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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 22:30:36 GMT
Sept 7th
To say that the month wasn’t going well for Roy would have been an understatement, and it had barely started. If the conversation with his estranged wife wasn’t a sign that bad things were to come, then the archer didn’t know what an actual sign looked like, and he hoped that he never did. Regardless of signs, he did know that he needed to talk to someone, and the closest friend that he knew was one that had moved to another city than the one’s that he was used to visiting. Figuring it would be a good time to get acquainted with it, Roy decided to pay Dick a visit.
Of course, the only problem was finding the Batman protégé in such a city, which was about as easy as finding a needle in a haystack. It wasn’t like there was a Nightwing signal that he could light up to attract his attention, and he didn’t want to use the radio link in case there was someone eavesdropping and thought that there was an emergency.Then an idea popped into his head that might work as well as a Bat-signal, but only if Dick was out and about at the moment, so Roy pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed it straight above him. With no hesitation, he let loose the projectile.
A few seconds past, and then the arrow exploded into a ball of fire as it came back down towards him. The flame lasted about a minute or two before it snuffed out, but Roy hoped that it was enough of a signal to catch his friend’s attention. “Then again, I could have just blown something up instead, and seen if that had worked any better. Its not like many things blow up in every city that we go to.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2014 1:52:11 GMT
Dick Grayson sat across from a girl, a hot blonde who was now laughing immensely. The two had met the weekend before, at a coffee shop, where the former Boy Wonder had managed to get her number after almost spilling his coffee on her.
This was their first date and he had kept her laughing the entire time. He grinned, watching as she laughed, before she took a sip of her drink. "That's so-" she started, before Dick tuned her out. Previously, he had full intent on listening, but something else caught his eye. Glancing at the sky, he had noticed a small explosion toward the other side of town. He knew what that meant. He tried not to sigh, as he looked at his date once more. He couldn't just interrupt her, but all manners aside, he needed to get out of here. Smiling at the girl again, he discreetly reached for his phone, which was lying next to him on his seat. Pressing the volume button up three times, he managed to activate an application that he had downloaded prior to the situation. It was, in his opinion, pretty cool. After hitting that button, three times in a row, his phone would wait four seconds, and then begin to ring, without actually placing a call. It saved his butt in situations like these. Finally, the sound of his ringtone filled the quiet restaurant. He frowned at his date, watching as she motioned for him to go ahead. He stood up, mouthing 'Thank you' before stepping outside. Upon scanning the sky, he saw only the stars, there were no explosions in sight. He calculated where the first had come from, pretending to talk on the phone as he entered the restaurant. "Alright. Bye." He hung up, heading back to the table. "I'm sorry, Lacey. I have to go, family emergency." He sighed. Running a hand through his black hair.
She looked down for a moment, as though she were saddened by this. "Next Friday?" he asked, offering a small smile. She bit her lip. "Same time, same place," she said, giving her own small smile, before watching as he thanked her and ran off. He wasted no time running into his apartment, changing into his uniform, and heading to where the flash of light had come from. Someone needed his help.
Upon arrival, he noticed none other than Red Arrow standing there, bow in hand. Nightwing scanned the area immediately, looking for trouble, but there was no sight of it. "Red?" he said finally. "What's wrong?"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 8:19:04 GMT
As time passed, Roy grew concerned that Dick may have been unable to see his signal, and he wondered if it was worth the risk of firing a second arrow. One could be ignored by most people as the eyes playing tricks on them, but a second would draw some unwanted attention. Of course, it wasn’t like what he needed to talk about was world changing. It just needed to be vented to someone who Roy could trust, and that list was growing shorter everyday. Pretty soon, he would have to go back to using a journal, which wasn’t an idea he looked forward to pursuing.
Just as he was about to risk the arrow, the sound of Dick’s voice made him turn around to see his friend standing there in full hero gear, and Roy quickly wondered if it might have been easier to just wander the streets for a few hours instead. It would have given him some time to think about how he was going to explain everything without sounding like a total loon, but it was kind of late to be going through alternative options. No, he needed to start talking before Dick got the wrong idea about what he was doing in the city.
