Chapter Text
Oliver had better things to do. He could be enjoying a nice lunch with Felicity (and they could finally discuss everything that had been between them lately), but he had to cancel so he could micro-manage the city’s budget. Wasn’t he supposed to have staff to take care of details like this? Instead he was stuck in his office, eating a sandwich, and exploring the costs of tree maintenance.
Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air. Barry? He looked up. And dropped his sandwich.
“Hi, Dad.” It was Ryder. Ryder was here. His daughter . He blinked his eyes a few times to make sure his recent span of all-nighters wasn’t making him see things, and he resisted the urge to pinch himself. No, she was here. A bit older, but still her. He had to make sure no one else saw her. He quickly dialed his assistant and told her to give him some privacy. “It’s really me, Dad.”
Yes, it was. By some miracle, she was here. He came around to the other side of his desk so he could hug her. He didn’t want to let go. He would have never guessed he got to see her again before she was born.
“Ryder.” She let go of him, and for the first time he noticed that she had someone with her. A young man, probably about her age. “And who’s this?”
“Oh, this is...one of my best friends from my time, Don.” She hesitated on identifying who he was, which Oliver filed away to ask about later.
Don stuck out his hand for Oliver to shake. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Queen.”
“Oliver is fine.”
The boy mumbled something under his breath, and Ryder nudged him in retaliation. These two are clearly quite close. No one was saying anything, and Oliver didn’t want this joyful reunion getting awkward so quickly.
Oliver turned to Ryder. Say something, anything . “You cut your hair.”
“Yeah. Several times since we last saw each other.” Right. That would make sense. She did look older after all. But how much older?
“How long has it been for you?”
“About the same amount of time it’s been for you. 2 years, give or take.”
He really wanted to talk to her. Just her, no Don serving as a third wheel. He felt like they had so much to catch up on, and, more importantly, he needed to ascertain why she was here. Elated to see her as he was, he doubted she was there for a good reason.
Ryder turned to Don. “Hey, Don, are you hungry from Traveling?”
“Starved.”
“That Big Belly Burger on 5th and Main is around in this time period.”
“Great. I’ll go check it out.” He whooshed out of the room. So he, and not Ryder, was the speedster that brought them here. Good . He didn’t want Ryder on that dangerous speed drug. Finally, they could talk. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
“Is everything okay? Is Tommy okay? And William and your mother?”
“The family’s okay.” Another sigh of relief.
“And your friend, Don, he’s a speedster?”
“Yeah, he’s from Team Flash in my future.”
“That’s good. For a second, I thought it was you that sped him into my office instead of the other way around.” That would be a lot for Oliver to get used to. A speedster daughter.
“Nope, I’m still fully human.”
“So what brings you to 2017? Another evil speedster? Do I screw something up as Mayor?” Why could she possibly be here?
“No. Nothing like that. I’m here to prevent something terrible from happening.”
“What happens?”
“It’s...just know that it’s really bad. We tried everything we could to fix it in the future, but it isn’t possible. Only fixing it in this time period is.”
“And you can’t tell me anything more about it?” He knew she had to be vague in order to protect the timeline, but he couldn’t help her just based on that.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t risk any more damage to the timeline than I’m sustaining already by coming here and preventing the Event.”
“The Event? That’s what you call it?” She nodded. “Tell me everything you can tell me, then.”
“Around this time period, someone or something starts poisoning the water supply. It’s imperceptible, but it can survive in the human system for...some time. It’s a ticking time bomb. And when it goes off…tick, tick, boom.” That sounded dangerous.
“And in the time you’re from?”
“It’s already too late to undo the damage. Only coming back here can fix it.” He couldn’t imagine that it was a problem that the future couldn’t fix. He knew some of the smartest people alive, and if they couldn’t fix it, why would she come to him? Unless...some of those smart people weren’t around anymore.
“How many people does it kill?” He hoped she would hear the real question in his voice: who does it kill?
“Enough.” It was a vague answer, but he heard the underlying message: it killed the people who could’ve fixed it. He dropped down to perch on his desk, and ran his hands over his face. Did it kill him? Felicity? His kids? Ryder had said the whole family was alright, but he wouldn’t put it past her to lie. Ryder sat down across from him, and he finally wracked up the courage to ask her the next question.
“So you’re saying that it originates somewhere around here and now?”
“That’s our best guess. As Mayor, you can give me access to a lot of what I need, but I’m going to need the whole team on this, especially Curtis and Felicity.” Well, at least they weren’t busy now. Prometheus was no longer a threat.
“You came at a good time. We just put away Adrian Chase.”
“Prometheus, I know.” How did she...of course she knew who he was. That would’ve been helpful a few months ago . “There’s also another thing.”
“What is that?”
“We only have four days to fix this.” What? That didn’t sound like near enough time.
“Four days? Why?”
“Because in four days’ time, your attention will be occupied by something else.” Now she was really getting his curiosity fired up. “You know I can’t tell you what it is. Just trust me.”
“I wish I could get Barry’s help as well. I’m sure as a CSI he’d have a lot of information we’ll need. But he’s currently wrapped up with an evil speedster of his own.”
“I know. But in a few hours’ time, his whole team will be ready to help us.” So they took down Savitar soon. Good to know. It’d be nice to have his friends around again. Before he could ask another question, there was a knock on the door. Tracey! He had told her to keep everyone away! Before he could tell the person to enter, the door opened. It was just Thea.
“Thea, I told Tracey I needed some time alone.”
“Yeah, and I told her that didn’t include your sister.” She finally saw Ryder. “And who’s this?”
“This is...Anna. She’s…” Oliver had no idea how to introduce her. His daughter? Nope, too many implications for the timeline. His friend? No, grown men didn’t hang out with teenage girls. An associate? No, she was too young for-
“I’m a time traveller from the future Team Arrow here to prevent a catastrophe from happening.” Ryder stuck out her hand and Thea shook it.
“I guess this is our lives now.” She was right about that.
“I know you’re technically retired at the moment, but I would love for you to join the team I’m putting together.”
“Wait, I recognize you. Weren’t you one of Roy’s friends?”
Roy’s friend? When did that become a thing? “That was what I said last time I was here, before you knew his secret. But there’s no time for secrecy now. Will you join us?”
“I don’t know…”
Oliver pleaded with his sister. “Come on, Thea, you joined us for the aliens. This is just as exciting as all that.”
She sighed. “Fine. Yeah, I guess I’ll come too.”
“Great.” Ryder turned to Oliver. “What are the chances you can cancel the rest of your day?”
Oliver in turn turned to Thea, who rolled her eyes at him. “Fine. Everyone still loves me around here, so I’ll start doing your cancellations and meet you at the Bunker.”
Ryder pulled out her tablet and started typing, before looking up at him. “Great. Then let’s get started.”