity figures that it's the best chance they've got. As she runs a check to locate her father, Oliver talks to Diggle privately and asks how he's doing, and Diggle wonders how he trust Noah. His friend figures that they can trust Felicity, and warns that since Damien's magic is fed by death, if one of the missiles goes off then he'll be unstoppable. Oliver figures that Damien will be in a nexus chamber and that it's on a ley line... and they only have 21 hours to find it.
Five Years Ago
Oliver and Taiana go to the camp where the slaves are rebelling, and find a map showing a plane at one end of the island. He grabs a radio and heads out.
Now
A guard is watching Thea in Alex's condition when Malcolm comes in. she figures that he would show up, and Malcolm orders the guards out. Once they're alone, Malcolm says that he's working with Damien to keep Thea safe. Thea wonders how brainwashing Alex will keep her safe, and Malcolm says that it was Ruve's decision so that they wouldn't risk Genesis' exposure. Damien plans to burn the world in nuclear flame while he and his followers are safe in the dome. Malcolm insists that the world is beyond saving and needs a reset, and he signed on with Damien once he realized Damien's success was inevitable. Thea demands to see Alex and know that he's okay, and tells Malcolm that it's up to him whether she's compliant or rebellious. After a moment, Malcolm gestures her out.
Quentin visits Donna and she admits that she was snooping through his things and found an affidavit. He explains that Pike told him that if he signs it then he'd get his job back. The affidavit says that Quentin didn't know Laurel was Black Canary. Donna points out that the affidavit is a lie, and Quentin says that he always wanted to be a cop so it's worth a small lie. He says that he's not her ex Noah, and Donna admits that she loves Quentin. Because of that, she knows that Quentin will do the right thing.
In the Hive base, Damien tells Brick and Murmur that he has an errand for them. When Brick objects to taking orders, Damien reminds him that he'll be safe when the world is consumed in nuclear frame. He then brings up a photo of Calculator.
Green Arrow and Spartan go to the building that Calculator is using, following Felicity's directions. There's a CCTV, and Felicity traces the signal. It looks like Calculator left in a hurry, and Green Arrow play the footage from 20 minutes ago. It shows Murmur and Brick arriving with Ghosts, and Calculator leaves before they can find him. On the footage, Brick tells his men to kill Calculator.
Anarky breaks into Tevat Noah and tasers a guard, and asks him where he can find Damien.
Oliver and Diggle return to the bunker and figure that Damien wanted Noah dead because he's the only one who can stop Rubicon. Felicity hacks her father's servers and finds a root directory called Ravenspur. It sounds familiar to her but she doesn't know why. Her algorithm has tracked down a possible base for Damien, and her teammates head out.
Five Years Ago
Oliver finds the slave leaders, who says that they drove some of the mercenaries off. Reiter called for reinforcements, even though Oliver and Tatiana left him for dead. Oliver tells Tatiana to get the slaves to the plane while he finds Reiter and end it. She insists on coming with him, and Oliver reminds her that it takes a monster to kill a monster. After a moment, Tatiana leaves with the others.
Now
Donna tells Quentin that Felicity called and is going to meet her daughter. Quentin is ready to sign the affidavit, but has Donna read it first. She discovers that he has rewritten it to say that he knew Laurel was Black Canary. Donna says that she's proud of him and Laurel would be, too, and he's doing the right thing.
Felicity returns to her office at Palmer Tech and finds Dennis waiting for her. He says that he's been busying running her company, and Felicity says that what she has is more important. Donna comes in and Felicity tells Dennis that the board can wait. As he goes, Dennis tells her that he hopes whatever else is going on is important. Once they're alone, Felicity asks what Donna knows about Ravenspur. Donna says that it's a cabin she and Noah used to go to, and worries that Felicity is getting involved with Noah again. Felicity hugs her and says that with any luck, Donna will never find out why she's hugging her.
Oliver and Diggle go to check out the location, and Oliver says that Lyla told him that Diggle claimed he shots Andy in self-defense. Diggle says that he couldn't tell his wife the truth because she'd look at him differently, and Oliver says that Diggle is hurting. He says for his friend shouldn't make things worse by lying. Felicity calls and tells them about the cabin, and Oliver and Diggle head there.
At Ravenspur, Noah is chopping wood when Brick and his men arrive and open fire. Noah takes cover and then shoots back with a hidden shotgun. He runs into the woods and Damien's men go after him. Brick tracks him down and offers his gun to Noah, and Noah about Brick's game from prison. Green Arrow arrives and takes on Brick, while Spartan shoots Murmur with a knockout dart and then takes on the Ghosts. Noah runs to the road and Felicity pulls up and tells him to get in. He does so and Felicity drives off, and Green Arrow and Spartan retreat.
Back at the loft, Felicity tells Noah that she needs him to help save the world. She explains about how Damien wants Noah dead to stop him from shutting down Rubicon, and they have 12 hours to stop it. Noah goes to work immediately, and says that he's not a monster. As long as Felicity lives in the world, he needs to keep it alive. However, he needs a more powerful computer than what Felicity has there, and needs the quantum subliminal processor that she developed at Palmer Tech. Noah insists that she can trust him.
Felicity returns to Palmer Tech and finds Dennis waiting with security guards. Dennis explains that the guards are there to escort her out of the building. The board is concerned about her plans to give out the biostimulant implant, and they voted to terminate Felicity when she wouldn't talk to them. Dennis refuses to let her take anything with her.
