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Things were calm for the next few weeks, and there weren't any updates on Speedy. He was stable, but he remained unconscious. The doctors didn't know if he would ever regain consciousness. Roy came back to Star, spending most of his time in the hospital with Ollie. Other people came, too, Mallory, Wally, Dick, Dina, and Artemis all came, Megan and Conner came once, but Roy practically lived in the hospital room, and Ollie only left if he absolutely had to. He still had to keep up appearances, both as Oliver Queen and Green Arrow.
The public and the League were existing together, but they weren't the uplifted public servants that they once had been. The situation only seemed to get worse when Faris Air and Space announced that they had completed their rocket for a Mars outreach program. The public was split down the middle, with G. Gordon Godfry solidly leading the public away from the League. The League held a meeting about the upcoming launch a week before it was scheduled for.
"We need to openly support the launch. This project is too important to Earth's future," Nate said, standing at the head of the table. The other Leaguers seemed to be a little divided on that point, and he sighed and said, "of course, if there are any other points of view…"
"I agree that the launch is important," Canary said, choosing her words carefully, "I just wonder if it's the right move for us to be seen supporting anything with the public's opinion of us so low."
"She has a point," Barry said. "If we support the launch, it might just draw unwanted attention to it."
"It might also draw attention to the fact that the League is short handed right now," Rocket pointed out.
Mallory nodded. "It hasn't been easy trying to make Superman seem like he's around in Metropolis, and I know they're having the same problem in Gotham."
"All valid points," Nate said, "but if the League wasn't short handed, you know that the others would insist that we take a stand on this, and I don't see any reason to do anything differently now." Some of the others were nodding, and Nate pressed a button on his screen, sending a poll out to the others' screens. "I guess this is going to call for a vote. Just keep in mind everything that this decision involves."
Mallory and the other Leaguers looked at their screens. She sighed, thinking everything over, before she finally hit the 'yes' button. She fully agreed with the idea of the launch, and she wanted Inferno to be associated with it, no matter what that would mean for her image and popularity. It didn't take long for the others to vote, and the results were staggering in favor of supporting the launch.
Nate nodded. "All right, well, now let's address the concerns. There is going to be coverage of everyone in the League, which means that the others will be missed. We're going to need to do something about that."
"Couldn't Miss Martian step in and give us a hand?" Captain Marvel asked.
"She's good, but she can't be in eleven places at once," Zatanna said.
"Eleven?" Plastic Man asked.
The magician nodded. "The ten Leaguers that aren't here, and then out at the launch site."
Some of the other Leaguers looked at her. "What do you mean the launch site?" Aquaman asked.
"There's going to have to be some line of defense for the rocket. This is just the kind of thing the Light would want to sabotage, and even if it's not the Light, I guarantee that someone's going to try something," Rocket said.
"And there will probably be incidents across the country in protest," The Atom mused.
"So that leaves the team to protect the launch," Nate concluded. Zatanna nodded.
"Well, we have to do something to try to make the public think that the original members are still here," Red Tornado said.
Canary sighed. "It doesn't help that this is the kind of thing that they would be talking about."
"Well, people are used to the Green Lanterns coming and going, that makes it a little easier," Flash pointed out. "Maybe Troia could fill is as Wonder Woman for the day. If she stays high and doesn't let the cameras get a clear picture, that should take care of her."
"Yes, and perhaps Miss Martian could portray her uncle and say something at the site, and then go help with protecting the rocket," Nate suggested.
"So, that just leaves the Hawks, Icon, Batman, and Superman," Mallory said, ticking off the Leaguers in her head.
"Too bad Nightwing can't put on the suit for one night," Barry mentioned, looking at the younger members of the League pointedly.
Zatanna put up a hand. "I am not having that conversation with him," she said firmly, not a hint of levity in her voice.
"Besides," Mallory said, "he's going to be helping with the launch."
