Yo, Issex here with a new fic. At the moment, I've got nothing in mind to write about in the Naruto's adventures fic so I decided to try my hand at this one.

Anyways, lots of thanks to myself for inspiration and motivation to write. Itzgatt too. But mostly myself. And there are lots of guys like myself (and Itzgatt) on AizenTheGoat's server like roughmastiff, Otindiri, Helghy and many others.

So if you want to chat with fellow authors and readers, need help starting or continuing a fic or just want to hang out, feel free to join. It's active pretty much all the time. So join in! The link's: https/discord.gg/c9k4V9Y4wa

Onto the story

"Where are we going dad?"

"To the tower."

"Really? Which one?"

"The one where the yellow helmet man stays."

"We're going to see him?! You're the best dad ever!"

"Thank you, Zatanna. Now don't cause too much of a ruckus or the tower will kick you out, okay?"

"I won't dad. I'll stay put and quiet."

Giovanni Zatara chuckled as his seven year old daughter bounced excitedly beside him. In spite of not even knowing his name, she'd been a huge fan of Dr. Fate since she saw the man cast a spell on live television.

They were in Salem where the tower of fate resided. He'd gotten a summons from Kent asking him to make himself present for something. Consequently, that left him with no time to find someone to watch over his daughter so he had to take her with him.

It wasn't all that bad though. She was already learning magic and it would be good for her to meet other magic users aside from him. And what better magician to meet early than the most famous of them all.

"Are we there yet?"

"Soon, dear. It's just a few minutes walk."

"Can't you just do that te-teltop-teletub-"

"Teleportation. And I can't because the tower doesn't want people doing that."

"Why're you talking about the tower like it's a person? Buildings don't think and they don't kick people out."

Giovanni smiled and patted her head. "You'll find out what I mean soon, dear."

They walked until they reached an empty plot of land in a deserted area, much to Zatanna's confusion. "Dad, where's the tower? Were you lying to me?"

"No I wasn't." Giovanni smiled at her disappointed pout. "The tower can't just stand there now, can it? Too many people will enter all the time and cause a ruckus."

"Oh, okay." Zatanna blinked. "But where is it then?"

Giovanni grinned inwardly. She was going to get the shock of her early life with this. Just like he did the first Kent brought him to the tower. He brought out an ankh shaped key and held it out to his daughter who took it from him with a puzzled look.

"Stick it out. Like you're placing it into a lock." He instructed.

Zatanna was still confused but she did as he said. As she stretched her hand out, she was surprised when the key entered what felt like an actual lock.

'What do you seek?'

"Yii!" Zatanna jumped at the unearthly voice in her head. She searched around wildly for the speaker and found nobody aside from her father. "Was that you?"

Giovanni feigned ignorance. "What did I do?"

"You said something in my ear just now." Zatanna stomped her feet angrily. "Don't lie dad, lying is bad."

'Your father said nothing, child.'

Zatanna blinked as the voice spoke to her again. It wasn't her father. He was still giving her a strange look. "W-who are you?"

'Who I am is of no consequence,child. But I am speaking to you through the key."

Zatanna looked down at the key she held in a tight grip and her father. Did he know about this? He gave her a wink. He knew.

'I ask again,child. What do you seek?'

Zatanna gulped at the question and looked to her father for help. He knew what was going on right so he'd know what to say.

"Tell it the truth, Zatanna. Why do you want to enter the tower?" He told her. The tower accepted only the truth and nothing else. Any attempts at tricking or lying would have the culprit being ignored at best or meeting an unfortunate end at worst.

Zatanna nodded and turned to look at the key again. "I want to see the yellow helmet man."

Giovanni sighed. Hopefully, Nabu was in a good mood today and wouldn't take offense to being called that by a child.

Zatanna could feel the voice in her head even though it remained silent, as if trying to decide something. The uncomfortable silence persisted for a few moments before she heard what sounded like an annoyed sigh.

'His name is Dr.Fate, not "yellow helmet man". Commit this to memory, child, for I will not be so lenient in the future.'

Zatanna nodded shakily at the voice's threatening tone. Giovanni frowned as he watched her. Clearly, Nabu hadn't taken too kindly to her name for it but he'd have preferred if the spirit had been more gentle with her. She was still a child after all.

'With that said, you may enter the tower."

As the voice finished, a tall tower of medieval architecture appeared out of nowhere and a door opened. As it did, the key left the lock and flew back to a frozen Zatanna's hand.

Giovanni chuckled at Zatanna's awestruck expression and took the key from her limp hands. "Let's go, Zatanna. The door won't remain open forever."

Zatanna stood, transfixed as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. The exterior was large enough but the interior was even larger. The ceiling stretched so high, she could swear it would touch the sky and twisted stairs, both upright and upside down, led to numerous pathways that somehow led to places within the walls.

Bookshelves stood upside down, on the ground and stuck on the walls as though they were floors and artefacts decorated the entire place. Everything looked like something out of a magic fiction enthusiast's fever dream.

"Amazing, isn't it." Giovanni said to the captivated girl. "Don't let its appearance fool you, this tower has been around for over a century."

