Author's Notes: Where has the time gone? Seriously! Anyway, here's the next chapter of MoaH. Originally I was going to put the entirety of the chapter up but figured it would be better to be two separate parts as it covers four different days. This part will mainly focus on Eli/Hornet while the second half will be split between him and Richard/Nightwing in Bludhaven and D.C. Remember to also send love to the men and women serving in all (not just American) military. Peace!

Chapter Warnings: The rated T for Teen for swearing.

The Markings of a Hero

Chapter Fifteen: When Pressure Builds Pt. I

Why couldn't he just get what he wanted?

The selfish thought from the Yellow Jacket came seconds after his gloved fist connected with the bleeding face of a would-be threat lying on the concrete sidewalk of Cheshire Square. There were two other beaten teenagers behind Hornet, each groaning in pain and agony.

It had been a rather quiet night with nothing really which gave Eli the time to find more of Killer Moth's weapon caches and take what he wanted back to Jade's apartment. The small petty crimes that Eli had come across were things that the local police or other vigilantes could handle if they caught the crime in act. As for Eli, he sincerely wanted to find the caches so that he could move on to the Hound, then Bookworm, and finally Whale.

Of course, the punks known as the Saints Row Children did not care about Eli's wants or wishes.

Hornet stood up and eyed the three individual victims of his frustrations. Maybe there was a monster deep inside of him- one larger than the demon his father held? It would answer why these three guys took such a beaten and he had yet to even make some form of arrest.

The Yellow Jacket shook his head, "Who the fuck cares?"

Hornet began walking away, making sure to scan the area for any would-be assistance to the group he had just disposed of. The SRC was known for a lot of petty crimes, many of them Eli had heard about from George or Eric. He knew that when one or two guys were destroying property like the three he had seen earlier, there was usually one or two watching the area for cops or their true target.

Eli paused as he stepped next to a car parked alongside the sidewalk. Maybe it was his training from Ben kicking in or maybe his adrenaline increased his sense of sound, but the teen vigilante could hear the labored panting of someone either tired or afraid; maybe both?

Hornet crept around the car where saw the kid seated next to the front wheel on the driver's side. The kid looked to be around thirteen, possibly younger, but obviously was no threat to Hornet or anyone around.

"It's y-y-you!" he stammered.

Eli stared at the kid. He knew who he was, one of the few kids that would watch the older guys play basketball on the weekends. Eli would have guessed that the cowering kid had gotten involved with the SRC, but knew first hand just how things were. Being dragged into a gang was not always a choice.

"Go home." Eli told the younger boy.

"B-b-but, I have t-t-to-"

Hornet raised his hand, stopping the boy from saying anything else. "I'll deal with them. Just go home. Or else."

The young boy's eyes go over to a corner. "He's over there…"

Hornet looked over to the corner of the street, seeing a stop sign and nothing else. He doubted that the kid on the ground in front of him had reasons to lie but was still did not trust anyone involved with the SRC- forced or not. However, he could not just ignore the possibility of someone recording this or risk back-up coming.

"Go." Hornet demanded again before walking to where the boy had pointed out.

He hadn't shot anyone since returning to New Camford, something Nick had made noticed of earlier tonight. In fact, the last time Eli has even used his guns during his first night in Gotham City. Eli was in no rush to end that streak but would if he must.

Walking around the corner, Hornet switched visions of his goggles, zooming in and out why looking around. It was hard to tell who was standing in their apartment and who was peeping out of their window but Eli kept using his goggles for on-field training.

He soon spotted a heat signature in a nearby parked car and returned his vision to normal. The vigilante slowly approached the car with his hands going behind him to grab his treasured weapons.

The driver rolled the window down and to Eli's surprise, it had been Mike- the same kid that had Sam by the collar weeks ago. The light-skinned African-American eyed Hornet while smoking a marijuana cigarette. The boy in the car put his arm out of the car as Hornet approached, a sneer on his face.

"The fuck do you want?"

That did not necessarily make Hornet happy. The hero swatted the boy with one of this treasured pistols before reaching into the car and opening the door. Hornet yanked the guy out of the vehicle into the street.

"The fuck man!"

"Tell your boss to stay out of my neighborhood or else." Hornet threatened.

Josh spat a wad of blood at the Yellow Jacket. "You think you run shit 'cause you got some bitch niggas shook? Bruh I will bury you! You hear…"

Josh's words turned into a gulp as Hornet stood above his prone body with his signature guns in his face. The teen of eighteen was in rush to die, regardless of the oath he took with the SRC. Dying by the hands of Hornet would give him street credentials that he would never be able to take advantage of.

"You're living tonight because I need you to send a message. Understood?" Josh nodded his head. "I'm shutting down the SRC. I will take down you. I will take down Eric. And I will take down Tobias Whale. Do you think you can deliver that message to your boss?" Again, Josh nodded. "Good. Now rest."

