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2023-11-28
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2024-12-25
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5/?
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Stamina Temporis Retexere

Summary:

After Crisis of Infinite Earths Sara realizes that she no longer wishes to settle for this world, especially with her memories of the previous reality. She performs a ritual to have her older consciousness placed in her younger body, so she can try to change things for the better...or at least screw it up for the better.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: Unraveling Threads

Chapter Text

Sara sat thinking about the footage she had just seen and looked down at the two pieces of papers in her lap one the cartoon drawing Behrad had done for her and the other was Ava’s condolence card. Part of her knew Ava was insecure, mainly due to being a clone. It didn’t change that the words she had wrote had hurt, she didn’t want to believe it, but she remembered her girlfriend’s longstanding issue with John Constantine, and they had only hooked up once. But for Ava to wish that she had never loved Oliver seemed too much. It felt like Ava would rather Sara had been a heartless bitch who slept with her sister’s boyfriend out of spite rather than there have been genuine emotions behind it. It didn’t make sense as Ava had past relationships, Sara never took issue with that, so why wasn’t she granted that same understanding? Though Ava wasn’t the only person to have that opinion, she knew Felicity, Laurel and even Nyssa shared it in some fashion. There had only ever been two people who had never tried to make her ashamed of her choices and they were Constantine and Snart.

Beyond Ava’s issues with Sara’s past there was the continued condescension and patronization she demonstrated towards her and the team. Sara had tried to work through it and change herself to be the sort of person Ava wanted but they repeatedly disagreed not only on tactics but on fundamentals. That feeling reminded her so much of Oliver and what she had witnessed with his own team. It felt that no matter how hard the two of them worked they would never be out of the shadow of the one mistake that had led to so many saved lives. She accepted a certain amount of it as she and Oliver had never elaborated to any one why they had done what they did or what had motivated them, with anyone. It truly didn’t matter to anyone other than themselves. But it was still frustrating that no matter how many years passed or how many right decisions they made, it all came down to that one moment and it was still thrown in their faces.

The other part was how easily her team had abandoned her, while they were a dysfunctional group to be sure she had rarely felt as alone as she during that trip to Russia. They only asked after she had brought it up and by that she was so angry at them and the whole situation she hadn’t been in the headspace to really talk about it, even worse her display of emotion was about to become entertainment for the masses. It was everything she had never really wanted, the reason she had hid behind a mask for so long wasn’t shame or fear but the desire for anonymity. She, like Oliver wanted to keep her lives separate so that she could potentially have a life outside of the endless fight. It was endless too, that was something that she was coming to realize. So that fact that Ava had not only agreed but dismissed her feelings and thoughts on it was disappointing.

Sara continued to think as she sat against the door in the engine room, the engine room she had almost died in. When a crazy thought came to her, what if she would change it. She knew time wanted to happen but maybe if she could change a couple key things maybe she wouldn’t feel this way. “Hey Gideon, in the future is it possible to put a future consciousness into a person’s younger body?”

“Captain, there isn’t a way to do it scientifically.” Gideon replied.

She nodded feeling disappointed, but then she over the AI’s words, scientifically. “Is there a way to do it non-scientifically? Even a theory?”

“Well, it appears that Gary has been uploading all of Mr. Constantine’s books into the server so he could access them while he was on the Waverider. There seems to be a ritual of sorts that could essentially do what you are wanting but it would require the agreement of your younger self.” Gideon shared.

Sara thought about that and had more questions, “Ok, hypothetically if I could get the agreement of my younger self how far back could I reasonably go and not break time?” Thinking of all the lives lost and who potentially might get save, two names stood out Laurel and Tommy.

Gideon was quiet for a bit as she ran through several thousand variables, “I wouldn’t recommend going back to before the Gambit. If only because the decision led to the Golden Age of Heroes and the world needs that.”

“But I could theoretically go back to before the Undertaking?”

“Theoretically, yes.”

“Would this break time?” She stills has mixed feelings about when she did that, she knows the repercussions were bad however, no one else offered any other options and they all agreed; right up until it was complete then they through her under the bus.

“Not break, so much as unravel a bit. Which sounds worse than it is, essentially it would be similar to ripping a seam open and starting over. You could fix things or screw them more up, but it would be a new timeline.”

“Like what Oliver did restarting the universe?” The catch in her throat made her wince.

“What Mr. Queen did was more like taking apart an entire dress, unraveling all the fabric down the thread and starting over with new dye. You would be taking say a skirt and adding a slit up the side or maybe it would be a bit more dramatic a pair of pants. I couldn’t say, the fabric would be the same, but you would have a new pattern.” Gideon offered.

Sara smiled at how there were times when Gideon really got the human thing pretty well. “Would Laurel’s death still be a fixed point?”

“I couldn’t say to be honest; reality would be different, similar to Doom World. Though unlike with the Spear you are only rewriting your own reality. That in turn could change other’s but you wouldn’t be overriding free will. You would have to accept the consequences of the things you change and the things outside of your control.” Gideon counseled wisely.

“Can you get John here quietly?” Sara asked. “Oh, and this conversation stays between us. No one is to know.”

“Of course, Captain.” Gideon responded to both requests.

John sauntered into the darkened engine room, “Love? What’s with the mood lighting?”

Sara rolled her eyes, John would be John, “I want to do something crazy and dangerous, and I will need your help if you agree.”

“Sounds like fun. What are you thinking?” He hunkers down with her.

She debates mentally which route to take when explaining her idea to the warlock, “Due to the work Gary has done digitizing your records, Gideon came across a spell or ritual that would allow you to send a consciousness back into its younger body.”

“The ritual is Stamina Temporis Retexere Mr. Constantine. Essentially, you would unravel Sara’s personal timeline with the agreement of her younger self she would disappear as her present self would take over. The key seems to be the agreement between the selves. Which is why it doesn’t appear to have been done previously.” Gideon explained helpfully.

John he vaguely remembered reading through the spell once looking for ways to save Astra, however he knew his younger self was too arrogant to believe he would fail Astra. “You know you won’t be able to tell your younger self why, they get one question before they have to agree?”

Sara thought back to first time with the League before Suarez, before the Undertaking, she was pretty sure she knew what the question would be. “That makes sense, and I don’t think it will be an issue.”

 John wasn’t surprised by her confidence; it was one of best and worst things about Sara. She was incredibly self-aware. He was curious as to why she was looking into something so drastic; he figured that she was at peace with most of her demons and she was in a stable relationship with Sharpy, so what was he missing. “Why? Why do something so drastic?”

She knew he would ask, and she knew she would have to tell the truth. She turned her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Ollie…” using the childhood nickname, “my dad, Laurel and Tommy.”

He sucked in a harsh breath thinking of his friend, “Who is Tommy?” he was familiar with everyone else she had lost, even those she didn’t mention.

“Tommy Merlyn, the only son of Malcolm Merlyn; was Oliver’s best friend since childhood…and mine too. His death broke something in Oliver that never healed. It changed Oliver’s methods as the Arrow fundamentally and I believe ultimately sent Oliver, Starling and the universe down the path it went. And while I know not everything is bad, I don’t want to live in this version or rather in this reality with the memories of the previous one. And maybe I’m wrong and I could make it worse or not be able to fix things but I…I just…can’t.” Sara rushed; it wasn’t often that she broke in front of others but for some reason it happened in front of John nearly as often as it had with Oliver.

John was surprised and not by what she shared, he did know the version of reality that she had lived through, but he knew her and the weight she carried in memories even if they don’t match the current reality. Something else struck him, something that had never occurred to him but now felt glaringly obvious. “Are you in love with Oliver, Sara?” He looked back over at her, to see a rare blush stain her cheeks.

