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| “ | Tell your friends there's a hunter on the streets. This is my town now, and creeps like you are an endangered species.
— Green Arrow
|
” |
Green Arrow (Oliver "Ollie" Queen) is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City.[2] Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer who invents trick arrows with various special functions, such as glue arrows, net arrows, explosive arrows, time bomb arrows, grappling arrows, fire extinguishing arrows, flash arrows, tear gas arrows, cryonic arrows, boxing-glove arrows, and even a kryptonite arrow. Originally developed as an archery-themed analogue of the very popular Batman character, writers at DC have developed Green Arrow into a voice of left-wing and progressive politics very much distinct in character from Batman, with his own supporting cast.
Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. In the late 1960s, however, writer Denny O'Neil chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the then-unique role of streetwise crusader for the working class and the disadvantaged. In 1970, he was paired with the more law-and-order-oriented hero Green Lantern in a groundbreaking, socially conscious comic book series. Since then, he has been popular among comic book fans and most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character. The character was killed off in the 1990s and replaced by a new character, Oliver's son Connor Hawke, the second Green Arrow; however, Hawke proved a less popular character, and the original Oliver Queen character was resurrected in the 2001 "Quiver" storyline. In the 2000s, the character has been featured in bigger storylines focusing on Green Arrow and the character Black Canary, such as the DC event The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding and the high-profile Justice League: Cry for Justice storyline, the climax of which sees Green Arrow becoming a morally ambiguous anti-hero.
The character was not initially a well-known character outside of comic book fandom; he had appeared in a single episode of the animated series Super Friends in 1973. The character, however, became a prominent feature in the DCAU animated series Justice League Unlimited in the 2000s, reflective of his status in Justice League comic books, as well as the animated series The Batman and several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. From season six of popular live-action series Smallville, in 2006, Green Arrow has been played by actor Justin Hartley, who later becomes a core cast member; he was originally introduced in a guest run as a substitute for the restricted-rights character Batman. As a main character, Smallville prominently features Green Arrow supporting characters and mythos. David S. Goyer has also attempted to get Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max into production as a film in the late 2000s. In 2011 was ranked 30th comic book heroes by IGN. In 2012, the show Arrow premiered on the CW. It features Stephen Amell as a younger Oliver Queen, new in his war on crime.
Battle vs. Hawkeye (by Drayco90)[]
New York was burning. The Joker Gang was throwing itself at The Hood’s little costumed cartel again. Wave after wave of clowns threw themselves at The Hood’s men, and one Man was caught in the middle of it all. Another arrow flew into a Clown’s eye, and he went down screaming. Hawkeye grimaced; he didn’t like using lethal force if it could be avoided, but he had been at this for hours now. His city was falling down around him, and if it took a few casualties to put this gang war to rest, at least for the day, then he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over a couple dead clowns. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ironclad rushing towards him. The massive metal behemoth tried to ram into Hawkeye, but with a single bound he was high overhead. As he descended back to the ground, he fired off two more arrows that stuck to the back of Ironclad’s head. Arming himself with one of his special vibranium armor-piercing arrows, Hawkeye fired directly at Ironclad’s face. The arrow struck the monstrous man in between his eyes, and kept pushing, finally pushing the hulking monster into a wall where the arrow finally stopped, lodged in place.
So it had gone on for hours- fight some thugs and then beat down a super villain mini-boss. He was running low on arrows, but the sound of a massive aircraft halted the fighting. Hawkeye, with a knowing grin, leaned back as dozens of heavily armored SHIELD troopers poured in, putting the warriors from both gangs down in a hail of bullets and lasers without pause. As the survivors routed, most of the agents followed, taking down numerous thugs with shots from behind, but one agent fell out to greet Hawkeye specifically.
“Clint Barton- alias Hawkeye, Goliath and Ronin…the director wants to talk to you.”
“Fury? Look buddy, II appreciate the assist and all, but why don’t you just gather your little blue stormtrooper friends and go tell Colonel Patches that I don’t follow his orders.”
The SHIELD Agent leveled his gun at Hawkeye’s head. “The Director. Is going. To speak with you. This is not a negotiation.”
