Selina
Still Under a Hood
They're messing with me. They have to be.
It didn't take this long to get anywhere in Gotham...or the US, for that matter. After she had fallen asleep for the fifth time, Selina started to track their turns. They were driving in circles. Left after left after left. What she couldn't figure out was why. She was blindfolded, so it wasn't as if she could tell anyone where they had gone. Hell, she didn't even know where they had started. They had already stopped for gas three times.
"I'm thirsty," she said, shifting in her seat. Someone lifted her hood just enough to get a straw to her mouth. She drew in a long drink, while trying to duck her head a bit lower and catch a glimpse of their surroundings. No luck. The hood dropped back down. "This is miserable. Can we at least get out and walk around? My back's killing me."
No one answered. Another left turn. She was getting very sick of being cooperative. If she wanted to, she could escape. They wouldn't be able to stop her. She was better than them.
Keep your resolve, Selina. They can't drive forever.
Batman
Batcave
Mike was doing pull ups when Batman arrived with his dinner.
"Thanks for this," he said, dropping back own to the floor. "I miss working out."
He set the plate of food down. "I didn't put it there so you can work out. I was going to tie you up to it if you didn't cooperate."
Mike's face turned white and he nodded, taking a nervous step back. "Right. Got it."
"I was...I was kidding. Use it however you want."
"Oh. Okay. Sure," Mike said, most certainly not laughing.
He cleared his throat. "You, uh...you offered to help before. Does that offer still stand?"
"Yeah. Yeah, anything I can do," he said, relaxing a bit and sitting down.
"Let me tell you what I want before you agree. We have someone working undercover, but we haven't heard from them. We're worried."
He nodded. "You should be. Nothing good happens in that place."
"Where, exactly, is 'that place'?"
"I don't know. If it isn't the mine..."
"You were with them for weeks. You have to have some inkling...some understanding of how they think."
"I don't. I didn't even listen." He glanced nervously up at the bar over his head. "I'm telling you the truth."
Batman nodded. "Then what are our options?"
Mike blinked and furrowed his brow. "You don't have a plan?"
"I'm open to suggestions."
"I've been in here. I don't even know..."
"Could you get back in?"
He closed his eyes and clinched his teeth. "You want me to get recaptured?"
"Could you?"
"They'd kill me," he whispered.
"I wouldn't let that happen, and I don't want it to come to that, but could you?"
It took a while before he nodded. "I said I would help." He didn't sound very sure.
"Think about it. I'm going to ask someone to come by and talk with you about how we can keep you safe."
"Okay. Thanks for dinner, Batman."
Walking back to the main cave, Bruce took off his cowl and tossed it onto the desk. The idea of Mike helping didn't thrill him, but he was becoming more concerned about Selina every day that passed. Someone else on the inside with her to help...anyone else...would somewhat to ease his mind.
"What did he say?" Zatanna came in and leaned against the desk.
"He said yes, but he doesn't really want to help. I told him you would come and talk to him."
She pursed her lips. "If he doesn't want to..."
"I won't force him. It's too dangerous. Selina volunteered. I'm worried he only said he would help because he think I'll hang him from the ceiling and torture him."
"Why in god's name would he think that?"
He cleared his throat. "No reason."
She raised an eyebrow and examined him. "What did you do?"
"Tried to be funny."
"Oh, Bruce, we've talked about that."
"Batman isn't funny?"
"Batman isn't funny."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I won't try again." He sighed. "This whole plan..."
"Was always going to be a risk." She came over and sat on his lap. "I won't let her die, Bruce. I promise."
"Thank you."
"Do you want me to snoop?"
"No. Not again. I promised."
"She won't know."
"I will. And I don't want to have to lie to her later."
"How is sending Mike in not breaking the promise?"
"I never said I wouldn't have another spy."
Zee leaned her head down on his shoulder and nodded. "When are you leaving?"
"As soon as Kate gets here."
She kissed his cheek. And then his chin. And then his lips. "Mm. It's been too long."
"Since?" He asked before kissing her again.
