Chapter 5: Damaged and the Alibi
Adam was a man with a plan. He had successfully, if chaotically, influenced the first few episodes of the Arrowverse timeline. He had aided the hero, acquired some useful Gu, and even helped Laurel Lance win a case. He was feeling pretty good about himself. He was, in his own mind, the unsung hero of Starling City, a one-man wrecking ball of sarcasm and meta-knowledge.
"I'm like the human equivalent of a glitch in the Matrix. I'm not supposed to be here, I'm not supposed to know what I know, and I'm definitely not supposed to be this charmingly sarcastic. But hey, here I am. And I'm thriving. I'm like a weed in the garden of canon, and I'm just waiting for someone to try and pull me out."
The next major event was "Damaged," the episode where Oliver Queen gets arrested. Adam knew this was a pivotal moment. This was where the team, as we know it, really starts to form. This was where Felicity Smoak, the heart of Team Arrow and the queen of unintentional innuendo, would make her debut.
Adam, from the comfort of his office, was watching the news. The headline read: "Oliver Queen Arrested: Suspected of Being 'The Hood'." A familiar-looking blonde woman with glasses was being interviewed on the street. She was talking a mile a minute, rambling about a computer virus and a hard drive.
Felicity Smoak.
Guido's mental screen exploded with notifications.
[Main Character Detected: Felicity Smoak.]
[Reward: B-Rank Communication Gu and 10,000 Coins.]
[Gu Acquired: B-Rank Communication Gu.]
[Coins Acquired: 10,000.]
A powerful, humming sensation, like a high-pitched buzz, appeared in his gut. This was a B-Rank Gu. A powerful one. He could feel its potential, a telepathic connection to information, to thoughts, to communication itself. He was no longer just a guy who could think things better. He was a guy who could communicate things better.
"A B-Rank Gu! A B-Rank Gu! This is it! This is my big break! I'm finally on the fast track to becoming a minor deity in this universe. A Communication Gu, too. This is perfect. I'm a snarky guy who knows things, and now I have a bug that makes me even better at talking. I'm going to be unstoppable. Unstoppable, I tell you!"
The system, as if reading his mind, delivered a new mission.
[Mission: Help the team create an alibi for Oliver.]
Adam grinned. He knew the drill. The team was going to need to fake a video of the Hood, a task that would require a computer genius. A computer genius who was currently standing on a street corner, being interviewed on the news. Felicity Smoak.
This was his chance to meet her. He knew he had to be subtle. He couldn't just walk up to her and say, "Hey, I know you're about to go work for a billionaire vigilante. Can I come too?" That would be a surefire way to get a restraining order. No, he had to be clever. He had to use his PI skills. His "journalist" persona. His charm.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number. It was the Starling City Police Department.
"Hello, Detective Lance? Yeah, it's Adam Stiels, the freelance journalist. I have a tip for you. It's about that computer genius, the one you just interviewed on the news. Felicity Smoak. I think you should probably talk to her again. I have a feeling she knows more than she's letting on. She's just... she's too smart to be this innocent. I'm telling you, she's the key to this whole thing. You should look into her. Like, really look into her."
He hung up the phone, a mischievous grin on his face. He wasn't a bad guy. He was just an instigator. He was nudging the timeline along, giving it a little push in the right direction. He knew Detective Lance would follow his lead, and he knew that would lead to Felicity getting to the Arrow Cave. It was a beautiful, chaotic plan, and it was all his.
"Alright, Felicity, it's showtime. Get ready to meet your new favorite sarcastic, pop-culture-obsessed colleague. The one who knows all your secrets, and who's going to be a real pain in your butt. It's going to be great. So, so great."