Post by Batman on Nov 10, 2016 5:27:27 GMT -5
Soul of the Forest: Part 1 - True Shot
Story By: Batman
Heroes: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Supporting: Felicity Smoak, Swamp Thing, Herne the Hunter, Elaine
Villains: Lt. Sean Knotting
Description: When Oliver Queen is startled by a mysterious person, his arrow shoots and kills an undercover Interpol agent. Troubled by this accident, Oliver considers quitting his vigilante career once and for all, but the mysterious person arrives in his dreams and instructs him to go to Europe and seek out the stranger. What Team Arrow will discover upon arriving in Europe is unexpected.
Exposition Music
Great Britain, 1360, somewhere in Sherwood Shire
The brown leather boots stomped on the ground for sure-footing, a stubby man dressed in red cloth with embroidered gold tassels around his waist. The symbol of a Lion upon his chest in reverence to King Richard the Lion Heart. His beard of thick brown gazed upon the green forest and nodded approvingly. "Build here." He nodded with a smug expression and arrogance. The caravan of peons dragged their carts of stone and paste, tools and lumber with their tired bodies and empty stomachs. "Halt! These are sacred grounds." A voice echoed prompting the party of builders and soldiers to turn their attention to a man wearing Antlers and a leather suit of animal pelt.
The King would turn his attention to the new comer. "Who art thou and to whom do you think you speak?" The King's confidence garnered a small laugh from his loyal knights. "I am Herne the Hunter, your majesty. You cannot build here, for good reason." The King looked about and smirked. "Sacred grounds? Then I call for my priest!" The bishop dawning a cloth of black and white stepped to the King's side. "Tell me, Bishop...Are these lands cursed?" "If they are, my lord...A simple ritual shall cleanse it. Faith in the King of Kings grants divinity from such superstition."
Herne's echoing voice challenged the Bishop's words. "This land is sacred, for on the Hunter's moon, trapped is the beast of the Norse, and with each prey his thirst for blood shall grow ever greater as his power." These words haunted some of the men, but the Bishop heard none of it. "You choose to defy the divine? Heresy, my lord." The bishop turned to the King. "Mm...Indeed. Kill him and bring me his body." The knights raced forward and Herne calmly turned to the forest and walked behind a tree to vanish as a mystical fog began to rise from the Earth.
December 14th 2012, Star City, California - Intro Music
The Russian man stood upon the docks, surrounded in a courtyard of organized storage containers. Approximately 20 or so men dressed in business suits with their SUV's parked in the nearby spaces granted to them. The area was setup like an arena with the SUV's ready for a quick escape. The Englishmen looked over the counterfeit bills of European currency and with approval he nodded. "Excellent." He said and then waved for his men to pull forth the drugs out of large storage bins before explaining what was inside the containers. "20 keys per box. The cargo are European car parts, some of the typical to replace pieces, low profile." "Excellent." Replied the Russian man.
Green Arrow stood upon the tallest of the Cargo containers with his hood raised and his sight settled, his blue eyes scanned the arena and began looking for escape route. "Canary, cut off the south exit. Arsenal, cut off the East. Spartan, take the West route. I'll cover all three points. Give me one click when your in position and ready." Oliver clicked his microphone that would send out a small pop sound to the earpieces of the team and then he raised his bow and arrow to take aim.
Within the trailer nearby, six men huddled around a computer with a headset. Lieutenant Sean Knotting huffed a cigarette impatiently. "All we need is for him to take the package and go...take the package and go. Come on." From above the containers Green Arrow would await the confirmation from his team and then he would shout with a booming deep voice from his voice modulator. "Rory Kosvak...You are guilty of smuggling drugs into Star City and polluting our youth. You have FAILED this city!" With swiftness an arrow launched from the bow and shot down to strike one of the muscle men of Kosvak in the hand crippling him.
Within the trailer panic began to stir. "What the fuck? Who the fuck is that?" "What the fuck? No other agencies should be involved here! Check the records!" were two men, but Lieutenant Knotting paid attention. "Quiet, both of you. It's that fucking vigilante prick." The Russians would begin firing their machine pistols towards the higher containers not entirely sure where Green Arrow's voice was resonating from.
Arsenal The command was pretty simple and it’d been a while since Roy had allowed himself to be able to work with Ollie, despite being asked on a few occasions. The problem was that he felt as though Ollie still wanted him to fit into this box that he’d outgrown. He wasn’t that plucky sidekick anymore. He was Arsenal, a man with his own life to live. And he was no hero, normally, he’d have turned down this mission and continued to fly below the radar, but when Ollie briefed him on the situation, he couldn’t say no. Drugs being sold to children or to those that have access to children was despicable and it couldn’t be allowed to go on. He’d not allow the children of the city to suffer through what he had to. They had to be better, stronger…smarter. Arsenal crouched in position on the East side of the area, watching the gangsters move about and confer with one another, noting how they’d set up their SUV’s.
Clicking his microphone, he lifted an arrow from the quiver on his back, setting it onto the drawstring to lift his bow and train the arrow at the makeshift arena. Just as Ollie spoke his piece and the shooting started, Roy fired, sending arrows into the front tires of each of the SUV’s, trying to limit the options of escape, and if the goons decided to use them anyway, they’d at least be slowed down. “You’re sure you want to stick with that ‘You’ve failed this City..’ schtick? It’s a little dated, don’t you think?” He spoke into the mike again, knowing Canary and Diggle, or Spartan as he’d been dubbed, would hear it too.
Black Canary Canary had slipped to the South end of the docks, waiting for the chaos and the europeans trying to run off from the bust. Ollie and her had been doing several drug busts lately. and it was nice that Roy could help them out with covering the exits. She was sure Ollie and her could have had it covered, but sometimes she thought that Ollie needed the backup and to see the people he needed to support him, and not just with a bust. Then the gunfire set off. right on cue, time for the party. The shots were all over the damn place. and then she saw a trailer nearby, and it was left a bit too obviously left alone, there weren't even any cars near it... "Hey Arrow. I think we're not the only one busting this party... see the trailer at 3 o'clock?" She sighed as she started to get impatient with the thugs. "I'm going to go in... these guys are terrible shots, are you're sure they're Russian marksmen?" (e)
"That's what I've been telling him." John said into the microphone to respond at Roy's question before shooting off three rounds and then ducking as a wave of bullets flew towards him. "God, how I wish this was three years ago..." John sighed with a certain amount of fatigue hitting him. Arrow smirked hearing Roy and John going back and forth, and when Dinah stated that she was going in, she would come near close to a shotgun at her stomach, but promptly an arrow shot barrel and pinned the man to the wall of a cargo container. "Oh, they are good shots; I'm just better." He took aim at the Kosvak and aimed for the man's leg when gunshots came towards him. Kosvak's gaze settled upon Black Canary and as she entered he went to approach her.
The approach seemed to have pissed off Spartan and with a ferocious growl he charged and bull rushed the Mountain of Russia. The two men would brawl with powerful fist crushing punches. "John get clear, I don't have a shot..." Arrow's gaze then spotted the Englishmen on the run and he took aim lining up the shot to strike the man's shoulder, he fired the shot and with truth its course was locked. The Russian would slam Diggle into a wall and shout. "Englishmen! Where you going?" The Englishmen stopped and turned around to see his associate, as his lips parted the arrow penetrated into the man's chest prompting his eyes to widen from the stabbing.
Arsenal “Glad someone else has some common sense.” He said, lifting an arrow with a bulb at the end, firing at a thug he’d spotted running by. He smirked and stood to enter into the area as Canary and Diggle engaged their respective targets. He cast his gaze over his shoulder as he passed the thug that he fired his trick arrow at, making sure that the net stored in the arrow was securely tightened against the man’s body. He lifted another two arrows as he was targeted by a russian with an AK. The first arrow to hit was fired at the man’s hands as a foam erupted from the arow to cemet his hands to the weapon, making it impossible for him to fire, the second hit the man int he chest, sending him flying backwards with a concussive burst, knocking him out. Noticing that Diggle was having trouble, he spun and fired another concussive arrow at the mountain of a guy attacking the newly dubbed Spartan. His aim was to distract him enough that Spartan could gain the upper hand.
But, just as he released the arrow, the Russian alerted him to the Englishman’s attempted escape, Roy turning his gaze to spot the man right as he turned around. When the arrow pierced the Englishman’s chest, he blinked and then frowned a bit, taking off toward the man stuck by the shot.
Black Canary Black Canary cautiously started to enter frey, only to see a big shotgun aimed at her gut, waiting. She grinned, somebody was ready to dance! But before she could fight, or re-aim the gun, two arrows flew by. One arrow in barrel of the rifle, another arrow pinned an arm. she sighed as Ollie took away her fun. "Yes, I know your arrow is bigger." she teased. and then she saw a mountain of a russian come lurching for her, getting into a defensive position, ready to take him on. When Diggle rushed in playing the white knight. "Spartan..." she warned as she watched them all fight. And then she sees the englishman running off. Let the boys play with that bear, she had other playmates. She was about to go after the Englishman, when she saw his chest sprout arrows. She played clean up, taking out the remaining Russians. "which of you boys decided to murder again?" she asked, not impressed. (e)
The concussive arrow would throw the Kosvak off balance and slam him into Diggle throwing them both off balance, John would kick the Russian in the ankle and then knee the man in the face before finishing him with a strike of his pistol's magazine. The Arrow that struck the Englishmen made Ollie frown but, he wouldn't let an enemy casualty slow him down as the team required him to be in the game. That hardened man from Star Fish Island needed to be solid now that all three of his mates were in the fray. Oliver worked counter point to Dinah, as she focused on the Russians, Oliver finished off the Englishmen's men by shooting bolas at three of them knocking them down and binding them together. Green Arrow scanned the area with his eyes sweeping to see Black Canary handling the Russians, Spartan cuffing the crime lord, and Arsenal tending the wounded.
Upon popping open the man's shirt, Roy would see the man was wearing a bullet proof vest as well a wire connected to a cellphone that was recording still. The man was choking on his blood as the arrow pierced through the vest and dug itself into the man's lungs. The Englishmen would look to Roy and pull out his leather badge. "Get...him?" He managed to choke out with an un-fathomable amount of fortitude. His hand would point to the Russian, the leather badge would indicate to Roy the man was from Interpol and clearly working undercover on a drug sting.
Meanwhile...
The forest was silent and settled within the dark night as the moon cast its gaze upon the European country. Between the twigs and the leaves and within the hillside of rock a small stream of water flowed into a cave creating a suitable den where the ancient God resided. Herne wore a leather tunic with brown cloth pants. A lantern that he used for lighting as he prepared himself for sleep, but before doing so he would consult with nature. Closing his eyes as he bowed his head before an alter of an Elk. Within his dreams he saw the forest and soared through it on the wings of a falcon, spying on the inhabitants and its graceful beauty. It was then he could feel it, The World Tree; Yggdrasil becoming gnarled and twisted, branches began to wither and blood began to pool out of its bark.
The vision caused Herne's mind to flow into confusion. The Falcon was suddenly displayed before Herne's eyes, face down in the river as a little boy came to pick it up and try to help the bird of prey. His vision changed again, this time it was the forest in flames, burning furiously as the animals ran wild. He saw two men who were bloody and battle worn. The blonde man spoke from the ground to the red haired man. "I believe I'm dying...Bring her. Bring Elaine." Herne finally spoke to the forest. "What are you trying to show me spirits?" The images flashed into a river bed again but with the falcon still in it. The boy went to reach down for it before a large furry paw crushing the falcon and then a pool of blood pouring out of the boys throat as the Wolf grabbed the boy by the arm and held him up to feast.