“Yes.” She whispered, it didn’t matter that he had moved on after her death with Felicity and she with Ava; her feelings for Oliver had never changed. They were a constant in her life, circumstances changed but the feelings never did. Before his death he confirmed the same was true for him as well.

He wrapped an arm around her, realizing why she had been so off since the team’s trip to Russia. “Ok, love, I’ll help you. What version of past you are you thinking of asking? Also, we will need a convergence of ley lines to power the ritual.”

“I was in Nanda Prabat in September 2012, she is starting to crack under the League’s mandate, but she’s not broken yet. Also, they are in possession of a Lazarus Pit, you told me those were one of those convergences. We will need Ra’s anyway to release me properly this time.” Sara smirked a bit.

“Well, alrighty then love, let’s get ready. Are you going to tell the team?”

Sara pursed her lips, “Gideon, will this spell create a paradox, since I am going back and changing things because of things I witnessed?”

“To be honest I’m not entirely sure, based on the models I have run it doesn’t appear to cause a noticeable one, but the reason isn’t clear, and I can only hypothesize that because it’s magic, the rules get a bit wonky. Also, you are rewriting your own timeline not everyone else’s, back to the fabric analogy if you pull out a single thread out carefully the disturbance is minimal. As this has never happened, I have no definitive information. Sorry Captain.” Gideon’s dismay was genuine.

“It’s ok G, and thanks.” Sara smiled, feeling a flicker of hope.

 John stood up and held his hand to the blonde, “Well, if this is the end love,” he started as pulled her up, “I should do this one last time.” He pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers.

Sara smiled in amusement and opened seeking the taste of whiskey and hint of smoke that was all John. Her tongue tangled playfully with his for a minute before pulling away. “Let’s start the spell, I’m assuming that it will take us to when we need to go, so we won’t need the jump ship.”

“That would be correct.” John said as he led her into the library he had taken over.

Sara sat quietly letting John gather what he needed and setting it up when she realized she had one final question for Gideon. “Gideon, are there any terrible repercussions if I just kill Malcolm at the start?” Most of the biggest issues she remembered all funnel back to Malcolm. From her perspective she only sees a potential issue when Tommy and possibly Thea finds out, and she knows enough to know they will. She shrugs when she sees John’s initially dubious glance before his eyes twinkle with mischief.

Chapter 2: Convergence of Magic, Time and Self

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sara joined John in the circle of pink salt and candles as he began to chant. She felt guilty for a brief moment for walking away from the life Oliver gave everyone, but living with these memories, knowing their failures she wanted better and knew Oliver deserved better. This was a chance. The magic tingled across her skin just before she and John appeared in the middle the large room where the Pit was as well as Ra’s. As the Demon’s Head turned sword drawn, she was quick to bow her head but didn’t take a knee as she no longer served the League. She gripped John’s arm in warning, needing him to trust her to negotiate this.

Ra’s raised a brow at the sudden appearance of an older Sara Lance, knowing the younger version was in the training room. “Ms. Lance, this is an odd surprise.”

Sara felt her lips tip up in a mild grin at the sound of his calm, soothing voice. “I would imagine so.”

“What can the League do for you?” He questioned intrigued by this turn of events.

“What if I told you that in less than five years the League no longer exists?” She couldn’t tell her younger self the future, nowhere did it say what she could tell another person. Foreknowledge was dangerous; however, she believed the League was important. Malcolm had perverted it and she had long suspected that he had used his allies to help tamper the Pit even before her resurrection and its destruction. The Ra’s Oliver met wasn’t the man she had served.

The Demon’s Head took a step towards the pair, “How?” He demands.

Sara remains calm, “Al Sāḥir.”

“What does The Magician do?” He sighs.

“Long story short, in less than a year he will destroy a large portion of Starling City and appears on national TV in League gear. To avoid League justice, he manipulates another to kill me while I’m in service to The League, he then manipulates the weapon’s brother to fight you to become Ra’s and subsequently wipe his debt and protect his sister. He succeeds but as his heart and loyalty will always be to his home and family, he hands the League over to Malcolm, to pay a personal debt, they didn’t share the details. I was resurrected against Nyssa’s will and the League was disbanded.” She is sharing less than she knows but she knows if she gets her wish Nyssa will be angry and she has no desire to add more fuel to that fire.

John stands silently looking between these two warriors, he is shocked that Ra’s doesn’t question how there is an older version of one of his assassins in the same place. He is also impressed at Sara’s use of this minor loophole to the spell. Sharing what she knows of one timeline is also intriguing since again she plans to unravel what she knows but using it to motivate this man is impressive. He realizes Sara doesn’t get near enough credit for her mind.

Ra’s ponders the information he was given and part of him would like to demand to know more, he has spent some time since the 1960s and recently since meeting the younger version of the same woman contemplating time travel. He knows she chose her words because they were safe to share but also because they would more than likely motivate him to do as she desires. The blonde woman before him is always a pleasant surprise, even when she infuriates. “What do you wish from me?”

She takes a soft, calming breath, “We are here to ask my younger self to sacrifice herself so that my consciousness, with my future knowledge, can take over. My request is if she agrees, you release me from my service once Al Sāḥir is dead.”

“That is all?” He had always known Ta-er al-Sahfer was never to be a permanent member, she much like her avian name migrates.

“Well, not a request. More a couple thoughtful suggestions, no matter how tempting the Starling City vigilante may seem he will never sacrifice his mission for yours. Also, tradition is good, stagnation is not; in ten - twenty years Nyssa would make a fine Ra’s.” She says with a smirk. She knows her younger self’s lover believes in the League but is young and impulsive much like her younger self. She however has mellowed with age and leadership.

Ra’s pursed his lips and hummed but didn’t respond. “You may meet with your younger self; I am curious to see what her answer is.” He says dismissively.

Sara pulls John away and down a long hallway before he can be himself and get them in trouble. The halls are deceptively quiet this evening and they make it to her room unimpeded. Once inside she looks out the window and estimates that her younger self will be finishing up evening trainings shortly and be on her way.

John, begins poking around the unfamiliar space, trying to find anything that would look familiar to Sara’s space on the Waverider. “Interesting place.”

“I both love it and hate it here. I have felt more myself here than I frequently felt at home. And I have loathed that about myself.” Sara rolls her neck as she breathes in the crisp mountain air, the cold stone of the walls and the spices from the tea that is drunk.

“Do you really think this will work, that your younger self will be willing?” He questions again.

Sara huffs out a small laugh, “Despite what many people assume she isn’t as selfish as she lets people think.”

Curious, John glances over at her sitting partially shadowed. “Why did you get on the boat?”

“No one has ever asked before; I always loved Oliver, that has never changed. Hurting Laurel was not my objective, if we had made it to China I would have been back before classes started and no one would have known. There was another part of me that knew if Laurel found out she would kill me, but better her hurt now than get hurt later, after they were married. Fucked up, I know.” Sara rolled her eyes, “I said no as selfish, I didn’t say she couldn’t be selfish. And ten years later, I regret hurting Laurel, but I don’t regret going.” She shrugged when John didn’t say anything in response. She didn’t really expect him to have an opinion or if he did to share it. They sat quietly waiting.

The door opened silently and in crept Sara’s young self, dressed in League black but unhooded. Sara could tell the instant she registered she was alone. She quickly deflected the dagger thrown at her. “Stop.” She said in Arabic.

“Who are you?” The younger woman replied in the same.

Sara stood slowly so she was no longer shadowed, “You don’t recognize yourself?” She smirked.

Younger Sara paused as she tried to wrap her mind around what was standing right in front of her. “Are you real? How?” she switched to English in her shock.

Sara pulled out her own knife and slid it across the side of her palm letting the blood well up. “Yes. As to how, I’m you from the future.”

