Hope you like this chapter. I wanted to try my hand at some romance, and this was the result. It also starts looking at the friendship between her, Artemis, and Zatanna, and the dynamic between her, Wally, and Artemis. Also, I'm really struggling with the five years. I know what I want to write, I'm just not sure how to organize it all. if anyone has suggestions, please, please, PLEASE let me hear them. Anyway, enjoy and please review. I'd like to get to ten reviews before I close up season one.
The next evening, Mallory, Artemis, and Zatanna were in the magician's room when Mallory's alarm went off. Zatanna was closer to her phone, so she picked it up to hand it to Mallory when she read the reminder.
"You have a date tonight?" the girl asked. Mallory winced. She hadn't wanted Zatanna to see.
"Yeah," she said hesitantly.
Artemis set up. "Why didn't you tell us?" the archer asked.
Mallory bit the inside of her cheek. "I don't know, there's just been so much going on around here, I didn't think it was the right time to bring it up. Besides, I wanted to see if there was anything with him before you two and Megan made a big thing of it."
Zatanna laughed. "So, what's his name?"
When Mallory hesitated to say, the magician grinned. "It's Hotspot, isn't it?" Mallory nodded. "I knew you two looked good together!" Zatanna said triumphantly.
Artemis tilted her head. "Are you sure it's a good idea to go out with him?" she asked.
Mallory shook her head. "Not at all. I know three people who will kill me when they find out. I almost canceled, but I'm still going to have to see him, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to go out with him one time."
"Is that what you're wearing?" Zatanna asked, gesturing to Mallory's jeans, shirt, and combat boots.
Mallory looked down at her outfit. "What's wrong with it?" she asked.
Zatanna shook her head and turned to Artemis. "What do you think, knee high boots or thigh high?"
Artemis looked Mallory over. "Thigh high," she said.
"All right." Zatanna muttered a spell and snapped her fingers. Mallory looked down and found herself in a black and grey sweater dress and thigh high black suede boots. Zatanna and Artemis eyed her critically.
"She needs something," Zatanna said.
"She needs accessories. A necklace and earrings," Artemis suggested. Zatanna said another spell and Mallory had a silver necklace and dangly silver earrings on.
"Now, hair and makeup." She said one more spell and then led Mallory to a mirror. The fiery red hair was twisted into a perfect French knot, and her makeup was done to perfection.
"Thanks," Mallory said, giving her friend a quick hug.
"Have fun, and text us if you need someone beat up," Artemis told her.
Mallory laughed. "I will, don't worry. But I think I can take care of myself."
She hurried to the zeta tube, not wanting to bump into anyone on the way, but Wally bumped into her, literally.
"Sorry, Mal," he said, then he got a look at her and did a double take. "Woah, what's going on?"
Mallory groaned. "Nothing, I've got to go." She moved around him, but he caught up with her easily.
"Well?" he asked.
"I have a date, and you're going to make me late," she said.
"With who?" Wally asked.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "Does it matter?" she asked.
"Well, you don't have a brother, so I thought me and Roy could do the intimidation thing for you," he said.
Mallory laughed. "Thanks, bro, but I'm good. Maybe next time."
He Let her go to the zeta tube and called, "text me if I need to intervene."
Mallory didn't answer him, but it made her feel good that he and Artemis had offered to beat up her date for her.
She met Isaiah in front of the Daily Planet.
"Hey, you look different without your suit," he said when he saw her.
"So do you," she said. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt and jeans.
He shrugged. "What do you want to do?" he asked.
Mallory smiled. "Come on," she told him. She grabbed his wrist and they weaved their way through the crowded streets until they got to a coffee shop. "Wait here," she said, then ducked in. She came out a moment later with a bag.
"Ok, now you pick a place to get food," she said. Isiah smiled and pulled her along a few streets down. She waited outside the sushi restaurant, and Isiah came out a few minutes later with a bag. Mallory led the way to a bakery and came out with a bag, then Isaiah got ice cream packed into a cold bag by an old fashioned ice cream parlor.
"Okay, I think we have plenty of food now," Isaiah said, looking at the four bags.
"Yep, now we need to find a place to eat."
They walked around, then Mallory pointed to the top of Lexcorp towers, the tallest building in the city. Isaiah shook his head.