Herne's heart beat began to quicken as he found himself in the dark of the forest, alone. "Spirits? Where are you?" "They are gone..." spoke the growling voice as a piercing glare of yellow eyes and fangs settled within Herne's vision of the darkness. Herne took up his staff and raised it defensively. The Wolf would chuckle. "And you believe you can stop me?" Those words haunted Herne and the sudden feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness washed over him. It was true he was not as strong as he used to be, but even in his prime he doubted that he could match the Wolf. "The Architect, the trickster, and the loyal, and the destined could not stop me. Nothing can." Herne began to shout. "Noooooo!" Fenris would cackle maniacally before leaping out of the darkness to pounce on Herne.
Herne awoken from his vision with sweat pouring over his forehead, he shivered and panted in fear "Gah!" He cried out looking to his hand that was cut by the Wolf's paw. "He's coming. What do I do spirits?" He set out into the fields of stonehenge and it's ancient formation. He placed the feathers of a gryphon upon the alter and poured the blood of his wound onto it. "The elements and watchers of creation...I summon you with the power of my heart...Hear me as I sense a great threat is on approach. I seek council, please."
@};~~{The vine would shoot up from the grass and twist and wane into more vines that wrapped and coiled into a body before eventually forming a standing avatar of moss, leaves, vines, and grass. Orange beady eyes stared down upon Herne and his dawned outfit, seeing the relatively mortal looking man wearing the cowl of a green hood and elk horns protruding from each side of his head. He looked around and took in the scenery try to determine what summoned him here. Unaware that within the plains of creation, on a slate of white a telephone ring with a long extension cord connecting the phone to Earth 4, connecting the Goddess Elaine to an instant travel path while also maintaining a small comical method to illustrate the purpose of the summoning.}
Elaine -Being everywhere at the same time is basically the same as being nowhere at the same time, and both at the same time too. I mean at this point it all becomes rather confusing, just like omniscience, right? I’m sure you’re confused now, you’d be wondering, oh, who’s telling this story?- “Well, it’s me of course, surprise! Me as in Elaine you know.” she said to basically just herself, as she was alone in an endless white of whiteness endlessness. The floor was white the sky was white and everything in the distance was of the same color. Even the stone that she had just grabbed was white and when she threw it this time it bounced eight times!
“No wait, that last one was weird, what was that noise again?” she said as she looked around, then she blinked several times before she approached on of the phones at like fifty meters of distance. -I should have set everything closer- she thought. As she was approaching it, the constant tick tocking of her heels mixed with another ring of the phone. “Yep, seven times, well it’s a nice number” she said to herself with a roll of her eyes. She grabbed the phone and asked with her best accent from London “hiya, what’s so important?” she said, to the two guys, er, beings, person-things in front of her that were probably blinded by the arrival of Elaine, it was kind of blinding at first and there had been no warning that she was coming.
“You know guys, the whole summoning is not required, I mean it’s kind of cool and weird at the same time but you can just ask and that works as good” she said as she pointed a finger to the side of her eye in a cute way, signaling that she saw everything regardless of silly rituals. She walked around a little, looking around “At least you didn't sacrifice anything, that’s an improvement!” she said before turning around and placing her hands on each side of her waist. She was wearing a schoolgirl outfit, all good girl like, skirt, tights, boots, blouse, blazer and tie. Her black lipstick and eyeliner was on point though! She was so proud of this!!!“So, what’s bothering you?”
Herne took in the sight of Swamp Thing and Elaine, recognizing the prior, and unfamiliar with the latter; which could only conclude she was sent from the heavens above the Earth. "I am Herne the Hunter. I am the one to summon you both here...I've had a terrible vision. I sense the destruction of this world by the wolf Fenrir. The Apex Predator of life and creation." It was at the moment when Elaine thought about Fenris that her vision would begin to cloud - all of it. The future of Earth 4 not only came into question, but also the future of all Earthes.
A woman's voice would speak as a blast of green light shot out of the ground. "Fenrir is no ordinary foe. You seek council and we shall give it." The Goddess known as Freya would appear wearing a green dress with blonde hair crowning her head. Freya stood as a giant among the other God's, standing at approximately 3.6 meters tall. Next to her at her side was a much smaller woman at 1.82 meters was the Goddess Artemis. Freya would wave to Artemis. "I have contacted the Greek God as soon as I held a vision of Fenrir's return."
Elaine “I know, knew since he weakly trying to reform in a diminutive stormy cloud, it was pretty hilarious” she said with a shrug as if it was old news and as if she didn’t particularly care all that much. “You know the thing with some of you is that concepts are represented over here but, there is this concept of destruction that is kind of missing to some degree so, some of you guys kind of filled the spot in a way” she was referring to destruction of the endless being a quitter of course. “But yes, it was my uncle that basically exploded him in a million of bloody norse pieces the last time, that’s what I was told anyway” she said with a rolls of her eyes. “I’m curious, what is what are you all thinking of doing?” she asked with mild curiosity as she looked up at the other two goddesses, she gave them a McKayla not-imrpessed face to both of them, pfft, show-off with the height thing.
Freya nodded confirming Elaine's story about Fenris and Lucifer. "Fenrir is no ordinary beast. To kill slay him requires a feat of courage and strength. If we do not act in stopping his return, this Yggdrasil will be in jeopardy. Surely that must concern you, Elaine." Herne stroked his chin. "Would it be possible for your uncle to come and stop Fenris again? Surely that's not unreasonable, nature and countless lives are at stake here." Artemis would finally speak up with confidence and charm. "I have spoken to Freya and I believe I am worthy enough to slay the beast. According to tradition, if anyone wishes to defy my claim, they must prove themselves worthy of defeating me." Artemis would smile at Elaine. "I would gladly accept a challenge from your Uncle."
Elaine She shook her head at her “No as far as I was told it was more like Fenris… and I quote “being like usually a fucking retard and my uncle being his usual deceptive piece of shit”” she said quite bluntly, but then again she was quoting a certain fallen cherub. “But no, I’m afraid my uncle is not currently available, I believe he’s having one of those middle age crisis again, I think he’s got a crush on a detective too, I don’t even know, but even if he was around, and bored, he wouldn’t care, trust me.” she nodded at them, then she looked at Freya “You’re cute, but chill please, you don’t want to ever defy my uncle, anyways! I do care about everything and everyone but, I cannot intervene. I’m not going to go and blast that dog because after all, if I did that with him… I’d be considering him… you know, obsolete, and at that point you’d think…. Well, why did my granddad think that all of you guys were a good idea?” she said quite simply, they understood her right? They were gods and
and goddesses. “You could intervene if you wanted, or not, that’s up to you!” she finished,, hey, she was better than her granddad, she gave them true choice.
Herne didn't like this one bit and turned his attention to the silent observer. "Elemental, do you have any input?" @};~~{Those beady red eyes would close.}~~;{@ "I'm trying to think..." His voice spoke like crackling bark and vocal cords of fine twigs with a husk of rustling leaves. "...Of another worthy champion...I am the Warrior King of The Green...My allies in the Rot and the Red could aid us in this task, but how helpful they will be....I do not know...I do not know..." Swamp Thing shook his head and lowered it to sink some. }~~;{@ This left Herne to frown. "Perhaps we should be vigilant, search for a worthy hero. I can only think of one man, but he has long since been put to rest, an archer known as Robin. He would be my chosen, if he were still alive." @};~~{Swamp Thing took a moment to consider these words.} "...I...Constantine...My friend...he may know someone..."
Elaine
Elaine observed their conversation, she felt amused but she had her usual resting bitch face, she couldn't help it, she only had one face when listening to others. “Robin Hood is pretty cool, there are always people like him because of the myth, have you watc… oh right you don’t watch movies” she stopped there sighing a bit, listening some more. “Constantine, your friend?” she raised an eyebrow, her expression carrying some disgust. “Ew.” she added, to make it clear. “Oh by the way, don’t take this as a you shall go there, you can still do whatever, but, IF you decide to go and you happen to have to go that fully and completely obsolete tree, know that the journey is not physical, it’s… more spiritual and mystical, and also know that it expects to be approached from the East but, regardless, whoever does the journey will pay a price, it varies depending on the person though, last time I got blind and my dad and uncle but pretty burned all over the place” she told them as a tiny little bit of information.
Freya would smile upon Artemis. "None of you shall worry, I will prepare Artemis for the trial of Fenrir. She is our chosen savior and champion. No mortal could stand against a God." @};~~{Swamp Thing took a moment to stare at Freya and then referred to Elaine.} "Constantine is...unusual. He is resourceful...I trust...my friends..." Herne at last spoke. "But if Artemis fails, whom do we turn to next? I would rather have a back up plan than no plan at all. Artemis may have to endure a sacrifice to succeed, whomever we seek must be willing to burden such cost as well." @};~~{Swamp Thing nodded to Herne, understanding.}
Elaine
"Suit yourself, he has a spot reserved in Hell for a good reason, or had, well, we'll see about Hell" she said to Swampy but also kind of talking to herself, then she looked at Freya and Artemis with a look of disbelief "What a waste!" she rolled her eyes "If I were you I wouldn't face Fenris alone, he may be stupid and aaalways use the same tricks over and over again but, he's far from a weakling immortal, but, you know, you can do whatever Artemis" she shrugged, feleing a little sad for her but there wasn't much else she could do without intervening, prime directives were tough. "You mentioned Robin Hood, didn't you?" she told Herne "Why don't you look for someone that can fill the same shoes? You know since Robin Hood is dead but there is probably someone that could work just as fine" she told him, she was trying really hard for Herne to figure out the idea on his own.
Herne took her hint a few times and finally confronted it after trying to avoid talking about it. "There will be no other like Robin. For a hero such as Robin to exist they must obtain the Silver Arrow of Trueshot." Herne's gaze turned to Artemis, who proudly pulled the arrow from her pouch; the arrow was more of an enchanted relic that imbued the holder with incredible accuracy, it's entire body was made of pure silver and was very short that it couldn't fire from any bow or crossbow. "Robin was the last mortal to hold such artifact. He was like a son to me, Elaine. And sons cannot be replaced." @};~~{He listened carefully to both and spoke.} "The forest whispers of many men who are on the frontier...Perhaps we should look there?...If Robin Hood was a child of the forest...Perhaps there is another...When I became...the avatar of the Green...I learned I wasn't the first...There were others before me. The Green cultivated many sons and daughters; seeds to prepare for the future growth."
@};~~{Swamp Thing continued to explain.} "...Maybe you can find one, Herne...You just have to search for them. You are one of few to face our opponent and live...You are uniquely qualified to determine who has the potential to defeat Fenris...And if I'm not mistaken...You do not have confidence in Artemis."
