Zatanna
Guest Room

She waited until Bruce had been snoring for an hour before she slipped quietly out of the bed. Quickly getting dressed, she stepped into the bathroom and whispered the spell.

"Annataz ot Nno'j."

"Zatanna? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I need your help." She sat down across from him and he stared at her, likely reading her thoughts before she could verbalize them. "I'm not going back tomorrow. I'm staying here and fighting. I need you to tell me where the rest of the beasts are."

"No. Zatanna, you can't do this."

"I am doing this, with or without your help. With would be easier." She wrung her hands nervously as she spoke, not wanting to have to argue with him.

"You can't just go manipulating this reality to suit your needs."

"This reality has already been fucked over by my mistakes. I'm going to set things right. And as far as those beasts go, there's nothing natural about them. I need their power if I'm going to succeed."

He was quiet for a long time as he considered what she was saying. "And what if you can't get back?"

"I will."

"How?"

"I have no fucking idea, but I will. I need to do this, J'onn. I'll find a way to win and I'll find a way to make it back." She stood and paced in front of him, worried that Bruce would wake without her there. "Please. This won't work if you don't help."

"Bruce will never..."

"Know. Not until it's too late and you're on your way back. I'll send you three back as planned."

"I'll stay and help," he said.

"Absolutely not!"

"You're being unreasonable. Is this what Bruce has to deal with every day?"

"Yes. But you're not staying. You can't help me in any way other than getting me to the beasts and getting Bruce and Constantine back safely."

With a loud sigh, he leaned back in his chair. "The beasts are in a holding facility in Iceland."

"Thank you, J'onn," she said as she sat back down across from him. "How many?"

"I don't know the exact number, but I would guess at least 20."

Oh...shit. That's a lot.

She tried not to show her trepidation. "Who are these people creating them? Where can I find them?"

"Many are at that facility, but it's a massive organization. More people than you can go after in the time you have."

"I'm just sending a message. If there are plenty there, then that will be enough." Destroying their precious beasts with magic would certainly send a message. She couldn't fix everything in this dimension, but she was going to help even the odds.

"They're holding magi there, too. Using them to feed the monsters." She felt her anger swell at the thought of her people being used as batteries.

"Can you show me on a map where I need to go?"

J'onn nodded and she conjured a map for him to use. He circled the general area of the facility and she put it in her pocket.

"Zatanna, before you do this, please know that I think it's a terrible idea and if I could stop you I would."

She nodded and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Duly noted. Thank you. Get Bruce home safe for me. If all goes well, I'll be at the meeting Monday night." Stepping back, she transported back to the bathroom. After she had stripped her clothes again, she crawled back into bed. To her relief, Bruce hadn't moved since she left. She curled back up next to him and watched his face as he slept. Another day, another secret. He deserved better than someone who always hid things from him...someone who always made him angry. But he wouldn't understand this...this need to fix the mistakes she had made. Her parents had died because of her on her Earth. Here, she was going to make sure she was the reason they lived.

Constantine
New York City

Ready to get outta this bloody place.

Nothing was right here. Magic didn't work the same and magicians were cowering in fear of everything. According to Mist, something had happened a couple years ago that threw everything off balance. He decided it was best not to tell him what that something was or who might have been responsible for it. Need-to-know and all. He'd found Occult and he was going to meet with Xanadu and Mist at this dimension's Shadowcrest on Sunday to fight. Working with the group they gathered in their own dimension, they would escort Etrigan, Deadman, Swamp Thing, and Spectre again as they traversed Hell in an attempt to stop the Darkness for good this time. Same plan, more firepower. He looked at his watch...time to go back to Gotham. Prompt as always, Zee had him zipping through space until he landed directly across from a giant green martian.

"Bloody fuck!" He stumbled backward and fell over a coffee table, landing on his back as Zatanna smirked. "Real nice, Zee."

"Welcome back. This is J'onn," she said, crossing her legs and leaning back on the couch.

