While taking advantage of her limited weekly time on the computer in prison, Brie Larvan hacks her prison record and alters her sentence so that she'll be released. When the guard comes over, Brie brings up a page on bees.
At the bunker, the team is sparring and after the men take out Thea and Laurel, Oliver and Diggle spar. Oliver finally tosses Diggle off the mat and points out that he's been cutting down on his running. Thea passes on another round and Laurel points out that the streets have gone quiet since Damien went to jail. A call comes in for Thea and she says that Alex has an interview with Rove. Rove is looking for a new chief of staff before the April 6 election. Oliver insists that he doesn't want to reenter the mayoral election after he resigned several months earlier. Laurel points out that Palmer Tech is hiring a new head of public relations, and Oliver assures her that it's fine that she still talks to Felicity. He agrees that Thea should approach Felicity about Alex.
Five Years Ago
Oliver returns to the temple and tells Reiter that he doesn't know where his men is. He says that Taiana is there, just as Taiana comes in with a gun and gives Oliver another one. Unimpressed, Reiter says that he can sense the temple is nearby. Taiana shoots him in the chest but the bullets have no effect. Reiter says that he still has enough magic to destroy the two of them.
Now
At Palmer Tech, Felicity and Curtis are reviewing specs to duplicate the spinal implant when Curtis starts sneezing. She says that Dennis has called a meeting to see how much they can raise the implant's price. Felicity then tells Curtis to go home and get some rest for his cold, just as Donna comes in. Curtis quickly leaves and Donna tells her daughter that she's there to take her out for lunch her after the breakup. Thea comes in and she says that Oliver is fine, just as Dennis calls Felicity. Felicity ignores it and asks Thea what she wants.
In prison, a guard handcuffs Damien and leaves him in a room. Malcolm comes in and tells Damien that he's been in touch with HIVE. They're not interested in getting Damien out of prison, and they're moving forward with Genesis without Damien. Damien instinctively tries to use his powers but nothing happens, and Malcolm leaves.
Oliver is sparring when Laurel comes in and figures that he's pushing them because he misses Felicity. She figures that he doesn't want to hear from her because of what they used to have, and Oliver points out that he wrecked what they had as well. Laurel says that a broken heart takes longer to heal than Oliver's physical injuries, and assures him that she's there for him.
The board waits for Felicity, and one of the board members starts gagging and falls to the floor. Dennis can't a signal to 911, and mechanical bees fly out of the dead man's mouth. Brie comes in and summons the bees to her, and says that she needs the biostimulant biochip. If they hand one over then Brie will leave. Dennis points out that the prototype is inside of Felicity, and Brie says that she'll meet with her.
In Felicity's office, Felicity warns Thea that Alex may not be excited about the job. Brie hacks all of the monitors from the board room and says that she wants to talk to Felicity about the implant. They realize that Brie has jammed all communications, and millions of bees surround the building.
Curtis is at home and watching the attack on the TV. He tries to call Felicity and gets no answer, and prepares to head back. Paul tells him that the police know about it, and Curtis says that he's not talking about the police.
At the bunker, Oliver and Laurel watch the newscast. Quentin arrives and figures that it's a HIVE attack, and says that Donna is inside. Oliver realizes that it's Brie and her robot bees, and prepares to head out with Laurel. Quentin warns that an armored squad couldn't get through the swarm, but Oliver insists that they have to try.
Brie sends another transmission telling Felicity that she has ten minutes to come or she starts killing board members. The bees enter the building and Felicity opens up an air vent and starts climbing.
Curtis arrives at Oliver's abandoned campaign office and tries to find someone. He uses the cell phone they gave him to find the hidden elevator. He takes it down to where the team is suiting up, and realizes that they're Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Spartan. As he stares, Curtis passes out from his illness.
Murmur and two of his "associates" approach Damien in the hallway. Damien realizes that Murmur sewed his lips shut, and his two men start beating Damien. Damien fights back and manages to cut Murmur's leg, and the guards arrive to break up the fight.
