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Author's Note: Two chapter update. I liked to thank everyone who contributed and once again like to thank djkauf for the awesome editing. Green Arrow is a trademark and copyright of DC Comics.

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Chapter Seven:

It didn’t take long for my escapades to travel around the ship. Everyone was buzzing about the strange “Green Archer” who rescued them and stopped all the pirates. Some people actually thought it was Jade in disguise. But those few who saw me before I disappeared seemed to think I was some kind of green clad angel. It didn’t take long before the Coast Guard to show up and sort things out.

The Coast Guard took the remaining pirates into custody and asked a lot of questions but didn’t get any answers. They definitely wanted to know who the Green Archer was. Shortly thereafter, the crew did a head count and questioned everyone. But it seems most of the people were in the Dining Hall. There were a few who eluded capture, like Dr. C. who was hiding in one of the storage rooms. They didn’t question me; the Captain said I was too traumatized by my earlier ordeal. Dr. C. vouched for me too, saying I was asleep in my cabin the whole time.

I was questioned about the island though. The Captain gave the Coast Guard the coordinates. Apparently, they actually knew about it. The island belonged to the US Navy; they used it during World War Two to spot enemy planes trying to fly over the Atlantic. After a few months, it was abandoned. It was left off a lot of charts because it was insignificant. The land wasn’t fertile and it was so far out of any shipping lanes that it was a bother to settle.

I was questioned about my identity too. So I stuck with the Bonnie King story. I told them I was seventeen, which I don’t think anyone believed. I also told them I was on a yacht when I fell overboard. I made it clear that I had no idea how I washed up on the island. They grilled me with some other questions but the Captain put a stop to it. The Coast Guard left me alone after that. But they did want to know if I saw the Green Archer person. I told them exactly what Dr. C told them: that I was asleep in my cabin and saw nothing. I’m not sure if they believed me but I didn’t give a damn.

A few days after the Coast Guard left with its prisoners, the press descended on the ship. They were like bloodthirsty wolves, trying to score up a good story. As soon as some of the hostages starting talking about the mysterious archer, the press had a field day. They started to interview everyone. CNN quickly ran a story with a headline that read: MYSTERIOUS GREEN CLAD ARCHER SAVES CRUISE SHIP. The press started dubbing the Archer “Miss Arrowette”, it was kind of corny and real embarrassing, not to mention stupid. What the hell kind of name was that? Then again who was I to talk; I was “Bonnie King” after all. Reporters started hounding everyone, trying to get their story. It was a black haired woman in a smart red suit that caught up with me.

She sat down in the chair next to mine as I lounged at the pool, reading a borrowed paperback. She smiled at me. “You’re the girl they rescued off that island right?”

I nodded. “That’s right, I’m Bonnie King.” I overdid that horrible accent just to make sure.

The woman smiled. “Lois Lane, Daily Planet. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

She stuck a little recorder in my face. When I nodded, she smiled. She wasn’t a wolf like the rest of them; she was a shark.

I recognized her name. “You’re the one who wrote that story on Jade rescuing that bus.”

“That’s right” she said, “do you know a lot about Jade?”

I shook my head. “I was on that island since sometime in August. According to what I’ve read, Jade popped up only a few days ago.”

Lois seemed to hear me but she didn’t seem to care or something. “What do you know about Metahumans?”

“What the heck is that?”

She filled me in a little bit. A Metahuman was someone who exhibited abilities beyond normal humans. So far, none had appeared yet but according to Jade, several were going to start to appear all around the world.

It was an exciting and dangerous time. But Lois sounded kind of excited about it. If I was a reporter, I might be as well. I mean all these “super-heroes” popping up and saving people. As I looked at her, I realized she had one of those Savior complex things, I could see it on her face. She was itching for someone to swoop down from the sky and scoop her up.

She asked more general questions, mainly about the island. I told her everything I was willing to tell. I left out the part about making a bow and arrows to survive. If she knew that then there was the possibility that she’d connect me to Miss Arrowette---God I’ve got to change that name. After that, the interview started dwindling down but she hit me with one more zinger before she left.

“If Miss Arrowette uses green arrows, who used the black?”

I shrugged. “How would I know that?” It was an interesting question and one that had been bugging me for a few days now. After pretending to wake up in my stateroom, I went back to the bow of the ship to investigate. There was no visual evidence. I even looked over the side, to see if the Black Archer---that’s what I’ve been calling him---had rigged some kind of escape. But there was nothing there. I’m sure at the time he probably had a parachute or a rope that I just didn’t see. Then there were the arrows he used. I wish I hadn’t fled so quickly and had gotten a closer look at one. They were far more high-tech than my own. For one thing, they looked expensive and very professional. They were also meant to kill. I saw a broad-head a split second before it hit the Merc in the face.

