This is my introduction to one of my OCs. After of a lot of flitting around on here, I noticed there's not much Arrow Family love, so... Here we go.
Okay. This guy is officially kicking our asses. Robin announced, diving out of the way as Kaldur was thrown into the wall beside him.
What could possibly have drawn you to that conclusion? The Atlantean asked, stumbling to his feet. The fact that he pounded Green Arrow to a pulp and threw him across the roof, or the fact that he's doing the same to us now? Their conversation was cut short when Superboy was thrown into them, bowling them both over and back into the wall. The colossal figure that had thrown the clone stepped back from his handiwork, looking around. His gaze fell on where Green Arrow lay, unconscious and heavily battered. He started towards the hero, but paused when Red Arrow dashed in between them, running to his former mentor's side. However much he insisted he didn't like Ollie, he couldn't deny the icy feeling in his chest when he shook the older archer and gained nothing but the knowledge that Green Arrow's head was bleeding. He felt a shadow fall over them, and looked up at the hulking mass looming over him. Muscle memory made him reach for an arrow, only to remember that his quiver was empty. The huge man raised a sledge-hammer sized fist, vaguely disappointed with himself for having forgotten about the other archer. Lacking the time to think, Roy flung himself forward, trying to shield Green Arrow with his back, and closed his eyes, bracing for impact.
"Now, now. When are you going to learn to play nice?" Red Arrow's eyes snapped open.
He knew that voice.
So, too, did the attacker, because he stopped, turning.
A hooded figure stood at the edge of the roof, his hands in his pockets. Thinner and slightly smaller than the man who had just desecrated the Team, anyone else would have thought the fight weighed heavily in the monstrous man's favour.
Red Arrow, however, knew better.
The hooded man stepped forward, and the larger one moved back. As he watched, a tiny, pinpoint of orange light appeared beneath the hood, tracking the giant's movements.
"Yes, you remember this voice." The newcomer continued. "It's the voice of the man who ended your hunting days seven years ago." The first man growled furiously, and the hooded one chuckled. He paused, filching a communicator from Kid Flash's ear and sliding it into his own. "Black Canary? Remember me?" After a moment of stunned silence, she replied.
"Sniper?" A slight chuckle escaped the man on the other end.
"The same." He assured her, then, "Uh huh. No funny business, big guy." His attention returned to her. "I see that the Reaper is up to his old tricks."
"You could say that." On the roof, the big man was getting bored of the banter. He shifted his weight, preparing to strike, when...
When he suddenly found a handgun in his face.
"Are you forgetting something?" Sniper asked with cheer that bordered on disturbing. "Are you forgetting how I chose my name?" There was an edge in his voice that Black Canary suddenly found concerning.
"Sniper..." She warned softly, but he didn't seem to hear her.
"Come to think of it, I still owe you a bullet, don't?" He asked the now-terrified man in front of him. Her eyes widened, and she shot up from her chair, as if that would help.
"Sniper, no. Listen to me. There's a time and place for revenge, and this is not it! Let the courts convict him! Sniper, please!" There was no sound but his sneakers scuffing on the cement of the rooftop. "Sniper? Sniper!" Exasperated and desperate, she yelled the only name she thought would get his attention more quickly. "Will!"
Her voice rang out across the com at the exact same time as the gunshot. She fell back into her chair, barely managing a whisper. "S... Sniper, what have you...?" He heard her.
"I shot him in the leg." The dark undertone his voice had carried before was gone. He sounded relaxed, calm-even happy. "Why? What were you expecting me to do?" She didn't answer, too shocked to reply. He shook his head, chuckling again. "Honestly, Dinah. Didn't even hit an artery..." He crossed over to Roy and Ollie, the pinpoint light disappearing. He pushed back his hood, smoothing a hand over his hair. Even in the dim light, the resemblance to Green Arrow was obvious, though this man seemed older, with longer hair. He knelt beside Red Arrow, adjusting the bandages that covered the right side of his face, including his eye. The young archer relaxed, moving over to allow the older man in beside him.
"Uncle Will." Despite his break off with Green Arrow, he had no problem calling the tall, one-eyed man family. William Queen was virtually impossible not like, as long as you were on his good side. Even now, he was smiling warmly at the boy.
"Hey, kiddo." He responded; then the smile broadened to a grin. "Don't worry. I won't tell him you panicked." Roy quickly began examining the dirty concrete beneath them.
"I-I didn't-" Sniper laughed.
"Kid, you were shielding him with your back." Roy slumped, defeated. "Don't worry," Will repeated, gently punching him in the arm, "I won't tell him you panicked." Joking around with Roy was a cover as his unobscured eye check the young man for any severe injuries. Finding nothing that could be considered life-threatening, he turned his attention to his brother. Ollie was in nowhere near as fortunate a state. Sniper had only basic field experience, but he estimated at least three broken ribs, fractured arm, and a concussion-and that was even counting the numerous cuts an bruises, or the gnawing reminder in his gut that people with such severe head injuries often had brain damage. He pressed two calloused fingers to Green Arrow's neck, and found that his pulse was strong. Good, at least something was working properly. He tossed his braid over his shoulder, leaning forward to examine the cut in his brother's scalp.
"Bad?" Roy asked, not bothering to hide the shake in his voice, as Sniper had already weeded out his concern for his former mentor.
"Not as bad as it could be, but pretty bad." Red Arrow nodded. This had been part of the reason he liked Will so much-as a former soldier, the man did not believe in any sort of coddling. You could be almost entirely sure that what he was telling you was the cold, hard truth; especially when it came to safety. "This is going to take a hospital trip." He shifted his weight back on his heels, rising. "Fortunately, help has arrived." Seconds later, members of the Justice League descended on the rooftop, isolating the giant and providing conveyance to the nearest hospital for the injured. Superman approached Sniper.
"William." He said. "It's been awhile."
"Clark." Replied the elder Queen brother. "Indeed it has." There was a friendly iciness in the way the two greeted each other. It was a generally accepted fact that Batman and Superman were good friends-it was also just as accepted a fact that Sniper and Batman hated each other. That was probably the reason why the Dark Knight himself wasn't there. They couldn't be in direct proximity with each other and not fight. So Sniper stood alone on the edge of the roof, watching as the two Green Lanterns transported the Reaper away, his arms folded tightly across his chest. The man couldn't have been older than thirty-five-three years Green Arrow's senior, but he had retired abruptly seven years ago after an incident involving the villain he had just helped to subdue. He must have felt Roy watching him, because he turned around, gave him a grin, then came over and clapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon. Let's go make sure Ollie doesn't try anything stupid when he wakes up, alright?" He slung an arm around his honourary nephew's shoulders, looking out across the skyline one last time before steering him away. "Besides, I want you to get that eye looked at. You look like someone punched you."
"In case you didn't notice, someone did."
"Oh, yeah, he did, didn't he? Fancy that." Will's cheerful tone made even Roy smile a little, and they moved over to help the rest of the Team who hadn't needed any sort of hospitalisation up before heading out.
Crouched on a chimney about a roof away was a thick, bulky figure. It watched them go, then blinked a few times, lifting its arm. A computer appeared on its skin, and began to type.
'We have his attention.'
'Good,' came the reply, 'Then proceed to phase two.'
'What if he does not return?'
'He will. Even if his own need for vengeance is not enough to drive him...' A smile crossed the writer's face.
'... His ex-wife's will be.' After a pause, two more letters were added.
'T.R.'
Alright-I usually don't like asking people for things, but I'd feel appreciated if people just... I don't, let me know if they liked this. Or any of my other stories. Yeah.
