Issue #6: "Family Reunion"

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Green Arrow

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Issue #6: “Family Reunion”
Written by Brian Burchette
Cover by: Ramon Villalobos
Edited by: Don Walsh[/center]

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“No windows!” Eddie shouted just seconds before the bomb would explode.

Ollie grabbed his quiver from his new-found son,still dressed as Green Arrow, and went through them. “What the hell did you do with all my arrows, kid?!”

“Sorry,” Connor said, blushing.

“Never mind,” he grumbled as he found the arrow he wanted and grabbed the bow out of Connor’s hand. He ordered everyone back and in one swift, fluid motion, nocked the arrow and let it go at the door. It exploded outward.

“Move!” Ollie screamed as he and his son and Eddie took off out the door and down the hall. They had made it several hundred feet when the room behind them exploded into flames; the heat and pressure tossing all three momentarily into the air.

“That was close,” Eddie mumbled as he got up.

“Good thing about fighting stupid crooks and not master villains, they forget the easy stuff, like taking away the weapons.” Ollie said.

Connor stood up a bit shakily, “Are things always like this?”

“Nah, sometimes they get really bad,” Ollie grinned.

“Are we going after that Asad guy?” Connor asked.

“He’s long gone by now,” Ollie said, still staring at his long lost son in wonderment, “The best things we can do now is help Eddie find his daughter.”

“How exactly do you plan on getting there?” Eddie asked. “If your letters were any indication, Count Vertigo will know the moment you step off a public plane. If he’s back in power, that is.”

Ollie considered it for a moment. “Alright, first, I’ll call in a favor and get us a private jet. Second…” and he pointed to Connor Hawke. “I want my suit back.”

The young man smiled sheepishly, “Sorry about that. Don’t worry, though, I made one of my own.”

“You… you did?”

Connor shrugged, “I’ve been a fan for a lot of years.”

“Can we go get my daughter?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Ollie said the three of them walked out of the burning mansion.

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The private jet took off with all three on board. All sorts of tensions hung in the air. Eddie could not stand to look at his friend's accusing eyes, while Connor Hawke could not seem to keep his eyes off his father, the man he had wanted to meet for so many years, the man who he had come to worship from afar.

“How did your mother…?” Ollie let the question trail off.

“Cancer,” came the short reply. It was obvious that he didn’t want to speak of it. Ollie just nodded and looked back out the window.

“It was kind of Mr. Wayne to send us one of his jets to borrow,” Connor said after a few minutes of silence.

Ollie let out a snort, “Oh, this isn’t being borrowed, kid. I’ll pay for it… trust me… I’ll pay.”

“So,” Eddie interrupted. “Count Vertigo…?”

“Count Vertigo,” Ollie said. “A dictator without a country, although the last time I spoke to Bar… err… Batgirl, her intelligence had confirmed that he was now hiding in a small village inside his country of Vlatava. I tried to contact her again right before we left, but no answer. I’m assuming that The Outsiders are on some kind of mission, especially since neither she, nor Black Canary, will answer their emergency communicators.

“The CIA and the DEO were both doing their best to track him down after he made his first appearance in Star City, but he just seemed to disappear right off the radar”

“You sure your little club didn’t just look the other way?”

Eddie’s face turned red, “…And how was it again that Werner Vertigez turned into the
international criminal known as Count Vertigo?” he snapped back.

This time it was Ollie’s face that turned red as he turned and stared out the window. The guilt was still with him, even after all that time. Count Werner Vertigez had come to him for help, and with the aid of S.T.A.R. Labs, they had tried an experimental transplant that had gone horribly wrong, causing Werner to be given powers that had turned him into something this side of a monster.

Editor's note: For the origin of Count Vertigo, check out All-Star Comics #3

Connor coughed nervously and they both turned to look at him. This made him even more uncomfortable and he gave the two men a nervous smile and began to hum an old chant that had been taught to him at the monastery.

“Anyway,” Eddie continued, “Did you ever have any knowledge or inclination that the Count was into under-aged girls?”

“Nope, in fact, it just doesn’t sound like his M.O. at all.”

“If that’s the case, than what the hell is he doing with them?”

“Maybe he’s into slumber parties and discussing who’s cuter, Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp?”

