Sorry if this chapter isn't as good, it took me a long time to write it, and by the end I just wanted to be done. Hope it's not too bad, please review.
The next night, the team started getting ready at the warehouse. Mallory smiled when Wally showed up in the old yellow and red, snacking on a box of protein bars like she'd seen him do before every mission for years. She walked over and swiped one of the bars.
"Hey!" he said, but he smiled. She returned it, taking a bite of the bar.
"You ready for your last mission?" she asked.
"Yes," he said decisively. She just nodded, taking another bite. "What, no pouting? You're not going to try to convince me to come back?"
She shook her head. "No, not after this year. I'm glad you have something to leave for."
He smiled and nodded. "You'll have something worth quitting for, too, someday."
The smile fell off of her face as her real topic started to come up. She shook her head slightly. "No, I doubt it. But, uh, I actually wanted to talk to you about that."
He tilted his head, looking a little concerned. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Uh, I wanted to ask you for a favor. If–if something happens to me tonight, will you look in on my family? I know Peter will be ok with the team, but just…just be there for him, for them. I know you would without me asking, you already are, but I need to hear it from you."
"Of course, but don't even think about that. Nothing's going to happen tonight," he replied easily. She didn't answer, and his face grew concerned. "Mal?"
"Hmm?"
"What's wrong with you? You're going to be fine, everyone's going to be fine. You'll be able to watch out for your brother yourself."
Tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she shook her head, her secret too heavy to hold any longer. "No, I'm not," she said quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Wally asked.
She looked at him sadly. She didn't know what came after death, but she was sure that whatever it was, wherever she ended up, she would miss him. "I'm going to die, Wally."
His eyes turned panicky and he searched her face, hoping that she was joking. She didn't smile. "How do you know?" he asked after a long moment.
"Brek told me that I would die in an invasion. If this is the end of the invasion, then it has to be when he's talking about."
"You've known for years, and you never told me?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I never told anyone. Well, except Lois."
Something clicked in his mind. "So that's why you didn't want to come back," he murmured, then his face filled with regret and he added, "and we made you come anyway."
Mallory shook her head firmly, her face hard as she said, "No, this isn't on you. Do not blame yourself for anything, ok? That's not why I told you."
"Why did you tell me?" he asked.
"'Cause I wanted you to look out for Peter, and…"
"And?"
She sighed. "I guess I wanted someone to talk to. I've made peace with what's going to happen, but…I guess Dina was right. When it comes right down to it, we're all afraid of dying."
Wally stared at her for a moment, then pulled her into a hug. "Hey, I'm not giving up on this," he said, his voice husky. "We know that the future isn't written in stone. You be careful tonight, and I'm going to keep an eye on you. The others will too. We can still save you."
"No, you can't tell the others," Mallory said firmly, pulling away to look in his eyes.
"What? Why? You don't think they have a right to know? You got mad at Dick for the same thing."
She shook her head. "I was mad at Dick because he made us believe that something happened and it didn't, that was different. I'm saving them from knowing what's going to happen before it does. Believe me, knowing the future isn't easier."
Wally sighed. "Fine, but I'm still going to keep an eye on you, and I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks, you hear? You'll be at the apartment when this all blows over."
Mallory smiled sadly and nodded for him. "Sure. I'll try."
"Ok, guys, last call, we load up in ten!" Nightwing called from the other side of the room, and the redheads got up and walked to the door with Conner and the boys, ready to get on the bioship and get going.
An hour later, everything was in place. Shadows uniforms had been left nearby for the team, and the newer members got ready and slipped into the waiting Shadow army one by one. Beast Boy and Bumble Bee disappeared, Megan had already switched places with Deathstroke, his unconscious form stowed in the bioship for safekeeping, and the others waited in the recesses of the cave for their cue to intervene. The plan was flawless, but it didn't stop Mallory from wondering what could go wrong. Still, she looked around at the others, the original team, and smiled. If she had to die, at least it was among family.
