Green Arrow Halloween Special: Throwing Star Killer

CONTENT WARNING: This issue contains mentions of sexual activity, quasi religious practices, and in some cases, extreme violence/torture. If any of that discomforts you, you don't have to read this issue.

 

 

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My father, was a lot of things. On the outside, he was a rather kind and gentle man. He'd go out of his way to help his neighbours, no matter how little he had. He'd go to church every Sunday, like a 'good person'. Their words, not mine. He was living a normal, suburban life. But like everyone else, my father had darkness inside him. Soon enough, he'd be known as one thing alone. A killer. At his core, he was a twisted, depraved serial killer.. This especially showed after the Hendersons moved next door, in the early 70s.

 

My parents would welcome the new neighbours with open arms. As the two couples got to know each other, the Hendersons introduced my parents to Satanism. The promise of eternal life was a captivating concept for my father. Not in some sort of afterlife, but right here and now. It was so interesting to my father, that he dedicated most of his time studying everything he could about his newfound faith. My mother on the other hand, was into the all-night orgies that this newfound lifestyle provided. It was all so exciting to her, in more ways than one. However, my father didn't particularly care for the sex rituals, often passing on such events in favor of his research. His anger towards the Hendersons and his girlfriend grew overtime, as they continued these 'unnecessary distractions'. Father saw them as idiots without faith. Which often led to arguments. Somehow my father managed to show restraint during these arguments, making sure not to harm them physically. After all, he still had a facade to keep up.

 

Through his studies, my father would learn of a book that supposedly held the secrets of eternal life. Traveling to England, he'd find the book in the town of Wych Cross. After obtaining the book, he came back home to Star City. He was determined, to find a worthy sacrifice for The Great Beast.

 

Soon after arriving home, he'd learn of my mother's pregnancy. She decided to leave the Church altogether. It was time for her to grow up, and be responsible for a change. The sexually promiscuous phase of her life was now over. She wanted commitment from my father. He agreed, only because he saw an opportunity. That unborn me, could be a great enough sacrifice, to please The Great Beast to give him eternal life. He knew if he said his true intentions then, she'd leave. He didn't want to take that risk, so he waited for me to be born.

 

The book he obtained in England, provided my parents with enough wealth to live comfortably. Dad grew impatient, waiting for me to be born. Desperate to summon the Beast, he looked elsewhere for sacrifices. Targeting virgin teenage girls, as they are the next best thing in sacrificial rituals. He'd waste no time in kidnapping one after another, hoping that their blood would be enough to appease the Great Beast. He'd hide his victims in the basement, and somehow no one knew what was going on behind closed doors. Not even my mother. Unfortunately for my dad, it wasn't enough.

 

In 1978, I was born. They were both excited, for different reasons. Nothing would stop my father now. As soon as mom fell asleep, he'd take me to the basement. He'd start the ritual, speaking various words in Latin, hoping he'd get his wish. Once again, the ritual failed. It was at this point mother would open the basement door, and find my father, knife in hand and me placed on that stone table crying.

 

"You shouldn't be here. If only you stayed sleeping... Look what you've made me do" He'd warn, before running over to my mother. She tried running away, but tripped going back up the stairs. She didn't stand a chance, as he stabbed her repeatedly. Just like that, my mother was dead. Killing her didn't phase him. He only saw her as an obstacle that now needed to be removed. After getting rid of the evidence, my father got to work once again.

 

He's stuck with me, whether he liked it or not. He decided to make the best of it. My father now had company for his summoning sessions. Somehow, the chanting was enough to lull baby me to sleep.

 

As I grew older, my father taught me everything he knew. Since I was only a kid then, a lot of the details went in one ear, and out the other. That didn't stop my father from trying. He wasn't getting any younger, and knew he needed someone to carry on his mission. Sure enough, when I was five, I would become his accomplice. It's a day I'll never forget.

 

Father called me down into the basement. I'd make my way down the stone stairway, wiping my eyes, since it was still early in the morning, not that I really knew the difference at that point. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I'd see my dad, dressed in robes, hood covering his face. Strapped against the table, was a girl. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and clearly terrified. I was morbidly used to this routine. But today was slightly different.

 

"Come over here, son." Father would say, in a rather calm tone.

 

"Please, just let me go!" She'd beg, crying uncontrollably as she struggled within the restraints.

