I don't own Justice League or anything from their universe, and sadly I never will.
Beacon of Justice
Chapter 9
Nighttime Gotham
Gotham city is a place known for its widespread crime and corruption. So much so that one could even list them as tourist attractions. However, tonight was unusually quiet as Batman, Beacon, and Wonder Woman stood on top of the roof of a building. The three heroes had been vigilantly watching the National History Museum for hours. Wonder Woman was usually a patient person, but one can only admire a building for so long. Finally, the Amazon let out an exhausted sigh.
"Patience, Princess." Batman said, not taking his eyes away from the museum. "Intergang moves in mysterious ways."
"Tell me about it." Commented Wonder Woman as she leaned onto a stone gargoyle. "What use could they possibly have for the Rosetta Stone?"
"Do we even know what it does?" asked Beacon.
"No," replied the Detective firmly, "but if Intergang is after it; we'll need to keep it from getting into their hands. So in the meantime…"
"We know, Bruce," interrupted the Halfa, "patience."
Today had been a lackluster day for the ghost-girl, Martian Manhunter hadn't assigned any missions for her, and Miami was as quiet as ever. So when Batman and Wonder Woman had announced that they were going for a mission, the Halfa asked, and almost begged, to come with them. At the time, she was glad to finally be doing something, but as the hours dragged on, she was beginning to think that maybe this was a mistake.
Wonder Woman looked down onto another part of the street, and took in the many patrons both entering and leaving the Iceberg Lounge. Her eyes were focused on the couples that were either climbing into taxis or walking along the street as they held each other onto each other, all of them seemed completely happy to be in each other's company. Beacon noticed the longing in the Amazon's eyes and smiled inwardly to herself; she couldn't wait for her date with Kara on Saturday. She frowned when she realized that she hadn't even thought of a plan yet.
Aww great, she thought, let's see… we should definitely have dinner; restaurant or stay at home? Mm, restaurant sounds better. Uh, should we go to a movie? Ugh, but there's nothing good out though! Okay, walking on the beach sounds fun, but what about afterwards? Oh! We can go get some ice cream! But what about after that? We could… um… uh…
"Don't you ever wish you were down there, Bruce?" Beacon snapped out of her thoughts. She noticed that Wonder Woman hadn't taken her eyes off the Lounge.
"I'm down there all I need to be." Batman answered bluntly as he continued to survey the streets.
"Yes, but it's just a job to you. I'm talking about going down there and having some fun."
"Yeah, Bats." Beacon chimed in. "You work harder than any of us, you should cut yourself some slack and relax every once in a while. Who knows? It might do you some good."
Batman looked between the two women for a moment, before turning his attention back on the task at hand. "I don'thave time for fun or to relax."
Beacon rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the street. Wonder Woman just stared at Batman for a moment.
"Not even with someone special?" she asked as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Batman didn't even glance at her. "No, no dating for the Batman."
"I think it might cut into his brooding time." Beacon commented, glancing up at the Amazon. Both of them broke into soft laughter, but they stopped when the Dark Knight turned his head to the older woman.
"One: Dating within the team always leads to disaster." He began. "Two: you're a princess from a society of immortal warriors: I'm a rich kid with issues… lots of issues."
"Oh, come on." Beacon said exasperatingly. "Don't be like that."
Batman turned to face the Halfa. "And three: If my enemies knew I had someone special. They wouldn't rest until they'd gotten to me, through her." There was a sound of stone being smashed. They turned to see Wonder Woman standing there with her fist clinched where the stone gargoyle's head used to be.
"Next?" she said dangerously.
"Uh, I don't think you'd need to worry about her, Bats." Beacon pointed out with a sly smile.
Batman turned back to her. "But enough about me, what about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about you asking a certain Kryptonian out on a date."
Beacon's eyes grew wide as her mouth dropped opened; her cheeks having turned to the color of red wine. Wait, what?! It didn't make any sense, neither she nor Kara had told anyone about their date, and they were the only ones on the porch that night. So how did-. "H-how'd you know about that?!" she demanded.
Batman just stared at her impassively. "I didn't," he admitted," but I've had my suspicions, and you just confirmed them."
Wonder Woman chuckled, while Beacon glared at the Dark Knight for a moment, before letting out an exasperated sigh. I suppose I did walk right into that one, she thought.
All three heroes turned when the sound of an alarm going off reached their ears. "There!" Batman pointed to a dark figure in an alley. They all moved to spring into action; Batman fired his grapple and launched himself towards the alley.
"Saved by the bell." Wonder Woman remarked as she exchanged looks Beacon, before they flew off after Batman.
The thief's face was covered by a full-faced mask, but the tight bodysuit did nothing to hide the curves. The thief slammed a crowbar into the notch between the door and its frame, and worked it back and forth to get the door open. She stopped when a batarang struck an electric panel beside the door.
The thief turned and saw Batman, Beacon, and Wonder Woman standing before her. Batman used his signature glare while the Amazon just stood there, somewhat confused.
"Just a common thief." She stated. "What happened to Intergang?"
"J'onn must've gotten a bad tip, it happens." Batman replied, holding out his hand to the thief. "I'll take the crowbar."
The thief smirked. "Whatever you say." Then she threw the crowbar at the Dark Knight, but as soon as she did, it turned into a large snake, and drew out its fangs, ready to sink them into Batman's flesh. Batman managed to dodge the viper, but only just, before it landed and slithered into the shadows. "That trick always wins over big in Egypt."
"I don't think this is a 'common thief' we're dealing with here." Beacon stated the obvious.
"How right you're, young missy." The thief raised her arms, as she did; bright purple sparkles shimmered in the air. When she worked stepped out of the shadows, her black bodysuit was gone. Now she wore a short teal-colored strapless dress with gold trimmings, she wore sleeves that came up to her biceps. With her mask now gone, the thief had long dark purple hair, bright blue eyes, dark-colored lips, and a pair of large golden circular earrings.
"Circe!" exclaimed Wonder Woman as the heroes got into combat stances. "Be careful. She's-"
"Yeah, I've read the Odyssey." Batman interrupted as he threw more batarangs at the sorceress. Circe raised her arm, and in a flash, the batarangs became two doves and quickly flew off.
"That it for you?" she asked arrogantly. Then she grunted when a blue energy beam blasted her off her feet, sending her to the ground. Circe got back to her feet and glared at Beacon. "You insolent little brat!" she scolded.
"There's plenty more where that came from." the Halfa warned, keeping her arm extended.
"What are you doing here, witch?" demanded Wonder Woman. "I thought you were banished."