"Wait, wha-"

Eli was not the most accurate striker- Jade far more the technical striker than he was. However, Eli has learned that where technique failed, pure speed and strength stepped in. The kick he gave Josh was not the most beautiful technical kick like Ben and Jade used to knock out their opponent, but it sure as hell did the trick.

Hornet did not stay there longer and continued his journey home for the third time tonight. He had found two of Moth's caches, having to carry what he wanted back by himself without the assist from Jade. From a tactical standpoint the weapons could come in handy later on which is why he took what he wanted before getting a nearby citizens to call it in to the police.

It was quite surprising, actually. Many people were actually pleased to help Hornet by calling in the authorities for him. Well, they were either pleased to help out or too frightened to refuse. It had led to a lot of the news since his return from Gotham City over a week ago.

Hornet quietly sneaked up to an apartment complex and pointed his right gauntlet upwards. Firing a line, he reeled himself up without being spotted and climbed onto the roof.

Since coming back to New Camford, Eli has felt some weight off of him- physically, that is. He actually felt lighter and faster. Nick theorized that this came from him having done significant damage to the Mozgov and Sullivan crime families. Eli was unsure if the release of some of his mental anguish was directly related to his physical capabilities but he was glad that most of the Mozgov family stationed in Gotham City either had a bullet through their heads or facing many years behind bars.

Landing onto the rooftop of his apartment complex, Eli took in a deep breath. He had not spoken to Mallory since leaving Gotham City, a consequence from his actions towards her boyfriend. His aunt and mother had talked and had come to the conclusion that Malcolm's death was heavier on Eli than the boy let on. Leila had opted to supervise Eli's actions but work got in the way and the teen w as able to sneak out to Nick's quite easily.

Scaling down the fire escape quietly, Eli opened a window that led into Jade's and Ben's apartment.

Inside of Jade's former room was nothing but a bed, Eli's bag to change, and a few bags of money and weapons that Jade had acquired from Gotham. The money was more than Eli wanted to leave in his apartment (and definitely more than he wanted to carry around) and the weapons were there as a "just in-case" situation.

Sighing, Eli closed and locked the window before replacing the blinds to cover his next actions. Afterwards he was able to strip out of costume and put on his jean shorts and Patriots jersey that he had worn earlier. His body was bruised from the days and nights of fighting random acts of crime- mostly against the SRC- but the pain had only reminded him that he was still alive. Training, dealing with his father's death, and trying to juggle his life was becoming numbing at points, almost as if nothing or no one but himself mattered. He couldn't feel attachments all the time anymore except when talking to Barbara or searching for Tobias Whale.

He could feel some sort of emotion (positive) with Barbara and then an overwhelming amount of hatred for a man he has yet to even meet in Tobias Whale.

Eli carefully stored his costume in its carrier bag, making sure to unload his guns before putting them away lest someone tried to use them against him. The boy took his bag, took some cash stolen from the Mozgovs, and headed out of the room. Once he entered the nearly bare living room, he grabbed Jade's spare key (which she left for him) off of the small sofa and headed for the door.

When Jade and Ben left, they made sure that Eli agreed to certain things. The first and most important was that he would not dig into the "shadowy" business that they had learned in Gotham City. Eli was supposed to stay out of sight if he heard anything remotely like a court of owls following him.

The second thing, Eli remembers as he exited their apartment, was that Eli was to continue with Ben's training even without Ben there. This was pretty much punishment for Hornet and Cheshire's involvement of… Well, Eli had no idea just who or what Jade was so worried about, but their findings did not necessarily sit well with Ben and this was Ben's response to it. Again, Eli had not looked up any information and Nick had come to a dead-end as well.

Walking down the steps to the floor where his apartment resides, Eli chose to turn his thoughts on Barbara Gordon. After their talk in the library, the pair had somehow continued right where they left off during their date. They talked, they flirted, and they kissed. The only problem Eli had with Barbara was the voice in the back of his head reminding him of the line drawn between them.

No, it wasn't the obvious she was white and he was black. The line that he was focused on was that she was the daughter of a police commissioner and he was the son of a deceased vigilante. There was a difference from not knowing a case and not knowing what your parent was or did. There was a difference between being a librarian who wrote great reviews about Batman and being a vigilante wanted for murder. Barbara was good, too good for him. And Eli… He was Bialya in a nutshell.

Eli put his key in the lock and twisted. Hearing the bolt release a click as it unlocked, he unlocked the door to his apartment and twisted the knob. Pushing the door opened, he paused when heard a sigh.

Someone was here.

"You're late." A strong feminine voice commented.

Shit, Eli thought. Well, he was stuck with two choices. He could flee while carrying his suit and pray that he was not confronted by anyone until he found sanctuary or he could see just who the hell had sneaked into his apartment and apparently waited for him.

The teen opened the door all the way and stepped inside. There on the couch was a very attractive blonde. Her light blue eyes seemed to have a magnetic attraction to Eli's position and somehow holding his attention from the cleavage being revealed by her black top or her fishnet covered legs.

"Are you going to say something or just stare at me all night?" The woman said, with a brow arching for emphasis.

