Zatanna
Shadowcrest

She had only slept for five hours, but it was peaceful and she woke feeling rested enough to focus. The sleep had come almost instantly, and she had no idea when Bruce had crept back out. Despite the fact that she was pissed that she'd missed her opportunity to rip him to shreds for spying, she was grateful that he had forced her to go to sleep in his arms - there would be ample opportunity to yell at him another time. Rolling over and looking at the clock, she realized the girls would be over to practice soon. She needed to eat and shower after sweating through her clothes during her nightmares.

They arrived a little before 10:00 and ran through the routine. Things were coming together and she felt like they could take a few days off whenever she needed to make the trip to the bunker. She wanted more time to fine-tune her invisibility skills before they went and then have at least a day or two afterwards in case recovery would be needed. After they wrapped up for the day, she headed to the gym. Bruce might have nixed their training, but she didn't want to lose her strength. Deon had called on the way and asked her to a concert over the weekend. She gave him a tentative "yes", being vague about the conflict she might have.

No need to scare him off with League talk just yet.

She worked out until her muscles were burning, spending most of her time lifting and boxing. When she got home, she went back to the library to study. The sound of her phone ringing brought her back to reality as the light outside had started to fade.

"Can you do Sunday?" John's voice asked when the line connected.

"Yeah, that works for me. Not exactly the weekend relaxation I had in mind, but let's get this over with."

"Okay, good. Bruce has almost finished a device he's calling a 'tether' that will pulse faster the further away from each other we get. It should be quiet and easy to use."

"That sounds like just what we need. What time are we leaving?" She asked, glad that Bruce had come up with a way to avoid her having to use any additional magic.

"Around 1700."

Just like the first trip...that was a resounding success.

"I'll be there an hour early to get ready. Let me know if you think of anything else we need to do. And John? Thanks again."

"Don't thank me until we're home safe," he said, hanging up the phone...and sounding completely serious. It made her even more nervous. She called and canceled the next day of practice so she could continue her preparation. Picking the book back up, she dove in again.

Bruce
Batcave

He'd been tinkering with the tether for several hours and it was almost working the way he wanted it to. It needed to be as silent as possible and the signal as undetectable as possible. As he worked, he wondered if the invisibility spell could suppress what little electronic energy would be coming from it. There was only one person who knew the answer to that and he didn't feel up to a confrontation yet. When he had gotten the tether as close to perfect as he could, he pushed back from the workbench and rubbed a hand over his face as he yawned. He had several hours before his next patrol shift, so he went to the bedroom and laid down.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice woke him before his alarm went off. "You have a visitor, sir."

"Mm..who is it?"

"Master Grayson, sir. He's in the downstairs study." Alfred pulled the door closed as he left.

It was the first time Dick had contacted him since he last came to the Watchtower. He had probably been reading the League files again and found the plan to send Zatanna into danger. In this case, they would be able to agree...it was a shitty idea.

He threw on his clothes and went downstairs. At least if it went badly he would have the excuse of leaving for patrol.

"Dick. Everything okay?" He asked as when entered the study.

Dick was dressed in his cadet uniform. He had almost finished with his police training and would soon be spending even more time defending Blüdhaven.

"Yeah. Just wanted to check in." His voice was neutral and he seemed calm.

"Okay...check in about what?" He sat down at the desk and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to figure out why he was there.

"Do I need a specific reason? Used to live here, you know." He took a seat on the sofa on the opposite wall and mirrored his pose.

"Of course not. This is your home as much as mine. In fact, Alfred has told me repeatedly that he misses seeing you here."

"Things change," he said, looking out of the window as he spoke. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened on the Watchtower. I already apologized to Zee, but I owed you one, too. I know better than to bring personal shit into the middle of business."

"I know you do." His mind bounced around trying to decide if it was a good moment to clear the air about Zatanna, but he still hadn't decided on whether the truth was the best option. As he let the silence drag on too long, his watch finally started to sound the alarm to indicate it was time to get ready for work.