Circe turned to the Amazon, her smirk returning to her face. "They needed more space down below, so they paroled me. "She informed. "Of course I had to promise to leave your Mommy Dearest alone before they'd let me out."
"Mother sent her to the pits of Tartarus." Wonder Woman told her teammates. "Circe had a nasty habit of turning innocent people into animals."
"I'm real good at it too." She boasted, arching her smirk up higher.
"So I've read." Batman chimed in. "Let's not give her another chance." The three heroes charged at the sorceress, but Circe just raised her arm again and created a shockwave that blasted them back to a wall. Wonder Woman was the first to recover and charged at her again. Before she got even close, the Amazon was grabbed by a giant concrete hand that emerged from the building behind her. She tried desperately to escape its grasp, but she couldn't no matter how hard she struggled.
"I promised to leave your mother alone, little princess," said Circe as she approached Wonder Woman, "but nobody said anything about you. Rest assured, after I get done with you-"
Before Circe could form her next words, she was sent flying further down the alley. Circe looked up and saw Beacon floating above her.
"Do you even know who you're messing with?" she snarled.
The Halfa landed a few feet in front her. "I know I can't just let you do whatever you want."
"Silly, silly child." the sorceress said as she got back to her feet, and smirked once more. "I'd love to see you try and stop me." This time, raising both her arms, Circe shot two blasts purple energy at the Halfa. Beacon ducked to avoid them since it was faster than turning intangible. After the blasts had soared past her head, Beacon got back to her feet.
"Nice move," commented Circe, "but I wasn't aiming for you."
Beacon turned around and saw two dumpsters being engulfed in purple energy. One second later, one dumpster floated into the air, and landed soundlessly on top of another. Then the metal began to warp and twist, until it became a creature standing about fifteen feet tall, and reeking with foul stenches. The monster let out a vicious roar, blowing more putrid smells in Beacon's direction. If the Halfa had been in her human form, she would've vomited right then and there.
"Get her, boy." Circe ordered with a light chuckle. The metal monster immediately slammed its arm down at the Halfa, who dove of the way. Thinking fast, she shot an energy blast directly at its chest, causing the creature to stumble back a few feet. After the monster had regained its footing, it reached into its mouth, and pulled out a large black plastic bag. Beacon didn't even want to think about what could possibly be inside. The monster threw the bag at the Halfa, who now had enough time to turn intangible. The bag went right through her and exploded into the wall behind her, leaving a wet brownish-green mess.
"Ew!" exclaimed Beacon as she examined the wall, and then turned back to the monster. "You really shouldn't litter." With that, she kicked off the ground, and flew towards the monster.
Batman had recovered enough to see Wonder Woman still struggling against the giant hand holding her off the ground. He also noticed Circe approaching her; he sprung back up, and threw two more batarangs at the sorceress. Unfortunately, Circe blasted the projectiles and the Dark Knight backwards, the latter slammed hard onto the ground.
With a wicked smirk, Circe turned to face Wonder Woman. "Now where was I?" she began. "Ah, that's right, after I get done with you: Hippolyta won't want you for a daughter, and your pointy-eared boyfriend and that good-for-nothing teenager won't want you for anything." She raised her palm inches from Wonder Woman's face as it began to glow again. Then a white light filled the alley. Batman lifted himself off the ground, he only had time to gasp before the light became too blinding and he had to shield his eyes.
When he reopened them, he saw no sign of Circe. The sorceress must've escaped in that span of time. Although at the moment, that's not what he was concerned about.
"Diana?" he asked. No response. "Diana!" he called loudly. Then something brushed up against his leg. He glanced downwards and widened his eyes.
Then the sound of metal slamming onto concrete jolted his gaze back upwards. Floating a few feet in the air was Beacon; her bright blue eyes were fixed to the pile of scape metal directly underneath her. After a moment, she found the Dark Knight, and quickly descended back towards the ground.
"Batman," she called out as she approached him. "You alright? Where's-" she looked down at Batman's feet and gasped. There, standing on its four legs, was a bright-pink pig, but what made the Halfa widen her eyes were the two silver bracelets on its forelegs.
"Oh no! Diana!" she crouched down and took a closer look at the transformed Amazon. The pig wrinkled its nares at Beacon, and then violently jerked its head to the side before walking away from her.
The Halfa blinked for a moment before examining her body. Nearly every inch of her was covered in dirt and grime, and upon taking a sniff; her nostrils flared, and her vision became blurry.
"Ugh," she groaned in disgust, and then let a small awkward laugh. "Sorry, I forgot." Beacon floated up in the air, and a split second later, seemingly vanished from sight. The muck and scum from her fight with Circe's monster began to slowly slide downward, creating a pile on the ground. With all the disgusting materials gone, the Halfa become solid once again. "Much better." She commented as she examined her now clean clothes.
"This must be the extent of Circe's revenge." Batman hypothesized as he studied the transformed Amazon, who was currently sniffing various trash-hemps throughout the alley.
"Why didn't she just kill her?" Beacon asked as she landed next to the Dark Knight.
"In a way, this is worse than death." Replied Batman grimly.
Beacon stared at Diana as she knocked over a trashcan, and started to rummage inside rather enthusiastically. "You're right. Humiliation is way worse." She agreed before turning back to Batman. "So what do we do now?"
Batman was silent as he rubbed his chin. "Unfortunately, there's not much we can do," he looked at Beacon, "unless you know anything about magic."
"Sorry," Beacon shrugged, "not exactly my forte, but give me a second." As she cupped her chin in her fingers, a thought surfaced in her mind. Aw man, Ari would kill me if I said I didn't know anything.
"We'll either need to go after Circe," the Halfa added, "or we'll need to find another magician."
Batman turned and surveyed the alley. "Doesn't look like she left any trail for us to follow."
"So we're stuck with the second option." Beacon finished.
Batman nodded. "And I know just the one." He pressed a button on his gauntlet, and then a roaring sound of an engine could be heard from down the street, growing louder by the second. A few moments later, a sleek, black car that's completely decked out with armored-plating sped into the alley, stopping directly in front of the two heroes. This made it the third time that Beacon had seen this car, and the first time that she saw it actually leave the Batcave. Batman and Beacon walked towards the Batmobile, with the latter holding Diana. When the cockpit opened, Beacon turned and eyed Batman curiously.
"Sorry, only seats two." The Detective stated matter-of-factly. The Halfa smirked as she floated over the cockpit, and gently put Diana down on the passenger seat. Then she turned back to face Batman.