Elaine sat on a stump and crossed her legs over the knee like a fine young lady. "I didn't say replace, you said it, I said find someone worthy, smething that some of you immortals have to udnerstand is that you're not immune to change, you have to adapt like everything else, to time, to loses to your feelings, to everything, if you remains tied to the same old same old... well, I'm just going to say that I discourage it" she shrugged, not wanting to say more "Right Swampy? You get me" she said, pretty sure that he got what she meant, after all he was used to change. "I know someone, duh, he's funny and a HUGE flirt, and blonde, in every sense of the word, I'm curious to see if you will find it on your own Herne, isn't that what you do best? Hunt?" she told him, teasing him on purpose, she knew that with that he would get closer to moving. She then looked at Artemis and Freya "Why don't we chill sometime together? The three of us? I have questions for you two, aboud Goddess things"
"you know, you two seem nice, much ulike others from your pantheons, they were unfriendly, or maybe too scared to talk with me I'm not sure"
Herne bowed his head to both Swamp Thing and Elaine. "I will reflect on this and try." Herne thanked everyone for coming and began to return back to his dwelling to consult with the forest. Freya and Artemis were known for being two of the most jovial spirits of their pantheons, Artemis only having fervor when Judgment was nigh, matching her very much like Death of the Endless with her playful spirit. Freya was the motherly spirit and nurturer; not to be mistaken for weakness as Mother's are naturally protective of her kin, Freya's wrath could rival that of Hera's if provoked, though Elaine would know Freya helped balance Odin's own fury. @};~~{Swamp Thing smiled at them all and then departed as would everyone.}
Back in Star City...
Arsenal Roy frowned even more when he realized that he was now stuck with having to deal with this guy dying on him. He didn’t let it show though that he was slightly annoyed. He just didn’t know what to say, should he try to get the guy to fight death or relax and let go? He stared at the vest, definitely not designed to stop an arrow, but then the wire, all the way to ta cellphone. He looked the undercover cop in the eyes, grabbing his hand up in his. “Felicity, I need an ambulance out here now! This guy can still make it.” Now focused on the injured man, he spoke. “Listen, Im not going to lie to you, it’s bad. But, you’ve still got a chance. Hold on until the ambulance gets here. You arent bleeding profusely, you wont so long as the arrow is in there. Just hold on, guy.” He reassured him, trying to get this guy to hold on. To be frank, he wasn’t going to say this was a new situation for him, seeing people die, but this guy was just doing his job. His duty to the city he served. -c-
Arsenal He didn’t deserve this. Stopping the recording, he placed the cellphone in the guy’s hand. “If not for your family, if not for anything else. Stay alive for this. You got ‘em.” Tapping his comm again, he spoke. “Arrow. He’s a cop. I’m going to stay with him. He shouldnt be alone, no matter what happens.” -e-
Black Canary The blonde was raging through the russian thugs like a cougar. Charging through them, leg sweep on the first. Elbow in the gut on the next, uppercut on the third. Spin bringing the elbow down on the second, knocking him to his knees. Kicking the first off balance, keeping him away while she finished the other two. Black Canary could only glance at the others and listen to them all talking. She was glad to see that Roy was making sure the englishman die. She wasn't even worried about the englishman's thugs. She had worked with Green Arrow enough, to know he had her back, even if he wasn't fighting shoulder to shoulder with her. She stole a glance at Diggle, he had spoiled her fun, but at least he was thorough in getting his job done. Dinah was still thinking about the truck which seemed to be surveyling all this, wondering if they were watching or a part of this show. Regardless they had broken this up. And now they had to make sure all the drugs were taken care of. (c)
Black Canary She returned to the third man and with a haymaker laid him out. Then she heard Roy comment about the cop, she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. Poor guy. Just who had fired that arrow. "Green Arrow, do you know who had fired that shot?" She scanned looking for snipers.
FelicitySmoak Felicity rolled her chair back to the main monitor. Roy had called out to her. “Ambulance? Alright, I’m pinpointing your location on the GPS. Don’t move!” Dammit. She didn’t want to ask but it couldn’t hurt to help. “Roy, I need to know exactly what happened. Who’s been hurt and where? The ambulance is on its way but if its serious we can do our best to help. I’ll be with you all the way. We’ll do this step by step.” There was that bravery. The least she could do from behind the screen was puppeteer. "First, check to see if he's breathing out of his mouth or nose...o-or neither." -e-
Green Arrow looked over the scene, taking a tactical position of making sure everyone was safe from his team. Dinah was dispatching thugs, John was finishing the Russians, and Roy was aiding the injured. When his attention was brought to the 'cop' Ollie felt Police sirens would begin echoing and swiftly he approached Roy to monitor the progress of the officer. Dinah asked who shot the arrow and Ollie felt a tinge of guilt strike him, John and Oliver exchange glances as both seemed to know who did it, Roy also knew based on the arrow alone. Ollie buttered his lip and then said. "The Police are on the way, we need to move out now. We'll deal with this later."
Lt Sean Knotting Lt Sean Knotting was currently stationed in the Command center directly in front of the comptuer screen watching the screen, five other men glancing over his shoulder. Right now, Sean was growing impatient, he was already on his third cigarette since the entire ordeal began. "Hurry the fuck up, take the god damn..." That's when it began, he saw the events unfold, the arrow flung into the lung of his partner and best friend. His blue eyes widened as his jaw dropped, the cigarette that hung from his mount dropping into his lap. "Fhalbh, fhalbh, fhalb fhalbh." he cursed in old Scots Gaelic. Quickly patting out the cigarette. "Quiet, both of you. It's that fucking vigilante prick." he scolded the two. This wouldn't bold well for the Hoodster, murdering his partner. There was no way in HELL he was going to let that murderous son of a goat get away with this, he had to break rank, he had to avenge his partner. "I'm going to bag that mother fucker."[C]
Lt Sean Knotting Not literally, they knew this, he was just in a state of shock, they've worked with Lt Knotting before, he was usually the cool-headed one. Bursting out of the trailer, Lt Knotting sprint the entire block making sure he had the element of surprise, with his former 18 Signal Regiment training, he could easily stealth around, ducking behind the nearest freight container. Gun in hand, held just in front of his face, Knotting took a few short breaths trying to calm himself, regain his center. He may have just lost one of the closest people in his life, but he had to do this by the book, otherwise everything he has accomplished in his eight-year career with Interpol would be under scrutiny. Once his calm had been reached, he took one final breath and revealed himself, gun drawn pointed directly at the group. "Interpol, freeze! Put your hands in the air now." he never understood why one would say freeze then put your hands in the air, but hey, by the book is by the book.[E]
Arsenal His head hung as he heard Felicity’s instructions. “I think it’s whichever one isnt filled with blood but at this moment I cant tell, he’s coughing it up.” He didn’t peg Ollie for the type that made stupid mistakes, he rarely did. Something must’ve altered his shot. He didn’t blame Ollie, but it was his arrow. “Deal with it later? How? If we leave him here--…” He stopped, turning his attention from Ollie to the cop charging them with his gun free. With them cluttered in this area, he didn’t think it’d be smart to fire an arrow to disarm him, being that his partner lay there dying. “Later it is then.” Looking down at the officer, he placed his palm flat on his chest to wish him well before standing. “Well, Im not in the business of getting arrested…sooo..” He spoke, making his way away to try and shake the cop from their trail. “Let’s get after it, then!”
Black Canary The blonde was panting softly as the thugs lay about her feet. She was in offensive mode and she was enjoying the rush of a good fight. She sighed at the command to go, wondering if they should leave with the injured cop still here. But there was little she could help with now. She bounced a little on the balls of her feet. She nodded to teh voice in her ear, urging them to get out. "Alright then, Canary out." she ran toward a heap of crates, she jumped, caught the box with her hands and back flipped over the boxes. She ran towards a nearby building, she jumped, catching the first rung of a fire escape and swung up like a practiced gymnest, she worked her way up to the rooftop. Hearing Roy's cavelier approach to the situation made her frown. "Alright gang, breaking up for the night? Or are we meeting up?" She offered.
FelicitySmoak "...Roy!?" Son of a bitch. Did they just leave a body there?! "If they find one fingerprint or hair follicle on that body..." She was not their maid. If they were going to make bodies then they should have cleaned up their own mess. "Do we need to have another pow wow on how forensics works? Someone please tell him to wash his hands. This is worse than when I hacked his phone's camera and caught him picking his nose. Seriously." Sometimes she could swear her mother's voice in place of her own. It was hard enough fighting crime. But, handling Team Arrow was like raising triplets. -e-
When the Interpol agent announced himself, Green Arrow turned to look at him, surprised the police arrived so soon, but then it came to Ollie that maybe he shouldn't be surprised. "Detective Inspector, you have a wounded man here that needs your attention. Apprehending all of us can come later. Get him to a hospital and he can survive...For what it's worth...I'm sorry." Oliver's voice was masked by that voice changing device making him appear deeper and fiercer than what Oliver's voice actually was. Ollie would speak under his breath "The Arrow Cave for debriefing." so that Dinah and the team knew what their next step was. Overall the mission was a success. A drug operation was shutdown from this and with the police involved, it helped seal it tight. This was a massive blow to the drug trade in Star City.
John made a move to leave waving for Roy to take lead so that Spartan could cover him. Oliver remained, a sense of responsibility the vigilante ever so often had. Waiting for his team to get clear then, Green Arrow dashed towards the car, jumped on it and leaped to a container to tumble and jump away. As the ambulance arrived they would aid the downed officer and determined that he died shortly before they arrived. Returning to the Arrow cave, Ollie pulled off his hood and looked between everyone, no doubt everyone was there before him as Ollie took a detour to ensure the cops weren't following him. Oliver looked to Felicity. "Roy did what I told him to do, there shouldn't be any DNA, Roy is not an amateur. Before any of you say anything...that was my arrow that hit that officer." It was likely by now the police radio would signal Felicity's database that the man was dead just before everyone arrived back at the base.
Lt Sean Notting Just when he was about to fire off a warning shot, the words of the Murderous vigilante rang in his ears. So, he had a not so difficult choice to make. He already knew the instant the words flung from the hooded man's mouth what he was going to do. The Arrow team was NOT a Interpol issue, at least not at this particular moment. His index finger that had been ever so slightly squeezing the trigger just before firing point, relaxed; moving to click the safety on, holstering it. With a anger fueled look on his face, he pointed at the man. "This isn't over." he growled menacingly. He'd let the team go...for now, but there was no way in hell he was going to let them get away with murder, not in this lifetime. Dashing to Jack's side, he pulled the man up, gauging the wound. "You'll be fine Jack, it's alright. We just need to get you to a hospital." That's when he pulled out his phone, calling the three necessary numbers.[C]
Lt Sean Notting "This is Lt Sean Notting with Interpol, badnge number 508281, I need an ambulance edown at the (Insert address here.)" then hung up, ripping his shirt to place a sort of gauze patch on the wound, hoping, praying that it would work, even though in the back of his mind, he knew he'd be the one knocking at the wife's door... He was merely hoping in 1/1000th of a chance, he'd pull through.[E]
Arsenal He’d heard the order to get back to the Arrow cave, so, that was the next move. “Are you actually still calling it that? Seriously?” He shook his head, leaping up to scramble up the side the side of a container only to disappear into the dark with another leap. Later, he sat in a chair, awaiting Ollie’s arrival after he’d take a bit more responsibility to stay behind to make sure that they got away safely. Looking at the team, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, giving a sigh. “That was screwed up. Yeah we succeeded, but that guy’s dead. I’ve never had a problem seeing an enemy go down, but…not a guy that’s trying to do the same job we are, you know?” Roy shook his head and huffed, tugging his cap off to let his red hair free. When Ollie arrived, he looked up at his former partner as the man defended him to Felicity and the team. That wasn’t something he was used to seeing, but he appreciated it. Roy would remember that. +1 Paragon points.
