Remember that I did post a chapter yesterday, on Christmas, so if you havent read that yet go back and read it, it's kind of an important one. Hope you like the chapter. I should point out that the fact that Volcana could have gotten off the island is kind of important because it shows that she's capable of being helped. I'm writing her character based on the one episode with her in it in the Superman Animated Series, and in that one she was only a bad guy because the government turned her into a living weapon. Superman put her on the island as a prison because of her powers. Her whole thing is that if her childhood had been better, she could have been a good person. Please review. What do you think about Volcana? Do you like her in the story? Like her in the show? I want to know what you guys think, so please review!
Clark had just stopped a high speed chase when he noticed a fiery figure in the sky around the globe of the Daily Planet. "Torch?" he muttered, squinting to get a better look. As soon as he identified that it was Volcana, and that she was carrying Mallory in her arms, he took off at super speed. He landed on the roof a split second after the supervillian, his fear threatening to take control of him. He forced it down and scanned his young partner. She had a cracked rib and a fracture on her arm, but other than that it was all superficial wounds.
"What happened?" he asked, looking at Volcana.
"She fell off the volcano on the island," she replied. Clark could tell by the waver in her voice and her elevated heart rate that she was scared, which was a little surprising. In all the fights they'd had, he'd never seen her shaken. "She needs a doctor. Is there somewhere you can take her?" Volcana continued.
Clark nodded and took Inferno from her. "Come with me," he said. He knew Bruce would have a thing or two to say about him bringing a supervillian to the cave, but what was he supposed to do, leave her in Metropolis when the city was unprotected?
He went to the nearest zeta tube and let it scan him and Mallory, then he shifted her so he could hold her with one arm while he authorized Volcana's entrance. Mallory groaned and tensed up, still in extreme pain from the overuse of her powers, and he willed the computer to work faster. A few seconds later, the three of them appeared in the training room of the cave, and Superman led the way to medbay.
"Stay here," he told Volcana, and she nodded and went to stand at the window. She watched as he gently laid her down on one of the beds and turned on the computer. It scanned her, then a screen came up with everything that was wrong with her. Volcana winced at the length of the list. She saw Superman give her a sedative and put a hand to his ear, and two minutes later the Flash was in medbay in full costume.
He made sure Inferno was asleep, then hooked her up to some machines and started getting the young hero out of her costume, leaving her mask. He taped up her ribs, then Superman helped him get her in a hospital gown, then Flash put her arm in a cast and a sling. The next thing he did was clean up her cuts. She had a deep cut on her arm that he bandaged and he stitched up the gash on the side of her head, then he and Superman had a short conversation and the speedster was gone as fast as he'd arrived. Superman came out of the room a moment later and turned to Volcana.
"All right, what happened?" he asked. He was considerably calmer than he'd been when he first asked her on the rooftop.
Volcana sighed, guilt weighing on her. "She couldn't get her fire to work, so we went to the volcano so she could have something bigger to work with. When it still didn't work, I tried to provoke her. I mean, she told me that she'd had some stuff going on, but I didn't think she would be that messed up that her powers would be acting up so much," Volcana said.
Superman narrowed his eyes slightly. "How much did she tell you about what's been going on?" he asked.
Volcana shrugged. "She said she'd been having some trouble with boyfriends, one got abducted, one died, and that she'd been suspended from the hero thing, which I didn't know was a thing. But she should have gotten over it enough by now. She shouldn't be reacting to things this badly," Volcana replied.
Superman crossed his arms. "Volcana, all of that happened this week, and more," he said.
Volcana raised her eyebrows in surprise and turned her head to look at Inferno through the window. "Well, that's why," she murmured, feeling worse than ever at the way she'd approached the training session.
"That's why what?" Superman asked.
Volcana turned back to him. "Her powers are connected to her emotions. That's the reason her powers weren't working, and why when they finally did she wasn't in control. She's a loose cannon right now. Heck, I just saw her make a volcano erupt. Think what she could've done if she'd been in a populated area. She needs time to work through everything that's happened, or she's going to get someone hurt, and that's the best case scenario."
Superman nodded. "She won't be doing any hero work for a while anyway," he said.
Volcana nodded. "That's a start, but she needs a place that's calm and quiet and away from people. She needs time to work through things where there isn't any stress or distractions."
Superman glanced through the window as Mallory opened her eyes stiffly and stared at the ceiling, trying not to move her aching body any more than she had to. "I know just the place," he said.
Volcana looked at Inferno, then back at Superman. "Can I go see her?" she asked, almost shyly.
Superman smiled and nodded, and the pyrokinetic pushed the door opened and walked in quietly.
"Volcana?" Mallory said in confusion when the woman walked in.
"Hey, kid. How you feeling?" Volcana asked, walking to the side of the bed.