"Patrol tonight?" Dick looked to him, eyes still not giving anything away.

"Yes. I need to go down and get ready. Stay a while. I'm sure Alfred would love to talk...and feed you." He stood and walked to the middle of the room. Dick rose and faced him, standing a few feet away and looking in his eyes.

"Anything else I should know?"

What is he trying to get out of me?

"Nothing I have time to discuss now. I'm sure you know we have a mission on Sunday," he said, trying to skirt around the topic. "If you want to be there to help monitor, I understand."

"I'll leave that to you." His jaw was tight and he walked toward the door. Alfred was waiting in the hall, smiling.

"Master Dick, I have dinner on the stove."

"Sounds great, Alfred, thanks." They walked to the kitchen as they talked, leaving Bruce to try to decipher the interaction. He decided that a lack of punches being thrown counted as a win. His alarm sounded again, so he got on the elevator and headed to the cave to suit up.

Zatanna
Shadowcrest

Zatanna sighed and tossed her book onto the couch. Her eyes were burning from reading most of the day, and it was close to 1:00 am, but sleep sounded like torture. She turned the stereo on and blasted the volume, the deep bass thrumming in her ears as she let her head fall against the back of the couch.

There might be such a thing as over-preparing.

There likely wasn't anything else she could do magically to prepare for the trip...aside from rest. She was doing what she could - limiting her use of magic and meditating several times every day. It all helped, but wasn't a replacement for actual REM cycles. With a frustrated huff, she killed the music, stood, and went upstairs. Her mind briefly considered texting Bruce to see if he could work his own magic again, but decided against it; he would be on patrol and didn't need her asking him to lie down for an hour just so she could fall asleep. After a long shower, she crawled into the bed. It was starting to feel like climbing into a torture chamber that even an escape artist like her could not best. Instead of lying down, she sat up against the headboard, staring into the dark room. She pulled out her headphones and turned the music back on. It failed to drown out her thoughts, so she turned it off again and tossed the headphones back onto the nightstand.

Goddamn it.

With another sigh, she walked to the window and flung it open before returning to the bed. She let her mind wander as she sat and fought sleep. Bruce had asked if it was just him who warded away her dreams and it was a question she couldn't answer. Thinking ahead to her date on Saturday, she got nervous. If Deon stayed and it worked, she would be able to rest the night before the mission. If it didn't work, she would be just as exhausted and would scare him away with her manic night screaming, leaving her more alone than ever. She wondered if she should cancel until after Egypt, but she very much wanted the distraction of being with someone who had no clue that she was about to break into an underground bunker in the middle of the desert.

Her eyes started to close, despite her attempts to fight it. It was after 2:30. Deciding she was on her own again, she finally moved down and got under the covers.

Time to go back to Hell.

She felt sleep creeping up on her like a sadistic predator, clawing at her mind while it tried to keep the panic at bay. Just short of falling over the edge, she heard a light thump and turned her head to the window. He was silent as he started to remove his cowl and gloves, so she turned her head away again, scooting slightly so there was room for him. Still without a word, he climbed onto the bed and gently put his arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

"I'm still mad," she mumbled into the pillow, her mind quickly starting to fade.

"Sleep."

She decided to follow his order and closed her eyes, falling into quiet darkness with her shield behind her.

The Buyer

"Tomorrow. We will move after dark to reduce the risk of interference."

"You opened the first crate?" The voice asked, not sounding excited about finally moving forward.

"Yes. It is just as you said it would be." And it smells atrocious.

"Call me when the witch is secured. I want her alive and well. Is that clear?"

"Clear. See you soon."

He certainly planned to deliver her alive. How well she was when he did would depend on her behavior and the efficiency of his ally's plan to subdue her. He would keep his distance until she was down and then relocate her before anyone could interfere. The voice might not have been excited, but he was. Things were finally moving.

