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Two days later, Mallory was lying on the couch with her leg elevated, an ice pack situated under the wrap, when someone knocked on the door. She tried to swing her leg to the floor, but the joint screamed in resistance and she hissed in pain, grabbing it and pressing on the sides, hoping that making the pain worse would somehow make it pass faster. "Who is it?" she called from her seat.

"Z, just checking in."

Mallory sighed in annoyance. "Come on in."

Her friend tried the door. "It's locked," she called.

The pyrokinetic rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and it's gonna stay that way, I can't get up. Just let yourself in."

Her friend's muffled voice came through the wood faintly, and a second later the lock clicked open and Zatanna walked through. She winced when she saw her friend's position, still holding onto her leg. "That bad, huh?"

She shrugged, lifting her leg back to the elevated position it had been in before the interruption. "I got Dr. Palmer to run a scan when we got back from patrol, he said I tore a ligament, it's going to be a few weeks before I'm back on my feet."

The magician's expression turned from mild concern to borderline devastation. "Mallory, it can take months for a torn ligament to heal, and even after…what about Inferno?"

Mallory shrugged. "He didn't say. I asked him, but he didn't want to give me an answer one way or the other right now." She groaned and threw the clipboard she'd been working on to the coffee table in frustration. "I hate bad luck."

"Well, sure. What happened? Did you forget to fly or something?"

She shook her head. "No, literally, bad luck. Peter and I were stopping a robbery and the girl we were trying to stop hit me with some bad luck magic. Oh, I didn't tell you about that, did I? It's kind of cute, her name's Jinx and she and Peter have this…"

"Wait, this is because of a magician?" Zatanna asked.

"I mean, I guess. Peter told me that she has powers that cause bad luck, if she focuses them she can make the bad luck focus on one person or thing."

"Did she hit you, or something around you?" Zatanna asked.

"I don't know, what does it matter?" Mallory asked.

"Because if she hit you with the magic, then that means there was a spell involved, and if she put a spell on you, then I might be able to counteract it." Mallory arched an eyebrow at her friend, and Zatanna sighed, holding a hand over the redhead's knee. "If she used magic to make you hurt your knee, I might be able to use magic to fix it." She started talking backwards, her hand moving in a slow circle around the injured joint. A moment later, the magician grinned, her eyes glowed white for a second, and then she went back to normal and nodded. "There, try that."

Mallory looked at her doubtfully, but she carefully lifted her leg and set it on the ground. When she started to put weight on it, it felt fine, and in a moment she was walking to the kitchen to get the pretzels she'd been thinking about for the last three hours. "Thank you!" she said, giving her friend a hug from behind before stepping over the back of the couch and sliding back into her spot. She put on a glare and added, "and why couldn't you have come by sooner? I've been living on this sofa for two days! I had to call into work and have someone bring me the files I've been working on. I had to put up with Anna poking around my place, and I couldn't even stand up to kick her out!"

Zatanna laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, next time you get taken down by a teenage girl with bad luck powers, I'll make sure you know to call me." The fake glare melted off Mallory's face and she offered her friend some of her snack. "So, where is Peter? I thought he would be staying here."

She shook her head. "He's staying with my parents, but right now the team's on a mission in Mexico, and Megan let the boys tag along. Me, on the other hand, I wasn't even good enough to monitor from the Bioship." She looked at her friend. "How was your mission? How's John?"

Zatanna sighed and shrugged. She'd been in London for the past week, working with John, Jason Blood, and a few other prominent magic users to stop the opening of a gate of hell, or something like that. "It worked out. John's…the same. It was good to see him, though." She smiled a little and added, "He told me to tell the 'hellfire' hi."

Mallory chuckled. "Same to the witchdoctor." Her phone rang, and she grabbed it off the table, groaning as soon as she read the caller ID.

"What?" Zatanna asked.

"It's Dr. Jace. She's been trying to get me to–" she cut herself off, remembering that she wasn't supposed to tell any Leaguers about Brion, and continued, "do something for her, but I don't think I should."

"Then don't," the magician said simply.

"Yeah, well, easier said than done in this case," she replied. "She knows I'm Inferno, and she's driving me crazy."

"Is she threatening you?" Zatanna asked, her protective streak coming out in a flash.

Mallory shook her head. "No, not really. She's just being very loose with what she calls me, and she keeps finding a way to call my phone."

"Do you want me to make her forget she knows?" her friend offered.

Mallory tilted her head, not sure if she was joking or not. "I didn't know you could do that," she said. Zatanna shrugged, not answering, and Mallory finally just shook her head. "No, thanks, I'll figure something out." She shook her head, glaring at her phone, and Zatanna tilted her head.

"Is she asking you to do something illegal?" she asked.