"The yel-er-doctor fate's been around for a hundred years?" Zatanna asked.

"Well, somehow, yes." Giovanni nodded. He didn't want to start explaining to his daughter the concept of passing down titles between magical entities. Sure, Kent was the first Dr. Fate but Nabu had been as mortal once as well.

"But how? People don't live that long."

"Magic." Giovanni twirled his wand to create a sparkling cloud to spell out the word. "It's capable of a l-"

"Who are you?"

Giovanni blinked at the question. That didn't sound like Kent at all and it came from. The father and daughter duo looked around for the person who asked the question only to be answered by a small blast of magic that seared the group in front of them. Looking upwards, they saw the culprit.

Standing on an upside down staircase a few meters away from them was a yellow haired, blue eyed boy who looked to be around Zatanna's age who glared down at them. The boy also held a wand that he pointed at them, no doubt to attack if they didn't answer him or proved to be hostile.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes at the boy. He didn't know why but something about him put him on edge. It was this unnerving feeling of standing on a corrupted leyline but rather than a single one, it was like he was standing on a meeting point for multiple of them.

A brief spike of magic alerted him to Zatanna who'd also brought out her wand and from the glowing at the tip, was prepared to retaliate.

"What gives, you jerk?" Zatanna shouted at the boy. "Do you fight everyone you see?"

The boy responded with another blast aimed for Zatanna's foot. She hastily countered with one of her own that cancelled out the spell. "Stop that!"

"I'll stop when you tell me who you are!"

Just as the boy's wand glowed again, Giovanni stretched his hand out and cancelled whatever spell the boy was about to cast. This couldn't go on.

"Calm down, boy." Giovanni started. "My name is Giovanni Zatara. This is my daughter, Zatanna Zatara. We're here to see Dr. Fate."

That seemed to pacify the boy who lowered his wand. Zatanna lowered hers too but maintained her glare at the boy who ignored her in favour of looking in a random direction.

"You've got visitors, old man!" He called out. "They want to see the yellow sprite too!"

Giovanni's eyes widened as the boy grimaced and rubbed his head as if to soothe an ache. Nabu was the most prideful of the lords of order. The boy was lucky he didn't get more than a headache for calling the spirit such a name.

"One day, Naruto, I'm not going to be around when you call Nabu that." Another voice calmly responded, getting everyone's attention. "And you're going to learn a lesson in respect."

A man who looked to be in his nineties walked out of another pathway and gave Giovanni a smile.

"Nelson." "Call me Kent, Giovanni." The two men shook hands, leaving the two children in an awkward silence. Zatanna ignored the boy in favour of staring at the man who she'd dreamt of meeting.

Kent Nelson didn't look like anything special outside of his costume. With gray hair, faded jeans and a baggy shirt, he looked more like someone waiting for his time to come rather than looking to help people.

"Now then," Kent said, ending the handshake to look at the girl. "I'm assuming this is your daughter, Zatanna?"

"My pride and joy." Giovanni responded.

"Ah, good to hear. How are you, Zatanna?"

Zatanna lagged at the question. "Oh, er, I'm fine, sir."

"I can see that." Kent nodded. "Your magic is growing steadily."

Zatanna gasped surprisedly. "What? How do you know that?"

"It's clear for anyone to notice, girl. You're not concealing it at all. It's also how Naruto found you."

"You didn't have to tell her that, old man." Naruto frowned. "I like to keep my secrets."

"What secrets? That you ran into a wall thinking it led to a school?" Kent asked, making Naruto flush. "Or that you ate four toads thinking they'd have different flavours?"

Zatanna laughed at that. "You ate toads? Loser, weirdo."

"I told you not to tell anyone." Naruto shouted at the man. "Promise breaker."

"If you remember, I didn't agree not to tell anyone. That's a lesson for you, Naruto. Always be thorough and leave no room for loopholes." Kent said.

"As much as I want this to go on, time waits for no man." Giovanni cut in. "You said you wanted to see me, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Kent nodded. "Let's go somewhere where we can talk. Have fun kids."

As the two men left, Naruto gave the chuckling Zatanna a dirty look. "Yeah, laugh it up. Like you'd do any better."

"I know you shouldn't eat toads." Zatanna smirked, getting Naruto to grimace at the memory and the taste. He'd never vomited so hard in his life. His parents laughing at him while he went through the agonies of eating what shouldn't be eaten didn't help either.

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto said. "Anyways, sorry about, you know, the wand thing."

"What was that all about? She asked him, her anger returning at the memory of his attack. "You attack every visitor you get?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "No, I just keep forgetting that the tower doesn't just let anyone in."

"Well, don't do it again." Zatanna said.

"I won't." Naruto nodded. "Wanna start over? I'm Naruto. I'd come up with something cool but the old man ruined it for me with his lies."

"Zatanna." She said amusedly. "Why'd you run into a wall?"

"You've never seen the movie where it happened?" Naruto asked. "It came out last year."

"People go to school by running through walls in a movie?" Zatanna said disbelievingly. "I really want to see how they do it."

