Another day passed in National City on Earth-38. Oliver and Mon-El had trained a couple of more times and Oliver could say he was honestly pleased with Mon-El's progress. He was definitely learning quickly. Alex had become quite nice to Oliver, while Winn was fascinated with Oliver's archery capabilities. They were both good company. He actually hadn't seen Kara since the tour. She seemed really busy at CatCo, and also had to pull double duty by being Supergirl in the day. The night moon glowed brightly as Oliver stood on the balcony of the DEO, overlooking National City.
The tranquillity of the city was something he noticed for sure. Star City was beautiful once upon a times, but now, there was always a sense of dread that clouded the city. People in Star City always had a feeling that something bad was inevitably going to happen, sooner or later. National City was different. The people were optimistic and friendly. Nobody seemed to have a chip on their shoulder besides anti-alien activists. Kara's presence very much contributed to the buoyancy of the people and the city. It was something with her and Barry that he always envied. Their ability to inspire hope. Oliver wasn't sure people would ever look to the Green Arrow like how people looked to Supergirl or the Flash. He noticed the red and blue blur slowly gliding through the sky towards the DEO.
"Hey" said Kara, as she landed next to him on the balcony.
"Hey" replied Oliver, "You heading out there again?"
"Yeah." Oliver studied her face. She seemed a bit tired. As Supergirl, she probably had all the energy in the world, and perhaps her fatigue was more mental than physical.
"Actually, why don't you take the night off?"
"What?"
"I'll go out there and handle anything that happens."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I've kind of been itching a little to get out there. You look tired. Even Supergirl needs a break sometimes."
"Thank you so much Oliver"
"No problem" replied Oliver. She smiled before bursting up into the air and flying into the direction of her apartment. He was being truthful. He did come to Earth-38 to take a break, but being the Green Arrow was something that was fundamental to his existence. The itch to get out there needed to be scratched, as he turned around and headed for his room.
"Green Arrow, can you hear me?" Agent Vasquez' voice blared over Oliver's earpiece as he stood atop a rooftop.
"Yep."
"There's a black market alien weapons deal going on in an abandoned warehouse. Sending location now." Oliver pulled out the GPS device from his pocket. He was obviously a little unfamiliar with National City, and the GPS was helping him get around. A red dot quickly appeared on the digital map. The place wasn't too far from him.
"I'm on my way."
"Our satellites show that Guardian is heading there too. Maybe you want to sit this one out? Let him handle it?"
"Not a chance" replied Oliver as he jumped on to the next rooftop. He had to try get there before James made a stuff up of the situation. If he didn't, then at least he'd finally get a face to face meeting with the Guardian.
In less than two minutes, he was on an adjacent rooftop to the warehouse. He had a decent view of it, with the height of the building angling him nicely to look through the windows. He spotted a van, behind a tall man in a suit. In front of him was an Asian woman, holding an large envelope. They weren't thugs, they were professionals. He was snapped out of his concentration by the growling of a motorbike engine below him. He looked down, spotting Guardian drive right up to the warehouse and enter. Oliver cursed under his breath. This probably wasn't going to end well. It took no more than a few seconds for Oliver to hear the sounds of gunshots.
He shot a grappling arrows to above the windows. He braced for impact while zipping over, as he rammed through the glass landing right in front of two men dressed in suits.
"Who the hell are you?" asked one, before each attacked Oliver. Oliver effortlessly avoided and blocked all of their blows. These guys were skilled, but they still weren't a match for Oliver. He kicked one man in the groin causing him to fall over in pain before turning his attention to the lone one. He heard the sound of an energy weapon powering up, spotting the tall man shooting a sonic wave at James, causing him to fly across the warehouse. Oliver quickly threw a three-strike combo which ended with the last man unconscious on the floor in front of him.
The sound of another engine roaring echoed in the warehouse, muffling James' screams as he continued to be pelted with sonic blasts while the arms dealer stood over him. He wasn't going to last much longer. Oliver turned around, seeing how the van was speeding off. It was almost out of the warehouse, and he had to choose between the weapons or James' life. He quickly nocked an flashbang arrow, aiming it at the floor next to the man and shooting it. It knocked the man several meters away from James, before Oliver ran up to him and threw a quick punch to incapacitate him. He turned back to his right and scowled at James, who was slowly getting back to his feet without even acknowledging Oliver.
"A thank you would be nice" said Oliver angrily.
"I was going to handle it" replied James, unable to admit defeat.
"The hell you did James", Oliver noticed James' eyes flare up in the gap in his helmet at the mention of his name, "You almost got killed! I had to save your ass and now there's a bunch of alien weaponry loose in the city! Let me help you James. I can train you to better."
"Sorry Oliver, but I really don't need any help. Especially not from a Robin Hood wannabe like you" said James. Oliver chose to speak with his actions rather than his words. Oliver looked at him dead in the eye, before throwing a palm strike at James' throat. James lost his breath and started choking, dropping to one knee before he felt a knee ram into his helmet, knocking him to the floor. He was completely out of it, and barely registering Oliver's words as he walked away.
"One day, you're going to get yourself killed."
The ordeal with James had pissed Oliver off more than he'd care to admit. Not only was he being reckless and irresponsible, but he was being selfish. He wasn't thinking what would happen to Kara, Winn or any of his other friends if he died out there. Oliver recognised those consequences the second he started his crusade, and always put steps in place to ensure that he would make it back home to his family. Oliver was back at the DEO, having just taken a shower. Besides the arms deal, there wasn't much else for Oliver to do out there. The only other thing of note that he did was putting a beating on a xenophobic bastard that was harassing a female alien. Oliver got to him before it escalated. Other than that, there was nothing. National City was a really safe city, or maybe it was just a quiet night.
He sat down on his bed, taking out the picture of Earth-1 Kara and stared at it. Every night, before he used to go to sleep, her face would be the last thing on his mind. Ever since he was on Earth-38, and around Kara, that changed. He put the picture down and laid back against his bed. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in years, his mind was a peaceful blankness as he drifted off to sleep.