Hawkeye glared- he wasn’t a big fan of being used, not by anyone, and using people was Fury’s MO, but he relented. “Fine. Let’s go see the Big Man upstairs then.” If anyone knew what was happening, it would be Colonel Nick Fury. And knowing Fury, he’s probably cooked up a dozen plans to save the whole universe or something by now…
- Meanwhile*
Star City had changed drastically. Months ago, the city exploded into anarchist chaos. But then the faceless legions moved in to ‘bring things to order’. Maybe Oliver Queen wasn’t the mayor anymore, but he’d be damned if he was going to let Star City fall to some fascist goose-steppers. Curfew was at 7:00 sharp, but it was minutes to midnight as the Green Arrow leapt into the night.
Green Arrow was perched upon his high vantage point atop a gargoyle overlooking the busy city…from here he could see everything. A pack of thugs were trying to break into a jewelry store down the street and none of the new “secret police” were there to clean it up. He readied an old classic, drawing back the string and firing his favorite trick arrow into the crowd. The Punching Glove Arrow soared through the night, colliding into the back of one of the looter’s head, slamming him forward into the wall of the store with a crack. He fell back, nose clearly broken with blood running down his face, unconscious at once. The thieves shouted something, but it was obscured by the crackle of thunder. A storm was brewing.
The Arrow leapt from his rooftop vantage point, grinding across one of the power-lines with his bow. Another crack of thunder in the distanced echoed the crack of Green Arrow’s legs plowing directly into one of the looter’s chests as he rode the line downwards, knocking the man on to his back. Queen let go of the power line in a dive roll, grabbing another arrow from his quiver as he moved, leveling it at the third looter.
“Now, I don’t want to hurt you boys… go on home.”
The looter blinked like a deer caught in headlights for a few moments, before scurrying over to help the man Queen had kicked get back to his feet. They made a gesture of appreciation as they lifted up their unconscious friend and carried him off in-between them as they ran.
Queen sighed. These weren’t criminals, or gangbangers, or mercs… this isn’t Gotham freaking City! He spat on the ground in disgust. This is all their faults. They came in and took over… put the city on lockdown. These people are becoming scared and desperate. Turning down an alley, he looked up to see one of the fascist’s propaganda posters hung up. One of their faceless soldiers in a heroic pose, framed with the simple words:
We keep you safe. We are your hope. We are your SHIELD.
Queen heard another crack of thunder in the distance. Oh, yes… a storm was brewing indeed.
- Back on the Helicarrier*
Hawkeye was flanked by two SHIELD agents as he entered the office of the Director. The room was cluttered- screens of information was everywhere, and Fury’s chair was facing a window in the back of the room, overlooking the Fighter Runway.
“Hey, Colonel Hardass! You wanted to talk, so turn around and let’s talk Fury!” Hawkeye shouted.
“Hill, actually.” The Director corrected as the chair spun around to face him. “Acting Director Maria Hill.”
Hawkeye’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the woman before him. “Where’s Fury?”
“MIA. And the least of our concerns right now. I’m declaring martial law until we can sort out what the hell is going on down there.” Hill explained.
“Martial…what?! You can’t just…does SHIELD even have the authority to--“ Hawkeye stuttered.
“Authority?” Hill interrupted. “Clint, every chain of command on the planet is falling apart…SHIELD is all that’s left. We’re deploying you to a some strange hotbed for meta-human activity on the coast, Star City. Barton, take I want it locked down and under complete SHIELD control.”
Hawkeye didn’t like this…being used. “And if I say no?”
Hill matched his glare without backing down. “Then I throw your ass in prison for the rest of your pitiful life for treason.”
Hawkeye may not like this, but the simply didn’t have a choice. “Fine. Let’s get this over with, then.”
As he walked off in the direction of the Hangar, Hill threw him a small badge. “Welcome to SHIELD…Agent Barton.”
