The Other Symbiote

Words of Wisdom

FRIDAY had directed each member of Team Arrow to their own quarters before pulling them into a presentation room.

"Mayor Queen, the mouse next to your hand will help you play-" He interrupted the AI by clicking on the main video addressed to them, leaving the individual messages alone.

"Hey guys." Raiva looked nervous and she didn't have her rings to fidget. Instead, she had her small 3x3x3 Rubik's cube in hand, solving it and messing it up whilst speaking.

"The date is... well, it's my 15th birthday, how ever many years ago that was to when you are viewing this video."

"I've asked FRIDAY to address it to you privately, because frankly, I don't want others to know the things I've done when it was just us on missions." Her voice was shaky, but she pushed through it.

"I wanted to thank you all. I'll be going into detail with each of your videos, but collectively, you guys helped me build back my foundations, my confidence, what makes me... me." She smiled softly at the completed cube before messing it up again.

"You know what I find crazy? This small thing here has over 43 quintillion different ways of being mess up, but leading it along the right path of formulas and equations makes it finish correctly. And I can't help but think that you've done that for me too."

"Felicity, you were the one who taught me so much. You helped me with my college math homework, with my STEM coding. Hell, you wouldn't leave me alone until I got it right!" Her smooth laughter brought more tears to the blondes eyes.

"And Thea... you trained me to be the strongest and fittest one, not stopping and helping me when I broke. You cared for me like a stern mother should, with tough love but enough space to turn to in need."

"And Queenie... you taught me how to blend into the environment, how to be in plain sight yet be invisible. I remember you raging that day when you saw that fateful blade in my arm, unable to control your fatherly emotions to me. And I'm grateful that you sent me to Kara after."

"You all have your own video but if I don't stop now I won't have enough storage, so... peace out." The hologram cut out and the team finally let down their barriers, knowing only they could hear their howls of pain.

——

The Legends were all a mess when they lost Snart - to say they were one now is an understatement. Sara and Laurel clung to each other in hopes of cheering the other up, Amaya and Nate the same. Ray sat with his hands folded, still for the first time in his life.

"Hey Legends." Raiva's hologram appeared in the centre and they all turned their heads up. "People say that time is the only concept we have of our world, the only true measurement of our existence. And that's true."

"You guys taught me that, and you taught me how to be a better person. Amaya, you pulled me out of my Lazarus Pit bloodlust, which definitely didn't help with my little parasite. Yes, I'm talking about you, Nem. Now shut it, I'm talking."

"Mick, you didn't help me much, but you listened to me. You listened to my problems and let me vent to you, sometimes helping me light things on fire to help me get over my fear of it. And Zari, you always made look as fashionable as the period of time allowed." 

The sweet fashionista chuckled tearily in the corner, with Ray giving her a soft look to tell her she could cry. 

"I love you all, incredibly so. God, if only I could have had more time with you all. Sara and Laurel, if you guys are watching this... I'm sorry. I know what you went through when both of you thought you lost the other, but I know the pain I'm bringing upon you in this situation. And for that, I am truly sorry." 

During the small speech, the siblings had wandered closer to the hologram, both collapsing to the floor when the hologram cut out, their mouths open but silence ringing out.

----

The Superfriends and Team Flash all filed into one large room, all of them looking at the others and seeing the same broken look in one another's eyes. Kara clung to Lena the same way Alex did with Maggie, like she was her supply of oxygen. 

"Hola, mi familia. It took me a few takes but I soon realized I couldn't separate your videos, not in this time. I knew you would all need each other because you collectively helped me out after Ollie delivered me to Kar."

"Kara and Barry, I could never express my thanks to be in your presence in words. After learning to suppress my emotions unhealthily with the others, you both helped me to embrace them... something I'm still figuring out how to do." The hologram-Raiva fiddled with her fingers, the array of rings on multiple of them.

"FRIDAY, when was this recorded?" Alex shakily called out.

"Precisely 12 hours and 2 minutes ago."

"You both instilled the emotions of love and hope into me, teaching me about how to be more than a weapon, more than a machine... to be a person, to have value, to love and care for others. I love you guys, and I could have never carried on without you all."

The video cut out, muffled shrieks of pain and anguish relentlessly leaving the team's mouths into one another's shirts and jumpers.

----

All three groups diverged with only the key people rushing back to Raiva's room after receiving an alert from FRIDAY about the teen's condition. Lena rushed to her sister's side and grasped her hand, the clammy skin cold as the Fortress of Solitude.

"Natasha, get Wanda's ass back up here!" Sara growled, the redhead walking down the halls aimlessly before FRIDAY directed her to Raiva's lab. 

A/N: Sorry, this was rushed. I was procrastinating my English exam... pretty sure I failed.

Oh well.