A/N: To all the old readers, so, I have decided that Ria can not teleport (Effective July 27, 2016 yes sure this chapter was posted much later after that date). To put it simply, as much as I liked the teleportation, it always bothered me. So, when I'm not happy with something it makes it difficult for me to write it. Therefore, I've changed the fact that she can teleport and rewritten it to being that she can fly instead. The rewrites are very small meaning only the idea of teleporting or times that she did it were changed so that the flying make sense, but just in case you were curious the chapters rewritten are chapters 22-26 of Protecting the Innocent and chapter 1 of Hero Rising. I think it works out better and I'm much happier now with writing. Hope you old readers aren't too upset by this change. Thanks for continuing to enjoy this story.
My delay has been a number of reasons. A big one is I feel like I have too much planned with no time to develop what I want to happen. So, I've been trying to figure out what to do before I got too far into the story. I'm going to try not to let too much time go between updates from now on. Especially with the new season starting so soon. I really want to get to season 3 (have a lot more planned for that season. I can't wait). Anyway, thanks all for being so patient with me. Hope you continue to enjoy. :)
Ria tapped her desk with her pen, mind wandering. It'd been over a week since she'd revealed to John and Felicity that she was a vigilante. And over a week since she'd gone out and done something helpful. John had insisted they test out her suit before she went out looking for trouble. Not wanting to make a scene, she'd agreed. After all, she wanted to be a part of their team. But a week was long enough and she was getting antsy.
She wasn't sure why he was keeping her busy. Maybe he didn't realize what he was doing? Or maybe he was afraid and in his own way trying to protect her, unsure that she can truly handle herself. Eyeing the pen, she let go of it, holding her hands over it to shield what she was weren't any security cameras in the small room she was in that she knew of. But still, better safe than sorry. Using her mind to keep it in the air she slowly turned it.
"Ria?" Brenda asked as she swung open the door.
Ria grabbed the pen with her hand, trying not to look guilty as she smiled at her boss.
"I need you to have Detective- I mean Officer Lance sign this paper," she stated, quickly correcting herself. "He'll be starting his shift soon."
"Sure," Ria said, grateful to stand up and leave the cramped place.
Grabbing the piece of paper, she walked out and down toward the main floor where Officer Lance was.
"Hey, Officer Daily," she called out, spotting his familiar face. He smiled at her as he walked over.
"Anything I can help you with?" he asked.
She nodded her head. "I'm looking for Officer Lance."
"Right here, Miss," Lance said from behind her, causing her to jump ever so slightly.
She turned, holding out the paper and pen. "Brenda says you need to sign this."
He let out a loud sigh as he briefly skimmed it.
"You have to believe me!" a woman shrieked, as she flew out of the interview room. Behind her, the detective who was interviewing her tried to stop her as she desperately looked around. Her hair was greasy and eyes wide. Her body twitched as she scratched her arm, peeling off a scab that had formed. She was clearly on something.
"Ma'am, I need you to calm down," the detective said as Daily and Lance moved toward the scene to help him.
"You don't understand. They're going to-"
"Mrs. Sanchez," Lance said soothingly, causing the woman to stop her hysterics. Her eyes widened with happiness the minute she recognized him.
"Detective Lance!" she exclaimed, clearly not noticing his uniform. "They're going to kill him, Dr. White."
"Woa woa, slow down Mrs. Sanchez. Who is going to kill him?"
"The Hood."
Ria grounded her teeth, trying to stop herself from getting excited. Oliver was back? Her heart dropped. If he was back, he clearly had no interest in her anymore.
"Where did you see him?" Lance asked calmly, as he motioned for her to sit down. Despite his calm, there was fire in his eyes.
Mrs. Sanchez shook her head. "I don't know where they were. I was sleeping, but I heard their voices, I had to follow."
"Mrs. Sanchez," Detective Hilton said soothingly. "The Hood only goes after bad people. Dr. White has done everything he can to help The Glades since the Undertaking."
