Well, I usually don't write this before a chapter, but I need to right now. I usually responses to reviews at the very bottom of the page. There was supposed to be a chapter discussing the issues of the Meta Gene vs X Gene, but I'm saving that chapter for later because a review caught my interest. I'll go in depth at the bottom because, as a reader, it's annoying to see this giant block of text before we get into the meat of the fiction.
It was silent that dark knight. The moon shined blissfully, being the only source of light in one of the many dock warehouses of Manhattan. The lights of the city illuminated the distance, giving off an almost otherworldly feel. The sounds of sirens range in the distance, while the waves of the shore shook with a peacefulness that could only be described as serene.
But alas, this was no spectacle for Roy Harper. Every night it was the same thing for him; hunt some drug dealing punk, take them out, call cops, rinse and repeat. And like any low rated shit, they tended to hang around the docks.
Running across the rooftops of the warehouses was like child's play. The difficulty went up when said warehouses creaked like a wooden floor. The only way to silence the noise was by crouching and moving slowly. Again, there was even trouble in that. It wasn't a problem that Roy could fix though, seeing as his arm was made of metal, causing him to weigh more.
It was almost a year after the invasion of Reach, and the villain activity had all but halted. While there was still difficulty with the occasional terrorism with the Joker or Hobgoblin, those had been snuffed out fairly quickly. All that was really left were gangs and solo acts that the big shot heroes ignored.
It was understandable; Why hunt down the small fries when the sidekicks could deal with them?
The only big shots that Roy could think of off the top of his head would be the Old Bat and the Bastard Green Arrow. Everyone who was a super hero (or villain) knew that those two never took a break. They were basically the role models that Roy looked up to the most growing up. Not only for their heroism, but their relentless crusade on crime.
"Didn't stop the Bastard from giving up the search for me though." Roy grumbled under his breath. No matter how long it had been, or how many apologies Oliver gave him, Roy couldn't help but hate Green Arrow. Well, hate was a strong word. Roy was more hurt than hateful, but it didn't really matter. Roy didn't want to go back to Oliver, and that was the end of that.
It didn't matter right now though. Arsenal had a job to do, and nobody was going to stop him from finishing the mission.
Finding a way in wasn't that difficult for Arsenal, as these were old abandoned warehouses, the locks on the rooftop windows were rusted down. With a quick stomp, he was able to break the lock. Slowly, he opened the rooftop window, careful as the rusted hinges creaked as they moved.
Hopping down, Arsenal had to use the agility that he had gained by training under Green Arrow to grab hold of one of the bars that held the roof up. He couldn't help but cringe when the rusted metal creaked loudly under his weight.
'I swear to god if they notice me-'
"Yo! You hear that!" One of the punks below him called out. Cursing silently, Arsenal leaned on the rusted metal, hoping that his outfit would help blend him into the environment.
"Yeah! I head that! Now shut up!" Another one of the goons yelled at the one who spoke up. Arsenal raised an eyebrow at that. Weren't they going to check it out?
"Bro! I heard that sound an' so did yo! We gotta check it out!" Goon 1 yelled at Goon 2. Arsenal, not wanting to move in fear of being found, could only listen as a loud also was heard. Was their infighting down there?
"An' I told ya ta shut it! You been yellin' on and on tonight about the RUSTED warehouse! Of course it's gonna make noise, ya dipshit!"
"But It sounded like someone dropped from da roof! What if it's one of those punk heroes!?"
"It ain't gonna be no punk hero! It was probably the wind or something! Now shut it before I shut you up!"
"But-"
"Shut it!"
Arsenal couldn't help but laugh from his position. It was always funny hearing that one guy who thought he heard something, point out it was a hero, while everyone told him to shut up. It got Arsenal every time.
'The god damn irony, I tell ya!' Arsenal thought to himself. Not only did this actually work in his favor, it also provided amusement for him. 'Happens all the time!'
Leaning of the bar, he took in his surroundings. Below him, in the middle of the warehouse sat around 15 guys, all in different groups mingling about. A giant trashcan emitted fire, as a source of light for all those below him. Piles of box's and paper were scribbled about the ground, discarded.
