Constantine
A couple years ago

Constantine had heard stories about Giovanni Zatara. He used to spend most of his time fighting against evil...a right legend of mystical defense. From what he could gather now, though, he had pretty much retired. There was still the odd stage show here and there, but he had mostly handed that mantle over to his daughter. So, that's where he'd have to start. She was playing a series of shows at exclusive nightclubs in San Francisco. He hadn't quite reasoned out how he was going to get inside, but he could talk his way into or out of pretty much anything. Getting past security should be easy enough.

"Turn around and leave. If you try to sneak by me again, I'll throw you into the dumpster." The bouncer was big enough to make good on his promise, so Constantine walked away and turned down the alley. When he reached the back of the building, he found a chained door and made quick work of the padlock. He followed the sound of the crowd until he emerged in a backstage area.

"Hey, you can't be back here, pal." A middle-aged man pointed to a door on the side of the stage, so he quickly walked out and found a dark corner to lean against just as the lights dimmed. Music filled the room and smoke started to rise from the floor.

"Raeppa."

She appeared on the stage with a flash of light, dressed in a corset and long skirt with stiletto heels.

Fucking hell.

The show was incredible. Real magic mixed with illusions, dancing, and more risque jokes than he could count. She would pull audience members up and sit on their laps, working them into a frenzy before sending them back down to the raucous crowd. It was nothing like what he expected.

His research into her father revealed he did family-friendly shows in large theaters around the world. She used to travel with him, joining him on stage and charming the crowds. As he sat and watched her now, Constantine had the sneaking suspicion that dear old daddy would not approve of the current venue or content. By the time the show had ended, he had completely revised his plan. He still needed her father's help, but there was plenty of time for that. He needed to get to know daughter a bit, first.

Once the crowd had cleared, he sneaked his way backstage and found the dressing room. Picking the lock, he entered to find her staring at him, arms crossed and glaring with the most piercing blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, this isn't the loo?" He smiled and lit a cigarette, walking over to lean on a table in the far corner.

"Hsiugnitxe. There's no smoking in here. And this isn't the damn bathroom. Get out."

"Oh, that's no way to treat a paying customer," he said, tossing the cigarette into a nearby bin. "I just wanted to compliment you on the show. Never seen anything quite like that."

"Thank you. Now get out." She held her hand up, light starting to come from her fingers.

"Whoa, whoa! I'm sorry. Look, I'm just a fellow magician here to show my appreciation. I didn't mean to scare you." He held his hands up and walked back to the door, turning and leaning against it with his hands still in front of him. Grinning, he snapped his fingers and produced a rose in each hand. Holding them out to her, he took a step forward. "See? Magician."

She didn't seem particularly impressed.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm tired and hungry." He watched as she turned and headed toward a door in the back.

"Oh, perfect. Let me buy you dinner and a drink. As a thank you for a fantastic evening."

She looked back over her shoulder. "I'm nineteen."

"Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath. Looking like that at nineteen should be illegal. It had been years since he'd been with someone that young and he was quickly forgetting why he'd come there to start with. "Just dinner, then. Come on, I came all the way from London just to see you."

Sighing, she turned back to face him, after a long moment of looking him up and down, she narrowed her eyes.

"Okay. Buy me dinner, Mr…?"

"Constantine. John Constantine."

Zatanna
Gotham City

She had texted Constantine to meet her at the coffee shop again. After a few days of research, she had reached the point that she needed more information. They were supposed to meet at noon, so she brought a book in anticipation of him maybe showing up by late afternoon. He dragged himself in the door a little after 1:00 and sat down across from her, stinking of alcohol and cigarettes, as usual.

"Missed me already, love?"

Marking her place in her book, she leaned back and leveled a glare at him.

"I need more information. Tell me how you decided that we shifted the Darkness to another dimension."

"Why do you insist on meeting here? There are...ears." He looked around the crowded room as he spoke.

"On eno nac raeh su. Talk."

Constantine gave her a wry smile and slouched back in his chair.

"I was hearing grumblings from some people..."

"What people?" Her voice cut off his sentence, not wanting him to lead her in verbal circles.

"You're impatient today. Somewhere to be?" She continued to glare at him, refusing to play along. "Right. These people aren't your typical magician types. Remember your shows in San Francisco? They're the type who would gravitate toward that a lot more than they would your current lightweight, feel-good, hocus pocus shite."