"I know. But I saw them. They looked like him."
"Them?" Lance asked..
Mrs. Sanchez paled ever so slightly, flinching. "There were three of him," she said. "I know… I know how it sounds. But I saw him. He was, there were three of him. I heard them talking."
He smiled, although there was sadness in it. "Have you taken your medication recently."
The woman pulled back. "You know how hard it was before. Now? Nearly impossible. And it's not like any of you care."
He nodded. "Look, let's-"
"Officer Lance," Captain Stein growled. "Have you forgotten you're no longer a detective?" Lance didn't react despite the fact that the captain's words were meant to sting. "Detective Hilton please take the woman's statement," Stein stated, eyes never leaving Lance's face. "And everyone else get back to work."
The office erupted into a small buzz as everyone bustled about. Hilton gave Lance an apologetic look before taking the woman to the interview room.
Ria didn't move, as Stein moved close to Lance. His voice was low but she could still hear his words. "They should have taken your badge away," Stein whispered. He shook his head, before walking away.
"They should have promoted you and given his job to you," Ria interjected once Stein was out of earshot.
Lance gave her a curious look as he raised his eyebrows. "I helped the vigilante," he finally stated. "Not a smart move for a man who is supposed to follow the law." He quickly signed the paper and handed it to her.
"I haven't heard specifics, but if you helped him then clearly the city would have been worse off without you." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "But what do I know? Thanks."
He nodded.
She moved quickly toward Brenda's office. "Hey, Brenda?" she asked the moment she opened the door and stepped inside. "I was wondering, could I leave early? I normally wouldn't ask this, but it's kind of that time of the month, and I've been feeling really horrible all day." She set down the paper and blushed slightly at her lie.
"Normally, I would say no, but go head this time," Brenda said.
"Thanks," Ria said, far too quickly. Closing the door behind her, she ran to her office and grabbed her items, calling John first. "Leaving work early. Gotta discuss something with you two," she said. She had to come up with some kind of code, especially if she was at work.
"I'll get Felicity," John replied before hanging up.
Ria as her vigilante persona River crouched on the closest rooftop getting a good full view of a temporary clinic. The buildings around it were practically falling apart due to the Undertaking. That didn't stop the citizens from living in them. Watching the clinic, Ria waited. The "crazy" woman at the station had been wrong. Oliver wasn't back. But, there was someone or a group of people who were "following" in his footsteps. The chaos following the Undertaking had allowed this group to slip in with little notice. They were also doing a good job of keeping a low profile, for now. There had been some alluding to them in a recent newspaper articles. They had apparently stopped a robbery, leaving the perpetrators dead. The police figured it was a gang thing. But some eyewitnesses claimed to have seen The Hood, well, multiple Hoods.
The problem was, if Mrs. Sanchez was right, and they were going after this doctor, they were far from the ideals of The Hood. Felicity had found no skeleton in the doctor's closet. In fact, it appeared as if the man was practically a saint. He was the head of a private hospital and set up clinics in The Glades to help the people, using his own finances. Not only that, but he personally went to each clinic ensuring that they had supplies and people were being taken care of.
"No activity over here," John said. He was posted a few blocks away near the back of the clinic that the good doctor was currently inspecting.
"I don't see anything suspicious yet," Felicity chimed in. Due to the doctor's funds he made sure that each clinic was installed with a security system. It wasn't the best system, but it was one that Felicity was able to hack into.
Ria shifted her weight, butterflies filling her stomach. What if the doctor wasn't really in any trouble? She could have been spending her time stopping real crime. But, then again, what if the "crazy" lady was right? Ria had to take the threat seriously, especially since the police weren't.
The clinic was closed for the night. The doctor and his secretary the only two people left in the building. The doctor was in his office, finishing up his paperwork, while the secretary was tidying things up. Two, against an unknown number of assailants. No, Ria couldn't leave them alone to fend for themselves.
