Happy Thanksgiving week, fellow readers! While enjoying the holidays, I wanted to share with you all another fun collaborated story Alvaxerox and I worked very hard on together. Inspired by Marvel's Hawkeye series yet more the lines/style of the DC Comics universe.
As many of you know, this will reintroduce my character Macy Monroe as a DC universe character. She's a lot different than her previous versions where I hope you may all enjoy. I only Macy, as much as a few certain named cops that appear in this first chapter. Another new character is something I thought of yet is an existing character in DC Comics. Won't say who, though. The rest of the characts belong to their respected owners behind DC Comics, Green Lantern Animated, and Batman Brave and Bold. Oh, and be sure to catch any episode references involving the Brave and the Bold universe. Either here or later in the future on next chapters.
And for all those scammed readers leaving fake reviews...KNOCK IT OFF! I do not enjoy you leaving your unnecessary comments for your selfish advertisement eyesores. If you want to commercialize your work or get money, then do it somewhere else and not in my stories! No flamed reviews nor fake advertised ones, please. I am very serious. If I catch you posting false advertisements in my stories I will report, delete, and block you! There should be reviews on what you think of the story you are reading only.
Now, without further ado...let us begin our new story.
Shadow of the Black Arrow
Deep within the streets of Star City, a civilian woman was walking her way back home. She was minding her own business until a group of male thugs showed up blocking her way.
"Hand over the purse, lady," one of the thugs stated. "And we won't hurt you...too much."
Just before one of thugs could touch her, an arrow hit across one of the lamps to block out the lights. It got more interesting when a couple of boxing glove arrows knocked two thugs out with one left standing.
"Boxing gloves arrows?" The last thug asked. "Not Green Arrow." He then pulls out his gun, and starts looking around and talks hysterically. "Show yourself, Green Arrow! I won't go down without a fight."
The last guy had no chance. The mystery figure assumed to be 'Green Arrow' had the last thug whacked, kicked, and flipped over from within the shadows. When the police finally arrived with the car lights revealing the sight, it showed the stunned woman with the three thugs knocked out.
"What do we have here?" A police officer asked.
"Looks like these criminals were beaten up by Green Arrow," Another officer said.
"He's gotten better," The first officer added. "Let's get these guys to Iron Heights."
From above the rooftops seeing the scene, the hero that saved the day wasn't Green Arrow. In fact, it wasn't even a boy. This was a young girl in a black suit and mask whils carrying her own bow and arrows. She also appeared to have medium length long straight brunette hair that was flowing from the gentle breeze.
"Another night, another street cleaned up," The female archer stated, stretching a bit. "So glad that I'll be taking a break from classes starting the day after tomorrow."
Seeing her work here was done, the mystery heroine ran over the roofs with some acrobatic jumps and flips to continue patrolling around the city.
Later...
"Stop right there, criminal scum-! ...Oh," Out from the shadows, the superhero known as Green Arrow had arrived. And, to his surprise, the thugs were already beaten and being taken into jail. "You guys already beat yourselves up?"
The police officers then see Green Arrow. "Oh, Green Arrow, thanks for stopping these goons." The first officer complimented.
Green Arrow was a little confused. "I stopped them?" he asked, but then he decided to take credit when the officer looked concerned. "Why... Yes. I did stop them. All in the day's work, I guess."
"And this is very lucky," The second officer said. "These goons were on Black Mask's payroll."
"Black Mask?" Green Arrow asked. "Isn't he in Batman's rouges gallery?"
"Yes. But rumor has it, he bailed on Gotham and moved to another city to make his new stronghold." The first officer explained.
"I see," Green Arrow puzzled. 'Whoever took out Black Mask's goons must be over their heads, and seems to be impersonating me in the process.' He then snaps back to reality and tells the officers. "Well, I see you got your hands full, so I'll let you do your work. See ya," He then leaves, as the police officers are taking the thugs into the police car.
"Huh...What do you think that's about, Monroe?" The second officer questioned.
"I don't know, Bishop. At least, the city has Green Arrow to keep our streets safe as much as we can," Officer Monroe stated, sighing gently. "I can't imagine how my daughter will react when she hears this."
The next day, at Starling City University, a bunch of college students were leaving the campus. One student happened to be a seventeen-year-old girl with her brunette hair held up into a ponytail. Her outfit was a dark green and light green shirt with a Green Arrow logo on it, a dark blue t-shirt under it with sleeves, blue jean shorts with black leggings under them, and green and blue Nike sneakers. She adjusted her red backpack before rubbing her tired brown eyes.
This is Macy Monroe. Sports Science Major with a few surprises not many know about.
"Man...I thought semi-finals would never be done," Macy yawned, walking down the path. "Glad I can finally relax and enjoy my time off."
The first stop for Macy's well-deserved break is meeting her pen pal friend from Gotham at her favorite hangout place in Star City: The Lone Wolf Diner.
When stepping inside, the diner gave a somewhat rustic log cabin vibe with many wolf objects and symbols around as much as wildlife animals. It was like stepping into a nature area than a city restaurant.
Macy soon found her reserved seat while waiting for someone before ordering.
"Hello, there. Welcome to Lone Wolf Diner," A waitress greeted the brunette. "My name's Margaret and I will be serving you."
"Thank you, Margaret. Could you please give me a few more minutes?" Macy requested. "I'm expecting someone to join me before I begin ordering."
