Zatanna
Shadowcrest
She fed Asshole and set about getting the backyard ready for one more practice session before they took over the renovated stage at the Diamond and sadness ran through her as she thought about Deon lying in a hospital bed, hating her for what she did. As much as she loved magic and being a homo magi, there were days where she wish she could just be a normal human. It seemed like every time she tried, it backfired in the worst possible way.
Sophie and Jenny arrived at 10:00 and they ran through the show twice before calling it good. Opening night was two weeks away and the girls were excited. They had no idea what was going on with the League and she wanted to keep it that way; there were enough people worried about her already and she wanted them focused on the shows.
At 2:00 she got a League alert text that the planning would start at 5:00 that evening. The girls left shortly after she got the text, so she ate a late lunch and meditated before returning to Wayne Manor. Bruce was already there, changing out of his business suit and putting on jeans and a sweater. She could tell his mind was already focused on the planning session; he barely spoke and simply kissed her forehead before stepping in the Zeta tube. It was becoming easier for her to figure out his batmood changes and not take offense to them. After a few minutes, she teleported to the Watchtower.
"Sister!" Diana was the first to come and greet her, giving her a hug and pulling her toward the meeting room. "You look much better."
"I feel much better. Ready for some payback."
"Good. It's going to be a fight," Dinah said, also giving her a quick hug as they walked into the room. "And I'm glad you're coming, because I had no desire to take a 15 hour flight to Egypt."
"Same," Ollie said, walking in his usual spot close behind Dinah.
"Ditto," Victor Stone said, entering and giving her a smile. "Though mine would have been a little quicker. Long time, Zee. Heard you did a little insider recon on Black Adam and those creepy aliens. Bold."
"Oh, yeah. Went just as we planned it...start to finish." She smiled as he went to stand in the far corner. Taking her usual seat, she waited for the long stream of heroes to enter the room...some she hadn't seen in well over a year. Arthur and Mera sat next to each other on the opposite side of the table. Barry zipped in and took a seat next to her, followed by J'onn, Shazam, Batwoman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern (along with a seriously huge Lantern creature named Kilowog that she immediately decided not to anger), Nightwing, and Black Lightning.
Hail, hail, the gang's all here.
Batman and Superman were the last to enter, both looking serious and focused as they sat at the front of the table. She stayed quiet and listened as the group worked on a plan. It was immediately decided that she would transport all non-flying heroes there when they were ready to attack. She would also serve as medic to anyone who was injured. If it were up to Bruce, she would probably be sidelined at that point, but she wasn't going to take a back seat on this. Batgirl was staying behind to provide over-watch from the Tower, while a disappointed Robin was to stay and guard Gotham. Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Shazam were going to bust into the bunker at different locations, allowing the rest of the team to join them. From there, they would track down Adam and attempt to take him down quickly.
"I can find him once we're in," J'onn offered, to which Bruce and Clark agreed.
"And I can track the monsters," Zatanna finally spoke up, throat a little dry from nervousness. She saw Bruce dart his eyes toward her and clinch his teeth, but he stayed quiet. "I definitely have an...intimate knowledge of at least one of them." Now his hands were in fists, but he still didn't speak.
"Good. I think you should take one group, and J'onn another," Clark said. "Who wants to take on Black Adam?"
"You know I do," Shazam said.
"Same," Hawkman said, which meant Hawkgirl would also be in J'onn's group.
"Let me take him on with you," Cyborg offered.
"I'm in," Barry said.
"And I'll be with that group," Clark said. "I've fought him several times before."
Zatanna sat and waited as they further discussed how they would split.
"Batman?" J'onn looked to him. He had stayed quiet to this point.
"The creatures. Adam knows my gadgets. I think I can be more effective with some element of surprise. I also can't fly, so I'll be more limited if Adam just stays out of reach. From what little I saw, the creatures prefer to stay on the ground."
"You can fly if I make you fly," Zatanna said. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged, "just saying...flight spells are easy...if anyone wants to fly and fight they can."
"I'm with Zee, too," Dick spoke for the first time, eyes glued to the monitors.
Great. Two babysitters.
