I needed a gap chapter, and I realized that I haven't had Volcana in the story in a while, so here we are. I hope you like it, please review.

A week later, Mallory was soaring over the Atlantic ocean, on her way to the tiny island that Volcana lived on. She found the ex super villain sunbathing on the beach, as usual, and landed next to her. The woman looked up bordely. "Well, what do you want?" she asked.

Mallory smiled and knelt beside her. "Oh, come on, you know you love when I visit," she said teasingly.

Volcana narrowed her eyes, but she smiled a little. "Ok, fine, you're my only visitor except for Superman's monthly grocery delivery. Now what do you want?"

Mallory shrugged and sat down next to the woman. "Nothing, I just thought I'd come see you. I'm kind of hiding out from the League, Batman's been going a little crazy with mission assignments lately. I did tell Superman that I'd ask if there's anything special you want this month."

Volcana shrugged. "Not really."

Mallory nodded went to stand.

"Well," Volcana said, "you could tell me what's been going on with you. You know, if there's anything you want to get off your chest or whatever."

Mallory smiled and settled back in. "My brother became a hero. His name's Vigilante."

"Well, that's a little showy, don't you think?" she said.

"More so that Volcana or Inferno?" Mallory asked.

The older woman tilted her head in acknowledgement. "True," she said. "You know, I'm a little surprised that you would want you brother to become a hero. Is he older or younger?"

"Younger, and I didn't at first, but he wore me down over time."

"Still, after everything that's happened to you, I'd think you wouldn't want to put him through it."

"Nothing bad's happened to me just because I'm a hero. Everything that's happened to me is related to my powers."

Volcana looked up at her, not buying it. "Like Aquagirl?" she asked sarcastically.

Mallory winced and looked away. "You know," she said, "every time I come here, you ask me questions about my life."

"Yeah, what about it? I'm bored, what else is there to do around here?" Volcana replied, a little defensive.

Mallory smiled a little. "Nothing, but you've never told me anything about yourself."

"There's nothing to tell," the woman replied.

Mallory shook her head, the smile still on her face. "Oh, come on, I know there's a story," she said.

"Well, it's one that you'll never hear," Volcana replied.

Mallory's smile widened. "Oh, sure I will. You can't leave the island, and I don't have to get back for a good, long while. I'm sure I'll be able to wear you down–eventually."

Volcana snorted. "Good luck with that," she muttered.

Mallory smiled, eying her, staying silent as she studied her for a few minutes, then she sighed loudly and started, "so, you know the time I was kidnapped by Luthor? I had just gotten back from–"

"Oh, not this again," Volcana groaned. Mallory beamed at her as the ex villain sighed and said, "fine, I'll tell you." She sank to the sand, sitting cross-legged, facing the woman. "What do you want to know?"

Mallory shrugged. "Oh, just everything," she said. "For starters, how did you get to the School for Paranormals?"

Volcana rolled her eyes. "Well, for starters, I was fifteen when I found out about my powers. I was playing dodgeball with some kids at school and, well, let's just say that it's a very good thing that Abigail was good at the game." Mallory chuckled. "When I told my parents, they didn't believe me. That is, until one night when their after dinner argument turned into a physical fight. I tried to get them to stop, and my mother ended up with a burn across her neck. After that, they started bringing me to doctors, psychiatrists, exorcists, anyone they found that they thought might cure me of my disease. Nothing worked, and my powers kept growing. Then they found the School for Paranormal Children in Metropolis. They didn't even tell me that they were enrolling me, my mother just pulled up to the school one day and told me that everything was set and they were expecting me. She didn't tell me goodbye or anything. That was the last time I saw her." She snorted and added, "Of course, with the monster that I was made into, it's probably a good thing for her that I never found her."

"What about your dad?" Mallory asked.

Volcana laughed bitterly. "Oh, he didn't even come to the school with us. I don't know what happened to him either. I never tried to find out."

Mallory nodded and stayed quiet, waiting for Volcana to continue.

"I was only at the school for a few months before the government caught wind of me and decided to send an agent to observe me. I had barely learned how to keep the fire contained when I met Agent Kurt. He told me that arrangements had been made for me at another facility, and he brought me to the blackout site where I completed the rest of my training, faster than I ever would have at the school. After that, I was told that I was going to be running some missions in return for the training and board. It started small, getting rid of weapon depots in other countries, making sure that certain routes were impassable. Then one day I found out that they had been telling me that the buildings were deserted when they weren't. When I figured that out, I tried to pull the fire alarm before I started to burn everything, but that got me in trouble with Kurt. He took away freedoms, privileges like TV, books, a private room. If I tried to fight him or anyone else on the project, or if I tried to escape, the punishments would get worse."

Her eyes clouded over as she re-lived some of the memories. After a moment, she shook her head and continued. "Then one day, they dropped the act and gave me my first real target. He was some scientist that was on the verge of a breakthrough that the feds didn't want realized, so they sent me to eliminate him discreetly. Only problem was, when I went to burn the house down, I found out that his family was in it with him. His daughter smelled the smoke and came out of her room. She was eight years old. Kurt was in my earpiece, telling me to kill her, but I couldn't do it. They sent an agent in the house and had him kill her in front of me, and when I got back to the base Kurt told me that in the future, I would have two options: either kill them myself as quick as I wanted, or watch them die slowly. After that, things got a little easier, even the killing. Eventually I managed to escape, but I didn't know how to live a normal life, so I struck out on my own, killing whoever I thought deserved it and stealing to make a living. Two years into my new freedom, and I pulled a job in Metropolis. That was the first time I met your friend Superman. I got away then, but the merchandise I'd gotten was worthless on the black market, so I had to pull another job. As soon as I set foot in the museum, he was back. He probably would have gotten me that time if he wasn't so concerned with my well being. But, it turned out that he wasn't the only one on my trail. Kurt had been following me too. He kidnapped me and brought me to another blacksite, told me that I was going to be sold to another country to study me. I still don't know how Superman found us, but he showed up and freed me, saved me in more ways than one. And then, after doing that, he brought me to the island instead of sticking me in a prison for the rest of my life. Even when Belle Rev opened, he let me stay out here. I guess I do owe him a lot, even if he did keep me from killing that slimeball."

Mallory chuckled at that, but there was one more thing that she wanted to know. "Why do you stay here? We all know you can leave whenever you want, so why didn't you ever go?"

Volcana shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. When I was first brought here, I thought I'd just stay long enough to plan another job, maybe get some deniability, but as time went on, I just couldn't do it. Superman is the only person that has ever believed that I could be more than what the government made me. He trusted me to stay, he even trusted me to help you gain confidence and control. I guess I didn't want to betray that trust. And then you came along, and I just had to stick around and see how that would turn out."

Mallory smiled, then her face grew serious and she nodded. "We do trust you, you know. If you wanted to, Superman would give you probation, let you try to have a normal life in Metropolis."

Volcana looked a little surprised, but after a moment, she shook her head. "I don't want that. I don't have the best track record with civilians. Besides, I have everything I need here, including peace and quiet. Thanks, though. You're a good kid."

Mallory smiled and opened her mouth to say something else, but Volcana's normal tough shell returned and she grunted. "Alright, enough with the mushy stuff. You want to train, or are you just going to sit there the whole time?"

Mallory chuckled to herself and got to her feet, following Volcana to their training beach.