"Since we had sex in the cave," she said, shifting and straddling his lap. She smiled down at him.
"Two days. It's been two days."
"Way, way too long," she said, kissing him again. He chuckled and pulled her closer.
Who am I to argue with a lady?
He tossed his gloves to the ground and worked his hands under her shirt while they kissed again.
"No! No, you cannot be serious right now! Is nothing sacred to you two degenerates?" Kate yelled from the elevator. "This is the cave! The cave that you damn well knew I was going to arrive in! Do you want me to have an aneurysm?"
"Kate, hey! We weren't doing anything at all," Zee said, pulling her shirt down and latching his pants back.
Damn, she got those loose fast. He stood when she did and grabbed his cowl.
"Weren't doing anything? Just getting ready to..."
"Go on patrol. Watch my back, Kate," Bruce said, kissing Zee again and walking to the car. She shot him a look for leaving her to smooth things over with a very angry Batwoman.
Maybe I'll get tortured for that in the morning.
Zatanna
Wayne Manor
"Okay, watch." Zatanna held her hands up. "Elbat taolf."
The table lifted from the ground and hovered. Thomas smiled and held his hands up.
"A bat tof."
A bat wing emerged from the top of the table, slowly flapping, but not accomplishing a lot aside from making the table wobble in the air. Thomas giggled until he fell over.
"Oh. Okay, well. I mean, I guess that's something." Zatanna crossed her arms and watched the winged table. "Maybe I shouldn't try to teach you backwards speech until after you nail down the forward speech." Kids are hard. Magi kids were extra super hard.
"Mama," Thomas said amidst the continuing giggle fit. "Bat table."
"Yeah, you made a bat table." She took her phone out and made a short video, complete with giggle backing track, and sent it to Bruce.
ZZ – Your son
BW – Hm. Can it fight crime?
ZZ – Yes, but only against other one-winged tables.
BW – Could be useful. Send it to the Batcave.
She flopped onto the couch and let Thomas continue to enjoy his creation until he started to fall asleep on the floor. Kal walked in and looked between the two of them and the bat table.
"I'm afraid to even ask," he said.
"What, you don't have flying tables in your dimension?"
"Yeah, but ours exclusively have chicken wings."
"Bathouse, remember?"
"At least you're devoted to the gimmick." He came and sat down, watching the table wobble. "It'll happen soon, won't it?"
"Depends on what you're referring to."
"All of it. It's all going to come at once."
"Not necessarily. At least, I sure hope not. The one thing that does work in our favor is Scarecrow and Adam are two very separate problems."
"Call me a pessimist, but it seems like things rarely work in your favor."
"You're a pessimist." She stood and picked Thomas up off of the floor, then snapped to send the table to the cave. "But you might be right."
"Zatanna, I can..."
"Wait. Just like the rest of us are waiting. If you want to be a hero, you need to learn not just how to strike, but when. It's something I had to learn...the hard way, sometimes."
He nodded and sighed. "I take it you won't be at the next meeting?"
"I won't. But I'll be listening in on the monitors with the rest of the dissenters. We'll be in the cave. Make sure you keep playing your part."
"I will. Stay in the corner, pretend to be opposed, leave early. Got it."
"See? You're learning," she said, turning toward the stairs. "Such a good little hero-in-training."
Batman
Batcave
He stood in the corner, making sure Mike knew he was there without being too intrusive.
"Mike? I'm..."
"Zatanna Zatara," Mike said, smiling and standing when she came into view. "This is so awesome. I uh...there was this billboard near the bridge I used to camp under. I would fall asleep looking at it and dream about you."
"Oh, well...thanks."
Batman grumbled and stepped a bit closer.
"No...not like that. Sorry, that sounded a lot less creepy in my head. I meant I would dream that I was at your show. I would imagine being in the front row."
Zatanna smiled and leaned against the bars. "Well, that's one dream we can easily make come true. Once you're out of here, of course."
"Really? That would be amazing."
