Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own Justice League, it belongs to DC Comics.

So, I had a couple of ideas around in my brain, and finally I got enough of them together to put together this update. Enjoy!

Stake Your Claim

Three weeks after the night at the club with Zatanna, Hector was at work on Monday as usual. Although the investigation into the young woman's death had kept Zatanna busy, she'd still stayed in touch with Hector through phone calls and had even managed a visit here and there, during which the two of them had gotten more comfortable with each other. Currently, Hector was relaxing while on break, when he noticed his supervisor entering the lunch room before he began addressing the employees present.

"Alright, listen up people. The company's annual BBQ is coming up on Saturday three weeks from now. You'll all get a paper detailing the time, place and everything else, and if you're bringing a plus one, let me know as soon as possible. One more thing, M. Hansen will be attending, so every one of you is expected to be there. If not, you'd better be sick or dying. That's all."

The employees began chatting among themselves as the supervisor left the lunch room, most of them talking about the news he'd just delivered. "Never really liked the company barbecue," Hector muttered out loud, catching the attention of his co-worker Larry sitting across from him.

"What? Why the hell not? Whenever the boss comes around he's always brought his daughter with him. And she is one smoking hot lady, not to mention that I'm pretty sure she's expressed some kind of interest in you. I mean it's not like she's been all that subtle about it, you dog."

"That's exactly why I don't like having to go. And before you make any comment, I will simply say that she is not my type and leave it at that."

"Does that mean I can make a move on her?"

"In all honesty, I doubt she'll be receptive. But for all I care… knock yourself out."

Late in the evening, Cassandra was at home doing schoolwork when Hector walked into their apartment, having just returned from helping Adolf at the farm. "Hey, I'm back," he declared as he put food that Adolf had given him (a portion of the payment he received for his help came in the form of milk, eggs, meat and such) in the fridge.

"Yep, I can see that," Cassandra responded with a smile. "Big guy like you walking through the door's kind of hard to miss. That is, when you're not playing ninja with me."

"Gotta have fun somehow, 'widdle' sister," Hector shot back, grinning a little as she huffed in annoyance.

"I'm guessing you must have had a good day if you're being all joke-y like this."

"Meh, it was alright," Hector said, sitting down on the couch with the day's newspaper. "The company barbecue's coming up in a few weeks, and the big man himself is gonna be there, so we're all expected to go, or else…"

"Well then, I'm guessing you want me to come with to make the whole thing more bearable, and to keep the man-eating shark at bay, right?"

"Something like that."

"Of course, I'd be happy to- shit!" Cassandra exclaimed as she accidentally knocked over her glass of milk, which shattered on the floor. "Wait, I've got this, just watch. Xif eht nekorb ssalg." At those words, the shards of glass floated up and re-assembled themselves on the table, though the milk still remained on the floor. Hector looked at his sister with an eyebrow raised, at which she merely said: "Abracadabra."

"You've been practicing when I haven't been watching."

"Yes, I admit that I may have snuck in a little practice on the side. Am I getting into trouble for this?"

"I trust you to play it safe, so I won't lecture you or anything."

"Thank you."

"You still have to pick up the rest of your mess though."

"And here I thought I could get away with that."

"Yeah, you wish."

"So, when is your oh-so-horrible company barbecue anyway?" Cassandra asked as she went to grab a rag to clean up her spill.

"Saturday three weeks from now."

"Oh… that may present a bit of a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"I just found out at school today, but our next cheerleading competition is Saturday in three weeks. And of course, being a member of the team, I kind of have to be there. Sorry. It's too bad I won't be able to help you fend off Ms. Airhead."

"It's fine, I'll just have to suck it up and survive the few hours I'll be required to spend in her company before I can just run away from it all."

"You know, it's a shame that you don't have a girlfriend you could bring along with you so she could tell Ms. Man-Eater to that you're really not interested and get her to back off." A look suddenly appeared on the young lady's face as she came up with an idea.

"What trickery just popped into that scheming brain of yours?" Hector asked, realizing the answer a few seconds later. "Never mind, I know what you're thinking."

"Well…?"

"I'll ask her. Of course, nothing guarantees she'll say yes."