Black Canary Dinah had heard the the command and soon made her way to gleaming purple motorcycle which was stowed several blocks away, sliding down the ladders of a fire escape to land nimbly on the ground. She smiled as she heard Ollie take charge and make sure the officer was taken care of. She hoped he would be fine. She slid onto her bike and roared off. She was soon with the others in the Arrow cave. She heard Ollie giving credit to the team and defending Roy a little. She smirked a little. He was shaping into a pretty good leader. Although she did recall him attacking others when she first teamed up with Team 'Arrow'. Dinah's smile faded as she heard about the dead officer. She stiffened a little. She gave a dark look at Oliver. "Is there anything else we want to talk about? It's getting late, I should go." She didn't even look at Diggle, giving him a hard time for defending her, didn't seem funny with an officer down.... officer down. (c)[delete]
Black Canary She remembered the night her mother had gotten the call about her dad. Something long buried shook loose inside her. She met eyes with Felicity, tilting her head a bit and pointing at her ear, using her body to sheild the motion from the others. She obviously wanted to talk with Felicity later.
FelicitySmoak She finally got the news from the hospital. The damage had been done. All she could do was comfort the team. Felicity waited for the team to arrive. She felt like Barry when waiting. Every second was full of this never-ending torture. When Oliver arrived she rushed to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't...be so hard on yourself. Take it as a lesson. Oliver, things happen and we all make mistakes. And don't say that this was more than just a mistake. We can't control everything. If we could, we would do everything to help you." The mission had been a success overall. She looked to the others. After ignoring Oliver's comment on her over-protective instincts she hoped that the team would be reminded that each of them was more than an asset. They were a family to her. "I think we all want to be other places right now." Her gaze shifted to Dinah. Felicity shifted uncomfortably and walked towards the woman. "I'll walk you out, Dinah." -e-
Oliver looked at Felicity and when the news of the officer was dead, Ollie paused a moment to consider the news. He nodded a moment longer and forced a smile at Felicity. "It's okay...I'll be okay..." Ollie rubbed Felicity's shoulder's to comfort her and ease her. And then he approached the team. "Look, everyone did a good job...Go home, get a good night's sleep. This was my mistake to bear, I'll think about how we'll proceed with this and the police."
As Sean Knotting rode to the hospital, the officers reported to the chief operations as to the incident. The following day, the Chief Commissioner of the police was in the middle of speaking. "--We understand that accidents occur and we're very sorry that this happened. But for this reason, Star City is choosing not to press charges against The Green Arrow and his team of vigilante's at this time. Evidence at the crime scene and witness statements indicate this was an accident. To the Green Arrow and your team, Star City is grateful for your help."
Black Canary Ollie admitted his mistake and gave everyone some light praise. The archer had grown up some over his years as a vigilante, the thought made Dinah give him some quiet kudos in her head for him. But still he had killed a man who was just doing his job. No, was doing more for than his job. The fishnetted heroine nodded to Felicity's offer to walk her out. Once they were out side she said softly. "Did the officer have a family? If so I would like their address. I know many of you like drawing the line with our involvement, but I have been down this road before." she said softly. The strong heroine looking almost fragile for once. After hearing Felicity's response, whether to help her or not, she would give a nod and walk off. Only the purry roar of her bike left behind. (c)
Black Canary The next day Dinah was watching the news from her hotel room. Hearing the police statement about the downed officer. Surprised to hear such kind words from the city's officers. That he knew that ollie's shot was an accident. It seemed surreal. Once upon a time the police would hunt them down or say, or blame them for the dead officer. It seemed odd to not get blamed for once. She wondered if there was more to this... perhaps she had been working at this lifestyle for too long. (e)
FelicitySmoak Felicity loosed her muscles. She thought Dinah was going to scold her for being okay with the accident or at least not reprimanding Oliver. "Oh gosh, Dinah. I didn't even think about how this would make you feel. Yeah, the officer. He um...he has a son and two daughters. The wife and him are divorced, but it looked like they saw him on the weekends. The address was...was..." Felicity continuously blinked. She was trying to hold back a tear drop. Dinah was being the responsible one here. If only she could be that courageous. "1705 West Pine Street. The kids are all in middle school. And the mom works day shifts so she should be home around three tomorrow. You know to...pick up the kids." Now she wiped one tear from her face and turned away. "I'm sorry, Dinah. I wish...I wish there was more I could do. Let me know if you need anything else. I want to do everything I can to help." -e-
The information Felicity gave Dinah was misleading...it was actually false information setup to make the agent appear authentic, but the man never had those details. His true records were at Interpol, indicating he lived in Knottingham, United Kingdom.
That night Oliver would toss and turn in bed, when the sudden image of the London bridge entered his mind and then the trees and forests made him feel a dark presence. He woke in the dream world standing bare chest and in his sweat pants and bare feet. He could feel the mud beneath his feet and the grass. The air was cold and damp with moisture, Ollie's jaw hung open as the sensation was surreal. He stepped forward and looked through the trees searching for something within the dim lights while cautiously moving forward. "Hello?"
"OLIVER QUEEN..." The voice was husky and deep, the face of a obsidian colored canine appeared within the shadows of darkness. "I am the beginning of the end. Do not come to Knottingham or the world's destruction will be your fault!" Oliver would seem confused.
"Wait...what are you talking about? What's in Knottingham?"
The canine would grin. "Just do as I said or else..." The wolf's paw reached out from the darkness with feline sharpness to cut Oliver and force him to awaken with a sharp pain on hiss shoulder as a claw mark was left there. "AAAH!!!" He roared and then hissed at the pain, looking to his wound he would hurry to the bathroom to clean it and see the cut from a wolf's paw.
At the police station the Chief would look to Sean Knotting. "We've been through this, detective. We're not pursuing Green Arrow, you're to go back to your district and that's it. Case closed."
V.
The shuffle of her crawling limbs must've been louder than she thought. She was spotted on the ground, but given just enough time to flip a panic button beneath the countertop. "You brought a sword to a tech fight?" Choked out Felicity, " I'm flattered. But I'm not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with me." It was time for her to switch gears. As if she hadn't already planned something in case of emergency. Over the years, her apartment got a few upgrades in the process. "Activate protocol: Overkill." All the lights in the house turned red. A silent alarm was triggered to let Starling City Police know about the break-in. Cameras were already installed in nearly every corner of the apartment, it would be nearly impossible not to be caught on cam. Protective plates dropped down over the doors and windows, save the one that was already busted. One way in, and one way out. Felicity tapped the comms in her ears turning on the sound proofing mode just before the canary cries were heard through hidden speakers.
BlackCanary
Dinah nodded as she heard Shado's instructions and started prepping the bandage pad and tape. When the asian woman seemed to think they had gotten enough of the poison out of ollie, Dinah pathced him up. Something she had done just a few hours ago. She then helped roll Oliver over as Shado started to work on administrating the medicine, slowly, painfully slow into man's wound. Dinah could only sit on the bed gently caressing the side of Oliver's head as there was nothing she could do to help at that point. And it ate up the blonde inside. She was a woman of action. She got things done! She saved the day! and here she had to use someone else's knowledge and care to do the saving, and she could only wait.
And then Shado started to perform CPR on Ollie, once she shifted to give him the breaths, Dinah slid up to him and started to do the compressions for her, making it a team-up. "Come on you stubborn bastard!" she said, being a bit rough with the compressions, not even thinking about how sore her or Oliver had been from their long rough night. "You are too stubborn to die, you have done nothing easy since you came back from that damned island, and we aren't going to let you take it easy now!" Shado then signaled for them to switch so neither one would get too tired. Dinah gave her boyfriend the kiss of life. "You're Robin Hood, not Sleeping Beauty! Start beating that heart for us!" She said between pushing breaths into him. Sure they had gotten everything administered within the 15 minutes, but this was a deadly toxin and nothing was sure here. "If you die on me, I'll kick your ass!"
And then Oliver started to gag and cough into the blonde's mouth, she backed up just enough so he could breathe, her nose nearly touching his. He rolled and coughed and spat up some gunk, groggily asking what was going on. Dinah sighed in relief. Not ready for her dream to come true yet. "We're in your apartment, we had been attacked by assassins, you were poisoned, but fortunately..." she realized she had never gotten Shado's name, making her pause. "Your friend here... helped." she looked up at Shado and mouthed a 'thank you' to her.
Green Arrow
He smiled at Dinah and remarked. “You look how I feel, pretty bird. All things considered, I feel great though.” His hand caressed Dinah’s face before his gaze settled onto Shado and he nodded as he was coming to. “Who are they?” Oliver pushed himself to sit up on the bed. // Shado’s gaze looked between Dinah and Oliver. “People who want you dead, soldiers of the Tide. They believe Oliver is the one to stop their plans for Ragnarok.” // Oliver looked to Dinah. “Trying to take us out and they didn’t even offer us dinner.” He stood up and stretched his neck and then his arms. “Mirakuru?” He asked as he began to perform breathing exercises. // “Yes. I had a dream that you were going to die. Then I was attacked. I went looking for you as soon as I could. These assassins want to wipe out your closest allies in the event one of them takes up your destiny, Ollie.” // Oliver smirked, turning to face both of the ladies sitting on the bed. “So we’re dealing with a cult of brain washed Icelandic Indiana Jones wannabes. How do we find them?” // “You can’t simply ‘find them’ Ollie. You should be preparing for whatever Ragnarok is…In my dream, I saw a city in flames, a dragon towering over it, and its breath lashing to destroy everything in its path.”
The assassin covered his ears as the canary scream resonated in his head, promptly dropping his weapons at the sudden assault to his head. After 5 seconds of enduring this the man clapped his hands together and gestured with both hands to push out, a blast of water shot out from his hands like a tidal wave shattering a wall and several pieces of furniture as the torrent of water violently shattered objects in its path with the intent to also shatter Felicity as well // John drove the van to the front of Felicity’s place and as he got out of the car he watched a bullet smash into the car window towards his head. John paused to see the bullet stopped by the bulletproof glass. A second shot followed and the glass held as the man’s gaze hardened and he searched for the shooter. A third shot came at him and he spotted them, his thumb caressed the handle of his pistol and he quickly moved to take aim and fire, the shot struck true killing the assassin instantly. John paused then looked around to hear water flowing from inside Felicity’s house. John dashed into the flood of water and took aim at the assassin and fired three shots aiming for the man’s upper body, one struck the shoulder, another struck the head, and the last bullet hit a cabinet. John shuffled through the water to get to Felicity. “Jeez, what the hell happened here?”
Soul of the Forest: Part 2 - The Horn of the Hunter
Story By: Batman
Heroes: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Supporting: Freya and Artemis, Swamp Thing, Herne the Hunter
Villains: Big Game Hunter and Dark Archer
Description: Team Arrow sets out on its new adventure in Europe, seeking to find the legendary "Horn of the Hunter" and prevent it from falling into dangerous hands.
Soul of the Forest: Part 3 - Time of the Wolf
Story By: Batman
Heroes: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Supporting: Elaine, Swamp Thing, Herne the Hunter
Villains: Fenris the Wolf, Big Game Hunter, Dark Archer
Description: Rebirth of an ancient evil threatens the safety of the Multiverse. While at odds with Dark Archer, Green Arrow must put aside his long time rivalry and hatred in order to combine forces against a new enemy, Fenris the Wolf, who has taken particular interest in Thea Queen.