"No problem. I always have seats blocked for family and friends. You're welcome to join. Take Batman's seat – he never shows up, anyway."
He grumbled again.
"So, I'm guessing you're the one who was coming to talk to me about this whole Scarecrow thing."
"Yes. I want to start...we want to start by saying that this is all voluntary. If you don't want to do this, then you can say no."
"You mean I'll still get to come to your show if I don't cooperate?"
Zatanna nodded. "Yes. I'll even let you be my assistant."
"I do want to help."
"Water chamber? Levitation? Disappearance? Oh! Disappearance, then reappear in a levitating water chamber."
Mike chuckled, clearly charmed. "I mean I want to help with Scarecrow."
"And I want to keep you safe if you do. I can track you. It's a pretty simple spell and if you feel like you're in danger, you say the word and I'll have you out of there in a flash."
"When would we need to move?"
"Soon," Batman said, stepping forward. "We have to..." He stopped and spun on his heel when he heard a banging sound down the corridor. Squinting into the dim light, he took out a batarang and aimed it toward the racket. Zatanna snickered when his foe emerged from the darkness. Thomas's bat table clanked against the wall, flapping its one wing in earnest.
"What the hell?" Mike muttered from his cell.
Batman turned back and put away the batarang, shooting Zee a quick glare. She stifled another laugh. "Prototype."
"Of what?"
"A flying table."
"How is that useful?"
"That's Justice League business. Back to the matter at hand – we can't let Scarecrow strike first. If our undercover agent can't get to him, we need to put a stop to things."
Mike was still watching the table, until Zatanna mumbled something that sent it back toward the entrance.
"Okay. I'll do it. If Ms. Zatara can keep me safe, then I'll help."
It's Mrs. Wayne. "Thank you. We have a few preparations to make. Rest for now and be ready." He turned and walked down the hall with Zatanna. Once he closed the door, he took his cowl off and tossed it at her. "Smartass."
"You told me to send it down here!" She said, tossing the cowl back at him and laughing. The table was clanking around somewhere down by the tech room.
"How do I get it to stop?"
"I don't know. Ask Thomas." She turned and walked toward the elevator, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.
"You know," he said, lowering his lips to her ear, "before you, this place used to be very professional."
"You mean boring."
"Orderly."
"Dull."
"Structured."
"Lame."
He laughed and kissed her neck. "Go upstairs. I'll change and be up soon."
Selina
Some damn car
The rattling of the car woke her. They were on a dirt road. It was the first time they hadn't been on pavement. She quickly sat up, her heart beating a bit faster. It wasn't long before the car slowed to a halt and someone opened the door and pulled her out. Her legs ached, finally able to straighten.
"Where are we?"
"Quiet," a new voice said, leading her forward with her blindfold still in place.
If they were just driving me out here to kill me, I'm going to be very irritated.
She heard door hinges squeal and they walked into a building. The sound of the door slamming behind them echoed, and the room felt drafty. Just when she had decided they had taken her right back to the same warehouse, someone pulled the hood off of her head. She squinted into the bright lights that were pointed directly at her from every side. It was silent until another door squealed open. A figure stepped in front of one of the spotlights, creating a tall shadow that fell over her.
He's certainly dramatic.
"I heard you've been waiting for this moment, Catwoman," he hissed, spreading his arms out. "So have I. Welcome to your worst nightmare...your liberation."
Bruce
Wayne Manor
He crawled into bed after monitoring duty and slipped his arm around Zee's waist, pulling her against him and stroking her hair to wake her. She turned over and nuzzled into his chest.
"Everything okay?" She whispered.
"Mm hmm. Just thinking."
She pulled her head back slightly and looked up at him. "About?"
"How we can tip the odds in our favor."
"Regarding which problem?"
"Adam. What can you do?"
"I'm already doing what I can. We all are."
"What can you do to me?"
"Well, I'm assuming you'll want to fly again." She lifted herself onto her elbow and tried to shake the rest of her sleep off.
"More than that. Can you make me stronger? Let me go toe to toe with him?"
Frowning, she set her jaw. "No."
