The cool night breeze was welcoming to Oliver as he ran through the dark streets of the Glades. He was on a trial run, testing his body to see if he was ready to become the vigilante again. Despite his wounded pride, he had a promise to keep. The people on the list would be brought to justice. And he would be ready for the mysterious Archer next time.

He easily climbed up a building and went to the edge of the roof, looking out at the lower city before him. Sirens sounded from either side of him. The city needed his help still. As much as he wanted to rest he couldn't let them down. He had a mission and he had to complete it. He glanced in the direction of Ria's apartment and felt a twinge of regret. He had lied to her.

He had spent the majority of the last three nights with her in her apartment, even with her roommates around. But she was a welcome distraction from his worries at home. Walter's absence was clear and he didn't know how to remedy the situation. Thea spent most of her time with her friends and rarely at home. But he couldn't blame her for that. His mother's solution was to stay in her room and clearly wait for Walter's return. In both cases, they relied on others and not him in this situation. It made him feel even more powerless.

And since he was still recovering from his own ordeal with the mysterious Archer, Oliver found his respite around Ria. And today he had finally used her to lie. He had dismissed John early, telling him that he was going to go to Ria's apartment. It was a lie of course. And then Oliver had called Ria and told her that he wasn't feeling well and was going to stay home. And since she had no reason not to, she believed him. He didn't like lying to his family and friends. But none of them would understand and they'd be in more danger if they knew. As for John, well Oliver just wanted to be alone. The two would be staying up late soon enough.

Oliver climbed down the building and landed in an alley. He had no clear objective, meaning he was going to meander and wander the Glades until he found something or got bored. He couldn't make the papers so obviously the people on the list were off limits. But low gangsters and drug dealers weren't. It wasn't his style, so it wouldn't make the papers.

A woman's scream caught his attention and he quickly ran toward the sound. He knew he wasn't a knight in shining armor, but for now this woman was lucky. It didn't take him long to spot the woman. She clutched her purse as three men surrounded her. They chuckled clearly enjoying her discomfort. She looked around desperately, but she was alone.

Olive drew his bow and nocked an arrow, preparing to fire. One of the men fell unconscious to the ground. His mates stopped what they were doing and looked at their fallen friend in surprise.

"Sam?" one of the men asked as he crouched and shook the fallen man.

The man checking his friend yelled as he was kicked in the face and thrown back. His comrades reached for their weapons, but the heroine was quick. Oliver relaxed his grip, but stayed ready just in case she needed him. Her moves were quick, but lacked grace as she fought. But that didn't matter. Whatever got the job done.

Short blue hair. He wasn't sure why that one aspect of her costume struck him as odd. Despite the blue hair she had a mask that covered half of her face minus her eyes. A man threw a knife at her and she blocked it with one of her sais. Realizing he was the last still standing the man turned and ran. She threw one of her sais at him, hitting the back of his head with its butt. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

Oliver was impressed. Movement behind her caught his eye. He didn't wait, knowing she wasn't going to have time to stop the man. Oliver let an arrow fly. The man screamed as the arrow hit him in the shoulder, accidentally firing a shot. She whirled around, ready to attack. One look at the downed man and then at Oliver told her what she needed to know.

"Thanks," she said, her voice clearly altered by some sort of device.

He nodded and took a few steps closer to her.

"Thank you, sooo much" the woman who was in trouble said.

The hair in the back of Oliver's neck stood on end. Something was wrong. The heroine seemed to sense it too and looked up. Oliver spotted the grenade just as it went off. The bright light temporarily blinding him and the pressure forcing him to his knees. He didn't let the stunning effect of the Flash grenade keep him down. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to recover his vision. He fired his arrow as soon as his vision cleared enough, hitting an attacking man in the chest.

Another man rushed him. He was much too close for Oliver to shoot at. Luckily, this meant that he could practice his melee skills. The man was an amateur to say the least. He let his anger control his movement, allowing Oliver to easily overcome him. With his opponent down, he looked around to grasp the situation. The heroine fought two men, and was clearly struggling. Oliver shot the man behind her so she could focus all of her attention on the man in front of her.

