Bruce
Watchtower

Bruce made sure to go into the office early for the last two days of the week. The board wasn't thrilled with his recent antics, and he knew he had to be more careful in keeping them happy. He had always found it difficult to strike the right balance, and it had become even more challenging with a new, but very welcome, distraction in Zatanna. Alfred was more understanding than he let on over the phone, even suggesting she spend more evenings at the manor so they could sleep there on mornings he came in from patrol. It would also make it easier for him to drag Bruce out of bed if he wasn't sleeping in another house.

He spent time every day after work trying to examine the beasts. He wasn't going to let it go. Wherever the they came from, he was going to find their origins. The one that had attacked Zatanna and killed Baron Winters was almost twice as large as the other. It had grown larger and its skin healed before his eyes every time it fed. The rotting smell was much less intense than it was with the smaller one. Their anatomy wasn't completely foreign, though; they resembled various other creatures from around the universe and even some from Earth. The Lanterns had taken detailed pictures of the survivors for him to analyze.

They all had a partial exoskeleton with wings that looked almost rudimentary...as if evolution tried to give them flight, but gave up about halfway through. All of the wings were slightly different, as were most of the other features, with the exception of the proboscis used to suck the life out of their victims. Each one looked like a different step in attempting to create a version that worked. From what he could tell, there was nothing that resembled a stomach. They somehow harvested the spinal fluid of victims and utilized that to directly gain strength and health.

After spending several hours further examining the corpses and comparing them to the photos, he headed home to prepare for his last patrol of the week. When he arrived at the Batcave, he found an e-mail alert that made him smile and sent a "thank you" response to his business manager in Metropolis. He left the cave at dusk, ready to spend another cold night on the slick streets of Gotham.

Zatanna
Metropolis

She arrived at 3:00 to set up the stage and practice the routine without Constantine there to run his mouth. His input was neither needed nor desired. What she did need was a drink to loosen herself up to play the part. She tried to exude a certain amount of sexuality during her standard shows (gotta keep mom and dad engaged, too), but nothing on this level. Still, she hoped to find some kind of enjoyment in the act...dancing was fun. So was interacting with the audience, given they didn't get too drunk and out of hand. Thinking about this, she quickly conjured up a bodyguard to deal with the riffraff. The venue was very intimate with tables set up around the room...the closest directly in front of the stage. Some muscle would make it less likely for rowdy attendees to rush the stage.

"How's the show looking, love?" Constantine arrived at 6:30, which was early by his standards. The show was set to start at 8:00 and she had everything ready to go.

"Fine. Just stay out of sight and let me work. And lay off the booze for once. This was your idea and you damn well better be ready if shit goes sideways."

He nodded and went to sit at one of the tables while she finished adjusting the props.

"Gonna give me a preview? I feel like I deserve a private performance for getting this all set up in short order."

"I should charge you triple for setting it up on my birthday. This isn't where I wanted to spend it or who I wanted to spend it with."

"Ah, right. Your big, rich bloke from Gotham. He doesn't hide too well, you know." He lit a cigarette and put his feet up on the chair in front him.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's see...big, muscled meathead...lives in Gotham City...fucking a beautiful young member of the Justice League. Not hard to connect the dots, really."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled, hating that he was perceptive enough figure it out that easily. She sure wasn't going to tell him anything else.

"Right, you don't. Whatever. I always assumed the whole League was fucking when they weren't fighting, anyway."

Sighing, she decided to ignore him for the rest of the evening. He continued on with his incessant rambling, trying to update her on what he had been doing since she had last seen him. She didn't ask and didn't care, so she finally walked away while he was still talking to get ready. At 7:30, she could hear the crowd noise slowly rise from the dressing room...with dishes clattering, glasses clinking, and laughter ringing throughout the hallways. A last check in the mirror and a deep breath...you can do this.

