THIS IS FANFICTION. THINK ABOUT THAT.


They'd had a fight, the night it happened. When Ollie got the alert from the League, Roy had wanted to come along. Mia, who was usually forced to play mediator, had taken Roy's side. It had ended with slamming doors and a bow being angrily pulled off the weapons rack. That was the last time either had seen Oliver Queen alive.

Dinah was beside herself with grief. She'd been there, along with the rest of the League. Had helplessly watched Green Arrow, along with almost every other member, be slaughtered. Had been the one who'd told them, in the end. Mia hadn't come out of her room until five minutes before they left for the funeral. She hadn't said a word, just climbed into the back of the car, eyes still red from crying. Roy had absolutely no idea what to say to her, and had simply left her alone.


The sky was gray, covered in dark clouds. The air was hot and still, as if the world was holding its breath. Mia, standing next to him, made a squeaking noise as the coffin was lowered into the ground. She reached over and grabbed his hand. He let her, squeezing her fingers gently in a brotherly gesture. The rest of the speech went on, neither of them really hearing it. Dinah, behind them, was openly crying.

The gravestone read, "Oliver Queen. A true hero."


He called himself the Reaper. The name fit. He'd appeared in Washington D.C., just past midnight; no one knew where he'd come from. No one knew where he'd gone. Aquaman had been the first on the scene.

They still hadn't managed to find Kaulder.

Dinah had explained it over and over again, how the League had been overpowered. How Green Arrow and the others had saved thousands of lives. How neither of them could have done anything, had they been there. No one could've.

It didn't help.


Dinah had offered to let them stay at her house, but Roy had refused to leave. She'd eventually relented and was now staying at their house. She slept in Oliver's room. They didn't mention it. It was somehow an unspoken rule, not to talk about him anymore.

The night after the funeral, he put the costume on. It was too loose in the shoulders, too long in the legs, making him feel like a child playing dress-up in his father's closet. Minutes later, Mia had snuck into his bedroom, her own suit on and bow in hand. A week later, Roy turned eighteen. Dinah left.

Green Arrow and Speedy came back to life.


For those who may not know;. Mia is Mia Dearden, the second Speedy. She is a canon character, not an OC. Since this is an AU, I decided to use her. She's fifteen years old, and, like Roy, was Oliver Queen's ward.