Batman
Watchtower
Everyone was converging on the meeting room while he worked at the monitors. Diana stood next to him as he looked at the screen, one hand on his shoulder trying to steady him. It wasn't working.
"Batgirl, I need you to scan for this signal," he said, transferring the information received from the beacon when it had alerted him. "It's unique, so if it reappears, it's coming from her. Do you have faces for me?"
"Just about. Give me a few more minutes and I'll put them on your screen."
Clark entered the room and walked to stand next to his other shoulder. "We didn't find anything, Bruce."
"I know." He leaned back in his chair for a moment. "The bunker?"
"That's my first guess. If the location is blocking the satellite signal, it has to be somewhere causing a lot of interference."
"Let's go, then," Diana said, removing her hand and walking toward the Zeta tubes.
"This isn't exactly how we planned to infiltrate, Di. We'd still be going in blind and wouldn't have the protection of Zee's magic," Clark said, turning to face her.
"Stay behind, if you want. I'm going."
"Me, too," Green Lantern spoke as he entered the room. "They don't get to ruin my Sunday night date without paying. We're getting her back."
"Count me in, as well," J'onn said, standing next to Diana. "I can find her the quickest."
Clark nodded and walked toward the group. "Okay, we go. Bust the hell in and get her out."
"And if she's not there?" Barb asked, turning to look at them.
"Then find out where she is while we're gone. This is the best idea we have for now," Diana said, turning to the others. "Let's do this."
The team vanished without another word and Bruce turned back to the monitors. Barb was transferring the enhanced video to his workstation. When the faces popped onto his screen, he recognized the two men immediately.
-Le Bossu – Doctor Guy Dax in disguise. A sadistic predator who loves nothing more than to torture people for no reason.
-Baron Winters – Magical "good guy". Fought against evil for years. Clearly, he had been the one pulling the mystic strings this whole time. Zatanna never would have expected him. No one would have.
His throat tightened again as he thought about Zatanna being in the hands of someone like Dax. He would have taken her alive, but only for his sadistic pleasure. He swallowed hard, remembering Maroni's injuries...the weeks of torture before he was slaughtered. Pushing back from the desk, he stood up and started pacing around the room.
"What is that creature?" He asked Barb.
"I have no idea. It's big, ugly, and it tried to suck the brain out of that man Barry took to the hospital. Your scans said that he was missing spinal fluid. I'm guessing that's why it pierced his neck...to drain him. Another minute and he would have been dead."
"Anything on the signal?" His pacing became more furious as he waited on something...anything...to act on.
"I'm tuning the system to scan for it. If it so much as squeaks, we'll hear it."
"Batman? Are you there? Come in." Diana's voice came across the communicator.
"Yes."
"There's nothing here aside from a few guards. Locals that we took down. They said their leader left last night. They didn't give us a name, just said he was powerful and rarely left his chambers." She sounded out of breath.
"Goddammit!" If she wasn't in the bunker, she could be anywhere. With Dax. With that creature. He sat down and put his head in his hands, a throbbing pain starting to form. Nothing he was doing was working. Just like they had been for months, they were a step behind. He heard the escape hatch open and looked up to see Clark walk back in.
"What's the plan now?"
"I don't have one," Bruce said, leaning back and closing his eyes to try to gather his thoughts.
Clark walked to a chair across the room and sat, arms across his chest and brow furrowed. "That creature. It's huge. It's huge and we had no idea that it existed."
"Yeah?" He didn't open his eyes.
"It had to come from somewhere other than Earth. Which means it got here without me knowing it. It was moved without me knowing it."
"The crates?" Barbara had turned to look at him as he thought aloud.
"Yes. Four large crates."
"Meaning there are more of them," Bruce finally opened his eyes and leaned forward. "Barb said it drained spinal fluid from the man that was with Zatanna."
"Odd way to kill someone. Painful, but slow." J'onn had returned and joined the conversation. "Likely not why it did it."
"Harvesting it, then?" Clark asked of no one in particular.
"There's no way to know for sure," Bruce said. He understood the thinking, but learning why the creature had an affinity for spinal fluid didn't get them any closer to finding Zee. He stood and walked to the tubes. "I'll be on the streets searching. I...I can't just sit here. Let me know if you find anything or think of something that can get us moving."
Without allowing time for anyone to respond, he stepped into the transporter and vanished.
Zatanna
The Warehouse
She couldn't stop herself from screaming when she came around. The pain coursed through her with every heartbeat.
