Batman
Gotham City
Night

His third night of patrol in a row was chaos. First, there were riots near the docks. Next, Killer Croc was trying to break his way out of Arkham Asylum; he said he was tired of the electroshock therapy he was subjected to every day. Batman had arranged for a break from the treatments to buy some peace and good behavior. After that, he was summoned to the GCPD to review current case files and see where he could lend a hand. Riddler had left a clue in the sewers, so he had to go and check it out, stench and all. When dawn started to break, he felt a sense of relief that he could get a couple hours of sleep before work.

"Batman, we have a situation. Financial District. It's urgent."

So much for sleep.

He slammed on the brakes and turned the car south.

"What is it, Robin?"

"Someone just called in a bomb threat to the trading center. It's legit. There's a van sitting out front and scans say it has enough explosives to take out most of the block."

"Who else is available?" He sped up and weaved through the sparse traffic that was on the roads.

"Batwoman and Batgirl are suiting up. They'll meet you there as soon as possible. I'll send out an alert. Diana is on Paradise Island right now. Clark's in Metropolis working." Robin was talking quickly and his furious typing could be heard in the background.

"I'll be there in five minutes. Who called in the threat?"

"One of the Triad Gangs."

"What do they want?"

"Destruction, I'm guessing," Robin replied.

"Okay, I'm almost there. Where's the car?" The Batmobile slowed, approaching the tall trade center building.

"Right out front. It's a blue van with blackened windows and no plates."

"Got it. Where are the others?"

"Right here," Zatanna's voice came from behind him as he exited the car. She must have gotten the alert quickly, because Kate and Barb were suited up and with her.

"Okay, Robin. Tell us what the scans say."

"No one's in the car. Just the explosives," Robin said.

"Timer?"

"Hang on...no. At least not that I can tell from here."

"Maybe someone's controlling it remotely?" Batgirl pulled out her own scanner to check for a signal.

"Keep checking. Batwoman, go to the top of the building across the street. See if you can spot anyone or anything," Batman pointed to the ten story building facing the financial center.

"Got it," Kate said, grappling up and out of sight.

"Zatanna, stay with me for the moment. We'll see if they can find anything before we decide our next move." Zee nodded and leaned against the car, brow furrowed, surveying the area. Her eyes had a slight glow to them. "You feel anything?"

"No. But there are quite a few people in these buildings already, Batman. This could end badly."

"Robin, we need to find a way to evacuate this block quickly," there was an increasing urgency to Bruce's voice; he knew they didn't have much time.

"Barry's on his way. I'm trying to get Wally, too."

"I have an idea," Zatanna said, raising her hands. "Elbisivni." She vanished before his eyes.

"Zee?"

"I'm here. If they're controlling it remotely and any of you try to get close, they'll blow it. I'm going over there to contain the van. If it goes off, maybe I can hold it long enough for Flash to get everyone out."

"I don't think..."

Batgirl's voice cut him off.

"We might not have a choice here, boss. There's a signal coming into the van. Someone's definitely got their finger on a remote trigger."

"Annataz ot nav."

Barry arrived, followed closely by Wally.

"Thanks, guys. Zatanna is going to shield the van. We need to have this block cleared as quickly as possible."

"Shit, Batman...now. Zee, NOW!" Batgirl screamed toward the car. Zatanna suddenly reappeared, a glowing force coming from her hands and encircling the van. As it did, the vehicle exploded into a fireball. Zee dropped to her knees with a loud cry, her shield brightening to contain the power of the explosion.

Barry and Wally had vanished into buildings. Batman would occasionally catch glimpses of them when they shot in and out, depositing people several blocks away before returning for more. Half of them doubled over and puked from the insane speed. He looked back to Zatanna, who was still on her knees...the explosion held back by the power emanating from her hands.

Zatanna
Gotham Trading Center

Hell of a way to test a theory.

She had never tried to stop this much kinetic energy before, much less hold it in place. There was nothing magical about an explosion...just pure destruction trying to rip through the shield she had placed around it. The strain was causing her to shake violently.

"Robin...huff...how lon...huff..." She was breathing too hard to speak.