In Tevat Noah, Malcolm takes Thea to Alex. He's helping people register, and he says that Ruve told him what is going on. Alex insists that it's the beginning of a new world, and Ruve has shown him that the only way is to start over. Thea tries to convince Alex that he's under the influence of a drug, but Malcolm interrupts to say that Anarky is there and has killed five Ghosts. He's hitting the CO2 scrubbers, suffocating them when the warheads go off. Damien has told Malcolm about her special connection to Anarky, and needs her to help them capture him.
Felicity returns to the bunker and tells Oliver what happened. Dennis shut down the old elevator, and Oliver figures that they'll need to break in and steal the processor. He goes in dressed as a deliveryman and Oliver lets Felicity and Noah in. They take the elevator to Curtis' lab, and Diggle directs them around the guards. As Felicity opens up the chamber holding the processor, Noah talks about how he's never been a good father or husband. She discovers that Dennis has locked her out, and rigs an electromagnetic wave generator to force a restart.
Diggle detects guards coming and Oliver intercepts them in the stairwell. Meanwhile, Felicity discovers that the processor is under a sublock and sets off an alarm. Noah clones the operating code wirelessly, and Diggle warns that more guards c coming. The guards enter the R&D lab just after felicity and Noah get out. Quentin picks them up at the exit and drives off.
With two hours left, the team gets back to the bunker and Felicity confirms that Noah was only able to clone 90% of the processor. He's working to extrapolate the remaining 10%, and Felicity says that they can only upload the override codes from a server farm.
Five Years Ago
As night falls, Reiter finds Oliver at the camp and says that he killed a few of the stragglers. His eyes glow and he uses magic to disarm Oliver and then throw him back into a hut. Oliver comes back and manages to stab Reiter in the chest, but Reiter is unaffected. He pulls out the knife as he holds Oliver by the throat.
Now
Malcolm takes Thea to the house holding the primary scrubber. Inside, Anarky is holding two guards prisoner in the scrubber room. Thea finds him and reminds Anarky who she is: the woman who gave Anarky his burned face. She offers to help Anarky get his revenge on Damien, but says that there are innocent people there who don't deserve to die. As Anarky considers her offer, Malcolm shoots him in the shoulder and Anarky fires back. Thea dives for cover, and Malcolm points out the explosive charges that Anarky was going to use no matter what Thea said. He goes to work disarming the charges.
The team breaks into the server farm and Green Arrow arrives to protect Noah. Diggle and Felicity go to get the equipment Noah needs, and Noah insists that he's not the man Felicity thinks that he is. Felicity only sees the criminal, and figures that Green Arrow can provide some insights on leading a double life. Green Arrow says that it doesn't work, just as an alarm goes off. Noah says that Hive put an antihack failsafe in Rubicon. He's overridden it, but the tapeworm has told Hive where they are.
With nineteen minutes late, Felicity and Spartan arrive. Green Arrow and Spartan go to hold Hive off while Felicity works with Noah. Lyla arrives outside with her ARGUS team and tells them to shoot to kill. Once they leave, Green Arrow and Spartan join Lyla and they go to fight Hive.
Five Years Ago
Taiana returns and shoots Reiter, breaking his grip on Oliver. Oliver grabs a gun and shoots Reiter until he goes down, tells Taiana to get the idol, and tosses a grenade to hold off the mercenaries. Reiter gets to his feet as Oliver and Taiana run off.
Now
Noah says that he never stops when it comes to his daughter, and continues working with Felicity.
Thea goes outside and finds Alex on the walk, unconscious. Anarky is nearby and says that he's waiting for Damien to arrive. He wonders why Thea is always at the mercy of some guy, and tells her that she's a queen who can make her own decisions. Thea goes after him.
Brick and Murmur arrive with the Ghosts, and ARGUS and the heroes open fire.
Thea and Anarky fight, while Alex wakes up. She sees him and tells him to get away, and Anarky knocks her down and tasers Alex in the chest. Thea attacks him, grabs one of his batons, and beats him unconscious. She then goes to Alex and confirms that he's still alive.
The ghosts get close enough for hand-to-hand, and Green Arrow takes on Brick. Meanwhile, Murmur runs inside and Diggle goes after him.
Felicity and Noah get the algorithm ready, working together.
Green Arrow finally knocks Brick out. A Ghost moves up behind Spartan... and Diggle shoots him.
With three minutes left, Green Arrow warns Felicity that Murmur is inside. Noah pulls Felicity down, and Green Arrow arrives and wraps up Murmur. Felicity realizes that they got every nuke... except one.
In Russia, a warhead launches.
Felicity tracks the missile heading straight for Monument Point. Rubicon keeps sending launch codes and felicity and Noah have to override manually one by one. Lyla arrives and says that they need to evacuate Monument Point. She calls it in while Felicity discovers that Ruve has evacuated city hall. Green Arrow realizes that the nexus chamber must be beneath city hall, and it can absorb the power of a nuclear missile. Green Arrow and Spartan head for city hall.
Five Years Ago
As the sun rises, Taiana sets down the idol and tells Oliver that something is wrong. Her eyes glow and he steps back.
Now
Noah manages to shut down the launch codes, but Felicity is unable to reroute the missile. She realigns the GPS so the missile goes 20 miles off course to Havenrock.
In Havenrock, the missile hits and wipes out the area.
Lyla gets the message that tens of thousands died. She tells Felicity that Monument Point would have been two million deaths.
Green Arrow and Spartan search the city hall but find nothing. They spot a breeze moving some papers and a secret passage nearby. The two heroes follow the tunnel and come to the nexus chamber. Damien is there, enveloped in magical energies, and tells Green Arrow that he'll need bigger arrows.
Written by Gadfly on May 12, 2016