Arsenal smiled at the bonfire, thanking his luck. Did you know, that when it was dark out and you had been near a source of light, it makes it harder for you to see through the darkness around you? As for the one hiding in the darkness, this could be used to their advantage.
And Arsenal was going to use that advantage.
"Hey! Did you here what happened with Daredevil?" One of the Goons spoke up.
"Didn't he die during that Mutant attack a while back?"
"Nah, that was some fool dressing up like em! Nah, what happened was that he had a run in with that black Spiderman!"
Arsenal listened in. He had heard about that new Spiderman who replaced the late Peter Parker. It was strange how even bad guys like the goons below him held some respect for Pete. Truly, he was loved by all… almost.
"That new Spiderman after the Old one died? What's so special with that?"
"No! Like that wannabe Spiderman! The one with sharp teeth and all! Ya know that one? The freaky one?"
"Ah! Ya mean Venom!" Another one spoke up. "What's with that? I thought he died awhile back?"
"I guess he's alive. Well, from what I hear, Daredevil got his ads handed to him! Apparently Hell's Kitchen is unguarded right now! Wanna go trash the place later thus week?"
That was all Arsenal needed to hear. If Daredevil was out for the count, then Hell's Kitchen needed a temporary defender. It wasn't like Arsenal was on the hunt for anyone specific right now, so he could spare the time.
Unhooking the crossbow at his hip, he placed a explosive bolt in the flight groove and took aim. For an explosive bolt, you never wanted to shoot at any one guy or anyone in specific. You always wanted to avoid hitting anyone and aim for a group.
Luckily, there was one such group around the bonfire. Around 7 guys, all huddled together trying to keep warm in the November night.
"Gotta thank these super suits that keep you warm. Science rules!" Arsenal whispered before shooting the bolt into the bonfire.
"Aye! You guys hear that?"
"I swear to g-"
The goon never got to finish that sentence, as soon as he muttered God, the bonfire exploded. A fiery heat washed over the group as all of them were thrown back. If the initial blast hadn't knocked them out, the landing they received was enough to put an end to their consciousness. By a stroke of luck, none of them were lit on fire.
"What the! What the hell was that!?" One of the eight remaining goons yelled. Now that they were alarmed, they didn't hesitate in waving around the guns they had on them, even pointing them in the direction of the others.
"Now that's dangerous, don't they know the first thing about gun safety?" Arsenal whispered to himself. Loading a flash bolt, he prepared to fire. The great thing about flash bolts was that you didn't need to grab the attention of the enemy to blind them. Once the bolt hit the ground, a count down of three would begin, each second beeping louder. Normally that would give the enemy time to look away, but luckily this was a batch of special idiots. They stared at the beeping bolt like a batch of idiots.
After that, it was history. One by one, Arsenal took them out without even blinking. Pressure points, punches to the stomachs or even using one as a punching bag, it didn't matter. As the last guy fell, a satisfying feeling overcame Arsenal.
"Wait? Why did I hut these guys anyways? They weren't up to anything." Arsenal questioned himself as he made his way out of the warehouse. Being in the docks, the first thing he saw was the landmass that was commonly known as Jersey across the shore. Gotham and Metropolis were off to the side, both shining brilliantly in the night. Honestly, even though he didn't have hunting grounds like Batman and GA or Superman, it was still refreshing to go wherever you wanted for these fresh punks.
Deep down, Roy did miss the days teaming up with Green Arrow and taking down some baddies. Oliver's annoying jokes always contrasted with his, admittedly, pessimistic attitude. It made for interesting conversations, and annoyed the help out of some villains.
"Maybe because, deep down, you knew these 'punks' could become a major threat in the future." A deep voice answered his inquiry. Turning around, Arsenal couldn't help but flinch in surprise. Standing at the tall height of 6'3, clad in all purple and black, was Hawkeye. A mask covered the bottom half of his face, and he wore circular red glasses.
As Arsenal took the chance to give a once over on Hawkeye, he couldn't help the chill that ran down his spine while looking at the mask of Clint Barton. Hawkeyes cold, calculating gaze burning through the very soul of Arsenal. Each moved he made, judged and noted by the professional Archer. Arsenal wouldn't lie just for the sake of being tough that Hawkeyes gaze almost made his legs tremble.
