Disclaimer: If I owned the Justice League and/or the characters, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

So, didn't really plan on having another update so soon, but the ideas kept coming well enough, so I just went along with it.

However, I will attempt to work on my Yugioh GX fic after this.

A Shadow Lurks

Zatanna was currently standing at the doors to Wayne Manor, having decided to pay Bruce and Alfred a surprise visit. Giving a short knock, it took but a brief moment before Alfred answered the door. "Miss Zatara, how nice to see you again."

"Always a pleasure, Alfred," she replied, giving each other a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Please, come in," he said, ushering her inside and taking her coat to hang it up. "I'm sorry to say that Master Bruce is currently at work, but Master Dick will be happy to see you, and he's brought little Mari along with him. They'd surely love it if you'd join us for lunch."

"Lunch sounds great, Alfred."

"Excellent. If you'll just follow me I'll lead you to them." Alfred then guided Zatanna to the study, where they were greeted to the sight of Dick Grayson lying on the floor, holding his arms around his stomach as he laughed his heart out, the reason for this being the young boy who had been forced into a dress and tied to a chair, with makeup crudely applied to his face. The obvious culprit was a little dark haired girl with tan skin and bright green eyes who was arranging his hair in pigtails.

"Grayson! Stop laughing and get your offspring away from me!"

"Well, don't you look pretty, Damian," Zatanna commented, visibly amused at the spectacle.

"Shut up!" he snapped.

Alfred then calmly walked into the room and went over to the little girl who jumped into his arms with a cry of 'Alfie!' "Now, young miss, why don't you come with me to the kitchen and help me finish lunch?"

"Okay, let's go Alfie! Hi Auntie Zee!" she added as Alfred carried her past Zatanna, who smiled back at the child.

"Finally!" Damian exclaimed, freeing himself from the chair and pulling the dress off. Giving Dick another angry glare, he stormed out of the room to clean himself up.

"Please tell me you took a photo of him," Zatanna said as Dick stood up from the floor.

"What kind of older brother would I be if I hadn't?" he replied with a grin, then gave her a hug. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good, thanks. So where's Kory anyway?"

"She has a photo shoot in Gotham, so I thought I'd visit the old homestead and let Mari play with Damian."

"You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"But of course. That said… what's this I've heard about you dating someone?"

"… Lemme guess: Wally?"

"Yep!"

Zatanna muttered a few choice words under her breath, including 'fastest blabber-mouth alive'. "At least tell me that Bruce doesn't know yet."

"Nothing to fear, he's still in the dark for now."

"Thank goodness for small miracles. You're not going to tell him, right?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Thank y-"

"That is, if you wouldn't mind babysitting little Mari sometime in the future."

"… Should've known there'd be a catch. Fine, I'll do it, Wingnut."

"That's great! By the way, have you heard the latest news?"

"No, what is it?"

"The Themiscyran embassy was attacked just yesterday. Apparently there was a flock of Stymphalian Birds, not to mention a dragon too."

"What? Was anyone hurt?"

"Not to my knowledge," he reassured her. "Donna said that the birds were all shot down, and General Phillipus killed the dragon all by herself."

"That's a relief. Hey, I just need to, um… call someone. Do you mind?"

"Sure, no problem. I'll meet you in the dining room."

Zatanna pulled out her cell phone as Dick walked away and punched in Hector's number, the phone ringing twice before he picked up. "Zee, what can I do for you?"

"Hector, I just heard about the attack at the embassy yesterday and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Everything's fine, neither I nor anyone else was hurt."

"That's good to know, I was a little worried when I heard there was a dragon of all things."

"Yeah, I saw the body, and it was a real beast. Fortunately General Phillipus managed to kill the dragon before it could cause any serious harm."

"Is that your girlfriend calling you?" someone said on the other end of the line.

"Yes," Hector said to the other guy. "Now please do me a favor and mind your own business for the next few minutes. Sorry Zee."

"That's okay. Hey, what time do you get home this evening?"

"I have to go to the farm after work, and Cassandra will be out babysitting until late, but you can drop by at nine or so if you'd like, I should be back at that time.

"I think I will. I'm at a friend's place for lunch right now, so I've gotta go, but I'll see you later."

"Take care."

"You too."

