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Mallory stayed away from the hero life for over a week after finding out about Artemis. There was no word on Megan, and their safety was a constant worry nagging at her, but she couldn't do anything for them, and she needed to try to work through everything, heal a little. Things were still very tense with her and Jen, but they had found a way to coexist to the point that Mallory didn't feel completely unwelcome in the room. On the weekends, though, both girls tried to leave the room to avoid each others' company.
One such Saturday, Mallory was up and dressed before Jen woke up and she left her room without a clear goal in her mind. She walked around campus for a while, just spacing out and thinking, and she ended up at the little cafe on campus. She was one of the first customers there, so the wait wasn't long, and she ordered her coffee and crescent quickly. She was collecting her breakfast when she heard, "hey, Mallory." She looked over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Alex at one of the tables with a to-go cup and his bag.
"Hey, Alex, where have you been keeping yourself?" she asked, meeting him halfway to the door. He held it open for her and she walked back out into the sunshine.
"I've had a hard time trying to keep up this semester," he admitted.
Mallory nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said.
"Yeah, but it's almost over, and after finals, I'll be starting an internship at a clinic a few blocks from here."
"Wow, that's great! They'll take you without experience?"
He shrugged. "It's part of the program. This is my last semester, and if I do this internship, I can test out of a lot of the practical stuff in med school and get out quicker."
"That's so cool! And here I am, still struggling through social sciences to be a social worker," she said. It was weird to think that she would be graduating at the end of the semester. Well, if she lived that long. She shook the thought out of her head and smiled. "So, you ready to start your job with the Justice League yet?" she asked teasingly. His face changed, and Mallory tilted her head. "What?" she asked.
"Well, I don't know if that's what I'm looking to do anymore," he said.
Mallory deflated, a little crushed. "What happened? All the stuff with the League's starting to get to you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "It didn't at first, but now, I don't know. There's just so much coming out against them, it's getting hard to believe them. But it's fine, I'm still going to specialize in alien and superhuman care. It's a pretty new field, so there should be a lot to do in it. What about you? You still willing to defend the League?"
Mallory sighed and looked at her coffee, thinking about Dick's secret and what it had done to them. "No, I guess not," she said quietly.
He bumped her shoulder with his while they waited at the crosswalk. "It's going to be fine. If they're innocent, they'll find a way to prove it, and if not, then the worst that happens is that we put our trust in the wrong people for a little too long."
Mallory forced a smile and nodded. "Right."
He checked the time on his phone and winced. "I have to run. It was good seeing you, it's been a while."
"It was good seeing you, too," she replied. She watched him start walking back to the heart of campus, and her feet started moving away from it, into the city. Before she even knew what she was doing, she found herself at her favorite zeta tube, her hand hovering over the keyboard as she thought about where she wanted to go. She couldn't go to the cave, she didn't want to go to the warehouse and risk running into Dick, she couldn't go to the Watchtower and risk running into Zatanna or Raquel. She wanted to tell them that Artemis was alive, but she was torn. On one hand, she felt that it wasn't her place, and on the other, she knew they deserved to know and she would be hurt and angry if one of them kept it from her.
She realized that there was only one person she wanted to see at that moment, and she punched in her coordinates before she could talk herself out of it.
She came out in an alley in Star City, and she started walking. She didn't even know if Roy had gone back to his old place, she was just going on blind assumption at this point. She climbed the stairs, still just as dingy as she remembered them, and knocked on the door lightly. It opened a few seconds later, and it widened when he realized who it was.
"Mallory? What are you doing here?" he asked, ushering her in.
Mallory shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea. I just, I don't have that many options anymore."
He clearly didn't understand, but he didn't ask. "Ok, um, I'm making Lian some breakfast. Do you want something?" She shook her head. "Ok, make yourself at home, I'll be right back."
He went to the tiny kitchen to finish cooking his daughter's eggs. He had just dumped them into the pan when they heard the baby crying from down the short hall.
"Uh, Mal, can you go get her? These are the last eggs in the house, if they burn she'll be in a bad mood all day."
Mallory chuckled and hopped up readily, going to Roy's room and pushing open the door. The baby bed was jammed between his bed and the closet. The room was cramped, but she made her way through and greeted the baby with a smile.
"Good morning, Lian! You ready to get up?"
