ianwillcock
IWP: Green Arrow 1.6
I eased into the parking lot at Queen Consolidated, stepping out into the gloom. I’d called Roy and told him what was up. Of course, he argued, saying he should come and be here with me, but I told him I had to come alone. My suit was still in tatters, but I did have my mask; not that it made any difference, seeing as though these guys knew who I was.
I put my card into the lock and the doors slid open for me. In the ornate lobby were two dead security guards; they’d been stabbed. I felt a weight settle on my heart. These guys weren’t messing around. I looked around, not knowing what to do. Suddenly the intercom crackled to life.
“Hello, Mr Queen. How nice of you to join us.”
“Where are you?” I demanded. I had no time for pleasantries.
“Top floor. The boardroom.” I gulped and walked towards the elevator. The ride up was tense, to say the least. I kept on expecting things to go wrong. The dead guard on the floor didn’t help, either. How were we going to explain this to their families?
Finally, finally after a purgatorius elevator ride, the doors opened to the top floor. I walked through the empty darkness towards the boardroom. Everything looked in order. I got to the waiting room where I’d waited for Yin not too long ago. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and stepped into the boardroom.
The first thing I noticed was that it was almost empty; the chairs were all gone. I looked towards the back of the room, where the table had been pushed and saw John lying down on it, tied up. Despite myself, I ran over to him.
“John!” I called. He opened his eyes and they went wide; he started shaking his head and the door slammed. I turned around and saw the same man from the warehouse; the man Yin had called Kimodo.
I snarled and the grip on my bow tightened. “What do you want?” I shouted. He snickered, a metallic, crackly sound through his mask.
“That, my friend, is something you’ll never learn. Now, let me propose a deal: we duel. If you win, then your friend goes free and the League leaves Star City. If I win, you die and we have our way with the city.” I stared him down, thinking. This was obviously a rigged duel. He would win regardless; I had minimal training with swords. Then I had a stupid idea.
As fast as I could, I knocked my arrow and shot it at him. Even faster, he grabbed a sword and sliced the arrow out of the air then charged at me, slicing the bow out of my hand. He kicked me in the chest and I slid across the smooth tiled floor. He threw his other sword down beside me and started walking away.
“Your move.”
I grabbed the sword. Looks like I have no choice. I charged towards him and swung the sword, which he deflected. I swung it again and again, he prairied it. He stabbed at me and I lunged out of the way and swung the sword down at his legs, which he deflected again.
We fought around the room, in a sort of deadly dance. I would slash and he would block. He was mostly on the defensive, drawing me in. Occasionally he would stab and I would barely get out of the way.
“You know,” he said, his voice sounding metallic and unhuman through the mask, “the reason why Yin showed up now was because we figured the city was vulnerable.”
“Shut up,” I growled. He slashed and I blocked it. He started going on the offensive.
“We knew-you were-nothing-like your father!” He accentuated each statement with a blow to my sword. “You’re young and weak; you can’t protect the city.”
Then, he landed a blow on my arm! Pain sliced up and I winced as blood began falling down my arm. Angry, I slashed at him wildly, which he stepped out of the way for. I was rewarded with a kick in the back and I slid towards the window. I looked down at the sprawling, urban scene below me. No. This was my city. These people would not destroy it!
Adrenaline flew through my veins as I made one last attempt; screaming I raised my sword and slashed. Kimodo hit me over the head with the butt of his sword and the world went fuzzy. I stumbled back and felt a piercing, blinding pain as he drove his sword through my stomach. I hunched forward as blood flowed freely from my mouth. Kimodo came close beside me.
“Looks like the city is mine.” He pulled the sword out and I collapsed on the ground. I could feel the life seeping out of me with the gush of the blood. I gazed up at him stupidly. He picked me up, hoisting me over his shoulders and walked towards the window.
No…. this can’t be how it ends….
