Again, it's really short, but the next chapter is going to be longer. I want a review before I post the next chapter. Enjoy!
The next day, Mallory stumbled out of bed earlier than usual, not sure what had woke her up and unable to go back to sleep. She brushed her teeth and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. While she was standing in front of the refrigerator, trying to find something that didn't have Wally's name on it, a thud sounded behind her. She whirled around and saw Polar Boy holding onto the counter, rubbing his foot. He gave her a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, thought I could get back to my room without you noticing me."
She rolled her eyes. "Why are you even here? It's practically the middle of the night," she said.
Polar Boy looked at a clock on the wall. "It's almost six. How late do you sleep in this era?"
Mallory chuckled. "That depends. I've known Wally to sleep a whole day away," she muttered.
"Wally West?" he asked.
Mallory sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Hey, can I ask you something?" He shrugged. "Well, how do you know all of our names? I mean, do we tell the public in our lifetime, or is it found out during our lifetime, or what?"
He shook his head. "I can't tell you. But it's not the same for every hero. Personally I don't understand the need to hide your identity. In my time it's an honor to be a hero and a member of the Legion."
Mallory shrugged. "Yeah, it's an honor and all now, too. But in this time, most heroes want to keep their personal lives separate from their hero lives."
"Why?" he asked.
"Well, to keep their families safe, for one thing, and to be able to take a break from the hero thing. When you and your teammates come in here calling us by our names and just knowing everything about us, it feels like an invasion of privacy. We've spent so much time learning how to hide things, it's just weird to have strangers knowing those things about us. It makes us feel, well, vulnerable, I guess."
Polar Boy nodded slowly, taking in the information. "I'm sorry, I guess we never thought about it like that," he said.
Mallory nodded and leaned on the island. "So, you want to start over?" she asked. He smiled and nodded.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Brek Bannin. What's yours?"
Mallory smiled. "Mallory Johnson," she said. He seemed surprised, but he didn't say anything, which made her wonder what was different about her name in the future. "Well, Brek, you want something to eat?" she asked.
Brek went and sat at the counter. "Sure. What does a typical breakfast look like in the twenty-first century?"
Mallory pushed off the island and went to the cereal cabinet. "Take your pick," she said, opening it all the way so he could see what kinds they had.
"I don't know what that is, so I guess you should just pick for me," he said.
Mallory shrugged and got bowls and spoons out, then pulled a box of cinnamon toast crunch out and fixed the cereal. She sat next to him and handed him his bowl. "Enjoy," she said. He took one square of cereal and tasted it tentatively.
"It's not bad," he said, and continued eating.
"What does a typical breakfast look like in your time?" she asked.
"Oh, anything. The food fabricators in homes are pretty complete, so we have access to everything from guada to niar."
"And those words mean…" Mallory prompted.
"They're food. You mean you don't have niar in this time?" Mallory shook her head. "Wow, I feel so sorry for you. All this horrible technology, having to hide your identities, and no good food."
"Hey, we have good food," Mallory said defensively.
He gave her almost a sympathetic look. "I'm sure you think you do," he said, not in a demeaning way, just like he was stating a fact.
Mallory laughed. "Oh, come on. This time isn't so bad."
"Really? Well, what's good about it?" he asked.
"Well, it's hard to say since I've never been to the thirtieth century, but I could show you some stuff, if you want."
He seemed to think about it, then he shrugged and said, "All right. I don't have anything better to do."
Megan floated in before she could answer. "Oh, Mallory, what are you doing up this early?" she asked, pulling out pots and mixing bowls.
"I don't know, actually. But as long as I'm up, I might as well take advantage of it. I'm gonna go train before-" she'd been about to say 'before Inferno gets up', but she glanced at Brek and let her voice trail off.
"I'm sorry about Sandy," he said, picking up on her source of irritation. "She's just a fan. If you want, I can talk to her, get her to calm down a little." Mallory sighed. "I feel bad to say it, but would you? I thought I was going to have to hide in my room until you finished your mission."
Brek smiled and nodded and she went to her training room and got started.
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