Sorry for the late post, I work up late this morning so I didn't have time to update before my morning classes. Hope you like the chapter, please review!
"What do you think about this one?" Mallory asked, looking around the living room of the small apartment she was viewing in Metropolis.
Peter came out of the bedroom and shrugged. "I liked the one on 5th better. It felt bigger, and it had that cool fake wall, you could put all your stuff in it."
She smiled. "That was kind of cool." She checked her phone and put an arm around his shoulder. "Ok, I think I'm done for the day. You want to go grab some food?"
"Who's buying?" he asked with a grin.
She rolled her eyes. "Since when do I ever make you pay for anything?"
"Since you were broke and living on Dick's couch for two months," he replied. "Do you have anything left?"
She laughed and pushed the lobby door open, leading them into the sunshine. "All right, all right, I get the message. I have plenty of money, thank you very much. Turns out squatting is very good for your bank account. Especially when the guy has a trust fund the size of the Warworld."
Peter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but he doesn't use it."
"Not for himself, but he also hasn't asked for money since I've known him, and I know he can't afford rent, food for two people, and his equipment."
"Wait, Roy has a trust fund too, doesn't he?"
She chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know anymore. He hasn't used Ollie's money since he quit, and that was before there was a team."
Her brother shook his head. "What's the point of having rich friends if they're gonna have these high standards?"
She laughed. "There is no point. You should tell that to Dick when we get back. He might listen to you, start fixing his place up a little." They went into a diner and slid into a booth. "You want to split some nachos and fries?" she asked.
"Nah, Ima get a burger. I feel bad eating meat around Gar, but I've been dying for an onion melt for a week."
She ordered their food, and when the waiter left, she leaned on the table. "So, what's going on with you? How's the team?"
"The team's fine. Oh, Aquaman's been talking about leaving the League."
"Really? Wow, I'm so out of the loop. I need to hang out with you more often so I can keep up."
"Why don't you hang out with your friends?"
She laughed. "What, you getting tired of me?"
"You know what I mean. Just because you're not on the team anymore doesn't mean you can't come hang out. I mean, who's gonna tell you you can't be in the Watchtower? You were on the Justice League."
She sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just don't really want to be up there if I can't do anything. It's too frustrating." Their food came and they were quiet for a few minutes as they dug in. "So what about you and Gar? What have you two been up to? You still see Perdita a lot?"
"I mean, yeah. She's been busy lately, but we try to hang out whenever she's got a free day." He smiled a little. "Actually, though, they've been wanting to hang out alone lately."
Mallory tried to picture Gar with a queen, but the picture just didn't make sense to her. She laughed, shaking her head. "What about you?" she asked, trying to contain her curiosity. "You have anyone you've been hanging out with alone?"
He rolled his eyes. "No, sorry to disappoint. You?"
She shook her head. "Not since Jr." He made a face and she tilted her head. "What?"
"What did you see in that guy? He's such a wimp."
She chuckled, but part of her wished she could make her brother see what a good guy he really was. "I don't know," she said instead, determined to keep the conversation moving. "So I was thinking, as long as you're here, you want to run a patrol in Haven tonight? Dick said there's a new dealer on the streets, Desmund's brother."
"What's he calling himself?" Peter asked.
"He calls himself Blockbuster too," she told him, rolling her eyes.
"Why can't people be more original? It's just confusing at this point," he complained.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Not everyone has great inspirations like you do."
He tried to suppress his grin, but it came through anyway. "Yeah, right," he muttered. He stuffed the last bite of his burger into his mouth and tilted his head. "Well, you ready to go?"
She looked at her plate, still half full. "Uh…"
"Oh, let me give you a hand with that," Peter said, and he had eaten half of the chips before she could stop him.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, but he just grinned and kept eating. She laughed and rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I'm not that hungry. Come on, let's finish this and get going."
They zetaed to Bludhaven half an hour later and walked to the apartment building.
"So, we're settled, right? I'm gonna put in a bid for the place on 5th?"
"Yeah, for sure. It even has the extra room, so I can set up and sleep over when I need to."
