Bruce
Cairo

They searched for hours without finding any sign of J'onn. He'd simply vanished when the bolt hit. Shazam and Superman had returned to help, but still found nothing.

"Tell me I didn't kill a friend," Shazam said eventually, putting his head in his hands.

"I honestly don't think you could have," Clark said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He's too powerful to be felled by a bolt of lightning."

As they talked, Zatanna approached Bruce. The glow around her had faded, aside from her eyes.

"I can't keep this up much longer. The power I took back from the creature is almost used up."

He nodded and looked to the team members she had been keeping aloft.

"Anyone who can't fly on their own should return," he said. "Zee's done all she can for one day."

"I'm staying and searching a little longer," Shazam said.

"I'll stay, too," Diana offered.

Clark joined them. "I think everyone else should go rest. We'll meet on the Watchtower tomorrow evening."

Slowly, the group gathered around Zatanna, who insisted she had enough left in her to get them home.

"Ecitsuj Eugael ot Rewothctaw."

They materialized where they had left, quiet and exhausted. Several went home immediately, while others lingered and spoke in low voices. After a few minutes catching Barbara up on the events, Bruce became aware that Zatanna was not with the others.

Did she leave?

He walked down the halls to search. When he got to the sleeping quarters, he saw a familiar glow coming from around one of the doors. Entering, he saw her floating amid a small circle of candles. Her brow was furrowed and she seemed to be straining...beads of sweat dotting her forehead.

"Zee? What are you doing?"

"Trying to find him," she said, voice small as she continued to concentrate.

"J'onn? Zatanna, you need to rest."

"No. He couldn't have just disappeared," she said.

"Actually, in his case, he could have." He stepped closer to her and put a hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes, still not relaxing. "Let me take you home. You can search tomorrow when you've recovered."

Her eyes dropped to the floor and she started to cry.

"Hey, it's okay." Bruce wrapped his arms around her. She grabbed onto him and buried her face against his neck as she shook.

"Is it over?" Her voice was so quiet he barely heard her.

"Yeah," he said, kissing the side of her head. "We kicked ass."

She laughed softly through her tears. He brushed her hair back when she lifted her head...eyes red and swollen. Furrowing his eyebrows, he ran a hand down her neck.

"Maybe you shouldn't stay with me tonight," he said. Her face fell and she looked down, nodding. "If you need to rest, I mean. I have no intention of letting you." He fought a smile as he teased her, pulling her closer and lowering his mouth to her shoulder.

"You're an ass," she said, unlatching his utility belt and throwing it against the wall. "And you owe me a night of mind-blowing sex. You didn't deliver."

"Oh, well, I'm so sorry, Miss Zatara...I had to go and help save the fucking world." He kissed his way from her shoulder, across her collarbone, and down her chest as he grabbed her hair and pushed her against the closest wall. Her hands were working at the releases on the side of his pants when someone knocked lightly on the door.

"Hey, guys?" Barb's voice came from the other side. "There's like half a dozen people here with superhuman hearing. You maybe wanna take that somewhere else?"

"Shit. Emoh."

They reappeared in his bedroom and she quickly released his pants, causing him to groan as the pressure eased. She laughed as he did before pushing them down off of his hips and dropping to her knees. Looking up at him, she ran her tongue along the length of his cock and smiled.

"You did help save the fucking world, you know," she said before licking at his tip, causing his hips to jerk.

"It was that move with the batarang, right?" He smiled down at her, twisting her hair in his hand.

"No, that was suicidal." Her hand gripped his base and she took another long lick up his length.

"Everyone's a goddamn critic." He rubbed along her jawline with his free hand and her mouth opened, letting him enter. She moaned around him as he guided her head. Her tongue danced and lapped at him as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. When he felt himself close to filling her mouth, he pulled her head back and brought her to her feet. He removed his cowl and took her hands to show her where the releases on his torso were before removing his gauntlets. When he was naked in front of her, she took a step back and crossed her arms.

"I like your costume," she said with a wicked smile, turning his game on him. "But I really think I prefer this look. Maybe you should fire your tailor."

"Strip."