”Sorry about the impromptu bat signal, but I needed to talk to someone who knows how to keep quiet about things that everyone doesn’t need to know.” Roy knew that Dick was the right person for this gioven how he had kept it quiet that Kaldur had been undercover for so long, but he had to make sure that his friend knew that what he was about to say was something that couldn’t be repeated to anyone else. If it were, then Roy had a sinking feeling that it would be turned into a pity party just for him, and that wasn’t what he wanted. ”Now are you comfortable hearing about my personal problems? I won’t hold a grudge if you say no.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 16:57:08 GMT
Nightwing was slightly confused at the sight of his friend. He had spent the first few seconds looking for trouble, and the next wondering why Roy had summoned him here. What was his friend doing in Blüdhaven anyway? Clearly, something was upsetting Red, but nothing about the situation was making sense to Dick. "Sorry about the impromptu bat signal, but I needed to talk to someone who knows how to keep quiet about things that everyone doesn't need to know," Roy said. "Now are you comfortable hearing about my personal problems? I won't hold a grudge if you say no."
Nightwing raised an eyebrow. What would drive Roy so far as to reach out like this? What was bothering him to the extent of wanting to discuss it with someone else? Nightwing understood the concept of venting, but Red Arrow didn't strike him as the type to just ask for help. Something was clearly troubling him, and Dick wasn't about to turn down a friend in need. "Of course," Nightwing said, growing concerned. "What is it?"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2014 16:26:00 GMT
”It is Jade,” responded Roy. As soon as he said her name, his hands became fists as the frustration rippled through him, and his body began to shake at the mere thought. Then all of it stopped as he opened his mouth to speak again. ”I told her that we needed to get out of the life and go somewhere that we could raise our daughter without worrying if one of us is going to make it home or not. Sounds like something that would be appealling to anyone, right?”
He let out a sigh as he thought back on how the conversation had gone from that point: the accusing tone, the mocking laughter and finally the unbearable separation. ”Needless to say, she turned me down and then I told her that we could see each other anymore as husband and wife. I told her that the next time that we met that I wasn’t going to hold back any more, and that she needed to find a way to shield Lian from that. I told her that she needed to leave Star City and find some place that I couldn’t find her, and now I don’t know what to do.” As he spoke, tears started to stream down his face.
”What am I supposed to do, Dick?”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2014 22:56:34 GMT
Dick tilted his head to the side slightly, confused. Was it upsetting Red that badly? Was he asking Dick for advice? What was Nightwing supposed to know about the situation? He wasn't exactly the best suited for giving advice about family problems. His only reference was Batman and a few girlfriends, and that wasn't helping anyone. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The situation was becoming difficult for him. He didn't know how to help, and he barely understood what had happened. "Maybe you should..." Nightwing thought quickly. "Call her? ...Look, I don't know about situations like this, but I do know that you love her. You can't give up. If you can't do this for any other reason, then do it for your daughter." Nightwing looked around, trying to think of something else to say.
Finally, he remembered something his mom had taught him at the circus so many years ago. Maybe he could relate it to Red Arrow's situation somehow.
"Family isn't like fighting," he said. "You can't just skip some acts and be a part of others. You need to commit fully." He shook his head. How would Roy understand this? His circus talk wasn't going to work, but the meaning could.
"You're going to extremes. It's all or nothing with you, and it can't be that way- not with family. There are good times and bad, just like on a team. You stick together. When someone's giving up, you fight for them." He looked up at the archer. "You need to fight. Don't fight her, fight for her. Trust me, every moment counts with them."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 2:00:38 GMT
"Its too late for phone calls, old friend. Even if I thought that it would do any good, she is long gone with Lian, and her number has more than likely been changed." No, the hands of time couldn't be turned back, and he didn't know if he wanted to erase the conversation as it was. Roy couldn't go back to the long nights with Lian where he wondered exactly who Jade had been hired to take out that week, and he couldn't ignore the fact that his wife was a criminal.
The archer had to admit that his friend was trying to persuade him to do just that, but Roy had made this ultimatum for his daughter. "What else was I supposed to do? Her job is one where she goes out to assassinate people for the bad guys. I couldn't ignore that anymore, and sometimes tough love is needed to get them to stop a bad habit." He knew that more than anyone given his past obsessions that others had saved him from.
