HAPPY HARBOR MARiNA
1:07 P.M
His chest was heaving.
Catching breath from inside the thrift store, Zatanna slapped on a sheepish, constipated-etched grin to discourage anymore attention that Robin had thrown in to this mellow, little, store. She forced it on until the people began to look away.
When the last person, a curious-eyed little boy- turned his head around, Robin felt his throat go dry. Sweat beads had gathered in a pool in his black hair. His eyelids fluttered for a moment. They started to go down. His world was retreating into a weary melt as his adrenaline levels died down.
The plan of escape may have been a success, but he had barely considered the person who took backseat in all of that chaos.
There were no more people watching them.
With a force-filled thrust, Zatanna pinned Robin flat against the wall with a small thud. He didn't need to take off his shades to display his sudden jolt of alertness.
"That was defiantly normal" she hissed.
Was a pathetic answer better than none? Parched and desperate for an answer, his eyes searched frantically around at his surroundings. "I…couldn't wait to show you this place. Surprise."
He could stall and intrigue a thirty-something year-old psychopathy in white face-paint, equipped with nothing less than a knife. It could take as long as he needed, letting his enemy retort all they wanted back to the Boy Wonder…but he couldn't lie to a girl?
"Robin."
There was a narrow road of escape he could take. "Throw her off guard."
This was going to be interesting. Smugly, he tilted his head to check out his shoulders to where Zatanna's slender hands held on firmly. Then he looked her in the eye, his lips curved into a smoldering grin.
"I'd be lying I said that that wasn't hot."
She threw back her hands; a touch of a burning stove. "Ew, don't be weird…" And now he wasn't even focusing on her, but back to his heavy breathing. Realization came to her in the raise of an eyebrow. "Okay. Fine. Keep your secrets."
Her eyes drifted around the store. She hadn't been outside of the Cave's walls in so long that it was almost a little blessing to see things in sunlight coming from windows.
The thrift store had that stuffy airplane scent, mixed with the strange smell of a new beach-ball. Towards the back of the store were isles and isles of clothes, all looking dull and worn. Scattered around were shelves with the most random, dated object you ever did see. This place was a professional garage sale.
Zatanna loved it.
"This place is so quirky" she spilled, forgetting her annoyance. She moved over to one of the shelves. Tiny box-televisions, obnoxiously colored lava lamps, and other technologies of the past sat lined up, gathering dirt like a forgotten memory. On the floor below was a dusty, torn, cardboard box looking more like an embarrassment than an act to sell things.
Zatanna had always had an eye for hidden treasures; generic foods that had more flavor than the name-brand, an ugly plant that tied in with the right flowers- whatever. It was just the way she looked at things.
Kneeling down, she sifted through what looked like square-shaped files, pictures and writing on the front blooming over. Zatanna slipped a quick finger between two of them. Lips reading words in silence, a little grin crossed her face. She pulled it out from the box. Records.
"…And neat. This is Frank Sinatra!" Now she was involved with the black discs, intrigued to see who else she could find in this poor assortment of things so vintage.
She was distracted. Robin peered out one of the storefront windows, furiously scrutinizing the little plaza above the water.
He found him.
Chatting it up with some random couple, camera slung around his neck and a scribbled-on notepad falling from his pocket. After a few moments, the guy shook their hands politely, then took of down the boulevard with what seemed like a contagious ambition.
That man was anything but polite. Dick knew him. An infamous jerk who knew how to whip up a good rumor. This man was a reporter, a Gotham celebrity's one. He searched around, invading the privacy of his next catch to become inspired; this guy thrived on trash and scandal and Bruce's 'teenage son' was a gold mine for gossip.
Dick closed his eyes.
Sometimes he really hated who he was.
But now wasn't the time to collapse below the rack of faded flannels. He was here on his own little mission. Not that he minded it one bit.
"And that's exactly what I brought you here for" he tried, walking over to Zatanna. Still on her knees, she was filing hungrily through the pile of dusty records. She then looked up for moment to notice him. All he could offer her was a weak smile.
