An Off Day Pt1

Eddie. POV.

I walked out of the Zeta-Tube and looked around. Packed with costume and a change of clothes in a bag over my shoulder. Oliver's hideout was a shiny thing. Looked to be made from stainless steel all around with a high ceiling that had big stalactites poking out. I also saw an array of costumes of different colors and different options inside one wall. Hooded and unhooded. Hat and no hat. Sleeves and no sleeves. The whole works. There was a door above this wall with a staircase jutting out awkwardly.

'Maybe a late addition?'

I walked over to another wall next to the costumes and inside were different arrow heads and bows. The wall opposite the arrows was cut out to be a target range and the wall opposite the costumes was a training area, with mats and a small training course. Arrows riddled that place.

"Good to see you standing kid." I heard a voice say from one of the desks, I looked over to see Oliver walking over to me with a smile on his face and sticking out his hand. I took it with a nod.

"Good to be standing." He just nodded with me.

"How do you like Arrow Cave." He said while gesturing his hands around.

"Arrow Cave?" I raised an eyebrow, and he just nodded. The same smile was on his face.

"Yeah. My hideout." I just scratched my forehead a little at his response.

"You couldn't think of a better name?" His shoulders slumped and his smile waivered a little bit.

"You know?" He raised his hand and pointed at me. "Artemis also asked me that when I first brought her." I just sighed and looked around.

"Because it's a dumb name." He looked offended maybe.

"I think it's a fine name." I heard a voice followed by clicking of heels. Dinah was walking downstairs leading to who knows where. "I also think you have no room to talk. Mr. Third-Generation Wildcat." She ended her sentence rubbing Oliver's back with a look of pity.

"Says the Second-Generation Black Canary." She rolled her eyes.

"Second Generation still provides a little leeway in terms of originality." I just scoffed with my arms crossed.

"I agree." Oliver said with a raised hand. I looked at them both.

"Veteran heroes teaming up against one guy? What has this world come too?" I said in a monotone. Dinah just laughed.

"How's your back?" Dinah separated from Oliver and went to one of the desks and starting typing.

"Good." I responded to Dinah's question and Oliver just crossed his arms and leaned against the desk Dinah was sitting at.

"You sure? I got some Ointment stocked up." I nodded.

"What's that stuff made out of anyway?" Oliver shrugged.

"No clue."

"What?"

"Batman makes it, in the Bat lab or whatever. We know it's safe." Dinah nodded at his explanation while continuing to type on the computer.

"Isn't that weird though? Using something someone gives you, almost daily and you don't know what it's made out of?" Oliver shrugged again.

"I don't have any reason not to trust him. Been using it for years. Only thing it did that wasn't in the description was make my skin soft as a baby's bottom."

"Oh." I still had an unsure look on my face.

"Look. Batman may be all dark and gloomy, but he has the greater good in mind mostly". Dinah said while taking a brief glance away from the computer. "Chinese?" Oliver's face broke into a smile, and he clapped his hands in celebration.

"Oh yeah! Eddie, There's this place by the park." He stopped and put his hand to his mouth then raised it up to the sky. "Best Peking Duck in the Western Hemisphere." I just looked at him weirdly, then looked at Dinah who had a small smile on her face while watching Oliver's antics.

"Sure." She looked at me and nodded.

"Now we just have to wait for Artemis." Dinah responded. Oliver got done celebrating and looked at the bag. I saw him staring.

"Change of clothes and a costume. You may be off but I'm not." He nodded while twisting his moustache.

"You wanna go for a spar?" His face was much more calm. I nodded. He smiled brightly. "Fantastic. Now I get to see what you know. I ask Dinah all the time, but she just tells me to ask you, but that's just so much different obstacles." As he was talking, he was walking over to the costumes wall and clicked a few buttons on a tablet. The wall shifted around before landing on a simple green vest and pants. He quickly put it on. "Until now! This going to be so great." He had a smile on his face and his hands were on his waist. I just looked at him confused.

"He doesn't handle off days all that well." Dinah said while still typing on the computer.

"Oh." She pointed up the stairs.

"You can change up there." Unlike Oliver who just wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I had actual outside clothes on.

"Thanks. Be back in a second." She just nodded with a small smile, and I walked up the stairs.

Through the door was an office looking area with an elevator on one side and a small hallway on the other side. The small hallway had two doors. I opened one of the doors and it was a bedroom. I opened the other door and inside was a bathroom.

"Awesome." I closed the door behind me, sat down my bag, and got to changing. When I was done I walked down the stairs and saw Oliver stretching on one of the mats. Dinah was still typing on the computer looking bored out of her mind. "What are you doing?"

"Paperwork." I looked at her confused. "The league makes us fill out paperwork so we can have the numbers on the amount of taken down criminals and then Villains and then Supervillains. It's more complicated than it sounds."

"What's the difference?"

"Well Criminals are the regulars. Villains are just the trained more dangerous criminals that are usually repeat offenders and are costumed with a code name. Supervillains are just Villains with powers that might take more than one hero to handle"

"Where would someone like Deathstroke go?" She thought for a second.

"Mercenaries have their own paperwork. Though I usually put him on my Villain list if I help take him down."

"Didn't know there was this much work."

"Batman makes us do it to keep the Government happy."

"All this talk of paperwork is killing me." Oliver said from behind us with a tired sigh. "Are we fighting or what?" I raised an eyebrow and Dinah just patted me on the arm.

"Have fun." I shrugged and walked over and started stretching.

"Where's your bow?" Oliver looked confused for a second.

"I'm not gonna fight you with my bow."

"Then how are you going to fight me?"

"With my hands." He raised his hands. "With these." Then he dropped them. "Do people only think I know how to use a bow?" I shrugged while rolling back my shoulders.

"A little."

"I trained with the League of Assassins, I'm probably in the top 2% of all hand-to-hand fighters currently on Earth. Just because I use a bow don't mean I don't know how to get down and dirty." He said with his hands on his waist and a matter of fact look.

"Right…" I stretched my legs a little bit. "So, when are we gonna start?" He shrugged.

"Whenever you're ready." I continued to stretch a little bit. Then I flexed my arms and put them in a simple boxing position and did a few lights jabs. I looked back at him.

"Ready." He smiled and got into a stance. I formed a grim expression on my face and stepped forward.

"I got to warn you kid I…" A jab to his mouth cut him off. He stumbled back and touched his face.

"I wasn't ready yet!" I looked at him confused.

"you said whenever I was ready. I then told you I was ready. Therefor starting the match." His startled expression dropped, and he lunged forward. I smiled.

'God I love fighting.'