It being a Wednesday, Hector took a bus to the outskirts of the city after work and walked the rest of the way to Adolf's farm. Once there, he was tasked with helping Frieda, Adolf's wife, with the garden, and so the two found themselves on their knees pulling weeds. As they were doing so, a smart car pulled into the driveway and a brunette woman stepped out from the driver's seat. She was dressed in worn clothes, including a straw hat, green t-shirt with a bushel of wheat on the front, a pair of light brown pants, and overall she looks ready to work outdoors. "Hello, Hector," the woman greeted as she approached them. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I suppose it has," he returned the greeting pleasantly. "Frieda, this is Serra. Serra, this is Frieda."

"Pleasure meeting you," Frieda said, shaking Serra's hand. "Hector's told us about you. You're the one who taught him plants, agriculture and such, yes?"

"Guilty as charged. He's told me about you as well. Say, this is a fine garden you have. Would you like some extra help?"

"I can always use another set of hands, if you don't mind getting a little dirty, that is."

"Of course not, I don't mind dirt at all." Serra then got down on her knees and joined them in their weeding, the three of them chatting amicably as they worked. Not long afterwards they were finished with the entire garden.

"I'm impressed, Serra, I haven't seen a worker like you since Hector."

"You could say I have a knack for gardening," she said with a smile.

"That's putting it mildly," Hector muttered under his breath.

"Hector, since we're already finished, why don't you go home early for once?" Frieda suggested.

"You're sure you don't need me for anything else?"

"Don't worry, we can last without you until Saturday comes around."

"How about I give you a lift back to your place?" Serra offered. "It'll give us a chance to catch up while we're at it."

"If you insist. Bis nachher, Frieda." (See you later, Frieda) Hector then followed Serra to her car, got in the passenger's seat and they drove off.

"So..." Serra spoke up as they were cruising along. "I hear that you've found yourself a new girlfriend."

"Would that piece of information have come from Anna by any chance?" Hector asked, an unsurprised look on his face.

"You know how she likes to gossip, not that I can blame her in this case. Now, I want to know all about the woman who captured your heart." Hector then proceeded to tell her about Zatanna, what she was like, things they'd done and so on and so forth.

"I liked Alice," Serra stated once he was finished. "She had beauty, intelligence and strength, and if she wasn't an... outsider, I would've taken her for an Amazon. But I must say, Zatanna sounds like an impressive woman herself. You certainly seem to attract powerful women. I do hope that things work out between the two of you."

"Thanks."

Flashback

An 18 year old Hector Anderson was at a fair near the sea, throngs of people looking to enjoy themselves with various activities. For his part, Hector was spending the evening with his girlfriend Alice Anders, a tall, striking girl, with a long mane of fiery hair, bright green eyes and tan, almost orange skin. She wore a short skirt and tank top that left her midriff exposed, along with a portion of her ample cleavage. This had the predictable effect of drawing more than a few looks from the male population. One such group of guys staring at Alice in a pervy way prompted Hector to put an arm around her waist and hold her close, glaring at them until they decided to walk away.

"My, my, someone is feeling a little possessive," Alice said flirtatiously, delighting in her boyfriend's attitude. "I must say I rather enjoy it when you take charge, like you did last night."

"I just didn't want them staring at you like that," Hector mumbled, visibly embarrassed by her words.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed," she added.

"Will you cut me some slack if I buy you a bag of cotton candy?"

"Cotton... candy?" she inquired curiously.

"Don't worry, it's not actually made of cotton, it's just spun sugar with a dash of flavour and food colouring. Not the greatest thing for your health, but it's fun to eat. Come on." He then brought her over to a stand selling carnival food, where he purchased a bag of pink cotton candy and offered her a piece. She took it, and, hesitating for a second, popped it into her mouth.

"It tastes wonderful!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree, reaching into the bag for a large handful.

"Glad you like it," Hector said, smiling at her eagerness. The two of them ate the sugary treat as they went to the Ferris wheel. While patiently waiting in line, their attention, along with a handful of others', was caught by a disturbance in the water. To everyone's surprise, a mean looking, 20 foot Cyclops emerged from the waves, heading straight towards the fairground. People began to panic and run away from the mythological monster, whereas Hector and Alice ran behind a shack.

"This must be one of those tests from Mars you must submit yourself to that you've spoken of," Alice said, quickly changing into a two piece purple outfit with thigh high boots, while Hector removed his jacket and put on a carnival mask he'd snagged.

"What gave it away?" he shot back with a small smile, mentally preparing himself for the fight.

"I believe the giant one-eyed monster 'gave it away'. Are you ready?"

In response, Hector removed his belt, held it in one hand and tapped the eye of the serpent head engraved in the buckle three times, causing the belt to become completely straight, before extending and shifting into a spear with a gold head."You'd better believe it."

