Zatanna
Another Place

She couldn't stop clinging to Bruce's arm as they walked toward her other self's address. The waitress at the coffee shop had drawn them a small map to help them find their way once Bruce had flirted with her for a few minutes.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It worked." He grinned at her and put his arm around her shoulders as they left. Now they were approaching a neighborhood with two-story brick houses and perfectly manicured lawns. It was clear that their alternate selves weren't living at Wayne Manor or Shadowcrest. She had imagined a lot of futures for herself as a girl, but none of them had her living in a suburban house with her lawyer husband. "I think this is it."

Bruce led her up the steps to the front door, where he rang the doorbell as she stood behind him...still clinging to his arm as her heart raced. When she heard the door open, she took a deep breath and walked forward with him as a familiar voice welcomed them.

"Thanks for meeting here, come in." They stopped just inside the door and Bruce pulled her forward to look her other self in the face.

"Zanna, this is Zee." The eyes were her own, looking into hers with her mouth slightly agape.

"Wow," Zanna said, stepping forward. Her face was slightly fuller and her hair was cut shorter, but it was like looking in a mirror, otherwise. "Uh...come on in and have a seat. I think we have a lot to talk about."

They made their way down the hall, Zee's eyes taking in all of the family photos of her, Bruce, and their son. She stopped at the one of their wedding, with him kissing her at the alter. He turned to look when he felt her slow down, eyes finding the same photo. She could hear his hard gulp as he examined.

"Two years ago," Zanna said quietly, as she noticed they had stopped. "Second happiest day of my life."

"And the first?" Zee asked.

"Tommy being born," she smiled and held her arm out to direct them to a couch in the living room. They sat down and Bruce pulled her close as she shivered; she wasn't sure if it was the cold or the fact that she was sitting across from herself that was making her shake. "I have some tea on to help you warm up. It'll be ready in a few minutes."

Zatanna nodded and looked briefly at Bruce, who gave her a small smile and nod of encouragement.

"I'm sorry about this. I know it must be disorienting. It is to me...us...too," she started, voice weaker than she wanted it to be. "We're here because something has gone wrong in your dimension."

"I know. I've felt it happening for a while now. But, there's something you should know first," Zanna paused and looked down at her hands. "Things are bad here. For magicians, I mean. For the magi. We're hated and feared. None of us live in the open anymore."

"When you read my thoughts earlier...you looked around," Bruce said.

"Yes. I had to make sure no one would see. But I had another reason for reading your mind, aside from seeing if you were telling the truth." Zanna took a deep breath. "I had to make sure you weren't there to kill us."

"Us...as in you and your son?" Zee asked.

She nodded and looked to the kitchen as the teapot hissed.

"Just give me a second."

Zee tried to process everything she was being told as they waited. She couldn't understand how there could be so much hatred of magi that they would have to live a lie, but then her mind thought back to hundreds of years ago, when suspected witches were burned at the stake. The sad truth of that time was that most of the "witches" were just poor souls with mental health issues. She shuddered again and Bruce held her tighter, but it wasn't the cold affecting her now.

Zanna returned with two tea cups in her hand and placed them on the table in front of them. Bruce thanked her and handed Zee her cup. When she looked up, her counterpart was grinning at them.

"You two aren't married in your dimension?"

Bruce shifted slightly on the couch and she had to fight the urge to laugh at his nervousness. Don't worry, I won't make you take me to the chapel just yet.

"No, we're not." She said, smiling and sipping the hot tea.

"But you're together?"

"Yes," Bruce said, picking up his own cup. There we go...baby steps.

"I guess some things are constant in all dimensions," Zanna said.

"It's actually interesting you say that," Zee said, "because there's one big, important thing that clearly isn't. And I'm not sure how it's possible." They both looked at her quietly as she thought. "Your son. We don't have a son. Assuming what I've learned about alternate realities is accurate...granted that's a pretty big assumption...people should be the same. Personalities, outcomes...those can be different, but for a person to exist here and not there. I don't know how that happens."

"I might," Zanna said. "Almost three years ago, something here broke. I guess that's the best way to describe it, anyway. Things started to change. Not just magic, but the fabric of the universe started to unravel."

"Shit." Zee leaned forward and rubbed her forehead, knowing all too well what caused the change. "We did this."

"You said you fought a beast," Bruce said. "You think that's what's causing the deviations?"

"Yes. We sent the beast here and it started to tear things apart, just like it was trying to do in our dimension. We didn't win the battle. We just made it easier for the thing to do what it wanted by sending it somewhere that magic is suppressed."

