Hey people. Happy new year. It's been a month or so. Here's a recap.

Recap:

Percy discovered the reason for his uniqueness and finally his mortality and immortality status as well as his powers have been cleared up and solidified. However, he is still trapped in a realm outside of his physical frame. He needs to find his way back to his body. The last time around, his literal soulmate to guide him to reality.

In other parts, Klarion has captured Percy and intends to use him – drain him of all his power and magical potential – in his devious schemes. However, there will be variations (obviously).

Onto the next chapter. Warning: I have not used DC's lore to flesh out character back stories… If they are different, please understand this a "fanfiction" and I am trying to create a story with the characters. I understand if you are dismayed, but I would hope you still give it a go.

Recovery.

Part I.

Adults' World.

Themiscyran Embassy,

Washington D. C.

21:19 EDT.

Her communicator was going off like crazy. The watchtower monitoring station was throwing about notification alerts for intervention like it was confetti in a celebratory event. And that wasn't the craziest part of her day yet. All the children just up and disappeared. In but an instant, every human below the age of eighteen shimmered out of existence. Since then the tensions slowly mounted. In the hour and half that had passed, human society had devolved into a primal, raging, barbarian clusterfuck that couldn't distinguish between right and wrong, logical and illogical, rational and irrational and any other structure of sanity.

Of course, she wouldn't really know how parents or even the society was supposed to react to all their children disappearing into thin air. After all, she was the last Themiscyran child in the last five millennia – all the other new Amazon recruits were drifters from Sea or guided there by their patrons – a responsibility she will soon be saddled with. She didn't know Percy's status as of now, but she couldn't afford a thought in that direction.

Technically, he was older than every other non-Amazonian and a few other metahumans on the planet. Yet, his appearance and body were restricted to that of a seventeen-year-old and could himself be caught up in this magical net.

It had to be magic. There was nothing else that would possibly explain this. No mortal technology could selectively segregate the populace and cause their disappearance. Fortunately, Olympus had shifted itself to a different existential plane. Somehow it remained obscured from her and she couldn't get Hecate's help to resolves this quickly. They will have to rely on the League's subpar magical attack to counter this tragedy.

Zatara was a competent sorcerer, powerful and multifaceted but a single magician against a horde of enemy combatants just as competent is a hard task to achieve any victory from. This is where her new armor would help. With its eight, tenth and nth metal alloy composition as well as the Olympian metals, it would cut through the fabric of magic like a hot knife in butter. However, she hadn't concentrated much on the arts of sorcery in Themiscyra preferring to leave that to those more inclined to the magical whims and fancies. She much preferred a traditional warrior, who has impressive capabilities as well as their own bag of tricks and goodies to combat her.

Making a mental note to help bolster the league's magical forces, she returned to think about her home. She had been away for too long. Since the Appellaxian invasion, she focused on integrating Themiscyra into modern society, helping guide the Amazons into a new age of peaceful coexistence rather than recuse themselves to an isolated pseudo-paradise. It was by no means a small task. Hercules and his band of ruffians branded their evil ways of man into the psyche of the Amazons. Festering on the hate that stemmed from it in a secluded island did not help with the required healing process. The opposition to men was still strong, but most of the Amazons had trusted her and her mother to help them heal and become a flourishing matriarchal society, once more.

Her sisters who met Percy were delighted. Even though Percy was old by human time scales, in Amazonian timescales, he was but an adolescent. The eldest among them reminisced a time where they mingled with the populace of Greece to know not only the way of the patriarchal society, but also the love of a child. Some remembered the painful departure of those sisters who were unable to leave the boy-children but in Percy they found a child again. A jaded child. He acted like one too. Probably to shield himself from the trauma he had experienced throughout his life.

He laughed, joked, curiously enquired, and just brought out a side in the stern Amazons she never had seen in them besides her brief time as a girl. At the end of the party, even the stoic, man-hating queen of the Amazons, her own mother was beyond herself in indulging his childish antics. Knowing that Percy was invited to stay at Themiscyra had itself lent immeasurable happiness to her when thinking of all the ways it could not only help turn a soured crowd into one where mingling with mortal society would become a possibility and children would once again grace the houses of the Amazons.

Her happier turn of thoughts was interrupted when a Molotov cocktail came soaring towards the embassy. She expertly caught it and sent it flying high into the atmosphere. The crowd gathered here, in their infinite wisdom, had concluded that the Amazons were directly or indirectly responsible for this tragedy. It wasn't helped by the overzealous and hateful Bialyan ambassador who claimed to see some ritual being conducted in the embassy on whose completion these events supposedly are the result. And the assembled members of the various religious sects never once stopped to think that perhaps the Amazons were praying to their patrons for the strength, wisdom and patience to deal with the tyrants of Bialya and men in general.

"Alexandra… I can't stay here. I'm needed at Mt. Justice to help neutralize this as quickly as possible."

"Go ahead, my princess. We will take care of these savages", replied Alexandra. She had a feral look that combined with a blood-thirsty expression make Diana second-guess her plan of action. She decided to go ahead with a warning… "Injure or Incapacitate. Do not kill them." Alexandra's enthusiasm dimmed a bit, but she nodded her assent to her princess's request. With that Diana was off to Mt. Justice with a small stopover at Percy's just to assuage her mind.

Percy's Penthouse.

New York.

21:40 EDT.

Diana was fuming. She couldn't believe it. Percy's suite was reduced to a condition one would find at the scenes of her battle with the scumbag she fought nearly seventy years ago. And for all his promises of always being in her vicinity, he had broken them again. Not that she could fault him. She could feel the aftereffects of the chaotic magic and the other mortal sorcery wreaking havoc with her metaphysical aspects. Fortunately, her bracelets negated most of the unwelcome energy and helped her remain stable.