- Back in Star City*
The rain was coming down hard now. Queen was glad to have incorporated a hood into the costume a few years ago. His visibility was reduced, but he was a masterful marksman and more than made up for that…plus, it was better than some dorky hat with a little feather in it. These SHIELD agents, though? They don’t have the whole marksman plus. He had spent an hour putting down some of the troops, leaving them tied up for their comrades to find. They didn’t belong here, and he was going to make each and every one of them scared just to get deployed in Star City…it would be a slow war, but if he could get in their heads, he could get them out of his home. He watched from atop a neon theatre sign that turned the blurry blackness of the rain-slicked night into a visible dull purple hum. A group of SHIELD agents were exiting the run-down apartment complex next door, dragging out a man between them.
Queen observed the man carefully through the rain- it was Jarvis Tetch, better known as the super villain Mad Hatter. Normally, he was one of Batman’s, but after the New Gotham gang wars started to break out a lot of the lower tier psychos and loons started to migrate to other places to conduct their crimes. Despite his scrawny frame, the Hatter had numerous counts of murder, mind possession and…other criminal acts. He was the worst kind of scum, but he was loose and he was nowhere near the worst thing in Arkham…his mind drifted to the hell that Gotham must look like right now for one moment too long and the Agents gave a rough bone-shattering kick to Tetch’s knees, breaking both of his legs in turn. His ragged top hat fell from his head and landed in a puddle as the Hatter collapsed to the ground in a heap, coughing and moaning in fits of pain. Another agent drew his sidearm from the holster, leveling the handgun at the back of Tetch’s head with conviction.
“NO!” Green Arrow shouted as he leapt toward the Agents. He couldn’t care less for his own safety, knowing damn well that a fall from this height would snap dozens of bones if he wasn’t careful. He was a moment too late, and the sound of a bullet breaking through the soft of the criminal’s skull cracked out into the night in harmony with the thunder. Green Arrow tackled the Agent to the ground, forcing him to take the worst of the landing as he used the man to cushion his fall. Looking up, Queen saw that the wall was coated in a fresh bloody paint. He followed the trail to Tetch’s body, where a hollowed out hole in the back of his head shone a dark crimson in the night. Queen growled with rage, quickly lunging at one of the other Agents with his bow, slamming him over the helmeted head, knocking him to the ground.
“You think this is justice?” Arrow shouted as he jammed his knee into the SHIELD Agent’s throat, pinning him to the ground as he drew an arrow from his quiver. One of the Agents raised his gun to fire, but Green Arrow was quicker, shooting the arrow into the gun’s barrel. In a second, the head of the arrow exploded, blowing up the gun with it and tearing into the metallic armor of the SHIELD Agent’s arms. “You say you’re here to bring order, but you put people down in the streets like dogs?!” he shouted, making a quick motion with his knee that put the pinned Agent out cold before he rolled to the side, drawing another arrow. Seeing the fourth agent, Queen fired off one of his Bolo Arrows, which quickly wrapped around the Agent and sent electric shocks through his body, knocking him to the ground.
Behind him a gun clicked- the Agent who had shot Tetch now leveled his handcannon at Queen. Arrow closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to simply move without thinking- he took his bow and thrust it behind him, jabbing the Agent in the stomach. As he stumbled backwards, Green Arrow grabbed the wrist of the Agent’s armed hand, placing the bow under the man’s elbow- a quick jerking downwards motion on his arm snapped the bone with and the Agent roared out with pain. Before the moment could pass, Arrow grabbed the back of the Agent’s head and slammed it into his knee, knocking the man out. Queen let out a sigh- what was the point of bringing order if the cost was measured in the blood of the people? Even scum like Mad Hatter deserved certain rights- there was a system in place, and these pseudo-military thugs thought they were above it all. Suddenly an arrow whirred past his head. Turning to watch it fly, Arrow saw that the SHIELD Agent he had crashed into had pulled himself upwards, braced against the wall, and had pulled a handgun on him. The arrow stabbed directly into the barrel, stopping the shot. Green Arrow turned to see that a group of ex-Star City Police Officers, an elite branch he had hand trained in archery to fight crime like Green Arrow in his place when he was away. The Officers stood at attention, awaiting orders- he shouldn’t have been surprised to see them here, he had hand-picked them because they were so similar after all, but he WAS surprised when the rain-soaked sky was illuminated by the headlights of one of SHIELD’s jets. No doubt this scuffle had caused quite a scene to anyone looking- gunshots, Agents down and the sudden arrival of a legion of green-hooded archers…
“Green Arrow? Surrender now and I won’t have to show you why I’m the best damn archer in ANY universe!” A voice called down from the aerial transport.