"Okay, then. Batman, Batwoman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Mera, Green Lantern and Kilowog...you're with Zee. The rest, you're with me and Manhunter." Clark sat down and Bruce stood to take over. He pulled up a layout of the bunker and they spent another hour deciding on the most strategic places to enter. It was after 10:00 when they finally started to wind down, and she was fighting the urge to yawn.
She chatted with Dinah and Ollie as the group started to disperse, planning out how they could work together to take the creatures down. Ollie had been working on putting more "oomph" in his explosive arrows and Dinah wondered how her cry would affect them. Her stomach finally growled and she decided to head home and grab something to eat. As she walked toward the tube, Bruce grabbed her arm and turned her.
"Headed back?" He asked, a different intensity in his eyes now. She remembered his promise to her about the night he had planned and fought a smile.
"Yeah, I'm hungry and could use a good night in bed."
Grinning slightly, he took a step back. "Well, I certainly hope you have one."
"You too, Bruce." She took another step and quietly mumbled the words to get her back to his bedroom.
Bruce
Wayne Manor
He had sent a message to Alfred to request a late dinner and brought the plates up to Zatanna in the bedroom. She was fully engrossed in Catcher in the Rye as he set the plates of butternut squash ravioli down.
"Don't make me take that from you again," he said, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth.
"Leave me be. I'm making up for a lost childhood," she said, still reading as she ate. After a few minutes, she finally looked up. "Holy shit, this tastes amazing."
She was right. Alfred had quickly readjusted to her vegetarian preferences and seemed to enjoy cooking the dishes.
"I'll tell Al you approve," he said, finishing off his plate and walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned, she was taking her last bite, so he grabbed the plates and set them on the dumbwaiter across the hall to send them back to the kitchen. He closed the bedroom door and walked to stand in front of her.
"Drop it."
She held a finger up and finished her sentence before closing the book and putting it on the nightstand. He pulled her up and walked her to the bathroom, turning on the shower so they could get cleaned up. They took their time washing each other, kissing and enjoying the quiet moment. Neither spoke of the day to come while they showered, but he knew it was weighing on her as much as it was him.
When they got into bed, she curled up next to him and slowly ran her hand over his chest.
"Promise me something?" She finally said, breaking a long silence.
"What's that?"
"You won't worry about me tomorrow." She turned her eyes up to look at him as she spoke. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, nodding slowly. A slow smile crept across her face. "We'll be okay. I mean, we clearly have the best team."
He smiled and pulled her face to his. "By far. I mean, who really needs Hawkman?"
"And we have that Kilowog guy. I honestly think we could just send him."
They laughed and kissed as she shifted herself on top of him, moving her hands down his sides as he sighed and stroked his way up her legs. As he reached her hips, his communicator went off.
"Damn it," he said, stopping their kiss. When she moved off of him, her phone sounded an alert that made his heart drop.
"Enohp ot em." Her phone popped into her hand and her face fell as she read. Looking at his watch, he saw the same thing.
"He's released the creatures on Cairo. We have to move."
They scrambled out of bed. He grabbed his boxers and was going to head downstairs when she grabbed his arm.
"Tius su pu." With a flash of light, they were both in their costumes. He put his arms around her and kissed her for a long moment before pulling his head back and looking in her eyes. There was fear there, but she still smirked and grabbed his hand.
"Let's go kick ass," she said, taking a step back. He pulled her back to him.
"Transport us."
She raised her eyebrows, but he gave her a nod and she said the words to take them to the Watchtower.
Zatanna
Watchtower
They materialized right in the middle of the group...arms around each other, eyes locked. Her stomach was flipping out of control as their secret relationship suddenly stopped being a secret.
"Uh...hey, guys," Barry said, looking at them like they had shown up wearing bunny costumes. No one else seemed to be paying them any attention. "This is a thing?"
"You didn't know?" Ollie asked.
"No. J'onn, did you?"
"Telepath," he said, shrugging.
Barry looked around the room as everyone nodded and shrugged.
"Oh, come on. Kate?"
"Yeah. They've spent the last few months acting like they either want to kill each other or rip each others' clothes off. That's basically marriage, right?"