Bruce
Metropolis

It hadn't been easy, but he pulled the right strings and paid the right price to get a ticket to Zatanna's exclusive show in Metropolis. He wanted to surprise her and take her out afterward for her birthday dinner. His table was in the back, but the venue was small enough that there weren't any bad seats. It looked like it would hold fewer than 75 people and there was no space between the front tables and the stage...definitely not her usual gig. Sitting down, he looked around at the crowd that had assembled. More men had shown than women, and most looked to be college age to late 30s. A man with a receding hairline who looked to be in his late 40s appeared to be the oldest one there. His ticket had indicated that the venue was 18+ only, no photos or video allowed, and VIP/backstage access was limited.

As the lights dimmed, the audience started to clap and whistle until a deep thrumming of bass came on over the speakers. Colored lights flashed across the stage in time with the music for several beats before a line of dancers appeared, flashing in and out of sight from one side of the stage to the other. The crowd got noisier as they spun and danced until a quick pause in the beat led to the arrival of the main performer. Zatanna zapped onto the stage under a spotlight in a corset, top hat, stilettos, and long skirt...snapping with the beat of the music. Each pop of her fingers brought on a new flash of light or appearance/disappearance of a performer. She moved from dancer to dancer, affecting them as she did with her illusions or stopping to roll her body against theirs before making them vanish again. As the beat of the song slowed, she grabbed onto one of the men and ground her hips against his, leaning her upper body back slightly as a female dancer came to grind behind her and rip her skirt off. The crowd was worked up into a frenzy by this point, while Bruce sat trying to process what he was seeing. He was quickly beginning to realize there might have been a reason she hadn't let him know more about this particular show.

When the song ended, Zatanna was alone on the stage, back to the audience and surrounded by a thin veil of smoke in the sparkling lights. The removal of her skirt had left her in thigh-high fishnets and underwear that only partially covered her ass...skin shimmering with sweat from the opening performance. Bruce cast a glance around the room at all of the eyes watching her, fighting the urge to pull her off the stage. Just a performance, Bruce…

"Hey, Metropolis. Thanks for coming out tonight." She finally turned – top hat tilted low across her forehead – and slowly walked to the front of the stage...swinging her hips as the men in the crowd whistled and cheered. Her eyes suddenly darted his way and the smile on her face was gone for a brief moment before a faker one replaced it. Yeah, I'm here. Clearing her throat, she strutted to the other side of the stage, making sure to look away from him.

"I hope you all came for a good time, because I sure did. Now...who wants to be my first volunteer?" Most of the crowd raised their hands and called out to her. She pulled a young man on stage and away from the date he had come with. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to return him in perfectly good shape...later."

She pushed him down into a chair with the toe of her right shoe and picked up a deck of cards before straddling him and sitting on his lap. The crowd cheered their approval as Bruce glowered at them.

"Thanks for the help," Zatanna said, shuffling the deck with various flourishes that danced around her volunteer's head and shoulders before the cards landed dutifully back in her hand. "What's your name, handsome?"

"Conner," he said, hands dangling down beside the chair and eyes focused on Zee's chest.

"Ah, Conner. I have a friend named Conner. It's a good name," she smiled at him as she finished her shuffling and fanned the cards out toward him. "Now, Conner, would you be so kind as to pick a card from the deck?"

Conner complied, taking his eyes off of her cleavage long enough to choose a card and hold it to his chest.

"Good. Don't let me see it. Now, Conner, what's your date's name?"

"My...date?" The crowd laughed at his sudden memory loss. "Oh, yeah! My date. That's Jules. Julia. She's my date," he stammered as the laughter increased.

"Julia...another nice name. Julia, would you come up and give me a hand?" She stood from a disappointed Conner's lap and held her hand out to help Julia onto the stage. Pulling a scarf out from the top of her corset, she held it out. "Would you please blindfold me, Julia?"

Zatanna removed her hat and put her hands around her new assistant's waist...pulling Julia close with a smile as she reached up and tied the blindfold around her head. The crowd was deafening as she worked. When she was properly blinded, Zee took a step back and reached a hand out.

"Now, can you lead me back to that comfortable lap I was just sitting on? Don't want to get lost on the way and wind up in someone else's." Julia took her hand and guided her back to a very excited Conner, where she sat again. His fingers started to brush up her legs, but he pulled them back.