"What are you doing here, Hawkeye?" Arsenal asked. It was rare now days for the archer to be seen anywhere in public. While this generally wasn't a public place, Hawkeye was still able to be spotted by passerby's, which was strange nowadays.
"Ah, I can't come and check up on the pupil of my friends? A little rude if you ask me!" Hawkeye joked as he leaned on the warehouse. His red glasses reflecting the moon. It gave an almost eerie feel to an already intimidating presence.
"I am NOT that Bastards sidekick!" Arsenal bit out angrily.
"I get it, but I wouldn't hate the poor guy too much. He did his best to find you."
"His best wasn't enough! He gave up on me! My own damn clone had to find me while everyone else wrote me off for dead!" Arsenal argued. From what he heard, even Hawkeye gave up fairly early, but Arsenal could forgive him. During that time, from the database at least, Hawkeye was going through his own personal troubles.
"True, but then you should hate most of the Superhero population. All of us gave up, except your clone." Hawkeye reasoned, sighing. "But alas, I'm not here to have this sort of conversation."
"Then why are you here?" Arsenal questioned.
"Well, to put it simply, to give you an offer." Hawkeye answered. Arsenal raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I want to offer you a chance to learn from me."
"So you want me to become your sidekick? I'll pass." Arsenal declined. He had no love for that position anymore, no matter who he was under. All he would ever get was a knife to the back, and discarded like the latest Buzzfeed article.
"No, your misunderstanding. I'm not asking you to be my sidekick, but to learn some skills from me. From what I understand, you have been in a cyro pod for the last 9 years. You missed a ton of training that you would have gotten if you didn't get your arm chopped off and cloned."
"Shut the hell up!" Arsenal yelled. That topic was a especially sore one for Roy Harper. It was understandably so too. Having 8 years of your life taken away from you and replaced by a clone would definitely make for a sore conversation for the victim.
"Ah! Sorry! Didn't mean to step on any toes there, but it is true. You're still inexperienced and need training. Even with that metal arm, your aim wouldn't be all that perfect." Hawkeye said.
"And what would you know!? I'm good enough to shoot Apple a half mile away? What other training do I need?" Roy questioned. What he said wasn't an exaggeration either. That was a test by Green Arrow himself to become his sidekick.
"Awe, that's cute. I can shoot an egg a mile away with a ricocheted bullet. Are we done stroking Each others egos or do you want to continue?" Hawkeye mocked. This seemed to piss Roy off even more.
"You half dead prick!" Arsenal yelled as he positioned his crossbow at Hawkeye, as Hawkeye pointed a gun at Arsenal.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I don't care who you are, once you pull that trigger you're no better than those punks in the warehouse to me." Hawkeye warned, motioning with his shoulder towards the knocked out goons.
Arsenal wasn't someone you could easily intimidate. Having went up against an army of aliens, took down someone as strong as Superman, and disabled a mechanical planet, there wasn't really anything that could make him nervous. Well, so he thought anyways. When he looked into the eyes of Hawkeye, he couldn't help but feel like he was in constant danger. Like he was against a being that was about to squash you like a bug before discarding you like old chicken.
With shaking hands, he lowered his crossbow, same as Hawkeye with his gun. Even though the moment of fear had passed, the intimidation left behind by Hawkeye was… unexplainable.
"I'm not interested." Arsenal said as he equipped the mini-crossbow to his hip. Fastening it so it didn't jiggle, he prepared to leave. "You can drag some other half dead brat off the street to become your sidekick."
As he walked away, he couldn't help but flex every muscle in his body. Like a kid passing by a dark area of his house in the middle of the night, his body stiffened in preparation. What he was preparing for, he didn't know. All Roy knew is that he didn't want to be there.
"Do you want to get back at Luthor?" Hawkeye asked, stopping Arsenal in his tracks. "I can help you do it. To take back those years that Luthor took from you. I can help you."
"What did you say?" Arsenal asked. He turned to look at the bigger male, intrigued by what he was saying. A chance to get back at Luthor? Arsenal would sign a contract with the devil to do that.