Zatanna
Deon's Truck

"I promise we'll have a date that goes right someday." Deon shook his head and sighed. Zatanna was still laughing thinking about how bad the concert was. The drummer was clearly drunk and the bassist hadn't shown up. "I swear they were great the last time I saw them."

The band was local and she hadn't heard of them before, but she thought it would be a fun way to spend an evening. It was. She hadn't laughed that much in a long time and it made her feel more human.

"It was great. Best comedy stand up act I've ever seen." He laughed with her now.

"This just means you'll have to go out with me again so I can get it right."

"Third time's the charm?" She asked, grabbing his hand and pulling it to her lap.

"And fourth...fifth...sixth..." He grinned at her. "Did you want to go somewhere and get a drink? Somewhere with less drunken drumming?"

"No drunken drummers at my place," she said. She had decided that now was as good a time as any to see if the dreams would stay away as long as she wasn't alone.

Turning toward Shadowcrest, he squeezed her hand and smiled. They rode in silence the rest of the way. She felt herself getting nervous as they got closer to the house and she hoped her hand wasn't sweating in his. When they arrived, he parked across the street and walked over to help her out. As soon as she closed the door, he pushed her against the truck and lowered his lips to hers. She sighed and let his hands roam her body. He pulled her hips against him and moaned into her mouth.

"Let's go in," she said, reaching down to take his hand as he pulled his mouth away. He looked into her eyes and nodded, letting her lead him away from the truck.

"Zatanna?" The voice coming out of the dark made her jump and latch onto Deon's arm. Whoever it was, she hadn't felt them before they spoke. "Please forgive the interruption, my child, but do you remember me?"

The man stepped forward into the light and she relaxed slightly, recognizing his face.

"Baron Winters? It's been..."

"Over a year and a half. Since the night your father died so tragically." He continued walking slowly until he was standing in front of them. The mention of her father's death made her stomach turn. "I was hoping we could speak for a moment. Alone, if possible."

Her mind started to analyze the situation. Baron Winters had stopped directly between them and her wards - they were standing about 20 yards from where the protection started. He was also shielding his mind; it was why she didn't know he was standing near them until he spoke. She could feel her body tensing.

Something's not right here.

Her hand went to her purse, searching for the small object she always carried with her. Forcing herself to smile, she nodded her head and turned to Deon.

"Do you mind waiting inside for me a few minutes? I won't be long." She slipped her key into his hands. His eyes shot over to Winters, who was still standing in the same spot, watching them.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, og edisni." Her muscles were tensed as he backed away from her. He was only three steps from the edge of her wards when Winters suddenly raised his hands. She felt her mind freeze. She wanted to speak, but all that came out was a groan as the pain ripped through her and her body hit the pavement.

"Zatanna!" Deon's voice rang out as she fell.

Fuck. No. Run.

It was too late. She heard his scream and his bones breaking when something hit him from behind. The object was in her hand, but the pain increased every time she tried to move. Winters moved closer and held his hand up again. She was suddenly gagged and she felt something wrapping her hands together from her wrists to halfway up her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Zatanna. This is no way to treat the child of a friend and one of the greatest magicians I've ever known, but I don't have another choice. None of us do now."

"You did well, my friend." Another voice came from the darkness. She didn't recognize it and she couldn't turn her head enough to see who was speaking.

"Thank you, Doctor. I hope this sees our deal fulfilled?"

"As soon as we are safely in the warehouse, yes."

Fighting the pain, she slowly worked the object in her bound hands until the end was just sticking out from between her palms. She scraped it along the pavement, realizing it would down her when it went off. Winters and the Doctor weren't close enough to be affected.

No other options. You'd better be awake, Batman.

She heard the click and braced herself. Deon was still screaming when the bat beacon went off. It felt like she was kicked in the head and the blackness engulfed her.

Batman
Gotham City

He stood at the top of the Gotham clock tower and listened to the city.

