Invaded

Chapter Eight: Satisfaction

Author's Note: Please note that this work has been updated and edited from its original format. Enjoy.

Royal Memorial Hospital, Star City
March 21
02:22 PM PDT

"So… let me get this straight. While I was on ice, you found another Roy Harper, the sidekicks formed their own team, aliens invaded the Earth, and Ollie grew that dopey goatee?" Roy Harper questioned as he rubbed his chin.

"Well, we try not to call ourselves sidekicks," Red Arrow corrected.

I crossed my arms over my chest, adding, "We're a covert-ops team."

Ollie rubbed his goatee, "You don't like the goatee?"

"So missing the point!" Roy yelled, growing impatient, "You three have been talking around it all day. Now I want answers. What happened to me? How can there be another Roy Harper? And what happened to my arm?"

Red Arrow lifted his hands up in mock surrender, "Okay, okay. We wanted to wait 'till you were strong enough and when all of us were here, but I guess the moment is now."

My gaze slowly fell on Roy Harper's bandaged arm. It was almost impossible to believe that even through all the chaos, the real Speedy had finally been found.

"Moment's passed, so get to it!" Roy snapped.

"What is the last thing you remember before we found you in Tibet?" Red Arrow questioned.

Roy's scowl softened as he lowered his gaze to star at his bandaged stub. "I've been trying to piece that together," Roy admitted.

"I remember investigating a Lex Corp shell company that we suspected of smuggling weapons to Northralaysia. Some Lex Corp goons got the drop on me. I remember feeling… embarrassed," Roy concluded.

Ollie shoved his hands into his pants' pocket; he watched Roy carefully, calculating each movement as Roy recounted the fateful mission.

If I remember correctly, while Green Arrow and Speedy were investigating the shell company, Black Canary and I were searching for the warehouse we suspected they stored the weapons. The mission had been successful on our end. We hadn't learned of Speedy's abduction until several hours later when we were finally able to make contact with Green Arrow.

"Then… nothing," Roy concluded, frowning.

Ollie took a cautionary step forward, sighing before nodding, "That's right. They grabbed you."

Ollie rubbed the back of his neck nervously, glancing at Red and I before continuing, "Thing is, Roy… that was eight years ago."

"What?" Roy shouted.

Red Arrow quickly explained, "Lex Luthor and the Light, this criminal organization he works with, abducted you. They amputated your arm."

"Why?" Roy questioned, "To keep me from using my bow?"

It was almost painful how innocent Roy was to this world's evil.

"No," I answered, "They needed an endless supply of your DNA to perfect their human cloning process."

"So… that's what you are: a clone," Red Arrow concluded. Roy glanced down at his missing appendage before returning his attention to Red Arrow.

Red Arrow lowered his gaze, bowing his head in shame, "Yeah… they grew me—or rather force grew me. In a matter of months, I looked your age. They programmed me with all your memories and skills… and worse."

Ollie sat on the edge of Roy's bed, explaining, "Then, they spoon-fed me clues to your location. I thought I was doing detective work, but in hindsight… you'd been missing three months. I'd been going crazy, so when I found you—him," Ollie paused, sighing heavily.

"I didn't question the good fortune," Ollie admitted, "I had no idea it wasn't the real—the original you. No idea Luthor had stored you on ice all this time."

"Once we discovered that Red was a clone, we made numerous attempts to figure out where the Light was keeping you. Each mission resulted in failure," I paused, "The Light was always one step ahead of us."

Roy slowly glanced around the large hospital room before speaking, "So… what you're all saying is… you took my place and you've been living my life for eight years?"

I quickly countered, "And he's been tirelessly searching for you for five of those."

Red glanced at me, offering me a small smile.

"Huh," Roy paused, "but not you or Ollie."

I furrowed my brow, confused.

"You two gave up on me," Roy continued.

Red Arrow stood from his seat, interjected, "I don't want to be the cause of more conflict between you and your family. I understand if you never wanted to lay eyes on me again."

Roy stared at Roy before replying, "I don't know. Seems to me the clone didn't do anything wrong. He didn't ask to be created. Plus, he found me. I can't blame him for this… but I can totally blame you two!"

"Roy!" Ollie shouted, surprised.

"We were partners!" Roy shouted, "Friends! Family! You were in the process of adopting me! How could you not know I'd been replaced? How could you leave me in Luthor's hands for eight years?"

Ollie's shoulders slumped as he processed Roy's words.

