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Year 3:
Mallory soared through the air, her eyes closed against the sun, her fire warming her from the inside out. Six months in the open air of the country had done her a world of good. Her powers were back for the most part, and her injuries had healed completely.
Clark had kept to his word and come to visit every weekend, and Lois and Conner had come up often too. The whole team had come a few weeks after she'd taken her vacation, and her parents and Peter had come the second week after she'd gotten settled in. Peter had fallen in love with the farm and everything in it, and Pa Kent had put him to work feeding the chickens, mucking to cows' stalls, and milking the cows, and Peter had completed every task with a smile on his dirty face.
Megan had come out one weekend with Conner and they brought Peter and Gar so the boys could have the wide open fields to play in. The boys wore themselves out and ended up falling asleep at the dinner table, and Conner had brought them upstairs to spend the night. That was when Mallory found out that Kaldur had asked his friends to come on the team while Mallory was on her leave of absence.
"He asked Tula to come on the team?" Mallory had asked, concern creeping on her face.
"And Garth. They both accepted, so we won't have to go out in the field with less people than we're used to," Megan had explained.
"Well, how's it working out? I mean, I know Kaldur values their friendship, but he's still in love with Tula. Is that going to cause problems?" Mallory asked.
Megan shook her head. "No, they seem to have worked everything out. The three of them are a good team. They don't even need to talk to know what the other ones need."
Mallory had nodded and allowed the concern for the team to pass.
"Of course, you know we wouldn't mind an extra hand if you wanted to come back early," Megan had said.
Mallory had smiled and shook her head. At that point, her powers had still been unpredictable, and she'd still been sneaking off for hours at a time to get lost in her thoughts about Brek, usually ending up crying in the loft or in a field. Megan hadn't pushed it, and they went to bed early that night.
The next time someone had brought up her return to the team and the city, it had been Wally who'd brought it up. It had been two months later, and he'd brought Peter to spend the day with Mallory and the animals. While the younger boy had been riding a cow, Mallory and Wally had been sitting at the kitchen table, Wally with a whole apple pie in front of him. Ma Kent had heard he was coming and she was prepared.
"So, you like it out here?" her friend had asked as he finished the last of the pie.
Peter let out a yell from outside and they both looked out the window to see him getting up after falling off old Betsy, the gentlest cow on the farm. Mallory smiled and nodded. "I love that there's no stress. I don't have to worry about anything, not getting up in time for school, or getting back from school before I burn something, or when we're gonna have a mission. If I could choose what my life had been, I think I would have chosen this."
Wally had squinted his eyes slightly, and she raised an eyebrow. "What?" she'd asked.
Wally shrugged. "I don't know, I just never pictured this as your dream life, that's all. You love being on the team."
Mallory nodded and shifted her gaze to the oven door behind him. The letter Brek had left for her flashed through her mind, reminding her that she would die. And not just die, but sacrifice herself. She remembered how mad Wally had been after the Kobra mission, and how desperate he'd sounded when he said that she, Robin, and Artemis terrified him with the risks they took.
It was on the tip of her tongue to finally let the secret she'd been burdened with the last five months out to him, after all, they told each other everything, but she'd stopped herself at the last second, deciding against it. What would telling him accomplish, anyway?
"I do love being on the team. I guess I just didn't realize how much I needed the break," she said instead.
Wally had nodded, looking relieved. "Good, for a second there I thought you were gonna say you were quitting."
Mallory chuckled. "No, never. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
"Yeah, uh, when do you think that's gonna be?" the speedster had asked, his face changing to serious.
Mallory had tilted her head, her face slightly pleading. "I don't know," she'd said, and her friend had nodded and dropped the subject, pushing away from the table and suggesting that they go back outside to play with Peter, who was now bored of sitting on the cows as they grazed and had moved on to chasing the chickens across the yard.
Another two months had gone by after that, and the visits from the team had died down to nothing. Clark still came up sometimes, but it wasn't every weekend like it had been the first few months, and Conner only came once in those two months. In truth, Mallory was kind of glad about that. She loved her team, but this was supposed to be a time of rest, and every time someone came up to see her, it dredged up the letter and thoughts of her impending death, not to mention they always asked when she was going to come back to the team. No, she preferred the relative solitude of just her and Clark's parents.
They had come to be like grandparents to her in the many months she'd been there, and they had picked up on her body language quickly, knowing when to leave her alone and when to distract her from her thoughts. When she went to the canyon to practice or let out some fire, they didn't say anything, and as long as she did her chores, they didn't mind if she spent the day gone without letting them know where she was going, and she appreciated that more than they would ever know.
She landed on the sand pile Pa had made for her and started walking back to the house, the soft grass tickling her bare feet as she went. She pushed open the screen door and let it slam behind her as she went from the laundry room to the kitchen.
"Ma, I-" she started, expecting to see Martha washing dishes like she was every day this time. Instead, the woman was standing at the counter with a pitcher of lemonade, and Robin and Wally, in civies, were sitting at the table with half empty glasses. Mallory tilted her head slightly, surprised, but she took the glass Martha offered her and slid into the chair across from them.
"Hey, what are you two doing here?" she asked, looking between them questioningly.
"Well, we came to see if you're ready to come back to your real life yet," Wally said, his tone a little harsh.
Mallory set her glass on the table and rested her arms on the edge. "Why?" she asked.
Robin tapped his watch and a holographic screen popped up. Martha left the room to give them the privacy they needed to talk freely. "We have a mission coming up, and we're gonna need all hands on deck," he explained.
