The Wish Factory

Chapter 13

Ryleigh watched as Barry's face fell when he figured out that she knew about his ability. She felt kinda sorry about the whole situation because she'd known anyway because of her knowledge of the show. Still, she was supposed to act it out as if she hadn't known so here, they were. She ignored him completely when he didn't say anything and walked over to where Oliver and Felicity stood. If they needed her help, she was curious to see what kind of evil guy they were facing. Usually, if it was a team-up, it was a big bad. She was still a little weirded out with the whole thing because they weren't in a season she recognized. Cisco had his vibe ability and was open with it, yet Harrison Wells was still in his wheelchair and hadn't been found out yet. She knew what happened in the first season with Eddie and she seriously didn't want that to happen. Sure, Iris was a bitch, but she wouldn't wish that on anyone. When she came to a stop in front of Oliver, she crossed her arms as she addressed him.

"Okay, what exactly are we dealing with, Ollie? If you need my help and The Flash's help it's got to be bad." He cringed when she brought it up, it was as if it was a question he was hoping to avoid.

"Slade Wilson is back, and he's brought an army with him. Now, he's been cured of the Mirakuru, but he's still extremely formidable. He's got about fifty men at his disposal, and he's already kicked mine and Dig's asses. We had a lot of help with the last group, but the league of assassins isn't interested in helping since I turned their offer to take over down." Ryleigh couldn't help it when her mouth dropped open at his admission. Were they already at the portion where Ra's al Ghul tried to destroy starling city and brainwash Oliver? He shook his head when he saw her expression and spoke to her softly.

"That's a conversation for another day; I just need Slade out of my city." Ryleigh went through her memories and realized that she and Oliver were actually really close. They'd bonded over their problems, and they felt like brother and sister to each other. It had really hurt her to have to leave, but she'd needed to fix her devices because the pain had reached a breaking point. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm.

"Oliver, when this is all over, I hope you'll let me explain myself." He didn't grin like she'd hoped he would but instead regarded her with a blank expression.

"If you'll help, that's great; I don't expect anything else from you, Ryleigh." He turned on his heel and left the room after making that statement. Dig and Lyla waved goodbye, but Felicity and Laurel stayed behind. Laurel was the first to break the silence.

"He'll come around, Rye, he's just hurt that you didn't feel like you could confide in him." Felicity smiled gently and nodded her agreement before putting her two cents in as well.

"You know Oliver just as well as we do. He considered you family and when you disappeared...well he feels like you didn't return the sentiment. Don't dwell on that right now though, let's get the job done and you'll have plenty of time to set things right." Ryleigh felt her eyes well up with tears; she was genuinely upset that she'd hurt him. She could tell that she hadn't meant to, but she'd been worried about stepping out of bounds with the mind reading. She was also sensing she'd been worried about losing control of her telekinesis...she hadn't wanted to hurt him physically. She saw Felicity look at Barry and mouth the words "sorry" before they took their leave. Caitlyn tactfully made herself scarce as did Cisco, leaving her alone with Barry. He didn't immediately walk over to her, and she was getting irritated. Rolling her eyes, she started to walk over to Caitlyn's lab when he stopped her. His face looked crestfallen, and it was obvious he felt terrible where she was concerned. He took a firm grasp on her, hand and looked her directly in the eye when he spoke.

"Ryleigh, I'm so sorry you had to find out the way you did, I take it Felicity told you?" Ryleigh took her hand back and crossed her arms in her practiced defense, move.