"Who are you?" Eli asked as he closed the door slowly and quietly, his teenage eyes now taking in the full beauty of the woman as she stood up.

"Ben told you that you were going to have a new teacher, didn't he?" Eli nodded. "Then come on. We're leaving."

"I need to check in with my mom." Eli winced after the words left his mouth. He was sure that the woman could not believe that the gun-slinging bad-ass his alter ego had become still had to check in with his parent/step-parent from time to time.

The woman simply walked to the door. "Call her when we get to the gym." She paused and looked at Eli once they were side-by-side. "You have ridden on a motorcycle before?" Eli slowly shook his head for no. "Oh this is just great. Come on. And bring your gear… Unless you need to ask your mom about that too."

Eli growled. "I don't."

"Then let's go. Now."

Eli followed the blonde woman with his inner anger suppressing the obvious lust that he should have over her. Thankfully, training with Ben taught Eli to not act on this rising animosity towards the bossy blonde. He could easily recognize that she was far above his training and would dismantle him if she wanted to.

"I saw you earlier today," The woman voiced as they descended the stairs. "Ben was right. You are smart."

"Not smart enough to figure out your name without you telling me." muttered the teen as the shorter woman led him to the front door of the apartment building.

"I'll tell you my name when we get to the gym," The pair walked out of the building and towards, what Eli assumed was, a Harley-Davidson. "Until then, Eli, strap your bag up tight and don't drop it. I'm not turning around and we both don't need another you-know."

Eli's lips thinned as he scanned the bike. "No helmets?"

"None," the blonde quipped as she straddled the bike and started it up. "Hop on. We have a ride ahead of us."

He had jumped off of roofs and stared down fire-flinging maniacs. He had stood up for himself to the GCPD commissioner on two separate occasions; once as a law-breaking Hornet and the other as the rule-breaking boyfriend Eli. And yet somehow getting on the back of a motorcycle with a stranger to go off to some unknown location was possibly the craziest thing he has done in his life.

Eli sighed and got on the bike. After rethinking that thought, this may be the safest way to die after all.

"Hold on."

To think those could be the last words that he ever heard in his life. Hold on.

Ivy Town was not as bustling as its slightly bigger, younger brother New Camford though larger than their quiet lesser talked about older sibling, Calvin City. It was a quieter town and housed one of the top schools in the country; the University of Connecticut in Ivy Town. Yet, despite its quiet nature and ability to stay relatively unseen by the nation's trouble-seeking eyes, Ivy Town was an important industrial city to the New England states. While the number of in-city factories has not risen in the past thirty years, it was still home to corporations and inventors that strived to bring the world into a new age of ideas and inventions.

Traffic was not as congested as New Camford's tourist-infested highways which eased Eli's racing heart just a bit. While the blonde was clearly used to riding between different sized vehicles moving at alternating rates, he was not. It did not help that his arms were around and attractive woman who he still had yet to learn her name.

It had been a forty minute drive and Eli was sure that multiple driving violations had occurred during the ride. They were currently in a small part of the town, closer to the Calvin City lines than the New Camford. The area looked to be ghosted save for a few ranch-style homes and small private-owned diners and shops.

The woman pulled into the empty parking lot of a rundown gym, going to the back of the building which was completely hidden from the street. She parked the bike and put the kickstand down before looking back at Eli.

"You can let go now." Eli took his hands off of her waist and got off of the motorcycle. "Come on Eli. We have a lot to do in the next two hours."

Eli watched as she dismounted the motorcycle, keys in hand, and approached the back door to the building. He followed without a sound, shifting the strap of his bag on his right shoulder. He entered what he assumed was some sort of fighting gym- most likely boxing- and looked around.

"I'm Dinah," the woman said as she clicked a switch, turning something on other than the lights. "Come down here, we'll talk more."

Eli mapped the area out before he moved. It was possibly more spacious inside than out and the squared ring in the center looked to lack any dust to show its age or abandonment. There was a weight bench off to the left of the ring and an elliptical present as well. Two punching bags, a wrestling mat, and a speed ball were present as well.

There were large floor-to-ceiling windows in the front next to the door. To Eli's left was a flight of steel stairs that led downwards (where Dinah had walked off to) and to his right was a room which he assumed was an office of some sort.

The final thing Eli noticed was that the place seemed well air-conditioned. Someone, most likely this Dinah lady, most likely used this place earlier to make it cooler than the outside New England heat. He could not hear any A/C but knew that there was something cooling the gym.

Eli did not spend more time memorizing the sights and colors and instead descended the steps and found what was beneath the gym to be more spacious and amazing than what was above it.

"This is a base in Ivy Town. Use it when I'm here and let me know if you're using it when I'm not. Understood?"

Eli hardly heard Dinah as he looked around. This base put Nick's to shame. It had the computer. It had the desk. It had the various workout areas and stations. But there was an indoor shooting range. There were doors that led to closets or halls that Eli could not see through the closed entries. There was a lounge where Dinah was sipping coffee at that included oven, coffee maker, refrigerator, and microwave.