"And... how did I not see how useless you are?" Roy asked as he glared at me.

I uncrossed my arms, retorting, "That's enough."

Roy ignored me, uttering, "Get out."

Ollie's eyes widened as he sputtered out a protest.

"Get out!" Roy shouted repeatedly as he pointed at the door. Ollie sighed, slowly rising before trudging through the door.

"Ollie," I called out, watching my guardian hesitate at the door. He turned slowly, the worry in his tired face evident as he watched the scene unfold.

"I said—"

"Ollie has risked his life numerous times over the years trying to find you. We all have. Don't dump your misplaced guilt and anger on us because you didn't follow basic commands the night you were captured. I understand things are confusing for you right now, and it might make things easier on you if you had someone to blame—but you're not going to blame me and you're especially not going to blame Ollie. If anything, blame yourself," I snarled.

Roy slowly leaned back in his hospital bed, glaring at me as tears welled up in his eyes.

"You're going to need support as you transition back into the world. You can't do it alone. We're always going to be here for you, even if you don't want us to be," Ollie said as we exited the room together.

Mount. Justice
March 21
5:33 PM EDT

"Aquaman has all of Atlantis on the case. He's saying they're 'searching the seven seas' for Lagoon Boy and his captors. It's a big planet and that's a lot of water," Mal noted as he watched the holographic replica of the Earth.

Connor placed a firm hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"We'll find La'gaan," Connor promised.

"And Aqualad," Mal added, darkly, "I want his fish head on a platter for what he did to Artemis."

"We don't kill and if we did, that wouldn't make us any better than him," I noted.

"I would think you would be the first one on board considering you nearly killed all of us when Artemis died in the failed mission stimulation," Connor argued.

"I was young and lost control of my emotions. This is real life, with real life consequences," I retorted.

Connor sighed, turning in the direction Nightwing once stood, "I don't suppose we're any closer to identifying the Light's new partner. Nightwing? Where is everyone?"

Mal pointed in the direction of the living quarters, "Well, the girls are all hitting the shower. The rest… they're down in the Grotto."

"I think that calls for some wise leader advice on my part," I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest as I began slowly walking to the Grotto. It had been built during the League's tenure in the Cave as a means of honoring their fallen comrades. Originally, only Ted Kord's holographic statue was displayed… but as the years went by, more statues were placed.

As I approached the last step, I could make out the four boys talking.

"Uh, sorry. Mourning makes me hungry," Bart chuckled as Jaime tugged Bart near Tula's memorial.

"You stole those freeze-dried chicken whizzies from my locker, didn't you?" Jaime accused as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey, hey, hey. Where I come from, it's not stealing, it's scavenger rights. The point is we don't have chicken whizzies—freeze-dried or otherwise— in my era, so blame Kid Flash. He got me hooked," Bart explained.

Jaime face-palmed himself, muttering, "Forget I asked."

"Hey, Phe," Gar greeted me, waving his tail at me. Tim, Jaime, and Bart finally noticed my presence, each greeting me.

"So, why is this here?" Bart questioned, gesturing towards the holographic statues, "I'm mean, it's pretty and everything, but these people are heroes in the line of duty and all that. They should have giant statues, big, crashy memorials in the Hall of Justice, or something."

Jaime nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, I asked that, too. Captain Atom said the League doesn't want or need a public shrine to its fallen, but I don't know. Seems to me they just don't want to advertise we're not immortal."

I chuckled, countering, "We never said we were."

Jaimie sighed before continuing, "The handful of people who've seen me in action—they think I'm this guy in a new costume." Jaime gestured to Ted Kord's holographic statue.

"The world will never know about Ted Kord's sacrifice," Jaime noted.

"But you know," I paused, "and I know. The entire Team and League knows."

Jaime lowered his head in disappointment. Bart noticed, immediately continuing, "And you're carrying on the grand Blue Beetle heroic tradition, right?"

Jaime scoffed, glaring at the ground, "I wish. It's a total rip. Superboy has Superman. Wonder Girl has Wonder Woman. Robin has Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl. You've been in this era, like, what, five minutes, and already you have three Flash mentory—one who feeds you junk food! But me? I've never even got the chance to meet the guy who should've been my mentor."

I crossed the room, placing a firm hand on his shoulders, "I know that feeling, but you have to be able to look on the bright side of things."

"Which is?" Jaime asked.

"You've got me, Nightwing, Superboy and Miss M as mentors," I smiled softly. Jaime nodded, agreeing.