"We're in position. Keep us posted," Nightwing said on the link.
"Acknowledged," Kaldur said. Mallory winced. It was weird to have him in her head again. She knew she had to forgive him for the deception, but the level of hate she'd felt for him not that long ago was scary, and she hadn't fully worked through that yet. She shook it off and decided that she was glad. If she forgot about recent history, she could convince herself that it was just like old times.
"Do you really think they'll just volunteer where the key is?" Karen asked as they waited for their cue to jump in.
"I don't know, but if not, at least we should be able to figure out who doesn't have it and go from there," Dick said.
"Man, I forgot how much I hate stakeouts," Wally mentioned, shifting beside Mallory.
"Right? It's so retro, I mean, we could totally be chilling at the warehouse right now and let the others tell us when to come," Bart chimed in.
"You'd still be waiting around," Cassie pointed out.
"Yeah, but it wouldn't be in someone else's clothes. Seriously, what is it with bad guys and bodysuits?"
Mallory smiled at the chatter in her head. That was something else she'd missed, the constant company on missions, never feeling alone. She sighed and leaned against the wall, thinking about her life. "Inferno, stay ready," Nightwing said.
"Oooo, a Leaguer got in trouble," Gar said in a sing-song voice.
Mallory rolled her eyes, smiling. "Wow, BB, I didn't expect that from you. Lagaan, sure, but not you." That led to some good-natured teasing from the team, which the Atlantian didn't even try to fend off. "Yeah, ok," was all he said. Mallory tilted her head, feeling bad for bringing him into it, and realizing that he wasn't the rookie replacement he'd been when she first met him. She sighed.
"Not that I don't love having stimulating conversation playing in my head, but we're kind of in over our heads here. A little attention would be comforting," Artemis snapped.
"I never thought I'd say it, but I missed hearing your angry little voice in my head," Zatanna said sweetly. The archer groaned, her love language, and the OGs grinned.
"Artemis has a point," Kaldur interjected. "We must be cautious. Everyone stand ready."
"We are ready," Mallory said. "Just wake me up when something interesting happens, and I'll burn whoever you want."
She'd barely formed the words when they heard Black Manta's voice rise above the others. "No agreement exists that makes a slave of Black Manta."
Mallory perked up, moving with Wally to stand by Dick and see what was going on. Black Manta and Black Beetle were facing off, each with a weapon out.
"Well, things are spicing up a little," Conner said.
Beetle slammed Manta back to his side of the room, and things devolved from there. Tigress and Deathstroke jumped from their places in the rocks above and attacked the Reach's warrior. They were holding their own, but then the Reach soldiers started shooting. Mallory took a half a step forward out of habit before stopping herself.
"Everyone hold your positions," Dick ordered.
"Enough!" Kaldur's voice broke through the fighting, a familiar sound, and the room settled down. Their voices were quieter after that, so the heroes hidden in the rocks couldn't hear them, but they did watch with interest, and amusement, as the Black Beetle was told to stand down and the others started to talk again.
"Oh, he does not look happy," Raquel said.
"Poor baby," Zatanna said mockingly.
"You do realize that we're going to have to fight him in a minute, right?" Conner asked.
"Speak for yourself, I fight from afar when it comes to aliens with living armor," the magician replied.
"Guys, we have problems here," Artemis said.
"What?" Dick asked.
"Savage just said that they've arranged for the Leaguers on Rimbor to never return to Earth, and with the Reach here, the Green Lantern Corps is forbidden from ever returning," the archer said. Mallory's heart dropped. "And that's not all. The Reach think that they can get public opinion back on there–" she cut herself off with a sharp gasp, and they looked down to see what had happened. Ra's al Gual was standing in front of Artemis, not Tigress, with her glamor charm in one hand.
"We should–" Wally started, taking a step forward, but Dick blocked his path with an arm.
"No, this doesn't change anything, it just moved things up a little," he said. They watched as the Reach and the Light figured it out, that Kaldur was not on their side, and he and Artemis had been working against them the whole time.