"Showers are down there," Dinah said pointing to one of the three closed doors. "You don't need to know what's behind the other two doors."

"Where," Eli said as he stepped off of the stairs. He slowly made his way to a leather sofa next to the bar where Dinah was leaning against. "Where are we?"

"This is where I'll be training you. Learn the bus and subway times to get here on time." Dinah answered. "Sit. I want to talk."

Eli frowned. "Talk? You brought me all the way out here to talk?"

"Would you have liked it if your friends were to knock on your door and see us talking about your adventures as Hornet?" The rhetorical question had Eli sitting down obediently on the couch. "Ben and I aren't the best of friends. In fact, I wouldn't call us friends at all- just former partners on a case we were both on. I wasn't his first choice either."

"Who was?" Eli asked.

"A woman who I respect but don't necessarily like. Of course, she was busy searching for her sister," Dinah continued. "So when Ben called in and asked for this favor, I was obviously intrigued. Ben doesn't call anyone for help unless he truly needs it."

Eli leaned back. "He was teaching me Dragon Style Kung Fu. I thought he knew enough to do it." Dinah crossed her arms, her mug safe in her right hand. "Unless… He asked you to teach me something other than fighting."

"On the west coast, I'm known as the Black Canary." Eli's eyes widened slightly. He had actually heard of her. "So you know who I am, huh? Well, then, I guess introductions are almost over. There are only two things you need to know about me now. One, my boyfriend will be here tomorrow to 'check in' on us. He's in the doghouse and thought helping me watch after some teenager with an attitude would help his case. The second thing you need to know is that my mom was a vigilante like your dad… Sort of."

"Oh…" Eli understood right then and there. Ben, and Nick for that matter, had spoken to Eli about his anger preventing him from advancing in certain things. Ben would call the end of a sparring session whenever he saw it and Nick would withhold information if he thought that Eli could not handle it.

Obviously, Dinah was either an expert on the matter or someone with enough experience to help. "You don't seem so surprised."

"I'm not." Eli simply voiced. "Ben said that I was too angry. You have that anger too, right?"

"More or less," replied Dinah. "I'm also surprised that you're okay with me knowing who you are. Most guys would be finding ways to keep me from telling the world."

Eli shrugged his shoulder. "You told me your identity as well. Are you going to find ways to keep quiet?"

Dinah sipped her caffeinated drink. "No. Then again, I know everything I need to know about you. Where you live. Where you work. I even know you're dating Barbara Gordon, which is, believe me, very interesting."

Eli sat still and tried to figure out if the woman was being serious or not. If Dinah was serious as she saw his relationship with Barbara amusing, then it would most likely be due to Barbara's father's (uncle really) job and his nighttime extracurricular activities. And if she was just being a facetious bitch, then so be it.

Placing the cup on the black counter top behind her, Dinah left the kitchenette and walked to the couch. She sat down with a quiet breath and eyed Eli directly.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat this: I think you're reckless and this is just me doing a favor for someone I respect." Black Canary stated. "That being said, I saw what you did earlier. You could've killed that kid- all of them really. But you didn't. That's not the Hornet I expected to meet."

Eli scoffed defiantly. "I don't just go in and kill random people for no fucking reason. I find people who break the law and if they shoot and me, I shoot back. I can't help it that I have better aim."

"I'm not critiquing you so calm down. Now." Eli grunted once more but remained quiet. She was too close for him to react now if indeed she was as fast as Ben. "What I'm saying is that I came here with the thoughts of some shit-for-brains teenager with guns. Instead, I saw… Well to be honest, I saw me."

"Uh-huh…" was the skeptical reply from the teenager.

"Which is why Ben asked me to stop you from ultimately doing something stupid. Things that I did." Dinah said. "So the deal with you and me is this: Transparency. If you're mad, say you're mad. If you're thinking about some girl, say it. Don't have me guessing and don't let it show up on the field. Got it?"

Eli sat with a look of skepticism on his face. There was always a catch with his so-called mentors that seemed bigger than what they said. Nick allowed Eli to keep Malcolm's laptop in exchange that Eli would be a hero before the end of the summer. The ulterior motive was that Eli could be the hero Nick could physically not be due to his amputated leg. Ben had given Eli training to test Eli's resolve. Once more, the hidden agenda was that Ben wanted Eli to one day find out who Jade's father was and stop her from killing her dead-beat dad.

With that in mind, what was Dinah's hidden motive? Did she want him to become some hero with redeemable qualities? Did she want to use him for some private mission that would most likely get him killed? Hell, he'd even throw in the possibility that she was sleeping with Malcolm and just looking out for the late man's son.

Who knows nowadays?

"Fine," Eli said.

"Good. Now, get ready."

Frowning, Eli stood up. "Get ready for what?"

The woman's left brow rose and she popped each individual knuckle. "For training, of course." Eli watched a positively evil smirk crawl onto her face. "I'm new at this 'mentor' thing. So tap out if I get too rough, okay?"

