p class="p1"span class="s1""This was the single most stupid idea I have ever had!" Oliver shouted at himself as he zig zagged through alleyways and abandoned buildings. Seattle was an industrialist city, build on the idea that anyone could do anything. That dream died with big businesses became the foothold of America and started stepping on the average citizens throat. Oliver Queen was known for being a billionaire playboy philanthropist who had a tendency to make the wrong enemies. What wasn't known about him was that he was the social justice warrior known as the Green Arrow. Today he had set out to take down Malcolm Merlyn, CEO of Merlyn Global, father of his best friend and a member of the League of Assassins. He decided to barge into his office at midnight and try to force him to give up his criminal activity. Instead, he was met with an army of ninjas armed to the teeth. Now he is being hunted the second biggest criminal enterprise in the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" An arrow whizzed past his ear and embedded itself in the door he was about to exit from. "Not another step, Arrow." a gruff voice called out. em"Damn it." /emOliver thought to himself. He raised his hands above his head. Malcolm must have realized where he was trying to go. "drop your bow or I drop you." Oliver nodded, leaning down to place his bow on the ground. em"Think Queen. You've been in tougher spots." /emHe looked to his right and spotted a crate. em"Bingo."/em Oliver jumped to the right and rolled to cover behind the wooden container as a volley of arrows was launched at him. He reached for his hip quiver and drew three arrows, realizing they were his last three. Cursing, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "A true hunter does not need a weapon, just a target." The words played like a loop in his mind. An old lesson from an old friend. "Give up, Arrow. there is no escaping your fate!" Merlyn called out. Olivers eyes snapped open. "A wise man once told me we choose out own fate!" And with that, Oliver stood, firing an arrow up into the rafter. A cry of pain shortly followed, like an animal wounded. It bought Oliver a few seconds, which was all he needed to get out the door and down the manhole on the other class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Seattle was built on its remnants, and its underbelly is a labyrinth of dilapidated buildings and scorched streets. However, it is not impassable. Oliver has spent many years learning its streets, studying blueprints and schematics. One building in particular he has turned into his own personal headquarters. As he entered the building, he realized he was not alone. Footprints in the dust lead to the main computer room. He drew an arrow and readied his bow. "You can put the arrow away, Ollie. Its not like I bite or anything." Oliver smiled at the familiar voice. Quivering his arrow, he entered the room and smiled. "Emiko, what on earth are you doing here!?" She chuckled. "Nice to see you too, big brother." In an instant they embraced each other in a hug. However, Oliver new something was wrong. He disengaged the hug, playing his hands on her shoulders. "Emi, how did you know I'd be down here? Hell, how did you know where here was?" Her eyes slid away from his, a worried look crossing her face. "I- I have been tracking you for a few weeks now. Dinah told me what happened and I wanted to make sure you were all right." Olivers face darkened at the mention of his girlfriends name. "I'm fine." He class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Turning away, he approached one of the computers and sat down. "How have things been with you and the Titans?" Oliver asked, trying to change the topic. Things have been tense between him and Dinah, and with everything going on, he was not willing to talk about it. Emiko saw right through him though. She knew what he was doing. "Don't treat me like I'm everyone else. I know you, Ollie. I know what your doing." He glanced back at her. "And what might that be, missy?" The last word was said sarcastically, but he instantly felt a pang of guilt in his gut for saying it. She grabbed the chair and spun it around, forcing him to look at her. "Your compartmentalizing. Your pushing your feelings aside and focusing on the mission while hiding behind humor an sarcasm. I get that it hurts, but if you don't expose yourself to your emotions, your going to explode." Oliver stood, pushing past his sister angrily. "Don't. I told you I'm fine. Now, please. Let me get back to work-." He paused. A noise drew his attention. The creak of a floorboard. He grabbed his bow from where he set it as well as a new, fully packed quiver. "Who did you tell about coming to see me?" Emiko looked confused. "Nobody. I came on my own." Oliver drew an arrow. "Where you followed?" Emiko shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. I'm not careless, you know." Another floorboard squeaked. "Emi, do you have a weapon?" She smirked. "I am the weapon."