With this chapter I just wanted to start pushing forward into a new storyline, and I also wanted to explain why Roy just disappeared for all those years. It always felt kind of strange to me that the Justice League had just lost track of Roy out of no where, and that Dick and Wally were just seeing him in that episode in the second season. With this chapter, I wanted to just give a reason for him dropping off the grid. Anyway, please review.
Isaiah didn't call the next day. Or the day after that. He didn't answer her text to see if he was ok, or answer her calls. Finally, on the fourth day, Mallory decided to go to his apartment to make sure everything was all right.
When she got to the door, a thud made her pause. "Don't talk! You gave up that right when you let me go sixteen years thinking he was mine! And what about Nikki, huh? Is she mine, or did you decide to go whoring around again and let me think that baby was mine too!?"
There were soft whimpering sounds, like someone trying not to cry. She decided to leave and had just turned to go when the door pulled open. Mr. Crockett glared at her when he saw her.
"Now is not a good time, Mallory," he said, then stormed down the hall.
Mallory peeked inside and saw Mrs. Crockett on the sofa. She'd obviously been crying, but when she heard Mallorys name she stood up and tried to make herself presentable.
"I'm sorry, i-" Mallory started, but Mrs. Crockett shook her head.
"It's fine. Come on in."
Mallory walked into the apartment hesitantly and saw Isaiah leaning in the doorframe. He'd clearly been part of the argument. His face hardened when he saw her.
"You need to leave," he said flatly. Mallory couldn't hide the hurt and shock she felt at having him talk to her like that, but she also knew she was interrupting a family fight, and she shouldn't have come. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were-" 'ok' was the wrong thing to say in the situation, so she settled for, "alive."
"Well, you've seen me, so go," he said.
"Isaiah, that's no way to treat your girl," Mrs. Crockett said quietly. He shot a glare at her, his eyes burning.
"Yeah, cause you know how to treat your boyfriend. Cheat on him three weeks before you marry him and tell him it's his baby." His mom recoiled at his words, and Mallory shifted uncomfortably.
"Sorry I came," she said.
"Yeah," he muttered, still glaring at his mom.
She took a step backwards, then started walking to the door.
"Wait!" Nikki yelled. Mallory half turned to see the girl running for her. "Don't go," the girl pleaded, clinging to Mallory.
"Nikki, get off her. Mallory, goodbye," Isaiah said.
Mallory's face hardened. "I'm taking Nikki to get a soda. We'll be back in an hour," she told him firmly. He glared at her, and she glared right back.
"Mallory, stay out of this, it's none of your business," he said.
"No? Well, Nikki doesn't need to hear it either. She's heard enough. Like I said, we'll be back in an hour." She turned on her heel and led Nikki out to the elevator. When the doors closed, she let out a shaky breath.
"Mallory? Do you know what's going on?" Nikki asked.
Mallory nodded. "Yeah, some. I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to hear all that fighting."
Nikki nodded. "They've been at it for days. I think-" she paused, tears welling in her eyes, "I think they're gonna split up."
Mallory looked at her in surprise. "What makes you think that?" she asked.
"I've never heard them fight like this. They don't even stop to eat or sleep. When Dad gets tired, he leaves for a few hours, then he comes back and it starts all over again."
Mallory sighed, feeling guilty. This was all her fault. "Nikki, I'm sure they'll work things out."
The doors slid open and the girls walked around the corner to a diner and went in. They ordered their drinks and a large fry to share and found a booth in the back. Mallory stared at the plate of fries, thinking about Isaiah. She was furious and hurt at the way he'd talked to her, and she couldn't get it out of her head.
"Mallory?"
She looked at Nikki. "Yeah?"
"Are you and Isaiah gonna split up?"
That got her full attention. "What makes you say that?"
"The way you were today."
"It was just a tense situation. We'll talk it out later, we've been through worse," she said, but it was a lie. Even if they had been through world-threatening crises together, he'd never acted like that. She checked her phone.
"We have about half an hour left, what do you want to do with it?"
Nikki ate the last fry and shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to go back, though."
Mallory sighed. She'd overstepped just taking his sister out for an hour. She couldn't not bring her back.
"You know what? I know where we can go," Mallory said. She paid the check and they started walking for the train station.
"Where are we going?" Nikki asked.
"You'll see," Mallory replied. She brought her to an electronics store and led her to the headphones aisle.
"We're gonna get you a pair of headphones that'll block out all the sound. Look, there's the sales guy." They spent ten minutes in the store, and came out with the best noise canceling headphones the place had to offer.
Nikki grinned up at Mallory. "Thanks."
"Now you won't have to hear your parents. We'd better hurry, we only have ten minutes left to get you back home."
They ran the last few blocks and were back at the apartment right on time. Mallory knocked on the door, and Isaiah answered.
"Nikki, go on in," he said, and stepped out in the hall with Mallory. "You shouldn't have done that," he said.
Mallory crossed her arms. "Why? Because it's none of my business? She needed a break from the fighting, and that sure didn't look like it was gonna come from you any time soon."
He glared at her. "She's my sister, I know her better than you."
