Beyond the Shadow

by bandgeek18

AU. The only thing Roy wants is to leave his past behind him, but that might be harder than he thinks. Life is willing to throw him more curveballs than he thinks he can handle and nothing is as it seems. After everything, he's been through, Roy will have to keep struggling and fighting to get through.

27. Mia's First Patrol

A/N: It's Mia's time to shine! Enjoy and leave a review to let me know what you think!

[January 2015]

A small smile played on Connor's lips as he watched Mia pace back and forth. "The night won't come faster by pacing," he said as he turned back to his book.

"It might!" she argued. A glance at the clock informed her that Connor was right though. It was only noon. She groaned and threw herself dramatically onto the carpet. "Where you this impatient the first time you went on patrol?" After a moment without a response, she lifted her head to look at him, then snorted and rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Look at who I'm talking to." She dropped her head back down.

"It's not really a proper patrol." Connor didn't even look up from his book as he talked. "Roy's not going to let you go far and he'll probably spend the next few weeks teaching you how to zip-line." Something hit him in the side and he fell over. He glanced over at Mia from where he was sprawled on the floor to find she was glaring at him. "Sorry. It's true though. Roy's paranoid about side-kicks, Mia-"

"I know, I know. Because one of his adopted brothers died. But that was different. It was in Gotham. From what I've heard that place is like…insane."

"Star can still be dangerous. I'd only been Green Arrow for a few weeks when I had to help Roy and few other heroes stop bank robbers with laser weapons that had ties to a super-villain."

"God, that's so cool! I wish I could do something like that!"

Connor smiled a little as he sat up. "It was pretty cool." He laughed a little as Mia pushed him over again in response. "Just relax. It's going to be fine."

"I'm so restless!"

"Just be patient, Mia. Night will be here before you know it. Besides, you still have to think of a hero-name, don't you?"

Mia bit the inside of her lip and glanced away. "I mean… No?"

"What'd you mean no?" Connor set his book down. "Do you already have one?"

"…Sort of. I have an idea for a name. I just- I don't know how Roy will react to it."

"Well… I don't think it can be any worse than me wanting to be Green Arrow."

"Yeah, that was a pretty out there decision you made. Did it take a lot to convince him?"

"Mmm… Not really. He actually agreed much faster than I thought he did after I explained why I wanted to use that name. But it did come with the caveat that if it became too much, he reserved the right to make me change it." Which Connor was really glad hadn't happened in the last month, considering the state of Roy's mental health.

"Ok. Good." Mia nodded as she grabbed a puzzle Connor had gotten for Christmas, then opened the box and dumped the pieces out on the floor in front of him.

"What're you doing?"

"You think I need to be patient, and I'm bored. So let's do a puzzle. You're a Buddhist, that's zen, right?"

Connor opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head with a smile. 'As long as it keeps her distracted, I guess.'

— —

Later that night, Mia was practically vibrating all through dinner. It was obvious to everyone else, with Jade rolling her eyes (although Roy noticed there didn't seem to be a lot of malice behind the gesture) and Connor was outwardly amused, though he tried to hide it. Roy simply smiled and tried to keep Mia focused on eating her dinner, insisting that she wouldn't be allowed to patrol with an empty stomach. When the meal finally ended though, she bounded out of her seat and toward the door.

"Its kind of early to head to the Cave," Connor observed.

"True…" Roy agreed. "But if we don't go, she might self-combust."

"Probably."

"Jade, do you want to-"

"No," Jade answered before he could finish.

"Fair enough. Come on, Connor. Let's go before Mia leaves without us."

'She'd definitely do that.' Connor shook his head as he quickly put his shoes on, then grabbed his jacket as he followed Roy out of the apartment. 'Mia's really excited to be a vigilante.' Not that he could judge since he'd been just as excited himself. 'I've been a fully-fledged vigilante for almost a year now. It'll be a year in March. I can't believe it.' The first of what he hoped would be many, many years of being a hero. Where he would help countless people and not be like his father.

"Connor," Roy said eventually. He spoke quietly even though Mia was ten feet in front of them. "I want you to keep an eye on Mia while we're out tonight. Watch her back."

"You don't trust her?"

"It's not about trust. This is her first night out. Watch her back and stay together. No matter what. I'm counting on you."

Connor nodded solemnly. "Got it. Watch Mia's back and don't leave her side. I can do it."

"Thank you."

