Part 1 of Chapter 3: Dilema
(1 month since chapter 2)
Zatanna was struggling, tied and gagged to a chair, she couldnt utter her magic. "You will never foil me again you dumb broad!" Spoke Klarion. " Now, the world will be pure chaos! Haha!" He taunted on. "And nothing's gonna stop me!" Klarion bragged. He pointed a wand up in the air and closed his eyes, red energy encircled him and a red orb appeared above his head. "MMMMFPH!!" Zatanna struggled. *cling* "Owwie!" Klarion the witch boy whined. A wingding had hit his hand, cutting it a bit and drawing blood, making him drop his wand. Red energy still encircled him but the orb disappeared. Nightwing appeared in front of him. "Messed with the wrong guy's girlfriend." He said. "hehehe This should be fun, KILLING YOU!" Klarion started jovially but ended sounding enraged. "Let's dance." Nightwing said putting his fists up. "Dancing heheheheh Dancit doosh pir!" Klarion uttering what sounded like nonsense. Until a red beam of magic essence hit Dick, and he started clog dancing without the clogs. "Dance Bird man dance!" Klarion teased, as he picked up his wand. He closed his eyes focusing again as a red orb appeared once again above him. "I cant wait til Zee is done capturing that damn cat of yours." Nightwing said smugly. Klarion's eyes shot open. " How when shes..." Klarion started until he turned around, noticing Zatanna was gone. " Haha Your so predictable, knew you wouldn't hesitate to cast a spell on me, completely ignoring the fact that while you first were focusing, I sent a nano bot to cut Zatannas binds. I engaged you in combat, she slipped away. " Nightwing spoke still dancing. "No fair! I'll punish you for this." Klarion spoke before raising his wand and pointing it at Dick. A stream of red shot out hitting Nightwing. He felt weird, and couldnt move anymore. "hehehe Tell your meddling lady friend good luck reversing THAT chaos magic. (In another part of the magic house Klarion had set up) Zatanna was approaching Klarion's cat, his familiar. Just as she was about to clutch it. *zap* a bolt of red lightning hit it teleporting it away. "I wont fight you Zatanna, I'll be back, in the mean time have fun with your boy toy, emphasis on toy! hahaha " Klarion's voice echoed as the enchantments on what used to be an abandoned mansion in the middle of Ohio disappeared. "Dick! " Zatanna shouted rushing towards where she last saw him. Arriving to the room, she fell to her knees. Tearing up. "Oh no." she cried, seeing Dick, transformed into a life sized action figure. - Focus, it's just chaos magic, think- She thought to herself. Looking determined. "itna soahc itna soahc odnu lleps!" she frantically uttered magic backwards words. Her magic energy, shot into Nightwing but fizzled out. "ekam evila ekuber saohc. " she tried again. *poof* Nightwing was reanimated. But still plastic. "Umm Zee, this is a dilema. " Nightwing said stating the obvious.
Part 2 of chapter 3:Remedy
Zatanna had teleported her and Nightwing home. "I'll find something. Just wait. Oh my God, I'll just look through my father's old books. " Zatanna rambled as she zipped around grabbing various items and books. "Zee, I cant feel anything it's like I'm numb everywhere." Nightwing said. "Hmm there's that!" Zatanna said. Reading something in a book of potions. She zipped into her bedroom. Came out with a piece of Nightwings hair from a brush he kept in there. She grabbed some wolfsbane, and began boiling some water. "nommus lacigam ygrene " she spoke making the water glow with a light yellow hue. She dropped the wolfsbane into the pot. "mrofsnart mrofsnart ydemer" she spoke. the water began to glow much brighter. She grabbed a small ruby gem. "diuqil efas" she said and then the gem began to melt, she held her hand over the pot, the liquid dripped in its entirety into the brew, which again glew brighter, more orange than yellow now. She dropped Dick's hair into the pot. "erotser" she cast. The pot glowing immensely more now with white sparkles mixed in. She ran to grab a bottle of water. "itna saohc " she spoke the water emanated white light. She poured it into the the brew. "xim noitop" *boosh* The pot let out smoke and smelled like lavender and vanilla. "looc" zatanna said. Causing the potion to stop boiling. She poured it into a glass mug. Walked over to Dick. "Drink it." She said. "I honestly dont know if I could, I have no real nerve endings right now, i can move, and talk, but i can't feel. " He replied. "Fine. tsegni noitop." Zatanna said. Her words causing the potion to pour itself down Dick's throat. He began to glow a bright white light. Once it faded, he looked normal. "Just to be safe, I dont want any residuals. esnaelc ydob itna saohc!" She cast cleansing magic on Dick. "Urrrmm.. I dont feel." Dick rushed to the bathroom *violent vomiting sounds* "sigh Good that means that last spell worked, no chaos magic left in your system. " Zatanna said.
