Hope you like it, please review!
A few days later, Mallory showed up to the house at her normal time to find that Brion was alone on the porch, his head bent over his phone. "Hey, where's the landlords?" she asked, smiling a greeting.
"They left," he said, not looking up. "Conner is bringing a bike back to someone and 'meeting a friend', and Megan said she had a meeting for her job."
"The school counselor has a meeting on a Sunday?" Mallory asked.
Brion shrugged. "I did not ask questions."
She shrugged. "Ok, well you ready to get started?" she asked.
"I have just been waiting for you," he muttered, getting up.
"Ok, then, show me you've been practicing that precision shot." He rolled up his sleeves so he wouldn't ruin another shirt and touched the rock that had been a pit a few days before. Megan had asked that they try to spare as much of the grass as they could, so he was reusing the same spot to get his lava. She came at him, holding her fingers up like a gun. Brion raised an eyebrow.
"That's the best you can do?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm not spending money on props. Come on, heat my hand but nothing else." He ran towards her, his forearms covered in lava, and shot a thin stream at her hand. She spun out of the way at the last second, aimed her finger gun, and brought it up in a fake shot. "Bang," she said. "You're dead."
"That's not fair!" the prince complained, though he was fighting a small smile. "If you would teach me how to put up a shield, I wouldn't be."
She shrugged. "Sorry, but you're not going to be ready for that until you can get through this exercise without getting shot."
He rolled his eyes. "Should it not be the other way around?" he asked.
"No," she said, "because you're never going to need this anyway, it's just for practice, and you need to be able to use a small amount of power with precision before you can move on to keeping up a whole shield."
"Yes, I have been meaning to talk to you about that," he said. He was interrupted by the shed door opening, and Artemis and V'lana came out. Artemis saw them first and started walking over. "Hey, where's the perfect couple?" she asked.
"Gone, they both had something with work, apparently. Not that they told me, I just got it from Brion."
"Oh," the archer said, looking around. She sighed and tilted her head, telling Mallory to walk a little with her. They stopped a few feet from the teens and Artemis gave her an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go," she said.
"What? Why?" Mallory whined.
"I have to bring Lian to a birthday party, and the parents are asking for an adult to stay."
"Why? They can't handle twenty toddlers running around their yard by themselves?"
"Superman couldn't handle that many toddlers by himself," Artemis said with a smile. "Besides, it's at a trampoline park, so they don't want to have to sign wavers for all of them."
"What about Roy?"
"He's got a gig guarding a shipment, and before you start asking about everyone else, I promise you I have tried everyone that wouldn't raise questions. I even asked Arsenal, he's never busy, and he's not even in the country right now."
Mallory twisted her lips. "Ok, I have so many questions," she said. "Like, how is Arsenal not going to attract attention?"
"We've been saying that they're brothers since he tried to pass himself off as Roy to pick her up from school last month," she explained.
Mallory nodded. "Ok, sure, and what's he doing out of the country?"
She shrugged. "You know we don't ask questions anymore. Honestly, if he makes it home without starting a war, it's a victory." Mallory narrowed her eyes. The youngest/oldest of the Harpers wasn't exactly in agreement with how they handled their cases, and he'd been taking a more violent approach. He hadn't directly killed anyone that they knew of, but that didn't mean his victims always recovered from his methods either. He'd become something of a black sheep of the Arrow family, and the hero community as a whole, but he still showed up if they needed him, and for the most part, as long as no one tried to make him do things their way, they could coexist well. "Ok, Mal, I really have to go," Artemis said, breaking into her thoughts.
She looked at the kids. "What am I supposed to do with them?" she asked.
"Just train them, you've trained the team for years, it's the same thing."
"Brion's not training in hand-to-hand combat," Mallory pointed out, "and I don't know what skills V'lana has."
"So spar with her and find out, and it's not going to kill him to switch up training for one day. Just like it's not going to kill you to have an extra pupil for one day."
Mallory sighed. "Fine. Tell Lian I said have fun."
"Will do. Thanks, and sorry." The blonde jogged back to the zeta tube, leaving Mallory to walk back to the teens and start their lesson for the day.
"Ok, so, Artemis had to leave, and Conner and Megan had work, and Nightwing isn't here, big surprise," she added the last part under her breath and continued on with her speech as if she hadn't interrupted herself, "so I guess it's just you guys and me. V'lana, I haven't really worked with you yet, so let's spar a little so I can get a feel for what you need to work on."