"You can't or you won't?"
"I won't."
He huffed and sat up against the headboard. "Zee, I don't want to go into another fight with this bastard and feel inept."
"Inept? You've saved my life every time he's come after me. He was two seconds from turning me into ash in Cairo and two seconds from turning me into ash in our front yard."
"And both times I had to be bailed out, too. First by Dick, then by Kal."
"Yeah, exactly. That's exactly what happened and exactly why we aren't fighting alone. What would happen if you suddenly had superpowers or magic?"
"I would be more powerful."
"No, you would ignore what makes you powerful. Your strength comes from here." Her hand went to his head and ran through his hair. "And here." Her hand moved down to his chest, over his heart. "The League doesn't need...I don't need Batmage. I need Batman. This has to be about more than just revenge."
He nodded and pulled her head down to rest on his chest. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but he knew it was probably the more reasonable one. Letting his anger cloud his judgment was dangerous – for both of them. "Where do you fight?"
"Next to you at all times," she said, falling into what was usually their morning shower strategy review.
"What do you do if you're hurt?"
"Heal myself first. I'm no use to anyone else if I don't."
"If he turns his lightning toward you?"
"Evade, don't take him head on. Or just hide behind Kal."
He chuckled. "I get the feeling you will be his top priority, so he'll probably be nearby for that."
She turned her eyes up to look at him. "If one of us dies?"
Gritting his teeth, he looked down at her. "Get out, get safe. Thomas needs a parent." She held his gaze, knowing this would be the hardest promise to keep. Satisfied, she turned her head back and rested over his heart. "Sorry I woke you."
"I'm not. Now you have to make it up to me."
He scoffed and moved down in the bed, turning his back to her. "No, I don't."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm tired. Night," he mumbled into the pillow with a smirk on his face.
"Mr. Practice is suddenly too tired?"
"We've practiced enough. I've got it down. Night."
He heard her huff. "Okay. Fine," she said, flopping onto her side and smacking her back against his. "Guess I'll have to take care of it myself."
"You do that."
"So. Who to think about..." she chuckled lightly and moaned, moving her hips gently. "He'll do."
Well, I hate this game already. He shifted slightly and looked back at her. "Who?"
"Shh. Busy."
He turned over. "You're not playing fair."
"Said the idiot who started the game. Shut up so I can enjoy this."
"Who?"
"Just this guy. No one you need to worry about. Oh, those blue eyes."
That's half the people we know. "Me?"
"I told you to shush. So tall and strong..."
That's still half the people we know. He moved his hand down her arm to cover her hand, slowly moving between her legs. "Me."
"No. Not you."
"Liar."
"Not you."
Pulling her hand away, he took over stroking into her. She moaned and writhed against him. "Say it."
"I told you. I wasn't thinking about you."
He paused. "Then...who?"
"I was thinking about Batman. It was great. He talks a lot less."
Pulling his hand away, he turned her onto her back. "Stupid."
"And he'd never call me stupid," she said, shoving his shoulders and trying to get back onto her side. "Jerk. Let me finish."
With a quick move, he flipped her over and pulled her hips up. He lowered his voice to its usual growl and put his lips to her ear. "You want Batman?"
"Yes," she said, grabbing the headboard.
"Then say it."
"I want Batman."
Smiling, he flopped over and laid back down. "It's his night off."
"You piece of..."
Kal
Watchtower
He stood looking at Earth from the window. The "fractured" team trickled in, quiet and serious. Clark nodded to him when he entered, passing by and entering the meeting room. Diana arrived last with Tsaritsa in tow. She smiled at him, but he turned to look again at Earth. He wondered what was happening on his Earth. Were Tanna and Tommy okay? What had she told the fire department about his absence? Would he ever see home again?
"Let's get started," Batman growled from the doorway. Kal turned and walked past him without making eye contact; it wasn't hard to act annoyed with him after what he had to listen to from his bedroom the night before. He took a spot near the back, standing and keeping his eyes down.
Acting. I can do this.
