Who: Malcolm and Carol Where: Sag House When: 7/17/15 What: Malcolm finally reveals his secret to Carol Rating: PG
Malcolm had been completely serious when he had told Nyssa that he was prepared to lose them both. While he secretly hoped it wouldn't come to that, he couldn't be sure of the outcome of these talks. With her flight speed, Carol was bound to arrive well before Cissie was. It was just as well... probably best to talk to each of them alone, rather than together.
Carol hadn't wasted time with demanding to know what was wrong. She flew as fast as she could to Malcolm's, hoping someone else wasn't trying to kill him. Her heart clenched at the thought and she put on an extra burst, arriving a few minutes faster than normal when she booked it. Landing, she let her clothes change as she moved in the door. "Malcolm what's wrong?" she called out, fully prepared for an attack.
"Is there someplace safe you can go for a few days? A place where no one would be able to reach you at all?" he asked. She had an advantage with her flight, but would have to be able to keep away from Ra's long enough for him and Nyssa to deal with the problem.
The question made her frown and she grew a bit wary. "Malcolm, what is going on?" she demanded, her blue eyes growing stern as she set her hands on her hips. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what is going on." A few days ago he had seemed...more interested almost in where she was than before. Something was wrong...
"You're in danger." There was no way to sugar coat the information, so he wasn't even going to try. He reached out and took hold of her hand, leading Carol into the training room. "There's a contract out on Captain Marvel. I've got plans in motion right now to prevent anything from happening, but I need you to cooperate with me on this."
The moment he said she was in danger she gave a small chuckle. "Malcolm. Ever since I was eighteen I've always been in danger. Of course people are going to want Captain Marvel out of the way." She tugged him to a stop and reached up, cupping his face. "I'm always going to be in danger every time I suit up to help those who can't help themselves."
"This is different and he knows who you are outside of costume." Malcolm frowned as she cupped his face and he closed his eyes momentarily. "This isn't just some imbecile looking to make a name for himself by taking a contract for a mask. Carol, please... you have to trust me on this. I know you can take care of yourself, but this is different."
His tone and body language had her growing concerned. "What aren't you telling me? How is this different?" She shifted closer. "Who's after me?
"Ra's al Ghul... the Demon's Head, master of the League of Assassins. He accepted the contract after the initial person rejected it." Malcolm pulled away, walking into the training room and over to a blank wall. "Ra's has personally accepted the contract, rather than handing it off to one of the League members. He's making this personal."
While most people would never even have heard of the League, Carol had from her military intelligence days. "But...that's just a mythic group." But the stories she had heard from the MIddle East painted them as ruthless killers who always, ALWAYS succeeded with contracts they took. "...who was it first given to?"
"They're not a myth... they're based out of Nanda Parbat. You and Cissie aren't the only ones with another identity." Malcolm frowned as he stared at the wall. He took a breath, placed his hand on a hidden panel, and the wall slid aside to reveal his Dark Archer uniform and equipment. "It was offered to me."
When the wall slid aside, her eyes landed on the uniform and equipment. "Y...you're...you're one of them?" She looked at him, feeling...she wasn't sure what she was feeling. Hurt? Betrayed? After all, she had shared her secret with him (yes she hadn't really had a choice but before then she had been planning to tell him). "Why? Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" she demanded, trying to keep her temper.
"Because it's a part of my past that I've been trying to leave behind me. I'm not active within the League itself, but it's not something you can just leave behind. I was recruited over twenty years ago, Carol. And I was a very different man back then." Malcolm turned to face her and he took a step closer. "I never wanted to involve you or Cissie in my past. In the past two years, I can count on one hand the number of contracts I've accepted... all of which were high level targets wanted for all manner of crimes against humanity."
When he stepped closer to her she took a small step back. "It's still a part of you," she returned. She gestured at his equipment. "This was a part of who you were and you lied to us, to me. Don't you think we deserved to know?" She took a step towards him. "Whether or not they deserved to die isn't up to you or the League, Malcolm! There are courts and laws for a reason! That's justice! Not just going out and putting an arrow in someone because you were hired to!"
"I was trying to protect the both of you! And you of all people know that the more powerful and dangerous the person, the easier it is for them to bribe their way out of anything." He began using his fingers as he ticked off names for her. "Edo and Jean-Guillaume Rosseau... those are the only contracts I've accepted since becoming Cissie's father. Two men who the world is far better off without. And that little gang banger that my daughter almost murdered. Other than those three, the only times I've worn this uniform were when I tailed Cissie to protect her and during the Skrull invasion."