Green Arrow glared. “Best archer in the universe? You’re just a cocky, fascist pun-“
“It’s not cocky if you can back it up, old man. “ The hero leapt out of the vehicle with an impressive front flip, sticking a perfect three-point landing without harm. “Name’s Clint Barton…but you might know me better as Hawkeye. Yeah, the Hawkeye- Avenger, Defender and Thunderbolt extraordinaire.”
Queen drew an arrow from his quiver. “Al right hotshot- let’s see how you deal with a member of the Justice League!”
The two archers locked eyes on each other- their backup not interfering on either’s account. Like predatory birds eyeing their prey- these two gazed across the battlefield, lining up their shots and anticipating the attack of the other. This was the moment that could make or break a battle between a bowman- but neither of them thought of it as such. It was as if they were fated to do this…to prove who was truly the better marksman.
Queen fired the first shot at the purple-suited Avenger before him, but Hawkeye was too fast, drawing his own arrow while simultaneously rolling out of the way of the shot. Barton’s arrow flew forward, stabbing through into Green Arrow’s leg, right below the knee. Queen could feel the blood rushing through the wound as he instinctively reached down to snap the head from the arrow and pull the shaft out of his body. He cursed to himself, knowing he should’ve ignored the shot and gone for another arrow- every second in this battle would be precious, and he just took away a couple vital moments.
Barton drew another arrow, the head was a capsule with a blue head that crackled with energy in rain-soaked night. “Like I said, old man- give up now, so we can hurry up and get me back home.”
Green Arrow knew he needed something to bandage the wound and he couldn’t continue to fight right here, like this. These agents had no problem killing but Ollie wasn’t too keen on resorting to their tactics to win this. Whatever this Hawkeye had in store for him, he knew the only way he could come on top is to engage in a deadly game of chicken- he had to deal enough damage to make SHIELD back down, or knock them out, or he might not see tomorrow. “If I go with you, SHIELD would take Star City and crush it beneath its heel. This is my city, and I won’t lose it to Nazis like you!” he growled as he made a hand signal to his archers, indicating that he needed cover fire. In a sudden flash of movement, Green Arrow dived to the side, the Star City archers leapt into action, firing arrows to keep Hawkeye from firing. The Avenger leapt backwards to take cover behind a trash can while Queen retreated inside the run down apartments.
Hawkeye popped out from behind cover launching an electric arrow at one of the police officers. The arrow latched on to the Archer on the far left , sending volts of electricity surging into his body, leaving him to slam into the ground below. Small sparks leapt from his unconscious body to a puddle below him. Taking advantage of Hawkeye’s attack, one of the Archers fired a quick arrow that ripped into Hawkeye’s shoulder. He cursed under his breath as he took cover again to remove the offending projectile sticking out of his torso. As he did so, the four remaining archers Archers fell back into the apartments to regroup with Queen.
Hawkeye groaned as the hostile arrow shaft fell from his hands to the rain soaked ground beneath him. Tearing off one of his costume’s sleeves, he created a quick makeshift bandage for his bleeding shoulder, before signaling up to the SHIELD craft above. His HSILED strike team dropped out in an instance- their dark blue armor and thick helmets made them a distinctive shock troop, even amongst the uniform SHIELD rank and file- the Cape Killers. Hawkeye had initially refused to work with them, but when Hill made it clear he didn’t have a say in the matter he swallowed his objections…but he would almost risk spending life in prison than take down another hero with the Capekillers backing him up.
“Squad, I want you to move round the perimeter of these apartment- check every entrance, every room and every hiding spot- we secure this building floor by floor until we capture Queen.” Hawkeye studied the building in front of him- he was certain this task would take them enough time that he could get to Green Arrow first.