Eddie gave his friend a withering look, but said nothing.

“Why aren’t we using your own jet again, Sir?” Connor asked.

“News must not travel fast where you were,” Ollie scoffed. “I don’t have a private jet anymore, or a company. It was bought out by Luthor Corp. Since I moved back to Star City, I haven’t been able to follow up on it like I had wanted to. Things keep getting in the way.”

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Interlude 1

The building had received several name changes in less than a year; Queen Enterprises, Luthor Corp, and now The Fero Corporation name loomed large, having bought out Lex Luthor’s company since his public humiliation during the events of the Starro Crisis.

The new C.E.O. was a tall good looking man of Spanish decent who spent most of his time either away from the building, or locked into his office. He depended primarily on his staff and Executive Vice President to run the day to day operations. His primary concern was security, at all times.


The Chief Executive Officer, known by his employees as Mr. Cortez, waited at his desk until his second-in-command came through the door.

He, too, was dressed to the nines with slicked back salt and pepper hair that made him appear much older than he really was. When he saw that his boss was back in town, he smiled, as a fox in a hen house would smile, and shook his friend’s hand, vigorously.

“Good to see you again, Jack,” Cortez said as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and motioned for the man to sit down. “How goes things here in Star City?”

The man, whose name (oddly enough) was Jack Ruby, shrugged. “Quiet. It seems that we’ve had no attempted break-ins at all. In fact, there have been absolutely no reports of any sightings of Green Arrow for a couple of weeks now. I’ve been to several high society functions in this God forsaken city, and not one appearance of Oliver Queen, either.”

Cortez leaned back in his chair and stroked his perfectly trimmed goatee, “That is strange. Reports have also indicated that he hasn’t been seen in Las Vegas since Christmas, when he was observed celebrating the holiday with his girlfriend, Dinah Lance.”

“He is a reserve member of the Justice League, as well. Could be that he may be on assignment with them.”

“Doubtful. The last few crises that the JL have responded to, he has not been around. I have a feeling that he is no longer in this city, nor the state; possibly not even the country.”

“Maybe he’s off world,” Ruby suggested.

“A possibility, I suppose. Perhaps it is time to do a few minor adjustments to the city that may draw him back here.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“We’ll start small. Real estate. Let’s begin by buying up as much property in the less-than-reputable areas of town, and than allowing them to sink into a horrific mess. Perhaps, even causing one or two to have horrible accidents happen to them. If he is around, nothing will draw him out quicker than that.”

“Very good, Sir. And what is the word at the home office. Has the second phase of the operation started yet?”

Cortez smiled, “Our boss will begin implementing the Las Vegas purchase in a few days. In a week or two, we will finally own The Starfish Hotel and Casino, and then Oliver Queen will have no income at all, and if we are really lucky, his do-gooder friends will leave the town, finally making it wide open for us.”

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Interlude 2

The young man with the wavy red hair made his way into the small Vlatavan village without much notice. He had been given appropriate apparel and coached on the local dialect. It would be obvious to anyone that he spoke to, that he was a foreigner, but he only really needed to find one man. If his intel was correct, that one man would lead him to the person he was assigned to bring in – Count Werner Vertigo.

He kept his head down as a strong northerly wind numbed his face, his jacket bulging where his weapon of choice was strapped to his back. He found the small village market exactly where he was told it would be, and entered it.

It was full of people, milling about and shopping. Nobody smiled, that was the first thing he noticed. Barely anybody spoke. He wandered to the back of the dilapidated store, where he found an old man playing chess by himself. By his description, he knew this was his contact.

He sat down in the chair across from the man and spoke in the Vlatavan tongue. “Knight to Bishop three,” he said, making it come across as a suggestion.

The old man looked up and nodded, moving the horse. “You’re right on time,” the man said quietly. “She’s already here. She’s already picked up most of her weekly supplies and should be checking out soon. Young girl, blond hair, wearing a heavy gray wool coat.”

“Do you have a name?” the red-haired man asked as he leaned back in the chair casually, surveying the closed in market.

“Only a first name – Mia. However, she is the one you are looking for. She will lead you to the hideout of Count Vertigo.”

