Klarion wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. He hadn't expected Zatanna's attack to be as powerful as it was. He hadn't expected her to become this powerful.
'It must be her natural magic mutating..' He was cursing himself for ignoring his elders. Like they knew anything, he thought, I'm the Lord of Chaos, I know best. How wrong he had been. Before his very eyes Zatanna's powers had manifested, exploding from her in a fit of pure rage, destroying half of his home. He stared at the advancing woman. Her Raven hair was tossed, her blue eyes wide, giving her maniacal grin an even creepier effect. Blood was dripping down her arms from injuries sustained in the explosion, but neither seemed to be bothering her. The red dress that he had longed to see her in was burnt, ripped, torn, and blood stained.
"Klarion, my sweet," Her voice was still soft, musical nearly, and alluring. Klarion had to remind himself that the Zatanna he loved was probably gone. She stopped not far from him, her hand extended towards him. "I thought you loved playing games," She laughed as four eldritch bolts shot from her fingertips towards him. Before he could react, something crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.
"I'm not used to saving the bad guy, but right now it looks like you need all the help you can get," Dick grabbed Klarion's arm and pushed him behind a half destroyed wall as another eldritch bolt crashed over their heads. "Now," Dick's fist clenched inches from Klarion's face, "Care to tell me what you've done to my wife?!"
"I, uh-" Klarion stuttered, unable to get anything to make sense. Here, saving his life, was the man who he had tormented for years. The man whose life he tried to destroy, and nearly did.
"Oh Dickie Darling," Zatanna's voice sang out from behind the wall, "I was wondering when you were going to show up!" A hint of aggression could be heard in her voice, and moments later a particularly large blast shook the wall. Klarion and Dick jumped back just as the wall came crumbling down. "Change your mind or something?" Zatanna appeared in front of Dick, pushing Klarion aside with one arm and punching Dick with enough force to knock him off his feet.
"Zee, I made a mistake," Dick jumped back to his feet, shocked at the transformation of Zatanna. He stood ready, he wouldn't be caught off guard again. "I shouldn't have let him take you, I know that." For a moment he thought he had gotten through to her. She was shaking, her head was bowed, and her hair was covering her face.
"Dick, Dick, Dick," She looked up, and let out the laugh she had been holding in, "I can't believe you thought it would be THAT easy!" She fired two large eldritch bolts directly at him. One caught him in the shoulder, knocking him back against a wall, while the other clipped his leg, putting him off balance for just a moment. A moment was all it took for Zatanna to appear in front of him, knock him to the ground and pin him with abnormal strength. Her finger tips dug into his shoulder and felt like they were on fire.
"YOU GAVE ME TO HIM LIKE A PIECE OF MEAT!" Her face was contorted with rage. "You... You did this to me!" Dick flinched as she punched him across the face. He was able to smell slight burning flesh now, and noticed the skin against the odd marks on her chest was red and blistering from the intense heat coming from the markings. A red eldritch blast knocked Zatanna off Dick, just as she aimed another punch at him.
"This way!" Klarion shouted, waving Dick over to him. "I don't know what happened but I've lost control of her," Klarion spoke quickly as they ran up the stairs, a cry of anger ringing out from below.
"What do you mean you've lost control of her?!" Dick yelled, diving quickly into a room and barricading the door. A very dangerous looking Zatanna was slowly climbing the stairs after them, and they clearly needed a plan of action. Using his magic, Klarion flung nearly every object in the room against the door.
"It won't stop her, but it should give us-"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Dick's fist was throbbing, his knuckles split from the force of punching Klarion. He was running out of time to save Zatanna and get back to their own dimension, he didn't have time to waste.
"The markings, on her skin," Klarion glared at Dick, wiping blood from his mouth. He didn't want to help him, but he knew it was the only way he could save his own neck. "I infected Zatanna with chaos, planted the seeds so to say, which have grown. It was my magic, I could control it, and I could control her." He smirked, forgetting the situation for a moment. A crash from outside the room brought his attention back to the conversation. "Something went wrong, now I have no control over her, and I don't think she has control of herself either." Klarion ducked, barely avoiding Dick's fist.
"I should have let her kill you!" Dick gritted his teeth, and took a deep steadying breath. Killing Klarion was not the answer. It would rid him of a nuisance for sure, but it wouldn't fix this. "Can you retract the chaos?" Dick glanced at the make-shift barricade. It wasn't going to last much longer. The smaller objects were already falling away and the larger were beginning to cave under the pressure of Zatanna's assault. Klarion looked deep in thought.
"Nope," He shrugged and smirked, "But Nabu can." It was like a punch in the gut to Dick. If he had turned to Doctor Fate in the first place, none of this would be happening. Klarion knew that. Zatanna knew that. Bruce knew that. He was the only fool who didn't, and now he needed Nabu more than ever.
"There is a portal," Dick was tentative, he didn't want to give Klarion too much information. "If we get her there, I can bring her back to my world and get Doctor Fate." Klarion's smirk was spreading. Dick knew he wouldn't be able to resist attacking Doctor Fate. They were locked in what seemed like an endless battle between Chaos and Order, and Klarion didn't care who got in the way, or who suffered. Another crash, louder than the last few, sent objects flying around the room as the doors burst open. Zatanna was standing in the doorway, panting heavily. She had used a lot of magic to blast through the door and it was taking its toll on her body. She glared at Dick, her brain barely registering that Klarion was even in the room, cowering in the corner.
"You gave me away," She moved slowly, objects around her flinging themselves in Dick's direction. "You chose two little brats over me, your wife." Her eyes, normally so blue, were getting increasingly darker and the whites of her eyes were bloodshot. Dick was carefully dodging the flying objects, while trying to focus on Zatanna.
"No Zatanna , you chose them," Dick was really afraid he had lost his wife this time. "You chose their lives over your own! You chose to leave me!" He didn't realise he had started yelling. He could feel the tears threatening to blur his vision and fought them back. He had to stay strong, he had to get her to the portal.
"LIES!" Zatanna's scream was followed by an onslaught of Eldritch blasts, haphazardly flung around the room. A yelp from the corner drew her attention to Klarion for a moment, before turning back to Dick. Pain shot through her body as a fist collided with her face, knocking her back. Even more pain followed as Dick accidentally touched the markings on her chest. A shockwave of burning heat rippled through her body. She could hear Dick's yelling above her own scream. His hands were blistering from the slightest touch.
"Do something!" Dick yelled at Klarion. He approached the nearly unconscious, screaming Zatanna with caution. "Hurry, we're running out time." He could see Dick wrapping something around his burnt hands. He was right. They were running out of time, but not for the portal. It wouldn't be long before Zatanna's body would destroy itself from the chaos.
"Fine, fine, let's rush the only person who can help you," Klarion mumbled in annoyance. He extended his hands above Zatanna and focused. He was drained from his fight with her earlier. A large red orb started to form around her, slowly, struggling against her instinctive defenses. "This won't hold for long. Where is this portal of yours located?" Dick was unable to see the malicious smile plastered across Klarion's face.
"South, near an old clock tower." Klarion was already levitating the orb out of the room before Dick finished his sentence. They had an hour before the portal would close and it was at least a forty minute walk back.