Selina
Scarecrow's Presence

This was it. This is what she had waited for, but standing in the large, drafty room her nerves were on edge. She didn't feel like she had succeeded. Scarecrow was putting on a show and it seemed like more than was necessary for one of his many minions. Would he go through this production for every single person he had "recruited"? Someone flipped on the rest of the lights, making her jump. Her eyes shot around the room, lined with the trucks of bombs.

This isn't right.

"So, what do you think?" Scarecrow hissed.

"Well, the walls could use a coat of paint and this flooring is barely covering the dirt underneath it. Otherwise, it's very homey," Selina said, still taking stock of the situation.

"Mm. They said you were a talker. Pretty good survival technique. Distract, avoid, evade...then strike."

"At Batman?"

He laughed and looked to the trucks. "I should thank you. You really helped make this all come together. Now, are you ready to see your labor pay off?"

"I uh...I guess so. You're attacking Gotham?"

"Eventually. We have a few obstacles to remove first."

"The bats."

"Yes, the bats. The bats, the bats, the bats. Pesky little creatures, aren't they?" He was pacing back and forth now. "And what do you do with pesky little creatures?"

"Call the Pied Piper?"

He laughed again...more of an emotionless wheeze this time. "No, no. You send the piper to them." He nodded to a man standing near him, who turned to a computer.

"It's activated."

"What is?" Selina asked, feeling a new sense of panic.

"The Piper," Scarecrow said with another wheezing laugh.

What the hell does that mean?

Zatanna
The Batcave

She spun the chair in circles, bored with eavesdropping on the meeting. There were plenty of things she would rather be doing than listening to Tsaritsa...or people argue about Tsaritsa...or thinking about Tsaritsa. Thomas was upstairs with Alfred, probably having infinitely more fun than she was in the cave with half of the Justice League.

"That's a really big penny," Ollie said, examining Bruce's eclectic collection of trophies. "Think it's real copper? It would be worth a fortune."

Dinah shrugged, examining Deathstroke's sword. "Probably. It's Bruce."

"Aren't you getting dizzy?" Barry asked, watching Zee spin in the chair.

"A little."

"Want me to give you a nudge so you get really dizzy?"

"No. Don't you dare." She stopped and shook her head, trying to refocus on the screen. "They're ramping up. Clark's putting on a show."

"Carter, too."

"It's not hard to act like you dislike that woman," Ollie said.

The image suddenly cut off, the screen turning red. "Oh, what did I touch?" Zee asked, pushing back slightly. She slammed her hands over her ears when a dozen klaxons sounded at once, echoing through the cave. "Crap crap crap. What did I touch?!"

"It's not you," Barry said, zipping over to the computer. "It's an automated lockdown system."

"Can you turn it off?" Dinah yelled over the noise.

"No...maybe. What's setting it off?"

"Adam?"

"I don't know!" Zatanna shouted. "We need to call the others!" She picked up the phone and slammed her hand down on the button to raise the Watchtower. "Bruce? Get home. It's..." The system cut off, along with the lights. "Damn it! Barry?"

"Freaking ridiculous over-the-top security." Barry mumbled. He blurred slightly and the noise stopped. "Got it. I owe Bruce some new alarms."

"What about the phones? Computer?"

"Well I don't think breaking those will be helpful."

"The elevator's out. Cell phone isn't working," Ollie said. "What if it's the other guy? Scarecrow."

Zatanna didn't have to consider the option for long before she acted. "Lla ot eht moor." Instantly, she was alone in the cave. She put on her armor and mask, readying herself for a fight. She wasn't alone for long.

"What's happening?" Bruce asked, running to her side.

"I have no idea. All of your security measures kicked in."

"Alarms?" He moved to the computer and started to type.'

"Probably Flashed into a billion pieces."

"Where are the others?"

"The room with Thomas."

He wheeled around and stared at her. "That little room? You fit them all in there?"

"Yeah, they're fine. It's stretchy."

"The room is...stretchy."

"We're married! How are you not used to weird shit yet?"

He shrugged.

"Hey, I have computers back online," Barb said, pushing Bruce away from the desk.

"What's coming at us? Scarecrow? Adam?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know. Whatever set the system off came from inside, not out."

"That's impossible."

"And yet..."

"A signal? What's the source?"

"Working on it...it's a beacon."

"From in here? Cut it off!"

"I'm trying!" Barb said, typing furiously.

"That goddamn bastard!" Bruce roared, running toward the stairs. Zatanna followed.

"What? What's going on?"