"What about Jett?" Canary asked, looking at the girls. "I know it's not ideal, but like you said about Troia, if she stays high enough and makes some adjustments to the suit, it might work."
Rocket shrugged. "It might work. The problem's going to be getting her to say yes."
"I'm sure Nightwing can manage it," Mallory said. She'd never known a time that Dick had asked for his sister's help and she'd said no. "I think the real problem here is going to be Superman," she continued, looking around. "He's never not around for something like this, and he's already been so absent from Metropolis for so long."
Nate thought about it. "What about Superboy?" he asked.
Mallory tilted her head. "He doesn't look enough like him to make a speech," she said.
"No, but if he stayed in the air while Megan gave the speech as J'ohnn…" Canary suggested.
"That could work," Green Arrow said.
"Except that he can't fly," Mallory pointed out.
"No, but Megan could hold him up with telekinesis," Rocket said. Mallory nodded, understanding now.
"Ok, I think we have it all covered now. If there's nothing else…?" Nate said. No one said anything, and he dismissed the meeting. Mallory went to the zeta tubes with everyone else, both anticipating and dreading the upcoming launch.
On the day of the launch, Mallory was in Metropolis early, staying public as much as she could, making her presence known all over the city. She passed Hotspot and his team a few times and nodded a thank you, and Lois called her the night before for an interview. Mallory said she wouldn't do it just for her, but she would do it in public for all of the reporters at the same time, just like several of the other Leaguers were doing. The time was set for a few hours before the launch, and she planned to keep it short. She'd never liked public appearances.
She went to Centennial Park where it was going to take place and found it packed with people. She landed a few feet away from everyone and walked over to where Angela Chan, the mayor, Luthor, and Lois were standing on a platform waiting.
"Inferno, you made it!" Angela said, like she hadn't expected her to come.
"I did," she replied, shaking the woman's hand.
"Will Superman be joining us?" the mayor asked.
"No, he's actually at the launch site. The League thought that it was important that we show our support. He'll be making an appearance at Farris Air and Space." She didn't miss the subtle eyebrow raise as she shook Lex's hand, and he squeezed her hand tight. She narrowed her eyes slightly, staring him straight in the eyes through her mask, and heated her hand until he had to let go.
"Well, I guess we should get started," Lois said, noticing the tension between the two. Mallory nodded and stood with them in front of the podium.
"Inferno, why is the League being so outspoken about supporting this outreach?" Angela asked.
Mallory tilted her head. "I wouldn't say that we're being outspoken about it. Everyone should stand up for what they believe in, and that's all we're doing. And if we can use our influence to support peace and comradery between planets, then we're going to do it."
"That's an interesting take after what the public found out about the Kroloteans impersonating high ranking individuals," Lex mentioned.
Mallory wondered why he'd been invited as one of the interviewers. "What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked, working to keep her anger in check.
"Well, just the fact that the Justice League knew about them before the public, and now you are trying to invite more aliens that have the capability of impersonating anyone they want."
"Well, first, the Justice League didn't know about the Kroloteans until the incident with Secretary General Tsing, which is exactly when the public found out about them. And as soon as we found out about them we began preparing the technology to detect them and locating the hostages. And about the Martian outreach, the point of the program isn't necessarily to invite them to the planet, it's to start up friendly relations. We aren't alone in the universe, I think that is abundantly clear at this point, and from what we've seen of other planets, we aren't exactly winning the technology race. If we set up relations with Mars, and maybe more planets in the future, we can depend on their help in the event of an attack."
"That's an interesting point, I don't think most people have thought of it in that way," Lois said.
"And what about the rumor that the League is going to be involved in the proceedings from here on out, instead of the governments of the world?" Angela asked.
Mallory chuckled. "Well, that was one I hadn't heard, but I can assure you it is completely false. We have no interest in being in charge of this thing, all we're doing is trying to keep everyone safe."
