My Name is Thea Queen, I Am the Arrow

I've Been Burned By You Once Before

I'm running like a wild animal in the warehouse engulfed in flames, as I see a firefighter hanging on the edge of a railing and an obvious perpetrator leaning over and ready to drop him.

"No!" I scream as the perpetrator dropped the heroic firefighter into a pit of flames, I push him out of the way trying to catch him, already knowing it's to late.

I here the laugh that escapes this pyromaniac, I turn sharply to him and grip my bow tight.

"This ends now." I threaten walking towards him.

He swings his axe at me, which I dodge quickly and pop up with a punch to his face. He returns with a punch to my sore ribs and I hunch over in pain, so he swipes my legs out from under me and I fall hard on my back. As I try to get up, he kicks me hard repeatedly against my ribs and stomach. I stare up defeatedly at him, he walks off and throws something to ground. A wall of flames now separates us, and he walks away a free man. The Hood failed tonight, I failed tonight.

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 I sit on the floor of my hideout sadly, disappointed of my outcome tonight. Having failed the city twice already, but tonight's different than the last one. This time, a man died because I wasn't at my best. I pull out the phone and dial the only number saved in it.

"Hello?" Laurel answers carefully.

"I have some information for you. The firefighter killer, he drives a 1970s Ford pickup. He has a scar from a severe burn on his right wrist with a firefly tattoo as well." I provide.

"You must have gotten pretty close to get all that." Laurel says.

"All the firefighters in Engine Company 15 had firefly tattoos. Any one of them could be the killer." I add.

"What do you want me to do with this information?" Laurel ask.

"Whatever you would've done before you met me." I sigh before hanging up, tossing the phone away.

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"So Laurel's on her own against a murder who burns people alive?" John exclaims as he walks into the arrow cave.

"I can't write every wrong in this city, John." I dismiss, setting my bow down on the table.

"I get that, Thea. But maybe you're not at 100% like you thought you were." John sighs as he approaches me.

"Yeah, maybe I'm not." I nod, turning sharply to him.

John nods before doing a full fledge assault on me, he throws multiple punches, all of which I dodge. I strike him in abdomen with a quick 1,2 punch and toss him on the desk. I push him down and grab his arm and pull it back.

"What are you trying to prove?" I ask before letting go of him.

"This a sturdy desk. And now I know, that the problem you're facing isn't physical." John answers.

"I never said I had a problem." I snap, raising my voice at him.

"You didn't have to Thea. But this guy, the other archer, he got in your head, he took something from you." John argues.

"That's enough." I grumble.

"He took whatever's in your heart that lets you jump off buildings and take down bad guys." John sighs.

"Thanks for the analysis, John." I sigh.

"You can avoid Laurel, you can avoid me. Avoid this as long as you want. But until you're ready to take a hold of the fear that's in you, you might as well have just let that archer kill you." John snaps.