A/N: So how awesome is my husband? For Valentine's Day he bought me all available episodes of YJ on DVD AND actually tracked down Issue #0 since it was the only one I was missing. I love that boy :) Too bad both the show and comic have been cancelled :'( I'm BEYOND bummed about that. It's The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (that might be too old for a lot of you, but it was cancelled after 2 seasons too despite its awesomeness) all over again for me :( What a waste . . .
Anyway, I think you can guess who's going to make an appearance based on the title :) So for those who have been waiting, enjoy!
Disclaimer: "I don't own Young Justice. DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Cartoon Network have the rights to it. I'm just having some fun :)" The song lyrics used in this chapter are from Ellie Goulding's song Animal. Excellent song, the whole album (Lights) is excellent really.
Rated T for some language, suggestive themes, and descriptive violence.
Italics mean thoughts
"Italics within quotes" mean telepathy
Tell the Truth, or someone will tell it for you . . .
Tangled Web
Chapter 16: The Magician's Daughter
Metropolis
October 25, 13:52 EDT
In an empty park on the outskirts of Metropolis, a ringed tunnel of light ripped a hole in the sky. A resounding boom echoed around the desolate space as a topless vehicle zoomed out of the light tunnel carrying five individuals. The minute the vehicle was through, the hole abruptly closed. A beefy man with long red hair, a faceless mask of black, tan pants, and an animal pelt draped over his shoulders sat at the helm. He turned back to look at a tall, lean, dark-skinned man in a black and blue suit and visor-less helmet mixed with glowing green. The dark skinned man had a small box-like device clutched in his hand.
"Well, Vykin?"
Vykin looked up from the device in his grip. "Mother-box has found it, Big Bear. What we seek is on world."
"At last we've located the New Genisphere!" a pretty woman with flowing ebony hair and a wispy outfit of pink and black across from Vykin exclaimed, her long hair brushing against her exposed shoulders.
"But we still don't know who stole it in the first place, Dreamer," the man behind Vykin stated, his spiky black hair whipping around the crown of his head from the wind. He wore orange pants and a jacket made of black and purple. An orange open faced mask outlined his cheeks and forehead.
"That may be so, Moonrider, but it won't stop us from taking it back!" the young blonde in a black cowboy hat, brown and blue poncho, and white pants stated. He rose up in his seat across from Moonrider and twirled a six shooter around his finger. "Yee haw! Let's wrangle us up some cowboys!"
"Serifan is right," Big Bear bellowed. "No one can stand against the New Gods of New Genesis. We will take the New Genisphere back."
Dreamer looked to her right at Vykin. "Where on this planet is the sphere being kept?"
"Fourteen hundred miles east of here in a place called Happy Harbor, Rhode Island."
A fiendish smile split Big Bear's face. "Then that is where we shall go. Woe to anyone who stands in our way!"
x x x
Mount Justice
October 25, 17:10 EDT
Wally – along with Artemis, Robin, and Megan – quietly watched Kaldur and Conner spar, while Black Canary shouted out tips and techniques to try. They were all practicing in the zeta chamber today. Without meaning to, Wally's eyes drifted to the blonde.
No, that's impossible. Only the pure hearted can wield it! Harm made sacrifices to be pure enough for the sword!
You think you're the only one who's made sacrifices?! Everything I've done I've done for others!
The words Harm and Artemis had exchanged three days ago kept coming back to him. Artemis's heart had been pure enough to pick up the sword of Beowulf because she'd made sacrifices. Wally didn't understand how that was possible. Even if he bothered to over look the bit about pure hearts being nothing but supernatural mumbo-jumbo – though even he didn't have an explanation for why Batgirl had been unable to touch it when Artemis had – he couldn't for the life of him figure out what could have made her heart pure enough for the sword. Harm had made his heart pure evil by murdering his innocent sister, the one person he cared most for. If sacrificing the life of another made a heart pure evil, then wouldn't the opposite, obtaining a heart of pure good, be created by sacrificing your own life for others? Of course, if one did that, then they wouldn't be alive to wield the sword anyway. It was a veritable catch 22, and completely maddening for a man of science like Wally.
His eyes slid to the archer once again, casting a sidelong glance at her. Given the extent of the damage Harm had inflicted on her just three days ago, she shouldn't have been suited up for practice with the rest of the team. Yet there she was, as if the harrowing ordeal had never happened. Even her mental state didn't seem affected in the slightest, as though Saturday night had been just that: another Saturday night. Wally couldn't help thinking that earning all the scars that littered her back and chest had probably desensitized her to the point that fits of brutality like that simply didn't faze her anymore. It was . . . really sad . . .