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" A squad of armed men turned the corner, weapons wore black ninja armor, but had no form of identifying marks on them. No coat of arms, no logo. Just black armor with their face and eyes hidden under masks and goggles. "Assassins, about eight of 'em." Oliver whispered to Emiko. She looked over to him. "Do you think they realize their outmatched?" He smirked. "Their about to." Emiko flung open the door and Oliver twisted around the doorframe and placed an arrow into the lead assassins knee sending him to the ground, followed swiftly by another two arrow into the second and third ninjas shoulders. The two closest to the front of the squad opened fire, their arrows blasting the doorframe into splinters. The arrows were hardwood with turkey feather fletching. the broad heads were serrated. However, Oliver and Emiko had already ducked back into the room as they began their class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Three down. Five to go." Oliver whispered to his sister, smirking. He drew an arrow from his quiver, but this one was different. It had a slim metal cylinder attached right beneath the green broad head. Engraved in it were the letters EXP. Emiko looked at him in exasperation. "Don't use that!" She whispered violently. "That'll bring the whole building down!" Oliver smirked and said, "Trust me." With that, he swiveled around what was left of the the doorframe and fired the arrow into the ceiling above the five remaining members of the League. It exploded on impact, collapsing the roof down onto them. "Lets go!" Oliver shouted at his sister. They ran outside and headed for the nearest exit to the streets above. "There!" Emiko shouted, pointing at a sliver of daylight coming from the city class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" They climbed up to it and kicked open the manhole, exiting into an alleyway. As soon as they were topside, however, they were met by blades pressed against their necks. "Do not move!" Oliver looked at Emiko. "Out of the frying pan…" he said. "And into the fire." She finished. The leader stepped forward and took Olivers bow from him, removing his own mask as he did so. "Merlyn." Oliver said with a venomous voice. Merlyn nodded. "You are coming with us." "What about my partner." Oliver asked. Merlyn chuckled and nodded at one of the other ninjas, who stepped forward and placed a blade against her throat. "What about her, indeed." Oliver bared his teeth. "Your gonna regret touching her." Oliver growled out. The ninja holding his blade to Emiko spun his blade to Olivers jugular. "Did you just threaten me?" Oliver smirked. "Damn right."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" With a swift movement he grabbed the assassins head and slammed his forehead into his. The man screamed in agony and stumbled back, blood gushing from his nose. Before the rest of the other ninjas could comprehend what was going on, Oliver grabbed his bow from Malcolms hand, elbowing him in the jaw and fired a grapple arrow into he nearest rooftop. He wrapped his arm around Emiko's waist and pulled them to safety. Landing, Oliver looked at his sister "Lets go!" They ran and jumped across the rooftops, then lowered themselves down into an alley. "Get out of here Emi." Oliver demanded. She shook her head. "Not without you." "Your not their target. I am. Now get out of here." And with that, Oliver turned and ran into the street, waving down a motorcyclist. "Sorry about this." He grabbed the man, flung him off the bike and got on, hitting the throttle and disappearing into the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" An arrow whizzed past his ear and embedded itself in the door he was about to exit from. "Not another step, Arrow." a gruff voice called out. em"Damn it." /emOliver thought to himself. He raised his hands above his head. Malcolm must have realized where he was trying to go. "drop your bow or I drop you." Oliver nodded, leaning down to place his bow on the ground. em"Think Queen. You've been in tougher spots." /emHe looked to his right and spotted a crate. em"Bingo."/em Oliver jumped to the right and rolled to cover behind the wooden container as a volley of arrows was launched at him. He reached for his hip quiver and drew three arrows, realizing they were his last three. Cursing, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "A true hunter does not need a weapon, just a target." The words played like a loop in his mind. An old lesson from an old friend. "Give up, Arrow. there is no escaping your fate!" Merlyn called out. Olivers eyes snapped open. "A wise man once told me we choose out own fate!" And with that, Oliver stood, firing an arrow up into the rafter. A cry of pain shortly followed, like an animal wounded. It bought Oliver a few seconds, which was all he needed to get out the door and down the manhole on the other class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Seattle was built on its remnants, and its underbelly is a labyrinth of dilapidated buildings and scorched streets. However, it is not impassable. Oliver has spent many years learning its streets, studying blueprints and schematics. One building in particular he has turned into his own personal headquarters. As he entered the building, he realized he was not alone. Footprints in the dust lead to the main computer room. He drew an arrow and readied his bow. "You can put the arrow away, Ollie. Its not like I bite or anything." Oliver smiled at the familiar voice. Quivering his arrow, he entered the room and smiled. "Emiko, what on earth are you doing here!?" She chuckled. "Nice to see you too, big brother." In an instant they embraced each other in a hug. However, Oliver new something was wrong. He disengaged the hug, playing his hands on her shoulders. "Emi, how did you know I'd be down here? Hell, how did you