"Kill them both," the ambassador ordered. Black Beetle nodded and stepped forward, and Black Manta stepped in front of his son.
"No! You will not kill my son!" he yelled.
"He's right," Megan said as Deathstroke, and she shot the fake bullets at them, and they fell to the ground. "The Light takes care of its own."
"Uh, guys, how you coming on the rest of the plan?" Artemis asked.
"It is well," Kaldur said. "This will be better anyway." He let his hand go limp, and the hologram he'd made detailing the plan to doublecross the Reach started to play.
"Turn it off!" Savage ordered.
"Yeah right," Megan said, then aloud she asked helplessly, "how?"
It played to the end, and by then, both sides had shown their true colors. The Light was standing ready, and Savage was fuming. He was saying something, Mallory couldn't make it out, then the ambassador let out a yell of frustration and anger.
"You Earthlings are a pestilence and a plague! You dare sabotage us? Dare betray us? Have you forgotten who controls the Warworld? The Light is fortunate we do not carve up your planet as we speak."
Savage stepped right up to the ambassador, seeming to tower over him with his broad physique. "That would indeed impress, as I have the Warworld's crystal key," he said.
"Ok, so the Light has the key, and the Reach has the Warworld," Conner said.
"Ok, then, I think we're ready," Dick said.
"That is all I needed to know," Kaldur said aloud, getting to his feet. The enemies on the ground stared at him in surprise.
"Kaldur, you're–"
"Alive, yes," Kaldur interrupted his father.
"If you would?" Artemis said, holding her hand out to Ra's. He just stared at he in shock, and she scoffed. "Ugh, and I always heard that the Great One was such a gentleman," she said, pushing herself to her feet. She and Kaldur moved closer together for protection while the others were still too stunned to do anything.
"Impossible! Deathstroke killed you both," Savage said.
"Wow, that's his comeback, the guy who's been alive for 50,000 years can't believe that two people didn't die?" Wally said.
"Just for a little while," Deathstroke said, holding a sword to Vandal's throat. "After all, I wouldn't want to do any permanent damage," she changed back to herself, finishing, "to my best friends. Not when a little misdirection and Hollywood special effects will do instead."
She moved to stand with Kaldur and Artemis, and Kaldur said, "for we value our true friends, and unlike you, we are not short on them."
"Ok, that's our cue," Dick said with a grin, and the original team jumped from their hiding places in the rocks. Superboy, Rocket, and Zatanna came from one side, Nightwing, Inferno, and Kid Flash from the other.
"Hey there Vandy! Did you miss me?" Kid asked, grinning down at the villain.
Savage looked around at them calmly. "Well played," he said, "well planned. But the Light always has contingencies." The Brain lit up, and the exits started to seal up. The top of the cave opened, and Shadows started to jump down, so many that they blocked out the moonlight as they came. When they were all in position, surrounding each group of heroes, Vandal continued, "I've had my fill of your interference. Do not expect to survive."
Malory narrowed her eyes. 'Wasn't planning on it,' she thought, eying the room and planning what she would do first.
Savage looked around at the Shadows. "Kill them all. Superboy may present a problem, but we'll deal with him when the other children lie bleeding on the ground."
"Still you refer to us as children," Kaldur said. "No wonder our successes mount. You consistently underestimate us."
The team that had disguised themselves as shadows revealed themselves, spread out in the room. Blue immediately flew up and took out the Reach soldiers, and the others started to take care of the Shadows. Mallory flamed up and flew forward, clearing a path of the assassins on her way to the one person that presented the biggest threat in her mind: Black Beetle. She slammed into the only threat there that she knew they didn't stand a chance against. He barely moved, and she landed in front of him and managed to land a few more punches before he grabbed her wrists in iron grips.
"You. You know, I was under the impression that you would be some great obstacle for us, and here you are, just like the others. Even if your friends may escape, I assure you, you will not."
