This isn't my best chapter, but I thought that it was important for Inferno to have someone who understands her power train her, and this was the only person I could think of that would really fit in the story. I meant to upload this yesterday, but I got busy and it slipped my mind, so I'm sorry. I'll probably upload another chapter today. Anyway, I hope it's not too bad and please review.
Mallory looked anxiously out the window. Clark was late, and she was eager to get going.
There was a man at the very end of the street, taking his time meandering along. Mallory sighed. The man had super speed, but did he use it? No.
Finally, she ducked into the living room where her mom was doing something on her laptop. "Mom, I think I see Clark down the street. I'm going to meet him halfway." Elaine looked up distractedly. "All right, dear. Don't forget your phone." Mallory held up her phone and Elaine nodded, then Mallory dashed out the door. She hurried down the street. She recognized Clark and ran the rest of the way.
"Took you long enough," she muttered. He smiled. "You ready to go?" he asked. She rolled her eyes at him. "All right. You wore your costume under that, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Good. We'll stop at the cave and leave our civies, then go on from there."
They made quick work of ditching their street clothes at the cave, and walked out a door at the top of the mountain. Superman scooped Mallory up bridal style and flew off. Mallory sighed.
"I can fly myself, you know," she said.
"I know. But it's pretty far, and I don't want you to get tired before your training session."
"Training? I thought she was just going to talk to me," Mallory mentioned. Superman didn't answer her, so she settled in for the long flight.
They landed on a very remote, very small island somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Superman landed in front of a hut, his feet touching down into the sand lightly. He set Inferno down gently and she looked around.
The hut was small, but serviceable. There was a hammock stretched between two palm trees, and an umbrella set up by the shore.
"So, this is the girl that needs my services," a feminine voice said, and Mallory turned. A pretty woman with red eyes and red hair that trailed down to her knees stood akimbo, her hip jutted out and a smooth smile on her sun tanned face. Mallory inhaled sharply. She'd seen that face a dozen times on the news. Superman smiled warmly at the woman, then turned to Mallory. "Inferno, meet Volcana."
Mallory couldn't help but stare. Superman had brought her to a criminal for training. This woman was supposed to be in prison.
"What's the matter, kid?" Volcana asked, a humored smile on her face.
Mallory blinked out of her stupor. "You sure about this? She's supposed to be in jail," she murmured, her lips barely moving. She didn't want Volcana to hear her.
In response, Superman gently pushed her closer to the woman. "I'll be back in an hour or two," he told them, then flew off and Mallory found herself on a deserted island with a supervillain.
"Well, where do you want to start?" Volcana asked, walking to a chair. Mallory followed and stood opposite her.
"How about with some answers?" She asked, her tone balancing between businesslike and cold.
"All right. Me first. When did you first discover your powers?"
Mallory didn't miss a beat. "When I was five, but I had them before that. Why aren't you on jail?"
Volcana smiled. "Big Blue caught me, but he knew he couldn't hold me in any of those pathetic women's prisons. So, he made me go into exile. How did your parents react to your powers?"
Mallory blinked in surprise, but she answered, "They were scared, but they didn't treat me any different. What made you become a criminal? "
"The government kidnaped me, stripped away my past, forced me to kill and steal for them. After I escaped, it just came naturally. What's your greatest fear?"
"That I'll hurt someone close to me because I can't control my powers. How was the government able to take you out of the school?"
Volcana looked surprised, but she answered, "my parents gave up their rights to me. It wasn't hard for the government to find a loophole and declare themselves my guardians. Now how did you know about school?"
"I went there. There was only one pyrokinetic who went there before me, the director always got this weird look on his face when someone talked about you, then Superman told me a little bit about your backstory. It wasn't hard to figure out after that. Do your powers cause you pain?"
She seemed to think about that. "I don't think so. There is a strange sensation, but I wouldn't describe it as painful. How long did you go to the school?"
"Almost ten years. I went right after I started my first fire, and technically I'm still enrolled. When was the first time you showed your powers?"
"I was eight. Right after that my parents started looking for places to ship me off. They didn't want me because of my powers. They found the school, dropped me off, and I never saw them again." She smiled coyly and leaned forward. "Now, Inferno, what's your real name?"
"I think we're done with this," Mallory said abruptly. "Now, what are you supposed to help me with?"
