I could really use some ideas, si if you have a mission you want them to go on or something, let me know in the revies. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, please review!
The next day, Mallory and Dick were cleaning up after dinner when Dicks phone rang. The caller ID said Roy, so he put the phone on speaker and grabbed another plate to wash.
"Hey, what's up?" the former Boy Wonder asked.
"Is Mallory there?" Roy asked shortly.
"Yeah, I'm here. Why?" Mallory asked, working on putting the stack of dishes she'd dried away.
"I have eyes on a gang leader in Star that's been distributing arms to the surrounding cities. There's a deal going down tonight, and I could use a hand on it."
"Sorry, Roy, but I have to get to work in half an hour. Mallory, you're free, aren't you?" Dick asked, raising an eyebrow at her pointedly. He'd been dropping hints for the last few days, not that he wanted her to move out or anything, but he was trying to get her back out in the world, and she was dragging her feet a little. She ignored the look and nodded.
"Yeah, I can suit up and meet you there," she said.
"Well, I think it'll take the three of us. There's no way you can call in, Wing? I'd think you'd be especially interested in this one, considering who the buyer is," Red Arrow said. They could hear the rev of his motorcycle as he sped up.
"Oh, yeah? Who is it?" Dick asked, drying his hands after passing Mallory the last pot.
"It's Brick."
"Why should I be interested in him? He's a Star threat," Dick said, leaning against the counter.
"More like was. Word is he's moving his operations to Bludhaven first chance he gets. Ollie and Dina are running circles around him, and he's looking for a less monitored city to work in."
Dick narrowed his eyes. "Well, I guess we'll have to show him that Bludhaven's no better than Star, then. I'm in, I'll see if I can get someone to cover my beat."
"Ok, meet me at the docks in Star in fifteen minutes. I'll be on the roof of the Lexcorp warehouse, unless I need to move."
"Better make it the Waynetech or Queen warehouses," Mallory put in. They all knew not to underestimate Lex, but she didn't want to take any chances.
"Ok, fine, I'll be on the Queen Industries warehouse. Now hurry up and get your suits on before I have to call in the kid."
He clicked out without another word, and Mallory and Dick hurried off to put on their suits, neither of them anxious to have Arsenal and Red Arrow involved in the same operation.
They reached the Star City docks in ten minutes found Red Arrow on the roof of the Queen Industries main warehouse. He didn't look up when they jumped onto the roof from another building, and they made their way over and knelt beside him at the ledge. Dick pulled out his binoculars, same as Roy, and Mallory adjusted her visors in her mask to magnify the image, taking in the setup.
"Took you long enough," Roy muttered.
"Oh, shut up. Where's Lian tonight?" Mallory asked.
"With Jade. She offered when she heard who the target was." He smiled a little and added, "apparently she has beef with Brick."
"Ok, so what's the plan here?" Dick asked.
"Brick isn't here yet, but we should spread out a little before he gets here. The second the money changes hands, we jump. I have cameras planted around, so there'll be plenty of evidence to put both sides away for a while."
Mallory nodded and stood, staying low to avoid being seen. "I'll take the north side, Nightwing…" she looked to the other side of Roy where her friend had been and rolled her eyes when she realized that he was already gone. Roy's lips twitched into a smile as he kept his focus on the gang positioning themselves around the clearing in the middle of the shipping crates. "Bet you missed that," he mentioned.
She shook her head, torn between a smile and a huff of frustration. She darted to the other end of the roof and got a running start to the next roof. She couldn't flame up to fly without giving away their position, so she had to do it the old fashioned way. She sailed through the air, and gravity pulled her down hard to the gravel on the roof of the next warehouse. She was out of practice, so instead of running a few steps to absorb the moment, she stumbled and fell, ungracefully rolling a few feet, her face getting scraped up in the process. She mentally thanked her younger self for adding the jacket to her costume, protecting her arms, and kept moving.
With each jump, she got more into the groove, until she was as good as the Bats. She found a good hiding place on the roof of a dock warehouse north of Red's position and settled in,adjusting her lenses to show her what was going on. Their channel was open on the comms, but none of them said anything. This was when Mallory missed being on the team, with the constant chatter on the link keeping her company through the boringness of a stakeout.
Her thoughts were interrupted by movement on the street. She looked down, where the sellers were getting their product together and shouldering their weapons. As she continued to watch, some SUVs drove up, and twenty goons got out before Brick followed, adjusting his suit coat and dreads before walking calmly towards the seller.
"Do you have a bug down there?" Mallory asked quietly on the comms.
Roy snorted. "No, it's my first time doing this," he said sarcastically.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "Someone's in a bad mood," she mentioned. She looked over to where Roy was staked out, and he narrowed his eyes at her. She smiled and turned her attention back to the deal.