“Tell me something I would never tell anyone.”

She pursed her lips at her younger self, it wasn’t a fool proof plan, but with no prior knowledge of the technology or the supernatural it wasn’t terrible. “We lost our virginity to Tommy at Ollie’s 16th birthday party.”

She still seemed a bit unsure but was willing to believe this woman who looked so much like her own reflection. “So, what do you want?”

“I can’t tell you much, fore knowledge is dangerous. I’m going to ask you for something terrible then you may ask me onequestion before you agree or not to my request, do you understand?”

A feeling of dread was welling up inside of her, “yes.”

“I come from about ten years in your future, and I am here to ask you to sacrifice yourself, your consciousness so that I may take over and hopefully change things. You may now ask your question.”

Younger Sara felt anger at the unfairness of the request, how dare she come back and ask for a do over! Except she looked, truly looked into her older self’s eyes, and was floored by what she read in them. There was strength and confidence at the front, she was jealous; but under that was a raw and deep pain, so much pain she wanted to flinch. She thought she had suffered enough but whatever this older version of herself had suffered had been infinitely more painful than any punishment Ra’s had inflicted and maybe worse than losing Ollie and finding him alive twice. She only had one question and all she could think about was home. “How’s mom, dad, Laurel…Ollie?” she asked hesitantly.

Sara felt relief at how well she remembered her younger self, but she could only shake her head. “No.” She choked out, Oliver had managed to bring back dad, but the reboot skipped mom and Laurel had been fully replaced by the Earth-2 version.

“Do it! Save them, please.” She strangled out, trying to suppress a whimper at the thought of having no one left.

John had been cataloguing the differences between the two women. Trying to pick out his friend in the younger model. It was harder than he would have thought, like the differences between cookie dough and a cookie, damn Nate and his Buffy marathons. That is until the younger one asked her question and his Sara relaxed minutely, maybe they had more in common than a pair of devastatingly beautiful azure eyes.

“I will.” Sara assured her younger self. “John,” she brought her companion back center of attention, “will do the spell. Thank you.” She didn’t think there was anything else to say, her younger self would disappear as the timeline unraveled and she would continue.

“Just make it better.” She wasn’t sure what to do now, so she turned to the man in the trench coat and red tie. “Will it hurt?” She didn’t care just wanted to prepare.

John smiled reassuringly at the young woman, “No, love, like going to sleep. Now, the spell was activated when Sara and I came back, with your agreement all that is left is for you two to join hands and say ‘stamina temporis retexere’three times.” He watched with a sad smile knowing he wouldn’t remember this as the women repeated the incantation as instructed. Magic wove around the two in a riveting swirl of gold and silver light, the older Sara’s body disintegrated seamlessly with the lights leaving only the younger woman.

Sara looks down at her hands, noting fewer scars, her fingers trace the side of her neck and realize the scar from Vandal Savage is also missing. “Seems to have worked John.”

“Where did we shag?” He queries mischievously.

Sara rolls her eyes, “The laundry room of an insane asylum in 1969.”

“Alright love, once I leave time will reset and you and that Ra’s fellow will be the only ones who know something is different. Do you trust him?” John questioned, his information about the League of Assassins was sketchy at best.

“Well, he had knowledge of future tech since 1958 and confirmation that time-travel does exists for the last couple years and did do anything with it, so yeah I trust him.” She shrugged before giving her friend one last hug.

John didn’t balk at the affection, despite not being a big hugger, he knows this woman is even less so. “Good-bye, love.”

“See ya around John.” She winked and the last of the magic swirled and took him with it. She took a steadying breath as she realized it had really worked, she was back in 2012. She makes her way once more back to the chamber with the Lazarus Pit, know that Ra’s will waiting.

“I see that you were successful you mission, Ms. Lance.” Ra’s stressed her name rather than her League moniker.

“Yes, thank you, my lord.” She replied in deference.

“I agree to your terms, tomorrow you shall begin your final mission kill Al Sāḥir and you may reclaim your old life.” Ra’s said benevolently.

“As Ra’s Al Ghul wills it, so shall it be.” She responded traditionally and left the chamber. Back in her room she began to pack a single bag with some of her favorite weapons and a couple other items. She wasn’t sure if she should write to Nyssa, who was out on a mission, and what to say if she did. She eventually settled on a short note. It was insufficient but a step up from running in the middle of the night; besides it wasn’t like she could explain things satisfactorily. Once that was completed, she settled under the blankets and furs for what might very well be the last time and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Sara stepped out into the early dawn light the next morning with her bag in civilian clothes when she felt a presence behind her to the left, she had her knife in hand and ready to strike in less than a second. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Ms. Lance. I find myself curious about your adventures and wonder if there might be anything else you would be willing to share?” Ra’s queried with a small smile.

Sara sheathed her knife as she thought about anything that might be interesting to him from her past memories. “Damian Darhk nearly succeeds in the destroying the world, he is aided by a magic idol.” She hopes maybe, just maybe the League will deal with him or be around to help. She gives the formidable assassin a playful wink before continuing down the path and towards home.

Notes:

So, conversations with Ra's no problem, John a blast, but conversations between two Sara's...remind me to never do that again. The dialogue was fine but there are only so many ways to say the younger Sara, the older Sara before it gets boring!

I hope I didn't screw up rules of time travel. And I just want to assure people that I don't plan on Sara telling people about the time travel. Ra's, who will forget (I think) about 1958 but not the recent stuff and Ollie are so far the only ones I plan on finding out.

Sara and Oliver's reunion will be next dun, dun duuunnnn. I don't know for sure but I don't think it will be all sunshine and roses. I say that and my muse will be taken over by twilight sparkle and I'll just have to deal with it.

Chapter 3: A New Fabric Being Weaved

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sara stood on a familiar rooftop looking out at city that still looked whole, crumbling a bit around the edges but still standing proudly, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had made a quick stop in Gotham to visit an old armorer to get a new Canary suit, back to her beloved black. She did use her foresight to have it reinforced with a Kevlar weave, it wouldn’t stop everything but would definitely slow it down.

She wasn’t sure how much Oliver had watched over Laurel during his first year back but knew he had done some, so she set the same trap for him that, he had used on her when she had first returned home. Sara leaned against the cool brick letting the sounds of the night drift around her. It wasn’t more than an hour before she heard the cables launch and Oliver swearing quietly. Sara kept the smirk off her face she moved from the shadows and into his field of vision. “Tsk, Tsk, Hood, you didn’t think you were the only one who liked roof tops?”

Oliver jerked as he tested the restraints, fuck, he had better situational awareness than this but in the weeks, he had been home no one had thought to stake out rooftops. He hadn’t taken that many names off the list and the cops and news had just started looking into him. He was surprised when a petite woman clad in black leather with a bright blonde wig melted out of the shadows. He couldn’t make out many features other than pale skin and pink lips. Her taunting voice was masked with a distorter same as his own. “Who are you?” He demanded, not answering her.

“That is a long story, Hood, one you won’t believe yet.” Sara evaded. She moved closer to look at him under the hood, it was a terrible disguise without the mask all you had to do was get close enough. Though if you were getting that close you would most likely end up dead. It was amusing to watch his reactions to her, his face remained stern even as his body loosened minutely, like his body was aware of something his mind hadn’t caught up to. “But I mean you no harm. I have answers to questions you haven’t even thought to ask yet.”

He had stopped struggling, he wasn’t sure what game this woman was playing but beyond detaining him, nothing has tripping warning bells. It seemed that she really did just want to talk. “What are you talking about? Who are you?” He was baffled, in all of his preparation nowhere did it occur to him that there might be others who would also fight.

Sara took a steadying breath, “That notebook of yours, I can tell you who made it and why it exists and so much more, but once you know you can never go back, Ollie.” She turned off her voice modulator at his name.

