Young Justice and Justice League Crossover Fanfiction
Chapter 14
An:Hey I'm back. Is it wrong that death is the only thing that gets me to update? My dog died last week so that's been hard. Thanks to all the people who favorited and followed this story. I've meaning to write this chapter for the longest ie but never had the energy to write it down I guess. Whenever I haven't updated in a while I look back at my other chapters to get me motivated and I saw that I got a comment saying update its 2017, and now I have to kick myself in the butt and say UPDATE ITS 2018 and almost the two year anniversary of this fanfiction and you haven't even come close to finishing it yet. Here goes.
There was something that really annoyed Zatanna. That this stupid research had taken her so long for one, and also the act that none of the books he had read had even helped her in her search. There were so many things that could have fit the description she needed, but all of them had fallen short. The worst part about all this was that she had resorted to what she was about to do.
She stood impatiently in front of the place where the tower of fate was located. She held out a key that Fate had given to Batman for emergencies. She had convinced the dark knight that this definitely was an emergency. She inserted the key into the invisible lock revealing the rest of the tower to her. She was too embarrassed to say that it had taken her a couple of times to find the keyhole.
The ankh symbol, the symbol of eternal life in Egyptian and a symbol that Fate seemed to be quite fond of given that he used it in many of his spells, appeared in front of her and revealed the entrance. To Zatanna's dismay there stood Fate in the flesh. More like in her father's flesh she thought bitterly.
"I knew you would come," Fate said as his form of a welcome. He gestured for her to come into the tower.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you use your omnipotence so no kids trespass on your property," Zatanna mocked him. She walked past him, refusing to look at his bucket of a face, knowing that she would see her father's familiar blue eyes underneath it.
"You are mistaken. The Batman notified me, " he justified. "You will find my research library to be most useful. It has many books on magic known and unknown to man." He led her down the confusing hallway that had staircases in all directions that trailed off far into the distance. There was no ceiling to be seen or definite a floor. Needless to say, the tower was much bigger on the inside.*
"Great," Zatanna replied sarcastically. All she had done recently was research. She didn't need an infinitely huge library to search as well. It might have been because of how much sleep she had gotten recently, a whopping total of three whole hours a night, but she was much more fed up with Fate then she normally would have been at the moment. She had grown accustomed to him being around with the League and trying to avoid his glance, but right now in this ever-expansive tower all she wanted to do was scream at him for taking her father away from her. Maybe if he had been around she would have gotten the scolding to get more sleep from him and she wouldn't be as exhausted right now. Mabe, they would have been able to share hot chocolate together like they used to whenever it had been a tiring day. But no, she was here with a Lord of Order who couldn't give a damn about human emotion.
Fate got her out of her thoughts by stopping his floating mid-air, notifying to her that they had arrived at their destination. He turned a corner that didn't seem even physically possible, but it was in this tower that was basically a dimension of its own in its own plane of existence. She followed after him and let herself gasp in awe at the thousands of shelves of books that piled up on each other that seemed, like everything in this place, to go on for eternity.
Fate lead her like a duckling to a section of the library, "This area contains books on magical items," He glided over a portion of that area, "This area contains books pertaining to items that have to do with dimensional travel. I'd recommend staying within this area given that it will most likely hold what you are looking for, but If you want to look beyond these constraints for either more information or more knowledge about the mystical arts, in general, feel free to do so at your leisure."
"You really do know how to give a warm welcome," Zatanna replied, deadpan. It did surprise her a little that he would let her see whatever she wanted though. What if she stumbled upon something she wasn't supposed to see?
As if sensing her thought the Lord of Order spoke, "You are an astounding magician Zatanna Zatara. Your growth in these last five years has been exponential. I have faith that you will not cause harm with the knowledge you will gain here." Wow, he actually had addressed her. And given her what seemed to be a... compliment? "Now I will leave you to search, but if you need any assistance just call." And with that, he flew up into the spiraling shelves of books until he was out of sight.
Zatanna sighed and plopped into a chair that was nearby. She had barely noticed it before, was it conjured up by her thought? Oh well, that didn't matter it was time to start searching.
A couple of hours passed, then what felt like days, and maybe even weeks. Zatanna wasn't really sure. She had naps in between the different books she read through. Food was conjured up when she thought of it. It was mostly desserts, and her favorite ones at that. She really could stay here for an eternity. She shook her head. Time to get back on task. She stuffed one last bite of strawberry shortcake into her mouth for good measure.