Story By: Batman
Heroes: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Supporting: Felicity Smoak, Swamp Thing, Herne the Hunter, Elaine
Villains: Lt. Sean Knotting
Description: When Oliver Queen is startled by a mysterious person, his arrow shoots and kills an undercover Interpol agent. Troubled by this accident, Oliver considers quitting his vigilante career once and for all, but the mysterious person arrives in his dreams and instructs him to go to Europe and seek out the stranger. What Team Arrow will discover upon arriving in Europe is unexpected.
Exposition Music
Great Britain, 1360, somewhere in Sherwood Shire
The brown leather boots stomped on the ground for sure-footing, a stubby man dressed in red cloth with embroidered gold tassels around his waist. The symbol of a Lion upon his chest in reverence to King Richard the Lion Heart. His beard of thick brown gazed upon the green forest and nodded approvingly. "Build here." He nodded with a smug expression and arrogance. The caravan of peons dragged their carts of stone and paste, tools and lumber with their tired bodies and empty stomachs. "Halt! These are sacred grounds." A voice echoed prompting the party of builders and soldiers to turn their attention to a man wearing Antlers and a leather suit of animal pelt.
The King would turn his attention to the new comer. "Who art thou and to whom do you think you speak?" The King's confidence garnered a small laugh from his loyal knights. "I am Herne the Hunter, your majesty. You cannot build here, for good reason." The King looked about and smirked. "Sacred grounds? Then I call for my priest!" The bishop dawning a cloth of black and white stepped to the King's side. "Tell me, Bishop...Are these lands cursed?" "If they are, my lord...A simple ritual shall cleanse it. Faith in the King of Kings grants divinity from such superstition."
Herne's echoing voice challenged the Bishop's words. "This land is sacred, for on the Hunter's moon, trapped is the beast of the Norse, and with each prey his thirst for blood shall grow ever greater as his power." These words haunted some of the men, but the Bishop heard none of it. "You choose to defy the divine? Heresy, my lord." The bishop turned to the King. "Mm...Indeed. Kill him and bring me his body." The knights raced forward and Herne calmly turned to the forest and walked behind a tree to vanish as a mystical fog began to rise from the Earth.
December 14th 2012, Star City, California - Intro Music
The Russian man stood upon the docks, surrounded in a courtyard of organized storage containers. Approximately 20 or so men dressed in business suits with their SUV's parked in the nearby spaces granted to them. The area was setup like an arena with the SUV's ready for a quick escape. The Englishmen looked over the counterfeit bills of European currency and with approval he nodded. "Excellent." He said and then waved for his men to pull forth the drugs out of large storage bins before explaining what was inside the containers. "20 keys per box. The cargo are European car parts, some of the typical to replace pieces, low profile." "Excellent." Replied the Russian man.
Green Arrow stood upon the tallest of the Cargo containers with his hood raised and his sight settled, his blue eyes scanned the arena and began looking for escape route. "Canary, cut off the south exit. Arsenal, cut off the East. Spartan, take the West route. I'll cover all three points. Give me one click when your in position and ready." Oliver clicked his microphone that would send out a small pop sound to the earpieces of the team and then he raised his bow and arrow to take aim.
Within the trailer nearby, six men huddled around a computer with a headset. Lieutenant Sean Knotting huffed a cigarette impatiently. "All we need is for him to take the package and go...take the package and go. Come on." From above the containers Green Arrow would await the confirmation from his team and then he would shout with a booming deep voice from his voice modulator. "Rory Kosvak...You are guilty of smuggling drugs into Star City and polluting our youth. You have FAILED this city!" With swiftness an arrow launched from the bow and shot down to strike one of the muscle men of Kosvak in the hand crippling him.
Within the trailer panic began to stir. "What the fuck? Who the fuck is that?" "What the fuck? No other agencies should be involved here! Check the records!" were two men, but Lieutenant Knotting paid attention. "Quiet, both of you. It's that fucking vigilante prick." The Russians would begin firing their machine pistols towards the higher containers not entirely sure where Green Arrow's voice was resonating from.
Arsenal The command was pretty simple and it’d been a while since Roy had allowed himself to be able to work with Ollie, despite being asked on a few occasions. The problem was that he felt as though Ollie still wanted him to fit into this box that he’d outgrown. He wasn’t that plucky sidekick anymore. He was Arsenal, a man with his own life to live. And he was no hero, normally, he’d have turned down this mission and continued to fly below the radar, but when Ollie briefed him on the situation, he couldn’t say no. Drugs being sold to children or to those that have access to children was despicable and it couldn’t be allowed to go on. He’d not allow the children of the city to suffer through what he had to. They had to be better, stronger…smarter. Arsenal crouched in position on the East side of the area, watching the gangsters move about and confer with one another, noting how they’d set up their SUV’s.
Clicking his microphone, he lifted an arrow from the quiver on his back, setting it onto the drawstring to lift his bow and train the arrow at the makeshift arena. Just as Ollie spoke his piece and the shooting started, Roy fired, sending arrows into the front tires of each of the SUV’s, trying to limit the options of escape, and if the goons decided to use them anyway, they’d at least be slowed down. “You’re sure you want to stick with that ‘You’ve failed this City..’ schtick? It’s a little dated, don’t you think?” He spoke into the mike again, knowing Canary and Diggle, or Spartan as he’d been dubbed, would hear it too.
Black Canary Canary had slipped to the South end of the docks, waiting for the chaos and the europeans trying to run off from the bust. Ollie and her had been doing several drug busts lately. and it was nice that Roy could help them out with covering the exits. She was sure Ollie and her could have had it covered, but sometimes she thought that Ollie needed the backup and to see the people he needed to support him, and not just with a bust. Then the gunfire set off. right on cue, time for the party. The shots were all over the damn place. and then she saw a trailer nearby, and it was left a bit too obviously left alone, there weren't even any cars near it... "Hey Arrow. I think we're not the only one busting this party... see the trailer at 3 o'clock?" She sighed as she started to get impatient with the thugs. "I'm going to go in... these guys are terrible shots, are you're sure they're Russian marksmen?" (e)
"That's what I've been telling him." John said into the microphone to respond at Roy's question before shooting off three rounds and then ducking as a wave of bullets flew towards him. "God, how I wish this was three years ago..." John sighed with a certain amount of fatigue hitting him. Arrow smirked hearing Roy and John going back and forth, and when Dinah stated that she was going in, she would come near close to a shotgun at her stomach, but promptly an arrow shot barrel and pinned the man to the wall of a cargo container. "Oh, they are good shots; I'm just better." He took aim at the Kosvak and aimed for the man's leg when gunshots came towards him. Kosvak's gaze settled upon Black Canary and as she entered he went to approach her.
The approach seemed to have pissed off Spartan and with a ferocious growl he charged and bull rushed the Mountain of Russia. The two men would brawl with powerful fist crushing punches. "John get clear, I don't have a shot..." Arrow's gaze then spotted the Englishmen on the run and he took aim lining up the shot to strike the man's shoulder, he fired the shot and with truth its course was locked. The Russian would slam Diggle into a wall and shout. "Englishmen! Where you going?" The Englishmen stopped and turned around to see his associate, as his lips parted the arrow penetrated into the man's chest prompting his eyes to widen from the stabbing.
Arsenal “Glad someone else has some common sense.” He said, lifting an arrow with a bulb at the end, firing at a thug he’d spotted running by. He smirked and stood to enter into the area as Canary and Diggle engaged their respective targets. He cast his gaze over his shoulder as he passed the thug that he fired his trick arrow at, making sure that the net stored in the arrow was securely tightened against the man’s body. He lifted another two arrows as he was targeted by a russian with an AK. The first arrow to hit was fired at the man’s hands as a foam erupted from the arow to cemet his hands to the weapon, making it impossible for him to fire, the second hit the man int he chest, sending him flying backwards with a concussive burst, knocking him out. Noticing that Diggle was having trouble, he spun and fired another concussive arrow at the mountain of a guy attacking the newly dubbed Spartan. His aim was to distract him enough that Spartan could gain the upper hand.
But, just as he released the arrow, the Russian alerted him to the Englishman’s attempted escape, Roy turning his gaze to spot the man right as he turned around. When the arrow pierced the Englishman’s chest, he blinked and then frowned a bit, taking off toward the man stuck by the shot.
Black Canary Black Canary cautiously started to enter frey, only to see a big shotgun aimed at her gut, waiting. She grinned, somebody was ready to dance! But before she could fight, or re-aim the gun, two arrows flew by. One arrow in barrel of the rifle, another arrow pinned an arm. she sighed as Ollie took away her fun. "Yes, I know your arrow is bigger." she teased. and then she saw a mountain of a russian come lurching for her, getting into a defensive position, ready to take him on. When Diggle rushed in playing the white knight. "Spartan..." she warned as she watched them all fight. And then she sees the englishman running off. Let the boys play with that bear, she had other playmates. She was about to go after the Englishman, when she saw his chest sprout arrows. She played clean up, taking out the remaining Russians. "which of you boys decided to murder again?" she asked, not impressed. (e)
The concussive arrow would throw the Kosvak off balance and slam him into Diggle throwing them both off balance, John would kick the Russian in the ankle and then knee the man in the face before finishing him with a strike of his pistol's magazine. The Arrow that struck the Englishmen made Ollie frown but, he wouldn't let an enemy casualty slow him down as the team required him to be in the game. That hardened man from Star Fish Island needed to be solid now that all three of his mates were in the fray. Oliver worked counter point to Dinah, as she focused on the Russians, Oliver finished off the Englishmen's men by shooting bolas at three of them knocking them down and binding them together. Green Arrow scanned the area with his eyes sweeping to see Black Canary handling the Russians, Spartan cuffing the crime lord, and Arsenal tending the wounded.
Upon popping open the man's shirt, Roy would see the man was wearing a bullet proof vest as well a wire connected to a cellphone that was recording still. The man was choking on his blood as the arrow pierced through the vest and dug itself into the man's lungs. The Englishmen would look to Roy and pull out his leather badge. "Get...him?" He managed to choke out with an un-fathomable amount of fortitude. His hand would point to the Russian, the leather badge would indicate to Roy the man was from Interpol and clearly working undercover on a drug sting.
Meanwhile...
The forest was silent and settled within the dark night as the moon cast its gaze upon the European country. Between the twigs and the leaves and within the hillside of rock a small stream of water flowed into a cave creating a suitable den where the ancient God resided. Herne wore a leather tunic with brown cloth pants. A lantern that he used for lighting as he prepared himself for sleep, but before doing so he would consult with nature. Closing his eyes as he bowed his head before an alter of an Elk. Within his dreams he saw the forest and soared through it on the wings of a falcon, spying on the inhabitants and its graceful beauty. It was then he could feel it, The World Tree; Yggdrasil becoming gnarled and twisted, branches began to wither and blood began to pool out of its bark.
The vision caused Herne's mind to flow into confusion. The Falcon was suddenly displayed before Herne's eyes, face down in the river as a little boy came to pick it up and try to help the bird of prey. His vision changed again, this time it was the forest in flames, burning furiously as the animals ran wild. He saw two men who were bloody and battle worn. The blonde man spoke from the ground to the red haired man. "I believe I'm dying...Bring her. Bring Elaine." Herne finally spoke to the forest. "What are you trying to show me spirits?" The images flashed into a river bed again but with the falcon still in it. The boy went to reach down for it before a large furry paw crushing the falcon and then a pool of blood pouring out of the boys throat as the Wolf grabbed the boy by the arm and held him up to feast.
