.
Delicate
.x.X.x.
~CrazyPlotQueen~
Gotham Alleyways
September 21st
10:15 PM
The click of expensive boots down the dark alleyway alerted Hook of Cheshire's arrival first. The assassin watched as a young woman slinked out of the darkness, movements fluid and confident. The moonlight overhead twisted the shadows on her mask to make it ghoulish and disturbing, and Hook steeled himself. He was probably three times the size of her, there no reason for him to feel nervous around her. Still, there was something all too off-putting about that stretched smile.
"Is it done?" Hook asked gruffly, straightening up from where he leaned on the alley wall.
"Did you ever doubt me?" Cheshire purred silkily, dangling a bloodstained wallet in front of his face.
The man took the wallet from her, flipping through it. He caught a glimpse of Cheshire's target for the first time. Harry Davis, a CEO of a company the League was finished with. They had called Cheshire in to finish the deal up, and tie some loose ends.
"I always doubt you. Do you have pictures of the body?" Hook asked. The woman held up a few polaroids between her gloved fingers, and he quickly plucked them from her grasp. "Good."
"My payment?" She put out a hand expectantly. Hook sighed, then turned away to pull a briefcase out from behind a dumpster, and handed it to her.
Cheshire unlatched the case, and gazed upon a hundred-thousand dollars. Beautiful, she thought as she let out a silent but content sigh.
"Happy?"
Cheshire eyed him for a second and then flipped underneath the first layer of bills, making sure they hadn't swindled her. Suspicions soothed, she grinned underneath the mask.
"Very." She saluted Hook, then turned around and melted back into the darkness, the silence surrounding him once more.
Hook squinted into the darkness, trying to figure out whether she was really gone. Cheshire was never one for pleasantries, but he had expected her to hang around longer. Still, he knew that she had a busy life outside of assassin work, and she was in high demand with the League of Shadows, so he understood.
With that thought, the assassin retreated back down the alleyway to continue his work.
Star City, Warehouses
September 21st
11:00 PM
As Red Arrow spied down on the inside of the warehouse from the rafters, he found himself growing more and more pleased with what he was finding. The vigilante had gone out in Star City for a routine sweep of the streets, but so far, it wasn't looking so routine. Red Arrow rarely found an illegal firearms operation, run by an escaped Belle Reve prisoner.
"Tonight's about to get interesting…" The masked teen breathed to himself, a slow smile stretching across his face.
Red Arrow was getting excited at the prospect of bagging a dangerous arms dealer tonight, as that could really set him up in the hero world. This could be his breakthrough. With this arrest, he could make a name for himself. A name without Green Arrow.
The teen let out a inaudible growl as his thoughts trailed to his previous mentor. He had recently parted ways with the superhero after getting pissed at he wasn't joining the League. Red Arrow huffed in irritation, nocked an arrow, and let it slice through the air towards the nearest weapons handler.
Thick, black smoke poured out of one of the containers and wafted through the air, eliciting coughs from the men on the ground.
Red Arrow made his move. Dropping from the rafters of the warhouse, he hit the ground and swept his leg out, knocking several men off their feet. He grabbed a machine gun off the ground, and rammed it into the advancing soldier's head, knocking him back into another person.
But as he had his back turned, a soldier tackled him to the floor, slamming punch after punch into Red Arrow's jaw. Cheap shot, the hero scoffed silently to himself. He grabbed the soldier by the upper arms, flipped him onto his back, and slammed his head against the man's, swiftly knocking him unconscious.
As the vigilante blew through the remaining soldiers in the room, he noticed his smoke screen was quickly disappearing due to the ventilation in the building, meaning he'd have to act fast. Red Arrow judo-flipped his last opponent, his eyes sweeping around the warehouse, and his gaze stopped on his main target.
Brick.
The colossal man was currently yelling at his remaining workers to hurry up loading the rest of his wares into a transport vehicle. Roy took a brief moment to commit the license plate of the truck to memory. He'd have to go after it when he was done with Brick and the authorities arrived.
"You again!" The man roared, his face twisted into a furious sneer. But once Brick got a look at Red Arrow, his expression melted into one of surprise and confusion. "Ain't you Green Arrow's sidekick? Doesn't he have the decency to come after me himself? He sent you, the whiny brat!"
"Whoa. First off, I am not a whiny brat. I know plenty of heroes who complain more than me. Secondly, who are you calling sidekick? Didn't you hear about Green Arrow and I? We ended that partnership weeks ago," The hero shouted, frustration leaking into his voice. He momentarily forgot about his job, until Brick threw a metal barrel at his head.