The girl looked up at her with some confusion, and Mallory thought for a moment she would be scared of a stranger being the first person she saw, but instead the girl laughed and threw her arms up to be picked up. Mallory smiled and scooped her up.
"You are a little bundle of sunshine, you know that?" she asked as they walked back to the living room. She glanced at Roy in the kitchen and added, "it's a good thing you didn't turn out all grumpy like your dad. Don't worry, if he ever gives you any trouble, you just come find me."
He glared at her playfully. "Good to know you're going to conspire with my daughter to make my life miserable," he said.
She grinned. "That's what family's for."
He shook his head and turned back to the stove, putting the eggs on a plate. Mallory moved out of the way so he could come out of the kitchen.
"Don't you think it's about time you looked for a bigger place?" she asked, sitting on the sofa with Lian on her lap and Roy next to her, feeding the girl spoonfuls of egg.
"I can't afford it right now. Disappearing for five years and coming back with a younger self doesn't exactly look too good on a resume. Besides, Jade and Lian are in and out, I only have her now because…"
He glanced at her, and she tilted her head. "Because what?" she asked.
"Well, she's not completely out of the life. I think she's after Kaldur for killing her sister. She didn't tell me that, but…"
Mallory winced. She wanted to tell him so badly, and she was still so torn. "Is it really working out? You and Cheshire?" she asked, changing the subject abruptly.
He shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard, but, yeah, at least, I hope it is. For her sake."
Mallory looked down at the child in her arms and smiled involuntarily at her sweet smile, her searching eyes, her little hands reaching out to her. She felt a yearning that she'd never felt before, a burning desire to start her life, to get a job, meet someone, have a kid. She stopped the thoughts before they started, not allowing herself to go there. If she let herself think about that, she would drive herself crazy. She couldn't have that kind of life, she could never be a mother. She was going to die. With the invasion already started, she could practically taste the bitter end, and she refused to leave her child like her birth mother left her. Even with the knowledge that they would never be alone, that her parents and the League and the team would take care of them, she wouldn't do it.
They sat on the sofa for a while before Roy shifted in his seat and faced her. "So, you going to tell me why you showed up at my door at seven in the morning?"
She shrugged, not looking at him. "I guess I just didn't want to be alone," she said quietly.
She spent most of the day at Roy's apartment, catching up with him, telling him what was going on with the League, and about how she didn't like the original Roy. In the afternoon, however, she got a call from Conner. She answered it immediately.
"I found a lead on Icicle Jr, can you come for backup?"
Mallory glanced at Lian, realizing that this was just one more reason that she couldn't have a kid. "Yeah, I'll have to go to campus to get my suit. Send me the coordinates and I'll meet you there," she said.
"Ok, I'm on my way now. I'll meet you in Dakota."
Mallory gave Lian one last hug and started for the door. "Well, duty calls. Thanks for today," she said to Roy as he picked up his daughter and walked with her to the door.
"No problem, anytime, little sis."
Mallory smiled a little at the old nickname. "See, that's why I don't like the other Roy. He's just plain hateful. At least you have your moments."
He just smiled, and she jogged back to the zeta tube, ready to put Jr back in Belle Rev with his father, where he belonged.
The heroes met on a roof in Dakota City across from a washateria. Mallory looked at the building and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, you sure he's in there?" she asked skeptically. "Yep," he replied simply. She nodded. "Ok, then. What's the plan?"
Ten minutes later, Mallory was standing at the edge of an empty parking lot a few blocks away, regretting asking the question that put her there. She was waiting for Conner to bring Icicle to her, at which point she was basically just supposed to stay hidden until Conner needed her. She felt them coming before she saw them. The ground shook slightly every few seconds as Conner jumped towards her, and the temperature dropped from Jr's ice. She raised her body temperature to compensate and watched as they came into view.
"I should've killed you back at your cave when I had the chance," Icicle yelled, throwing ice at Superboy.
He jumped out of the way, glancing around briefly for Mallory. "I don't get it, Jr, what do you really have against me? I thought we were pretty good friends," Conner said, stalling.
"You made me look like a fool, and you stole my girl," he replied.
Conner sighed. "That's what this is about? That was five years ago, and she was my girlfriend! Look, will it make you feel better to know that we broke up?"
Jr paused, straightening a little. "Really?"
Conner charged at him. "Yeah," he grunted, barely missing landing a punch.