Oh! She was going to kill him. He was like the trouble magnet in this world too. All the monsters she fought in the first twenty-year spell was because they came looking for "the mortal that smelled like the progeny of the Sea, but wasn't." How was she going to tell Aunt Hestia and Uncle Poseidon that she lost their son again? How was she going to console herself for this happening once again? Of course, now that he cannot die with whatever weird things that he seems to think is happening to him, he is bound to pop up somewhere. But how long this time around? Last time it took him ten. Will it twenty? Thirty? Fifty? A hundred? That's too long. She and Percy had this unusual bond. It can be misconstrued at times as that of lovers and soulmates. No. This was something more akin to inseparable sibilings. Not like that of a traditional doting elder sister and a cheeky annoying younger brother (though that's there as well), but more of an inseparable bond of dependence, comfort and reliance that broached much deeper into the depths of her domain.

She calmed herself and took note of the fight that had happened. From her experience she could see that Percy restricted himself to just putting up a few shields and he defeated four combatants at the same time. After which, an extremely powerful being surprised him and overpowered him.

While drawing conclusions from the fight, she began to question their motives. Why Percy? Why four people to attack him? He was obviously captured. So that means, he probably also didn't disappear with the lot of kids here. But why him?

As she was examining a burnt section of a wall, it hit her. He was an important component of this. They were using him as their conduit to perform this chaotic magic. Whatever it is that they were doing, they were draining him of the magical potential and using him to power this disaster. She took off towards Mt. Justice hoping to relay this information before too long.

Themiscyra.

22:20 EDT.

She didn't understand how she landed up here. She had tried to make her way to Mt. Justice when during her flight, she suddenly blacked out… The next thing she knew, she was in her chambers in Themiscyra – far away from being able to save her brother and give critical information to her fellow leaguers which would help them determine their course of action.

That being said, very few people had the power to overpower her, she being the heir of Olympus and a Goddess. More often than not, it was an immortal silver-tongued wench. So, she sprung into a fighting pose and landed in front of a red-eyed and clearly tear-shed Lady Hestia. "Milady. I need to go back. Percy's –"

"-in trouble. (On her surprise) Yes. I know. Unknown to him at the party, Hecate, Poseidon and I installed a few constructs of our own. If he were ever in trouble again, we would know immediately. Today is Hecate's slumber day where she recuperates her energy for the next month. Poseidon had other tasks our brother, Zeus entrusted him with and has been away delegating with the Shinto Pantheon and won't be back for a few days. Which left me to be the only one to know what truly happened.

"(Seeing astonishment on her face). You know I cannot interrupt. It is our law that prohibits us from interfering and not you. Anyway, I tried getting ahold of you the whole day. But with Zeus lurking around, I didn't want to give him a reason to futilely try and destroy my boy. If that happened, (a serious look adorned her face) he wouldn't be an immortal any longer. Here, look at the this", with a wave of her hand, she wisps of fire flew from her fingertips and turned into a white screen where the kidnapping of Percy was replayed. "And make sure to give your mortal companions this information quickly. (A pleading look took over) Bring him back in one piece Diana."

Diana couldn't do anything but nod. She said, "He is my brother, Milady. Nothing is going to stop me from bringing him back. Not Hades. Not Zeus. And certainly not a bunch of magical philanderers."

Hestia smiled at her conviction and determination. "Go my child. May fortune favor you."

Diana hugged her and sped off towards Mt. Justice. She just had to make one last stop. She needed to wake Hecate from her slumber and that wouldn't be an easy task.

Hecate's Palace, The Underworld.

Let it be known that Diana had finally reached her limit of creepy, dingy and monstrosity for today. Every step, every second and every moment in the world was sending her warning waves in abundance. With Hades' abolishment to Tartarus, the underworld had fallen to his once wife and Zeus's daughter, Persephone. While being a queen should have been a great responsibility, Persephone was not one among those. If this was the queen of a kingdom that consisted of ever-lasting spring and joy, it might have been slightly tempting. The underworld had none of the temptation without her scorned beloved and she chose to leave it with his sentencing to Tartarus.

The Underworld consequently had fallen into disarray, disrupting the flow of souls and the mechanisms of the afterlife. Desperation filled Olympus and this major responsibility was entrusted to Hecate, who was now the Lady of the Underworld along with her other domains and titles… Once given the job, it became to clear to her why Persephone let it go. It was a fucking headache to ensure that everything worked as it should while still keeping the primordials of the underworld and Tartarus happy. Hecate had an advantage of having three bodies and just barely got the job done. Her monthly recovery slumber was so precisely scheduled to ensure maximum recuperation with minimum disruption. No job, no magic, no headaches, no queendom stuff and most importantly, no Percy-sized interruptions in her day. Oh, how she had been wrong!

The amount of chaotic magic that split the reality into two distinct ones affected even the Underworld, her magical recuperation slumber and she could detect (oddly, if she might add) Percy's divine signature all over. More worryingly, the magical traps she set up in Percy's place had all been sprung. Percy must have been taken. She and Percy bonded over their shared hatred of her daughter, Circe. He from his time on his planet, and her from this. The more time she spent with him, the more she began to develop feelings for him. Odd. Considering an immortal like her, lived for so many millennia, actually falling for a mortal – a quasi-immortal mortal. She was supposed to only care sparingly for beings clearly under her status. Yet, he had this disarmingly simplistic nature to him which were accentuated by those times where he was as complex and layered as any other immortal. Bummer, as he didn't reciprocate her feelings and it took her awhile to get over it. Of course, he never explicitly rejected her and she never explicitly asked him. She knew despite that, given her prowess as the supreme magical entity in the Greek Pantheon.

Another aspect of him that piqued all of her interest was his growing magical potential. At the party a week ago, it was being barely contained in his frame. Any sorcerer with sufficient ability could potentially use him as an infinite source of magical energy or even worse, a conduit for their energy and machinations. And today her fears were all but realized. When she peered through the obscurity of the Chaos magic, she found the dastardly Lord of Chaos and the four other mortal abominations using her best friend as a conduit. Fortunately she had anticipated this version of events and developed a potion that should render his magic ineffective for at best five minutes. Crossroads being her domain, she was able to glean that Diana would be the one to get the potion from her and she would be arriving in 3… 2… 1… "Hello, Diana" called out Hecate's three forms simultaneously.