"Of course," the Atlantean replied. "Would you like to use abilities, or just hand to hand?"
"Let's start with hand to hand and I'll introduce powers when I know where we're going," the pyrokinetic decided.
They went to the painted ring and Mallory made the first move, giving the teen the benefit of sizing up her first attack to make a plan for the rest of the fight. She countered the charge perfectly, rolling out of the way and kicking her in the shoulder and setting up a good balance in the fight. Mallory held back a little, pulling the punches she knew she'd land and going a little slower with her attacks, but she gradually upped the intensity, until she was sparring the same as she would with Peter or Tim, or any of the younger but experienced fighters. Once she got to that point, she backflipped away, flaming up midair and landing with her hands on fire.
"Ready?" she asked. V'lana smiled, and she held out her hands, her hidden tattoos glowing blue as she activated the ability that she had trained in the conservatory. Mallory couldn't quite tell what they were, but the power she wielded was the same as Kaldur had used, creating a shield to protect herself from the fire. Mallory threw fireballs at her, the flames sizzling out on the shield, and she flew into it, trying to break through or try to get the girl to lose her focus enough to let it down. After a while, she decided to end the fight, and she dove over the shield, landing behind the Atlantean, and swiped her legs out from under her.
"Agh!" the girl yelled. She chuckled. "I did not think you could get over it so quickly."
Mallory smiled and offered her a hand, helping her to her feet. "I saw that opening a minute ago, I was giving you a chance to close it. You're good, I'm surprised Kaldur didn't already put you on the team. As far as I can tell, you're ready to be out in the field, getting experience."
"He thinks I need more experience just being on the surface world, and I think he is right. I am slower than you, it is difficult to adjust to fighting with gravity pulling me down all the time."
Mallory chuckled. "You'll get used to it. Really, I don't know what else I can tell you to work on, other than your reaction time and balancing offense and defense a little more. You're focusing more on protecting yourself than on talking out the opponent, which can be a good thing, but you need to be able to do both at the same time."
"Thank you. You know, now that we are giving notes, I noticed that you made your fire a bit big, and it took a microsecond longer than it would if you had done more smaller shots. Just something to consider."
Mallory raised an eyebrow, her smile turning to amusement. "Thanks, I'll work on that." She looked at Brion. "Ok, why don't you two spar a little? Just go slow, some basic offense and defense."
"Are you crazy?" Brion asked.
Mallory shook her head. "Don't worry, she'll go slow with you, and she needs to work on her offense, so it'll be good for both of you."
She traded places with him, standing off to the side, ready to watch the match. Brion hesitated, not wanting to look like he couldn't fight, but finally he put his arms up boxing style. When Mallory nodded, V'lana jogged at Brion, throwing a punch. He blocked it, but he didn't counter it. V'lana gave him three seconds to retaliate, then threw a second punch, faster this time. Again, the prince blocked it and let his opportunity to hit back pass. Mallory crossed her arms, letting this pattern happen five times before she shook her head, stepping into the ring.
"Stop," she said, walking over to them. She looked at Brion. "Why aren't you fighting? You have good form, you know how to block. You don't get those skills without learning how to throw a good punch."
He looked at her like she was crazy. "You want me to hit a girl?"
Mallory nodded slowly, exchanging an amused glance with V'lana. "I mean, yeah, that's what sparring is."
"I…cannot."
"Oh, you're going to have to get over that real quick, 'cause that girl can hit you, and it's gonna hurt." She backed up, and V'lana tilted her head.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Mallory nodded. "Yep. Go at it. Looks like both of you need to work on offense."
They went again, starting to circle each other as V'lana looked for a way in and Brion watched the Atlantean, waiting for her to start her attack. The Atlantean ran at him, throwing her arm straight forward. He blocked the blow and she dropped to the ground, swiping her leg to knock him off his feet. He jumped over her leg easily and backed up some more. V'lana tilted her head.
"You are good, for someone who has not been trained," she commented, throwing two consecutive punches at his forehead and stomach.
He ducked the first and blocked the second, smiling a little. "Who told you I was not trained?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I just assumed."
He blocked another punch, then ducked around her to give himself more room to back away. "I was trained by some of the best fighters in Markovia. It was a…hobby of mine growing up. My parents encouraged it, as long as it kept me occupied and I did not use it against my brother."