Oliver ran toward her and fired another arrow at another attacker. Placing his back against hers the two moved together waiting for another attack. They didn't have to wait long as three men rushed them.

Damn, they seemed to have a never ending supply of henchmen. Oliver shot one of the men then melee'd another, letting her fight the last man. He knocked his man out in two short hits, slamming his knee onto the man's neck. Oliver felt danger and looked up. His gaze was greeted by a man holding a gun. There was no time to move, or shot his arrow at the man. The gun fired. If his life was a movie he would have rolled his eyes. Yet another cliché, everything seemed to go in slow motion for him. This was it. If he didn't die from this shot he was about to be discovered. He felt the woman's hand on his left shoulder, and saw her left hand reach out. But it didn't matter. She wasn't going to be able to help him. Just as he prepared his body to get hit he felt a sting on his right shoulder. Without further hesitation, he shot his arrow at the man before he could fire his gun again. The man fell to the ground dead.

Oliver's body tingled with excitement. It'd been a while since he'd fought so many. Nine men lay on the ground and he was pretty sure at least three of them were dead. The removed her hand from his shoulder and stepped back.

A scream, from the original victim, caused the two to look back at her. "I'm sorry. Please don't kill me!" she yelled. Turning on her heels, she ran in the opposite direction. Oliver got to his feet and prepared to go after her, but a hand stopped him.

"Just let her go," the heroine said.

He frowned. Her breathing was labored, but it wasn't like his. She swayed slightly and he caught her as she fell to one knee.

"I'm fine," she whispered, pushing him away and standing on her feet. "We better go." She didn't wait for him, making her way out of the alley. There was clearly nothing more to do but to follow her. He had many questions and she had protected him. She zigzagged through various streets not bothering to make sure he was following her. Without warning she ran down an alley and jumped up, grabbing the fire escape to an old abandoned hotel. She easily climbed it then sprinted up the flight of stairs onto the roof.

Oliver looked around, wary of their location. She hadn't asked him to follow her, but then again she had fought with him, not against him. Not to mention, she did look a little pale. If it was another trap he'd deal with that. But if it was a trap it was stupidly elaborate.

He sighed and followed her up the building. His body tensed as the roof came into view. She could attack him at any moment and try to throw him off the building. As quickly as the thought came into his mind it went away. She stood at the opposite end of the roof, looking out into the city.

"Don't worry," she said, not looking back at him. "I'm not an enemy."

"Because my enemies would never try to friend me to lower my defenses," he retorted.

She looked back at him then shrugged. "Fine. You got me. I set up that whole thing to trick you into a false sense of security. Once we're friends I'll be sure to betray you. Happy?"

Anger filled up inside him. "Do you think this is some kind of game? You almost got yourself killed. If I hadn't been around you would have died," he snarled. He was angry at her attitude. As if she hadn't almost died. And her rash decision to play "superhero" nearly got his identity revealed, and even worse nearly got him killed. His mind briefly replayed the would-be kill shot. How had the bullet only grazed him instead of hitting him in the chest?

"You're kidding, right?" she snapped back. "That wasn't a normal situation. It was a trap. A trap meant for I'm assuming you since I haven't been on these streets for very long. And if you, oh so mighty, knew it was a trap from the beginning, why did I have to save you?."

"So you knew it was a trap, but still went into it head on," he said, crossing his arms.

She took two steps closer to him, forcing him to look slightly away to keep from revealing too much of his face. "I didn't know it was a trap till that grenade went off. But I do have a brain and I use it quite often."

"When did you save me? I saved your life first before the flash grenade and after. When was I in trouble?" Once again the memory of the man with the gun came to his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. If that was what she was talking about she was wrong. She had just grabbed his shoulder and hadn't even tried to push him to one side or to the ground.

"Fine. You saved me. Thank you!" she yelled.

The exaggerated and sarcastic way of her yell caught him off guard, forcing him to take a step back. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to figure out what to say. She had successfully defused their argument.

She let out a sigh and sat down, placing her hand on her head. "I would have been fine, vigilante," she finally said. "I've been in worse situations. I'm River, by the way."

"I'm sure." He couldn't help but sound sarcastic. "Look, this isn't a game. My city is dangerous."