“And what about you, Barton?” one of the Capekillers asked.
“Oh, I’ll find my own way. Just follow your orders.” The agents began to breach the building just as he added “- and only take non-lethal shots! I don’t want any dead cops on our hands!”
Green Arrow paused, checking his progress. Thirteenth floor. Unlucky number, he thought. Hopefully for the SHIELD thugs and not himself. He had set up a few of his explosive arrows as booby traps for them, daring them to follow him. He took a moment to pause and catch his breath, relieved this was the old and run down part of town. There were a few tenants here- and if they weren’t gangbangers they or drug dealers, they were victims to the vices that could be offered here. Most of the rooms were unlocked and abandoned, allowing him to quickly make a bandage for his leg from material scavenged in the empty nooks and crannies.
Arrow made his way across the long, stretching hallway that lead to the next staircase, slowly to accommodate his wound. Suddenly, a blur of motion from the top of the stairwell appeared and took him by surprise, shooting an arrow at him. Green Arrow dived sideways, dodging the projectile, which landed on the ground with a low hiss as the capsule exploded into a dsolving acide, sinking into the floor. Hawkeye grinned, drawing another arrow.
“You’re slow, Arrow- I even gave you a head start.” He bragged.
“Come in from the roof, I take it?” Queen drew an arrow of his own. “You’re crafty, I’ll give you that, but you’re still no match for me.”
The two men glared at each other intensely once again- knowing that this duel could come down to a single shot. “Looks like we’ve got us a Mexican Showdown, Queen.” Barton grinned.
“Something like that.” Green Arrow grunted “You want to test your little ‘best archer in the universe’ theory?”
Green Arrow fired off a Boxing Glove arrow, but Hawkeye’s Acid Arrow collided with it mid-air, melting through the glove with ease, leaving both arrows worthless mid-air, falling to the ground in a crashed heap. Quickly Hawkeye drew another arrow, shooting it towards Green Arrow, who responded with a handcuff arrow, which locked around the shaft of Hawkeye’s own projectile on one side as it flew forward, locking the other handcuff on to the stairs behind Hawkeye. After a few seconds, the arrow burst into flames- which quickly spread around them. Hawkeye dived forward at Green Arrow as a piece of wood from the ceiling fell upon his old position, coated in a blazing red. Utilizing his bow as a melee weapon, Hawkeye swung at Green Arrow. Queen was able to react in time, sidestepping the blow and making a swift sweep at Barton’s legs, which brought Hawkeye to the ground. With a grunt, Hawkeye flawlessly transitioned from a face-plant to a hand-stand, spinning upwards and kicking Ollie in the mouth with all of his strength. Queen crashed into a locked door behind him with a thump, but before he could recover, Hawkeye was on him again. The Avenger was mid-air, attempting a leaping kick, but Queen was able to grab his leg and throw him into the wall, shattering a part of the wood that grew ever more fragile as the fire spread.
The Cape Killers made speedy time through the building, quickly going through the first two floors. So far- there hadn’t been any surprises or hostile contacts. The Agents were professionals though, unlike their current commander they weren’t cocky and weren’t going to get careless. Performing a swift breaching maneuver on the doorway to the third floor, the Agents were met with an explosion which knocked two of them backwards. One of the Capekillers fell head first down the stairs, knocking him out instantly, while the other was simply thrown into the railing of the stairwell, knocking the wind out of him. One of the explosive arrows that Green Arrow planted was proving well worth the effort spent on it.
The Star City Police quickly went on the offensive, drawing their bows and attacking. One of the Cape Killers blocked the arrows in the doorway with his armored mass, charging forward with a shout, shouldering one of the Archers into the wall. Drawing his combat knife from his boot, the Cape Killer leapt at one of the other archers to distract them while the rest of the Cape Killers regrouped on the second floor. The four archers acted quickly in response, one of them kicked the Agent in the back of his leg, causing him to buckle to the ground, while another jumped on to the kicker’s back, using him like a spring board to leap into the air, firing an arrow into the Agent’s neck, where the armor was weak. One of the other officers fired another arrow as he stumbled backwards, knocking him out of the window across from them.