The crowd that was there started booing, and someone threw a bottle at her. She easily ducked it, but it shocked her for the people of Metropolis to be treating her like this.
Lois leaned closer to her. "Maybe you should go now. You need to start preparing anyway," she said.
Mallory nodded, but one of the comments thrown at her stuck and she turned around. "I know that many people are scared right now, and they don't know what to believe, but the Justice League is not the enemy. We're fighting for your right to do this, right here. To express your opinions without the fear of retaliation from more powerful individuals. And we aren't going to stop fighting for that, no matter what happens to us." She flew straight up, then back into the city.
Not long after, she got a call on her comm. She winced, assuming it was Nate commenting on her interview. She sighed and hit the button. "Inferno here."
"Hey, I saw the news. Rough day?" Green Arrow asked, his voice too concerned.
Mallory tilted her head. "It's fine. What do you want?" she asked.
He sighed. "Too much, huh?"
"A little," she replied.
"Ok, fine, I want you to call Roy and ask him to help you patrol Metropolis, at least until the launch is over."
"Oh, come on, Ollie. You know he's not going to leave that hospital," she said, staying high in the sky over her city.
"That's exactly why I want you to ask him. He's been holed up in here, practically living in Speedy's hospital room. He needs a break, he needs to get his mind off of it."
"So why ask me? Can't you get him to help you patrol Star?" she asked.
"No, I've already tried. I think he'll leave for you though. Nightwing would have been my first call, but he's going to be at the launch site, and he already called in Artemis, so I don't think Roy would believe that he needs him."
"Artemis is going with the team?" Mallory asked. It was the first she'd heard of it.
"Yeah, Dick just thought it would be better if they had one more person on the ground, and she was glad to come."
"Yeah, I'll bet. I'm surprised she hasn't been stepping out on her own," Mallory muttered.
"So, will you ask him?" Ollie pressed.
Mallory sighed. "Ok, fine. Does he have a comm?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, give me the channel, I'll see what I can do." He gave her the channel, and she called her friend as soon as she signed off.
"Who is this?" Roy answered.
Mallory smiled a little. "Wow, all those years on your own sure didn't help your manners any," she commented.
He sighed. "What do you want, Mallory?"
"Actually, it's Inferno. I'm calling on official business," she said teasingly.
"Ok, and what does that have to do with me?" he asked, his tone lightening a little.
"I was wondering if I could convince you to give me a hand patrolling until after the launch. Things are getting a little rough out here."
"Why don't you call someone from the League?" he asked.
"Cause we're too short handed. Besides, I'd rather have you. Come on, please?" she said, her voice turning a little whiny at the end.
He didn't say anything for a moment, and she prepared an 'I tried' speech in her head to tell Ollie, then he sighed. "Ok, tell me one thing," he said.
"What?" she asked.
"Did GA put you up to this?" he asked.
She smothered a chuckle. "Yep," she replied easily, grinning.
She could feel his voice lift over the comm. "Ok, I'll be there in two minutes."
"I'll meet you by the Planet," she said, and flew off towards the signature building. He appeared in the zeta tube on time and looked up, giving Mallory a smile and salute when he saw her.
"Ok, so where's the trouble?" he asked when she landed in front of him.
As soon as she opened her mouth, an explosion shook the ground, and Mallory's face turned grim as she half turned to see a trail of smoke snaking its way up to the setting sun. "Buckle up," she said, "it's going to be a long night."
An hour later, the two were on the ground, helping the police handle the wave of protests that had popped up throughout the city. Mallory had the crowd sectioned off into smaller groups to make it easier for the police to safely diffuse the situation, keeping a grid of fire steady. She let the people out one square at a time, and Red was dealing with the grids in the center. When there were only a few squares left, he made his way over to Mallory, who had backed up to the police vans. Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer were there too, communicating with other units across the city and giving their men orders.