Everyone looked at Arthur.
"Pretty much." This earned him an elbow in the ribs from Mera.
"Okay, everyone. We have to move," Clark came in and killed the chatter. "These monsters are tearing their way through the population of Cairo. Stay in your teams, but do whatever you can to save the people. This isn't what we planned. Let's make sure that doesn't matter."
Zatanna found herself clinging to Bruce's arm as they went over last minute details and got into their groups. Nightwing showed up last, quietly staring at them with a tight jaw. She wanted to let go so he would relax, but her hands wouldn't move. Batman's voice finally shook her back to reality.
"We're ready, Zee. Let's go." He squeezed her arm and moved her away from him. Taking a deep, shaky breath she raised her hands.
"Ecitsuj Eugael ot Oriac."
She could hear screaming and sirens before they had fully materialized. The horrors were apparent as soon has her vision cleared. Bodies were lying around the streets, covered in blood and bones crushed. Bruce's voice yelled over the noise.
"Let's go! If you get hurt, get clear and call Zatanna for help!" He ran over to her. "Find us something!"
Her hands went out and a glow appeared. "Dnif eht srekcuf." The glow shot through the air and knocked one of the beasts from the sky. It was dark in color and smaller than the one that had fed off of her. Green Arrow shot an explosive arrow at it and it stumbled backwards. Batman grappled to the nearest building, closely followed by Nightwing and Batwoman. She watched as they worked together to wrap the beast up with their grappling guns, leaping from building to building in circles until they had its arms pinned to its side. The Lanterns followed up, coming down around it with glowing green bars.
One down. Six to go.
Throwing her arms out again, she tracked the next beast. The light shot through the streets. Running to the group, she lifted her hands.
"Tel su ylf." Batman, Nightwing, Batwoman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow were suddenly airborne with her.
"Oh, fuck yeah!" Nightwing yelled, shooting off in the direction of the light. The rest followed quickly behind. Looking to her left, she saw Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Mera working with the Lanterns to take one of the beasts down before it could attack a building full of citizens.
When they reached the end of her light trail, she saw her tormentor. She felt rage building in her gut and flew directly for it.
"Zatanna, wait!" She heard Batman's voice as she sped up.
"Sdnah fo emalf." Fire shot from her arms like a blowtorch as she slammed into the creature's body, blasting a hole through its side. It let out a screech and swiped at her, clipping her side and sending her flying through the air. Her body lurched to a halt when something hit her. Batwoman had her by the arm and spun her around and back toward the beast.
"Go fuck him up, Zee," she shouted as her body flew through the air. She grabbed onto its neck when she was close and put her hands on each side of its head.
"Give me back what you stole, you freak. Evig em kcab ym rewop!" The beast shrieked and tried to swipe at her as the magic ripped out of its body. The light grew brighter until she couldn't see anything else. She felt the power coursing through her as it reentered her body; it was more power than she had ever felt. As the light faded into her, she let go and flew back toward the rest of the group...body glowing like the sun. The creature continued to shriek and flail as it fell to the ground. As it hit, the movement and sound suddenly stopped.
I killed it.
"I...I wasn't trying to kill it." Batman grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the next beast. "Bruce, I just..."
"We have to go. People are dying." Her mind focused again and she nodded at him as he flew them toward another building.
"Push them to the water!" Arthur yelled as they got closer. She could hear Dinah let out a cry and the closest beast shrieked and let go of the person it was attacking.
"Hey, Little Bird! They don't like that very much!" Ollie yelled, firing a shot to keep the beast away from its victim. "Keep doing that until they're near the water!"
Wonder Woman flashed by with one of the beasts in tow, wrapped in her lasso and shrieking.
"How many is that?" Nightwing yelled to Batman.
"I think we're down to three. Zatanna? Can you get us on them?"
"Dnif eht tsal eerht." Three beams of light shot off in different directions. The Lanterns went toward one while Aquaman and Mera headed to the water to call in their allies to contain the ones that had been driven to the gulf.
