Chapter One: Watcher Of Eden

Red Arrow was invisible amongst the yawning shadows of the rooftops, his figure just a dark outline against an even darker night sky. From the edge of a Crate&Barrel store he sat watching as a stray car whizzed past, it's tires spraying up short lived mist.

Red had just finished his nightly patrol before stopping to rest here, atop some store he'd heard M'gann talk of when thinking of redecorating. As far as he knew she hadn't yet, to Conners pleasure.

The archer glanced up at the dark night sky, squinting to glimpse the stars through the city's light pollution. A few were strong enough to be seen and he suddenly thought of Mount Justice. The top of the mountain surely a great place to gaze up at the stars, unhindered by the city lights.

"A visit wouldn't hu-" A bloodcurdling scream tore through the night, drowning out anything else Roy had to say.

Within a heartbeat Red Arrow was on his feet and running in the screams direction, his mind leaving behind his thoughts of stars and mount justice. He had a job to do first.

Gracefully Roy leapt from rooftop to rooftop, his eyes glaring into the alleys he passed and searching the streets for any signs of life. For a second a small fear took hold in the back of his mind, what if he didn't get there in time? What if a dead body awaited him somewhere in the dark night? Sprawled in some muddy alley with blank eyes and bloody skin, what if he failed?

The scream came again, this time close and to his left. With his will alone he forced his fears away and changed direction. He wouldn't fail.

Again Roy bounded over the gaping spaces between buildings, his eyes scanning the dark with a trained perception. Not that it was needed as he launched himself over an alley between a law firm and a warehouse.

Below Red picked out the sight of two struggling figures in the faint light of the street lap from across the road. One was female and the other male, the male was winning the fight.

Sliding to a stop atop the warehouse Roy spun on his heel and jumped over the rooftops lip. Air roared past his ears as the grimy brick walls closed in on him and then he crashed into the male attaker, both of them landing hard on the damp concrete.

With a grunt Rot was on his feet in the next second, bow drawn and arrow at the ready. He'd handled falls three times that one, it wasn't an issue but he was sure the attacker wouldn't feel the same.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked, his eyes lifting to the girl. Only she wasn't there, she was just turning the corner of the alley, her heavy footsteps echoing loudly in the empty night. "Hey!" Red shouted before sparing a glance back at the man. The stranger lay completely still, his long dark hair covering his face and his limbs splayed out. He wouldn't be going anywhere soon. "Hey!" Roy shouted again as he took of after the girl, no one who was innocent ran.

With his own footsteps pounding in his ears Roy couldn't make out the sound of the girl running but as he too rounded the corner he could see her just a few strides away, stumbling forward. Instinct drove him to raise his bow, anyone could be the enemy and her attempt at escape was leaning her towards enemy.

"Stop!" Roy shouted as he pulled the bow taught, his fingers twitching with thought of letting an arrow fly. "Or I'll put an arrow through your leg!"

With an unnatural quickness the girls head spun in his direction and two dark eyes met his blue ones. Their gazes held for the time it took for Roy to inhale then the girl leapt sideways, driving from the cover of another alley.

Stunned by the girls speed Red had not done as he'd promised, his arrow still resting in his bow atop his fingers. Snarling he lowered the bow and raced forward to the alley, taking the corner with practiced ease.

Roy lifted his bow as he dove into the dark, his eyes picking out the girl instantly. She actually wasn't getting far, her strides were unsteady and even from this distance he could hear her labored breathing.

"You have one more chance to stop!" Roy shouted, his hand tightening around his bows grip.

"I can't." The girl weakly replied, her voice wobbling as if she was starting to faint. Going against her words she slowed to a stop, grinding to a halt against the brick wall to her right. "Master's coming-" she paused as if speaking taxed her greatly. "He'll have my head, my blood."

Roy lowered his bow slightly, taken a back by the madness the girl spoke. What was going on here? His eyes picked her back over, taking in her extremely thin silhouette and her long tangled hair. Squinting Roy could just she her clothes were torn and dirty yet what set him on edge was the dark outlines on her arms. He could be sure in the dark but they looked like bruises.