Herne's heart beat began to quicken as he found himself in the dark of the forest, alone. "Spirits? Where are you?" "They are gone..." spoke the growling voice as a piercing glare of yellow eyes and fangs settled within Herne's vision of the darkness. Herne took up his staff and raised it defensively. The Wolf would chuckle. "And you believe you can stop me?" Those words haunted Herne and the sudden feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness washed over him. It was true he was not as strong as he used to be, but even in his prime he doubted that he could match the Wolf. "The Architect, the trickster, and the loyal, and the destined could not stop me. Nothing can." Herne began to shout. "Noooooo!" Fenris would cackle maniacally before leaping out of the darkness to pounce on Herne.
Herne awoken from his vision with sweat pouring over his forehead, he shivered and panted in fear "Gah!" He cried out looking to his hand that was cut by the Wolf's paw. "He's coming. What do I do spirits?" He set out into the fields of stonehenge and it's ancient formation. He placed the feathers of a gryphon upon the alter and poured the blood of his wound onto it. "The elements and watchers of creation...I summon you with the power of my heart...Hear me as I sense a great threat is on approach. I seek council, please."
@};~~{The vine would shoot up from the grass and twist and wane into more vines that wrapped and coiled into a body before eventually forming a standing avatar of moss, leaves, vines, and grass. Orange beady eyes stared down upon Herne and his dawned outfit, seeing the relatively mortal looking man wearing the cowl of a green hood and elk horns protruding from each side of his head. He looked around and took in the scenery try to determine what summoned him here. Unaware that within the plains of creation, on a slate of white a telephone ring with a long extension cord connecting the phone to Earth 4, connecting the Goddess Elaine to an instant travel path while also maintaining a small comical method to illustrate the purpose of the summoning.}
Elaine -Being everywhere at the same time is basically the same as being nowhere at the same time, and both at the same time too. I mean at this point it all becomes rather confusing, just like omniscience, right? I’m sure you’re confused now, you’d be wondering, oh, who’s telling this story?- “Well, it’s me of course, surprise! Me as in Elaine you know.” she said to basically just herself, as she was alone in an endless white of whiteness endlessness. The floor was white the sky was white and everything in the distance was of the same color. Even the stone that she had just grabbed was white and when she threw it this time it bounced eight times!
“No wait, that last one was weird, what was that noise again?” she said as she looked around, then she blinked several times before she approached on of the phones at like fifty meters of distance. -I should have set everything closer- she thought. As she was approaching it, the constant tick tocking of her heels mixed with another ring of the phone. “Yep, seven times, well it’s a nice number” she said to herself with a roll of her eyes. She grabbed the phone and asked with her best accent from London “hiya, what’s so important?” she said, to the two guys, er, beings, person-things in front of her that were probably blinded by the arrival of Elaine, it was kind of blinding at first and there had been no warning that she was coming.
“You know guys, the whole summoning is not required, I mean it’s kind of cool and weird at the same time but you can just ask and that works as good” she said as she pointed a finger to the side of her eye in a cute way, signaling that she saw everything regardless of silly rituals. She walked around a little, looking around “At least you didn't sacrifice anything, that’s an improvement!” she said before turning around and placing her hands on each side of her waist. She was wearing a schoolgirl outfit, all good girl like, skirt, tights, boots, blouse, blazer and tie. Her black lipstick and eyeliner was on point though! She was so proud of this!!!“So, what’s bothering you?”
Herne took in the sight of Swamp Thing and Elaine, recognizing the prior, and unfamiliar with the latter; which could only conclude she was sent from the heavens above the Earth. "I am Herne the Hunter. I am the one to summon you both here...I've had a terrible vision. I sense the destruction of this world by the wolf Fenrir. The Apex Predator of life and creation." It was at the moment when Elaine thought about Fenris that her vision would begin to cloud - all of it. The future of Earth 4 not only came into question, but also the future of all Earthes.
A woman's voice would speak as a blast of green light shot out of the ground. "Fenrir is no ordinary foe. You seek council and we shall give it." The Goddess known as Freya would appear wearing a green dress with blonde hair crowning her head. Freya stood as a giant among the other God's, standing at approximately 3.6 meters tall. Next to her at her side was a much smaller woman at 1.82 meters was the Goddess Artemis. Freya would wave to Artemis. "I have contacted the Greek God as soon as I held a vision of Fenrir's return."
Elaine “I know, knew since he weakly trying to reform in a diminutive stormy cloud, it was pretty hilarious” she said with a shrug as if it was old news and as if she didn’t particularly care all that much. “You know the thing with some of you is that concepts are represented over here but, there is this concept of destruction that is kind of missing to some degree so, some of you guys kind of filled the spot in a way” she was referring to destruction of the endless being a quitter of course. “But yes, it was my uncle that basically exploded him in a million of bloody norse pieces the last time, that’s what I was told anyway” she said with a rolls of her eyes. “I’m curious, what is what are you all thinking of doing?” she asked with mild curiosity as she looked up at the other two goddesses, she gave them a McKayla not-imrpessed face to both of them, pfft, show-off with the height thing.
Freya nodded confirming Elaine's story about Fenris and Lucifer. "Fenrir is no ordinary beast. To kill slay him requires a feat of courage and strength. If we do not act in stopping his return, this Yggdrasil will be in jeopardy. Surely that must concern you, Elaine." Herne stroked his chin. "Would it be possible for your uncle to come and stop Fenris again? Surely that's not unreasonable, nature and countless lives are at stake here." Artemis would finally speak up with confidence and charm. "I have spoken to Freya and I believe I am worthy enough to slay the beast. According to tradition, if anyone wishes to defy my claim, they must prove themselves worthy of defeating me." Artemis would smile at Elaine. "I would gladly accept a challenge from your Uncle."
Elaine She shook her head at her “No as far as I was told it was more like Fenris… and I quote “being like usually a fucking retard and my uncle being his usual deceptive piece of shit”” she said quite bluntly, but then again she was quoting a certain fallen cherub. “But no, I’m afraid my uncle is not currently available, I believe he’s having one of those middle age crisis again, I think he’s got a crush on a detective too, I don’t even know, but even if he was around, and bored, he wouldn’t care, trust me.” she nodded at them, then she looked at Freya “You’re cute, but chill please, you don’t want to ever defy my uncle, anyways! I do care about everything and everyone but, I cannot intervene. I’m not going to go and blast that dog because after all, if I did that with him… I’d be considering him… you know, obsolete, and at that point you’d think…. Well, why did my granddad think that all of you guys were a good idea?” she said quite simply, they understood her right? They were gods and
and goddesses. “You could intervene if you wanted, or not, that’s up to you!” she finished,, hey, she was better than her granddad, she gave them true choice.
Herne didn't like this one bit and turned his attention to the silent observer. "Elemental, do you have any input?" @};~~{Those beady red eyes would close.}~~;{@ "I'm trying to think..." His voice spoke like crackling bark and vocal cords of fine twigs with a husk of rustling leaves. "...Of another worthy champion...I am the Warrior King of The Green...My allies in the Rot and the Red could aid us in this task, but how helpful they will be....I do not know...I do not know..." Swamp Thing shook his head and lowered it to sink some. }~~;{@ This left Herne to frown. "Perhaps we should be vigilant, search for a worthy hero. I can only think of one man, but he has long since been put to rest, an archer known as Robin. He would be my chosen, if he were still alive." @};~~{Swamp Thing took a moment to consider these words.} "...I...Constantine...My friend...he may know someone..."
Elaine
Elaine observed their conversation, she felt amused but she had her usual resting bitch face, she couldn't help it, she only had one face when listening to others. “Robin Hood is pretty cool, there are always people like him because of the myth, have you watc… oh right you don’t watch movies” she stopped there sighing a bit, listening some more. “Constantine, your friend?” she raised an eyebrow, her expression carrying some disgust. “Ew.” she added, to make it clear. “Oh by the way, don’t take this as a you shall go there, you can still do whatever, but, IF you decide to go and you happen to have to go that fully and completely obsolete tree, know that the journey is not physical, it’s… more spiritual and mystical, and also know that it expects to be approached from the East but, regardless, whoever does the journey will pay a price, it varies depending on the person though, last time I got blind and my dad and uncle but pretty burned all over the place” she told them as a tiny little bit of information.
Freya would smile upon Artemis. "None of you shall worry, I will prepare Artemis for the trial of Fenrir. She is our chosen savior and champion. No mortal could stand against a God." @};~~{Swamp Thing took a moment to stare at Freya and then referred to Elaine.} "Constantine is...unusual. He is resourceful...I trust...my friends..." Herne at last spoke. "But if Artemis fails, whom do we turn to next? I would rather have a back up plan than no plan at all. Artemis may have to endure a sacrifice to succeed, whomever we seek must be willing to burden such cost as well." @};~~{Swamp Thing nodded to Herne, understanding.}
Elaine
"Suit yourself, he has a spot reserved in Hell for a good reason, or had, well, we'll see about Hell" she said to Swampy but also kind of talking to herself, then she looked at Freya and Artemis with a look of disbelief "What a waste!" she rolled her eyes "If I were you I wouldn't face Fenris alone, he may be stupid and aaalways use the same tricks over and over again but, he's far from a weakling immortal, but, you know, you can do whatever Artemis" she shrugged, feleing a little sad for her but there wasn't much else she could do without intervening, prime directives were tough. "You mentioned Robin Hood, didn't you?" she told Herne "Why don't you look for someone that can fill the same shoes? You know since Robin Hood is dead but there is probably someone that could work just as fine" she told him, she was trying really hard for Herne to figure out the idea on his own.
Herne took her hint a few times and finally confronted it after trying to avoid talking about it. "There will be no other like Robin. For a hero such as Robin to exist they must obtain the Silver Arrow of Trueshot." Herne's gaze turned to Artemis, who proudly pulled the arrow from her pouch; the arrow was more of an enchanted relic that imbued the holder with incredible accuracy, it's entire body was made of pure silver and was very short that it couldn't fire from any bow or crossbow. "Robin was the last mortal to hold such artifact. He was like a son to me, Elaine. And sons cannot be replaced." @};~~{He listened carefully to both and spoke.} "The forest whispers of many men who are on the frontier...Perhaps we should look there?...If Robin Hood was a child of the forest...Perhaps there is another...When I became...the avatar of the Green...I learned I wasn't the first...There were others before me. The Green cultivated many sons and daughters; seeds to prepare for the future growth."
@};~~{Swamp Thing continued to explain.} "...Maybe you can find one, Herne...You just have to search for them. You are one of few to face our opponent and live...You are uniquely qualified to determine who has the potential to defeat Fenris...And if I'm not mistaken...You do not have confidence in Artemis."