 

Unfortunately for her, I am my father's son. I walk over to the stone table, while father places a stepping stool against the table.

 

"It's time. You know what to do." Father says before handing me the knife.

 

Responding with a nod, I step up the stepping stool until I reach the top. Holding onto the knife with both hands, I plunged it into the girl's right hand with all my strength.

 

She couldn't help but scream at the sudden influx of pain. Not that it mattered to me, as I felt no remorse for what I was doing. For the first time in my life, I was truly happy. As such, I had no intention of stopping there. I continued making smaller cuts along her arms and legs, making sure not to hit any major artery. I let the blood run down the table, towards the sigil drawn on the floor. She continued to scream, almost gasping for air at times. My father chanted in the usual Latin phrases, as the blood hit the sigil. Eventually, after several hours, she'd bleed out and die. Unfortunately, once again, the ritual hadn't worked.

 

It wasn't all for nothing however, as that was the day the Throwing Star Killer was born.

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Halloween Night, 2002

 

"C'mon Jannae, where are you?" I say with a sigh, as I pace around Villa Park in my Red Riding Hood costume. It's been twenty minutes already, and she still hasn't shown. What could be taking her so long? We were gonna meet up here, as it's pretty quiet on Halloween, before heading to my boyfriend Mitch's Halloween party.

 

"Okay, this isn't funny Jannae. If this is an attempt to scare me, it's working. Congrats, you did it! Now can we go?" Of course, nobody responds.

 

Great, just great Sheila. Say that any louder and people might think you're crazy.

 

Sitting down on the park bench, I nervously tap my fingers against the side of the bench.

 

A few minutes pass by before there's a noticeable crunching sound, coming from behind me. Looking over my shoulder, there's a figure standing in the open field, stepping on fallen twigs and branches as it approaches.

 

"Jannae is that you?" I call out, but the figure doesn't respond. The figure continues walking towards me, unphased.

 

"Please tell me that's you! Jannae?" It's then that I get an eery feeling in my stomach. Like something's not right here. Jannae would've responded by now, right?

 

The voice in my head is telling me to run. It's only when the figure starts to pick up the pace, that I listen to that voice. Standing up, I start running at a reasonable pace. With the figure being between me and the potential help on the streets, my only option is the forest in front of me.

 

My heartbeat starts to rise, as I enter the forest.

 

This can't be happening! Why is this creep after me? I haven't even told Mitch I'm in love with him, and now I may never get the chance to.

 

I occasionally look over my shoulder as I run through the forest, making sure he hasn't caught up. The branches scrape against my arm as I pass through the underbrush, one even cutting my shoulder.

 

It isn't long before my red cloak gets caught on a tree branch, and I have to cut my losses with it. And of course it did!! Really should have done this sooner.. With my hands shaking, it takes me a couple of seconds longer than necessary to untie the bow, leaving the hood and cloak behind. He's getting closer, as I hear his footsteps crunch and snap behind me.

 

As I look behind me, he's almost caught up. I see him reach for something, only to throw it at me seconds later. By some miracle, it misses, embedding into one of the trees I pass by.

 

As I come up and over the hill, there's a fork in the dirt pathway. Left, or right. I don't have time to weigh my options, so I hurry down the left pathway.

 

The terrain is rougher here, with lots of bumps, rocks, logs, and branches in the way.

 

A loud crunching noise fills my ears as I run. At one point, I almost miss a step, and trip because of it. Somehow, I'm able to save myself before falling flat on my face.

 

I don't even have the chance to catch my breath. As much as I want to stop, I can't. Like, it's at the point where it feels like I'm swallowing blood, which is so gross. Also, trying to run in these shoes? No thank you! I went for something cuter, something Mitch would've appreciated, but clearly, that was the wrong call. To be fair though I also wasn't expecting to be chased in the woods by some psycho today either.

 

Continuing to run down this path downhill, I look over my shoulder once again. He's not there. Looks like I'm putting some distance between us.

 

My heart continues to beat at what feels like super speed, as sweat drips down my forehead.

 

To my right is a tree, shaped in a way where there could be some sort of alcove on the other side. Could be a nice hiding spot maybe? Lucky for me, the other side of that tree does have a small alcove for me to hide in. I just need to rest for a minute, and then I can keep going.