Oliver swallowed back his threat as the woman said his childhood nickname, there were only three women who called him that and one of them was dead. He went to raise his hand and was surprised that he could move, the blonde stood still as a statue waiting to see what he would do next, he reached for the black mask and pulled it off along with the wig and felt as if he had been kicked in the soler plexus. He had to be hallucinating again, because there was no other way Sara Lance could be standing in front of him. “What…how…you died.”

Sara let the smirk she had been holding back surface, he said essentially the same thing last time. “Wouldn’t be the first time that happened.” She had thought about it because it made sense after the Gambit there was no logical reason for her to have survived, but the sinking of the Amazo had happened a hundred yards offshore of the island and she was a strong swimmer. How come he didn’t think she survived that?

“Where have you been?” He bit out accusingly.

“Everywhere.” She rolled her eyes; somethings would never change. Oliver never did handle surprises well; it was usually better to let him know what he was getting as a gift rather than try to surprise him. Also, the answer was true, how did she say she had travelled the world over and had hop-scotched through time and even space.

Oliver turned to lean against the short wall at the edge of the roof. “That isn’t an answer.” His frustration bleeding through his tone.

“Well, it’s the only one you are going to get if you are going to be an ass.” She countered in the same tone. She learned early on in her friendship with Oliver that he was used to getting his way and it did him good to be reminded that not everyone answered to him. She had spent the last four years as a leader of her own team, she wasn’t much of a follower anymore.

He grimaced and nodded, “Sorry.”

Sara held back a laugh but not the sarcastic quip. “Did that hurt?”

“Pain in the ass.” He sighed as he pulled her warm body to his in a tight hug.

As Oliver cupped the back of her head and banded his other arm around her waist, Sara felt the damn break on the emotion she had been holding back since Oliver died back at the rebooting of the Universe. She choked out a sob and collapsed fully against him. She buried her face in the leather of his suit, thinking about her bag stored away in the clocktower; underneath her clothes and weapons was this exact jacket. She had stolen it from the newly formed Justice League headquarters, the Green Arrow suit was on display in the case, but the original had been in a locked drawer under the case. Sara had overheard Barry talking with Ray about how he was going to give it to Felicity, as his wife. Sara knew only one other person had a right to the hood and she had meant to track down Slade after Oliver’s funeral, the only living person who had known Oliver, Shado and Yao Fei. Then the film crew and Russia and her she was back at the beginning with the stolen top.

Oliver tightened his grip as Sara broke down. He wasn’t sure what else to do; Sara had never been much of a crier, and he felt out of his depth. He didn’t try to quiet her or tell her it was going to be ok, after their time on Lian Yu they stopped offering false promises. It was several minutes before the storm passed and Sara was still in his arms. “What happened?” He asked softly.

“So much has happened and a lot of it you won’t believe. The world is so much stranger than we had ever figured or imagined.” She wasn’t sure entirely how she was going to explain the time travel or the magic. Well, maybe that was the way to go, talk about the magic because Oliver had a frame of reference for that.

“Let’s go talk, somewhere.” He suggested as she began to pull away a bit and he could look into her eyes. He was really curious as to where she had been and how she survived the sinking of the Amazo.

“OK, do you have somewhere in mind? If not, I have a place.” Sara swiped under her eyes gently to remove the tears. “I’d prefer that no one else knew I was back yet.”

“Yeah, I got a place in mind. Follow me.” He turned and led her across a few more rooftops and through the shadows until they were at the side door to the Foundry. He was concerned as to why she didn’t want to see anyone but respected her request. “Give me a minute.” He wanted to make sure John had gone home.

Sara spent the few minutes she was alone trying to sort out her thoughts and how much and what would be worth sharing with him from their future. She knew she could seriously mess with things by both telling and not telling him things. Mission wise, after killing Malcolm the world would completely change. But personally, she wasn’t sure how much she should share. Did she tell him about Felicity and Mia? She knew she would be telling him about William as soon as possible because he deserved to know his son and he needed answers from his mother. Does she tell him about Moira’s death at the hand of Slade? Ultimately there was no real right or wrong answer because this time things would be different and while she could control her actions and maybe offer insight for Oliver, she had no control over others, so her future knowledge would have limited uses anyways.

“Come on in.” Oliver opened the door and ushered her in.

Sara looked around the space she was intimately familiar with, she hadn’t spent much time in Bunker that Team Arrow had called home, it had felt cold and impersonal. “Nice digs.”

“Thanks.” Now that she was here, he felt at a loss for where to start this conversation, the only relief was that Sara seemed to be sharing that struggle. “How did you survive? I was told you died.”

“I woke back on Lian Yu, along with some of the other prisoners. I was rescued by the League of Assassins.” She stated simply.

“The League of Assassins?” Oliver asked dubiously.

“Yup.” She smirked.

Oliver had been watching her face and felt like while what she was saying was all true there was much, she was leaving out. Then there were her eyes, they had always been so expressive, and he could see so much grief and pain. “You said you had information about the List?”

“Yeah, so for that I’m going to have to tell you a longer story for it to make sense and at the end you will probably think I’m crazy, but if at the end you have any doubts of the legitimacy of what I’m saying we can reach out to John Constantine.” She said calmly.

“Constantine? You know Constantine?” Oliver was confused. This was not at all what he had been expecting her to say.

“Yeah, well long story,” She rolled her eyes, thinking about John and her whole relationship with the warlock. Oliver gave her a stern look and it occurred to her how that sounded, “I will explain but again the whole thing is crazy.” Sara took a deep breath, “I’m actually from about eight years in the future, well my mind is.”

Oliver stared at the woman in front of him, what she was saying was impossible, but he knew she wasn’t lying. “Excuse me? Explain, please.” He begged because he was strongly beginning to reconsider the hallucination angle.

“Ok, I have to start at the end I think, then circle back around. Over the next several years there will be an emergence of heroes, you start a movement and other’s join the fight both here with you and in other cities. In about eight years there is a big end of the world fight, and we are all in it. You had made a deal two years prior to sacrifice yourself in the place of two others, you hadn’t told anyone, real dick move by the way Ollie.” She sent him a glare, still angry about the information Lyla had shared with her after Ollie’s funeral. “You died in my arms twice; I’ll explain that another time. Anyways, I had gone back to my team and realized that while you might be strong enough to live in a world without me, I wasn’t willing to live in a world without you. John had been working with my team…”

‘Wait, your team? Why does it sound like we aren’t…weren’t on the same team?” Oliver wasn’t sure how to deal with all the information but this piece he could follow sort of.

Sara dropped her head back on her shoulders, “That is part of the story, but remember we are starting at the end? I will get there, maybe? Time travel is weird and while I’ll tell you anything you want to know, keep in mind future knowledge is dangerous and making any changes will essentially make all that information will be useless because everything will be different. As for the team thing, yes, my team. No, we weren’t on the same team. A lot of really bad things happened, and I wasn’t…needed here.” She shrugged because she still wasn’t sure if telling him about Felicity was a good idea or if keeping the information was purely selfish.

Oliver felt hurt because there was clearly a lot, she wasn’t saying but he couldn’t imagine not wanting or needing her in his life; he had made do when he thought she had died, but if he had had even the slightest hope, she had survived he would gone to the ends of the earth to get her back. “Well, I’m not sure about this future but I need you.” He said definitively.

Her mouth tipped up in relief, “Thanks. Back to the story, I asked John if there was a way to essentially put my older mind in my younger body. Turns out yes, there is spell that can do it, you go back to a particular point and ask your younger self to let you take over if they agree after they get to ask one question then there is an incantation.”

“You sacrificed your younger self?” He asked incredulously.

“Yes and no. She volunteered.”