Elaine sat on a stump and crossed her legs over the knee like a fine young lady. "I didn't say replace, you said it, I said find someone worthy, smething that some of you immortals have to udnerstand is that you're not immune to change, you have to adapt like everything else, to time, to loses to your feelings, to everything, if you remains tied to the same old same old... well, I'm just going to say that I discourage it" she shrugged, not wanting to say more "Right Swampy? You get me" she said, pretty sure that he got what she meant, after all he was used to change. "I know someone, duh, he's funny and a HUGE flirt, and blonde, in every sense of the word, I'm curious to see if you will find it on your own Herne, isn't that what you do best? Hunt?" she told him, teasing him on purpose, she knew that with that he would get closer to moving. She then looked at Artemis and Freya "Why don't we chill sometime together? The three of us? I have questions for you two, aboud Goddess things"
"you know, you two seem nice, much ulike others from your pantheons, they were unfriendly, or maybe too scared to talk with me I'm not sure"
Herne bowed his head to both Swamp Thing and Elaine. "I will reflect on this and try." Herne thanked everyone for coming and began to return back to his dwelling to consult with the forest. Freya and Artemis were known for being two of the most jovial spirits of their pantheons, Artemis only having fervor when Judgment was nigh, matching her very much like Death of the Endless with her playful spirit. Freya was the motherly spirit and nurturer; not to be mistaken for weakness as Mother's are naturally protective of her kin, Freya's wrath could rival that of Hera's if provoked, though Elaine would know Freya helped balance Odin's own fury. @};~~{Swamp Thing smiled at them all and then departed as would everyone.}
Back in Star City...
Arsenal Roy frowned even more when he realized that he was now stuck with having to deal with this guy dying on him. He didn’t let it show though that he was slightly annoyed. He just didn’t know what to say, should he try to get the guy to fight death or relax and let go? He stared at the vest, definitely not designed to stop an arrow, but then the wire, all the way to ta cellphone. He looked the undercover cop in the eyes, grabbing his hand up in his. “Felicity, I need an ambulance out here now! This guy can still make it.” Now focused on the injured man, he spoke. “Listen, Im not going to lie to you, it’s bad. But, you’ve still got a chance. Hold on until the ambulance gets here. You arent bleeding profusely, you wont so long as the arrow is in there. Just hold on, guy.” He reassured him, trying to get this guy to hold on. To be frank, he wasn’t going to say this was a new situation for him, seeing people die, but this guy was just doing his job. His duty to the city he served. -c-
Arsenal He didn’t deserve this. Stopping the recording, he placed the cellphone in the guy’s hand. “If not for your family, if not for anything else. Stay alive for this. You got ‘em.” Tapping his comm again, he spoke. “Arrow. He’s a cop. I’m going to stay with him. He shouldnt be alone, no matter what happens.” -e-
Black Canary The blonde was raging through the russian thugs like a cougar. Charging through them, leg sweep on the first. Elbow in the gut on the next, uppercut on the third. Spin bringing the elbow down on the second, knocking him to his knees. Kicking the first off balance, keeping him away while she finished the other two. Black Canary could only glance at the others and listen to them all talking. She was glad to see that Roy was making sure the englishman die. She wasn't even worried about the englishman's thugs. She had worked with Green Arrow enough, to know he had her back, even if he wasn't fighting shoulder to shoulder with her. She stole a glance at Diggle, he had spoiled her fun, but at least he was thorough in getting his job done. Dinah was still thinking about the truck which seemed to be surveyling all this, wondering if they were watching or a part of this show. Regardless they had broken this up. And now they had to make sure all the drugs were taken care of. (c)
Black Canary She returned to the third man and with a haymaker laid him out. Then she heard Roy comment about the cop, she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. Poor guy. Just who had fired that arrow. "Green Arrow, do you know who had fired that shot?" She scanned looking for snipers.
FelicitySmoak Felicity rolled her chair back to the main monitor. Roy had called out to her. “Ambulance? Alright, I’m pinpointing your location on the GPS. Don’t move!” Dammit. She didn’t want to ask but it couldn’t hurt to help. “Roy, I need to know exactly what happened. Who’s been hurt and where? The ambulance is on its way but if its serious we can do our best to help. I’ll be with you all the way. We’ll do this step by step.” There was that bravery. The least she could do from behind the screen was puppeteer. "First, check to see if he's breathing out of his mouth or nose...o-or neither." -e-
Green Arrow looked over the scene, taking a tactical position of making sure everyone was safe from his team. Dinah was dispatching thugs, John was finishing the Russians, and Roy was aiding the injured. When his attention was brought to the 'cop' Ollie felt Police sirens would begin echoing and swiftly he approached Roy to monitor the progress of the officer. Dinah asked who shot the arrow and Ollie felt a tinge of guilt strike him, John and Oliver exchange glances as both seemed to know who did it, Roy also knew based on the arrow alone. Ollie buttered his lip and then said. "The Police are on the way, we need to move out now. We'll deal with this later."
Lt Sean Knotting Lt Sean Knotting was currently stationed in the Command center directly in front of the comptuer screen watching the screen, five other men glancing over his shoulder. Right now, Sean was growing impatient, he was already on his third cigarette since the entire ordeal began. "Hurry the fuck up, take the god damn..." That's when it began, he saw the events unfold, the arrow flung into the lung of his partner and best friend. His blue eyes widened as his jaw dropped, the cigarette that hung from his mount dropping into his lap. "Fhalbh, fhalbh, fhalb fhalbh." he cursed in old Scots Gaelic. Quickly patting out the cigarette. "Quiet, both of you. It's that fucking vigilante prick." he scolded the two. This wouldn't bold well for the Hoodster, murdering his partner. There was no way in HELL he was going to let that murderous son of a goat get away with this, he had to break rank, he had to avenge his partner. "I'm going to bag that mother fucker."[C]
Lt Sean Knotting Not literally, they knew this, he was just in a state of shock, they've worked with Lt Knotting before, he was usually the cool-headed one. Bursting out of the trailer, Lt Knotting sprint the entire block making sure he had the element of surprise, with his former 18 Signal Regiment training, he could easily stealth around, ducking behind the nearest freight container. Gun in hand, held just in front of his face, Knotting took a few short breaths trying to calm himself, regain his center. He may have just lost one of the closest people in his life, but he had to do this by the book, otherwise everything he has accomplished in his eight-year career with Interpol would be under scrutiny. Once his calm had been reached, he took one final breath and revealed himself, gun drawn pointed directly at the group. "Interpol, freeze! Put your hands in the air now." he never understood why one would say freeze then put your hands in the air, but hey, by the book is by the book.[E]
Arsenal His head hung as he heard Felicity’s instructions. “I think it’s whichever one isnt filled with blood but at this moment I cant tell, he’s coughing it up.” He didn’t peg Ollie for the type that made stupid mistakes, he rarely did. Something must’ve altered his shot. He didn’t blame Ollie, but it was his arrow. “Deal with it later? How? If we leave him here--…” He stopped, turning his attention from Ollie to the cop charging them with his gun free. With them cluttered in this area, he didn’t think it’d be smart to fire an arrow to disarm him, being that his partner lay there dying. “Later it is then.” Looking down at the officer, he placed his palm flat on his chest to wish him well before standing. “Well, Im not in the business of getting arrested…sooo..” He spoke, making his way away to try and shake the cop from their trail. “Let’s get after it, then!”
Black Canary The blonde was panting softly as the thugs lay about her feet. She was in offensive mode and she was enjoying the rush of a good fight. She sighed at the command to go, wondering if they should leave with the injured cop still here. But there was little she could help with now. She bounced a little on the balls of her feet. She nodded to teh voice in her ear, urging them to get out. "Alright then, Canary out." she ran toward a heap of crates, she jumped, caught the box with her hands and back flipped over the boxes. She ran towards a nearby building, she jumped, catching the first rung of a fire escape and swung up like a practiced gymnest, she worked her way up to the rooftop. Hearing Roy's cavelier approach to the situation made her frown. "Alright gang, breaking up for the night? Or are we meeting up?" She offered.
FelicitySmoak "...Roy!?" Son of a bitch. Did they just leave a body there?! "If they find one fingerprint or hair follicle on that body..." She was not their maid. If they were going to make bodies then they should have cleaned up their own mess. "Do we need to have another pow wow on how forensics works? Someone please tell him to wash his hands. This is worse than when I hacked his phone's camera and caught him picking his nose. Seriously." Sometimes she could swear her mother's voice in place of her own. It was hard enough fighting crime. But, handling Team Arrow was like raising triplets. -e-
When the Interpol agent announced himself, Green Arrow turned to look at him, surprised the police arrived so soon, but then it came to Ollie that maybe he shouldn't be surprised. "Detective Inspector, you have a wounded man here that needs your attention. Apprehending all of us can come later. Get him to a hospital and he can survive...For what it's worth...I'm sorry." Oliver's voice was masked by that voice changing device making him appear deeper and fiercer than what Oliver's voice actually was. Ollie would speak under his breath "The Arrow Cave for debriefing." so that Dinah and the team knew what their next step was. Overall the mission was a success. A drug operation was shutdown from this and with the police involved, it helped seal it tight. This was a massive blow to the drug trade in Star City.
John made a move to leave waving for Roy to take lead so that Spartan could cover him. Oliver remained, a sense of responsibility the vigilante ever so often had. Waiting for his team to get clear then, Green Arrow dashed towards the car, jumped on it and leaped to a container to tumble and jump away. As the ambulance arrived they would aid the downed officer and determined that he died shortly before they arrived. Returning to the Arrow cave, Ollie pulled off his hood and looked between everyone, no doubt everyone was there before him as Ollie took a detour to ensure the cops weren't following him. Oliver looked to Felicity. "Roy did what I told him to do, there shouldn't be any DNA, Roy is not an amateur. Before any of you say anything...that was my arrow that hit that officer." It was likely by now the police radio would signal Felicity's database that the man was dead just before everyone arrived back at the base.
Lt Sean Notting Just when he was about to fire off a warning shot, the words of the Murderous vigilante rang in his ears. So, he had a not so difficult choice to make. He already knew the instant the words flung from the hooded man's mouth what he was going to do. The Arrow team was NOT a Interpol issue, at least not at this particular moment. His index finger that had been ever so slightly squeezing the trigger just before firing point, relaxed; moving to click the safety on, holstering it. With a anger fueled look on his face, he pointed at the man. "This isn't over." he growled menacingly. He'd let the team go...for now, but there was no way in hell he was going to let them get away with murder, not in this lifetime. Dashing to Jack's side, he pulled the man up, gauging the wound. "You'll be fine Jack, it's alright. We just need to get you to a hospital." That's when he pulled out his phone, calling the three necessary numbers.[C]
Lt Sean Notting "This is Lt Sean Notting with Interpol, badnge number 508281, I need an ambulance edown at the (Insert address here.)" then hung up, ripping his shirt to place a sort of gauze patch on the wound, hoping, praying that it would work, even though in the back of his mind, he knew he'd be the one knocking at the wife's door... He was merely hoping in 1/1000th of a chance, he'd pull through.[E]
Arsenal He’d heard the order to get back to the Arrow cave, so, that was the next move. “Are you actually still calling it that? Seriously?” He shook his head, leaping up to scramble up the side the side of a container only to disappear into the dark with another leap. Later, he sat in a chair, awaiting Ollie’s arrival after he’d take a bit more responsibility to stay behind to make sure that they got away safely. Looking at the team, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, giving a sigh. “That was screwed up. Yeah we succeeded, but that guy’s dead. I’ve never had a problem seeing an enemy go down, but…not a guy that’s trying to do the same job we are, you know?” Roy shook his head and huffed, tugging his cap off to let his red hair free. When Ollie arrived, he looked up at his former partner as the man defended him to Felicity and the team. That wasn’t something he was used to seeing, but he appreciated it. Roy would remember that. +1 Paragon points.