"Well, want no more." Naruto said happily. Finally, someone with an interest in the movie. "For I have the solution in a DVD."

"You really want to watch it with me?" Zatanna asked as Naruto led her on a sideways staircase that led to a passage into the wall. "Won't it get boring for you?"

"Not really." Naruto shrugged. "I've watched it five times now. I'm just happy to see someone to watch it with who isn't the old man and the smoking hobo. You want ice cream?"

Zatanna smiled at him. "I think we're going to be great friends."

"Why'd you call me here, Kent?" Giovanni asked the man when they entered his private study. "The council hasn't reported any activity on a scale requiring your or my attention."

"No, it's not that." Kent sighed as he sat on his favourite chair. "It's for something else actually."

Giovanni waited for the man to continue only to receive silence. "Well?"

"Hmm? Oh sorry." Kent said. "My age's finally catching up to me."

"That's not possible." Giovanni said. "Nabu protects you, doesn't he?"

"I'm only immune to the effects of time when I put on the helmet, Giovanni." Kent said. "But I can't put it on forever because even my body can't exactly handle the strain much any longer."

"On or off, you're headed for the grave either way." Giovanni said, getting a nod from the man. "That's not as happy news for many of us as it is for you, you know?"

"Oh I know." Kent said. "But what's a body? A mere shell that'll decompose in the end. I might die but Dr. Fate won't. Even now, Nabu's found another host."

"I'm guessing Naruto's the future host?" Giovanni asked. Kent shook his head.

"Not exactly. He's Nabu's biggest choice, yes, but he's also among the last options."

"Why?" Giovanni asked.

"That's why I called you." Kent said and brought out a group of photographs from his cabinet that he gave to Giovanni who looked at it thoroughly.

"I don't recognize the sign." Giovanni admitted after moments of looking at the first one.

"I'd be surprised if you did." Kent said. "Cause I don't know it either. It was found at a crime scene in Japan. A mass murder."

"All the victims were mauled to death by an unknown animal. Actually, they were members of an occult group that, for some reason, attacked a pair of magi."

Giovanni went through the others, sighing as he saw the individual photos taken of the victims in the hopes of identifying them as well as the circles and the picture of an unconscious child tied to the floor.

Stopping at a picture of a man whose head had been burnt, leaving only bits of charred hair and a redheaded woman cut open from neck to hip, he closed his eyes to fight off the nausea. Kent smiled grimly at his reaction, knowing what he'd seen.

"Yeah, you wouldn't recognize them from that. Hold on." He brought out another picture and gave it to Giovanni.

The magician stared at the picture of an attractive couple who looked to be expecting a child. Kent chuckled at his expression. He wouldn't lie, he'd been captivated by them too when he saw them.

"Their names were Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Good people, not all that powerful mages but enough to get the job done most of the time." He said. "They were attacked in their home by a group of occultists who killed them and took their six year old son."

"Naruto was their child." Giovanni concluded. "They were planning to sacrifice him to summon something."

"Yes. Children with magic make very good sacrifices for summonings as I'm sure you know." Kent continued. "But it's not exactly a summoning alone. Magic or not, one person isn't enough to summon multiple beings."

"Then what were they planning to do?" Giovanni asked.

"Look at the summoning circles again. Take note of the runecraft."

Giovanni reluctantly shuffled the pictures to look at said circles. Nothing really looked out of place, except that the inner series had a parallel placing of controlled antonyms on the outer rim. Why? Why summon a being only to send it back immediately unless you wanted…to….

"They were going to bind whatever they summoned to him." He gasped. "All nine of them."

"A bit off the mark there." Kent said. "They did bind them to him. All nine of them."

"But how? Few beings would agree to share a single contract unless they're the same."

"True, but they did it and the only thing that saved the boy from being taken over fully was Constantine's quick action."

Giovanni leaned back against a wall to rub his head. What days were they in? "So what do you want me to do?"

"I wasn't exactly expecting you to do anything." Kent responded as he stood to reposition a painting on the wall. "Just keep your eyes out. I'm not sure if this is an isolated event or the beginning of a string but it's best not to leave things to chance."

"And Naruto?" Giovanni asked. Kent's eyes went vacant as if he were seeing through something else before he came to and smiled.

"He'll be fine. He's hit off with young Zatanna rather well."

Giovanni frowned at that. He didn't exactly dislike the boy but he wasn't sure how comfortable he felt with letting his daughter have contact with someone connected to what could very well be demons.

"You need not worry," Kent gave the man an assuring smile. "The seal Constantine placed on him that barred contact still works like a charm."

"You had to say that, didn't you?" Giovanni let out a grumble that Kent ignored and continued.

"And even if it fails, I'm still here, aren't I? You just see what you can find about this group of ours."

Giovanni sighed. "I'll see what I can do. Anyways, I have a performance in Gotham and I have to be there half an hour before my time. Can I trust you to watch over Zatanna?"

"Of course. I doubt she'd want to follow you anyways." Kent said. As if on cue, a part of the wall opened up to show the two children gobbling down junk food as they focused on the movie they were watching.

