If you didn't notice, I posted a chapter on Thanksgiving. Hope you like this chapter, please review!
For over a week, the heroes prepared to enact their plan to clean Blue Beetle's scarab. Zatanna and Dr Fate worked day and night to prepare for the ritual, and the others worked on a plan to contain Blue long enough to bring him to Bialiya. Finally, Zatanna called the team and Mallory and Raquel to tell them that she was ready. They met at the warehouse to go over the final details.
"Where's Megan?" Mallory asked when she zetaed over.
"She went to Atlantis to pick up Lagaan," Batgirl replied.
The pyrokinetic exchanged a knowing look with Zatanna and Rocket, but they quickly turned their attention back to the matter at hand. "Ok, so is everything set?" Rocket asked.
"Yep, let's go," Impulse said impatiently.
"Hold on, do we know where he is?" Batgirl asked.
They shook their heads, but then Mallory got a message sent to her mask. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we do," she said, her annoyance clear in her voice. She pulled up the Metropolis news to show Blue Beetle fighting Toyman in the middle of a busy street. He was being unnecessarily violent, and at one point the arm of the robot nearly fell on a group of bystanders. Mallory lunged forward without thinking before remembering that there was nothing she could do.
"Let's go," Zatanna said, and they piled on the Supercycle and let Mallory drive them to the zeta tube.
They came out less than a block from the fight, and Mallory gave the controls to Zatanna and she, Batgirl, and Impulse got out and went to a low roof to watch what was going on. Toyman was captured and being brought away from the fight on a stretcher, and the crowd and news stations were surrounding Blue, cheering for him and asking questions.
"Hey, if the Justice's League's too busy to patrol their own cities, I'm happy to pick up their slack," he was saying.
Mallory narrowed her eyes, seething.
"Easy, Inferno. That's not Jaime talking," Zatanna reminded Mallory over the comms.
She rolled her eyes. "I know that. I still want to punch him though," she said, keeping her voice quiet.
"Ok, let's go get in position," Batgirl suggested.
Mallory and Impulse nodded. "Ok, I don't want to hear any more anyway," Mallory replied. They went a few blocks away, and Batgirl and Impulse hid on the roof. "Ok, you ready?" Mallory asked, ready to do her part of the plan. They nodded, and she flamed up and flew back to the fight scene. The crowd was leaving, and Blue Beetle took off in the opposite direction of the heroes. "Oh, no you don't," Mallory muttered, and she flew past him.
"Blue!" she yelled, and he paused and turned around. "Oh, Inferno, what brings you here?" he asked calmly.
Mallory narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing in my city?"
"Saving the crowd, putting a notorious criminal behind bars, just the usual," he replied.
"I don't need your help. From now on, you stay out of Metropolis. Really, if you knew what was good for you, you'd stay off Earth with the rest of the Reach."
He cocked his head. "Is that a threat?" he asked.
She crossed her arms. "You take it however you want. I'm done playing this game. I'm going to the source."
"Oh, really? You think you can defeat me?" Blue asked, and he started laughing.
Mallory refrained from rolling her eyes and doubled the size of her fire. "Try me," she said.
He made a plasma gun and aimed it at her. "Well, if you insist." He shot it at her, and she lunged to the side, but she could only dodge for so long. The hot liquid hit her, covering her from head to foot. She simply burned it off and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Really?" she asked, unimpressed, then she started spraying fire at him, and got close enough to put in a few punches.
"Easy, Mal, you don't want to hurt Jaime," Rocket told her. She sighed and slowed down, allowing the Reach to get in a punch that sent her flying back a few feet.
"Enough!" Blue yelled, and he made two swords. "This ends now."
He flew towards her, and she turned and started flying away. He pursued, and she hid a grim smile as she led him right where she wanted him. As they passed the building the others were on, Batgirl shot her line, catching his foot, and he came to a sudden stop behind Mallory as she attached the line to the building.
"Batgirl, what are you doing? You know this won't hold us!" he yelled.
"It'll hold for a couple of seconds," she replied.
"And that's all I need," Impulse said. He ran up the line, and as soon as Jaime broke the line, he scrambled his flight pack, sending them both plummeting to the ground. Bart jumped off of Blue Beetle and Mallory caught him and tossed him to a building so he could run down to the ground. She and Batgirl met him there, and the Bat tossed some knockout pellets at him.
"Sweet dreams, Blue," she said.
Mallory got ready, knowing that they wouldn't work on him. Sure enough, two of his staples came out, pinning Batgirl to a tree. Mallory and Bart attacked, Impulse slamming him forwards into Mallory, who punched him and shot fire until he was forced into the side of a building. Bart kept running, getting up speed and using it as a force to do more damage. Blue shot another staple, and it hit Bart in the back, slamming him face-first into a brick wall. He groaned and slumped down, unconscious.
"Impulse!" Mallory exclaimed, and Blue turned to her.
"Don't be jealous, Inferno. You will soon join him," he said.