The following day, having decided to seek help in her ongoing investigation, Zatanna found herself in front of a shop in Greenwich Village that bore the name 'Hokus & Pokus Occult Curiosities'. "Well, here goes nothing…" Zatanna muttered, as if steeling herself for some grave event, and then she walked through the door. The shelves were lined with candles, statuettes, sticks of incense and other items one would expect to find in a magic parlor, a table stood in the center of the room, covered with a blood red tablecloth and the atmosphere permeated the area could only be described as mystical. A mature, but young looking woman entered the room through a curtain of beads in the back, taking note of Zatanna's presence. "Zatanna, it's been far too long," she greeted her happily.

"Hello, Nimue," Zatanna replied with a smile as her surrogate mother drew her in for a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great, thank you for asking. What about you? Are you feeling alright these days? How're your shows going? You look a little skinny, have you been getting enough to eat? Have you found a decent man yet?"

"Nimue, slow down for a second and stop fussing over me so much! Yes, I'm doing well and my shows have been going off just fine."

"That's good to hear. So, what can I do for you honey?"

"What? Can't I just drop in for a visit now and then?"

"Yes, of course, but that's not why you're here, is it now?"

"Well… it's now the only reason. I may need your help with something."

"I thought as much. Come, have a seat and tell me all about it." The two women sat down at the table and Zatanna began giving her the details of the young woman's death.

"… Unfortunately, when I tried pushing further, the crystal ball exploded," Zatanna finished explaining.

"I see… Why don't you start by walking me through the attack the same way you saw it, then we'll see if I can come up with anything?"

"I guess it's worth a try," Zatanna said, reaching into her bag and pulling out the crystal ball she'd put back together again and setting in down on the table. "Whenever you're ready, Nimue."

Zatanna and Xanadu then placed their hands on the crystal ball and focused their mystical energies into it, the former guiding the later through the crime scene as the mist inside took shape and color. "Let's go over it again," Xanadu requested.

Slowly the scene played out again within the crystal ball, the victim entering the room and taking a seat at her table, followed by the shadowy assailant. However, this time they could hear the woman speak a few words. "M... Ajax Andreas, yes?" The killer nodded and said something as he sat down, though no sound could be heard. "Let us begin…"

"If nothing else, that's still an improvement," Zatanna commented as they finished their second attempt. "At least now we know her attacker was a man, though the name's probably just an alias. How did you do that anyway?"

"Well, since our mystery man appeared to have guarded himself quite thoroughly, I just concentrated on what wasn't directly tied to him, skirted the surroundings, so to speak. Now why don't we move in just a little closer to M. Ajax Andreas himself?" Zatanna nodded at this, bringing up the image of the shadowy man and nothing else. But just as they began to work their magic with the utmost care, another figure appeared inside the crystal ball, tall, lean and covered by a long hooded robe, black as night itself. This new, ominous figure grabbed the killer by the arm and raised its head, revealing the skeletal face of death itself, then sunk into the ground with its victim.

"I think it's a safe guess that our killer probably didn't live long after whoever hired him got what they wanted."

"Yeah, that seems likely," Xanadu replied. "Which is unfortunate for us, since we've now hit the equivalent of a brick wall. I'm sorry I couldn't be of anymore help, Zee."

"Well, at least we did as much as we could. That said…" Zatanna's thoughts were sidetracked when her phone started ringing. "I'll just take this, if you don't mind. Hello?"

"Hey Zee, how's your day going?" Hector's voice was heard on the other end of the line.

"I've had better and I've had worse. What about you?"

"Same here. By the way, I was kind of hoping I could ask you for a favor." Hector then proceeded to tell her about the upcoming BBQ, the boss' daughter's unwanted gestures, and finished by asking if she'd mind accompanying him since his sister was unavailable.

"Yeah sure, I'll help you out."

"Thanks a lot, Zee. Listen, I've gotta get back to work right now, but I'll call you soon. Thanks again."

"Bye now."

"So… just who was that exactly?" Xanadu inquired curiously.

"That was a… friend."

"A friend, eh?"

"Yes, a friend." Xanadu's blank stare clearly indicated that she wasn't buying it. "Okay, he's a guy I've been seeing for the past several weeks."

"Interesting… what's he like?"

"He's tall, big and strong, but he's very smart, kind, a little shy, modest, gentle and soft-spoken. He's an accomplished martial artist, to say the least, he can speak more languages than I can count on two hands and although he can't dance for shit, he's an amazingly good cook."

"He certainly sounds like quite the catch," Xanadu commented with a smile. "It's nice to hear you've managed to find a good man, especially considering some of the guys you've gone out with before. Seriously… John Constantine?"