Giovanni sighed again. Of course she'd be happy to spend time with the boy. Their frequent moving around didn't give her time to form any bonds and even though she didn't think much of it, he knew she wanted friends her age.

"I'll be back in six to eight hours. Mahtog ot em ekat." With that, the man vanished.

Kent stared at the rippling spot where the magician had once been before turning to look back at the children who were muttering unintelligible words to each other excitedly as the movie reached a certain scene.

"They're getting along a lot better than I thought they would. That's a good thing. Lord knows they both need friends." He muttered.

'The girl might be a good host when she grows, do you not agree?" The lord of order's voice rang in his head.

'She's off limits, Nabu.' Kent warned. 'It's bad enough that I've let you take Naruto if you want after me. They're still children with their own consciousnesses not homunculi to possess at your leisure.'

Nabu scoffed. 'You say it like you will have a choice when the time comes. Your bones are weakening and your organs are failing. The next time you put the helmet on might be your last.'

'Maybe, but until then, leave them be.' Kent said. As he felt Nabu's consciousness recede from him, he sighed as a feeling of tiredness took over in its place.

'Loathe as I am to admit it, Nabu's right. Another host will end up being selected regardless of my wishes. I just hope it'll be someone willing and prepared.'

He continued to stare at the two children, feeling a bit of sadness well up in him. He didn't need precognition to know life wouldn't be easy for them all the time.

Naruto was already condemned to a life of constant turmoil but earning the notice of a lord of order didn't speak of only good things. If Nabu saw something in Zatanna that made her a potential host, other less…light elements would see it as well.

He just hoped they were ready for what would come in the future or at the very least, had protectors till then.

But for now, he was content to watch them enjoy themselves, blissfully ignorant of everything that would and was happening.

Eight years later

Two teenagers crossed the damp road and entered an alley beside a large building. The male cast a small silencing spell to prevent sound from leaving the barrier and the female cast a cloaking spell, getting an annoyed look from the male that she ignored.

"Alright, Z. You remember what we're meant to do?"

Zatanna, now fifteen, rolled her eyes. "I should be asking you that."

"Well, I just wanted to be sure. You know, this is the first time we've been asked to do this on our own a-" "I get it, Naruto. You don't want to mess up and neither do I so keep calm, okay?"

Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "Okay."

He shuffled his feet as he shifted his cloak to the side to look at his watch. 9:16. A good fourteen hours before the performance. "We've still got time so let's refresh our memories."

Zatanna closed her eyes tiredly. "Alright then. Two months ago, twenty six year old stage magician Abigail Walters was invited to a show at Hotel Bellevue and was never seen again. Last month, workers at the hotel resigned due to fear for their safety."

The workers had claimed they constantly got the feeling of a chilling cold or scalding heat, being watched by multiple eyes and often found themselves scratched by unseen claws. Their accounts all varied but the only common thing was the oppressive feeling they got from being in the underground floor where cleaning equipment and the like were kept.

Naruto nodded. "Naturally, the police came to conduct an investigation but found nothing. They were forced to close the missing persons case in the absence of evidence. Normally, that'd be the end of that but from a mystic's point of view…"

"That's only the beginning." Zatanna took over from him. "Dad said he got an invite to perform here as well for someone's birthday, but made up some excuse to get a substitute here. That substitute is us. Or rather, you."

"I still say you should perform while I search, Z. I can't do stage tricks to save my life." Naruto said, getting Zatanna to smile at him.

"Yeah, I know. But you're not as sensitive as I am. Believe me, all you have to do is keep them occupied for a bit while I look around."

Naruto sighed. "Fine. But I'm probably going to end up getting booed away in like five minutes."

"Still enough time, hopefully." Zatanna said. "Now stop complaining and let's head in. You know what to do."

Naruto nodded and his form wavered slightly before shifting to the image of a tall man in his late twenties with black hair and donned in classic stage magician garb. The only unusual feature on him was that he wore a red cape and held a deck of cards in his hands that he shuffled absently.

"That's what you're going as?" Zatanna deadpanned. "The same guy you did that audition stuff with?"

"Our guy's still going to be in the crowd right?" Naruto asked, his voice now deeper.

"Yeah, he'll be. Now let's move."

With that, the barrier fell and the two made their way towards the hotel door. Before Zatanna could knock, the door opened and a large man stared at the two, although his eyes lingered on her a bit longer.

"Right on time. Zatanna Zatara?" He asked. Zatanna nodded. "And this is.."

"My father's substitute." She said, "Michael D'Tret."

"The threat?" The man snickered. "What's he a threat to? Society?"

Naruto, or rather Michael, ignored the man in favour of muttering to himself and shuffling the cards.

"I'd say he's a threat to himself." The man said. "Come on in. Try not to cut yourself, threat. We wouldn't want you doing yourself in before your show."

Zatanna snorted as they walked through the red walled corridor. "I'm surprised you didn't say anything."

"I wanted to vanish him for that. D'Tret isn't pronounced that way." Naruto grumbled under his breath.

