Green Arrow #24: "The Final Bow"

While returning to his own city and to his long lost son, Green Arrow stumbled upon a teenage boy who was not only murdered, but mutilated for being gay. Already at the end of his emotional rope by experiences he had witnessed in Washington D.C., Ollie was determined to get to the bottom of such a gruesome crime. It didn’t take him long to discover that the culprit was another young man who was involved with the victim, at least until the school had ridiculed him to the point where he snapped. Seeing no way out, the boy used his father's guns to assault the school in a bloody massacre. When confronted by Green Arrow, the young boy took a hostage to try and use her to keep the hero at bay.. Something inside of him snapped and Ollie fired the fatal arrow that would have ended the young man’s life if not for the timely intervention of Green Lantern, Hawkman, and Flash, friends concerned with Ollie's deteriorating mental state. He left without giving them any explanation, leaving the other members of the Justice League to wonder just how unstable Green Arrow has become.



2:20 am. That was when Green Arrow finally saw the skyline of Star City in the distance. With everything he had been through, the lights of the skyscrapers offered the same sense of relief that a fisherman gets seeing the lighthouse after a perfect storm. Yet, it was a weary relief that he felt, not the joy or excitement of knowing that he was back in his own city.

The events of the last month, coupled with his own personal acceptance that his best friend Eddie Fyers and his one time paragon, Batman, were indeed dead, had weighed him so far down emotionally that he couldn’t even feel a glimmer of joy that he would soon be seeing his son Connor again. But he was home now, his home, and there was a feeling of gratefulness in him.

That feeling soon vanished. Just as he was just about to cross into the city limits, the welcome sign within his sight, an emerald green barrier suddenly arose several yards in front of him. He stopped suddenly, the bike sliding to a halt. As he got off the bike, he felt his blood pressure rise again. Why wouldn’t they just leave him alone!? As he watched Green Lantern lower himself from the dark sky, he felt the sudden gush of wind next to him and knew that Barry Allen, also known as the Flash, now stood next to him.

“You guys are a real piece of work, you know that,” Ollie growled. “You wanna move you that?” he indicated to the glowing green barrier. “Or should I put that ring somewhere that will make Richard Gere envious?”

“There’s no need for that, Ollie. We just want to talk to you for a minute,” Flash said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Green Arrow brushed it off almost as quickly as Barry had placed it on there. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”

“We think there is,” Hal said, walking towards the other two. “You almost killed that boy yesterday. You would have too, if we hadn’t been there.”

“You talking ‘bout that seventeen year old psycho that murdered and butchered a kid for being gay? The same kid who took multiple weapons into his school and slaughtered half a dozen of his schoolmates? Is that the kid we’re talking about, 'cause I want to make sure we’re all on the same page, here.”

“That’s the one, yeah,” Hal shot back, his own temper beginning to rise. “When did you decide you got to be judge, jury and executioner, Oliver? What’s got your tights so bunched up that you’ve become the one thing we all swore we’d never be.”

The two Leaguers did not miss the clench of Ollie’s fist and the slight tremble in his voice. “Neither of you have ever been put into that situation, how do you know what you’d do?”

“We wouldn’t have killed him, I know that,” Barry countered gently.

Ollie turned to him, his green eyes blazing. “You wouldn’t have had to. You could have just zipped up to him and snatched the gun out of his hand before he had even thought about squeezing the trigger.” He turned back to Hal. “And you would have thought up some green gizmo with that ring of yours that would have saved the day. Well guess what, buddies, I don’t have those options. I’ve got my bow and my skill – there was no other way.”

“You know what Batman would say to that?” Hal asked. “He’d say there is always another way.”

“Here’s a news flash for you, Hal, Bruce is dead, and the guy running around in the suit now used to wear green shorts and pixie boots while grinning like an idiot. No offense to the kid, but Dick’s always had his head way too far into the clouds to see the world as it really is.”