- Sirens in the distance – ambulance
- Screaming – children playing
- Revving engines – street racing

Nothing of immediate concern. He decided to stay a while to monitor. The night air was cool and the sky was clear. His thoughts went to the mission the next day. They had planned as well as they could, all things considered, but the rest would fall to chance. He hated chance. He had spent most of his life trying to negate it with science and reasoning and sheer brute force. Not being in control took him out of his comfort zone. As he thought back, he hadn't been in his comfort zone since before Vegas. Feeling one step behind was unnerving, and that's why the next night had to work. It was well past time for them to take the lead on this.

His wrist communicator brought him back to the present. He looked down and saw the flashing:

ZZ
ZZ
ZZ
ZZ
ZZ
ZZ

He ran forward and launched himself off the roof of the clock tower.

"Tim! Tim, come in damn it!"

"Whoa, I'm here, what is it?"

"Find Zatanna. Now!"

"Zatanna? Why are you..."

"Now! Get her on the feed in the Batmobile!"

He glided through the air toward the car at a dangerous rate of speed before using his grappling gun to slow himself and slam into the front fender.

"She's home. Sort of. Her phone tracker is out front in the street. She's not answering and it's...it's not moving."

"Get a visual." He climbed into the driver's seat and floored the gas pedal before he had the door completely closed. "Tim?"

"Yeah, I've got a drone almost there. Just give me a sec." His voice was starting to mirror the urgency Bruce was feeling.

"Talk to me, Tim." He activated the video screen as he passed cars that were barely a blur.

"Okay, coming up on it. Bruce, she's down. In the street, I can see her. Two men standing near her talking and….what the fuck?"

"What!?"

"There's a...creature...it's massive. Standing over another body. I'm sending out an alert now."

Fuck.

The car wasn't moving fast enough. Tim's voice came over the car's speaker.

"Level one alert. Shadowcrest. Zatanna's down. I repeat. Level one alert. Shadowcrest. Zatanna is down. We need anyone who can respond to go immediately." The speaker cut off and his voice switched back to the communicator in Bruce's ear. "Clark was here on the Watchtower and is on his way. He's breaking the sound barrier and will be there before you."

He couldn't talk. The panic in his throat was choking him. Crossing the bridge, he looked back to the monitor. The men were moving toward Zatanna's body - he couldn't tell if she was alive. As he squinted at the screen, they suddenly vanished. Zatanna, the two men, and the creature were gone. Within a few seconds, Superman was on the ground.

"Tim? What just happened?"

"I don't know. They're just...gone. Clark? I'm patching you in with Bruce."

"Batman, I'm here, but Zatanna's gone."

"I saw. I'm almost there."

"There's someone else here. He's alive, but just barely," Clark said as Bruce watched him walk to lean over the man's body.

"Tim, I need faces. Wake Barb and have her analyze the video." He topped the hill and skidded to a stop just short of the truck parked across the street. It was the same truck she had gotten out of Wednesday night. Walking to the man on the ground, he quickly recognized him as her date. He scanned his injuries.

"Multiple fractures and a puncture wound on the back of his neck. His vitals are weak. He needs to be taken to a hospital."

"I've got that," Flash said as he arrived at the scene, followed closely by Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. Barry picked the man up and disappeared.

"Search the area for signs of who did this. Clark, get up and get fast. See if they're still nearby." He tried to keep his voice calm, quickly slipping into detective mode. Turning his scanners on, he walked to the area where she had been lying. Her purse was still on the ground.

No blood. No signs of a struggle. Someone took her down quickly.

J'onn was holding his hands to his head. "I don't feel her close."

"No one in the house. Except a really mean cat," John said, returning to the street.

Bruce looked back to his wrist. The alert had cut off when they vanished, so he searched the area for the beacon, but it was nowhere to be found.

"She still has it," he muttered, heading toward the car.

"Has what? Batman?" John jogged to catch up with him.

"A device that sends out a signal when she activates it. It went off. That's how I knew she was in trouble, but the signal cut off when they disappeared. It's not here, which means it went with her."

"What's the range?"