"You can touch me. I won't complain if Julia won't." The hands found their way back to her legs and trailed up to the outside of her thighs, much to the delight of the crowd. "Okay, now. Hold that card up to your mouth, number facing me."

"Uh...like this?" Conner put the card to his mouth and held it there.

"Well, I don't know sweetheart, I'm blindfolded," she said as the crowd laughed and heckled her assistant. Blushing now, Conner held the card in place.

"Okay, it's on my mouth."

"Perfect," Zee said leaning closer and brushing her lips against his forehead, cheek, and nose. "Hmm...this isn't easy blindfolded. Don't let me go too low, now," she said, voice dripping with innuendo. Once she reached the card, she pressed her lips to it and pulled her body closer to his. The crowd cheered for their surrogate participant as the girlfriend looked on with an amused smile on her face, clearly not minding the act. After a few seconds, she pulled her head back to reveal a distinct red lipstick mark on the front of the 3 of spades.

"Now, please put the card back in the deck for me, Conner." The card was replaced and Zatanna repeated the flourishing shuffles before flicking the deck with her middle finger and sending a card into the air that floated just in front of Conner's face. "Is this your card?"

"Um...it's not, actually." The crowd laughed lightly.

"Oh. Hmm. Okay, let's try that again." Another flick of her finger produced another card. "How about his one?"

"Nope, still not my card."

"Well...shit. Third time's the charm, right?" Zatanna flicked the deck one more time, but nothing happened. Another flick...nothing. "Damn spell..."

The crowd was grumbling as she pulled the blindfold down and fanned out the cards. Brow furrowed, she looked out at the crowd and pointed to a table in the middle.

"You...yeah, you in the red jacket. Stand up." A young man stood at her order and looked around nervously. Zatanna looked to the side of the stage. "Can you check his back pocket for me?"

One of her female dancers walked to him, putting her hands around his back and sliding them into his back pockets, pulling out the three of spades, complete with red lipstick mark, with her right hand.

"Ah, right. That's where I put it!"

The crowd laughed and cheered at the act while Bruce continued to fume in back. Zatanna stood from Conner's lap and thanked both him and Julia before sending them back to their seats. She snapped her fingers and the chair vanished as she walked across the stage. Just when she was about to speak again, Bruce felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Got a minute, mate?" He looked up to see John Constantine with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, glass of booze in his other hand.

Grinding his teeth, Bruce stood and followed him to the back of the room.

"What the fuck is this?" He asked in a low voice when Constantine stopped.

"The fuck you think it is? It's a magic show."

"Whatever you're doing here or whatever game you're playing...leave," his voice was still low, but his anger was increasing each moment.

"No, mate...you leave. You're going to fuck this whole operation up before it even gets started."

"Operation? What is that supposed to mean?"

Constantine smiled arrogantly and took another drag from the cigarette.

"Ah, so she didn't tell you. I guess she's not as indoctrinated as I thought." Sick of the subterfuge, Bruce grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until he let out a pained yelp. "Fuck, take it easy. I'm trying to help here."

"Tell me what's going on."

"We're working a fucking case, mate, just...ow...just relax." Bruce let off of the pressure slightly and pushed him further down a small hallway off of the main seating area to avoid drawing attention. He released him and blocked his exit when they reached the end of the hall. Adjusting his wrinkled trench coat, Constantine looked down at his now-empty glass and frowned. "That was good whiskey, too."

"Talk."

"You're out of your depth here. Zee's up there trying to lure in a magician that can get spooked very easily if the wrong people show up. Say some big, hard-headed Justice League member angry that the girl he's fucking is on stage..."

Bruce slammed him against the wall again and grabbed him by the tie hanging loosely around his neck.

"I'll break every bone in your body if you're using her. Do you understand me? If so much as a hair on her head gets hurt, you'll be smoking through a hole in your neck for the rest of your pathetic life."

The smug smile had fully passed at this point as he held his hands up in surrender.