The line had been drawn. The Star City Police had control of the third floor, and taking the conventional route up made the Cape Killers too vulnerable and funneled them into a killing field, but it worked both ways, and if the Archers tried to make their way down the stairs to attack the SHIELD Agents, they’d be in the same killing field and would be put down in seconds. As the troopers from both sides discussed their options a loud explosion rocked the upper levels, drawing their attention away…
Smoke filled the hallway, making it hard to breath and see, but Green Arrow could focus past it. He would need to. He wasn’t sure what had happened- one moment he and Hawkeye were exchanging punches, the next an explosion sent both of them flying. The fire must have spread to a gas line or something…run down building like this was sure to have some leak. Unlucky floor number was no joke. He tried to peer through the smoke, and decided there was only one solution- he needed to reach the roof. It would be clear, open and drenched in the rain. It would be the perfect place to finish this duel, and he was certain that Hawkeye had made a similar thought. He crawled his way through the burning debris of the apartment complex, burning himself more than once. He coughed through the smoke, determined to fight his way out of this hell, but as he continued to make his way through the hallway he realized that he really had no idea where he was pushing himself to. Just as he turned a corner, another explosion burst directly in front of him, sending him flying out of the nearby window. Everything was blurry as his smoking body flew through the jagged glass into the cool, rainy night sky. Even his reaction time seemed slower than normal, as he drew an arrow with a rope tied to one end and fired it into a rusted fire escape, slowing his fall just enough to allow him to keep from crashing into the ground. He slammed into the wall with a grunt as he struggled to hold onto the rope in mid-air. He felt completely spent, but he wasn’t done yet. He didn’t matter. For once in his life, Oliver Queen did not matter- Star City would not fall to these thugs. Not as long as he drew breath. Climbing up the rope, ignoring his pain, Green Arrow began a treacherous climb up to the rooftop.
Hawkeye couldn’t believe that one stray fire arrow was turning this place into a living hell. He certainly hoped that it was as abandoned as he looked, or he would have a lot more to answer for later- to Hill and more importantly, to himself. He pushed those thoughts aside for the moment- he couldn’t stop focusing on the fight right now, or it could very well be his last. For all of his big talk, this bearded man in a green hood was really giving Barton a run for his money. Hawkeye had been blasted backwards towards the stairway when the explosion happened, and while it was the origin of the flame, he was at least fast enough to clear his way up to the fourteenth floor quickly enough, and was now sprinting through the blazing floor trying to reach the roof. A piece of the ceiling collapsed from the flame and landed a few feet from him, forcing him to act fast- he leapt onto the burning mass of wood and leapt upwards into the inferno above, managing to move through the initial waves of pain and heat as he sprinted. The heat on floor fifteen was overwhelming- it felt like he was melting, and he needed to get out…quickly! Ramming his shoulder into the first door he saw, Hawkeye busted his way into a random room, fortunately unoccupied, and burst out of the window, grasping towards the wall of the apartments as he soared. He lucked out- his hand gripped on to the roof, and he grunted as he pulled himself upwards onto safe harbor…for the moment. He sighed and let the rain wash over him. “Fifteen floor apartment.” Hawkeye sighed with relief for a moment, before getting back up on his feet and shook himself back to full awareness. “Your move, Robin Hood. All in…whatever’s on the table plays.”
Green Arrow could feel himself reaching the rooftop. His newfound second wind allowed him to push through the work in record time, and he was easily able to make his way up to the roof. Hawkeye stood waiting, his bow drawn, but no arrow drawn- waiting for Queen to reach him before returning to their duel.
“Ready for the end game, Hawkeye?” Green Arrow called out to his foe across the roof, drawing his bow and an arrow from his quiver.