"You know," Bart interrupted, "we have more in common than you think—our love of chicken whizzies, for example. Let me buy you some to replace the bag I salvaged. We'll hang. It'll totally be crash."

"Uh, sure," Jaime agreed as Bart began pushing him to Grotto's stairs.

Tim shrugged at me as he and Gar exited the Grotto shortly after.

Slowly, I approached Artemis' newly added statue.

I promise, Artemis, this will all be worth it.

Dakota City
March 21
08:11 PM EDT

"That waiter was totally flirting with you," Karen argued, glaring playfully at me. I shrugged, leaning back in my chair.

"I think she should give him her number," Aunt Dinah added.

The table of girls erupted in agreement before Karen announced, "M'gann and Zatanna are here!"

"Happy bridal shower, Raquel," M'gann greeted, placing her gift on the table.

"Oh, M'gann, you shouldn't have," Raquel smiled.

M'gann took her seat beside Barbara, admitting, "Actually… it's from Artemis, too. We bought it together."

All eyes slowly landed on the empty chair between M'gann and I. Quickly, Aunt Dinah placed her hand over mine; I lowered my gaze, glaring at my empty plate.

"What am I doing? Having this shower? How-how can we celebrate so soon after—"

I cut Raquel off, "Because Artemis would so be kicking your ass if you weren't."

Raquel hugged the gift bag close to her chest before nodding.

Raquel lifted her glass, toasting, "To absent friends!"

"To absent friends!" We all echoed.

"And to the bride," M'gann added.

"To the bride!" We echoed louder.

"I can't believe you're getting married," I admitted excitedly. The same cute waiter approached our table, carrying with him a wine bottle.

Aunt Dinah bumped her shoulder against mine, silently urging me to flirt with him.

If I were being honest, it wouldn't be a bad idea to flirt with the waiter. Maybe a harmless sexual interaction with a civilian would do my stressed mind some good. Yet, deep down, I knew I could never go through with it. Seeing Wally recently just further proved that I still had feelings for him. Involving an innocent party in my chaotic life would only be bad on my part.

A loud, blood curdling scream erupted over the music.

I turned, looking over my shoulder to scan the visible street behind us. Ice encased a large truck parked in front of Dakota City Savings Bank.

Simultaneously, we all stood, searching for the ice-themed villain.

"The ice is going to cover the whole block!" Aunt Dinah shouted. I raised an arm high, igniting an orb around us.

We began to strip, revealing our uniforms underneath our civilian clothes.

Zatanna shouted a spell, breaking the ice around us. I flew up, lowering the force field to a mere platform. Slowly, we emerged in a grand entrance.

Captain Cold stares at us in disbelief before dropping his pick-axe.

"I'm completely doomed, aren't I?" Captain Cold questions.

"One hundred percent!" Rocket assures him as we charge at him.

Metropolis
March 21
08:58 PM EDT

Black smoke filtered out the top floor of Lex Corp Enterprises building as I scouted from an aerial view. I descended, landing beside Green and Red Arrow.

"No! We can't be too late!" Green Arrow shouted, "I cannot have failed him again!"

Red Arrow scanned the base of the building, searching for any signs of Roy Harper.

"No, wait, look!" Red Arrow shouted, pointing at the entrance of the underground parking garage. Black smoke spewed out as Roy, dressed in his Speedy uniform, emerged. In his only hand, he gripped a silver briefcase.

"Hey, guys," he greeted, approaching us, "What took you so long?"

"Roy! Are you alright?" Green Arrow asked as we approached him.

Roy smirked, nodding, "I'm good. Well, better than I've been in eight years anyways."

"You didn't—" Roy cut Green Arrow off.

"Kill Luthor? No, not tonight," Roy assured us.

Red Arrow gestured toward the silver briefcase, asking, "What's in the case?"

Roy smirked, lifting it higher, "Satisfaction. It's not elegant—won't fool anyone into thinking it's actual flesh and blood, but it's more powerful and versatile than the model Luthor gave his own bodyguard. And it will literally make me a living weapon. No one's putting me on ice, ever."

"Speedy, are you sure you're okay?" I questioned, noting the dark tone in his voice.

Roy placed the briefcase on the floor before removing his mask, glaring at us as he continued sadistically, "Speedy died eight years ago."

Roy gripped the handle of the briefcase, smirking, "But I kind of like the sound of… Arsenal."