Bruce
Wayne Manor

They found the storage unit. Kate and Wally had worked for days trying every single combination lock they could find until they hit on the right one; they were bringing the contents to the Batcave for him to examine. It was the first chance they had at a lead in weeks.

"Hey, Bruce!" Wally waved as he hopped out of the truck and directed Kate to back into the garage. Once the truck was in, he quickly became distracted by the car collection around him and started zipping through and examining each one.

"Get in them if you want, but I'm not letting you drive." Bruce yelled to him.

"Awesome!" He zipped to the next.

"Oh, good...he has something new to talk about on the ride home," Kate said as she jumped out of the truck.

"Make him run," he smirked.

"I shouldn't be so mean. Without him, the search would have taken ten weeks instead of ten days."

They unloaded the boxes while Wally continued to test out the leather upholstery in all of Bruce's cars. Everything in the unit had already been boxed and sealed when they found it. No markings or labels, just stacked boxes.

"Thanks for this, Kate. I'll start going through things with the scanner and let you know what I find."

"You don't want help?" She asked, probably wanting to offer Wally up as revenge.

"No, I can handle it. Barb needs your help more."

"Okay, let me know if you change your mind. Wally, get in the truck or you're running home," she waved as they pulled out of the garage and the door closed, leaving Bruce alone to work.

He went to the Batcave to put on his suit so he could use its internal scanners before returning to the stacks. Most of what was inside the first few boxes was mundane paperwork. Some of it could be used in an indictment, but that wasn't what he was concerned with right now. He filed them away to be dealt with later, in the event that they were ever actually able to bring Maroni in. His hopes weren't very high at this point. He continued the search and came to a box that was filled with clothes that were Maroni's size, but didn't look like something a mobster would wear.

Strange.

The next box was filled with books. He dumped them onto the ground and started to leaf through. Most were random novels that didn't appear to have been read, but one in particular caught his attention. It looked like a small diary with a gold lock.

Doesn't make sense for a mobster, either.

Picking it up, he turned it in his hands several times before he began to notice the sound it was making. He set it back down on the floor and scanned it. Nothing. He pulled out a lock breaker and jammed it into the tiny keyhole. Nothing. Whatever was going on with this book wasn't in his realm of expertise.

Zatanna
Shadowcrest
Halfway through a REM cycle

The wards Zatanna put up around Shadowcrest were highly complex. Her father had spent years teaching them to her so she could be safe wherever she went. If anyone unwelcome crossed the threshold, they would wind up in the middle of the Sahara, or Antarctica, or on a deserted island in the Pacific. It was the best security system money couldn't buy.

Nothing that happened on the property went unnoticed...which is why someone crossing the barrier and coming toward her window woke her from her deep sleep. She stayed still, preparing a spell in her foggy brain. The window was always open so she could enjoy the fresh air; now someone was using that to their advantage. A soft thud, and she sprang up.

"Ezeerf! Sthgil no!" The whole house came to life around her, shocked by her sudden outburst. Once her eyes adjusted to the lights, she let out a sigh and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Damn it, Batman, what the hell?" Her heart was racing and the house was still blasting the lights in the room at full strength. "Enough, lights! I'm okay. Sheesh." They lowered back to a dim glow and she felt the house relax.

Batman grunted with effort, still frozen just inside the window. "Can I move, please?" He spoke through clenched teeth.

She took her time standing and walking over to him, enjoying the fact that he was fully at her mercy. He deserved it for scaring her half to death.

"Ezeerfnu," she said quietly when she was standing a few feet from him. "You know, I could just as easily have killed you; you're lucky League members are exempt from my wards. Why are you sneaking in my window at 3 am?"

He studied her carefully for a moment. "Have you ever killed anyone, Zatanna?"

"No...I've also never had a dark figure creep into my bedroom in the middle of the night." She was acutely aware that she was only wearing a t-shirt and underwear while he was in full Bat costume. It made her feel vulnerable, but she tried not to show it. "Care to tell me why you're here?"

He held a small book out to her, not saying anything.

"You came to read me a bedtime story? How thoughtful," she said, annoyed with his Bat silence.

"It was in Maroni's storage unit. I was hoping you could help me identify it...and maybe tell me why it's whispering."

That got her attention and she stepped closer to get a better view of the small book; it looked like a child's diary.

"You hear it whispering?" She asked, studying what little of his face showed behind his mask.

"You don't?"

"No. What's it saying?"

