"I am a poor wayfaring stranger,
Wondering through this world of woe,
But there's no sorrow, toil or danger,
In that bright land to which I go."
– Wayfaring Stranger, Ed Sheeran
Red Arrow fell heavily to the ground, the taste of grit and blood intermingling on his tongue as he fought to remain conscious. The worn, rubber heel of a heavy soled boot pushed down against his head; gasping for breath, Roy struggled to throw his assailant.
"Do you know what your problem is kid? You're arrogant."
"Screw you Carl..." Roy spat, his voice quivering with barely concealed rage.
The archer's opponent sneered, "Most people would have called for backup, and don't pretend like you don't have friends in tights. But not you. Red Arrow thinks he can come crashing in, rescue the girl and make off into the sunset. All you've managed is to arrive just in time to see me have a little fun with ET over there. But hey – maybe its for the best; time you were taught a lesson in humility."
Red Arrow growled in frustration, his chest heaving with exertion as he once more attempted to force himself free. In response, the foot pressed down harder, forcing the archer's face into the ground. Changing tack, Roy quieted, his body relaxing; shifting his head to the left he caught a glint of silver – a broken arrow. Bucking against Carl once more, Roy stretched out his arm, forcing his shoulder into the ground, his fingers extending to their furthest possible reach. Grappling furiously Roy's digits finally wrapped around the hard metal. Within seconds his hand gripped the shortened shaft and with startling speed his arm struck out, embedding the arrow head in Carl's thigh. Red Arrow smiled grimly as warm blood trickled in-between his fingers and down his forearm. With the larger man screaming in pain, Roy took the advantage; pulling down hard on the injured leg Carl buckled under the pressure. Moving quickly the archer rolled onto his side before jumping to his feet and driving his fist into his opponent's side. A sharp uppercut to the jaw had Carl careening backwards, wasting no time, the archer sent several flying kicks at the thug.
"Kid..." spitting out a mouthful of blood, Carl struggled to his feet. "You're going to have to do better than that."
Roy's eyes narrowed before he grabbed Carl by the shoulders, pulling the man towards him, the archer sent a barrage of punches at the thug. An elbow to the face, resulting in a sickening crunch as bone broke, soon followed; leaving him no time to recover, Red Arrow kicked Carl full in the chest. Moments later Carl was sprawled across the floor, out for the count
With shaking hands Roy frantically patted down the body, finally he came away with a set of keys. Forcing himself back onto his feet Roy pushed onwards, his muscles screaming in protest with every step. Finally he saw her crumpled form; red hair ruffled and tangled, clothes in taters and fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. But it were her eyes that scared him, normally so full of warmth and joy; now there was only fear. The brown orbs were focused on the fire surrounding her as it crackled and spit. Reaching into his quiver Roy retrieved an arrow, snapping it in two he threw it onto the raging fire. Within seconds all that remained of the inferno was smoking embers. Jumping over them, Roy crouched by Megan, his first instinct to reach out and hold her, but some unknown force kept this arms glued to his sides.
"Megan?" he questioned, his voice breaking.
The Martian didn't say anything, instead she buried her head into her arms, shuddering sobs wracking her small frame.
"Megan?" Roy repeated more insistently, his hand slightly nudging her shoulder. The Martian still refused to move; her head still buried in her lap as she fought to keep her laboured breath under control.
"Dammit Megan," the archer hissed. Glancing over his shoulder to assure himself that Carl was still unconscious, Roy pulled Megan towards him and bodily lifted her up into his arms. Taking careful steps Red Arrow made for the door; Megan's prone form cradled against his chest as she held loosely onto his neck, her eyes fluttering open intermittently, only to screw shut once more.
"You shouldn't have gone after him," Roy muttered. Having cleared the building his eyes were fixed on his black bike parked in the shadow of a small group of trees.
"I thought I could handle him..." Megan whispered, her head lifting up slightly so she could meet Roy's eye.
"Funny, sounds like something I would say," Roy chuckled. "Last I checked you weren't a stubborn SOB with a chip on your shoulder and a bow in hand."
"And I would have," Megan insisted, her voice hardening. "But then again, I'm the one that freaks out when someone lights a damn match."
