This chapter is in the same day as the last one. Sorry one day is stretching into so many chapters, but they're all kind of long, so I didn't want to put them all into one chapter. Also, Charity is a DC character, she's not important to the story, I just wanted her to make a cameo. Hope you like this, and please review.
When the doors slid open, Zatanna was waiting for her.
"Well?" she asked.
"According to Flash, I am completely normal," Mallory replied.
"What would he know about normal?" she asked with a smile.
"I'm not kidding, Z. I don't have super strength."
"Huh. Well, did he say what happened then?" she asked.
"He said that it might have been the energy in me finding a way out because of the inhibitor collar, but he didn't really know," she replied.
Zatanna nodded. "Then shouldn't you be able to change the energy into strength whenever you want to?"
"Maybe, if I really tried and trained to learn, but I don't want to. I could have killed him. I don't want that responsibility. I have enough trouble with my pyrokinesis." She put the inhibitor collar on her desk and sat on the chair.
"Why do you still have the collar with you?" Zatanna asked.
"I need to give it back to Robin. It's probably a good idea that the team has it in case something like what happened today happens again," Malllory explained.
Zatanna nodded again, then sat on Mallory's bed and got comfortable, clearly not leaving any time soon. Mallory sighed and went to the bathroom to treat a cut on her knuckle. Sometimes, living at the cave was irritating. It was like sharing an apartment with three other siblings with no boundaries and constantly having friends over with just as few boundaries. She walked out of the bathroom with a bandage on her hand, and Zatanna was still there.
"Do you want to go do something later?" she asked when she saw Mallory looking at her.
"I don't think I'm really in the mood for patrolling," Mallory told her.
"Then let's just go to a movie or something. I'm dying to get out of the cave for a while."
Mallory was about to tell her that they could do something the next day when she remembered what that day was. It was Zatara's birthday.
"Yeah, ok. You want to see if Megan and Conner want to come?" she asked.
"Maybe Artemis will want to come," she replied, not saying that she just wanted it to be them, but Mallory understood.
"Yeah, sure. I'll get her back here." Mallory assured her. She walked out the room and went to the living area before pressing her comm. "Artemis, come in," she said.
"Artemis here, what do you want Inferno?" her friend replied.
"Can you come back to the cave? Zatanna needs a distraction tonight. It's-"
"oh, right, March 8, her dad's birthday. I can't believe I didn't think about it," Artemis said.
Last year had been the first birthday that Zatanna hadn't had her dad there for, and Artemis and Mallory had stayed with her and let her tell them about his past birthdays. One of the things she'd told them was that every year he took Zatanna to a magic show to celebrate, and they would critique the false tricks.
"I'll be there in ten minutes, tops," Artemis told Mallory. Mallory signed off and was about to go to her room to get ready when she ran into Break mid stride. He reached out to steady her, keeping her from falling flat on the floor.
"Thanks, and sorry," Mallory told him.
"No problem. Hey, how'd your mission go?" he asked.
"Oh, great, never had a better one," she replied, trying to move past him. He didn't let go of her arm. "You know, we have sarcasm in the future, too" he said.
Mallory sighed. "Sorry, just, I'm pretty talked out on that subject," she explained. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he knew if she had super strength or not, but she caught the words before they left her mouth. He wouldn't be able to answer her, anyway. "Oh, I'm sorry I had to cut the trip to Yellowstone short," Mallory said, remembering what had happened that morning.
"It was a terrible blow," Brek said with a smile. "But there is a way you could make it up to me."
"And how is that?" Mallory asked, unable to keep a smile off her own face.
"You could show me that movie you told me about. What was it called?"
"Back to the future," Mallory supplied.
"Yeah, that's it. Well, how about it?"
Mallory winced. "I can't tonight," she said simply. She didn't want to go through her reason, and she didn't really see it as any of his business anyway.
"Oh," Brek said, his face falling a little. He let his arm go to his side.
Mallory sighed. "But I should be free tomorrow night. It'll be a little late since I'm going to my parents house during the day, but you don't have anything to do during the day anyway, do you?"
"No, nothing," he said.
Mallory smiled a little. She felt for the Legionaires, being cooped up in the cave with no missions or any way to be useful. Sandy and Kara spent most of the days training, and Mallory had rarely seen Brainy come out of his room. "All right, well, by the time I get back, everyone should be asleep, so we'll have the living room to ourselves. I'll make sure to hide some snacks so Wally won't get them," Mallory told him.
He nodded and she went back to her room. Zatanna was standing by the door with a smile on her face.
"Artemis is on her way. What do you want to do?" Mallory asked, grabbing her wallet off the desk.
"Oh, I don't know, we'll figure something out," Zatanna replied, the smile still on her face.