They were all absolutely gorgeous and still in a state that can only be safely described as 'haggard'. "Queen Hecate, I have come bearing grave news. Perseus has been-"

"Diana. Stop! I do not have the energy to go through all of Olympus's pointless procedures for respect, addressing a queen and so forth. And yes, I know Perseus has been taken. Given my foresight through my domain of Crossroads, I expected this to happen today… I shifted my slumber by exactly fourteen hours. I am down to my last five minutes.

"Here's a potion. This will give you five minutes to complete your mission. I have to take my counter potion to restart my slumber… (Pauses) Make sure to get him back in one piece. I am entrusting you with that Diana."

She handed Diana the vial of the potion and waved her hand. Diana was back on the earth, unfortunately in Los Angeles. She had to travel across the entire breadth of the United States to make it to her destination. Even so, she was grudgingly grateful for Hecate's foresight. They now had a good chance of victory, and she intends to win.

Mt. Justice

23:34 EDT

Diana landed with a thud in the common space. Only Batman and Zatara were there in the observation space. She tuned out the conversation and slowly made her way to them. "We are glad you were able to come, Wonder Woman. Hopefully the tensions outside your embassy have been contained?"

"I wouldn't know, Zatara. I left it to my able sisters to do as they wish, short of killing the rioters. I hope the situation has calmed down enough for their sake. My sisters aren't as… forgiving as me of perceived or ill-conceived taunts."

Batman gruffly countered, "Sounds like they need you guidance on restraint. Perhaps, you should be there instead?"

Wonder Woman sighed and worry lines marred her beautiful visage. "Unfortunately, this one strikes too close to home. They kidnapped my brother and are using him as the magical conduit to create the chaos we are currently in. I met with-"

She stopped suddenly when she felt a spike in the chaos magic pervading the entire area. She searched for the surge and found its source… in Batman? No. That couldn't be. This man was as paranoid as they come. Even she couldn't detect his movements at times and she had honed her senses to extremes unheard of, even among the Amazons. No way in hell, could he have become an unwitting source of chaos magic. Yet… she detects him to be the surge. Could this be why he was acting out of character over the past few weeks? When she thinks about it, anytime anything remotely magical had caught the League's attention, he had been at the forefront of the investigation. This contrasted with his usual always-the-silent-investigator-with-actions-oh-so-subtle-and-unnoticed shtick. With Percy he was as heavy-handed and reckless as they got. Had he inadvertently become a mole?

Come to think of it, how did the sorcerers even know about Percy as a magical host? He didn't have any sorcery skills in him and the press didn't know anything of his abilities. In fact, even the rest of the league do not have an iota of information on him. Only Batman knew because he eavesdropped. And her threat had ensured his silence. The only way to know anything about Percy, was through Batman. Occam's Razor. Batman was compromised.

The realization hit her like a sledgehammer. Her only thought then was Batman was the reason for Percy's current predicament. Rage filled her and her eyes began to glow a malevolent red. She was going to make a mincemeat of him when Hestia's voice calmly came through. "Calm down. Remember, he might not fully be in control of his actions. Just contain him for now."

Diana closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, both Zatara and Batman were staring at her and they had been at it since she stopped suddenly. "What happened? Why did you suddenly stop?" Batman's voice asked worriedly. She didn't reply. Instead, she activated her full armor and imagined a net with weighted balls. A second later, a net materialized in her hands and the next, Batman was on the floor wrapped tightly in it.

Zatara took up a defensive stance and shouted, "What are you doing?" He began to cast a spell when Diana just waved a hand at him and he flew across towards the wall, crashed and fell down. As he looked on, he saw Diana pick Batman and place him in an interrogation cell and he blacked out.

23:44 EDT

He opened his eyes to find him without his magical staff and bound to a chair in an interrogation cell opposite Batman. Diana was standing in front of them both. "Good. You are both awake. I am sorry for tying you up and locking you into interrogation cells, but until I can discern what is true and what is not, I need to do this. You will find that I have relieved you both of your accessories and I hope that you will heed me clearly when I say do not try to escape. It will not end well if I even think you are doing so."

He nodded and saw Batman do so as well.

"I know your first question is why am I doing this? It will be answered shortly. Batman, when did you last deal with the Witch Boy?"

"Seven months ago. He along with Vandal Savage and a bunch of other Arkham inmates tried to force release a mutagen into Gotham waters. I along with my team stopped them. I am not sure what that has to do with anything. Was it really necessary to bind me with the lasso?" Batman's voice had a little inflection that was far from the norm. He used a monotone and this was another difference she failed to pick up in the past few months.

Diana sighed and ignored the question. "Why have you been so interested in Percy?"

"I told you. He is a loose cannon. He needs to be-"

"Don't Bruce. You have never in the past pushed at anyone like you did Percy. Sure, you may have done so in the background… But never so overtly. It was intensely heavy-handed and as unlike you as it could get. So think. Over the past seven months, anything remotely magical or extra-ordinary and you have acted just a little off character. Why is it?" Diana's question hit them both very hard. He hadn't noticed then, but now he does. During the little conversation they planned to have with Percy, Batman pushed to interrogate him. They never do that. Especially not to one who just saved their asses. And then his constant persistence to know more about the intricacies and secrets of the helmet of Fate. His insistence to have it in Mt. Justice instead of its rightful place in the Tower of Fate where it would be protected far better; little things that somehow escaped his scrutiny and the rest of the Leaguers as well.

"You can't possibly suggest that I have been compromised." Batman's tone suggested that it was beyond all possibility for him to be compromised.

"Don't kid yourself, Bruce. Any of us can be compromised. There's always someone out there that can get into our heads. What exactly is your defense against magic, Bruce? No offence to Zatara, but he is not opposition to Klarion – a Lord of Chaos. Do you really think that the witch-boy couldn't slip one past you? Are you really that vain to admit your flaws and weaknesses?"