“It was nice talking to you, Bonnie,” said Miss Lane, holding out her hand to me.

I smiled and shook it. She made a face for a second. “Such rough hands for such a dainty thing like yourself.”

I inwardly gulped. This one was going to be a real problem. I outwardly smiled and bid her goodbye. Before she disappeared, her young cameraman snapped a few shots and then they were gone. I let out a sigh of relief. There were a couple people nearby, close enough to hear me, and they laughed. Apparently, they were close enough to hear the interview too. One of them was a reporter too. He smiled at me, then frowned a bit. “Don’t worry, kid, Lane’s like that with everyone.” That made me feel a little better.

>-------------------------------------------------->

When I was picked up by the Sword of the Ocean---that’s the name of the cruise ship---they were only two days out of Miami, on a two-week tour of the Caribbean. The Captain allowed me to stay aboard until we reached the states, free of charge but with some conditions. First, he made it very clear that I wasn’t getting a free ride and that if I wanted to stay on the ship I needed to contribute. So he made me get a job. I actually took two. The first one was as a waitress in one of the ship’s three restaurants---I took a job in a place called the Watchtower Bar and Grill. If you’ve never worked as a waitress I advise you to never try.

My second job was much easier and a lot more educational. Dr C. took me on as her assistant. She told me there wasn’t much to do on cruise ships as far as medical emergencies go so she spent her time teaching me field medicine. She actually called it triage. But it was nothing more than basic first aid. She taught me the ABC’s; Airway, Breathing and Circulation. She also taught me how to tend to wounds, patch them up, do some stitch work. She wouldn’t let me touch any of the medical equipment, but she showed me how to take blood pressure, how to put in an IV and how to draw blood. She was convinced that I’d make a wonderful doctor some day. I laughed and told her I wanted to teach like my mother.

We spent a lot of time together and grew pretty close. At first, I was a little standoffish with her, but I began to open up more. I didn’t do well with new people. I wasn’t shy but I wasn’t outgoing either. I think Dr. C. ---or Gloria as she told me to call her---noticed my earlier apprehension. It wasn’t the only thing she noticed either. I’m not sure when she found out but she dropped the bomb on me two nights before we docked in Miami.

We were restocking the shelves, right before the Clinic was about to close up for the night. I was dressed in a pair of shorts---one she bought for me---and a white lab coat---she insisted I wear it. I was trying to put something on a high shelf. When I closed the cabinet and turned around, she ambushed me.

“We’ve known each other for about two weeks now, Bonnie?”

I nodded. “More or less.”

“Then why don’t you drop the act and tell me who you really are?”

She took me by surprise with that one. I stuttered a bit, not sure how to react. So I started to cry. I was doing that a lot lately. She came over and gave me a hug. She held me for a while, allowing me to cry it all out. When I was done crying, I asked her how she knew. She told me it was little things. She was in the army for a bit---she was a combat surgeon. She was stationed for a bit in Texas before being shipped to Iraq. She knew the accent and knew that mine was too much.

I cried some more. Then I told her everything. I told her my real name and explained about my condition. When I got to my parents and how they were killed, she stopped me. She wanted to tell the Captain, but I talked her out of it. I didn’t want anyone to know I was still alive. I know it was crazy but I’ve had some time to think and I find it strange that my mother was a Queen and thugs happened to come upon our boat. Then this ship was a Queen ship and similar thugs attacked it as well. I was now convinced someone had specifically targeted us that day. I don’t know why but I didn’t want anyone to know that Jonas Oliver was still alive.

She reluctantly agreed.

“I want to give you a full physical though, including an ultrasound,” she said, taking on a serious tone.

When I asked why she didn’t answer and instead ordered me to strip. I did as I was told, stripping down to my new bra and panties---she bought those as well. She didn’t make me put on a gown but she made me sit on her little table. She started with the physical first; she even took some blood. Then she did the ultrasound. That gel stuff was cold and made me flinch. I was scheduled for one at home but they were waiting until I got back from Florida. When I thought about it brought me to tears a bit.

The ultrasound didn’t take long but the blood work was going to be a while. Apparently, they had no way to test it aboard the ship. She was going to have to take care of it when we reached Florida. The ultrasound tests came back with some interesting results. Apparently, I did in fact have ovaries---I think Dr. P thought I might---but I didn’t have a uterus. This meant I wasn’t as female as they originally thought. The ovaries were producing estrogen just like they should have been and I was maturing into a very healthy young woman. Gloria was afraid that I might be ovulating as well but her ultrasound proved that not to be the case.

She had me re-dress then gave me a big hug.