Mallory sighed and got up, going to the counter with her untouched glass of lemonade, just needing to move away from them. "Guys, I'm not ready," she said, one hand wrapped around the handle of the pitcher, but she made no move to lift it.
Wally scoffed in his chair, and she turned to look at him. He was eyeing her disdainfully, really it was almost angrily, and his arms were crossed. "I can't believe you," he said.
Mallory looked at him, a little confused. "What?" she asked, her hands abandoning the pitcher and glass and finding her hips.
"You said you needed time, ok, we gave you time. But Mal, it's been almost seven months. How long do you really expect to hide out here? The team needs you, how can you just turn us down like that?" the speedster had stood up while he talked, and Robin watched Mallory silently from his seat, waiting for her answer.
Mallory's eyes widened slightly, hurt that her best friend was accusing her like this. "I'm not ready to go back in the field," she told them, focusing on keeping her voice calm.
"Yeah, well, you never will be if you don't leave this farm," Wally shot back, but Robin held up a hand, silencing his friend.
"The mission isn't for another two weeks. We just figured you could come back to the cave with us. The team can help sharpen your fighting skills, and you can patrol a few times before the mission to get back on your feet out there," he said, his voice calm and businesslike.
Mallory sighed and leaned against the counter, the edge of it cutting into her bare back. "I'm sorry, Rob," she said, and she genuinely was. But the thought of going back to the cave, back in the field, made her stomach knot up with anxiety.
Robin sighed heavily. "Yeah, so are we," he said, and he stood and turned to Wally. "Come on, Wal. She's not gonna help us."
He went out the back door, but Wally stopped in front of Mallory, seeming to tower over her suddenly. He'd hit a growth spurt since the Legion had been there.
"When you get tired of playing pretend and you figure out who you really are, you know where to find us," he said, and he stalked out of the kitchen to catch up with Robin.
Mallory stared at the doorway in minor shock, the hurt feeling rising in her chest. "Mallory?" Ma called from the living room, and Mallory sighed and pushed off the counter, walking towards the living room. Martha was sitting on the couch with a book.
Mallory stopped just before the doorway and looked at herself in the hall mirror. She had her hair braided down her back, and her plaid shirt was short and tied at the front, cutting off on her rib cage. Her jean shorts were low cut and short, and she'd gotten more tanned from spending so much time outside. She sighed. Maybe Wally was right. Maybe she was playing a part. She never would have worn something like this before. She shook the thought off and went in the living room.
"Yeah, Ma?" she asked.
"What was that all about?" The elderly woman asked, setting her book to the side. Mallory smiled to herself when she saw the page number was the same it had been last night.
"Nothing, Rob and Kid just want me to go back to the cave, that's all," she said.
Martha patted the sofa cushion beside her and Mallory sat down. "So are you going to go?" she asked.
Mallory grabbed the end of her braid and fiddled with it. "I don't want to," she said quietly.
Martha nodded firmly. "Well, there's your answer right there. You need to do what's best for you for once, not the rest of the world." Mallory nodded, but she was still conflicted. The half of her that would always be a hero first and foremost was screaming at her to stop being a coward and put her suit on, but the other half, the half that housed all her fears and insecurities, argued that the next mission, every next mission, could be her last, and that she really couldn't be sure that her powers wouldn't desert her anyway, so she should just stay on the farm where she was safe and her life had routine.
They heard the front door close, and Clark called, "It's just me, Ma." Martha smiled and stood up to meet him. "Well, what are you doing here in the middle of the day?" she asked. Mallory pulled her legs onto the couch and waited for him to answer. "Well, I'm on my lunch hour. Couldn't think of anywhere I'd get better food," he replied, giving Martha a kiss on her cheek. She smiled and went to the kitchen to make him a plate. Clark walked over to Mallory, and she looked up at him from her seat. "How are you doing, Torch?" Mallory rolled her eyes, the nickname reminding her of her conversation with Robin and Wally. "Fine," she replied. Clark tilted his head. "Just 'fine'? What happened?" he asked. Mallory glanced back towards the kitchen where they could see Martha putting a pan on the stove.
"You want to go for a walk?" Clark asked. Mallory nodded and stood up, following him to the back door. "We'll be back in a little bit, Ma," Clark told Martha as they walked out the door. She nodded and didn't question as they went out to the yard heading towards the neighbor's wheat field.
"Well?" Clark asked.
"Robin and Wally came today. They wanted me to go back to the cave with them. They actually got mad when I said no. Can you believe that?" she asked, looking up at him for support. Instead, he looked away, a strange look on his face. Mallory stopped walking and stared at him. "Not you, too," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Clark sighed. "Mal, don't take it like that. You haven't been yourself in a long time. The team's just worried about you, that's all. And, well, so am I. I know it was my idea for you to come out here, but I didn't expect it to last this long. Is there a reason you don't want to go back?"
Mallory crossed her arms. "Maybe I don't want to be Inferno anymore," she said quietly, glaring to the side.
Clark stared at her in shocked silence for a long moment, then he got control of himself and nodded. "Well, if that's really what you want, then it's fine with me. You shouldn't be forced to be a hero," he said.
Mallory hid her guilt and confusion, and she tried not to let it show that it hurt that he would just let her walk away from half of her identity.
"You ready to head back to the house? Ma should have some food ready by now," Clark said, and Mallory followed him back in silence.