"Just a few more minutes. Hold on, Zee. You've got this."

Her vision was starting to fade, seeing only the light that was coming from her hands. She was vaguely aware of a presence next to her as she struggled to stay upright on her knees.

"Zatanna, they've almost got everyone out," Bruce's voice sounded like it was coming down a long hall.

"Hurry," she whispered, now worried that she would pass out before they finished.

"Batman, Zatanna...the buildings are empty. Get out of there!" Barry's voice was yelling over the communicator.

"Let go, Zee. Come on," Bruce said, voice still hollow-sounding as her ears rang.

"You...huff...go." She couldn't let go until he was clear.

"Not without you, come on."

Stubborn idiot.

"Ecurb yawa." He was no longer at her side, and she no longer had the power to hold the explosion.

"Annataz...huff...yawa…" She felt a violent blast of hot air as she was ripped away from the destroyed van. The sound echoed around the streets over the ringing in her ears. Her body skidded a good twenty feet across the pavement when she landed, stopping at Batman's feet.

"Fuck," she muttered, trying and failing to lift her head off of the ground.

"Damn, Zee, that was awesome!" Wally exclaimed, the group gathering around her.

"Thanks. Ten point landing. Oh, fuck...ouch." The explosion hadn't burned her, but the pavement made for a shitty landing pad. Even though her magic had gotten her away, the shock wave had given her a not-so-gentle shove, and the combined movement caused too much momentum to control in her weakened state. "Not dead? Right? Feel kind of dead."

"Not dead," Batman's voice was quiet and filled with concern as he knelt beside her. "Can you heal?"

"Oh, maybe later. Not feeling it right now."

"I'll get you home," he said, gently lifting her. "Batgirl, Batwoman, can you brief Gordon and start gathering evidence? I'll call the station from the Batcave and start processing what you find."

"Leaving us to clean up your mess, Zee? Real nice." Kate's voice was filled with mock annoyance.

"Yep. Deal with it, BW. I need a nap." Her head was dangling and she was looking at the rest of the team upside down; they were spinning like tops. "Long nap."

Bruce placed her in the Batmobile and climbed into the driver's seat. She floated in and out of consciousness while he drove, but eventually, she become aware that they weren't near Shadowcrest.

"Bat...where?" Her eyes weren't focusing well.

"Home. You're not staying by yourself. Alfred is a good medic and he'll get you comfortable until you can heal yourself."

Too weak to argue, she let her head drop back against the seat and passed out.

Bruce
Batcave

Bruce pulled the car into the Batcave and hopped out to remove Zatanna. She wasn't moving, but her vital signs were stable...for her, anyway. Her baseline temperature was always higher than other humans. He assumed it was something related her to homo magi heritage or magic in general. It had spiked to nearly 120 when she was containing the explosion, but it was down to 105 as he carried her upstairs. Alfred was waiting in a guest room to tend to her wounds. He placed her on the bed and lifted her shoulders to gently remove her destroyed jacket. She winced and mumbled something as he did, but she was incoherent. Knowing her, it was probably another smart ass comment to try to convince him that she was fine. She wasn't.

"Nothing too serious, Master Bruce. Just some scrapes and bruises. I've seen worse on you from far less harrowing situations."

"Thanks, Alfred. Let me know if she needs anything. I need to get down and help analyze what they find at the site."

"Of course, sir." Alfred turned away, so he took the opportunity to brush her hair from her forehead and squeeze her hand. There was plenty he wanted to say, but it would have to wait until she came around.

When he had returned to the cave, he ditched the batsuit and got comfortable before settling down in front of the monitors. His body was exhausted, but his mind was still racing from the adrenaline, so he started to process the evidence coming in from the explosion. Finding out who did it wasn't necessary...the Lucky Hand Triad had claimed responsibility as soon as they called in the threat. They wanted to weaken the rival groups by taking out as much financial infrastructure and causing as much chaos as possible. The early hour did indicate that murder wasn't the top priority, but plenty would have died if it weren't for the Justice League's quick response. The trigger man probably wanted to wait to set it off until they were being broadcast on the news - they managed to get ahead of that. Gordon sent his thanks to the team for saving lives, even though he was less than thrilled with the massive amount of property damage.