"That's okay," she shrugged. "I wouldn't want to intrude on the two of you."
"Funny," Batman commented, but his tone said otherwise. He climbed into the driver's side and closed the cockpit, while Beacon vanished from sight. The Batmobile's headlights lit up as it backed out of the alley. Then the rear thrusters exploded, launching the armored car down the street, the roar of its engine echoing off the walls of the surrounding buildings.
Nearby stage theater
A man's head rested in an open box as he looked out onto the audience with a winning smile. Directly next to him in larger boxes, were his body and legs. A young woman walked up next to the box that housed the man's head, and looked out onto the packed theater. She had a slender, voluptuous figure, with long black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a black top hat, a white buttoned-up blouse with a collar and bow-tie beneath a small tail tailcoat; a pair of small black tights, with dark-colored nylon stockings, and black Stiletto heels.
"My poor assistant," Zatanna Zatara remarked with excellent showmanship. "He's fallen all to pieces. Let's see if I can help him pull himself together." As she walked past her assistant's body parts, she blocked them from view by sliding down the propped-up slot on each of the boxes. Then she placed each one on top of each other, with the smallest box, naturally, at the very top. Zatanna then pulled a thin, black wand seemingly out of nowhere, and gave it an exaggerated flick. Tiny purple sparks appeared as the wand traced through the air, before Zatanna aimed one last flick at the smallest box.
The box opened, but the man's head was gone. Instead, a pair of black boots appeared in its place. "Oops." Zatanna put her hand over her mouth as the audience broke into laughter. She then flicked open the other two boxes. Revealing her now piece-together, but upside down assistant, the assistant walked onto the stage on his hands while the audience oh'd and ah'd with fascination, and then applauded when the assistant got back to his feet, and gave a courteous bow.
"Thank you." smiled Zatanna, as her assistant pushed the boxes off stage. "You've been a wonderful audience, and for my final illusion: I would like to pull a rabbit out of my hat."
She took off her top hat and gestured to it while the audience murmured amongst each other. "Trust me," Zatanna added, "it isn't as easy as everybody thinks." She reached into her hat as a drumroll filled the theater. "Come on Bugs. Where are you?" she asked as she continued rummage, and then she sunk her whole forearm into the top hat.
In that instant, a giant hand appeared from the ceiling. Members of the audience screamed as they sprung to feet, trying to avoid getting grabbed. The hand closed its fingers around a middle-age man, and pulled him into the ceiling, where they both vanished from sight. Back on stage, Zatanna pulled her arm out of her hat. Resting on her hand was the man from the audience, except now he was small enough to fit in her palm. "Well, you're not as furry," she leaned her face closer to the small man, "but you're just as cute."
She placed the small man on the stage, and gave her wand another flick. "kcab ot lamron." She chanted. In a flash of light, the man grew back to his original size. The man looked absolutely stunned as the audience stood on their feet, and cheered for Zatanna. The magician took off her hat again and took a lingering bow while the audience applauded, whistled, and threw roses onto the stage.
After the show, Zatanna walked backstage, and entered her dressing room. Where she took off her blazer and blouse, and pulled on a more comfortable robe. She sat down on the make-up table with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. A crystal ball sat directly in front of her as she sipped the thin, dark drink. The cloudiness of the ball vanished as it showed a moving image of her assistant stepping into a large vertical box. Afterwards, the Zatanna in the crystal ball closed the box, and spun it in place twice. Then she pulled out her wand, gave it a swish and flick, and reopened the box; revealing a female assistant in the man's place. The illusion had gathered wondrous applause during the show, but Zatanna was watching with a critical eye.
"Hmm, a little slow on the switch." She pointed out loud to no one in particular. "Gotta watch that."
The crystal ball blurred out of focus when Zatanna saw a shadow appear over it. She turned and saw the brooding face that belonged to none other than Batman. Standing next to him was Beacon, the white-hair teenage girl that she had met on Initiation day. Back then, the young girl seemed a little nervous when she was conversing with her, but out of common courtesy, she didn't push the subject.
"What was it, some kind of hologram?" Batman asked. "Or was it the real thing?"
Beacon raised an eyebrow at the Detective. "Um, you do know that magicians aren't supposed to reveal their secrets, right? That's kind of their trademark." Batman ignored her.
Zatanna gave a small chuckle. "It's called sorcery, Bruce." she revealed. "Usually I play it straight, but for the big closer I throw in any little dazzle." As she finished, bright blue sparkles blinked out of her fingertips.
"Well, however you played it; I thought your show was great, Zatanna." Beacon complimented.
"Thank you," the magicians replied with a smile, "but please, call me 'Z'." The Halfa nodded as she smiled in return. Then Zatanna turned to address Batman, "but enough about my secrets. What have you been up to? We haven't seen each other in so long."
"Can we discuss that later? " Batman asked in his usual no-nonsense tone. "Someone's in trouble."
"Who?" Zatanna frowned. "What kind of trouble?"
"Well…" Batman began, rather uncomfortably.
"It's Diana," Beacon stepped in. "She's had a spell cast on her."
"By who?" asked Zatanna.
"I think you should see for yourself." Batman suggested after finding his words.
After few minutes later, Zatanna, now dressed in her usual attire, minus the hat, followed Batman and Beacon out the back of the building, where the Batmobile was parked. Batman pulled out a remote and pressed the button. The cockpit opened, revealing the pig sitting on the passenger seat. The animal looked back and forth between the three curiously.
"Ew," Zatanna commented with a raised eyebrow, and then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Circe, huh? It was all over the mystic Ethernet that she'd made parole. I'll see what I can do."
"We should bring her inside," suggested Beacon, "it would attract less attention."
"Good idea," Zatanna agreed, "Come on."
Zatanna walked back inside the building, as she left, Beacon turned to Batman. "You want to carry her or should I?"
Batman narrowed his eyes, then swiftly stalked back inside. "Just get her inside."
The Halfa reached inside the Batmobile, and gently picked Diana up; the Amazon gave a small squeal as she did so. "Sorry, Diana." She said softly. "Can't have you running off." With that, she reentered the building, making sure to close the door behind her.
Back in the dressing room, the three heroes watched as Diana devoured the fruit from the basket that Zatanna had conjured with her magic. The transfigured Amazon was eating as if she had been starving for days. Diana's attention was diverted from her meal when blue shimmers began to envelope her body.
"Lleps eb nekorb." Zatanna recited. The blue shimmers disappeared, but nothing happened. Diana stared at the magician for a moment, before turning back to her food. Zatanna blinked for a second before trying again, but her spell yielded the same result. She tapped her chin before waving her wand again.