He thanked the old man and stood up, stretching as he searched the room. Bingo! There she was, a very young girl, just as the old man had said. Roy Harper had to give credit where credit was due; the White King’s Bishop knew exactly what he had been talking about. He followed her out at a safe distance.

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“Well isn’t this the gloomiest place you’ve ever seen,” Eddie muttered as he entered the village with his companions, just minutes after Checkmate’s newest recruit, Roy Harper.

“You’ve never been to Apokolips,” Ollie replied.

“Holy $@#%!” Eddie exclaimed. “I can’t believe this.”

“What?” Oliver and Connor asked simultaneously.

“Over there, leaving that market, I think that’s her!” Eddie exclaimed as he started to take off running.

“Eddie, wait!” Ollie whispered harshly, but it was too late, his friend had already taken off.

“He is impulsive,” Connor mused with slight disapproval in his voice.

“You got that right.”

“That is not a good trait. It’s too bad that he’s not more like us.”

Ollie arched his eyebrow and turned to his son, “Boy is there a lot you’re going to have to learn about me. Come on,” he said as he, too, took off running; Connor right behind him.

Mia had turned the corner of the street and Ollie watched as Eddie was racing to get to her, but just before he turned the corner, Eddie was tackled by a young man in a gray wool coat.

“Dammit, we’ve been made!” Ollie screamed as he began to pull his bow from underneath his long jacket. He was not surprised to see that Connor was doing the same. He had known this young man for less than twelve hours, and yet he already felt immense pride.

In the meantime, Eddie, having been tackled, pushed out with his legs and was able to throw the young assailant to the side. As he drew his gun, the young man whipped around and came back up with a bow, an arrow already nocked and ready.

“Drop it!” Ollie cried out, having his own weapon aimed at the man, his son standing next to him, also poised and ready to shoot.

It was Eddie, though, who dropped his weapon first. A look of shock came over his face as he finally got a good look at his attacker.

“Roy?”

The Knight of Checkmate hesitated as he looked at the man. He was a bit older, but he knew instantly who he had just attacked. “Uncle Eddie?”

“Roy?” Came the questioning voice of Ollie as he lowered his own bow.

“Ollie?” Roy asked, even more startled.

“Roy?” Connor said the name as if it was foreign, looking at his father for answers.

Roy turned to him, “Umm… you I don’t know.”

“Lower the bow, Connor,” Ollie ordered. “Roy, this is my… my… son, Connor Hawke.”

“Excuse me?” he asked, unable to conceal the look of shock on his face.

“Yeah, he’s mine.” Ollie said simply.

Roy stood there for a second, looking at both of them. “What is it with you?” he sighed.

Eddie got up, groaning. “Great!” he exclaimed and started swearing. “Now we’ve lost her.”

“Lost who?” Roy asked.

“The blond girl I was going after, her name is Mia Deardon, and she’s my daughter.”

“She’s your…”

“… daughter.” Eddie finished.

Roy looked at Ollie, “And he’s your…?”

“…Son,” Ollie answered.

“Can’t you two ever get together and just shoot pool and drink some beers like normal old men?” Roy asked in exasperation.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Ollie asked, smirking.

“My name is Roy Harper,” the officer of Checkmate said as he approached Connor and shook his hand. “I’m… “

Ollie spoke up quickly, “…my other son.” he said with equal pride in his voice.

Connor grinned, “Than you must be, Speedy!”

The once Teen Titan looked impressed. “He a detective?”

“Nope,” Ollie replied. “A monk.”

Roy busted out laughing, “A monk! You have got to be kidding me!”

“Why would he kid about something like that?” Connor asked. “I did spend my formative years in a monastery, though I never truly took the final vows. I did, however, follow the full program that was laid out for us.”

“That’s rich,” Roy continued to laugh. “I took a full program as well, although mine only had twelve steps in it.”

“We don’t have time for this!” Eddie shouted.

“This is certain,” came a voice from behind them.

They all turned to find themselves face to face with the man they had been looking for: Count Werner Vertigo. But that was not what drew their full attention. As the villain hovered in the air above them, twelve young girls stood in a semi-circle, all of them wearing vests that contained explosives on them.

Eddie recognized the one in the middle, “Mia…” he whispered.

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To Be Concluded![/i]

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