"Yeah, fuckin' Martian Manhunter. He doesn't really need an introduction. I'm guessing this is the missing person you've been looking for." He stood and straightened his clothes before sitting down across from her. "Where are we?"

"My other self's rental property. J'onn has been staying here. I wanted to talk before we go to her house."

"Alright. I got Occult. If we're going to see your other self, I'm assuming she agreed to fight."

"Yes. So did her parents." She stared at him as she spoke. He swallowed hard as her eyes bored through him. "Don't waste this opportunity, John."

"I don't plan to. Not this time. We'll win and this will all be over."

"The sobriety spell won't end until we win."

"Well, then let's plan on toasting to victory Sunday night. On me," he grinned and stood as she did, moving closer so she could transport them.

"My family here doesn't know you. Try not to be an ass."

"Most people think I'm charming, ya know."

"Most people are idiots. Ekat su ot Annaz."

Bruce
Zanna's House

Zatanna reappeared with J'onn and Constantine shortly after her parents arrived. Bruce had spent the last 30 minutes trying to explain martians to his other self.

"Martians aren't real." Do I really sound like that?

"This one is. He'll be here shortly, so be ready." When they entered, J'onn wisely kept his distance and let the rest of the family get used to the sight of him as he stood like a statue in the corner. It was a little creepy, but he didn't want to make it worse by trying to get him to act casual. He'd never acted casual in the years that he'd known him.

Once everyone relaxed in his presence, Bruce walked to Zee and pulled her to the hallway while Constantine introduced himself to the others. For some reason, he needed to kiss her and hold her again. Might be the fact that I almost died a few days ago. He pulled her close and held her against him as he kissed her softly.

"Care to explain this?" She asked when he let her lips go for a moment.

"No. Just let me kiss you." Her smiling lips returned to his as she nodded, hands rubbing his back. After a few more minutes, he pulled his head back and hugged her. Turning, he caught sight of their other selves in the kitchen in almost the exact same stance. He turned Zee to look at them. "See? She must have apologized."

"You are such a..." His lips didn't let her finish. When he heard her father's voice getting closer, he finally took a step back, grabbing her hand and leading her to the living room.

"Your friend here seems to be quite the savvy magician, Zee," Zatara said when the reentered the room.

"So he says," she responded, rolling her eyes and sitting down on the couch. "He did gather us some help, though."

"Enough help?" Zanna asked as she and her husband returned. Constantine's head was swiveling back and forth between the twin couples so violently that it looked like it was spinning. Bruce smirked at him until he got a grip.

"I think so. We have powerful allies at home, too. That's more than double the magical power as last time."

"Your father and I got Sargon and Faust," Sindella said, much to everyone's surprise.

"Faust?" Zatanna's eyes were wide. "He's a mortal enemy in our dimension. We didn't even trust him enough to get us here, much less fight with us."

"He's pretty neutral here," Zatara said. "Powerful, though. And he doesn't want to see everything destroyed."

The next several hours were spent on strategy, so Bruce and his counterpart again excused themselves.

"Are you sure I can keep these?" He asked his other self, holding the pictures out.

"Yeah, I have doubles of everything. Take as many as you want. I have something else, too." He led him to the second floor and into a room that looked like a family movie theater. Turning the TV on, he fiddled with the remotes until Bruce suddenly heard his mother's voice.

"Bruce! Bruce come on in! Santa came!"

"Mom, I haven't believed in Santa for five years. You know that. You're the one who told me he wasn't real." His teenage self came into the room in pajama pants and flopped down on the couch next to her, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"I know, but it's still fun. Tom, honey, put the camera on the tripod and come sit." His father entered the frame and sat down on his other side, handing him a present.

"Ask and you shall receive, son."

He watched with tears in his eyes as they enjoyed a Christmas morning that never happened. They laughed and joked as they opened gifts. A happy family. A perfect family. A life he should have had. When the video ended, he looked at his other self, who was studying him intently.