"I'm offering you a chance to get back at Luthor." Hawkeye said, speaking precisely and too the point. "All I ask in return is that you become my student. Learn from me, and you'll be able to get to Luthor like it was child's play."
"Why? Why do you want to teach me that bad?" Arsenal asked. It didn't really bother him that much beforehand, but with the way Hawkeye was pushing, it almost seemed like he was desperate. Like he wanted to teach him from the bottom of his heart.
"Honestly? Because you and I have a lot in common, believe it or not." Hawkeye said, to the astonishment of Arsenal.
"What the hell do you know about me, huh!?" Arsenal practically yelled. "I've been cloned! I lost my arm! 8 years of my life have been taken from me! The only one who freaking cared was my god damn clone! Do you know how it feels to have your friends treat you as an outcast after saving them from a god damn final destination planet!? What the hell do you think you possibly know about me or how I feel!"
"My best friend betrayed America and killed my family." Hawkeye responded coldly. Arsenal couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine at the way the line was delivered. "Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow, my best friend, killed my wife and children in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. While you were taking a f #$ing nap somewhere in Luthors basement, a group of freaks called 'The Liberators' tried to take down America. One of them was the back stabbing bitch Natasha Romanova. She, with a group of black ops, stormed my house and killed everyone I loved."
Silence followed Hawkeye's speech. Having no idea as to what to say, Arsenal chose silence as a response. It was reasonable; What should you say in these instances? Nothing seemed appropriate.
"I'm sorry." Arsenal said. Hawkeye didn't respond. Usually one would say 'It's fine', but for Clint it wasn't. If he was being honest, he never got over his families death. Even to this day he had nightmares of his children's Brian's being splattered all over the kitchen floor. Sighing, he did his best to wipe the images from his mind.
"Alright. Now that we had a heart to heart, what do you say? Wanna kick some bad guy ass?" Hawkeye asked, trying to diffuse the cold atmosphere.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think so. I have enough skills as it is." Arsenal responded honestly. It may sound arrogant, but Roy took pride in his skills. While he wouldn't say he was on par with his clone or GA, he was still quite well off.
"Oh god, why do you got to make this so difficult, kid!?" Hawkeye ran a hand through his hair, letting out a ragged breath. This is why he didn't like dealing with kids. "Alright, I get that. But, how about we strike a deal."
"Deal?" Roy asked in interest. What could this man possibly offer him?
"Yeah, a deal. Well, it's more like a wager but whatever." Hawkeye said, elaborating a bit. "If you can beat me, I will personally help you take out Luthor with no strings attached. Hell, I'll even take the blame! Not only that, I'll get you anything you ask for! I heard you kids are into those video games now days right?"
Arsenal looked at him funny. Was he joking? Arsenal knew his limits, and if the rumors about Hawkeye were true, in no corner of hell was he going to beat him.
"I'll pass." Arsenal said, turning to walk away. He could hear Hawkeye groan behind him as he walked.
"God damn." Hawkeye groaned. Why was this kid so freaking difficult? As Arsenal walked away, he racked his brains for an answer, digging all the way until he was at the bottom of the barrel. Suddenly, he froze, a sly grin forming under his mask. "Well, that would makes sense! I mean, with an attitude like that and those half baked skills, I wouldn't even want to go up against me. I guess I'll go train that better version of you."
Arsenal froze. His mouth open in shock at what he just heard. What did he say?
"I mean, what's the difference? Well, besides the obvious that the clone was better than you from the beginning! From what I hear, he's also raising a family, isn't he? Definitely has a brighter future than a half assed mistake like you."
Arsenal clenched his teeth, doing his best to hold back his rage. Yet as each word filtered through his mind, it started to become more and more unbearable.
"Shut up!" Arsenal yelled as he grabbed the crossbow on his belt. Firing it, the bolt flowed through the air, aimed at Hawkeye's right eye.
Hawkeye grinned under his mask. While Arsenal didn't agree to the wager, this would allow Hawkeye to show Arsenal just how outclassed he was. If Arsenal couldn't beat him, there wasn't a sliver of hope that he'd be able to take on Luthor.
Pulling out his gun, Hawkeye fired one bullet from the cartridge. This was obviously a rubber bullet. If word got out one of the sidekicks died, there would be a worldwide man hunt, and he would be the prey. The bullet, aimed at the bolt, made contact with its target with a satisfying 'ding'.