"Ah, our guest is awake," she heard the sadistic voice gleefully ring out as her hearing returned. She screamed again, this time in anticipation of the next round of pain. When her hearing returned, so did the sound: the blade being sharpened again. Over...over...closer...closer. It appeared in the light once more before plunging into her shoulder. She bit down on the gag, trying not to give him the pleasure of hearing her cry out. The smell of blood started to surround her.
Maybe I'll bleed out. Please…
Her hopes for that were dashed when the blade returned, now red-hot, and pressed to the wound to cauterize it. There was no fighting the scream this time.
"I cannot lose you to blood loss just yet, my dear. Remember, I promised that I would not be the one to kill you."
Vision starting to fade again, she let her head roll back. Before she could pass out, something that smelled of rot moved closer to her. In her peripheral vision, she caught just a glimpse of a massive figure moving toward her. It stopped behind her and placed rotting claws on her upper arms. She screamed again, this time in terror.
"Yes, you may feed. Only a bit, though. We must keep her as intact as possible."
As he finished speaking, she felt the sharp pain in the back of her neck. Her eyes blacked out and she felt the life being drained from her. Her magic was fading, being ripped from her body by the monster at her back. She tried to gasp for air, but couldn't make her lungs move while the pain coursed through her...like her nerves were being set on fire all at once.
"That's enough for now," the torturer's voice said. The creature moved back and the searing pain eased just enough for her to breathe. She let her head fall forward, no longer able to support its weight as unconsciousness again overtook her.
Batman
Gotham City
He had been driving for hours. Taking caffeine pills to stay awake, he worked the car in circles around the city and outside. Mile after mile. The rest of the League was looking all over the country, but there was little hope going around. She could be anywhere...or nowhere. He shook his head to clear the thought.
"Has anyone checked in recently?"
"No one." Kate had taken over monitoring so Barb could get a few hours of sleep.
"I'm going to get the plane and head further outside the city. Let me know if anyone calls in."
"You know I will."
He turned the car toward Wayne Manor and drove into the cave, where Alfred was waiting with the plane ready to go. Bruce had asked him to make a few modifications to the communications system while he was driving around Gotham.
"Any word, sir?" He handed him a sandwich and a bottle of water. Bruce tossed them into the plane and climbed in.
"No."
"I am sorry, sir. Please, if there's anything I can do from here..."
"Just be ready if I call. Thanks, Alfred."
"You'll find her. Batman doesn't know how to fail," he said as the canopy closed.
He flew the plane out of the cave and headed to the northeast on a hunch. If they were nearby, they were likely in the mountains - it would be the easiest place to block satellite signals. Assuming that he got close enough, he would be able to pick the signal up with the plane's modified communication system.
When he reached altitude, he ate the sandwich Alfred had packed and downed two more caffeine pills with the bottle of water. It would be several more hours before he reached the critical level on sleep and he wasn't going to rest until he had to.
"Bruce. It's Clark. Anything?"
"Nothing. I'm airborne. I'll let you know if I see or hear anything worth checking out."
"Bruce...we need to start thinking about what to do if we can't find her. Or if she's..."
"She's not. Call me when you have something." He cut off the line and focused on flying. The plane swept low across the hills and into the valleys, scanning for anything abnormal. His mind drifted as he flew. He thought back to things Zatanna had said. She'd been having visions and nightmares. They had terrified her. She'd been acting as if living or dying didn't matter to her. Had she seen this coming? If so, she had kept it from him.
She doesn't trust me.
He slammed his fist into the console. All he could hope for now was a chance to yell at her for keeping something like this hidden.
Beep
His eyes went to the monitor. Nothing. Interference? He rubbed his eyes and focused again.
Beep
Still nothing on the monitor.
"Alfred? Are you picking up a signal?"
"I'm not sure, sir. There's something, but it's not coming through clearly. Considering your location, it could be an error."
Bruce thought for a moment. An error, maybe, but it was something. "Alfred, I'm going lower. I might lose coms intermittently."
"Be careful," he responded.
The plane dove closer to the mountains, barely clearing the treeline as he made sweeping passes near where the first signal had come through. On the fifth pass, he heard another beep. A small flash came on the screen.
Beep
Another flash. Beep. Another. His pulse picked up and he tightened the circles he was flying.
"Alfred? Can you get me a location?"
Silence aside from the beeping, which was growing more frequent. The signal jumped around the map, bouncing off of the mountains.
"Alfred? Come on, damn it!"
He was on his own. The plane weaved dangerously through the trees and hills, the signal becoming steady. Finding a small, open area, he decided to ditch and go on foot. The plane landed with little grace in the clearing. He checked it over briefly as he got out and decided it would still be airworthy if he had enough room to take off. First things first.
Okay, Zatanna. I'm close. Bring me closer.
