Green Arrow and Spartan shoot at Damien, but the missiles dissolve in mid-air. Damien says that he's human but better, and uses his newly powered magic to slam the two heroes down. He then pulls the oxygen out of their bodies, but says that he's going to regain control of Rubicon and let them burn. Once Damien leaves, the heroes get out of the collapsing chamber just in time.
At Tevat Noah, Thea takes a tablet from Alex's body and sends a text. Malcolm and his Ghosts arrive, and Malcolm asks where Anarky is. She realizes that he's slipped away, but her father doesn't believe her. The Ghosts grab Thea and drag her inside.
At the loft, Felicity watches a newscast about the destruction of Havenrock and the tens of thousands who died. Noah finally turns off the TV and says that he's bought them 24 hours by looping the launch algorithms. Felicity hugs him briefly and then gets control of herself and goes to work. Curtis arrives and starts rambling about Havenrock, and Felicity finally introduces Noah. He soon realizes that Noah is the infamous Calculator, and Felicity explains that Hive used Rubicon to commandeer the world's nuclear missiles. The message from Thea comes in, and Felicity says that she has to go.
Damien goes to his command center and meets with Ruve. She tells him that Felicity and Noah stopped them from using Rubicon to its full potential, and Damien greets hacker Cooper Seldon. Ruve says that Anarky is still at large in Tevat Noah. She assures Damien that she's dealing with him and leaves.
Oliver and Diggle return to the bunker where Quentin is waiting, and they say that Damien dropped the missile on Havenrock. Felicity tells Oliver that Thea got hold of her and hugs him, and says that HIVE has Thea. She traces Thea's call and Oliver tells Quentin to stay there while he and Diggle investigate.
Five Years Ago
As they head for the dock, Oliver tells Taiana that her eyes were glowing. The mercenaries open fire and shoot them both. They stare at Taiana in shock when she doesn't fall, and the wounded Oliver shoots them. The magic from the idol fills Taiana, and she says that she knows why Reiter sought the power.
Now
Once Thea is tied to a chair, Malcolm wants her word that she won't cause any trouble. If she doesn't then he'll have to take steps to assure her compliance. Thea refuses, and Malcolm feed her one of Damien's mind-control pills.
Green Arrow and Spartan arrive at Thea's location but there's nothing there. Felicity confirms that the trace is accurate, and they spot a sewer access. The access isn't on the city plans, and Green Arrow blasts the grid open. He and Spartan drop in and follow the passage.
In Tevat Nova, Ruve meets with Malcolm and receives a report that Green Arrow and Spartan have brought in. Ruve tells Malcolm to deal with them and leaves with her daughter.
The heroes follow the passageway to the underground town and realize that they've found HIVE's ark. Felicity loses their signal, and a call comes in from Curtis saying that they have an emergency. She goes to the loft and finds Curtis drinking a bell. He gives Felicity a sympathy hug, and Donna and Noah come in arguing. Felicity quickly takes a drink as Donna hugs her, and her mother wonders what is going on. She assumes that she's going to be a grandmother, and Felicity quickly corrects her. She says that she Noah to save the world, but Donna doesn't believe her. Noah tries to explain and Felicity finally says that she's worked with Green Arrow for the last three years. Donna says that she's more like Noah than she thought, and Felicity says that they'll discuss it later. Felicity and Noah go to work, but something goes wrong.
In Tevat Noah, Green Arrow and Spartan look around and figure that the inhabitants are all mind-controlled. They split up to find Thea, and Green Arrow finds Alex's corpse. He sees Thea and her guards inside, and takes out the Ghosts. Green Arrow unties her, and she kicks him back and draws a gun. She then calls to say that she has the intruder, and promises to shoot Green Arrow if he moves. Malcolm quickly arrives and explains that Thea is drugged. Green Arrow says that Laurel is dead because of Malcolm, and Malcolm asks what he's going to do if he won't kill him.
Spartan bursts in and takes out the guards, and Malcolm and Felicity escape. The heroes run for it as Ghosts chase after them, shooting. The two men duck into a basement and the Ghosts pass them by.
Damien demands answers from Cooper, and Cooper says that it takes more than magic.
Spartan and Green Arrow go upstairs and confirm the house is clear. The residents come in and Green Arrow says that they're there to bring a captive woman home. Ruve comes on the TV and says that they are under attack by Green Arrow and Spartan. She orders the population to find and kill the heroes.
Five Years Ago
Taiana says that everything is all right, picks up the idol, and heads for the dock. She says that she's going to go back to her village to free her home from the government. Oliver reminds her that there are people on Lian Yu that need help, and ask her what Vlad would want her to do.
Now
In the broadcast center, Ruve finishes her broadcast. Malcolm and Thea join her, and Ruve tells Malcolm to find the heroes first. Anarky is hiding in the vent and watches them go.
Felicity and Noah realize that Damien is using a counter-hacker. Curtis suggests that they use a smartphone to stop Rubicon by overloading it with access requests until it shut down. When Noah doesn't believe it will work, Donna figures that they should try it. She says that Felicity got her creativity from her, and Noah points out that he took a bullet for Felicity and he didn't have any choice but to leave his family. Cooper hacks Felicity's computer and takes control, and says that he'll take control of Rubicon in five minutes.