Black Canary Dinah had heard the the command and soon made her way to gleaming purple motorcycle which was stowed several blocks away, sliding down the ladders of a fire escape to land nimbly on the ground. She smiled as she heard Ollie take charge and make sure the officer was taken care of. She hoped he would be fine. She slid onto her bike and roared off. She was soon with the others in the Arrow cave. She heard Ollie giving credit to the team and defending Roy a little. She smirked a little. He was shaping into a pretty good leader. Although she did recall him attacking others when she first teamed up with Team 'Arrow'. Dinah's smile faded as she heard about the dead officer. She stiffened a little. She gave a dark look at Oliver. "Is there anything else we want to talk about? It's getting late, I should go." She didn't even look at Diggle, giving him a hard time for defending her, didn't seem funny with an officer down.... officer down. (c)[delete]
Black Canary She remembered the night her mother had gotten the call about her dad. Something long buried shook loose inside her. She met eyes with Felicity, tilting her head a bit and pointing at her ear, using her body to sheild the motion from the others. She obviously wanted to talk with Felicity later.
FelicitySmoak She finally got the news from the hospital. The damage had been done. All she could do was comfort the team. Felicity waited for the team to arrive. She felt like Barry when waiting. Every second was full of this never-ending torture. When Oliver arrived she rushed to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't...be so hard on yourself. Take it as a lesson. Oliver, things happen and we all make mistakes. And don't say that this was more than just a mistake. We can't control everything. If we could, we would do everything to help you." The mission had been a success overall. She looked to the others. After ignoring Oliver's comment on her over-protective instincts she hoped that the team would be reminded that each of them was more than an asset. They were a family to her. "I think we all want to be other places right now." Her gaze shifted to Dinah. Felicity shifted uncomfortably and walked towards the woman. "I'll walk you out, Dinah." -e-
Oliver looked at Felicity and when the news of the officer was dead, Ollie paused a moment to consider the news. He nodded a moment longer and forced a smile at Felicity. "It's okay...I'll be okay..." Ollie rubbed Felicity's shoulder's to comfort her and ease her. And then he approached the team. "Look, everyone did a good job...Go home, get a good night's sleep. This was my mistake to bear, I'll think about how we'll proceed with this and the police."
As Sean Knotting rode to the hospital, the officers reported to the chief operations as to the incident. The following day, the Chief Commissioner of the police was in the middle of speaking. "--We understand that accidents occur and we're very sorry that this happened. But for this reason, Star City is choosing not to press charges against The Green Arrow and his team of vigilante's at this time. Evidence at the crime scene and witness statements indicate this was an accident. To the Green Arrow and your team, Star City is grateful for your help."
Black Canary Ollie admitted his mistake and gave everyone some light praise. The archer had grown up some over his years as a vigilante, the thought made Dinah give him some quiet kudos in her head for him. But still he had killed a man who was just doing his job. No, was doing more for than his job. The fishnetted heroine nodded to Felicity's offer to walk her out. Once they were out side she said softly. "Did the officer have a family? If so I would like their address. I know many of you like drawing the line with our involvement, but I have been down this road before." she said softly. The strong heroine looking almost fragile for once. After hearing Felicity's response, whether to help her or not, she would give a nod and walk off. Only the purry roar of her bike left behind. (c)
Black Canary The next day Dinah was watching the news from her hotel room. Hearing the police statement about the downed officer. Surprised to hear such kind words from the city's officers. That he knew that ollie's shot was an accident. It seemed surreal. Once upon a time the police would hunt them down or say, or blame them for the dead officer. It seemed odd to not get blamed for once. She wondered if there was more to this... perhaps she had been working at this lifestyle for too long. (e)
FelicitySmoak Felicity loosed her muscles. She thought Dinah was going to scold her for being okay with the accident or at least not reprimanding Oliver. "Oh gosh, Dinah. I didn't even think about how this would make you feel. Yeah, the officer. He um...he has a son and two daughters. The wife and him are divorced, but it looked like they saw him on the weekends. The address was...was..." Felicity continuously blinked. She was trying to hold back a tear drop. Dinah was being the responsible one here. If only she could be that courageous. "1705 West Pine Street. The kids are all in middle school. And the mom works day shifts so she should be home around three tomorrow. You know to...pick up the kids." Now she wiped one tear from her face and turned away. "I'm sorry, Dinah. I wish...I wish there was more I could do. Let me know if you need anything else. I want to do everything I can to help." -e-
The information Felicity gave Dinah was misleading...it was actually false information setup to make the agent appear authentic, but the man never had those details. His true records were at Interpol, indicating he lived in Knottingham, United Kingdom.
That night Oliver would toss and turn in bed, when the sudden image of the London bridge entered his mind and then the trees and forests made him feel a dark presence. He woke in the dream world standing bare chest and in his sweat pants and bare feet. He could feel the mud beneath his feet and the grass. The air was cold and damp with moisture, Ollie's jaw hung open as the sensation was surreal. He stepped forward and looked through the trees searching for something within the dim lights while cautiously moving forward. "Hello?"
"OLIVER QUEEN..." The voice was husky and deep, the face of a obsidian colored canine appeared within the shadows of darkness. "I am the beginning of the end. Do not come to Knottingham or the world's destruction will be your fault!" Oliver would seem confused.
"Wait...what are you talking about? What's in Knottingham?"
The canine would grin. "Just do as I said or else..." The wolf's paw reached out from the darkness with feline sharpness to cut Oliver and force him to awaken with a sharp pain on hiss shoulder as a claw mark was left there. "AAAH!!!" He roared and then hissed at the pain, looking to his wound he would hurry to the bathroom to clean it and see the cut from a wolf's paw.
At the police station the Chief would look to Sean Knotting. "We've been through this, detective. We're not pursuing Green Arrow, you're to go back to your district and that's it. Case closed."
V.
The shuffle of her crawling limbs must've been louder than she thought. She was spotted on the ground, but given just enough time to flip a panic button beneath the countertop. "You brought a sword to a tech fight?" Choked out Felicity, " I'm flattered. But I'm not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with me." It was time for her to switch gears. As if she hadn't already planned something in case of emergency. Over the years, her apartment got a few upgrades in the process. "Activate protocol: Overkill." All the lights in the house turned red. A silent alarm was triggered to let Starling City Police know about the break-in. Cameras were already installed in nearly every corner of the apartment, it would be nearly impossible not to be caught on cam. Protective plates dropped down over the doors and windows, save the one that was already busted. One way in, and one way out. Felicity tapped the comms in her ears turning on the sound proofing mode just before the canary cries were heard through hidden speakers.
BlackCanary
Dinah nodded as she heard Shado's instructions and started prepping the bandage pad and tape. When the asian woman seemed to think they had gotten enough of the poison out of ollie, Dinah pathced him up. Something she had done just a few hours ago. She then helped roll Oliver over as Shado started to work on administrating the medicine, slowly, painfully slow into man's wound. Dinah could only sit on the bed gently caressing the side of Oliver's head as there was nothing she could do to help at that point. And it ate up the blonde inside. She was a woman of action. She got things done! She saved the day! and here she had to use someone else's knowledge and care to do the saving, and she could only wait.
And then Shado started to perform CPR on Ollie, once she shifted to give him the breaths, Dinah slid up to him and started to do the compressions for her, making it a team-up. "Come on you stubborn bastard!" she said, being a bit rough with the compressions, not even thinking about how sore her or Oliver had been from their long rough night. "You are too stubborn to die, you have done nothing easy since you came back from that damned island, and we aren't going to let you take it easy now!" Shado then signaled for them to switch so neither one would get too tired. Dinah gave her boyfriend the kiss of life. "You're Robin Hood, not Sleeping Beauty! Start beating that heart for us!" She said between pushing breaths into him. Sure they had gotten everything administered within the 15 minutes, but this was a deadly toxin and nothing was sure here. "If you die on me, I'll kick your ass!"
And then Oliver started to gag and cough into the blonde's mouth, she backed up just enough so he could breathe, her nose nearly touching his. He rolled and coughed and spat up some gunk, groggily asking what was going on. Dinah sighed in relief. Not ready for her dream to come true yet. "We're in your apartment, we had been attacked by assassins, you were poisoned, but fortunately..." she realized she had never gotten Shado's name, making her pause. "Your friend here... helped." she looked up at Shado and mouthed a 'thank you' to her.
Green Arrow
He smiled at Dinah and remarked. “You look how I feel, pretty bird. All things considered, I feel great though.” His hand caressed Dinah’s face before his gaze settled onto Shado and he nodded as he was coming to. “Who are they?” Oliver pushed himself to sit up on the bed. // Shado’s gaze looked between Dinah and Oliver. “People who want you dead, soldiers of the Tide. They believe Oliver is the one to stop their plans for Ragnarok.” // Oliver looked to Dinah. “Trying to take us out and they didn’t even offer us dinner.” He stood up and stretched his neck and then his arms. “Mirakuru?” He asked as he began to perform breathing exercises. // “Yes. I had a dream that you were going to die. Then I was attacked. I went looking for you as soon as I could. These assassins want to wipe out your closest allies in the event one of them takes up your destiny, Ollie.” // Oliver smirked, turning to face both of the ladies sitting on the bed. “So we’re dealing with a cult of brain washed Icelandic Indiana Jones wannabes. How do we find them?” // “You can’t simply ‘find them’ Ollie. You should be preparing for whatever Ragnarok is…In my dream, I saw a city in flames, a dragon towering over it, and its breath lashing to destroy everything in its path.”
The assassin covered his ears as the canary scream resonated in his head, promptly dropping his weapons at the sudden assault to his head. After 5 seconds of enduring this the man clapped his hands together and gestured with both hands to push out, a blast of water shot out from his hands like a tidal wave shattering a wall and several pieces of furniture as the torrent of water violently shattered objects in its path with the intent to also shatter Felicity as well // John drove the van to the front of Felicity’s place and as he got out of the car he watched a bullet smash into the car window towards his head. John paused to see the bullet stopped by the bulletproof glass. A second shot followed and the glass held as the man’s gaze hardened and he searched for the shooter. A third shot came at him and he spotted them, his thumb caressed the handle of his pistol and he quickly moved to take aim and fire, the shot struck true killing the assassin instantly. John paused then looked around to hear water flowing from inside Felicity’s house. John dashed into the flood of water and took aim at the assassin and fired three shots aiming for the man’s upper body, one struck the shoulder, another struck the head, and the last bullet hit a cabinet. John shuffled through the water to get to Felicity. “Jeez, what the hell happened here?”
Soul of the Forest: Part 2 - The Horn of the Hunter
Story By: Batman
Heroes: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Supporting: Freya and Artemis, Swamp Thing, Herne the Hunter
Villains: Big Game Hunter and Dark Archer
Description: Team Arrow sets out on its new adventure in Europe, seeking to find the legendary "Horn of the Hunter" and prevent it from falling into dangerous hands.
Soul of the Forest: Part 3 - Time of the Wolf
Story By: Batman
Heroes: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal, Red Arrow
Supporting: Elaine, Swamp Thing, Herne the Hunter
Villains: Fenris the Wolf, Big Game Hunter, Dark Archer
Description: Rebirth of an ancient evil threatens the safety of the Multiverse. While at odds with Dark Archer, Green Arrow must put aside his long time rivalry and hatred in order to combine forces against a new enemy, Fenris the Wolf, who has taken particular interest in Thea Queen.