"…" Eli just stared. Nick had been tough. Ben had been absolutely hell. And truthfully he'd rather not think about what he and Jade went through. Now he was staring down a woman who was probably worse than all of them.

Oh well. Scars added character, didn't they?

They didn't. Scars did not add character. They were a reminder of the pain that one received when battling a blonde who had knowledge of moves Eli only saw in Jet Li or Jason Statham movies. He even compared her to a freaking Mortal Kombat character with how easily she seemed to change stances and reveal new maneuvers. At one point he waited for the "Finish Him" voice to appear only to hear her say two words that haunted him for the rest of the night, "Try again."

Eli groaned as he trudged out of his bedroom. The "light" feeling he had instantly died when his head hit his pillow a few hours ago and only worsened after the shower. True to his thoughts, Dinah's training was tougher than Nick's and she critiqued him harder than Ben.

And then he witnessed her using her Canary Cry on a dummy and…

Eli shuddered. He would actually shoot the next poor bastard in the ears and heart to spare them the agony of having to endure such an attack. It was bad enough that the life-like doll she used exploded as she retold the story of her first kill, some guy named Aquarius who was responsible for the deaths of her parents. She caused his head to explode and showed Eli, with the dummy, just how that looked from her perspective.

It was safe to say that Eli had a harder time sleeping with the thought of some random man's head exploding due to a shout.

The steps seemed to mock Eli as he went down them, one stair at a time. It was as if every time he landed on one, they collectively shouted, "Not there yet!" and another one took its place. He thought about giving them a middle finger once he reached the first floor of the house but decided to try to look sane in this household.

"You didn't answer your phone last night," Leila greeted her son with a warning glare over her shoulder as she made breakfast. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Morning to you too…" Eli mumbled as he moved to set the table, lest she complained about that too.

"Bobby and I were thinking about pulling you from your old school because I never liked it." Leila told Eli. "I got an application for you for Ivy Town Middle College. You'll still be able to play sports- they actually made it to states semis last year. And, for the sake of our agreement and transportation, I have asked Nick to take you to take the driver's test."

Eli looked at his mother. Despite her hair being pinned up as if she was going to work, she was still in her nightgown and appeared not to be in a huge rush. And she spoke with the normal edginess in her voice missing, almost as if she was actually happy for some reason.

"Uh Lily," Robert's voice forced mother and son to look towards the stairs which Robert was descending while trying to clip his badge onto his coat pocket. "I'm getting off earlier tonight so I was thinking we could take the boys to that pizza shop downtown. You know, the one that makes the best apizza in state?"

Leila gave Robert a smile. "We will be ready," The woman then moved her sight onto her son. "Won't we, Elias?"

Eli shrugged. "Don't know. Might have to work late if the guys don't come in and do their shifts."

"Oh…" Robert response caused Eli to huff a bit as he saw Leila buy the "I tried to bond" act.

"Elias will be there and he will leave his attitude behind." Leila finalized. She then turned to the meal she was making and resumed cooking. "I'll make sure Sam is ready."

"You're not working?" asked Eli.

"I have some days off. I decided to spend time with my sons. Or at least, the one that still thinks of me as his mother."

Robert watched as Eli simply went back to setting the table. His understanding of this dysfunctional parent-child relationship was that Eli blamed Leila for leaving and Leila was done attempting to baby Eli to see otherwise. It brought along a lot of arguments and a few unsettling silences, like the one now. However, Robert knew best not to interfere. Regardless how they both felt about it, Eli and Leila were literally two peas of the same pod. Getting between them was equivalent of trying to stop two bulls from locking horns.

"I'm going to head out now," Robert said. "Eli, do you need a ride or-"

"I'll drop him off. Have a nice day Bobby." Leila cut her husband off.

Robert inhaled deeply. "Will do." He stepped over to his wife and kissed her. "Love you Lily."

"I love you too."

Eli rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair as the man walked away. There were many people who hated seeing their parents kiss. He had the luxury of watching another man kiss his mom. Sure, by now it had lost most of its anger factor as Eli was well-aware that they had made Sam doing a hell of a lot more than kissing. But it was still something he did not want to see in front of him.

"I wanted to go out tomorrow. Just you and me." Leila announced. "I won't force you to come with me, not this time, but I would appreciate it. I think we need to get to know each other all over again."

It was a suggestion, Eli mused. She had actually given him a proposal instead of an order. He wanted to recline the offer just because he had the ability to do so. But he knew that the woman would not give up in "reconnecting" with him and that it would either cut into his time as Hornet or his time with Barbara; neither being an ideal choice.

Sighing, Eli leaned back in his chair. "Fine Mama. But I have to work tomorrow and I doubt the kids will let me just take a day off." Leila turned to him as if something was wrong, something that alerted him. "What? What is it?"

"You agreed?" Eli's new heightened sense of danger lowered as he sighed by her words. "I… I wasn't expecting you to say yes."