They watched for a few minutes as Brick examined the guns, tested them out, and then sent one of his men to get the money. Mallory got into a crouch, ready to go. As soon as the money changed hands and the goons started for the guns to load up, Roy gave the signal and Mallory stood up and shot fire in the air, lighting up the night sky with her signature triangle. She flamed up and flew through the middle of it, making an entrance to give the boys the benefit of a surprise attack. It worked like a charm. While all of the goons were busy shooting at her, the bullets melting on her fire shield as she came closer, Red Arrow and Nightwing took the two gang leaders by surprise.
Nightwing's rope kept the seller tied up, but Brick broke right out of Red's binds, charging at the archer. Mallory and Nightwing fought side by side, taking out the goons, leaving Roy to battle Brick.
"Should one of us go help him?" Mallory yelled over the shouts and punches. One of the goons threw a knife at her and the blade melted on her fire shield. Dick looked over and found Roy mostly retreating, with Brick's clothes in tatters from the arrows.
"Yeah, probably," he said, but neither of them made a move to get out of the fight they were in. After a moment, Mallory knocked out the last of her enemies and shook her head, flying over the rest. She slammed her feet into Brick's face, pushing off of it and doing a perfect backflip to land next to Red Arrow. Brick lifted a hand to his nose, but it wasn't bleeding. He laughed and spread his arms wide.
"Take your best shot, Inferno. You're no Superman, you can't hurt me."
Mallory raised an eyebrow at Roy, asking if it was ok, and he shrugged and shouldered his bow. She grinned and got in a runners pose, and then took off, tapping into her strength as she accelerated her pace with flames out of her feet. When she reached Brick, she slammed her fist into his throat, and when he leaned down, gagging, she brought both hands down on the back of his neck, and he dropped to the ground. He wasn't unconscious, but he was incapacitated enough for Roy to run over and slap the inhibitor collar around his neck. He grinned at her, and he waved her hands, hoping they weren't broken.
"It feels like I just hit a brick wall," she complained.
Roy laughed. "No kidding?"
Dick walked over to them, a sea of goons lying on the pavement behind him, the ones that weren't unconscious holding on to various parts of their bodies and moaning. "Well, that was fun," he said with a grin. He checked his watch and sighed. "But there isn't much point in going into work now. There's only two more hours of my beat left."
"Well, how about a little post-mission fun? I haven't done that in forever."
The boys nodded in agreement, and Roy went to collect his cameras. They could faintly hear the sound of sirens.
"When did you report it? They're getting really slow at their response," Mallory said, looking at Dick.
"I called it in when you lit everything up. That was pretty cool, by the way. You should do it more often, let the bad guys know who's taking them out."
Red Arrow came back with a handful of bugs and dropped them in a heap a few feet away from Brick. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said. He and Nightwing shot their lines and Mallory followed close behind.
The three changed into civies at one of Green Arrow's caches and went to a diner to get some coffee. They found a booth and settled in with a drink and a pastry each.
"So, have either of you been in touch with the team lately?" Mallory asked after a few minutes of catching up.
"No," Roy replied readily, but Dick shrugged. "Depends. Who are you talking about?"
"Just, the team in general. How's working from the Watchtower going for them? And what are their missions like right now? And how's everyone getting along?"
The boys exchanged a glance. "Maybe you should go find out for yourself," Dick suggested.
Mallory shook her head. "No, I left the team for a reason," she argued.
"Yeah, I'm not saying you should rejoin it, but there's no reason you can't go visit. I know the OGs would love to see you acting more normal, and the others would be happy to see you too."
Mallory thought about Peter's reaction to her and slumped in her seat. "Yeah, maybe not all of them," she muttered.
"What do you mean?" Roy asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing. This was fun. What's the next target?"
Dick didn't seem to want to drop the subject that quickly, but Roy just shrugged and went with it. "I don't know yet. Isn't there a new gang in Metropolis? I heard a rumor that Icicle Sr had moved in, but I don't have any evidence of it yet. Have you heard anything like that?"
Mallory didn't know why she suddenly felt scared of the boys finding out about the gang, but the fear was gripping her. "No," she said. The lie left a bad taste in her mouth and she took a swig of her drink to wash it out.
Roy shrugged again and popped the last bite of his bear claw into his mouth. "Well, I'll do some digging in my spare time. Working security for Merlin Global is pretty boring. If the pay wasn't so good, I'd quit and do this full time."
"You pretty much do," Dick said. "I don't know how you have the time to work a full time job, do this, and be a dad."
Mallory smiled. "Yeah, he really is the inspiration for us all, isn't he?" she asked with playful sarcasm.
Roy kicked her lightly under the table, and she made a show of rubbing the spot as if it had hurt. "Ok, whatever. I'm gonna go pick up Lian. Let me know if you hear anything about that gang, will you?" he said. He dropped enough money to cover all of their food and left.
Dick sighed and leaned back to stretch. "Well, you ready to go home?" he asked.
She shrugged, hating that that word felt so foreign to her these days, and led the way out of the diner.