Part 3 of chapter 3:Magical duel
(Few weeks later)
"Found him, he's holed up in an abandoned shack, there's another there with him too." Nightwing said looking at his computer.
"Well let's go." Zatanna spoke coldly. "We gotta be more careful this time Zee, I really dont want to be plastic again. I reached out to my old titans friend, Raven. She uses a dark kind of magic, but shes good at it. Anybody in your contacts that could give us even more numbers?" Nightwing said. "I called my father a couple days ago no league business keeping him busy. Nobody else available. " Zatanna said. "Ok that's good. Let's contact them, I have a rendezvous point set up." Nightwing said. (A few hours later) They were all in a diner about a half a mile away from the shack. "So..We approach, from behind." Raven stated. "Yes, you and Zatanna, me and Zatarra will approach in the open. Draw them out, only this time I'll have someone present to prevent me from turning into anything I dont want to turn into. " Nightwing said. "So... Your the one seeing my little Zatanna. Bruce's ward. I do hope you know if you break her heart, I'll use every fiber of magic i have to make your life a living hell." Zatarra Spoke menacingly. "Papa, stop it! " Zatanna spoke. "Well the last one was a real peice of work, luckily for him, he knows how to use magic well, a skill this one doesnt have. " Zatarra said. "Sir, you know me, you know Bruce, I would never hurt your daughter. You have my word." Nightwing said. "In the mean time we got two magic users on the loose, ones a known chaos wizard. The other obviously helping him. Let's focus on the task." Nightwing said. "Agreed. " Zatarra said. "Now...if you two are done...let's do this." Raven said. They approached the shack. "Hey Witch boy! Come on out for our round two!" Nightwing shouted. Klarion burst out. "hehehe So, your lady friend fixed you after all. Well, I went and got a lady friend of my own!" Klarion chortled. From behind him, Jinx walked out. "Dont get any ideas, by friend he really means just friend, and I'm not even sure I'd use that term, he's a business client, I help him conjure up enough chaos to plunge a whole tristate area into chaos. He gives me safe passage out of the radius and three chaos gems. Hello birdboy. Nightwing now though right? Too bad you dont have those annoying titans to back you this time. " Jinx said. "Oh great.. just my luck." Nightwing said. "Funny you should mention luck. giggles" Jinx said. Her hands glew with pink badluck magic energy. "NOW!" Nightwing shouted. "mrofsnart!" Zatarra shouted in a burly commanding voice. *poof* jinx was turned into a tortoise. The tortoise's eyes glowed with pink rage. "Not you! No fun! " Klarion whined. "Hey, jackass!" Zatanna shouted from behind him. "I got your cat." She said. "And.. I...get to do this." Raven spoke. "AZURATH METRION ZYNTHOS!" She said her signature spell cast. Black energy shot out of her hands enveloping tortoise Jinx, lifting her up and launching her into Klarion's head. Klarion laid on the ground. "ooooh..." He groaned. The tortoise transformed back into Jinx. "hehehe Bad luck for you. Magic doesnt hold long on someone of my caliber. " Jinx spat. Pink energy flew out from her body everywhere. Klarion's cat leaped away from Zatanna's arms, running into the woods, raven slipped and fell. Nightwing got a random migraine. Zatarra was holding up his wand. A white energy surrounding him, keeping him protected. Klarion got back up. "Looks like we got