An hour later, the four friends gathered around a pizza. They really needed it after all these emotions. Raquel and Zatanna didn't speak much. They were still thinking about what had happened and ideas were slowly making their way in their heads.

"Did you take a decision?" Artemis asked while putting her plate away.

"Yeah", Zatanna said. "I'll go back to the clinic as soon as possible. I won't carry on with that pregnancy."

"Are you sure?" Raquel asked. "The more I'm thinking about it and the more I feel I want to keep it."

"I feel the opposite way. The more I'm thinking about it and the more I realize I can't carry on like that. Really, I can't."

Raquel nodded. She didn't want to take the same decision as her friend, and yet she understood her perfectly. They were different and they were making different choices in the same situation. Zatanna felt she couldn't carry on that pregnancy while Raquel wanted to carry on. That was simple.

"So we'll come back as soon as we can?" Artemis asked.

"We'll come back?" Zatanna repeated.

"Yeah, we!" Dick said. "We're not going to let you down now!"

"Thank you", Zatanna said. "But Raquel, are you sure you're going to be OK? Do you parents know? And what about your boyfriend?"

"They don't know yet. I guess it will be a bit of a shock. Well, I'll have to tell them anyway."

Zatanna patted her shoulder gently, quickly imitated by her two friends. In an instant, they found themselves with tangled arms and pieces of pizza stuck into their hands. It was weird... and deeply comforting.

"I'm going back home", Raquel said eventually. "I have to tell them."


A few days later, Zatanna found herself in front of the clinic again. She was early and furious activists were already pacing the sidewalk, which made her wonder if they had anything else to do. Raquel arrived shortly afterwards and Zatanna noticed she was holding a packet of biscuits in her hand.

"We'll eat these together afterwards", Raquel suggested.

"Good idea. I'm glad your parents are ok with it."

Raquel burst into nervous laughter.

"OK with it? My mom cried for more than an hour! Then she got a grip on herself. She even took me to buy baby clothes, and I'm only two months pregnant! It feels so weird!

"I guess you told the League, too", Zatanna said.

"I only told Black Canary. She didn't take it too badly. Did she tell you?"

Zatanna couldn't help giggling:

"No, but she went to see Miss Martian and she lectured her about contraception and how important it is to think before you do something important. Remember, Megan can modify her own organs at will to prevent conception! She told Artemis and Donna the same thing, too. I wonder who's lecturing the boys now.

"Ow!" Raquel said. "I bet the League is talking about nothing but that now!"

"Well, I bet they'll give you birth presents! They didn't expect it but they'll be OK with it, sooner or later!" Zatanna said optimistically.

"I sure hope so."

"What about your boyfriend?"

"He dumped me!" Raquel said bitterly.

Zatanna was stunned. Dumped? How could you dump someone in such conditions?

"That face he made!" Raquel added. "He looked as if I had slapped him! Then he told me that he was not ready to be a father, that I had no right to impose that on him, that I had fallen pregnant on purpose… Why would I have done that? Then he told me to choose: my pregnancy or him. I told him that I refused to have an abortion and he dumped me."

Raquel looked away and wiped a tear. Zatanna embraced her gently.

"You deserve better than him", she said.

"I know."

"Did you think of asking him for a pension?"

"Icon will probably sue him as soon as he knows", Raquel said. "Well, that's not what I care about. Why did he have to treat me like a slut instead of caring?"

Zatanna tightened her hug a little. They both knew what that gesture meant : I'll be there for you if you ever need me Having a friend in that moment felt so good.

Eventually, Zatanna loosened her hug and noticed Dick and Artemis, who were appearing at the street corner. The four friends said hi and took their courage in both hands. Angry activists were already yelling at them, calling them murderers.

"If Shakespeare's mother had aborted, we would never have 'Romeo and Juliet'!" a teenage girl yelled while trying to block their way.

"If Hitler's mother had aborted, we would never have the holocaust!" Dick answered, walking around her.

The doors closed behind them and Zatanna went to see the receptionist, gave her name and explained she had an appointment. While the lady was checking the time of her appointment, she pondered a bit about what was happening to her.

OK, she was pregnant. And in a few hours, her pregnancy would be over. She didn't feel sad or ashamed, she was just really relieved. She knew that unlike Raquel, she didn't feel ready to be a mother or a pregnant teen and she had to put an end to it now. It was just an episode of her life.

The doctor called her name. After her medical sheet was read to her, after signing a few documents, Zatanna had the pills in her hand. The doctor handed her a glass of water and smiled.

"It will be all right."

"I know."

Zatanna swallowed the pill and put the glass back down on the table, perfectly calm.

To be concluded...