Next chapter the team will be going on a mission, I need to start getting things back on track. Sorry that the chapters are kind of bad right now, but I promise they will get better.
Isaiah called the next day while she was on the couch talking to Zatanna. She sighed and said, "Hello?"
"Hey, babe. I'm sorry about the other day. I just had so much going on."
Mallory glared to the side. "So, is that the way you react whenever you have a lot going on?" she asked.
He didn't answer right away. "Mal, I'm sorry."
"So are your parents over it?" she asked.
"Well, my dad moved out, said he needed some space, and me and Nikki are going with him."
"Does Nikki want to?" she asked.
Isaiah sighed. "It's better for her to be with us than her," he said.
Mallory's hand tightened around her phone. "You can't decide that for her. She's her mom, yours, too. You can't hold a bad decision against her for the rest of your lives."
"Mallory, she doesn't understand what's going on. We're doing this for her."
"Then explain it to her. And she understands a lot more than you think."
There was a muffled grunt from Isaiah's side. "Look, I called to apologize. What more do you want from me?"
"I don't know, maybe a straight answer. Is this how you react whenever you have a lot going on?"
"What, I'm not allowed to have a reaction to finding out that I'm half alien because my mom cheated on my dad with some space freak?"
"I'm gonna ignore that statement because I get that you're upset, but you need to deal with it, not move away so you don't have to."
"Mallory, you can't really talk. How long did you go without sleep because you didn't want to talk about your PTSD?"
Zatanna cringed beside her at the heat coming from Mallory's body as she tried to control her temper, and her powers.
"You don't get to turn this on me. I didn't want them to know because I didn't want it to affect our relationships. You aren't dealing with it because you want to stay mad at her. You want to blame her for your being a freak, which I've already told you that being part alien doesn't make you any more of a freak than if you were a mix between two races."
Isaiah paused for a beat, then said, "are you done?"
"Yes, I think I am," Mallory replied.
"Good, maybe I'll call you again when you're being more reasonable."
He hung up before she could say anything back. She let out a frustrated yell and threw her phone across the room. "Hcuoc eht ot enohp eht nruter!" Zatanna said hastily, and the phone disappeared before it hit the wall and appeared safe and sound on the couch next to them.
"Thanks," Mallory said with a sigh.
"what'd he say to make you that mad?" She asked.
"He's just handling this whole alien thing so bad. He and his dad want to move out because they supposably need some space, and they're taking his sister too, even though I know she doesn't want to go. I mean, I just can't believe that this is tearing his family apart, and that it's tearing us apart."
Zatanna looked at her. "So you want to break up with him?" She asked.
Mallory sighed and rubbed the glass figure. "No, I don't want to, but I don't like the person he's turning into because of this. Maybe I should go talk to his mom, see what her side is."
Zatanna shook her head. "Mal, I think you should just stay out of it. Take it from me, getting involved in your boyfriend's family drama is the quickest way to end a relationship."
Mallory gave her a sympathetic look. "Have you talked about it since?" she asked. Zatanna and Robin had been going strong until a few months ago when something had happened. Neither had given anyone details, but one day they'd just been back to friends.
Zatanna shook her head. "No, he acts like we were never a couple, which is honestly easier. My point is, don't get involved. You've been dating too long to have it end badly."
Mallory sighed. "I just feel bad. I mean, she's treated me like a part of the family since the first time we met. I hate to just convict her before hearing all the facts. Besides, Isaiah doesn't ever have to find out."
Zatanna was shaking her head slowly. "don't do it, Mal. I'm telling you, it's not going to have a good ending."
Mallory sighed. "Maybe you're right. But what am I supposed to do? It was my idea to go to that stupid lecture in the first place."
Zatanna shrugged. "Why don't you meet him face to face and just talk it out. That way you can't hang up on each other."
Malory sighed. The way she felt at that moment, she didn't want to see him face to face, but she knew her friend was right. If they didn't fix things soon, they might not be able to.
They met the next day on the roof of the building they'd had their first date on, both in their costumes. They stood silently for a moment, neither looking at the other, then they said at the same time, "I'm sorry." They looked at each other, not quite smiling, but not glaring either.
"I'm sorry, Mal. I know you were just trying to help."
she nodded. "I shouldn't have gotten involved. I mean, it was my fault to begin with."
Isaiah sighed heavily. "It's not your fault. I mean, I would have found out eventually. I would have had to take a DNA test in college. I might not have known about the alien thing, but I would have found out that my mom cheated on him and this whole thing would have happened anyway."
Mallory smiled a little, a sweet sense of relief flowing through her. Her face grew serious again as she thought about how to word her next thought. "Is that how you're going to react to bad news all the time?" she asked, trying to keep her voice gentle.
He shrugged. "I don't know, nothing's ever come up like that. I'll try not to."
she nodded and he gave her a hug. The touch didn't feel as comforting as it had before the fight.
Her comm clicked on, and she stepped away from Isaiah to answer it. "Inferno here," she said.
"Mal, I just wanted to let you know, Roy wasn't kidding about not wanting us to find him again. He dropped off the grid this morning. I can't even find him on the computer in the batcave," Robin told her.
Mallory sighed. "Thanks for telling me. I guess there's nothing we can do now, except hope he finds what he's looking for. Is the League still looking for Speedy?"
"Yeah, but they're running out of leads to follow. I don't think they can keep up the search much longer."
Mallory nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "All right, I'll see you back at the cave." They signed off and Mallory stared out over Metropolis for a moment.
"What happened?" Isaiah asked gently.
"Roy disappeared. He told us he didn't want to be found the last time we saw him."
He rubbed a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry, Mal. But he'll be all right. He's Red Arrow, he knows how to take care of himself."
Mallory turned around, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, her face full of an invisible pain. "He doesn't think he's worth anything. He told us that the world wouldn't lose anything if he were to die. I'm worried about him, Isaiah. He's going to get himself killed, and there's nothing I can do."
Isaiah pulled her in a hug, resting his chin on her head. "Don't think like that. He's been doing this since he was born. He'll be fine."
Mallory wrapped her arms around his middle. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She hadn't even realized how much she'd missed him until this moment.