"Doesn't matter cause you're up now." Zatanna said when she heard her father's name called and an announcement about his replacement being made. "Remember, it's just to buy time."

"Sure thing, now go." Naruto waved her off.

Zatanna nodded and went into a random room, no doubt to turn herself invisible and continue on after everyone was in the main hall.q

Naruto sighed and shuffled the cards again as he heard the applause. Well, no use delaying it any longer. He ignored the audience as he made his way to the stage. Reaching the top, he turned his back to the confused people.

"Alright Michael," He muttered. "It's just for a few minutes. Doesn't have to be actual tricks, just keep them occupied."

"Are you alright, young man?" Someone asked him. He jerked his head upward and turned around sharply.

"Me? Of course." He said and shuffled the cards again. The speaker, a middle aged man, gave him a strange look and shrugged.

"I see. What's your name?" He asked. "Zatara said he'll send a substitute but he didn't say who."

"My name is Michael D'Tret." Naruto said, looking the man in the eye. The man chuckled at the name.

"The threat? Hope you don't pull a gun on me later." He joked, getting a few chuckles from the crowd. "Is that why you're wearing a blanket? Sorry, cape."

Naruto remained silent, content to maintain unblinking eye contact with the man. After a while, the man shifted uncomfortably, causing Naruto to smirk inwardly.

"I'm here to do magic." Naruto said slowly.

"No shit, Sherlock. We thought you were a stripper."

"I'll be doing three tricks." Naruto continued, getting a scowl from the man at being ignored. "Card, Mind reading and vanishing."

"So which one are you starting with?"

"Patience, Lincoln William Murray." Naruto said, getting a surprised look from the man.

"How do you know my full name?" Murray asked, getting a nod from the magician.

"Magic." Naruto said.

He took the silence as his cue to continue and closed his eyes. "Now watch closely. I'll shuffle the cards without looking at them. And I'll pick a number you say."

Murray watched as the magician haphazardly shuffled the card, causing one to fall to the floor. "Is a card falling part of the trick?"

"Sleight of hand, don't worry about it." Naruto retorted, squatting to feel for the card as he shuffled the rest in a hand.

"How is this sleig-ugh." Murray sighed as he watched the man awkwardly try and fail to pick up the card. "Just..do the trick."

"Alright." Naruto, having picked up the card, got up. "Now, Murray. What number are you thinking of?"

"Eighteen." Murray answered monotonously. Naruto froze for a moment but shrugged and brought out a card that he raised above his head.

"Behold, your card." Naruto smirked. Murray squinted and hissed annoyedly.

"That's a nine."

"Nine plus nine."

"Eighteen, but you're here to do magic, not make me solve maths."

"What do you mean "make you"? Are you the celebrant?"

"Yes, I am." Murray frowned at the magician as he heard the crowd laugh at the exchange. "What kind of performer doesn't even know who he's performing for?"

In truth, he wasn't actually the celebrant but rather, a debunker. The actual celebrant had, for some reason, been content with letting him take his place in the hall while he dealt with other matters.

He'd been hoping to expose Giovanni Zatara as a fake when the man showed up but instead, he was stuck with this clown.

"Okay, I'll do another one." Naruto said and shuffled the cards again. "What's today's date?"

"Thirtieth." Murray said, getting Naruto to raise another card above his head.

"Behold, your card."

Murray rubbed his head annoyedly at what he saw. "That's two."

"Fifteen multiplied by two."

"Oh my God." Murray buried his head in his hands.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. "You're not supposed to say His name in vain, you know."

"You're here to do magic!" Murray yelled at the man, causing him to jump. "Magic, not maths."

"But maths is cooler than magic."

"No it isn't!" Murray grit his teeth. "Now do something good or I'll have you tossed out. And I won't be giving you or Zatara a dime!"

"I told you your full name, you dolt! How do you think I did that? Science?"

"Security!"

"Okay, okay." Naruto placated, rubbing a hand through his black hair and fanning himself with his cape. "I'll do one more trick."

"And it better not be maths or you're out." Murray growled.

Naruto nodded and shuffled the cards again, this time, watching them closely, much to Murray's annoyance.

"What happened to not looking at them?" He asked angrily.

"Listen man, mind your business." Naruto shot back. "Do your job and let me do mine."

"My job is to watch a magic trick. A magic trick that you're not doing." Murray said, feeling blood rush to his face at the roaring laughter he was hearing.

"Okay, you know what," Naruto got off the stage and handed the cards to Murray. "Shuffle them yourself, tell me your number and I'll pick it out."

With that, he turned around and listened to the sounds of shuffling cards. After half a minute, he got prodded in his back. He turned around to collect the cards from a smirking Murray and walked back to the stage.

"Well?" He asked. "Your number?"

"One." Murray said. "And remember, no maths. "

"Oh, the one you're holding in your hand?" Naruto asked, getting a surprised look from the man. "Don't worry though."

He brought out a card, raised it over his head and flipped it, smirking at the man's gobsmacked expression. "Behold, your card."

Murray ignored the applause behind him in favour of staring at the card raised in the air. The ace sign was very clear to see. He knew he was still holding the card he'd spoken of so…"How?"

