I OWN NOTHING! This story is purely FANMADE! I only own Caterina. This is loosely, LOOSELY, based on the Zatara family origin. The comics say that Zatara is a direct, that right people, a direct descendent of Leonardo Da Vinci on his father's side. In real life, however, I believe the great Italian Renaissance painter did not have any children. This story will contain reference to the movie Mr. Peabody and Sherman. What got me started on this story was the conversation between Mr. Peabody and Da Vinci:
Mr. Peabody: What can't children be simple?
Da Vinci: Children are not machines Peabody...
Haters can hate it and flamers can flame it. Constructive criticism if you would be kind enough to give it. Just remember: this story is NOT real.
Leonardo Da Vinci lied to protect his family, his twin children, from those who would hurt them-." Zatara said, telling the tale to the Leaguers and Team.
"Leonardo Da Vinci didn't have any kids," Flash said, interrupting the magician "there's no proof."
"You're wrong." Zatara argued
"How am I wrong?"
"Because I am one of them! I'm one the twin that is forever alive!"
"Prove it." Flash
Zatara took a deep breath and began.
(1472 Town of Vinci, Republic of Florence)
Leonardo looked at his babies. Two babies, twins, were sleeping in the crib by his bedside, one was male- he was named Giovanni Zatara Da Vinci, the other was female- named Caterina Belloza Da Vinci.
A smile graced the man's face as he saw Caterina snuggle against Giovanni, who seemed to be more than willing to let her. These one month old angels were his pride and joy, his greatest creations. He wasn't going to share them with anyone, just yet. He would raise them with all of the love and care in the world, teach them his artisan skills and, even though they were at such a tender age, he knew they would be greater than he.
(17 1/2 years later-1489 1/2)
"Caterina, may I have the paint?" Giovanni asked his sister, brushing chips of dry clay from his black hair that was covered in dust as his green eyes sparkled. He only required the paint for a coating on his sculpture, than it was Caterina's to do with what she wished.
"Only if I may have the chisel." Caterina responded, teasingly holding out the color and brush that her brother would need. Her black hair was splattered with paint and her blue eyes were sparkling with mischief
"What in the name of our grandparents would you want the chisel for?" Giovanni asked, looking at her painting. He saw the most vibrant fire to ever be painted on a canvas in his life, the shading was perfect, the colors were in the right places, and, if he didnt know his sister better, he would have sworn he saw the silloete of a person being burned alive.
"Evig em eht lesihc." The young woman said. Giovanni found himself surrendering the chisel only to get the paint and brush would need. "You will see in dear time, brother."
Giovanni nodded, knowing that if his sister had a secret to keep that it was going to be kept. "I just wish to know why you would want the chisel if it is I who is working with the sculpting clay."
Caterina sighed "Father had asked that I be the one to wash the tools at the end of our creativity time while he is away."
Giovanni nodded, remembering that the twins took turns with washing the tools each day their father was not present in the home. That was happening a lot more, and Giovanni was losing track over whose turn it was. "Why do you think Father is leaving the house more? Did we do something to anger him?"
Caterina shook her head "I do not believe so, Father rarely raises his voice to us. It would take a lot to make him angry at us."
"I don't want him to be angry." Giovanni said, not taking the paint or brush from his sister. He walked to the window that had a view of the forest-like area behind their home. Giovanni saw something, a shadow moving into the forest. "What is that?"
"What is what?" Caterina asked, covering her brother's sculpture with a sheet before she walked over to the window. She saw the shadow and then it all went black.
"Giovanni!" She was calling his name, trying to wake him up. That thing that had bit him was running away. It probably ran off to go and suffer because it drew a magician's blood, which was toxic to all other 'mythical' creatures and beings. She looked at Leonardo "Father. Please, he can't die."
Leonardo's facial expression was one of great grief, he was losing his son to the dark. The last hope was the Ever Liquid. It would neutralize the poison and he would live. But, his son would out live not only he and Caterina, but the entire country and even the world. He lifted Giovanni's head as he opened the bottle with his teeth.
Her brother's pained, green eyes looked into the blue eyes of their father in fear "Giovanni, trust me." The young man nodded and opened his mouth just enough for his father to carefully pour the liquid into his mouth. Then, everything went dark again.
She was awoken to her older brother calling her name.
"What did you see?" He asked as he helped her sit up in her cot, knowing that she had a vision.
"I saw.. Father, me and you. We were together, in the deepest part of the forest area. You were unconscious and Father was saying things in Latin to try to save you."
Giovanni's face held an expression she couldn't decipher, before it changed into a sad half-smile "I'm sure that I was- will be- protecting you and Father. So, there are no worries."
Caterina looked at her brother like he had just announced he was going to jump off of the roof of the church. "You, do not fear death?"