She asked me a lot of questions after that. She wanted to know about my life, my real life. So I told her about Mia and Roy. I told her about the dance and Sandra. I told her about my diving and accidentally let it slip about my archery. She didn’t react to that. She did wink slightly but it was only for a second. She hugged me when I told her how a lot of the guys in school thought I was a girl and kept asking me out. Then she got brutally honest with me.

“It’s only going to get worse you know.”

I nodded. “That’s why when we started the vacation my mother and my doctors convinced me to dress and pretend to be a girl for the trip. They said it would help me see things from a different perspective.”

She nodded. “Has it helped?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer the question so I told her the truth. I told her about how I hated it when people called me a girl and asked me out. I hated all the flattery and stupid pick up lines. As far as I was concerned, I was a guy and I liked being one. Then my parents died and my world changed. The island changed me. I wasn’t sure when it happened but I suddenly realized I could look any way I wanted but it was what was inside that counted. Being a guy was like fighting an uphill battle. It wasn’t that I really wanted to be a girl but it seemed nature wanted me to be one.

“You can fix it” she said “There are surgeries. Your ovaries and breasts can be removed. They can give you testosterone and make you a man. You can be a boy if you want to be.”

‘I’m not sure I want to be a boy anymore.”

The scary thing was; it was the truth. It happened slowly at first but as the days went by and my body changed more I stopped seeing Jonas and only saw Olivia. She was gorgeous, she had a great body and she liked herself. I was unhappy before and I didn’t even know it. I liked Sandra a lot but I didn’t lust after her like Roy might. She was a friend, a very good friend. Mia was a friend too. We were like sisters, girlfriends, BFF’s. I even had one of those stupid friendship bracelets---she gave it to me in fourth grade. I’m not sure when I realized it but I was never truly a boy, I was a girl but I was good at hiding it.

I told all that to Gloria and she said she understood.

The rest of the trip I spent buried in work. By the time, we reached Miami I had done more than enough work to pay for my passage. In fact, I did a little more than that and the Captain actually gave me a paycheck---it was only a couple hundred bucks but it was still cool.

When we finally docked at Miami, Gloria had a surprise. She was able to convince the Captain to give her some shore leave so she could help me out. I was extremely grateful. We had only two bags when we left the marina and hailed a cab. I gave the driver directions to my parents’ beach house, hoping that it wasn’t too late to retrieve some of my stuff.

>-------------------------------------------------->

The house wasn’t directly on the beach but it wasn’t far off. Both the driver and Gloria whistled when we pulled up. My mother was a Queen after all so she never did anything half way. The house was ginormous. It had six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and an unattached garage with studio apartment and a large in-ground pool with boathouse. We had a private beach too with a long dock that led out to it. It’s usually where our sailboat stayed.

Gloria paid the driver. I led her up the drive. The house was dark and the rental car was no longer in the driveway. So clearly, someone had been there. The front door didn’t require a key; everything was done electronically. I punched in my code, hoping that it still worked. I sighed when there was a click and the door opened. It was dark inside and kind of musky. I nearly tripped over a box that was in the middle of the foyer. When I found the switch and flicked it, nothing happened. I sighed. I was afraid something like this might happen. Even though we co-owned the house with the Deardens, they rarely used it.
Most of the furniture was still there but it was covered with white sheets. There were boxes all over the place, all of them sealed up and marked with Queen Industries logos. Apparently, my grandfather had sent people here. Did that mean that the world thought I was dead? I walked through the house like a boy---girl? ---with a purpose. I checked the faucet in the kitchen but the water was shut off. I checked the cupboards and fridge but they were empty. Gloria followed me, staying close on my heels. Though the lights were off in the place there were large windows everywhere and it was midday so the sun shone inside.

I took her to the second floor and checked all the rooms. My room was the last one at the end of the hall, right next to Mia’s. When I opened the door, I saw my stuff in boxes too. It kind of hit me hard and I dropped to my knees, sobbing. Gloria helped me up and over to the bed. I cried in her arms. I couldn’t believe my grandfather. He wanted nothing to do with my mother when she was alive but now that she was dead, he was everywhere.
When I stopped crying a few minutes later, I tore into the nearest box.

“What are you looking for?”

“Anything.”

But the box was mainly clothes, ones that would never fit anymore. There were two other boxes in the room but I knew what was in those. This room had been decorated the way I liked…when I was ten. I never bothered to redecorate because we weren’t here all that much. Most of the stuff in the other boxes belonged to a ten-year-old boy. Anything modern that had belonged to fourteen year old me was at the bottom of the Atlantic now.

There was one thing that I might want but it wasn’t here.

I left my room in a rush and went down the hall to my parents’ room. It was kind of sad to open the door and see an empty bed. There were a lot of boxes in here, my parents were always updating and modernizing. Gloria asked what I was looking for so I told her to be on the lookout for a little black bag. WE tore open several of the boxes, one after another. Most of them had clothes but there were some electronics and things like. After about twenty minutes, I found the bag.