Flashback end

Later that evening, Zatanna made her way towards Hector's apartment and knocked at the door, waiting just a moment before he opened it for her. "Hey Zee, come on in." She obliged and stepped inside, taking notice that he was wearing a pair of sunglasses as he closed the door and turned around to face her. "Sorry for the wait, I was just- AHH!" Hector suddenly cried out in surprise, almost ripping the shades off his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern in her voice.

Strangely enough, Hector's face was so red it looked like he was doing an impression of a tomato. "Umm... would you believe me if I said 'nothing'?"

"Given the way you're acting right now, not really."

"Yeah, I guess it was probably too much to hope for."

"Come on, tell me what's wrong and I promise I won't laugh," she tried reassuring him.

"It's really embarrassing, and not just for me." Zatanna fixed him with an insisting look that made him cave in. "Two years ago Cassandra wanted to dress up as a spy for Halloween, so I made a costume for her. And, wanting to make it more authentic, I also built her a pair of real spy glasses."

"Okay, what does that mean?"

"It means that the lenses have night-vision, telescopic, infrared and scanner."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, but right now there's a problem where they occasionally switch between different visions on their own. And the thing is... the glasses... they kind of also have... x-ray vision."

"So you're saying that you...?" Zatanna asked, pointing at her chest, receiving a timid nod in reply. A rather awkward silence reigned as Zatanna became just as embarrassed as her friend.

"It really was an accident!" Hector blurted out.

"It's... alright," Zatanna spoke up. "Well... not entirely alright, but I do trust you enough to believe you wouldn't purposefully do something like... this." The two of them remained silent a while longer, until Zatanna spoke again. "Can I try them out?"

"Of course, no problem," he agreed, passing them to her and turning the lights off. Putting the sunglasses on, Zatanna found that she could see clear as day, safe that her vision was green. Following his instructions, she turned to look a specific wall and tapped the side of the glasses, at which her vision changed to shades of purple, with a pair of red/orange/yellow blobs where two people were standing in another apartment. Hector then had her look out the window and tap the glasses again, enabling her to read the writing on a sign in the distance.

"And you're saying you really made these yourself?" she asked as she took them off and he turned the lights back on.

"Uh-huh. Here, let me show you something," he said, bringing her to his workshop. "Ta-da! This is where the magic happens. You'd be surprised what you can get out of a little creativity, a little resourcefulness and other peoples' junk."

"Wow... you just keep impressing me more and more every day."

Hector smiled bashfully at the compliment. "Heh, thanks."

"Any chance I can borrow these?"

"Can I ask why?"

"Well... I may want to use them for somewhat dishonest purposes."

"Poker?"

"Pretty much. I just want to get back at my so called friends, mostly the Flash, for embarrassing me about my love life."

"And here I thought heroes were meant to be incorruptible," Hector commented, smiling in amusement. "You can borrow them, just be careful with them, and if anyone asks, they didn't come from me."

"No problem. And thanks."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do to do repay you."

"You know... there is something else you could do to repay me," she said in a flirting tone.

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Guess." Snaking her hands around his neck, she brought his head down for a kiss. Unfortunately, Cassandra walked in through the door as they were lip-locked. "Cassandra!" Zatanna exclaimed in surprise. "Umm... sorry I missed you, but I... gotta go! See you later!"

Cassandra blinked a few times as Zatanna fled their apartment, then smirked as she looked at her brother. "At least you both still had clothes on, unlike that time with Alice."

"Not. Another. Word."

In the underground temple far away, the evil mage responsible for the death of the young woman in Metropolis (and also his former associate) was reading from a thick, ancient tome, dropping various magical ingredients into a basin full of water next to him. Muttering an incantation, the water changed colours several times, and then began to show an image of a ceremonial chamber. In one corner of the room were two cages, each holding six young girls of various ages under twenty. And in the middle of the room, gagged and bound to a slab of stone, there lay the body of another mid-teenage girl. Standing over the unfortunate victim was the evil magician himself, holding a bloody dagger as energy flowed from her corpse into him.

An evil smile spread across the man's face as he saw the image. "Child of magic... your power shall be mine."

Hope you enjoyed the update (short as it may be), and please review if you have any criticisms, comments, or whatever else you want to say. *Mindless flames/rants will result in me blocking you (fortunately I haven't had that problem in a while.*

A virtual cookie (or slice of cake if that's your thing) will be offered to whoever can guess who Serra is.