She was about to flame up, but the staples came too fast. She dodged two, but the third slammed into her with enough force to knock the wind out of her, and it pinned her to the wall next to Impulse. She tapped into her strength, pushing it, and she almost had it out of the wall, when three more came, pinning her even more. She glared at Blue.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, stalling.
He didn't answer, just created two swords and walked towards her, scraping them against the street and sending sparks everywhere. "Since you are awake, I will kill the others first and allow you to watch. Now, which would you prefer to go first? Perhaps the Impulse? He is a most annoying creature."
Mallory struggled against the staples, and he lifted his sword. Just as he brought it down, Rocket put up a force field, trapping him in her bubble. Mallory sighed in relief and looked over.
"Glad you didn't wait till the last minute," she said sarcastically.
Rocket shrugged. Blue made his sonic gun, and Zatanna stepped out of the alley and started a spell. The sonic attack didn't do anything, and she said, "I reinforced Rocket's force bubble with my magic. Blue's not going anywhere."
"Great. You want to help me out?" Mallory asked.
Her friend said another spell, and the staples shattered. Batgirl and Impulse slumped to the ground, and Mallory went to Bart to see if he was ok. They both got to their feet on their own and they went back to the supercycle. Mallory took the controls and started them off to Bialiya.
"You did a great job, guys. I wasn't sure you could hold him off long enough," Zatanna said as they went.
"You did good, too, figuring out that spell for the reinforcement bubble," Impulse replied.
Zatanna smiled and leaned back, settling in for the long ride.
"Enjoy your advantage while you can," Blue said from the bubble in the back. "The Reach track my every move, and when we're through with you, there won't be enough left for a DNA identification." The heroes exchanged bored looks, otherwise ignoring him. "Tell me our destination, and I'll make your deaths painless," he announced a moment later.
Mallory, Zatanna, and Rocket exchanged an amused glance. When they got to Bialiya, Mallory went by the map Batgirl had uploaded in her mask until they got to the side of the mountain, then she scanned the side to find the door, blasting it and bringing Sphere in slowly. Bialiyan soldiers ran towards them, already shooting.
"We've got company!" Rocket yelled, she and the others jumping up.
"Thanks for the announcement, I never would have guessed," Mallory yelled back, putting up a fire shield in front of the bike. Impulse moved in his seat. "I'll–"
"Mrasid!" Zatanna said, and the guns floated into the air and Mallory lowered the shield.
Impulse looked at her with disappointment. "Hey, I was gonna do that," he complained.
"You can still knock him out," she said.
"Oh, yeah. Crash!" he replied, and he did just that, clearing their path. That is, until he ran into Devastation and she managed to grab him by the ankle, holding him at arms length. "Hey, hey hey! Let go!" he yelled, kicking his free leg and windmilling his arms.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "Someone take the controls so I can–" she was cut off my Mammoth slamming into the side of the supercycle, sending them all flying into the wall.
"Rocket, the force bubble!" Barbara called when they all landed.
"Holding, but I'm a sitting duck here!" Rocket replied.
"Look out!" Mallory yelled, pushing her friend out of the way of Sugar. The minion touched the floor as she landed, melting away the old stone.
"Inferno, I think that's on you," Zatanna said.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Z," she said, turning to face the villain.
"You were fools to bring us here. Queen Bee is our ally, and her minions will destroy you."
Mallory laughed. "You say that like we've never fought her minions before," she said, cocking an eyebrow at Sugar. "They're overrated."
The villain growled and charged her, aiming her hands at her neck. Mallory caught them, and Sugar's eyes widened when nothing happened.
"The name's Inferno, what did you think was going to happen?" she asked. She got one hand free and slammed a fist into her enemy's face, slamming her into the wall behind her, and she fell hard, unconscious. Zatanna said a spell, sending Devastation and Mammoth into the hole in the floor, and Mallory tossed Sugar's unconscious form in after them right before Batgirl sealed it with foam.
"Girlfriend, someday you have to tell me how you figure out those backwards words so fast!" Rocket said.
Zatanna smiled mysteriously. "Maybe backwards is my native tongue," she said. Rocket and Inferno looked at each other. "Seriously?" Rocket asked.
"Come on," Batgirl said, leading the way down the corridor. "Let's get to work."
Impulse ran up to Mallory and Rocket, and the girls tilted their heads. "Where did you disappear to?" Rocket asked.
"Oh, uh, bathroom break, don't worry about it," he replied, speed walking away.
The girls chuckled and followed the others to the temple. They looked around the room at the ruins, and Zatanna nodded. "I'll need some time to get ready," she said.
"You, uh, sure you have the power for this?" Impulse asked.
"Me? No. But I'll summon it from those who do." She went to the center of the temple and stood there, floating in the air, legs crossed, meditating. Rocket lowered the bubble down in front of her and stood next to Inferno, watching their friend get ready for the ritual.
"This wasn't so bad," Mallory mentioned.
The next second, Green Beetle came flying in. He had swords out, and he yelled, "They all die now!"
Rocket gave Inferno a side glare. "You had to say it, huh?" she asked.