“Why? That seems selfish I would never want you to make that sacrifice for me!” he argued angrily.

Sara dragged her hands through her hair, “It wasn’t just you! Fuck, Ollie! You were just the last one, my dad, my mom…Laurel, Tommy, everyone died. Thea was still alive, but she had suffered so much. So yes, I asked my younger self, and she agreed without hesitation.” Her voice trembled as the grief and anger raged through her.

Oliver had her wrapped in his arms again, to reassure her and to ground himself because what she is describing sounds awful, and he is beginning to see why something this insane would be a viable option. “Ok, I understand the why. I’m still a little confused on the how, time travel is impossible.” He said softly.

Sara let out a watery laugh, “Yeah, about that, not so much. Next year, StarLabs particle accelerator explodes and there end up being people with superpowers. You end up mentoring a guy who can run so fast he can time travel. Also, in about three hundred years they develop the technology to do so as well. That is actually what I’ve been doing for the last four years, I ended up Captain of a time-ship.” She shrugged proudly.

He sat staring dumbly at the woman before him, what she was saying was so outlandish that he nearly wanted to get her checked out by a doctor but, she was being dead serious. Then there were other little details that she mentioned like StarLabs, something he hadn’t been aware of until he came home. “Ok, so can you give me any information about now?”

She knew he was trying to wrap his mind around everything, in the future he still hadn’t put much thought into it because the whole situation frustrated him. “Ok, what have you been dealing with recently? I wasn’t back here at this time last time; you told me a lot, but I can’t remember exactly what happened when. Has your mom hired John Diggle as your bodyguard?”

Oliver blinked in shock at the name that she should have no idea about. It wasn’t common knowledge that his mother had hired him a bodyguard. “Yes, she has. How?”

“Time travel. Ok the next thing I think is you will run into an assassin named Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot, kills with curare laced bullets, next. Dig thinks he killed his brother, this is wrong, and we should find a way to loop him into that situation at some point when he joins the team. Which you should totally do, he by in large is a great friend to you and a big help. We can talk more about that later, because there are some things you need to be prepared for if you are going to bring in others to this.”

His disbelief was waning and while he still had a bunch of questions, he no longer wanted to argue with whatever it was that brought her back to his life. “Ok, so what about the List? Also, your family? Where are you staying?”

While Oliver had in some ways dismissed time travel, he also had never over thought it once it had been proven real, he simply acknowledged the information and moved on. “I’m staying at the clocktower in the Glades, I purchased it and have had some of it remodeled. I used a couple shell companies, so my name isn’t connected. Right now, seeing my family is secondary, I have several things that I need to take care of first.”

“Sar, they missed you.” Oliver said softly.

Sara sighed in defeat, “I know, but I am still technically bound to the League. I have one last mission; it’s connected to the List. I need you to understand that the creator of the List is my last mission, there is no way around it and I don’t want a way around it, this person needs to die. I don’t need you to save me or talk me out of this. It is a big reason why I came back; I actually ran the calculations with my ship’s computer and many of the things that hurt our city and destroy our families will be reduced or eliminated with this one death. So right now, there are other things that take precedence than repairing relationships.”

He was less surprised than he thought he should be at her calmly talking about killing a man, but this was also the woman who had told him to kill Ivo immediately if he saw him. He still wondered if he had listened to her, if things on the island wouldn’t have turned into such a shitshow. Her avoidance of her family was a bit of a surprise. “So, tell me about the List.”

It wasn’t agreement, but she wasn’t really expecting one at this point. “The List was created by Malcolm Merlyn.” She paused as she watched his face as he assimilated this information.

“No…why?” Oliver was confused, why would Tommy’s dad know these people? Except, so did his dad, because his copy was sitting in the wooden crate behind him.

“Because of Rebecca’s death. Remember those two years when Tommy lived with you? Malcolm left and went to join the League of Assassins…”

“Wait! Tommy’s dad was part of the same group that rescued you from Lian Yu?” Oliver interrupted.

“Yes, he was for two years he served the same Ra’s Al Ghul, he was known as a Horseman which are the most ruthless and efficient assassins in the world. Well, after he returned, he wanted to do something to fix the Glades and with your dad and Frank Chan and some others they founded a group that worked with some of the shadier businessmen in Starling and the Glades by making deals to work on creating better infrastructures. The changes weren’t happening at a pace that satisfied Malcolm…actually he knew from the beginning that he wanted to do something drastic, but he also wanted the others to agree with him in the Undertaking is what he called it.”

Oliver wasn’t surprised that his father would want to try to help the city, he loved their home. “What is this…Undertaking? And did my dad agree with it?”

“Your dad didn’t want to be a part of the Undertaking and he tried to get out of it. The Undertaking,” Sara paused for a breath because it brought up so many bad memories and guilt, “Ok, so, I need you to remain calm and let me get all of this out mostly because you need the whole picture but also because this is hard for me to remember.”

He sat down in front of her and cleared his mind and calmed his emotions. “I’m sorry. Take your time.”

“The Undertaking is a plan to level the Glades and everyone in it. Malcolm is blackmailing your mother currently to gain access to the applied science division of QC, to build something called a Markov device. This will artificially create seismic activity and when it’s placed at strategic locations it can level a city. Your dad finally realized how far Malcolm was wanting to go and he wanted out, that was actually the reason for the trip to China.” Sara finished, knowing he would have questions and at some point, she knew he was going to ask about the boat sinking but hopefully it wouldn’t be tonight.

 Oliver didn’t know how to respond to everything she had just said, but he understood why she asked him to remain calm. “So, I’m not supposed to eliminate the people on the List? What am I supposed to do?”

“Well, honestly, I’m not sure. I think you should continue your mission because the people on that list are poisoning the city. I will take care of Malcolm and I will deal with any fallout if or rather when Tommy finds out. Because if I don’t do this, Tommy will die in the Undertaking.” Sara felt tears well in her eyes because the last time she saw Tommy was at a party he threw before they had all left for school before the Gambit. Laurel had left early, and she and Oliver had fucked in one of the guest rooms.

“Why was Tommy in the Glades?” Of all the crazy things she had said for some reason this seemed to be the thing he was latching on to. It was silly and there could be a number of reasons for him to be here but still it seemed odd.

“Umm…well…Tommy went because of Laurel. Laurel hadn’t listened warnings about staying out of the Glades.” Sara couldn’t remember when Oliver had found out about Laurel and Tommy dating. He said it wasn’t long after he got home but she hadn’t paid that close attention. The conversation had happened not long after Laurel threw her out, and she hadn’t been in the frame of mind to listen to stories about her sister.

Oliver nodded in understanding, “Aw, wow. So how do we fix it?”

“You continue your mission, and I will take care of Malcolm.” She reiterated, “I have the evidence to indict Malcolm so that everyone will know what he was. No one will miss him and all evidence for the Undertaking and those involved will be made public. Because he is blackmailing your mom, I think it will limit the fallout for your family.” She shrugged, killing Malcolm should be done sooner rather than later and she had the workings of a plan.

“Why can’t we put him in prison? I don’t want to hurt Tommy.” Oliver countered.

She knew she would have to make her case carefully; Oliver had always been far more optimistic about people and their motives than she had. The prime example was his hesitation in killing Ivo, thus giving him a chance to manipulate Slade into turning on him. “The biggest reason is that a prison would be unable to hold him, Oliver. He became one of the deadliest assassins in the world, I can break into and out of a prison with my training; with his it would be child’s play. Also, you think with his connections that prison walls would keep him from executing his plan?” She waited a minute for Oliver to concede to her logic. “Then there is the fact that if I don’t follow through with my mission, my life would be forfeit under League law and I’m not dying because Malcolm Merlyn again!” She snapped vehemently as she walked away. Sara knew she had said too much, but damn it, that man doesn’t get to win.