"He set us up!" He flew toward the detention wing, sliding to a stop in front of Mike's cell and ripping the door off of the hinges in his rage. Snatching him up, he slammed him against the wall. Mike cried out in pain when he hit the stone. "You lying son of a bitch!"

"What? Ah, please! What did I do?"

"Where is it!?"

"Where is what? I don't have anything!"

"The signal! Where is it coming from?" He threw him down to the floor and put his foot on his neck.

Mike struggled against the weight, trying to speak. "I don't know what you mean," he choked out.

Zatanna placed her hand on Batman's arm. "You're going to hurt him."

"Damn right I am!"

"I swear, I have no idea what you're talking about." He squirmed backward toward the wall, coughing and cowering. "I told you..."

"Lies! All of it!"

Batwoman ran up to him. "We found the source." She held out one of her gloves. "It's the one he came here with."

Batman threw a punch, breaking Mike's jaw. Zatanna cringed at the sound. "Liar!"

"Please," Mike mumbled, blood dripping from his mouth. "I didn't know. Please."

Batman pulled his arm back to punch him again.

"Pots!" Zee shouted. He growled at her and glared, hand frozen next to his head. "He's telling the truth!"

"Zatanna..."

"What good is he to you unconscious and unable to speak?" She walked over to Mike. "Laeh. I would advise you to continue telling the truth. I won't stop him twice."

He felt his jaw. "You...how did you do that?"

"Talk!" Batman roared.

"I don't know about any signal!"

Batwoman threw the glove in his face. "This didn't walk in here on its own. We found this embedded in the kevlar." She held out a small chip to Batman. He took it and grabbed Mike by the collar, holding the chip up to him.

"You knew."

"No. I swear, I didn't know."

Zee nodded when Bruce cut his eyes to her. He stood and handed the chip back to Kate. "Did the signal get out?"

"That's what we're working to find out. Robin is monitoring with the drones to see if anyone is headed our way. We should probably be ready, just in case."

Batman pulled Mike up by the arm and moved him to the adjacent cell. "If they come here, I'll use you as cannon fodder."

They made their way back down the hall and to the computers, where Barb was working to determine if the signal made it out before the lockdown activated.

"It's a little hard to tell. Your system is fast, but if even a peep got out, we could be in trouble."

Bruce turned to Zatanna and put his hand on the side of her neck. "Sorry I growled at you."

She smiled. "No offense taken. Sorry I magicked you."

"No offense taken. Now go to the room."

"Nope. Nice try, though."

"We don't go together."

"You can't just use that when you feel like it. If we are in danger, then we can talk about it. Right now, you need me here sensing if trouble is headed our way. And I think I need to snoop on Selina, no matter what you promised."

"Just pull her the hell out," Kate said.

"She'll be pissed," Tim said.

"Better than dead."

"I can do it, if you want," Zee looked to Bruce. "She's always pissed at me, anyway."

"Look in on her. If things are going badly, get her out."

Zatanna nodded and headed toward the stairs. "I'm going downstairs to stay out of your way. Let me know if shit's about to go down."

Kal
Watchtower

He paced in front of the windows, desperate to see any sign of what was happening back on Earth.

"Still nothing from the others," Clark said when he came to stand behind him.

"I should go back."

"Kal, we can't. Trust Bruce. He knows we're here."

Kal sighed. Thinking about Scarecrow, he switched his focus and searched for Selina. If he could find her, he might at least have some useful information when Bruce checked back in. It only took him a few seconds to catch sight of her in a garage surrounded by armed men.

"I found him."

"Who?"

"Scarecrow. Selina's with him. Why hasn't she called them in?"

"Yeah, I see them. I don't know. Maybe she's waiting for something."

"We have bigger problems," Hawkman said, walking over to them.

"Adam?"

"Maybe. Diana messaged. Tsaritsa disappeared."

"Damn it!" Kal started pacing again. "Now we're distracted, Scarecrow might be on the move, and we have no idea where the rest of the team is!"

"And she'll pass that information right along to Adam." Clark walked over to the computer. "Why can't we reach Batman?"

"From what I can tell, communications were cut off at the cave. Our systems are fine across the board," Hawkman said.

"So we still have our access to satellites?"

"Yeah, we'll see him if he's coming."

"But we're still shorthanded. Very shorthanded," Kal said. "I'm going back." He walked toward the door, but Clark grabbed him.

"No."

"He isn't always right! Let's just go and take Scarecrow down. We know where he is."

"And if that building is filled with toxin?"

"It might not even effect us!"