"Recognized, Zatara, 1-1."
The computerized announcement pulled Wally from his thoughts. As the light from the zeta beam faded, Giovanni Zatara stepped out in his trademark magician's tuxedo.
"Zatara, to what do we owe this pleasure?" Black Canary asked as she approached her fellow teammate.
"Batman asked me to meet him here. He requires my assistance with something," he responded vaguely. The eyes of every teen turned to Robin, but he simply shrugged his shoulders. Zatara waved his hand to pull up a mini holo-computer next to the zeta tube he'd just exited and typed in a few codes.
"Access granted. Zatanna Zatara, A03. Authorization, Zatara, 1-1."
The tube flared to life again and a small, lithe figure materialized in the light. When it faded a young girl of 14 with long, shiny black hair, crystal blue eyes, and a school uniform of navy blue and white was left standing in front of everyone.
"Zatanna," Giovanni addressed his daughter, "this is the Team. Team, this is my daughter, Zatanna."
"Welcome to the cave," Kaldur said with a smile. "I am Kaldur'ahm, though you may call me Kaldur. This is Conner, Wally, Artemis, Robin, and M'gann." He pointed to each member in turn.
"You can call me Megan though if you like," Megan added.
"Thanks, you can call me Zee for short if you want. It's nice to meet all of you," Zatanna responded, looking at each member.
"So," Robin said as he popped up in front of her. "A-are you, uh, joining our team then?"
Wally raised an eyebrow at the stuttered speech spilling from his best friends lips. It wasn't like Robin to get flustered. A devilish smile lit Wally's face. After all the teasing he'd endured over his feelings for Artemis, it seemed a little payback might be in order.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara broke in. "This is just a visit," he turned to Black Canary, "though I do apologize for interrupting your training session."
"Nonsense. In fact, Zatanna is welcome to join us if she'd like."
Zatara looked at his daughter. "Well, it is something from which Zatanna could benefit."
"Great!" Robin said, clearly excited by the prospect. "I'd be happy to spare with you, you know, show you a few things."
"Um, yeah, okay," Zatanna said as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and followed Robin further into the room.
Robin took in her pleated skirt and blazer. "Although it might be a little hard in your school clothes."
Zatanna glanced down at her attire. "No big." With an elaborate swirl of her arms that culminated in them being raised above her head she said, "Emit ot yrt tuo eht wen kool!" Her school uniform was instantaneously replaced by a black tuxedo jacket with a white dress shirt underneath, a pair of black cloth shorts, gray tights, and black boots. Dainty white gloves completed the look.
"Pretty impressive trick."
Zatanna smirked. "That's just one of my moves."
"I'll bet you've got some good ones." Robin's hands immediately flew to his mouth and he grinned sheepishly. "Whoa, sorry, that came off a little too Wally."
"You can say that again," Artemis added.
"Dude!" Wally cried, embarrassed, as Zatanna laughed.
Giovanni watched the exchange for a moment before turning his attention back to Black Canary. "I will leave Zatanna in your care then."
"Don't worry Zatara, she's in good hands," Black Canary responded.
Robin gave a sincere smile. "Yeah, we'll take good care of her."
Zatara eyed the Boy Wonder critically before saying, "I'm sure you will." He turned on his heel, the tails of his tuxedo jacket flaring out in the process, and left.
In the middle of the room, Robin returned his attention to Zatanna, the others watching with interest. "You ready?" he asked.
Zatanna's lips spread into a mischievous smile. "Are you?"
"I was born ready!" he answered with a smirk as he ran at Zatanna.
"Etaerc Annataz snoisulli!"
Ten identically copies of Zatanna suddenly appeared out of thin air, perfectly mirroring the mannerisms of the original. Robin abruptly stopped, and as one they each placed a gloved hand on their slender hip haughtily.
"Uh, maybe not quite ready for that," he admitted.
The copies all rushed at him, taking advantage of his momentary shock. Shaking off his surprise, Robin started flipping around, kicking and punching the copies that were in range. Each copy he made contact with disappeared into a swirl of smoke on impact.
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" he taunted as he punched a copy in the stomach, dissolving it.
"Okay."
