I know this chapter is kind of short, but I didn't want to put it in the last chapter because it was already too long and the next chapter is kind of long too, so I just gave it its own chapter. The team is coming in chapter 9! so close! please review!
Mallory had just finished training and was on her way to her room with Jen when the communicator vibrated. She pulled out her phone nervously. "Oh, I need to go call my parents. I'll see you later, ok?" Jen nodded and was about to say something when Mallory darted into her room and shut the door behind her.
She put the comm in her ear. "Hello?" she said, not knowing how to talk on it.
"You need to meet Superman and me on the roof of the Daily Planet tonight to discuss details of your joining the team," Batman's monotone droned into her ear.
"Ok, I'll be there," she said.
There was a knock at the door and she ripped the comm out of her ear and threw it under the bed.
"Who is it?" she called.
"It's me," Jen called back.
Malllory grabbed her phone and held it to her ear, then opened the door. "Yeah, Mom, ok, I love you," she said, then pretended to hang up.
"What was the problem?" Jen asked, looking a little concerned.
"They want me to come to the house. It's nothing."
Jen nodded and walked past Mallory to sit on the bed. She knew her friend was lying to her, but she didn't want to press her. "Ok, well, are we doing a movie night tonight?" she asked. Mallory checked the time on her phone. "I have a test tomorrow, so I'll need to get to bed early," she started nervously, "but we could watch a movie right now, if you want." Jen shrugged.
In truth, she was a little hurt that her friend had lied to her twice now, but she covered the hurt and stretched out on the bed. "All right. How about Back to the Future? I haven't seen those in years." Mallory smiled her consent and put the first one on.
She checked the time all through the movie and couldn't concentrate.
"What's wrong?" Jen asked finally. Mallory looked up from her phone. "Nothing. I'm just tired, and I need to study."
Jen sighed and turned off the TV. "We can do this another time," she offered.
Mallory was torn as she watched her best friend walk out the door. She'd love to do a movie night with the Back to the Future trilogy, but she had to start getting ready to go. It was 11:11, and Batman hadn't said a time to be at the building.
She locked the door and pulled her costume out. It was an orange body suit with black gloves, knee high boot, and trim at the waist, neckline, and shoulders where the sleeves cut off. She pulled her red hair back in a ponytail and looked at herself in the mirror. Most heroes wore masks. Oh, well, she'd forgotten about that when she'd made the costume, so it was too late now.
She opened her window and leapt out, soaring straight up before starting forward, towards the city.
Batman watched silently from behind the base of the globe as Superman landed gently on the roof of the Daily Planet. He looked around the roof, and Batman strode over to him.
"How long have you been here?" Superman asked.
"Not long. We are in agreement about what to tell the team, right?" Batman replied. Superman nodded, then pointed to a dim light in the distance. "There she is," he said.
The heroes watched as the light got closer and brighter and finally landed in front of them on the roof. Her costume was perfect. Maybe a bit bright for recon, but that could be fixed with some stealth tech. Her red hair complemented the orange of the bodysuit, and the black trim pulled the attention away from face, which didn't have a mask.
"You'll need a mask," Batman told her.
"Or not," Superman pointed out, mentally coming up with a long list of leaguers and team members that didn't wear masks, himself included. Batman's eyes narrowed, but he let it go for the moment.
"Have you thought about leaving the school?" Batman asked, turning to more important matters.
Torch looked at her hands before answering, "I can't. I can't risk going home and hurting my parents, or killing them. I'm sorry, but I have to continue with my training."
Batman wasn't phased. "How about taking, say, a semester off? The league can help you learn how to control your powers, and it would help your cover. Besides, you won't be able to get out of the school during the day without being suspicious."
Torch sighed. "I'll go home for a visit, see how it works out," she said finally.
"Good. You leave day after tomorrow," Batman told her. Mallory looked up, surprised.
"There is a mission coming up that the team will need you for," Superman explained. Mallory took a breath. "Well, I guess I can," she said after a moment.
The heroes finished making arrangements with her, then left. She sighed. If she was going home, she'd have to tell her parents about her hero life. She rubbed her arm. They weren't going to take it well.
All of the fight had gone out of her. She flew back to her school and got ready for bed, thinking about everything she had to do the next day in preparation of going back to her parents house.