"Seriously," she snarled, looking up at him. Her eyes seemed to critically take him in as she went from his face down his body. She cocked her head to one side, looking slightly puzzled by whatever was behind him.

He turned and looked, but they were the only two on the roof. "What?" he demanded.

She shrugged. "Oh, I was just trying to see how far that stick was stuck up your ass is all. And wondering if you'd have to have it surgically removed or if I could yank it out like a Band-Aid."

Oliver was glad that his hood hid his face as he felt himself blush slightly. He hadn't expected that.

"And your city?" She asked and snorted, standing to her feet. She turned her back to him and looked at the city around him for a brief moment. "So then you're saying you're the mayor? You sound a bit young to be him. Or maybe you're some rich guy who thinks he owns the city."

He didn't reply. There was no way she knew who he was, but her shot in the dark about him being rich caused him discomfort.

She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she said softer than he had anticipated. "Look. I don't want us to be enemies. Just because we have our own missions doesn't mean we can't help each other out from time to time."

He scoffed.

"Not what you think," she quickly said. She hesitated then knelt and pulled out a vial from her boot. "I think this drug is on the streets here." She held out the vial for him.

He paused then grabbed it and looked at it. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's called Zeraxics," she said. "I had thought all of it was destroyed ten years ago."

"But you found this here?" he asked, sounding skeptical.

She shifted her weight, clearly uncomfortable, but shook her head. "No," she said. "I… a friend said he found traces of it in a new drug that's being distributed here. I think I may have come across the new version. It's called Vertigo. But I don't have many resources to use, at least not right now and here. But if you happen to come across this drug or any information on who makes it I would greatly appreciate your help."

"So you need my help," he stated.

She shook her head. "I swear to god! You're not listening. I don't need your help. You know this city better than I do. If you happen to come across any information I would appreciate it if you tell me."

He studied the vial still unsure about her. "This is Vertigo?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. That's Zeraxics in its pure form."

"But you said it was supposed to be destroyed," he pointed out. He couldn't help but feel stupid by his questions. But he didn't like the situation. He wanted to know the whole truth before he started helping her. But it was obvious she wasn't going to give it to him.

She stiffened, clearly contemplating on what she was going to tell him next. "I kept it for emergencies only," she finally stated. "Look, I don't need to explain myself or my plans, unless you would like to explain yours to me. It'd only be fair."

"You're asking for my help," he pointed out.

She let out an exasperated sigh, raising her hands into the air. "Dios mio. No," she said. "You obviously have your own agenda. I'm not asking you to add this to your list of stuff to do. I'm just asking that if you come across anything to please tell me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cellphone. "I don't have any signal in the sky to signal me or anything."

He held the vial up and glanced toward her. Part of him wanted to keep the vial and study it. While the other part was unsure. She wouldn't want him to have it. Especially since she seemed so terrified that the drug was on the streets. "I'll see what I can do," he said, wrapping his hand firmly around the vial. It was a test.

Her body stiffened while her eyes stayed locked on his hand. He could see her visibly gulp as her muscles tightened. It would make sense for her to attack him and take the vial back. She didn't know him. She didn't know if he was good or bad. In her shoes he knew he'd take the vial back. To be honest, he wasn't sure which decision on her end was correct.

"If you take that vial then we're going to have to work together," she finally said. "Whatever your plans are you'll have to put them to one side and focus only on this. I will not let that vial get into the wrong hands. I don't know you. And I don't trust you enough to let you take that with you. You don't have to reveal to me who you are. But you would have to show me where you work. You try to leave with that then I will follow you. And I will find you or we'll fight to the death. I don't want to fight you. But too many people have died to make sure that that drug never saw the light of day."

He loosened his grip and held out the vial to her. He believed her. She took it from him and put it back into her boot.

"If I hear anything about this Vertigo I'll tell you. But my mission is too important. I can't go out of my way to help you. You are on your own for now."

She nodded her head in understanding.

He made sure to let her see that he was pocketing her phone before he left via the fire escape. Although the night was still young he headed back to his base of operations. Her mission wasn't his for now. But since he had put his mission on hold for the night, he could do a little research.


