Vigilante Squared

Chapter One: Oliver

My name is Oliver Queen. After five years on a hellish island, I have come home with only one goal: to save my city. But to do so, I can't be the killer I once was. To honor my friend's memory, I must become someone else. I must become something else.

=+=+=+=+=

Oliver Queen, under the guise of the Arrow - Starling City's vigilante/hero, stealthily dashed over rooftops as he tried to chase down a potential disaster in progress speeding through late night traffic.
"I just want to be clear," the voice of Felicity Smoak emanated from within Oliver's earpiece communicator, "It's not that I mind being up most nights to sunrise, but at least one night a week I do actually need more than two hours of sleep."
"Take it up with Diggle in the morning," Oliver replied as he leaped across an alleyway, "He can teach you his technique from the army for getting the most out of minimal sleep."
"And what's your technique?" Felicity asked as keyboard keys clicking could be heard over the comm-line.
"I lived on an island." Oliver answered flatly as he quickly scaled a utility ladder, "I'm nothing if not adaptable."
"While I would love to finish this conversation," Felicity started with a bit of sarcasm and a new intensity in her voice, "I feel like I should let you know that he's slowing down like he's meeting someone at the next intersection - another van which happens to have the same RFID signal is pulling up now."
"That can't be a coincidence." Oliver said as he launched a grappling arrow into the air, swung down and around a light pole and into the intersection where the two vans were meeting.
Oliver then drew an arrow with a timed explosive that would begin countdown when released from the bowstring, and - aiming the arrow at the space between the vans - called out under the guise his electronic growl, "Out of the vans, on the ground, now!!"
The drivers of the two vans looked at each other across the intersection, then in unison opened their doors and stepped out onto the pavement. The driver on the right was someone Oliver was unfortunately familiar with - Benjamin Turner, AKA the Bronze Tiger, known ally of the local Chinese Triad. The driver of the van on the left was definitely new in town; the man had a wild look in his almost beetle-like black eyes, a shaggy mane of black hair and a beard to match, a sleeveless jacket modeled to look like a lion's pelt over Russian and American desert combat fatigues as well as body armor. The man also wore a belt, two straps across his chest, some sort of gauntlets on his wrists and anklets all loaded with potential weapons and resources, as well as carrying two rather large pistols at his sides and a rifle on his back.
"I seem to remember putting you away a few weeks ago." Oliver called out in his electronic growl as Turner unsheathed his claw-like blade weapons from within his jacket.
"Prison didn't take," Turner answered, "And one doesn't have to look far in Starling for a friendly policeman."
"Who's your friend?" Oliver asked moving only his eyes to the newcomer who was now unsheathing two rather large knives from sheathes in the back of his belt.
"My name is Kraven." The man answered in a thick Russian accent, "You are prey. This conversation is over."
Before Oliver could respond, the man apparently named Kraven launched one of the knives at Oliver like a javelin with almost frightening accuracy and strength. Oliver barely had time to let his explosive arrow fly, move his bow to knock aside the knife and duck to avoid injury or worse before the explosion flipped the two vans onto their sides. Turner was thrown through the air over the intersection into a storefront window, Kraven used the force from the explosion to launch himself at Oliver with his remaining blade aimed right at Oliver's neck. Oliver brought his bow up to parry the blade and went to move himself out of the way - into a smoke cloud that Kraven had launched from a pellet on his belt. Oliver barely made it out of the cloud in time as he felt Kraven's fist flying over his (Oliver's) head and into the side of a light pole behind him. Before Oliver could make a move of his own, he heard police sirens coming down the road toward the scene as a few officers on foot came out of the nearby alleyways.
"Freeze!" An officer yelled as he came around one of the nearby buildings - past another officer arresting Tuner - with his gun aimed at the men in the intersection, "Weapons on the ground, hands in the air. Both of you!"
As Oliver and Kraven both slowly started to lower their weapons, Kraven swiftly grabbed a small throwing knife from one of the bandoliers on his chest and threw it with frightening speed almost all the way through the officer's neck.
"NO!" Oliver yelled in his growl as the officer grabbed at his neck and collapsed.
"This hunt is not over." Kraven's voice whispered in Oliver's ear as he whipped his head around.
Using another grappling arrow, Oliver launched himself up and out of the intersection and onto a nearby rooftop.
"Oliver, what's happening?" Felicity's voice came in after a patch of static, "I lost contact with you and cameras in the intersection for a few minutes there."
"Officer down, Turner's in custody," Oliver breathed, "And we have a new player in town."