I've been posting for almost two years now, and I just found out this week that there's an easier way to edit chapters already posted. Anyway, hope you like it, please review!
Another week passed slowly. The heroes went through their days distracted, constantly checking their phones for updates. According to the doctors, Barbara had passed the critical point, and she was healing well now, but they knew they wouldn't be able to breathe easy until she was out of that hospital. Maybe not even then.
Mallory was just getting home at the end of the week when she got a call from Roy. She put it on speaker and went to the kitchen to get some food. "Hey, what's up?" she asked.
"I just thought you'd want to hear the latest update. Everything's healing fine, so they're going to take her off all the sedatives. They'll take a day to get out of her system, but by this time tomorrow, she'll be keeping regular hours, and once they finish her detox, she can finish her healing at home."
Mallory smiled. "That's great. We should give her a welcome home party."
"I think the Bats have that covered. They'll probably want to be alone after everything, but we can go see her once she settles in."
"Yeah, ok. Have you talked to Dick lately?"
"Yeah, he's the one that told me the news."
"Did he seem…better?"
Roy let out a breath. "Um, yeah, I guess. He's over the initial scare, and he's come to terms with what happens from here, but he's struggling with what she's going to do when she finds out that her Batgirl days are over."
Mallory nodded, and he seemed to understand that.
"I've got to go, Lian has a playdate with a kid from her preschool class and the parents wanted to meet Jade and me." He snorted and added, "I think they want to be friends. I'll have to think of some good stories to pass the time."
Mallory smirked. "Maybe tell them the one about where you brought Lian on a rescue mission to find the guy you were cloned from and she watched you and your wife violently take down about a hundred ninjas. Oh, or the one where Jade hadn't quit her life of crime so you took Lian on a stakeout and we tossed her back and forth during the fight. Oh! Or the one where–"
"Uh, thanks for the suggestions," he cut in dryly, "but I think I'll save all those gems for the second playdate."
She laughed. "Suit yourself. I'll let you go, I need to go to the Watchtower anyway, I haven't checked in in over a week."
"All right. I'll see you later. Bye."
"Bye." She hung up, and after she finished her yogurt, she grabbed the duffel that had her suit in it and headed out the door. Five minutes later, she appeared on the bridge in the Watchtower. Jaime and Virgil were on their way to the tubes, but they paused as they were crossing paths.
"Hey, Mallory, we heard that Batgirl's gonna be ok. Is that true?" Virgil asked.
Mallory nodded. "Yeah, she's going to get out of the hospital this week," she replied.
"Cool. When can we go see her?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, maybe a week. Talk to Robin, he'll know better than I do."
They nodded and went on to the tubes and she continued on to the lounge. Megan and Artemis were there, also in civies, so she tossed her duffle on a table by the door and sat on the sofa with them, crossing her legs and leaning on the arm.
"Hey, what're you doing up here?" Artemis asked.
Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Uh, last time I checked, I was still on the team. Why haven't you been calling me for missions?"
"Because we haven't been going on missions," Megan replied.
"Well that's convenient," Mallory muttered.
Artemis shrugged. "Elections are coming up, and the public is starting to think Luthor's a good candidate. The Light's probably just putting all their effort into that."
Mallory sighed. She'd almost forgotten about Luthor running for UN secretary. "Right. I guess we should just be thankful for the break." They were quiet for a moment, letting the comment hang in the air.
"Do you think they knew?" Megan asked suddenly.
"Knew what?" Artemis asked.
"That she was going to take over the team," she explained.
Mallory and Artemis exchanged a look. They hadn't considered that. They thought about it for a minute, but then Artemis shook her head.
"No," she said firmly, "there's no way they could have known about it, and even if they did, it's not their style. They don't care who's leading the team, they just want us out of the way."
Megan sighed. "So now I'm stuck," she said to herself.
Mallory tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't want to lead the team," she said quietly. "I agreed to do it until Barbara took over, but now…if there's even a chance that she was targeted, I can't pass it on to anyone. And I can't be the leader permanently, I just can't."
"Where's all this conspiracy and insecurity coming from all of a sudden?" Mallory asked, crossing her legs and turning so she was facing them. "You've been running the team for weeks, and you're doing great."
The Martian didn't answer, and Artemis leaned forward. "Megan, you're the best option for a leader. I don't care what you think. You're patient and you're not impulsive, you understand people and you can see the bigger picture. No one else has all those qualities now that Dick and Kaldur are on other teams and Barbara's…not coming back."
Their friend paused, and before she could respond, Zatanna walked into the lounge in her suit. She saw the others in civies and muttered a spell, and a second later she was in jeans and a tank top.
"Hey, I heard the news," she said, but she clearly had something else on her mind.
"What?" Artemis asked.
She sighed and sat down beside Mallory. "Um, I need to ask a favor," she said.
"Ok?" Megan prompted.
The magician bit her lip. "Um, I just, well, I know this isn't a good time with Barbara and everything, but…"
"Z, what is it?" Mallory asked, starting to get worried.
Zatanna looked at her friends. "Well, I just talked to Doctor Fate, and…" a hopeful smile spread across her face slowly and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at each of her friends and continued, "he agreed to let my dad take off the helmet."
Mallory nearly fell off the sofa in her haste to untangle her legs, and Megan and Artemis had stricken looks on their faces.
"Zatanna, that's…" the Martian couldn't find the word she wanted, and Zatanna laughed, a tear spilling over her lashes. "I know," she said. Megan hugged her, and Zatanna was laughing and crying all at once.
Mallory put a hand on her shoulder. "You did it, Z," she said.
The magician looked at her, and something unspoken passed between them as they silently acknowledged the night on the roof when Jess told them to help someone who needed it.
"So, what do you want us to do?" Artemis asked.