"You fought a magical beast?" Zanna's eyes were wide.

"Oh, the stories I could tell," Zee said, smiling back. She was quickly realizing that it would be hard to find someone who was very savvy in using magic to fight evil forces in this dimension. "When you said you thought Bruce might be there to kill you...what did you mean?"

"There's a high price on the heads of true magi. It's why we hide. Those caught by the 'good guys' might just go to a mental institution or be put on a watch list and have their movements restricted. Others...well, let's just say there's a reason I don't use magic in public."

"And your son?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, he's magi. I have to watch him every moment of every day to make sure he isn't caught using magic. He doesn't know any better." Her eyes were filled with tears as she spoke. For what seemed like such a happy home and perfect family, Zee was realizing that her life was more difficult by a large margin. They all sat quietly for a moment as the weight of her words sank in until a familiar sound made her snap her head around.

"Merrrrow." Asshole ran into the room and stood next to the fireplace.

"Dammit, how does that cat keep getting in here?" Zanna stood up to shoo the wicked little creature, but Zee jumped up and grabbed her arm.

"That's not your cat?"

"No, we don't have pets. Tommy's allergic, but that cat has been coming in here for weeks and..." Before she could finish her sentence, a bright green glow engulfed Asshole and slowly changed shape until a tall, imposing man was standing in the living room with them.

Bruce
Zanna's House

"J'onn!" Zee ran to the Martian Manhunter and threw her arms around his neck. Bruce had never known J'onn to show much emotion, but he smiled widely and wrapped his arms around Zatanna as she hung onto him.

"And here I thought I wasn't getting through," he said as she continued to hug him. Bruce looked over to Zanna, whose eyes were wide as saucers as she stood frozen. If magi were considered unwelcome, he could imagine the hate a 6'5" green martian would bring.

"He's a friend...from our dimension," Bruce said gently, trying to keep her calm. She nodded, but kept staring at J'onn as she slowly sat back down.

Zee finally released her hold on his neck and stepped back slightly, grabbing his hand.

"What do you mean getting through?" She asked.

"I've been trying to get your attention for weeks," he said. "Every time you searched, I felt you. I knew you were looking for me, but you didn't know I was there."

"Oh, my god...the stupid cat. That was you. Dammit, of course it was you." Zee shook her head and sighed.

"Uh...care to share with the class?" Bruce was more than a little confused by whatever code they were speaking in.

Zatanna turned back to look at him, still holding J'onn's hand.

"Asshole. He started sitting on my lap a few weeks ago while I was searching. I thought he was just being weird."

"There aren't many in your life you hold dear, Zatanna. It was either jump in your cat's head or jump in Bruce's. The cat's was less hostile." He gave Bruce a wry grin as he spoke.

"You've been sitting on her lap, huh?" Bruce said back, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes. Very warm and comfortable." J'onn deadpanned.

"Alright, that's plenty," Zee dropped J'onn's hand glared at them both. Bruce smiled and reached to shake his hand.

"Good to see you again, friend. I was worried we lost you for good."

"So was I. Zatanna..." He turned and reached his hands out to put them on both sides of her face, pulling her forward until their foreheads were touching. A green glow appeared where they met as he held her still.

"And I never would have." Zee said quietly after a moment. She pulled her head back and smiled as J'onn dropped his hands back to his side.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this...I don't know what this is, but Tommy will be awake soon and my husband will be coming home. I think it would be better if I told him about this without anyone else here," Zanna said, looking mainly at the large, green martian in the room.

"We understand," Zee said. "But before we go, please consider helping us. We're going to fight this beast again and we're going to win this time. We can't do it without help from this dimension. Even then it will be difficult. If you know any other magi..."

Zanna nodded slowly as she thought.

"I need to talk with my husband first. Come back tomorrow morning."

Zee nodded and took Bruce's hand as they started toward the door.

"I think I should return to my cat form," J'onn said. "I'll follow behind. Take us somewhere we can talk in private without me being seen."

"Here," Zanna said, walking to a table and pulling a key from a drawer. "We own a rental property two blocks north. It's vacant with a sign out front. Use it to talk and...J'onn, is it...you can stay there and lie low...without being a cat. And can you transport directly to the house tomorrow? People will get suspicious if they see us knocking on our own front door."

"Of course. Thank you, Zanna," Zee said, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

J'onn morphed into the black cat and they headed to the door and back out into the cold.

Zatanna
Zanna's Rental

As they entered the modest-sized rental property, J'onn returned to his usual form. The house had no electricity, but there was enough furniture for him to be comfortable for a couple of nights.