Mallory tilted her head. "What? Oh, I think that was a walk-in closet."
"Not anymore!" he replied brightly.
Mallory laughed, shaking her head. "Well, I guess it can be a conversation. If Mom and Dad are ok with you sleeping over, that is. I don't want them to get mad at me."
"They're fine with it. Most of the time I sleep over at Megan's and Conner's with Gar anyway, or wherever the rest of the team ends up."
"And they're ok with that?" Mallory asked, mildly jealous.
Peter shrugged. "I mean, yeah."
"Are you kidding me! When I lived with them they were so judgy when I would go anywhere, and I could only spend the night out for a mission if they knew about it first."
"What are you talking about? You moved out when you were like, what, fifteen? You could do whatever you wanted."
She stopped walking. They were right at the opening of the alley between Dick's building and the next one. "Is that really what you think?" He shrugged and she laughed. "You're so off. When I first moved back in with them so I could join the team, they were so overprotective, they wanted to know where I was and who was with me. Honestly, it was suffocating sometimes. And the only reason I moved out was because…" She trailed off, biting her li to keep from finishing the sentence. She couldn't tell him that she'd moved out because she felt threatened by their parents wanting another kid. It sounded so stupid and immature now, especially when she knew that Peter was the glue that held their family together.
"Because…?" Peter prompted, annoyed at the pause.
She shook her head. "Well, things with the team were taking up more time, and I just thought it would be easier if they didn't know all the details."
"So what changed? Why would they have let you move out if they were so nervous about you being on the team?" he asked.
'Guilt,' she thought, but she smiled a little. No, that wasn't entirely true. Her parents got better about her going and coming after… "Wally," she said, then added, "well, and Dick and Roy."
Peter chuckled. "Of course it was Wally. What did he do? Beg Mom to let you go with him? Force her to get to know him better so she wouldn't worry?"
She laughed. "Yeah, kind of," she admitted, and they laughed and she told him the story of her first mission with Red Arrow, and the first time their parents met anyone from the team. "After that Wally started coming to the house, he would bring random people, like one time he brought Conner and Artemis, back when SB was still touchy and he and Artemis still hated each other, just because they were the only ones at the cave."
Peter laughed, rolling his eyes, then he pressed his lips together and twisted them to the side, a habit he'd picked up from her. "Look, I'm sorry I was so hard on you before. I know you were going through a lot, and–"
She held up a hand, silencing him, and he followed her gaze up to the fire escape, where a figure dressed in black was climbing through a window on one of the upper floors.
"That's Dick's apartment," she told him, keeping her voice low even though there was no way the intruder could hear them.
"Maybe it's him?" Peter suggested, though it was clear from his tone that he didn't think so.
Mallory shook her head, confirming his doubt. "He's at work, he won't be back until late. And even if he was, he'd use the door. I don't know who else would be going in through the window."
Peter reached under his shirt and pulled out a few star disks, his black V painted on them. "Well, we could always go up and ask," he said with a grin.
She nodded and led the way up to their floor. She paused outside the door, listening for movement. There was some shuffling. There was definitely someone in there. She slowly unlocked the door and twisted the knob. On the count of three, she threw it open and the siblings rushed into the room, Mallory with a fire ball ready and Peter aiming his disk. The intruder was by the kitchen counter, and they jumped over it, throwing something. Mallory dodged it, narrowing her eyes a little. The technique was familiar, and she hesitated before attacking, though Peter did not. She looked at the silver birdarang lodged in the wall and shook her head, taking her hood off.
"Stand down, Peter. It's just Jett," she said, closing her fist and kicking the door closed.
Her brother stopped mid throw and grinned. "Oh, hey," he said.
Jess poked her head over the counter cautiously, then smiled and pushed the black hood off her head. "Sorry I startled you?" she said, coming around to the living room.
"Yeah, you might want to work on your communication. I almost torched the place," Mallory replied, smiling.
Jess pulled the birdarang out of the wall and held it up. "That's what this was for," she said. "I didn't know who you were at first. I'm not used to seeing you with black hair."
Mallory laughed. "Oh, right, sorry about that."