"I'm sorry you never had this," he said. "I'm sorry your Zanna doesn't have her parents. I can't imagine life without any of them."

"Thank you for all of this. I know none of this is easy for you and you didn't have to show me kindness."

"Hey, always wanted a brother," he smiled and put his hand on his shoulder, leading him back down the stairs.

Zatanna
Zanna's Place

Bruce returned to the room with a look on his face that she couldn't decipher. It was time for them to leave and get ready to head home. She looked at her family's faces. Her family. If everything went to plan, she would see them again, but only briefly as she got them to safety. Taking her time, she hugged her parents, tears flowing down her face again as she memorized the way they smelled and the sound of their voices one more time. She hugged Zanna and thanked her husband, who gave her a small smile. It was more than she really expected from him, all things considered.

Don't worry...I don't plan on her fighting for a single second.

"I love you Mom and Dad. With all my heart." Bruce had to remind her of the time to get her to transport them away. When they arrived in the abandoned lot they had appeared in three days before, she stood and cried for a few more minutes before setting about her work. It was a little after five and she had to draw a full rune circle and conjure candles before 8:00. Constantine had gone back to the city to get them food as J'onn sat and watched, mercifully quiet as he kept her secret.

"What if someone sees all of this?" Bruce had asked nervously as she started her work in the daylight.

"They won't. I put up a ward to keep prying eyes out. I doubt there's a lot of people out in this area, anyway." He nodded and sat down, flipping through the stack of photos his other self had given him. It still made her heart ache.

"Here ya are, Zee. I know you've been hungry." John handed her a bag of food and a large cup of hot chocolate. He seemed to have forgiven her for the sobriety spell. Now if he just survived the next stretch of time without J'onn killing him for his nagging questions about martians, he could go back and try to complete the mission with a clear head.

Her muscles were burning by the time she finished drawing the runes. Some things just can't be conjured. At 7:45, they all gathered around her. Despite her best efforts to keep her shit together, her eyes started to well up with tears.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked, brushing her hair back from her face. It was time for some truth.

"I'm not going back with you," she said, not looking in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" He tried to lift her chin, but she took a step back.

"I'm staying and fighting here."

"The fuck you are!" Constantine threw his cigarette on the ground as he shouted. "This isn't the goddamn plan, Zee."

"The plan changed," she said, taking another step back. Bruce quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Don't do this. You can't." He put his hand on the back of her neck this time, forcing her to look in his eyes.

"I have to. I'm not letting them die because of me. Not again."

"No! You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to let you do this."

"J'onn," she looked at him and he moved forward, placing his hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"Get the fuck off of me!" He tried to shake his hand loose, but J'onn held him fast, pulling him away. "What are you doing? Why are you helping her?"

"I need you to get in the circle, Bruce. Please," she said as he struggled.

"No. Not without you. I'm not leaving without you." He continued to struggle as he was pulled back. "Goddammit, J'onn, let me go!"

"I'm sorry. I have to make sure you get back," J'onn said, securing his arms to his side so he couldn't escape.

Constantine stepped to her now, grabbing her arm. "Get in the fuckin' circle, Zee."

"No. You get in. Teg ni, Nhoj." He started to back away.

"Fuck! Don't do this!"

"I forgive you, John. For everything. Now you have to forgive yourself." She turned back to Bruce, who was still struggling against J'onn's grip.

"I'm sorry. I love you. I'll fight like hell to get back to you." She walked forward and kissed him one more time before stepping back and holding her hands up. Light started to emanate from her fingers as she whispered the spell to send them home.

"No! Zatanna! Please! Don't do this! Don't fucking leave me!" His voice was beating against her ears like a hammer, trying to break down her willpower. It wasn't going to work. She could feel the power from the other dimension building as their allies started to summon them home. J'onn cast a protective orb around the group as light obscured them from her view. As Bruce's voice faded, the light shot upward and out of the circle until she was again in a dark, abandoned lot. Collapsing to her knees, she let the weight of her actions sink in. There was no turning back now. No getting back. Not until the job was done...and maybe not even then. When the cold started to cut through her, she stood and removed her runes and candles before transporting herself back to the rental property. She crawled under the covers in the guest room and cried herself to sleep, wondering if she would ever see home again.