As they get to an access corridor, Felicity explains that she needs a working computer to hack Brie's control systems. They hear bees in the vent and run, and the bees pursue them.
Oliver wakes Curtis up, and Curtis realizes that he wasn't dreaming. He takes in the bunker, and explains that Felicity is trapped in Palmer Tech. Curtis confirms that Brie hacked the prison computer and got herself an early release, and offers to go inside with them and hack the computers to stop the bees. He goes to work immobilizing enough bees so that they can get in, and is happy to learn they want him on the team.
Five Years Ago
Reiter explains that he commands primordial energies, and orders Oliver to hand over the idol. In return he'll kill them quickly. Reiter magically throws Taiana across the room.
Now
Felicity, Thea, and Donna take refuge in a storage room. A bee flies under the door and then Curtis hacks it and speaks to Felicity through it. He sends the bees away and the trio head through the corridors. Curtis sends them to where Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Spartan are waiting.
The three vigilantes arrive at the designated entrance, and Curtis realizes that someone has kicked him out of the system. The bees form into an armored warrior, and the team's weapons go through it. The figure blasts them with bees, which sting Oliver, and the trio runs back inside.
Diggle and Laurel take Oliver back to the bunker and try to stabilize him. Curtis confirms that a bee is inside of Oliver, and it's replicating.
The women barricade themselves in the storage room again. Felicity figures that Green Arrow will be back. Brie calls from Felicity's office and says that Felicity is out of time, but gives her five more minutes. Once Brie signs off, Felicity realizes that Brie isn't with the board members. Donna tries to talk about Oliver and the breakup, but Felicity is busy coming up with a plan.
Curtis warns the others that he can't hack the bee because it's evolved since he hacked it earlier at Palmer Tech. Quentin suggests that Curtis lure it out, and Curtis realizes that the robot bees operate on a singular frequency. If they can disrupt it with a high frequency blast, they can damage the network and break the colony apart. Laurel offers her Canary Cry device, and Curtis modifies it and tells her to blast Oliver. She releases a blast and destroys the bees, saving Oliver's life.
Five Years Ago
Oliver attacks Reiter, who soon knocks Oliver down. He says that his victory is inevitable once dozens of lives are sacrificed in his name. Reiter picks Oliver up and chokes him... but then drops him as his power fades. Oliver recovers and punches him unconscious.
Now
Thea gets Curtis' T-Spheres from his office, and meets Felicity and Donna. Felicity opens up the elevator to the decommissioned lair so that they can use it as a panic room, and figures that once the board members are inside, they can escape through the secret exit. Donna points out that she's been talking to get Felicity to open up about her feelings. The bees arrive and they seal the elevator just in time. Felicity rigs the elevator to stop at the conference room floor. There's a concrete wall outside the door, and Felicity and Thea apply the unstable T-Spheres to it. Felicity closes the door and the spheres explode, blasting an opening to the conference room. The board members get in, but Brie arrives. Felicity tells Donna to keep the others safe and sends the elevator down, and turns with Thea to face Brie.
Brie takes Felicity and Thea at gunpoint to Felicity's office, and Brie explains her obsession with bees. As she threatens to shoot Thea if Felicity doesn't give her the implant, Brie wavers and almost collapses. She explains that she has a tumor on her L4 vertebrae and if they cut it out, it will leave her paralyzed. Brie needs the implant so that she can walk. Felicity says that the blueprints are on a remote hard drive in Curtis' lab, and Brie goes to get it.
At the bunker, Curtis examines the bee while Quentin confirms that Donna and the board members made it out. Curtis warns that the bees will have adapted to the sonic scream. He's ready to celebrate what victory they've achieved, and Oliver angrily says that Thea and Felicity are still trapped. If they don't do their job then friends, family, and loved ones die. Laurel leads Oliver off and tells him that he can't take out his anger on Curtis. Oliver wants Curtis to see that it's not a good life, and he was happy when he walked away from it. He came back because Felicity convinced him that they could escape the darkness. Laurel tells Oliver that Felicity broke up with Oliver because of his lies, and that life's not fair. She tells Oliver that he's a beacon of hope to people, and wishes that he'd try to use some of that hope for himself.
