Zatanna woke slowly, feeling strong arms wrapped around her. For a moment she feared it was Klarion, until she opened her eyes and saw Dick's arms, his hands, and the wedding ring on his finger. All the pain she had been feeling the past week was gone. Dick didn't cheat on her, at least by choice. Klarion had put him and Barbara under a spell. She rolled around in his arms, smiling as she was met with a sweet kiss on the lips.
"Are you okay Zee?" He sat up, pulling her onto his lap, "You collapsed after you forced your way into my head..." He raised a brow. Zatanna had always considered it taboo to enter someone's memories without permission and here she had done it to her husband.
"I had to check Dick, I'm so sorry," She smiled at him, "But you didn't cheat on me."
"Uhm… While a part of me is going to regret disagreeing with that statement, I'm afraid I have to.." He shook his head, "We both know I did Zatanna."
"Klarion had you under a spell!" She flung her arms around his neck. "It wasn't you. You didn't choose to do it. He forced you" She nuzzled into his neck, his arms holding her close. His heart was pounding in a mixture of joy and anger. He gently pushed his wife back. The anger and suspicion fought past his joy.
"You mentioned his name before you went into my mind." She got off his lap and pulled on a clean dress, hoping to avoid the conversation that was about to happen. Dick sighed, pulled some fresh clothes from the wardrobe and picked up a towel. "Bruce is in the living room, tell him what you found out. I need a shower."
"And you're sure of this?" Bruce accepted the coffee from Zatanna gratefully. She nodded, sipping her own coffee.
"Positive. I searched Dick's memories, and I sensed him. I even heard the spell he used." Dick walked past Zatanna on the way to his sofa, taking the coffee out of her hands.
"Bad for the baby!" He grinned, he was loving the idea of having a child now that he wasn't being eaten alive by guilt. "But Zee, how did you realise it was something to do with Klarion? You said his name before you went through my mind. It was after Bruce radioed us." He stared at the ground, not wanting to look at her. The necklace he found in the bedroom was in his pocket. He knew she didn't own anything like this, and it was unlikely that she had been jewellery shopping in the past week. Bruce was staring at Zatanna. He'd obviously caught onto Dick's questioning.
"…yes he was here..." Her head dropped. Klarion had clearly tricked her again, manipulating her with her emotions. She felt angry and betrayed, remembering everything he had said to her. "He…He was injured and I helped him. He seemed so sincere…"
"What were you thinking? Have you forgotten he almost KILLED US?" Dick was on his feet, his anger rippling through him. He took the necklace from his pocket and flung it to the ground, "I'm assuming that came from him as well!" Bruce had jumped to his feet and had one hand on Dick's chest, stopping him from getting any closer to Zatanna while he was angry. There were tears threatening to overflow from her eyes as she knelt down and picked up the necklace. "WHAT THE HECK ZATANNA? Don't you see what he's doing? He's PLAYING you again!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Bruce pushed Dick across the room, "You know as well as she does how manipulative Klarion can be." Dick stared at his wife as she carefully held the necklace in her hands. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
"Did he touch you?" His fists were clenched by his side. Zatanna stood up, now she was angry too.
"ASK WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW DICK! Did I cheat on you with Klarion?" She felt a knot twist inside her. She knew Klarion was the reason Dick cheated, he probably was trying to turn her against Dick to get her. "No I didn't. He was a perfect gentleman unlike someone else right now!"
"Both of you cut this out! Zatanna, the necklace," Bruce held his hand out for the necklace. She held the necklace tighter and shook her head.
'It was my mothers'
"No." That pushed Dick over the edge, he stormed down the hall, into his training room and slammed the door. She sat back on the sofa, clutching the necklace in her hand. "I'm sorry Bruce. If I'm giving this to anyone, it will be back to Klarion. It was his mothers and it was given as a gift, not a trick."
"Zatanna, I'm afraid Dick may be right in this situation. You're not safe right now, not with that here," He gestured to the necklace, "Think about your baby."
"Babies." Zatanna smiled, resting her hands protectively over herself. She wouldn't even know she was pregnant if it wasn't for Klarion.
"...Babies? Plural? You're having twins? Are you sure?" Bruce tried not to break the seriousness of the current situation, but he couldn't help but smile.
"Yes," She smiled, slipping the necklace into her pocket. Klarion wasn't the only tricky one. "Bruce, you do realise you're going to be a grandfather right? I wish I could see my father, my actual father, not Fate, and tell him." Bruce stood up and walked to the balcony doors.
"I'll talk to him, Zatanna." He opened the doors and stepped outside, "Mind my grandchildren," He smiled, pulling his cowl back on, "Granddad Bats eh?" He laughed a little, closing the door behind him and jumping to the next building.
'Well that was easier than I thought…'
Dick glared in anger at the scratch marks on the wall. They were cat scratch marks. He'd been in here too. He punched the punching back once more as the door opened a fraction.
"Dick, can we talk?" Zatanna didn't step into the room. Dick couldn't look at her right now. He was too angry. "It's about the pregnancy," He sighed, and sat in the clearing in the centre of the room.
"C'mon then," She smiled and walked in, sitting opposite him. There was a large space in the room, with a circle outlined on the ground. It was used mainly for hand to hand combat training, occasionally being used as a 'neutral zone' to settle any disagreements.
"He was-" She cut him off with a raised hand. She had asked to talk, therefore she got to go first. She took a deep breath.
"I've been trying to tell you this all day Dick. We're having twins." She inched closer to him, she just wanted things to go back to normal. "I think I'm about 5 weeks pregnant. I'm not sure. I'd need to see a doctor."