Arsenal smiled, covering his eyes.
It took but a second for Hawkeye to realize what had happened. What Arsenal had fired wasn't a regular bolt, but instead a 'Flash' bolt. Making contact with the bullet caused the area to shine a bright white, blinding Hawkeye.
Taking this chance, Arsenal ran towards Hawkeye, ignoring the advantage of long range combat. In his mind, he knew he couldn't beat Hawkeye from afar, but up close was a different story.
That was until a fist embedded itself into Arsenals jaw.
"Pretty smart. Using the advantage of your anger as a cover for mistakes, you used a Flash bolt to blind your enemy." Hawkeye complimented as Arsenal backed off, rubbing his chin. "Everything comes crumbling down when you assume your opponent doesn't have mechanically enhanced eyes." Scratching his chin, he prepared to go on offense. "Ready for round two?"
Discarding the crossbow, Arsenal prepared to go on defense. That was easier said than done, as when Hawkeye fired one gun causing Arsenal to dodge, another bullet would be waiting for him. Roy learned, in the one minute that the match had gone on, how out classed he was.
Running from Hawkeye, Arsenal ducked behind some crates that happened to be on the docks. Taking his chance to grab a breather, he quickly came up with a plan. Looking over his inventory, Arsenal quickly came up with a plan. Using a smoke grenade as cover, he would make a break for it and take cheap shots from afar. Nodding his head, he prepared himself to carry out the simple plan.
That was until, again, a force pummeled itself into his right shoulder.
Letting out a silent cry, he looked around himself before another jolt of pain forced itself on his right shoulder. It didn't take long to find the assailant. Sparks flew off a lamppost in the distance before another bullet hit him in the right rib cage.
'Ricochet!?' Arsenal thought to himself.
It didn't matter if Arsenal found cover, or was out of Hawkeye's line of sight. Hawkeye, would somehow, ricochet bullets to hit him at ever inch or his body.
After 30 minutes of this abuse, Arsenal was forced to his knees. Heavy pants escaped his mouth as footsteps drew near. The sound of a gun positioning itself on his head cause him to freeze. Slowly, he looked up to the sharpshooter, an uncanny fear taking him once again. Even though Hawkeye wore a mask, Arsenal couldn't help but feel like he was smiling.
"Do you understand now, Roy?" Hawkeye asked, pulling down his mask and lifting his glasses with his free hand. "If you couldn't land a hit on me, what makes you think you could get past Luthor's bodyguards?"
"I've done it before, I'll do it again!" Arsenal growled out, remembering his fight with Mercy. If he could get past her with only one arm, he'll be able to do it with two.
"Yeah, you did, but don't you think Luthor wanted you to?" Hawkeye said, surprising Arsenal.
"What do you mean?"
"Simple. What do you think would happen to a big company such as Luthor's if you, a sidekick to Green Arrow, ended up dead in his building? A disarmed version of another Red Arrow?"
Arsenal didn't answer. The answer was simple; the whole of the Superhero community would be hunting Luthor down. Ever since word got out of what happened between him, Luthor and Cadmas, every hero had been bearing down his neck. All they needed was a little proof and he was done for.
"Everyone would be after him, right? That's not all. The public would realize how vile and corrupt he truly is and turn their back to him. So why not remedy this by giving the victim of his experiments the satisfaction of letting him live with a new arm?" Hawkeye continued, surprising Arsenal even more.
"Then, if what your saying is true, that would mean this deal benefited him more than it did me…" Arsenal realized as he held his face in his hands. Benefitting Luthor was the last thing he wanted, no matter how much 'satisfaction' he gained.
"That's not all, did you ever have that arm of yours checked out?" Hawkeye asked, to which Arsenals eyes widened even more. "I'll take that as a no. Well, that thing is more than likely either a ticking time bomb or a tracker. Probably both."
"So your saying if I even went against him, he would just blow up my arm?"
"Bingo. But that's just a theory. I have people who could check that out without ruining it, but it'll cost you!" Hawkeye said, offering him a way out.
