Sorry it's a little short, but it's a transition chapter. I'm hoping that with this I'll be able to get things back on track, and give more interactions with characters that haven't really been in the forfront of the story, like Kaldur and Megan, and the new members of the team. I also decided that I might pick and choose some things to take out of season three. I'm not going to use the big storyline, but I might write in some of the smaller things, I'm not completely sure yet. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, review and let me know what you think. Oh, and if you have anything you want included going on, review quickly because I am starting to plan out how to get to the end.
That weekend, Mallory put on her suit and snuck out of the apartment through the window. She flew to the zeta tube and typed in the coordinates for the Watchtower. She came out on the bridge a moment later, and she smiled when she saw Hal and Barry watching her appear.
"Well, Inferno, welcome back," Barry said.
She walked over to them. "I've been back here since I quit," she reminded him.
"Yeah, she came to see me," Hal put in. "I guess that's what happens when you train someone. They never forget."
Mallory shook her head, smiling. "Hey, I'm onto your little game," she warned, "and you don't get to claim me. If you want a sidekick you'll have to go find one the hard way."
The older heroes looked at each other. "What are you talking about?"
She narrowed her eyes playfully and stuck a finger out at Barry. "You know what I'm talking about. You guys collecting kids. It's fine, I know Batman started it, but I draw the line at trading sidekicks."
Barry laughed, shaking his head. "Well, I guess you caught us," he said, then he looked at Hal and muttered, "Cheater."
Hal shook his head and looked at Mallory. "Ok, why are you here then?"
She tilted her head, looking around them. "Is the team here?" she asked.
"Yeah, some of them. Why?" the Green Lantern replied.
"Well, I thought I'd come by and tell them that I want to be on the team again," she said, looking between them to see their reactions.
"Really?" Barry asked.
Hal just smiled proudly, understanding what this meant for her. "Well, it'll be good to have you back in the mix," he said.
"You sure you want to go back to the team?" Barry asked. "You're more than welcome to rejoin the League."
She smiled, but she shook her head. "No, thanks. I didn't really like the judgement we got when I was on the League. I think I'll stick to the team, at least for now." They shrugged, and she stepped past them. "You know where Kaldur is?"
"Probably in the lounge. The team's kind of taken it over."
She smiled and nodded her thanks before walking over to the lounge. She was almost there when Arrowette and Static walked out of the lounge, and Virgil grinned when he saw her.
"Hey, Inferno!" he called.
Mallory returned the smile. "Hey, are the others in there?" she asked.
"Yeah, most of them."
She nodded, then looked at Arrowette with amusement. "I remembered to wear my suit this time, just in case I ran into you again," she said.
The girl's face turned as red as her costume and she looked down. "Yeah, I noticed," she murmured.
Mallory laughed lightly. "I'll see you guys later. But, Virgil, I need to hear about that robbery you handled in Dakota."
Virgil smiled proudly. "Oh, that was nothing," he said with fake modesty.
"Nothing?" she repeated with disbelief. "You drained half the city's power! It was incredible."
He grinned. "It was, wasn't it?"
She laughed and went into the lounge. Megan looked up from the sofa where she, Gar, and Peter were hunched over a clipboard. "Mallory?!" She glanced around the room the second the name was out of her mouth she glanced around to make sure everyone in the room already knew her secret identity.
Mallory shook her head. "I'm not a bat, it's fine," she told her friend with a smile.
"Hey, Inferno," Bart said, his voice speeding up in his excitement. "Whatcha doing up here? Need help catching a bad guy? Need a little speed? I can-"
"Shut up for once? Great idea, hermano," Jaime said, shoving him to the side gently. "Hey, Inferno."
"Hey, Blue." She glanced around the room to see who else was there. Artemis had walked over and was leaning on the back of the couch, waiting to greet her, and Cassie was practically bouncing on her toes. "Is Kaldur here?" she asked.
Megan tilted her head in question. "Yes, he's in the meeting room with Aquaman and Batman," she said aloud, then, on a link with the two of them and Artemis, asked, "is everything ok?"
"Yeah," she replied, smiling a little. "I just have something I need to talk to you guys about."
Artemis straightened up. "You're coming back, aren't you?" she guessed. Megan's eyes widened and a grin spread across her face.
"How'd you know?" Mallory asked.
"So it's true?" Megan asked eagerly.
She chuckled and shrugged. "I mean, yeah, I've been thinking about it. I wanted to talk to you guys and Kaldur and see if it's alright, and if it won't cause any problems with the newer members."
"Of course it's ok!" Megan assured her. "It won't affect anything."
"Well…" Artemis said, giving the pyrokinetic a look.
Mallory chuckled. "Hey, I promise to not lose my temper and try to take any of them out," she said. "If there's anything I don't like about them, I'll just upgrade to the League, or go back to the Quitters."
"But you won't," Megan said confidently. "You've already worked with everyone, except Arrowette, and she's good. She takes this seriously."
Mallory smiled. "Yeah, I know."
"Oh?" Artemis asked.
"She got the drop on me last time I came up here. I mean, I could have gotten out of it easily, but she wasn't playing."
Artemis smiled proudly. "Good."
"Ok, guys, enough of the psychic conversation," Gar complained.
The girls looked around to see the rest of the team staring at them, annoyed looks on their faces. They smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, old habits," Megan apologized.
Peter raised an eyebrow. "So, you want to tell us what's going on?" he asked.
Before Mallory could tell the younger heroes about her decision, Kaldur came into the room. He smiled when he saw Mallory and walked over to greet her.
"It is good to see you, Inferno," he said, extending an arm. She batted it away and gave him a hug which he returned without hesitation. "Is there something you need?" he asked when they let go.
She glanced at Megan and Artemis. "Actually, I do have something I need to talk to you about," she said.
He nodded. "The meeting room is empty at the moment, if you would like to talk there." She nodded and the four original members of the team started to leave the room.
"Mal, hold up!" Peter called.
She paused and he came up and gave her a hug. "What was that for?" she asked.
He shrugged, keeping an arm around her and looking into her face. "Nothing, I'm just glad you're here. It's good to see you in the Watchtower again."
"Hmm," she murmured. He went back to the sofa where the others had settled in, and she started walking to the door. She paused at the doorway and reached around her back, plucking a small metal disk from between her shoulder blades. "Hey, Vig?" he turned, and she grinned and tossed the bug back to him. "I think you forgot this."
Peter fumbled to catch the tiny disk. "How'd you know?" he asked, both annoyed and impressed. She just flashed him a smile and followed the others to the meeting room. She went to her old seat out of instinct, only realizing that she'd done it after she was there.
"So, what do you need?" Kaldur asked.
"I want to come back to the team," she said simply, then added hastily, "if it's ok with you."
He smiled. "Of course, you are more than welcome, you know that. If I may ask, though, what changed your mind?"
She shrugged. "Just figured it's time," she replied, but then she realized that wasn't completely true. "And I want to finish what we started. Taking down the Light. We don't even know what their plan is, why they would call the Reach just to betray them, or how they called them in the first place."
Kaldur nodded. "Well, I hope we will be able to do that soon. Now, let's tell the others about your decision."
They stood and walked out of the room. Mallory glanced back at her old seat once and smiled. It felt right, leaving it behind. They went back to the lounge and Kaldur called the team to attention.
"I would like you to meet our newest member," he announced. The younger team's faces brightened, especially Peter and Gar, and Kaldur looked at Mallory, smiling as he added, "Welcome back, Inferno."