"You say it like you have proof that I have been compromised. What is it?"

He was clearly intrigued to what proof Diana had on Batman to question his state. Compromising Batman mentally was a task as tough as escaping a black hole's gravitational pull. What proof did she have? "Besides me and a few gods on Olympus, only you knew Percy's true story. Of how he survived. Of how he persevered and how this world was affecting him so. The only other soul to know his abilities is you. There was no way Klarion would have been able to garner that. Perseus has practiced concealment of his immense power for more than five centuries. Only if someone had the intel to look for his power signature could they have found him. Within a few weeks of you finding out, Klarion comes to know? All of us who know Percy's secret are sworn to the Styx to not reveal his origins. Only you weren't. It doesn't take much to put that together.

"And yet the clincher is I can feel a huge spike in the chaotic magic that has surrounded our world, in you. Like there is some spell on you and I for one do not understand why our resident magical expert couldn't recognize it." Diana whirled around and launched a glare at him.

He was confused, apprehensive and annoyed. "I am not all powerful, Wonder Woman. Surely you know that! It is possible that somethings escape me. Unlike the rest of the league, I am more invested in ensuring that my daughter doesn't feel neglected now that I am the only parent she has left. I am no more at fault than you or Superman or the other leaguers."

Diana's eyes softened. In her desperation and worry, she forgot to consider the other elements in human lives that she took for granted, "Forgive me, Zatara. When it comes to Percy, I am quick to the draw. I already lost him once and it crushed me. I am not willing to let it happen again."

He understood it but didn't quite like it. "Perhaps, a more moderated approach can be used the next you have a suspicion?" Diana unbound him and he called his accessories to himself. In the meanwhile, Diana questioned Batman.

"Are you possessed?"

Batman grunted, "No".

"Did you reveal Percy's secret to anyone?"

"No". The lasso burned. "Ro—Ro- Robin. I told Robin." It continued burning. "Alfred. I told Alfred as well."

Diana's eyes glinted with a ferocity that promised him pain later. But, she refocused on the task. "Was there anything unusual when you defeated Klarion seven months ago?"

"Yes. He didn't do anything the whole fight. Nor did Savage. The stood as spectators while their henchmen did their dirty work."

"Why did you not tell the other leaguers about this encounter?"

"Because Gotham's off limits." The lasso burnt very hard. "Because… Because… I- I- I don't know…" Batman began muttering, "I don't know."

He couldn't believe it. Any magical encounter and any villain that was a problem for all was required by league guidelines to be brought up at the very next meeting. Batman, the member who wrote the rules by which the league basically operated by, who never circumvented it without a good reason had just confessed to doing so. Something was afoot and they had all dropped the ball.

"Leaver lla lacigam ecnerefretni no namtab." The air got thicker and both Batman and Zatara started grunting. Soon it started swirling and a red glow was coming from Batman. Batman began to scream and the red light seeped out from him and coalesced into a ball of churning magical energy that Zatara immediately trapped in a container. "Klarion had put a spell on him that basically told him everything Bruce saw, did, analyzed, thought of and learnt about. He know everything about us. And we couldn't even lift a finger to stop him."

He was worried. They would target his daughter. They could target their loves, spouses. Everyone. This was a disaster. But, he couldn't deal with that now. He decided it would be more prudent to log a continuance of discussion file into the League Database. This was an issue of the most urgent regard, but still wasn't as bad as all their children missing.

Batman had collapsed from all the strain the chaotic magic had put him through. Diana immediately picked him up and placed him in one of the medical pods they had designed. Despite their recent animosity, it was clear she respected him. His mission. His drive. His intelligence, confidence, persistence and more than all, his preparedness. If there was one she never wanted as an enemy, as a villain, it was him. If she were honest, the league would have all but failed without Batman's finances, views and frankly work ethic. The way he inspired the rest of the powered individuals including her and even Kal was astounding. Of course, he was no shining example of a human being. Yet, there was no denying that she was honored to know him as a friend and comrade in arms. She and the rest of the league would help him recover from this ordeal, which will no doubt add to the burden he already carries. She would need to reach out to Selina and Alfred. However, the league had been compromised. That was a horrifying proposition and this yearend meeting will reflect its significance. She just hoped Bruce would be able to get over it and not become too distant and distrusting at the end of this all.

00:10 EDT

"Recognized: Captain Marvel One Five"

Captain Marvel thundered into a glum Mt. Justice. Zatara was staring at the Dr. Fate helmet, Batman in the healing pod and Wonder Woman standing pensive on the pool side. It was like he had walked into a funeral. Nonetheless the moment he saw the adults, he cried in relief. He took off with a burst and hugged Wonder Woman and Zatara at the same time. They were as surprised to be hugged by him as they were to see him. He had been the only leaguer that was absent and unreachable. "You're back", he exclaimed joyously.

Zatara was already at the brink that day, with his daughter vanishing, Batman being compromised, Wonder Woman treating him like a criminal and this oaf doesn't even take the necessary action to come on time or check in to ensure that the world spins as they had pledged to defend it? "Haven't you heard? All the children in the world have gone missing. Where were you?"

Captain Marvel disclosed with a surprise in his tone, "In a world without Grownups. Holy Moly! There are two worlds."

Wonder Woman looked unconvinced. "Two worlds? I don't think so. I think a collection of sorcerers split our reality into two dimensions, one for each group."

Zatara exclaimed with surprise, "More importantly, how are you sure that you can travel between them?"

Marvel smirked confidently, "I can say with complete confidence that I can travel between them."

Wonder Woman replied hesitantly, "That shouldn't be possible. Unless… unless you are a kid."

Marvel nervously scratched the back of his head, "Well… Uh… That's because…" he trailed of, but Diana heard it just as clear as day. "You are?", she barked in surprise and apprehension. She steadied herself. "We will table this for later. But we can turn this horror show back in our favor now that you can travel between the two dimensions. We should be able to come up with a plan of attack."