Okay, she finally had the information she needed. Seh had found a book on an ancient Egyptian gem that had supposedly opened up portals to other dimensions called the reality stone. The only problem was that it was being held it a museum in Gotham. She was definitely not going to break in, and she was definitely not going to ask Batman to break in for her. She needed an alternative.
Should she ask Fate? No, she didn't need his help... yet. But as if her thoughts echoed off of the tower's walls, Fate came flying into the room. Come to think of it she had felt like she was being watched. So much for trusting her with the information.
"Do you need my assistance?" Fate asked in his monotone voice.
Zatanna sighed. Even though she felt like she didn't need it, help was something that she was in dire need of. "I found the thing I'm looking for," She showed him a picture of it in the book, "but it is currently out of service if you know what I mean."
Fate examined the page, paused a second, and then out of nowhere pulled out a gem identical to the one in the picture. It had the same round, sophisticated cut and was a pale red just like the book had described, "Do you think this will suffice?"
Zatanna went wide-eyed, "Did you just-?!"
"No, I did not steal it. I am a Lord of Order, not a petty thief," he responded, almost insulted, "What the author of this book does not know is that there were two reality stones made."
He handed the stone to her, and she placed it gently in her palm afraid that it would break if pressure were to be applied to it.
"Is there anything else you need my assistance with?" he inquired. Zatanna figured since he asked, he would be able to spare a little time to help her with the ritual she was preparing.
Zatanna pulled out the rolled up Alice in Wonderland poster from her pocket, she was careful not crease it knowing Artemis would kill her if she did, and pulled out the black box from her other pocket.
"I put a tracking spell on the charm I gave Artemis when she went with Kaldur to infiltrate the Light. Since it won't be easy to track her down in another dimension I figured it would be a good idea to have an item of value to strengthen the connection so M'gann will be able to reach her through a physic link. And then this," she gestured to the black box, "This is to help us find Wally." She opened it up to reveal the beautiful diamond ring inside it. Fate remained silent and examined the ring, "What is there something wrong with it?"
Fate looked up at her, "This item will not be able to strengthen a connection to Wallace."
Zatanna became concerned, "What do you mean? Why not?"
"Wally has not made contact with this object in over eight years," he stated simply.
"Eight years?! How can that be possible? It's barely been over eight months!"
"Wally's presence has not been in this dimension for eight months, but he has been in the other dimension for eight years, making a disconnect between him and this item," Fate explained, "As you most likely know you can not use an item to track a person that hasn't been in contact with them recently. The magical connection fades over long periods of time."
Zatanna sputtered out her words, "Then how on earth are we going to find him?" Zatanna felt herself begin to panic.
Fate put his hand on her shoulder. Her father's hand, "I have connections with all who have put on the helmet, and unlike emotional attachment items, I have a bond that is formed with them that can not break. I will help you find your friend Zatanna," he reassured her.
"Thanks," Zatanna sighed, full of relief.
"Since opening a portal to a dimension and tracking your friends would take up a lot of your mystical energy I recommend you to allow me to assist you by letting me open the portal. I will have it open for you and your friends so you can come home."
The thought dawned on her, "Why are you so willing to help me?"
"If Wallace is in pain I will do I can to assist him. He allowed me to use his body as a hos, and even though I resent that he kept me locked away for some time, in the end, I was able to help restore order and help the League."
Zatanna felt her bitterness towards Fate return, "Through taking my Father away from me."
Fate became silent, and the two of them sat together, quietly in the library. Zatanna felt tears sting her eyes. Her father was sitting with her but she could not feel a trace of him there with her.
Fate embraced her with her father's arms and spoke with the most sincerity she had ever heard his voice say, "He loves you more than the world," Fate's voice was barely above a whisper, but she could hear her father's voice loud and clear as he said those words. She knew deep inside that her father really was with her.
*Cramming Doctor Who references in here without even trying
AN: Sorry the whole reality stone thing may seem a bit like the infinity stones. I also feel like the whole magic spell thing could be explained better, but I hope it was okay! I hopefully won't take as long to update next time, but let's not jinx it. Please feel free to review, they give me life every time I see one. It really makes my day.