A police car drove up, and she leaned closer to the edge of the roof.
"Uh, guys," Felicity said.
"Yeah, I see them," Ria answered. "I'm too far away. Can you see who it is?"
"Looks like, Officer Lance and I'm not sure who the other one is."
Ria wasn't sure if she felt relieved or not. Would these "Hoods" go after the man while cops were around? If so, then her job was all the harder. Keeping two alive was far easier than four. But maybe she wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Ria focused her attention on the building again. There were many openings on the third floor, thanks to the fact that it was partially under construction. She found several areas she could enter if she needed.
"Three men just entered through the back emergency door."
Ria didn't hesitate, launching herself into the air. She landed on the third floor, somewhat roughly, causing her to skid a little. She had to work on that.
"What was that?" Felicity shouted.
"What happened?" Ria asked in concern.
"I think my system is glitching. It's showing me that you're in the building."
Ria winced. She'd forgotten that there was a tracker on her now. "Uh yeah it must have. I went in through the roof a little bit ago. Have been waiting in this room for you to give me more info," she lied through her teeth. Maybe telling them about her powers was the smarter move. She just couldn't do it over the comms. There would be too many questions.
"I'm going to have to run a diagnostic later. I only see three perps. They're armed. Be careful."
"I don't plan on rushing in," Ria replied as she opened the door. She followed the hall, making her way down the stairs, trusting Felicity to warn.
Felicity let out a surprised gasp. "One hit the other officer on the head," she said. "River, you need to hurry. Looks like they're letting the secretary go. Three hostages, Officer Lance, the other cop and Dr. White."
"Things are going to escalate. They know she's going to call the cops," John interjected. "You don't have much time."
Ria moved quickly, but quietly through the halls on the main floor. Her heart pounded in her chest. These men were on a mission. She'd have to be careful about her attack. They wanted the doctor dead and would probably ignore her so that they could kill him first.
"That door leads to the main hall," Felicity commented. "No one will see you. Go now."
As quietly as possible, Ria opened the door, slipping inside with relative ease. Half tempted to leave the door ajar for her to escape, she closed it behind her. If she did, there was the possibility that the door would someone slam shut, causing the three men to go on high alert. And she wanted to use their surprise to her advantage.
"This matter doesn't affect you, officers," the leader's voice was cold.
Crawling along the ground, she stopped at the reception desk and peaked out the side. Three men stood in the lobby, one blocked the main doors, one stood in the middle and the third man stood just a few feet in front of her. They were too widespread for her to attack them properly. One of them would have enough time to shoot a hostage.
The three hostages sat on the ground, Lance and Daily sat in front of Dr. White. They had clearly been disarmed, but other than a superficial head wound on Daily, it appeared that they were otherwise unharmed.
"So, here's the deal," the leader continued. "I'll let you two go. The 'good' doctor gets to stay here though."
"Not happening," Lance said stubbornly, eyes glaring up at the leader fearlessly.
"You really want to follow his example?" Lance demanded.
The leader let out a chuckle, crouching to be more equal to their level. "He was the only one who understood. The only one who knew what to do to fix this city. We may never know what happened to him, but his legacy will live on, through us."
"What do you want?" Dr. White shouted. Daily pushed the doctor back as the man launched forward.
The leader sighed. "We want you, Dr. White. You're getting rich because of the misfortune of others. You," he paused, then slowly stood up for dramatic effect. "You have failed this city."
Ria unsheathed one sia. She only had one chance to stop the men and she'd have to use her powers. Rising to a crouch, Ria ran out of her hiding spot. Grabbing the man closest to her, she pulled him back with all her weight, causing him to lose balance as she threw her sia at the man by the door. Wrapping her feet around the man's body, she managed to kick his gun out of his hands.