Mallory winced as an involuntary twitch in her calf sent a wave of pain through her whole body. "Not great, but I'll manage," she said when the pain subsided to throbbing.
Volcana's eyebrows knit together and she reached out to brush some hair off Mallory's mask.
"How bad was it?" Mallory asked after a moment.
Volcana shrugged. "Not too bad. There's no one on the island to get hurt, just you."
Mallory nodded in relief, then she tilted her head to the side. "How did I get here?" she asked.
"Well, I brought you to Metropolis, and Superman brought us here."
Mallory smiled. "Aww, so you do care about me," she said.
Volcana's tough exterior returned and she scoffed. "Yeah, right. If Superman hadn't been coming back for you, I would've left you to be buried in the lava. One less hero to worry about."
Mallory's smile never wavered. "Uh, huh," she said. Volcana glared at her and turned on her heel, heading for the door. Before she opened it, she paused and said quietly, "I'm sorry, kid. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard."
"Don't blame yourself. I should've waited a while before I tried to push myself so fast. I knew I wasn't ready, I just wanted to have a distraction. Are you going back to the island?"
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I have to clean up the mess you made," Volcana replied.
"Sorry about that," Mallory said quietly.
Volcana shook her head. "Don't be. I could use a project," she said, and Mallory chuckled. "Take care of yourself, kid," Volcana said, then she pushed the door open and walked outside.
Superman smiled at her, and she raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked accusingly.
"Nothing, really," he said. "Just that you brought Inferno to Metropolis."
"So?" Volcana asked defensively.
"Well, that means you could've gotten off that island any time you wanted to," he replied.
Volcana's eyes widened slightly, then she narrowed them. "Well, I didn't know I could," she said.
Clark crossed his arms, his smile still on his face. "Uh, huh," he said.
Volcana glared at him. "Well, are you going to take me back?" she asked.
Clark tilted his head for a moment, then said, "No, I think you can find your own way back."
Volcana's eyes widened again. "You trust me to actually go back?" she asked.
"Actually, I think I do," Superman said.
Volcana seemed to be frozen there for a long moment, then she started walking to the zeta tube. She turned back to him and said, "Take care of her, ok?"
Clark nodded. "What do you see in her?" he asked.
Volcana looked at the floor and smiled slightly. "Me, if things had turned out just a little different. And the hope that things still can," she said quietly. Clark smiled, and Volcana tentatively lifted her gaze to look at him. When her eyes met his, her normal protective shell returned. "All right, enough of this. How do I work this thing?" she asked.
Clark authorized her passage to a zeta tube in Metropolis and she was gone in another second. He went to medbay and let himself in Mallory's room. "How are you feeling, Torch?" he asked, checking the computer before standing beside the bed.
"I'll be fine in a few hours," she told him. "How bad is it?" she asked, gesturing to her cast.
"Not bad, considering. Just a fractured ulna and two cracked ribs. You'll be fully healed in three weeks or so."
Mallory nodded and looked up at him. "So I guess I'm off missions in the meantime," she said. Superman nodded, and Mallory sighed. "I can't do another stint of suspension at the cave, Clark. After the Watchtower was miserable, being alone in the cave while the rest of the team was training or doing a mission."
"About that," Clark said, and Mallory looked at him. "I was actually thinking you could go out to the farm for a while. Give your body a chance to heal and give your mind a break from everything. You've been through a lot, Torch. You need time to work through it."
Mallory stared at him. "Really? For how long?" she asked.
Clark shrugged. "As long as you need. Ma and Pa won't mind having you at all, and maybe Lois and Conner and I can come up there on the weekends or something."
Mallory sighed and leaned back against the pillows. "I don't have a choice, do I?" she asked.
Clark shook his head slowly. "No. Your power makes it too dangerous to leave you here," he said.
"Then isn't it dangerous to send me to the farm? I mean, your parents are there. I don't want to end up hurting them, or burning their house down."
Clark smiled. "Don't worry about them, they know how to deal with superpowers. They raised the most powerful being on the planet, they'll be fine with you."
Mallory smiled, feeling a little reassured. "All right. I guess I'll pack," she said, and she tried to get up only to freeze as pain shot through her body.
Clark gently pushed her shoulder back down. "You need to rest. I'll go call my folks and let them know you'll be coming. Do you want some more sedative?"
Mallory nodded, and Clark typed something into the computer and a cold liquid seeped into Mallory through the IV. She was asleep before Clark even got to the door.
Hope you liked it, and I promise, this is the last time that Mallory's gonna get hurt, at least for a while. I feel like I've kind of done that to death, anyway, so from here on I'll try to keep things as original as I can. Please review! I would love some suggestions, thoughts on the story, questions, anything!