Zatanna followed Batman, Batwoman, and Nightwing to the end of the next beam of light where one of the beasts was waiting for them. It took a swipe and slashed Dick's leg open. He cried out and skidded to a stop on a nearby rooftop. Batman headed toward him, but Zatanna waved him away.
"No! I've got him. Go get that thing under control." She flew down to where Dick had landed and placed her hands on his leg. "Laeh."
He groaned as the pain started to pass and he stood up.
"Let's get back out there, Nightwing. We still have work to do."
Black Adam
Cairo
The beasts were feeding. They were gaining strength with every life they drained. He could see their bodies healing as he watched them from above; taking down pointless life after pointless life.
As he turned to head toward Kahndaq, a bolt of lightning blasted him back through the sky.
"Kinda sucks when you don't see it coming, doesn't it?"
Shazam. Meddling boy.
"Go home, child. You're out of your depth!" He said, flying toward him. Just before impact, he was hit by something else.
"Enough, Adam! You can't win this!" Superman yelled in his ear as he drove him into the sand. Two winged creatures came and drove spiked maces into his head. His ears rang as he threw Superman off and flew back to the sky. A pulse hit him and sent him head over heels toward the city. It came from a creature that was half-human half-machine. Getting his bearings, he flew back toward it.
"Cyborg. You abomination!" He yelled, crushing into his metal chest and sending him to the ground. Superman came at him again, but he called his powers to drive him back. "Shazam!" The bolt of lightning threw him in the opposite direction.
"Hey, dickhead, that's my move!" Shazam came flying at him, wielding lightning in his hands. Their bodies crashed together and the booming sound echoed through the air. As they passed by the city, he could see his creatures being attacked by the League. He saw Zatanna with her hands on one, a glow emanating from her as she ripped the life from it. His rage built as the opportunity he missed by losing control of her stared him in the face.
She doesn't know half her power yet.
"What's wrong, Adam? Don't like seeing your pets torn apart?" Shazam asked as they tumbled through the air, both fighting for the upper hand.
"You arrogant child. Playing with powers you can't comprehend."
"Oh, please. I'm arrogant? You thought you could beat us with a bunch of...dinosaurs...alien dinosaurs? Okay, I don't know what they are, but comprehend this!"
Lightning shot out of Shazam's hands and blasted Adam backward. He recovered quickly and headed back at his foe, but was hit again by Superman; his laser vision throwing him against a nearby building. A second beam of laser vision hit him as he dropped to the ground. Martian Manhunter flew into his view. A red blur hit him once, twice, three times before he could think.
Flash.
He shook his head to fight the blurring of his vision. As he stood, another of his creatures was taken out. He watched as Wonder Woman threw it to sea with her lasso.
They aren't strong enough yet.
The mace-wielding beings came at him again. This time, he was able to thwart their attack...tossing a pair of trucks from the street at them as they flew. One dodged, but the other was hit and sent flying in the opposite direction. Another shock of lightning...not Shazam this time. He looked and saw man flying at him, lightning surrounding him as he gained speed.
"Surprise, fucker," the man said as he sent wave of electricity through his chest. The pain coursed through him, but he fought it, grabbing the black-clad man by the throat and tossing him aside.
"Shazam!" A bolt of Lightning followed the man, driving him into the ground.
Weak fool.
Flying up further, he closed his eyes and summoned his powers in full force. If he had to fight alone, so be it. Lightning raged around him as he rose, reaching across the sky. Opening his eyes, he looked down at the gathered "heroes".
Yes. So be it.
Zatanna
Cairo
"Zatanna! Hawkgirl and Cyborg need med assist." Superman's voice came over the communicator. Turning in the direction of the lightning display, she shot across the sky to the outskirts of the city. As she got closer, she could see Shazam and Adam exchanging blows. Black Lightning flew past and hit Adam, but was knocked aside and blasted into the ground.
Make that three med assists.
She found Cyborg first. His cybernetic implants were a jumbled mess (to be fair, they would have looked that way to her, regardless). He was bleeding and groaning from the pain.
"Okay, hold still. This is...different than my usual shtick." His body went still as he struggle to breathe. "Laeh sih ydob, riaper sih stnalpmi."
The light knitted things back together as he laid there, taking longer than usual, but returning him to his normal form.
