This is in response to the Song-Lyric Challenge on the YJ Fanfiction Challenges board. The song I was given for inspiration is at the end of the fic, but please don't cheat and look at it beforehand.
A/N: I don't know why Roy keeps popping up in my posts, but I definitely won't complain. If only Robin would be so kind as to make an appearance or five, I'd have more stuff posted. XD Oh. And I don't own Young Justice or make any cash off this stuff. Enjoy!
Coming Full Circle
As a child, Roy Harper dreamed of saving those in need from the villains of the world. He trained constantly to make that dream come true, learning to use a vast number of weapons proficiently but he favored the bow.
It was and always would be the bow.
The day Ollie brought him home and Roy became Speedy, it felt like he finally found where he fit, where he was supposed to be. Speedy complimented Green Arrow perfectly.
When Roy grew older he started questioning that balance, wondering if it was actually Green Arrow who complimented Speedy. Roy wasn't arrogant about it, but he knew things had to change if he was going to stick around. He was growing restless and was tired of being told where to go, who to pursue and when.
He never told Green Arrow about his dreams and the fact he was never in them. Roy was always alone in his dreams of saving people. It was Speedy and his bow and his arrows doing what needed to be done.
It wasn't until Green Arrow brought him to the Hall of Justice in D.C. that he realized no one believed in him, not enough to be a full-fledged member of the League, anyway. Truth be told, it was the catalyst Speedy needed to walk away from him.
He tried convincing Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad they were better than that, they could do more than just be the sidekicks of Batman, Flash and Aquaman. The stunned looks the young heroes gave him as he left made it pretty clear they weren't ready to be on their own just yet. He couldn't and wouldn't hold that against them.
Sitting on that same bridge in Star City, where the two of them had fought the ice villian the day they left for the Hall, Roy realized there was really only one thing that still pissed him off.
He'd only been out on his own for a few weeks when he discovered Green Arrow had taken on another protege. Naturally, he looked into her. She was young, arrogant and inexperienced. Sure, she had some skills with a bow, but it didn't mean she was automatically League-material. Green Arrow normally shied from personalities that contrasted so sharply with his own.
Roy chuckled to himself when he realized Artemis was a lot like him when he was her age. He constantly questioned orders, procedure and nearly everything anyone ever taught him. It was a compliment, really, for him to take on someone so similar to Roy so soon after he left.
He hadn't missed the way Green Arrow's eyes lit up when he told everyone he'd already rescued Dr. Roquette from the League of Shadows, either. He was fortunate his first solo job went as well as it did. It felt good to know the members of the League noticed how well he was doing. Proving the League wrong wasn't his motivation for going after Roquette, but it was something he considered when making the decision.
As he watched the lights come on in the city as the sun set, he couldn't help but smile. The life he's living now, the one he used to dream about, was his. He'd made it.
Red Arrow was here to stay.
And the song that inspired this fic was...
I Made It by Kevin Rudolf
Only I went with the acoustic version.