Chapter 14

After work that day, Diggle drove Oliver and Felicity to the foundry. They entered through Verdant's main door and saw that Thea and Roy were already there catching up on some work. As they stepped through the office door there was loud honk from outside. Thea and Roy looked up to see the others but Roy was on his feet a moment after, "that's probably the vendor, I'll let them in". He smiled and nodded to the arrivals and disappeared around the corner.

Oliver couldn't help the pride that surged through him as he saw his baby sister doing so well in her business. He gestured to the door, "Liquor delivery?"

Thea shook her head with a smirk, "Actually, I'm installing wind machines."

Felicity snorted suddenly and Diggle hid his smile with his hand. Oliver glanced from face to face confused.

Thea rolled her eyes, "I've been getting asked why it's not an every night thing...look it's not important. What's up, Ollie?"

Oliver's eyebrows were still knit together in confusion but he shook his head and brushed it off, "We're headed down to gather some intel, I thought you and Roy should be informed."

Thea was pleased, her smile reaching all the way up to her eyes, "Ok. Well let me deal with the installation and then we'll be right down."

As the trio descended down into the lair, Felicity's phone started buzzing. She checked the caller ID as she put her purse down at her computer station, "How's it going, Barry?"

Oliver and Diggle quirked their respective ears, but otherwise went about their business.

"Yeah, we're at the foundry," she answered, "um, yeah ok. See you in a bit".

Oliver turned to her as she ended the call, "Barry's stopping by?"

She nodded, her lips pursed and her gaze thoughtful, "he said he found something that we overlooked and that it was easier to talk about it in person".

Diggle walked over, "maybe he found a way to track Crane or whoever else is involved?"

Felicity shrugged, "could be, but that seems more of a Cisco thing, and I don't think he'd let Barry get away without involving him again. As it is, I'm not looking forward to whatever he has planned for us".

"Cisco has plans for you?" Oliver asked confused if not a shade protective.

Felicity switched on the servers and sat down, "let's just say you should consider yourself lucky you already have a code name." Diggle nodded severely behind her.

Roy came trotting down the stairs and came to stand next to Diggle.

"Thea will be down in a minute, she's just updating the books," he said.

Oliver turned to him, "So what's with the wind machines, how did she come up with that?"

Roy rolled his eyes, "Well you have to thank a certain speedster for that."

Oliver's eyebrow shot up, "Barry?"

"He decided on his way in one day, he was going to speed dance, it was really-"

Roy lost his train of thought when Oliver rushed to Felicity's side. He kneeled in front of her as she stared wide eyed into space, her featured twisted in fear and her breathing in shallow bursts.

Oliver took her hands, but she snatched them away, still lost in her mind.

"Give me her phone," Diggle commanded. Roy tossed it to him from the console and a second later music was playing loudly from her phone.

Felicity blinked a few times and shook her head abruptly. This time when Oliver grabbed her hands she didn't pull away, but rather squeezed tightly. Oliver let out a breath, "Are you ok?"

She nodded, her face still a bit tight, "Yeah, yeah. I'm ok."

"What happened? What triggered you?" Oliver prodded gently.

Felicity licked her dry lips. She was still a bit disorientated but tried to focus on the flash, "um, he, uh... He said we could have danced or something I guess".

"Just one word gave her an episode? That's... I thought the stimulus would be more than that," Roy inquired.

Oliver didn't know, she shook her head as he ran a hand up and down Felicity's back, attempting to calm her. He could still see the tension in her shoulders. He turned to Diggle, "how did you know to do that?"

"I've had some experience with soldiers and PTSD in the army. Something jarring usually grounds a person back to reality, such as a strong smell or taste, or a loud noise."

"It doesn't make any sense," Felicity shook her head.

Oliver turned his attention to her, "I think it makes perfect sense, and it worked."

"No, not that. Me. This! I can understand having a flash from the...physical things maybe. But just a word? Slade held a katana, a very sharp katana I might add, to my throat. Which was probably the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, but one word gives me a panic attack? It just doesn't make sense."

Everyone was silent. She had a point. Felicity was always resilient despite desperate situations. Oliver shrugged and tried to reason with her logic, "you were under a lot of stress already".

As she was about to respond a gust of wind barreled down the stairs so she took a breath and instead said, "hi, Barry".

"Hey guys. Hey Felicity, how have you been-"

"You!" A voice yelled angrily and was accompanied by loud clunking footfalls on the stairs.

Thea marched down and stood right in Barry's personal space as she poked him roughly in the chest, "do you know how much wind machines cost? And not only that but I'm going to have to close the club this weekend to fix the wiring in order to have them installed?"

Barry's expression was appropriately comprised of confusion and fear, "...sorry?"