"No. You do it. Slowly." Turning her back to him, she pulled her hair aside and looked expectantly over her shoulder. He walked forward and put his hand in the top of her corset so he could pull her against him, bringing his lips down to her neck before slowly working the clasps open. If he had his way, he would still put her in something a lot more protective, but this was definitely more enjoyable to remove...and a hell of a lot sexier. He tasted her exposed skin with the release of each clasp. She sighed and let her head roll to the side when he reached the bottom and threw the top into a chair. Making short work of her bra, he put his hands around her waist and moved them up to cup her breasts and roll her nipples between his fingers.

"Mmmm...these are amazing," he mumbled, running his tongue up her neck to his favorite spot under her ear. Her breath caught whe he lingered there. When he had her moaning and arching her back, he moved his hands down her legs to her boots, lowering the zippers and helping her step out of them. She turned and faced him, putting her hand in his hair and looking down at him with dark eyes; her breathing was rapid and her muscles were tensed. Taking his time, he trailed his eyes from her face down to her stomach...her abs were defined now, but her skin still held the same softness he remembered from their first night together. He smiled and kissed her stomach just below her belly button...reaching around to bring the zipper on her pants down. She put her hands on his shoulders and kicked them aside as he kissed her thighs. Looking up at her again, something in her eyes made his heart pound harder in his chest.

"Zee..." He took a steadying breath, standing and pulling her mouth to his. The taste of her breath and the throaty sound she made him feel lightheaded. Lifting her, he walked to the bed and lowered her down.

"What's wrong?" She finally asked, making him realize he had been standing and looking at her silently for a little too long as he tried to catch his breath. His mind was racing, keeping pace with his heart.

"Nothing. Don't you dare fucking stop," he finally said, holding back the words he really wanted to say for fear of running her off.

She held her hand out to him and smiled. "Get back down here and I won't."

Zatanna
Bruce's Bed

Something in his eyes…

He stretched out on top of her and brought his lips back to hers. Her heart was pounding. He had never looked at her like that before and it made her stomach tie in knots. She could feel the intensity of his thoughts as if he were screaming at her. The lust was there, as it always was, but so was fear and...

Something else…

Her analysis quickly faded when he entered her, tongue still warm against hers as her breathing turned to gasps against his lips. As she always did when she was with him, she memorized each moment. The way it felt when he thrust inside her. The feel of his muscles whie he flexed and strained. His fingers digging into her skin. Her life had always felt fleeting...nothing more so than her time with Bruce.

No way am I forgetting tonight.

She pushed against his shoulders to break their kiss so she could look in his eyes. That same look was there; it gave her butterflies in her stomach. Smiling at her, he stopped and pulled out, turning her over and lifting her hips up before entering again from behind. His hands massaged along her back as he moved inside of her, pace quickening. When his fingers found their way to her clit, she slammed her hips back against him and cried out. He pulled out and turned her again, putting her legs over his shoulders and stroking in and out of her as he smiled even bigger.

"Told you...no rest," he said, grabbing onto the headboard and driving himself forward, watching her face. She could feel his arms starting to shake as he strained until he finally reached his climax, groaning loudly and slowing his thrusts. Keeping himself propped up, he lowered her legs to wrap around his waist. His head fell to her chest, ear over her heart.

"You're resting," she mumbled into his hair.

"I'm tired."

"Me too. I still want to search tomorrow."

He turned his head and looked up at her, face beaded with sweat and eyelids heavy. "I have to work."

"I don't need an escort for a searching spell." She put her hand over his mouth, seeing that he was about to protest, and shook her head. "Besides, you said you wouldn't worry today."

He huffed and narrowed his eyes. "But I can tomorrow."

"Then worry about work. I'll be fine." She forced his head back down to her chest and ran her hands along his back. "Sleep, grumpy."

"Goodnight," he grumbled.

Morning came too soon. Light was peeking through the blinds and Bruce was still wrapped around her like an overweight blanket. His alarm hadn't gone off yet, so she tried to stay still and enjoy the feel of his body against hers. As her mind drifted, she wondered if things were going to change between them now - if the intensity of the mission and the threat to their lives was driving his interest. She was tired of keeping her emotions in check all the time, as evidenced by her losing it and crying on his shoulder the night before.