Eli shook his head. "Then why did you ask?"

"Because I…" Leila stopped herself before visibly relaxing. "Do you have one of those 'lessons' today with Mr. Turner?"

To say that he was confused would be an understatement. Leila had gone from berating him for not answering his phone to asking him to spend time with her. He was unsure how to respond to her now. Hell, it had been easier tracking down Firefly and the Hound than it was figuring out what was going on in his mom's head.

"I did. You just canceled all of my after-work plans, remember?" Eli's answer was not as forceful as it was worded. If anything, he sounded unsure about everything that was happening.

"I said you had to make it to dinner. If you have plans, do them before then. Okay?"

Eli stared at the back of his mother, who had gone back to finishing their meal. There was clearly something wrong with this picture. Leila was happy, something unheard of for many years now. She was giving him options and did not voice any contempt when she said "Mr. Turner" as she had during previous weeks.

Sensing his silence as a troubling one, Leila looked over her shoulder at her son. "Problem, Elias?"

"…" Eli stared for another moment before shaking his head. "No. None at all."

"Good. Can you go wake your brother up? It's time to eat." Leila stated.

"Yeah…" Eli answered as he rose. "Mama… Are you alright?"

Leila gave him a smile. "I'm fine, Elias. Now go get your brother for me."

Eli sat for a few more seconds before rising. He narrowed his mother's happiness down to three likely things and one unlikely one. The first, and most disturbing one, was that the uptight woman got laid. It was juvenile and revolting but it was a pretty likable event. The second was that she had finally gotten a raise or something at work. That would make her happy. The third was that Robert had promised her something expensive; something on the lines of a new car or some crap like that. Leila was not as materialistic as other females that Eli knew but he was sure that, at their core, every woman/girl had a materialistic side to them.

The one thing he refused to believe, however, was that Leila was pleased to know that he would willingly join her the following day. His presence had once made her smile without him doing anything but that was a long, long time ago. Things were different now. There was just no way that him agreeing to spend tomorrow with the woman made her this happy. No way in hell.

Leila's attitude had stayed on Eli's mind until after he arrived at work and checked in. Miss Reynolds had been sitting in her office, as usual, when Eli had gotten the disturbing news of two kids hitting on Britney the previous night. The chubby woman had declared that the kids involved, including Britney, would be punished for fighting. But that did not sit well with Eli.

"Let it go," Cedric told Eli as the pair and Darcy stood in Miss Reynolds's office. "Don't make a scene that'll cause more trouble."

Darcy nodded her head although it was clear that she was not okay with the situation either. Darcy had combed her hand through her dark tresses too many times for her to be completely calm and her thin nostrils flared almost every time she inhaled. Eli knew that it must be killing the outspoken girl to be silent whilst Miss Reynolds's did "everything by the book" for the situation.

"You can't be serious," said Eli as he stared at Miss Reynolds, the woman sipping a Diet Coke from a can behind her desk. "How is this Britney's fault? Those kids should be punished, not her."

The chubby woman swallowed before eying Eli. "Because it's to my understanding that she provoked them."

"A scrawny five-year-old got under the skin of two teenagers to the point where they are justified for hitting her? Bull-"

"Eli!" Darcy stopped Eli before he could finish his statement. Eli ignored the girl and continued with his rant.

"No, this is bullshit. There's no way in hell that this is actually legal." Eli stated.

Miss Reynolds's eyes narrowed behind her red-framed glasses. "Watch yourself boy. Just because your mom is a lawyer does not give you the right to tell me what's legal in my house! So unless you want-"

Eli's hands slamming on the desk was enough to end all conversation for the moment as the teen wordlessly dared Miss Reynolds to say another word. The boy's rage was about to surpass its peak which was not necessarily a good thing when he had come accustomed to carrying two handguns and beating the hell out of anyone who slightly annoyed him as his alter ego.

"I don't need my mom to know right from wrong. Those kids bully Britney every fucking day and you do nothing about it!" Eli shouted with rage. "That girl doesn't deserve to be put through half the shit that you guys put her through!"

"Eli, remember where you're at. This isn't the time-"

"Then when the hell is the time Cedric?" Eli snapped at the older teen. "This isn't what I signed up for, to turn a blind eye to some little girl being abused because of a fucking tail!"

Miss Reynolds sat up in her chair, shoulders squared as she eyed the irate teenager. "I will look further into it. Is there anything else that you need to discuss with me, Mr. Jackson?"

"No." Eli grumbled.

"Then get your hands off of my desk and go do your job before you're fired for incompetence." Miss Reynolds's tone told the trio that she was finished with this debate.

Eli scoffed and turned moved away quickly. "Do your job first."

The threat was heard by the woman but she said nothing else as Eli left, Darcy quickly flanking the boy while Cedric tried to throw water on the flames with their boss.

"Eli!" Darcy called in a whisper-shout mix. "What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself fired?"

"This can't keep happening Darcy," Eli told her. "Britney's just a kid. She can't help being who she is no more than I can help being who I am."