“I’ve got it,” I said, waving it in the air. I opened it up to make sure everything was still there. I smiled. The bag was my father’s emergency kit: it contained a couple hundred dollars, a prepaid cell phone, a credit card, and copies of all our IDS, a spare key for his car, my mother’s car, the boat, the house in Star City and the penthouse they kept in NYC. My parents weren’t loaded but they had more than most. It was the money and the credit card that I was after but I took the whole bag. I took something else too, a framed picture of the three of us. It was the most recent one we had; it was taken last year at Christmas. My parents liked to take a Christmas photo every year.

I added my money to the money in the bag then we left the house. I activated the prepaid phone and made two phone calls. One was to a cab company and the other was to a nearby motel. We usually didn’t stay in motels but I wanted to keep a low profile. If someone really did kill my parents then they’d be able to track a credit card without a problem.

When the cab pulled up I tried to convince Gloria to part ways with me, but she wouldn’t.

“We’re in this together until you get back home.”

But where was home now? Could I actually go back to our house? I tried to imagine how it would be, just me, all alone in that big empty house. A tear rolled down my cheek. Maybe I could move in with Mia. I practically lived there most of the time anyway. We were like sisters anyway so maybe her family would adopt me.

I thought of Mia as we got into the cab. I pulled out the phone again and gave her a call. I cursed when I realized the time difference. The call went right to voice mail. I groaned; I didn’t want to leave her a message and explain things that way. I could imagine how that would go: “Hey Speedy, it’s me, Jonas, your supposedly dead best friend. Guess what I’m not dead and am currently in Miami. I just thought I’d call and see what you were doing this Friday. Maybe we could go to the mall and hang out”. Yeah, I don’t think that would have gone over well. So I decided to text her but something was wrong because as soon as I hit send, another message came back immediately: PHONE NO LONGER IN SERVICE. What the hell was that all about? Mia’s iPhone was her lifeline, she’d never shut it off. Maybe I texted the wrong number so I texted her again. I got the same message. I groaned angrily and threw the phone on the seat.

The cabbie laughed. “Teenage girls and those damn phones. I have a niece and all she does is text like crazy.”

Gloria smiled, squeezing my shoulder. ‘My niece here is the same way. Isn’t that right, Bonnie?”

Great now she’s using Bonnie.

I smiled. “It's my life, auntie.”

We pulled up to a little motel called The Sunset Inn. I paid the driver this time, giving him a big tip for coming so quickly. He was grateful as he helped us with our bags and drove away. I left getting the rooms up to Gloria, giving her my father’s credit card. I knew I shouldn’t have used it but I needed all the cash to get me back to San Fran. Besides paying in cash probably would draw too much attention, it usually did in the movies.

The room had two beds; I took the one near the window. I wanted to crash as soon as we got there but Gloria was convinced we needed some kind of plan. I flopped on the bed while she talked and only half listened. I heard her mention something about getting some plane tickets tomorrow. I didn’t realize how tired I was until sleep overtook me.

Chapter Eight:

I woke to a gentle knock on the door. It was a light rapping, barely audible but it was enough to wake me from my dreamless slumber. I opened my eyes and sighed. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept that well. I slept pretty good in the jungle but there were several nights where I was plagued by horrible nightmares. I kept seeing my parents die over and over again. In all of them, I tried to help them but it was like I was frozen or something. Some of the dreams I was actively there and in others, I was watching it like it was a movie. I think last night was the first night that I fell asleep and didn’t have a single one.

I sat up and stretched. Gloria was still sleeping, her covers half off, her body clad in only underwear. I sighed, looking at her almost naked body. If I had been a normal guy that would have been the biggest turn on. But it did nothing for me. In fact, I thought about her bra and wondered if I could ever where anything that sexy. I groaned, realizing I was turning more into a girl every day. It was a bit scary but it was kind of refreshing too. I was tired of pretending to be one thing or the other.

The knocking on the door got a little more persistent.

I got out of bed and found my pants. They were a pair of jeans that Gloria bought me on the ship’s promenade. There were a lot of little shops there. It surprised me at first because I thought the whole idea of going on a cruise was to get away from all that. But apparently, the people of Queen Star Cruises didn’t see it that way. Their slogan was: All the Luxuries of Home at Sea. I hated to burst their bubble but the ship was ten times more luxurious than anything I ever did at home. I mean who has a miniature golf course, bowling alley and arcade in their homes.

I pulled on my pants. I liked to sleep in my underwear for a long time. At home, it was boxers but now it was my panties. I was a little weirded out by that at first but I was kind of used to it now. My thing was so small now that it barely showed and my hips were so big that you barely noticed there was anything down there. They were quite comfortable too, ten times more so than boxers. I was never a fan of everything hanging about. I liked things snug and in place.
I padded across the room in my bare feet and opened the door.