"Or it might drive us mad." Clark sighed and stepped back. "We have to be cautious. People could suffer if we're not."

As he finished speaking, Diana walked out of the Zeta tubes. "Anything?"

"No. We can't get through to anyone. Where's Tsaritsa?"

"I have no idea. We need Zatanna."

Kal huffed and walked back to the window, peering toward the impenetrable cave again."We need all of them."

Zatanna
Batcave

She sat down on the mat and crossed her legs. Instead of staying and working on the major problems, Bruce followed her down. Figures. She had wanted to have some space, but he wasn't good at giving her lots. Most of the time, it was something she very much enjoyed. When she was trying to sneak into someone's brain, though, she preferred to have the training area to herself.

"If you want to be here, don't talk and don't think," she said. He hovered near the steps, mind churning away. "I need to concentrate, Bruce."

"I'll try."

"Shh."

Her eyes slipped closed and her breathing became slow and even. "Wohs em Aniles." As her thoughts drifted, she briefly wondered what it would be like to take a mental vacation to somewhere nice for a change. A beach. The French Riviera. But nope: headed into Selina's eyeballs. She sighed and started to focus. When the haze began to clear, she felt a chill run down her spine. Scarecrow was right there in front of her, talking to his men...and she hadn't called them in. Why? Bruce started to pace and his mind was very jittery.

"Zee?"

"You suck at shhing."

"Zee..."

"She's with him."

"Safe? Hurt?"

"If you would stop interrogating me, I could try to find that out," she said, irritated with his need to meddle. Her mind pushed a bit further, trying to sense what Selina was feeling. She was afraid, but not from the toxin. There was a deep sense of dread settling into her chest and her eyes darted around the room. Gritting her teeth, Zatanna decided to push her luck. "Knil su." It would be easier to just read her thoughts, but it felt like too much of a violation, so she projected her thoughts outward. "It's Zatanna. Don't react. Think. I'll hear you."

Selina flinched, but only slightly. Surprisingly, she didn't seem angrier; instead, Zatanna felt a sense of relief mixed in with the dread.

"This is bad. Don't send them."

"Why? What's happening?"

Deliberately, Selina moved her eyes around the room – giving Zatanna the full view of her surroundings.

"Every truck is filled with bombs to release the toxin."

Zatanna started to count the trucks...and the armed men. "They'd be slaughtered."

"Yes. Where's Bruce?"

"About ten feet away from me."

"He can't hear?"

"No...and it's pissing him off."

"Good. We need a better plan. Any brilliant ideas?"

"Well...they tried to set some sort of signal off here. We're not sure if it reached them. If it didn't, maybe they can use it to their advantage and draw him out."

Selina stared at the ground. "If we do that, we need to split them up and I need to try to get in with the group with Scarecrow. An extra fighter could make a difference. You would also need to make the trap convincing. This guy has been one step ahead of everyone for too long."

"How much danger are you in? Scale of 0-10?"

"804. But that doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't."

"Aw, that's sweet. Showing concern?"

"Only because Bruce would be really grumpy if you died."

A brief mental chuckle. "In addition to his baseline grumpiness? Perish the thought."

Zatanna sighed. "Give me a minute. I'm going to have a chat with him."

Bruce
Batcave

His patience was wearing thin, but he bit his tongue and stood still. Didn't shut his mind up, though.

Just get her out, Zee.

Her mouth was moving as if she were speaking, but there was no sound. When she finally opened her glowing eyes, he bit his tongue a little harder.

"Can you clone the signal?" She asked flatly. He frowned and focused on her; it was as if she were only partly in the room, her form shimmering slightly.

"Yes. Why?"

"We need two. I'll explain. Give me a minute."

"Zee."

"Give me a minute, for fuck's sake."

Attitude...great.

Her lips started silently moving again. Giving up the act of patience, Bruce paced by the steps and watched her until she opened her eyes again.

"What are we dealing with?" He asked, walking over to her.

"An annoying husband, about 50-60 armed men, 15 trucks loaded with gas bombs, and a Selina that wants to save you from yourself."

"We have to go."

"No, you have to be Batman. Batman thinks before he acts. Let's stop and think."

"How much danger is she in?"

"Loads! So let's get to work." She walked up the steps with him behind her, still shimmering. "Now, about cloning that signal."

"We need to clone it?" Barb asked, still working at the computer.

"Selina's idea," Zatanna said. "Split the group, take them down."

"We would need the GCPD's help," Batman said, moving to stand next to them.

"You know Dad will be raring to go. Just give him a call."

"And how do we make sure our team goes to the right group?" Kate asked.

