What do you say to the child you’ve just met? A child that really isn’t even a child anymore, but a young adult; both physically and mentally.
This was the question that both Oliver Queen and Eddie Fyers had been contemplating all the way back to the states, after the long journey that had taken them half way around the world. They had gone in search of Eddie’s long lost daughter, Mia Dearden, and in the process, had found Ollie’s son, Connor Hawke.
As the plane landed in Star City’s International Airport, the four of them got off the private jet with the same uneasy silence that had been hovering over them through the entire trip.
“Well…” Ollie said, clearing this throat.
“Well…” Eddie mimicked with the same nervous tone in his voice.
Mia turned to Connor, “You get the feeling that our dads are so not comfortable right now?”
The young man nodded solemnly. “That has been my belief for most of the plane ride here.”
Mia grinned. “Kind of cool, huh?”
Again the young man nodded, fighting a grin of his own. “It does have some entertainment value.”
“Yeah, ha ha, jokes on the old men,” Ollie grumbled. “Let’s say we all grab some food before we take some personal time.”
“Sounds good to me,” Eddie said. “I could go for a big fat steak that’s bleeding like a stuck pig.”
Connor’s nose crinkled. “Sounds distasteful to me, but to each its own. Personally, I’m not a meat eater.”
“O.M.G.!” Mia exclaimed. “I’m a vegetarian, too!”
“'O.M.G.'?” Eddie asked.
Eddie and Ollie glanced at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking. Who knew they would ever end up on the other end of an age gap?
* * * * *
There were five of them, and they walked down the quiet evening street in a cluster, robes pulled over their heads, keeping close to the shadows as they moved like one.
It didn’t take them long to find what they were looking for. She was walking alone, waiting for a trick. She was dressed in stilettos and wore a skirt higher and tighter than Kenny Roger’s botched plastic surgery.
She turned and saw the men coming towards her, raising an eyebrow and tossing her cigarette to the ground, crushing it out as they approached her.
“We want you,” one of them stated.
“Well, honey, I don’t usually do groups, not my thing, but work’s been real slow this week. It’s going to cost you, though.”
She did not see the one robed man work his way behind her, so she was surprised when she was grabbed from behind, his hand covering her mouth.
The one in front of her drew out a large ceremonial knife, “I’m afraid, it is going to cost you. For the Kali Yuga,” he exclaimed.
“For the Kali Yuga,” the others chanted, solemnly.
* * * * *
Dinner was over and the Ollie and crew stood outside of the restaurant, an awkward silence filling the night air. They had been through so much together in a short period of time, saying goodbye, even for a short while, was difficult. The fact that both Eddie and Ollie was about to be alone with their children for the first time seemed to compound the awkwardness.
“You two going to be okay?” Ollie asked.
Eddie looked at his daughter who looked back with a nervous smile. “Yeah, I think we’re going to be fine. We’ll catch up with you two in a couple of days.”
Nodding, Ollie shook Eddie’s hand and suddenly drew him into a hug, his mouth close to Eddie’s left ear. “You need me, you know how to find me,” he whispered. “And don’t think we’re done with this whole CIA thing, cause we’re not…
buddy.”
Letting go of each other, Eddie gave a small nod and offered his hand to his daughter. Mia looked at it for a moment and then laughed. “What the hell? I ain’t five – Dad.”
Eddie rolled his eyes and the two of them turned and walked down the street and out of site.
Another awkward moment of silence as Ollie found something on the ground that seemed to have drawn his attention.
“Where do we go from here, Father?” Connor asked, looking around.
Queen caught the double reference in the question. “This is about the time I’d don the costume and do a little patrolling; care to join me?”
A small smile crept over Connor’s face. “I would be honored.”
* * * * *
Half an hour later they were perched on top of the second tallest building in Star City, looking at the building across the street. It was only one floor shorter than the one they were on, and after allowing enough time for what Connor believed to be reflection from his father, he spoke to him.
“The Fero Corporation, what is the significance of this company to you, Sir?”
“Well, it used to be LuthorCorp before this obvious take-over, and before that, it was
my company: Queen Enterprises, and will you stop calling me Sir.”
Connor’s brow creased, “I had heard about Lex Luthor’s fall after the alien crisis, and that he had seized control of your company, but who is this Fero Corporation?”
“No idea… but I aim to find out.”
The younger man looked down at his feet. “What building are we standing on now?”