Malcolm began pacing back and forth, trying to gather his thoughts. "There have been so many times when I've wanted to tell both of you. But I couldn't... The sole time Ra's met Cissie, I could tell he was already evaluating how to use her against me. And when I learned his accepted the contract on you, I knew it was personal. He wants the old me back and Ra's views family as a distraction, a weakness."
"How is lying protecting us!?" she demanded. "And yes, I may know that but the law's the law! I don't go around killing people because they break the law! I don't play judge, jury and executioner!" Hearing that he had killed a gangbanger, her eyes narrowed. "So you admit to killing someone who wasn't so evil or powerful or dangerous." She shook her head.
"No Malcolm. You wouldn't tell us. But you could have." She looked down at the ring on her finger that he had given her. "I don't...how can I trust you after you kept this from me?" She looked at him, hurt in her eyes.
"He murdered Cissie's caseworker right in front of her!" Malcolm shouted in response. "Do you have any idea the hell she went through because of that little piece of filth?"
He swore under his breath and raked his fingers through his hair. "Just like you could've told me about your secret? You hid it until you were forced to tell me! Jesus, Carol... I have never lied to you about anything except for this! I could've continued to keep this a secret, but I'm not. And I know damn well that I could lose both you and Cissie because of this. But if I can protect you from Ra's, then I'm going to do everything I can including risking my own life!"
"Lots of people go through hell Malcolm!" she shouted back, her fists clenching. "Do you think my getting my powers was a god damn walk in the park!? For MONTHS I had no idea what was going on every time I blacked out and woke up some place different! I lost friends, good friends, on missions for the military! So don't try to say you did it for the greater good!"
Her face grew serious. "Don't you even dare try to say that. Revealing to you that I was a superhero, that I had powers that could put you and your daughter in danger isn't something that can just be said over a romantic dinner! I regret the way you found out but I was going to tell you about who I was!" She rubbed her head. "And what happens when the next threat comes along that threatens to kill me Malcolm? Or the one after that? I'm a HERO. I have these powers and I can't just sit idly by while people are in danger!"
"AND I LOST EVERYTHING!" Malcolm's hands balled up into fists and he resisted the urge to slam one into the wall. "I lost my mother, my life, my wife... everything! That's when they recruited me. And now I'm going to lose it all again, despite everything that's happened. You and Cissie... you mean everything to me, Carol. If further threats are issued, then we'll continue to deal with them together!"
The outburst shocked her and her face softened. She moved closer to him and rested her hand against his face and tugged it towards her so he'd have to look at her. "I love you Malcolm. I do. But...I...I need time to process this side of you. More than that, I'm not going to just sit and hide somewhere like a coward just because someone wants me dead. If I run and hide then he could come after my family. I may not be close with them but they are still my family. Or what if he goes after my friends to draw me out?" She shook her head. "I can't hide and run away."
"He doesn't want your family. He took the contract because he knows how important you and Cissie are to me. Ra's is... he's insane. He knows that Nyssa and I don't support how he uses the League. So he's trying to punish me... force me back under his thumb by removing distractions." When Malcolm finally met her eyes, he blinked to hold back tears. "I love you too. And... and I understand if you call things off because of this. But I am not going to let him get to either of you."
That made her arch a brow. "Nyssa's in the League as well?" Yet given there was no animosity she could sense between the two at the dinner a few weeks ago... "No one can make you truly make you do something you don't want to do." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Just let me have some time. We'll...see where things stand then." Slowly she began pulling back. She couldn't stay here to process all this. Not so close to him.
"Nyssa is his daughter... the other is Talia. He left her to die in a concentration camp because as I said, family is a weakness to him." He nodded quietly as she pulled back, feeling numb. "The only thing I want is to protect our family," Malcolm replied softly.
Carol moved back to him and kissed him. She stared into his eyes. "Give me a few days. I have a few places I can hide out at. And I'll let you know I'm okay every day." She reached up and tugged off her dog tags before placing them in his hands. "No matter what, I'll come back for these in a few days."
Malcolm pulled the chain out from beneath his shirt, showing her the tag she'd given him. He attached the others to it and nodded again. "Just be careful... please. Ra's is very dangerous, Carol. Don't underestimate him if he manages to find you." He leaned in and kissed her, hoping this wouldn't be for the last time. "I love you," he whispered.
"I will be." She hugged him. "First lesson I learned when I took martial arts was to never underestimate your opponent. I know I'm not invincible with these powers." She returned his kiss, holding him tighter. "I love you too Malcolm." Hopefully, if he was telling Cissie all this too, it would go better.
"Go," he murmured, taking a step back and nodding towards the door. "Nyssa and I will handle things here on our end."
Carol nodded. "If you need a heavy hitter, call me." She gave him a soft smile he so often and could easily get out of her before she turned and headed out the door. What the hell was she going to do about this??