"What?" Mallory asked.
Her friend shrugged. "Oh, nothing. I was just trying to come up with a spell that would make you tell the truth about how you feel about someone, that's all."
Mallory tilted her head. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I may have followed you part of the way and seen you and Brek talking a minute ago. You two obviously like each other," the magician explained.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "There is no privacy around here," she complained halfheartedly.
"Nope," Zatanna agreed happily.
"Z, I barely know him, and I'm old enough to be his ancestor," Mallory pointed out.
"So? You'd be the same age if one of you switched time periods like Kara did," Zatanna said.
"Z, that would mess the timeline up. I mean, no one really knows what the timeline might have looked like if Kara had stayed here. Wait, why am I trying to convince you we wouldn't work? Nothing's happening between us!" Mallory said, shaking her head.
"Right, nothing. Because you're still waiting for Isaiah to come back." Zatanna said, her demeanor changing from teasing to concern. "Mal, he isn't coming back. You two broke up for a reason. Brek seems to make you happy, and if there's anything I've learned on this team, it's that you have to take it while you can."
Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Then what about you and Robin? You two could get back together anytime you wanted, you were made for each other."
"Why are you bringing that up?" Zatanna asked.
"Because you're telling me to date Brek because he makes me happy. Well, Robin makes you happy, and nothing really serious happened between you. I don't see you making amends with him."
Zatanna raised an eyebrow, ready to debate, and Mallory smiled inwardly. She'd gotten her friend's mind off her dad, and if that meant she would be fighting with her for a few hours before they put a movie on, she'd do it.
"Robin and I are different. His life is crazy, I mean, he lives with Batman. You don't have anything holding you back."
Artemis walked into the room before Mallory could say anything. "So, what are we doing?" She asked.
"Anything, as long as it's not in the cave," Mallory replied. She grabbed her wallet and she and Artemis started out the door, but Zatanna stayed put.
"I'm not moving until you at least admit that you could have feelings for Brek," Zatanna announced.
"Oh, come on, Z. You're the one who wanted to go in the first place," Mallory said. Artemis leaned on the doorframe, waiting to see who would give in first.
"Well?" Zatanna said.
Mallory rolled her eyes and huffed out a sigh. "Fine. I could like Brek. You happy? Now let's go." As she said it, she realized that it might actually be true.
Zatanna smiled triumphantly. "Great. Now, what are you gonna do about it?" she asked.
"Uh, nothing. You coming?"
"Nope. I want you to go ask Brek out," Zatanna replied.
"What? Oh, come on. Why are you doing this to me?" Mallory asked.
"Because I love you and I want you to be happy," the magician replied.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "Great, now I can't even get mad at you. Thanks a lot."
Zatanna and Artemis laughed. "We'll wait," Artemis said.
"What, now you're in on this, too?" Mallory asked. Artemis shrugged.
"Fine," Mallory said with a sigh. "I'll make a deal with you. Zatanna, you ask Robin out, and I'll ask Brek."
She expected the magician to back down, or at least take minute to think about it, but she immediately said, "Ok."
"You can't tell him why, you know," Mallory told her.
"Ok, great. I'll ask him tomorrow, then I'll be waiting to see you ask Brek."
"I'll be at my parents house all day tomorrow," Mallory reminded her.
"Well, day after tomorrow is fine," Zatanna decided.
"Great, so now that that's settled, let's go," Artemis said. Zatanna and Mallory followed the archer to the zeta tube and they went to Keystone City. There was a mall not far from the zeta tube, so they walked in and started doing some light shopping. Unfortunately, Mallory had forgotten that there was a magic shop in the mall, and when they passed it, Zatanna immediately got quiet and wistful.
"It's not fair," she said quietly, staring at the entrance of the store.
Artemis put a hand on her shoulder. "No, it's not," she agreed.
Zatanna looked between her friends and smiled. "Thanks for doing this. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to him being gone. Ugh, it's not right! He's alive, I see him all the time, but it's not, him."
Mallory nodded and steered the group to the fountain so they were out of the way of passers by.
"I just wish he could take the helmet off. Even if it was just for a little while, maybe every few weeks. I never even really got to say goodbye."
Mallory nodded, remembering that horrible day all too clearly.
Zatanna suddenly shook her head and stood up. "Well, let's go get something to eat," she said.
Artemis and Mallory exchanged a glance, then followed her to the food court, where they bought some pizza and drinks.
"You want to go catch a movie before we head back to the cave?" Zatanna asked.
Artemis sighed. "That's all we ever do anymore. There are other things to do to get rid of boredom."
"We said we weren't going to patrol tonight," Mallory said, putting a little fake whine in her voice.
