Chapter 11
Nabu stood awaiting the decision of his brothers while silently conversing with Zatara. Nabu had always prided himself on his patience but it seemed like they were taking an eternity. Truthfully his brothers did not owe him anything and he had wasted chance after chance with them but he was hoping by some miracle he would be granted his plea. The three Lords of Order discussed the options among themselves glancing at Nabu from time to time. Eventually they came to a decision and quieted as the eldest, the one with black eyes, spoke.
"Nabu. We have considered your request and have come to a decision. We grant your request on one condition. You will be stripped of your magical abilities however you may keep your immortality if you so choose"
"I know I am in no position to ask for more but I humbly request that you take my powers and lock them into this pendant" Nabu said raising the pendant he once gave to Destiny.
"Allow it only to be worn by Destiny Summers. It will protect her in a way I will no longer be able to do" Nabu added.
The three men glanced at one another nodding in agreement.
"Very well it is agreed. However if you are to use the pendant in any way your punishment will be much more severe than banishment to a helmet, do you understand?" The eldest brother asked sternly.
"I do"
"Remove your helmet" Another brother commanded.
Zatara removed the helmet taking a refreshing breath of air. His hands nearly shook with excitement before the helmet floated out of his grasp to the space beside him. The helmet began to glow as the Doctor Fate clothing disappeared from Zatara leaving him standing in his black suit that he wore the night he became Doctor Fate two years ago. Zatara stared at his hands and raised them to his face to assure himself this was really happening.
Soon standing beside Zatara was a younger man. He was of a nice build but not overly muscular. His straight raven colored hair stopped a few inches past his shoulder and was pushed behind his ears. His thick lashes almost made it appear he wore black eyeliner framing his mystic emerald eyes. His narrow nose sat above a thin goatee outlining his lips,which were a softer contrast against his olive complexion. He wore a black button up shirt and matching black pants with crocodile like shoes. On his left wrist sat a watch encrusted with chocolate diamonds and in his right hand he clutched Destiny's pendant.
"Now go both of you" The oldest brother said with a wave of his hand making both men disappear from the room.
"Do you think he has changed brother?" The white haired brother questioned aloud not caring which one answered.
"We shall see soon enough" The oldest answered.
Zatara and Nabu stood in the middle of Nabu's library. The sound of Zatara's Justice League communication device ringing cut through the air of awkwardness and tension.
"Hello?" Zatara answered.
"Zatara? Is that you?" Batman questioned surprised.
"Yes"
"Where's Doctor Fate?" Batman asked.
"He's here with me. I'll explain later, what is wrong?"
"Destiny Summers has gone missing. She nor the lawyer she assisted showed up for court today. Green Lantern and Wonder Woman are at the courthouse now. I called in some favors and managed to keep the case from getting tossed but we need to find them and soon"
"We will meet you at the tower" Zatara said quickly before ending the call.
"What is it?" Nabu asked.
"Someone has taken Destiny. I am sorry"
Nabu's brows creased in concern before his jaw tightened to a determined expression.
"Let's go"
Zatara teleported them to The Hall of Justice and punched in his override code for a guest.
"Recognized. Zatara. Code 013 and guest" An automated female voice called as the two appeared at the access tunnel inside the Watch Tower.
Nabu took off in search of Batman to see what he found. In a small conference room sat Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Earth's own Green Lantern and Zatanna. Zatanna was confused on why Batman requested her presence especially since he's the one that suspended her Justice League duties for the time being. Zatanna sat in a chair away from the rest of the group with her arms crossed over her chest avoiding mainly Batman when the door opened. Zatanna's eyes fell on an extremely handsome guy with green eyes and silky black hair. She sat up a little straighter taking in the guy but he ignored everyone except for Batman.
"What have you found?" He asked cutting to the chase.
"Who are you? This is a restricted area" Green Lantern said seriously.
Suddenly the room fell silent when Zatara walked inside. Zatanna's mouth fell open in shock as tears watered in her eyes.
"Daddy?" She called in disbelief standing to her feet.
"Zatanna!" Zatara called in happiness embracing his daughter.
Zatanna could not contain her tears any longer as she wrapped her arms around her father and realized he was really standing before her free from Fate's capture.
"How did you escape from Fate?" Zatanna asked in concern.
"I didn't. He let me go" Zatara said glancing at the stranger in the meeting room.
"That's him?" Zatanna asked turning her attention to the man.
She stalked over to him prepared to use every magic spell she knew to inflict pain on him but her father grabbed her before she could take more than three steps.
"Let me go!" Zatanna yelled.
"Zatanna! Stop this!" Her father shouted seriously.
"You know what he did" Zatanna spat.
"Yes, but right now a young woman's life may rest in our hands we do not have time for this" Zatara called seriously walking over to the group.
"None of my leads have gotten me anywhere" Batman said in that signature monotone of his.