Red Arrow hit the floor, rolling off to the side of it, and behind a wooden crate. Another barrel hit the side of the crate, splintering the flimsy wood a little, but it also nicked the hero in the wrist when he held it up to protect from the splintering wood. He let out a breathy curse as it connected. He'd have to check out the injury later.
Turning to the side, Red Arrow felt his stomach drop when he noticed someone was sitting next to him. Robin.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded angrily. Was the League seriously sending a babysitter after him?
Robin didn't seem concerned in the slightest. "Checking up on you. You looked like you could use some help." He gestured to Brick, who tossed another barrel at the pair.
"Bull. You aren't checking up on me," Red Arrow scoffed to him. Rolling out from behind the crate, he loaded an explosive arrow, firing it at his enemy. It exploded on contact, but was relatively harmless for the criminal. Red Arrow cursed furiously; Brick's powers had slipped his mind for a moment.
"Ha! You forgot the invulnerability!" Brick taunted, cracking his knuckles, then charging towards the duo.
"Come on, Arrow. Show me you don't need to be checked up on then," Robin arched a brow pointedly.
The vigilante let out a frustrated growl at his friend, then quickly pulled an arrow out of his quiver, nocking and aiming. Releasing the string, it sailed through the air, hitting at Brick's feet. A black goo spiraled out of the tip, a high-density polyurethane foam made by Red Arrow, effectually encasing him in foam and restraining him.
The teen stood up, stretching his arms a bit, and tuned out Brick's curses with a smug smile. According to him, he nailed this weapons bust.
"Nice shot," Robin said mildly, nodding his head. "Now, mind if we talk?"
"I'd rather not. I have a busy night," He scoffed, wincing as he flexed his hand. A sharp stabbing pain shot through the nerves, and he frowned in concern. He'd probably have to take some time to look at it, and make sure it wasn't sprained or anything.
"Come on. For the sake of old friends?" The younger boy tried to convince him with small smile. The smile dropped when he saw Red Arrow's unamused look. "Fine. I'll get to the point. Batman's putting together a team of protégés-"
"Protege is just a nice word for sidekick." The other teen interrupted.
"That's not true," Robin shot back, giving him a glare. "Don't interrupt. Batman's making a team and we want you to join in. Aqualad, Kid Flash, and I are already on it! And we got a new guy too! Plus, Green Arrow said he's willing to work with you again…"
"No. I told you all once, I'm not going back to them. I'm a hero." Red Arrow insisted flatly, gesturing to the unconscious soldiers in the warehouse.
"It can be like old times!"
"It can never be like old times," Red Arrow shook his head, turning away from his old friend and beginning to walk away.
There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, only the whistling of the wind on the outside of the building to ease the tension between the pair. "I...understand. Good luck out there, Roy."
When Red Arrow glanced back at the place where Robin last stood, the teen was gone, leaving only the vigilante to deal with the aftermath of his success.
Star City, Skyline Diner
September 22nd
12:00 A.M.
As Roy Harper's tennis shoes crunched against the gravel parking lot, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia while he approached the diner he and his friends often went to. Skyline Diner was on the outskirts of Star City, mounted on a hill overlooking the city. Patrons often remarked that this diner was the best place to watch the sun rise in all of the City.
Roy entered the tiny diner, happy to see it was mostly empty at this late hour. The diner stayed open pretty late at night for truck drivers, but tonight was pretty quiet.
"Hey, Roy!" A light and airy voice called from behind the counter of the diner. A petite young woman, her dark brown braided hair done up into a neat bun, waved to him on her tiptoes. Willow Jepson.
The young woman was an old flame of Roy's, but now just a friend. The pair had hit it off immediately on his first visit to Skyline diner last summer after he discovered Willow's grandfather opened the place fifty years. He had discovered she was a charming, intelligent, perfectionist, who was also his type of girl. Unfortunately, their relationship never went past just being flames due to Roy's secret job as Red Arrow.
"Hey there, Willow." The teen grinned at the dark skinned girl, taking a seat at the red counter.
"Your usual?"
"You know it," Roy grinned at the cup of coffee she slid across the counter. "I'm going to need a few more of those by the time I'm done here. I have an Economics test to study for."
"Economics? You changed your major again?" Willow wrinkled her nose, slicing up some of the Jepson's famous lemon meringue pie.
"No, I'm just thinking about it-"
"A career? In economics? Won't that be boring?" Willow rolled her honey colored eyes, sliding the large slice of pie across the counter to him.
"Maybe, maybe not. I'm still trying it out. I think staring at clothes all day is boring," Roy shot back pointedly.