Darcy sighed. "I know, I know. But you can't just attack our boss like that. You just low-key threatened to have your mom sue this whole place."

"Whatever Darcy."

"No," Darcy said grabbing Eli's wrist and stopping his departure. "You're not going to walk out of here like some thug with a vendetta. She needs you Eli. So go be there for Britney and then, when you're calm, we'll come up with a better way to protect her. But until then you need to calm down."

Eli snatched his wrist from Darcy's grip. "Fine Darcy."

"You're a nice guy Eli. I just wish that you don't let your anger turn you into something or someone that you're not." said Darcy. "Look, I have to get to work- my other job. Can I trust that you'll act like the mature guy that puts up with Pete and not the guy that just tried to bite Miss Reynolds's head off?"

Eli was going to answer but caught the sight of Jack, a teenager that resided at the center. Darcy followed Eli's eyes to the boy who they knew was born in Cheshire Square before his parents abandoned him. Neither of the two workers said anything as Jack awkwardly approached them.

"Uh, Eli, can I… Can I talk to you?"

There was no verbal confirmation or consent from Eli. Eli instead looked at Darcy as she patted Eli on the shoulder and walked away. Eli followed her with his eyes for a moment, believing that he- as Hornet- could have just thrown a dart into her back and beat the hell out Miss Reynolds and the staff hurting Britney before Darcy woke up. Instead, he just looked at Jack and nodded his head.

"Well… The other day we were at the park down the road to play a game of twenty-one and some guys came to talk to me." The dark-skinned boy said to Eli. "They were from the SRC."

Eli sighed heavily. "I get it."

"They told me to…" Jack paused which caused Eli to shake his head.

Jack was, for all intents and purposes, a pretty clean kid. He had dreams of playing for the 76ers in the next four years or so. Unfortunately, Jack was also born on Mil Santos Boulevard and thus subject to be approached by the Saints Row Children for recruitment. From experience, Eli knew how enticing their offers could be. He just hoped that Jack was not intrigued.

"They want me," quietly said Jack. "To push this drug through the house. Said that there were some workers who used and that it would be 'good for business'. They said I had a duty as a black man and a Saints Row child to do so."

Eli nodded his head while stuffing his hands into his khaki pants pockets. "They said something similar to me."

"Cedric said you were from Mancastle?" Jack stated with a look of confusion on his face.

"I live in Mancastle. I'm from Cheshire Square, just like you." answered Eli. "Listen, I know Eric." Jack's eyes went wide. "I'll talk to him to see if I can get them off of your back. Meantime, stay on the grounds even if you're given permission to leave." Eli then frowned. "And who supervised you guys at the park?"

Eli's question was met by a familiar silence. The "no-snitch" silence had become a popular sound around the city. Normally, it never bothered Eli at all if someone wanted to reveal what they knew or not. But today, when it was Eli who needed the information, the silence was a greater annoyance than ever before.

"Fine. I'll deal with that too." Eli spoke in a heated tone. "In the meantime, keep an eye out for Britney."

Jack nodded his head furiously. "Yeah, sure man. Thanks for this. I… I don't want to get involve with the stuff that took my parents away from me, you know?"

"Like I said, you watch after Britney and I'll handle it. Don't talk to anyone else about it." Eli said.

Jack agreed to the deal and walked down the polished hallway that led back to the recreational room. Exasperated, Eli put a hand onto his head. Jade was right. Small problems did become bigger problems if left unattended to. The Saints Row Children were a small problem. Their total fatality count was nowhere near the other gangs within the city- the gangs that killed vigilantes for a living.

Sadly, Eli realized that nothing had really changed except his perspective of the group. Sure, he knew that they were trouble prior to becoming Hornet but that was from the viewpoint of a friend to a good number of the group who just had a slightly different upbringing. It was the cops' jobs to stop the SRC, not his. Now it was his job to stop them. Which meant his friendship with George was about to take a turn for the worse.

Would he kill him?

Eli wandered towards the front exit with that thought in mind. Would he have to kill either Eric or George in order to do what he knew he had to? How in the hell would he face himself knowing that he took the lives of two guys he has known practically all of his life?

Did Malcolm have to face these problems? Were there people that the Army Ant knew personally, was friend with for years, and yet still had to put them in a jail cell or hospital bed?

Eli found himself stepping out into the front of the building, taking in several deep calming breaths. Today had not been an easy day to manage. For starters, his mother smiled. Something that small seemingly threw his entire day off and he was unsure if it was a good thing or not.

"Are you coming back in or what?"

Daydreaming was a dangerous thing, especially when one forgot where they were and how long they've been in said daydream. Eli realized that as soon as he heard Pete's voice.

"You've been out here for a while," Pete stated as he fixed his dark blond hair in its pompadour style- something he did often for some reason. "Kids began to worry when you stormed out."

"I'm fine." Eli told the taller teen.

Pete shrugged his narrow shoulders. "Maybe. Didn't sound like when you were in there bitching over Britney."

