Star City

Afternoon

Star City was, for once, calm. That should have been the first tip that something was about to go horribly wrong.

Out of nowhere, shots rang out, a snipper on the rooftop. As the people ran for cover, Green Arrow was suddenly on the rooftop, reaching for his arrows. However, he wasn't quick enough and the sniper turned to him, opening fire. The archer was hit multiple times in the chest before stumbling back, falling off the roof. He landed with a crack on the ground as someone rushed to him. They frantically felt for his pulse but found none. The Green Arrow was dead.

Arrow lair

Night

"After being shot multiple times and falling three stories, the Green Arrow was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime," Susan Williams reported on the news.

Thea turned off the report as she, Laurel, and William turned to Roy.

"So, explain this to me again?" Thea asked.

"Church will only move forward with his plan if he thinks I'm dead. Lyla hired a sniper to shoot the Green Arrow with blanks while dosing him with fake blood and give the temporary appearance of death," Roy explained.

"But you've been here all day. So who got shot?" William wondered.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened and they all looked over to see 'Green Arrow' walk out.

"Well, I think everything went as planned," 'Green Arrow' said before pulling back his mask to reveal an unknown man.

"Everyone, this is Christopher Chance, he's an old friend of Lyla's. She called him the Human Target," Roy explained as Chance made his way onto the platform.

"That works better as a job description than a codename," Chance quipped and Roy chuckled.

"You're not gonna stay dead forever right?" Laurel asked.

"No, just until Church makes his big move. Speaking of which, I'm gonna try to figure out what that is," Roy said as he turned to walk off.

"Roy," Laurel said as she walked with him away from the others. "You never told me you knew my mother."

"You and I have never had that kind of relationship," Roy pointed out and she nodded as they walked. "I didn't know she was your mom. I just knew her as Ms. Di; the woman who would come to Saint Mary's every few weeks. Last time I saw her was my eighteenth birthday."

"She never told me about that," Laurel muttered, almost to herself.

"Look, I don't want to get in the middle of your issues with her. All I know is she was one of the few good things I had in a crappy childhood. Whatever issues you two have with each other, you need to work it out by yourselves," Roy said before he walked out.

Rene's apartment

Later

Rene was in his kitchen, staring at his hockey mask when he heard someone walk in. He looked up to see Roy enter.

"How are you doing Rene?" Roy asked.

"Look, if you wanna tell me how bad I screwed up, let's just get this over with," Rene snapped.

"Is that what you think I'm here for? To lecture you?" Roy asked.

"It's what I deserve! I screwed up, again!" Rene snapped.

"You were tortured Rene, I get it. I don't blame you for giving up my name. But you might have seen or heard something that could help us Rene," Roy said.

"I already told you everything I remember man," Rene said.

"Yeah, but traumatic events have a way of messing with memories," Roy pointed out.

"My dad taught me how to take a beating," Rene said stiffly.

"This isn't about you being tough Rene. Trust me, even the toughest people are only human," Roy told him.

"Yeah? I doubt you ever screwed up like this," Ren e snapped and Roy got a faraway look in his eyes.

"You'd be wrong about that," Roy said and Rene was taken back. "You remember before The Siege, how there was that guy with the red hoodie running around?"

"Yeah," Rene said carefully, not seeing where this was going.

"That was me," Roy said to Rene's shock. "I'd been injected with something called Mirakuru. On the plus side, I got super strength and quick healing. But on the down side, the Mirakuru twisted my mind until it eventually drove me insane. My friends stopped me; got the Mirakuru out of my system, but not before I killed a police officer."

"Is that why you faked your death?" Rene inquired.

"One of the reasons, but not the only one," Roy acknowledged. "I had to learn how to live with that Rene. And I didn't want to relive it either, but I had to. I know you don't want to relive what happened, but I need you to in order to bring down Church."

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" Rene asked and Roy smiled.

A little later, Roy and Rene sat in Rene's living room, sitting across from each other cross legged.

"This is something I learned from the first Green Arrow. Breathe. Don't try to remember, just go there. Get a picture," Roy instructed.

"I was starving," Rene said after a moment. "My wrists hurt like hell from the zip ties."

"What else? Sounds, smells," Roy encouraged.

"I couldn't smell anything, nose was busted," Rene said.

"What about people, who else was there?" Roy asked.

"Muscle. Los Halcones, Triad. There's something else," Rene suddenly opened his eyes. "I know what's happening."

Arrow lair

Later

"The trust goes the brace ways in 0-4 in 72?" Laurel repeated as Thea and Laurel sat around the table with Roy and Rene.

"0-4 in 72 could be the time and date," Roy pointed out. "Four A.M., seventy two hours after he took Rene?"

"That's soon," Thea noted uneasily.

"The brace is what the guys in my hood used to call the private airstrip outside Pennytown," Rene added.

"Halpin-Brace airfield?" Laurel asked and Rene nodded.

"And this trust, I think it's the heads of the crime families Church controls. When he made me dig my grave, he said he was gonna bring the trust together," Rene explained.

"Four A.M. is in twenty minutes. Call Rory, we don't have a lot of time," Roy ordered and Rene nodded as he walked off.

"Roy, Church almost killed you less than a week ago," Laurel pointed out.

"I know," Roy admitted. "I can't beat him. His physical form makes him too strong for me. But I have to try. Someone in this city has to put an end to this."

Roy walked off, leaving the two women staring after him.