Zatanna flicked her hands up in the air and waggled her fingers. "Magic!" She declared dramatically.

Kate rolled her eyes. "How about Mike the betrayer?"

"If he wants to help, let him."

"No," Batman said.

"He could distract Scarecrow. We have to use any advantage we can."

"No."

"Your 'no' button is stuck down again. Think about it."

Barb pushed back from the computer. "As best I can tell, the signal never made it out."

"Good," he grumbled. "So let's clone it."

"While you do that Barb, I'll call your dad," Kate said.

"Let me do that," Batman said. "I owe him some transparency."

Kate nodded and shoved Zatanna's shoulder when she waggled her fingers again. "Magic schmagic. So long as I get to punch Scarecrow in the balls."

"I'll be sure to teleport you directly to his balls."

"What about the rest of the League?" Bruce asked, taking over coms.

"Staying put, if you don't mind. I mean...Thomas is safer with them there."

He shrugged. "So long as you do the apologizing."

"Oh, I've already started working on my opening statement and overall outline for the apology." She walked toward Kate, wagging her fingers again. "When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to create a magical room..."

Bruce turned his attention to the desk and punched the button to Gordon. His gruff voice came through almost immediately.

"What have you got?"

"Jim, we might have a shot at Scarecrow. Can you put together a couple of teams?"

"I'll put together two armies if it means taking that bastard down. What's the plan?"

"If we're right, we can draw them out, split them up. My team will go to where he is."

"And mine will take down the other and back you up." He was already on the move, jingling keys in the background. "How long?"

"We need to move quickly."

"Got it. We'll have every car and helicopter and bike and whatever else we can find. We'll be there."

Batman switched to the Watchtower coms. Clark answered. "Thank God. What the hell happened?"

"Security lockdown. We had a rogue signal embedded in a piece of armor. We've contained the situation, for now."

"What can we do?" Kal now, sounding impatient.

"Stay put. Your priority is Adam."

"About that," Clark said, "Tsaritsa has vanished. I don't want to pressure you, but we could sure use our sorceress."

"Soon as we can," he said, cutting the line. One problem at a time.

Zatanna walked over. "How's my annoying husband?"

He rubbed his eyes. "A bit stressed."

She took his cowl off and rubbed his neck. "Well, at least we're moving forward. Feels like it's been ages."

"Should we just pull her out?" He asked quietly.

"She wants to stay there and help. If she goes with Crane, we'll be able to follow."

"She can help here."

"I know. If you really want me to..."

"It's okay. Just..."

"I'll keep track of her. We're still linked."

"Is that why you're semi-transparent?"

"Yep. I take multitasking to the extreme."

"Thank you," he said, standing and kissing her forehead. "Let's get back to work."

Black Adam
Elsewhere

"They're lying to you."

"No, believe me, everything there is falling apart," Tsaritsa said. "That's why I left."

"You left because you're a fool and a coward." Adam said, turning from her. "They're showing you exactly what you want to see and you keep believing them."

"Then why have you been using me to spy?" She spat out.

"To keep them busy. We're ready now. I made the mistake of trusting you before. I never make the same mistake twice." He flew away from her image. "Now run and hide."

Selina
Shit Creek, No Paddle

Scarecrow and his most trusted lunatics hunched over a computer desk. Selina couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but they sounded pissed.

Good. Stay that way.

She started counting the armed men again.

62...63...64

"Yeah, I get it. You can count," Zatanna snarked in her head.

"Just making sure you got the message. If you have to be in my head, I might as well make it worthwhile."

"You don't have to talk, you know. You could just stand there and not think at me."

She could, she knew that. Still, this was the first halfway decent human interaction she'd had since the start of the whole ordeal. Even talking to someone she didn't like was better than nothing.

"How much longer?"

"I don't know. I haven't been bothering them every two seconds like you've been bothering me."

"I could sing, if you'd like. Quote some poetry."

"Christ, you really do talk a lot."

"We could get a round going! Row, row, row your boat. Now you."

"Shut shut shut the hell up."

She tried not to laugh. It was nice to have fun for a change and it might teach the little witch not to hop uninvited into her brain again.

"They're on the move," she thought when Scarecrow turned back toward her. "Firing up the trucks."

"Don't forget, I can get you out at any time."

"I know. Just wait."

Striding down the stairs, Crane was flanked by his men. "Seems we will need your help after all." He stood directly in front of her, and she could feel his anger despite the mask on his face.

"Anything. Just tell me what to do."

He leaned in and hissed the words out. "You're going to be the piper."