"anaiD, emoceb namuh." A bright light flashed for the tip of Zatanna's wand, but Diana just continued munching her on her food.
"Well, I've given it my best shots." Zatanna gave up as Batman knelt down to rub the pig's back. "I guess my powers ran a distant second to those of a goddess. We could call in one of the other lead magicians; Doctor Fate, maybe."
"No," Batman forbade immediately. The magician was startled by his sudden outburst. Realizing this, Batman eased up a little. "I mean, let's keep this between us."
"But why?" questioned Zatanna. "If there is a chance to help Diana, shouldn't we tell -"her voice trailed off when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Beacon looking at her. The Halfa then whipped her eyes back and forth between the magician and the Dark Knight as he rubbed the pig more thoroughly.
"Oh," Zatanna figured out. "Wait, wait. You and her, are you two-?"
"Just good friends." Batman interrupted as he got back to his feet.
"Or so he says." Beacon retorted while Zatanna approached him.
"No," Zatanna denied with a small laugh, "you and I are just good friends. There's something more between you and Diana."
"Well," Batman looked away as spoke in a low to tone, "maybe there was."
"Don't worry, Bruce." Beacon reassured. "We'll everything we can help. " Zatanna put a hand on Batman's shoulder, who gave both women a very slight nod.
Zatanna turned and walked back towards her crystal ball. "But I'm beginning to think that only Circe can turn our chubby friend here back into Wonder Woman." She leaned closer, and watched as the smoke swirled endlessly inside the ball. "And Lord only knows where she is right now."
"Maybe there is something we can do." Beacon announced after a moment of silence. The older heroes turned to face her.
"Well, if you've got any ideas," Zatanna said. "We're all ears."
"We can try using a locator spell," the Halfa proposed, "I don't know how it's done here exactly, but I do know that we'll basically need some magical artifacts, some raw ingredients, some candles, and a quiet place to work." As she ran down the list, she marked off each item by extending her fingers.
"Wow," Zatanna smiled as she looked at younger girl, amazed with her knowledge of the mystic arts. "I'm impressed. You sure know your magic."
Beacon's cheeks flushed a little at the compliment. "Thanks," She said gratefully, but then her smile faded as she stared at the floor, "but I'm not an expert. My old girlfriend was a magic-user. So during our time together I… picked up a few things."
Zatanna frowned, as she took in the Halfa's words. Their first meeting on the Watchtower must have caused some unpleasant memories to resurface. However, before the magician could go any further, Batman addressed her.
"Can we find what she said here in Gotham?"
"Yes," confirmed Zatanna, "and I know just where to get them." With she walked out of the dressing room. Beacon followed her, but stopped when she reached the doorframe. She turned back and looked Batman right in the eye.
"You're carrying her this time." She smirked, and then walked out.
Batman looked at Diana, who stared back. Then the Dark Knight reached down and lifted the transformed Leaguer off her feet.
A short ride… and flight later, the heroes entered a small store, which was surprisingly still open this late at night. On the shelves were beakers filled with various brightly colored liquids, dried ingredients ranging from roots to various fungi filled the jars the rest along the other shelves. There were also books written in various languages, both current and seemingly extinct, as well as mysterious looking items made from gold, silver, and an assortment of other metals. Lastly, on display were crystal balls ranging from the size of an apple, to the size of a basketball.
Zatanna was currently having a rather difficult conversation with the shopkeeper. The owner was a small elderly man who had gray hair, but none of it was on the top. He had dark eyes, thick gray eyebrows, a large nose, and large ears.
"Come on, Sid, are you going to sell me the Chimera scale or not?" Zatanna demanded of the shopkeeper.
Sid looked at the magician, slightly irritated. "You know the rules," he said matter-of-factly, "the elements of magic always come at a price, and I don't take cash or plastic." He finished firmly.
Zatanna held up to her hands in exasperation. "So what do you want?"
Sid's eyes looked away from Zatanna, and he furrowed his bushy brows angrily. "Hey, is that thing housebroken?" He pointed an accusing finger somewhere behind the heroes. They turned to see Diana ransacking a cardboard box, and then gnawing at a piece of fabric.
"I'll take care of her," Batman volunteered. After he walked away, the two other heroes turned back to Sid.
"Now, about that final ingredient I need for my locator spell." Zatanna began.
Sid stared at the magician for a moment, and then expressed a crafty smirk.
"It's all yours for one silver good-luck fin; mid-Ching dynasty, if you please."
"What?!" Zatanna exclaimed. "That is robbery!
"What robbery?" The shopkeeper questioned, feigning innocence. "I am giving it to you at cost."
"It's a total rip." Zatanna pointed an accusing finger at Sid. "I could conjure it up for nothing."
"Try it." Sid dared. "Chimera scale is nearly impossible to get, by magic or not." He placed his hand over his chest. "And I'm this dimension's only suppler."
Beacon had to fight the urge not to raise an eyebrow. From what she had read, chimeras can be extremely vicious. So how could such an old man even get his hands on one of its scales? Let alone be the only supplier in this dimension. However, she ultimately decided to remain indifferent; she'd learned a lot time ago to not underestimate anything based solely on their appearance. The Halfa turned to Zatanna. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice."
Zatanna sighed through her nose as she glared at Sid. "Okay, you win." Then she held up her hand. "esrup raeppa." She chanted. In a shimmer of light, a small black coin purse appeared on her palm. She rummaged inside for a moment, and then took out a large white Chinese coin. She gave it to Sid, who examined it admiringly.
"Thank you," he smiled as he stowed the coin in his pocket. Then he walked over to one of the shelves behind him, and pulled a large scale that looked like it belonged to a snake.
Meanwhile, Batman had finally calm Diana down. As she sat on the floor, the Detective gently hooked a rope around the Diana's neck, and then pulled on it until it was snug.
"We'll be done here soon." Batman assured softly as he rubbed Diana's head. The three heroes and the shopkeeper walked over to a nearby roundtable, placed directly in the center was a three candled candelabra. As they gathered around the table, Zatanna and Sid placed the chimera scale down, as well as a small wrinkled hand, a silver metal ankh, and plate of white powder, and a small stuffed doll.
After the ingredients were set, a stream of blue sparkles shot out for Zatanna's extended finger, igniting the three candles. Then she closed her eyes and began her in enchantment.
"I call upon the spirits of earth and air to reveal our enemy and make her whereabouts known." She opened her eyes and looked at Batman and Beacon. "This invocation works better fronts than backwards."