"And Lian is still young. Hopefully, she won't have to remember what has to happen, but you are right Dick. I am going to fight for her the only way I know how." And that was with a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. If she wanted to be in the life, then he was going to find a way to make it hard on her to be successful at it, and Roy had a feeling that he was going to become a tad bit obsessive over the idea for the next few months.
Wiping his face off, he tried to put his usual look on his face, which was more than likely unsuccessful. "Enough about me, how have you been?"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 22:29:05 GMT
Nightwing narrowed his eyes slightly, what was Red saying? How was he going to fight for her? By letting the situation be? Or by finishing it once and for all? The archer had a point, the life of crime wasn't very family friendly, but how could she shield Lian from her own lifestyle? If Jade wasn't willing to take care of her family with Red Arrow by her side, why would she do it alone? She wouldn't. She couldn't possibly take care of Lian while causing trouble like that, and her own daughter would be passed off to other people on a constant basis. At least with Red Arrow in the picture, Lian had her best chance. She could stay with a familiar face at least once in a while. Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Jade is going to do this with or without you, you should at least be there for Lian. Maybe she won't remember this, and if that's the case, she won't remember you. Not to mention..." He trailed off, not sure if he should say it. On one hand, he needed Red Arrow to understand that if Jade didn't make it home one night, Lian wouldn't have anyone left. On the other hand, he had an archer who, despite his normally tough attitude, was now edging his breaking point. Nightwing was at a loss for words once again, deciding to leave death out of their talk. "Never mind. You just need to think of Lian." Nightwing was trying to find something to say. "At least she had a villain and a hero for parents, now she just has her mom, who isn't the most influential person for your daughter to be around. If she really cares about Lian, she will give this up. You just need to keep trying with her. Go find her."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2014 7:05:10 GMT
It seemed that they weren't going to be changing the subject as Dick was pressing on trying to use Lian to get him to change his mind, but the ploy hadn't worked on Jade so why should it fair better with him? "I know what you are saying, Dick. What happens when Jade leaves Lian with a sitter, and then she doesn't come back? I've thought about it countless times," stated Roy. The problem was that Jade didn't seem to care about that part as much as one would think because she still refused to give up the job path she had chosen.
"Its too late to go find her. When Jade disappears, she does so without a trace, so even if I want to find her it is nigh impossible to do so." Hence why she went by the name 'Cheshire', but Roy knew that if he really wanted to find her it would be too easy given her particular skill set. As far as Lian went, he was kind of hoping that not having him to fall back on as a babysitter might make her change her mind a little faster than what they were used to.
Dick talked about being there for Lian, but Roy was only around when Jade wanted him to be around their daughter which was when she was working. Aside from that, he was barely in his apartment to begin with as it wasn't much of an apartment but more like a cover story for him to use to placate people. "To be honest, my line of work doesn't make me the best role model or parent for a little girl. I go up against guys with super strength with nothing more than a bow and a few high-tech arrows, and I'd rather not have her follow me down that path either."
If anything, Lian would be better off in her grandmother's care, who was the only family member that wasn't currently breaking the law in one way or another. Of course, he had forgotten to suggest that to Jade before telling her to get out. Guess that was what he got for being so made about her turning him down.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 16:27:24 GMT
Nightwing took a step forward, this time he was serious. Red Arrow couldn't just render the situation helpless, not when it concerned his daughter. Dick had full confidence that he was right, and that it was time for Roy to start listening. He needed to go after Jade, before it was too late. Nightwing had no idea how long it had been since the argument, but the archer left clear evidence that it had been of recent occurrence. "Great role model or not-" Dick was more than ready to reply, but the place fell silent when his attention was caught by something to his right. When he looked, he noticed a band of gang members not far from them. He couldn't define what type of weapons they possessed, but it was obvious they had some, and it appeared they wanted a fight. He sent a glance to Red Arrow as he prepared himself for trouble, trying to figure out the delinquents' purpose of arrival. Before Nightwing could say anything to them, they went into attack mode, a couple of them ready to use their firearms. Whoever they were, they wanted something, more than just a good fight. 'But what...?' Dick jumped into action, ready to disarm the gang before they could harm anyone, as few different members took a running start at the duo, acting out of pure instinct and rage. This was a type of rage that Nightwing was unfamiliar with. These assassins weren't strategizing, they just went for it. It made them unprepared, but it also made them more dangerous. Regardless, heroes are always ready. They could fight back now, and ask questions afterwards. The two were so clearly out numbered, but they were also well trained. Nightwing took one of them down, before scanning the area to see where the others were. He took a brief second to look at Red, before turning his attention back to yet another unknown attacker.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2014 23:13:12 GMT
Red turned to face Dick as he started to say something to him, and his plan had been to cut him off so that they could drop the subject. Of course, the abrupt stop by his friend told him that something or someone else had come along to change the topic of discussion for them, and as it turned out it changed to something that they were both familiar with and that Roy so desperately needed. The only thing that didn't fit were their weaponry and motive for coming after the two of them directly as it was difficult to see anyone coming after one superhero, and these guys were coming after two of them.Well, it was there funeral.