"Ugh, why does everyone feel the need to come down on me about my dating record?" Zatanna complained.

"Just teasing you honey. So does this new guy have a name?"

"Yes, it's Hector Anderson."

"Really?" Xanadu said, apparently surprised.

"Do you know him?"

"Not so much, but I do remember meeting him sometime years ago. He seemed like a nice boy at the time. So… is he good in bed?"

"Nimue!" Zatanna exclaimed, caught off-guard and highly embarrassed by the unexpected question. "What kind of person do you take me for!? Do you really expect me to be sleeping with him already!?"

"Hey, when the mood is good… like this one time when me and-"

"Ok, I don't need to hear any of this! It was nice seeing you again, bye now!" And with that said Zatanna practically ran outside.

On the day of the BBQ, Hector, after wishing his sister and her friend Sally (who'd come to pick her up) good luck with their cheerleading competition, made his way to the hotel Zatanna was staying at. Walking past the desk at the entrance, he quickly climbed up the stairs, found her room and knocked on the door. "I'm coming." A few seconds later, Zatanna opened the door to let him in. "Just got back from a shift on the Watchtower and haven't had time to change yet," she explained, motioning to her magician's outfit. "Give me a minute and I'll put on something more casual."

"Don't worry, there's no rush," Hector said as she slipped into the bathroom. "So, I take it some of your league buddies have been teasing you about 'us'?"

"What? How would you know that?" Zatanna asked from the other side of the bathroom door.

"You seemed a little embarrassed, plus you averted your eyes pretty much as soon as you opened the door, and you said you just got back from the Watchtower. I'm assuming there aren't many people who know, since you don't appear to be completely mortified."

"Maybe Batman should be worried you'll take the title of 'World's Greatest Detective' away from him."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Speaking of Batman, should I be expecting a midnight visit anytime soon?"

"I wouldn't think so," Zatanna said as she stepped out of the bathroom, now dressed in a slim white t-shirt and blue jeans. "Despite the fact that some of my 'co-workers' know I'm seeing someone, I haven't told any of them that that person is you. Admittedly, I'm pretty sure Batman will find out eventually, after all, he is Batman, but I don't believe he knows quite yet."

"I'll be sure to keep my door locked, just in case," Hector joked, drawing a smile from his companion. "Shall we get going now?"

After a bus ride and a short walk, Zatanna and Hector arrived at the BBQ, where Hector's co-workers proceeded to throw various comments their way, along the lines of "Daaaamn", "What a catch", "Lucky you", "I'm impressed", "How did that happen?", and so on and so forth. One of them stupidly made a more vulgar comment, suggesting that Zatanna was an escort he'd hired, only to quiet down in an instant when Hector glared at him.

"Sorry about that," Hector apologized as the unfortunate offender walked away. "The guy's an asshole, but I was hoping he'd be smart enough to shut up for once."

"It's okay," Zatanna reassured him. "Besides, you sure shut him up pretty fast. You know, for a guy who claims to be an average human, I swear you could fit in with the Justice League. I mean, you've got reflexes, deductive skills, you know more than a few languages and however many different forms of martial arts, and that's just the stuff I know about. You've even got the 'Bat-Glare' down pat. Hey, you could be Batman 2.0."

"Thanks for the endorsement, Zee, but my first and foremost priority remains Cassandra's well-being. Of course, the truth is she's not going to need me to take care of her forever, so in the future… who knows?" The buzz of everyone's chatter dimmed down as the boss, M. Hansen, stepped up to give a speech about the company, how well they were doing, future projects and a few other topics, though he fortunately managed to wrap it up before anyone started nodding off. Just as the boss was finished, Hector happened to catch the faint scent of a particular perfume, paired with the sound of distinctive footsteps. "Zee, is there a rich girl with long blond hair, blue eyes and bleached white teeth behind me?"

Though curious as to how he would know this, Zatanna still turned around to look for the woman described. "Does she have a pair of oversized…?"

"Yes, she does."

"Then yeah, she's behind you, and coming right over here."

"Well, hello there, big boy," the woman in question spoke in a falsely sweet voice as she came up to Hector, prompting him to slowly turn around.

"Jennifer," he greeted her with a curt nod.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" she went on, pointedly ignoring Zatanna.

"Not long enough if you ask me," Hector muttered under his breath.