"Perhaps I can help" Zatara offered.
"The pendant" Nabu said immediately knowing what Zatara was thinking.
"What's that?" Green Lantern asked.
"It's a pendant enchanted only for the wear of Ms. Summers. We can use it as a locator. It should take us to her"
"Then let's move we don't have much time" Batman insisted.
"Zatara you stay here in case she goes home" Batman said over his shoulder.
Zatara smiled as he took the opportunity to catch up with his daughter.
In a house on the outskirts of the city
The soft steady dropping of water brought me out of the blackness. I groaned as I tried to shake the dizziness from my skull, bad idea. I moaned in even more pain as I patiently waited for everything to stop swinging back and forth. Once my vision cleared I saw that I was in a room in what appeared to be a house but the only window in the room was boarded up allowing tiny slivers of light through. It wasn't bright enough to be from the sun so I was guessing streetlamps. I tried to stand up only to be yanked back. I looked at my wrists and found I was chained to the wall while my body was tied to a chair.
"Perfect" I whispered.
It was hard to make out much detail but the room appeared to be empty aside from a dirty mattress pushed against a corner of the room. A dripping sound seemed to be coming from some place at my side. I craned my neck to see a closed door not too far from my side and guessed it was a bathroom. Ok so there was nothing visible to use as a weapon in here, the window was bored up and there was a bathroom. I squinted my eyes to try and make out the bathroom door. I believed I saw a door handle which meant the bathroom would probably lock so that would buy me time to go out the bathroom window if it wasn't bored up. I needed to get in that bathroom to see. I jumped when I heard a soft moan of pain.
"Hello?" I whispered into the darkness.
"Oh my head" A familiar voice moaned.
"Evelyn?" I asked happy to hear a familiar voice until I remembered what situation we were in.
"Destiny?" She called back sounding groggy.
"Shhhh"
"We've been kidnapped" I whispered just loud enough for her to hear me.
"Just what I needed" She said sarcastically.
The sound of boots hitting the ground coming towards the room caused both of us to fall silent. The sound of a lock turning could be hear and a stream of light flowed into the room along with the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke. A tall lumber jack looking man stood in the doorway puffing on a cigarette.
"You're both awake, good. Now this can go nice and smooth if you just listen and do what I say" The guy said.
"Who are you? Why did you take us?" I demanded.
"I don't think you want the answer to that darlin' cause if I told you well then I would have no choice but to kill you. You don't want me to do that do you?" The man questioned blowing cigarette smoke in my face. I coughed and turned away trying to get out of the cloud of smoke.
"Guess not" I shrugged.
The guy stared at me before laughing.
"I like you. You got balls kid" He chuckled.
"Now all of this will be over in a few hours. The game is on so don't make no noise because it will be a bad day for you if I come back in here" He threatened.
I only glared at the guy before he left the room. I waited for the sound of TV before I whispered to Evelyn.
"Evelyn"
"Hm"
"The trial is probably in a few hours. It looks like it's night time look street lamp light" I said nodding towards the window as if she could see me but since it was the only light in the room I knew she would figure it out.
"What are we going to do?"
"There's a bathroom. If I get him to let me use it maybe I can come up with something" I said.
"Maybe we should just stay quiet. He said he would let us go in a few hours"
"He said this will all be over in a few hours that doesn't mean we're getting out of here alive" I responded.
"Ok"
"Hey! Heeeeeyy!" I screamed rocking and stomping my feet on the ground.
Suddenly the door swung open and the man stepped inside looking grumpy.
"What did I tell you about the noise sweetheart" He said sweetly before backhanding me across the cheek. I could taste blood in my mouth but I simply spit it out on the floor.
"SHUT UP!" He yelled.
"I gotta go to the bathroom" I said.
"Well tough" He said turning to leave.
"Fine but when it smells like crap and piss don't blame me" I said nonchalantly.
This made him pause near the doorway before spinning around to face me again.
"You have one minute. Don't play games with me girly" He growled unlocking my arms from their restraints before handcuffing my hands in front of me.
"How am I suppose to go to the bathroom with my hands like this?" I questioned in a pissy tone.
"Figure it out. 58 seconds" He said counting down.
I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom trying to ignore the grossness of it as I checked the cabinets quietly. I looked up to see the window was a nice size but boarded as well. Standing on the toilet I tried to see if the boards were lose and found that two were. Quickly I wiggled the few lose screws and removed two of the four. I smiled happily before getting down and trying to flush the toilet but nothing happened. I was guessing there wasn't any water so I just walked out of the bathroom with two seconds to spare. The guy forced me back in my seat although I wasn't trying to put up a fight and tied me back up before shackling my wrists once again.
"What about you girly?" The guy asked Evelyn.
"Not right now thank you" Evelyn answered.
"Yeah whatever don't interrupt my game again" The guy threatened before leaving.
I waited a few minutes hearing him yell at the television screen.
