It's not my best chapter, but I wanted to show how big of a decision this is, and it's been a while since she and Wally have had some time together. Hope it's not too bad, please review.

The next day, Mallory was running patrol in Metropolis, but her mind was anywhere but in the present. She'd been thinking about the invitation nonstop since the League had brought it up, and no matter how much she knew she loved being on the team, she couldn't help but think about what it would be like if she did accept the invitation.

She was so far removed from what she was doing, she didn't even realize that she'd landed to take care of some robbers until she was in the middle of a fight, and losing. She struggled to get the upper hand, about to resort to using her fire, when a flame that wasn't hers shot between the two people she was fighting, startling them enough to give her the edge she needed. She spin kicked, knocking one of them on his back, and threw a punch at the other one, knocking her out. She heard sirens coming, and a hand was suddenly on her arm. She sighed and looked up, meeting the familiar red eyes as the man flamed up, pulling her up as well.

"Hey, Hot Spot," she said, flaming up and flying up after him.

They landed on the tiered building that held so many memories for her, and she wondered briefly why Isaiah had brought them to their old spot.

"What was that?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Mallory sighed and leaned against the pole in the middle of the roof, resting her head on it as a sigh came from deep within her.

"You almost lost to a couple of petty crooks! What's with you, Inferno?" he asked, and Mallory thought she heard more than friendly concern in his voice. She didn't answer, instead just looked out over the city for a long moment. Isaiah was getting irritated, she could practically feel it. He stepped in front of her view and opened his mouth to continue to lecture her.

"The League offered us seats," she said quietly.

Isaiah's expression went from concerned anger to impressed understanding in a fraction of a second. "Ohh," he said softly. When she didn't volunteer any more information, he tilted his head and asked, "and what did you say?"

"Nightwing told them that we're fine where we are," she said.

Isaiah kept his eyes on her, and she made the mistake of meeting them, letting them burn into her with their gentle concern and genuine interest. "And what did you say?" he asked.

Mallory shrugged. "You know I love my team," she said.

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. I know you love them enough to put them first in this decision, but you can't do that, Mallory. Not this time."

Mallory sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why are you so good at reading me?" she asked, genuine irritation in her voice. Isaiah just laughed and said, "You're pretty much an open book, Ba-" Mallory shot him a look, and the nickname died on his lips. "Sorry," he said quietly.

Mallory shook her head. "No, don't be. I'm a little over sensitive these days. How's Toni?"

"We broke up. She wanted to focus more on getting her career started, and I didn't want to pull up stakes and follow her across the country when she could have found work here."

Mallory winced. "I'm sorry. I really wanted that to work out for you," she said.

He nodded. "Thanks. So, tell me what you're thinking about the invitation."

Mallory shrugged. "I don't know," she said.

"Well, you always assumed that you would join the League someday, didn't you? It's the next step for you, and you're not a sidekick anymore. You never really were."

She shook her head. "It's not that simple," she said.

"Why not?" Isaiah asked.

"We've been through too much. I mean, if they'd asked us to join a year ago, I think we would've jumped at the chance, but now… I don't know. Too many things have changed."

"Then maybe it's time that you made a change, too. Mallory, I care about you. I don't want you to be stuck in a rut for the next five years just because you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. You forget, I know your team, I know how they feel about each other. They won't hold it against you if you want to move on. You're not going to lose them, Mal. They love you too much."

Mallory sighed again and nodded, looking towards the Daily Planet. "We're not the kids we used to be," she said quietly.

"Then don't stay stuck in the past. Let it help you become twice the hero you were back then, and don't let anything hold you back from that," Isaiah said.

Mallory smiled a little and looked back up at him. "You know, you give pretty corny pep talks," she teased.

He grinned and shrugged. "Hey, if you really listen to them, they all sound pretty stupid," he said.

Mallory shook her head, the smile still on her face. "Thanks for listening. Hey, how's Nikki?"

"She's good. She's getting a little too big for my liking, but hey, what are you gonna do?"