In the distance, the man who guarded the main entrance screamed, her sai sticking out of his hand. The leader turned, gun aimed at her. His eyes were dilated with surprise and his finger to slow. She reached out with her right hand, feeling her power wrap around the weapon and she pulled it toward her. He staggered in surprise at the invisible force, nearly letting the weapon fly from his hands. He didn't let it, though, fingers clenching even tighter around it. She rolled on the floor, using the chairs as a sort of defense as he fired at her.
"Go," the leader yelled. Another shot, and someone cried out.
"Ria," Felicity said in a warning voice. "Oh god."
Ria threw herself to the ground as another barrage of bullets hailed in her direction, using the chaos to pull her sai back to her. The bullets stopped. She glanced up, spotting the doctor lying on the ground, clutching his side. "Take care of the doc," she commanded. "I've got those bastards." She didn't wait for a reply and ran back the way she'd come.
"They just took the emergency exit. Digg, be careful. They're armed."
Ria ran down one hallway, then the other, throwing her body against the emergency exit to push to the door open. To her surprise, time seemed to slow down.
Tick.
"Freeze," John yelled, his voice slightly muffled by the black ski mask he wore. He stood poised and ready to fire his pistol.
Tick.
The three men half turned from their escape vehicle, guns slowly rising to shoot.
Tick.
"Police, freeze!" Lance shouted behind her. A complication.
Tick.
With feet planted firmly on the ground Ria raised both hands. With her left hand, she forced the emergency exit door to slam shut, putting more weight behind it so that Lance couldn't interrupt. With her right hand, she formed a barrier between her and John and the three bad guys. No one saw it, as they opened fire.
She wasn't sure if she literally felt the impact of the bullets hitting her shield reverberate through her, or if it was just her mind playing tricks on her because of the sound. Either way, she had no control over what went through and didn't. At least, not yet. Her only goal was to make sure no bullets hit them. Even if that meant that John was wasting his bullets.
Her body started to shake, as she felt her energy drain rapidly. A bullet whiz by her cheek. Another skimmed her shoulder, causing her to fall back. She hit the ground with a thud, clutching her shoulder.
The leader locked eyes with her. His own wide with surprise that of all the bullets fired it seemed that only two of them may have hit someone.
"Let's go!" he shouted. Almost as one, the three launched themselves into the awaiting getaway van.
John quickly reloaded his weapon and fired at the leaving van. The wheels spun temporarily as the driver hit the gas, before shooting forward. A loud bang, from the emergency door brought Ria out of her daze. She held out her left hand to stop Lance from getting through, while raising her right hand again, this time to stop the van. She felt her power curl around it, almost like a snake as she tried to squeeze it into submission.
For the briefest of moments, the van slowed down, before lurching forward. She dropped her right hand.
"River?" John asked.
Ria shook her head. "Go, now."
He hesitated a moment before taking off.
"Ria, Officer Lance-," Felicity warned.
"I know," Ria growled to herself. Glancing up, she spotted a fire escape. She dropped her hand. He'd get through easily now. Within moments, she landed on the fourth floor platform. She was half tempted to land on the roof, but another part of her wanted to talk to Officer Lance. She did just save his life after all. She just had to be a safe distance from him.
The Hoods were gone. She didn't have the strength or energy to follow after them. Tomorrow, she'd stop them.
The emergency exit flew open as Officer Lance kicked it open. He rushed into the alley, gun ready to fire. But the perps were long gone.
Ria watched Officer Lance as the man cautiously looked around. She'd been wanting to talk to him to introduce herself. She just wasn't sure how he'd react to another vigilante protecting the city. Out of all the officers, he alone had interacted with the Hood and even got demoted because of it. He more than likely wouldn't trust her at first, but if he worked with The Hood before, she could probably convince him to let her help.
Lance stepped back slowly, clearly still wary that she was around.
"Calm down, officer," Ria said, turning on her voice disguiser. He jumped in surprise, raising his weapon at her. "Didn't mean to scare you," she said, raising her hands to show she was unarmed. Her sias were sheathed by her sides still easily accessible. Not that she'd need them if he shot at her. She gathered her energy preparing to shield herself if he fired. "How's the doctor?"