"Alright. Look…this isn't League territory. If it was, she would have called you in. I need you to leave or sit and keep your bloody mouth shut before you expose her."

"Expose her to who?" His gripped tightened.

"A bloke named Effron. He's here and she's going to find out what he knows, but not if you blow her fuckin' cover."

Bruce slowly removed his hand from the tie and took a step away.

"I'm not leaving. Know that. And know that I'm watching every move you make. She'll help you because she's a good person who wants to help and then you'll leave her alone. Are we clear?"

"Right. Can we get back out there? I'm supposed to be looking out for trouble...aside from you."

Constantine pushed past Bruce and walked to a dark corner at the back of the room. He was staring toward the man with the receding hairline, who in turn was staring intently at Zatanna as she continued her show. Tense, but determined not to disrupt the act, Bruce sat back down in his seat.

Zee had moved on to more elaborate tricks, using her backwards speech to wow the crowd. Bruce only paid partial attention, keeping an eye on Constantine and the focus of his attention. The show closed with another musical number and more dancing before the crowd sent her off with a roar of appreciation. The man with the receding hairline stayed in his seat, clapping politely; when the crowd started to thin, he headed toward the backstage area. Bruce quickly stood to follow, but Constantine stood in his way and shook his head.

"Let her work, mate."

Zatanna
Backstage

She wasn't sure how she was able to focus on the show once she saw Bruce had shown up, but the crowd didn't seem to notice her nerves. Now she had to focus on Effron instead of fixing the mess she had created for herself. Waiting in the dark wing left of the stage, she watched the sorcerer walk up to her fake bodyguard, who allowed him to step behind the side curtains once he showed his backstage pass.

"Dnib dna gag mih." Effron was instantly in a chair, tied at his ankles, waist, chest, and wrists. A gag was in his mouth and he was struggling as she walked toward him.

"Hi. Sorry to ambush you like this, but I need some information. I don't want to have to do this the hard way, so your cooperation would very much be appreciated." Effron mumbled against the gag and continued to struggle. "You won't get loose unless I let you loose. I just want to talk, so I'm going to remove the gag. If you scream or try to cast a spell, I'll put it back on and read your mind. Do you want me to read your mind?"

Breathing heavily, he shook his head.

"Good. Because I don't want to be in your head anymore than you want me in there. Gagnu mih." The gag loosened and fell to his lap.

"What the fuck is this? You think you can..." Zatanna held up her hand and he snapped his mouth shut and took a deep breath before continuing. "Okay...fine. What do you want to know, bitch?"

"First, don't call me that again or the gag goes back on. Now, tell me what you know about the magical disturbance that's happening."

"I don't know what you're talking about, bit...woman."

Sighing and rubbing her temples, she sat down across from him and stared him down.

"Please don't make me do this. I'm tired and I want to go home. Tell me what you know and you can leave and call me whatever foul names you want."

Glaring back at her, he took another deep breath before he spoke again.

"Something's been happening for a while. Magic is becoming weaker. You would know if you spent enough time using the craft, but you don't. Whatever is causing it is coming from another dimension."

"I know that already. What other dimension?"

"It's not that simple, child. They don't have names or addresses that you can punch into a GPS. If you want to figure out what dimension, you have to have something concrete to track."

"I do have something." He rolled his eyes, clearly not believing her. "What I need is help in using it to get there and take down the being that's trying to destroy magic. I don't need a friend, just an ally. Several allies."

"You're insane. You can't just go to another dimension."

"I can and I will. I'm not asking you or anyone else to go with me. I'm not even asking you to fight with me...just help me get there. Are you going to help me get there and save magic or are you going to sit at home and cower while it's torn down around us?"

"You'll need a hell of a lot more than just me."

"I'll find more. Will you be one of them?"

He was quiet for a long time, looking down at her feet as he considered his options...she knew how limited they were.

"Yes," he said, looking up at her and nodding.

"Swear to me."

"I swear to you, Zatanna Zatara, that I will help you on your quest to another dimension."

"And back." She wasn't going to give him any loopholes.

"And back."