Peter joined them, checking over his stars before putting them back in his utility belt under his shirt. "Hey, Jett," he said.
She smiled. "Hey, Vig. What are you doing in Haven?"
"I was helping Mal find a place, and we got done sooner than we thought, so we came here. You?"
The girl took a breath. "Nothing, really, just needed some space, so I thought I'd come give Dick a hand."
Mallory nodded, wondering what Bruce did this time. "Well, he's not gonna be back her until like nine, later if he goes straight on patrol," she said, moving around to the kitchen. "You want something?"
"You have anything to drink back there? Scotch? Beer?"
Mallory rolled her eyes and looked in the fridge. "We have chocolate milk and orange soda, take your pick."
Jess sighed dramatically, flashing Mallory a smile. "I'll take the soda."
Mallory tossed her a can and looked over at Peter. "What about you? You want anything?"
"Nah, I'm good," he replied. She nodded and grabbed a soda for herself. Jess and Peter had already made themselves comfortable on the couch, taking up the whole thing, so she sat on the coffee table. "You know that's my bed, right?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink. She made a face, forcing herself to swallow it, and set it down. "I forgot how much I hate those," she said. Jess smiled a little and took a gulp of hers.
"So, Jess, what's going on in Gotham?" Peter asked.
She shrugged. "Same old. Harley and Ivy are out of Arkham right now, but they're keeping a low profile for the moment. Bruce has been waiting for them to hit, so he's wound up tighter than usual, Tim met a girl, Alfred has a new recipe for tea cakes that is to die for, and I–"
"Wait, Tim met a girl? I thought he was dating Cassie," Mallory interrupted.
"Oh, no, they broke up a while ago. Cassie didn't like that he kept so many secrets, and he kept having to stand her up to patrol with Bruce."
"Oh, wow, that sucks. They were cute together," she said. She really missed being in the loop.
"Well, anyway, this probably won't last long either. Bruce doesn't know about it yet, and she's, well, it's complicated."
"What about you?" Peter asked. He grabbed Mallory's drink and chugged it.
"Nothing much. I set up my first equipment cache that isn't in one of Bruce's buildings."
"How can you afford that?" Mallory asked.
Jess shrugged. "Technically it belongs to Wayne industries, but it's an abandoned building that I rigged with security and a computer, and I keep most of my stuff there."
"Why don't you rejoin the team?" Peter asked.
Jess scoffed. "Yeah, if you didn't notice the last two times I joined, it's really not my thing." She smiled at Mallory and added, "besides, I don't think she wants me to."
Mallory shook her head. "I may have slightly overreacted. I'm not on the team anymore, anyway. What I think doesn't matter."
Jess shook her head and got to her feet, looking around. "Do you have anything to do around here? I'm bored, and I didn't bring my suit."
Mallory looked around. "Well, we watch a lot of TV, I have some files from work you could help me go through, Dick has some case files around if you want to read up on Bludhaven's crime."
"I already have. I'm about to just patrol in sweats," Jess warned.
Mallory sighed. "Oh, uh, Dick has some video games in his room."
Peter grinned and Jess shrugged. "Sure."
"Great! I hope he still has Boss Battles," Peter said, and he went to find the games.
They played video games for hours, losing track of the time. Around three in the morning, they heard a thud outside the window and paused the game. She got to her feet and walked over slowly. Her stomach dropped when she saw the motionless blue bird symbol.
"Dick!'' She threw the window open, and she and Jess dragged him inside. "Peter, go get the supplies," Mallory ordered as they brought him to the couch. He went to the bathroom immediately, and Mallory started checking him over. His pulse was a little weak, but it was easy to find, he didn't seem to have any broken bones. There was a gash on his forehead and a wound on his side that looked like a bullet tore through it. She and Jess exchanged a grim look.
"I'm gonna need help with this," Mallory said. She was already starting to get him out of his suit. Peter came back in with the kit, equipped with sutures, antiseptics, and painkillers, among other things. She pulled out what she needed and burned the needle in her hand to disinfect it. "I'm going to had to close up his side before he loses any more blood. Can you deal with his forehead?" she asked.