“Been waiting here forever, Green.” Hawkeye locked eyes with Queen one last time. This ended now, and they both knew it. Thunder roared in the background as the rain came down upon their tired bodies, but neither of them seemed to notice. At the same time, they raised their bows and fired. Hawkeye’s arrow sunk into Green Arrow’s shoulder while Queen’s own arrow scored a direct blow to Hawkeye’s stomach. Both men grunted, but refused to give any ground, immediately drawing another arrow. They waited only as long as it took before another roar of thunder cried out, like the referee to this final destined battle. They fired off another arrow each, refusing to use their remaining trick arrows as if to show their respect to each other’s skills. This time, Hawkeye’s shot pierced the bandage on Green Arrow’s leg, filling him with crippling pain as the unhealed wound was worsened. Green Arrow’s own arrow struck Barton in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards. Both men returned to their original positions, drawing another arrow without a word. Both men could feel the blood as it ran down their exhausted limbs, but they didn’t care- either through adrenaline or some force of raw willpower. They fired their arrows again…
The SHIELD Cape Killers and the Star City Police Archers had been forced to resume their battle in the rain-slicked alley near the apartment, abandoning the building when the fires started to reach their lower levels. Two of the Cape Killers were positioned behind a parked car while the last was behind a trash can for cover. The Police were simply using the walls that made up the entry way to the dead end as cover, with the exception of the Archer on the fire escape. While they were outnumbered, the Cape Killers weren’t willing to give in yet- the one behind the trashcan leapt out with his handgun, loaded with non-lethal tranq rounds, and fired recklessly at the Archer’s position across the alley. His distraction allowed the two behind the car to poke out with their own weapons and tag the man on fire escape, whom crumpled to the ground below with a thud as he fell unconscious from the fire escape with two tranq-darts in his neck.
While one of the Archers fired three arrows in one scatter-shot at the Cape Killer, he was able to tag one of them before going down in a heap. Thunder echoed as the odds were evened up. The two archers made a final desperate ploy- one of them slid across the wet ground, grabbing the handgun from the fallen SHIELD Agent and opened fire on the two remaining Cape Killers, emptying multiple rounds into the chest and head of one of the two heavily armored agents, finally bringing him down. When the final Cape Killer turned to fire on the Archer, the other one dove from cover, shooting the gun from his hands. Quickly the two engaged in a melee battle as the Archer slid across the top of the car’s hood to deliver a kick to the SHIELD Agent’s head. While the Agent immediately went for his knife, the Archer was able to use his bow as a melee weapon to hold off the swings for a few moments. The Cape Killer finally grunted, and grabbed at the bow with his free hand, pulling the police officer in close to allow him to sink the blade into the man’s stomach. The Officer gasped in pain as he could feel the blood pout from this new open wound- the blade seemed to vibrate on contact with his flesh, only making the cut that much deeper. Taking advantage of the officer’s stunned reaction, the SHIELD agent grabbed him by the head and slammed it into the car’s hood, knocking him out and leaving him to turn the puddle at their feet red with his blood. The final archer roared with anger and fired another six shots from the tranquilizer pistol into the Agent’s chest, downing the final Cape Killer. He turned, looking up at the roof and saw a mesmerizing sight. Illuminated as silhouettes by the moon above, the two archers were engaged in a final battle.
Hawkeye grunted as another arrow pierced his chest. That was three to the chest, two to the shoulder and four to his legs. Green Arrow wasn’t fairing much better, and both men looked almost like pincushion versions of themselves as the blood ran from the numerous projectiles that stuck out of their bodies. This time had to be the final shot- there was no doubt about that…this is the one that had to end the fight or both of them could simply pass out from the exhaustion of it all. Hawkeye grabbed the one special arrow he had kept himself from drawing this battle…the one he knew could end this. He saw his foe draw one of his explosive arrows, knowing the same thought had to be running through Queen’s mind.
Green Arrow pulled back the string, prepared to fire the explosive arrow that needed to finish this fight once and for all. With this one arrow, all of the hopes of Star City would be answered…for better or worse. Queen inhaled, calming his breath. There were too many arrows in him to count as it was, but there didn’t seem to be anything too important about Hawkeye’s latest projectile. He had to finish this now. The two archer’s silent faces were completely stoic as they launched their last projectiles.