Standing, she walked to him and placed her hands on each side of his head. Sensing his intent without reading his thoughts, she determined that he was telling the truth...albeit reluctantly.

"Eitnu mih."

Effron rubbed his wrists and stood, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her.

"Your father was one of the greatest magicians who ever lived. We didn't get along, but I respected him. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, because if you don't you'll be meeting up with him again very soon."

"We all will," she said, turning and walking toward the dressing room. "I'll call you when we're ready."

Bruce
Zee's Dressing Room

He'd been waiting for half an hour when she finally entered, eyes hesitant as she chewed on her lip and walked to lean against the wall across from him.

"Bruce, I'm sor..."

"When are you ever going to trust me?" He tried to keep his voice calm and measured, but it came out harsh and biting.

"I do."

"Bullshit. If you trusted me, I wouldn't have had to find out what was going on from John Constantine." He stared in her eyes, which were starting to fill with tears.

"I do trust you," she whispered. Taking a shaky breath, she started to walk toward him, but he held a hand up to stop her.

"How involved are you with this Constantine guy?"

"I'm not." She didn't divert her gaze. Truth.

"Then tell me what's going on. And stop fucking lying and hiding things from me. I'm sick of it."

Tears were falling down her cheeks now, but he was too pissed to care.

"We're trying to save magic...save the world from being destroyed. And I'm trying to find J'onn."

That got his attention. "What does any of this have to do with J'onn?"

"Maybe nothing, but if I'm right, Shazam's bolt sent him into an alternate dimension. That's why we can't find any trace of him. And it might explain..."

"The beasts," he finished. She nodded, tears still falling from her eyes. Furrowing his brow, he crossed his arms over his chest and considered what she was saying. He didn't know much about the theory of alternate dimensions, but from what little he did know, it was as plausible as anything else they had come up with so far. "Why wouldn't you tell me about this?"

"Because it's nothing the League can help with. I needed..."

"I didn't ask why you didn't tell Batman, goddammit, I asked why you didn't fucking tell me!" His voice boomed in the small room and she shrank back against the wall with wide eyes.

"I..." Her jaw dropped and he could see the look of realization and pain on her face. She blinked to clear her eyes and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should have told you. Bruce..."

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself enough to talk again. Not having much success, he sat down and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he felt her shaking hand on his arm. He opened his eyes to see her still crying, other hand clutching at the bottom hem of her corset nervously.

"I'm sorry. I fucked up."

"What else don't I know?" He stared in her eyes.

"Nothing." Truth.

He nodded, got up, and headed toward the door, hearing her soft crying from behind him.

"Good luck. I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing." Her crying became louder as he pulled the door shut behind him and left.

Zatanna
Dressing room

Three days. Three days of thinking I had it all. Three days of thinking someone loved me back. Three days of hope and joy and planning for a future that will never come. Three days before I fucked it all up.

She dropped to the floor of the dressing room and wept, wrapping her arms around her stomach...afraid she would fall apart if she didn't hold herself together. Her body shook with each sob for what felt like an hour before she felt warm hands on her shoulders. When she looked up, she didn't see the eyes she wanted. John pulled her to her feet and walked her over to the couch. He sat down next to her and pulled her over to lean on his shoulder. There were a lot of other people she would rather have comforting her, but her body was too weak from crying to move. She let the tears soak into his coat as he ran his hand along her arm.

"It'll be alright, Zee. Promise." It was the first time his voice had something approaching a kind tone since he had arrived.

Her mind tried to process all the ways in which she had fucked up. Keeping secrets...check. Lying...check. Mistrusting...check. How the hell else was he going to react?

Add in the fact that Bruce learned about it all from Constantine and she was surprised he wasn't angrier still. She had treated him like a boss instead of a lover and friend.

"You still awake?" John finally asked, leaning his head to the side to try to see her face.

"Yes." Her throat was raw from crying.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No. I got what we need from Effron. He'll help. I'm going home." He squeezed her closer when she tried to stand up.

"Alone?"

"Yes." Shaking off his arm, she stood and picked up her phone. "Thank you, John. I'll see you in Miami.