Barry cleared his throat, stepping between the two men who had found themselves with their faces mere inches from each other. “What’s really going on here, Ollie? This isn’t just about the murder of that young kid, is it? There’s something more, something you’re not sharing with us. We want to help you. We’ve been through so much together, why won’t you let us help you?”

His eyes narrowing, Ollie’s voice dropped in pitch and volume when he replied. “I have nothing to share. Why don’t you share with us, Barry? Tell us how it really feels to lose a child to a deranged madman. Look me in the eyes and tell me that if you could do it over again, and you had the choice to eliminate Thawne before he had had the chance to take your daughter from you, that you wouldn’t do it. That his life was more important to you than your own child’s.”

To say that Oliver never saw the punch coming would have been an understatement. As he rolled onto the concrete, his jaw screaming in pain, he realized that he had never even seen Flash's fist move at all.

The Flash turned to Green Lantern. “I’m done here. You keep trying if you want, but it’s pretty obvious to me he doesn’t want our help. He just wants to sulk like an overgrown school boy.”

“Wait, Barry...” Green Arrow started to say as he pulled himself up, but it was too late, Flash had already disappeared.

Hal walked over and offered a hand to his friend, which Ollie stared at for a moment before getting up on his own. “You sure do know how to play the ass card, don’t you buddy?”

“Are we done here? It’s been a long month and I’d like to get home and see Connor. You remember, my son? How’s that kid of yours doing, by the way? Or is that another responsibility that you’re still avoiding?”

Preparing himself for another punch, Ollie was slightly surprised to see Hal’s face turn red, but the barrier came down as the green energy disappeared back into his ring. “Have it your way, Oliver. Go ahead and alienate everyone who cares. But I’ll tell you this, old friend, the first time you cross that line, I’ll be coming after you myself, and I’ll make sure you suffer the consequences for your actions.”

Ollie studied him for a moment and then nodded his head. “See ya then, old friend.”

Not another word passed between them, but something unspoken did, and after it had, Hal took a step back before taking off into the early morning sky.

Green Arrow watched him soar away; the green tale dissipating slowly after Hal was well out of sight. He got back on his bike, started it up, and took off, finally entering the city limits of home.



“Oh come on! You’ve let me go out with you on patrol before!” Mia Dearden’s voice was somewhere between a shout and a whine.

Connor Hawke, also known now as Golden Arrow, sat on the edge of his bed putting on his second boot as he prepared to go on his nightly run. “For the moment, Mia, I think it is best if we give you some more time to practice all of your training before placing you in the field again.”

“Why?” Mia asked incredulously.

“Do you remember our last outing and the damage that was inadvertently inflicted? Besides, I have heard that there is a major deal going down in the Warehouse District and it sounds very dangerous. Please do not look at me like that. Have you not heard the saying, 'patience is a virtue'?”

“Where I come from the phrase went, 'patience my ass, I want to hit something'.”

Connor stood up, ignoring the remark. Ever since her father had died, Mia seemed to be full of anger. He understood it was one of the steps of grief, but it was a step that the young woman didn’t seem to willing to release.

He walked through the apartment with the girl following him down the hall, relentless in her complaining of how unfair it was that he was leaving without her.

“You know, all I have to do is wait until you leave and then follow you. Or...or head down to the Warehouse District myself! I mean, how hard would it be to find you? Just look for the warehouse with the shifty guys who don’t look like they belong, whispering so nobody can hear them while they load crates of guns in the back of a truck.”

Connor stopped in his tracks, turning to her with an uncharacteristic look, something that could beconsidered anger on his face. “I believe that would be a very poor choice on your part.”

Mia stopped as well, instantly becoming quiet as she lowered her head to look at her feet. “Well I didn’t say I was going to, I was just making conversation, you know? It was totally hypo-lyrical, you know?”

“Hypothetical,” Connor corrected.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Mia, I’m asking you to please stay here. We will have more training time, you have my word on that. But this could be very dangerous and I don’t want to have to be worrying about you while doing my job. It could get us both killed. That is not an exaggeration – it’s a fact.”