A shadow crossed his face, and V'lana bit her lip, then narrowed her eyes and slammed a fist into his jaw, dropping while he was dazed and sweeping his legs out from under him. She smiled at Mallory. "I am starting to see the benefit to the surface's gravity," she said.
Brion glared up at her, rubbing his jaw. "That was not fair," he muttered.
She shrugged. "I am sorry, but Inferno did tell you that I would hit hard."
"That is not what I meant," he snapped.
She took a breath and knelt beside him. "I know," she said. Her tattoos glowed on her skin, and Mallory saw that they were sharks as she collected a patch of water and held it up. He turned away, and she narrowed her eyes. "Hold still, it will help with the swelling." He let her put the cold pack on the bruise and she smiled a little and added, "You know, you can hit back. I do not really want to destroy that pretty face."
A laugh bubbled out of his mouth, and Mallory's eyes widened a little, completely caught off guard. She'd barely even seen him smile since he'd become their charge, and she hadn't thought laughter was even on the table. He caught himself, putting the glare back on, but V'lana was beaming, pleased with herself for making him happy for a second. Mallory walked over.
"She's right," she said. "If you don't at least try to land a blow, I'll get Tigress to spar with you. She won't be as considerate about your looks as V'lana."
He grunted, brushing V'lana's hand away from his face, and got to his feet. Mallory nodded, smiling inwardly, and backed out of the circle. "All right, again!"
Later that day, Mallory got a call that the League and team were meeting in the Watchtower. She didn't know what it was about, but she put on her suit and zetaed to the bridge early so she could have a chance to talk to some of the Leaguers before they went in the meeting room. As soon as she appeared in the tube, she locked onto Kyle, standing a little apart from the others as he waited for the meeting to start. She crossed the room and cleared her throat.
"So, did they tell you what this is about?" she asked.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "They didn't tell you?"
She shrugged. "I stopped getting the emails when I quit," she said dryly. "I haven't heard anything. Well, I also haven't asked, but it's a little weird that they're keeping it so close."
"We're goinf over everything," he told her. "The trafficking, the media, Luthor's new political leash that's keeping us from doing what we need to do. All of it."
Mallory nodded slowly, understanding now why they hadn't said let the word get out. This meeting was looking for a way to work around the new restrictions put on the League, and what they could do about it. They didn't want the younger members of the team to worry, or the senior members to try to alter the members' opinions before they got a chance to decide for themselves.
Clark announced that it was time for the League to go in, and Zatanna, Rocket, Artemis, and Conner met them at the doorway.
"So, are we not allowed in for this one?" Artemis asked.
Zatanna shook her head. "Sorry, but the room's crowded enough as it is, with every member of the League in there."
"It's not fair. We've been around longer than half of them, just because we're not in the League doesn't mean this doesn't affect us," Mallory muttered.
Kyle shrugged apologetically. "Yeah, well, if you could take my place I'd let you. I'm not exactly looking forward to this."
"We'll tell you what happens when we get out," Raquel promised, and they walked in together to find their seats. Mallory exchanged a look with the other senior members of the team. "So, I guess we just wait," she said.
Megan glanced back to the team, where they had lined up and were waiting for the leader to explain why they were there for a League meeting they weren't allowed in. The zeta tube came on announcing Black Canary and Aquaman. They stopped at the team on their way across the bridge.
"Thank you for being here," Canary said.
Megan nodded. "Of course. You did say it was important."
The leader of the League nodded, and Kaldur sighed, not looking happy about going into the meeting. "As the leader of the team, you are welcome to come and observe," he told Megan.
The Martian looked between the Leaguers. "Do I want to observe?" she asked doubtfully.
Kaldur shrugged. "Probably not, but please come. I believe we could use the moral support."
The Martian nodded and followed them to the meeting room, leaving Mallory, Conner, and Artemis standing in front of eight teens expecting answers. Mallory crossed her arms, fake pouting.
"How come they don't want my moral support?" she asked.
Artemis laughed. "Maybe because it's kind of the worst," she suggested.
"What? I have great moral support, I don't know what you're talking about."
Conner nodded. "Sure, whatever you want to believe," he teased.
She rolled her eyes, and Artemis looked at the teens behind them. "So…which one of you is going to deal with that?" she asked.
Conner shook his head, and Mallory narrowed her eyes. "I really hate you guys," she said.