"I don't know. It's an unfamiliar language. Why can't you hear it?" His voice was low and steady, as always.

"Beats me," she reached her hand out to take it from him, "let me see...AH SHIT!" She ripped her hand back to her side as pain shot through her arm.

"What was that?" His voice was less steady now.

"Someone has hexed the shit out of that thing. Be glad you're wearing gloves. Whatever just zapped me must be reverberating through your suit and coming across as a whisper...or something." Guesses were all she had at the moment.

"Taolf." The book hopped from his hand and hovered in the air in front of her. "Kcolnu." The tiny lock fell open. "Nepo."

"Well, you're already doing better than I did," he grumbled. She took it as a compliment, whether he meant it as one or not.

"Okay, little bastard, tell me your secrets. And please don't zap me again." Holding her hand out, she closed her eyes. "Daer and etalsnart."

"What are you doing?"

"Reading."

"With your hand?"

"Yes. Shush." The writing was Arabic or something similar. She remembered that the shipment they were looking for had been intercepted in the Middle East. There were names and locations. Phone numbers...addresses...but nothing terribly interesting to her out of context. "Hmmm...you say this is Maroni's?"

"It was with his things, yes."

"Erehw si Eortav..." A bright flash of light, a searing pain, and she felt herself flying across the room.

Batman
Shadowcrest
Zatanna's Bedroom

She was airborne faster than he could react. He heard the sickening thump as she hit the wall and crashed to the floor. A low groan came from the dim corner, so he knew she was at least alive.

"Zatanna! Talk to me!" He was at her side as quickly as he could move.

"Ah, fuck fuck fuck," she was shaking and her right side was covered in blood. Her trembling hand reached and lifted her shirt up. "Fuck!" She repeated the curse when she saw what he did: a rib sticking out of a long gash in her side.

"Christ. I'll call an ambulance." He reached his hand to his ear, but she stopped him.

"Stupid. Just...give me a sec." She drew a shaky breath and held her hand to the gruesome wound. "Laeh em." Her voice was barely audible, but it worked, all the same. A glow engulfed her side and she groaned again as the wound quickly healed and the blood faded from her shirt.

"Zatanna?" He was assessing her side while she caught her breath.

"Yep?" Her eyes were closed and teeth were clinched.

"What do I need to do?"

"Nothing. Just waiting for the pain to fade. Help me up?" She grabbed his forearms and he lifted her. From what he could tell, she was recovering quickly, but he held onto her for a minute to make sure she didn't go down again.

"I'd say you were right about that hex."

"And I was sloppy. Should have protected myself. Let's uh...let's reset and try that again. I'll draw some runes and..."

"If you think I'm letting you anywhere near that book again, you're crazy." He walked over and kicked the book toward the window.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm fine. See? Not a scratch." She lifted her shirt to show her side. He wondered if she was aware that she had little else on...or that he would notice. He'd spent the last few weeks trying to pretend nothing had ever happened between them when he was around her.

"No. I've seen enough bones sticking out of your body for one night." She sighed and he could see that she was getting angry with his refusal to let her help. "I'll get Wonder Woman...maybe Barry. Clark's off planet right now. We'll need someone fast enough to catch you if you go flying again. Can you be at the Batcave at 5:00 tomorrow?" Her eyes brightened and she nodded.

"Of course." A small smile crept onto her face, clearly happy that he wasn't ditching her again.

"Good. Are you sure you're okay?" He was stalling now. Walking closer to her, he held his hand out and felt the back of her head, scanning it for lacerations. "You hit that wall pretty hard."

"Hard headed," she smiled bigger and he couldn't help but smile back.

"No arguments." He kept his hand on her head and smoothed her hair. It was a mess from sleeping...and flying. Her eyelids were suddenly heavier and her breathing picked up. She raised her right hand and began to slowly trace the outline of the bat symbol on his chest. He could feel his skin burning beneath her touch as if they weren't separated by a layer of armor strong enough to stop bullets."You shouldn't leave your window open."

"You shouldn't climb in women's windows," she replied, continuing to trace the symbol. "I have a front door."

"Batman doesn't use front doors."

She laughed softly. "Hard headed."

"No arguments."

Her left hand raised to feel along his side, tracing the seams of his suit. The fingers of her right hand ran down from the symbol to his stomach before reaching his utility belt and trailing to the seams along his other side. He let his free hand roam up her bare thigh to her waist, pulling her closer while she continued to examine his armor. Arms now snaking around his waist, she pressed her body against his and rested her forehead on his chest. He breathed in the smell of her hair. They stayed that way for several minutes before he finally reached down and took her wrists. Sighing softly, she began to pull away from him, but instead of letting her go, he guided her right hand to the back of his utility belt and put her fingers on a small clasp.