“Alright,” Mia said in sullen defeat. “Go have fun without me.”

“The fact that you think this is fun is another reason you are not ready yet. I will be back by dawn.” He gave her a warm smile but she turned her back on him and headed down the hall again.
Shaking his head, he opened up the window to the fire-escape and was just about to go through it when Mia called out to him.

“Connor!” She cried out as she ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. “Please be careful,” she whispered.

He hugged her back tightly. He understood that this was all part of the process and his heart went out to her. “I shall, and I promise you that I will return.”

“Are you sure you can promise me that?” She asked him, fighting back the tears as she kept hugging him.

He pulled here away and looked into her eyes. “I would never make that promise to you if I thought I couldn’t keep it,” he replied with a smile then kissed her on the forehead.

After he slipped out of the window, Mia watched him leap across the rooftops until he was out of sight. A heavy sigh left her as she walked into her bedroom, tugged down the covers, turned on a small table lamp and preparing for another evening alone.

For a second she considered going out, as she had done several times in the past, after Connor had left, but tonight she was admittedly too tired. Instead she crawled into bed, drew the covers around her and reached around to turn off the light switch – when she felt the presence again.

Even before she turned to look at the darkened corner of the bedroom, she knew he would be there. Sure enough, standing slightly out of focus, his face covered in shadows, was her father. Eddie just seemed to stand there staring at her, his eyes sad and focused on hers; his face almost a ghostly white against the blackness that surrounded the far corner of the bedroom.

Eddie’s hand came up in front of him in greeting to her, but he said nothing. Mia’s heart began to race again and she pulled the blankets up tighter around her as tears streamed down her face. The sight of her ghostly father gave her the creeps, but just like the other two times that he had appeared, she sensed no danger from him. Just a longing and sadness. She just wasn’t sure it if was coming from her or her deceased father.

Then just as before, the shadows in the room seemed to swallow his visage until he was no longer there. This time she did not openly weep, as she had done before. Instead she lay her head down on the pillow and continued to wonder if she was going crazy, and if she was, was it time to tell Connor and get some professional help.

She fell asleep wishing Connor hadn’t left...



Golden Arrow made it to the Warehouse District in record time. When he'd first arrived in the United States, it took him quite a while to adjust, but after nearly a year of studying the layout of the streets and skyscrapers, he found more similarities between hunting in the hills of Tibet and the concrete jungle than he had first believed.

The district in question was a twelve block area just west of the shipping yards. At one time it was the most industrious section of Star City, before the recession of the Seventies. After that, it never seemed to be able to pull itself up again. Although many of the warehouses were still used to this day, most of them had become rundown and dilapidated.

Perched atop one of the sturdier buildings, he watched, waited, and meditated for a while. He had come a long way in a very short amount of time, but he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what he really wanted for himself. Originally his goal was simple: get to know his father, which he was just beginning to do before Ollie’s best friend had been murdered and his girlfriend had broken up with him. That and a couple other factors had sent Green Arrow on a cross country trip that he still hadn’t returned from. Now he was alone in a major city, trying to run a multi national corporation with no background whatsoever. He had come to two conclusions about the man who was his father: Ollie was a very passionate person, which was both an asset and a liability; and the stories that Ollie’s self centered nature could quickly drive people away were much more than just stories.

Two hours of meditation passed before he heard the sound of a box truck slowly making its way down the narrow alley in between the two buildings. Connor stirred from his spot, minding to keep his head low as he looked over the side of the building. The tip seemed to be legit. It was a bit of a relief for him. He had used a few of the contacts Ollie had introduced him to, but he wanted to make his own, but he was still trying to find his own approach, as intimidation was not one of his strengths..

He watched as the truck halted in front of the large doors that began to rise at the sound of the truck. Two men were standing inside the old warehouse, their only light came from an old-fashioned lantern that sat on a card table behind them. From where he hid, Connor could see several crates lined up against the right wall.

