I hope you like this chapter, they are finally in the cult. Also, last time I posted I put two chapters up, so 39 and 40 are both new. I was looking at the views and it didn't look like that was clear, so I wanted to make sure everyone knew that. I really want some reviews, so please write a review!
When Mallory came to a few hours later, she was alone in a dark room made of stone. She winced as she pushed her stiff body to a sitting position and looked around. There was a sharp throbbing where she'd been struck, so she couldn't move too quickly.
"Megan, you there?" she asked when she remembered why she was there.
"I'm here. Where are you?"
"I'm in some kind of holding cell. There aren't any windows, and the door's made of steel. Where are we?"
"You're in the Kobra base. Robin's awake, but Zatanna and Wally still haven't made contact."
"Inferno, do you remember anything from before you blacked out?" Robin asked.
"Just the bags being put on our heads," she replied, rubbing the back of her head gingerly.
"You don't remember anything else? No voices, nothing?"
"Sorry, I was a little preoccupied with Wally being knocked out. Why, do you?"
"Yeah, they said something about their leader approving of us. That's all I got before I was knocked out, I was hoping one of you would have heard something else."
Mallory sighed and stood to walk around the small space. She wished she could just burn her way out of the room and get the answers they needed, but she knew she couldn't, so she settled for imagining the place in a burning heap of rubble. "Maybe Z did. But we know the leader is Kobra, which means we'll be seeing him soon. Hopefully. Going undercover in a cult sounded like it would be way more fun than this."
"Just wait. We're only two hours in, it's gonna get better," Wally put in.
"Oh, good, you're awake," Artemis said with affectionate sarcasm, "I just missed you're voice in my head soo much."
Robin didn't bother asking Wally if he'd heard anything, considering he was the first to get knocked out.
"Ugh, guys, anyone there?" Zatanna asked.
"Z, we were starting to get worried," Megan said.
"How long have I been out?" the magician asked.
"A few hours. It'll be light in another hour," Conner told them.
"Does everyone still have their comms?" Megan asked.
Mallory checked for the metal disk she'd pinned inside her braid. "Yes," she said, and the others said they did as well.
"Good. The base is big, and Conner said it has catacombs down below. You could get out of range if you go too far below ground."
"Zatanna, did you hear anything before they knocked you out?" Robin asked.
"Um, I heard them say that they were going to have to make two trips to the bikes, don't know if that helps."
The silence from Robin's end said that it didn't.
"Guys, I hear someone coming," Wally said.
Mallory froze and listened, trying to hear any footsteps, even faint. Silence.
"Guys, are we being too calm?" she asked. "I mean, we're supposed to be average teens, and we were just kidnapped. I feel like we would be doing something besides staring into space and waiting for someone to come get us."
"Good point. Let's get off the link until someone comes to get us," Robin suggested.
Their voices went silent and Mallory stopped pacing and went to the door, tried the handle. It was locked, obviously, but she kept pushing and punching and kicking at it and yelling for someone to come open the door and tell her what was going on and where she was.
She didn't have any way of judging the time of day unless she went on the link, which she couldn't do just yet, but what she judged must have been an hour later, she heard footsteps echoing outside the door and backed away a little. She hated the idea that no matter what they did to her, she wouldn't be able to use her fire or her combat training. It was like losing your limbs and being at the mercy of whatever you came across.
The door opened and the young guy who had met them at the shack walked in and shut the door behind him. "Good morning, sister," he said brightly.
"It's morning?" Mallory asked, more to herself, then she ran for him with her arms swinging like the amateur she was pretending to be. "Where are my friends? Where are we? You'd better start giving me some answers, or I'll-" she didn't have to finish the threat. The guy easily blocked her feeble attempts to fight him and held her pinned gently on the floor.
"Calm yourself, sister. Your friends are all right. They have rooms of their own not far from here, and are being taken care of as we speak."
Mallory relaxed under his grip and he helped her to her feet.
"I like your spirit, and so will the Master." He smiled a little and added, "But you should refrain from attacking anyone else in the Brotherhood. Kobra does not look kindly on disunity and chaos."
"Kobra?" Mallory asked slowly.