He looked down at his wrist. The signal was pulsing faster the further north he went. Soon, he was sprinting, and the pulsing quickened with each step. Topping a steep hill, he could see a group of buildings in the distance...settled deep into a ravine. It looked like an old mining camp that had been abandoned for years. He stopped and took a knee as he surveyed the area and caught his breath. His sensors didn't detect anyone on the outside of the buildings. Pulling out his GPS, he marked his location and started to move ahead. He silenced his communicator and set it to vibrate with the signal. It was slowly increasing as he moved. Every muscle in his body was straining...fighting the urge to rush headlong into the buildings and find her.
"Mas...ar...I can…..." Alfred's voice crackled in his ear.
When he got closer to the buildings, he heard the rough sound of a motor running.
Generator.
He followed the sound to a large, metal and brick building. It looked like an old warehouse and the generator was on the south side. He looked up and grappled to the roof, which had large windows at the top that allowed him to peer inside. Most of it appeared abandoned, but when he made his way to the north side, he could see four crates lined up along a wall. He checked the numbers on the sides with his records on the shipment Maroni had obtained - they were a match. Moving to the last window, he could see the glowing of a light in the corner. Slowly and quietly, he pried the window open and lowered himself silently to a crossbeam. His view of the corner was obstructed, so he grappled closer, using the beams to stay high and out of sight. When he cleared the obstruction, he saw her. Zatanna was covered in blood, slumped over and strapped to a concrete pillar. He was still too far to check her vital signs, so he moved two more beams closer.
Move, Zee. Give me a sign that you're still there.
Just as he was about to move to the next beam, he heard a sound coming from the crates. The massive creature walked out and stalked toward the corner. It looked different than the pictures...its eyes glowing now and flesh healing. His mind raced as it approached Zatanna; he had to take it down. Just when he was aiming his grappling gun again, a bright light hit him and he blacked out.
Doctor Guy Dax
The Warehouse
Perfect. What a heroic fool.
He walked to where Batman had landed on the concrete floor. Despite the distance of the fall, he was still breathing. He likely had more broken bones he could count, but at least he was alive. Now the real fun was about to start.
"Help me secure him, please," he spoke to Baron Winters, who had cast the spell to drop the hero from the ceiling. They tied him to the pillar opposite the witch and turned the light to shine on them both. It was like setting a stage. My theater.
He walked toward his new captive and picked up a rag soaked with an ammonia and ethanol mixture. Grabbing his cowl, he raised his head and slammed the smelling salts under his nose. He groaned as he started to come around. Walking to the witch, he repeated the move, smothering her nose until she woke with a muffled cry of pain and shock.
Let's begin.
Batman
The Warehouse
It felt like he had been crushed by a car. Eyes closed, he started to analyze the pain. Most of the bones on the right side of his body were broken. His head was pounding, so he likely had a concussion. It hurt to breathe...collapsed lung. Those were just the things he could feel. The internal injuries were likely just as severe. He'd been 30 feet in the air when he was taken out by...he didn't know. Drawing in a painful breath, he opened his eyes. He was facing directly toward her. Her head was rolling back and forth and she was blinking as if she couldn't see. The creature stood behind her...its claws digging into her arms, causing blood to drip from her elbows. He tried to strain against the bindings, but it sent a shock wave of pain through him that almost caused him to black out again.
Doctor Dax walked into the light. "Hello, Batman," he hissed through his teeth. He was hunched over, holding a blade covered in blood. Zee's blood. "What a lovely surprise to see you here."
Instead of coming toward him, he went toward her. He held her chin up as she blinked and tried to pull her head away. The blade dug into her side and she made a sickening gurgling sound against the gag. Trying to fight the pain again, he struggled to free himself. Another bolt of light went through him and made his pain increase tenfold. He turned his eyes toward the source of the light and spoke for the first time, struggling to spit the words out.
"You. Fucking. Bastard." Baron Winters was standing in the shadows, not looking him in the eyes. He had betrayed Zatanna's trust. He was the reason she was captured.
"Oh, he certainly is that. But more importantly, he is a survivor." Dax pulled the knife out of Zee's side and held a blowtorch to it. Walking back, he pressed the hot blade to her newest wound.
He's keeping her alive.
When he had finished, he nodded to the beast. Zatanna's body lurched forward slightly and she choked out a muffled scream. The creature had attached itself to her neck. Its eyes glowed brighter as it held her and fed. Her screaming faded and her eyes rolled back in her head. It was draining everything from her.
"Enough for now. Thank you for your patience in taking her." The claws left her arm and the creature moved back again, releasing from her neck. Her head fell forward with a groan.
I'm running out of time.