"Probably cameras up there. Come on, I know a place." He brought her to a building that would tapered to the top like a cake. The very top was just big enough for the two of them to sit and spread out their food. They took an elevator to the top floor of the building, and flew the rest of the way up. Mallory looked around. They could see most of the city from here. She smiled and sat down.
"Okay, so what do you want to eat first?" she asked.
"Whatever you want."
"All right, then let's eat it in the order we got it," she suggested. She pulled out two specialty coffees and handed him one. Isaiah took a sip.
"Wew, it's hot," he said, sucking in air to help with the spice. "What is it?"
"Mexican spiced mocha. It's my favorite coffee," Mallory replied, taking a sip of her own. Isaiah took another sip.
"It's good, but you could have warned me," he said. Mallory shrugged and laughed. They set their still full cups aside and Isaiah pulled a sushi sampler platter out of one of the bags.
"You know, I've only ever had one kind of sushi," Mallory said. Isaiah stared at her.
"Are you serious?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, good thing I decided against the steakhouse." "Hey, I like steak," Mallory said. Isaiah handed her a set of chopsticks and opened the platter. He started to explain what all the kinds were, but Mallory shook her head. "I'd rather just try them than hear what's in them," she said. They ate a few rolls, then Isaiah looked at her.
"So, do I get a name, or should I just keep calling you Inferno?"
Mallory leaned back and studied the sky. "Maybe next time," she said with a smile.
Isaiah clucked his tongue in playful disappointment. "Heroes. Why are you always so secretive?"
Mallory laughed. "Hey, I'm nothing compared to some Leaguers. You should meet Batman sometime."
Isaiah leaned back on his arm. "I'd hardly say you're nothing. If you were in the Justice League, you'd probably be one of the powerhouses, like Superman and Wonder Woman."
Mallory shook her head and took another roll of sushi. She'd never thought about joining the League before, but it made sense that that would be the next step. At some point, they'd get too old to be on the team, at least it seemed like it.
She pushed the thought aside. She didn't want to think about the team disbanding.
"Did you ever think about joining the team?" Mallory asked. Isaiah shook his head. "I don't think your teammates trust me. Besides, I'm not really a team player."
Mallory nodded. She figured as much, but she thought she should at least bring it up.
"Why did you get into the hero gig?" Isaiah asked. Mallory packed the empty sushi tray back into the bag.
"I needed to let off some steam one night and I stumbled into a robbery, then I just got hooked."
Isaiah sat up. "You ever think about quitting?" he asked.
"No, never. I tried to quit once, after Luthor said I killed his men, but it was horrible. I lost my sense of identity without Inferno. When my team straightened things out with the public and brought me back, I decided that I'd never leave the hero life behind again."
"Really? Never? That's a long time."
Mallory took a moment, trying to think how to explain it. "It's not so long. You know, most heroes wear masks to keep their identities secret because they want to keep their lives separate from being heroes. Me, I'm sort of the opposite. Inferno is who I am, and I wear my mask when I'm doing normal things, like going to school or shopping." She laughed a little. "Sorry, I don't know if that makes any sense."
She looked over at Isaiah, who was staring at her. They locked eyes, then Mallory tore her gaze away. "So, uh, bakery's next." She grabbed the bag and pulled out a large shoe sole pastry and two apple turnovers.
"What's this?" he asked, breaking a piece of the shoe sole off.
"You've never had one?" Mallory asked. He shook his head. "Try it," she said. She broke off a piece of the crunchy cinnamon-sugar coated pastry. He took a bite, and his face immediately broke into a smile.
"So, that's your favorite pastry?" He asked. Mallory nodded. "I used to go to that bakery with my friend Jen. They make the best pastries in the city."
"Is Jen a super, too?" Isaiah asked. Mallory shook her head. "No, not exactly." She didn't explain Jen's psychic ability, she just took a sip of her spiced mocha.
"Well, now you know a little bit about me. What about you?"
Isaiah shrugged. "What do you want to know?" he asked.
"Favorite food, favorite movie, why you decided to become a vigilante and blow up Luthor's suit, any of those," she said. They finished the shoe sole and moved on to the turnovers.
"Food, probably sushi or pizza. Movie, maybe Fight Club."
