Brave New World: Arrow

Chapter 11

"So, you're a meta now?" Thea asked Laurel as they gathered in the bunker after their mission.

"Yeah, still not sure how that happened. Caitlin ran a few tests on me before we left Central City but we had to leave before they got the results." Laurel said.

"Yeah, I just got the results back." Felicity said.

"Well?" Oliver asked.

"According to these test results, Laurel's DNA patterns are now identical to the ones from her Earth Two counterpart." Felicity said.

"How is that possible, I wasn't anywhere near Central City when the particle accelerator exploded?" Laurel asked.

"Wait, hold on a second." Felicity said as she typed a few things on her computer.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked.

"Working a very vague hunch, but then again, I've worked off less." Felicity said.

"So, what exactly are you looking for?" Laurel asked.

"I'll tell you once I know if I'm right." Felicity said as she continued typing before she finally found what she was looking for.

"What are you looking for?" John asked.

"A sample of Laurel's DNA from before the Gambit." Felicity said.

"Why?" Laurel asked.

"Because in order to test my theory, I need to compare the sample that Caitlin sent to me with a sample of Laurel's DNA from before the Gambit, since honestly, I think that's the only time of your life where I can be sure that your DNA wasn't altered in anyway, since that's back when your life was normal." Felicity said and Laurel nodded as Felicity finally found something.

"That's interesting." Felicity said.

"What is it?" John asked.

"Well for starters, the piece of DNA that I've found for Laurel is from the SCPD archive. Something you want to share?" Felicity asked with a grin.

"Let me guess, from 10 years ago?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah." Felicity said.

"That was my fault. Laurel just happened to be an accomplice to one of my many acts of stupidity and her father cleared it from her record since he said that her only crime was dating me." Oliver said and Laurel chuckled.

"Surprised he didn't leave it there to teach you a lesson." Thea said, amused.

"Oh he wanted to, but mom talked him down to probation." Laurel said, honestly chuckling at the memory.

"Anyways, what did you find?" Oliver asked, getting them back on subject.

"This is a sample of Laurel's DNA from 10 years ago and this is the sample that Caitlin sent to our system. The key difference is that in the older sample, Laurel's DNA shows no trace of the metahuman gene, but her more recent sample shows her possessing it." Felicity said.

"So what does that mean?" Rene asked.

"It means that just like in our old universe, our Laurel never possessed the metahuman gene, which means that she shouldn't have powers. And yet somehow she does. So either there's something wrong with the test or something or someone has drastically altered Laurel's DNA." Oliver said.

"Yeah, but who or what could do that I don't know." Felicity said.

"Well, I can think of one person who'd be able to do that and it wouldn't be his first time messing with people's lives like this." John said.

"Novu? John, we haven't seen or heard from him since the universe was reborn. Besides, he wouldn't just give Laurel powers without an explanation. He's a lot of things, but being generous is not one of them and I highly doubt he'll just show up for questioning." Oliver said.

"Well that depends on the question." a new voice said and Oliver turned to see the Monitor himself standing there.

"Okay, that was uncanny." Roy said.

"I know, was he waiting for an entrance line or something?" Felicity asked, only for all of them to be silenced by the look on Oliver's face.

"I'm guessing that the fact you're here proves that you have something to do with Laurel's powers?" Oliver asked and Novu nodded.

"Yes. Consider it another way to honor your fallen comrade, the Laurel Lance of Earth Two. Since she could not be here, I gave her abilities to her counterpart of this earth." Novu said.

"But why? You never do anything like this out of the kindness of your heart. So cut the crap and tell me what's going on here." Oliver asked.

"Do I really need to tell you Oliver? I'm surprised you of all people haven't figured out what your survival means." Novu said as a horrifying thought crossed Oliver's mind.

"If I survived the big bang, then that means that." Oliver said.

"Yes, unfortunately, Mobius survived too. And he will attempt to return to finish what he started." Novu said.

"So Crisis part two." Dinah said.

"Fortunately, there is time to prepare. Oliver, the only reason you survived is because your consciousness was able to transfer itself into the body of your counterpart from this Earth. Mobius does not have that benefit since he is the only entity in the multiverse that does not have a single doppelganger." Novu said.

"Meaning that while he'll recover, he'll have to do it the old fashioned way and considering the magnitude of that blast, it'll take awhile for him to heal and recover his strength." Oliver said.

"So let's go and get him while he's still weak." Rene said.

"No. Even a weakened Anti Monitor is more than we can handle right now." Oliver and Novu nodded.

"I gave Laurel Lance the powers of her counterpart in order to better your chances of defeating Mobius and once and for all. How and when you will do that, I don't know. However, I must ask you to keep this information a secret for now. The others will be informed when the time is right. Especially since there are still those who have yet to reveal themselves." Novu said.

"So you expect us to keep the fact that the crisis is still coming to ourselves." Oliver asked.

"Your team has proven to be able to multitask and not allow information like this to stop them from focusing on the here and now. The others, they would likely focus too much of their attention on preparing to fight Mobius and therefore could end up losing focus on more immediate threats." Novu explained and Oliver nodded, since Novu did have a point there.

"Okay then, is that all?" Oliver asked.

"One more thing. Oliver, when you restarted the world, you changed your role in it. In addition to being the Spectre, you have also become a paragon." Novu said.

"Wait what?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, in fact, I have to believe that you always were one, it was just kept hidden." Novu said.

"Well Oliver, it does make sense that you're one of the paragons now. So which one is he?" John asked.

"Oliver Queen is the paragon of life, for that is the role of the warrior who dies to give life to everything else. A role that only you can fill Oliver." Novu said.

"You said that I'll need to become the spectre again?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, but do not worry, you will not need to die again, for the spectre's power is still within you. However, it must remain dormant until the time of the crisis arrives, for if you use it now, your body will become dependent on it and I can foresee that the remaining energy you have left will be depleted in the Crisis, whenever it should come and if that happens while your body is dependent on it." Novu said.

"I'd die and I'm guessing this time I can't come back." Oliver said.

"That is correct." Novu said.

"Okay then. If that's all, we have work to do." Oliver said and Novu nodded as he disappeared.