Crying like an idiot...great way to keep a man around. Time to get your shit back together, Zee.

"What are you thinking?" His voice made her jump. She had been so wrapped up in her own head that she hadn't noticed him open his eyes.

"Nothing."

"Lying is wrong," he said, kissing her neck and shifting his weight off of her. "You can talk to me."

"I know. Just wondering what happens now."

"I go to work and you go do some hocus pocus to look for J'onn." His words trailed into a yawn and he stretched. "And don't you need to practice? When do your shows start?"

"Next weekend. Everything's ready, we just need to run a couple of practices on the new stage. We're meeting at 2:00."

"When do tickets go on sell?" He was sitting on the edge of the bed stretching again.

"A month ago. Sold out in a few days." She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest.

"Did you save me one?"

"Ha!" Rolling her eyes, she hopped up and headed toward the bathroom, but he grabbed her arm.

"What's funny?" He frowned at her as she turned back.

"The idea of you sitting in the audience at my show." She kissed his forehead quickly and turned to the bathroom. When she came back out, he was still frowning and looking down at his hands. "I'm going to head home and check on things."

He nodded and didn't look up, so she walked around and gathered up her costume. She decided missing out on his opportunity to call magic and her show bullshit was bringing him down.

"Snaej dna retaews." He was still ignoring her. Oh, yay. Back to normal already. "I'll let the League know if I find anything on J'onn. Ot Tsercwodahs."

Asshole was screaming at her before she had fully materialized.

"Heaven forbid you go a few hours without food."

Once he was fed, she drew a rune circle and sat down. "Dnif Nno'j."

Bruce
Wayne Enterprises

It was never easy to just get back to normal the day after fighting someone like Black Adam, but life necessitated it. Life also necessitated a large dose of Tylenol after meeting number three to stop his head from pounding.

"You're in a lousy mood today, Mr. Wayne." Lucius said when he arrived at R&D to look over some new tech.

"Long day yesterday. What have you got for me?"

"Ah, yes. I saw the news. Looked like you took care of things," he said, walking to a table with a drone-in-progress on it.

"We did what we could. Too many lives were lost. We should have gone in sooner."

Lucius picked up a tool and tweaked a part on the wing of the drone.

"I know you said you found a drone before I had this one finished, but I'm finishing it anyway. It'll have everything you could ever need once it's ready. LiDAR, infrared, microwave, photography...hell, I'll get it to wax your car if you want."

Bruce smirked and looked it over. "Might save a few miles on the plane. Thanks, Lucius. Can't wait to give it a try."

"I also did that repair you wanted. Over on the table."

"Good." Bruce walked over and retrieved the small box. "Any more meetings today or can I sneak out of here?"

"One more, but I can cover for you if you want to cut out early. I'll finish up here and get the drone to you in a couple of weeks."

He returned to the Batcave and sat down to review reports of the fight in Egypt. The Lantern Corps had agreed to imprison the remaining creatures off-world while they tried to determine their origins. The two that had been killed in the battle were taken to the Watchtower morgue for holding until they could analyze them; it was usually J'onn's job to look into such things. There still wasn't any sign of him at the site and the others had returned home after looking all night. Zatanna had reported in that she hadn't found anything after several more hours of searching, but she hadn't called him...not since she made it clear she didn't want him at her shows. His idea of making their relationship League knowledge hadn't had the desired effect he wanted; she was as closed off as ever. Not that it had been a grand revelation...everyone already knew. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and looked at his watch. 3:30. He grabbed his jacket and went to the garage.

Enough with the closed off bullshit.

Zatanna
Diamond Theater

"Let's run that again. I'll try not to fall on my ass this time." Back flips over a fire aren't as easy as they sound...especially in full corset and tuxedo jacket. She stuck the landing on the third try and moved the mark to the right spot instead of the ass-busting spot. "Okay, if I manage to pull that off, the show should be pretty wrapped up."

A chuff came from the corner and she walked over to the cage.

"He's ready for opening night," Sophie said, standing next to Cuddles the Tiger. Zee reached between the bars and rubbed his chin, which earned her another chuff.

"Let's do his part one more time and call it a day before I send him back to the refuge. My energy kind of sucks today."

