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"Hey, Artemis, over here!" Megan called when the Archer walked into the restaurant on the corner a block away from Raquel's house. Mallory and Zatanna had gotten back the day before and Megan suggested getting together to hear about the trip and fill them in on what had happened since they left. Raquel hadn't delivered yet, but with her due date so close, it was all she could do to waddle down her front steps and down the street to meet them.
"Hey, guys. So how was space?" Artemis asked after sliding into the bar stool. The restaurant was crowded, so they had to sit at the bar to wait for their table. The others all had soft drinks in front of them, so the blond motioned to the bartender and ordered an iced tea.
Zatanna waited for the order to be filled and the man to walk away before answering, "still cool. I guess you already heard that we brought back a couple of souvenirs."
Artemis chuckled at the word. "Well, if you're talking about the Blue Lantern that's staying in the Watchtower, then, yeah, I heard. Ollie wouldn't shut up about it yesterday at training."
"We told you about him last time, his name's Razor."
"Oh, yeah, Hal's friend, right?"
"Yeah. He's been looking for someone for a long time, but he's starting to run himself into the ground. I suggested that he take a break, recharge a little and try to get a little clarity while he's here," Mallory explained.
Megan nodded. "I feel so bad for him. When you introduced him yesterday, he just seemed so empty. How long has he been looking for her?"
They shook their heads. "I don't know," Zatanna said. "I got the impression it's been a long time, maybe years."
"Mmm," Artemis murmured, looking lost in thought. She snapped out of it a second later. "Well, that's one, what's the other souvenir?"
Mallory couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. She pulled out her phone and flipped to the picture of her new pet asleep on her couch. "This," she said, holding her phone out so they could see.
"Awww!" Megan squealed.
"Where did you get it?" Raquel asked.
"From Valtor, the planet we helped evacuate," she told them. "It's some kind of canine, and it's adapted to live in extreme heat. Razor pulled it out of a town surrounded by lava and erupting volcanoes and he was sleeping through it all."
"Aww, that's perfect," Artemis commented. "What's his name?"
Zatanna smiled in anticipation, and Mallory set her phone back on the counter. "Mozilla Firefox. I've just been calling him Moe, though."
Artemis and Raquel chuckled. "That's cute," the archer said. "You'll have to bring him over one day and let him meet Brucely."
"Yeah, I was planning to. First I want to bring him to the Watchtower and see if there's anything I need to be worried about. I don't want him having any big growth spurts or anything."
"Yeah, like that would happen," Raquel scoffed.
Mallory shrugged. "Happened to Lois. Remember Titano?"
"Oh, yeah, the space monkey." Artemis murmured. "That was a long time ago."
The bell over the door jangled, but none of them turned around until the footsteps stopped right behind them and the newcomer said, "Hey, Mallory." They all turned at the same time and Mallory's eyes widened, immediately recognizing the man.
"Isaiah, what are you doing in Dakota?" she asked. "You're supposed to be getting married today."
He shrugged. "I ran into Conner in Metropolis, he told me where you were. Uh, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Uh, sure," she said, but she made no move to get up.
He glanced at the other girls. "Alone?"
She sighed and shook her head. "I'm here with my friends. Just say what you have to say and go get married, ok?"
He winced. "Um, I can't do that," he said slowly. "I'm not getting married."
The girls looked at each other in surprise. "Why not?" Mallory asked.
He looked at the floor. "Because I still love you."
She narrowed her eyes, not saying anything. When he didn't get a reaction, he glanced up at her, his eyebrows scrunching together when he saw the unimpressed, almost bored look on her face.
"I know this is sudden, but–"
"Boy, stop," she said, arching an eyebrow at him. "We haven't been together since we were fifteen years old. I love you, but you need to go get married."
His eyes widened for a moment, but a second later they both started laughing. "I don't know what came over me," he said, shaking his head at himself. He grew serious again, though, and added, "look, maybe I don't love you, but I can't marry Toni. Do you…uh, do you want to go somewhere and get a drink or something?"
"Don't do it, Mal," Artemis warned her over the link.
"She's right, Mallory, don't get involved," Megan said.
"I know what I'm doing," she told her friend, then, aloud, she said, "sure. My ride's outside."
"Mal, what are you doing?" Raquel asked.
She ignored them and got up, putting some money on the counter to pay for her drink. "Sorry to flake on you, but I'll see you at training tomorrow anyway," she told her friends, then she walked outside with Isaiah. Her motorcycle was parked on the street and she led the way over to it. "Sorry, I don't have a spare helmet," she said, putting hers on. "I wasn't expecting to have a second rider."
"It's fine," he replied, getting on behind her and wrapping his arms around her. She pulled out into traffick and headed down the street.
"So, you want to tell me why you showed up here what, an hour before your wedding ceremony to confess some fake love for me?" she asked, having to yell over the sound of the wind rushing by.
"I don't know. I love Toni, I know I do, but I woke up this morning and it was all just so clear in my head, I can't go through with this."
"Why not?" she asked, turning down a quieter street.
"Well, I…um, I don't know how to explain it?"
"You don't sound too sure," she commented.
"Well, I am?"
She rolled her eyes and pulled the bike to a stop along the curb. Isaiah hopped off, but he paused when he saw that they were at a department store, not a bar.
"What are we doing here?" he asked.
She pulled her helmet off and put a firm hand on his shoulder, pushing his towards the doors. "Well, you're clearly having cold feet," she said, and she narrowed her eyes and made her tone icey as she continued, "but you love that girl and you will get to that church on time, so buy yourself some socks and get on the bike. You've been through too much with her to leave her at the altar, so one way or another, you will be standing at the end of that aisle when she comes out. Understand?"