"I see your sister isn't here with you like she normally is. That's good, maybe now the two of us can finally get together and-"

"Excuse me," Zatanna spoke up, stepping in between her and Hector. "But in case you haven't noticed, he's obviously not interested in you."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Jennifer asked in a snide, elitist manner, almost sneering at her 'rival'.

"Zatanna Zatara, daughter of the great magician Giovanni Zatara. Some people call me the Mistress of Magic. By the way, this guy you're hitting on right in front of my face, he's my boyfriend, so you might want to back off and save what little dignity you have."

"Now why would I do something like that? Why should I believe he'd want to be with someone like you when he could move onto 'bigger' and better things?" the blond woman asked, giving a nudge of her oversized bosom for emphasis.

"Tell me, have you ever read the Harry Potter books, or even seen the movies?"

"I've seen the movies, but how is this relevant?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like reenact one of the scenes. Maybe the part when Harry's cousin Dudley grows a pig's tail?" Zatanna waved her hand as she glared at the other woman, producing a few sparks from her fingertips.

"You… you wouldn't dare… right?"

"Try me."

"Jennifer, I think I hear your father calling for you," Hector spoke up. "You should go now."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Goodbye." And then she turned tail and finally left them alone.

"I must say, that was impressive," Hector commented in a relieved tone. "It looks like you might have scared her off for good."

"No problem, I'm happy to help, plus she was rubbing me the wrong way."

"Just remind me never to make you angry." Zatanna merely smiled at this as the two of them went back to enjoying their time together.

Up on the Watchtower, Flash, Black Canary, Vixen and Hawkgirl, the latter of whom had just recently been let in on their gossip, were discussing Zatanna and her new 'friend'. "You know, Wally, maybe asking her if she was sleeping with this guy wasn't the best idea," Shayera spoke up.

"You've got a point there," Mari agreed.

"Oh, come on," Wally protested. "You know we were all thinking the same thing."

"Well, maybe…" Dinah admitted. "But we can't exactly ask her anything now since she's run off."

"Hey everyone, what's the gossip?" Supergirl asked, having decided to see what was going on as she was passing by.

"Kara, we were just talking about this guy Zatanna's been going out with," Dinah explained. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," she replied smugly. "Mary, Courtney and I were at a club one evening and saw her with this guy you're all talking about. And it just so happens that I'm friends with his sister, who's told me that they seem to be getting along pretty well."

"Really? What does he look like? What kind of guy is he? What does he do?" Wally asked, him and the three others leaning forward eagerly.

"Sorry guys, but Zatanna made me agree not to tell anyone."

"Well that's unfortunate," Shayera commented.

"However…" Kara said with a devilish grin on her face, showing them a photo she'd taken of Hector and Zatanna that night at the club. "That doesn't mean I can't show you."

Later in the evening, after they'd left the BBQ, Hector and Zatanna had decided to head over to a bar for a few drinks. There they continued their conversation, with the topic ranging from their parents, to Zatanna's magical education, to Hector's travels and more. At one point, while Hector had excused himself to go to the bathroom, Zatanna was approached at the bar by a muscle-bound jock. "Heeeey baby, how ya doin?" he asked, the slur in his words suggesting he'd already had more than a couple of beers.

"I was fine up until you came around," she shot back, nauseated by how he was shamelessly staring at her breasts.

"Don't be like that, lemme buy you a drink."

"I've already got a drink, I don't need another one."

"Come ooooon, babe, jus stick 'round and I'll show ya a good time."

"Go… away."

"You heard the lady," Hector said sternly as he came back, sitting on his stool next to Zatanna. "She doesn't want you here."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Hector Anderson, and I do not appreciate you hitting on my girlfriend. So, kindly do as she says and go away."

"I don't take orders from stinking shits like you!" the drunk exclaimed, before throwing a punch at Hector, who, without moving from his seat, calmly caught his fist in one hand, striking with a lightning fast jab to his shoulder. "What the hell did you do?" the man demanded as he stumbled backwards, arm hanging limply at his side.

