Oh god. What have I done to myself? Great job, Roy! You try breaking the hero field solo, unaffiliated, take a hiatus from the Titans, and the first mission you give yourself, you screw up.
"You. Get the hero. I hope it's the Boy Wonder this time. In the shadows like his mentor." Someone utters a low laugh.
Oh, crap. They send someone after me, and of course I get my bow thrown into the flipping ocean, of all places! This never happened with Titans East! Why did I even come to Jump?
Whoever it is they sent has arrived to the loading crate I'm leaning against. I involuntarily gulp. Really, what I'm thinking is not "oh god, I'm going to die", but more like "BY A BLADE, ROY? THIS IS SO NOT HOW A HERO SHOULD DIE". Maybe it's silly to care right now, but I also never got to really know Jade.
The blade he or she pulls out reflects the moonlight onto my face.
Well, at least Oliver still has Mia Dearden, the new Speedy. And now, the only Speedy.
Sorry I left, Ollie. Sorry, Dinah.
The blade falls onto the ground.
A few hours earlier
"Really?" Robin – Dick Grayson – says to me. He still has his mask on, the paranoid bird, even though we're having a regular guy's night in. No fights, no missions or super annoying girlfriends.
Starfire had to be herded away with the promise that she'd see Robin later. Even though they aren't dating, and I technically have nothing to be jealous of, Rob and Star still have something. Chemistry. Something I haven't gotten the chance to have.
Jinx, on the other hand, took it all in stride. She totally gets KF, and I suppose she and I bonded after the intervention I pulled for Rob. She'd be my type if I were into giant pink cats. I think I prefer green. But what she and Wally have? That's something to be jealous of. Nothing to hide in their relationship … They're the legendary love story in the teen hero world. Seriously.
No girlfriends, I'd said. I don't want anything to remind me that I can't really date Cheshire, was what I was thinking.
"Yep," says Wally. "Just walked out. Roy's a solo act now." He cocks his head, choosing between the two types of cookies on the table.
"I heard, but didn't really know. Wow. I missed a lot of things, didn't I? How'd Green Arrow take it?" Robin nudges me.
"Fine, I suppose." I say coldly. I can't seem to stop the words spilling out of my mouth, though. "Ollie has Dearden now. He doesn't need me. When I … quit being his partner ("sidekick!" Wally mutters), it wasn't even that big of a deal for him. He basically cut me out of his life, and married Dinah." I shrug indifferently, like, oh well, what can you do?, but Robin raises an eyebrow.
"So." says Wally, in an effort to lighten up the conversation. "Rob and Star?" He smirks.
"Dating within the team is folly and – "
"Save the lecture! Are you guys together? Like KF and Jinx?" I grin, elbowing Robin.
"Really? Villain and superhero? Let me know how that works out." Robin scoffs.
"I thought you approved." Wally frowns. "Hey! She's a civilian now!" Right, Wally. A civilian with a whole file cabinet devoted to her in the Jump City Police Station. I should know. Ollie made me spend a whole day in there, retyping their files.
But is Robin right? Do cats ever change their fur? Cheshire cats?
"I'm just saying. Hero and hero works. Just look and Green Arrow and Black Canary." I twitch, uncomfortable as Robin says this.
"Lois Lane and Supes." counters Wally. Robin shrugs it off.
"Batman doesn't approve. I don't either. I'll tolerate it … but that's a weak spot for Superman." Robin sips his soda coolly, then freezes. We try to mention the Leaguers as little as possible, or not at all. But still, I wonder what the Bat would say about Kid Flash and Jinx?
Or me and the mesmerizing girl in green who kicked me in the face and broke my bow? The girl who shows up, in my life, even though I've been searching for any sign of her everywhere … The harsh words I said at the mall about her still being an assassin, I didn't mean them. Really, the first thing I thought was beautiful.
"Hellllooo? Roy?" Wally waves a hand in front of me.
"Sorry. Did you want something?" Whoops. Brain lag caused by the plethora of feelings I get whenever I think of Jade. Cheshire. Beautiful.
"Well, I know you said no girlfriends, but …" he says, awkwardly. "Jinx texted me, it's super urgent and she's coming right away."
"Well, since we're breaking up this party anyway, I've got a ton of Titan paperwork before I get back in the ship. Back to Brotherhood business. Need to prepare for the battle." He sighs.
"I get it." I sigh back.
Wally has a girlfriend, and Robin has some huge role to play. We're all still in the same room, but me? Nada.
I'm flying solo, and it's never felt so alone.
.
Well, really, I'd have only found Cheshire only because of Robin. Wouldn't be in Jump if not for him. I'd still be with Bee, and Aqualad, and Mas y Menos in the Titans East tower. But I wouldn't be near Jade.
When Robin asked me to fly over, keep and eye on Jump with Kid Flash, one of our best friends, he was also giving me an unspoken offer: I know you broke off with Oliver and he's got a new sidekick. Watch over her. Guide her if she needs it. And at the end of his call, he said, "Oh, and just know this: the new girl will know who you are."
And thus was born the rivalry between me, and Jinx's new best friend, Mia Dearden. Also known as the new and improved Speedy. The one Ollie – Green Arrow – works with now. Keeping an eye on Mia and Jump City was a duty. Seeing Jade again happened to be an unexpected perk.
.
Ollie. Oliver Queen, the billionaire. Green Arrow, my adopted father. Married to Dinah Lance, Black Canary.
I used to be his partner. Green Arrow and Speedy, that's who we were. Then a pretty little bird started singing, and it became Green Arrow and Black Canary. A feared duo of hero and superhero. I'm not saying I hate Dinah, though! She was great and taught me how to fight better, in hand-to-hand combat (GA isn't quite as good as some of the hand-to-hand fighters in the league).
But when she started coming over for dinner, I was seeing way too much Dinah.
And then they announced their engagement. Engagement.
I left that night, and took the first plane out of there, and found myself looking at the Titans East tower. Titans East was a group that had offered me a spot on their team before.
The next day's paper showed a half-page, color photo of Oliver and Dinah.
I burned it.
That's me. There is so much more drama in it, but, as Jinx says to me often, "don't be a drama queen, Roy!" That's okay. I wouldn't want to think about it anymore, or I might start to feel something other than anger and betrayal. I really did not want to go back to the Queen mansion.
But I did go back to Jump.
When I got off the plane in Jump City, Robin handed me an envelope. Plain, white. But I knew.
Sorry, Roy.
No signature. Was he sorry I left? Sorry for pushing me away to make more room for Dinah? Or sorry for picking up Mia the second I left?
When I got the annual Queen Christmas dinner invitation (honestly a surprise to me), I brought in some really punk (or something) girl who like, flunked every class possible (and she was kinda smelly, to be honest) from my school. I knew the tattoos and piercings wouldn't truly bother Ollie, but the fact that she was clearly a user would hit him hard. It did. And guess who else was at that table?
Mia Dearden. Speedy. The Arrow family was complete. Like I'd never existed.
And that's me, in a nutshell. Or something, I guess.
.
.
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A/N: I really, really like Speedy. Well, I've haven't got much to say at the end of this (for once, haha).
Hm. Incredibly short. But filled up 6 back/front notebook pages ... well, I did cut out quite a bit.
((this is a 2 chapter story. Next chapter – being edited right now. YAY FOR CHESHIRE & SPEEDY.))
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Welcome to December, guys!