Lian calls her grandmother Bà because that is Vietnamese for grandma. Anyway, hope you like it, please review!
Two nights later, Mallory was crouched between Roy and Dick, watching a hostage situation unfold below them in Bludhaven. The cops were outside, with the terrorists in the Natural History Museum. They were waiting to see what the group wanted before they would go in through the skylight and diffuse the situation.
"I don't get it," Roy muttered, one hand on his comm as he listened to the bug he'd planted with the cops. "Why would they pick Bludhaven to make a stand in? This place is barely on anyone's radar, and most people would be glad to hear if it got blown up."
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Thanks," he said sarcastically. Roy ignored him, totally focused on the mission.
"Have they made their demands yet?" Mallory asked.
"Yes, I'm just sitting here listening cause I like wasting my time," he shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Mallory raised her eyebrows at his bad mood, but he didn't apologize, just said, "Now settle down before I give you another black eye."
She sighed and leaned against the ledge of the roof. She'd told the boys that the bruises were from stopping a robbery in civies, where she couldn't show all of her skills. They hadn't questioned it, which made her feel worse about the lie.
"I just hope those bruises heal quick, so you're not going on interviews with them," Dick mentioned. He had his wrist computer out and was memorizing the blueprints so they could get in and out with the hostages quickly.
Mallory turned away from him. "Yeah, same," she replied. He'd been asking almost everyday if any of the places she'd applied had called back, and she'd told him no every time, even though all of the clothing stores she'd applied to and two of the other places had called, and she'd declined the interviews.
"Ok, let's go," Roy said suddenly, moving over to the skylight.
The younger heroes followed him, and he took off one of the panels while Dick attacked a line to the roof and they took turns sliding down. The only sound in the place was the footsteps of the terrorists as they made their way to the side of the room, Roy and Mallory instinctively falling behind Dick, letting him lead the way since he knew where to go. They came to the end of the hall and he motioned for them to stay while he slipped into the next hall. They heard a soft grunt, then Dick returned to them, and the three kept going. There wasn't anyone there, so he must have drug the unconscious person to another hallway or something. The entrance room was where the hostages were being held, along with the majority of the terrorist group. They watched from the railing of the floor above, taking in the movement patterns and the position and number of the hostages. There were eleven, all workers, tied up and being kept in front of the information desk in the middle of the room. It would be tricky to get to them without being seen, and if they attacked, the hostages would be the first to get shot. They backed away from the rail and looked at each other, searching for a plan.
"We need a distraction," Mallory said, looking at Dick as if he would have just the right thing in his belt.
He crossed his arms. "What, you can't do that?" he asked.
"No, a fire would be suspicious, and they would probably just move closer to them," Roy pointed out.
"Could you put up a shield around the hostages, keep them safe while we deal with the others?" Dick asked.
Mallory crossed her arms. "Yeah, now why didn't I think of that? I'll just go do that, surround them in a tight circle of fire hot enough to melt bullets for an extended amount of time, and when you and Red finish knocking everyone out, they should be just crispy enough to serve with fries."
"What is it with you two tonight?" Dick asked, shaking his head at her attitude.
Mallory sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Look, can't you just throw some smoke pellets down there and Red can put on a show while we get the hostages out?"
They looked at Roy for his thoughts and he shrugged. "Ok, be ready to move," he replied.
They went back to the railing, Dick and Mallory perching on top, and as soon as Nightwing tossed the smoke pellets down, Mallory shot some fire at them, setting them off just before they hit the ground, expanding the range of the smoke. They jumped down and ran right for the hostages. They heard Roy's arrow whizz through the air and find purchase in the wall across the roof, and he zip lined down, his feet colliding with a few people before he got there.
Mallory made it to the group in the middle of the floor first, and she put a hand on a man's shoulder, getting the attention of the entire group. It was a good thing they had tape over their mouths, or they would have given them away. She burned through the rope and pulled the nearest two people to their feet. Dick was there now, pushing others up. They led them through the smoke, Dick in the front as a guide and Mallory in the back to push along the stragglers. They had barely made it two feet when machine guns started up, shooting at where the hostages had been moments before. She sucked in a breath. Too close. She pushed the woman in front of her, keeping her low and moving forward.