"Pull up," he said quietly. The clasp made a snapping sound when she released it, the belt loosening in her hand. She smiled and lowered it to the floor, her blue eyes sparkling in the low light. Taking her wrists again, he guided them to each side of his waist.

"Press in and twist." Again, she followed his instructions and he groaned softly as his pants loosened. The Batsuit didn't really leave room for arousal. He brought his hands together behind her back and took his gloves off before lifting her shirt over her head and throwing it on the floor. Unable to fight his instincts, he checked her side again to make sure she really was healed. The skin was smooth and perfect, so he let his eyes run over the rest of her body. She further loosened his pants and reached down to pull out his erection, making him moan when it rubbed against the soft warmth of her stomach.

"I can't stay long," he murmured into her hair.

"I don't need long," she whispered back before pushing him toward the bed until he sat down. He pulled her panties down and before he could think, she was straddling his lap and lowering herself onto him. She felt just as amazing as he remembered. Her head rolled back and she sighed as she started to move her hips. He guided her against him, but she seemed to be struggling to find a rhythm, her hands moving along his suit. It wasn't designed to be grabbed onto. With a frustrated huff, she finally twisted his cape in her hands and started raising and lowering her body, sending waves of pleasure through him.

With his hearing enhanced by the cowl, he picked up everything. Her heartbeat...her soft moans...the sound of each ragged breath. His senses were being overwhelmed as she rode him. She picked up the pace and they were both moaning and panting in time with each other. He wondered how he had kept his distance as long as he had; his addiction to her growing with each stroke. Letting out a cry, her muscles began to tighten around him and she buried her face in his neck as her orgasm peaked. He let himself enjoy it before raising her hips one more time and releasing into her with a small cry of his own when he pulled her back down. Her body collapsed against his and he held her while they recovered.

"Hey, boss?" Barb's voice in his ear made him jump. Zatanna raised her head slightly to look at him, so he held a finger to his lips before pointing to the communicator. She nodded and nuzzled back against his neck, shifting her hips slightly and causing him to gasp from the sensation.

"What is it, Batgirl?" He tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Your tracker isn't working. Everything okay?" Thankfully, tech failures happened relatively often, so he could get away with lying to her. He had turned it off before he got close to Shadowcrest; people were already suspicious enough.

"Must be interference. I'll check it and see if I can get it back online. Thanks."

Running his hand up the warm, silky skin of Zee's back, he took another deep inhale of her hair before speaking again.

"I need to get back out there."

"Mmm." He wasn't even sure if she was still awake. He rose and turned so he could lower her to the bed. She sighed and stretched before turning to her side as he covered her with the blanket. Wandering around the huge room, he finally found the door to the bathroom and cleaned himself up before readjusting his suit. He walked back over and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Don't forget...5:00 at the Batcave."

"Mmm."

"Don't be late this time," he teased.

"Go back to work, Batman," she mumbled, not looking up at him.

He grinned and headed to the window. Putting his gloves back on and grabbing the book, he grappled out and closed the window behind him as he returned to the night.

Zatanna
Wayne Manor

"Annataz raeppa."

It had been over two years since she had been to Wayne Manor. She took in the familiar stone face and large pillars. It was just as impressive as Shadowcrest, but less Gothic in its design. There were flowers lining the circle driveway and she could hear the fountain flowing behind her while she climbed the stairs. She rang the doorbell and waited, not wanting to teleport directly into the Batcave. Alfred opened the door and smiled warmly.

"Miss Zatara, what a pleasure to see you. It's been far too long," he said, directing her inside.

"How have you been, Alfred? You look as handsome as ever," she smiled. He had always been kind to her.

"I look old, Miss, but I feel well. I'll see you to the elevator. Miss Prince and Master Allen are already in the cave with Master Bruce."

She followed him through the long halls, trying to fight off the memories of her time spent there with Dick. It had been like a second home for several years. There were only certain parts of the house that she had been allowed into: the dining room, the kitchen, the den...his bedroom. She shook her head to clear her mind, thanking Alfred and stepping onto the elevator. It was noisy and slow as it descended toward the cave; she had only ridden it once before and it hadn't lost its creepiness.

I'll just teleport next time. He can grump if he wants.