Mallory narrowed her eyes. "I don't have to survive," she said, already raising her body temperature. "I just have to bring you down with me."
She brought her legs up, kicking him in the face with all of her powers on max, and he dropped her. Her body was moving before she even hit the ground, years of combat and training allowing her to go on autopilot as she came up with a plan and successfully kept the beetle away from the others. She thought back to all of the training with all of the types of aliens, hoping for something to stick out to her like it had with Bleez, but nothing came to her. The armor was impenetrable. Wait, no, not entirely. Her eyes widened when the thought came to her, and she looked around with her peripheral vision, locking onto the person she was looking for. She flamed up and flew a few feet away, and just like she'd hoped, Black Beetle took out his wings.
"Running will not save your life, meat," he said.
"Whatever you say, bug," she muttered, flying up some more. "Z, I could use some help," she said on the link, hoping that it was still up. Fortunately, it was, and the magician replied immediately.
"Uh, no."
"What do you need?" Wally asked hurriedly.
"I need magic. That's the only thing beetle's armor is vulnerable to, and I need a way in."
"Ok, what's the plan?"
"Well, I'll bring him to you, you open something up, and I'll take it from there," she replied.
Zatanna looked up and saw them just a few feet away. "Well, thanks for giving me time to prep," she said sarcastically.
Mallory locked eyes with her friend and smiled. "You'll be fine. Backwards is your native tongue."
She flew past the magician and Zatanna started her spell. It sent a ball of mystic energy at Black Beetle as he went by. It hit his chest, opening a hole where his emblem had been, and Mallory somersaulted in the air, changing direction to hit him head on without losing any speed. She sent her flames to her closed fists and slammed them onto his bare skin before the armor could heal itself. The alien yelled in pain and tried to bat her away, but she shot flames out of her feet, pushing him to the ground so fast he didn't have time to react. She let go just before they hit the ground, stopping herself, and backed off a few feet. Beetle didn't get up, and she didn't wait around to see if he would.
Before she could even check to see if he was alive, she was thrown forward by a stabbing pain hitting her back. She grunted and turned around to see a shadow still aiming an apocalyptic weapon at her. She had a fireball ready, but another shadow came out of nowhere, kicking the ninja's knees. The assassin yelled in both surprise and pain, and before he even hit the ground the newcomer had brought his hand down on the back of his neck, knocking him out. Mallory tilted her head, getting ready to fight if she needed to, and the shadow pulled off his mask, revealing Vigilante's grinning face. She laughed and nodded.
"Thanks. Now, I think Robin could use a hand," she said, nodding to where the Boy Wonder was fighting about ten shadows by himself. Vigilante nodded and made his way through the fighting without a word, and Mallory surveyed the fighting briefly to see where she was needed, and she saw Wally taking out shadows. He looked up as their smoke bombs went off on their belt, and the next thing she knew, he was beside her, taking out a shadow behind her.
"You're supposed to be watching your back," he said.
She smiled. "Well, isn't that what you're here for?" she asked, ducking to let him punch an oncoming ninja. As he dealt with that one, she moved around him to burn another ninja's sai before it hit them.
"Klarion!" Megan exclaimed, and the whole room seemed to pause as the witch boy jumped out of Savage's ring and turned Deathstroke's sword into a fiery snake, with Megan caught in the middle. At the same time, they heard Nightwing grunt and looked to see the leader backed against a wall fighting Ubu.
Mallory looked at Wally. "Go. I've got this," she said. He tilted his head, and she nodded. He didn't need any more convincing, just ran to help their friend, and Mallory flamed up and was beside the Martian a split second behind Lagaan. She put up a hand optimistically, but just like usual with the Lord of Chaos, she couldn't feel his fire.
"Hurry! She's dying!" Lagaan yelled.
"I'm trying!" Mallory yelled back. He grunted in frustration and jumped into the snake's mouth without a moment's hesitation. "Lagoon Boy!" Inferno yelled, her eyes wide. He burst out of the fire and the snake slithered away, leaving the Atlantean and the Martian in a heap.