“This,” Ollie said, “This is the Kane Building, owned by the Wayne Foundation from Gotham City.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of Bruce Wayne as well.”
Green Arrow grunted. “Who hasn’t? He bought the building several years ago and renovated it, making sure it was one floor taller than mine.”
“Any particular reason?”
Ollie smirked, “Over compensation.”
Green Arrow stood up, “Come on, time to check in on the people of Star City,” he said as he shot an arrow across to the roof of another building and hooked his bow onto it, sliding down and across the alley, as Connor followed close behind.
They ran for a short time, sprinting across the roofs and leaping from one building to the other; using their bows and swinging across when they needed to. Ollie couldn’t help but feel pride as they crossed the city together. This pride, however, was tinged with sadness at the memories of him and Roy doing the same only a few short years ago. The whole Count Vertigo fiasco had not ended well between the two of them, and Oliver was regretting that.
Before long, the duo had found themselves in a less affluent part of town. In Gotham, it would have been called Crime Alley, in Metropolis, the Suicide Slums. Here, in Star City, it was simply called The South End. In the end, it carried the same mix of desperation and danger in the air.
Green Arrow stopped, gazing down at the dirty streets below. People were out wandering. In this part of town nobody appeared to walk with a destination, they just seemed to wander like souls of the damned, lost in their own hell.
The corners were littered with obvious prostitutes and hustlers. Young men of all different color, in skin as well as cloths, roamed the streets. They swore like sailors and threatened the other gangs that happened to wander by. The two men could see several of the deals going down in the back alleys as well as some lewd acts further back.
“This… this is unbelievable,” Connor stuttered in shock.
“Yeah, welcome to America.”
“You are searching for someone.”
“Good intuition. I am, and he should be along soon. We just sit and wait.” Ollie crouched down against the building and continued to scan the area.
“So,” Ollie said after a few moments of silence. “You haven’t asked me one single question since we’ve met. Not curious about your old man?”
“Very curious, but I didn’t want to pressure you. And to be honest, mother told me much about you before she died.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” Ollie said, quietly. “You’re mother was a beautiful woman who deserved a lot more than what life gave her… present company excluded.”
“Mother loved the world she was given, and never had any regrets. She was able to make lemonade out of lemons.” Connor said with reflection.
“I should have done more for her,” Ollie replied with his jaw clenched.
“You did exactly what she asked of you, and for that, she was always grateful and loved you deeply for it.”
Ollie gritted his teeth, fighting back a wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. There was so much he wanted to say to his son, so much he had wanted to say to
her, but as always, he swallowed hard. Work had reared its head.
“There he is…” Green Arrow whispered as he got ready to pounce.
* * * * *
He hadn’t used his real name since his mother died nearly ten years ago. On the street they just called him, Rat, for reasons that were obvious to anyone on the streets. He was brilliant at blending into crowds, nearly unnoticeable, and because of that would amass a fortune of information. Most he kept to himself, but bills had to be paid, and he was smart enough to know what to sell and what to hold on to.
“Hello there, Patrick,” came the voice from behind him and he sighed. There was
one person who knew his real name, and used it every time he wanted something.
His left eye began to twitch, but he turned around with a fake smile on his face.
“If it isn’t my old buddy, Green Arrow! How ya been, pal?”
“Not your buddy or your pal, and I’ve been away. Want you to meet my partner,” Ollie said.
Rat turned to where Green Arrow was pointing and saw a young blond man in a costume of his own, standing right behind him. He jumped at the closeness of the guy. He hadn’t even heard him come up behind him.
“Uh, yeah, hi. So what do they call you?”
Connor looked over Rat’s shoulder at his father, who shrugged his shoulders and threw out his hands in the international symbol
Don’t ask me.The young man said nothing, choosing to cross his arms and remain silent.
“Anyway,” Ollie said, spinning the informant back around. “Like I said, been out of the loop for a while. Anything you need to fill me in on?”
“Aw man, why do you do this to me? You know my info isn’t free, but you’re always expecting freebies from me. Man’s gotta make a living, you know.”
Arrow took of his hat and scratched his head, “Are we really going to play this game, tonight? Honestly, I’m just in the mood to crack some skulls. Not asking for big secrets, just a little something.”
Rat gave him a cold stare. “Don’t you read a newspaper? Three hookers dead in three nights. Hearts and tongues cut out of them and the bodies burned beyond recognition.”
“That’s inhuman,” Connor blurted out in shock.