Part of Connor was extremely happy that Roy trusted him enough to help Mia out while they were patrolling. The other part tried to argue Connor was his only other option besides keeping an eye on Mia himself. 'Shut up,' he thought. 'Roy trusts me. We've been partners for almost a year. He practically jumps when a stranger looks at him too fast. If he didn't trust me a least a little bit, then he wouldn't let me keep an eye on Mia. She's the one he has a special connection with anyway, remember?' And even a little bit of trust from Roy was better than nothing.

They got to Roy's office and let themselves in through the back. Mia was so excited that she opened the secret passage to the Cave herself.

"Slow down," Roy told her as she skipped stairs in her haste. 'God, the last thing I need is for her to fall and get hurt.' The irony wasn't lost on him that he was worried about Mia getting hurt on the stairs while he was about to take her out to fight dangerous criminals. "First thing's first, Mia, you need to fill your quiver. Connor, show her how and make sure both of ours are ready to go."

"Over here," Connor said to Mia, gesturing for her to follow. The arsenal rack against the wall now had more arrows than they had before, along with two more, smaller yellow quivers, and two new, smaller, red bows. "So, typically we want 60 arrows per quiver. 30 normal ones, 10 electroshock, 5 glue arrows, 5 rope-based arrows like the net-arrow, 5 zip-line arrows, and 5 of my choice. I like the knockout gas ones and try to slip in a couple of boxing-glove arrows in there."

Mia nodded as she helped Connor load all the arrows into the quiver. "There are so many arrows," she said, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "What if I pulled the wrong one?"

Connor shrugged. "Adjust your aim and change your plans on the fly."

"Oh. Right…" Doubt started creeping up her mind and Mia swallowed. She purposefully looked away from Connor, afraid he might see the doubts on her face. 'What if I'm not any good at this?' she wondered as she put the arrows into her quiver. 'What if I screw everything up? Would Roy still want me here if I can't be a vigilante like him and Connor?' She glanced at the other teen, who was filling two quivers with ease. 'I'm already a street gremlin compared to Connor. I don't know what I'll do if I can't at least kick criminals' asses as well as him.' It felt like the most worthwhile thing she'd ever done in her life, the first worthwhile thing, so she was determined to succeed at it. 'I've gone back to school and made it halfway through the 8th grade. I can do this too. I can.'

Once they had the quivers filled, the two teens suited up. Despite her doubts and anxieties, Mia couldn't help but smile as she put her suit on. It fit perfectly and while it was a bit more contouring to her body than most of the clothes she'd started wearing on a regular basis, the cape that fell around her hid her body enough that she felt confident wearing it. Plus, when she applied the mask, putting the adhesive on how Connor had shown her, it sent a strange confidence through her. Having her identity hidden gave her the kind confidence she could only dream of having while she was a prostitute. Putting the quiver on took a minute, but once it was in place she felt ready.

"You look great!" Red Arrow told her.

"Thanks. The suit fits me."

"I'm glad. So, decide on a codename yet?"

"Uh…" Mia glanced at Green Arrow and he gave her an encouraging nod. "Yeah."

"Great! What is it?"

"…Speedy."

There was a long minute where no one said anything. Red Arrow's face fell and he shook his head. "Mia… No…"

"What?! Why?!"

"Because- Because."

"Because why?!" Mia crossed her arms. "Why can't I be Speedy? Connor gets to call himself Green Arrow!"

"Don't bring me into this," Green Arrow muttered.

"You just- You don't understand, Mia," Red Arrow said. "Speedy is- That's not a good name."

"Why not? It was your name! What's so bad about it?!"

"Because it was the name he gave me!" Red Arrow closed his eyes and took several deep, slow breaths. "I didn't pick the name Speedy, Oliver gave it to me. Speedy wasn't a hero, Mia. He was an accomplice. He helped a murderer."

Mia frowned and her arms loosened a little. "…Why do you say it like that? Like you and Speedy were completely different people?"

'Because I have to,' Red Arrow thought, unable to voice the words properly. 'Because it was the only way I could distance myself from everything that happened while I held that mantle.' He took several deep breaths again. "I know you want a good name, Mia, but Speedy isn't it."

"But Speedy was your name," Mia emphasized the last two words. "That- That makes it good. You're like…the greatest hero ever! Look at all the shit you went through! Anyone else probably would've forgotten about something like this. They would've run screaming, but you've stuck with it for years! Despite all the hell, Oliver Queen put you through, you still became a hero. And Speedy was your name. That makes it a good name and its the name I want."