"Don't start with me Pete." Pete rolled his brown eyes.

"Whatever Ee-lie-us."

Eli grunted. His mother had problems with people saying her name right but he would not go through the same. "It's Ee-lee-as. Elias. Not complicated. The letter 'E' the name 'Lee' and 'as'. Elias."

"Yeah, sure, but-"

"Say my goddamn name!" Eli growled. Pete stood frozen which only further angered Eli. "Say it!"

"Elias!" Pete replied. "Jesus Christ, man! What the fuck's wrong with you!"

Eli only inhaled deeply. There were too many things wrong with him honestly. The Hound was loose. Firefly mysteriously died in prison. Eli was no closer finding Bookworm now than he was prior to going to Gotham City. Add in the fact that he had not talked to Mallory, someone who he honestly looked to as an older sister for guidance at points, and it was not hard for Eli to see where his summer vacation had gone wrong.

And now Pete had the audacity to butcher his name.

"Seriously dude, what's gotten into you? You're like super pissed over small shit." Eli cut Pete a hardened glare that he was adopting from Ben.

"My name isn't 'small shit' Pete. It's my fucking name." Eli spat back. "And if you, or anyone else, want to refer to me as anything it'll better be my name. Got it?" Pete nodded his head as Eli looked away from Pete. "Besides, Britney doesn't deserve what's been happening to her. We can't just let it keep happening to her."

"This is your job, man. Not your life partner." responded a scoffing Pete, hand fixing his hair again. "When you started, I told Miss Reynolds that I'd keep you from doing something stupid. This is it."

"Looking after a girl is stupid?" was the incredulous response from Eli.

Pete nodded his head. "Dude, it's way more than that. It's becoming attached to them and thinking that you can save them. That's not how this works and that's not how it ever will."

Eli stood quietly for a minute before responding. "My job… I have to do my job…"

"Yeah," replied Pete. "And it's not to change the rules for every kid who cries. I've known Britney longer than you- she's a troublemaker. Don't fall for her fake tears."

"Pete."

"Yeah man?"

Eli gave the older boy another hardened glare. "Get the hell away from me before I kick your rich scrawny ass."

Pete stood in disbelief for a few seconds before scoffing, "Whatever man."

Eli watched Pete return inside the building before letting his brown eyes glide back up to the partly cloudy sky.

To think, there was once a time when none of this would have mattered and he would be spending most of his days at the park or some party in Venice Terrace. Now he was focused on finding criminals and beating the hell out of some coworkers to aid a little girl.

Maybe, he thought, maybe this is what his father went through. Long hours of the day spent thinking about the safety of random children who he didn't know. Who would want to do that? And why was Eli currently doing it?

"This is why you went crazy, isn't it?" Eli voiced quietly, hoping that his dad heard him on the other side. "Why'd you do it if it was driving you mad?" Eli stood in silence before shaking his head. "I'll understand when I'm older, I guess."

The answer Eli's mind provided was an answer he had heard from both parents multiple times over his life: "You'll understand when you're older." It may have worked with sex and he could see how relationships were a lot more complicated than he earlier perceived. But he doubted that he would ever understand why people willingly chose to become a vigilante.

Britney had not been as cheerful as normal but Ms. Reynolds had practically forced Eli to leave early- not too long after Cedric and Darcy left. Eli had not been worried about being fired, not at first. His first and main concern was Britney. He was not particularly fond of children clinging to him but there was something about the child that amused him. She was, in Eli's mind at least, the not-as-annoying version of Sam.

But of course, work was only half of the teen's day.

The bad news grew worse when Nick left unexpectedly to visit his son in Boston for a few days. This meant that Eli would either have to sneak by Nick's nosey neighbors to access the cabin or use his apartment instead. On a day like today where there were more people outside than in, especially in Madison, sneaking around without the comfort of high-up rooftops or large trees was easier said than done.

So, with his "family dinner" later today, Eli found himself wandering back to the gym. The Black Canary was currently present upstairs instead of down, pounding away against a punching bag. He stood awkwardly, watching her for minutes until she stopped and looked at him.

"Your suit's downstairs." The blonde announced as she grabbed a towel off of the floor and wiped her sweaty forehead with it. "I thought we could pick up on the training today before you run out and scare some more kids."

Eli sighed quietly. "I don't have long. I'm having a family dinner and…" It was then that Eli noticed a pair of green gloves on the floor and glared at Dinah. "Who else is here?"

"Well, well, you were right," A voice caused Eli to spot a figure coming up the stairs to his left. "He is quite the observer."

Eli studied the man before looking at Dinah. "Your boyfriend?"

"Unfortunately, he's here." Black Canary joked. "He wanted to see if your aim was as good as, well, his."

Eli stared at the topless man with an uneasy feeling about him. The teen had not gotten used to the Black Canary helping him out yet he somehow knew that this blond man was going to somehow be annoying.

"So," the man said with a confident smile. "Ever used a bow?"

Yeah. Eli already hated this guy.