I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. There were two big men in black suits standing there. They were giants, at least seven feet. One was blonde; the other was bald. Both of them wore dark sunglasses and had bulges in their jackets. I knew what that meant. I was frozen with fear looking at them. They had to be from the guy who tried to kill me and ruin my grandfather. I wanted to close the door but for some reason I couldn’t move my hand to do so.

“Good morning Miss,” said the blonde, smiling politely. “We’re looking for Jonas Oliver.”

I recovered after that. I slammed the door in his face. I screamed for Gloria. She screamed too, snapping awake and jumping nearly off her bed. It was quite a sight, seeing her all tangled up in the sheets. She looked confused at first but as soon as she saw my panic, she knew something bad had happened. I didn’t explain as I ran over to my bed, looking for my sneakers. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night after falling asleep and stripped off my clothes. I was a little groggy when I did so I wasn’t sure where everything was. I found both of my sneakers under the bed.

The knocking on the door was louder. Gloria fumbled with pulling up her pants, still confused as to what was really going on.

“You mind filling me in?” she asked as she buttoned her pants.

“Two goons at the door” I said as I laced up my sneaks. “They’re looking for Jonas Oliver”

“How do they know you’re here?”

I cursed myself. There were two ways to know. The first one was the obvious; it was the credit card. I knew it was a bad idea to use it. But I really needed the cash. The second one was less obvious but just as stupid. It happened at the house when I used my code. I forgot that all the door codes were registered every time they were used. Every entry was filed with the security company and logged in their computers. Each one of us had specific codes. Whoever was at the door was probably monitoring the security company. I never should have gone back to the stupid beach house.

As soon as we got dressed, we tried to open the window in the bathroom. WE got it open enough for me but not enough for her. She was a little bigger up top than me and she’d never fit. She realized that and tried to talk me into leaving her but I wasn’t going to do that.

“They’re not looking for me” she insisted. ‘If they’re really after you than you have a chance to get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

She rushed back into the main room and came back with my bag. We didn’t buy a suitcase for me because we didn’t get me a lot of clothes, just the essentials. My bag was actually a purple backpack, inside was the stuff we bought on the ship, plus the black bag I took from the beach house. She pushed it into my chest.

“They’re no longer pounding but they’re still out there. You need to go now. I’ll open the door and distract them. I’ll try to buy you enough time.”
“I can’t leave you, they killed my parents.”

I started crying which got her to cry a bit. She took me in a hug and held me tight. We stayed like that for a few minutes. When the hug was over, she kissed my forehead then smacked me on the butt, urging me to go. I clipped onto the bathtub rim and reluctantly climbed out the window. I hated to abandon Gloria but she was pretty damn insistent about it. When I hit the ground, I started to run. Tears were streaming down my face. How was I going to do this without help?

I ran around the side of the building. The motel had two buildings that were almost identical. The main office was in the first building and we were in the second. I was currently between the two, peering around the corner at the two goons. They were at the door to our room. Gloria was there, talking to them. I couldn’t hear what she was saying but the two goons looked kind of flustered. I looked around, trying to find their car. It was easy enough to find, it was the only black sedan in the lot. While Gloria was keeping them distracted, I ran over to their car.

I skidded to a halt on the other side of it, dragging myself through glass. Some moron broke a mirror or something; there was glass everywhere. I cut up my hands and my knees but the cuts were small. The glass did give me an idea though. I grabbed the largest shard I could find and slit the tires on the driver’s side. I was amazed how easily that worked. I’d seen it done in movies but I never thought I could do it with a shard of glass. That’s some pretty cheap rubber.

I popped my head and looked at the room. Gloria saw me and motioned to go with her eyes. I smiled sadly and waved. She winked and I took off, running down the street and hopefully out of sight. The motel was sort of in the middle of nowhere, on a stretch of highway that could have led anywhere. My best bet was to go into the nearest town. So I stuck my thumb out, it didn’t take long to get a ride. It was a nice couple in a mini-van with three kids who finally stopped. I gave them some story about my car breaking down and they bought it.

>-------------------------------------------------->

The Dover’s---the family who picked me up---insisted I stay and have lunch with them. They were on some kind of family vacation but decided to drive instead of fly. They lived in upstate New York, in some little town north of Buffalo. They took trips like this all the time. They were nice enough and they didn’t seem too nosey. The little girl, Marcia, seemed to take a shine to me though. She kept asking me a hundred questions; I made up a lot of answers. I don’t think she minded. She and her brother, Stanley, were both six. Whereas she was really outgoing, Stanley was real quiet, especially around me. Every once and a while I caught him talking to someone. When I asked him who he was talking too, he didn’t answer but his sister did.