Malory winced, flaming up. "Sorry, I know. Rookie mistake." She flew in front of the others, keeping her fire hot. It was their best defense against this particular beetle. She made a circle of fire around him, holding it there. Impulse laughed behind her.
"Ha! Those Martians just can't take the heat."
"No, but stay alert. They have other skills to compensate," Batgirl warned.
Mallory looked through the fire. "He's gone!" she said, keeping the fire going in case he was camouflaged. Batgirl and Impulse grunted behind her, and she knew he wasn't. She closed her fist to stop the fire and turned around just in time to dodge a sonic blast. She looked over at her partners, but they were out cold. "Great. I could use some help here!" she said, shooting more fire. A lizard dropped from the ceiling onto Green Beetle's head, and slowly started to morph into an elephant. "Thanks," Mallory said.
Beast Boy nodded, but he was thrown over by the enemy, and Green Beetle stood up, taking out his swords. Bee enlarged in front of him and shot him in the eyes, and he grunted and stumbled back, giving Wonder Girl a chance to get her rope around him. Robin came swinging down. "You can thank us later," he said, slamming his feet into his face. Vigilante ran over from the shadows with his dart guns out, shooting them at the damaged parts of the armor. It healed before they made contact, though, and Green shot his sonic gun at the team and Mallory, sending most of them back. Gar was able to hold his ground, and Peter stood right behind him, throwing in some explosive pellets. They went off a few inches away from the Martian, which made him stop the sonic attack for the time being.
Zatanna started an incantation, and suddenly a scarab hieroglyph came off the top of the tower and stuck to her forehead, and a blue projection of a woman in Egyptian looking clothes appeared behind her. "Woah," Mallory breathed. The temple shook as the ruins began to repair themselves, rocks rising into the air, plates of hieroglyphs finding their places, and the big beetle on the wall turned blue, sending a blue light out over the rest of the temple. Rocket let the bubble down and flew out of the way.
"Fools!" Blue said, and Green added, "you will all die!" They both took out their plasma cannons, and Mallory looked at them nervously, she and Rocket getting ready to get in the way if they had to. Zatanna didn't even seem to notice them, and both of the cannons went off.
Mallory moved, but she knew she was too late. The next thing she knew, though, Green was beside Blue, and Zatanna was finishing the ritual, completely unharmed. She looked around and saw Bart standing next to the platform as a light covered the Beetles, and she sighed in relief.
'Knew he was here for a reason,' she thought, smiling at him.
The light faded, and the scarab fell off of Zatanna's forehead and she started to fall to the floor. Impulse ran over and caught her.
"Zatanna, you ok? Did it work?" he asked. Everyone was looking at the Beetles, wondering the same thing.
"Let's find out," she said, and she held out a hand and said a spell. The scarabs took off the armor, showing the wearers' true forms. She sighed in relief. "It worked," she said weakly. "Jaime and B'arzz O'oomm are back in control of their own bodies."
"It's true," Jaime said, a huge smile on his face. "I can feel it. I'm free of the Reach, for real this time."
"You're one hundred percent sure?" Batgirl asked skeptically. "Because we've been through this before."
"I am certain of it," Zatanna replied.
Robin scanned the Beetles with his wrist computer anyway. "Seeing no outside signals since Zatanna worked her mojo. Neither Beetle is in contact with the Reach."
"Hey, hermano! Congrats!" Impulse said as he and Zatanna walked over.
Jaime looked at the magician and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you," he said. She smiled and returned the hug.
When they let go, he looked to the side and muttered, "Oh, right, like you're happy about this."
"I am! I swear!" Impulse said defensively.
"You know, I believe you," Jaime said.
"Course you do! Up high!" Jaime held up his hand to high five Impulse, and Mallory walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's good to have you back," she said.
He smiled at her. "Thanks. I'm really sorry about what I said, and everything I did, and fighting you. I'm surprised you'd still want to help me after all that."
Mallory smiled and shook her head. "That wasn't you, Jaime. Besides, I couldn't let the Reach destroy the legacy of one of the best heroes I know."
Jaime nodded. "Ted Kord," he said.
Mallory tilted her head. "No, you."
His eyes widened, and his face split into a grin. "Thanks, Inferno."
"Uh, all that's great, but Queen Bee's goons are waking up!" Karen announced.
"Which means it's time to go," Batgirl said.
They went to the Supercycle, who provided them with more seats, and started out of the cave. Mallory flew along with the others who could, letting Batgirl take the controls as they went back to the warehouse. They filled Blue in on how they knew about the temple, and then reported to nightwing that the mission had been a success and they were on their way back. Mallory looked at Rocket, a huge smile plastered on her face.
"What's with you?" her friend asked.
Mallory shrugged. "Oh, nothing. I just forgot how much I loved this," she said.
"What are you talking about? We do this all the time," Rocket said, though she had a smile now too.
Mallory shook her head. "No, I mean being on the team, doing something good without there being dire consequences, winning. It feels really good."
Raquel chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. I missed that feeling."
Mallory nodded. "Yeah, me too."