"Hey, Inferno! Where's the boyscout? He's still leaving you to do the dirty work while he goes and makes his speeches everywhere else?" Dan yelled.
Mallory crossed her arms, letting the last of the fire die out on the pavement. "Since when do you want him to show up?" she asked.
"Since he started leaving kids in dangerous situations," he replied. "This ain't Gotham, we have a rep to keep up." Red snorted, but he didn't say anything.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Turpin. If you think I can't handle it, then maybe you should take it up with your superiors." She looked around him to where Maggie was hanging up her comm. "What do you say, Sawyer? You think I need help?"
She smiled. "Well, if you don't, then what's the Arrow doing here?" she asked.
Mallory shrugged. "Just getting some exercise. Are there any more disturbances?"
She shook her head. "No, this was the last one. If there are any more, my men should be able to handle them."
Mallory nodded, and Roy shot a line to the nearest roof. Mallory followed him up, all the way to the roof of the Planet. When she landed, he smiled at her. "Wow, two whole riots and a protest. Real rough night."
Mallory laughed. "Oh, please. It beats sitting in a hospital room watching a fifteen-year-old sleep. You're getting a little creepy in your old age, Red." He scoffed, and Mallory got serious. "You know, you found him, you don't owe him anything. You can go live a life, spend your evenings with your wife and kid while you can. You never know what's going to happen, don't waste any more time like this. Believe me, it's not worth it."
He gave her a strange look, his eyes searching her mask with what she knew was concern. "You never used to be this serious. You were the one to go running in without thinking, putting everything off until tomorrow. What happened to you while I was gone?"
She shook her head, shrugging slightly. "Lost one too many people. And then…" she hesitated, looking up at Roy.
"What?" he asked.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know how much you're caught up on, but did they tell you about the Legion?" He nodded, and so did she. "One of the members, Polar Boy, Brek–" saying his name out loud reminded her of everything she'd lost, and she could feel the scab getting ripped off of her heart. She'd tried to push the pain down for weeks, but here, on the rooftop, Roy standing there listening, she didn't want to keep ignoring it. "Well, he ended up going back with the Legion because of something I did. It hit hard, but I moved on. Or, I thought I did. But when Peter called me and told me that there was someone from the future at the cave…"
"You thought it was him," Roy finished for her.
She smiled at him sadly. "I'm pretty stupid, huh?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, you're just–human," he said gently.
She chuckled softly. "Well, not strictly speaking," she said, tilting her head.
He laughed and shook his head. "You know what I mean," he said.
She shrugged, looking out towards the ocean. "I'm really glad you're back," she said.
He nodded slightly. "I am too."
A beat went by in silence, and then their comms exploded. Mallory immediately sprang to her feet, Nate's voice coming through giving the League updates. "There's an attack on the beach! They're accelerating the launch!" he said. "If there are any Leaguers in the vicinity, get to the rocket."
"Negative, the team has it under control," Dick's voice came over firmly. "If the League intervenes, the project will never have the public's approval."
Mallory exchanged a look with Roy, nerves eating away at her stomach. He didn't say anything as they listened, grim looks on their faces. Several tense minutes went by with nothing. Mallory didn't even notice her fists heating up as she stared at the water hard, imagining that she could see the launch site and the fight unfolding. Then came the announcement, "The rocket's out of range, they failed." She sighed with relief, smiling at Roy.
"No! The rocket exploded!" "What happened?!" "Is everyone ok?" "The team's not answering!" "Someone needs to get down there!" the comms exploded all at once, and Mallory couldn't even distinguish anyone's voices.
"What's going on down there?!" she asked, panic seeping into her voice.
"We're not sure, the team isn't answering. Barry's on his way," Canary said.
"Artemis is hit," Dick's voice came over the comms, and Mallory's heart stopped beating, sinking to her stomach.
"I don't hear her heartbeat," Conner said, fear in his voice. Mallory glared at the ocean, willing everything to go back, willing her friend to get up.