When it finally reached the bottom, she got off and followed the sound of voices, trying not to be distracted by all of the machinery and collected materials Bruce had accumulated over the years. The cave was a marvel of technology and natural structures blended together. It suited him perfectly.

"Over here," Diana called when she made it to the bottom of the stairs. She wondered if her ears would pop from the pressure change; it felt like she had gone a mile underground.

"Hey, Zee," Barry said, sitting in a chair by the wall of computer monitors.

Bruce hadn't looked up, much to her relief. The feeling of being with him the night before was still fresh in her mind and she was worried her nervousness would give her away.

Act normal, Zee. You can do this.

"Is there a place I can set up? I need to draw a protection circle," she asked, approaching the group.

"Over here," Bruce's voice was it's normal low growl as he stood and walked toward the far wall.

"Thanks. This is perfect." She avoided eye contact and brushed past him, catching a whiff of his aftershave. Pulling out a large piece of chalk, she started drawing on the floor, creating the familiar design from memory. Barry and Diana chatted near the monitors, but she could feel Bruce watching her. She figured he was probably annoyed by the mess she was creating in his cave. It took her close to 20 minutes to complete and her back was stiff when she finally stood.

"Okay, let's see if I can do this without getting my ass kicked this time. Where's the book?"

He held it out to her with a gloved hand and called for their backup to come over. The trio surrounded her and she felt as safe as she could, given the circumstances. Stepping into the circle, she took a deep breath.

"Koob emoc ot em." The book left his hand and hovered in front of her directly over the center of the now-glowing circle. She could feel it fighting the power of her protective barrier and grinned.

"You're in my arena now," she said as the hex tried in vain to get to her. She held out her hands. "Now...erehw si Erotavlas Inoram?"

A cloud started to surround her within the circle. It was cool and damp at first, obscuring her vision. She could hear Bruce's worried voice, but it sounded like he was suddenly 50 yards away.

"Zatanna? What's happening, are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm safe here." Her voice was calm and steady, trusting the power of her magic. As the cloud grew thicker, it became warm, then hot, then stifling. She could see the blurred image of a man.

"He's somewhere hot. Very hot and humid. Lying in the dirt. A bright light. He's..." her words trailed off as she tried to focus.

"Is he alive?" Diana's voice was far away.

"Barely. He's in a small room, but the light is so bright..."

"He's injured?" Diana again.

"Severely. Tortured and in pain. Terrified and alone," her voice grew weaker. Not even someone like Maroni deserved what she was seeing. It looked like someone had dragged him behind a car along a gravel road.

"Zatanna, can you tell us where?" Bruce again. Far away.

"Pleh em dnif mih." The scene shifted before her, seeming to move along a line to nowhere. A few miles of nothing until a sign…

"Barranca de Huentitán."

"Uh...what was that? Spanish?" Barry asked.

Relaxing she sighed and the cloud started to dissipate. She looked to Bruce with a grin.

"Got Google Maps on that fancy computer of yours?"

Bruce
Batcave

She did it. Her crazy chalk drawings and backwards spells had tracked Maroni down. He sat down at his computer and pulled up a map of Mexico.

"Can you spell that for me?" He asked as she walked toward him.

"B-a-r-r-a-n-c-a d-e H-u-e-n-t-i-t-á-n."

Good memory.

He typed the letters in and the computer triangulated on a position. It was a national park just outside of Guadalajara.

"Hell, yeah, Zee. Nice work," Barry said.

"Now, can you get me a terrain view? He's not in the park or the city. If my direction's right, I'd say he's somewhere to the north." She leaned over his shoulder to look at the map and he could smell her perfume.

"Sure. North," he said before clearing his throat. Once he had switched the view, she reached in front of him and began to navigate the map. Afraid he was going to lose focus, he pushed his chair back slightly to give her space to work. It helped clear the fog in his mind a bit.

"We need to start thinking of how we approach this. It doesn't sound like we have much time." Diana mercifully broke the silence and his stupor.

"When is Clark back?" He asked.

"Beginning of next week. Too long, Zatanna?"

"Well, I'm no doctor, but those injuries are bad. If there's a way to get there sooner, it might be the difference between finding him alive and finding him dead." She was still playing with the map, so he stood up and pushed his chair to her so she could sit.

"Barry?"

"I can cover a lot of ground, but I don't have Clark's super hearing...or vision...or smell…," he shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"My hearing isn't up to Superman standards, but I can give you some range," Diana offered. "Once Zatanna gets us in the area, we can spread out and search."