"That's what happens when you spend your free time flying around Egypt and fighting weird aliens."

Ignoring her, Zee walked to the center of the stage and held her hands over her head.

"Don't burn the place down," a familiar voice said from the dark of the auditorium. Bruce walked forward until she could see his face and sat down in the second row. He was wearing jeans and a tight t-shirt, coat slung over his arm - looking sexier than anyone had a right to.

Shit.

Sophie glared at her and walked toward the cage again.

"Want me to let Cuddles eat him?" She asked, reaching for the latch.

"You named your tiger Cuddles and your cat Asshole?" Bruce said, a cocky half-grin on his face.

"I didn't name the tiger, some kids did. He's borrowed. What are you doing here?"

"You told me in bed this morning the show was sold out, so I figured I would come watch it the only way I can." He crossed his legs and leaned back in the seat. Rather than continue, she walked down the steps to stand closer to him, lowering her voice so no one else could hear them.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Watching a pretty boring show so far. Get back up there and entertain me. I'll pay full ticket price and everything." He was still grinning, but she wasn't. Shooting him an angry look, she returned to the stage and motioned for Sophie to release Cuddles. She skipped the script and patted his head.

"Have a seat, bud. Get ready for a ride."

He sat down and chuffed while she got ready. She threw her hands in the air, making smoke appear and surround them.

"Abraca-fucking-dabra," she said, sending Cuddles into the audience...directly to the row next to Bruce.

"Shit!" He jumped up and stumbled a few chairs backwards. Sophie, Jenny, and Tony all busted out laughing as he tried to regain his composure. Walking back down to the chairs, she ran her hand along the tiger's back and looked up at Bruce. Not grinning now, are you?

"Pay up, Wayne."

Clearing his throat, he walked toward her, keeping his wide eyes on the tiger. He took out his wallet and handed her $300, which she happily took and put down her top.

"Second row is actually $500. Goes to charity." It wasn't, but he could afford more than her usual patrons.

Still staring at the tiger, he handed her another $200.

"Let's go, Cuddles. You've had your fun for the day," Jenny called to the cat. He slowly stalked back up the steps and into the cage.

"Seldduc ot emoh. Hope you enjoyed the show, Mr. Wayne."

She bowed, stuffed the extra money in her cleavage, and turned to head back to the stage, but Bruce grabbed her arm and pulled her close. Before she could protest, he kissed her...running a hand down her neck while the other snaked around her waist and under her jacket. Her mind drifted as she lost track of who and where she was. She moaned and pulled him closer. His lips were soft and warm and even after only a few hours away, she had missed the taste. When he finally pulled his head away, she frowned and craned her neck, trying to get his lips back onto hers.

"Definitely worth the price of admission," he said. She opened her eyes and the cocky grin was back. It didn't annoy her as much this time as he slipped his fingers down to where she had hidden the money.

"Completely insane," Sophie yelled while Jenny and Tony pulled her off the stage. "You're completely insane, Zatanna Zatara!"

"She likes me already," Bruce said, still playing with the money in her cleavage. "Why don't you want me to see your show?"

Zee shook her head slightly to try to clear the fog he had created.

"Huh?"

"Why...don't...you...want...me...to...see...your...show?" He pecked her on the lips between each word, doing nothing to help clear her head.

"Never said I didn't," she mumbled, still trying to get his lips to stay against hers.

"You laughed in my face when I asked for a ticket." He stopped grinning and furrowed his brow.

"Bruce, you don't have to pretend to care about my act just because we..." His lips cut off her words. After another long moment of lingering and fogging her brain, he pressed his forehead to hers.

"At no point since I saw you sitting at the bar in Harrah's have I been pretending." The look in his eyes that she saw the night before was back and his voice matched the intensity. She could feel tears threatening to surface and fought the urge to push away from him and run. Instead, she just nodded and bit her lip. "Did everyone leave?"

"Um...yeah. Gave them an early evening."

"So we're alone here?" His thumb was still stroking along the top of her corset.

"That's uh...yes." Damn foggy head. The grin started to creep onto his face again. He walked her up to the center of the stage and pulled a chair over. Sitting down, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I like your costume."

End Act One