Oliver and his team return to the SAR Labs hangar after dropping Thea off. The assembled heroes figure that the Dominators abducted Oliver and the other non-superpowered team members to find metahuman vulnerabilities. Nate says that he's been reviewing the old Army footage and knows where they can find a Dominator. The Dominators' first invasion was in Redmond, Oregon, in 1951, and Nate proposes they travel there and question a Dominator. Cisco wants to go, and angrily dismisses Barry's suggestion that he stay and help Caitlin and Martin. Felicity wants to travel with them as well, and Nate agrees to go with Amaya and Mick as well. As they go to Waverider, Barry confirms that the new President has been called and she wants to meet with them.
Oliver talks to Supergirl privately and says that he wants to minimize her involvement in the upcoming operation. He admits that he's been unnerved by recent events with aliens, and asks for a little bit of space so he can claw back a sense of normalcy.
Nate shows Felicity and Cisco around Waverider and they admire the technology before heading to the bridge.
At the hangar, Martin suggests that they attack the Dominators with something small. His daughter Lily comes in and asks how she can help, and Martin abruptly says that it's classified. She points out that she has a PhD in nanotechnology, which Martin doesn't know because of the altered timeline. He plays along and Lily goes to work.
Waverider travels to 1951 and Felicity promptly throws up. Mick tells Cisco to clean it up and says that he and Felicity are staying aboard. He, Steel, and Vixen find the military fighting the Dominators. Heat Wave
Cisco and Felicity wait on the timeship, and Felicity figures that he left 2016 to escape Barry. He finally admits that she's right and Barry killed Dante to save his family. They agree that it's weird, and Felicity says that's why they have to rely on their friends. Cisco says that Barry isn't his friend and walks off.
The Dominators take the soldiers' corpses back to their ship, and Vixen figures that it's on reconnaissance. Heat Wave spots a straggle, and he and Steel knock him out.
In the lab, Lily talks to Martin about the time they worked on her seventh grade science project. Martin excuses himself, claiming that he's preoccupied with his work. Out in the hallway, Caitlin approaches him and says that he's treated Lily like a total stranger. Martin says that she is, and when he last left 2016 Lily didn't exist. He figures that it's his fault because he altered his timeline in 1987 and motivated his younger self to sire a child. Caitlin insists that Lily isn't an aberration, but Martin insists that Lily isn't a wrong person. When she wonders if he's going to erase Lily from the timeline, Martin says that unlike Barry, he has the luxury of fixing his mistakes.
Government agents arrive and their leader, "Glasses," says that they're there to collect the Dominator. When the heroes try to leave, the agents tranq them unconscious.
On Waverider, Cisco and Felicity see the agents take their teammates and Cisco figures that they'll have to rescue them. He finds some advanced guns.
The agents lock up Heat Wave, Steel, and Vixen in an underground facility with the Dominator. Steel and Vixen are unable to use their powers because of the tranqs. The Dominator is strapped down, and Steel suggests that they talk to it and find out what they want.
In 2016, Flash, Arrow, Atom, and White Canary wait for the President. Flash points out to Arrow that whatever he said to Supergirl earlier. Before Arrow can respond, the President's security team arrives and the President's advisor "Glasses" gets out and says that the President couldn't make it. His men then draw their guns on the four heroes.
Nate asks the Dominator why its race attacked them, and it says that there has been a recent emergence of metahumans on their planet. They are there to determine if humanity is a threat. Glasses comes in and says that they'll start with the Dominator.
In 2016, Glasses---65 years older--listens as Atom says that the President invited them there. The agents open fire and Flash collects their bullets at superspeed. The others join in as Flash goes after a sniper, and Flash returns to tell Glasses that they're trying to help him. As he starts to explain, White Canary says that they already know that the Dominators are there after the metahumans. The aliens see the metahumans as a future threat and so does Glasses.
In 1951, the three Legends listen to the agents torture the Dominator in the next room. Cisco and Felicity shoot their way in and they prepare to leave. However, Nate refuses to leave the Dominator behind and Cisco agrees. He says that it's up to them to show the Dominators that they're better than them.
In the other room, Glasses and his scientist continue torturing the Dominator. Vixen and Steel bust in and take them out, get the Dominator to Waverider, and send him back in the Dominator fighter that they captured. Cisco tells Felicity that he stole a transponder from their ship and figures that they can use it to communicate with the Dominators in 2016. Gideon lifts the ship up and they head back to the future.
In 2016, Glasses addresses Flash by name and says that he threatened the entire universe and created Flashpoint. The Dominators told them about Flashpoint, and Flash's actions broke the truth. Glasses has negotiated a deal with them. If Flash surrenders himself then the Dominators will leave them in peace.
Waverider arrives in 2016 and the transponder activates. He activates it and the Dominator they rescued greets them. It says that it will show its gratitude by sparing their lives, but it can't do the same for Flash. It explains that if Flash doesn't turn himself in then his people will deploy a "meta-bomb" that will destroy all metahumans.