“It’s Spot,” said Marcia with a laugh. “His stupid imaginary friend.”

“Marcia, what did I tell you” snapped their mother, Sheila.

Stanley spoke for the first time. “He’s not stupid and he’s not imaginary.”

I smiled. I remembered being his age and having an imaginary friend too. But I didn’t make mine up; it was Robin Hood. I know that it sounds corny but I was obsessed.

“What kind of friend is Spot?” I asked; ignoring the raspberry Marcia gave her brother.

Stanley’s face lit up; glad someone was interested. “He’s a giant purple monster. He’s big and furry and has huge tusks. But he’s not mean; he’s real nice and has lots of friends. There’s a leprechaun named Shaughnessy and a gremlin named Schnitzel.”

Stanley spent the rest of the car ride telling me about Spot and his friends. He had a really wild imagination. Marcia got annoyed at one point and started trying to tell me all about her stuffed unicorn collection back home. Their two voices started to overlap until it got so loud that it was hard to hear yourself think. Their father, Mitch, finally put an end to it, but not soon enough. It was cute though that the kid could imagine that well, I wasn’t even that complex at his age.

We stopped for lunch at a mall. It wasn’t as large as the ones back home but it was good size. We ate in Burger King. We had to take two booths. Apparently Spot, who Stanley said had stayed in the van, arrived sometime in the middle of our meal. Stanley had to sit him at his own booth because he was too big to sit with us. Marcia huffed, his parents rolled their eyes, but I thought it was pretty cute. Every few minutes during our meal, Stanley would laugh and start talking to the empty booth. His father tried to tell him to stop being so foolish which kind of annoyed me. I hated people who tried to squash a child’s imagination like that.

After lunch, the Dovers said they had to be shoving off. I gave each of the kids a hug and thanked their parents for a ride. I offered to pay them for their troubles but they wouldn’t take it. Something strange happened as they were leaving. I was still sitting at the booth, watching them go. Stanley was holding his hand up in the air, like he was holding someone’s hand. For a split second, something so small that you could blink and miss it, I saw something. I’m not sure what it was but it was big, purple and hairy. I rubbed my eyes and the family was gone.

Now I’m starting to imagine things.

I finished my lunch and paid quickly. I wandered the mall a bit after that, not sure, where I was going or what I was going to do. I know I needed to get back to San Fran but flying was probably out of the question. So I stopped at an information kiosk and asked the girl at the desk if she had a bus schedule. She handed me one, telling me they ran every few hours or so. I found one that was leaving town but it was still about an hour off. I decided to do a little shopping.

I found myself in a clothing store first. I’m not sure what I was doing in there but it didn’t take long for the salesgirl to descend on me. She tried to talk me into buying this and that but the only thing she was doing was being annoying. But I was polite about it. I did find something that interested me though. I found this real cool green hoodie. It decided to buy it a size too big, so I could hide my face if need be. The salesgirl was polite when I bought it but I could tell she wasn’t happy. She was trying to score up a huge commission and I destroyed that for her.

I left there and found myself in a costume shop; everything was now half off. Halloween happened while I was on the ship. They celebrated it, but I didn’t attend. I ended up working it, though. There were decorations and a huge bash. People came dressed in costume and the kids got candy. Most of the trauma from the pirates had been long gone by then. The Halloween bash ended the trip, a day later we arrived at Miami.

In the shop, I browsed all their stuff. I found this cool Robin Hood felt hat with a feather and everything. I put it on and modeled it in front of the many mirrors. It looked pretty cool but it wasn’t really for me. Maybe in another lifetime. I did find something l liked. It was this real cool black mask, like Zorro’s. It was kind of neat because it made me feel like a bandit. I bought it and found I still had about twenty minutes to spare. I wandered down the mall, finally stopping at a Sporting Goods store. I thought of my broken bow and a small emptiness welled inside of me.

I went right to the bows; they had a wide selection from fiberglass to carbon. I liked fiberglass, I used to use a Matthews Ignition at home, it had about a forty-pound pull weight on it. It was a damn good bow but I didn’t see anything like that here. I did find a nice Conquest 4; it had a fifty-pound draw weight and integral grip, which I loved. It was a little pricey but it would have to do for now. I found some good arrows, Easton X10s, like they used in Beijing in 08. I got myself a case too; all of it came to close to a thousand bucks. But I needed a bow, I’m not sure why but now I felt naked without one. I paid with the credit card; it had a real large limit on it.

“You sure you know what you’re doing with that missy” said the jerk at the counter. “That’s a mighty dangerous piece of equipment you got there.”

I scoffed. “I’ve been handling a bow since I was eight, I think I can manage.”