"That was a nerve bundle in your deltoid. Might not have hurt, but you won't be moving that arm for a while." One of the drunkard's buddies got up from his seat and tried to take a swing at Hector, only to have him grab his wrist and apply a little pressure, dropping him to his knees. A third man then picked up a chair and took a few steps forward, but Hector simply flicked a peanut at him with a single finger, hitting him dead in the eye, causing him to drop the chair and cover his injured eye. "Just back off, leave us alone, and no more harm will come to you. Understood?" The three men all gave signs of affirmation, at which Hector released the man whose wrist he was still holding. "Maybe we should leave now," he said to Zatanna.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea." Offering the bartender an apology for the disturbance, they stood up and walked out of the bar. "So… that was pretty impressive, particularly the part where you took that guy out with a peanut," Zatanna commented as they came to a park, walking along at a leisurely pace. "That's the kind of accuracy I'd expect to see from Green Arrow."

"My abilities in that domain are largely due to a woman named Diana," Hector explained. "She primarily taught me to hunt and shoot a bow, but I also learned how to use daggers, throwing knives, even a sling."

"Sounds like an interesting person."

"That's one way to put it."

"And what kind of other teachers have you had over the years?"

"I've had quite a few of them, but to give you an idea… Diana's brother Paul tried to teach me art, music, poetry and such. I failed spectacularly, but he and his son did a pretty good job teaching me healing and medicine. A man named Percy taught me aquatic life, how to fish, swim, sail and navigate. I learned plants and agriculture from Serra. Minerva taught me mathematics, law, justice, wisdom, strategic thinking and also how to use a spear. I got bartering, trade, language, wit and cunning from Marc, along with a few less honest traits, like deception, stealth, sleight of hand and… pick-pocketing. Valen essentially taught me craftsmanship, how to fix and build things. And Mars… he taught me how to fight."

"Wow, you've certainly had a… diverse education, to say the least," Zatanna said, an impressed look on her face. "That makes me wonder, and no offense, but why don't you have a better job when you could do so much more?"

"I never graduated, and lack the 'official' education," Hector explained, using air quotes at the word 'official'. "I had a full scholarship lined up, but I had to turn it down to take care of Cassandra after her mother passed away. I have no regrets. Besides, whether or not my education is recognized, I have learned a number of things from my teachers, things that I've managed to put to good use one way or another."

"Is pick-pocketing one of those things you've made use of?"

"The knowledge does come in handy in preventing people from picking my own pocket. Not to say I'm incapable myself…" Hector then held up a wallet for Zatanna to see.

"… Is that my wallet?" The answer Zatanna received was but a smug grin. "Damn, you are good," she noted as he gave her back her wallet, which she put away in her purse. "Would you mind if we sat down for a while?"

"Not at all," Hector replied, the two of them sitting down on a nearby park bench.

"I have another question for you, if that's alright."

"Go ahead."

"Have you ever met Madame Xanadu before?"

"May I ask why the question?"

"She's my surrogate mother, by virtue of having helped my father raise me after my own mother died. I was with her when you called me about the barbecue, so I kind of ended up telling her about you, and she mentioned that she'd met you before."

"I met her once when I was 19. Alice, my girlfriend at the time, wanted to get our fortunes told, so we went into her shop. I don't know what Xanadu told her, but, oddly enough, she left me soon after. Then again, that was right before my step-mother passed away and Alice said she didn't want to burden me any more than I already was, so I can't know for sure."

"That is odd," Zatanna agreed. "But if you look at is this way, and I'm not saying this to be mean, if she hadn't left, you and I might not have met."

"Fate is such a strange thing, isn't it?" Hector mused, getting a nod in return.

Both sat quietly for some time, neither saying a word as they simply enjoyed each other's company. "Say, Hector?" Zatanna spoke up tentatively a few moments later. "Circumstances aside, now that we've pretty much staked our claim to each other, does that make 'us' official?"

"I suppose it does," he answered sincerely, drawing a smile from her.

"Kiss me."

"I'm sorry?" Hector asked, caught off guard by her impromptu request.

"I want you to kiss me."

"… Are you sure?"

Gently laying a hand on his cheek, she looked him in the eyes and said: "Yes, I'm sure." He began softly at first, almost hesitating as his lips brushed against hers, but then, as if a spark had been lit, they became progressively more passionate, deepening the kiss as he wrapped his hands around her back, while she placed hers on the back of his head. Eventually the two of them were forced to separate, feeling a little breathless. "That was…"

"Magical."

"It certainly was."