Giovanni shook his head "Death is inevitable. Everyone will die some day."
Caterina nodded, her face paling because she was feeling another vision coming. It was very uncommon for her to get two in one day. She lay back down, letting her vision take hold.
Giovanni was walking through Italy. His clothes and the town were changing, but his face stayed the same. He would forever remain that age, forever stay his age while the world around him changed. He could use aging potions, yes, but those were a temporary solution to the problem. He would forever haunted in a world that will have forgotten parts of history that he knew, but could not tell a soul without arousing suspicion. If he found love, it wouldn't last.
He would have to tell her the truth and watch in pain mixed with guilt as his children and love aged while he did not, or he would have leave because his condition would cause too much suspicion and he would be on the run from those who would want to use what he was for evil.
The most frightening thing about the entire vision is that her brother's once beautiful green eyes held sorrow through his life, it made her sick. Ill to know his fate was life beyond a mortal's understanding. He would have what humans have searched for since the dawn of humanity; immortality.
Caterina woke up the second time to slender fingers running through her hair. She latched her arms around that person's body. "Father.."
"My little girl," Leonardo said, holding her with one arm as he took off his hat before he held her in both of his arms. "what happened?"
Caterina looked around, not seeing her brother anywhere in the room which was odd. "Where is Giovanni?"
Leonardo's face turned from one of fear to one of a quick smile "I sent him out to get more paint. What is it, a vision?"
Caterina nodded. "Not just one vision, I had two. Giovanni was dying in one and in the other he was walking through time, which was changing when he stayed the same." She put her head against her father's chest and drifted into a dreamless sleep. Smiling as the door opened, and her twins voice ran through the halls.
Giovanni was looking out the window while Father and Caterina were sculpting. He had finished his painting and was looking out the window in hopes of seeing the shadow again. Just as he was about to fall asleep, thinking about what his sister said to him- and their father as well- a month ago. As he was about to drift off, he saw it. The shadow.
Giovanni looked at his father and Caterina, too immersed in their painting to notice. Giovanni jumped out the window, landing softly on the grass. He took a breath, saw the shadow was already in the forest, and chased it, his bare feet making no noise against the terran.
To say Leonardo felt an odd twinge, it was an understatement. He felt the same twinge that came with the kicks of his son and daughter before their birth. These twinges only came when he felt his children were in danger. His eyes shifted to the windowsill, where his son usually sat when a task was done, to see it was empty.
"Oh no." Leonardo said, causing Caterina to look at the windowsill
"We have to follow him."
They were running through the forest, following Giovanni's magical scent "Did the events in your vision occur on this day?"
Caterina looked concerned "I do not know."
Leonardo looked frightened as he was suddenly beginning to hate his son's rash behaviour. They heard a scream. They followed it to the source; only to find Giovanni pinned to the ground by a vicious monster. Catirina screamed in fright, alerting the beast to the presence of the other two.
The creature turned to them and roared. They saw it was an ugly beast that looked as though it was carved of the stone on the opposite end of the moon.
"Get away from him!" Leonardo threw a sharp rock at the beast. It hit the creature and bounced off of it.
Giovanni tried to push the beast off of him, he turned to the other two "Run!"
The creature, feeling it's pray struggling to get free, bit into it's meal to stop it's struggling. It's fangs easily tearing through the fabric of it's weak, soft armor (his shirt) and the flesh that kept it from it true meal. But, upon breaking the skin, it found that it's meal had an ancient curse within: magical blood. The beast roared in pain as it's insides were burning from the pain of it's former meal's blood.
It back off, its mouth steaming as it roared in pain. It turned around and ran past them, presumably to another part of the forest. Giovanni had lost blood, very quickly. His skin was pale and his eyes were closed. He was barely breathing.
"Giovanni!" She was calling his name, trying to wake him up. It was just like her first vision. And, upon realizing this, she began to cry as she looked towards her father.
Leonardo's facial expression was one of great grief, he was losing his son to the dark. The last hope was the Ever Liquid. It would neutralize the poison and he would live. But, his son would out live not only he and Caterina, but the entire country and even the world. He lifted Giovanni's head as he opened the bottle with his teeth.
It was exactly how the vision she had had predicted. Even down to her brother's pain filled, green eyes looked into the blue eyes of their father in fear. Leonardo spat out the cork that he had in his teeth and said, in a soft voice "Giovanni, trust me." The young man nodded and opened his mouth just enough for his father to carefully pour the liquid into his mouth. Then, the world became dark.
"Dude.." Wally said, being the only word he could say.
Zatara looked at the clock and sighed, everyone saw his old eyes that spoke of years of tragedy, famine, and everything that was put history books and everything that wasn't. He looked at his daughter and smiled.
"Come on Zatanna, let's go home."