Then with gentle turn of his cheek with her finger, she kissed it. "Aw crap." And then resumed to picking out over-sized C.D's. Robin was thankful for that to an extent.
Why him? Did this stupid rosy tint on his skin really have to plague only him? She saw nothing to it; Wally, Artemis, and M'gann found her little gestures charming. Meanwhile, he flooded his head with the assurance that it didn't mean anything and to get over it.
"You suck at lying" she said.
NORTH BYALiA
9:20 P.M
Kid Flash and Artemis weaved themselves around the crates in search of Miss Martian. Because the building was still insecure, they walked side-by-side; Artemis with threaded bow, Kid Flash clenching his fists. Being so close together, it was only so long that either one of them could stand the strange silence,
"So…I wasn't that bad back in the woods at stealth was I?" he asked, itching the back of his neck.
"No, of course not. You could beat out a couple of screaming cheerleaders."
"Okay Sarcasma, we can't all be cats like you."
"Blonde. A human turn-off. Now I'm a cat?"
"No. Her sister is the cat." And the climactic air of their mission stung the heart-beat of Artemis Crock.
Still blood. Facial capillaries exploding. Irises shrinking. Artemis raised her bow. Kid Flash brought his fists in. Both whipped their heads around in high alert and reflex.
Although both of them felt threatened, Kid Flash's attack reflexes didn't nearly match the archer's. Her nostrils flared as her eyes broiled hatred. Her muscles flexed, then pulsed across her body. Hell was breaking lose inside of her.
"Go to hell" Artemis growled. Sportsmaster stood atop a pile of wooden cargo crates, shaking his head as he pulled out a menacing bulk of a sharp-shooting gun.
"Aren't you cold towards your family" he said, descending from his height. "So I'll be the courteous one here. I'm letting you try to scram; save your own hide for a bit." He smiled in thick adoration towards his daughter. The hairs across her skin began to pickle.
He aimed the gun at Kid Flash. Sportsmaster now stood atop the last crate. "But I'm gonna need your little boyfriend here. I can kindly guarantee he's no use to me alive."
Kid Flash contemplated if his speed could beat out a bullet- why couldn't he move his damn feet?
"Lay off, you sick bastard!" Her screech echoed throughout the building like a violent earthquake tremor. At lightning-quick speed, she snapped the gun out his hand with kick and nailed his face with a punch. She turned to Kid Flash.
"Run! Get everyone out and finish the job!" Time accelerated. Ultra-violence was in the air like an eager blade. Sportsmaster swiftly lunged forward towards his daughter in the means to yank her down. With a powerful leap onto his back, she twisted his neck sharply in a quick crack. The man was total outrage.
"And you?!" Kid Flash was torn.
Roughly unwinding his neck, Sportsmaster let out a deafening roar. He bolted into action and trailed a slick Artemis up the boxes.
"I said run!"
Artemis knew what she was doing. Reluctantly, he sped off to find Miss Martian.
"What is it with you, your sister and these goody-goody red-heads? Cameron's a better fit." He lurched forward to grab her into a compressing headlock. She whisked herself away just in time.
"Shut up!"
"Yeah, those teenage years, I remember them like a bitch" he pressed on, bringing out a razor-sharp knife into their battlefield. Crusty blood dimmed its shine, despite the fact that it didn't look old. She could smell its rusty scent; fresh and salty.
He swung the knife directly to jab her neck. Artemis ducked and smacked down the crate he stood on. The plummeting box sent him toppling to the floor, only to get him to jump back up with stronger balance.
"Of course, I had a much more charming personality. You were never much of catch. Too boyish" he sneered. "All that kicking and punching, not to mention what a wuss with all those feelings. Sad little Artemis was too scared to talk to people- "
"I said SHUT UP!" Adrenaline and stone-hard hate consumed her, mixing together into venom. There was a crate, two times bigger than her. With the sudden grasp of power, she raised it above her head. Sweat beaded all over her body as she shook vigorously. Her eyes went wild. In the heat of the moment, even her father couldn't recognize her.