"Ugh...thanks, Zee. Hey, can you just conjure me up a new body while you're messing around?" He grabbed her arm as she helped him stand.
"Maybe. Let's finish messing around with the demigod first and then we'll talk."
Laughing, he took back off into the sky.
"Alright...now. Ekat em ot Nosreffej." She reappeared next to Black Lightning. He was holding his arm and it looked like his leg was broken into several pieces. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Oh, great. Just enjoying a day on the beach. You mind? This hurts like hell."
"Easy one. Laeh mih." The light quickly healed his wounds. "Get back out there, lazy."
He flipped her off and flew back into the sky. "Thanks, Zee!"
Bunch of smartasses I'm working with here.
"Dnif Lrigkwah." She appeared next to Hawkman, who was cradling Hawgirl's head in his lap. She was by far in the worst shape. Her head was bleeding and her body was covered in cuts and scrapes. Most of her bones looked broken. "Here, Carter. Let me take her."
Zatanna moved to where Shayera's head was resting in her lap now. She placed her hands on her temples and closed her eyes.
"Laeh ym dneirf" The glow engulfed her body and Zee felt her power surge through her as it healed the wounds. When the light faded, Shayera opened her eyes.
"Zee? What are you doing?" She tried to lift her head, but was too weak.
"Just wanted to cuddle. Carter? I think you can take it from here." He moved to take her head and support it.
Turning back to the city, she shot into the air and looked for her team. The Bat crew was standing on a roof watching as Kilowog tore a leg off of one of the last two creatures before tossing the shrieking remainder toward the sea. Catching sight of her last light trail, she took off, followed closely by the rest of the team. With a scream she harnessed all of the surplus power that was running through her, and drove herself into the last beast's back, grabbing it and throwing it away from the person it was attacking. As the rest of the team took off after it, she leaned down and healed the man it had been trying to kill. When she finished, she joined the team just in time to see them working together to tie the creature up.
"Okay, let's get to the others," Batman yelled.
Black Adam
Cairo
The power ran through him. He could feel it surrounding him as he looked down at the false gods before him.
Damn them all.
The mortals would be easy to deal with. Batman and his followers were simply annoyances that would be exterminated. All of the others would find out what it meant to mess with a true god.
Batman
Cairo
The full team assembled in front of Black Adam. He was looming high over them, surrounding himself with lightning.
"Superman?" He yelled toward the main group. "Any great ideas?"
He flew toward him as he asked, not sure what their next step should be (and very much enjoying the temporary convenience of flight). Shazam was close behind, looking up at their foe.
"We need to get him weakened and distracted."
"And then?" Bruce asked.
Shazam started to generate his own circle of lightning. "Then I introduce you to his mortal form."
"Any idea how to weaken him? We've just seemed to piss him off so far," Superman asked.
"Hit him a lot. Lightning hurts him, so get Jefferson up here and send him into overdrive while you protect him. Diana can deflect shots back on him. Hey, Zatanna? Can you conjure some lightning?"
"I guess we'll find out." Zee had joined the group after patching up the team, still glowing as she hovered.
"Okay, surround him and start hitting him with as many bolts as possible. The rest of us will run interference and keep the lightning-wielders safe; keep pushing him further from the city," Batman directed the group. "Manhunter? What can you do with his head?"
"I'll try to get close enough to control him once he's weakened. I'm not sure how effective I can be, but..."
"Get moving!" Diana interrupted as Adam started to fly toward them, supercharged and ready to tear through the line they had formed. The group scattered and started to attack from every angle. Bruce instinctively followed after Zatanna and the rest of his crew followed.
"Sdnah fo gninthgil!" Zee's hands sparked and glowed as the electricity built. "Okay, uh...holy hell...touching me is probably a bad idea right now, so everyone stay clear. I'll see if I can sling this shit the right way."
Shazam was already engaged with Adam, exchanging bolts as they flew. Jefferson came in from behind and managed to knock him away while Superman threw a punch that rocked him slightly. A bolt of lightning shot out and toward the city, but Wonder Woman managed to deflect it before it could do any harm.