At the prison, Damien is reading in his cell when Murmur and his two men return. They boast that they took care of the guards, and Damien says that Murmur will only have to kill two of them. Murmur stabs his two men to death, and Damien explains that he threatened to kill Murmur's grandmother if he didn't help him. He realizes that that the prisoners are dead and tells Murmur to call his organization and have the other message delivered.
Felicity tries to access her computer, and says that she bought the team time. Thea figures that Oliver will be fine, and says that they have to push past the violence so that they can be a beacon of hope. Felicity says that she quit the team because she couldn't stand to work with Oliver. However, now that she's out, she figures that she's cut out for something better and isn't coming back.
Oliver goes back to Curtis, and Curtis admits that there's still danger to deal with. The next time they upload an upgrade protocol, Curtis will upload a virus. He's rigged an arrow with a computer virus payload. When Green Arrow shoots it near a bee, the virus will transmit to the rest of the colony. Oliver says that it's nice work and heads out with the team.
Felicity accesses the network and confirms that Donna and the board members are okay. As she tries to override the bees, Brie returns with the implant specs. She explains that when she went through the computer, she recognized the code and realized that Felicity was the hacker who sent her to prison.
The bee figure attacks Green Arrow, Spartan, and Black Canary as they approach Palmer Tech. Spartan and Black Canary hold it back while Green Arrow heads inside. He gets to the office and pins Brie to a pillar with a line arrow, and confirms that Felicity is okay. The bee figure arrives and knocks Green Arrow across the room.
Curtis realizes that the bees have adapted with a new firewall and warns that he needs a few minutes to hack it.
Green Arrow fires the virus arrow near the bee figure. As it knocks Thea away, the bees upload the virus and the figure solidifies. Green Arrow attacks the figure while Felicity goes to Thea.
Curtis hacks the firewall... and the bee they removed from Oliver activates. Quentin and Curtis run for cover.
The bee figure finally knocks Oliver down. Brie frees herself and runs off, and Felicity sees her go. Felicity grabs a lamp, breaks the bulb, and jams the wires into the figure, disintegrating it.
Quentin finally smashes the robot with a coffee pot.
Felicity thanks Oliver for his help, and he says that she never has to thank him. Brie shoots Oliver in the chest and tells Felicity that if she can't walk then Felicity can't live.
Curtis finishes uploading the virus. He takes control of the bees and sends them against Brie, stinging her unconscious.
Later at the bunker, Curtis is cleaning up when the team returns. Oliver says that he did good and apologizes for his earlier comments. Laurel tells Curtis that Brie went into a coma from toxin overdose, and Oliver tells Curtis that he's always welcome there. Once Curtis leaves, Laurel congratulates Oliver on his apology. He says that he's trying to save some hope for himself.
Five Years Ago
Olive wakes up Taiana and they discover that Reiter has gone to search for his idol. She wants to go after him, but Oliver figures that they can free the slaves. He gives her a gun and says that they'll kill the mercenaries guarding them.
Now
Curtis returns home and Paul asks where he's been. His lover says that he was chasing some fantasy about helping the police. However, he saw enough to realize that belongs at home with Paul. Curtis promises that he won't disappear again, and Paul goes to get him some soup.
Felicity and Thea clean up Felicity's office, and Felicity says that Quentin drove Donna home. Thea wonders if Felicity misses a life of crimefighting, and Felicity says that she wasn't in it for the thrill. She wanted to make a difference and be a beacon of hope, and says that she's figured out another way to help the team. Felicity wants to make Palmer Tech a beacon of hope.
Malcolm meets with Andy and says that Damien contacted him and asked him to make contact with his ace in the hole.
Written by Gadfly on Mar 31, 2016