know where here was?" Her eyes slid away from his, a worried look crossing her face. "I- I have been tracking you for a few weeks now. Dinah told me what happened and I wanted to make sure you were all right." Olivers face darkened at the mention of his girlfriends name. "I'm fine." He class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Turning away, he approached one of the computers and sat down. "How have things been with you and the Titans?" Oliver asked, trying to change the topic. Things have been tense between him and Dinah, and with everything going on, he was not willing to talk about it. Emiko saw right through him though. She knew what he was doing. "Don't treat me like I'm everyone else. I know you, Ollie. I know what your doing." He glanced back at her. "And what might that be, missy?" The last word was said sarcastically, but he instantly felt a pang of guilt in his gut for saying it. She grabbed the chair and spun it around, forcing him to look at her. "Your compartmentalizing. Your pushing your feelings aside and focusing on the mission while hiding behind humor an sarcasm. I get that it hurts, but if you don't expose yourself to your emotions, your going to explode." Oliver stood, pushing past his sister angrily. "Don't. I told you I'm fine. Now, please. Let me get back to work-." He paused. A noise drew his attention. The creak of a floorboard. He grabbed his bow from where he set it as well as a new, fully packed quiver. "Who did you tell about coming to see me?" Emiko looked confused. "Nobody. I came on my own." Oliver drew an arrow. "Where you followed?" Emiko shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. I'm not careless, you know." Another floorboard squeaked. "Emi, do you have a weapon?" She smirked. "I am the weapon."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" A squad of armed men turned the corner, weapons wore black ninja armor, but had no form of identifying marks on them. No coat of arms, no logo. Just black armor with their face and eyes hidden under masks and goggles. "Assassins, about eight of 'em." Oliver whispered to Emiko. She looked over to him. "Do you think they realize their outmatched?" He smirked. "Their about to." Emiko flung open the door and Oliver twisted around the doorframe and placed an arrow into the lead assassins knee sending him to the ground, followed swiftly by another two arrow into the second and third ninjas shoulders. The two closest to the front of the squad opened fire, their arrows blasting the doorframe into splinters. The arrows were hardwood with turkey feather fletching. the broad heads were serrated. However, Oliver and Emiko had already ducked back into the room as they began their class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Three down. Five to go." Oliver whispered to his sister, smirking. He drew an arrow from his quiver, but this one was different. It had a slim metal cylinder attached right beneath the green broad head. Engraved in it were the letters EXP. Emiko looked at him in exasperation. "Don't use that!" She whispered violently. "That'll bring the whole building down!" Oliver smirked and said, "Trust me." With that, he swiveled around what was left of the the doorframe and fired the arrow into the ceiling above the five remaining members of the League. It exploded on impact, collapsing the roof down onto them. "Lets go!" Oliver shouted at his sister. They ran outside and headed for the nearest exit to the streets above. "There!" Emiko shouted, pointing at a sliver of daylight coming from the city class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" They climbed up to it and kicked open the manhole, exiting into an alleyway. As soon as they were topside, however, they were met by blades pressed against their necks. "Do not move!" Oliver looked at Emiko. "Out of the frying pan…" he said. "And into the fire." She finished. The leader stepped forward and took Olivers bow from him, removing his own mask as he did so. "Merlyn." Oliver said with a venomous voice. Merlyn nodded. "You are coming with us." "What about my partner." Oliver asked. Merlyn chuckled and nodded at one of the other ninjas, who stepped forward and placed a blade against her throat. "What about her, indeed." Oliver bared his teeth. "Your gonna regret touching her." Oliver growled out. The ninja holding his blade to Emiko spun his blade to Olivers jugular. "Did you just threaten me?" Oliver smirked. "Damn right."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" With a swift movement he grabbed the assassins head and slammed his forehead into his. The man screamed in agony and stumbled back, blood gushing from his nose. Before the rest of the other ninjas could comprehend what was going on, Oliver grabbed his bow from Malcolms hand, elbowing him in the jaw and fired a grapple arrow into he nearest rooftop. He wrapped his arm around Emiko's waist and pulled them to safety. Landing, Oliver looked at his sister "Lets go!" They ran and jumped across the rooftops, then lowered themselves down into an alley. "Get out of here Emi." Oliver demanded. She shook her head. "Not without you." "Your not their target. I am. Now get out of here." And with that, Oliver turned and ran into the street, waving down a motorcyclist. "Sorry about this." He grabbed the man, flung him off the bike and got on, hitting the throttle and disappearing into the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p