Again, there was a long minute where no one said anything. Red Arrow tried to keep his eyes from tearing up. It was hard to maintain the focused, stoic model of a hero when Mia was speaking so highly of him. 'And damn, is she passionate about it. How can I say no to that?' Red Arrow took a slow breath and nodded. "Ok. Ok. You can be Speedy."

Mia- Speedy grinned victoriously. "Thanks, Red."

"You're welcome. Now, Green Arrow, Speedy, let's go."

"Can I drive your bike, GA?"

"Absolutely not," Green Arrow said as he led Speedy over to the motorcycle. "You don't even know how."

"Do you know how?"

"I do. I've been practicing for the last week."

"Let's go then! The criminals won't wait for us!"

Green Arrow smiled as he got on the bike and Speedy got on behind him. "You got it." She wrapped her arms around his was it and he followed Red Arrow out of the Cave.

— —

The January air bit at Speedy's exposed face, but she didn't mind. Her suit was warm and the hood on her cape kept a lot of the wind off her face. She followed Red Arrow across the rooftops, eager to start taking down bad guys. They stooped after a few blocks and he crouched on the edge of a rooftop. Green Arrow and Speedy knelt on either side of him. "See down there?" he asked quietly, pointing to a parked car. "Looks like those three are trying to break into that car."

"They look young," Green Arrow observed. "Teenagers maybe?"

"Looks like it. Just scare them off. We shouldn't need to bring them in."

"Are you sure?" Speedy asked.

Red Arrow nodded. "We've dealt with lots of teens like them. They're not dangerous, just stupid kids. Some vigilantes scaring them should send them home for the night."

"Got it."

"Let's go."

Speedy tried not to feel excited as she followed the other two archers to the ground, then pulled an arrow from her quiver. As she ran, she fired but the arrow missed the crowbar she was aiming for. It glanced off and cut the sweater of the teen holding the object. Speedy cursed under her breath, then fired another arrow. This one hit its mark and the force knocked the crowbar out of the teen's hand. She fired an electroshock arrow at the boys' foot, shocking him. He yelped and backed away from the car. When Speedy pointed another arrow at him, he turned and ran off down the street. Speedy smiled as she watched him run, then lowered her arrow and turned around. Red Arrow and Green Arrow were already done scaring off the other two. "They scattered really easily."

"They usually do," Red Arrow nodded. "Let's go."

Speedy elbowed Green Arrow as they left. "Psst. I just stopped a criminal. For the first time. I did that."

"I know," Green Arrow smiled at her. "You did a good job."

They went a few blocks before coming around the corner in time to see two men in the middle of an exchange. One was taking a stack of cash while the either was taking a duffel bag.

"That looks suspicious," Red Arrow muttered. One of the men glanced around and spotted the vigilantes, then shouted something and took off running. The other man looked back, then darted down a side street. Red Arrow sighed. "I got the guy with the bag. You two take the guy with the cash."

"Got it," Green Arrow replied. "Come on, Speedy." Speedy followed him down the street after the man. They caught up quickly, but the man was fast and took a sudden turn down a narrower side street,

"Should we split up?"

"No! Shoot an arrow!"

Speedy pulled the correct arrow from her quiver, only fumbling a little bit with trying to pull an arrow from her quiver while running. Nocking the arrow to the bowstring was just as difficult, but she got it. The electroshock arrow his leg as the man attempt to climb a fence.

"Agh!" he yelled as the jolt went through his body and his gripped slipped.

Green Arrow was positioned over him as soon as he hit the ground, an arrow pointed at him. "Don't move," he said.

"Damn kids… I ought to-"

"You're not going to be doing much. Speedy, can you restrain him?"

Speedy nodded and pulled a zip-tie from her utility belt. As she knelt down to restrain the man, their comms beeped.

"Did you catch the other guy?" Red Arrow asked.

"We got him," Green Arrow replied. "Speedy's restraining him now."

"Good. Meet up with me back on the first street. We've got a case. Leave him there and call the police."

"Got it." Green Arrow let his hand drop and looked at Speedy. "Red says to leave this guy for the police, then meet back up with him."

"Ok." Within a few minutes, they'd alerted the police, and were running back in the direction they'd come. When they got there, Red Arrow was there was a man Speedy recognized immediately.

"Two sidekicks?" Detective Rodgerson asked.