Zatanna's head turned their way for the first time since she had started looking at the map. "I'm going?" She was asking him, not Diana.

"Of course you are," Diana responded. "You've gotten us this far, I'm banking on you getting us to him. You can track better than the rest of us."

Zatanna was still looking at him, clearly not trusting that he would agree. He turned his back to her and stared across the cave for a minute. Something in his gut was warning him against the plan...something more than not wanting to put her in danger again. Sighing, he turned back to group.

"Yeah. Clark's gone. Conner's not ready. It's the four of us, plus either Kate or Barb. You transport us there, we find Maroni, grab him and get out."

"Bruce, wait. There's something we haven't talked about in all of this," Zatanna said, brow furrowed. "That book. Not that magic can't be found in odd places, but in Sal Maroni's things..."

"It doesn't make sense," he finished for her. "I know. Nothing about it feels right."

"But do we have any other options?" Barry asked.

He stared at Zatanna for a long moment before shaking his head and turning to face away again.

"Tomorrow night at midnight. Meet here and be ready to go. Do we have a ballpark on the location?"

"Yeah, I recognize this area near a town called Tlacotán. If we start there, I think we'll be close."

"Okay, I'll see everyone tomorrow." He stayed facing away.

"Senur eb enog."

"You want to grab dinner? We need to relax before tomorrow," Diana asked.

"Sure," Zatanna replied as they walked toward the exit.

He turned just in time to see them teleport out of the cave.

Zatanna
Gotham Heights Steakhouse and Sushi Bar

"Are you sure you can find something here?" Diana asked, looking at the menu.

"Yeah, they have great vegetarian sushi. You should try it."

She didn't. She ordered a steak and baked potato. Zatanna was always impressed with how much Diana could eat, but given how muscled she was and how hard she worked, it wasn't that surprising.

Their drinks arrived and Diana suddenly leaned forward, speaking with a low voice.

"So, are you going to tell me about you and Bruce?" She asked with an intense look in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Keep it cool. She could be asking about anything.

"You're fucking."

Or not.

The word sounded wrong coming from Diana's mouth and Zee almost spit her tea onto the table.

"What?!" She tried to act shocked, but was sure the panic in her eyes was giving her away.

"Please. He couldn't take his eyes off of you the entire time we were in the cave."

Desperate to keep the lie going, she waved her hand in as casual a manner as she could.

"You're crazy. He wasn't staring at me. And I'm not...I mean...we've never..." This isn't going great.

Diana leaned even closer before she spoke, eyes still locked onto hers.

"You're going to give me details and you're going to give them to me now." She started to grin, clearly seeing right through her pathetic attempts at lying.

"No, I am not. Because there are none. Details, I mean." Her hand went to her forehead, which had a thin layer of sweat covering it. She sighed. "If you tell anyone else, I will murder you in your sleep, do you hear me?"

The smile on Diana's face grew wider as she brushed off the threat. "Tell me."

"No!"

"Yes. When?" She persisted.

"Vegas, okay?"

"No, that one was obvious. When else?" The smile was still there and she was having entirely too much vicarious fun with all of it.

"Last night," she said, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere trying to lie.

She'll just pull out that damn lasso if I don't tell her.

"I knew it. So? How was it? It's not like all of the other team members haven't imagined it, but..."

"Stop! Look, it was a mistake. Two mistakes. Two really fucking amazing, fantastic mistakes that can't happen again," she dropped her head to her hands as she spoke.

"Why not? Nothing wrong with a little stress relief now and then. Especially if it's 'fucking amazing, fantastic' stress relief." She leaned back, clearly not seeing the big deal about it all.

"Because of Dick," Zatanna said quietly. "And our ages, of course. And the fact that he's the leader of the League."

"Ah, I see. Well, age is just a number and the League has several leaders, thank you very much. But Dick...yeah I heard about the incident on the Watchtower. What are you going to do?" Her smile had finally faded and her eyes had softened.

"I don't know. I don't want to hurt anyone." She felt her stomach knot up when she thought about how Dick had reacted to just the rumors. If he found out for sure…

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," Diana said, taking her hand. "And I'm always here for you if you need to talk."

"Thanks."

Their food arrived and they changed the topic to the rest of the Vegas trip and what she had missed while she was gone. Once they had finished eating, Zatanna transported Diana home and returned to Shadowcrest. The next night loomed heavy in the forefront of her mind. As much as she wanted to go, she was scared. Bruce was right. Everything about this felt wrong.