"It's better than the garage. They kept running me out of the house when I tried to get in." J'onn sat down in a recliner while Zatanna curled up with Bruce on the couch. The room was dark and cold, which seemed fitting for the circumstances. "I only overheard a bit of your conversation with this dimension's Zatanna, but things are even worse than she thinks."

"Worse how?" Bruce was rubbing her arm and trying to keep her warm.

"There's a rip between dimensions. It's how I wound up here. It's how the parasite beasts wound up in our dimension. It's how Black Adam was moving back and forth between the two."

It explained a lot. Everything from the beasts to the disturbances in the magical community. The instability was widespread and dangerous. Zatanna got a sinking feeling in her stomach. If it's that widespread, how do we ever fix it?

"The beasts...they're from another planet here?" Bruce asked, surprisingly normal about everything that was going on.

"No. They're from Earth. They're manufactured creatures designed for one main purpose." J'onn's eyes flicked to hers and she felt a chill run down her spine.

"To kill magi," she said quietly. J'onn silently nodded. She could feel every muscle in Bruce's body tense as he processed the idea.

"Who?" He rasped out in a harsh voice.

"A group of people from different countries. Things are out of hand in this dimension. It's on the edge and I don't know if anything can stop it from falling apart."

"Fuck that," she spat out. "I'll stop it. No matter what it takes." She stood and paced behind the couch, trying to think of how they were going to beat an enemy that had already eluded them once, without the help of the powerful magi she was hoping to find in this dimension.

"I think we should table this for the night," Bruce said. Looking outside, she could see that the sun was setting quickly over the houses across the street. "J'onn, are you sure you'll be okay here?"

"Yes, I ate some cat food at the neighbors' earlier. I'll get some rest."

"Uh, right. Zee, let's go get some human dinner." Bruce stopped her pacing and guided her toward the door. "Have a good night, J'onn. We'll let you know when we have something to move on."

They walked back out into the snowy neighborhood and headed quietly toward a restaurant they had passed on the way to Zanna's house. Deep in thought, Zatanna ate silently as Bruce stared at her.

"What are you thinking about doing?" He finally asked as they waited for the check.

"Winning," she said, though she hadn't developed a solid plan on how to accomplish the task. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed Constantine's help to figure out what to do next. He was supposed to call in the morning to check in; she wondered if he was having any more luck in London, but wasn't hopeful. It sounded as though the extermination of magi was a worldwide effort.

Rather than grill her for more information, Bruce paid the check and led her out of the restaurant. It was a long walk back to the hotel, but it gave her more time to consider her options. Once they were back, she was freezing again and mentally exhausted.

"Cold?" Bruce asked as she shivered.

"You're a very good detective," she said, grinning at him and she kicked her shoes off and rubbed her cold feet. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the bathroom, quickly turning the shower on to an almost-too-hot temperature. Staring in her eyes, he slowly lifted her shirt over her head and removed her bra before shedding his own shirt and pulling her against him. He drew in a sharp breath as she pressed her hands against his bare chest.

"Christ, your hands are like ice," he grumbled, shuffling them toward the shower. She quickly shed her pants, underwear and socks to step in and get seared by the hot water.

"Oh, fuck yes. I'm never leaving." Bruce was quickly in behind her, moving her back to steal the spray. "Ass. I was enjoying myself there."

"You brought me here, so you have to share."

"You hitchhiked. Don't act like it was an accident." She pushed him back and washed her hair quickly as he used a washcloth to clean her body, setting her skin on fire even more with his touch. "I missed this."

"Me too." He handed her the cloth and they swapped positions, finishing their familiar routine before stepping out of the tub. "Why don't you magically shower? You magically brush your teeth."

"I do sometimes, but showers feel good...especially the shared ones," she said, wrapping the towel around her and walking back to the room. Before she could climb in bed, Bruce grabbed her arms and turned her around, quickly pressing his lips to hers and throwing her towel to the side. He kissed her for several minutes before pulling his head back and looking in her eyes.

"You found J'onn." It certainly wasn't the most romantic thing she'd ever heard, but the way he said it made her feel like it held more weight than all of the sweet nothings that had been whispered in her ear before.

"Accidentally," she said, "I can't believe I didn't realize he was trying to reach me through the stupid cat."

He sighed and lifted her chin, pecking her lips. "Zatanna, I don't hand out credit or praise often. Please accept it when I do." Nodding, she pressed her face against his chest and breathed him in as he held her. "I love you."

Those words.

She swallowed hard and looked into eyes filled with intensity and lust.