"I'm new."

"Hmm." The detective looked at Red Arrow. "We're busting a big drug trafficking ring tonight. All I need you to do is keep an eye on things from above and watch my officers' backs. Do you think you can handle that?"

"You can count on us," Red Arrow said.

"Good. Edinson Wharf. Midnight. Don't be late."

Red Arrow gestured to his partners and they followed him down the street, back toward their bikes.

"If we don't finish by 1 am, does that mean we get to stay out late?" Green Arrow asked hopefully.

"…Looks like it," Red Arrow replied. He glanced back at the teens. "Don't get used to it though."

"Didn't seem like Rodgerson liked us too much," Speedy observed.

"No. My relationship with him is…complicated." What wasn't complicated at this point in his life? "He was around back when O- Back when there was a less than great vigilante running around, so he's suspicious. But I've been working on convincing him that we're here to help."

"It's better than it was last year," Green Arrow added as they reached the bikes. "At least he doesn't want to shoot at us anymore."

'Well that's good, I guess,' Speedy thought as she got on Green Arrow's motorcycle behind him. She stowed her bow on her back, then wrapped her arms around his torso. 'We don't want to get shot, after all.'

— —

When they got to the wharf, they hid the bikes then followed Red Arrow to the roof of a nearby building. He stood on it, arms crossed, looking at the ground below him. Green Arrow and Speedy watched him silently as he punted to various places, moving his finger around as he followed some kind of path. Eventually, he nodded. "Ok. GA, I'm going to position you close to the water. One the red building right on the edge. Keep an eye out for small boats in case they use it as an escape. Speedy, you'll be by the road. Same thing, keep a close eye out in case they try to escape. You'll also be the lookout and keep up posted on when they and the police are on their way. I want you on the brick building over there." He pointed out the building and glanced back at her. "Got it?"

"Got it," Speedy nodded, trying to mask her nervousness with confidence. 'Just being the lookout and shooting anyone who tries to run away. I can do this.'

"And I'll stay on this building and keep an eye on things from here. Stay on the comms and alert everyone else to anything suspicious."

"You mean besides the obvious suspiciousness of there being drug traffickers here?"

"Yes, besides that."

Speedy let herself to the ground, then sprinted across the open space to another building. She snuck down the sides of the buildings, trying to keep to the shadows. 'I have to do this right,' she thought. 'Connor's already got a year of experience on me. I have to get this right. I have to.' She got onto her assigned building using a grapple arrow, then settled down by the lip of the roof. There were 2 lights on the side of the building giving her a small bubble of light to see by. Looking down the road that led to the wharf, she was able to see where a street light illuminated the area twenty feet away. 'Looks like this light will give me a good shadow to hide in,' Speedy thought. She pulled a pair of binoculars from her utility belt and looked through them. 'Perfect. I have a great view of everything.'

It was silent and still as they waited for the bust. Staying still had never really been a strong suit for Speedy. The urge to move around and squirm kept pulling at her muscles, but she did her best to ignore it. She allowed herself to adjust her legs to keep them from falling asleep but tried to stay perfectly still otherwise. 'I can't give away my position. I have to get this right. I have to.' It would help if the criminals and police would just get there already!

"Any signs yet, Speedy?" Red Arrow asked quietly.

"Nothing yet," Speedy whispered back. "Seems like they're taking their time."

"Traffickers are overly cautious and prepared. They won't show up until they're sure it's safe."

"Goody." Speedy let her hand fall from comm and went back to watching the road.

It felt like forever before something happened. A caravan of five SUVs drove down the road, passing under the streetlight Speedy had been watching one after another.

"They're here."

"Keep your eyes open and don't give away your positions unless absolutely necessary."

"Got it."

"Understood," Green Arrow replied.

Speedy followed the SUVs with her binoculars as they passed by her building, then into the open area of the wharf. When they stopped, close to two dozen people got out. Immediately, half of them went straight for the red building where Green Arrow was stationed. For a moment, fear jolted through Speedy's body, but they didn't find the vigilante. They didn't even look up. Instead, they went inside the building and, with a few of them standing guard with big guns, started unloading plastic crates from the building. 'I bet that's where they're hiding the drugs.' Looked like Green Arrow had been given a front-row seat. The sound of approaching cars made her look back toward the road. 'Must be the cops.'