Ria let her purse and coat drop to the ground as soon as she entered her apartment, immediately heading toward the bathroom. Last night's escapades had not gone as plan at all. Not only had she found herself in a fight with a bunch of thugs, but one of them had punched her in the face. And no amount of make-up covered the giant bruise. It was one thing for her body to be bruised. She could cover up any bruise with a clothes, which she had. She had a couple of decent size bruises on her stomach. But of course, they had to get her face. On the bright side she had been able to meet the vigilante and talk to him.

And the nice headache was her own fault. She had thrown her sai at one of the assailants last night, and would have missed him if she hadn't "cheated". Kevin was right. If she grew complacent she'd be a greater risk to herself. The small things built up. And what if one day she woke up and couldn't do anything anymore? Or what if she went too far? And then she had to save the vigilante's life.

Ria reached the bathroom and wet a washcloth, gently wiping her face. Why had she picked yesterday to go out? It was perfect timing though. She loved the fact that Oliver stayed with her the last couple of nights, but she was getting antsy. With him around she couldn't disappear. She couldn't familiarize herself with the city. Especially now that she was going to be working all day.

And then he had called and said he was going to be staying home. So she had taken that opportunity to explore the city in her costume. During her free time, she had made a new costume. One that was less ninja looking and more "cool". Pleather leggings, combat boots, dark blue long sleeve shirt, black belt to keep it together, a bright blue wig with short hair, and a mask that covered most of her face and she was done. She'd add little designs here and there once she had time. But this costume made her feel better about herself.

Keeping the wet washcloth in her hands, Ria made her way out of the bathroom and into the small kitchen. She opened the fridge door and stuck her head inside briefly. Her head pounded with a massive headache. And the only way to get rid of it she refused to take. Determinedly, she grabbed an ice pack and stepped back.

"Oh my god! What happened to you?" Katie shrilled as soon as Ria closed the fridge door.

Ria winced. "Please don't shriek," she muttered as she tiredly moved toward her room.

"Did he do that too you? Are you going to tell the papers? He can't get away with this."

"No and no," Ria replied.

"Ria!"

"Katie. I just got back from my first day at work in a lawyer's office. One that works down in the Glades. Believe me. If I were in trouble one of them would have taken my case. Now please. I'm really tired and would like to just take a nap." She didn't wait for her roommate to say anything and closed the door to her room.

She sighed and collapsed onto her bed. She wanted to be pampered, but at the same time she didn't want Oliver to see her with a giant bruise on her eye. She placed the wet cloth on her forehead, covering her eye and the pack of ice on top of that. She wasn't going to take the easy way out for her headache.

"Emergencies," she muttered out loud. Even if she found a warehouse full of Zeraxics she was going to make sure that every single drop was destroyed. She gritted her teeth as the pounding in her head grew stronger and louder in her head. She didn't realize that the pounding was on the door.

"I'm coming," Katie shouted. She glanced worriedly at Ria's door. She wasn't a complete fan of the young woman. Considering she was dating the famous Oliver Queen. But now that she had seen Ria's face she didn't begrudge her. She felt sorry for her. She clearly wanted to be loved so desperately by the rich man that she wouldn't admit what had happened.

"Can I help yo…" her words dropped when she saw that it was Oliver holding a bouquet of flowers. "Those apology flowers you dick?" Katie snapped.

Oliver frowned in confusion. "Umm… no," he said.

"I ain't letting you in. Not after what you did to her last night. What'd she do last night to piss you off?"

"What?" he asked. "I didn't see her last night. I was at home. Did she say she saw me last night?"

"You didn't see her last night?"

He shook his head.

Katie looked confused then took a step back. "Sorry. Guess she was telling me the truth," she muttered. "She's in her room."

Oliver frowned in confusion, but gently knocked on Ria's door.

"Leave me alone, Katie!" Ria shouted.

"It's me," Oliver said as cheerfully as possible, opening the door.

"Shit!" Ria shouted.

It was the second time she had cursed while he was around. He smiled and prepared to make a joke when the cloth dropped from her face. She clearly tried to cover up, but it didn't matter. He saw the bruise around her eye. "What happened?" he asked, rushing to her side.