"Hey, if someone's trying to hurt you-"

A screech filled the air and Roy didn't have time to even raise his bow again before a powerful force barreled into him, dislodging his bow from his hands. Knocked aside like a rag doll Red was forced to take a second to regain his bearings.

Dizzily Roy pulled himself to his feet and looked up just in time to see the man from before- the one he believed he'd grounded into tomorrow- slam into the strange girl. A strangled cry escaped her as the two collided and Roy drew his knife as he spotted two very alarming things about the current situation.

One, that the man had two enormous, tattered wings that were darker than the night sky and two, the man had inky claws the size of daggers hanging from each finger.

"Hey bastard!" Roy shouted as he began to charge the winged man. The man though paid him no mind, instead he raised his claws and slashed the poor girl across her shoulder and back, leaving behind five jagged lacerations.

The girl screamed in anguish and Roy felt his rage boil over, with terrifying precision he buried his knife into the conjunction of his back and his wing. To Roy's satisfaction the bird man shrieked in outrage and he easily dodged the mans poor attempt at gutting him.

"Get up!" Roy called as he reached the girls side, taking her under her arms to help her stand. A sob shook itself lose from the girls lips and Roy felt as if he should comfort her but he was acutely aware that there was no time for things like that. "Hold on to me." He encouraged and wrapped her good arm around his neck before taking her by the waist. Then he lifted his grappling hook to the rooftop lip and fired.

Roy felt the machine yank him upwards, the heavy gun whirring loudly with their combined weight. The girl sagged into him and Roy clenched his teeth at how obvious her ribs felt against his arm.

"Just leave me... He won't rest till I'm dead." The girl whispered softly against his ear, her head lolling onto his shoulder. "He'll kill you too if you don't run now."

Roy's feet hit the side of the building and the gun pulled them against the rooftops edge. Ignoring her Red pulled them both over onto the roof and let her gently fall onto her side, her dark eyes damp with tears.

The sound of powerful wingbeats filled the air and Roy turned in time to see the winged man shoot up next to him. Rage burned in the man's whiteless eyes, eyes that definitely weren't human.

"Angel." The man snarled, his black eyes boring into the girl behind the archer. Roy looked as well, startled to find she was once again standing and wait- was her hand glowing?!

The girl Roy guessed was Angel had her hand pressed firmly to her injured shoulder while a warm, golden light seeped from the spaces between her fingers. In this faint glow Red could see her eyes, which he found unnerving, too dark and deep. His skin prickled at the sight of her bottomless eyes.

"I saved you Lazarus! I healed you when he beat you, please Lazarus! You can come with me. I'll protect you." Angel pleaded, her eyes staring up the man named Lazarus where he hovered just over the building.

Despite her emotional words Lazarus's snarl never faded and with a low growl the winged man shot forward, his hands outstretched towards Angels neck.

Leaping up Red used his momentum to clock Lazarus in the jaw, sending him crashing into the rooftop to Angel's left. Behind him he heard Angel gasp as she staggered away from the fallen man.

Roy turned just in time to see Lazarus struggle to his feet, the mans burning eyes scouring Roy's skin with murderous intent. This was going to be fun.

Lazarus surged forward, his long black claws outstretched and his wings spread wide.

Effortlessly Roy rolled out of the crazed mans reach, smoothly pulling out his bow once more and firing an explosive arrow. In the second it took for his finger to release the bowstring, Roy's eyes opened wide in shock at how close Lazarus was.

The explosion ripped through the small space between Lazarus and Roy as it impacted with the winged mans chest. Roy only had time to close his eyes before the explosion was upon him, the force of it knocking him several feet away.

The fire tore into him with searing fangs and burning claws, peeling away at his exposed skin. The agony devoured all thoughts from his mind, leaving him writhe mindlessly on the rooftop.

Roy's eyes opened to reveal only anguish and his lips parted as he gasped in the burning air. His breaths were short and shallow, the heat licking at his sensitive throat and his unprotected lungs. The agony was unlike anything he'd felt before, he felt like he was dying.

"Shh." A soothing voice whispered and then Angel's face appeared over his. "It's okay." She hummed and then she was placing her hands on either side of his head and the tearing of fabric could be heard.