Diana
Shadowcrest

She had been hiding in Zatanna's bedroom for the last hour as the magicians gathered downstairs to bring the inter-dimensional travelers home. A very sour-faced and slightly chubby cat had been glaring at her the entire time and she got the distinct impression that it didn't like her. Or anyone. Or anything. Except food.

"Have I wronged you in some way?" A slow blink and more glaring. At least he was too lazy to scratch her eyes out.

Around 8:00, she heard a howling wind downstairs and the temperature in the house dropped dramatically. Despite her curiosity, she stayed in the room with the cat, who seemed completely unconcerned with all of the goings on. It was a long 15 minutes before there was a sudden silence followed by a familiar voice yelling downstairs. No longer worried about who she might scare off, she sprinted down the steps and into the parlor.

"We have to go back! Now! Send us back!" Bruce had Constantine by the collar and was holding him in the circle next to yet another angry-looking cat.

"We can't do that, mate. She made her decision."

"Fuck that, take us back. I'm not leaving her there. We're going and getting her."

Entering the room, she immediately noticed that a member of the party hadn't returned. "Bruce, where's Zatanna?" He released Constantine's collar and walked to her.

"Wonder Woman, you have to help me get her back." He pulled her into the circle as she looked around the room, confused.

"What are you talking about? What's happened?"

"Zatanna stayed to fight," June said in her small voice.

"Stayed where?" No one was making much sense.

"The other dimension, love." Constantine tried to light a cigarette, but the match was promptly snuffed by a brisk wind from the house. "Damn you, Zee. Can't even let me enjoy a bloody cigare..."

His words ended when Bruce's fist landed square on his jaw, knocking him onto his back as blood gushed from his mouth. He lunged at him again, but Diana held him back.

"You put her up to this! You got her to do this, you son of a bitch!"

"Bruce! Please! Just calm down," she said, holding him by his shoulders as he tried to get at the whimpering man on the floor.

"Oh, fuck, you broke my jaw. I didn't do anything, for Christ's sake. Did that look like some kind of coordinated effort to you?" He sat up, holding his mouth and trying to move further away from his furious attacker.

"You've been pulling the strings from the start...dragging her along with you...using her!"

"That's enough!" Diana put her arms under Bruce's and forced him into the next room, away from the eyes of the magicians who were far too curious about the scene. "Calm down and tell me what's happened." He shook her loose, but she blocked his exit, hands crossed as she studied his face.

"Zatanna stayed in the other dimension. She stayed there because her family is there and she doesn't want them to die. She's lost her damn mind!"

"She stayed to be with her family?"

"No. She stayed to throw herself on a goddamn sword for them. I'm going back to get her," he tried to push past her, but she didn't budge.

"How, exactly, are you going back?"

"With their help. The magicians."

"Oh, yeah? You just broke one's jaw. I'm doubtful that helping you is a top priority for them."

"Then you help me." She could see his mind working to try to come up with a plan, but he was clearly at a loss.

"I'm not a magician, Bruce." Taking his arm, she pulled him to sit down on a couch. "I'll help you...and her...always, but we can't just wish our way back to another dimension. What did she say before you left?"

"I didn't leave. She fucking sent me." He put his head in his hands and rubbed his face.

"Okay, before she sent you."

"Nothing. She just decided to stay and sent us. J'onn helped her for some reason."

"J'onn? He's alive?" Most of the League had given up hope of ever finding him.

"He's the cat," he mumbled. "He dragged me from her and into that circle so she could send me away. She never stopped looking for him and he let her stay there so she could get herself killed."

"We need to talk to him. He likely knows more if he did that." She stood and headed toward the door. "Not here. Too many eyes and ears. I'll meet you both at the cave."