The snake turned back around and charged them, and Mallory jumped in the way. It grazed her arm, burning through her jacket. She yanked it off, and the snake went for the other arm, now bare, catching her a little lower. She flamed up and flew away, but it came again, one head splitting into two as it prepared to strike. She shut her eyes, fear and acceptance mingling together as she opened her eyes, annoyance the main thing she felt as she thought, 'really? It had to be Klarion?' The snake came at her, blocking escape, and she felt herself being yanked to the side. When she opened her eyes, Wally was holding her, running away from the snake.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he asked.
"I can't fight it. I can't control it, and trying to fight it head on isn't working," she said.
"Well, make a snake of your own," he suggested.
Mallory's eyes lit up. "You're a genius!" she said.
He grinned. "Well, duh."
She rolled her eyes. "Just drop me," she said. They could see that Black Beetle was up now, and Vandal and Klarion had already left.
He slowed down and gave her a boost up, and she hovered there, flamed up, and created a giant cobra on the ground. Her fire faced Klarion's as the two snakes battled it out, sparks flying as they collided until a stream of water, provided by Kaldur, left both creations nothing more than steam on the ground. Mallory looked at him in surprise, and he offered a tentative smile, the fighting settling down behind him.
"There are times when fighting fire with fire is not as effective as sneaking in and smothering it with some water," he said. Mallory nodded, understanding what he was saying. She was still mad at him for everything, but he was right. They would never have gotten to this point fighting the Light head on.
He walked back over to where his father lay defeated in a pool, and Mallory landed beside Vigilante, who was panting and leaning against a rock. She put a hand on his shoulder, still regaining her own breath.
"We did it," he said between pants. "It's over."
She smiled at him, ruffling his hair. Then it hit her: it was over! The fight, the invasion, was over, and she was still alive! She laughed out loud as the thought hit her, and all of the weight of years of carrying her secret left her all at once. She pulled her brother into a hug, giddy with excitement and relief. Peter laughed and tried to shove her off, and she allowed it after a moment, walking over to the pool where Kaldur was still standing, looking at his father. Nightwing, Wally, and Artemis were also on their way, and Nightwing got there first.
"I had hoped to end this tonight," Kaldur said when he heard them coming, "but Savage escaped with Klarion, as did Black Beetle and the Reach's head scientist. Luthor and Queen Bee never showed, and even R'as al Gual will no doubt–"
"Are you kidding me?" Dick interrupted, his face splitting into a grin that Mallory hadn't seen in a very long time. "Kaldur, you won!"
"Won? Dude, you triumphed!" Wally put in, he, Artemis, and Mallory walking up.
"You've crippled the Reach and literally broken the Light in half. You even took down Deathstroke before the summit. And since we holographically recorded the entire deal, we'll be able to use the bad guys' own words against them to clear the Justice League," Artemis continued, bending down to pick up the glamor charm that had been recording everything.
Gar ran over and slammed into her, hugging her tight. She laughed, twisting around to see him. "What was that?" she asked.
He grinned up at her. "I'm still just so glad you're alive!" he said.
"Same," Peter said, coming over. "And that Aqualad's not a traitor."
Gar stuck a finger at Dick, glaring at the leader. "No more faking anyone's deaths for at least a year," he said firmly.
The others laughed, and Mallory nodded. "Seconded," she said, looking around at the others.
"Agreed," Kaldur said, looking down.
Dick put a hand on their friend's shoulder. "Kaldur, this has been a good night. Maybe the best we've had since the three of us first took off for Cadmus six years ago."
Wally walked over to Kaldur's other side. "Come on. Enjoy the moment, my friend. You've earned it."
Kaldur sighed and looked back at his father, and Mallory looked at Artemis. "Is it just me, or should we be taking offense to that? I mean, he basically just said that the best night he can remember is the last one where none of us were in it."