Oliver was surprised by her reaction; he knew she never would want to hurt Tommy either. As he thought over her words, he came to the realization that this was more than a mission. “What else did Malcolm do?” He asked hesitantly.

Sara cuts her gaze over to him, “Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically? I’ll just give you the highlight reel.” She offered when he simply stared at her. “He planted a bomb on the Queen’s Gambit, which is why it sank; he killed 507 people in The Undertaking including Tommy. He manipulates and drugs Thea into killing me to get you to go to war with the League of Assassins so he can escape his punishment for violating their law. A war which nearly kills you and almost destroys the city. He resurrects an immortal psychopath that tries to destroy the world, nearly succeeding. And to wrap up the greatest hits he kidnapped your son at the request of yet another psychopath with dreams of destroying the earth to remake it in his image.”

Oliver felt his mind blank as Sara ended her tirade. There was so much to unpack, and he really did want to take it point by point but there only one thing that was stuck on a loop in his mind, “I…I…have a…son?”

Notes:

Hi, my Totally Awesome Nerds!

I hope you all have wonderful holidays and were able to reset for the New Year!

I am sorry not sorry about the sort of cliff hanger. I have started working on the end of the conversation but the chapter was getting long and I needed to break it. I don't have a guess when my muse will allow me to finish the next part but I will post it as soon as it's ready.

Chapter 4: Tales of Fathers and Sons

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“I…I…have a…son?

Sara looked at him sadly, “Yes. His name is William.”

“Umm, where…who?” Oliver wasn’t entirely sure what he was trying to ask. He had so many thoughts running through his mind that he was struggling nailing one down. Suddenly, it felt like lightning had struck him, was this her way of saying his son, was their son. He glanced down towards her stomach, as if she might currently be pregnant.

She followed his gaze and quickly caught up to his line of thought. “No! No, I wouldn’t have dropped that kind of information on you like that. Fuck! No, just no.” She exclaimed; a brief feeling of regret flooded her.

Oliver felt his breath rush out as mixed emotions swirled inside him. Logically, he knew that Sara would have informed him of that first and wouldn’t have simply dropped it on him; she had more tact than that. And then there was the part where she was from eight years in his future. But a part of him wished that this son was theirs, would be theirs? “Who is his mother? Who will be his mother?” Time travel was headache inducing, she had been correct about that.

Sara smiled, “Do you remember Samantha Clayton?” She said gently. She didn’t have all the specific details about what happened, but she knew the basics.

He took a deep breath as he thought back, he remembered her alright. He remembered the pure terror he felt when she had told him that she was pregnant, and he remembered the grief he couldn’t understand when she told him that she had miscarried. “Yes…but she lost the baby.”

She sighed as she took a minute to frame this as gently as possible. “In the future I’m from you won’t find out about William for another 4 years, when he is 10 years old. You find out while visiting some friends in Central City, she makes you swear that you will tell no one about him. You kept that promise, well you told me, but I wasn’t technically alive to the world, so I didn’t really count. The reason she made you promise not to tell anyone was because after she had told you about the baby, you told your mom. Apparently, Moira got in touch with her and gave her a check for two million dollars to tell you she lost the baby and to move back to Central City.”

“What!?” Oliver interrupted, “What? No, no, she wouldn’t do that.” He denied.

“Yes, Ollie she would.” Sara stated simply. She knew Moira loved her family, but she was also a very flawed woman.

“Why? Why would she?”

“She was very worried about appearances especially at that time, she didn’t care that you did until is showed up in papers. A baby from a one-night stand would ruin the pretty picture of you and Laurel that she made sure was shown to the world.” She said a bit bitterly, “but Oliver, you can decide when you want to talk to her about it.” Sara added quietly. She didn’t want to tell him about Moira dying in the future. She knew he would need to know eventually because he needed to truly understand Slade’s state of mind, so he could prepare for what could come.

He thought about what she was saying and realized that however unpalatable it was, it was true. “So, I have a son now? He’s what 5 or 6 years old? Wow.” He collapsed on to the chair near the computer bank.

“Yeah. You’re a dad.” Sara smiles.

“Dad,” He whispers reverently, something he never thought he would get to be. “What’s he like? Was I a good dad?”

“You were a great dad. Because of my time travel mission, I didn’t get to meet him,” Her smile fell, it broke her heart that she hadn’t been able to meet William. It tore her up that after she left, she never had the opportunity to truly come home, and the few times she had visited it had coincided with Oliver being out of town. “But you told me a lot about him, you loved him so much. He came to live with you for a while when he was about 13 and you also got to meet an adult him before the Crisis came that took you away.” She choked out, his death still fresh no matter that he was sitting in front of her.

Oliver watched as she smiled through tears and heard the catch in her voice as she talked about things she life missed and the deaths she witnessed. He remembered both times she had been ripped away from him vividly and understood her feelings. “I want to meet him sooner, but…” he thought about his mission and wondered if it was wise to bring a child into his life.

Sara watched clouds of doubt roll through his storm blue eyes, “But you are worried about how to be a father and carry out your mission?” She finished for him, at his nod she continued. “I don’t know that I have any good answers, there are risks. I personally think that you should hold off asking your mom or looking up Samantha until after Malcolm has been dealt with. The risk if he finds out about William while he is still alive is too great, Malcolm holds nothing above his own life; not even his son.” Not yet bringing to his attention Thea’s true parentage.

He nodded in agreement, coming to slowly accept that Malcolm was going to have to die. “But after?” Hope colored his tone.

“I can’t guarantee that he will never be put in danger, there is another big personal threat that most likely will be coming in the next year or so and it’s a villain of our own making unfortunately.” She hadn’t wanted to talk about Slade, but she wasn’t sure what the man would do if he found out that Oliver had a son while under the influence of the Mirakuru.

“Who?” He asked trying to figure out who could be an enemy of both of them.

“Fuck, I really didn’t…damn it.” She swore, feeling a weariness settle in her bones. “Slade is alive, he survived the arrow to his eye. In the last timeline, he reappears next year with every intention of fulfilling his promise and he nearly succeeds in destroying this city and you personally.”

Oliver simply stared at her, of all the things she had said this was the biggest confirmation that she was really from the future because no one knew how he had killed, or thought he killed, Slade Wilson. “The Mirakuru.” He drawled out slowly.

“Yeah, you were right about one thing for certain, that son of a bitch is hard to kill.” She confirmed his suspicion. “Look I know there is a lot that I dropped on you, but I’m exhausted and you’re probably on overload. I suggest we call it for tonight, we get some rest, you call Constantine and confirm that I’m not crazy. We can meet up when you have had a minute to process.” Sara said tiredly. She knew this was going to be hard, but it was excruciating, and she was wrung out. She needed a better plan.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her slim body, holding her close still marveling that she was here and alive. His mind was reeling, and he couldn’t get it to find one point of focus. He didn’t want to let her go. Having her in his arms always felt right even when it had been wrong, he had loved Laurel but found his home in Sara’s arms. He let the hand cradling the back of her head shift to rake his fingers through her blonde hair, tilting her head back he leaned down.

As her body yielded to Oliver’s desires, her brain kicked in and she put her hand on his chest to stop him even as she trembled, “Ollie.” She whispered.

Oliver stopped and looked at her, seeing the conflict written in every line of her body, “Sar, what’s wrong?” He wanted to remove that look in her eyes.

Sara had to remember that she had had eight additional years to come to terms with her feelings for him, she knew what she wanted. She knew how he had felt for her when he died; despite his marriage to Felicity, despite knowing he wouldn’t act on it because he wasn’t a fickle boy any longer but a man who stood by his commitments. This younger Oliver, however, still hadn’t fully let Laurel go. Until he made up his own mind, she couldn’t do this. No matter how much her body wanted to give in her heart was asking for caution. “Are you still in love with Laurel?” She asked, her voice steady and calm, as she brought her body under strict control again.