Roanoke Island

00:45 EDT

The two teams, arrived here simultaneously. What they didn't expect was this part… Klarion and the sorcerers had effectively nulled their plan. They couldn't attack from both sides as Roanoke was in a third dimension. Out of both their reaches. As they tried to forcibly enter into the sphere, the heroes who had no affinity for magic were repelled unceremoniously. No matter how hard they tried, Superboy, Artemis, Kid Flash and Robin couldn't enter the realm. Aqualad with his affinity for sorcery, M'gann with her dabbling in the magics of Mars and Zatanna, a Homo Magi made it through. From the adults' plane, Zatara, Cpt. Marvel and Wonder Woman got through.

Once they entered, the saw Percy's body was situated in the middle of the circle and the gem was embedded in his chest. Runes were inscribed into his hands and legs and the magic keeping the two worlds meant to be one was self-sustaining. The only way to defeat them and restore their worlds back to normal was to remove the gem and remove the incantations. Yet, Percy was inscribed with them. Making him the incantation and the power source. They were at a loss on what to do.

Even if they managed to defeat all of the mortal wizards and somehow subdue an immortal sorcerer, there was no feasible way to stop the spell from continuing forever without killing the boy. Diana was torn between extreme sadness and immense anger. She decided that she would take the lead from here. She activated her full armor with all of its advanced New Genesis tech, the Olympian enhancements and Percy's own modifications. It was a sight to behold.

She turned to the awe-struck group, "We will do this one step at-a-time. Obviously, Klarion is beyond our collective power. There is no way we would be able to take him on and win without Dr. Fate. So, I will keep him occupied while the rest of you capture these meddlesome savages and incapacitate them. Once you have accomplished that join me and we will try to subdue Klarion. After that we can find a way to stop this three-way split world. We cannot fail. Think of the parents who are delivering their child only to have them disappear the next instant. Think of the children growing up in a world without any adults taking care of them and teaching them the morality and immorality. How would they survive? Who would feed them? Think of your own parents, and grandparents. The loss they would feel if you fail. So hear me when I say, Failure isn't an option. It hasn't been in the past and shan't be now. For failing would mean you failed not only your loved ones, but you failed yourself. Now, follow me as we show these pests why we always win."

And she yelled, "Attack" and sped towards Klarion. Zatara decided to oversee the entire fight against the sorcerers from above. Cpt. Marvel and Aqualad were their muscle while Zatanna and M'gann were the covert hit and go squad. The four sorcerers decided to taunt Zatara on bring his daughter to the fight.

"Zatara… Are you so weak that you would allow a teenage, underage girl to fight your battle? Look at her… She is spluttering to even ensure her spells take any effect." Wotan was targeting Zatanna with the idea that take out the child and the father becomes too erratic to fight well. However, he was unprepared for the blue torrent of flames Zatanna sent his way that burnt him and knocked him out. Immediately, he was put into a magical stasis and bound by Zatara who smirked and asked his unconscious form, "You were saying?"

Shazam took out Wizard before he could get his debilitating illusions and magical skills on a roll. It was quick thinking on his part. With the courage of Achilles, speed of Mercury and power of Zeus, with a single punch, he knocked him out and sped him off to Zatara's magical stasis.

Aqualad was struggling to handle Thorn, who with his affinity in plant magic. had put him through the wringer with a bunch of trees, human-sized venus flytraps, and so on. He decided to shout to M'gann for her help. "M'gann… A little help here please. I can't seem to take him out without drowning us all in water."

"Aqualad… what if I contain the water only around him? Shouldn't that make it easier…"

"It's worth a shot… It would be better with the Cap's lightning electrocuting the bastard."

"I hear you Kaldur. I am ready when you are."

The three launched their simultaneous attack. Kaldur formed a whip from his canisters to pull Thorn off his perch. Thorn deflected it with a branch that suddenly sprung up. But, he was immediately hit on the side by Shazam. He barely moved. Looking down, the Cap realized his mistake. He should have been more observant. His legs had transformed into roots and firmly planted him into the ground. This would make things a whole lot easier. He immediately brought down the lightning and struck the tree-sorcerer who cried out in pain. But Thorn didn't fall yet. He blasted the cap away with magical energy. As he was turning towards the other two… He found himself being suffocated by water suddenly surrounding him. M'gann had contained all the water from Aqualad's canisters while Aqualad tried to use the lightning from his tattoos to keep it spherical. He desperately called for Billy to bring down the lightning to knock this monstrosity out. Thanking Mercury for his speed, the cap called for lightning to strike down on Thorn who was finally out for the count. A hard-fought victory."

Faust was in a stunningly colorful battle with Zatara and Zatanna. They formed an excellent pair and cast spells that complemented each other. Faust fought hard and managed to hold out. A freezing spell from Faust was met with a searing burn from Zatanna while Zatara counterattacked with a spell that tried to break his shield. A spell of darkness met with a spell guaranteeing fire and another which tired to remove his rings from his hand. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold off them both. So he decided to pull the last trick he had and fled the scene by using a teleportation rune. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get very far as Klarion had placed an anti-teleportation spell and landed right infront of Miss Martian, who knocked him out with a psionic blast."

The four sorcerers were contained and placed in the magical stasis keeping them subconscious. It was time to help Wonder Woman and subdue the witchboy. Maybe he would be the key turning this all back. However, when they turned around, they saw a battle of sheer spectacle. Flashes of energy emanated from them both… But Diana looked far more hassled and on the back foot… while Klarion seemingly never broke a sweat.

Wonder Woman had no magical basis. She was filled with metaphysical power but her roots in the Greek domains gave her a magical entrance while most had none. Being a New Goddess, she had access to incredible power while not being constrained like the Greek gods were. Yet, her magical potential stood no chance against a Lord of Chaos. Fortunately, Percy had the foresight to include nth metal tech and alloyed with other divine metals, she had a formidable shield to the Chaotic magic.