Selina
Gotham City

She'd only been able to gather so much from Bruce's files before he ran her off. The rest of the information she had was from papers, Beth's sister, and word of mouth on the Gotham back alleys. The latter was probably the most reliable source. People talk. They always talk and whoever they were talking to talked more. But Selina? She listened. And, in listening, she had a lead. Talk around campus at Gotham U was that the killer worked at the docks. The footprints at the sites where the girls were taken were from steel toe, slip proof boots. It was something to go on, at least. Stakeouts weren't her usual gig, but checking out the late shifters was an easy place to start.

Alright, boys...who here wants to get caught by a criminal?

The girls were consistently kidnapped between 9 and 11 on weeknights. If her hunch was correct, someone was taking the long way home from work and snatching them along the way. Every night, she would follow another commuter. She mostly just got cold, but it at least felt like she was doing something. It was more than Batman was doing. She hadn't heard anything from his end since she saw him in the cave. The witch must really have him enchanted for him to not even follow up on a serial killer. Weak-minded fool.

A tall, dark-haired man left the dock, pulled his collar up tight around his neck, and headed to his truck. When he headed to the northwest, Selina followed. Hopping from building to building, she stayed with him until he reached a driveway. His wife and kids met him at the door, smiling and happy. It didn't mean it wasn't him, but it meant she would be back at it again the next night...freezing her ass off.

Zatanna
Iceland

Gotham's not that cold. Iceland is cold. Really freaking cold. Zatanna had resorted to using a spell to warm up...it wasn't a big deal with all of the excess power she was channeling in this dimension. When magic doesn't get used enough, it starts to crave attention...demand it. The magic here had been screaming at her since she landed in the snow. She finally realized it was the reason she was eating like a horse...she was constantly struggling to keep it at bay. It wanted her to become what she'd always fought against: all powerful, all knowing, all seeing. It wasn't right. There's a fine line between doing what you can and doing what you should and she had spent her whole life toeing that line. That line was blurry and obscured here...nearly snuffed out by the desperate, droning thrum of magic that was wild and untethered.

Don't worry. We'll stretch our magical legs when the time is right.

She probably should have been afraid of what she was about to do, but she wasn't. Instead, she felt a steady rise of excitement. For the first time in her life, she was going to truly let loose and fuck some shit up. Her dad would be less than thrilled, but there comes a time when you have to decide for yourself the direction your life will take. Zatanna's was about to take a hard left turn into uncharted magical waters. The facility housing the beasts was impressive. Magic's enemies were clearly rich. They probably even thought themselves powerful. They were going to find out how wrong they were. True power can't be manufactured in a lab and sent to do your bidding while you cower at home.

You want power? I'll show you power.

Getting through security wouldn't be an issue. She planned on transporting right to the middle of the beasts, hopefully setting off every alarm and activating every camera in the place. They needed to see it happen. This wasn't just a rescue mission or an extermination. It was a message...a performance of awesome proportions and free of charge.

Tomorrow morning, by invitation only, Zatanna Zatara presents: Magic Unchained.

Once the beasts had been relieved of their hijacked power, she would go to the ritual, evacuate her family, and take on the Great Darkness again. Considering the power she had harnessed from taking down just one beast had her buzzing for hours, she imagined she would be glowing like the damn sun when she made it to Shadowcrest. Maybe it would keep her family from recognizing her; she would prefer if they didn't know she had intervened. She wanted them to think that she was back at home, doing what she said she would do, instead of lying and manipulating the situation to get them out of harm's way. Even so, they would probably forgive her. Bruce would be a harder sell, assuming she ever made it back. The look on his face when she sent him away had almost been more than she could take. She didn't want to leave him or hurt him, but this was something she had to do and he couldn't help her. No one could. It was better this way...after all, she was a solo act.

To be continued…

*Said it before, but I'll say it again, if you don't like my story, find something else to read instead of posting snotty comments. There are literally thousands of other stories on here to read.