ourselves a stand off!" Klarion said. Zatanna held out her wand, serious look in her eyes, she didnt use it except for shows and very serious magical problems. Zatarra was already in the ready position. Jinx and Raven were staring each other down. Black energy glowing in Raven's hands, Pink in Jinx's. Nightwing's migraine was finally subsiding. He ducked down though. Magic spells and energies were flying everywhere. Dick snuck into the woods. - Okay, I may be useless against Klarion and Jinx's magic. But tracking, that I'm great at, now where did that pesky cat go?- Nightwing thought as he moved through the woods. He noticed a tiny bit of orange fur on a branch, he headed that way. - Familiars never roam all that far away from their owners, so that cat should be here somewhere- Nightwing thought. ( Back at the fight) Raven and Jinx were breaking stuff left and right "AZURATH MENTRION ZYNTHOS! " Yelled Raven again. "Try some more of this!" Jinx yelled casting out more energy. Klarion was on the ropes. Blasting chaos magic back and forth in Zatanna's direction and then in Zatarra's. " Ekam citsalp!" Zatanna uttered, wanting the justice of doing to him what he had done to her boyfriend. It was a direct hit. Klarion stood in place. Both Zatarra and Zatanna knew without his Familiar it wouldn't stick long. But Jinx was still fighting Raven, the two turned towards the fight. ( Back in the woods) "meowww" Klarion's cat was trying its damnedest to claw away from Dick's deathgrip. "Yeah no, your not going anywhere you naughty kitty cat." He said. He stepped back out holding the cat. "Zee! I got him!" Nightwing yelled. He was witnessing Jinx being held in a magic bind, two sets of enchanted ropes around her torso and legs,same type of energy Zatanna and obviously her father too useually used, and a black strand of energy holding her head in place, that had to be Raven. Klarion was beginning to reanimate. Zatanna turned, "Peels" she cast on the cat. The cat falling asleep. As soon as Klarion fully came to he felt excessively drowsy. "peels" Zatanna Quickly cast on him too. He fell asleep. Jinx was still stuck in the air in her binds. "AZURATH METRION ZYNTHOS!" Raven said. a blast hit Jinx so hard she shot into the ground cracking the earth beneath her. "should keep her out of it for awhile." Raven said. "We can take Klarion in. Place him in front of the order of Fate. Jinx too. " Nightwing said. He didnt know too much about all the mystical stuff, but he knew the basics. "I'll handle that. You get out of here. " Zatarra said."You sure?" Nightwing said."Yes, I am Giovanni Johnathan Zatarra! I'm arguably the best in my field. " Zatarra spoke boldly. "Ill...leave too, nice seeing you Dick, did Beastboy get my gift on his birthday? " She said. "Yea he liked it." Nightwing said."Good. And hey, Zatanna, be nice to my friend there, he's a good guy." Raven flew away. "Well, since that's done with, tropelet. " Zatanna said. *poof* *poof*
part 4 of chapter 3: Relaxation.
(later that night) "Man that was stressful." Nightwing said. "Its an average magical duel is all." Zatanna said. "Well I prefer goons that cant transform me into a living action figure." Nightwing said. "Well not living, I did the reanimation part. Klarion just turned you to a still plastic action figure." Zatanna clarified. "chuckles Well thanks for that, I'm gonna go pop in the shower. Chasing a magic cat in the woods, builds up the sweat." He said, now shirtless. He walked into the bathroom.