"It's nothing. Really, Oliver," she said.

"Let me see. Please," he whispered, gently cupping her face. She closed her good eye and sighed then dropped her right hand. "What happened?" he asked.

She looked at him smugly. "You think this is bad. You should see the other guy." She grabbed his hand her tone changing a little. "Really, Oliver. I said I'm fine. Just need a little ice and some sleep. Maybe some ice cream. This bruise will be gone in no time. Are those for me?" She asked, trying to change the subject. She reached for the flowers that he had set on the end of her bed.

"They were congratulations on your first day at your job. Guess they're get well flowers now," Oliver said, as he grabbed them and handed them to her.

She smiled. "Thank you," she said. "But I'm not much of a flower person. Next time bring chocolates. They could last longer than flowers. Not likely since I love chocolate. Especially dark chocolate. But the word I need to emphasis is could."

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. She winced. "Sorry," he said.

She shrugged. "The day could have gone a lot better. But I think it's going to end pretty perfectly now. You have no idea. So after you called me yesterday I felt like getting some chocolate. So I went down to the 7-Eleven and some dude tried to mug me on my way out. Didn't see it coming. Punched me right in the eye."

"You shouldn't go out here this late at night," Oliver interrupted.

"Hey!" she snapped, pushing him a little. "No victim blaming. He shouldn't have been trying to rob people."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

She shook her head. "Naw. He was wearing a mask. Luckily I wasn't carrying my purse or wallet. Just change since I was buying chocolate. Bastard stole my chocolate money though. I didn't think it was that bad till this morning. Do you know what it's like? First day at your job, sporting a black eye and having your bosses be a bunch of lawyers? Your ex-girlfriend was sweet though. Very concerned. Glad she knew you well enough. The others kept telling me about women's shelters and stuff. Not trying to complain. I'm glad they care. I know I'm only one day in, but it's a great firm. Nice people. They do good work."

He nodded. "I know," he said. "She's always been one of those selfless people. Pretty amazing that she stayed with me for as long as she did. Me being the way I am at least."

Ria leaned on to him and let out a soft sigh. "You're not that bad, Oliver. Now," she paused and swayed a little. "Wait." Jumping to her feet, she rushed out of her room. He quickly got up and started to follow, but then stopped when he heard her throw up. She looked annoyed, exhausted and defeated when she returned.

"Don't worry," she said miserably as she laid on her bed. "I'm not pregnant."

"I should hope not," he whispered back. "I think that's impossibly fast." He placed his hand on her forehead and frowned. It was incredibly hot. He wasn't sure what the situation called for. So he helped her pull up the blankets and placed the wet cloth and ice pack back on her forehead.

"It ain't fair, Ollie," she muttered. "First day of work, I have a black eye and now I'm stupidly sick."

"I'm sure they'll understand." He tried to reassure her, settling in next to her. She muttered incoherently and he slowly adjusted the ice pack. "When did you decide to call me Ollie?"

It was a question that he wasn't going to get an answer to. At least not tonight. Her deep breathing already told him that she was fast asleep. Regret filled him. If he had just come the night before instead of lying she wouldn't have gotten hurt. He gulped. He couldn't let himself think that way. Once he opened that bridge then a lot more "What ifs" would come out. He had to trust her. She could clearly handle herself, considering all she got from her ordeal was a black eye.

He gently touched her cheek. Maybe this was a good thing. His end game had always been to stop the people on the list. But there wasn't anything else after that. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do. But seeing her now gave him new resolve. He'd clean up the streets of the Glades. He was already doing a little of that with his work. He knew he wouldn't be able to completely eliminate the bad guys out there. But he could help make the city safer. Protect the innocent from those who would try to take advantage.


A/N: Oh! So sorry for the delay again. I'm not doing it on purpose. Although I know where I'm going, I keep on adding new content and more chapters. Which is a good thing for you guys. This story would have probably been a chapter or so away from the end at this point. But it's not. I tend to wait a little till I'm completely satisfied with the chapter or my idea on what the chapter is to be about. Thanks for your continued support with your reviews/favs/alerts, heck even your views! Glad my story is still interesting and I want to keep it that way.