"There are other things. We could go walk around Metropolis, they always have something going on over there."
"Yeah, I broke up with my boyfriend because of one of those. Next," Mallory said.
"We could go find a beach, it won't be crowded at this time of night."
"That sounds like a bad idea. There are so many things that could go wrong, even for us," Zatanna said.
"How about trying to find out Robin's secret identity," she suggested.
"No, I don't really want to think tonight. Besides, we've tried, and we're not gonna get it. Z isn't going to tell us. You know, I feel like I should be offended. He's one of my best friends, and he hasn't told me. Zatanna knew just a few months after she met him." Zatanna smiled and took a bite of her pizza so she couldn't comment.
"Wait, I know! Let's go troll a fortune teller!" Artemis said.
"Yes!" Mallory agreed. "How much money do you guys have?"
"We only need enough for one reading. I'll magic the money back after, unless they turn out to be real," Zatanna said.
"Great. So, where do we find one?" Mallory asked. There wasn't a big call for fortune tellers in Metropolis or Central City.
"New Orleans has a lot of fakes. My dad used to work there before he started traveling as a magician," Zatanna told them.
"Ok, there's a zeta tube in the French Quarter," Mallory told them.
"How do you know that off the top of your head?" Artemis asked.
"When I was reading the locations when I first joined the team, that one stuck in my mind. I always wanted to go there," she explained.
"All right, let's go," Zatanna said, getting excited.
The girls exited the mall and went back to the zeta tube, where Mallory selected their destination and they were sucked away in the light. They appeared in a dark, short alley that immediately gave them the impression of being transported back in time.
"So, where do we look for some good fake fortune tellers?" Malory asked.
"We'll have to go to the real touristy areas. The locals don't really do all the supernatural stuff like TV says they do," Zatanna informed them. She led the way through the picturesque wrought iron gateways and old buildings like she'd been there a million times. They got to a place that felt very old and a little uncomfortable. Not enough for Mallory to suggest turning back, but enough to summon a little fire to hover just before igniting in her palm, just to be safe.
They got to a building with signs for fortune tellers, palm readers, tarot card reading, and pendulum reading. Zatanna veered off the street into a building. There were cobwebs in the corners, and a lot of antique furniture all over the room. The place looked like an old person's attic. A middle aged woman in a long gypsy-looking dress with a forehead bead on came out of the back room.
"You wish for Madam Rea to look into your future, or perhaps contact someone who has departed?" the woman asked in a french accent.
Zatanna motioned for them to follow her lead and said, "We would like to look into our futures. We just want to know what our lives look like once we're settled and all," she told the woman.
"Yes, I can see this for you. Of course, my abilities will not be easy to focus. I will need considerable ‒ motivation."
Mallory almost smirked, but she handed Zatanna her third of the money and followed as the woman led them into a room no bigger than a walk in closet and sat the three girls around it. There was a glass ball at the center of the table, nothing else. The woman took her seat and put her hands to her head. Wind suddenly started blowing around the room, and the woman closed her eyes. Zatanna nodded to the corners, where there were fans generating the strange wind. Mallory and Artemis nodded, and they were looking at the glass ball when the woman opened her eyes.
"I see, children in one of your futures. Three, no, four children, and a husband. She is with her family, it is a holiday, she has just quit her job to be with her children. It is you," she said, gesturing to Artemis. The three girls did their best not to burst out laughing. Artemis's dream life was far from that.
They didn't have time to really think about it, though, because the next life was being described. "I see, you," she said, nodding to Mallory, "You have a job, and one child, a girl. You do have a man in your life, but he is not your husband. He is still in school, but he is close to graduation. You have an apartment in a city, you are happy. And I see a third vision. You, young lady, you will marry into a large family, but you will not have any children of your own. You will adopt two children, a boy and a girl." The wind cut off and Rea let her hands drop to the table. "There, I hope you are satisfied with your reading."
Mallory, Zatanna, and Artemis exchanged a look, and all three burst out laughing. "I thought the fakes were supposed to be good down here," Artemis gasped.
Rea glared at them. "For shame! You come to my practice and disrespect the ancient art of fortune telling. Get out!"
"We want our money back. All that gibberish about our kids and husbands, you just said what you thought we wanted to hear, and boy, were you wrong!" Mallory said.
"Besides, if you want people to believe you, you shouldn't put the fans in such an obvious spot," Zatanna added.
Rea looked at her equipment guiltily, but when she looked back at the girls the contempt was back on her face. "Get out, all of you! You are not welcome here!" Rea yelled. She practically pushed the girls out the doors and slammed them behind them.