"Fight Club? Really?" Mallory asked.
"Well, what's yours?" he asked.
"I don't know, maybe Pirates of the Caribbean or Ocean's or Fast and Furious."
"You have to pick one," Isaiah said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, that's tough. Either Curse of the Black Pearl or the first Fast and Furious. Can't decide."
"Those are your favorite movies?" he asked.
Mallory shrugged. "As far as I know. It's hard to pick one movie out of the thousands there are out there." They finished the turnovers and Isaiah pulled two paper bowls of ice cream out of the cold bag and handed her a spoon. Mallory popped the lid off.
"What is this?" she asked, eyeing the strange flavor skeptically.
"Banana cream pie ice cream. Try it, it's really good."
Mallory took a small spoonful and put it in her mouth. The flavor melted across her tongue in a mixture of sweet and tasty and she immediately dug her spoon back in the bowl for more.
"I told you," Isaiah said. Mallory packed the empty bags in the largest of them and I leaned back to finish their ice cream.
"You never said what made you become a vigilante," she mentioned.
"You did," Isaiah replied. Mallory stilled and looked at him.
"Really?" she asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Yeah. I mean, when the news started talking about the fire vigilante working with superman, I thought that was so cool. Then you came out and introduced yourself to the public. That was about the time I got my powers. I saw you stepping into the light as a way of standing up against Luthor, so when I got my powers, I wanted to do the same." He chuckled and added, "Guess it didn't turn out quite like I planned."
Mallory laughed softly. "No, guess not. But I'm glad you did it."
Isaiah was staring at her. "Yeah, me too," he said. He leaned close to her, and Mallory's heart started pounding. His lips brushed against hers and she instinctively moved closer. Her eyes fluttered closed and they held the kiss for what felt like an eternity, then Mallory pulled away. No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Where had her head been?
"What?" Isaiah asked.
Mallory shook her head. "Nothing." She bit her cheek and looked up at the moon, then down at the city, the lights of the buildings making it seem like it was daytime on the streets.
"You're probably right about not wanting to be a hero," Mallory said quietly. "It's not all it's cracked up to be."
"What do you mean?" Isaiah asked. Mallory sighed.
"It comes with this voice in your head that tells you that you have to give up everything for your city, or team, or mission. No matter how much you give, it always tells you to give more. I say that my team is my family, and they are, but I barely see my real parents." She turned to Isaiah. "You know, I don't even know why I have powers? They just showed up one day and stole any chance I'd ever have of having a normal life."
Isaiah sat up next to her and put a hand on her arm. "I don't know where mine came from, either. But no one said the hero thing had to be for life. You can leave, if you want to."
"No one says it, but it's understood. No one but yourself is making you stay. No one needs to. Like I said earlier, I'm hooked. I can't leave it now." She put the empty bowls in the bag and picked up her coffee, sipping it absently as she gazed over the city.
"You ready to go?" Isaiah asked. Mallory nodded and stood. She pulled off the boots and put them in the bag, then shot flames out of her feet and slowly descended, careful not to lose her balance. Isaiah was right behind her, and they reached the sidewalk at the same time. He threw the trash away and she put her boots back on.
"I'll walk you to your zeta thing," Isaiah offered. Mallory chuckled. "Sure, thanks."
They walked in comfortable silence for a while, then Mallory gestured into an alley. "I think there's a tube in here," she said, turning into it. Sure enough, there was an abandoned photo booth. Mallory stood in front of it.
"Tonight was really nice," she said.
"Yeah, we should do it again," Isaiah replied.
"Yeah, maybe," Mallory said. Isaiah leaned down to kiss her, and she tilted her head up and let him. When they broke the kiss, Mallory looked behind him. "You sure you can get home all right?" she asked. Isaiah made her a small fireball in his hands. "I'll be fine," he assured her.
Mallory smiled and stepped into the picture booth. In a flash of light, she was back at the cave. She started to walk to her room when the lamp clicked on.
"Do you know what time it is?" Wally asked. Mallory turned around to see Wally and Artemis sitting next to each other on the sofa.
She fought a grin and rolled her eyes. "So because I said you didn't have to act like my brother, you're going to act like my father?" she asked.
Artemis leaned forward. "Well, how'd it go?" she asked.
