Central City, Three Years Ago
Two crooks are watching a broadcast about the S.T.A.R. Lab acceleration premiere in Central City. One of them, Declan Lin, asks their prisoner Tina Boland what she thinks. She dares them to shoot her and they come over to pull out one of her teeth. Their leader Sean Sonus comes in with a prisoner, Vincent Sobel. Tina stares at her partner in shock, and Sean figures that they're romantically involved. Vincent spits in his face, and Sean decides to kill him first. Tina begs Sean to stop, but the men lay down a sheet for the blood. When reporter Linda Park announces an explosion, Sean shoots the TV out. Tina begs Sean to stop, but he prepares to shoot... and the lights flicker as the particle wave explosion sweeps through the building. Convulsing, Tina unleashes a sonic scream.
Now
At the bunker, Rene brings Oliver a resume on a flight pilot who he thinks she should become the new black Canary. Oliver says that it involves feelings as well as qualifications, but Rene points out that Oliver keeps shooting down their candidates. Felicity brings up files on more candidates, and Oliver shoots them all down. Rory finally says that no one will be good enough for Oliver, but Oliver says that they have to think outside the box. Curtis says that he has an urban legend and brings up footage of a woman who shows up all over America and saves crime victims. She's a meta with the same powers as Black Siren, and Felicity discovers that the meta started three years ago. Felicity goes to work tracking her.
Adrian calls in Oliver to meet with Diggle, and Diggle wonders how Prometheus faked Lyla's voice to draw him out of hiding. Adrian says that a contact at the NSA has Walker under investigation and they're putting together a case. However, Walker used his own contacts and had them stonewall the investigation. Oliver assures Adrian that he's done plenty and thanks him. Once the DA leaves, Oliver says that Felicity will hack the NSA files to get the investigation file. Diggle figures that Oliver is turning down Black Canary candidates, and Oliver admits that finding a replacement for Laurel feels wrong. Diggle tells him that he wants someone to take on the mantle, not someone to replace Laurel.
Five Years Ago
Oliver wakes up and tells Talia that he has allies within the Bratva. Talia warns that the situation is more complicated than Oliver knows, and says that she rescued Oliver because he needed rescuing. Oliver sees his hunting hood, and Talia explains that she's been tracking him since the island. She knows that he returned to Starling City but couldn't reveal himself to his family. When Oliver grabs her and demands answers, Talia easily pins him down and says that his hood belonged to one of her students: Yao Fei.
Now
Oliver returns to the bunker and Felicity warns that the NSA has major firewalls. However, she's enjoying herself and admits that it's been a well since she has done a government hack in a long time. Curtis and Rory tell Oliver that the new Black Canary is in Hub City, and Curtis brings up cellphone footage showing Black Canary fighting and using her canary crime. Even Oliver admits that it seems like destiny, and he agrees to go to Hub City to check her out.
That night in Hub City, Tina follows a car. When the criminal goes into a building, Tina prepares to break in but Green Arrow, Mr. Terrific, and Wild Dog confront her. Arrow invites her to join them, but Tina says that she can take care of herself. She warns that she'll send them back to star City with their nuts in a sling if they get in her way and leaps off the roof.
The next day, the team goes to a diner. Oliver insists that they're not going to give up, and Curtis finally identifies Tina as a former officer with the CCPD. She went off the grid after the particle explosion, and Oliver makes a call. He calls Captain Singh at the CCPD and says that he's Arrow, and Oliver calls Flash to leave Singh a note confirming his identity. Singh says that Tina went deep undercover, and quit the force the day after her partner Vincent's murder. Oliver agrees to call Singh if gets anything on Tina, and tells Curtis and Rene that Tina is trying to avenge her former partner.
Five Years Ago
Talia releases Oliver and refuses to say how she could train someone twice her age. She says that the world needs people like Oliver and he's destined to be more than a gangster in Russia. Talia then shows him a file on Misha Yurievich, a black market smuggler who works for Kovar. If they take down Yurievich then it leaves Kovar without his key revenue stream. Talia says that once they take out Oliver's enemy, he'll agree to hear her out.
Now
At the bunker, Rory brings Felicity takeout. She discovers that the file is gone and Diggle is out of luck.
That night in Hub City, Arrow and Wild Dog go to Tina's hotel room while Curtis runs comms from the van. They enter her apartment and find clippings of criminals on the walls. There are photos of Vincent, and Curtis runs the names of the criminals. The heroes here a scream in the next room and find Tina torturing Declan. She blasts them back through the door with a sonic cry and then unleashes her power on Declan until he's dead. Wild activates the sonic dampener they developed against Black Siren, shutting down her power, and Arrow confirms that Declan is dead.
Curtis spots men comes in and warns his teammates. The men open fire, and wild Dog takes them on while Arrow goes after Tina as she ducks out the window. She runs for the street but Arrow brings her down with an arrow and then helps her up. Arrow reveals that he knows who she is, and figures that her vendetta doesn't end with Declan. Tina says that she's looking for Declan's boss, and Arrow says that they can help her without anyone else getting killed. The meta wonders what makes her so special, and Arrow tells her that she's afraid of what happened to her and what she's become. He offers to help her find her way back. Tina asks what the range is on the sonic dampener, and then unleashes a cry to cover her escape.
The next day, the trio goes back to the diner and Curtis explains that Sean was the target of Tina's investigation in Central City. He disappeared at the same time she did, and Oliver figures that Tina has been following him. Rene figures that Sean is looking to fill the power vacuum left after Tobias was killed. Sean is pushing a drug called Slide, and Rene figures that they should let Tina take him out. Curtis agrees with Rene, and Curtis confirms that Tina would have been put on psychological leave after Sean captured her. Oliver insists on helping Tina, figuring that Sean is more dangerous than they thought.