Roy halted in his steps, Megan was never one for profanities. "Look, its not something that..."
"Save it Roy," Megan replied, her voice toneless.
The archer remained silent, instead he placed her on the ground before jumping on the bike, his foot slamming down on the ignition. Glancing over at Megan he gestured for her to sit behind him, nodding, the alien acquiesced and swung her leg over the seat. Two slender arms snaked their way around Roy's waist, the archer shifted where he sat as blood rushed to his cheeks. Revving the engine the two were away. Speeding down the all but empty roads, Roy tried to stay focused on the task at hand, navigating. He couldn't think about Megan's warm body pressed up against his, he couldn't think about the fact Megan had decided to take on Carl – the thug was his responsibility. Not hers.
The ride passed in relative silence, before Roy finally slowed the bike down and took a turn into the car park of a large apartment complex.
"Where are we going?" Megan questioned, her voice still flat.
"My place..." Roy offered, bashful.
"Oh." Megan nodded slowly, before sliding off the bike, her eyes fixed firmly to the floor.
"Yeah, come on." Roy mumbled.
The elevator ride up 14 odd floors passed in relative silence, the two heroes were both starting transfixed at the digital dial counting the floors. Finally, the lift slowed and the doors pinged open, taking the lead Roy shuffled down the hall.
"No one notices you come in?" Megan whispered, her eyes darting back to the elevator.
"Well its pretty late and there's only the one apartment on this floor."
Fumbling with the door finally Roy's 'humble' abode was revealed, stepping over the threshold the archer pulled Megan in after him.
"Sorry, it's kind of a mess..."
The Martian waved him aside before walking tentatively towards one of the long, leather sofas carefully positioned across the large open plan living room. Sitting down slowly she bit her lip, unsure of what to do; following her lead, Roy sat opposite. The two superheroes remained silent, neither of them attempting to make eye contact. Neither of them attempting to speak. Roy gave the living room the once over, several take out cartons littered the floor and his large plasma was still flashing lurid images, albeit whilst on mute.
"I'm afraid of those people who dress up in the large fluffy suits." Roy blurted out, his cheeks colouring.
"Sorry?" Megan countered – confused.
"Disneyland would be my idea of hell?" Roy offered, shrugging his shoulders.
"But it wouldn't stop you from saving your friends would it?" Megan returned shrewdly.
"If they were being held hostage by Mickey Mouse; then yeah, it would."
"I appreciate the effort Roy, but its not the same thing..." Megan's brown eyes met his green as she struggled to vocalise her thoughts. "Its not like you just freeze up, become so consumed by the fear that you could watch your friends gunned down in front of you and not do anything. Not because you don't want to, but because you cant. You have no idea how that feels, to be completely useless."
"You're not useless Megan," Roy rejoined, launching himself off the sofa to land crouched at Megan's feet, his eyes gazing insistently into hers.
"But I am... all an enemy has to do is spark a flame and I freeze."
The archer frowned, "But every other time Megan? You're there for the team... and that's more than I can say."
"But..." the Martian began.
"No buts Megan. You're kind and selfless – exactly what a hero needs to be."
The girl opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Instead she looked at Roy, but Megan didn't see his usual frown or Devil may care smile. She saw past that; she saw the boy that was so desperate to be a man. The boy desperate to prove himself.
"Thank you." Megan whispered. "And Roy, you saved me today... you were there for me. Today you were kind and you were selfless. Today, you were my hero."
Grasping Roy's hand Megan squeezed, her brown eyes full of sincerity as she slowly rose to her feet, pulling the archer along with her. In one fluid motion Megan wrapped her arms around Roy's torso, leaning her head against his shoulder her eyes fluttered shut. Recovering from his initial shock, Red Arrow returned her embrace – and for once, he felt worthy.
A/N: I don't think the show has actually covered the whole Martians hate fire thing but I'm just going with it here. Anyway, I may want to continue this into a multi chaptered fic, I'm not sure yet! Anyway, I hope you guys liked it and let me know what you think :) PS the above song is technically an old British folk song, the Ed Sheeran guy is covering Jamie Woon's version of it. My point being, if you want some new musical talent in your life, check out Ed's performance on Jools Holland.