"You better be!" Thea replied and then deflated quickly, "just please, don't do anything cool up there that will be expensive to recreate."

Barry nodded and cleared his throat, "you bet". Everyone else tried to disguise their smirks.

Oliver stepped toward Barry after Thea had moved away and next to Roy, "what's on your mind, Barry?"

Barry's uncomfortable stance changed as he turned his attention to Oliver, "We've found something that could help you with your case". He hesitantly turned to Felicity, "I didn't want to just call because I think this is a lot bigger than we thought it was, which the drugs, and particularly with you."

Felicity furrowed her eyebrows, "Me? With what, the hacking?"

Barry shook his head, "No, nothing to do with that. It has to do with how you've been acting."

Everyone in the lair were extremely uncomfortable at them mention of Felicity's behavior. Barry rushed to continue, "We analyzed the blood sample of when you were attacked, and compared it to the one we took off you when we did the Crane Operation. Both times we found the prodrug that enhances substances taken with it.

"Ok, so it was probably in the vertigo he sprayed at me." Felicity deduced.

Barry nodded, "Yes. Which is why we went looking for it with the second sample, but we found something else. Nanites."

Felicity paled. Oliver looked back and forth from Barry to Felicity, the confusion evident on his face, "Wait, so what does that mean?"

"I think the reason that Felicity is having the episodes she's having, is not because she actually has PTSD," Barry concluded.

The room was silent.

Thea spoke up then, "but, it would be understandable if she did. I mean, she did go through something horrific."

"It does make sense, but it doesn't," Diggle replied.

Oliver turned to Diggle, again in question. He was sick of feeling so lost in what was being talked about. His irritation leaked into his expression as he waited for more of an explanation.

"Most victims of being drugged and sexual assault don't have any memories-"

Felicity interrupted Diggle, "but some do".

Diggle nodded, "yes, some do, especially if it was traumatic. Now, here's the thing... Felicity, have your flashbacks only consisted of your attack?"

Everyone looked at Felicity expectantly which she noticed immediately. It made her extremely uncomfortable but she answered, "I think so".

"Hmm," Diggle walked over to Oliver and put his arm up to lead him away. Oliver tilted his head in question but followed Diggle's lead and walked away from the main area toward the stairs. While they spoke away from the group, Barry spoke up once again, "I'm not sure where Diggle is going with this but I don't know how it has anything to do with the Nanites..."

He didn't have a chance to complete his thought as Oliver and Diggle walked back over. Diggle turned to Felicity, his expression expectant and almost apologetic, "I just want to try something real quick. It's just a theory."

While Diggle had Felicity's attention, Oliver had placed himself behind Felicity and gently pulled then end strands of the hair in her ponytail. Felicity's breath hitched and her eyes unfocused. Her whole body tensed up taut and she was lost in a memory.

Oliver rushed to sit in front of her and Diggle scrambled with her phone again, retrieving a song. When it blared throughout the lair, Felicity's eyes refocused and Oliver grabbed her hands desperately, "Shh, shh... You're ok, your safe".

Diggle looked contrite, "I'm sorry, Felicity, that was my call. I didn't know if what I suspected would happen, but we needed to know. What did you see?" His expression suggested that he already knew the answer.

With slightly wild eyes, but no sign of anger, she answered him, "Count Vertigo".

Diggle nodded. He snuck a glance at Barry, who seemed to now understand.

"It's the Nanites, somehow."

Roy and Thea looked particularly confused. Felicity decided to try to explain in an effort to distract herself from the fallout of the flash.

"There were some nanites that we recently discovered were stolen from Palmer tech. If this theory is correct, they've programmed them and are using them in conjunction with the drugs."

"Programmed them to what?" Roy asked.

Barry faced him, "in Felicity's case, to use her fears or memories as triggers. They are basically causing her to be paralyzed in fear" He turned to Oliver, "it must have been when they sprayed the Veritgo."

"So they have to be inhaled?" Oliver asked.

Felicity answered, "No, but it's a quick way they can administered to the blood stream. They can't be ingested because the digestive acids would eat away at the tech- so wait, does this mean I don't have PTSD?" She looked hopefully at Oliver, but it was Diggle who answered.

"You still may, but there is a shot you don't. The only way to know is to get rid of the nanites, if that's even possible." He looked back at Felicity. The tech side of this equation was far past his expertise.

"It's possible. I'd have to hack the program that was directing them. I can start at Palmer tech to see if I can trace how they were stolen. Barry, did you bring the sample with the nanites?"

Barry nodded.

"Why would someone do this?" It was Thea who interjected this time.

Oliver shrugged, "for a number of reasons, I would imagine. None of them good."

Felicity stood up and righted her dress, "Well, one thing is for certain, we track this to the programmer, we find who has been working with Crane. I'll get to work."