Short Changed Hero

Summary: An AU of season 2. Faced with unknown enemies and legions of assassins, Oliver finds himself with his back against the wall. Everything- friends, lovers, family- are caught in the crossfire, and he's barely keeping his head above water trying to protect them all. Sometimes the only person you can trust is your worst enemy…

Relationships: Starts Oliver/Sara before turning into an eventual Felicity/Oliver

Warnings: It's T currently but will probably become M at some point

Additional Notes: There will be OCs in this to add more depth to the League of Assassins, but this is not Oliver/OC or anyone else/OC. They are here to drive the story and give a feel of more danger. Furthermore, this is updated first on AO3 then here due to the formatting.

Canon until Episode Three Ghosts

Chapter 1

Three hunters kneeled before their leader and master. Their hoods were drawn back, masks down, and their eyes were casted on the stone floor of their home. They did not speak, they did not move, and they practically only existed when ordered to. Hunters had one job, and they always excelled at it.

Almost all hunters were born into the League, and those that weren't were still recruited at a young age. They spent the majority of their lives training harder than the rest of the assassins, and what they did to learn was largely unknown by the rest of the League. It had to be that way. The hunters were assigned to track, maim, and kill any League member than ran or anyone who broke their stringent code. This meant that they had to be faster, stronger, better than the rest.

Hunters obeyed without question, and they never thought twice about what they had to do to complete their jobs. They were the only group allowed to use less than honorable ways of killing their prey- better to lose a few lives in the crossfire then to let an assassin run rogue unchecked.

"Do you understand your orders?" Ra's Al Ghul asked leaning back in the shadows. In the past, he would have left such matters to one of his daughters, but the last man he had sent hadn't returned. Al Owar had disappeared in Starling City, and Ra's wasn't sure who the culprit was.

"Yes master," they replied simultaneously.

"Then go to the city I've assigned you each," he ordered with a wave of his hand. Each hunter stood and holstered their weapon of choice- one sword, one dagger, and one clutched a bow. "I want her found." He couldn't let the Canary stay out of their reach any longer; his youngest was already biting at the bit trying to get permission to go after the rogue assassin. "Alive or dead, it does not matter." They stood to leave when Ra's called one back, "Viper stay."

The only female hunter stood at attention, her head still down as a sign of respect to her master. Her bow was slung across her back, and she waited silently. A perfect soldier. With her senses attuned, she could feel Ra's Al Ghul circling her; his eyes on her. He could take her life right now, and she wouldn't do a thing to stop him. Her life was his to take.

"What do you know of Starling City?" he asked.

"It is the Canary's place of origin," she answered, no emotion in her voice. "But I would think she would not be foolish enough to stay there. She would have to know we would hunt her there."

"Very true," he said as he stopped in front of her. "I meant about the others there."

Viper finally raised her head to meet her master's gaze. She was unsure of this line of questioning, but she didn't let it show in her eyes or face. She remained impassive. "There is another archer. A vigilante of sorts, and he was the one who had tried to stop Malcolm Merlyn." The anger in her voice slipped through with the mention of the other League member.

"Good," he stated with a nod. "I am not sending you to Starling City for the Canary. She is not a worry to us. I have heard rumors that Malcolm is, in fact, alive and in Starling."

Without missing a beat, Viper asked, "And what is it that you want me to do? Alive or dead?"

"I'd prefer to kill him myself," Ra's explained, "However, that may not be possible. If you cannot drag him back here to me, then be sure he feels the pain of all five hundred and two people he murdered."

Torture wasn't unheard of in the League, but it was frowned upon. There were other ways, better ways, of obtaining information. Especially since most people in pain would say about anything to get it to stop, but Viper wouldn't be getting intel from Malcolm. She was ordered to cause him pain in return for his transgressions.

"And the other archer?" she asked. "What do you want me to do with him if he interferes?" She wasn't going to presume anything, and while it was only one city and one archer, he had garnered a name for himself.

"I would like to try and recruit him, but if he intercedes and protects Malcolm," Ra's explained, and the word unlikely went unsaid. "Do what you have to to complete your mission."

"Master," she said with a bow of her head. It would be her discretion what to do with this Hood, but she wasn't entirely patient or understanding. If he got between her and her prey, it would be entirely much easier to just put an arrow in him.

"Allow me to make this clear. I want this done. I am freeing you of any limits that you would usually find. If you have to tear that city down, brick by brick, I expect to find a pile of rubble before you return to me empty handed," Ra's continued before he excused Viper from the room. He didn't doubt her prowess; there was a reason he would place her on the most difficult of tasks. She would finish this, even if it killed her.

Viper ran into Nyssa on the way out, and the other assassin's eyes said it all. The archer had not had much contact with Ras's daughters, but she knew to respect and fear them just as much as their father. If Nyssa believed Canary was still in Starling that put her in the path of Viper.

"Do not kill her," Nyssa pleaded. "I will be out in Starling in a few weeks' time, and I will deal with her. Turn down this assignment."

"I am not hunting your precious bird," Viper said matter-of-factly. "I have other matters to attend to in Starling City." She was unsure if Ra's wanted it spread around that Malcolm was alive and in that city, so she watched her words carefully.

Nyssa narrowed her gaze before Viper continued, "However, I cannot guarantee her safety if we cross paths." She watched as the master's daughter's muscles tightened with the intention of an attack. "But I will do my best to avoid her. She can be your problem." Viper headed towards her quarters with the intention of packing the bare minimum; she didn't even wait to hear what Nyssa would say in response. She had work to do, and she wouldn't get anything done arguing with one of Ras daughters. At least Nyssa was the calmer of the two and easier to speak too. Viper had even less contact with Talia, and for that, she was grateful. She had heard enough stories to know that the fellow hunter was anything but rationale, and she took too much enjoyment in her work. Viper liked being an assassin and she took pride in her work, but she did not gain pleasure in causing others agony. It was a job, nothing more or less.

At the very least, she hoped that Malcolm Merlyn would pose a challenge. She did get bored, and she wouldn't mind a bit of exercise on this excursion. If the Dark Archer failed, then at least she had this other archer she could try to contend with….