"Whatever." Dismissed Batman.
"Works for me." Beacon said at the same time while she shrugged.
As Zatanna closed her eyes again, streams of blue energy swirled around all of them, gaining more speed by the second. While over at the opposite end of the store, Diana's eyes widened as she stared at what was unfolding in front of her. She brought her mouth down on the rope holding in place, and started to chew frantically.
"Circe," Zatanna commanded, "show yourself." As she finished, the blue sparkles erupted into a pillar of energy. The light was so intense that Beacon, Batman, and Sid had to back away slightly and shield their eyes. The pillar roared upwards before exploding in a puff of blue smoke. Zatanna cleared the smoke by waving her hat back and forth.
"Well, that was a lot of nothing!" barked the magician.
"Circe must be too powerful for the spell to detect." Beacon deduced.
"Then there's not much anybody can do." Sid shrugged.
"Then what was the point of all this?" questioned Zatanna irritably. Then she rounded on the shopkeeper. "Give me my coin back." She held out her hand expectantly.
"Sorry, kid." Sid smirked. "No refunds."
"You slimy little-"
"Zatanna! Beacon!" She and the Halfa turned and looked at Batman, who pointed at the opened door. "She's gone!"
Without hesitation, the three heroes bolted out the door. Before leaving the store, Zatanna whipped around to see Sid standing there admiring her coin. She glared at him as she raised her hand.
"Dnufer." In a puff of smoke, the coin vanished from Sid's fingers and reappeared in Zatanna's. However, before the magician could gloat any further, a black gloved hand grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her out of the store.
Gotham Zoo
Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna had been searching up and down Gotham for the missing Diana, but the transformed Leaguer had managed to elude them. Beacon had tried to find Diana by conducting an aerial search, but looking over an entire city for one small four-legged animal was overwhelming. After a few hours, Batman called for a regroup so they could discuss a different plan.
Some of the animals in the zoo had awoken from their slumber when the three heroes met up again. When they realized that the heroes were no threat, the animals laid their heads back down, and closed their eyes once more. Zatanna walked over to a bench and sat down. Then the magician slipped off one of heels, and rubbed the sole of her foot.
"You know," Beacon began, causing Zatanna to look at her. "I love heels as much as the next girl, but I don't think they're the best in this situation."
Zatanna gave the Halfa a feeble smile, and shrugged. "Meh, I've gotten used to it." Beacon shrugged in return, having found no argument against that logic. The magician put her shoe back on, and turned to Batman, who had his back to them as he stared into some unknown distance. "Well, I guess that's it." Zatanna continued, "From mud-hole to sty; we've looked everywhere."
Batman looked over his shoulder, and when he spoke, there was no mistaking the irritability in his voice. "Obviously we haven't, because we haven't found her yet." He then clinched his jaw, and turned away from them.
"Hey, don't get snippy with me!" Zatanna scolded. "How many other girls would go this far out of their way for a cold, insensitive-"she stopped when Beacon put a hand on her shoulder.
"Z, that's not helping," said the Halfa, then she turned her head and looked at Batman, "and Batman, we're all worried about Diana. We just need a new-" She furrowed her brows and jerked her head to the tree above her and Zatanna. "Who are you?" she asked in an accusatory tone. Before Zatanna could look up as well, a figure hopped out of the three and landed on the bench. The figure was a muscular man who wore a mask reassembling that of a luchador, with blacked-out eye sockets, and triangular points. He also wore small gold tights underneath a red and white striped tarp around his lower body, and red and gold fur boots. Besides all that, the man didn't wear anything else.
"Yo, Bats." He greeted. Zatanna gave a small yelp and jumped off the bench.
"Relax," told Batman indifferently, "He's one of us."
"B'wana Beast." The man said holding out his hand to the two young women. Beacon and Zatanna took turns slowly shaking his hand. "How're you doin'." B'wana Beast said to the magician.
Zatanna quickly jerked her hand out of his grasp, and put them on her hips. "My legs are fine, as is the rest of me." She then pointed to her face. "Up here."
"Whoa," B'wana Beast exclaimed in pretend fear. "She's got the fire of the cheetah in her." He then leaned closer to Zatanna and made a loud purring noise. Beacon saw the magician's discomfort, and decided to step in.
"A little too close there, pal." She said as she placed a hand on his chest, and gently pushed him back.
B'wana Beast held up his hands in peace. "Relax there, young tigress. I was just fooling around." He then gave the Halfa a rather smug grin, causing her to reel her head back.
"Uh," Zatanna began as she looked at Batman, "why are you doing this to us?"
"Apart from being an expert tracker, he can communicate with animals." The Dark Knight stated as he approached the other man. "I called him to help search."
The two women backed always, eagerly wanting to get some distance from the creepy hero. "We're looking for a lost pig," Batman told Beast, "pink, 60 pounds, wearing two silver bracelets." He then lowered his voice slightly at his next words. "Used to be Wonder Woman."
"Right on," Beast replied. He then jerked a thumb behind him. "I'll yank in some of the other guys."
Batman however, walked even closer to him. "Let's keep the circle small," he traced a circle in the air with his finger, "very small."
B'wana Beast winked, and then made a clicking noise as he pointed at the Detective. Afterwards, he sped off, jumping out of the zoo in various animalistic natures.
"Well, that was a thing." Beacon commented.
Batman narrowed his eyes, and then whirled around. "Let's move." He ordered as he walked. Zatanna and Beacon exchanged looks with each other before walking after the Dark Knight.
While having more hands on deck was generally helpful, it wasn't so in this case. The heroes were no closer to finding Diana than they had been before. B'wanna Beast had in fact enlisted more help for other heroes, such as Red Tornado, Elongated Man, and the Crimson Avenger. They each searched their own sectors of Gotham, either calling for the lost Leaguer, or handing out 'missing' flyers to any passers-by. The heroes thought they were getting a lucky break when an aging man had said that he had seen the pig in the picture. However their hopes were crushed when the man had told his wife that the heroes were looking for her.
A few more hours in, as B'wanna Beast surveyed the street while hanging from a light post. The animal-themed hero saw a streak of pink race past the corner of his eye. He jerked his head quickly to see a small pig that completely matched Batman's description.
"Yo, Wonder Pig!" He yelled as he hopped from his post. He hopped along the street on all fours as he chased Diana. The transformed Amazon must've either ignored him or failed to hear him, because she just continued to run down the block until she turned in to an alley to avoid an on-coming semi-truck.