"Magic." Naruto said smugly. "You probably need a bit of magic to boost your intelligence too. Did you really expect to see a thirty and eighteen card in a deck that starts at one and ends at thirteen?"

He smiled at the laughter he got at his shot and clapped his hands together. "Okay, now for the next trick."

Meanwhile

Zatanna bit her inner cheek to keep from laughing as she listened to the exchange above her. Mixing actual tricks with obvious foolery wasn't how she'd have done it but something told her Naruto and Murray would be butting heads for a while.

She was currently in the sub level floor and directly below the main hall and had purposely left the lights off so as not to attract any unwanted attention. It wouldn't do for someone to leave the hall and see the sub level lights on.

To be honest, she wasn't sure what exactly she was looking for but then again, how many mystics did?

"Thgil gninrecsid." She muttered and a small ball of light the size of her fist glowed into existence, revealing traces of every person who'd treaded the floor.

As the light spread, Zatanna saw multiple shoeprints, specks of dirt, lost pieces of jewelry and handprints on the wall and other signs of use.

"Not very helpful," She muttered. "But still something. If Abigail came down here, where would she have gone?"

Walking forward and trying to block out the sounds of Naruto and the host bickering, she looked around, trying to feel…something. Anything. Whatever had terrorized those employees clearly didn't care much for concealing its presence and if it had been summoned, it couldn't leave.

The fresh round of laughter coming from the hall above nearly prevented her from hearing the sound of scuffling feet that came from her back. She quickly turned around and got a small view of what looked like a tail entering the shadows.

Licking her lips, she walked towards the spot, noting the unnatural coldness that hadn't been there when she passed by. Yep, this was what she was searching for and it was hiding from her.

Or trying to lure her somewhere.

No point in standing still. Moving the light towards the spot the tail had gone through, she saw something that looked like a handle. Ah, a secret door.

Giving it a gentle pull, she watched in slight amazement as the wall opened to a large, dimly lit room painted black with numerous magic circles drawn on the walls, ceremonial weapons littering the floor and everywhere the light touched on the floor, she could see a trail of blood that led to one circle. The coldness persisted even in the absence of ventilation and she could feel eyes on herself.

'Maybe I should get Naruto down here too.' She thought, slightly nervous. These things are more in his area of expertise.'

Above

"Your name is Kimberley."

"I'm a man."

"Kingston then."

"Still a no."

Murray rubbed his head to soothe the ache he felt. Why he hadn't sent this faker away was something he didn't understand himself. It probably had to do with the fact that most people hadn't started booing him yet.

"Would you stop fooling around and say his name?" He called out to the magician who was trying and failing to guess the name of a random volunteer who'd come from the crowd.

"I'm saying it, am I not?" Naruto responded. "I don't know what his name is but I know what his name isn't."

"Well say what his name is or you'll be getting a paycheck that isn't." Murray sighed As much as he hated it, the faker was doing a good job of keeping the crowd entertained with his antics. They'd been laughing at the two of them for a while now.

"That makes no sense but whatever." Naruto said and turned back to the man. Buying time for Zatanna was a lot easier than he'd thought. All he'd had to do so far was troll a debunker and people were too busy laughing at them both to care that he'd flunked almost all his tricks.

As he was about to make another wrong guess, he felt someone familiar prodding at his mind. Concentrating on the presence, an image of a blue eyed girl in a suit came to mind. 'Z?'

'Oh good, you noticed. Hey, I'm going to need you to cut your show short. I've found something.'

'Really, what?' He asked as he wiggled his fingers absently in front of the confused volunteer. With a click of his fingers, he cast a small hypnosis spell on the man, causing him to sway much to the amazement of the audience..

'Turns out there's actually something down here. Some kind of ritual chamber. Recently used, I'm guessing."

'Oh, what's in there?'

'Bunch of weapons, the walls got painted black and had magic circles drawn on them in red chalk.'

Naruto continued to stare at the blank eyed volunteer. 'Give me a few minutes to round up and I'll be with you.'

'Be quick with it. I'm not alone here.'

He sighed as he felt Zatanna's presence leave him. Glancing at an expectant looking Murray, he snapped his finger again, releasing the volunteer from the spell.

"Go to your seat now, Neil." He said, getting a surprised look from the man. "That good enough for you, Murr?"

"Yeah, whatever." Murray said. "What's next now?"

"My final trick of course." Naruto said. "I'll be disappearing."

"Finally," The man muttered.

"Now I'll need you all to close your eyes." Naruto said. "Like, close them when I tell you to."

"Are you serious?" Murray asked incredulously. "You want us to close our eyes while you disappear?"

"Not exactly, I want you to blink them in a second." Naruto smiled at the man. "Trust me, have I fooled you before?"

"You've been doing it since the beginning of your show." Murray said, his voice rising again.

"I haven't fooled anyone." Naruto defended. "You're just naturally a fool."

"I'll kick you out if you mess up this one even once." Murray said angrily. Nobody would take him serious after tonight at this rate.