She took a deep breath as she put her binoculars away and knocked an arrow to her bowstring. Then the headlights of the police cars disappeared quickly before they even reached the streetlight. 'Where did they go? Maybe they turned off the road so they can sneak up on them on foot. That'd be smart.' Her theory was proven correct when 10 minutes later, police officers started creeping toward the open space of the wharf.

"Star City police!" Detective Rodgerson yelled. "Put down your weapons and put your hands up!"

Evidently, that wasn't what the criminals had in mind, because everything got chaotic after that. Guns were going off back and forth. Speedy caught sight of the police taking cover behind some large metal containers and she took aim. She wasn't good enough to shoot down the barrel of a gun like Red Arrow, especially not from this angle, but she knew she could hit them with either electroshock or blue arrows to take out their guns. The arrow hit its mark, but then she saw several of them getting back into the SUVs.

'Not on my watch!' Speedy pulled a glue arrow from her quiver. Sure enough, the SUV sped past her, but she was ready. The arrow hit the ground right in front of it and the glue dried so quickly it caught one of the tires. The vehicle came to a sudden stop and jolted. Speedy pulled another glue arrow from her quiver and shot it at the back tire on the side facing her. Satisfied the car wasn't going anywhere, she pulled a regular arrow from her quiver and shot it at the second SUV that had tried to leave right behind the first one. This one hit the tire and pierced a hole in the rubber. The driver quickly lost control and drove into the back of the first SUV. Speedy shot out the back tire as well to make sure they couldn't go anywhere.

There wasn't any time to celebrate though, because the guys in the SUVs were trying to escape on foot. They started running, but Speedy started firing. She hit two of them with electroshock arrows but the others were in weird spits where she couldn't hit them. Speedy hesitated for a moment glancing back at the open space where the shootout was still happening, then moved. She stood and backed up several big steps, then ran toward the edge. The SUVs had been stopped not far from her building, so she leaped from the roof of the building to the roof of the closest vehicle. She hit hard, having to somersault across the roof and down the windshield to the hood. It was rough and she could already feel bruises blossoming on her back and shoulders as she stood on the hood, but she ignored it.

The criminals were surprised to see her, but she didn't give them more than half a smirk before shooting at them. She shot electroshock arrows at them, as well as regular arrows to snag their clothes. It was tricky, twisting and turning, spinning on her heels to shoot them. She almost slipped a couple times but didn't miss a single shot. At one point a bullet hit a window on the SUV she was standing on, so Speedy dropped down onto one knee, but kept firing. Once all the guys form the SUV had been stopped, she cautiously slipped off the hood and darted over the shadow of the building.

The shooting had stopped, so she crept around the corner to see what was going on. The police were handcuffing each of the criminals. All around them, guns with arrows shot down the barrels were laying on the ground. Some of the criminals had clearly been stunned by an electroshock arrows or had ropes wrapped around a wrist, or glue on their hands or feet. Speedy watched for a minute before someone put a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened and spun around, grabbing the wrist as she did.

"Just me," Red Arrow whispered. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Speedy nodded and followed him away from the wharf. When they got to the bikes, Green Arrow was there waiting for them. He didn't say anything, but he smiled and gave her a fist bump before he got on the bike. Speedy smiled as she got on the bike behind him and they headed home.

— —

"So…" Mia asked casually, once they were back in the Arrow Cave. She pulled her mask off as Roy looked at her. "…How- How I'd do?"

Roy smiled at her. "You did good, Mia," he reassured her. "Although I don't approve of you jumping from the roof onto an SUV…"

"Well, you didn't say not to." She heard Connor snort and looked at him. But he quickly turned away, trying to hide his smile.

"But you still did good. That was a bit more eventful than what I wanted your first night out to be like, but you held your own. You did good, Mia. I'm proud of you."

Heat crept up Mia's cheeks and her stomach flip-flopped a little. "Thanks."

"Are either of you hurt?"

"Nope," Connor said as he hung up his quiver and bow.

"Just a little bruised," Mia said. "Nothing serious."

"Ok. Get changed, then we'll head home."

Mia tried not to skip as she went to change out of her suit. Once she'd put it away, she hung her quiver and bow on the wall. As she stepped back from her bow, Mia couldn't help but stop and admire it for a moment. 'I did good,' she thought. 'I- I really did a good job. Maybe I can do this. Maybe- Maybe I can do something good. I can be better than I was.' A smile crept across Mia's face as she turned away and followed Connor and Roy up the stairs; something new and entirely unfamiliar blooming in her chest.