"Maybe for you. I think it's exciting," The girl breathed, leaning across the counter towards him. It was well known to all the regular customers that Willow Jepson had a love and passion for all things fashion, since she was a little girl. It was all she ever talked about. Occasionally, hearing her rant about contrasting clothing pieces and monotone outfits was a bit boring, but Willow was so enthusiastic it was hard not to listen to her.
"You're certainly good at it. And Star University thinks so too. Full ride scholarship. I'm jealous," Roy scoffed playfully.
Willow pursed her lips teasingly to reply, but paused as a loud voice called for her from the back.
"Sorry. Dad needs me for something, and technically, I'm still at work," She rolled her eyes, offered her customer a smile, and disappeared into the back of the diner.
After a moment of silence, with just the radio playing behind the counter, Roy let out a small sigh. It really was lonely coming here alone, but the teen wasn't here to socialize with people. He was here to study, to crack down on his books. Reaching over to his bookbag on the floor, then teen slowly hefted a thick economics book up onto the counter, and flipped through the worn pages until he found the chapter he was reading.
"Studying? In a diner? My, my, Roy Harper. You're more of a student than I thought," A voice teased from beside him.
Roy's head shot up and his eyes zeroed in on a girl beside him, holding a coffee mug in hand. Long, velvety raven hair framed her porcelain face, and almond shaped eyes, the color of Roy's coffee, stared back at him. Jade Nguyen, a fellow student at Star University. The pair had talked on several occasions since they shared a Chemistry class together, but they had never really gotten close, they were simply friends.
She looked tired, judging from the deep circles under her eyes. The teen was rather surprised that she had managed to sneak up on him, of all people, and be sure to make sure he didn't notice. Maybe he was that tired.
"I have a test tomorrow. Last minute studying," He explained with a shrug. "Library is closed, so I can't really study there."
"I'd think it would be closed at twelve in the morning." Jade leaned her head on her hand, eyes sparking playfully.
"I don't really like to study at home either. Busy diners keep me awake." Roy added, tapping the page of the thick book. Some days, he agreed with Willow. Economics was boring, especially the reading that was assigned.
"I can understand that. Plus, the pie and coffee. Does your girlfriend give you that for free?" She commented offhandedly.
"I like coming here especially for the pie and coffee." He nodded, then flushed. "Yeah, I get it for free, but not because she's my girlfriend. Willow's just a friend."
"You seem awfully close," Jade muttered pointedly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"How long were you watching me for?" Roy shot back in surprise.
"Doesn't really matter how long. Only takes a few seconds for me to jump to conclusions."
Roy scoffed and shook his head, "You're impossible, Jade."
"I'm impossible? Oh, no. That's impossible. How can you read that stuff?" She gestured to the economics book. "Does it physically hurt to read about inflation in the nineteenth century?"
"No." He rolled his eyes, then paused for a moment, cracking a slight smile. "Alright. Maybe a little."
Jade went silent, her coffee colored eyes roaming over the boy's face. He furrowed his brows, trying to discern what she was thinking about. He found it strange how a girl could go from talkative and playful to completely silent in mere seconds.
"What's on your mind?" He asked finally, meeting those unreadable eyes.
"Oh, nothing too much. Just wondering where you got those bruises from," Jade smiled slyly, throwing him a wink. Roy tried to keep his internal panic from slipping out behind his calm facade. She had caught the bruises beginning to form on his jaw, from the weapons bust an hour earlier. She really was something, sneaky and observative for a civilian.
Jade tipped her head back, gulping down the rest of her coffee, then let out a content sigh. "Your girlfriend makes a hell of a cup of coffee." She smirked, pulling a five dollar bill out of her back pocket. She smacked it down on the counter, and put her empty cup on top to anchor it.
"You're leaving?" He asked, almost disappointed that he'd have to go back to doing actual work.
The young woman stood up, her raven black hair spilling down her back like a waterfall. "You know it. I have class tomorrow too, you know. I suggest you read fast, you look absolutely exhausted." Jade pulled on a blue, beat up baseball cap, and strode towards the door of the diner.
"And get some ice for those bruises!" She called back to him. Opening the door, Jade disappeared into the pitch black darkness that was the night, leaving Roy Harper alone with his economics homework and thoughts.
AN: Hello there! I want to thank you for reading this far, this was just a simple idea I had where Jade and Roy eventually become roommates while hiding their secret identities from each other. I want to thank Octavia with Stars for Eyes for all her help with this, she's a doll! If you enjoyed it, review. If you didn't, please give me some feedback so I can fix it! Thanks!