"I thought you said Green Lantern would be here," Clark said. Batman looked around the room.
"He said he would be. Has anyone spoken with him?" Everyone shook their heads.
"Maybe he doesn't like having the enemy in our midst," Kal said, glaring. Acting.
Batman ignored him, turning to the monitors. "Batgirl, message him after the meeting."
"Will do."
"Wonder Woman? Tell us where we're at."
Diana stood and moved to the front of the room. "We have a plan. It will require a bit of creativity considering our low numbers."
Tsaritsa stood and moved to stand next to her. "Low numbers are actually a good thing. I can protect you all – shield you. More people would make that more difficult."
"Low numbers mean fewer fighters, shielded or not," someone dressed like a bird said. He was standing next to another person dressed like a bird. In less tense circumstances, Kal might have had to fight a chuckle. Okay, he was still having to fight a chuckle. This dimension was not getting less weird the longer he stayed.
"Trust me, Birdman," Tsaritsa said.
"Hawkman," the bird man said.
"Right. Of course," she said with a very fake smile. "Hawkman. Exactly what is your magical knowledge?"
"I don't need magical knowledge. I have a mace and a deep desire to bury it in Black Adam's skull."
"That's very scary. I'm sure he'll be shaking in his boots."
"This is a goddamn joke," Hawkman said, walking toward her and gripping his weapon. Clark sped in front of him.
"I get it, I do," Clark said, holding him back. "But we need to look at the bigger picture."
"Bullshit. Call Fate or something. She's insane. She always has been."
"She has a direct line to Black Adam. He thinks he has her under his thumb."
Hawkman looked at him. "You really want her watching your back, Superman? You have that much faith in her?"
With a chuckle, Clark moved back. "I have no faith in her at all."
"Excuse me?" Tsaritsa spat out.
Clark turned to face her. "Trust is earned. This is your chance to earn the right not to be thrown back into your old dimension." Tsaritsa stared slack-jawed at him. "What kind of punishment do you think they'll choose for you this time?"
"You look here..."
"No, you look! You've made a hell of a lot of promises with nothing at all to back them up. Now we're sitting here with half a team and a lot of mistrust."
"Clark, sit down," Batman said.
Clark wheeled around and stood toe to toe with him. "I tried to trust you, Batman, but this isn't going to work. We need Zatanna back."
"She isn't coming back. She's locked down Shadowcrest. She'll be safe and we'll handle things without her."
"Fucking insanity," Hawkman muttered, heading toward the exit. A red light and blaring alarm stopped him. He spun on his heel and faced the monitors. "Adam?"
Batgirl ran to the keyboard. "No. It's from Earth. From Gotham."
Kal heard Bruce's heart rate increase. He ran to stand beside Barbara. "Scarecrow?"
"Give me a sec...it's from the cave...here." She passed him a communicator and Bruce stuck it in his ear. Kal heard Zatanna's voice.
"Bruce? Get home. Hurry. It's..." Her voice cut off. If this was another ruse he was going to be pissed. Bruce turned and headed toward the Zeta tubes, so Kal turned to follow.
"No! Stay here!"
"You're out of your mind. If she's in danger..."
"Clark? Keep him here. This isn't a debate."
Clark came over and put his hand on Kal's shoulder. "We move in only if he says it's okay."
Bruce disappeared, along with the rest of his team. Kal ran to the window to look back at Earth. He couldn't see into the cave. Damn you and your security measures, Batman.
Diana was dragging Tsaritsa back to the Zeta tubes while the rest of the team argued about her, Batman, Scarecrow, and Adam. Clark came over and put his hand back on his shoulder.
"We need to do something," Kal said, still trying to catch sight of anything happening in Gotham.
"It's too dangerous."
He spun around. "And what about the others? The other half of the team? What if they're exposed?"
Clark's eyes widened. "Message Manhunter," he said, turning toward the monitors. "Message everybody. Get the others out of Gotham, now."
"I'm trying," Hawkman said. "They're not responding."
*Insert standard apology for being so slow here*
To be continued...
