‘Elysium’
Oliver Queen's gang had
degenerated into mindless brutality. What had started out with good intentions
eventually led to abuses of justice. This change happened over time as some
members of Oliver's gang, including Helena Bertinelli, 'Black' Canary, and
Arthur Curry, became frustrated with the criminal justice system and decided to
take the law into their own hands. Because of their harsh methods the press
dubbed the group the 'Agents of Justice'.
While the "agents" had originally sought to contain gang violence in
Metropolis, they eventually began a strategy of pitting one gang against
another, seeking to wipe them out entirely. Oliver's gang was outnumbered, and
would attack in mostly hit-and-run skirmishes. They survived on adrenaline and
hate. But over time took its toll, eating away at them. Every day a part of
their souls faded away.
This change in methodology caused a fracture in the group. The most outspoken
critic of these changes was Jordan Cross.
Victor Stone was deeply concerned with the drastic measures the group would
sometimes take in deterring crime in Metropolis. Yet he also believed that a
split would destroy everything they had achieved as a group. He regretfully
decided to support Oliver.
The most zealous member of the gang was Helena Bertinelli, who had become known
in Metropolis as the Huntress. Black Canary continued mostly out of loyalty to
her friends, although she had eventually come to regret the path she had
chosen. Green Arrow was torn between the two of them. He was either unwilling
or unable to acknowledge the guilt he felt for his part in violence that led to
numerous deaths, deaths of people who were both guilty and innocent. He was a
shell of the man he had once been. He hid his face beneath his dark goggles and
hood. His clothes were tattered and he neglected to shave.
One day Arthur Curry, Victor's best friend, confessed to Victor that he had leaked
information about the whereabouts of the Edge gang's hideout to Lucas Luthor,
someone he had met a long time ago while gambling in
This revelation was too much for Victor. He hated himself for the violence and
destruction he caused as a member of Oliver's gang. He was slowly becoming less
and less human, and more like a machine.
While Victor had once thought of his bionic implants as a blessing he now saw
them as a curse. He swore that he would never cause anyone pain. With a thought
he disabled the superhuman strength from his bionic implants, vowing to never
use it again. He said a few words to Oliver and then left the Agents of
Justice, planning to never return.
Victor thought back to the time when he has a young, hyperactive child who's
misbehavior got him into trouble so many times with his teachers. But one day
his parents took him to a school that taught Shaolin kung fu. At his school
Victor learned discipline, respect for himself and others, patience, and to be
humble, even in victory. Before the car accident that changed his life forever
Victor had become a proficient teacher of kung fu, and had been invited to
travel to
Victor decided that he would return to his school in Metropolis, where he had
always been welcome to teach. And after a few months he accepted an invitation
to