The Rat gave him a disgusted look. “You think
that’s inhuman? Where the hell you’ve been living kid, a monastery?”
Connor and Ollie exchanged a look before the older one spoke. “Where were the bodies found?”
“Two of them in the South End; last night's was found in a dumpster downtown.”
“Police have any leads?”
“Now you’re asking the wrong person that question,” Rat laughed. “Word on the street is that it’s some kind of crack pot gang, doing some kind of initiation.”
Green Arrow pulled out a fifty and handed it to him. “Word on the street is wrong. You hear anything about where this group is hiding, you call me at the number I gave you. If it pans out, there’s five hundred in it for you.”
“Whoa! Must be big, you ain’t never offered to pay before.”
“Yeah, these guys are big, big and stupid. Just find out what you can.”
The one called Rat took the fifty, looking around to see who else was on the streets, and then slunk away into the shadows.
“This is not gang related?” Connor asked.
Ollie shook his head. “Nope, this is ritualistic in nature. Terrorist group that call themselves KOBRA. They believe they’re destined to bring about the new age of anarchy to the world. Problem is, I took out there boss a few weeks ago. I guess news doesn’t travel that fast after all.”
“By take out, you mean…”
“Yeah, he’s dead, but by his own stupidity. He took a tumble over a waterfall. Tried to save him, actually.”
Connor gave him a piercing look. The same kind of look that his mother used to give Ollie. It always seemed to automatically put him on the defensive.
“I did! You can ask Eddie! I mean, maybe I didn’t try
real hard, but I did try.”
They headed down the dank and dark street as Connor changed the subject. “So what is to be my name?”
“Beats me. Arrow Lad?”
“---.”
“Barely Teen Arrow?”
“Mother always said your sense of humor was lacking.”
Ollie laughed in spite of himself and slapped Connor on the back. “Well, your mom was a wise woman.”
* * * * *
It took less than two hours and Ollie’s special cell phone was ringing. He and Connor were once again perched atop the roof of the Kane Building, Ollie with a fresh cup of coffee and Connor with a hot tea, when he answered it. He spoke briefly, reassuring Rat that he would get his money if the tip panned out.
“Let’s go,” Ollie said as he took off towards the east side of the city.
“Do you not have a vehicle like everyone else?” Connor asked when they landed on a roof near the warehouse district.
“Yeah… the Arrow Car. It’s a sweet ride actually, but I left it in Vegas. I left a lot in Vegas.” He said the last part wistfully.
“A woman,” Connor stated. “You have a mate.”
“Quick, aren’t you? Yeah, I got myself a gal. She’s one kick ass dame. I miss the hell out of her.”
“Why are you not with her, than?”
“Like everything else in my life, it’s complicated. I’m either too much man or she’s too much woman… haven’t decided yet. That ain’t the main reason, though. I lost my company and realized that my city needed me. So I came back to clean up some messes and get my business back.”
“How is that going?”
“Haven’t really had time for either, yet.” Ollie grumbled. “Bingo!” he exclaimed in a whisper as he pointed to the cloaked figure that was crossing the street.
They watched as he disappeared around the corner, and Green Arrow motioned for his son to follow him. They shot their ropes to the other side of the street and swung across. Connor could not help but feel exhilaration at the evening. All those nights that he would lay on his cot and imagine this same exact moment, and here he was, finally, living out his greatest wish.
Leaping across the roofs of the warehouses, they followed the cloaked figure and watched him enter one of the storage units. They waited a few minutes and then lowered themselves to the ground, checking the door to make sure it was unlocked.
“I’m going to go around back to make sure there’s no other exit. Do
not do anything until I get back, understand?” Ollie said in a hushed voice.
Connor nodded his acknowledgment and watched his father disappear around the corner. He reached back and tightened his mask as he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He could hear his Master’s voice in his head, guiding him, as he did before the mock battles during his training. His meditation was interrupted by the screams of a woman inside the building.
Instinct took over and he kicked the door in with his foot, nocking an arrow as he sprung into the room. Twelve KOBRA agents were standing around a makeshift altar, and on it was a young woman that he knew was of ill repute. His eyes immediately focused on the man with the knife in his hand. He released his grip on the string as the cultists were taking a second to figure out what was happening.
The arrow struck its mark and pierced the man’s arm. He let out a scream of pain and rage, dropping the knife. “Get him! Get the one who dares interrupt our sacred ceremony!”