Grabbing her purse, she put her book inside and stood up.

"I have better things to do with my time." He grabbed her arm as she turned away.

"Hey, wait a damn second, Zee. I'm sorry, alright? Just...sit down and hear me out. I'll get to the point."

She stayed standing and crossed her arms.

"The point. Now."

"Some of these less-than-reputable magicians have been looking into strange energy being emitted from the magical forces in this dimension. These are guys that spend all day every day neck deep in the dark side of magic. When changes happen, they notice first."

"What kind of energy?"

"As if it's being torn apart. Slowly and methodically dismantled by a force outside of our dimension."

Still standing, she studied his face to try to determine if he was telling the truth. It was never an easy task; he was a master manipulator.

"If what you say is true, what exactly do you think I'm supposed to do about it?"

"We need to join forces with some others and go take care of the problem. This isn't something either of us can do alone. Oh, and before you even think about it, it's nothing the capes and tights crew needs to be meddling in."

"Oh, yeah. God forbid we have the most powerful beings on Earth helping out."

"This isn't a problem they can punch or lock in a damn cage, Zee. This is way outside of their territory and you know it." He stood and pulled her toward the door. "I'm working on a couple of leads to find us some extra help. I'll let you know what I find. See what you can dig up in your library and I'll stop by in a few days."

They walked outside and she pulled her coat around her, shivering in the cold.

"Don't come by. You're still not welcome at Shadowcrest. Call me if you get somewhere." She didn't give him a chance to respond before she teleported home.

Constantine
Same Night, Couple Years Ago

They crashed against the front door to her apartment as they kissed and groped at one another. He'd expected to have to woo her for a few dates before she opened up, but instead she was dragging him inside and pulling at his clothes as she clung to his lips.

"Fuck, love, if I'd known this was a possibility, I would have come over from London a long time ago," he mumbled around her tongue.

"Shut up. Do you ever shut the fuck up?" She pulled his belt off and shoved her hand down his pants, grabbing his dick and biting his lip.

"No. It's part of my charm. Fuckin' hell." He groaned and sat down on the couch as she pulled his pants and boxers down. She looked down at him and smiled...throwing her hair to the side and dropping to her knees.

From that point, she had worn him completely out for a week and a half straight before he remembered why he'd tracked her down to start with. She was wild. He was expecting a demure little daddy's girl.

Oh, if dear old daddy only knew…

When she had finally given him a chance to come up for air, he started dropping hints about fighting dark magic. It wasn't hard to convince her to come along...she was clearly someone in search of something more than working with the Teen Titans. He might have made it sound a bit more glamorous than it really was, but he wanted to make sure she was well hooked.

"Just show me the way and I'll fight against anything with you."

"Those are just the words I wanted to hear, love."

Black Adam
Prison

"Shazam"
"Mazahs"
"Zahsam"
"Black Adam"
"Kcalb Mada"
"Lcakb Amda"

Nothing worked. Nothing ever worked. Every word in every order.

They did this to me. That boy and that witch. They trapped me here.

A gift from the gods and they had stolen it. This wasn't Hell. Hell would be an end. This was worse. He remembered the power he'd once had. Even now, he remembered the way it would course through his veins. He remembered the awe and fear he commanded. More than anything, he remembered the moment it was ripped away from him. Looking into her eyes. Kind eyes. Foolish eyes. Eyes that would pay for what she had done.

A loud clanking sound pulled him from his thoughts. He continued to mumble words as the figure approached his cell.

"Adam?" That boy. "Adam, I'm here to talk."

Staring back at the wall, he continued his mumbling. He had no interest in talk that did anything other than get him his powers back.

"Please, Adam. We need your help. You used to want to help others. Can you even remember that time?" The boy moved closer to the bars.

Never to help. Always for a reason. Always for more power.

"We need to know where your beasts came from." Nothing but mumbling. "We need to know."

"You need to know. You need. You are still weak, boy."

Shazam looked around at the prison cell.

"And yet, I'm out here while you're in there."

"And it only took all of the most powerful creatures in the universe to get me here." Adam turned slightly to look at the arrogant child.

"Where are they from?"

"Go to hell."

"Looks like I'm already standing in it. Where are they from?"

With a deep breath, he turned back to face the wall again, resuming his endless chant.