Zatanna
The Warehouse
She couldn't clear her eyes. All she could hear was the sound of her heart pounding. Still pounding. She wanted it to stop. If her heart stopped the pain would stop; it was all she wanted.
Water suddenly splashed in her face, clearing her eyes as she blinked. When they focused, she felt the bile in her stomach rise to her throat. She was facing Batman. His face was bloody and broken. Her vision started to blur again when hot tears filled her eyes.
Not him. Just kill me.
Bruce's eyes met hers and she could see his mouth moving. She still couldn't hear. She wanted to hear. His voice. Just his. One more time. A man was standing between them now. He was short and hideous, back hunched, holding a bloody knife in his black-gloved hand. Her torturer. With a sickening smile, he moved toward her. This time, the knife plunged into the right side of her chest. It hurt to breathe and she groaned as he pulled her head back by her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut, but he twisted the blade. Her eyes shot open again and he was laughing while he withdrew the knife and moved. She was looking at Bruce, who was struggling to no avail against the ropes wrapped around his broken body. The pounding of her heart eased enough that she could hear muffled sounds.
"Can you hear me, Zee? It's going to be okay." His voice. The hot tears returned to blur her vision.
"No need to lie to the girl, Batman. Now that I have Zatanna's attention again, I want her to see something. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are here to see it, too. Baron Winters, if you don't mind." He gestured and Winters stepped forward, brow furrowed.
"What is this? You have everything you want. Give me your promise of protection and I'll go."
Her torturer looked to the beast and it leaped onto the baron's back, piercing his neck and crushing his body. She heard his sickening cry when he hit the floor. The creature fed on him, draining the life and magic from his body. The pain in the back of her own neck came to the forefront of her mind. She was watching how her life would end as the sadistic man stared at her face with excitement. The screaming was starting to fade and the creature's eyes glowed even brighter. It was stealing his power and growing...healing. When it was over, she looked to Bruce's face. There was a look of resignation in his eyes and her heart dropped.
At least I heard his voice.
Bruce
The Warehouse
The sadness in Zatanna's eyes ripped at his chest. She knew now how things were going to end and there wasn't a goddamn thing he could do to stop it. He dropped his eyes to the floor when Dax returned to her. The sound of her screaming again...the dripping of her blood. The smell of the creature moving back behind her. He couldn't watch it happen.
Another sound...outside this time. A cracking boom. Quickly following was the sound of breaking glass. Hope rose in his gut and he squinted into the dark.
Superman. He found us.
"Your orders were simple, Dax." Not Superman's voice. He felt his stomach turn and he fought the urge to vomit, the hope fading away just as quickly as it had come. "I told you I wanted her alive and well. What part of that was too hard for you to understand?"
When the man came closer, Bruce could see his frame outlined in the shadows. He was as tall as Superman, but broader. His clothes were dark. He blinked to clear his vision...there was a lightning bolt on his chest.
"Black Adam." He growled. The clues were there the whole time and they had all missed them. Not outside of Egypt, but outside of Kahndaq. Turning Shazam back to his mortal form. The ancient ink and perfect lettering of the diary. They had missed it all...failed to draw the connections that were staring them in the face.
"Hello again, Bruce. I wasn't expecting you here for this." He walked into the center of the light, stepping over Baron Winters's body without looking at him.
Doctor Dax took a step back from Zatanna and held up his hands. "I delivered the girl."
"You tortured the girl. Does she look 'well' to you?"
"You were late. And I deserve some sort of payment for all of my efforts, do I not?" He was holding the knife in his hand like it would offer him some sort of protection. Adam walked toward Zatanna and gently lifted her chin so she was looking at him. Tears were running down her face and blood was pouring from her abdomen; the last wound had cut deep into her gut and hadn't been cauterized.
"This wasn't my plan, Zatanna. Torture is the goal of petty men with no true power. Nothing to you or me." He ran his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a tear. Bruce's anger rose and he strained pointlessly against the ropes again. "Don't worry, Bruce. Her suffering will end soon now." He was still running his thumb along her cheek in a sickening attempt to soothe her.
Finally letting his hand drop, he turned his attention to Dax, whose face was starting to contort with fear as the realization that he was well and truly fucked dawned on him. He laid the knife on a nearby table and backed away.
"She...she's still alive."
Adam calmly walked to him and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground and bringing him to eye level. He stared in the man's eyes and tightened his grip, watching the life drain from him as his feet flailed in an attempt to find the ground. With one last squeeze, Bruce heard the bones in Dax's neck being crushed, causing the flailing to stop.
"Arrogance. Another sin of weak men," Adam said, tossing the body to the ground.