"I'm not arguing that, but if you had been paying attention to her you would have seen how upset she is about all this. It's not fair to make her listen to it."
"Mallory, just go."
She stared at him. "Really? I came here because I was concerned about you, and you treat me like I'm some thorn in your side! You need to figure out who you're mad at about all this, because you told me you didn't blame me, but you're treating me like you do."
"Goodbye, Mallory," he said, turning back to the door. When he put his hand on the knob, he looked over his shoulder and said, "I'll call you later."
She stared at him, her powers begging to be let out. "You'd better think very carefully about what you're gonna say before you do." She almost ran to the stairs.
She ran out the door into the sunshine, ducked into an alley, and let go. Her clothes burned off to reveal her costume, and she flew up, the desire to punch something bubbling to the surface. She looked around. She was so high up that the city looked like a snowglobe. She let out an angry scream, her fists clenched. She didn't know where to go, so she started flying to the cave.
"Mallory, you want to tell me what's wrong?" Wally asked from the doorway of her training room.
She didn't stop hitting the punching bag. "What makes you think anything's wrong?" she grunted.
"You've been in here for four hours without a break, and all you've been doing is the bag and burning mannequins," he replied.
She looked at him, and he winced.
"Wow, I've never seen your eyes that red. What happened?"
"Nothing, I just had a fight with Isaiah. I'm fine."
He tilted his head. "About the alien thing?"
She nodded. "His mom cheated on his dad while they were engaged. It's been causing all kinds of problems in his house, and when I got there he was just so rude and short with me. Then I took his sister out to get away from the fighting, and he was mad about that. Can you believe that? Ten months in, and I'm just seeing this side of him. If I wasn't so invested, I'd dump him for it."
Wally nodded slowly. "So, do you want us to do something?"
"No! Stay out of it, that's the last thing I need is him thinking I sent you to do my dirty work."
"Relax, I was kidding," he said.
She went back to punching the bag. "Well, if you hadn't noticed, I'm not really in the mood for it."
Robin poked his head in the door. "Batman and Canary are here, they have some news on Roy," he said.
She looked up from the bag. "Good or bad?" she asked.
"I don't know, they haven't told us yet," he said.
They went to the therapy room, where Kalder, Canary, and Batman were waiting. Mallory looked for the rest of the team, but they weren't there. They sat in arm chairs and waited for the Leaguers to start talking.
"As you know, we've been keeping tabs on Red Arrow in his search for the original Roy, as well as conducting our own search for Speedy. We called you four in here because this concerns you, and we're not quite ready for the whole team to know about it yet."
Mallory rolled her eyes. She didn't have the patience for the League's wordy explanations right now. "We get it, you have something on them. And since I'm here, I'm guessing it has more to do with Red Arrow than the OG Roy, so can we just get to the point?"
Batman glared at her. "Why, you have something better to do?"
She glared back, her red eyes underlining her impatience. "If it doesn't have to do with tracking Roy down, then yeah, I do."
Canary sighed. "As a matter of fact, it does have to do with Red Arrow. The League has been searching for Roy Harper for months now, with no results, and Red Arrow is still going at a fever pitch. We're starting to get concerned about him. He won't accept the fact that the original Roy might be gone. You four were the closest to him. We want you to go talk to him. We aren't suggesting giving up the search, yet, but the more time that passes on a missing person, the less chance that person has, and it's already been four years for Roy. We need you to point that out to Red Arrow."
The teens stood and Kalder nodded. "Very well. We will leave immediately. Do you have a location for him?"
"He's in Central City right now, following a lead. I've already checked it out, it was a dead end," Batman replied. Robin, Wally, Kalder and Mallory walked out the door and started for the garage to get their motorcycles.
"So, do we know where in Central?" Mallory asked, straddling her cycle and putting on her helmet.
"Batman said he was following a lead that had already been searched. All I need to do is hack into the League's database and see what they searched in and around Central City," Robin said as they rode towards the zeta tube. They came out of a sign in Central City.
"Well, Rob, which way?" Wally asked.
Robin put his cycle on autopilot and started typing on his wrist computer. "There, I'm getting a reading. Sending your cycles the coordinates now."
Mallory watched the screen on her cycle as it switched to autopilot and showed her a map of where it was going. It was a warehouse near the edge of the city.
"What are we gonna do when we get there?" Mallory asked, looking at her friends.
"We will convince him to return to the cave with us," Kalder said.
Mallory scoffed. "Wanna bet?"
Kalder looked at her.
"I'm just saying, Roy was stubborn before he found out he was a clone, and now this mission is his life. He's not gonna give it up just because we ask him to."
Kalder looked at Wally and Robin, and Wally shrugged. "She has a point."
"Then we must show him that he has a reason to come back," Kalder said.
They rode to the warehouse and went in the door quietly. The only light came from the skylight, and there was a large container at the back of the room. They could make out Roy's silhouette standing in front of it, his hands tightened into fists. They walked up to him silently.
"Did the League send you?" Roy asked when they were directly behind him.
"They told us where you were, but we wanted to come," Wally said.
Roy scoffed. "Yeah, why?"
"Because we're worried about you, Roy. You've been searching for almost a year now, and you haven't talked to anyone on the team in all that time. We want to help you," Mallory said.