"Show me," she whispered. He smiled and gently lifted her to wrap her legs around his waist. She lowered her lips to his and thrust her tongue between his teeth, suddenly desperate to taste him. It had been too long: days...weeks...a lifetime. Any amount of time apart felt impossible when he held her again. He lowered her onto the bed and began to slowly kiss his way down from her chest to her stomach to her legs, flicking his tongue out until she was twisting his hair in her hand. When he was at her thighs, he slowly brushed his face against them, letting his beard rub her sensitive skin. She sighed and let her head fall back against the pillow, eyes drifting shut as he kissed and nuzzled her. When his lips finally moved to her clit, she let out a loud moan and raised her hips up as he tasted her.

"Oh, god...please do that forever." He hummed his approval against her, causing her hips to jolt at the vibrating sensation. Smiling, he looked up and licked at her as she squirmed and grinned back at him.

"Please don't break my nose again," he whispered before another quick lick.

"I can't be held responsible for injuries while your tongue is there."

"Mmm...shouldn't taste so good." He hummed against her again before sucking her clit between his lips. Wisely, he held her hips down this time to prevent a shattered nose as she cried out and came, writhing on the bed and digging her nails into his skin. He groaned as she felt moisture at her fingertips and realized she had drawn blood clawing at him.

"Fuck, sorry," she hissed while he continued to suck and lick. If he cared that he was bleeding, he wasn't showing it, because he continued until her legs were shaking so hard she felt like she would vibrate off the bed. Finally pulling his mouth away, he quickly moved up and entered her as she continued to shake, thrusting hard and pinning her hands over her head. He grunted as he threw his weight into her again and again until he suddenly paused and looked in her eyes.

"Say it," he growled, grinning and slowly moving in and out of her. She smiled and moved her hips up in a sudden motion, taking him in again.

"I love you." It was the first time she had said it without tears in her eyes and the smile spread across his face before he resumed his quick pace. His hand reached down and stroked her until she was moaning again, coming with him as he let out a loud cry and bruised her wrists with his hand. Panting, he pulled out and flopped over onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Love you, too," he said quietly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"When J'onn touched his head to yours there was a glow. It wasn't your magic. What was it?" He turned his head to look at her, face beaded with sweat and breathing still heavy.

"Oh, that. He was sharing his thoughts with me." She reached over and pushed his hair from his sweaty forehead before trailing down to a small scar next to the left side of his mouth. His eyes fluttered slightly as she did.

"And you said 'I never would have'. Never would have what?"

"Never would have stopped searching for him. He was thanking me." She paused for a moment, remembering what it felt like to hear his thoughts. "For a long time, he's felt alone. He is, in a lot of ways, I guess. The last of his people. When he wound up here, he was afraid that we wouldn't be able to find him...or wouldn't try. That I kept trying, even though I wasn't finding anything...it just meant a lot to him. It made him feel less alone."

He stared into her eyes for a long time, face serious as he thought.

"What?" She finally asked when the silence stretched on.

"Nothing," he said, turning on his side and putting his arm across her stomach. "Try to get some sleep."

Despite her desire to know what was on his mind, she figured he owed her quite a few non-answers. Instead of interrogating him Batman-style, she quickly healed the bleeding claw marks she had left on his arms and curled up against his chest, listening to his heart beat as she drifted off.

Diana Prince
Gotham City

It wouldn't be the first time Bruce had dropped off the radar, but doing so without telling Alfred, Kate, Tim, or Barbara was not normal. Diana couldn't shake the feeling that this was related to Zatanna and whatever secret she was keeping from the League. And so, here she was, outside of Shadowcrest...hoping that the wards wouldn't kick her to the other side of the world. No one answered the doorbell once she safely crossed onto the porch. Okay, let's see how welcome I really am here, Sister. Pushing her shoulder against the heavy wooden door, she popped it off the hinges and stepped inside.

"Just checking in, Shadowcrest. Nothing to worry about. Please don't eject me."

She walked down the hallway toward the few rooms she was familiar with. The library was dark and empty, as was the den, and the kitchen was clean, save for a coffee mug and knife in the sink.

"Zatanna? Are you here?"

Something rustled in another room down the hall, so she pressed on...feeling eyes on her with every step. How can she live in this spooky place? She approached two double doors that were slightly open and carefully peered inside.

"Hello? Zatanna?"

"She's gone." The voice was quiet, but Diana still nearly jumped out of her skin when it spoke.

"Who's there? Show yourself." Her hand reached back to the hilt of her sword hidden under her coat as a dark figure slowly stepped forward.

"I...I came to help. My name's June."

Enchantress

To be continued…