"No one can tolerate you, you brat!"
Thrusting the crate at her father, it flew in ambush at him. The crate smashed him against a boiler surrounded by other boxes. Her's broke into splintering pieces. A cloud of debris nailed him, chips slicing into his skin.
"Bitch!"
In a final act of self-justice, Artemis pulled out the sharpest arrow in her quiver. She threaded it. Revenge had a sweet taste in her mouth. This one was for her and Jade. "That's right."
"Artemis!" The voice didn't belong to her dad. Without a second's hesitation, she let the arrow fly. The next, she was scooped up and traveling at wind's speed.
Regaining herself, she breathed in heavily. The world began to settle back into place.
"This is a trend for you, huh?"
"I might not be as sneaky, but I'd like to see you try to run as fast as me."
"Props given. You seem tense."
"I am."
HAPPY HARBOR MARiNA
3:38 P.M
Robin found the record player. Zatanna gave the machine memory of function. As the effect, the two were on the floor of the thrift store, singing off pitch with large, bulky, retro headphones on their heads.
Angry and absent guardians had nothing on them while they were together.
"Thesee little town bluess" Robin screeched.
"Are meltiing awaay" Zatanna chimed in.
"I'mm ganna make a braand new start of it."
"In oold, New York."
"Aand" they sang in cracked unison. "If I can make it there, I'm ganna make it. Anywhere!"
"Would you kids shut up?!" yelled a shopper.
"It's up to you" Robin pointed at the lady.
"New York" Zatanna stood.
He stood up with her, arm settled around her shoulder as he extended out his other hand. "New Yoork!" he exclaimed.
"New Yoork" they screeched together.
"Shut the hell up!"
Ripping off the headphones, the reality of their sudden insanity hit them. They clutched their stomachs, laughing hard to the point where it was a work-out. Shoppers rolled their eyes and spoke arrogantly about the two. Slowly, it died down, but lingered on their wide grins. They slumped back onto the floor and sighed, leaning back against the ancient filing cabinet.
"Alfred always used to play this when I was a kid" he said wistfully. "It got stuck in my head and ever since then I've had a habit of singing it in the shower."
Recomposing herself to normalcy, Zatanna caught her breath with a weak laugh. "I don't know how to respond to that one" she leaned against his shoulder. "And whose Alfred?"
Robin sank his teeth into his bottom lip. He just had to ruin it. Moment over. "My grandpa" he replied quickly. By his study of her response, she bought it. It still didn't make him feel better.
For the past hour or so, the two had been doing nothing but talking. Both had stories to tell; their lives in the past, deep confessions about how Zatanna felt about her dads absence, and bits about Robin's sense of always being under pressure.
At heart, they were both pretty young; two overgrown kids. Robin had this snarky, annoying-little-boy essence about himself that was a bit more out-there than Zatanna. But when unleashed, she was just as childish. It took him by surprise. She was an energetic, playful character. Despite his discovery, he was thrilled that he and she had that same personality trait.
Breaking back into their weirdness, they then scoured the store in search of decent clothes to buy. A normal, civilized thing to do. But in the end, it had turned into a game of dress-up. Piling on clothes from decades ago, their skin absorbing the strange airplane smell. Zebra-print skirts, old band t-shirts, shoes, hats, and pants; they crept around the store in search of more artifacts while conversing about the things that came to mind.
Then hiding from the storekeeper and walking chalantly past astound shoppers grew tiresome. Zatanna returned the odd clothing back to the racks. Robin was a bit more stubborn.
"So what is it with you and this jacket" she asked, tugging the tan, canvas sleeve of something he found. "Is it ugly, is it unique?" Then she let out a lighthearted laugh. "I can't tell." He adjusted the jean vest that was attached.
"I like it" he shrugged with a smirk. "And don't think about taking it from me because I already bought it."
"Oh darn."
"Jealous much?"
"Absolutely" she nodded.