Zatanna's smile dimmed a little. "I want you to come with me, for after. He's only giving us an hour, so…"
"Of course," the archer assured her.
The magician smiled, looking around at her friends. "I love you guys," she said.
They returned the smile. "We love you, too," Megan told her.
Two days later, Zatanna, Artemis, Megan, Mallory, and Raquel traveled to a park in New York to meet Doctor Fate. Zatanna was too nervous to talk, and she led the way to a willow tree and walked through the hanging leaves. She shifted her weight nervously, looking up into the branches. She looked at her friends.
"What time is it?" she asked.
Mallory checked her phone. "10:59."
She nodded and looked back up into the branches. "Can you come tell me when we have ten minutes left?" she asked quietly. "I want to have time to say goodbye this time."
A lump came to Mallory's throat as she remembered the first time Zatara had donned the helmet, and all she could do was nod. Zatanna returned it, and they went back to waiting. Doctor Fate appeared right on the hour, his cross portal appearing above their heads, and he landed in front of Zatanna.
"You understand the terms of our agreement?" he asked.
Zatanna took a breath and nodded. "One hour, no longer."
"If you do not hold up your end of the agreement, this will not happen again."
Zatanna nodded again. "I understand."
He studied her for a moment, then reached up and removed the helmet. A spike went through Mallory's chest as a flash of light traveled down his body, and then Zatara was standing there, the helmet just an object in his hand. Megan put a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. He was there. He had aged quite a bit, even more than the six years warranted. He had wrinkles and his hair was mostly white, just a few black streaks left in it, and he had a beard, but they all recognized him as soon as they saw him.
Zatanna's eyes widened, and for a long few seconds she just stared at him like she didn't think he was really there. His eyes filled with tears and he smiled and touched her cheek. "My Zatanna," he murmured, and that was all it took. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry," she said, her words coming out muffled and pained.
Mallory turned away, taking a few deep breaths to keep from crying herself, and Megan reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. She looked up and saw that the Martian's cheeks were wet. The magicians walked out of the tree, and the group followed them at a distance, watching as they went to the swings and sat down to talk. They stood there, not knowing what to do, then Raquel cleared her throat.
"Well," she said quietly, resting her hand on her baby bump, "I guess we should get comfortable. We've got an hour to kill."
Forty minutes passed, and the girls started to get restless, knowing that they would need to tell them that the hour was almost over. None of them wanted to be the one to deliver the news.
"It's not fair," Raquel muttered. "An hour's not enough time. Isn't it bad enough that he's stolen six years from them? Why can't he just let him go? If the world needs him again, someone will put the helmet back on, as long as they know they'll get their lives back."
They didn't answer, because there was no answer. It wasn't fair, and there wasn't anything they could do about it.
"Someone needs to go," Artemis said after a few seconds. No one volunteered, and she sighed. "Draw straws?"
They nodded, and she picked four blades of grass, cut one in half, and rolled them together so she wouldn't know where the short one was. Each of them pulled one, and when they showed what they had, the archer had the short straw. She winced and threw it to the ground.
"Fine," she muttered.
"Well, wait," Raquel said, checking the time. "They still have two minutes."
They waited those two minutes in absolute silence, just staring at their friend and her father, dreading what happened next. When it hit 10:50, Artemis heaved a sigh and stood up, walking slowly over to the swings. The other girls watched as she delivered the news, and their hearts broke at the look of panic that crossed Zatanna's face.
"I can't do this," Megan said suddenly. "I can't watch her lose him again."
Mallory grabbed the Martian's wrist in a death grip, and she yelped in pain and surprise. "Yes, you can. And you can't be crying when you do. Zatanna needs us to be strong for her, she's going to need us to get her through it, so we can't be a mess." The alien nodded, and Mallory turned her stern look to Raquel. "That goes double for you, ms. hormones."
Raquel opened her mouth to defend herself, but then she just nodded. "I know. I'll be fine."
Mallory nodded once and looked back over at the swings, where Artemis was walking back and Zatanna had her dad in a hug. The archer rejoined the group and gave a terse nod. "She's saying goodbye."
The ten minutes simultaneously flew by and never ended, and when it was time the girls looked at each other grimly and stood. They walked to the swings and stood a few steps away. They didn't say anything. They didn't have to. Zatanna's eyes widened with fear and she grabbed her father in one last hug.
"Daddy, please, don't do this! We can put the helmet in the vault at the Watchtower, he can't do anything until the next person puts it on, and we can make sure that never happens!"
"No, Zatanna. We gave our word, and if I betray Nabu, whatever poor soul is trapped in the helmet next will never be released."
Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, and she brushed them away irritably. "Dad, please, I need you."
He looked at her with pride, putting a hand on her cheek. "No, Zatanna, you do not. I have watched you from inside that helmet for six years, and I have seen you reach goals that I never dreamed were possible. You are an amazing magician, a brave hero, and a compassionate person, and I couldn't be prouder of you."
She shook her head, trying to stop the clock, stop her tears, but she couldn't get her words out anymore.
Zatara looked at the girls and smiled at them. "I have watched you, too. Thank you, for taking care of my girl." They nodded, and the man looked back at his daughter. "Be strong, Zatanna, and know that I love you." He pressed his lips to her forehead, then he lifted the helmet above his head.
"No!" Zatanna exclaimed, but it was too late. A flash of light covered his body, and then Doctor Fate was standing there once more. She stared at him for a moment, then he turned without a word and went through his portal. She sank to the ground, sobbing, and the girls ran to her side. Mallory and Artemis wrapped her in a hug.
"It's not fair," the magician choked out.
No one said anything, and Mallory rested her head on her friend's. "I know," she murmured, holding her tighter. "I know."