They could hear grunts and yells as Roy worked his way around the room. Dick reached the door, but it was bolted shut. He backed up and kicked it, but it didn't budge. Mallory rolled her eyes and walked over to him.
"They open to the inside, genius," she muttered.
He just smiled and bowed a little, backing up. "Ok, be my guest," he replied quietly.
She smiled and stood between the double doors, tapping into her strength as she smashed her foot into the crack between the doors. They flew off the hinges with a bang and the cops outside ducked and flinched at the sudden movement. When they realized that it was the hostages spilling out of the museum along with the dark smoke, the front lines rams over to help get the people to safety.
"Should we go back in and give Red a hand?" Mallory asked.
There was a thud from inside, and she and Dick barely managed to duck the flying terrorist coming out the door. Dick grinned and watched the man roll down the front steps, right into the line of police waiting to put him in handcuffs.
"Nah, I think he's got it," he said.
Mallory laughed, shaking her head. The smoke was starting to clear, showing that Roy had taken out all but three of the terrorists. Dick grinned and tilted his head towards her. "You want one of them?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Sure."
They ran in, and each took out one with a single punch. The cops were already starting to move in, so the boys shot their lines and Mallory flew after them, going up to the roof through the skylight and back to the alley where they'd left the car. They pulled on some jackets and Roy stashed his bow and quiver in the trunk, and they piled into the car and left.
"Well, that was almost a disaster," Roy complained as soon as they were out on open road.
"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad," Dick said from the back seat.
Mallory rolled her eyes, resting her head on the seat belt strap. "No, he's right. We weren't all there tonight. We should do some training or something. After all, it has been a while since we worked together."
"Maybe. But we did alright with the arms deal," Dick pointed out.
"That was just a simple bust, they go down more or less the same every time," Roy said. He made a last second turn, sending Dick to the other side of the car. "Put on your seatbelt," Roy said tiredly.
"Sure, dad. Whatever you say," the former Boy Wonder replied.
Mallory looked at Roy. "What's up with you?" she asked.
"Nothing," he replied quickly.
"No, there's something. You've been in a mood since you showed up, and now you're parenting Dick. Is it something with Lian?"
"No," he said firmly, then he sighed and added, "it's… Jade."
"Oh," she said quietly, looking back to the road in front of them. She didn't think he was going to expand on that, but as they kept going, he said, "she's been dodging my calls, and Lian's starting to notice that she's not coming around as much. I just wish I knew what to tell her."
He pulled the car into the warehouse that the team had used for their headquarters after the cave went up. Since they were working out of the Watchtower now, Dick had converted it into the Quitters' Bludhaven base, complete with all of their equipment, extra costumes, unmarked cars and motorcycles, and a zeta tube. They climbed out of the car and changed into civies. Dick and Mallory were about to head back to the apartment, but Roy stopped them before they made it to the door.
"Hey, you want to come to the house? I want to show you the cases I've been going through, maybe pick a few to handle. And, Lian's been asking when you're going to come over."
Mallory smiled, looking at Dick. He nodded. "Yeah, sounds good," he said.
"You have food?" Mallory asked.
Roy laughed and they went to the zeta tube, coming out in Gotham a few blocks away from Artemis's mom's apartment. "She was watching her for the day," Roy explained as they climbed the stairs. As soon as he knocked on the door, they heard Lian's excited voice calling for her grandmother. Ms. Nguyen opened the door and smiled, wheeling herself backwards to let the three in.
"Daddy!" Lian screeched, and she was launching into his arms from the couch before any of them even knew she was going to jump. Roy caught her at the last second, and the adoring look on Lian's face showed that she'd never doubted for a second that he would.
"Hey, Kitten. Did you have fun with Bà?"
"Yeah!" the girl declared.