Three men climbed out of the truck cab and opened up the back, where two other men jumped out quickly. All five began to load the crates onto the truckbed. Golden Arrow had two choices: take them down now, or hitch a ride on the truck and see exactly where the shipment was going. After careful consideration, he chose the latter.

No sooner had he made the decision and the three men closed the trailer to climbed back into the cab, when the roar of a motorcycle engine could be heard barreling down the alley. The men in the truck shouted in excitement as the other two men from the warehouse drew their weapons, pointing toward the singular headlight that was hurtling towards them.

The truck took off as the two men started firing at the oncoming vehicle. One of them let out a cry of pain as a green arrow suddenly protruded out of his abdomen. The usually focused Connor Hawke was even taken aback by the sudden appearance of the homemade missile. His father was back! He also couldn’t help but take in the fact that the arrow had struck the thug in a possibly vital area.

Golden Arrow stored away that information as he ran across the roof, parallel to the truck that raced down the alley, trying desperately to get away. Without hesitation, Conner leaped off the side of the building and onto the next roof, rolling as he hit the cement, but came right back up without barely missing a beat. He kept an eye on the truck; he would soon lose it due to its increasing speed. Taking a deep breath, he turned sharply to the right and jumped off the side of the building. His aim was almost perfect, but not as perfect as he had hoped.

He hit the top of the box truck with less than half a foot to spare, but the velocity of the vehicle and the sudden shift in gears sent him backwards, tumbling off the roof. His left hand shot out quickly as he felt himself go over and he was able to cling by three fingers.

It was at that moment that the truck made a sharp right out of the alley and onto a semi deserted street. Golden Arrow barely held on, the rest of his body swinging sideways at the turn. He struggled to keep his grip. He tried swing his other arm up for more support, when suddenly he heard the now-familiar roar of the motorcycle behind him and the metal door in the back of the truck popped open. Two of the five men stood there with weapons in their hands.

One of them got off a shot at the fast-approaching Green Arrow before he saw the brown boot fly into his face. He cried out in pain when his nose shattered and stumbled backward. This caught the other one off guard, which gave Connor the seconds he needed to swing himself safely into the cargo hold. As the second man swung around, Connor kicked the gun out of his right hand, then spun around, kicking the man himself with his left foot. This sent the crook spiraling back into the crates.

Connor caught his father speeding past him out of the corner of his eye, but was also able to see the shadow of the first man as he lunged toward the hero. He spun to his left, timing it perfectly so that he was able to dodge the man’s tackle to grab him by the back of the shirt and use that momentum to toss the man out of the back of the vehicle. He watched as the man bounced several times before rolling to a stop on the pavement.

That was when he heard the cocking of a weapon. He spun around to see the final guy getting ready to squeeze the trigger of the pistol aimed at his head. Connor crouched, the man pulled the trigger and the truck suddenly veered to the right, all at the same time. Both Golden Arrow and the trigger man were thrown off balance; the bullet shot out of the back of the truck harmlessly.

Golden Arrow was the first to regain his balance and reached behind to grab one of his arrows and leaped at the gunman. He caught the man as he tried to regain his own balance and the two of them hit the metal floor as the truck veered to the left just as sharply. They both rolled with it, unable to stop themselves. It was the man who struck the side of the crate with the back of his head. Connor used the lucky break to slam the arrow down into the man’s gun hand. The villain let out a cry, released the weapon, then lay silent as a final blow to the jaw was delivered by Golden Arrow.

Unfortunately he couldn’t allow himself a chance to catch his breath as the truck once again turned sharply, sending him sprawling. Whatever Ollie was doing up there, it wasn’t working out well.