Bruce
Gotham City

Wally had a big mouth. In this case, he spilled the beans on a surprise party that Bruce had been conveniently not invited to. As he pulled up to the nightclub, he reached behind his seat and pulled out a small gift bag and a card. The bouncer at the door initially stopped him, but was easily convinced (with $300 incentive) that he was on the guest list somewhere. It only took him a few minutes to find the undisputed center of attention near the bar. When he got closer, he could hear her laughter ringing out over the crowd...it had become a sound he could pick out over the throng of ten thousand voices. Whipping her head around suddenly, Zatanna jumped up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and capturing his lips with hers. After a long minute, she finally pulled her head away and smiled wider than he had ever seen.

"You came," she said, hugging him close and putting her head on his chest.

"I came. Sorry I'm late...I guess my invitation got lost in the mail." He cast a glance toward Sophie, who was glaring at him, per usual. "I also thought your birthday was next weekend."

"It is. The girls wanted to make it a surprise." She continued to smile as she took his hand and pulled him toward the bar. Her friends gave him awkward greetings and whispered to each other when they passed. Arriving at the bar, she sat down on his lap and started to kiss him again. After a few more minutes, he had to break the kiss before he got too worked up for public.

"Been drinking?" He asked, brushing her hair away from her flushed face. Her lips tasted like strawberries and tequila.

"Maybe a bit," she laughed, still staring at him like she hadn't seen him in years.

"Ah, then I showed up just in time. Gotta play catch up." He ordered a brandy from the bartender and took a long drink while Zatanna continued to watch him and plant gentle kisses on his neck. Her friends would occasionally try to regain her attention, but gave up after a while and left them alone at the bar. "Want another drink?"

"Yes," she nodded, leaning down and brushing her lips to his. "A lot more drinks."

"Okay, almost birthday girl. Your wish is my command."

"Oh, be careful. I have a lot of wishes that you, specifically, could grant." Her tongue pushed into his mouth and she shifted even closer in his lap. Moaning, he had to force her head away and clear his throat.

"Zatanna, you're going to make it impossible for me to stand up without embarrassing myself."

"Mmm...you have nothing to be embarrassed about," she murmured against his lips before returning her tongue to torture him more. "The other guys might feel a little inferior afterward, though."

Shaking his head and laughing, he moved her to the bar stool next to him and grabbed her hand as she pouted. He let his eyes trail over her while she sat and drained another margarita. She was wearing a tight skirt that barely covered half of her thighs and a barely-there top that exposed a lot of spots he loved to taste. Setting her glass down, she brought her hand to his chin and forced him to look up into her heavy-lidded eyes.

"What do you think you're looking at, Mr. Wayne?" She slurred, rubbing her thumb along his jaw.

"Trouble," he said, putting his hand on her thigh and running it up to the hem of her skirt.

She laughed and leaned forward.

"I just had flashes of Vegas," she whispered.

"I have those at least three times a day," he said, kissing her softly and moving his hand up to her hair. "I brought you a present."

He set the small bag in front of her and handed her the card. She started to open it, but he grabbed her hand.

"No, you have to save the card for your actual birthday."

"That's a very stupid rule," she frowned, turning to her purse and slipping it inside. "May I please open the gift bag, sir? Or is that against the rules, too?"

"You may open the gift bag."

Smirking, she took the bag and pulled out the book he'd put inside. Her smile got even wider and she laughed, looking up at him with sparkling blue eyes.

"I thought you loved this book," she said, turning the first edition, signed, ultra rare, nearly-priceless copy of Catcher in the Rye in her hands.

"I do. That's why it needs to be in a safe place," he said, returning her smile. It was still a story she would bring up at dinner or while they lounged in bed. He could tell how much it meant to her and it made him happy to think it would be in her crazy, half-alive library. Or her bedroom. Or her study. Or den. She owned more books than all of the libraries in Gotham.

She leafed through the pages for a few minutes before looking up at him again. Her eyes were sparkling even more now, tears threatening to sneak from the corners and run down her cheeks.

"Thank you," she said quietly, holding the book to her chest and leaning to softly press her lips to his. When she finally pulled her head back, the look in her eyes made him swallow hard. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a familiar voice lift over the crowd.