"Great. How long have you been waiting there for me?" Mallory asked.
Wally rubbed the back of his neck. "What time is it?" he asked. Mallory checked her phone. "2:30," she replied. "Then I guess about 2 hours," he said. He stood up and stretched.
"Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't know you could sit still that long, or that you two could be in the same room for that long. That's dedication."
She started to go to a room, but Artemis called her back. "Wait, Mallory. You didn't say what you did."
Mallory made a show of turning around and rolling her eyes. "Can I at least change, mom?" She asked. They both laughed and Mallory said, "I'll go change and come back."
She went to a room and washed the makeup off and let her hair down, then put on an oversized sweater and shorts and some padded socks. She went back to join her friends, braiding her hair along the way.
"So, Artemis told me you went out with Hotspot," Wally said. Mallory shot the Archer look.
"Sorry, I just figured you'd already told him. I mean, I thought you told each other everything."
Mallory sighed. "Well, anyway, his name is Isaiah."
"Does he know your name?" Artemis asked. They were in the kitchen now, and Wally and Artemis were standing on one side of the island and Mallory stood facing them.
"No, I told him I might tell him next time."
"Is there going to be next time?" Wally asked. He turned around and started rummaging through his cupboard. Mallory waited for him to come back with a bag of Chex mix and reached in absently and pulled out a handful.
"No. Yes. I - don't know," she said. Artemis tilted her head questioningly. Mallory sighed and leaned on the island.
"I don't know. I want to go out with him again, I do. I just don't know."
"I know it's hard to find time to have a life with the team, school, family, all that, but Isaiah at least knows that you're Inferno. That at least takes away the stress of trying to keep your secret identity with him."
Mallory nodded, popping some of her snack in her mouth despite the fact that she was stuffed.
"So, what did you do?" Artemis asked.
"We ate. We went around to some places and got food, then we ate it on top of a building. It was really nice."
Artemis tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Did you kiss him?"
Mallory smiled. "Yeah. Is it weird that I felt guilty?"
"Yeah, a little," Wally said. Artemis elbowed him and turned to Mallory. "Why did you feel guilty?" "I don't know. I looked at the city, and I felt like I was, I don't know, I just felt like I was lying to him."
Wally looked at her from over his half empty bag. "Why?" he asked.
Mallory shook her head. "I don't know, just that I'm telling him that I'm open to having a relationship with him, but for me, Inferno will always come first. How can I honestly go into a relationship knowing that?"
Artemis and Wally exchanged a glance. "I never thought about that," Artemis admitted.
"Neither had I, before tonight. He asked me if I was going to join the League one day. And you know what? I started to think ahead for the first time in my life. I mean, I love being on the team, and I love you guys, but are we really going to be on the team forever? I mean, at some point we're going to outgrow being sidekicks, and when that happens, are we really going to want to still be living in the League's shadow?" She rubbed a hand over her eyes and started talking more quietly. "Am I going to join the League? I mean, my first thought was yeah, of course. But it's hard enough to have a life now. I don't know how anyone in the League manages to have a life, a family."
The three of them looked at each other, realizing that no one in the League really had a family. Some of them were married, but even they didn't have children.
"You don't have to join the League," Wally said. Mallory nodded. No, she didn't have to, but she also couldn't not answer if they ever called her. And with her history with the team and Superman, they would call.
Artemis leaned on the island. "Listen, Mallory, you can't not have a life just because you're afraid of what's going to happen."
Mallory nodded. "I know. I just never thought about it before."
"Well, if you like Isaiah, then you need to be open to date him. Whatever happens, at least you won't have regrets," Artemis said.
Mallory nodded and smiled a little. "Thanks, mom."
Artemis laughed and Wally said, "Oh, but I am definitely going to get the guys together for your next date."
Mallory laughed. "Gee, thanks," she said, half serious.
"No problem. That's what family's for."
Mallory tapped her phone and saw that it was a little after 3:00. "Well, it's getting late," she said, then she tilted her head. "Wait, are you two spending the night here?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Artemis said.
"All right, well, see you in the morning I guess," she said. On her way out the room, she turned back to her friends. "You two are going to make great parents," she said.
She laughed at the disgusted looks they sent each other, but she also laughed because she saw something between them that they didn't even see themselves, at least not yet.