After enjoying a moment together following their kiss in the park, Hector and Zatanna walked hand in hand to her hotel. Once there, Hector escorted Zatanna up to her room where they kissed again, albeit not as passionately, before saying goodbye and heading back to his apartment with a bit of a spring in his step. Despite not expecting any company upon his return, since Cassandra had planned on sleeping over at her friend's place after they were done with cheerleading for the day, he found a guest sitting at his table when he walked in. The guest in question was a drop dead gorgeous woman, curvy, tall and seductive, with flawless skin, luscious hair and wearing a spectacular dress. In short, she looked perfect in every way, yet Hector didn't even bat an eye at her presence. "Hello, Anna. What're you doing here?"

"C'est quoi le problème? N'est tu pas content de revoir ta grande soeur?" (What's the problem? Aren't you glad to see your big sister?) she asked in a playful/pouting tone. "Ça fait tellement longtemps depuis la dernière fois que j'ai vu mon petit frère adorable, j'ai pensé qu'il appécierait que je vienne le visiter." (It's been so long since I've seen my adorable little brother, I thought he'd appreciate me dropping by for a visit.)

"Désolé, c'est bien plaisant de te revoir. Aimerai tu quelque chose à manger ou à boire? Je ne peux pas promettre que ça sera tout à fait aussi bon que çe dont tu a l'habitude, mais je serai un piètre hôte si je ne faisait pas l'offre." (My apologies, it is nice to see you again. Would you like something to eat or drink? I can't promise it will be quite as good as what you're used to, but I'd be a poor host if I didn't make the offer.)

"Si tu en a, j'adorerai un morceau de ta tarte au pomme delicieuse." (If you have any, I'd love a piece of your delicious apple pie.)

"Certainement, je vais le préparer pour toi tout de suite." (Certainly, I'll prepare it for you right away.)

"I see that Marc's lessons in language and eloquence haven't gone to waste," Anna noted as he cut a small slice from the leftovers of a pie he'd recently made and heated it up in the microwave.

"I've made a point of practicing every now and then." A moment later he removed the pie from the microwave and set it on the table with a fork for his guest.

"It's simply… divine," Anna complimented after the first bite, causing Hector to roll his eyes in amusement at her choice of words. "So… it's come to my attention that there's a woman who's pulled your heart's strings."

"If you weren't… you, I'd question exactly how you know so soon after the fact."

"I do have my ways," she said, a knowing smile on her face. "Now tell me all about her." Hector then proceeded to talk about Zatanna, how they'd met, some of the things they'd done or discussed and so on and so forth. "I'm glad you've met a good woman like her. I believe there will be much happiness in store for you and her."

"Is that your personal opinion, or your divine interpretation?"

In response, Anna merely smiled at him. "I'll leave it up to you to figure out. On another subject, I'm curious to know if you're going to ask Zatanna to help Cassandra with her… special talents."

"I have given thought to the matter, but I'd rather wait a little longer. I want to be certain that I trust her before revealing Cassandra's secret, and by extent my own."

"Do you mean that you're going to wait until your relationship with her reaches the same point it did with Sara and then with Alice?" she asked, the suggestiveness of her tone matching her expression.

Hector showed no reaction at this, other than looking at her and blinking several times, followed by a sigh. "I suppose I should be grateful Cassandra was too young to remember the… incident with Sara. She already gets enough mileage knowing what Alice and I were up to."

"Well, it is amusing, if one considers how you reacted."

"Yeah, like you've never been caught red-handed. Oh wait, wasn't there that one time that you-"

"Ah-hem! Why don't we talk about the other reason I'm here instead?"

"And that would be…?"

"To deliver a message: Mars is planning his next test for you, and it's due to happen in ten days."

"How strange, he doesn't normally give me advance warning, so why now?"

"I may have… persuaded him to change his mind."

Hector nodded in understanding at this. "I see… Did you 'persuade' him to give you any more information?"

"I'm afraid not. We were both a little… pre-occupied at the time."

"Oh well, thanks for the warning."

"Don't worry, I'm certain you'll be alright," she reassured him as she stood up from the table, her plate now empty. "After all, you've done well with all his other tests. That said, I should be going now. Thank you for the pie, and I wish you the best of luck with Zatanna. Oh, and tell Cassandra that her mother says hello." And then, 'poof', she vanished, leaving Hector alone and curiously unfazed by her sudden disappearance.

"Whatever Mars has planned, I just hope it doesn't bring the Justice League down on me."

As usual, hope you liked it, please review if you have comments, criticism, or anything else to say.

That aside, I will give a virtual cookie to anyone who can figure out what's up with Hector's 'teachers', and/or 'Anna'.