"Bruce! I didn't think you'd been invited!" Wally came bounding toward them, walking arm-in-arm with Zatanna's other assistant, Jenny.

"And I thought you were too young to get in here," Bruce said, wishing he hadn't interrupted them, but not wanting to be rude.

"Zee pulled some strings...or muttered some spell. She won't let me drink, though," he frowned and rolled his eyes at her as he pulled two bar stools over to sit next to them. "She also never told me she had a beautiful, single assistant my age." Wally put his arm around a blushing Jenny's shoulders. She had always seemed like the shy, quiet type, so he was surprised by the match. Wally was everything that was opposite.

"Thanks for this tonight, guys," Zatanna smiled and put the book in her purse. "I'm glad you two are hitting it off."

Jenny's blush got even deeper as Wally grinned at her. They sat and chatted for a while before Wally finally asked the new object of his affection to dance. When Bruce turned back to Zatanna, she seemed thoughtful...watching the crowd dance and laugh. He had never much enjoyed the party atmosphere, but he was determined to make sure her night was perfect. Grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet, he dragged her onto the dance floor. A slow, bass-heavy song came on and he swayed while he stared into her eyes. He wanted to get her alone, but didn't want to make her leave her friends. Considering he had already crashed the party, stealing her away seemed like adding fuel to the fire of glaring eyes. There wasn't much he could do about those eyes. He'd spent years building the persona of a rich playboy who had a new woman every other night and didn't care about anyone but himself. It wasn't going to go away because he came to a few of her parties or shows. He took comfort in the fact that she knew who he really was...and in the way she looked at him while they swayed.

After several songs, Sophie came over to interrupt and drag Zatanna to a table in the back. A cake was there, in the shape of a top hat, with 22 candles circling it. He tried to stay at the back of the group, but she held onto his hand and pulled along him to sit beside her. When the crowd finished singing, she grinned at him before closing her eyes and blowing the candles out. Her friends cheered and started to distribute slices of cake as they laughed and joked with her about her age. Looking around, he guessed he was the oldest one there by at least a decade. Her manager, who was in his mid-forties, had left earlier in the evening.

When the party started to wind down, he leaned back and held her against him. Her friends came by and wished her happy birthday and gave him awkward nods and waves or angry glares before they left. It was at this point that he realized no one else had gotten her a present.

"They're not allowed," she said when he asked why they hadn't given her anything. "I just require cake and alcohol."

"Well, I'd say they have you covered there."

She smiled and put her head on his shoulder.

"Take me home, Bruce."

"Yes, ma'am."

He helped her into the passenger seat of his Aston Martin One-77. She yawned as he got in, leaning her head back against the seat and turning to look at him with sleepy, drunk eyes.

"You're going to be worthless tomorrow," he said, grinning at her.

"You did a lousy job of catching up. You didn't even finish your drink."

"One of us had to pretend to be responsible for the night and get you home."

She nodded and looked out of the windshield. A light snowfall had started to fall over the city.

"Thank you for tonight," she whispered, not looking at him.

"All I did was show up."

"All I needed."

They drove in silence the rest of the way, his focus staying on the road in the slick conditions. He expected to find her asleep when he pulled into the garage, but she opened the door and climbed out when he killed the engine. A very sleepy Alfred greeted them at the door and took his coat before bidding them goodnight. Bruce led Zatanna up the stairs to the bedroom and started to empty his pockets.

"Your friends don't seem to like me very much," he said. She winced slightly and shook her head.

"Wally does."

"Wally likes everyone. He's like a puppy."

Laughing lightly, she walked over and put her arms around his neck.

"They just don't know you."

"Oh, I think that's the problem. They know way too much," he said, pulling her closer.

"No, not that Bruce. Not the media creation you use to hide. They don't know my Bruce. If they did, they'd understand why I love y..." She looked down to his chest as her words cut off. Closing her eyes tightly, she cursed under her breath.

His pulse started pounding in his ears. Hand shaking, he grabbed her chin and forced her to raise her head.

"Say it," he growled. She still had her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing was shallow. "Zatanna. Say it."

"No," she whispered with a small shake of her head. He pulled her even tighter against his body and ran his thumb along her cheek until she opened her eyes. She was trembling, tears starting to form as she looked up at him.

"Say it to me."

As a tear ran down her cheek, she took a deep, shaky breath before whispering.

"I love you."