They all turned, some brandishing knives, others pulling out guns. Connor backed up, his eyes darting to the left and right, figuring out quickly which way to go. His answer came in the form of a crash as glass sprayed across the floor and Green Arrow came swinging in from a window high above them all. He landed smoothly on a stack of crates that towered above them by nearly fifteen feet.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay put?”
The KOBRA agents turned, confusion again written on their faces. Connor smiled at his partner. “She screamed, I had to do something.”
“GET THEM!” The cultist shouted, still clutching his arm.
Several of them fired at Green Arrow, who began to leap across the stack of crates above them, splinters of wood flying at his feet. “Bet you get that rashness from your mother’s side!” he hollered.
Connor let loose with two arrows at once: the first piercing the hand of one gunman, and the second slicing into the trigger finger as the arrow went right through the metal loop that guarded the trigger of the weapon.
Both men fell screaming and Ollie stopped suddenly, impressed by the second shot. “Whoa, kid, you’re almost as good as me.”
Two more guns went off, but Connor was too busy using his bow to block the lunges of three of the men with knives that had come at him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this,” Ollie shouted as he continued to leap over the stacks of crates, nocking arrows and firing at the remaining gunmen.
Each arrow hit its mark; arms and legs, and never puncturing a main artery. He turned his attention to Connor, to help him out, but stood back and watched in amazement when he saw his son fighting, a skilled master of martial arts.
He was using his bow like a staff, deflecting strikes, pressing his advantage on one, as he struck the terrorist across the face with his weapon, while swinging his leg behind him to knock the knife away from another one.
Ollie stopped and leaned on his own bow. It was obvious the kid didn’t need his help.
It took less than two minutes for Connor to subdue the remaining three agents. He had ducked down as the last one slashed at his throat, and used his bow to knock the KOBRA agent’s legs out from under him. Before the man could get back up, Connor struck him with an easy chop to the side of the neck, hitting the nerve that he needed to, and knocking the last man unconscious.
Green Arrow climbed down from his perch with a broad grin on his face. “Wow! That was damn impressive! I know somebody who’s going to love meeting you. Well, after she gets over the initial shock, that is.”
He walked over to the one cultist that seemed to be the leader, and knelt down. “Police should be here any minute, slime ball. But I want you to listen and listen good, and pass this along to the rest of your little club members. King Kobra is dead, and the Staff of Shesha is gone as well. So you tell your little buddies to get the hell out of my town, 'cause there ain’t nothing here for them anymore.”
The Kobra agent glared up at him as he clutched his arm, writhing in pain. “Kobra is not dead. You cannot kill that which is immortal.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Ollie sighed as he turned around to leave, stepping on the shaft of the arrow that stuck out of the man’s arm. The KOBRA agent let out a shriek of pain.
“Oops, sorry about that,” Green Arrow said innocently as he and Connor walked out the door.
* * * * *
Soft light was beginning to break over the horizon when Ollie and Connor finally made it back to Ollie’s apartment.
“So that is a night in the life of the Green Arrow,” Connor said as he removed his mask.
“Actually, it was kind of a slow night. Most of the time it’s much busier.”
The phone suddenly rang and Ollie picked it up. Of all the voices he was expecting on the other end, the Huntress was one of the last he thought he’d hear.
“Ollie?”
“Helena?” His heart began to race. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“You need to get back here. Barbara’s… well… she’s sick, kind of. It’s a really long story, but the short version is this: Reddy is in Barbara’s mind and it’s slowly killing both of them. We’ve got Dr. Morrow, but we’ve got to get a body for Tornado and get him out of Barbara’s brain before it’s too late.”
He took a deep breath. “Wow. Okay, so where do we find a body?”
“Apokolips,” she answered.
His blood ran cold at the word, memories washing into the forefront of his mind. The Outsiders were going back into hell itself. Then his eyes widened with understanding; why Huntress had really called him…
“Dinah…” He whispered with understanding.
“Get here as quick as you can.” Huntress said and the line went dead.
Ollie hung up the phone and turned to Connor. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He began to collect his gear.
“What’s going on? Let me go with you!”
Ollie shook his head vehemently. “Not where I’m going. You are not ready for that. Stay here. Wait for Eddie’s phone call. I’ll be back… I promise.”
The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then Ollie reached out his hand and Connor took it. They shook firmly, their grip conveying more than what words could have.
Then Connor watched as Oliver Queen walked out the door.
The End[/b]
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