Star City

Later

Church was meeting with the heads of his crime families when Wild Dog opened fire on them. As they went scattering, Rag Man moved in, tying them up. And all the while, Church was making his escape as he fled to the hanger. But there was only one problem with Church's plan.

"What's wrong Tobias? You look like you've seen a ghost," Green Arrow quipped as he stood in front of Church's plane.

"Heh, you survived. Guess I'll just have to kill you again Roy. Do you mind if I call you Roy?" Church asked sarcastically.

"Yes I do." Green Arrow told him.

Church smirked and banged his brass knuckles together before rushing the archer. Green Arrow side stepped him, notched an arrow, and fired at church. The arrow hit him in the shoulder but Church pulled it out, shaking it off before rushing the archer again. The archer tried to deliver a spinning kick but that was his mistake. Church grabbed him and slammed him onto the ground. Church tried to hit him with one of his brass knuckles but someone fired an arrow with a line. It got Church in the back and someone yanked on the line, hard. Church was sent flying into the wall and Roy looked up to see another archer, dressed in Oliver's first suit, fire an arrow. It exploded into iron cables that wrapped around Church. He struggled but Church couldn't break free. The other archer lowered his bow as Roy got up.

"Oliver? Oliver, that you?" Roy asked hesitantly.

The other archer didn't respond, simply turned and fled. Roy stared after him as Thea, dressed in her Speedy suit, raced in.

"You beat him?" Thea asked, lowering her bow as she saw Church tied up.

"No," Roy said and Thea was confused.

"Then who did?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Roy said honestly.

"You got much worse coming and you don't even know it," Church laughed, drawing their attention. "He calls himself Prometheus and he's gonna end you."

Snarling, Roy rushed forward and slugged Church, hard enough to knock him out.

District Attorney's office, next day

Morning

"You're saying that it was Ollie who stopped Church?" Laurel asked as she spoke on the phone with Roy the next day.

"I don't know who that was, but whoever it was had on Oliver's old suit. I checked the lair and his old suit is missing. Someone took it and they stopped Church. I need to find them," Roy said.

"To take it back or to thank him?" Laurel asked.

"That depends on what he's after," Roy said and she nodded.

"I gotta go, I'll talk to you later," Laurel said, hanging up as her mother walked in.

"That Roy?" Dinah asked.

"Yeah," Laurel said as she looked up.

"You wanted to see me?" Dinah asked and Laurel nodded as she stood up.

"I thought a lot about what you said. And I'm not sure things will ever go back to how it used to be…but I'm willing to try this if you are," Laurel said and Dinah smiled.

"I would like nothing more Laurel," Dinah said earnestly.

Saint Mary's Orphanage

Night

After a long day, Roy made his way up to the attic, where Sister Anne was letting him stay. He opened the door and turned the light on, unprepared for the sight that greeted him.

"Hey," Oliver said, sitting on the bed.

"This-this is real right? I-I'm not hallucinating?" Roy said after a moment of shocked disbelief.

"It's me Roy," Oliver said as he stood up.

After a moment of shock, Roy walked over and grabbed Oliver in a bear hug.

"Hey Roy," Oliver said, briefly hugging Roy back.

"How are you even alive? We all thought you were dead. That was you last night, wasn't it?" Roy said as he pulled back.

"Yeah, that was me. It's a complicated story that I don't have time to tell," Oliver explained.

"Do Laurel and Thea know you're back?" Roy asked, the shock wearing off and giving way to giddiness.

"I'm not back Roy," Oliver said, taking Roy back. "Not in the way you're thinking. I'm…leaving Oliver Queen behind I guess. He's not gonna be a part of me anymore. The only reason I'm here is because I know you saw me and I didn't want you thinking you had another copycat on your hands."

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked confused.

"I've been going through a difficult period in my life Roy, wondering about the point of it all. A few nights ago, it all became clear: it was a mistake to bring you in, to bring you all in. I put you in danger and it was selfish of me. I can't change the past but I can stop making the same mistake," Oliver said and Roy looked at him, blown away.

"Oliver…" Roy trailed off, not sure what to say, not quite processing this.

"Stay safe Roy," Oliver said, walking over to a window and climbing out it, disappearing into the night before Roy could do anything.

Star City

Same time

"Those cops aren't on your payroll buddy. Nobody's breaking you out," The officer sitting across from Church in his armored car told him, noticing him looking at the cruisers following them.

"That's not what I'm worried about. You should have flown me to Iron Heights," Church told him grimly.

"Yeah, I heard you liked helicopters. What's got you spooked?" The officer asked curiously.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of sparks from the car in front of them and the driver swerved to a stop, Church and the officer almost being thrown from their seat. The other cruisers stopped and, soon enough, Church and the officer heard the sounds of gun fire, what sounded like a sword cutting something, and screams. Soon though, the screams stopped and the pair could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching the armored car.

"Don't go out there," Church warned the officer as he moved to go out, his loaded gun in hand.

"Why, so I can protect your ass in here?" He demanded.

"So you don't get killed," Church explained.

The officer ignored him and opened the back door. Only for Prometheus to cut him with a sword across the chest, killing him instantly. The officer fell to the ground, dead, as Prometheus looked over at Church.

"I knew we'd be having this conversation," Church told him. "Just hear me out. You want the Green Arrow; I can give him to you. I can give you his name. You would be the only person who knows… It's Roy Harper. We cool?"

Prometheus took out a shuriken and threw it. Church braced himself but it hit him in the ceratoid artery, killing him instantly.

"Yeah, we are," Prometheus said before he turned and walked away.