 

So I did exactly that. I waited, curled up in that small, cramped alcove, hoping that I wouldn't be found by that psycho. I don't wanna die. I just wanna live. There's still so much I haven't done.

 

After several minutes go by, I peek my head out, making sure no one's there. Not seeing anyone, I exit, and I'm about to go back on the pathway, when something stabs into my back. I turn around, and see the psycho hunting me down. His red eyes piercing into my soul. In his hands, is the thing I think ninja's use. Throwing star or something like that? Either way, I feel myself getting lightheaded, and in this moment I knew I was out of time. I'm going to die.

 

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Halloween Night, 2007

It's Halloween night once again, which means the Throwing Star Killer's going to strike again. My father, and the rest of SCPD have had no luck in tracking this monster down and taking him in. Ollie's busy right now, so that leaves me on my own for this one. That's okay though, this monster needs all the handicaps they can get.

 

Four previous victims, all found the same way. Young, teenage girls strung up, with multiple entry wounds from throwing stars, drained of their blood and the same symbol drawn below them. The locations seemed random at first, but with each victim, it became clearer. Connecting them all on a map, it almost creates a pentagram. The location that completes said pentagram is Star City Cemetery. How cliche, I know.

 

It doesn't take me long to find them in the cemetery, given the elaborate set up just screams ritualistic serial killer. Wearing a skull mask, the bastard's chanting what I assume is Latin gibberish, since it's almost always Latin with this sort of thing. The girl is bleeding, strung up on a cross behind him. Ollie would have a field day with this guy.

 

He doesn't notice me coming, which gives me an easy opener with my Canary Cry, which sends him flying through the air, crashing into a headstone. It also snaps the bottom of the cross the girl is strung up on, leading to the cross falling backwards, and crashing seconds later.

 

Damnit! Please be okay. I don't have much time to focus on the girl, as that probably won't be enough to stop the killer.

 

"Took you long enough. I was wondering if you'd ever figure it out. No Emerald Archer today? Hmm, that's a tad disappointing." He says with a groan, as he gets up.

 

"You should be grateful he isn't. Doesn't matter though, as you'll get your ass kicked either way. Don't worry, I promise I'll make this quick."

 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, little bird." He says with a laugh, as he starts throwing his signature throwing stars at me. I'm able to roll out-of-the-way just in time, leading the throwing stars hitting the back of the headstone.

 

"You missed." I taunt, as I try to close the gap between us, running towards him. He tries to keep his distance, throwing projectiles towards me. One of them manages to hit my shoulder. However, I don't let that stop me as I pull it out with a grunt, running towards him. Forming an x with my arms over my face, only to break it seconds later to Canary Cry once again. He barely manages to dive behind a tree in time to avoid it.

 

I just hope the girl's okay. I alerted the authorities before I got here, so hopefully just a few more minutes.

 

Using my Canary Cry, I propel myself up into the air, gliding for a few seconds, before releasing it right when I'm directly above him. He throws many more throwing stars at me, as I fall towards him. But, in a matter of seconds, I crash into him, feet first, kicking him square in the mask. Sure enough, there's a loud crack, the mask almost breaking upon impact. He crashes backwards onto the ground, with me now standing over him

 

"Shit!!! " He curses, in between groans, gasping for air as he coughs up blood. He tries to get up, but is met with a punch to the face.

 

"Try that again, I dare you." I say, just waiting for an excuse to punch this murderer. He grabs a throwing star from his satchel, and tries to stab me with it, but with a palm strike, I'm able to quickly disarm him. One more punch to the face, and he's out like a light. He isn't much of a fighter, which means this fight was over the second it began.

 

 

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Thankfully, the ambulance made it in time, and girl managed to make a full recovery. As it turns out, the Throwing Star Killer is none other than Stanley Dover II. The son of the Star City Slayer, Stanley Dover I. The first Stanley Dover was a serial killer back in the 80s. That is, until the original Black Canary, my mom, took him down. He'd later be killed in prison, from another inmate, months after being locked up. It seems only fitting that I was the one to take down his son, making Star City a somewhat safer place to live. At least, until the next scumbag decides to rear their ugly head. But until then, I'll appreciate knowing that son of a bitch won't be able to harm any other girls. Happy Halloween to me.

Done