After Beast jumped over the truck, and followed Diana to the alley. He pressed the button on the communicator in his ear. "Bats, Beast." He called. "Got a fix on your girl."
Several miles away, the Batmobile zoomed along another street. Batman kept his eyes locked firmly on the road.
"Good work." Was all he said.
"I'll have her ready for pick up in…" Beast's voice was cut off; Zatanna looked at the batmobile's speakers curiously before he spoke again. "Yeah, look Bats. I think I might've jumped the gun when I said "I found the pig."
"Keep looking," Batman ordered immediately, "Zatanna, Beacon, and I are going after Circe."
"How? Zatanna raised an eyebrow at the Dark Knight. "The locator spell didn't work."
"It's time for one of my tricks," Batman told her, "we need a snitch." Zatanna just stared at her friend, having no idea where this was headed. Batman made a turn at the end of the street, and floored the accelerator when he reached the highway.
Dark Cave
While the average cave had stalactites and stalagmites, the cave that Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna were in had a very eerie feel to it, and the distorted stone faces that were carved into the cave walls did nothing to help the issue. The three heroes were standing on the edge of bank with another woman; her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a white toga, and had a blindfold over eyes. In her right hand was an ancient looking golden scale, and in her left was a polished sword.
"Thank you for setting this up," Zatanna said to her.
"Please," replied Themis, "your League has done much good in my name. When you summoned me, how could I refuse?"
At that moment, Beacon shivered slightly when she felt a chill at the bottom of her spine. However, it lingered as it traveled up her back, the coldness growing more intense as it spread throughout her body. The cold finally made its way to the Halfa's throat, and as she gasped, a trail of bright blue vapor escaped from her mouth.
"Beacon?" Zatanna eyed her with concern. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah," the Halfa answered as she looked at the three other adults. "My ghost-sense just went off."
"Your what?" Batman asked.
"Ghost sense." Beacon repeated. "It's an ability I have to detect ghostly presences."
"Well, Tartarus is in the realm of the Underworld." Themis explained.
The four of them turned when the water made a sound. "Here comes our stoolie." Batman stated.
Approaching them were two figures wearing dark hooded cloaks on a small row boat. One figure sat down while the other stood behind and rowed the boat forward, on the hilt of the rower's oar was a small lantern that illuminated the way. Zatanna held out three blindfolds, Beacon and Batman both took one.
"Don't look at her directly." advised Themis, as the three heroes wrapped their blindfolds around their heads to cover their eyes. Shortly after, the boat pulled onto the bank. The sitting figure climbed out of the boat, and then pulled off her hood; revealing a woman with scales for skin, yellow eyes with vertical slits, and live green snakes instead of hair. The rattling the snakes were enough to set Beacon on edge.
"Medusa," Themis greeted, "you have chance to earn leniency; if you help our visitors. You were Circe's cellmate, weren't you?"
Medusa looked at blindfolded blonde. "C-girl and me did some time together back in the Pit of Eternal Torment." She informed in a very croaky voice. "That's where they hang you by your ankles and weasel's come each night to eat your fingers." Beacon and Zatanna jerked back slightly as the horrid image was painted into their minds.
"They grow back the next day, but trust me," Medusa continued, "it gets old real quick."
"Uh," Beacon began, "we really didn't need to know that."
"Yeah?" Medusa quipped. "Well, now you know anyway. Nothing much you can do about it, sweetie."
"But did she ever mention Hippolyta?" Zatanna chimed-in, wanting to be done with this conversation.
Medusa turned to the magician. "Are you kidding?" she asked exasperatedly. "Hippolyta, Hippolyta, all the time Hippolyta, 'When I get my hands on her.', Yadi-yadi-yada." She finished her last words waving her hand back and forth.
"That much we know." Batman said. "We're wasting our time." The three moved to turn back.
"Wait, wait!" Medusa begged; the heroes turned back around to listen to watch she had to tell them. "There was one other thing. 'Circe' was always saying she wanted to headline at the amphitheater."
Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna just 'stared' at her. "The amphitheater? On Myknonos, duh!" She then expressed a wicked smile that the other couldn't see. "Seems 'Circe' was wicked jealous of her cousins the Sirens, and swore she'd someday get her turn on the band stand." She held her hand up in an informing fashion. "Sophocles got his start there, Aristophanes, all the big names. You know those statues at the entrance? Mine." She finished as she put a hand over her chest.
Themis raised her scale, and after a moment, it leaned towards the right. "Thank you, Medusa." She said. "And know that you've earned 300 years off your sentence."
"Freedom in 4010. Ring-a-ding-ding!" Medusa calculated with sarcasm as she twirled her finger in a circular motion. She turned around and climbed back on the boat. After she sat down, the rower then held his out expectantly.
"Uh, there's a small service charge." Themis told the heroes. Batman reached into a compartment in his utility belt, pulled out two pennies, and handed them to the rower. The latter put the coins in his pocket, and pushed the boat forward.
"When you see Circe," Medusa yelled, "tell her I want my curling iron back!" After that, the two figures vanished from sight. The three heroes took off their blindfolds and moved to exit the cave. Beacon however, stayed put.
"Thank you again for your help, ma'am." Beacon said to Themis gratefully.
Themis smiled. "It is my pleasure, child. And good luck to you."
"Thank you." Repeated the Halfa, then she swiftly turned to follow Batman and Zatanna.
Gotham City; local Butchery
"Here piggy, piggy." a rather large butcher with a full mustache and beard called. He was just spending his shift reading a newspaper when a pig escaped and ran across his field of vision. The butcher immediately gave chase, and had tried to subdue the runaway swine, but for some unfathomable reason; this pig was strong enough to drag him across a long stretch of the butchery floor. After realizing that there was no way to catch the pig with his hands, the butcher went to his locker, and pulled out a double-barreled shotgun to assist him.
It only took him several minutes with a flashlight to find the pig hiding, or at least trying to hide, in a mountain of barrels. When the light beam hit the pig's eyes; the animal bolted, wanting nothing more than to get further away from the arm butcher. The pig was so focused on running that it didn't see that it had run into another mountain of barrels.
Having finally cornered the pig, a smirk grace the butcher's face as he pumped back the hand grip in his shotgun, and then aimed it directly at the animal.
"Say good night, 'pork chop'." The butcher looked down the sight, and pulled the trigger. A loud boom erupted throughout the slaughterhouse as the shell shot towards the pig. The animal instinctively crossed it forelegs in front of it, and deflected the shot with one of its two silver bracelets. The butcher was completely flabbergasted by what he had just witnessed, but after shaking his head to clear it; he fired another shot. The pig wasted no time and quickly ran away to avoid the deadly shell, causing it to hit one of the barrels. The shot caused the barrels to tether this way and that, before all of them fell on top of the butcher.
