Mia Dearden/Speedy

Subject Facts

Full Name: Mia Dearden
Codename: Speedy
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Archetype: Vigilante
Aliases:
Marital Status: Single
Affiliation: Arrow Family | Outsiders | Teen Titans (formerly)

Subject Attributes

Meta-Human Abilities: N/A

Standard Abilities:
Archer: Mia Dearden has been trained extensively in the use of a longbow. Since first joining Oliver Queen in his crusade against crime, she has been ardently practicing her skills and honing her technique. She is capable of making difficult, ranged shots and rapid, accurate shots at close range, not sacrificing placement for expedience.

Acrobatics: Mia is a natural acrobat and has only become more adept while working as a vigilante in Star City.

Martial Artist: While working as Speedy, Mia has recieved combat training from Oliver Queen, Connor Hawke, Dinah Lance and the Teen Titans. As such, she is a knowledgable and skilled fighter - be it with her fists, a staff or a sword. She is easily able to outclass street thugs, and can hold her own against trained martial artists.

Street Smarts: Having spent a great deal of time on the streets as a youngster, Mia is naturally 'street' smart. She is has an uncanny knack for finding trouble, locating dealers and snitches, and knowing what individuals might trade for information.

Paraphernalia:
Longbow: When operating as Speedy, Mia is always in possession of a reinforced longbow. It is both durable and well-maintained, and can be used as a stave in close quarters combat should the need arise.

Speedy Costume: Designed to hide her identity, Mia's costume consists of a black body suit and cowl. She tends to cover her hair with a hood and cape - yellow in colour, matching the 'arrow' symbol emblazoned on her chest.

Trick Arrows: Like all of the arrow family, Mia tends to use 'non-lethal' arrows. Many of her arrows have blunted tips, while others have various modifications, turning them into ranged gadgets. In her time as an 'Arrow', she has employed grapple arrows, liquid-nitrogen arrows, smoke arrows, taser arrows, 'goop' arrows, sonic arrows and fire arrows. This, however, is not the extent of her 'trick' arrows, and the extended Arrow family are always inventing and experimenting with new ammunition.

Subject Weaknesses:
Mortal: Mia is a human, and as such, bares all the frailties and weaknesses that entails.

HIV Positive: At a young age, Mia Dearden contracted HIV, and as such, is forced to cope with the dangers that entails. Rather than let it end her life, Mia has undergone extensive treatment and keeps herself fit and healthy. Currently, she is thought to have a 'negative viral load', suggesting there is very little of the virus in her blood, rendering her far less likely of passing on the disease or suffering its symptoms. However, this 'negative viral load' is only maintained while she takes daily medication - medication that can leave her feeling dizzy, nauseous and faint.

Stubborn: Mia has suffered a great deal through her short life, but thanks to a natural determination and grit, she has managed to pull through. However, that said, the stubbornness from which this grit is borne can also lead her to enter difficult situations she shouldn't, and push herself harder than she should.

Gadgetry: Lacking any meta human abilities, Mia relies solely on gadgets to fight crime. Should she lose her bow and arrow, or find her quiver empty, she would struggle standing up to many of the super-powered criminals threatening Star City, being a talented martial artist simply not enough to overcome a number of meta villain threats.

Subject History

Mia Dearden was born in Star City. Her formative years were difficult, struggling with an abusive father and an absent mother. Desperate to escape a failed family life, she fled home and started living on the streets. There, she met and fell in love with a man named Richard, though it was not the escape she hoped for. In exchange for shelter and food, Richard exploited her, selling her body to clients for them to use as they wished.

It was Oliver Queen that rescued her from that life. Having just returned from the dead, the Green Arrow saved Mia from a depraved politician, and knowing that she had nowhere to go, offered her a home with him – a choice that initially drove a wedge between he and his long-term partner, Dinah Lance. Luckily, it was a rift that quickly healed.

Both Queen and Dearden worked to rebuild and reconstruct their existences. While he tutored Mia in archery and martial arts – a way to focus her and teach her discipline, he did his utmost to keep his 'alter ego' from her mind, not wanting her to take up the bow. Queen had no desire for a protege.

Mia, on the other hand, had very different thoughts on the matter.

The more she trained with Queen (whom she had quickly worked out was the vigilante known as 'Green Arrow'), the more she wished to serve as his sidekick. No matter how many times she asked to be given a chance, however, Oliver continually refused – not wishing to put another youngster at risk. He directed her instead to focus on her studies, enrolling her in a school, and she eventually began working after classes in the 'Star City Recreational Center', aiding Queen and his son, Connor Hawke.