He ran to the open door and grabbed the edge of the roof, pulling himself back up as the truck seemed to gain speed. His muscles cried out in tired pain as he fought to pull his entire body onto the top of the truck. Once he had succeeded he carefully and quickly crawled to the front of the speeding vehicle. Connor looked down through the passenger window and saw that one of the criminals was no longer in the cab, but the second one held his own against a struggling Ollie. Occasionally a jab at the man would send him back into the driver, causing the truck to jerk to the left. It was time to finish this before an early morning driver on his way to work got hurt.

He quickly surveyed the area in front of them and saw that there was only one way the driver could now go. He needed to make a sharp right at the next corner or go crashing into the side of a building. He also saw the street lamp that stood tall at that corner. The idea was crazy, his father would approve.

Connor reached for another arrow, stood quickly and fired at the street light several feet away. It wrapped around the pole and Connor took a running leap off the truck, pushing every muscle he had as he flew through the air, holding on tightly to the end of the rope connected to the arrow. The momentum swung him around the pole just as the driver turned the truck to the right to avoid the brick wall. Golden Arrow was now heading straight into the windshield of the vehicle, feet first, like a human arrow.

His feet smashed through the safety glass, catching the passenger full in the face. He heard the driver let out a cry of shock as Golden Arrow brought his bow forward, breaking more glass and striking the man in the forehead with the end of the weapon. Both men went out instantly; the truck was now out of control.

“Hey there, Son! Good to see you!” Ollie yelled as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

“I’m pleased to see you as well, and would be even more pleased if you could grab the steering wheel and possibly reach the brake,” Connor replied as he lay with half his body on the hood of the truck while the other half was jammed into the windshield.

Green Arrow grinned. “Not back five minutes and already asking for favors. Alright, don’t sweat it.”

When the truck finally stopped, Ollie broke out the remaining glass so that Connor wouldn’t cut himself anymore than he already had. After checking him over to make sure the cuts were superficial, they looked at each other and then embraced.

“It’s good to see you, Ollie,” Connor said with genuine affection.

“It’s good to be seen. Bet you always wanted to go joyriding with your old man,” he said with a laugh.

“No, not really,” Connor replied honestly, but grinned ear to ear.



Mia heard the door to the apartment open as she lay in bed waiting to hear the familiar sounds of Connor put away his equipment for the night. Instead she heard two voices, both very familiar to her, and jumped out of bed with growing excitement.

She rounded the corner of her bedroom to see Oliver Queen standing in the middle of his broken down living room, a big grin on his face as he saw her rush to him. She leaped into his arms with wild abandon.

“Now that’s a welcome home I could get used to!” he said after they finished embracing.

Mia turned to Connor. “I was starting to get worried. You were running later than usual.”

“I apologize,” he replied. “Ollie and I had a lot of catching up to do.” He shot his father a meaningful look and the smile seemed to falter on both of their faces for a moment.

“Well I’m glad your back!” Mia nearly screamed. “The place hasn’t been the same without you. Now maybe things can get back to normal around here – or as normal as they can be for three heroes fighting crime.”

Connor’s head dropped and Ollie’s face grew red. “Three?!”

“Yeah, Connor’s been teaching me how to shoot and how to fight,” Mia answered with a mixture of pride and excitement in her voice.

“What the hell were you thinking?” the older man shouted as he turned on his son. “This is not what Eddie would have wanted! You know that! I told you to keep her safe, keep an eye on her. So you throw her in the middle of all of this?”

Connor raised a hand in defense. “To be fair, she has been in the middle of this since you and Eddie found her. You told me to keep her safe and that is exactly what I’m doing. Being safe does not mean hiding; it means teaching her how to protect herself.” He then shot a look at his pupil. “However, she is exaggerating quite a bit. She is not ‘fighting crime’.”

“Well not yet,” Mia said, glaring back at Connor.

“Not ever,” Ollie stated with finality. “I think maybe I should take you with me when I go.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Mia declared before his words really sunk in. “Wait a minute... you said... but you... you just got back. Where are you going?”

The two men looked at each other for a second. “Mia, I’m done for a while. I’m going taking a sabbatical. I need some time to myself. To find myself, I guess, as stupidly cliché as that sounds.”