Greece
A bright blue puff of smoked flashed In the middle of a dark clearing. As the thick gas began to disperse, Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna walked up to an open entrance that was flanked by several large statues. The statues weren't that pleasing to look at, as their subject matter were mostly men and women seemingly looking away in fear.
"You have to admit," said Zatanna, "Medusa does good work."
"At least she's consistent," Beacon commented on how nearly all the statues had the victims trying to shield their faces from their then-inevitable doom.
"Let's move," Batman instructed, and then bolted into the entrance. Beacon rose into the air and swiftly followed the Dark Knight. Zatanna was right behind them, taking great care to hold on to her top hat.
Inside the amphitheater, one single stage was set up to in front of the many gentlemen that were sitting at their draped-over dinner tables. The men were unanimously applauding for tonight's entertainment. The woman standing on stage had performed numerous musical numbers, and every single one had the same level of perfection.
"Thank you, thank you. You've all be so kind to be tonight." Circe told her audience as she stood there in her formfitting, full-length, red strapless gown, and arm-length gloves. "You know my cousins; the Sirens never thought I could sing. Really, they thought the all that with 'charm the sailors' routine, but I'm showing them, aren't I?"
The men sitting at their tables just stared at the sorceress, not responding either from fear or confusion. Either way, the theater was so silent; one could hear another's heartbeat. Circe glared at the men dangerously, and almost immediately, the applause rocked the place again.
"Oh! Thank you, I love you all!" she said as she spread her arms. As the applause died down again, Circe leaned closer to the microphone. "Are there any requests?"
"stcejbo kcatta ecriC!"
Circe looked confused at the strange words. "I'm not sure I know that one." She gasped when she saw the table flying directly at her. It shattered upon hitting her body, but it did no physical damage to the sorceress. She glared down into the audience, and saw the three heroes. Zatanna lifted another table with her wand, and slammed it at her. However once again it did no damage.
"Insolent trickster!" Circe growled, "You dare to strike-"she was interrupted when a chair collided with her back. "You dare to strike-"she was struck by a blast of energy to her chest, making her stumble back a little. "You dare to strike-"A tablecloth flew in for the side to smother the sorceress, but this only added to her fury. "QUIT IT!" she roared as she yanked it off her, but then she widened her eyes. "Oh, no." she didn't even try to avoid the grand piano that struck her and blew her further back the stage.
As the heroes approached the stage, the piano began to glow with purple energy, and it exploded into a giant cloud of green smoke. As the smoke fade, Circe was floating above them, wearing her usual teal outfit. The sorceress first glared at the heroes in a fit of rage, and then turned to the group of men behind her.
"Well?" Circe demanded. "Defend your mistress." She raised her arms and enveloped each man in purple energy. They all grunted and squirmed, until they were forced onto all fours as their form began to change. A split second later, the men had turned into various animals, all of which growled at the heroes either through their razor-sharp teeth, tusk, claws, or horns.
"Aw, great. More animals." Comment Beacon as she, Batman, and Zatanna got into the fighting stance. The rabid animals each gave loud roars as they pounced at the heroes.
Gotham Butchery
The transformed Amazon continued to run throughout the slaughterhouse, desperately trying to find an exit. Finally, at long last, she found the gate that leads to the outside, and quickly pulled out all the stops. However what she failed to notice were the three butchers working at the assembly line.
"Whoa! Loose meat." One of them called out. Then they all flung themselves at the Diana, pinning her to the ground. The pig might've been strong enough to handle one large butcher, but three of them at once was simply too much.
"That'll do pig." Another butcher worked to bind the pig's legs while the other kept her pinned to the ground.
"Good job, boys." Said to the butcher who had previously chased her, after making sure the bonds were secure. Two butchers carried over to the conveyer belt.
"One plate of bacon of coming up." Announced one of the butchers, and both of them threw the pig onto the conveyer belt.
Diana squealed, and struggled all she could to break the bonds holding as the conveyer belt carried to an opening in the wall. Long strips of rubber blocked the view to the other. Therefore she couldn't tell what was behind it, but from the high-pitched whirring sounds coming from inside. The pig wanted to get as far away from it as she could.
Myknonos
The giant tiger had managed to pin Batman to the ground, and now was desperately trying to sink its teeth into the Dark Knight. The raging animal's saliva dripped onto Batman's chest as he used all of his strength to hold it at bay. With a loud grunt, the Detective kicked the tiger off of him. As the tiger landed a few feet away, more animal charged at Batman. Before they could trample him, Batman threw a series of smoke bombs to disorient the animals. As they lost consciousness, the Detective fled the scene by firing his grapple at some high vantage point.
Zatanna ducked as the Black Panther pounced onto the table behind her. However, she had no time to relax as she quickly ducked again when the animal made another attempt at her life. After landing on another table, the panther's yellow eyes seemed to bore into the magician's soul while it growled its sharp teeth at her. Then, out of nowhere, a bright blue bubble formed around the panther, and encased the giant feline. It slashed at the bubble was its claws, but it was proven to be useless as the bubble showed no sign of damage.
Zatanna turned behind her to see Beacon floating overhead, her hands outstretched and glowing with energy.
"Z, now's your chance." The Halfa said. Zatanna nodded and glared at the trapped panther, which was still clawing frantically at Beacon's energy barrier. The magician raised her wand, and gave it a wave.
"elbat mrof egac!"
At her command, the table underneath the animal moved and twisted as if it was being carried by an invisible wind. Then in a bright flash, the table transformed into a giant steel cage. It fell to the ground with a loud thud as Beacon released her hold on her shield. The Panther crashed onto the floor of the cage, and was knocked unconscious. Zatanna slouched over as she sighed with exhaustion, Beacon hovered herself lower to the ground, and turned to see Batman landing to the ground in front of the stage.
"Come on!" She called out, she then flew forward as Zatanna quickly followed her.
The two female heroes regrouped with Batman as he glared at Circe, who had been lying sideways in the air ever since the fight began.
"You three are beginning to remind me of Sisyphus after a hard day pushing his boulder up the mountain." She smirked while she rested her hand on the side of her face. "But me? I could keep this up all night." She finished as she floated upright, and raise her hands above her head. Purple energy began to spark as she prepared to take matters in her own hands.