She decided against using her metaphysical abilities… The last time she had used them in a fight, it hadn't ended well. For now, she had to rely on her battle experience, skill and the tricks Percy taught her. She crouched a bit, and the muscles in her legs were tensed, bursting with unreleased potential. The moment she let go, the ground below her feet cracked. Her divine armor created a massive cone around her and gave an impression of a supersonic spear heading towards Klarion. It impacted the shield with a bang and managed to make a hole.

Klarion for all his power was having a hard time. She was an immortal. One of the new gods. Yet, he should have been able to subdue her without much trouble. Problem was she had an alloy of divine metals and nth metal. Countering a lot of his magical capability left him with limited attack vectors. Of course, he was still not breaking a sweat or really unleashing his magical destructive ability. He didn't want to. Otherwise, Fate will turn up like again to spoil his plans. He wasn't ready for it in the slightest.

He reupped his shield and glanced at the four who had broken through his pawns. It was time to use a little more chaos. With a wave of his hand, he used a tendril of energy to posses Aqualad, Zatara and the Martian, turned them loose on their own allies. It would keep them busy for a while.

Shazam and Zatanna were struggling to keep their allies at bay. Shazam didn't want to hurt his friends, and idols. Zatanna wasn't as strong as her father yet and still had a long way to go to actually take him on. Fortunately for them, she had a backup plan. "Captain… I have a plan. Can you hold them off?"

Shazam looked back at her with an incredulous expression but replied anyway… "I can take these two but I need help with Zatara. Whatever it is make it quick…"

Zatanna unhid the Helmet of Fate. She was contemplating donning it when she saw Zatara control Captain Marvel and forced him to shout Shazam. In an instant, Billy appeared in his place. Another wave of his staff and he was gagged, effectively removing him from the conflict. Seeing that she was alone and didn't have any options, she donned the helmet.

A bright golden light filled the vision of all present and in the background they heard a petulant "No No No No No No No…" And a red blast sent Wonder Woman careening into a large densely forested section. When Zatanna opened her eyes, she was not longer there. When she spoke, the voice of Nabu and her own coalesced into a single discombobulating voice.

Dr. Fate flew up into the air, surveying the destruction chaos magic had wrought upon the earth. The sorry state of affairs with the superheroes and the mayhem experienced in the past few hours strengthened his resolve to force someone to be his host full time. He was determined to find a suitable host and make sure he remained compliant unlike the dratted Kent Nelson.

Suddenly, he phased out of existence and back into existence. It was then he felt himself. He wasn't fully powered. He felt… partly there. Like some of him was missing. But that shouldn't be so. The helmet was his anchor to this plane. He was rudely interrupted when lightning stuck him out of the air. Zatara under Klarion's possession was attacking him along with the other possessed kids. Annoying pests.

He flew back into the air and with a flurry of hand movements he conjured four golden ankhs that wrapped around the three possessed members while leaving them completely immobile and the fourth pursued Klarion and exploded on contact with his shield. He barely noticed it.

He phased out of existence again.

Wonder Woman was a woman of action. A fighter well nurtured in destroying her enemies in all forms of mortal combat. However, when the mystical, magical and mythological come together, it generally isn't her repertoire to deal with them. Save a few threats from war mongers and overzealous immortal witches, her battles never really explore the true realms of unpredictability and freak show that a trained magical combatant's does.

Nonetheless, she was able to adapt into this clearly unprecedented match-up. Conventional combat vs magical combat. Klarion didn't wield a sword or a spear or any other weapon. He used only his power drawn through the familiar. No matter how hard she threw the punch, how hard she broke the shield, no matter how well she executed her battle strategy, there was only so much she could do without unleashing hell.

For some reason the cat was his anchor to this plan. Maybe she could attack the cat and cause him to lo se hold of this plane? Sounds like a plan. Now, to get him distracted with something. The appearance of Nabu was enough of a distraction. Unfortunately, he blasted her into the dense plant life beside their battlefield.

She saw the infernal cat and remembering correctly from the field report of the impromptu mission at the tower of Fate, she was convinced that subduing the cat will help capture this egregious representation of filth. She moved with blinding speed to pick up the cat when she felt herself being pushed aside like a ragdoll and found a wall of red chaotic magic to have been the cause. So he hadn't left his cat unprotected. She needed to figure out a way to distract him and the cat. A way around the dratted enchantments protecting the cat and in turn protecting him.

She saw in the distance that Dr. Fate was barely able to maintain a foothold in the dimension with his attacks constantly fizzling out and he disappearing and reappearing every few moments. She could hear the witchboy's childish immature mocking laughter and taunts. Oh! She wanted to grind him against a few spears so bad. Yet, she can't reach him. He protected himself too well.

A brilliant idea struck her. She could force out the magical energy in Zatara to help with the magical side. But how to extract the energy? In yet another moment of brilliance, she realized she could command her armor to act as the energy extractor. And with that, two prongs grew from her two arm guards. She proceeded towards Zatara and decided to test him on his first.

She touched her right projection on his heart and the left projection on the head… The energy latched onto the metal prongs. And she pulled the prongs away from Zatara with considerable power. The energy slowly seeped out. No that wasn't exactly right. It was being pulled out. After a while, she managed to extract all the magical malevolence from Zatara.

As the last bit of chaotic energy left him, Zatara bolted upright and looked at Fate in his daughter's body. Oh! The catastrophe. She didn't even know what she has done.

And in the middle of the fight, he couldn't be anguished right now. Wonder Woman needed help finishing off the nightmare, once and for all. So, pushing his deepest and darkest emotions to the side, he helped Wonder Woman free their comrades. It was going to be a herculean task to subdue Klarion and undo the spell being practically self-powered and contained without Dr. Fate's full presence.