"Yeah," Roy said, shifting her to one arm and giving Ms. Nguyen a playfully stern look, "I see she ignored bedtime again."
The older woman waved a hand, shaking her head. "Bah! She had a late nap, and she wanted to wait up for you. How can I say no to that face?"
"Well, you got me there," Roy said, his face completely smitten as he looked at his daughter.
"Hey, no hug for Aunty Mal?" Mallory asked, fake pouting and holding out her arms. Lian giggled and leaned around Roy, going to Dick instead of Mallory she gasped, unable to keep the smile off her face as she pretended to be offended.
Dick laughed and kissed her forehead, then leaned closer and whispered loudly, "You know, you should go see Aunt Mallory. See, I know I'm more fun, but if you ignore her, she'll be real grumpy on the ride home, and we don't want that, do we?"
Lian shook her head, laughing, and Dick nodded and handed her to Mallory. The girl gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, then gave Dick a conspiratory smile that he returned. They went to Roy's car and he strapped Lian into her carseat while Dick climbed in the backseat with her and Mallory got in the passenger seat.
At Roy's house, the three heroes spilled over the case files Roy found, putting together plans and deciding which ones they would like to tackle and which ones they should pass along to Kaldur to let the team handle. After a few hours, though, Lian wouldn't tolerate them ignoring her anymore, and the two year old dragged them into the living room to watch TV with her. Before long, though, she was fast asleep, burrowed under her dad's jacket. Dick was asleep, too, almost as fast as she was. Mallory and Roy exchanged a look, smiling at the two.
"Aww, I guess they had a big day," Mallory joked.
"Do you need to get back to Bludhaven? I mean, doesn't he have work tomorrow?" Roy asked. "You should probably wake him up."
"No, just leave him. We can zeta in and he'll have plenty of time to get there. Besides, as many extra hours as he puts in, he's entitled to go in late once in a while." She knew that it had been three days since Dick slept last, so she didn't want to wake him up now. Besides, he looked so peaceful and young when he was asleep. It reminded her that he was only nineteen, which made everything that he did every day that much more impressive, and everything that she was failing at seem that much more pathetic.
"So, what's going on with you?" Roy asked, turning off Curious George.
Mallory sighed and shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about my mess of a life right now. What about you?"
He scoffed. "Please. My wife's this close to getting caught by the cops, the League, or worse, her enemies, and I can't help her because she doesn't tell me where she is or what she's running from. I think out of the two of us, I have it worse."
Mallory chuckled. "Good to know it's not a competition," she said quietly. He shrugged, smiling as he rested his head on the back of the couch. She hesitated for a moment, debating if she should say anything, then she asked quietly, "is it really so bad with Chesire?"
He looked up, studying her face. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean, being with someone who's on the wrong side. Is it worth it? Or would you do things different if you could go back and change it?"
Roy shook his head. "Mallory, where's this coming from?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, just, would you?"
He sighed. "Well, I mean, it hasn't been easy with Jade, but it's not really supposed to be easy, is it? She stood by me through everything, even if she has her own way of showing support. No, I wouldn't change it. Besides, no matter what happens between Jade and me, I got Lian out of it, and I wouldn't give her up for anything in the world."
Mallory smiled a little, but she was still distracted. "So, it doesn't bother you that she's on the other side?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it does, but I can't expect her to give up her work if I'm not willing to give up mine, and I'm not ready to just be some suburban dad with a beer belly and a mom van just yet."
Mallory chuckled, getting a mental image of her friend like that. The picture didn't sit well. "Don't worry," she assured him, "I doubt you'll ever look like that."
He was looking at her seriously, concern in his face. "Mal, why are you asking all of this? Is there something going on with you?"
She was so tempted in that moment, with Dick and Lian asleep on the sofa, the house quiet, and Roy looking at her with that expression that said he was still her brother for as long as she wanted him to be, to tell him about Icicle Jr and all of the things she was afraid of with it. But instead, she just shook her head and said, "no, just wondering."
I just need four more reviews to get to 50. Just saying. :)