Volcana lounged back in the chair. "You tell me, kid," she said, shutting her eyes against the sun.
Mallory thought for a moment. Out of all the things she needed help with, she'd like to learn to manage the pain for good, but that was selfish. Finally, she said, "My powers are connected to my emotions, specifically my anger. I've noticed that I'm more likely to lose control if I'm mad. Can you help me with that?"
Volcana sighed, but she got up and walked to a clear spot with no trees or shrubbery. "Show me what you can do, kid," she told Mallory.
The teen flamed up. She flew, she made fireballs but didn't throw them, she made different animals, then settled on an elephant and rode it a little.
"Impressive," Volcana called. Mallory turned the elephant back towards her new instructor. "Thanks. I've been-hey!" She dove off the animal just as a huge fireball whizzed by where her head had been a moment ago.
"Show me how you fight," Volcana ordered, another fireball in hand.
Mallory found herself flying this way and that, doing all she could to avoid the fire. Then she stopped. She was immune to fire. Why was she running? She started an offensive attack. She landed and charged Volcana, thinking back to the training session with Black Canary. She'd picked up a few moves watching Robin and Wally fight, and watching Connor during her fight with him.
She fought poorly, though, with Volcana easily blocking her attacks and lashing out at her. Mallory retreated before Volcana could land another blow. She was circling the more experienced fighter, looking for a way in, when Volcana started talking.
"You know, no one goes to that school unless their parents don't want them around."
"That's not true," Mallory ground out. Her jaw was sore from Volcana's heal hitting it, and her cheek still hurt from her fight with Superboy.
"Really? How many times have you gone to see your parents in, what did you say? 10 years?"
Mallory's eyes narrowed. "I didn't want to hurt them."
"And I'm sure they knew your reasons."
"Yes, they do."
Volcana ended the circling with streams of fire going on either side of Inferno. Mallory flew over a stream, closer to her now.
"Then they visited you often? Missed you so much that they just had to spend a few days with you?"
She knew it shouldn't have, but the question got under Mallory's skin. Her parents had visited a lot, at first, but after the first year they had just come up for one day at a time, sometimes only once or twice a year. Before the last visit, they'd never seen her train, and this last time her mom had asked her if she could just stop using her powers. The anger rose, so did the hurt.
Her concentration was broken, and Volcana took advantage of it. She hit her head on with enormous fireballs. Mallory tried to duck, but it was too late. The fire hit her with more force than she was expecting and she was thrown onto her back.
She could feel the anger itching in her arms, felt the urge to start swinging. She formed a fireball carefully, keeping it small and low. She was hit by another fireball and all rationality left her. She shoved her hands together, collecting fire between her hands. It grew like rolling a snowball through snow. She sent it hurtling towards Volcana. The woman held out of hand and redirected it, sending it back to inferno.
"Is that all you've learned in 10 years? Pathetic. No wonder your parents didn't want you, " Volcana said. "You couldn't succeed in being normal, but can't be a hero, so you're just a burden. A burden that they didn't want to deal with."
"No!" Mallory screamed, the scream turning into a primal yell as she lost control. A pulse of energy flew from her, fire going in all directions. She landed crouched in the sand, her chest heaving. She looked up to see Volcana smiling.
"Good. Now we can begin."
Mallory tilted her head, confused. "You wanted this to happen?" she asked, getting to her feet.
"Of course. I can't help you unless I know what you're capable of. Now that I've seen you lose control, I can help you calm down before you get there."
The woman led Inferno back to her hut. She filled two glasses with pineapple juice and handed one to her pupil.
"Now, is there something specific that you feel before you lose control?" she asked.
"Just - anger. It almost makes me black out," Mallory told her.
The girl hadn't been able to completely calm her breathing yet, and she was tense up every few seconds like she was in pain. Volcana felt her heart go out to the girl. She suddenly felt bad for all the things she said when trying to provoke her. But, she didn't need sympathy right now, she needed help, so Volcana steeled herself, determined to be tough on her.
"So, you need to learn to not get mad," she told the girl simply.
"Yeah, easier said than done," Inferno muttered, taking a sip of her juice.
"Hey, believe me, I know, kid. But you just have to do it. Something else that you need to do is work on the pain."
"What can I do? " She asked, her face eager, her eyes begging for help.