Five Years Ago
Oliver and Talia go after Yurievich at the armed warehouse he's using as his base. Talia goes in with nothing but a bow and takes out the guards, and they spot Yurievich coming out. Oliver goes after the smuggler while Talia takes on the guards.
Now
Rory returns to the bunker the next day, and Felicity explains that she's tracing the dark web for a digital shadow of the file. A message comes in to Felicity's system from an unknown hacker, addressing Felicity by her hacker handle in college. Felicity tells Rory that she used to be a hactivist, and the mystery hacker offers to help Felicity... and suggests that they meet in real life.
That night, Curtis hacks the traffic cams and tells the watching Rene that they'll find Sean. Rene points out that Evelyn didn't turn out so well, and figures that Curtis considers him a nutcase. He admits that Curtis is right, and figures that team is about getting second chances. Curtis soon gets a lead on Sean.
Sean is eating at his penthouse when he and his thug hear the sounds of fighting outside. Tina barges in and takes out the thug, and tells Sean that she's not a cop anymore. Sean concentrates and uses his own meta power, causing her to collapse due to vertigo. As he prepares to shoot Tina, Arrow shoot the gun out of his hand. When Sean uses his vertigo power, Arrow shrugs it off and shoots him in the shoulder. Sean uses his power again and by the time Arrow and Wild Dog recover, Sean has escaped.
Later, the team takes the unconscious Tina to a parking garage. Curtis figures that Sean uses sonic waves and his powers are related to Tina's. He gets an idea, and Wild Dog says that he's in if they're going to concentrate on taking Sean down. Tina wakes up and says that she can find Sean, and says that he's taking in a major shipment of slide. She tells them that she's not letting anyone get in her way, but Arrow points out that her power is a liability against Sean and offers their help. Tina thanks them for the save and walks off.
Five Years Ago
Talia takes out Yurievich's guards and Oliver shoots the rest. The smuggler gets into his car and Oliver gets in with him and aims his gun. Yurievich offers him anything, and Oliver beats him to death. Once he's done, he gets out and tells Talia that the smuggler is dead. Satisfied, Talia says that now they can talk.
Now
Felicity goes to the rendezvous spot by the river, while Rory runs surveillance from nearby. A nervous woman, Kojo Sledgehammer, arrive and gushes over Felicity. Kojo says that Felicity has been a blank for years but knows all about Felicity's history in Star City. She explains that she became a hactivist because of Felicity, but is disappointed that she's been doing corporate work since then. Felicity insists that she's been doing important work since then, and Kojo is happy that Felicity is back. She knows all about Diggle and says that her organization, Helix, hacked Echelon a month ago. They have the file and Kojo gives it to Felicity on flash drive. Felicity realizes that she's giving her the information to do more than clear Diggle, and Kojo says that she hopes to inspire Felicity to do what she used to do.
Oliver unmasks and confronts Tina, hoping that she'll listen to him. He introduces himself and says that he spent five years in hell. Oliver explains about Prometheus' plan, and warns Tina that she can't take on Sean and his men. Once they take down Sean, Oliver and his team will leave. After a moment, Tina agrees.
Later, Sean and his men are bringing in the Slide shipment. Curtis picks them up on satellite surveillance, and Arrow, wild Dog, and Tina move in. A chopper comes in and the team bursts out into the roof. The two sides exchange shots and wild Dog uses the dampener to negate Sean's power. Shooters open fire from the chopper, and Wild Dog provides cover fire while Arrow snags the chopper with a line arrow and then swings around the roof, taking out more of Sean's men. Once they're done, he fires an explosive arrow into the chopper.
Tina confronts Sean and prepares to shoot him. He asks what she's waiting for, and Arrow arrives to tell Tina that she's better than that. Tina says that Arrow would kill Sean, and Arrow admits that he might not get a second chance... but Tina doesn't have to go down the road. Arrow asks her what Vincent would want her to do. Tina shoots Sean dead and says that's what Vincent would have wanted her to do, and then walks off. Arrow tells Wild Dog to let her go.
Later back at the bunker, Felicity tells Oliver that they have the file to exonerate Diggle. She refuses to provide details about how she got it, and suggests that Olive give Diggle the good news. Felicity then goes to leak the information on Walker, and sees all the data on the drive.
In prison, Oliver and Adrian tell Diggle that Adrian received the information on Walker from an anonymous source. He's filed a motion to dismiss and Diggle has been released on bail.
Five Years Ago
Oliver figures that Talia baited him with Yurievich. He wonders why she cares, and Talia shows Oliver Robert's journal and asks why he denies his father's wish for him. Oliver says that he's not the man that Robert raised, and Talia figures that Oliver is afraid of what happened to him and is running from it. She says that she knows it because she's been there, and can help Oliver find his way back. Oliver admits that he's a monster, and Talia says that she needs to give the monster an identity. She gives him the hunting gear and says that when the monster becomes something else, Oliver will be free to be himself. He puts on the hunting gear, and Talia says that she'll help him become ready.
Now
The next day, Olive is in his office when Tina comes to see him. She admits that killing Sean didn't make her feel liberated, and asks Oliver how he deals with the pain. He says that it helps not to be alone, and Tina admits that's why she's there. Tina says that she and Vincent were lovers as well as partners. She hated herself for not being able to stop Sean, and Oliver repeats Rene's words about the team finding second chances. He figures that Tina is his second chance, and Tina explains that her real name is Dinah Drake and Tina was her undercover name. Oliver says that he had a friend named Dinah and that's why he sought Dinah out, and figures that she'd be proud of both of them.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 2, 2017