After several hours of processing and cataloging what Barb and Kate had found, he leaned back in his chair and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Alfred had called Lucius to have him cover at Wayne Enterprises for the day; there was no way he would be able to function at work. It was late afternoon when he finally woke up, neck stiff from sleeping in the chair. Barb had somehow sneaked in and taken over the computer work while he dozed.

"Hey. We have everything wrapped up at the financial center. Gordon has his guys serving arrest warrants for the main culprits," she said, scrolling through information on the screen. "How's Zee?"

"She was passed out when I left her with Alfred. Haven't heard anything, so I'm assuming she's alright. Probably teleported home by now."

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's tougher than she looks."

"Agreed," he said, standing and stretching. "I'm going to check in at the Watchtower. You have class tonight?"

"Yeah, leaving in about an hour."

"Thanks for all your help today." He walked to the Zeta tube and stepped inside.

The Buyer

He watched the news feed. Security footage had caught the witch thwarting a bombing attempt in Gotham. She was more powerful than he had been led to believe, and it sounded as though everyone had escaped relatively unscathed.

Too bad.

A failure of the League would have shaken them and he was beginning to understand why her capture was so important to carrying out their plan. He dialed his ally to confer.

"Are you sure you can handle this girl? I just saw the news." He didn't want to put his trust in the wrong person.

"I can handle her. I have the element of surprise on my side. Besides, I knew her father. That should give me all the upper hand I need," the Ally spoke in return.

"If you say so. Please do not mislead me, friend."

"Never. Everything will be fine."

He hung up the phone and looked out over the city. Smoke was still rising from the rubble of the Financial District.

Bruce
Wayne Manor

He rubbed his eyes and walked up the stairs. Barry had everything under control at the Watchtower and told Bruce to go home and sleep. For once, he didn't argue. The nap hadn't been enough rest to recover from the busy night and morning.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he noticed a glow coming from around the door of the room he had left Zatanna in.

Is she still in there?

It had been almost 15 hours since he had left her with Alfred. He approached the door and knocked gently. After a few seconds of silence, he turned the knob and walked in. The room had been completely changed. There were candles lining every wall and more creating a circle around Zatanna, who was hovering a few feet off the ground. There was no furniture and the walls were a deep shade of red. A glow surrounded her...eyes closed, legs crossed, hands resting on her knees. The glow was stronger along her left side where she had been injured.

Still healing.

She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had entered the room.

"Zee?" He kept his voice quiet, not wanting to startle her. She didn't move. Walking to her, he put his hand on hers. It felt like electricity was flowing through her. "Hey. You awake in there?" Raising his hand, he brushed her cheek and stepped closer. As he did, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Her arms snaked around his neck and she grinned against his mouth.

"Are you going to yell at me?" Her eyes were still closed, lips moving against his.

"For saving a few hundred people? No, yelling isn't quite what I had in mind." He pulled her closer to him, her legs uncrossing so that she was standing a foot off the ground, keeping their faces level. His arms held her body as he deepened the kiss and she sighed when his tongue entered her mouth. After several minutes, they were both panting and gasping for air. Pulling her head back, she finally opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Good day?"

"Long." He stroked her hair. "Your eyes are still glowing. And your skin it's…buzzing?" He wasn't quite sure how to describe the pleasant sensation of touching her.

"Residual magic," she said, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "I was under for a few hours. Recharging the batteries, as it were."

He reached down and pulled her legs up to wrap around his waist, her levitation spell keeping her lighter than air. His lips returned to hers, hands exploring her skin to enjoy the strange magical feeling again.

"Stay with me?" He asked as he kissed his way down her neck.

"Mmm...yes. Let me fix this place first," she said, dropping her feet to the floor and turning away from him.

"Nruter ot lamron."

The room was briefly engulfed by light and everything reappeared in its usual state.

"Thanks. Alfred would have been a little perturbed," he grinned and took her hand, leading her out of the room.