"Kobra is our master. He is the one who will deliver his chosen few to their place above all mankind when his reign as the rightful god-king of the world begins."
Mallory refrained from rolling her eyes at the sincerity in the guy's voice. "How have I not heard about him before?" she asked.
"He has been in hiding, waiting for his time. You, sister, as one of his followers, will further his mission to greatness."
Mallory sat on one of the stone benches. "How?" she asked, trying to look like she would do anything.
"We do not know yet. Great Kobra will find a purpose for you. Now, you will need clothes and sustenance. Please, follow me." He led the way down a dark hallway made entirely of stone to a staircase that led up to a floor with more foliar materials. Wood floors, electric lights, etc. He brought her to a room with a rack of robes in it. A girl about twenty was standing beside it.
"This is Belinda. She will outfit you, then I will come back for you."
"So what's your name?" Mallory asked him as he started to walk away.
"I am called Cas," he replied easily. He left the room and Mallory turned to Belinda.
"Well, what do I do?" she asked.
"Take off those clothes. They reek of the outside world," the girl said, her voice calm. Mallory hesitated, then started getting out of her clothes while the girl got some new ones for her.
"Guys, did someone come get you yet?" she asked over the link. Robin and Wally said yes, Zatanna said no. "I'm being given a robe. I hope they don't go through my hair too carefully and find the comm."
"I already switched it to the robe. The first chance you get, put the comm somewhere in the robe, just in case," Robin told her.
"Someone just came to get me," Zatanna announced. They dropped the link and Mallory donned the underclothes the girl gave her, plain white shirt and leggings, though she kept her fire-proof shorts and t-shirt on, then the girl started to hand over the robe. She paused when she saw Mallory's necklace.
"You must discard all worldly things. I will dispose of that for you."
Mallory's hand went to the glass figure. "Oh, no, I can't get rid of it," she said.
The girl's eyes grew cold and she said, "then perhaps this is not the path for you after all."
Mallory sighed and unfastened the fireproof chain she'd made and reluctantly handed it over. The girl's face grew cheery again and she handed Mallory the dark red robe and black mask. "Well, sister, you must be hungry. Please, eat." She gestures to a plate with some fruit and vegetables on it and gathered Mallory's things in her arms. "I'll just bring these to the storage room and tell Cas that you're done."
Mallory looked up. "Storage room? I thought you were going to dispose of it."
"It will be disposed of, in the Master's good time. He personally goes through the worldly things to see if there is anything useful in them."
"What could he possibly find useful from the world if he's a god?" Mallory asked.
"Well, he hasn't found anything since I've come into his nest, but he does find things he takes for special disposal of, lest our greed get the better of us mortals."
"Like what?" Mallory asked.
"Like money, valuables. He takes them so we won't be tempted to rejoin the world."
Mallory turned back to the fruit so Belinda wouldn't see the face she was about to make. Kobra was picking people's pockets, that was all. And his loyal followers couldn't see the obvious. What her dad had said about being brainwashed popped into her head and she almost laughed, but she choked it down. The door closed behind the girl and Mallory pulled her comm from her hair and put it in a fold of the undershirt.
"I just got brought to my dressing room," Zatanna told them.
"Great. My attendant just told me that Kobra goes through all the stuff people bring in here with them and looks for valuables so his followers won't be corrupted by greed."
"Well, if that isn't the most considerate thing I've ever heard of," Wally said sarcastically.
Mallory allowed herself a small smile. "Right? Well, what have you guys learned?"
"Not a lot. My guy just wanted to talk about how great Kobra is. I did manage to get my scanner up and running, and my program is hacking into their mainframe now."
"Dude, how did you slip your wrist computer into the robe?" Wally asked.
They could almost hear Robin grin as he said, "I'm a Bat."
"Yeah, right, how could I forget. Well, my guy was pretty focused on trying to figure out what my purpose would be. He told me about a dozen options, none of them sounded great."
"What were they?" Zatanna asked.
"Well, he said something that I'm pretty sure is just a janitor, and something else that sounded like a hall monitor. The only one that seemed even vaguely good was a server. At least with that I'll be close to the food."