"What is it? I'll do anything to get out of Luthor's shadow." Arsenal said, already knowing what Hawkeye was going to say. Roy was ready to give up.
"Become my apprentice. I'll teach you all I know and more! By the end of my training, you'll be as good if not better than Green Arrow! You'll be not only the greatest archer, but also the greatest gunner this world has ever seen! So, what do you say?"
"Like you're leaving me any choice." Roy bit angrily as he got up. Walking off, he didn't bother to bid farewell.
"Well, I'll find you later! When I do, be prepared for hell!" Hawkeye called out as Arsenal disappeared from his sight. Letting out a ragged breath, he looked up into the starry sky. From where he stood, 3 stars shined brightly, sparkling as if greeting him from afar.
"Am I doing the right thing, Laura?"
Ok, pretty short but this was just something I came up with on the spot when trying to write. This chapter was supposed to answer the question on classifications of X Gene and Meta Gene was anything different from each other, but I'm saving that for later. One of the reviewers caught my interest.
If anyone ever has any ideas, don't hesitate! If I can bridge these two worlds together even better, I'd be eternally grateful.
Story Rant-
Ok, so this chapter was mostly the same as the last, but instead of a DC hero taking on a Marvel pupil, it's the other way around. I was intending to make this a more darker (tone) chapter, but as you can see it didn't pan out like that. That is to say, that I spent literally five minutes think up of the plot and reasoning behind each character.
In my mind, even though Arsenal took Luthor's bribe, he wouldn't have given up on his revenge all that easily. Luthor had taken away 8 years of his life, even if his life span was still the same, and Roy wouldn't take that lying down. To me, even though Mercy lost to Roy, I think she would take that personally and get better. Security would go up a notch and thus more difficulty. So, he would need a mentor.
That's where Hawkeye comes in.
In the Ultimate Universe, a lot of bad mojojojo goes down for every single hero. Peter Parker dies. Daredevil dies in a tsunami. Doctor Strange goes missing and his son is squished to death by Dormamu. Electra dies in the stupidest way. Janet is eaten by the blob. Reed Richards becomes one of the coolest Villains in Marvel History (seriously, it's built up perfectly). Almost all the X-Men die. Ragnorok actually destroys Asgard permanently. And more. Including Hawkeye's family. (I'll speak on this more later).
So, Hawkeye, trying to find a reason to keep on living, would understandably look into Roy for a solace. To leave his mark, before his Recklessness gets the better of him.
Also, weird thing about Ultimate Hawkeye, he's basically half Bullseye. You know, the villain? Yeah, him. Freaking Clint ripped off his own fingernails and used them as weapons in this universe. Talk about OP. So the ricochet thing I consider plausible.
Personal Rant-
Ok, I need to set something straight. Due to these two universe coming together, I would expect more hero's to have survived Ultimatum and other events because of each other. Where as the Tsunami of New York killed almost every hero there, I think DC's hero's would have prevented some of them. Also, some hero's deaths were stupid. Daredevil? Wasp? Ant man? I won't rewrite every death, only some. It makes it easier that way.
Also, I should make a note that I'm doing my best to tie this into Young Justice and future iterations. While the last chapter took place before Season 2, this one took place after. The point is that this is setting up for Season 3. I think, hopefully, they'll bring something up with their topics.
By the way, either next or the chapter after will finally deal with the Mutants. I don't know why I'm hyping it up, seeing as its not anything big.
I should also tell you I get bored easily, so I jump between writing this and other fics. Like one of them I'm using as an experiment for different writing styles. Another I'm doing my best to make it some grand adventure. Another I gave up on. I hope that's fine with everyone.
Reviews-
Guest- Um, what the heck. I think you alone broke the threshold of my highest reviewed fanfic and I don't even understand a thing you wrote.
CRUDEN- Actually, I think I like that Idea of yours. My plan was for characters to discuss the difference between the X Gene and Meta Gene. It sounds boring, and it might be, but I still wanna go through with it. The thing is that Mutants in the Ultimate Universe were made by Humans, while the Meta Humans of Earth 16 are basically the same as regular Mutants.
With your suggestion as overall classification, I like it a lot. But seeing as Mutants are now not exactly the same as Meta Humans, this might make me think for once. Thank you!