Zatanna
Wayne Manor

She had never been in this part of the manor before. Dick's room had been on the opposite wing and she had never taken the risk of roaming outside of her comfort zone for fear of encountering a grumpy Bruce. Now a very not-grumpy Bruce was leading her down the hallway to what she assumed was his bedroom. She looked around at the ornate fixtures that lined the halls and the rugs decorating the open areas - they must have cost a fortune. He finally slowed and opened the door to a room at the end of the hall. He led her inside, letting go of her hand as he turned on the light. Walking to the other side of the room, he started emptying his pockets and kicking off his shoes

The room was not what she was expecting. It was neat, but not pristine...clothes were tossed in one of the chairs and there were a few books and papers lying around. Muted blues and grays created a calming color scheme and the pictures on walls were of his family, both blood and adopted. It made her smile to peek into this side of his life. When she finally stopped gawking around the room, she turned to look at him. He was watching her intently, hands crossed over his chest as he leaned against the dresser.

"I like your costume," he said, eyes looking her up and down. "But it didn't do you much good today when you hit the pavement."

"Yeah, well, I like to be able to move and breathe. Preferably without sweating to death."

"I could get my tailor to work on something more protective."

She took a step toward him and narrowed her eyes.

"Bruce...did you bring me in here to critique my costume?"

He shook his head and looked her up and down again.

"Take it off," he said, his voice suddenly husky in a way that made her pulse quicken.

A smile crept across her face as he stared at her. Reaching behind her back, she quickly started to undo the clasps on her top.

"Zatanna?" She stopped and looked at him. "Slowly."

Taking a deep breath, she turned slightly so he was looking at her side. She had no idea how to do a sexy strip tease and her nerves were making her hands tremble, but she slowly opened one clasp after another...running her fingers over each bit of exposed skin. She felt flushed and a sense of embarrassment came over her, but a quick glace back to his face helped give her confidence that what she was doing was hitting the right notes. His eyes were dark and heavy-lidded and his breath was already ragged.

When the top was loose, she held it out and dropped it to the floor before looking back to his face. Turning toward him, she reached down and removed her boots, tossing her hair to the side and making sure he had ample view of her chest when she leaned over. Once her boots were off, she turned away from him and lowered the zipper on her pants before pushing them down over her hips, bending over to work them off of her feet. She ran her hands along the outside of her legs as she slowly stood back up. When she looked at him over her shoulder, he grinned and uncrossed his arms...standing and moving behind her. She reached up to pull her fishnet gloves off, but he stopped her.

"Leave those," he rasped.

What is it with guys and fishnets?

He reached up and undid the clasp on her bra, tossing it aside and gently running his fingers along her bare back. She pulled her panties down, bending over in front of him again, before repeating the slow standing movement, fingers brushing her skin. If he didn't do something soon, she was going to explode. Instead of touching her further, though, he took a step away as she turned around. He pulled his shirt off and dropped his pants, kicking them to the side. His strip tease was much quicker, but if that got him inside her sooner, she wasn't going to complain. When he lowered his boxers, she took a step forward and reached her left hand out to run her fingers over him. As soon as she touched him, he gasped and grunted, before reaching up to stop her hand.

She looked at his face, confused. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth were clinched. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, it dawned on her that she was still emanating magic through her skin...particularly through the arm she had stroked him with. For all intents and purposes, she had just sent a lightning bolt of magic through his cock. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it in place.

"Just...wait." He said through his teeth. His body was shaking and his eyes were still closed. Eventually, he loosened his grip on her arm. She took the opportunity to drop to her knees and take him in her mouth. He cried out as she did, but she wasn't going to let him go this time. She gripped the base of his shaft with her glowing left hand and let her tongue stroke along him while he grunted and gasped for air. As his hands twisted in her hair, he released himself into her mouth.

"Fucking hell. Fuck." He stumbled slightly and pulled her head back. She dropped her hand from him and he took a deep, shaky breath.

Looking up at him, she raised an eyebrow and licked her lips as she swallowed. He was looking down at her...wide-eyed and panting.

"Not what you had in mind?" She asked, not really caring what his plans were and pleased that she had caused an instant orgasm.

"Fuck."