Conner grinned. "Sure you do."
"So, anyone know what's going on and feel like sharing?" Bart asked before she could come up with a retort.
Mallory shot her friends a glare, but she turned to the younger members of the team and sighed. "Not really," she admitted, "but they'll tell us when they come out." Jaime laughed, and she raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I thought you guys knew everything. What, someone forgot to tell you?"
Mallory looked at her friends with mock offense. "Do you hear this?" she asked.
Artemis shook her head. "Unbelievable."
"Well, why don't you know?" Virgil asked.
"I was taken off the emails, ok?" Mallory whined. She laughed. "Turns out when you quit the League, they don't let you know all the secrets unless you join back up. Who knew?"
"So are we just waiting for them to figure things out?" Cassie asked, crossing her arms.
Conner shrugged. "Pretty much."
The group shifted on their feet, groaning. "Great," Bart muttered, already looking restless.
Mallory took a breath and let it out slowly. "So, anyone see any good movies lately?"
The doors to the meeting room opened only fifteen minutes later, and Mallory noticed the team looking towards it with some tension. She started to reassure them that everything was fine, but that was when she noticed a pattern with the people coming out. The first group came out together, led by Batman and determined looks on their faces, and the others straggled out behind them looking mad and shocked.
Batman looked past the senior members of the team and nodded. "It's time."
Mallory knit her eyebrows, confused, but then she sensed movement behind her and she turned to see half the team stepping out of line, moving to join Batman and his group at the zeta tubes. Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, and Arrowette all filed past the heroes, staring straight ahead. The zeta tube came to life, taking the group away, and finally the team turned to the League, confused and shocked.
"What happened?" Artemis asked.
"They just…walked out," Kyle said, still seeming like he was in shock.
"No! Let go of me," Canary snapped at Captain Marvel. "They planned every second of that! It's a betrayal of trust."
"It's Batman, is it really that big of a surprise?" Plastic Man muttered.
"Sure, but Oliver?" Raquel said. "She's got every right to be pissed."
Mallory exchanged a look with Artemis and Conner and grabbed the first friend she found, catching Zatanna's arm and pulling her out of the pack. "What happened in there?" she demanded.
The magician narrowed her eyes, glaring at the zeta tube. "Batman staged a walkout with close to a third of the League," she said. She looked at the team's ranks and scoffed, adding, "and apparently half of the team."
"Why?" Conner asked.
Raquel, Kyle, and Megan came over to the small group. "He decided he didn't like putting up with the League restrictions anymore, thought that removing the League would give us a loophole to work with," Rocket explained.
Mallory looked at the zeta tube, feeling a little sick. She'd done the same thing when she quit the League, but losing one member and losing close to ten were two different situations, and the League losing Batman was huge.
Kyle looked at them. "Kaldur said we're going to have to issue a statement, disown them so we're not held responsible for whatever they're planning on doing."
Artemis nodded slowly. "Yeah, makes sense," she muttered. She looked at Canary and shook her head. "I can't believe Ollie didn't say anything."
"Why would he?" Canary spat, "it's not like he had commitments to us or anything."
Megan winced and linked the original team members and Kyle. "Maybe we should leave, let them figure this out," she suggested, looking at the senior members of the team.
"Oh, no, I'm not staying up here and getting yelled at just because everyone's mad at Bruce," Zatanna said firmly. "I'm coming too."
Raquel nodded in agreement and looked at Kyle. "You should come, too. Trust me, it's going to be bad."
He nodded, looking around. "Yeah, I can believe that."
Megan linked the younger members of the team. "So, what happened?" Jaime asked hesitantly.
"Exactly what it looked like. Batman staged a walkout, everyone who left with him is no longer affiliated with the Justice League, or the team."
Cassie shook her head. "That's crazy! Batman can't just quit the League, he's a founding member!"
"Yeah, well, he did," Artemis said.
"Look, you can go home if you want, or stay here and try to get more answers from the League," Mallory said. The four remaining younger members of the team didn't look thrilled with either easier, and Megan sighed and exchanged a look field the other OGs.
"Or, we're going to talk about it,you're welcome to join us," she offered.
Jaime nodded, and Virgil and Bart followed him to the group. Cassie, however, was shaking her head in disbelief, anger burning in her eyes. "I don't understand," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else, "he would have told me. We're not…but still, I thought he would have told me."
Megan walked over and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know it's hard, but this doesn't mean he doesn't trust you."