"Twins?" He looked around at his training room, "Well… we're going to need a bigger place!" He reached forward, pulling his wife into his arms and hugging her. It was difficult to stay angry when she had such good news.
He slipped his hand into her pocket and pulled out the necklace, still holding her in a tight hug, "This has to go Zee…" He whispered softly and tossed it so it landed by the scratch marks on the wall. She tried to pull away from him, towards the necklace, but he held her back too tightly. She could feel him taking deep breaths to calm himself. Fighting in the neutral zone was a major no-no in their relationship.
"I'm going to put this all down to pregnancy hormones Zee." He held her tight around the chest, avoiding putting any pressure where the babies were. "We have to talk about this. You know how I feel about Klarion, after all the things he did to you. To us…" She stopped struggling. "That you could have him here... in our home... It hurts babe. He made me cheat on you. He tried to rip us apart, again!"
"I know, I mean, I know now that he did that but…" she struggled for words. She really didn't know why she helped him. It didn't matter how much she tried to explain that he changed, because now, it didn't seem that way. Everything he said, about how he loved her and didn't want to hurt her ran through her mind. He had been different, he had been gentle. She glanced at the necklace. She had to pick it up, she had to have it close to her.
"I didn't know then. I was confused Dick, I thought you and Barbara and ... He was different Dick, he really was!" She pushed back from her husband and saw the mistrust and hatred in his eyes. It didn't matter if Klarion became a saint, Dick would never believe he changed. She couldn't blame him, Klarion had tried to kill them, and also led Dick to believe that he had actually raped Zatanna. He only found out the truth when Black Canary had helped them talk about everything that happened.
'Zatanna…' She looked at the necklace. She could have sworn she heard her name. Dick turned her face back to look at him.
"Stop Zatanna! Why is that thing so important to you?" She pushed Dick back and jumped to her feet, but his reflexes were too quick. He was on his feet in a split second, his arms wrapping around her torso from behind.
'Zatanna, help me' She struggled against Dick, the only thing she could think about was the necklace.
"TEL OG FO EM!" she yelled, making Dick's arm loosen their hold. She hadn't even taken a step before her eyes rolled back, her mind going blank. Her body buckled and started to crash to the ground.
"ZATANNA!" Dick reached out, managing to grab her by the back of her dress, pulling her backwards before she crashed to the ground. He hit his communicator, "Batman!"
"Already on the way with Fate." Batman had contacted Dick the moment he left the apartment, telling him he would be coming back with and that Zatanna had pocketed the necklace, refusing to hand it over.
He shook Zatanna lightly, "C'mon baby wake up.. What happened, Zatanna, please!" She was paling quickly, her temperature dropping. He checked her pulse, it was faint but it was there. "Zatanna, open your eyes!"
Dr. Fate levitated the necklace into a glass jar, placing enchantments around it to stop Zatanna touching it. He had tried to pick it up himself, but the chaos magic linked to it had been too powerful. It was a relic from Klarion's world, bound to the owner and the recipient. Zatanna would be connected to Klarion at all times once she was touching the necklace, and would be drawn to it if it was out of her possession.
"She should be protected against its powers once the enchantments remain in place," Dr. Fate reached up, and to Dick's shock, removed the helmet of fate.
"Giovanni, has Fate released you?" Bruce walked over, clapping one hand on his friend's shoulder, taking the other in a firm handshake.
"Just for me to see my daughter," Giovanni smiled, reaching out to Dick, "My son-in-law, it is good to see you. I'm sorry I could not be there to see you wed my daughter."
"I'm sorry I didn't ask you sir," Dick smiled, he wished Zatanna could be awake to see her father, but understood that she would fight to prevent him from putting the helmet back on. "Zatanna, she's pregnant. With twins." Zatara sat down, tears were starting to stream down his face.
"I've missed so much of my daughter's life.." he covered his face as Bruce moved to comfort his old friend. The two had a hushed conversation, but Bruce's face remained grim. Eventually Giovanni stood up, ending their conversation.
"Homo Magi babies feed off their mothers magic. It will be a difficult pregnancy with twins." He walked to the bedroom where Zatanna lay, and sat beside the bed. Dr. Fate had placed a protective shield around her, providing her with extra magical energy. She was less pale, but still unconscious. "Zatanna, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman, never forget I love you, and that I am proud of you." After conjuring a bouquet of white roses and leaving them by her bed, Zatara walked back to the living room, and picked up the helmet of fate.
"Bruce, old friend, I'm glad our families are one now. Please, continue to care for her, and our grandchildren," He turned and embraced Dick briefly, "Take care, son".
Klarion felt the enchantments being placed on the necklace and hissed. He knew she would go back to Dick, but calling in Fate was an unexpected turn of events. He knew her husband was a detective of sorts, he probably noticed the necklace instantly.
"Teekl.. We may yet have to get our hands dirty.." He smirked and waved his hands. Dozens of mirrors floated before him, each showing a different scene. He had cast a spell on every mirror in Zatanna's house so he would be able to watch her. Even if protective enchantments were cast on the building, the looking glass spell would stay intact. She was on her bed, a golden glow surrounded her. Nabu had been there. He gritted his teeth as Dick walked into the room looking exhausted. He lay down next to her on the bed and covered his face with a pillow.
"She deserves so much more... He doesn't even appreciate her!" The only problem with his looking glass spell is that he could only see. He had no way of knowing what was being said, and he had no way of talking to Zatanna through the mirrors, he could only appear in them as she appeared to him. The mirror in the living room showed him where the necklace was. Contained in a glass jar. No doubt it was enchanted to prevent the necklace from calling to Zatanna.
He laughed, petting Teekl again. "Time for plan B!"