The explosive arrow sailed across the sky swiftly, but Hawkeye’s arrow flew faster with an unnatural hissing sound as it pierced directly into Green Arrow’s explosive, slicing through the weapon. Green Arrow loosed another explosive arrow, but was unprepared to see the golden arrow still coming at him at an alarming rate. Raising his bow instinctively, Queen felt the impact as the arrow splintered his weapon of choice and kept going, stabbing into his side, going half through his body before stopping. With a grunt of pain, Oliver Queen fell to his knees, dropping the two halves of his bow. He was panting in pain, blood covered his entire body and he could barely see as his vision blurred.
“Well…well played, Arrow.” Hawkeye grunted from across the roof. “Vibranium Armor Piercing Arrow.” He told the Emerald Archer as he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, blood and pain. Hawkeye wasn’t far behind him, collapsing to one of his knees as he drew a communicator. “This is, urgh, Hawkeye” he grunted as he tore one of the arrows from his knee. “Need immediate pick-up, and medical attention…for two. We’re bringing this one in alive.”
“We read you loud and clear, Barton.” A voice answered back. “There’s a bird on the way now. Good job.”
Hawkeye fell to the rain-soaked ground and began to fade out. Good job, Barton, he echoed to himself. You just helped a legion of faceless assholes take control of some random city for reasons you aren’t even aware of and nearly killed a good man to do it. His vision faded as the SHIELD transport descended from above. At least he was done with this part, he thought as he was put on a stretcher and loaded up.
EpilogueEdit[]
A small plastic Eagle was placed upon the massive digital map laid out in front of the dark room, and a man used a small staff-like weapon to push the piece to a point titled Star City. The six men in the room were shadowed with darkness- but the man overlooking the table had a clearly defining set of horns upon his head. His long, thin face twisted into a grin. “I must admit Demon, I’m surprised.” His voice spoke out with a distinctive accent, but it could not be placed to any Earthly people. “All of the pawns are moving to the places you predicted.”
A man across the room, seated in one of six chairs, confidently answered back. “Of course they are- SHIELD will take control of many more cities to come, and when they do a war will begin- an inevitability that we shall all benefit from.”
A cloaked figure sat on the other side of this twisted, shadowy round table. “There is one major problem with this plan.” He barked. “Nick. Fury. When last this Cabal formed, during the days of Norman Osborn, Fury had been displaced and returned to become a constant thorn in our side- his disappearance could easily unhinge all of these machinations.”
A robotic figure spoke up now. “Director Nicholas Fury is but one of numerous variables to take into account in these plans. Between the six of us, and our own resources, constant manipulation of any event that occurs is a likely possibility. We have nothing to worry about from this SHIELD, they are merely additional pawns in this plan, to be used and discarded when we need.”
“Osborn had…similar ideas.” The Horned figure replied. “Of course, this time we’re operating a little more…diverse in our planning.” He laughed.
The Six Men turned their attention away from Star City to continue their plans in another location, but at the same time, in another location separated by many seas and continents, Maria Hill sat in her quarters.
“Is it ready yet, engineer?” She asked over her headset as she gazed out across the ocean that the Helicarrier floated over ominously.
“As it will ever be, Ma’am.” A nervous SHIELD agent reported from the other side.
“Good- I’d like to see it, then. Deactivate the cloaking systems.” She ordered. Within a few seconds, a beautiful sight sprung to live. Dozens upon dozens of additional Helicarriers, most of which were completed and armed with numerous additional weapons, decloaked over the ocean. Maria Hill was going to bring this chaos to order…and now she had the guns to do it. She smiled as she reclined in her chair. “Fury should’ve thought of this years ago.” She smiled to herself, dreaming of all that she could accomplish now…
Expert's Opinion[]
In a battle between two superhuman-tier marksman, what secured a win for Hawkeye was the fact that he was simply a stronger warrior with a harder hitting arsenal. Even with Green Arrow's intelligence, creativity, and equally impressive physical prowness, he lacked an arsenal that coudld harm a nimble Hawkeye. Hawkeye's more militant arrows, while fewer in number, did more damage to Green Arrow.