Artemis chuckled and crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow at their younger friend. "Well?" she said.
Wally shook his head, moving away from the original sidekicks and standing in between the girls. "Yeah, Nightwing, jeez," he said.
"Hey, guys, come help us with this!" Raquel yelled, gesturing to where they were trying to deal with the sea of unconscious assassins littering the floor. The others sighed and went to help, but Wally caught Mallory's arm, holding her back. She looked at him while he examined the burns on her arms. She winced. She'd forgotten about them.
"So, you're still here," he said.
She nodded, rubbing the burns. "Guess you were right," she said, "the future isn't written in stone."
He grinned. "Told you," he muttered.
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're always right."
He pulled her into a hug, and she smiled, returning it. "I'll see you at our apartment when the cleanup's done. I picked up a funnel cake before I came. I guess I could let you have a piece or two."
They started walking over to the others, and she laughed and muttered, "yeah, like I ever needed your permission."
As soon as the cleanup was done, the team and League gathered in the warehouse to discuss what it meant. The League watched the recording, and Captain Atom smiled for the first time in weeks.
"This will be more than enough to convince the UN to uninvite the Reach, and it is clear proof that the Justice League was framed. We'll need to get it to Rimbor, this is all the proof the others will need for their case."
"We can do that," Conner said, stepping forward. Megan was right behind him, nodding.
Atom handed Superboy the flashdrive. "All right. Hurry, we don't know how much time they have left."
They nodded and left immediately, and Captain Atom took the other flash drive and started for the zeta tube to show it to the UN.
Dick, Kaldur, Aquaman, and Red Tornado had gone to the Watchtower after the mission, but they came back a few hours later, going to the front of the group.
"The War World is out of Earth's orbit," Nightwing announced. The others looked around, not sure how to react, and Kaldur stepped forwards.
"You have all done good work today, but this fight is not over yet. The Reach have not left yet, and the United Nations has asked that we see them off."
The others nodded, getting ready. Mallory looked at Wally. "Guess that funnel cake's gonna have to wait," she said.
He shrugged. "It'll keep."
She nodded and looked at him and Artemis. "You know, you two don't have to come. We can handle this."
Artemis shrugged. "We're already here, we might as well see it out."
Mallory smiled and nodded, and they followed the others to the zeta tube, where they went to New York and boarded the Reach ship.
Kaldur turned to Dick. "I will see to the controls. You take your team and subdue the others."
Nightwing nodded and sent Blue and Green Beetle with him, and to the others he just said, "you know what to do."
They nodded and split up automatically, Mallory, Wally, Artemis, and Nightwing going together to the largest part of the ship, where the most guards would be stationed. Dick busted the door down, and the guards immediately started shooting. The four heroes went into action, Wally disarming the guards, the others taking them out.
"You sure you want to go back into retirement?" Nightwing asked as he slammed a Reach soldier's face into his knee, spinning around to kick another one into the wall.
"Dude, seriously? After all this, you sure you don't want to join me?" Wally asked, barely looking as he spun a soldier a few times and let him fly into three more.
Dick cackled, and Mallory grinned, kicking a soldier that Artemis pushed towards her. "Well, you are feeling good," Artemis commented.
He shrugged. "Hey, I'm allowed to be in a good mood. Things are finally starting to go our way."
"Hey, you need to stop saying that!" Mallory joked. "You know our rotten luck."
The leader slammed his baton on the back of a Reach's neck, taking out the last of their portion of the soldiers, and he smiled at her. "Yeah, right, sorry," he said.
She returned the smile and nodded. "It's ok," she said, exchanging a glance with Wally, "it has been a good night."
Nightwing put a hand to his ear and announced that they were finished, and Mallory heard the others say the same on their end.
"We may have a problem," Kaldur said, and the tone of his voice formed a pit in Mallory's stomach. She locked eyes with Wally, both of their faces hardening as he continued, "this isn't over."