Roy gasped as two beautiful ivory wings filled his vision, blocking out the night sky and circling around Angel's face. She smiled softly and a cool sensation seeped into his skin, like water being poured over his damaged skin. Roy slowly stopped writhing as the pain eased before it completely washed away, the cool feeling soaking into his very bones.

"It's alright." Angel whispered again as her eyes scanned over his skin, his completely unburned skin. Her dark eyes drifted up and they locked gazes, his relief quickly followed up by distrust.

"Who are you?" Red rumbled lowly and sat up, forcing Angel to lean back into a crouch at his feet. Roy's eyes moved from her face to her wings and then back to her face, which remained completely blank.

"My name is Angel." She replied, her gaze steady and cool, as if she didn't have an enormous set of wings hanging from the back of her torn open shirt. Roy snorted, was this really his life?

"Not very inventive I have to say." Roy commented earning him an irritated glare. To which he couldn't help but smirk at, if just to irritate the winged girl that much more.

"You'd have to complain to my master about that one." Angel hissed and stood in one shaky motion. Roy noticed her face blanch as she staggered and he was on his feet in the blink of an eye, his hand wrapped firmly around Angel's bicep. The girl sagged into his support and she clutched her mouth like she could throw up at any moment.

"What's wrong with you?" Roy snapped and felt annoyed with himself for the worry that bloomed out of no where for the girl. His keen eyes picking her over for any wounds or blood but he found none.

"When I heal it saps my energy." Angel paused as if to catch her breath before continuing, "that took a lot from me." She whispered her eyes drifting over his unscathed skin.

Roy too glanced down at his healed body and couldn't help the small surge of awe that followed. All that pain Angel had taken away in an instant, she'd come to his rescue without pause and he knew to at least be grateful. "Thank you."

"Oh." Angel murmured her eyes rising to meet his and a small smile surfaced on her pale lips. "You're welcome." Roy snorted at her answer and turned to see where Lazarus lay, his chest charred and caved in. Roy felt his gut twist, nausea washing over him at the sight of the corpse.

"I didn't mean to kill him." Roy muttered and picked his bow up with a sigh. Angel sighed as well and walked over to kneel beside Lazarus's body.

"He's not dead." Angel whispered and placed her thin fingers to the man's chest, a soft glow emitting from the connection. "He can heal himself, albeit very slowly. He was my masters first attempt at healing, it was a failure as Lazarus couldn't heal others. Yet he still got a brute with unyieldingly loyalty.. That's what I'm supposed to be too but I went through some drastic measures to stop the control serum." Angel glanced down at her arm where an oval scar stretched across the inside of her forearm. Roy didn't let himself think too much what she could mean by that.

"Thank you for your help." Angel added her eyes meeting his, a smile touching her face. "But I will have to leave soon, as should you. There will be more searching and if they find out your involved they'll kill you."

Roy scoffed and rolled his eyes, not that it was visa or through his mask. "I can handle a few birdies." Roy grunted and crossed his arms.

"They're not birds you can't just swat away." Angel snapped, a scowl that could rival Robin on her heart shaped face. "They are closer to monsters than men." She hissed and stood, leaving behind a mostly healed Lazarus. "If they find you they will rip you to pieces and if they find me…" Angels scowl faltered and her face smoothed out, a subtle shutter passing through her. "They'll take me back to him, back to my chains."

"Angel who is this guy your talking about and how is he making these…" Roy looked for a word as his eyes passed over Lazarus. "These monsters."

"Master is our creator, he made me and the others. He believes he is on a path to becoming God and we are his first attempts at creating his perfect soldiers, or as he likes to call us, his angels." Angel sighed her shoulders sagging as if a weight had been placed upon them. Then tears were in her eyes and she was muffling her quiet sobs with a shaky hand.

Instinctively Roy reached out to comfort Angel but she flinched away and he allowed his gloved hand to fall uselessly to his side. A rage boiled up inside him at the thought of some man hurting Angel, forcing her to become some mindless solider with nothing in her mind but hate. No one was going to play God in his city, he wasn't going to allow some mad man to change innocent people into monsters for his own will.

"Angel I know some people who can keep you safe. Will you let me take you there?" Red asked and lifted his open hand in an offer to her. Angel stared at his hand, tears still sliding from her inky eyes in thin rivulets.

"Yes." Angel shakily breathed and took his hand in hers.