And that warm shiver that had been running through his body all day sprinted up his spine again. Everything was so right. Like two ingredients, they blended so well with each other it was almost too good. Was it? In all the years of his short life, besides Wally, he had always just made friends. They were people; individuals he was familiar with, easy to talk to. The end. With her… Zatanna's fire was not something he found often. The bonding between them had never happened on this kind of level. Maybe because there was never time. When they usually saw each other, she was always just Zatanna, the mistress of magic. It was almost like their past was never going to be spoken of again. But she remembered those days just as much as he did. Talking about their assumptions of each other as kids threw them into fits of laughing or sprang up a stampede of questions. She had hated him. He had despised her and that stupid white bow-tie.
Times really did change. Robin let his mind feel that luxury of true happiness…
Till came the realization of why he had really brought her here.
Awkwardly looking away, Robin checked his watch. "Well, I think it's safe to go back now." He arched his neck to look out one of the storefront windows. The coast was clear for now. A plan for a discreet haul from the store began to stitch itself together in his mind.
She raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean 'safe'?"
"Dumb ass!" Would the leaks ever stop? "Like safe, like um, like you know-"
This wasn't the first time Zatanna was shunned away by his secrets. After so many years together, she never really said anything about it. But that didn't mean it still didn't hurt. She knew his lying voice like an easy spell. His lies. It cut into her quickly, efficiently.
Zatanna's eyes sadly lowered to her lap. Her voice was soft, but dampened. "Robin, just tell me."
Still at loss for words, he remained silent.
Then her eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. Only a sliver of hint of her built-up anger over all these years was about to come out. "You're always like this!" she yelled in distraught. "You know, we've known each other for a long time and even now when we're together you're like- you're like someone else! Like you can't even trust me!"
She stood quickly. Maybe she was being unreasonable, not letting him explain himself- but in the heat of the moment she didn't care. The store's door shut harshly behind her.
Her hair flapped. Her eyes burned. No tears, just running. Seagulls and rushing waves were drowned out by the thuds her feet made on the boardwalk.
She contemplated about why she didn't run back to Mount Justice, to her dorm, to her bed, when she got the chance.
"I can walk myself hom- to the Cave." They hit louder.
Why did he have to have so many secrets? Was there something so untrusting about her? That he needed to keep his guard up around her like she was no different than the Gotham Sirens?
A sudden breeze of mist traveling in harmony with the wind tickled her cheek. The little things. Her eyes gently shut. "San Francisco." Slowing her pace, she let the ocean bring her back down. They opened again, looking far beyond the marina. "All that blue."
Thoughtlessly, Zatanna then slipped off her shoes. She sat on the edge of the boardwalk, letting her legs dangle off the end. The tip of her foot ached to feel the inviting water. Without another second, her toes sank into the cool ocean. It stole away her anger.
Then running footsteps shook the wooden floor.
"Zee, wait!"
Despite it all, he had been good to her. Her hair fell around her face, looking back down at the water. It was something about the ocean that…
Now she could hear him panting. "I just- just let me- I just" he breathed. He had definitely done a lot of running around today.
She wriggled her fingers out at the water below them. "Deniatnoc deuqil." Water from the marina spun out and spiraled in midair. It quickly formed a clear, shifting, cylinder, then hardened into glass with water inside. Grabbing it, he gulped it down as she waited, still avoiding his face. When it was empty, she levitated it back, then smashed it on the floor. It trickled back into water.
Robin stood behind her, his voice in pleading. "Zee, let me just say this is probably a lot harder on me then on you" he said in desperation. This was not how he wanted to leave her. "It's really complicated and weird and-"
"I get it."
"Zee, I'm sorry-"
"Just promise me something" she admitted, finally turning her head.
"Yes."
"Will you at least tell me… when you're ready?"
He nodded solemnly. "I'll tell you what you wanna know, everything I can say…when the time calls for it." He couldn't tell what she was thinking. There was a silent pause. "If it's any consultation, you've been really tolerant of me today" he tried.
Zatanna managed a small smile. "I can deal with that- all of it I mean."
He closed his eyes behind his shades. "Thanks."
TO BE CONTiNUED