"Dude, that sucks, you were great together," Jr said, sending ice spikes at the clone. Mallory tilted her head, amused at their love-hate friendship.
"What happened to you wanting to kill me?" Conner asked.
"Hey, I'm still mad at you for taking my girl," Jr replied.
"Well, good thing I brought you another one then," he said, and he backed up to give Mallory room to do her thing. She crossed her arms and stayed put, and he looked around in confusion. "Inferno?" he called.
She walked out from the shadows, jutting a hip out. "I'm not coming out to that introduction," she said.
Conner groaned. "Ugh, fine, I didn't bring you for him. Now, just do something."
She nodded and flamed up, and Jr grinned at her. "Now, this should be interesting," he said.
Mallory didn't return the smile. "I really doubt that," she said.
He started shooting ice at her and she matched it with her fire. The parking lot was flooded before long, so Mallory stayed in the air, circling the villain. She managed to get some shots in, and every time he put up a wall, she burned a hole through it almost immediately. She sighed, realizing that their powers would continue canceling each other out until one of them wore out. She looked at Conner, who was just leaning on the ticket building, watching them fight.
"Hey, don't strain yourself over there," she called sarcastically, glaring at him.
He pushed himself to his feet and walked over. "I thought you could take him by yourself. My mistake," he said, and he ran at Jr.
With that comment, Mallory was now determined to do it herself, and she stopped the senseless fire and dodged the ice coming at her, circling around it and making her way to the source. Jr looked between them nervously, and their fists collided with his face at the same time, forcing him to the ground. He wasn't unconscious, though, and he stared up at the heroes.
"Ugh, dad's gonna kill me," he groaned, sitting up.
"You know, we could help you get away from him if you wanted," Conner said.
Jr shook his head. "Yeah, right. Ok, call your people, bring me back to Belle Rev," he said.
Mallory lifted a hand to do exactly that, but Conner shook his head. "No cops. All I want from you is some information, and you can go," he said.
Mallory shot him a look and pushed him a few steps away. "What are you doing? He's a criminal! Conner, he helped blow up the cave!"
Conner shook his head. "I know him, he's only on the wrong side because he was born into it. He's not a bad person. And if it hadn't been him on that squad it just would have been someone else."
Mallory opened her mouth to argue, but Conner walked back over to their prisoner, who had gotten to his feet while he waited. She sighed and joined him, keeping a close, distrustful eye on the cryokinetic.
"So, what do you want to know?" Icicle asked, looking between them.
"We just want to know where Manta is keeping Miss Martian. You tell us that, and you can leave."
Jr's face became conflicted. "Dude, you know I can't do that. They'll kill me if it comes back that I helped you rescue her."
"I promise, it won't come back to you. We just need to know if she's ok, and where she is. After that, you're out of it."
He sighed and looked away for a second, then groaned and smiled. "Well, I guess it can't do you too much good. I don't know exactly where she is, but I know that she's being kept on Manta's ship somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, and she's going to stay alive as long as Aqualad is being healed."
"And once he's recovered?" Mallory asked.
Jr's face fell and he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I really am," he said, his voice conveying some pain at their situation.
Mallory tilted her head, surprised at his genuineness. She wasn't sure what she expected him to be like, but this wasn't it.
He took a step backwards. "So…I can really go?" he asked.
Conner looked at Mallory and smiled. "It's up to you, Inferno," he said.
She tilted her head, looking at Jr, who was watching her face anxiously. Finally, she smiled a little. "Sure. We'll catch you later," she said.
Jr laughed. "Oh, I like you," he said, and then he jogged to the edge of the parking lot and went down the street. Conner crossed his arms, staring at her, and she rolled her eyes.
"What? You knew I would say that, or you wouldn't have asked me," she pointed out.
He nodded. "Yeah, I know. But you still let him go."
She shook her head. "We shouldn't be joking around right now. Megan, Artemis, and Kaldur are in a bad spot, and we don't even know where they are to try to help them out."
"We know where they aren't, we can work with that. But we just have to trust that they can handle things until we figure out what to do on our end."
Her hands clenched into fists. "If Nightwing had just told us what was going on, we wouldn't be in this situation," she muttered.
"I know, but he didn't, so we need to move on."
She sighed and nodded. "Not exactly either of our strong suit, but ok. So where do we go from here?"