"You just have to build up a tolerance to it. You need to push yourself to the edge to see what your limits are. Now, how about we have some fun?"
Inferno looked at her quizzically. Volcana could tell that she didn't fully trust her, which made her like the teen all the more. She led Inferno outside and planted her feet firmly in the sand.
"Follow me," she said, then shot fire out of her hands and propelled herself up. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Inferno was following, then flew to the other side of the island where there was a volcano. She landed on the rim and waited for the teen to land beside her.
"Ready?" Volcana asked, grinning. Inferno didn't look very comfortable with the location.
"We're not going in there, are we?" she asked.
"Of course we are. What, can't you take the heat?"
Inferno was doing her best to hide her doubts l, but they showed anyway.
"Look, kid, think of this as a test of your limits." With that, Volcana jumped into the top of the volcano. Mallory peered over the edge uncertainly. Lava glowed through the darkness far below. She took a breath and descended slowly. She felt the heat rise as she got closer to the molten rock. She landed on a ledge twenty or so feet above the lava. Volcana was already there, waiting for her.
"Well?" She asked, and Mallory looked out over the fiery sea.
"It's - wow," was all the young hero could think to say.
"Try to move it," Volcana told her.
"Move it? Can i?"
Volcana shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
Mallory closed her eyes. She could feel the heat, obviously, but she could also feel the energy in the air around her. Her hands went up, her fingers lacing with the energy. She opened her eyes, knowing they were red. She lifted her fingers and watched the lake ripple. Her heart skipped a beat. She'd never thought to control fire that she hadn't created. She cupped a hand and raised it. A fistful of lava rose from the surface. She called it to her and held it over her palm. She looked at Volcana incredulously.
"Did you know? Can you?" Her words ran together, and Volcana couldn't help but laugh at the wondrous expression on Inferno's face.
"Yeah. My name is Volcana," she said. She moved her hands up and a large amount of lava rose into the air. She let it fall back into the pool and turn back to Inferno. The girl tossed her own bit of lava back where it came from.
"What else can I do?" Mallory asked eagerly, feeling like a kid just discovering how to open doors.
"Kid, that's a question for another time."
She flew out of the volcano with Mallory on her heels. They flew straight back to the hut. Superman would be back anytime now.
"Well, kid, I hope I helped," Volcana said, as if they were never going to see each other again.
"Can I come back?" Inferno asked, somewhat shyly. All the original doubts about learning from a criminal seem to have been forgotten. Volcana's heart melted a little, but she kept her cool, indifferent stance as she scanned the skies for Inferno's ride.
"I don't know, kid," she said. She didn't want to make any promises to the girl that she couldn't keep, and that was really up to Superman.
Mallory didn't say anything more, and Superman landed a few minutes later.
"Was this helpful?" he asked. Inferno nodded and walked to his side.
"I'm ready to go."
"Good. You go ahead, I'll catch up," he told her.
Inferno obeyed, although she was irritated that he was treating her like a child. Clark waited for her to get well away before turning to Volcana.
"How is she?" he asked. She sat on her lounger. "She's fine, just inexperienced." She said boredly.
"Do you think you can help her develop her powers?" Superman asked. Volcano shrugged. "I could try. She seems to want me to."
Superman looked out over the sea. Inferno was pretty far away now.
"I have to go," he told her. Volcana opened her eyes.
"She's more powerful than me."
Superman turned. "What?" he asked.
Volcana sat up and looked at him seriously. "She's more powerful than me," she repeated. "She doesn't know it, but I've never seen someone with so much raw power. She needs to fully understand her power, or it will control her."
Superman nodded solemnly. That wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear. "Can you help her?" he asked again.
Volcana laid back down. "I'll try. Oh, and don't forget my chunky peanut butter on my next delivery," she said, changing the subject. Superman smiled.
He flew off after Mallory. When he caught up with her, he scooped her up, giving her a break from using her powers.
"Did it really help, Torch?" he asked. Mallory smiled at the old name.
"It did. She taught me how to control lava. I didn't know I could control things I didn't make. I think it would help me to go again."
"We'll see. You sure made a lot of progress in just 2 hours." Mallory nodded and rested her head on his chest, watching the water as they flew over it. She was tired, but it was a satisfying kind of fatigue that felt like she'd accomplished something.