He reached into his pocket dimension, and pulled out the helmet of Fate. There were now two helmets. Nabu was divided into two. He needed to force them together. Using a trick he learnt from Constantine to trap a soul in a place when it had been split, he started the spell and placed the helmet on the ground. He was giving up a part of his life force to ensure that this works. If it does, he will be incapacitated for days. If it doesn't, he hopes Zatanna knows his love for her and understands why he forbade her from joining the team and a whole lot more.

As the incantations progressed, the strain got a lot worse on the body. Zatara dropped to the knee. And then a piercing scream split the air as a glowing concentric pair of circles with incredibly detailed patterns grew under his feet. Fate was screaming as he felt himself be pulled towards the other part of his split his helmet. Fate, or Nabu, being a Lord of Chaos merged himself with the helmet to have a possibility of existing in the Earth Realm. The helmet became akin to his soul. When split, the spell must be reversed to get back the original nature. However, forcibly merging the split would be disastrous.

Zatara did not know that. No one knew that. But, Klarion did. With Fate practically handicapped, he had a chance to completely remove the pesky Lords of Order from the Earth, a gigantic win for himself and a big win for the light. Even more so, he would rub it to the other pretentious d-bags on the Light's leadership board. He was entrusted with one mission and it had gone off with a success that would never have been anticipated.

As Fate was pulled into the circle, the other helmet rose and they were now facing each other… With a flourish characterizing a great showman, Zatara pulled his hands till they were touching each other, akin to the Namaste greeting. The split helmets followed this motion till they came touching each other and began melding back into one entity. Fate had to release Zatanna and she fell to the ground while the helmets were now an indistinguishable meld. This could no longer hold the Lord of Order and the soul of Nabu was cast out of its home… The Lord of Order could no longer stay on this realm unless, he found his foothold – his familiar. He hoped to reoccupy the helmet once it was back together.

Klarion struck hard and fast. He hijacked the spell. He blasted Zatara away and the helmet began to glow till it exploded. At the same time, the soul of the Lord of Order was trapped in a cocoon of chaotic energy. Now, there was virtually no way for Klarion's spell to be reversed. He began to laugh maniacally. Their objectives had been accomplished and they succeeded beyond wildest dreams. Every other Lord of Chaos would be jealous. He could revel on this laurel for another thousand years.

Wonder Woman in the meantime had managed to subdue Klarion's familiar. Klarion had set the beast on her when it was clear Fate was his biggest problem. Oh! She wanted to blast this beast to kingdom come, but she couldn't reveal her divinity. It would complicate matters beyond comprehension. This was her trump card and the situation, although dire, wasn't enough to reveal it. She restricted herself to subduing it physically, which was much easier than Klarion. She was stronger than even Hercules and miles above Superman. Of course, she won't be telling anyone that. She knocked the familiar unconscious.

Klarion began to phase out of existence since Teekl was being attacked and his magical constructs began to fade. In his fluctuation of existence, Klarion could barely do anything, rendering him docile. Diana could proceed unimpeded towards Percy and deliver him the potion. Perhaps, that would be enough to break the spell.

She saw Percy's body slowly turning black under the strain of maintaining the three different dimensions, separating that which must be one. She needed to act fast or he may have to reform. Again. Taking the vial, she hurriedly uncorked it and dumped its contents into his mouth.

For a few moments nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, all the chaotic magic pervading the three dimensions rushed towards her and the stone. It was like the Pacific Ocean. The amount of magical energy was humungous and it crackled, making loud thundering sounds on its way to its destination. On reaching the stone, it got sucked in. The stone and Percy glowed red from the deluge of magic and rose high into the air. Once all of the magic was sucked in, the three different dimensions began to phase back to how they had been before their disruptions.

The Lord of Order was free but without a familiar. The Lord of Chaos had a familiar but was incapacitated. For the first time in millennia, no express forces of order and chaos were working on this planet.

Diana cradled Percy's head. He didn't seem to be breathing. Tears came to her eyes. It had been just a month since she discovered he was alive. Now, he would have to regenerate or whatever it was to get resurrected. To her surprise, he opened his eyes and gasped for breath.

He found the gem embedded in him. He reached for it and pulled it out. It refused to budge initially, but he was much stronger. He ripped it off himself, threw it on the ground and stepped on it.

Meanwhile, Teekl had awakened. Klarion was no longer incapacitated. He could go now as his job was finished.

"Oh! Well. It was fun while it lasted. See you later armadillos. Unless I see you first". He opened a portal, scooped the small size Teekl and ran off with a mocking laughter following his exit.

Nabu, in his incorporeal form zoomed towards the fragments of the Ambre Jeune Perdu, and merged with them. In a swirl of motion, they broke into innumerable fragments till they combined to form another helmet – one made from translucent yellow stone – supercharged with magical power. It zoomed back to Zatanna and settled on her. It all happened with a matter of moments and none were able to stop Nabu from perching on his last willing host.

When Zatanna opened her eyes, Fate was back. He was staring at Zatara who was livid. "How could you? She is a child. She wouldn't know what she is getting herself into. And now you have reclaimed her without her consent?"

Fate seemed unperturbed at the accusations thrown his way. "I have not reclaimed her without her consent. I never released her in the first place. I was forced out of my helmet by you and Klarion. So, I have not violated anything."

Zatara knew it was futile to be angry. Instead he began to plead with Fate to release his daughter. "Great Nabu. Please release my daughter. She has her own life to lead. And she is still a child, not of age to be in such conflicts. You can't possibly believe that it would be wise for future bearers to see you occupying another person, using them as your host without regard to their requirements?"

Nabu stated in his same impassive tone… "I do not care about their perception. I do not require acceptance. I need to maintain balance on this realm. Look what a few hours of chaotic magic succeeded in doing. The world, even now is in carnage. Children were needlessly lost in falling aeroplanes, run over at crossing signals by out-of-controls cars and innumerable other such incidents. Some areas of the earth are still fluctuating between operation and disaster as reality doesn't know which one to proceed with. The world is still in need of repair. Without Fate, the world fell into complete disarray within a few hours. How can I leave this capable magical host when the world requires my presence? No… I will not release her."

