The Arrow & The Huntsman [The 1st Installment of DC HEROES: CHAMPIONS OF EARTH]

[49] The Winds of Change

FIVE YEARS AGO...

Dearden was still passed out from exhaustion as Oliver watched their mysterious rescuer roasting the bird he caught over the small fire pit. Despite not knowing what the bird was, Oliver couldn't deny it smelled good. Or maybe that was the starvation kicking in and making him think that it smelled good. Either way, Oliver was pretty confident he was hungry enough to eat a small horse at this point.

"What is that?" he grumbled. "I'm so hungry." He got up from where he lay next to his brother and reached out for the cooked meat that the man was roasting, before being promptly pushed back harshly from the man and the bird. Then the man looked at him then nodded over to the birds that were still alive sitting in the cage next to Dean and made a gesture with his hands for Oliver to kill them, saying, "Shengcun."

"I'm not gonna kill the bird," Oliver rebuked.

The man scoffed and repeated, "Shengcun."

*                              *                              *

Back at CNRI, Laurel was finishing up some paperwork on one of her other cases, when the lights suddenly went out, and a file was plopped onto her desk. "Compliments of Matt Istook," the voice of the Emerald Archer boomed from across the room.

Laurel jumped up and whirled around to face him, as an airy feeling swelled in her chest. "What is this?" she inquired, as she picked up the file. "Evidence against Jason Brodeur," he answered simply. "Enough to help save Peter Declan's life." She glossed over it before returning her eyes to the vigilante's hooded gaze. "As an attorney, I never would have seen this file," she remarked. "I always thought the law was sacred, that it fixed everything."

"And now, Laurel?" he asked. "Now, what do you think?"

"I think there are too many people in this city who only care about themselves," she responded. "Selfish People. I think they need someone who cares about the lives of other people. Someone like you."

Suddenly the lights switched back on and when she looked around, the vigilante was gone.

* * *

When Oliver got back to the mansion, he ran into Thea who was giving him a weird look. "Oh, my God," she gasped, drawing his attention. "What is wrong with your face?" "What do you mean?" he questioned. "There's something really weird on it like this thing with your mouth it, it looks like it's in the shape of a smile," she joked. Oliver rolled his eyes fondly. "That's cute," he smirked.

"So why are you grinning?"

Oliver sucked his teeth, then said, "I took your advice with Laurel... to be myself."

"And?" his sister prompted.

"It's helping," he admitted.

"I got mad relationship skills, bro," she preened. "Speaking of bros, where's Dean? Aren't you two usually joined at the hip?"

"Ah, well, he said he had to take off," Oliver answered. "Something about also following your advice."

Thea beamed proudly at her brother, and his heart swelled at how happy his sister was. "Well, I will see you both tomorrow, and grill him for details later," she smiled, as she began walking off to go to her room. "Let me know if you need any trendy ideas for where to propose."

"You're getting a little bit ahead there, Speedy," Oliver called after her. Just then, the front door opened to reveal a very pissed-off Rob, but Oliver was in such a good mood, that he didn't even care.