Starling Wing - Arrow & Rising Robin Crossover Fanfic

Chapter XIII: Old Friend

Richard sat on his bed, staring down at his feed. He was so unbelievably frustrated. His mind was overwhelmed with thoughts about the previous night. He was looking for Tobias Church, but in doing so, he had his chance to save Jason Todd. He could've taken down Church for Oliver, dealing with one task, & could've have brought in Jason to prevent any more unnecessary deaths. He couldn't even manage to do either.

Richard sighed in self pity. He felt relieved that he was done with his work with Bruce, his work as Robin, but he felt the same weight on his shoulders again. It felt as though no matter what he did, he couldn't get away from the damage & pain that came with the Bat. Richard did his best to be his own man with his own mission & duty to himself, but it always came back to Bruce & his mistakes. Richard sighed. He didn't want to hate the man, but, he was definitely very frustrated with him.

Richard shook his head. He needed to stop putting blame on someone else. What happened was on Richard.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Richard glanced at his phone's screen & reached for the device. He examined the caller's name. It was unknown. He examined the number's area code. It was a Hub City area code. Richard answered, feeling a sense of wariness. "Hello?"

The caller was silent for a moment. "Dick?" a man with a deep voice said on the other line.

Richard raised his eyebrow. He didn't go by Dick. He hadn't gone by that name since he moved to Blüdhaven. "Who is this?" Richard asked.

The caller sighed. "Come on, Dicky, I'd like to think you wouldn't forget me after all these years." Richard kept quiet again, trying to place the voice's familiarity. There weren't a lot of people who called him Dicky. The caller continued. "Remember the neon lion in Chinatown Gotham?"

Suddenly, it all came back to Richard. When he first tracked down Cheyenne Freemont, after having gone to Zatanna Zatara for help, he found her in Chinatown back in Gotham. She was hiding out in an abandoned warehouse with Rachel Roth & Koriand'r. Above the warehouse was a neon lion. Then John Constantine appeared, &...all hell broke loose. The lion came to life. There was a fire. Cheyenne died.

Richard was only with one other man that night.

Roy Harper cleared his throat before Richard could respond. "Listen, Dick, before you say anything, just know that we need to talk. I'm sending you the address now. Head over there in an hour."

With that, Arsenal hung up the phone, leaving Richard baffled & alone in his bedroom.

Richard stepped out of his car & glanced up at the coffee shop. The address wasn't hard to find. There weren't a lot coffee shops in Star City. Richard shook his head, having mixed feelings about coffee shops. The last one he was in blew up.

Richard walked up the steps of the coffee shop & entered, scanning the small java shop for Roy Harper. It had been years since he had last since Roy. In fact, he hadn't seen him since the arrest of Nolan Drake back in Gotham years ago. It was about time the archer had made an appearance. But Oliver's actions didn't give him much of a choice, did they?

Richard caught sight of a man in a red baseball cap tucked low over his head & red sunglasses blowing his face. He had some scruff on his face, showing off some of his stubble. Roy had a face softer than a baby's butt the last time Richard saw him.

Richard approached the man sitting at the table & nodded at him. "Hey," he said, trying to not attract too much attention. The man was still officially dead, according to Star City.

Roy looked up at Richard. He stared at Richard for a few moments, but suddenly a look of realization washed over his face. He was shocked. Roy scoffed, leading to a soft laugh. "Dick, is that you?"

Richard rolled his eyes, smiling softly. "Yeah, it's me."

"Dude, you were, like, 5'0 tall the last time I saw you!"

Richard sighed, taking a seat across the archer. "No, I wasn't."

Roy laughed. "Sure." He glanced around the coffee table. "Not like the one in Gotham, but, close enough, right?"

Richard bit his lip. He twiddled his fingers, unsure of what to say. He wanted to say a lot, but wasn't sure of how to say it. "Roy, it's been years," he said softly. "Where...where were you?"

Roy scratched the back of his head. "According to Oliver, you managed to piece together what happened."

"Yeah, I know you took the fall for the Arrow when he was apprehended, but, nobody knew that Roy was Arsenal, & not the Arrow."

Roy shrugged. "Yeah, except you."

Richard nodded slowly. He stared at Roy's eyes through his sunglasses. This was one of his best friends growing up. "Why...why'd you just vanish? After Nolan Drake...after Starling City..."

"I had to, Dick. I had to go into hiding."

"But you didn't!" Richard hissed, attempting to not get attention. "You didn't have to do anything for Oliver! You owe it to yourself to be able to live your own life! You let Oliver's mistakes as the Arrow take everything away from you!"

Roy shook his head. "Dick, he made me into the man I am today. Everything he was, everything that he taught me, I've carried along for so long. He taught me how to control my rage. He taught me how to be stronger, & to do what's necessary. He taught me to do what's right, no matter what the cost." Roy eyed Richard for a moment. "I know you know what I'm talking about, man."

Richard sighed in defeat. He knew exactly what Roy was talking about. Growing up with Bruce, with the Bat, put things into perspective. Of course, Richard eventually grew tired of that mindset. He wasn't sure he agreed with any of those ethics anymore. So much had changed. So many people died.

Roy cleared his throat. "I won't lie...part of is me glad I got out of the game when I did. But...part of me regrets it." Richard watched Roy removed his sunglasses from his face. Roy continued. "Part of me misses the suit & the bow, & helping this city, working with Oliver & the team, but...then Laurel died."

Richard nodded. The Black Canary's death would be enough for Roy to suddenly have a whole new perspective on what it meant to be a hero alongside the Green Arrow. Jason's death & Barbara's paralysis changed things for Richard. "I feel you, man."

Roy sighed softly. "I guess I should have been there, though. After what happened with us in Chinatown, then Cadmus, & Nolan's attacks, I can imagine becoming Robin was tough to do alone. I should've have been there, but...I ended up losing everything, cutting everyone off. I'm sorry."

Richard shook his head slowly, then looked back up at Roy. "The Titans were there...for a bit. Barbara was too...for a bit. I wasn't alone, Roy, but, I definitely felt like I needed you then."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Richard felt a little better, getting what he wanted off of his chest. He understood why Roy did what he did, but he definitely was not happy with it. But he understood.

Richard cleared his throat. "So Oliver got in contact with you."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, he said there was a new player in town who knew about Roy as Arsenal, & Oliver as both the Arrow & the Green Arrow."

Richard scoffed to himself. He was still annoyed that they didn't think people would see any correlation between the Arrow vigilante & the Green Arrow. Richard bit his lip. Should he tell Roy? "I, uh...I am in town on an assignment."

"Assignment?" Roy asked.

Richard nodded. "I'm hunting down a vigilante that Oliver has dubbed the Red Hood. He's been killing criminals, which I guess doesn't fall far from the Arrow's methods, but it's definitely something I'm trying to stop."

Roy grinned. "You can stop right there. I'm in."

"But I didn't-"

"No, you didn't. You don't have to ever ask me. I'm always in," Roy said with a large grin.

Richard couldn't help but smile back. He hadn't realized how much he had missed working with Roy again. "Get your gear ready," he said. "Tonight, we're catching a vigilante."