"As you say. But close your eyes." Naruto repeated, getting a sigh from the man who complied. "No no no, don't close it yet. When I tell you to. On the count of three."

Murray took a deep breath. "Okay, one, two.."

"Thanks for your time!" Naruto yelled suddenly and waved his cape around himself. Murray's eyes widened when the cape dropped and Michael was nowhere to be seen. In his surprise, he didn't notice the door slightly opening and closing.

Naruto smiled to himself as he let his disguise fall off. In the time he was still obscured by the cape, he cast an invisibility spell on himself, ran for the door and left unnoticed. Smirking at the applause coming from inside, he locked the door behind himself and placed a barrier rune for extra measure.

Something told him Zatanna wasn't going to fare well if he took his time getting to her. And now, all he had to do was follow the small beacon she'd left for him with her presence.

Zatanna idly examined each weapon for something she could understand. The light cast on it revealed bits of blood on it as if it'd been used to cut something open. Feeling heavy breathing in her air, she willed the light to shine brighter, chasing off whatever it was that approached her.

Letting out a shaky breath, she picked up another weapon. Her dad and Kent trusted them both enough to let them investigate on their own and she'd be damned if she let them down.

The sound of rapid footsteps alerted her to someone rapidly making their way towards her. Steeling her nerves, she brought out her wand, prepared to attack whoever she saw. The steps slowed down in front of the wall and a tuft of yellow hair came into sight, causing her to relax.

"I'm in here, Naruto." She called out. Naruto walked in, looking around and taking note of the circles.

"I'm surprised you're still in hiding." He commented, feeling the extra presence in the room. "You mustn't be very powerful if you haven't tried to skewer us yet."

"Don't provoke it, Naruto." Zatanna muttered.

"Why not? We're going to end up fighting it anyway." He said, creating a small magic circle in his hand. "It won't leave us after this and we can't let it simply roam around freely."

As he reached one point, he stopped and looked down at the floor closely. He bent down to rub a finger on a certain spot and frowned.

"Yo, could you use that light stuff on the floor here?" He asked. Zatanna nodded and walked towards him, the ball of light following her.

"What's wrong?"

"I smell blood." He said, watching as the light finally reached him and illuminated the floor, revealing a trail of black fluid and small marks on the floor.

"A trail of blood." He continued. "Whoever it was was dragged. Those marks are scratches, the curvature indicates human nails. Female from the size. A conscious female being dragged, scratched her nails and fingers to the point of bleeding."

He traced it with his finger to point at one circle on the wall and walked towards it. "She got taken here, no binds on the wall but…damn."

Zatanna frowned, knowing what he saw. In spite of the absence of binds, the victim had to stay on the wall somehow. And judging from the circular holes on four parts of the circle, she'd been nailed to it.

"Nasty." He said sourly. "But from how the holes are positioned and the blood trailed down, I'd say her arms and legs were spread. Standing at full height, she'd be about 5'7. The same height as-"

"Abigail." Zatanna finished for him. All of a sudden, the circles made sense. "She was used for a summoning."

"No doubt they wanted to summon something more than our little stalker," Naruto continued. "And they would have done so if she was an actual mage."

He rubbed his eyes. "Let's report this to-"

Zatanna's eyes widened when she felt someone appear behind them and quickly twirled around. "kcab meht worth!"

A wave of force emerged from her wand and smashed into the extra visitor, throwing them back a few feet. Naruto scowled at the person, a male by the looks of it as they got up.

"Who are you?" He asked, sparks of arcane power dancing over his hand as he primed a spell. The man ignored him in favour of raising a hand, causing the weapons littered around the room to rise and rush towards the duo.

"Flauga!" Naruto cried, causing the knives heading towards them to change course and embed themselves to the hilt in the ceiling.

"You needn't know who I am, magi." He said. "A name matters little to the departed."

"You've got another thing coming if you think we're going to die here. Dnib!" Zatanna said and from her sleeves, ethereal strings shot out towards the man who raised a barrier to deflect them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a humanoid figure rise from the shadows, its yellowed teeth set in a grin as it observed the ongoing conflict. Frowning at it, he sent an ankh shaped piece of magic towards the being, causing it to recede before it could be struck.

He sighed in annoyance and rushed towards it as he felt it leave the room. Zatanna could handle this guy anyways.

Zatanna grit her teeth as she engaged the man in a clash of spells. Naruto had left her to deal with the spirit which she didn't have much problem with. That was more of his forte anyways. But the absence of a helping spirit didn't make the man any weaker.

Hissing in pain as she felt another bolt burn her leg, she glared at the man. They'd been clashing for minutes now and she was beginning to feel the strain. Her legs ached from jumping around quickly, her eyes stung from the sweat that'd gotten into it and her magic was getting dangerously low.

"What exactly do you think summoning demons is going to achieve?"She asked, wincing as a blast narrowly missed her midsection but burnt a part of her jacket off. That would hurt for a while.

"You wouldn't understand, girl." He said. "It's for a just cause."

"A just cause? You killed Abigail! All so you could summon some evil entity!"

