The Starling Saviour

Chapter 20

'Exactly,' Ted nodded in agreement. 'But remember, you've got to be ready for anything. Even if it means you have to... You know.'

'Splendid,' Elliot said rather sarcastically at he implication of murder.

Me too, Elliot. Me too.

---

'Why did you bring them along?' I hissed, referring to Isaac and Elliot as they left the lab. 'They've ever been on anything like this before, and this is one of the worst cases I've seen!'

'We need men,' Ted said plainly. 'It's as simple as that. And I know they're capable.'

Ted realised that I still wasn't convinced.

'I know we're throwing them in the deep end, but they're grown men,' Ted continued. 'They can handle themselves.'

Before Ted could continue any further, we both burst into laughter.

'God, we sound like their parents,' I chuckled.

'But, in all seriousness Aria, why are you bringing Helena along?' Ted whispered as she joined the boys outside. 'I don't know if she can fight at all.'

'Trust me, she can,' I remembered when she rescued me and Tommy from the gang, the thing I kept trying to remind her of. 'You just weren't there to see her.'

'I don't want her to get hurt,' Ted said, stressing his feelings on the matter. 'My instinct is to protect her, not throw her right into Armageddon.'

'You... Like her, don't you?' I grinned at the lovestruck Vigilante.

'Maybe a... little,' Ted owned up, trying to keep his tough persona but his soft side shining through. 'Okay, a lot. But you won't tell her, will you?'

'Ted Grant, the city Vigilante, scared?' I remarked rather accusingly.

But I was still right. He was scared of confessing his feelings to Helena, even though he didn't find it hard to show his feelings about criminals to them.

When Ted answered me with silence, I realised I needed to drop the topic.

'She'll be okay,' I smiled genuinely, changing back to our original topic. 'I promise.'

Ted just gave me a small smile, as though he was worried something terrible was going to happen.

But now we needed to get to the hospital, and quick. More lives would be lost whilst if we stayed in the comfort of the SCPD; we needed to take action.

'Let's join the others,' I said to Ted. 'You need to lead us into battle, Vigilante.'

'No, I think you should, Aria,' Ted refused his position as the leader of our small ensemble. 'After all, this was your idea, to lead these people to save this city.'

'But you're Starling City's Vigilante!' I exclaimed in good-intentional retaliation. 'You're the one person who steps outside the law just to make this city a better place, and I can't live up to that. You're the one everyone looks up to.'

'I'm no city vigilante,' Ted shook his head. 'That was just a name people seemed to give me. I had no intention of saving this city or whatever. I just wanted to make sure I could teach my students how to fight properly, and I used criminals to practise. But you deserve the title of Starling's Vigilante. You're the first one, the first vigilante, to actually protect this city for the good of its people. I only really beat people up in the Glades, while you train to become something more than just a fighter. A saviour. Starling's Saviour.'