"Hmm, okay, little breather here," Zatanna said, pulling away from Bart for a moment. She ran the back of her hand across her soft, wet lips for a moment and ran that same hand through her long, loose tresses. The young couple had been standing outside in the backyard of Zatanna's place, enjoying the beautiful day around them. Well, okay, that was a bit of a lie. They were more busy enjoying each other in the backyard than they were enjoying the day, though one could argue that it was each other that made the day beautiful.
"Heh, sorry," Bart said, smiling goofily at Zatanna. Zatanna placed her hands on Bart's chest and pushed herself away from him and the tree against which they had leaned while they made out.
"No, it's good," Zatanna said. "Really good," she added, smiling coyly. "But, as good as it is, we have work to do, Mr. Man."
"Right," Bart said as he pushed himself away from the tree. He brushed bits of bark and moss off of the back of his red and yellow tee-shirt and then again off from the back of his head. "We have to visit the mystical underground," he said, putting on a semi-silly creeped-out Halloween voice.
"You know, it's not really a physical underground or anything," Zatanna replied as she faced a tiny bistro table that was out on the patio. It was a beautiful, dark green wrought iron thing, with matching chairs. It was very quaint, very French. Not at all like Zatanna's slightly funkier style, but she loved the set anyway. It fit perfectly here in her backyard. "Anyway, what are you in the mood for?"
"Well," Bart answered flirtatiously, sneaking up behind Zatanna. "Now that you've asked…"
"Pots rof a tnemom," Zatanna commanded just as Bart was about to wrap his arms around the sorceress' waist. "You know I meant food wise."
"Yeah, yeah, spoil all the fun why doncha," Bart replied in mock-sadness. "I don't know. Anything you could possibly whip up?"
"So I'm guessing monkey brains, camel tongue, and eye of eel egg drop soup would be perfection?"
"I get your point," Bart replied, grimacing. "I dunno…three meat ravioli?"
"Done," Zatanna said, saying the name of Bart's chosen meal backwards. She whipped up a Mexican Caesar salad for herself, and Cokes for both of them.
"Aaah, the perks of having a witch for a girlfriend," Bart said as he took a seat.
"Hold it, spanky," Zatanna said. "Witch? Girlfriend? Where are we getting these terms from?"
"Oh, yeah, well…" Bart said, struggling for an answer. He was cut off, though, by the phone ringing inside.
"Hold that thought," Zatanna replied. "Might be my source." She lightly jogged into her house while Bart sat down and picked up a fork.
Zatanna came back out a moment later, a bright smile displayed across her face.
"Was that your source?" Bart asked as he stuffed a second forkful of the ravioli in his mouth. Magic food was good, he thought to himself.
Zatanna nodded as she sat down across from him. "It was. And the good news is? We probably won't need to go straight down into the actual underground, mainly because there's some gang war going on."
"So, where are we headed then?" Bart asked.
"We have a three-thirty appointment at Oblivion Books in New York with Jim Rook."
"Jim Rook?" Bart asked, immediately looking away from his ravioli. "As in the former lead singer of The Electrics Jim Rook?"
Zatanna slowly nodded her head. "The one and only, Bart…why?"
"Dude, that guy is a living legend!" Bart said, shooting up. "The Electrics were, like, the band back in the day! How the hell do you know him?!"
"Down fanboy," Zatanna said, smiling at Bart's giddiness. "He was a friend of my father's," she replied. "Owed Daddy a couple of favors, and I guess at the moment they trickle down to his only daughter."
"So," Bart asked eagerly. "When do we go?"
A couple of hours later found Bart and Zatanna sitting in the back room of Oblivion Books with Jim Rook. The trio was settled in a set of plush couches, drinking some of the tea that Jim had prepared for them. He had invited them warmly when they'd arrived, even signing some old records for Bart.
Jim Rook was a handsome man in his forties. He was polished, clean cut, and looked nothing like a former rocker in his jeans, brown loafers, white shirt, and tweed jacket. His graying hair was freshly cut and he gave off a knowledgable air.
"So, what sort of information did you guys want, exactly?" Jim asked after they'd gotten through all the niceties. He stared between Zatanna and Bart expectantly, waiting for one of the two super-powered teenagers to speak up. "I understand it's about some sort of odd mystical power?"
"It's actually hard to say what exactly it is," Zatanna explained. She briefly delved into the tattoo, Lana's death, her revival, and the information about Khepri's consort. "We don't know what's happened exactly now. Lana's been showing some odd powers as well as a definite connection to insects. She's able to bring dead insects back to life, and she can communicate with them as well. Do you have any books that can help us?" She asked.
Jim Rook was silent for a moment. He hadn't ever heard of this particular myth, but if there was anyone who had, Jim knew exactly who it was. He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from the side table next to him and jotted out an address. "Zatanna, take this," he said, offering her the paper.
"What is this?" she asked, taking it and looking at the address. The address indicated a place in Salem, Massachusetts. "You're sending me to Witch City?" she asked sarcastically.
Rook smiled and shook his head. "Nothing of the sort. You know as well as I do that witch hunters died out centuries ago."
"I'm sticking to my story here."
"There's someone there who knows more about Egyptian history than I do, Zatanna. With a myth as unknown as that, he's possibly the only one who can help you."
Zatanna nodded her head. "Who is this person?"
"Kent Nelson."
"The archaeologist?"
"The one and only."
"I think Daddy must have spoken about him once or twice."
"I'm sure he did. You'll find out why soon enough, Zatanna. You'll be able to catch him tomorrow, I think. He's out of town on…business."
"Do we call or make an appointment or something?" Bart asked, his voice showing that he was still in awe over this once-great rocker.
"He'll be expecting you," Rook replied.
"Great," Zatanna replied, standing up. She set her cup of tea down on the coffee table. "Thank you, Uncle Jim." She moved to hug him and he returned her hug warmly.
As he did so, though, he quietly whispered in Zatanna's ear, "Listen, Zatanna…you're the closest thing I'll ever have to a daughter. Do me a favor and don't get too involved with this."
"What?" she asked quietly. "Why? What do you know?"
"Nothing. But it sounds bad."
Zatanna broke loose and cocked her head, staring into Rook's eyes. "I won't use the truth spell on you, I respect you too much. But, seriously, what do you know?"
Rook shook his head. "Nothing, Zatanna. I swear on my legacy."
Zatanna nodded silently. "Alright. But I can't. I'm as in this as my friends are, and they need me. I'm sorry Uncle Jim."
He smiled warmly down at the teenager, and patted her gently on the shoulder. "Don't be. You have much of your father in you, Zatanna. Take care."
Zatanna nodded and smiled warmly. "I will Uncle Jim…thank you." Zatanna turned to Bart then and said, "Come on, lover. We need to get going now…meet up with Clark and see what he has to say."
Bart nodded and followed Zatanna out to the back of the bookstore. As she jumped into his arms, he asked, "What legacy was he talking about?"
"I'll explain it on the way," she said, laughing.
Writer's Note: Hey guys…long time no update, huh? I'm really sorry for that. While I've got the whole story in my head, I haven't had time to sit down and write because the past few weeks have been hectic with work and some other bits that make up the more insane parts of our lives. But, I'm back. :-D Thanks to Nightcrawler8 and Markmark261 and the others of you that e-mailed me in my absence. :-D
For those of you who might be wondering, Jim Rook is a minor character in the DCU known as the Nightmaster. He was the lead singer of the Electrics who then opened a bookstore when he found out his legacy to bear the Sword of Night and defend the alternate dimension of Myrra.