Zatara knew what he had to do. From the moment Kent Nelson found him and groomed him, it became clear that all his life had lead to this one moment. It was time to take on this burden. "Take me instead. (Pause) I am at my prime. I have more strength to withstand the strain of your power. I can offer advice to counter modern day threats better and I have been groomed by Kent Nelson to be your replacement. It is time, I come to terms with my destiny."

Fate replied, "All true. Yet, I no longer trust empty promises. What guarantee do I have that you don the helmet if I am to release her? Nelson sequestered me as helmet for nearly seven decades even though he knew that Fate was needed."

Zatara countered. "I am not doing this for glory, power or honour. I am doing this for family. Besides, you have my word. 'Ekat Em Daetsni'".

Fate came close to him. And pulled off the helmet. Zatanna reappeared in his stead. He took the helmet from her hand and hugged her fiercely. "Remember dear, I love you. Just, stay safe and do not do anything rash." He brushed her face with the back of his index finger and placed a kiss on her forehead. Picking up the helmet, he looked at Diana and said, "Please take care of her Diana. Let her know I love her dearly."

Diana looked sullen. It was always a tragedy when children get separated from their parents. Yet, she resolved herself firmly. Zatanna would be the daughter she never had. Without her mother and now her father, she would need them more than ever. "You have my word, as a princess of Themiscyra and as a dear friend."

Nodding at her, he donned the helmet while Zatanna protested strenuously. It didn't matter though; as heartbreaking as it was, Fate came back in place of Zatara. He looked at all present and decided to remove the offenders who were tied up at the center. "Leave these to Fate." So saying he took off into the sky into a giant ankh that teleported them away.

Zatanna fell to her knees as Percy and Diana approached her. Diana dropped down and hugged her fiercely, allowing her to sob into her shoulder. In a while the other non-magical members of the league and team showed up, sans Batman. They had won, but their victory was pyrrhic, bittersweet. The carnage was enormous, and it was all done by a being who's aims didn't extend further than an absurd need to create chaos immaturely. And they couldn't lift a single finger to stop him.

Mt. Justice.

November 7th.

Zatanna was crushed. She was now akin to an orphan with extremely loving and understanding friends and adults. But she missed her mom and her dad. She hugged her knees and sobbed alone. If she could, she would do anything to get him back. It was unfair that her father saved countless families, yet theirs remained so broken.

As tears dropped on the floor, she heard a knock on the door. It had been half an hour since she asked the team to give her space. Maybe, that's all she could expect. She was glad that she at least had them. She didn't know what she would do if she didn't know them and they didn't know her. The foster care and social services weren't exactly a good option. Here she could approach Canary, Batman, Robin and any number of other people who will give her sound advice or just counsel her.

They knock was heard again. This time it was a lot more hesitant. She decided to here out whoever was there at the door. She didn't find anybody at the door she knew. Rather it was the wonder kid from the red family super volcano incident.

She was honestly annoyed. She definitely didn't know him and he didn't know her. They were practically strangers. Nonetheless, he made an effort to reach out to her. So she would hear him out. "What do you want?". That came out ruder than she meant it to be.

"I wanted to… I was going to… I am sorry. I'll come back later." He turned to leave when her voice rang out before she could stop herself. "Wait. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just… processing."

He looked back at her and smiled hesitantly. She found that smile uplifting. The last time she saw him, his face was regenerating skin and it looked hugely grotesque, nightmarish.

However, besides the scar that marred his face, he had a pretty smile. He still looked jaded and still looked menacing to the average person. To her, he looked like the one teen who can understand her predicament. His magical life force surrounded them both and she could feel the constant misery he had put a lid on, instead trying to revel in the joys of nature.

Shaking herself she opened the door to her room wider and he entered. As they sat across each other, they were somehow taking comfort in each other's presence. A few moments later, she began the conversation. "So, Perseus. Why-"

"Please call me Percy or Perce… Perseus is not a name I enjoy… (Awkward silence) I am sorry. I keep correcting every body and it came out before I could stop it. I can't imagine if you really care about that right now… I-"

"It's alright. You can call me Zatanna. My friends call me Z." She cut him off from rambling. "What did you want to talk about?"

"During the incident today morning, I realize your father made a huge sacrifice.(Pause) He asked my cousin to take care of you… (Heavy Pause) I wanted to express my gratitude to him for helping release me from my prison but I, uh… I never got the chance. So, I came to do the next best thing. (He looked up to meet her eyes) I wish to help you and if possible be a confidante." His eyes glistened when he expressed his mind. He continued, "You lost your father today and I… I lost my soulmate."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing… "I am sorry. Come again. My father was your soulmate?"

He was baffled. Then he understood his mistake. "No. No. I meant I lost another being who was my soulmate today and I… I don't think anyone else would really understand. It's a bit out there."

She started laughing. And soon he joined her. They knew they shouldn't be laughing. But it was a relief knowing her father wasn't going at it with an underage kid on the side. And the hilarity if the words could only reach her and him.

"I guess we can add a certified, 'Consider before speaking' warning for you." She said wiping her eyes. Becoming serious, " I don't know you and you don't know me. Why are you telling me this?"

His eyes gained a slight off-kilter look as if he was remembering his past. "You know… A millennia ago, I was involved in two wars. And often I was the sounding board for all my subordinates and friends. I… found that sometimes expressing my fears and insecurities… my feelings, was easier with an unknown than with someone who would keep trying to soften the blow."

He looked at her with those warm inviting multi-colored eyes than seemed to reassure her that he would be there for her all the way. "I was hoping that we could be that sounding board for each other." She wanted to decline but there was this easiness and charm about him that she just couldn't shake. She decided that it would be better for her to let someone else help her and still be distant enough to shake her out of a stupor. "Alright… I'm in."

So hey guys… Been a while. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as much as I had writing it. See you as soon as I can.