Later in the hangar, the heroes discuss the Dominators' offer. Cisco figures that Barry will surrender himself, and the bomb will kill two million humans. Dominator ships starting coming worldwide but just take up position, and White Canary figures that it's a show of strength. She starts to make contact with the Dominators.
Cisco is unable to raise the Dominator, and suggests to Nate that he can use it to open a breach to the Dominator mothership. The two men link hands and Cisco vibes them to the mothership. Their Dominator is there and Cisco reminds him of his debt. He insists that metahumans are protecting Earth, and Nate reminds him that the man who tortured him was an alien. The Dominator wonders what happens if such a man gains abilities like theirs, and says that they've seen it happen on other words. Nate and Cisco return to the hangar, and Nate wonders if the Dominator is right. He figures that they freaked out the Dominators in 1951 and now they're coming to kill them. Cisco realizes that he's the one who messed with time, not Barry, when all he was trying to do was make things right.
Lily works on the nanites and walks off, frustrated. Caitlin and martin watch, and Caitlin suggests to Martin that Lily is mad because Martin is keeping her at arm's length. Martin goes after Lily and explains that how he's been treating her is nothing personal. All he says is that his life has gotten complicated recently, and Lily realizes what the problem is with the nanites: the reaction requires greater complexity. Martin stares at Lily and says that he's truly seeing her for the first time. Barry sends a text that he's handing himself over.
In the hangar, Barry tells the others that he's giving himself up to save the world. As he walks away, Oliver says that he's not letting him leave. When Barry turns, he sees all of the heroes ready to stop him. Mick says that they're not going to let member of their crew take a hit for the rest, and Barry stops. Cisco tells Barry that they're not letting him sacrifice himself, saying that Barry is his friend. Jax and White Canary arrive and say that the Dominator ship in Central City is opening up.
The Dominator ships open up all across the planet, and the mothership drops the meta-bomb. Cisco and White Canary take off in Waverider to stop the meta-bomb, while Martin shows them his device: It will cause agony on Dominators it is placed on. However, they have to put the devices on all of the Dominators before they activate it, and they'll need Flash to do it.
The meta-bomb falls toward Earth.
The heroes assemble in Central City and charge the Dominators. Flash attaches the device as they fight, with the advantage going back and forth.
White Canary engages the timeship's tractor beam and slows down the meta-bomb. They call for Firestorm to help them.
One Dominator throws Arrow off of the building, and Supergirl catches him. Arrow nods his thanks, and Felicity warns that they need Supergirl to plant the devices on the Dominators across the country. Supergirl heads out and Flash follows.
Firestorm reaches Waverider and White Canary tells him to transmute the meta-bomb into something harmless. He goes to work.
Supergirl and Flash plant the devices across the world.
Firestorm realizes that the meta-bomb is too big. Arrow tells Felicity to activate the devices, and the Dominators shriek in pain.
Inside the Firestorm matrix, Martin tells Jax that he has to do it because Lily is counting on both of them. As the meta-bomb and Waverider drop to the city... Firestorm transforms the meta-bomb into water. The Dominators teleport away and the ships across the planet depart as well.
Later at the hanger, the new President honors all of the heroes for their secret part in stopping the Dominators. Afterward, everyone parties and Kara goes over to talk with Barry and Oliver. She says that there are only two heroes on her world, but they all proved that they are earth's mightiest heroes. Oliver apologizes for keeping her at arm's length, and says that their Earth could use a Superman. She says that her Earth could use an Oliver Queen, and figures that hardship makes people a rock. Barry and Kara insist on a group hug.
Cisco comes over and gives Kara an inter-dimensional extrapolator so she can use it to cross over to their Earth anytime she wants to. It also has a communicator so she can call them.
Martin is sitting alone when Jax comes over him. He asks how Martin has a daughter, and Martin explains about he altered the timeline. Martin asks Jax not to tell the team because he doesn't want to lose Lily.
Glasses comes in and Bate confronts him. Kara comes over and says that she was telling the President about the DEO, and she wants to create one of her own... with Glasses reassigned to Antarctica.
Once the party is over, Kara activates the extrapolator and returns to her Earth. Sara asks Oliver what it would be like if he had never gotten on Queen's Gambit, and Oliver says that the Dominators showed them what it would be like. They hug and Sara leaves with her team. Diggle tells Barry that he's one of the best men he knows and the hug, and tells him that he has to forgive himself.
Diggle leaves and Barry suggests that they get together more often. When Oliver wonders what they'd if the world wasn't threatened, they go to a bar to drink. Oliver says that he's not so sure he wants normality in his life, and Barry agrees after they both got a look at normal lives... but not full ones. They share a toast to things not being normal.
Written by Gadfly on Dec 2, 2016