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"I think we need to talk," Jr said when he met her at the Metropolis docs. She nodded, falling into step with him without a word. They went to the furthest place, where the water splashed over the damp wood every time there was a wave.

She took a breath and finally broke the silence. "Uh, how's your jaw?"

He chuckled, rubbing it. "Not great. I haven't been able to chew since your friend tried to decapitate me."

She laughed softly, touching his cheek gingerly to look at the bruise. "Trust me, if Red Arrow was trying to decapitate you, you would not have a head right now."

"Well, I almost didn't have a head today anyway. Thanks for not punching me."

She chuckled, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, um, about that."

He pressed his lips together and nodded. "Yeah, about that."

"Did anyone notice on your end?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, Hawkins. Everyone just thought I was scared, though. My dad, uh, make it clear that if I ran into any of you guys, I was going to redeem myself." Mallory winced. She could imagine how Icicle Sr made it clear. Jr cleared his throat. "What about you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that makes three. Luckily most of my friends have plenty of experience keeping secrets from the others."

"Ohh, burn," Jr said with a grin.

She shook her head, her face still serious. "No, I'm just as bad. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't want to have to keep secrets from them. We've been through too much, and we promised."

He tilted his head. "So, what are you saying?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Give me a minute to figure it out." They went back to the thick silence. It felt like forever passed before she couldn't take it anymore. "I saw the files."

He nodded. "I figured you would."

"How did you know I would break in?"

He shook his head. "I didn't, not really. But I didn't want you to have to waste time going through it if you did. You saw what was on there, you know what would have happened to you if you'd been caught."

She nodded. It was all detailed. Icicle Senior was running a protection racket for the major players. He had plenty of backing from untraceable accounts that Mallory had some strong suspicions about. Every member of the gang was given a neutralized and temporary shot of Cobravenom and was put through extreme training with any supervillain they could get their hands on. On top of that, they were making weapons specialized to specific League members. There were plans to get ahold of Kryptonite, ice guns, Nth metal bullets, flame throwers, the list went on, something for nearly every Leaguer and, by extension, the team.

"They had plans for a gun to use against you, but I got rid of it," he told her.

She sighed and nodded, her mouth twisting into a grimace. Hearing that he was willing to risk the disapproval and wrath of his father to protect her was endearing, but at the same time, he was a member of a gang that was plotting to kill everyone she loved. She bit her tongue to keep the first thing that came to her mind from escaping her lips.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then looked at him. "Ok, look, I think I know what I want." He tilted his head, waiting. "I want this to stop. I want to stop meeting you in secret and lying about you to the others. I have to tell my team."

"Why? You aren't even on the team anymore, remember?" he pointed out, grinning.

She shook her head, getting frustrated. "Because they aren't just my team, Brek! They're my family, and we can't keep doing this. We can't keep lying and keeping secrets. It's not good for anything. I have to tell them."

When she looked back at him, he had a crooked grin on his face. "Brek? Is that your name for me now?"

"NO!" she snapped, alarm spiking through her chest, her eyes wide. She took a breath and forced it out quickly, pasting a smile on her face despite the tugging in her chest. "No, uh, sorry, I don't know where that came from."

He shrugged. "I didn't hate it. Tana's better, though."

"I'm not calling you– that. Just, what about everything else I just told you?"

He shrugged. "If you want to tell them, you can, I guess. Just, try to keep it in the hero community, will you? If my dad found out about you, well, it wouldn't be pretty."

She nodded. They were quiet for a moment, Mallory's heart still pounding a little.

"Do you want something to call me?" Jr asked suddenly. She looked at him sharply, about to snap at him again, but he spoke calmly. "You can call me Cameron."

Her words died in her throat. "Cameron?"

"Yeah."

"Why Cameron?"

He shrugged. "That's my name."

Her mouth fell open a little. She didn't know why it seemed so big. She could have found out his real name any time she wanted simply by looking up his prison record, but for him to tell her felt huge. She took a moment, trying the name out.

"Cameron," she said, looking at him, trying to associate the name with his face. She smiled. "I like it." Her smile fell a little. "You know, I can't tell you mine. Maybe ever."

He nodded, not seeming at all bothered. "I know, and that's fine. I like Tana for you, anyway. Plus, if I don't know it, I can pretty much call you anything I want. It's perfect."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "You're kind of weird, you know that?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but you like me anyway."

She shook her head, fighting the smile as she leaned over for a kiss. When they started walking again, she laced her fingers through his. He seemed a little surprised, but he squeezed her hand a little, and she smiled. "Will you meet them?" she asked.

"Who?" he asked, already over their conversation.

"My team."

His face froze and he shook his head. "I don't think–"

She bumped his shoulder gently with hers, smiling up at him. "Oh, come on. I thought you liked to take risks."

He shook his head. "I don't like taking risks. I told you that you should start taking some, and I only said that to get you to go out with me."

She opened her mouth to disagree, but decided it didn't matter. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun. I want them to know that you aren't so bad."

He sighed, then smiled a little. "You promise they won't beat me up?"

She laughed lightly, taking her hand out of his. "You really think they could hit you?"

"Uh, yeah, literally all of them have knocked me out at least once."

She huffed out a laugh. "Huh, you should work on your blocks. Oh, look, a taco truck!" She quickened her pace, leaving him a few feet behind her.

"That's not a no!" he called after her.

She laughed, continuing on to the truck without looking back.