Mallory heard footsteps outside her door. "Belinda's coming back. I'm gonna ask Cas when I can see you guys, that seems like a normal thing to do. See you when I see you." They got off the link and Mallory turned to face the door. Belinda came in and smiled.
"You look much more comfortable in your robe than you did in those worldly clothes. I think you will fit in here." She eyed Mallory's hair covering the hood, which she hadn't put over her head. "Here, let me fix that for you," Belinda offered. She unbraided and brushed her hair, then put it in a tight, low bun at the nape of her neck. Once Mallory's hair was securely fastened, she pulled the hood over her head, adjusting it over the mask. "There, now you will fit in. Have a look."
Mallory looked in the mirror and smiled. To Belinda, that smile would mean that she was pleased with her new look because she wanted to be committed to the cult, but Mallory was really smiling because with the robe covering her body and the mask covering her face, a person would have a hard time identifying her from any of the thousands of other cult members. It was perfect.
"Cas will be here soon. Tell me, sister, what was your name in your previous life?"
Mallory had to think for a moment to remember what her fake name was, and when she did remember, she said, "Haley. What do you mean, previous life?"
"Oh, well, now that you are here, you will be given a new name to symbolize your rebirth into Kobra's great calling."
Mallory nodded and groaned inwardly. Now she'd have to remember her and her friends' made up names and their cult names. She reminded herself of the others' made up names and turned to Belinda. "When can I see my friends?" she asked.
Belinda smiled strangely. "Cas will decide. You still need to go through initiation, and you are not allowed to see anyone but him from this time until you complete it."
Mallory nodded and the attendant left. Cas came in before Mallory could say anything to the team.
"Come with me," he told her.
She followed him down the hall into a small room with two chairs. He motioned to one of the chairs and Mallory took a seat, eying him nervously.
"There is no need to be fearful of anything in the Brotherhood. Tell me what your name was."
Mallory didn't like the way he said 'was', but she took a breath and said, "My name is Haley Moore."
Cas shook his head. "That is who you were. Now, you are a blank slate, ready to be reborn into the Cause."
Mallory nodded cooperatively. "What is the cause?" she asked.
Cas studied her for a moment, then smiled and replied, "I believe that you will find out soon. You have heart, and you seem to know what you want. Great Kobra will like that."
"When will I meet him?" she asked, hoping to get as much information as possible without making him suspicious.
"Soon. First you must go through a series of tests to determine what your purpose will be. You will be taught to defend Kobra with your life if you must, and given the tools to do that. Come with me, sister. I will show you where you will stay until you complete your training."
Mallory followed him along a winding hall with dozens of doors, then opened a door near the end that had a single army cot in it, that was all.
"You must learn to do without. Now, remember where this is. Come, I will bring you to the training room."
Again, Mallory followed him down never ending halls. She tried to find landmarks so she would be able to find her way back, but everything looked the same. After a while, Cas ushered her into a room with a platform and weights and a shooting range with mannequins as the targets. He stepped onto the platform and took off his robe.
"Come, sister. I will teach you how to fight first."
Mallory pulled her robe off and stepped onto the platform in front of him. He told her how to balance herself, and she pretended to be an amature. After a few hours of allowing him to completely pummel her in the name of keeping her cover, Cas stopped punching her and told her to get up. She struggled to her feet and stared at him with a mix of fear and determination that was real. She was terrified of the situation because she couldn't defend herself without making him suspicious, and she was determined to continue to get beat up.
Cas smiled at her. "You have heart, sister. Kobra will be most impressed by you. Let me show you your firearm."
He led her to the shooting range and handed her a machine gun. "You will be taught to use many types of firearms. This one is what you will use the most, and you will carry it with you wherever you go." He pointed to some mannequins set up at the back of the range. "Hit those," he said.
Mallory hefted the heavy gun to her shoulder awkwardly. She'd never fired a gun before, which was probably good because she'd had a hard time faking not knowing how to fight. She sighted one of the mannequins carefully and pulled the trigger. Ten rounds came out and the kickback of the weapon set her staggering back, barely managing to catch her balance. Two of the ten bullets managed to hit the mannequin.
"Do not worry, sister. You will learn. I will be teaching you until you get it."
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