A few minutes later he stepped out. Wearing blue basketball shorts, and a plain black tee shirt. "Hey, handsome, come to bed." Zatanna purred from her room. Dick walked in. Zatanna was laying seductively on the bed, wearing a black teddie. "You beautiful thing, you. " Dick said as he got onto the bed and began kissing her. *moans* (The next morning) Zatanna woke up, looked over at Dick's asleep body. Shirtless with a bit of sweat still visible from last night. She slipped out of bed and popped on his shirt, walking to the kitchen. She was happily humming to herself as she made breakfast, tofurky slices and mashed potatoes. -Hes really been quite cool about the vegan thing, though I catch whiffs of steak on his breath from time to time. Gosh, How did I get so lucky? - She thought to herself. She heard him waking up. He came out, looked at her, and smiled. "Good morning sweetie. " Dick said. "Good morning gigglesNice boxers." Zatanna teased. He was wearing white boxers with green lantern rings all over them. "What's wrong with these?" Dick said fake offended. "I like you in my shirt. " He said. "Chuckles well my teddie is harder to slip on in the morning. Breakfast is almost finished." Zatanna said. "Smells great, God your amazing, cook good, fight crime good, real good at having se-" Dick stopped after she shot him a look. " Hey I'm complimenting you! " He said. He walked over and put his arms around her waist from behind. She leaned back feeling his shirtless toned torso. " Ok, sit, food's done." Zatanna said. They both sat and ate. "You know I've been thinking we should go out tonight, just the two of us, a little dinner, maybe a flick, we'll go to a nice part of town, so less of a chance of me having to go stop a pick pocket or a mugger. " Dick said. "Sure,there's this vegan place. In uptown, real classy." Zatanna said. "Actually I was thinking, of heading over to Metropolis, there's this really upscale joint, with vegan options, but I can also fetch a steak." Dick said. "The place I was thinking of has steaks." Zatanna said. "I mean a REAL steak sweetheart." Dick said. Zatanna's face scrunched up a bit. "Fine, but then I pick the movie we catch. " Zatanna countered. " Deal." Dick said. (later that night) "See I told you, vegan options, and fine wine too." Dick said. He was in a nice black suit with a yellow tie. Zatanna was in a low cut red strapless dress. "You picked a good one, just hate the thought of the cow that died for that hunk of meat your devouring." Zatanna said. "Hey, were not in the house. " Dick said. "Still. " Zatanna said.
"Dick Grayson?" A woman said approaching their table. "Uh yeah, hi." Dick said. "Wow, you dont even remember me do you? Linda Platts? I'm James Platts daughter,he owns Platts steel?" She said looking both disappointed and offended. "Oh yeah, Platts, They provide almost all the steel used to rebuild buildings after superman fights in the city. Linda! Of course I remember you. We went out a couple times." Dick said. "This is Zatanna Zatarra, my girlfriend." Dick said. "Wow the stage magician! Well arnt you two quite the power couple, Zatanna hun, piece of advice? Careful with that one he's a playboy." Linda said. Turning and storming away. "Well, someone hasn't disclosed all of their exes. " Zatanna teased. "Ex? Please we had dinner twice and I danced with her at a fundraiser in Central city once. " Dick said. "Riiight, and I'm sure dancings all you did that night too." Zatanna pressed. "Welll, if we did more it certainly wasnt memorable." Dick said. Zatanna grinned." You pig." She said jokingly. They left the restaurant to go catch some documentary on Houdini, when two reporters came up to them. A tall buff man wearing a plaid blue suit and a red tie, a woman in a purple suit jacket and long purple pencil skirt. Both with recorders. "Miss Zatarra, Lois Lane with the Daily planet here, would like to be reporting some major news but I'm stuck on local celebrity puff peices tonight. This is my news partner Clark Kent. " Lois said. "Clark, Think I've heard of him." Dick said teasing at the fact that he knew Clark was Superman. "Ah, yes Mr.Grayson, bit of a ways from Gotham, or is it Bludhaven your staying in now?" Clark said keeping up the banter. Zatanna looked a bit confused. She had met superman before, but she never made the connection to Clark. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet, was sent to inquire as to what brings the famous magician, Zatanna to metropolis. And your escort is Non other than Bruce Wayne's former ward, Dick Grayson, Owner of Grayson motorcycle emporium, 40% share holder in Haley's circus, and of course one of the heirs to Bruce Wayne's shares of Wayne enterprises. What brings you both here at the same time?" Clark asked. Partially for his day job partially wondering if he had to suit up soon. "Maybe a business deal, are you in talks with Haley's circus for potential bookings? " Lois pressed. "Umm no, me and my boyfriend here are just on a date, enjoying Metropolis. " Zatanna said. "Boyfriend? " Clark said. "Yes. Sorry ladies, Dick Grayson is off the menu now." Dick said. "Now if you'll excuse us, we got a flick to catch. " Dick said putting his arm around Zatanna. They headed into the film.
End of chapter 3