Jess nodded and grabbed the bandages out of the bag. When the girls poured the disinfectant over the wounds, Dick woke with a start, jolting up.
"Gah!" he yelled, clutching a hand to his side.
Peter brought over a pill and some water immediately, and Dick accepted them without a word. "Dick, I have to start stitching this up. Are you ok?" Mallory asked. He braced himself and nodded. She pressed her lips together and started sewing the ends of the skin together.
It took about fifteen minutes for the pain killer to kick in, and when it finally did, Jess asked what happened. He laughed softly, trying to ease the tension. "That new Blockbuster is really starting to get on my nerves."
"Worse than Desmund?" Mallory asked lightly, pulling the last stitch through his side.
"Yeah. I mean, Desmund's pretty easy to take out."
Mallory forced a chuckle for the sake of their siblings. "Yeah, cause you don't have to fight him."
"What are you talking about? I was one of the first ones to fight him," Dick shot back.
Mallory smirked, finishing up the last knot and cutting away the extra suture. "That's not the way I heard it."
"And who'd you hear it from?" he asked.
"Wally, Kaldur, Conner, and I've seen you avoid fighting him on missions," she replied, pulling out the bandages to wrap around the stitches.
Dick rolled his eyes. "And you're gonna believe them and your own eyes over me?" he asked. "Typical."
"Dick, what happened?" Jess asked, clearly trying to fight her irritation.
"Nothing, Jess. I went to break up a deal, something tipped them off, and one of his goons got lucky. I'm fine."
She let out a breath and perched on the back of the couch. "You want me to go with you next time you? I don't have anything else to do."
He shook his head. "No, I'm gonna handle it. If I call in help he'll just think I can't handle it on my own and things'll get worse."
His sister nodded, but she didn't look convinced. Mallory boxed up the first aide equipment and brought it back to the bathroom. When she got there, she shut the door, needed a few seconds to herself.
She clutched the edge of the sink and took a few breaths, letting the tremors she'd been suppressing take over. She hated when he came home like that, and she knew it hit Jess harder than she let on too. It almost made her rethink moving out, but she shook her head and reminded herself that he was alright and he only came to the apartment because he knew there was someone else there. If she wasn't there, he would just zeta to the watchtower or the batcave. She nodded to herself, put on a smooth face, and went back out to the living room.
Jess and Peter stayed until the sun started to rise. Peter left first, going home so he could change before going to school, and Jess gathered her things not long after.
"I can come back later, if you need me to. I just have to go take a test in my first period."
"You're not skipping school for this," Dick said firmly, a bright smile on his face. "I'll be ok by the time my shift starts."
Jess narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to work, Dick. You just got shot. Give it a day or two."
He shook his head. "Oh, come on, Jessy. I'm fine," he pleaded.
She shook her head. "No." She looked at Mallory. "Come on, say something," she ordered.
Mallory glanced at her friend, then put a hand on Jess's shoulder, leading her to the door. "He knows what he can handle, Jess. He wouldn't go to work if he didn't think he could handle it. Don't worry. Good luck on your test!"
Jess did seem a little less worried as she walked out. As soon as Mallory closed the door, Dick started trying to sit up, and she walked over and pushed him back down. "Forget it," she said firmly. "You're not going to work."
He rolled his eyes. "Figures."
"You think you could keep something down?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm starving."
She went to the kitchen and made some toast and eggs. "So, what really happened?" she asked when she brought their plates back to the living room.
He winced, adjusting his position so he could eat. "Pretty much what I said, but it was kind of weird. I was in position, and then all of a sudden there was a shot. It wasn't from the goons, though, it came from the roof. That tipped them, though, and the saw me and started shooting. I stopped the deal, but Blockbuster got away and I ended up catching a bullet towards the end."
She nodded. "You want me to take care of it? I don't mind patrolling tonight."
He shook his head. "No, I'll take care of it."
She nodded. "Ok, just, be careful, alright? If there was someone out there, this might not be the last time you hear from them."
He nodded. "Yeah, I will."