"Anywhere a satellite signal can reach," he said as he climbed into the Batmobile and started the engine. He turned the video feed off. "I need to get to the Watchtower. Someone get Batwoman to finish patrol. I'm on this until we find her."

"I'll get up and help Superman," John said, backing away from the car. "We'll get her back."

We have to.

Baron Winters
The Warehouse

This wasn't part of the plan. When they heard the sonic boom of Superman approaching, he had no choice but to transport them away. Now he was stuck here with the stench of the creature surrounding him. It was massive, with white skin rotting off of its prehistoric-looking frame.

"What is it?" He asked after they had secured Zatanna in place.

"A parasitic alien." Doctor Guy Dax was staring at the beast as if it were the most normal thing that he had ever seen. Winters looked him up and down. He had known the doctor for years, but had never seen him in disguise. He was hunched over and wearing a mask that made him look like an old wretch that should be begging on the streets.

Just another man playing dress up to hide his true self.

"May I leave? I have business to attend to in the morning and I don't want to be up all night."

"No. I may need your assistance still. Tell me, friend, how do you think Superman knew we were there? That Zatanna was in danger?" He was still staring at the creature while he spoke.

"I don't know."

"After all the preparation and time you took, you do not know."

"They're the Justice League. There's no way to know what kind of technology they have at their disposal. Or would you rather I break into their base and ask around next time?"

Dax sneered and finally turned to face the girl. She was still unconscious...something else he couldn't explain. His spell had incapacitated her, but she should have remained awake. She appeared unharmed, though, so he considered his part of the bargain to be fulfilled. Now, he just needed reassurance that his life would be spared and he would be allowed to retreat to a private life away from the horrors they were about to inflict.

Zatanna
The Warehouse

Sounds. Voices. Throbbing. Gagged. Bound.

Zatanna faded in and out of consciousness. She no longer had a sense of time. It may have been hours since she set off the beacon. Or days. Or weeks. It felt like weeks. Her body was aching from being strapped in a half-standing position and she was desperately thirsty. She tried to open her eyes, but the light in front of her was blinding. Testing her hands, it was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to simply release them like handcuffs, but despite the numbness, she could tell that she was still holding the beacon. It had clearly gone off, but no one had come. No one was going to come. She was finally living out her nightmares.

At first, she felt a sense of relief. After so many nights in a row of walking through Hell, the nightmares were about to end. It would be painful and she had no idea how long it would be before she finally died, but at least there would be an end. She let her head fall back against the hard surface she was strapped to, and her mind started to fade away again. Then she heard it: the sound like metal scraping on concrete. Over and over. Closer and closer.

"I apologize that we cannot speak with one another, my dear. I normally like to carry on a good conversation with my patients, but your abilities do necessitate the gag." The voice was low and harsh, while the metallic sound continued. The light remained blinding.

She shook her head to try to clear her vision. Something was still suppressing her power.

Winters is still here. That traitorous bastard.

Her mind suddenly remembered Deon. When the pulse had hit, he was still screaming, but she couldn't see what was hurting him. Remembering the sound of his scream made her sick to her stomach; he was there because of her...attacked because of her.

"Now. I do not want to mislead you here, Zatanna. This will not be a precision operation, but I do assure you that I will not be the one to kill you. That task has been claimed by another. Still, we have time to get to know one another while we wait." The metal scraping stopped as he finished his sentence. A black gloved hand held a knife out to her...freshly sharpened. She closed her eyes to block out the light. No point in watching it happen. She screamed against the gag when the knife plunged into her right thigh. A sadistic laugh came from behind the black glove.

"I do love that sound."

"Stop. You promised me her death would be clean," Baron Winter's voice spoke from the darkness.

"Just like you said the capture would be. I guess both of us are breaking promises today." The knife plunged into her right side this time. "See, the trick of torturing someone is knowing just where to inflict pain. Miss the arteries. Miss the organs. But the nerves? Those are your targets."

Her mind started to fade into blackness again from the pain.

Please, death. Hurry.