"Good and evil are nonexistent concepts in the grand scale." The man laughed. "And the woman would have served a greater purpose had she been a genuine magus."

"But that can still be done." He said, sending Zatanna crashing into a wall. "Two of you have delivered yourselves to me."

"Gloat after you've won." Zatanna said, trying to ignore her aching back as she tried to stand. She cast a quick barrier spell to protect herself from a black orb of magic.

"I may have as well won, girl." He said, sending an arc of lightning at Zatanna that caused her to scream. As she raised her wand at him, he increased the power in the spell and kicked it away.

Cancelling the spell, he rushed towards her and kicked her in the stomach. "The boy stands no chance against Ixnay. He will be devoured and you will follow him afterwards. Your blood will call fort-"

"Noisolpxe!"

Out of the girl's body, a wave of scorching energy erupted loudly, throwing him back and setting his clothes on fire. He screamed as he struggled to put out the fire as Zatanna tried to get on her feet.

She hissed at the pain of her burns. The lightning had drained her of a lot more magic than she'd thought. Even now, she felt like she'd pass out in a bit.

"You! I'll kill you!" The man's pained cry made her turn to see him rushing towards her. The exposed skin had been burnt off and his watch and clothes had melted with the rest. Her eyes widened and she struggled to move away from the man

"Tsalb!" She yelled, sending a weak wave of force towards the man that barely caused him to stagger. As she cast the spell, she gasped, feeling herself become lightheaded and her vision blurring.

'I can't pass out, I don't want to die here.'

"I've got you!" He cried triumphantly upon seeing the girl back herself against the wall. As he reached for her, he stopped. Zatanna watched as his body crumpled to the floor, revealing Naruto standing behind him with a glowing hand. He didn't look much better than her.

His clothes were torn, he'd been clawed in multiple places, his nose was bleeding and he was shaking like a wet leaf. He walked over the man to sit beside her, leaning on the wall and hissing when he felt the heat.

"You don't look so good." He said after a few moments. "I shouldn't have left you alone."

Zatanna nodded slowly and looked at the man's prone body. The fire on him had died out already. "Is..is he dead?"

Naruto shrugged painfully. "I'm not sure. The spell was meant to knock him out but the fire might have finished him off."

Zatanna stared at the burnt body and as she inhaled the smell of burnt flesh, bile rushed to her throat. In spite of her exhaustion, she jerked her head to the side and heaved.

Naruto watched her vomit. He wasn't sure why he didn't feel the same urge to do the same. Most people said the first time seeing death was the hardest and nausea was the most common reaction but he didn't feel a thing. Not even guilt at having played a part in his death.

"You okay?" He asked the groaning girl who clutched her belly in apparent pain.

"It's fine." She said, her voice slurring as she struggled to stay conscious. "I just…jus…"

He blinked when her head bent limply as she passed out. Snorting slightly, he moved her head to rest on his shoulder as he tried to recover. He felt like his bones would break if he tried moving and it was that pain, coupled with fear of what'd happen if he passed out that kept him awake.

Practicing to fight demons and reading up on them was one thing but actually encountering one was another. He'd been outclassed heavily in everything. The demon had mauled him and to be honest, he still wasn't sure how he'd survived.

The little he could remember was being between large jaws, his arms hurting a lot, lots of screaming and swallowing something that made him feel like he'd dipped his soul in sewage. Even now, he still felt sick enough to vomit.

They never should have split up. He'd been overconfident, thinking that a demon that couldn't even attack two teenagers would be a weak one and that someone who relied on surprise wouldn't be much trouble to deal with.

'Regardless of how weak a demon appears, Naruto,'The old man had said once. 'Keep in mind that its still a being that's been kicking around millennia before mankind was even a thought'.

He'd pay more attention to the man's words from now.

He could faintly hear commotion above his head. No doubt the guests had heard the fighting and were trying to run away.

'Good luck with that.' He chuckled. That rune wouldn't disappear until it ran out of power or another mage took it down. He looked at the room again, feeling slightly irritated. The circles were gone and the trails were no doubt burnt off now. In the end, only the scouring of their memories would be able to serve as proof.

Taking out an ankh shaped amulet from under his shirt, he channeled magic into it. The police would be here soon and the pull of sleep was becoming more difficult to fight. He didn't want to wake up in a cell if he managed not to die of asphyxiation.

After nearly a minute, he smiled as the amulet glowed, feeling it drop off his limp fingers. The last thing he saw was a figure in a golden helmet stretching its hand out towards him.

Damn, that's a lot longer than I thought I could do. Anyways, here it is, people. The first chapter. Although it might take a while before I write the second cause I'll have to reread JL:Dark and other magic themed comics from DC to work up a good timeline and events and stuff.

Join AizenTheGoat's server, lots of helpful guys there too. If you need help, motivation, a beta reader or just want to hang out, feel free to join: the code's

https/discord.gg/c9k4V9Y4wa

Yeah, I posted it twice on purpose.

Anyways, read and review. If you've got criticism, ideas or just want to say something. I'm also open to long ones about DC lore. I'd even welcome them.

Till next time.