His face showed actual fear and she almost showed the smile of satisfaction that was pushing its way through. A second later, though, he let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Thanks, Mal. That's exactly what I needed to hear." He chuckled and added, "hey, you wouldn't want to be my best man, would you? You've done the job pretty well so far."
She scoffed, letting the smile show. "No, thanks, I'm good." She narrowed her eyes again, putting her Bat impression back on. "But I will be in the pew to make sure you don't try to bolt at the last second."
He huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I'll bet you will. Well, come on. I don't want to find out what'll happen to me if I'm late."
He started walking beck to the door, but Mallory stopped him, saying, "hey, aren't you forgetting something?" He looked back at her and she tossed him a pair of socks from a display next to her. He smiled and tossed them back.
"Thanks, but I don't need them anymore."
She smiled and nodded, and they went back out to her bike, riding to a zeta tube and typing in the coordinates closest to the church in Metropolis where the wedding was taking place.
Forty minutes later, Mallory was sitting in the second row of pews, with Isaiah standing at the end of the aisle in his tux, shifting from one foot to the other nervously as he stared at the double doors on the other side of the room. He looked ready to run or pass out or puke or maybe a combination of the three. He kept glancing at her, and she did her best to keep him together without getting up. She glared at him every time he looked at her, and the last time he locked eyes with her she lit hers in her glare and mouthed, 'don't you dare.' He took a shaky breath and looked away quickly. The music started, and everyone in the church got to their feet to watch the bride come in. Mallory watched her ex's face go from panicky to absolute serenity the second he saw Toni in her dress at the end of the aisle. Since she didn't have any family of her own, Isaiah's dad was walking her down the aisle, which made Mallory smile. He didn't look at her again through the rest of the ceremony, and he looked completely at peace, staring at Toni through the whole thing, and his voice was clear and strong when he announced, "I do."
After the ceremony, Mallory was one of the first people to make it outside, intending to slip away before she ran into the couple coming out. She was on her way down the front stairs, just a few feet from her bike, when she heard someone call her name. She barely had time to turn around before someone had their arms around her. She nearly fell down the last step and she laughed and returned the hug.
"Hey, Nikki." She took a step back to look the girl over and shook her head. She was almost as taller as she was now, and she had such a mature look on her face she almost looked grown up. "When did you get so big?" she asked.
The girl laughed. "The last six years, I guess."
"Yeah, that'll do it," Mallory replied. Her parents came over to them and Mallory smiled and extended her hand. "Hey, Mr. Crockett, Mrs. C."
"Hey, baby. It's good to see you again," Mrs. Crockett said. "We weren't expecting to see you today."
"Neither was I." The group turned to the newcomer, Toni, on Isaiah's arm. She laughed softly. "But I'm sure it was just an oversight. Will we see you at the reception?"
Mallory glanced at Isaiah. "Oh, uh, no, I wasn't planning on staying for the reception. Well, I wasn't planning on coming to the ceremony either." She chuckled, motioning to her jeans and t-shirt. "Obviously."
Toni raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh. Well, why did you come, then?"
Isaiah shifted on his feet, guilt written on his face. "I, um, she came because of me," he said.
"What?"
Mallory shook her head, refraining from rolling her eyes. This was far from the confident, cocky guy she knew him to be. Marriage seemed to have changed him already. Or maybe it was just being around Toni that made him want to be the perfect image of a husband. Which didn't include looking up an ex an hour before the vows to try to back out. "Yeah, his car broke down on the way here, I gave him a lift," she said, nodding to her bike. "It was a lucky thing I was passing by."
Toni smiled. "Yeah, lucky for him. I would have killed him if he was late."
"Sorry I took up a seat, I just felt a little awkward to leave once the ceremony started."
"Oh, no, don't worry about it. Listen, you're welcome to come to the reception if you want, there should be plenty of food."
Mallory shook her head. "Thanks, I have to meet someone." She gave Nikki a side hug and looked at their parents. "It was good to see you." She looked at Isaiah, and he tilted his head, started to open his arms, but she stuck a hand out before he could. He nodded and shook her hand.
"It was good to see you, too," he said.
"Congratulations," she said, looking at the newlyweds. "I'm sure you'll be very happy."
"Well, we should get on to the reception hall," Toni said, breaking the awkward silence that followed. "We don't want to keep the guests waiting."
They said a final goodbye and went to the cars, and Mallory walked the few steps to her bike, picking up her helmet but not putting it on as she watched the cars round the block and disappear. "You can come out now," she said, not looking over her shoulder.
Megan decamouflaged just a few inches behind her and sighed. "Sorry," the Martian murmured.
"Don't tell me you left Raquel all alone at the restaurant," Mallory said.
"No, Artemis and Zatanna are with her. We just thought you might need to talk."
Mallory smiled a little. "Actually, I'm good." She put her helmet on and turned to her friend. "Hop on, I'll give you a ride back."
The Martian got on the bike and Mallory was about to pull out when an explosion on the next street caught their attention. They jumped back onto the sidewalk and scanned the sky, locating the threat, a forty foot tin soldier. The girls looked at each other and Megan morphed into her consume.
"Are you sure you're ready for a fight?" she asked, already starting to fly up.
Mallory grinned and pulled off her helmet, burning through her clothes to reveal her costume underneath. "Always," she replied, and she shot into the sky, a peace filling her as she flew towards the latest danger.