It was an exciting night for Gotham City. The local theater was holding a performance by Zatanna, the amazing magician superhero. Many people (many of them fanboys) filled the seats, but the redheaded girl in Row 3 Seat 6 was there not to ogle at her outfit, but to see one particular act...
The show consisted of many things: blindfolded card tricks, pulling doves out of her hat, pulling doves out of other people's hats, hypnosis and levitation tricks. Then, the finale...
"For my last trick, I will now perform an amazing escape. I will be placed in a straitjacket, gagged and blindfolded and then locked in a trunk. Now, since I can't do all of that myself, do I have any volunteers to do me up?"
Naturally, nearly all the men raised their hands, eager to bind the magician. But there was one hand in the air that caught her eye...
"You." Zantanna pointed to Barbra Gordon. "Come up here."
Barbra made her way up to the front of the stage as the jacket was being brought out.
"What's your name, miss?"
"Barbra Gordon."
"Well, Ms. Gordon, have you ever put someone in a straitjacket before?"
"No, I'm afraid not."
(That was a lie. Barbra's alter ego, Batgirl, had trapped many a supervillain inside a straitjacket, usually Harley Quinn. But as Barbra Gordon, she had never touched one.)
"Well, I'll walk you through each step. Trust me, it'll be fun."
"Are you sure about this? I have no idea what to do."
Zatanna leaned in and whispered, "You kidding? A female tying up another female in a straitjacket? The audience is gonna go gaga over this. Just do as I tell you."
Five minutes later, Zatanna was securely tied. She tested out her bonds. "This is pretty darn good! Are you sure you've never done this before?" Zantanna asked with a chuckle.
"Yea..." Barbra replied, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Well, can I ask your another favor? Can you pull my hat over my eyes, shout 'abra-kadabra' and lift it back up?"
"Sure.." Barbra pulled the hat down, shouted the magic words and pulled it back up. Suddenly, there was a black scarf tied over her eyes!
"Woah! How did that happen?"
"Magic, duh. Have you not been paying attention? But, I'm regretting the blindfold. I'm starting to feel dizzy..." Zatanna stated as she started to fall back. Barbra leaped onto the ground in an effort to catch her, but inches from the ground, time seemed to reverse as Zatanna, in a move straight outta "The Matrix", levitated back on her feet, causing the audience to cheer!
"That was a close one! Finally, as you know, I can cast spells. And I might use those spells to get out in a snap. So, any idea on what you should do?"
"Gag you?"
"Yep! Do you have a handkerchief that you can use on me?"
"Yea, in my pocket."
"Great. Make sure I can't speak a word!"
As Barbra reached into her pocket, Zatanna muttered "ylpitlum". Suddenly, the handkerchief in her pocket turned into two...and three...then twenty! The audience roared with laughter!
Finally, Barbra untied the last two handkerchiefs (a red one black one). She shoved the black one into the magician's mouth and tied the red one over her mouth. (Batgirl also had experience silencing criminals, usually Catwoman whenever she got too flirtatious)
The trunk was then wheeled out (no one wheeled it out, it came out by itself. Perhaps by...magic?). Zatanna stepped inside the trunk and winked at the audience (one guy in the first row fainted because of that wink). The trunk suddenly slammed shut. Chains flew out from backstage and wrapped themselves around the trunk, securing it shut. Barbra stepped back as the curtain was drawn shut.
Two minutes later, there was a snap and a loud crashing noise. The curtain was opened and revealed that a stage light had fallen and crushed the trunk! Everyone gasped in horror! (The guy who had fainted just regained consciousness, but fainted again after learning about her apparent demise). Barbra, who was also horrified and was about to rush to Zatanna's aid, but heard a sigh from backstage.
"Aww. What a shame. I liked that trunk."
The crowd gasped as Zatanna, now with the straitjacket tied around her waist as if it was a sweater and the black scarf draped around her shoulders, emerged. Everyone, including Barbra, gave a standing ovation.
"I hope that I didn't worry you guys too much. But then again, did you really think that a mere trunk could hold me, Zatanna?!"
After the show, Barbra was getting ready to leave when she heard a voice in her head:
"Come backstage."