Oliver took a sharp breath; he hadn’t anticipated her asking that question now or ever. “Umm…” Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he was still in love with the elder Lance daughter or if she had been a touchstone and reminder of his previous life that he had held onto.

Pulling gently out of his arms she gave him a patient smile, “You need to figure that out, for yourself, Ollie. I can’t be…I can’t do what we did again.” She saw a scrap piece of paper and a pen and wrote out her cell number. “Here’s my number, you know where I am. I’m not going to disappear or leave the city; at least not without letting you know.”

He took the slip of paper and held it tightly. He understood where she was coming from, they had spoken of making a real go of it if they ever made it off the island. But reality was rarely simple, she was from the future, and he knew he still had unresolved feelings for Laurel. That didn’t mean he didn’t wish he could feel her smooth skin against his or loose himself in her warm body. “Ok, I’ll call John and talk to him. About your family…”

“Ollie,” Her tone was one of warning and exasperation, “we can’t tell them, not yet. There are things that need to be done first. This isn’t forever, but I need to do what I can to make sure this future isn’t the one I lived through.”

“Ok.” He said grudgingly accepting her request, he always had been terrible at denying her anything. He may not have always listened to her suggestions or advice but if she truly asked for something he gave it to her. He pulled her close one last time before releasing her, “I’ll call soon.” He promised as she walked back out into the night.

He took a minute to put her number in his phone and then destroyed the paper before he picked up his phone again and called a different number.

“Constantine.” The voice grumbled.

“John, it’s Oliver. I have a bit of a situation.” He wasn’t entirely sure how he should ask his question.

“Calling in your favor already? What sort of preternatural trouble have you found now?” The brit asked with barely restrained glee.

“No, more a consultation. What can you tell me about Stamina Temporis Retexere?” Oliver supplied the name of the spell Sara mentioned.

“That I created it years ago…where are you?” The demonologist demanded; he couldn’t imagine how Oliver knew about that spell unless it had been cast.

“Starling City. You have heard of it?” Oliver questioned as his heart began to race.

“Yeah, mate, I have. I created a long time ago to fix a mistake, but I wasn’t able to. How do you know about it?” John sighed as he thought back to Astra and how after he had created it her realized the sacrifice was one his younger self would never have made, so he never cast it.

Oliver could barely believe the words he was going to say, despite the little slips Sara had given as confirmation. “Apparently, in eight years you will cast it for a friend of mine, and she will come back. I know because this friend just left, and she told me to call you.”

“It’s real and I’m on my way, mate.” John said as he hung up the phone.

Oliver stared at the screen of his phone for a minute as he processed the new information and confirmation that Sara had told the truth. Time travel was real, Sara was back, and Sara had come from even further away than he could have ever imagine. One word that stuck in his mind in big bold letters, DAD.

He was a dad.

Notes:

Hello my lovelies! My muse took a minor detour from I'm Home...well I was playing hooky and had been in a little cafe and wouldn't do research while writing...but that is neither here nor there. I still am not suer where this story is going other than clearly a time travel fix it (different fix than I'm Home).

I had wanted to keep with the magic and fabric references in the chapter titles but I'm clearly not that creative!

I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 5: Hocus Pocus and Other Incomprehensible Things

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

John walked up to the clock tower and saw what at first glance looked like broken windows and boards over the first-floor. He leaned against the wall and pulled out a cigarette before checking the time, five minutes early, just long enough for a smoke and to arrive exactly on time. It wasn’t too long before he spotted a motorcycle pull up and Oliver climb off the sleek piece of machinery. He didn’t move as the other man walked over simply continued to puff on his cigarette.

Oliver paused to lean against the wall with Constantine, they stood in not quite companionable silence but something similar. He had been giving a lot of thought to his conversation with Sara and the revelations it came with. He really wished he could talk her out of killing Malcolm, but he knew her well enough and had heard enough rumors about The League to know that would be a pointless endeavor. He had been avoiding home, or at least his mom, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to deal with her and the knowledge that he had told Samantha to lie to him about his child. While he had known he hadn’t been prepared to be a father when he had confessed what happened to his mother, he had kind of figured that some time in nine months that he would get most of his act together. He had truly gone to her in distress and hope that she would help him come up with a plan. He had never meant for her to remove the situation. His fear about telling Laurel was because he had every intention of being a part of his kid’s life. Until he had a plan that would keep his son safe, he knew that for now staying away was the safest option.

“Tell me about this woman who managed to not only find the spell but managed pull it off.” Constantine spoke for the first time.

Oliver shook himself out of his reverie and shifted his gaze over to the demonologist, “From what she told me, you performed the spell for her. She’s…” Oliver wasn’t sure how to sum up Sara, she was too many things to him and this new facet of time travel only added to the complication and enigma that was one of his best friends. “She’s smart but not academic; she’s kind, until crossed; she’s strong…the things she has lived through and survived are horrendous.” It wasn’t a great description, but it seemed to satisfy the other man. He looked at his watch at leaned over to press the hidden button Sara had told him to look for moments later the door opened with a slight mechanic whir.  He gestured for Constantine to walk in before him. There were stairs to the left and an open elevator on the right of the small room.

John shrugged as he entered the elevator with Queen, and they rode up in silence it was a quick ride to the top where the door opened into an open concept great room and kitchen with large circular windows on two side and the back of the giant clock gears all visible. It was sleek and modern with wide leather chairs flanking a massive velvet couch in a deep sapphire blue. In the kitchen was a stunning blonde woman who was pouring steaming water from a kettle into a French press coffee carafe. She was younger than he had imagined, even younger than Oliver, he could see how a version of himself would have been intrigued by her.

Sara looked up as she moved the coffee next to the mugs and cream and sugar. She felt her lips tip up in a smirk at John, he looked less burdened than the last time she has seen him. Oliver was glancing around the space she had created for herself probably remembering little things she and dreams she had shared with him over the years. She also, imagined she would have only had time to set up the barest of crash pads rather than a rather luxurious space. There was powder room on this level and a full bathroom up in the open loft that served as her bedroom. “Hey, coffee will be ready in just a few minutes, can I get you anything else to drink?” She asked.

Oliver shook his head, “No, thank you.” He walked over and leaned against the counter on the outside of the kitchen, Constantine joining him sitting on one of the barstools. “This is not what I imagined when you said you were living in the clock tower.”

“Yeah, as soon as a I got to a town with internet connection and a phone, I made calls and got it started.” She shrugged, knowing he wanted to ask how she paid for it but was too polite to ask in front of another person. Honestly, it has been a combination of funds from her time in the League, murder for hire was rather lucrative, and her time with the Legends. Rip had divvied up Savage’s vaults after his defeat and she had put some in the same bank the immortal had used and the majority she had put in vault years previously; she had checked and those assets has been available even after changing her timeline the way she had, probably because they had been deposited at a point in the timeline before the point she traveled back to. Time travel was headache inducing in any form, either way she had an absurd amount of money at her disposal at this point.

They all made their preferred way Oliver black, John with an ungodly amount of sugar and Sara a splash of cream before they all took seats in the living room. Sara sat patiently and waited for either of the men to ask their questions, she amused herself as she watched as the tension wind up just a bit the longer the silence dragged on.

“So luv, how did we meet?” John asked finally tired of the silence.

“You restored my soul to my body after I was resurrected from the Lazurus Pit.” She smirked and the dismay and confusion on the Brit’s face.

“Oh, um, wow, ok.” John mumbled as he stole a glance at Oliver, who looked just as confused though far more upset. “If I did perform this spell for you, why would I do that? What would make me take that risk?” he asked gruffly.