With a crash he threw me through the window and I tumbled down through the open air to the street below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DUN DUN DUN
IWP: Green Arrow 1.6
I eased into the parking lot at Queen Consolidated, stepping out into the gloom. I’d called Roy and told him what was up. Of course, he argued, saying he should come and be here with me, but I told him I had to come alone. My suit was still in tatters, but I did have my mask; not that it made any difference, seeing as though these guys knew who I was.
I put my card into the lock and the doors slid open for me. In the ornate lobby were two dead security guards; they’d been stabbed. I felt a weight settle on my heart. These guys weren’t messing around. I looked around, not knowing what to do. Suddenly the intercom crackled to life.
“Hello, Mr Queen. How nice of you to join us.”
“Where are you?” I demanded. I had no time for pleasantries.
“Top floor. The boardroom.” I gulped and walked towards the elevator. The ride up was tense, to say the least. I kept on expecting things to go wrong. The dead guard on the floor didn’t help, either. How were we going to explain this to their families?
Finally, finally after a purgatorius elevator ride, the doors opened to the top floor. I walked through the empty darkness towards the boardroom. Everything looked in order. I got to the waiting room where I’d waited for Yin not too long ago. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and stepped into the boardroom.
The first thing I noticed was that it was almost empty; the chairs were all gone. I looked towards the back of the room, where the table had been pushed and saw John lying down on it, tied up. Despite myself, I ran over to him.
“John!” I called. He opened his eyes and they went wide; he started shaking his head and the door slammed. I turned around and saw the same man from the warehouse; the man Yin had called Kimodo.
I snarled and the grip on my bow tightened. “What do you want?” I shouted. He snickered, a metallic, crackly sound through his mask.
“That, my friend, is something you’ll never learn. Now, let me propose a deal: we duel. If you win, then your friend goes free and the League leaves Star City. If I win, you die and we have our way with the city.” I stared him down, thinking. This was obviously a rigged duel. He would win regardless; I had minimal training with swords. Then I had a stupid idea.
As fast as I could, I knocked my arrow and shot it at him. Even faster, he grabbed a sword and sliced the arrow out of the air then charged at me, slicing the bow out of my hand. He kicked me in the chest and I slid across the smooth tiled floor. He threw his other sword down beside me and started walking away.
“Your move.”
I grabbed the sword. Looks like I have no choice. I charged towards him and swung the sword, which he deflected. I swung it again and again, he prairied it. He stabbed at me and I lunged out of the way and swung the sword down at his legs, which he deflected again.
We fought around the room, in a sort of deadly dance. I would slash and he would block. He was mostly on the defensive, drawing me in. Occasionally he would stab and I would barely get out of the way.
“You know,” he said, his voice sounding metallic and unhuman through the mask, “the reason why Yin showed up now was because we figured the city was vulnerable.”
“Shut up,” I growled. He slashed and I blocked it. He started going on the offensive.
“We knew-you were-nothing-like your father!” He accentuated each statement with a blow to my sword. “You’re young and weak; you can’t protect the city.”
Then, he landed a blow on my arm! Pain sliced up and I winced as blood began falling down my arm. Angry, I slashed at him wildly, which he stepped out of the way for. I was rewarded with a kick in the back and I slid towards the window. I looked down at the sprawling, urban scene below me. No. This was my city. These people would not destroy it!
Adrenaline flew through my veins as I made one last attempt; screaming I raised my sword and slashed. Kimodo hit me over the head with the butt of his sword and the world went fuzzy. I stumbled back and felt a piercing, blinding pain as he drove his sword through my stomach. I hunched forward as blood flowed freely from my mouth. Kimodo came close beside me.
“Looks like the city is mine.” He pulled the sword out and I collapsed on the ground. I could feel the life seeping out of me with the gush of the blood. I gazed up at him stupidly. He picked me up, hoisting me over his shoulders and walked towards the window.
No…. this can’t be how it ends….
With a crash he threw me through the window and I tumbled down through the open air to the street below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DUN DUN DUN