McKenna Hall didn't like the feel of what she was doing. It wasn't right. She didn't have the experience for the position she now held. But Quinton Lance would have told her otherwise. He would have told her that she was ready and that experience would come with time.

But he wasn't here, and she needed some air. With the Bertinelli case losing traction she didn't know what she would do. She needed a miracle.

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She didn't notice the figure and barely had time to react to the arrow that imbedded itself in one of the many cracks in the sidewalk, centimeters away from her foot.

Quickly she aimed her gun at the shadows.

"There's no need for violence detective Hall", a voice said, modulated but friendly, disembodied but real, "that's all you'll need to bring Bertinelli to justice".

Blindly she searched for the archer in vain, finally stopping to ask one question.

"Who are you"?

There was a long silence before she heard an answer.

"Someone you don't trust yet. But you will".

As McKenna picked up the arrow she noticed some papers wrapped around the shaft. And not just papers, but pictures of Bertinelli with other crime syndicate leaders already put away, transaction histories, this guy had given her everything she needed, even copies of wiretap transcripts that had gone missing from evidence lockup. Whoever this guy was, for the moment was a Godsend.

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Somewhere in Star City

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Oliver Queen shook his long hair loose from the hooded mask he wore. He placed his Seracen style bow and quiver on the table before removing the armored jacket from his scarred body. He then put the quiver back on his hip and picked up the bow in his left hand. He picked up four arrows in his right hand, one arrow being held between each finger, and began firing each arrow at blazing speeds. He had the first three arrows in the air at the same time before he had even drawn and fired the fourth. It was an ancient Seracen test of speed, and one he constantly tested himself with. He smiled. He was ready for bigger fish than Bertinelli. Maybe it was time to visit his sister in Central City. That is, of course, after he comes back from the dead.

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Central City

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Thea Queen laughed as she dove face first into the sand. Opposite her, on the opposing team, her best friend, Dinah Drake, laughed, flipping her dark brown pony tail behind her. It was her first game in the annual volleyball match between the SCPD and the CCPD. And if they won this one they would face off against the GCPD. Detective McKenna Hall had been absent for the game and Thea had graciously volunteeted to replace her.

It had been her father's idea to enroll her in the police academy. Originally he wanted to ship her off to the army, but her mother wouldn't have it. She would be the first one to tell you that she had an attitude problem after learning that Oliver had drowned when the Merlyn's yacht had run into a storm. Mr. Merlyn, or dad if you wanted to get technical, had had business in China to take care of and had all but dragged his son, and Oliver's best friend, Tommy along. Tommy only went along because his dad had allowed Oliver to come along.

It hadn't been to long after the boat went down that Mr. Merlyn and Tommy had been found adrift at sea. But no Oliver.

Five years and she was just now getting on with her life, and she was happy. That is until she saw her mother getting out of a black limousine with the brightest smile she had seen since, since...

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Star City General

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Oliver had his story ready, he had his act prepared, but he was excited to be hime in the open. McKenna had already done her job and Bertinelli's name was already taken off the list. It had taken him longer than it should for him to secure the evidence against Bertinelli, Nyssa would be disappointed when she arrived.

Nyssa, that was going to be difficult to explain. He couldn't just say, hey guys I'm back from the dead. Also, I'm married. So, instead she was coming to set up a psychiatric Therapist practice and treat him as a patient.

He laughed inside whenever he thought of how they had met and fell in love. Okay, so maybe he fell in love with her before she with him, but eventually they had bith found purpose with each other and now it tore him up to be without her.

knockknockknock*

Okay, show time.

Instantly Oliver's face dropped into his practiced, I'm still processing everything, face. Except he wanted, more than anything, to run into his mother's arms.

The door opened and, for the first time in years...he cried.

"Hi mom. I'm home".

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*Epic Horn Fanfare*. Hey everyone, I am pleased to give you the, short, introduction to Oliver Queen. This Oliver will be different. He's not going to be dark and brooding like Stephen's was, although I do love that one, but he's going to be more adjusted and open and light hearted. He's also going to play nice with the police, but he's also going to step out of line when he needs to. Points if you can guess where I have drawn my inspiration for Oliver's archery style. I hope y'all love where I'm taking this version of Arrow. As always I love y'all and hope to "see" y'all again in the future.

Sincerely

Ficmaniac12