The alarm went off as I was leaving the store. At first, I thought there was something I hadn’t paid for. Then I heard the scream. The alarm wasn’t coming from the sporting goods store; it was coming from somewhere else in the mall. I tried to ignore it until I saw three masked jerks running by, followed by an overweight security guard. Damn why does this always happen to me.

I ran into the ladies room locked the door behind me. I looked into the mirror and sighed. It looked like Miss Arrowette was going to make another appearance.

>-------------------------------------------------->

I dressed quickly, pulling the green hoodie over my head and fixing the mask to my face. I wasn’t so sure about the mask but after that close encounter with Lane last time, I think it was needed. She almost put two and two together and that was dangerous. I couldn’t let anyone figure out who I was. Even if Jonas Oliver technically didn’t exist anymore, I still did. Someone clearly knew there was a connection between my new self and my old one. Maybe I should come up with a different name and not just one for my true self too.

As I looked in the mirror and saw the masked, hooded figure, I couldn’t see Miss Arrowette anywhere. I decided not to use the green tarp because I wanted to distance myself from what happened on the cruise ship. You need to be someone new, someone different. I racked my brain for a few seconds but when nothing came readily, I sighed. I guess I’ve got a lot of time to decide. That is if I still wanted to do this when I was done here. I mean I was convinced the ship was the first and last time but I couldn’t just let those bastards get away.

I hefted my bow and slipped out of the bathroom. The mall was in utter chaos. The lights were dimmed; it looked like someone was messing with the power. People were screaming and running amok. I slipped into the throng of people, trying to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. I made my way for the stairs and went up to the second level. When I got there, I saw some commotion going on up ahead and shots were fired. There was more screaming and a lot of the running people became immobile, dropping to the ground to avoid being shot.

I ran along the upper walkway, trying to get closer to the action. God, I need some kind of grappling hook. It made me wonder for a few seconds but I pushed the thought to the back of my mine, there would be time for that later. Right now, I had a bunch of crazed, armed robbers to take care of.

There were six of them, three more than I saw run by me earlier.

They were holed up in a pharmacy, with at least eight hostages. Apparently, they were outmaneuvered by mall security. They were also outgunned. There were at least eight security guards. Four were behind the fountain in the center of the mall; one was taking cover at a kiosk. Two more were standing behind the mall’s large stone pillars. All of them had their guns drawn, pointing at the pharmacy. Inside two of the robbers were standing by the door, one was looting the cash register and the other two were guarding the hostages.

I had a clear shot at all six and the advantage: they couldn’t see me.

I nocked my first arrow. The X10s wouldn’t have been my first choice but they were all I had at the moment. I pulled back the bow, a little uncomfortable because it was a little heavier than I was used too. I compensated by shifting my weight and then fired. It was a clumsy shot but I hit my target. I winged one of the guys at the door. I put the arrow in his shoulder; he screamed out and dropped. His gun clattered to the floor. I nocked another arrow and hit the second guy at the door before anyone knew what was happening.

It was one of the security guards who noticed me. “You on the second floor, cease firing now!”

I didn’t pay any attention. Instead, I nocked a third arrow and took aim at the guy behind the counter. I knew I should have taken out the guys near the hostages but I had t be careful. If I took one of them out, I’d risk a firestorm. So I put the arrow in the guy’s shoulder, then quickly nocked a fourth. I caused a great deal of panic inside the pharmacy. Two of the guys guarding the hostages ran for the door, looking about to see if they could spot me. I also caused quite a commotion amongst the security guards.

The two guards at the posts left. I knew where they were going.

I fired my fourth arrow, hitting one of the robbers in the upper thigh. My fifth arrow dropped the other guy at the door, another shoulder shot. None of them were life threatening but they were pretty painful. The last guy in the pharmacy looked frantically at his fallen comrades, all of them writhing on the ground, arrows sticking out of them at wicked angles. I drew a sixth arrow but didn’t need it. He dropped his gun, got down on his knees and put his hands behind his back. The remaining security on the ground floor swept into the shop and apprehended him.

‘You in the green!” shouted a voice to my left. “Stay where you are.”

I turned and saw a security guard walking slowly toward me, his gun drawn. On the other side of me was another guard, the two of them were trying to box me in. You’ve got to be kidding me; I just foiled a hostage situation.

‘You guys jealous?” I asked as I lowered my bow.

The one to my right spoke into his walkie-talkie: “We’ve got the shooter”

“Drop your weapon, get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head,” said the one on the left, as he got closer.

They were serious. They were really going to try to take me in. I just helped them and they were repaying it by trying to arrest me. This was fricking ridiculous. I groaned and started to set the bow on the floor. The two guards were almost on top of me when the sirens appeared. It distracted them for a second and that’s all I needed. I grabbed my bow, smacked the nearest guard in the chest and took off running. The other guard was so stunned that it took him a few seconds to give chase. But by then I was half way down the stairs. I slipped into the crowd of people, trying to blend in.