"No," Mallory admitted, looking at her friend.

"Immoral?"

"No."

"Demeaning?"

"No."

"Then why don't you just do it?" Mallory narrowed her eyes and her friend put up her hands. "Hey, I'm not saying you should look weak, but this is clearly a constant irritation, so maybe you should just rip the bandaid off, get it over with."

The pyrokinetic sighed, looking at her phone as she thought it over. "Maybe you're right," she said slowly. It had been months since Brion had come into their lives, and in that time he had grown from the spoiled kid with no purpose. Maybe it would be good for him to finally face Jace, get everything out of his system once and for all. They could send her back to Markovia with a new identity, or work something out with Brion's brother to give her immunity. She nodded with more conviction. "Yeah, I'll do it," she said, smiling and popping a pretzel in her mouth cheerfully.

Zatanna chuckled. "Well, glad I could stop by and solve all your problems for you."

Mallory beamed. "Me, too. Well, see you later!"

The magician laughed and shook her head, kicking off her shoes and settling in. "Oh, no. I've been working for a week, and you're going to listen to my complaints if I have to turn you into a turtle."

Mallory chuckled and the girls settled in and spent the rest of the morning talking about Zatanna's trip, the boys coming for their visit, and what they needed to do later that week.


That afternoon, Mallory went to Megan and Conner's house, hating herself for what she was there to do. She found Brion in the yard, practicing his fire shield by himself in his new training clothes that Mallory had made for him, a pair of gym shorts and a wifebeater. She stayed away for a moment so she wouldn't startle him while he had the shield up, taking the moment to study his form. He let the lava down slowly, making sure it went back in the hole at his feet.

"Hello, Mallory," he said without turning around, "what are your notes?"

She smiled, walking over to him. He was getting better about noticing his surroundings. "It looked good. Maybe just make sure you stay balanced while you let it down. That's when you're the most vulnerable to front attacks, so you want to be able to move in any direction quickly."

He nodded. "Ok. But you did not come for training this early, so why are you here?"

She shrugged. "I already took off work, and I didn't have anything else to do. And…I wanted to talk to you about something." He tilted his head, waiting for her to broach the topic, and she looked back at the house. "You want to go inside?" she asked.

They walked to the living room, and Brion grabbed a water from the kitchen, then sat down across from Mallory, who had found Moe curled up on the couch and had him in her lap now, stroking his back gently to keep the nerves that were starting to come to the surface at bay. "Well?" the prince asked.

She sighed, already knowing how this was going to play out. "I got a call from Dr. Jace this morning," she said. Brion's face hardened immediately at the mention of the woman, and Mallory looked down, avoiding his eyes for a moment. "I think it's time you met with her."

He sprang to his feet, startling Moe, who jumped off Mallory's lap and ran out of the room, leaving her alone to face her pupil's anger. "You told me it was over," he said. "You said all I had to do was talk to her, and you would never bring it up again. You lied!"

She narrowed her eyes, looking up. "No, I didn't," she said firmly, keeping her voice calm. "At the time I meant it, but Brion, it has been a long time since you came here, and you still carry an anger inside you. I am hoping that by meeting with someone that you blame for your situation, maybe you can work through some of that."

"Or maybe," he said, grinding the words out of clenched teeth, "what I need is to be able to trust my mentor's word."

She was stunned into silence, her mind fixating on the one word that she knew shouldn't be such a big deal at the moment. "Mentor?" she asked quietly, raising her eyebrows slightly.

The prince's face froze, the anger melting to give way to shy embarrassment. "I mean…" he stammered, then fell quiet, waiting to see her reaction.

She kept her face blank for a moment, a practiced look that concealed the mix of pride, sentimentality, and terror that she felt at that single word. After a long moment, she stood, crossing the room to stand in front of him. "Brion, this is your decision to make, but just promise me you'll think about it, ok? I may want Jace off my back, but I wouldn't even have suggested it if I didn't think it would do you some good."

She started to walk to the door, but Brion stopped her before she got to it. "Wait," he said, quietly. She half turned, and he rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he continued, "when do we leave?"


"This hair looks ridiculous," Brion complained, raking a hand through the black locks.

Mallory rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, putting it back at his side and pulling the hood back on his head. "Stop, you look fine," she told him. "And looking good isn't the point, anyway. Crowds give you a good amount of anonymity, but I still don't like you coming out in public like this. Where are those glasses I gave you?" He pulled the sunglasses that Mallory had stolen from Dick and adjusted them on his face, concealing his eyes. She looked him over again and sighed. "I wish you would shave those sideburns if you're going to be coming out in civies more often," she mentioned. "They aren't exactly 'in' for American teenagers."

