Notes: In which I mess around a little with magic.

DarthZ and GiovanniBlasini: Man, what is it with all my reviewers and giving me all these ideas for a new fic? Lolz it's like you're planting carrot seeds for them plot bunnies to nibble on. But I'm currently out-of-sync with the Dresden-verse so a sequel to this crossover will be long in coming. Thanks for all the ideas though :)

I was reminded yet again of Harry's sensitivity to his surroundings when he stopped by the jet's hatch and glanced around. We had landed near the edge of a large forest, facing a clearing at the foot of a mountain. To our right and dotted with gradually diminishing bushes, lay the beginnings of a large desert.

"That's..." Harry said as he disembarked from the jet, "That's some serious mojo."

"Where?" I asked.

"Somewhere there." He made a vague gesture towards the desert. His shoulders were relaxed now, so I took it that he'd released his inhibiting spell.

"Where there?" Roy started folding out his compound bow, similarly scanning the desert.

"There out there." Harry shrugged. "I can't pinpoint where it is without using my Sight, but I can tell you it's...really powerful juju."

"Ra's hidden base must be in the area." Batman said, turning to face Superman as he instructed, "See if you can fly around discreetly."

"Wait." We all turned to Harry as he pulled out a small jar from his duster's pocket. "Freshly brewed Glamour-B-Gone salve." He held out the clear jar containing a dark, goopy paste. "Smear this around your eyes. It should cut through the manticora's veil and make them visible. Get it while it's still hot."

"War paint?" Roy was the first to take the jar, ducking his head and stripping off his domino mask. "Has to be skin contact, right? I know my mug ain't that famous but how will Bats and Wingster-"

I ripped away my mask and held out a hand for the jar while hiding a smirk as Roy stared at me in disbelief.

"He...you...you told him who you are?"

"I didn't." I replied, smearing the brown-black salve around my eyes. It didn't smell rotten, but it wasn't completely fragrant either. "Batman told Harry."

"Hu-why?"

"It was a matter of convenience." Bruce growled, taking the jar from my hands and pulling down his cowl at the same time. With two swipes of his hands, he'd put the salve on his eyes and brought his cowl back on in less than a second. I took his cue and stuck my mask back.

"Bunch of raccoons we make." Roy teased behind me as I glanced at everyone in turn. It was the first time I saw Clark put on warpaint; a good thing too, since the dark lines around his eyes reminded me of his wire-rimmed glasses. A good observer familiar with both the hero and the reporter personas could say that warpainted Superman closely resembles timid Clark Kent. Then Supes smiled, making that resemblance even more remarkable.

"Okay, Supes," I said with a sigh, "you might want to tone down the guy-next-door persona a bit."

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is it that obvious?"

"With the salve? Yes."

"Oh."

"You don't look too bad yourself, babe." Roy was telling Donna and I had to agree with him. The mask-like outline around her eyes gave the Amazon a sense of mystery and matched well with her black outfit. "Maybe we ought to add a mask to your uniform."

"I'd rather not have my eyes covered by a mask," she said lightly but her grin was pleased at the compliment.

"Fashion choices aside," Batman interrupted. "We have things to do." His cowl effectively hid the salve around his eyes as he stared pointedly at Superman.

"Be back in a minute," was all Big Blue said before zooming off into the sky with a lot less boom than he usually has. Superman, despite his striking red and blue uniform and his large build, could be quiet when he wants to be. It helps when you have super-hearing and can listen to every fabric rustle you make. But Big Blue was too nice a person, so he almost never sneaks up on his friends - not that he could sneak up on me or the other Bats. We've had years to get used to the ultimate ninja of the Justice League: Batman.

At the promised minute, Clark came gliding back with a strange look on his face. "You were right. There's a large compound about two miles away."

"And?" Batman growled.

"And..." The look became confused as Clark tried to puzzle out his thoughts. "...And I was supposed to investigate something, wasn't I?"

"The compound." Bruce repeated with a frown. In all the years I'd known him, I'd never seen Clark look so confused by a recon task. That is, unless some sort of mind-control was involved.

"Right! The compound." Clark shook his head, raising a hand to rub his forehead. Batman and I shared a look: mind-control was definitely at work here. "I-I couldn't get close."

" 'Couldn't?'" Bruce's frown deepened.

Clark nodded. "One minute I was a few meters away and the next, I was flying back here."

Harry stepped up. "When you were near, did you feel anything? Like something compelling you to leave the place?"

That drew a puzzled but amused look from Clark. "Like Obi Wan?"

"Something like a 'there's nothing to see here, move along' vibe."

Clark's face turned thoughtful. "I...did feel something..." His face cleared, "...Like I had to get out of there quickly."

"Not quickly enough for you to use your superspeed." I pointed out because if Clark had to leave in a hurry, he'd usually rival a speedster with his haste.

"It's still nasty," Harry commented, "I could feel it from this far out." He sighed and straightened his shoulders as though he was readying himself for a fight. "Alright. My assistant said the manticorahad to be led by an outsider - usually a wizard." He turned to Batman. "I'm guessing it must be your Ra's guy."

"No." Batman growled. "Ra's al Ghul has never had any inherent magic."

"He's just lived a long life." I added, thinking back on the many struggles I had with the eco-terrorist. Batman and I had foiled several of his magic rituals - none of which had him as the source of magic. In all the rituals I'd seen him involved in, Ra's had always either gotten hold of a magic artifact, threatened or bribed or forced someone into performing the ritual for him, or used technology as a substitute for power. "One thing for sure, Ra's may be long-lived but he was never a mage."

"But...then how..." Harry frowned in confusion. "Something isn't adding up. You had to have some sort of power for a pride of manticorato follow you. Charisma doesn't cut it for these cats."

"I didn't see any of the manticoraaround." Clark offered. "But I thought I saw one or two groups of patrolling guards before I hit the...the compulsion."

Harry frowned and crossed his arms. "It doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't you set invisible guards if you had them?"

"You wouldn't have to if you had powerful, invisible warding set up." I suggested. "Then you could use the manticorato guard over other places, like the airfield where you keep your victims."

"Why not have both the ward and the guards?" Troia asked, curious.

Harry shook his head. "Can't. Manticora are sensitive to iron like your usual fae."

"So it's a choice of having cats or having people?" Roy asked. "If you ask me, the cats'd be a better option. Curious eyes won't see them."

"Then why stick with humans?" I asked out loud, catching Bruce's eye as I did. And with just one look, I could see we both came to the same conclusion as Harry, I suppose by his next words, did.

"Then your Ra's guy has got to have a wizard working for him," Harry declared. "Someone he doesn't quite trust if he's got people to guard the door."

"No," Batman growled, his arms dropped to his sides so his cape once again covered his entire body, "this isn't Ra's style. The League of Assassins is loyal and disciplined. Ra's wouldn't need to ward off civilians because his assassins would take care of them quickly. And the trail we've been following is too straightforward."

"From the apartment Harry searched to the airfield to this place," I agreed. Ra's was always testing Bruce, challenging him to prevail against whatever scheme the guy comes up with. "But this isn't one of his cleanse-the-world plans; just him looking to add more years to his lifespan."

"Dresden," Batman turned to Harry. "You mentioned these practicioners don't have enough magic to qualify for a wizard's lifespan."

Harry nodded. "In comparison to the White Council, these folks are like one-trick ponies. I know one or two who can predict the future, but only in the vaguest sense their predictions are useless. There are some who can set up basic wards, but nothing in the scope of what a wizard can pull off."

"If Ra's planned to revive the Lazarus Pit using innate magic, then he will need-"

"A wizard, yeah."

Batman growled, "It's a trap."