The guard tried to push his way in but there were too many people now, trying to flock to the exit. I tossed the bow in the trash---which was a damn shame because I paid a fortune for it. I tossed the arrows in too, making sure I wiped everything of all my prints. I kept the black mask and hoodie but I pulled them both off as I moved with the crowd, slowly being pushed toward the double doors. I passed right by a couple of the guards but they didn’t bat an eyelash. Outside there were four cop cars and more on the way by the sound of it.

The police officers present wouldn’t let anyone leave, though.

Ten cop cars and three news vans filled the parking lot in the course of fifteen minutes. The reporters hit the crowd like vultures even though the police tried to hold them back. I tried to keep my head down, avoiding the media as much as possible. The police put up crime tape then moved us all into another part of the mall. It was quite a feat seeing, as there were hundreds of people. We ended up in the food court. On the big screen monitors hanging from the ceiling we all got to see the rest of the action outside. One by one, the robbers were led out of the building.

The murmuring about my deed started to make its way around the crowd. It didn’t take long for someone to mention Miss Arrowette. I groaned, I really needed to get them to change that name. After that, things really picked up. People kept asking one another if they saw me and of course, a lot of them said, they did. I became the big topic of discussion. They talked about me for a half an hour before the police came in, taking statements from everyone. When they got to me, I told them I saw someone dressed in green with a bow but didn’t see anything else. It seemed to be the same thing that a lot of other people were saying too.

They wouldn’t let us go until they got statements from everyone. That was about two hours later. The reporters descended by then. A lot people wanted to be in the papers or on the news. I wasn’t one of them. I kept my head low as I slipped through the crowds. I almost ran into Lois Lane. She was interviewing a group of giggling college girls. She didn’t look too happy because all they wanted to talk about was how scared they were. Luckily, her back was to me so she didn’t see me.

I hailed a cab. I asked it to take me to the nearest bus depot. I was tired of this town and I definitely didn’t want people to put two and two together. When I got to the depot I bought a ticket for the furthest place, I could find which happened to be St. Louis. I paid in cash this time; I didn’t want any more goons showing up uninvited. My bus wasn’t set to leave for at least another hour so I found a little coffee shop. There were only a few people inside: a few guys at the counter, a couple of guys sitting together and a man in the corner, his face obscured by a newspaper.

It didn’t take long for the mall incident to appear on the news. There was a little flat screen monitored from the ceiling. It was set to the local news and the headline said it all: MISS ARROWETTE STRIKES AGAIN. I groaned. As soon as I got the time, I was going to call in and tell them to call me something else. Miss Arrowette made me sound like a damn circus performer or something.

The Silver haired newscaster told the story: “People in Grandview Mall today got the shock of their lives when six armed assailants robbed multiple stores and made a mad dash to the exit. They were chased into a pharmacy by mall security and took eight hostages. But the robbers were in for a surprise themselves: a hooded, green clad archer”

The screen switched to a female reporter, interviewing several “eyewitnesses” who claimed to have seen the archer take out the robbers one by one. Each account was more outlandish than the next; one person even said I used different kinds of arrows. It was a crazy idea but it did have interesting possibilities. The female reporter interviewed several people before it switched back to the silver haired anchor in the newsroom.

“Some of you may remember that only a few short weeks ago, another similar green clad archer rescued a bunch of people on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Though many eyewitnesses claim they might be the same people, sources tell us that this young William Tell was dressed differently and used a different kind of bow. Are these two persons the same or do we have ourselves a copycat archer out there, time will only tell. This is Bud Henderson, Channel Six”

I groaned. I was glad it was such a short story but it already speculated on too much. I’m not sure if I wanted any of it. I only did what I had to do on the ship and as far as the robbery today, I felt compelled to help. Maybe I had a death wish but it kind of felt good to help those people. It also fit in with my pact: I couldn’t let people suffer around me. Did that make me some kind of vigilante superhero now?

Someone cleared their throat next to me: “A young woman like you shouldn’t be sitting here all alone, mind if I join you?”

I groaned again. But who was I to disagree at the moment. So I sighed and nodded. The man who sat down across from me was the one hidden behind the paper in the corner. He wore a crisp gray suit, black tie and was old enough to be my grandfather. He smiled at me and it took me a few seconds to realize that I recognized his face. It was all over the place but predominantly in all the old pictures that my mother used to show me.

He looked old enough to be my grandfather because he was.

“Hello, Jonas” he said with a curt nod and sipped his tea. “Or is it Bonnie now?”

All I could say were two words: “Holy Hannah!”