"They stay," he said firmly. She groaned, but she decided to let it go. "So, where is Dr. Jace? Shouldn't she be here by now?"

Mallory nodded. "She is," she said, looking over at the doctor, sitting on a bench partially concealed by some bushes.

"Then, what are we doing walking around the outside of the park?" Brion asked.

"Just checking," she replied. She didn't want to admit that she still didn't trust Jace completely. She didn't think she would do anything to hurt either of them, but old habits and all that.

She led the boy to the bench, having him stop behind the bushes, and approached Jace. The woman leapt to her feet when she saw her. "In–"

"Sit!" Mallory ordered sharply, cutting the woman off before she could finish getting her name out.

The doctor looked like she'd been smacked, but she did as she was told, and Mallory nodded to Brion, who came out from behind the bush and took off the glasses. "Dr. Jace," he said, his voice tight.

"Brion…" the woman stood again, and this time Mallory didn't say anything about it. "Brion, I am so glad you agreed to see me."

"I didn't do it for you," he said sharply.

"Just the same," she said, "Thank you." She looked at Mallory. "Would you give us a moment?" she asked.

The pyrokinetic looked at the prince, waiting for his word. He nodded once, and she returned it. "I'll be by the pond, if you finish before I get back," she said, looking at Brion. He nodded again, and she walked away, leaving the two to their talk.

Twenty minutes later, she circled back around to the bench. They were still sitting there, deep in conversation, and she debated whether or not to break it up. Neither one seemed particularly upset, but then again it was probably best to keep their first in-person chat short. She walked over, clearing her throat a few feet away to announce her presence. "Well, Brion, we should probably get going," she said.

He nodded and got to his feet, Jace right behind him. The doctor turned to Mallory, her face more at peace than Mallory had ever seen it. "Thank you again, Havu," she said.

Mallory offered her a small smile. "All I did was deliver a message," she said. "Brian's the one that agreed to come." Brion looked at her strangely at the American pronunciation of his name, but she ignored him for the moment, focusing on getting them out of the park. "But, now that you two have talked some of your issues out, I trust that you'll stop calling me and let us contact you if there is anything you should know?"

The woman chuckled and nodded. "Yes, and I do apologize for that. I have just been so worried, and you were the only person I knew to call." She looked at Brion and pulled him into a hug. The prince stiffened a little, but he didn't push her away, which seemed like a big step for them. "I hope we can have another talk soon," she said.

He hesitated, then said, "perhaps. Goodbye, Dr. Jace."

He and Malllory started walking out of the park, and, to Mallory's surprise, Jace let them go without calling to them or trying to follow them. She looked at the boy as they walked. "So…that seemed like it went all right?"

He nodded. "It was…enlightening. I believe that you were right, perhaps I did need to confront some of the things that have led to where I am. Dr. Jace was a good start."

She nodded. "Good. But, Brion, you know this doesn't have to be the end, right? We will help you get your life back. We're going to find Terra, and we're going to help you and your siblings sort out the mess back in Markovia."

"I know," he said, catching her eye and smiling a little. "I…trust you." His smile turned to a fake glare and he added, "but do not call me Brian again, or I will have you imprisoned once I get back to the palace."

She chuckled and nodded. "Fair enough," she replied. "I just didn't want anyone to overhear your name." They came to a zeta tube and she authorized his entry, then continued on her walk to her apartment. She was halfway there when her phone rang and she pulled it out to check the caller ID, part of her expecting it to be Jace. It was Dick, so she slid the bar and held it to her ear. "Hey, what's up?"

"Just calling to see if you know where Brion is, Conner got home a few minutes ago and he was gone."

"Oh, yeah, that's my bad, he was with me," she told him. "We went to see Jace."

"Why?"

"Because she called me again, and I got tired of it. But I think it helped him work through some of that anger. Maybe moving forward he won't be so…volatile."

"How was Jace calling you? I triple encrypted your call signal when she broke through last time. There shouldn't have been a way for her to get back through."

Mallory shrugged, even though he couldn't see her. "I don't know, but I think I have the problem solved now." She smiled and added, "no thanks to you."

"Yeah, sure," he murmured, clearly preoccupied now.

She reached her apartment door and unlocked it. "Ima go, I have a ton of work to catch up on. I have to stop missing so many days."

"Oh, yeah, how's your leg?"

"Fine, Z came by and fixed it."

"She can do that?" he asked, sounding a little jealous.

"There was a magic technicality that she used, or something like that. Are you going to be at training tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I should be able to make it, I'll probably be a little late, though. A have a double beat."

"Oh, well, get some sleep before you go. I'll see you then." They hung up and the pyrokinetic settled on the sofa with her files and her computer, ready to start catching up on the work that she'd been procrastinating on all day.