Cooper infects Felicity's computer with a virus, and Noah and Felicity both recognize it. He then sends an electrical surge into their equipment, and they get a trace on Cooper's location. Felicity tells Donna that they'll send the surge back to Cooper. Curtis finishes the trace and activates it, and Cooper's computer explodes, blasting him back.
The team confirms that Rubicon is offline, and Donna walks off without a world.
In Tevat Novat, the father tries to call for help and Spartan punches him in the gut. The father says that none of them have taken pills, and they came there because they know that the world is evil and darkness beyond saving. Promises were made to save Star City but it fell apart. Damien gave them hope, and the father asks if they can say the same.
Five Years Ago
The slaves and mercenaries shoot it out, and Taiana and Oliver arrive. Taiana uses her magic to drive them off, and Oliver finds a wounded slave. He asks Taiana to help him, but she says that his death is inevitable and prepares to shoot the slave and make herself stronger.
Now
Donna is in her room folding Felicity's clothing when Felicity comes up. She asks what Noah meant when he said he left against his will, and Donna explains that she was the one who took off with Felicity. She wasn't going to gamble that Noah would change, and asks if she lost Felicity. Felicity assures her that she didn't and never will, and they hug.
In Tevat Nova, Spartan ties up the family and Green Arrow wonders if Damien has a point. He admits that the world is coming apart just like Star City, and Damien is giving people hope when they're not. Ghosts knock at the door, and Spartan sends the family to cover and sends Green Arrow to find Thea while he holds off the Ghosts.
When Green Arrow gets outside, Thea attacks him. She prepares to shoot him, and Green Arrow says that she can fight through it. Thea tries to throw off the mind control, and her brother reminds her that she never gives up.
Spartan manages to take out the Ghosts, but Malcolm gets the drop on him. However, Thea and Green Arrow arrive and Thea shoots the sword out of her father's hand. Anarky comes on the TV from the broadcast center and shows that he has Ruve prisoner. He tells Damien that in 20 minutes he's going to kill Damien's wife or daughter, and in 21 minutes he'll blow up Tevat Nova.
Green Arrow brings the family out, and Malcolm admits that they've yet to exterminate Anarky. He says that Anarky is the immediate threat, and Green Arrow refuses to let anyone else die. He tells the family to get out and they agree. Green Arrow then tells Malcolm to lead the evacuation. When Malcolm refuses, Spartan draws a gun on him. Malcolm asks where he's going to evacuate the people, pointing out that the world will soon be destroyed, but Green Arrow doesn't believe it because he has hope. Realizing he has no choice, Malcolm leads the family out.
Five Years Ago
Taiana insists that she needs the wounded man's life to power the magic. Oliver warns that the idol is warping her mind, but Taiana throws him away and breaks the slave's neck.
Now
Anarky waits for Damien to arrive, and Ruve says that he has no idea what power he's up against. She points out that he's planning to destroy the last safe place on the Earth, and the heroes arrive and Thea puts an arrow in Anarky's leg. Smiling, he says that the whole place is powered by dwarf star alloy. A stray shot will blow the whole place. Anarky yanks the arrow out of his leg and prepares to stab Ruve, and Thea shoots it out of his hand. The shot hits a tank and the place begins to blow up. Anarky plunges the arrow into Ruve's chest, and the three heroes attack him.
As the streets blow up, Anarky leads the people up.
Anarky holds off all three heroes as the base blows up around them. Green Arrow protects Damien's daughter and Spartan runs to help them. Anarky knocks Thea down and runs out, and Green Arrow goes to Ruve, buried in rubble. She says that there's no time, and tells Green Arrow to save her daughter. He promises and leave with his teammates as the broadcast center collapse behind them.
In the command center Sheldon wakes up as Damien receives word that something is happening in Tevat Noah.
Explosions rock the Glades City as the structure beneath it explodes. Green Arrow, Thea, and Spartan get out and look at the destruction. Felicity contacts them and she says that HIVE is locked out for good. Green Arrow says that people still need saving and hope.
Five Years Ago
Oliver grabs the idol and tells Taiana that she'll have to kill him to get it, and he's betting that she won't. Reiter arrives and aims his gun at Oliver, and says that he'll kill both of them.
Now
Malcolm returns to the command center and tells Damien that Anarky killed Ruve. Damien says that he knows someone who can get Rubicon back online, and Malcolm warns that Tevat Noah is buried and there's no place on Earth that is safe. Grief-stricken, Damien figures that it can all burn.
At the loft, Donna talks to Noah privately and asks him to leave and don’t come back. She says that Noah knows who he really is, and figures that he's still dangerous to Felicity. Donna tells him that if he cares about Felicity then he'll walk away, and asks him if he believes that leaving is the best thing for Felicity.
Inside Felicity and Curtis wonder what Felicity's parents are talking about. She finally says that Donna kicked Noah out so he wouldn't hurt Felicity when he went back to his old habits. Curtis says that it sounds a lot like what Felicity and Oliver went through. Donna comes in and says that Noah is going away for a little while. Damien enters and says that he needs Felicity to do him a favor.
Written by Gadfly on May 19, 2016