Mallory chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm having the same problem with Peter. He just insists on getting older, no matter how I feel about it."

They stood there in silence for a moment, then Mallory started walking to the edge of the roof. "I need to finish patrolling," she said.

Isaiah caught her arm, and she looked at him expectantly. "You sure you're ok?" he asked.

Mallory chuckled. "I'm fine, this is just a big decision. I'll think about it some more. Be careful out there."

He gave her a two fingered salute and grinned. "Always," he said, and she smiled and dived off the roof, catching herself and flying across the city, feeling like the burden wasn't quite as big.

That evening, Mallory found herself standing in front of the familiar white door. She hesitated, then brought her knuckles down lightly on the wood.

"Hang on a minute."

The sound of Wally's voice brought a smile to her face, and she called, "I know you can move faster than that."

The door swung open a second later and his face broke into a grin. "Hey, Mal! What are you doing here?"

Mallory chuckled. "Well, thanks for saying it like that, first of all, and second, I was hoping you could help me with something."

"Sure, come on in," he said, swinging the door wider so she could come in. She went to the kitchen table and sat down, and Wally grabbed a bag of chips and put it down before he joined her.

"Dick told me about the invite," he said before she even opened her mouth.

Mallory nodded, then looked around. "Where's Artemis?" she asked.

Wally shrugged. "She left about an hour ago. Said something about advisor/friend confidentiality."

"So Zatanna," she said.

He nodded. "Or Megan."

"So, what should I do?" she asked.

Wally shrugged. "Don't ask me. I don't want to get the blame if it's the wrong choice," he said with a grin.

"You know me better than anyone," she pressed.

He sighed. "Mallory, I can't make this decision for you. If you're really this on the fence, then maybe it's a sign that you want to take the offer. If you didn't, you wouldn't even be thinking about it."

Mallory grabbed a chip out of the bag. "What would you have done, if you and Artemis hadn't quit the hero life?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I hardly think the League would need two Flashes, though. That might make the decision a little easier."

"Raquel was talking like she wanted to leave. Dick got pretty upset."

Wally shrugged again. "He'll get over it. You can't really blame him. He's the only one of the OGs left. The rest of us aren't even heroes anymore. I think he's just scared of this much change, but he's good at adapting. Once he sees that we're still sticking together, he'll be fine." He chuckled and added, "Besides, it's not like he would let us drift very far apart."

Mallory smiled. "Nope, he sure wouldn't."

"What did your parents say about it?" he asked.

Mallory shrugged. She'd gone over after running her patrol to tell them, but they'd refused to say anything on the matter. "Nothing. They didn't want to influence me one way or the other," she said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Wally chuckled. "Good for them. Forcing you to think for yourself, I like it."

Mallory laughed and pretended to be insulted. "Thanks a lot," she said.

Wally pushed away from the table. "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's go. You need some relaxation time, and I've been dying for a funnel cake."

Mallory laughed and followed her friend to the amusement park outside of town. They rode a few rides, shared a funnel cake, meaning that Mallory managed to pull off two pieces before Wally practically inhaled the rest of it, and they ended the evening by watching a movie in his and Artemis's apartment until the former archer came home.

"Mallory, hey, I had a feeling you'd come by," she said, tossing her keys on the kitchen table and walking over to the sofa.

"Yeah, I'm sure you did. So, what did you and Zatanna come to?" she asked.

Artemis smiled. "We have no secrets, do we?" she asked. Mallory shook her head, and Artemis shrugged. "She hadn't made up her mind when I left, but she thinks Raquel is going to accept it."

Mallory nodded slowly. "Yeah, I thought she would," she said. She suddenly got up and grabbed her jacket off the back of the sofa, pulling it on and zipping it up.

"Where you going?" Wally asked, looking up at her, Brucely asleep on his stomach.

"Well, I have a paper due tomorrow, and I need to get back to the dorm early to clean it before Jen gets back. Thanks for everything, though. I needed a night off."

He waved and she went to the door, finding the nearest zeta tube quickly and going back to the cave.