Just then, the door opened, and a young boy was looking around. "So this must be the place." He called out.
It didn't take long for Macy to notice a familiar young preteen boy with short black hair, an academy-looking suit with a red tie, a brown jacket accustomed with a Batman logo button on his right chest, grey sneakers with blue shoelaces and black lightning bolts of sorts, and big dimples on his cute smile walking by.
"Hey, Bart. Over here," Macy called out, waving a hand to get his attention.
"Macy Monroe!" The boy revealed to be named Bart, waves back as he walks towards Macy's direction. "Long time no see."
"Bartholomew Smite. It's been too long," Macy responded, fist-bumping her friend. "How are things at Gotham?"
"Things have been going okay for me, thus far," Bart replied. "How about you?"
Macy chuckled. "Oh, you know. The usual stuff. I'll fill you in after we order our meals, once Margaret comes back."
"Okay, then," Bart said. "I'm starving anyways."
Later...
After they got their orders, Macy tells Bart about what she did to those criminals last night. For a while, Bart knew her little secret of being a hidden street vigilante inspired by Green Arrow. And he obliged and supported her on her choice since she's a big fan of Green Arrow.
"I'm telling you, Bart, helping Green Arrow in the shadows can have its ups and downs," Macy admitted, drinking water. "On one hand, Green Arrow is getting less work to worry about in Star City. On the other hand, nobody will ever know it's a different archer helping around."
"They will most likely assume if it's not Green Arrow doing the work, then it might as well be his former sidekick, Speedy." Bart explained.
"Still, I would love to do more outside the shadows," Macy replied, rubbing her index finger on the table in circles. "But I guess being the secret protector of Star City will be all right, too."
"There's always a right time to be introduced as the new hero of Star City," Bart said. "It's just that Green Arrow and Speedy are the only noticeable superhero archers around, let alone, their new addition, Black Canary."
Macy chuckled at that. "True. I'm very happy for those two being together. And you don't get many female archers here. Or girl heroes in this city, for that matter, if you don't count Black Canary."
"Tell me, was there anything weird about those thugs you beat up last night?" Bart asked.
Macy took a moment to think about that question. "Hmmm...The only thing weird there was that these thugs didn't necessarily seem like your basic street thugs. In fact, they didn't dress like street thugs yet still wanted to hurt people going around the same alleyway. But I didn't care too much about it because my main concern was saving that lady from being mugged or worse."
"That is good to hear," Bart said. "The one main priority for any hero, is to save people who can't defend themselves." He then takes a bite of his meal. "From how you described it, sounds like there's more to those muggers than you realize."
"Do you think there might be something bigger happening in Star City that is disguised to look like low-profiled crimes going on?" Macy asked, getting a bad feeling here. "Something the police aren't fully aware of?"
"Probably," Bart replied. "Sometimes, they'll be two big crooks who would just rob a store or hurt someone just for their own personal gain. Or, if it's a gang group dressing up in unorthodox clothing, there could be more to it than meets the eye."
"Well, I might know two ways to find out," Macy stated, sighing gently. "And the secret protector investigating is the second option. The first? ...I'm not sure if I want to."
"Is it because of your dad?" Bart asked, sipping his drink. "I thought you two were not talking at all."
"We chat and all, but you know how protective he is on classified police work," Macy reasoned. "Almost as much as being protective with me."
"Why don't you just talk to him about it?" Bart suggested. "It won't sound like you're too close to the case."
"Bart, you know why I can't talk to him," Macy stated. "He doesn't know what we're hiding that's related to helping Green Arrow. If I tell him, then he's not going to let me continue this."
"Oh, that's right. Sorry about that," Bart apologized. "Whatever is going on in Star City, I'm sure you can handle it just well. And I'll be cheering you on every step of the way."
"Thanks, Bart. I appreciate it," Macy responded, giving a small smile.
"Anytime, Macy," Bart replied.
Meanwhile...
At a store warehouse, some gangsters were running towards the office room of their boss. To inform him of some unfortunate news.
"Sorry to barge in on your relaxation time, Boss, but we just got word that one of your guys were smacked out and hauled to the police station." The thug said.
The boss was a ruthless enforcer with a black skull-like head, dressed up in formal wear. Like an old-fashioned gangster from the '60s. This was no ordinary crime boss. It was the street-level villain; Black Mask.
"What?! Who is responsible for this malarkey?" Black Mask asked, gripping the thug's coat. "Tell me, who was it? Batman? Nightwing?"
The second thug then talked. "No, boss. It was the Green Arrow."
Staring at the second thug, Black Mask grinds his teeth. "Makes sense. This is his city," He then lets go of the first thug's coat, dropping him. "I've been dealing with Batman all my life in Gotham. I feel paranoid thinking he would chase me, when he has other fish to fry. Like Joker, Catwoman, or even Poison Ivy." He then growls, and seeing his sandbag, he punched it really hard, until the hook fell off, and the equipment tripped. "I'll make that archer pay for his meddling."
"What do we do, Boss?" The first thug asked in fear, seeing how strong Black Mask was.
Black Mask then walks towards the window, viewing over Star City. He then smiles. "Get me a list. We're going to need some professional help, if Green Arrow really is involved meddling with my plans."
"You got it, boss." The second thug said.
Uh, oh. Looks like Macy picked a fight with a powerful crime boss...and he has the wrong target in messing with his plans. But what are his plans, exactly? Find out in the next chapter.