"The boards in the bathroom are lose. I got some screws out. If we take turns going to the bathroom we might be able to get them off. The streetlights aren't close enough back there so the light won't tip him off"
"Good plan. I'll go next. Let's wait a few minutes. Our best bet is during the game since it's loud"
"Yeah and I haven't heard anyone else. More than likely he's alone" I added.
"Ok" Evelyn agreed as we waited a while before putting our plan in action.
Nabu cradled the pendant protectively in his hands as he sat in the back seat of the bat jet while Wonder Woman and Green Lantern flew on either side. Batman opened the roof of the jet and Nabu released the pendant. It began to glow before shooting off in a direction. Wonder Woman was hot on it's trail while the others followed. The necklace took them to the outskirts of the city into an abandoned sub-development. Suddenly the pendant picked up speed distancing itself from Wonder Woman and breaking through a boarded up window.
"There!" Wonder Woman called pointing to a house where the pendant went crashing.
Soon it was Destiny's turn to go to the bathroom. She had the sinking suspicion that the football game was coming to an end so this time would be completely up to her. She worked as fast as she could and could feel her fingertips becoming bloody but she pushed past the pain and blood hoping to get the last two boards off. She was twisting a screw out and so focused on her task that she tuned out her captors counting. Suddenly the bathroom door swung open and he found her standing on the toilet messing with the boards on the window and found most of them missing.
"I told you not to play with me girly" He growled yanking her down from the toilet.
Once she was down he grabbed Destiny by the hair and threw her into the abandoned bedroom. She slid across the rough splintery floor. She tried to stand to her feet but was kicked in the stomach keeping her to the ground.
"OW!" She cried once she finally got her wind back.
The man kicked again causing Destiny to cry in pain.
"Stop it leave her alone you jerk!" Evelyn yelled.
"Shut it" He warned.
"Or what you'll smack me around. Must make you feel like a big man picking on defenseless women. Is it because you can't stand up to a challenge with a real man so this is how you get your kicks?" Evelyn taunted drawing the guys attention.
"I said shut the hell up"
"You're nothing but a coward. Just some other criminals bitch" She chuckled.
The man was livid as he rushed to his feet crossing room quickly over to Evelyn. Evelyn braced herself for what was to come but she could see that he was so focused on her taunting that he didn't see Destiny getting her strength back. She cried out as she was punched across the jaw.
"You wanna see a real man I'll show you a real man bitch" He growled.
Destiny got to her feet and ran over jumping on the man's back and pressed the chain of her handcuffs to his neck pulling with all the strength she could muster. The man was gagging trying to throw her off of him but nothing worked. Their captor threw his weight forward before falling to his knees making Destiny fly forward and slide a few feet away from him. Her eyes rolled around trying to focus as a burst of pain shot from her skull and down her spine.
"You two are more trouble than you're worth. I wasn't even suppose to kill you but to hell with it" The guy gasped standing to his feet with a slight sway.
There was a loud crashing sound and the sound of splintering wood could be heard flying in random directions. The man ducked on instinct and a golden object flew across the room before attaching to Destiny's neck.
"What the hell?" The kidnapper asked in confusion walking over to snatch the necklace from around her neck but received a nasty shock before being thrown across the room.
The door to the room almost flew off of the hinges as Wonder Woman burst through the door. Quickly she lassoed the kidnapper in her unbreakable rope while Green Lantern and Doctor Fate checked on the two women. Evelyn was hanging onto consciousness by a thread while Destiny laid on the floor taking shallow breaths covered in cuts and scrapes while a small amount of blood trailed from the corners of her mouth and down her neck.
"Destiny? Destiny my love stay with me. Can you hear me?"
Destiny struggled to focus on the deep voice.
"F...Fate" She called out.
"Yes my love I am here. You will be alright"
"Can you not heal them?" Wonder Woman asked.
"I no longer have my magic. I can not" Nabu said staring down at the woman in his arms helplessly.
"Fate and I will remain here to watch the prisoner until the police arrive. You and John get them some help" Wonder Woman commanded sparing a glance at Batman.
John lifted Evelyn in his arms bridal style before walking out of the house. Nabu kept a firm grip on Destiny.
"Fate she needs a doctor" Batman reasoned.
"Yes" Nabu answered finally releasing Destiny to the care of Batman.
"She will be fine" Wonder Woman said placing a supportive hand on Nabu's shoulder.
He did not respond only watched Batman leave with the woman he loved as Wonder Woman flew the prisoner to the front yard. Nabu watched the bat jet shoot off with Green Lantern close behind. He could not stop the familiar pain in his chest. It felt similar to the night Destiny gave him back the necklace. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself. Destiny was wearing his necklace now so she would be safe. He waited impatiently for the police to arrive so they could turn the prisoner over and then he would be free to see Destiny. He had to tell her. He could not lose her again.