Instantly, Red pulled out his more high tech bow from his back pouch and loaded in an arrow as Dick took down one of the guys, and the archer new it was his turn to contribute. Firing the first arrow, it exploded into a net that wrapped around the closest target, but there wasn't time to reload before the next guy swung at him. Training and reflexes were what saved him as he ducked under the blow and used his bow to sweep the other guy's legs, and once the man was on the ground Roy kicked him in the face to keep him from causing any more problems for them.
"So are these guys pissed at you or me? I can't tell anymore," said Red Arrow as he pulled another one of his trick arrows from his quiver. It was time to show these guys exactly who they were dealing with, and that was the best proteges around. "Cover eyes," he said quickly as he pushed the head of the arrow and tossed it in the air. Closing his eyes and covering them with his arm just be safe, the arrowhead blew up and released a flash of blinding light, which he hoped Nightwing avoided.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2014 3:17:08 GMT
'Cover eyes,' Red Arrow said. Nightwing knew what that meant, and he immediately covered his eyes. If there was one thing he could do, it was follow orders. You can't work as a team for that long, and not pick up the skill. It saved him at times like these. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the bright light shine through his mask, and he smiled at the archer's tactic, as he knew it would work nicely. Now, they just had to take the blind gangsters down, which should be easy enough. "I think they're here for you," Nightwing said, as he opened his eyes. "No one has a reason for coming after me." Nightwing paused, a thought coming to him. What if Jade had set this up to teach Roy a lesson? Sure, it was far fetched, but it could easily be the truth. What if he had angered her to the point of her wanting to hurt him? Cheshire hated being told what to do anyway, and she more than likely didn't like him calling the shots. That couldn't be it though, if she wanted something done, she'd do it herself, and have no problem whatsoever. Even if she had hired someone else, they would've been stronger than the goon's they were currently fighting. Way stronger. Deciding it couldn't hurt to ask, Nightwing spoke up. "You don't think..." Dick moaned slightly, as his current subject punched him in the right side of his ribs, the pain coming immediately. Nightwing silently scolded himself for not paying attention, and immediately punched the, now blind, man in the face. Dick then kneed the man in the stomach, before pushing him aside, turning his attention back to Roy momentarily. "You don't think that Jade would set this up, do you?" Just then a gun went off, capturing everyone's attention. Where it came from, Nightwing didn't know. He silently hoped that no one was hurt, as he began scanning the area. This was not good.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2014 3:34:22 GMT
"I think they're here for you," Nightwing said, as he opened his eyes. "No one has a reason for coming after me."
No reason, huh? Red supposed that Nightwing thought that those years taking down bad guys wasn't enough to warrant some fallback on him, but it could be that Dick was right. After all, he had spent a few years crossing paths with some of the worse people imaginable in order to find the real Roy Harper, and his connection to Jade wasn't as well known but there were a few people that did who would use it to get back at the assassin.
Sweeping his leg outward, Red brought down one of the guy's that was close to him before he got back to his feet and fired another arrow at an incoming man. It exploded into a bola that wrapped around the man's body and kept him from raising his arms, so he took him completely out the man by punching him in the face. As he was doing this, one of the men smacked him across the face with the butt of his gun, and the archer fell to his knee. Just when the guy thought he could celebrate, an extended foot cracked the man's knee, and a second movement knocked him out.