Mallory rolled her eyes. "No, of course not," she muttered under her breath. Megan looked at her, but she didn't comment on the words. She just said, "we should leave."
The group went to the zeta tube together, but Mallory caught Clark's eye and broke away from the group as Artemis punched in their coordinates to Star. "Did you know?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, you know I would have tried to talk him out of it if I had."
"So, he really blindsided everyone," she said angrily.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "He must have a plan," he said, as if he thought that would comfort her. "He always does."
She glared at him. "He just staged a walkout with a third of your people without a warning. You really think whatever he's planning is going to be in your favor?"
"Mallory, remember who we're talking about," he said seriously.
She scoffed, already starting to walk back to the tubes. "I do remember. Do you? If it took sacrificing League members to carry out the mission, do you really think he wouldn't do it?" She punched in her coordinates, leaving her former mentor staring after her, a sad look on his face.
She came out a block away from Roy's and jogged to catch up to the group, just turning into the drive. Artemis let them in and they spread out in the living room, the OGs going to their usual spots and the others finding empty chairs or sitting on the arms of the couch. When Roy didn't come out after a moment, Mallory asked if he was home.
"No, Lian's at school and he went to work. His business is really starting to pick up."
"Good for him," Raquel mentioned.
Zatanna sighed, pulling her legs to her chest. "It's just wrong," she said.
"There is no rule that says you have to stay in the League," Kaldur pointed out, though he looked just as dejected as the others.
"No, of course not, but there is common decency. He should have told us what he was planning before just doing it anyway."
Conner nodded in agreement. "What does he really think he can do apart from the League?"
"Everything," Mallory said. "It doesn't matter if he gets caught breaking into secured areas, or handling things that the UN doesn't authorize. They can't catch him, and they can't blame the League for it anymore."
"I thought that was the whole point of the team, though," Virgil said. "To handle the things the League can't."
"To investigate the things the League can't," Megan corrected.
Zatanna chuckled and added, "yeah, the handling was all us."
They heard some footsteps down the hall, and a moment later V'lana walked in. Her eyebrows went up when she saw the large group, but Artemis motioned for her to join them. "Did Kaldur introduce you already?" the archer asked. They said no and greeted each other and Cassie and Bart made room for her to sit with them.
They were quiet for a while, then Raquel sighed. "And besides the fact that everyone's going to be mad, we're going to be short handed," she groaned.
"Yeah, well, us too," Bart pointed out.
"Yeah, but you're covert, you can work with that," Kyle said. "When the criminals hear about the cuts, we're going to have a hard time keeping up."
Zatanna looked at Mallory. "I guess you wouldn't want to rejoin, huh?"
The pyrokinetic shook her head. "Hard pass," she said firmly. "No offense, but I'm not going to get benched by a bunch of paperwork. Not to mention that now I have some trust issues with some of the other members."
"What are you talking about?" Megan asked.
"They blindsided all of us, and we didn't even have a clue," she explained. "Who's to say someone else won't do the same thing? I'm good where I am. At least I know what to expect, and I can trust the people I work with."
"Mmmm," the Martian murmured in agreement.
"Well, not all of us have that luxury," Raquel said, annoyed. She looked at the time and pushed herself to her feet. "I have to pick up Amistad."
"Who's watching him this time?" Artemis asked.
The hero made a face. "Good ol' Aunt Nessie," she said, wrinkling her nose. "She's probably filling his head with tales of his mother, the irresponsible thief who seduced Darius away from his loving family." Mallory smirked, and the girl shook her head. "You think I'm kidding, but it's her favorite story of all time. She tells it to herself before she goes to sleep."
Raquel left, and once she was gone, the others started to leave, too. After a while, it was just Mallory, Kaldur, V'lana, and Artemis left, and the former leader looked at his protege, forcing a smile. "So, do you still want to do this after hearing everything here?"
The girl shrugged. "I knew there would be problems. This doesn't change anything."
He nodded and looked at Artemis and Mallory. "So, do you think she is ready to join the team?" he asked.
They exchanged a glance. "Um, maybe," Artemis said non committedly. "She still could use some field experience, we haven't really brought her out to do anything yet."
Kaldur nodded and looked at the teen. "Well, when you feel ready, there will be a place waiting for you."
She smiled a little, looking at the girls as she answered, "Thank you, but I have a commitment to fill first."