Mallory and Artemis started to move away from the door, but Zatanna caught Artemis's arm and they stopped and turned to her. "Dnah ym ni ereh ti tup ekaf eht morf yenom ruo gnirb," the magician said quietly, and the girls' money appeared on her palm. Zatanna gave her friends their shares and they started down the next street to find another fake to expose.
After visiting two fortune tellers and a card reader, Artemis pocketed her money and yawned.
"This is fun, but I've been out with GA three nights in a row. I've got to get some sleep before I go to school."
"Tomorrow's Sunday," Mallory said, giving her friend a sideways look.
"Yeah, and I plan to sleep the whole day," Artemis told her. Mallory nodded, glad that she didn't work nights anymore.
"Oh, come on, let's just do one more," Zatanna begged.
Mallory looked to Artemis for the answer, and the archer sighed and said, "All right, one more, but then I've really got to go."
"All right. Mallory, it's your turn to pick one," Zatanna said, leading the way to a street the girls hadn't gone to yet.
Mallory surveyed the signs advertising all forms of supernatural professions before stopping at a building near the end that advertised fortune telling on an elaborate sign under the name of the 'Fortunes and Forbidden Tales'. "How about this one?" she asked her companions. They nodded their approval and Mallory pulled the door open for them.
The shop was quaint. It was small and dark, but it was clean unlike the others they'd been in. The shelves held crystals and jars of things, and Zatanna started browsing, her brow furrowed. Before the girls could comment on anything, a woman in her thirties came out of the back room with a grey and white cat in her arms.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice soft but clear.
Mallory and Artemis exchanged a glance, but Mallory said, "Yes, we'd like to have our fortunes told."
"Mhhmm, and I presume you have the means to compensate for it?" the woman asked.
Mallory held out their money and the fortune teller nodded and gestured to a table in the corner. The girls sat down and the fortune teller started spreading cards on the table. "My name's Charity, by the way," she said, adjusting the cards, and the cat on her lap. She muttered something to herself, like she was reminding herself of what to do, then she said, "Which one of you is going to go? I am only able to do one at this time."
The girls exchanged a glance, then Mallory said, "Well, I guess I will."
"All right, let me have your hand," she said. Mallory extended her hand face up, and Charity placed it in between the cards, then moved some of them around. She flipped three cards over, and traced some of the lines on Mallory's hand with the tip of her finger.
"I see a war within you, you have battled with insecurities much of your life. You found friends who helped you overcome them, but even now you are not comfortable in your skin. I see great loss in your future, and a great sense of loneliness. You will survive your losses, for a time."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Artemis asked, her eyes squinted as she tried to figure out why the woman wasn't just going with the 'husband and three kids' scenario.
"It means that I cannot see too far into some people's futures. Apparently this young lady is one of those people. All right, well, that's it. You can see yourselves out, unless you want to buy anything else." Charity got up and went into the back, and the girls went out to the street.
"What was that?" Artemis asked. Mallory shrugged, puzzled by the strange manner in which the woman had handled the fortune telling. She hadn't tried to fake an accent or put equipment around the room to make it seem like she had powers. She'd read the cards and Mallory's palm so matter-of-factly, like it was nothing unusual.
"Z, what's with you?" Mallory asked, looking at her friend.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'll be right back, I need to check something real quick," she said, and she ducked back into the shop.
Artemis and Mallory exchanged a glance, and Mallory's stomach tightened with nerves, wondering what was wrong with the magician. A few minutes later, Zatanna came out with a jewel in her hand.
"Well?" Artemis asked as they started walking to the zeta tube.
"Sorry, but I saw this when we first went in," Zatanna said, holding it so her friends could see.
"What is it?" Mallory asked, eying the red gem critically, trying to see why it was so important.
"Well, it's called Materioptikon, or dreamstone. It has magical properties, and it can be dangerous for someone who doesn't understand its powers to have it. I just don't know how she got her hands on it," Zatanna explained.
"Oh, you had me worried for a minute. I thought you believed her about my future," Mallory said, chuckling.
Zatanna laughed. "No, sorry, I guess I should have told you before we started with the fortune telling."
They reached the zeta tube and Mallory and Zatanna let Artemis zeta to Star before going to the cave and settling in front of the TV to watch a movie. Mallory knew that Zatanna wasn't paying attention to the TV, she was looking past it, a blank expression on her face. She winced, wishing there was some way to get the helmet off of Zatara, or at least get Dr. Fate off the League. The way the League accepted Dr. Fate after what he did to one of their own members was ridiculous to Mallory, but it had to be a smack in the face to Zatanna. They were supposed to be promoting justice, after all.
When the end credits started rolling across the screen, Zatanna stood up. "I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." Mallory nodded and followed her friend to their rooms.