Beacon and Zatanna anticipated the sorceress' attack. Batman, however, raised his arms to all of them.
"Wait," he instructed, "it seems that magic always has a price." Beacon eyed the Dark Knight curiously, having no idea where he was going with this. Circe must've been thinking along the same lines, because she frowned.
"And you point is?" Circe questioned
Batman lowered his arms; spoke in his usual calm voice. "What would I have to give to make you lift your spell on Diana?"
Beacon widened her eyes, then stalked right up to Batman's side, and grabbed his arm. "Batman, do you have any idea what you're doing?" she demanded. The Dark Knight turned to her for a moment, before gently lifting her hand off his arm with his own. Beacon's mouth formed a sad line as she took a step away from him. Then Batman focused his attention back to Circe.
"Well, now you're getting interesting." The sorceress remarked, sounding complete intrigued. She lowered herself in front of the three heroes, and walked closer to them. "I want something from you that's very precious. Something you've worked very hard to conceal." Beacon and Zatanna looked in fear between Batman and Circe. Him making a deal with the sorceress was bad enough, but Circe's demands sounded completely awful; Batman has worked to conceal numerous things throughout his life, Beacon couldn't even imagine what Circe wanted exposed.
"Something when gone," she continued, "you could never regain; something shattering." Batman's eyes began to narrow his eyes at Circe's words, until they were shut completely. Whether it was from shame, or something else, nobody could tell for sure.
A bright spotlight shined on the grand piano as Beacon started to play the slow song. A smile was etched on her face as she moved her fingers elegantly from key to key. However, she wasn't the main entertainment tonight. Further down the stage, another spotlight shined, perfectly filling the man with light as the beams were absorbed in his dark clothing.
"Am I blue?" Batman sang, "Am I blue? Ain't these tears in my eyes telling you?"
"Am I blue? You'd be too, if each plan with your man done fell through."
Over towards the back of the amphitheater, Zatanna grinned as her friends performed. Tears of joy streamed from her eyes as she listened to Batman's deep, yet completely mesmerizing voice. She pulled out a handkerchief and silently wiped her tears. Then she handed the cloth over to Circe, who stood next to her, and was trying very hard not to sob.
"There was a time I was your only one." Batman continued. "But now I'm the sad and lonely one…"
"Beautiful."Circe whispered.
"And you'll keep you part of the bargain?" asked Zatanna.
"A deal's a deal." Confirmed the sorceress, then she looked at the magician. "He can stop now."
Zatanna smiled and shook her head. "Not on your life."
Gotham Butchery
The pig continued to struggle as she moved through the rubber strips. A few seconds later, a bright light shined from the other side. As the light vanished, Wonder Woman burst through the wall and snapped the rope around her wrists. The four butchers looked at the Amazon in disbelief, and then in fear as they turned on the spot, and ran for their lives. When they reached the door and pulled the gate up, they were trampled by a stampeding herd of pigs.
As Wonder Woman stared at the swarm of pigs that fill the factory floor, her memory jogged back to the one that did this to her.
"Circe." She growled. Then Wonder Woman flew out of the factory, and soared through the sky.
Myknonos
Applause filled the amphitheater as Batman and Beacon walked of stage, their performance have granted them a standing ovation, and most of the audience has shed a plentiful amount of tears. The two met up with Zatanna, who grinned happily at them both.
"You two were absolutely wonderful," she complimented.
Beacon smiled and her cheeks turned red. "Thanks," she looked at Batman, "but you deserve most of the credit." Batman just silently stared at the Halfa.
"By the way," Zatanna began, causing Batman to look back at her. "Why'd you pick that song?"
"Remember when Penguin tried to kidnap that singer?" asked the Dark Knight.
"Wicky whats-his-name?" Zatanna answered vaguely. "So?"
"I spent a month on stakeout," explained Batman. "must've heard that song a hundred times."
Beacon and Zatanna exchanged smiles to one another, and then turned back to the Detective. "Is there anything you can't do?" asked the magician.
"There's one thing I've never been very good at," Batman replied, "Saying thank you," he smiled and looked at both woman. "Both of you." Zatanna and Beacon's grin grew wide upon hearing Batman's words. The Halfa walked closer and wrapped her arms around him. Batman reacted slightly at the embrace.
"Okay, okay." He said a little uncomfortably. Beacon chuckled and let go.
"I think we should head back," the Halfa suggested. "Diana's gonna want an explanation."
She and Zatanna turned to head out when Batman stopped. "Wait," the two looked back at him curiously, "let's keep this between ourselves."
Both women raised an eyebrow. "So, let me get this straight," Beacon began, "You don't want Diana to find out what you did for her?"
Batman stared impassively at both of them, Beacon and Zatanna looked at each other for a moment, and then the magician shrugged. "My lips are sealed."
"Okay, I won't say anything either." Beacon confirmed.
Watchtower
"And truthfully, it's still pretty much of a blur to me." Wonder Woman shrugged as she and Batman walked along the hall of the Justice League headquarters. Zatanna and Beacon had decided to head back to their respective homes, and therefore didn't use the Watchtower's teleportation system. Wonder Woman turned to Batman. "Did I miss anything?"
Batman raised an eyebrow. "Not really," was his vague response. "The important thing is you're safe."
Wonder Woman smiled at the man. "Yeah," she said softly as she faced forward again. "Of course, that's not thing the only important thing."
Batman raised his eyebrow again, wondering what the Amazon meant by that. Although before he could ask, Wonder Woman began humming a familiar tune that made him stop in his tracks. Wonder Woman paid no attention to him as she continued to walk down the hall, rounded a corner, and disappeared from sight. What lingered, however, was the tune that echoed off the walls.
Batman stared blankly for a moment, before raising a corner of his mouth.
*Sigh* wow I've written a lot for this one. Over 10,000 words, but hey; it's worth it to do it for you guys. I personally liked this episode because it served as sort of a comic relief in the series. There were still action scenes mind you, but most the episode was focused on the relationships of the characters.
Another thing; I would like to state the obvious and say that I don't own "Am I blue". That honor belongs to Harry Akst and Grant Clarke.
Also I dropped a hint that Rachel's ex-girlfriend; Ariella was a practitioner of magic in a previous chapter, so to me it makes sense that Rachel would have learned something from her, but that doesn't mean Rachel is a magic-user.
If you haven't noticed, I've made changes to the last chapter, I made it so that it would tie in more of Rachel's old life. All thanks to Jaguarspot's tips. Hope you'll enjoy it.
Thank you once again for reading my story, and I'll see you all next time.