Zatanna walked into her changing room and tossed her hat in a random direction knowing it would find its way onto her stand. The Teen Titan's showing up for her last Gotham show had been an unexpected pleasure. Dick might be getting replaced by Beast Boy as her favorite assistant. Being able to turn into animals was a nice check mark on the resume. The kid's humor wasn't all that bad either.
Zatanna might take up that offer in New York. After all, if the local Superheroes were going to be regulars, Beast Boy was promising assistant.
"Good show, Dearie." There standing at the door to Zatanna's dressing room, the door Zatanna had closed moments before, was the Hag giving Zatanna a round of applause.
Zatanna sighed as she leaned against the cabinet. This wasn't at all how she'd planned to end her last show in Gotham. "Why are you here?"
"I paid for the backstage tour, Dearie." The Hag proudly shoved the backstage ID in Zatanna's face.
"That's not really what I meant." Zatanna had no idea what game the Queen of Fables wanted to play here. Whatever it was Zatanna wasn't in the mood.
"Well, it's the truth. I didn't plan for you to get mixed up in my Dark Knight story." The Hag stuffed the ID in her blouse as she glanced around the room in an over-exaggerated fashion.
"Looking for something?" Zatanna said smugly. Strange how quickly Zatanna was adjusting to how the Queen of Fables played her little games. While the Queen of Fables could just take the bottle from Zatanna, the Hag had too use other methods.
"Not at all, Dearie. I wanted to apologize that my first story with you wasn't more of a romantic one." The Hag put a hand over her heart and didn't look at all apologetic.
"My love life doesn't need your intervention. Speaking of that... if you don't want a tussle with the Justice League, I'd say you should leave."
"Fine." The Hag threw up her arms in a huff. "I was here for an ulterior motive. Daniel wants his tongue back."
The Hag held up her hand and the golden snake peered up from behind her sleeve. "You can't be a proper serpent without a tongue."
"What's in it for me?" Zatanna smirked as the Hag scowled at her. "You did come to haggle for it didn't you?"
"A favor?" Zatanna didn't show how thrown she was by that. Honestly, Zatanna thought the Hag should pawn off her shop for the bottle.
"I don't think so. Your favors don't seem to work out for the people your giving them too."
"Dearie, don't be so self righteous. It doesn't suit you. From how I see things, I didn't just save your Dark Knight and his little flock from a dark future; I saved your whole world. Wasn't the first time I'd done it either." The Hag puffed herself up in indignation. Zatanna could half believe she wasn't a mad fairy Queen.
"What if we hadn't figured things out," Zatanna challenged.
The Hag shrugged. "You would still have your Dark Knight and the world still would have been saved. This is my first story where no matter the outcome, everything works out in the end."
"Yeah, see I don't think I would have liked the other outcome. If you don't have anything else to trade, then we're done here." Zatanna folded her arms.
The Hag frowned, put a hand to her mouth and tapped on her lower lip before snapping her fingers. "If a favor is too much for your sensibilities, what about a secret. No harm in those."
Zatanna shook her head. "Bruce is going to walk in here any minute."
The Hag groaned. "I'll have you know if Daniel didn't have so many fresh ideas he can't share them without his tongue, I wouldn't be giving you this generous offer. I offer a request."
"How is that different from a favor?" Zatanna wasn't as savvy about oaths as she was with deals with the devil.
"With a request you get to set the terms." The Hag gestured with annoyance. "So if you want me to stop one of my stories, regardless of how you'll probably ruin the happy ending I have planned for the players, I'll stop telling my tale. You can and should make other stipulations. I think that's a fair exchange."
If she wasn't lying, Zatanna would have to agree.
"Alright make your oath." They'd known each other long enough to know Zatanna was always faithful to her side of a bargain.
The Hag was gone with no fan fair leaving the air around them filled with a solemn weighted magic and revealing the resplendent Queen.
The Queen spoke in her language and the words and runes shifted in the air around them. Zatanna didn't know the language now anymore than she had at the beginning of the story. However, she could feel the promise of those words in her bones.
Then it was the Hag in front of Zatanna holding her hand out for the bottle containing the piece of the apple...of Daniel.
Using a few words of magic, Zatanna pulled the bottle out of the dimension where she'd stored it and placed it into the Hag's hands.
The snake gave Zatanna something that looked like a bow before coiling around the bottle.
"Not now, you'll make a mess of Zatanna's changing room. Thanks Dearie for being so reasonable. Now I don't want to overstay my visit." The Hag started for the door.
"See you around." Zatanna was pretty sure she hadn't made a deal with the devil. Even if she had, it wasn't like she actually would have to make a request. While Zatanna didn't know exactly what part Daniel Herring played in all of this, she wasn't feeling cruel enough to deprive him of a piece of himself.
"Next we meet you will be grateful to know of my intervention," the Hag said in the Queen's voice before disappearing out the door in a completely mundane fashion.
Zatanna wasn't going to try and figure that one out.
"I didn't know you were expecting a guest," Bruce teased from the doorway. This was exactly how Zatanna had planned her last show in Gotham.
"She had a pass." Zatanna walked over to Bruce with a tease of her own.
"Are you planning on giving her the backstage tour?" Bruce gave her a coy little smirk. "I can comeback later."
Zatanna put her arms around Bruce's neck and felt his hands go around her waist. "There's only one person I want to give the backstage tour in Gotham."
The Queen of Fables would be happy, since this was all ending in a kiss.