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The next morning, Mallory zetaed to the cave. Wolf was the only one in the living room, and he stood and totted over to meet her, leaning against her for a rub.
"Hey, Bud. I missed you," she told him, rubbing his side affectionately. She heard some footsteps and indistinct voices coming towards the room and gently pushed Wolf away, waiting.
"Everything's fine, Z. The new birds got me out before anything really happened, it's just a few bruises. It's a good thing I upgraded my suit, though," Dick said.
They came in the room, and Mallory said, "well, sounds like I missed something."
"Mallory!" Zatanna said.
Mallory grinned and met the magician halfway, giving her a hug. Dick came over, and Mallory grinned at him. "I got my present. Thanks for breaking in my room," she said, giving him a hug.
"Hey, anytime," he replied.
"Where is everyone?" Mallory asked after a minute.
"We're meeting in town, Conner and Miss M are in town, we're waiting on Raquel. So, how's college?" Zatanna asked. The zeta tube whirred to life behind them and they turned to see Raquel appear.
"Hey, college girl!" Raquel said when she saw Mallory.
The pyrokinetic shook her head. "You're acting like I've been gone for months," she said.
They went to the zeta tube and came out a few blocks from the restaurant. The others were already there. After they exchanged hellos and ordered, Wally said, "so, how're the new recruits doing?"
"They're fine. They're learning quickly," Dick said.
Wally nodded. "Lagaan still trying to make trouble?" he asked.
Conner scoffed, but Megan said, "no, it's really not that big of a deal."
Raquel gave her a sideways look, then said, "well, not to interrupt Megan while she's talking about this, but I have some news." They look at her, and she broke into a grin. "Darius and I are moving in together!"
"When did that happen?" Zatanna asked.
"Last night. I can't wait to tell my dad."
Wally rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "Does he know that your dad's Icon?" he asked.
"Well, yeah, duh. Don't worry, my dad likes Darius, he ain't gonna kill him."
"Well, I think I'll have Superman in the area, just in case," Mallory joked.
Raquel rolled her eyes. "Stop it, y'all. It'll be fine. So," she said, looking at Dick, Zatanna, and Mallory, "any prospects for y'all?"
Dick rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? I don't have time for dating between picking up beats at work and my night job," he said, and Zatanna shrugged and shook her head. "I'm still trying to find a job that doesn't involve pulling food out of a deep fryer," she said.
They looked at Mallory, and she smiled a little. "I have a date for Friday night," she said.
"Look at you, been in college for two seconds and you already have a hot date," Raquel said.
Mallory laughed and shook her head. "It's not all that. I met him yesterday when I went to that street show with Jen. He's her boyfriend's friend, and we ended up spending most of the night together."
"What's his name?" Megan asked.
"Alex. He's from Opal city," she replied.
Zatanna crossed her armed on the table and smiled. "No wonder you canceled on us yesterday," she said.
Mallory grinned and shook her head. "I'm not gonna make too much out of this. I mean, we'll probably just go out once and then never talk again."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that while Megan starts planning your wedding," Wally said.
"Well, if you want a wedding to plan, Miss M, I'm sure Wally wouldn't mind volunteering for it," Mallory said.
Wally sat up a little straighter. "Hey, now, don't be getting any ideas," he said, looking at the female members of the team.
Artemis laughed. "Don't worry, Wally, we're not ready for that," she said.
"Have I told you recently that I love you?" Wally asked.
Artemis shrugged. "Not since this morning," she said.
"Oh, Wally, you slackin'," Raquel said.
Wally shrugged. "Hey, I've only got two hands."
"Oh, hey, speaking of hands, when do we get to meet Bat's new ones? You said you were going to bring the new birds to the cave a week ago," Mallory said, looking over at Dick.
He smiled. "Well, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I think they're ready to join the team, if that's ok with you guys."
"Yeah, of course. It'll be fun to have another little Robin around the place," Zatanna said, smiling teasingly.
Dick smirked. "Yeah, well, they're not exactly as charming as I am," he said.
"Yeah, well, you're not exactly as calm as Kaldur, but you still do fine in his role," Conner said. He was joking, but the group felt the shift in the air around them at the mention of their friend. They were quiet for a moment, then Megan said, "so, has anyone heard from Kaldur?"
Dick stared at his plate for a moment. "No, but I heard that Garth's teaching at the conservatory of sorcery," he said.
Mallory nodded. "Good, Mera needs more time off to be with Little Arthur," she said.
Wally snorted, and everyone looked at him. "What?" Megan asked.
"Nothing, just, who names their kid after themselves when their name's Arthur? That poor kid," he said, laughing harder. The others joined in, eager to get back to the light conversation, and they started trying to guess what each other's kids would be named.
"Conner and Megan have to name their kid a C or a K name," Mallory said.
"Why?" Megan asked.
"'Cause he's gonna be a Kent, and there's already Conner, Clark, and Kara," Mallory replied.
"Your name starts with an M," Artemis pointed out.
"Hey, I'm not blood, I'm just the stray Clark took in," she said.
"What about Mallory? What would she name her kids?" Megan asked.
"Blaze," Wally said immediately.
Mallory arched an eyebrow. "How creative of you," she said.
Wally grinned and shrugged. "I liked it."
"OK, Wally's kids should be named Speedy and Quiver," Mallory said.
Wally's face lit up and he turned to Artemis. "Hey, Babe," he started, but Artemis put a hand up and said, "No."
The team finished eating and Raquel had to leave to tell her dad about her moving out, and Dick said he had to be at work in a few minutes. Mallory was the next one to leave, telling them that she had to get back to campus. She gave Artemis and Wally quick hugs, then went to the zeta tube, punching in the coordinates for Metropolis.