"She's dead." Dick's voice sounded hollow over the comms.
Mallory's body went limp, her eyes going wide as the news sank in. Her hands went over her mouth as she tried to stop the strangling cry that clawed its way up her throat, but it came anyway. She couldn't seem to find any oxygen as the racking sobs took over her body, and her legs gave out under her weight. She felt Roy's arms wrap around her, pulling her close. He rested his head on hers, letting her cry, screams of anguish escaping her. "No, no, no, no, no," she moaned between sobs.
"What-what happened?" the other Leaguers were starting to recover now.
Roy's hand was on Mallory's head now, gently stroking her hair in an attempt to get her to calm down. "Inferno, look at me," he said, trying to get her to ignore the voices coming into her ear. She didn't look at him, all but crumpling to the gravel roof. He put a hand on each side of her face and made her look at him, his mask abandoned, his blue eyes full of anguish and concern and confusion, but as focused and clear as ever. "Mallory, listen to me. Breathe, ok? Take a breath."
It took a long moment, but she finally managed to draw in a shaky breath, coughing the air out. He pulled her close again, trying to take the comm out of her ear, but that was when they heard, "it was Kaldur. He was leading the attack, he stabbed Artemis."
Her eyes flashed open. "What did you say?" she asked, steam coming from her eyes as her tears burned off of her eyes.
"Kaldur, he kidnapped Lagaan, and he- he killed Artemis."
Roy backed up as Mallory flamed up involuntarily, hatred burning within her, consuming any lingering love she had for her former teammate and leader. She rose into the sky, knowing she needed to get to a safe altitude, knowing she couldn't contain it, and knowing that for the rest of her days, she would hate Kaldur for what he had done.
Roy watched from the roof as Mallory flamed up and started to rise into the sky. She just kept going up, higher and higher. He pressed his comm, opening their private channel. "Mallory–" he started, but his voice faded off. What could he say? That it was going to be ok? That was a lie, and they both knew it. All he could do was watch as she kept going up, until he couldn't see her light anymore.
Then, fire exploded across the sky. It looked like a nuclear bomb had been set off, and it spanned nearly the whole city. His eyes widened, and he hesitated, not knowing what to do. He could hear the Leaguers on the comm, calling Inferno.
"What was that explosion over Metropolis?" Nate asked.
He hesitated, thinking about pressing the button, but then he saw her, plummeting out of the sky. Alarm stabbed through his chest, shooting adrenaline through his body as he aimed an arrow and started running towards the edge of the building. He shot it just as his feet left the edge, and his body collided with hers just as the arrow found purchase. He grabbed hold of her, keeping her tight against his chest as they swung to a lower building and rolled painfully across the pavement. He was over her in a second, one hand holding his side where he'd fallen full force.
"Inferno?" he said, checking her pulse. "Mallory!" he yelled, shaking her gently.
For a long moment, there was nothing, and fear stabbed at him as he thought about losing two of his former teammates in the same night. Then, her eyes fluttered open, and tears started to roll out from behind her mask.
"Roy," she said, her voice breaking.
He gathered her in his arms, holding her as he made his way to the stairs. "I know, Mal, I know. Let's get you home."
She buried her face in her shoulder, crying softly the whole way to the zeta tube. Every quiet sob sent another stab of pain into his heart, and he wished with everything he was that he could have taken this away, that it could have been him instead of Artemis, that he could go back and warn her of what was coming. But he couldn't. All he could do was stay strong as Mallory broke down in his arms.
Roy didn't put Mallory down until they were in the cave, and even then he waited for her to move to get down on her own.
"Thanks, I'm feeling a little stronger now," she said hoarsely. They were in the training room, and they could hear the quiet crying coming from the living room. She sighed and started walking, expecting Roy to follow, but he stayed put. She turned around. "Aren't you coming?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I don't belong here anymore. Besides," he paused and sighed, then said, "I should go tell Jade."