"We need to get him further out. This is too dangerous," Clark yelled across the sky.
Cyborg quickly latched onto his back and boosted them toward the north and over the water. Zatanna finally joined them, seemingly still trying to figure out how to control the lightning. When she threw her hands forward, it clipped Adam and spun him around toward her.
"Fuck," she muttered as he headed her way.
"You're out of your element, witch!" Zatanna barely dodged the bolt he sent in her direction, managing to get down and close to the water. Black Adam followed, so Batman took the opportunity to make a move. Firing the grappling gun around his neck, he pulled himself toward Adam, readying his batarang to deliver a shock. As he made contact with his back, he discharged the weapon. Adam cried out and flung his arm back toward his head. Blinded by the light of the electric current reverberating around the protection of his Batsuit, he took the blow to the side of his head and went flying in the opposite direction. After a few seconds of uncontrolled aerial tumbling, something grabbed hold of him and stopped his momentum.
"Well, that was stupid," Nightwing said, pulling him back toward the fight.
"I know. Surprised you didn't think of it first."
Dick laughed as they got closer to where Shazam had reengaged with Adam. Jefferson joined in and they seemed to be getting the upper hand. Zatanna came around to his back and landed her lighting full-force this time.
"J'onn! Try to get close!" Superman yelled as he joined to try to hold him...unaffected by the lightning building around them.
Martian Manhunter flew over Zee and grabbed Black Adam's head from behind. As he closed his eyes, the lightning started to flicker out. Zatanna drew her hands back and moved away from the fight as Shazam and Black Lightning withdrew their attack. The sky went eerily calm as J'onn held him, but he seemed to be struggling to maintain control.
"Your mind...it's..."
"Shazam, get ready to do your thing and change him back," Bruce said. "Everyone else, fall back until he's human again and then contain him immediately. We can't let him get his powers back."
"I don't know if I should hit him while J'onn's still engaged," Shazam yelled toward Superman. "I have no idea what will happen."
"Wait until he's clear!" Superman responded, moving back with the others.
"No..." J'onn said, opening his eyes. "If I let go, he'll regain his control. Now, Shazam. Now!"
He paused to look at the others. Clark and Diana both gave him a grim nod, so he turned back and flew at the joined pair, his power building as he got closer.
"SHAZAM!" He threw his arms forward and hit Adam square in the chest. The light blinded the others as they shielded their eyes against the flash. After several seconds, the sky went quiet again and the light faded. When he could see again, Batman looked down to see a now-human Adam falling. Before he could react, Superman was heading toward him, catching him before he could hit the water.
"Where's J'onn?" Bruce asked as he looked around the group.
"I don't..." Diana flew to where they had been. "J'onn!"
Clark returned to the others, holding a thin, unconscious man that barely resembled the form they had just been fighting.
"Shazam? What now?"
"Now we have to find a way to keep him from changing back."
"Rip his fucking vocals chords out," Hawkman said, rejoining the group with a recovering Hawkgirl.
"I've got a better idea," Shazam said, grabbing Zatanna and leading her over to Superman. "Change his word."
"I...I don't know what that means," she said, furrowing her brow and giving him a confused look.
"The word that grants his power. It's the same as mine. Change his."
"Shazam, look...I don't even know if I can. This is messing with powers granted by gods."
"It's worth a shot. We don't want to kill him, but we can make sure he's nothing but a man from now on," he said. "We need to do it before he wakes up."
Looking to the others in the group briefly, Zatanna took a deep breath and moved forward. Placing her hands on either side of his head, she closed her eyes.
"Mazahs sdloh on rewop rof uoy. On drow reve derettu yb nam lliw egnahc uoy kcab." She held her hands in place as the spell worked against the power in his mind. After a long moment, she moved away, hands falling to her side. "I think...I think it's done."
"You think? If you're wrong, he's going to wake up more pissed off," Hawkman said, probably still wanting to just rip his throat out.
"I'm not wrong." She gave him a hard look. Combined with the glow still radiating from her, it was convincing enough that everyone nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm taking him back to Kahndaq...to prison. Keep searching for J'onn," Superman said, heading back toward land. "Shazam, with me."