"He got shot, but he'll live," Lance said carefully, not lowering his weapon.
"Good," she stated, feeling relieved. Things could have gone a lot worse. "I'm glad I could help."
"Help?" He snorted, not lowering his weapon. "You call that help? They got away," he chastised.
"I'll get them next time."
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You won't. I'm going to catch you. All of you. Do you honestly think you can make a difference? You're all the same. You vigilantes end up causing more trouble than really helping, leaving us civil servants to clean up after you. Taking the law into your own hands doesn't help this city. It makes things worse. Innocents will always be caught between you and those you anger. One day, you'll inspire a group, just like The Hood inspired those guys. That will be your inevitable legacy."
She gulped, unsure how to answer. Was he right? If she were to become more public with her actions then she had to make sure that showed what she stood for. "I can't help if other people get the wrong idea," she said. "But what I can do is prove to you that I'm not just a vigilante. I'm a hero. One that you need. If I didn't come along you, Officer Daily and Dr. White would have died tonight. And then the city would be without good people. The Glades maybe have been partially destroyed, but from my understanding things would have been much worse if it hadn't been for The Hood and you," she countered. She pushed back a twinge of regret. More would have survived had she not been so weak. "Malcolm Merlyn would most likely have gotten away with his plan without consequence. The criminal bosses The Hood helped put away would still be out there. Yeah, maybe that group was inspired by him, but clearly, they received the wrong message. And I won't let that slide."
Lance lowered his gun just enough, sighing. "So now you're just like him, judge, jury, and executioner? You do realize you kill one of them then another will take his place." He suddenly looked haggard, as if the weight of everything that had happened pressed down on him.
"That weight you carry isn't your burden. That's ours," she stated. "You chose the path to abide by the law. I'm here to tell you that I'm willing to go down the path you can't. I'm willing to carry that burden. You fight the men using the tools you have been given. I'll fight the monsters."
"The problem is, vigilante, your anonymity allows it so that you aren't held accountable for your actions. You can give up and move on, changing your identity and leaving a city burning behind you when things get to hard."
She froze momentarily at his words. He sounded bitter and upset and why shouldn't he be? The Hood had disappeared without a word. She nodded her head. "You're right. I could do as you say. I wasn't born here. I don't have family to anchor me to this city. But I'm tired of running and I want to settle down. And I believe this city, despite its flaws, is where I'm supposed to be." A lopsided smile crossed her face. "I'm not The Hood," she told him. "I won't be taking his place. I'm me. You can't stop me from trying to help you. Besides, I think you owe me a debt." Grabbing onto the ladder, she hopped up onto the next level.
Lance snorted, clearly not wanting to argue with her. "I will arrest you," he snapped. "You will find yourself in handcuffs." Sirens echoed through the streets.
"Just not tonight," she teased, glancing at the streets, she saw the lights of several squad cars. "Have a good night, Officer Lance."
Before he could protest further, she climbed the rest of the way up and disappeared onto the roof.
"Ria, we need to talk," John said through their comms.
"Yes we do," she breathed.
Glancing over the side of the roof, she watched Lance go back into the building. Maybe she was wrong to try to reach out to Officer Lance. Maybe she needed to find someone younger than him. Someone who she also rescued. Daily was friendly enough at work. She was her own person, she needed to make her own alliances, have her own contacts.
Walking to the other side of the roof, she paused. There was little doubt in her mind that John had seen what she could do. There was no way he'd missed the fact that of all the bullet fired only two seemed to have grazed her. There was no way those men were that bad of a shot.
She let out a shaky breath, anxiety causing her body to shake slightly. This was it. She had to tell them the truth. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. It was their reaction that she worried about. How would they treat her? Sooner or later she was going to have to tell them. It was probably for the best.