"You don't think that Jade would set this up, do you?"
"Jade may be pissed at me, but she cares about Lian too much to try and take me out. No, this is definitely someone else's plan," stated Red Arrow. This was Dick's city, and he wasn't a new hero to it as far as Red knew. It might be some up and coming gangster testing how far he could push it. "Any new players to town that might think having knocked off two heroes might bump up their status?" Firing off another arrow, Red watched as it stuck into one of the men's shoulders. It didn't hurt that they showed them that they were willing to inflict some serious damage to end this quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2014 15:30:02 GMT
"This is definitely someone else's plan," Red Arrow stated. "Any new players to town that might think having knocked off two heroes might bump up their status?" Nightwing gave a quick round house kick to the nearest gangster, kicking him again while he was down, and knocking him out. At this point, almost all of their subjects were either unconscious or restricted from movement, and the duo could easily end this. As much as Dick hated to admit it, the archer was right. Jade, despite being evil, would never dream of hurting Lian. She would swallow her pride to keep her daughter safe, even if it meant staying away from Roy. It wasn't something Nightwing could argue with. "No," Nightwing said, thinking, watching as an arrow flew into a man's shoulder.
'I guess we're not gonna play nice.' "There aren't any new players, but I know some old ones." He shook his head. "I think they..." Nightwing lost himself within his own thoughts, thinking of other possibilities. There were the serial bank heists, but they were too repetitive in their patterns, and Nightwing had already landed the six perpetrators in jail. That couldn't easily be related to this, and it wasn't likely. Next they had villains, as any other city, but that was obviously unassociated with their current scenario. Last but not least- Wait a minute, what if it was? Nightwing wasn't unfamiliar with the use of distractions, he had seen it many times. What if it had been a villain planning this? It easily could've been, and Dick was starting to wonder why. Their lack of strategy was perfect. It lead the heroes to believe that this was just a simple gang fight, while still keeping them occupied long enough for other things to happen, but what? Nightwing was ready to get to the bottom of it. "Red," Nightwing said, snapping some guy's wrist, before giving him a drop kick to the collar bone, letting the man fall silently to unconsciousness. He was the last one. "I think this is only a distraction, we need to get out of here. I don't know why, but someone wanted us fighting here, and to the best of my knowledge, that person has another agenda." His eyes scanned the area around them. He didn't know where they needed to go, he didn't know who they needed to see, but he had a feeling they'd be finding out really soon.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 9:26:56 GMT
Red Arrow watched as Nightwing took care of the last of the men that were attacking them, which gave them both time to think over who could be orchestrating this. They had already ruled out the most obvious option in terms of people that he had made upset recently, and Dick had stated that there were no new people on the rise but some old ones that might be trying to stir up some trouble. Either way, the two of them would have to stop whoever put them in this situation before things got worse, and what his life as a superhero had taught him was that every situation got worse.
If Dick was right about this being a distraction, then Red Arrow was sort of ticked that they had been thought of so little that they thought a group this small would take both of them a while to handle.Unless, the group had been acting under the assumption that only one hero would be there to deal with, and his showing up so unexpectedly had thrown a monkey wrench in their plan. This meant that they would have a shot of catching the perpetrator in the act of committing whatever crime it was that they were planning for the day, and that was an opportunity that they could waste.
"I assume that you can tap into local police broadcasts, right? You should probably check to make sure that nothing big is going down right now that they are ill-equipped for," stated the archer as he scanned the surrounding rooftops. If this was a direct attack on them, then they would be bumping up their schedule accordingly, so naturally he knocked an explosive arrow in case they showed that they had some more impressive firepower than their lackeys did. "Perhaps we'll get lucky and we aren't looking at an ambush here."
Of course, they might have to make a call into the Watchtower to check that they weren't being surrounded, but it was easier to just look for the simpler solution instead of a conspiracy against them. After all, there had been many a nights wasted on chasing down obscure leads that only lead a person into places that he wasn't wanted and wasn't needed.
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