Mallory bit her lip and nodded. "Thanks for being there tonight," she said quietly.
He nodded and turned back to the zeta tube without another word, and Mallory made her way to the living room. As soon as she appeared in the doorway and saw all of her friends there, she felt the hole open back up. Peter came over, his cheeks wet with tears, but a strong look on his face, and he wrapped his arms around her. She returned the hug, burying her face in his hair for a moment, holding him tight just to assure herself that he was still there. She noticed Gar sitting with Megan on the couch, and Conner standing by himself at the other side of the room. Zatanna was closer, though, and the magician walked over to Mallory. They didn't say a word, they didn't need to, they just hugged each other briefly and went over to where Raquel was standing by the bar, one hand covering her eyes as she cried. Peter stuck to Mallory like glue, and she kept one arm around his shoulder, needing him near. She could hear Mal and Karen go over to Conner.
"We'll find Lagaan. And Aqualad," Conner promised.
"What happened to Lagaan?" Mallory asked, looking at the team members around them.
"Black Manta took him prisoner before the rocket exploded," Barbara explained.
"Oh, no," Mallory breathed, looking at Megan. She felt bad about the hard time she'd given both of them, but her mind and heart couldn't stay on that when one of her best friends, one of her sisters, had just been killed by someone she'd once thought of as family.
Kaldur's voice popped into her head. "Blood is thicker than seawater." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her hatred boiling inside of her. He would pay for this. He had to.
"No doubt," Mal said, continuing his conversation with Conner. He looked around the room, where more Leaguers were starting to show up by the minute. "Where's Nightwing? He should be here," he said, his tone angry.
Conner sighed and looked away. "He went to tell Wally," he said.
Mallory bit her lip and pushed away from the couch, not looking at anyone as she practically ran to her training room. As soon as the doors slid shut, the tears started coming again. There was a punching bag hanging up, and she started hitting it, not knowing what else to do with her pent up emotions but turn them into anger. It wasn't fair, they were retired, they were out of the game, they were supposed to be safe. Artemis wasn't supposed to be dead, Kaldur wasn't supposed to have betrayed them, to have killed her. Her fists collided with the bag with record speed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pictured Kaldur's blade running through her friend.
She didn't know how long she was in there, it could have been minutes, hours, it could have been days for all she knew. The only thing she remembered after that first punch was Zatanna coming in and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Everyone's here," she said, her voice breaking. "We're going to give her a memorial in the grotto."
Mallory swallowed hard, her body freezing. No, they couldn't do that. If they did that, it was real, and she really didn't want this to be real. Zatanna tilted her head, knowing what Mallory was thinking. She took her friend's hand and held it tight.
"We're going to do this, Mallory. She deserves it. We're going to do it together."
Mallory nodded and let herself be led out of the training room and down to the grotto. Everyone was gathered around the newest platform. Everyone except Roy, Dick, and Wally.
"They aren't coming. Dick sent word," Zatanna murmured, leading Mallory to where Conner, Megan, and Raquel were standing together. Mallory was finally able to see Megan, and she gave the Martian a hug. She was closer to Artemis than any of them, except Wally, and she had just lost her boyfriend. It was a lot for one night.
Peter and Gar came over, and Peter put an arm around Mallory as Captain Atom pressed the button on the platform, and the holographic picture of Artemis shone up alongside all the others. This time, though, Mallory couldn't take her eyes off the picture, couldn't force herself to look at the other pictures that she knew were standing around. Through all the pain, all the loss, somehow she'd never thought that she would actually lose any of the original team, certainly not Wally or Artemis, especially not after they left.
Nate said a few words, but Mallory didn't hear any of them through the blood pumping in her ears. Through all of the emotions, all of the pain swirling around in her head, she managed to make one clear thought: This would be the last friend she would lose. None of them should have happened, and she was willing to do whatever it took to protect the people that she had left.