"I don't see the team out searching for the real Roy. If you want to help Roy, then start looking for him."
Mallory crossed her arms. "I found the one I was looking for," she said.
"Look, why don't we go patrol somewhere? We can talk while we fight," Robin suggested. Wally and Mallory looked at Roy hopefully. He sighed.
"Fine. But only because you're not going to leave me alone until you say what you came here to say."
Mallory shrugged and turned so she could see all of them. "Star or Gotham?" she asked.
"Star," Wally and Robin said at the same time. They got on their bikes, Roy riding double with Mallory, and zetaed to Star City. When they got there, they rode through the streets looking for trouble and talking.
"So what did the League want you to tell me?" Roy asked, shooting an arrow at a mugger, pinning him to the wall.
"They just wanted us to make sure you were all right," Wally told him.
"My friend, we are all concerned about you. You have been chasing a ghost for months. Perhaps it is time to start considering that what you are seeking is gone," Kalder said.
Roy glared at him. "If you're here to convince me to give up my search, forget it. I owe it to the real Roy to find him."
Mallory scoffed. "Why? Why do you owe it to him? You didn't ask to be made any more than he asked to be kidnapped, and you didn't even know that you weren't him. You didn't owe him anything, but you still searched for him for nine months. None of us are saying to stop looking for him, but you can't keep going like you are." She could feel his eyes burning a hole in her back as she concentrated on the road in front of her.
They came across a burning building and Mallory pulled the bike to a stop and watched the firemen's attempts to slow the fire as Robin scanned the building.
"There's still people inside. On the second and sixth floors," he told her. She nodded and flew into a window on the sixth floor.
She found a family trapped between the fire and a wall. "Come with me," she said. She parted the fire, creating a path for the family, and they ran down the stairs. The family kept going to the first floor, and Mallory started searching the rooms for the last person in the building. In an apartment halfway down the hall, she found a little girl about six and a dog cowering in a corner. She knelt beside them. "You need to come with me. I'm going to get you out of here," she told the girl. She grabbed the girl's hand and scooped the dog up with the other hand and ran out the building.
Aqualad was shooting water at the building, but Mallory could tell that it was a lost cause. She'd already tried to put the flames out, but there was too much to control. She handed the girl the dog and brought her to a fireman, then went back to the boys.
While they were watching the fire, Roy said, "Look, I appreciate your concern, but don't come looking for me anymore. You're a distraction, and I can't afford that right now."
Mallory, Wally, and Robin stared at him in surprise.
"But, Red, we're-" Wally started, but Roy shook his head.
"I mean it. I'll come see you when I find the real Roy." He started to walk away.
Mallory's face hardened. Her patience was wearing thin for him. "And what if you don't find him? Or if you get yourself killed looking in the wrong places?" she called after him.
Roy stopped. "Then the world hasn't lost anything valuable," he said without turning around. He kept walking into an alley, leaving the three young heroes staring after him in shock.
Mallory, Wally, and Robin went to Wally's house after that, leaving Aqualad to help fight the fire. They went to Wally's room and just sat there for a long time, none of them knowing what to say. Finally, Wally said, "So, what do we do?"
Mallory looked at Robin for an answer, but he shrugged and said, "Nothing. He wants to be left alone. Maybe that's what he needs right now."
Mallory slid to the floor and sighed. "Did you know the original Speedy?" she asked after a moment. They both shook their heads.
"He was switched before we met. I don't think he's pieced that together yet, or maybe he just doesn't care."
"Sorry this had to happen today, Mal," Wally said. She rolled her eyes. "Forget it. They don't have anything to do with each other."
Robin looked between them. "What happened?" he asked.
"Nothing, I just had a fight with Isaiah." she paused for a moment, then said, "Do you think Roy's coming back?"
They looked at each other gravely. They were all thinking the same thing, but none of them wanted to give voice to it. Then the door opened and Wally's mom walked in.
"Oh, I didn't know you were home. Hello Mallory, D-Robin, haven't seen you for a while."
Mallory smiled and nodded. "Hey, Mrs. West. It has been a while."
"Do you want something to eat?" she asked.
"I'll get it, mom," Wally said.
"Oh, all right, well, how long are you staying?"
Mallory shrugged. She didn't feel like going back to the cave, and she couldn't go to her parents' house and wake them up.
Wally looked between them. "They're staying the night," he told his mom.
She nodded. "Well, I'll have something good for breakfast."
Robin smiled. "Thanks."
She left and Mallory rested her head on the wall. She stared at the action figures on his desk absentmindedly. They sat in silence for an hour, thinking about Roy, then Wally sighed.
"If you're sleeping here, you should probably go get some blankets or something." he looked at Mallory and added, "And you should probably get a shower."
Mallory looked at her soot-covered skin and costume and sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She left his room and went to get some clothes. After the first few spontaneous sleepovers she'd had here, Mrs. West had suggested she leave some clothes in a drawer of the table in the hall so she could change out of her suit. She took a quick shower and put on the shirt and shorts, then folded up her suit and went back to Wally's room.
None of them slept well that night, wondering if they would ever see their friend again.