"Yeah, you mentioned that." She stood and walked toward the bed. Without warning, he grabbed her hair and turned her around, crushing her lips with his. His hand reached between her legs and he slipped his fingers inside her as far as they would go. She moaned into his mouth as he rubbed his thumb along her clit. Walking her backwards, he pushed her onto the bed and dropped down to his knees, pulling her legs up so they wrapped around his neck. His tongue lapped at her folds, occasionally running up to tease her clit. She squirmed as he brought her to the edge and back down…again and again until she was screaming and digging her fingernails into his neck.

"Please, Bruce. Please..." He was torturing her. Instead of finishing, he stood and pulled her back to her feet. He took her left hand again, still glowing slightly, and placed it on his half-hard cock. She stroked as he moaned and jerked his hips against her touch. After a few minutes, he was fully erect and he took her hand and put it around his back as he picked her up. He sat her on the dresser and buried himself into her. Continuing the torture, his thrusts were slow and deliberate...making sure she felt every inch of him without letting her come.

"You're going to kill me. Please."

He laughed softly in her ear and pulled out of her, moving back to look in her eyes.

"Begging now?"

"Yes. Already been on my knees. Just fuck me Bruce, I'm begging you."

Smiling wickedly, he lowered her feet to the floor and led her to the bed. He laid down on his back and put his hands behind his head before he looked over at her and raised his eyebrows.

Glaring, she walked over and flung herself across his lap. He raised his hips as she lowered herself onto him and started to ride, arching her back and moaning. Just when she was about to come, he lifted her body and threw her onto her back.

"You're a piece of shit," she hissed as he laughed at her again. His hands went to grab her wrists, putting them together over her head. Her eyes closed for a moment until she heard a familiar snapping sound. Gasping and trying to pull her arms down, she realized he had handcuffed her to the headboard. The arrogant grin on his face pissed her off even more. Turning her hands in slightly, she released the cuffs and shook her head.

"You can't be that stupid," she said. He grabbed her wrists again and slammed them against the headboard before leaning down and kissing gently along her neck and collarbone.

"I'm going to put them back on. Leave them or I'll gag you, too."

"I don't need my mouth to get out of handcuffs."

His eyes were blazing as he squeezed her wrists.

"I played nice in Vegas..."

She took a deep breath. Pretty sure he would make good on his threat to gag her, she decided to cooperate.

"Ffuc em," she whispered, fully aware of how it sounded backward. Her hands were cuffed to the headboard again and his fingers moved down her arms and chest until they were on her breasts. He looked in her eyes, gently rolling her nipples between his fingers while he watched her face. She let her head fall back against the pillow as she enjoyed the sensation. Despite the fact that the nerves between her legs were still on fire, the feeling of his hands on her body was worth enduring a little more torture. His lips started to taste bits of her skin as he continued to stroke her breasts. When his hands finally moved down her body, his mouth took over their work on her nipples...licking and sucking until she was writhing again. His hands were on her thighs, fingers running up and down, stopping just short of where she wanted him to go. She was about to bite her tongue in half trying not to speak, but decided that more begging was only going to make him torture her longer.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, looking up at her as his hands went still.

"You say that to all the villains you handcuff?"

"Are you a villain now?" He grinned, stroking up her thigh again.

"No, but I'm beginning to think you are."

Laughing softly, he moved up and gently pressed his lips to hers. He shifted slightly and entered her again. Her groan was muffled by his mouth. He continued kissing her as he thrust and she could feel herself straining against the handcuffs and bruising her wrists. She wanted to claw at his skin. He didn't stop this time, speeding up and making her moan into his mouth. Finally breaking the kiss, he propped himself up and threw his weight into each stroke. She screamed and pulled at the cuffs again when she came, hips driving up into his until he finally groaned and came with one last thrust.

His weight collapsed onto hers for a few minutes before she finally decided she needed air.

"Can't breathe."

He lifted and moved so he was resting his head on her chest, arm around her waist. Hoping it was safe now, she released the cuffs from her wrists and ran her hands over his back and arms. His breathing was slow and even.

Out like a damn light.

She finally pulled the fishnet gloves off and tossed them to the floor before letting her body relax as another dreamless sleep overtook her.