Sara lowered her mug and looked him straight in the eyes, “Astra Logue.” It was the only name, the only thing in his long life that he truly regretted. That young girl was root of all his worst moments, and she might have been the only person at the time to know that full story.

Constantine narrowed his eyes at her in an assessing manner before her shot her a rueful grin that didn’t meet his dark eyes. “That would do it luv. Well, Queen, she managed to pull off the impossible and rewrite her story.”

“Really? One name, that’s all it takes. All the proof you need.” Oliver questioned skeptically.

John shot her a twinkling glance that she knew spelled trouble, “One name can change the world, mate. Actually, it seems it already has. Cheers.” He toasted her with his mug. “That tells me why I did the spell, but what made you want to take such a drastic action?” He was painfully curious; about this woman he had been willing to share the story of Astra with.

“I was captain of a timeship, our primary mission was to fix aberrations. We had been going up against a magic user who currently is using Khushu idol, he picked it up on Lian Yu by the way; I think both of you were a part of that.” She pauses as both men pale at her casual reference. “Anyways, later he makes a deal with a time demon, it’s all very convoluted and I can share it at another time. End result to kill the demon we release him, I know.” She snaps before John can make the comment he looks dying to make. “We harness the power of all six Anansi totems and kill him. We hadn’t known at the time that there were other things in his prison; we accidently released magical creatures onto the earth. I called you for some advice and you came aboard.” She shrugs as if battling a demon and fighting magical creatures was just another Tuesday.

“Well, sounds like I got a lot to track down, this time demon, he got a name luv?” John remembers Lian Yu and knows he screwed up there a bit, he should have looked further at the scroll.

“He won’t be a problem for a good six or seven years yet. You would be better off looking into Damian Darhk and his organization H.I.V.E.; that may occur sooner.” Sara suggests.

“Why do you say may, you come from the future wouldn’t you know?”

“Because very soon I will do something that will have send ripples through the timeline. I will no longer be able to predict what will happen, I can make some guesses as to what may come based on what I know of what came and while the thing I am going to change will affect me and my family deeply, it won’t necessarily change the actions of others.”

Oliver’s brows furrowed as he tried to wrap his mind around time travel yet again. “So, why do the thing you’re going to do if it won’t change the future?”

Sara clinched her hand around her mug, “It will change things in our futures, yours, mine our families and that will in turn help save the world. Also, he does some world altering himself, so forget the man we grew up with and thing about the man he is now. How has he treated your best friend? Because I remember the bruises he would hide and the way he would flinch. And that is nothing compared to his plan for the genocide inside our city. One life for hundreds, that’s not complicated math in this situation. I will repeat the list of his actions again and again if it helps you finally wrap your mind around this.” She stated harshly. She was going to have to act as soon as she could, fortunately she had learned from the last time to stay completely under his radar. It helped he wasn’t even a little bit suspicious at this point, well beyond the paranoia that is instilled from the League.

He quickly remembers what she had said about how he manipulated and drugged Thea to kill her and had his son kidnapped, how he was responsible for Tommy’s death. “Yeah, ok.” He acquiesces.

John watched and listened, he knew he was missing several vital details, but he was inclined to agree with Sara. He was also, making notes to do as she requested. “Is there anything else I should know; it seems I have some research to do.”

Sara contemplated how to warn him about Neron and Desmond. “Find out who owns the deed to your soul and keep an eye on that. Sometime in the future a demon wants to make a play against the Triumvirate, he tries to get you to help since he will be in possession of your chit, but you refuse. He ends up making a deal with the man you are seeing. Now, I don’t think you should or will be able to stay away from this man, I do think you should be totally honest with him about what’s going on and ask for help. At the time you will be in New Orleans, there are plenty of magic users and call me I’ll come whenever I have no magic ability but I’m great in a fight and have seen enough shit to not get freaked out.” She offers.

His usual dark countenance seems to lighten a bit at these words. “Excellent, Luv. Thank you for the coffee. Queen.” He nods at the other man. “Ta.” He saunters out of the loft and getting on the elevator. This wasn’t at all what he had imagined when Oliver called him about his little spell. He thought he might need to look into getting a semi-permanent base set up here in Starling because it sounded like it was going to become a hot spot. At least these friends seemed competent for once. He was actually impressed with Sara; she knew not to invoke the name of the demons she mentioned. He figured as time drew closer or if she saw the warnings she would loop him in. He had trained her well enough it seemed. Maybe it was time to try trusting someone…only time would tell.

Oliver watched as Sara took the tray back to the kitchen. He had been thinking about everything she had shared with him, to the exclusion of just about everything else. He knew he should be thinking about his him mission, about Thea’s troubles, even about William and how to deal with his mother; and he was but he was also thinking about her line in the sand regarding Laurel. Honestly, she probably should have drawn it long before the Gambit, but they had been young. He still wasn’t entirely sure about his feelings for the elder Lance daughter. He made a note to go see Laurel, maybe spending some time with her knowing what he knows now it may help clarify it.

He got up from his chair and wrapped his arms around Sara, “I may not fully understand the time travel thing, but I do believe you. I believed you the other night. You were right it was a lot.”

Sara let herself melt into the comfort of his embrace, “I know, and I’m sorry it’s so complicated.” She swallowed around a lump in her throat because while she was thrilled beyond measure to be here with him; she still missed him, the him from her future who knew it was her who he loved. She took a deep breath before pulling back a bit, trying to reign in her emotions.

Oliver stepped back leaving his hands on her upper arms, not ready for fully disengage, “Any progress on your mission?”

Sara huffed out a brief laugh, “Yeah, actually. I can’t share much but give me another couple weeks and I should have a plan nailed down. “Oh, hey your mom has a copy of the list, it comes into your possession, the how isn’t important but her copy is fully intact and there are names you don’t have anymore. Find a way to switch the books or just copy those names down so you have them.” She remembered Isobel Rochev and her vendetta against them.

“Ok, anyone imparticular?” He asked as he let her lead him towards the elevator.

“Isobel Rochev, your dad had an affair with her and almost left your mom for her. She has a big vendetta against you, and she takes the company from you and teams up with Slade. No need to go cross her off yet, but she is on the List and not just for the personal connections.” She says bluntly, there really is no good way to tell the man you love that his father for sure had affairs; he might have suspected but never had any real proof. But experience had told her straight forward facts was his preferred method for receiving tough information.

“Fuck! Really, Sara?” Oliver ran his hands through his hair.

“I’m sorry for saying that out of the blue, I really did just remember the missing names.” She winced, a bit.

He took a breath and let it out in a frustrated sigh, “I know, Sar. I need to go punch someone; I’ll see you soon.” He gives her a quick hug, to show he isn’t angry with her before he enters the elevator and presses the button for the ground floor. “Later.”

Notes:

Hello my lovelies!

I have missed you all and I greatly appreciate your patience. I wish I had the ability to write full time. Unfortunately I have a job and family and friends who all demand my time. I also am in possession of a rather fickle muse and without her my writing is rather soulless and I refuse to share that kind of crap. This is the first full and in any story order chapter I have been able to get out in months. It feels great and I hope that more will be coming for this and my other stories. No, I have not abandoned any of them!

I hope you all have had a Merry Christmas! If you celebrate another holiday I hope you had a wonderful time as well.

Notes:

This is the result of my muse's ADHD and Joey_De's bad influence! If you don't like it blame them, LMAO.

Like most of my stories I will try to keep my character's as close to their true selves as I can in their new circumstances. I will also, endeavor to be cautious and thoughtful in the changes I will make to the timeline. I will not do so willy nilly.

Finally, if my google Latin isn't correct; just role with it please.