However, following a medical check-up, it was revealed that Mia tested positive for HIV, a legacy from her years living and working on the streets. Devestated, she wished for nothing more than to do something special with her life, and demanded Oliver give her a chance as an 'Arrow.' Queen finally relented, and it was from that point on that Mia took on the identity of 'Speedy' – the second to bare the title. Together, with Connor Hawke,

In order to aid her training, Queen enrolled Mia in the Teen Titans – though she joined their ranks reluctantly, maintaining strong links with the Arrow family in Star City, and regularly working alongside them. During her tenure as a Titan, she aided the team bring down Doctor Light and Brother Blood – though tendered her resignation soon after, wanting instead to focus on training with Queen, Lance and Hawke.

For almost a year, she and Connor studied martial arts fromsome of the worlds greatest practicioners, and focused all their efforts on protecting Star City. She was present at the marriage of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance, and following the wedding's events, continued to be an integral part of Team Arrow. She hlped rescue Oliver from Themyscira, and aided the Arrows fight the League of Assassins.

It was during this time that she met and entered into a relationship with Dodger - a British rogue who aided team Arrow frequently. She moved to London briefly, staying close to her boyfriend. Their relationship lasted for almost ayear, until she ended it, having seen the charming vigilante kissing a British actress. Mia didn't allow him an explanation – she simply returned to the USA.

There, she changed her costume, trading her former red bodysuit and arrows for black ones – differentiating herself from the costumes of Roy Harper and Oliver Queen respectively. She finally had her own identity.

Continuing to act as a vigilante, and indeed work alongside the Arrow family, Mia was babysitting Roy Harper's daughter Lian when Electrocutioner and Prometheus attacked Star City. Called away to aid in defeating the duo, she could only watch in horror as the bombs they set, meant to transport Star City to another reality, instead destroyed entire neighbourhoods. The resulting destruction killed Lian, breaking the collective heart of the Arrow family.

During the events of Blackest Night and Brightest Day, Mia, Connor and Dinah were forced to defeat a mind-controlled Queen, though they were able to overcome him. Shortly after, it came to light that Oliver had murdered Prometheus following his actions in Star City. Mia agreed with his approach, and acting alone, sought out the Electrocutioner, and so hurt at his actions, nearly beat him to death. However, Queen was able to arrive in time to stop his murder, telling Mia that taking a life was never justified. Instead, the villain was taken into custody, and Oliver turned himself in.

He was exiled from Star City, and the Arrow family was fractured – Dinah moving to Gotham and joining the Birds of Prey, Connor's relationship with his father broken.

Since then, Mia has continued to protect Star City, working as a vigilante in Queen's absence, protecting the city as best she can.

Subject Interview

She watched the movement of heavy crates through the range-finder on her bow, tracking the paces of the broad-shouldered, lightly-armed thugs carefully. An arrow – blunt-tipped and weighted with a small cannister of thick gas – was already nocked to her longbow, and the bowstring was already pulled taut. Gloved fingers gripping the arrow's tip rested against her cheek, and her breaths were deep, slow and deliberate: those of an experienced archer.

Mia held that position, ready to loose the prepared projectile at a moment's notice. She just needed word from her teammates, and the entire warehouse she presided over would be filled with a thick, choking smog. Lack of vision, smoke-filled lungs and the utter confusion that resulted would serve to give her fellow vigilantes a distinct advantage in the ensuing skirmish, despite boasting far fewer personel. Then, while other members off the squad dealt with the disoriented criminal element inside the fog-filled structure, she would take responsibility for picking off those attempting an escape.

Barring unexpected interference or catastrophic disaster, the trafficking ring stood to be shut down within the hour, leaving ample time for pizza and an early night.

However, as a somewhat experienced vigilante, Mia Dearden should have known that things rarely, if ever, went according to plan.

In this case, it was the rumble of a distant engine that signalled things going awry – a rumble that only intensified over a 30 second period. Frowning beneath her eye mask, Mia relaxed the pull on her bowstring and tilted her head, leaning out from her vantage point – nestled among a number of shipping crates – trying to catch a glipse of the sound's source. Almost instantly, her brown eyes were drawn to a motorcade of vans and muscle cars, driving one behind the other down the dock-front, straight toward the warehouse she was camped outside.

Ducking quickly back into cover, she reached under her hood and tapped the communicator affixed about her ear, opening a channel of communication to the other vigilantes gathered around the site.
“Uh...hey team? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but someone called in back-up. Hint – it wasn't us.”

Author's Notes

Player Alias: Star

Other Characters: Koriand'r/Starfire

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