“But you just left to go find yourself.” Mia’s voice was suddenly reminding them that she was still, at heart, a young teenage girl – a young girl with a lot of baggage.

Ollie put his arm around her. “Mia... I’m... I don’t know how to explain it to you. I’m sick of all of this. I’m losing my way. Hell, my closest friends already think I’ve gone over the deep end – and I don’t know... maybe they're right.”

“We miss you,” she whispered with tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“I miss you too, sunshine. But all things considered, Connor is taking great care of you. Better than I could do at this point. If I stay here right now, I don’t think it’d be good for any of us. I’m hanging up the bow for a while. It’s time to put Green Arrow in the closet and look for a reason to bring him back out again. Though I don’t know if there really is a reason anymore.”

“Don’t say that,” Mia choked.

All of a sudden the small apartment felt confining for the emerald archer. His plan was to stay for a couple of days before he moved on, but he knew he couldn’t do it. He had come to see Connor and Mia, to make sure they were alright. Now that he knew they were, he had to get out of there. He had to get out of their lives before he ruined them like he was ruining his own.

“I’ll be back,” he assured her with a hug as he looked at Connor, who quietly putting away his bow, to give them their moment together.

There was nothing more to say, Mia hugged him tightly and ran back to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Ollie sighed. “I’ve always had a way with the ladies.”

He turned to see Connor staring at him, a blank look on his face. “What?” he asked.

Connor shook his head. “Nothing. I suppose you’d like me to stay here and continue what I’m doing?”

“Well, from what I saw tonight, you’re doing one helluva job at it. Connor, you’re a better fighter than I could ever be. I think you might be better than Dinah or even Lady Shiva.”

“If that is what you want... I’ll stay.”

“I want you to do what you want to do.”

The young man considered it those words for a moment, his face still emotionless. “I’ll stay,” he said simply.

“Thanks,” Green Arrow replied. “Well, I think I should get going. No need to drag this out. It’ll just make it harder for Mia. I’m leaving my stuff here. No more Green Arrow, not for a while. I know where it is if I decide to put the tights back on.”

Connor said nothing, just nodded in understanding.

Ollie nodded back, giving him a quick hug before grabbed the back pack that he had brought with him and slung it over his shoulder. “If you need me, just call and I’ll come running.”

As Connor watched him walk to the door, the years of training that he had received from the monastery suddenly slipped away from him. For the first time since he had lost his mother, he felt like an orphaned little boy again. “You know, Ollie, I’m really glad I came here... to the States... to get to know my father. It’s been a very eye-opening experience.”

No sooner had the bitter words left his mouth than he felt a huge pang of remorse. He watched as Ollie hesitated with the front door now partially opened. He didn’t know what to expect, but was not surprised when Ollie continued out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

That’s my father. It was all Connor could think as he sat down on the floor, crossing his legs, and began to meditate.



Pieces of drywall went flying as the man’s head smashed into the wall for a second time. He was still conscious, but barely. The oversized hand that held the back of his neck tossed him across the room where he crashed into a table and lay there, barely moving.

The other men stood nervously around the mob boss whose nickname of “Brick” was rapidly growing in Star City, hoping that they weren’t next in line for the severe beating that their friend had just received.

“Guns being moved in and out of my city without my permission and none of you have been able to give me any information of who has the balls to do this?”

They all looked down at their shoes in unison, none daring to speak.

“Twelve hours,” Brick growled as he walked towards the semi-conscious man on the floor. “You all have twelve hours or this will happen to each and every one of you. Is this understood?”

They all nodded rapidly in succession.

“Now take care of this,” he said looking down as the bleeding man groaned, his eyes open as he lay on his back.

“Do you want us to take him to the hospital, boss?” one of the thugs asked quietly.

Brick raised his foot and brought it down hard on the man’s neck. There was one quick jerk of the body before it lay still.

“No, drop him off at the morgue.”

The Beginning...