Before he could register that Zatanna's voice came from behind, his legs were swept out from underneath him and he landed on his side.
"Fail, Robin," the computer proclaimed.
As soon as he made contact with the floor he immediately rolled over so that he was once again facing his opponent and his right arm shot out, sending two sets of surujins at her. One wrapped around her ankles, the other around her ribs, pinning her arms to her sides. The force was enough to knock her on her back.
"Fail, Zatanna."
Robin put his hands on the ground behind his head and sprang up onto his feet.
"Sgnidnib, emoc esool!" The cords binding Zatanna loosened and fell away as if they'd been untied. By the time she'd made it to her feet Robin was closing in on her once more.
"Ekoms dna srorrim!" she cried as she waved her hands back and forth in front of her. Dark smoke erupted from the movement, shrouding her figure, but it wasn't enough.
One of Robin's surujins flew through the smoke and she felt it wrap around her torso, pinning her arms once more. She opened her mouth to recant the spell that would remove them, but Robin himself appeared in front of her, quickly snaking one arm around her shoulders while he placed his other gloved hand over her mouth.
"Nice try," he said as the smoke started to dissipate, his tone dripping with victory. "But I've had a lot of practice fighting under the cover of smoke. Batman practically wrote the book on smoke screens." Zatanna tried to say an incantation, but it came out as nothing more than muffled sounds. "And it looks like my hunch was right. No voice equals no spells, and if you're out of tricks then this round goes to me."
He removed his hand from her mouth, but neglected to release his hold on her. Zatanna flashed him a flirty smile. "Eh, getting caught by a cute boy isn't the worst loss I've had."
Robin's grin widened. Then someone cleared their throat.
"Should we leave the two of you alone?" Wally asked, taking great pleasure in the shade of red that flushed Robin's face from his neck to his hair line.
The Boy Wonder quickly dropped his arm from around Zatanna's shoulders and took two steps back.
"Excellent work, both of you," Black Canary said. "Especially you, Zatanna. Your father's been holding out on us."
Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's a little on the over protective side."
As Black Canary spoke with Zatanna about her abilities, Wally walked over to Robin grinning. "Sooo, Zatanna, huh?" The younger boy glared, earning a laugh from the redhead.
x x x
Zatara found Batman waiting in the briefing room.
"I see you brought Zatanna with you," Batman said having heard the computer announce her arrival.
"Don't take this to mean that I'm letting her join the Team."
"I only take it as a sign that you haven't ruled her membership out completely."
"We'll see. She is my only daughter after all. Now, what is it you wanted to see me about?" Zatara asked, changing the subject.
"This," Batman said as he stepped aside. On the table behind him sat a shiny gold helmet.
"The Helmet of Fate," Zatara murmured knowingly. "What is it doing here?"
"Back in August, the Team went to the Tower of Fate to check on Kent Nelson on behalf of Red Tornado. As you know, he passed away."
"Yes, I paid my respects at his funeral in Salem. (1) It was an unfortunate loss; Kent was a great man."
Batman gave a solemn nod. "Agreed. What you might not know is that while there, the Team intercepted Abracadabra and Klarion the Witch Boy who, according to Artemis and Wally, Kent had deemed a Lord of Chaos. They were apparently there to steal the helmet. Most likely Klarion was the real threat, using Abracadabra as a pawn."
Giovanni furrowed his borrow in confusion. "But what would a Lord of Chaos want with a Helmet that represents order?"
"As the foremost authority on magic in the Justice League, I was hoping you could help me figure that out. I have reason to believe that the goal behind acquiring the helmet was to harness the power it possesses like an energy source of some kind."
"An energy source for what?"
"I don't know, but would that be possible?"
The magician rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "The power of any object, animate or inanimate, can be harnessed if the person trying to harness it has strong enough magic and knows the right spells. So hypothetically speaking, yes, Klarion could draw out the raw power contained in the helmet. How he would have done that, however, is beyond even my scope of understanding I'm afraid."
"I'm more concerned with what he was planning to use the Helmet's power for than how he would have harnessed it. Despite the Team thwarting his plan to steal the Helmet of Fate, I have a feeling it's only going to be a minor setback in the grand scheme of things," Batman admitted, voice ominous. He picked the Helmet of Fate up, intending to return it to the souvenir room. "We'll have to continue this discussion another time. Our presence is required at the Watch Tower for the meeting."
The pair stopped by the souvenir room to return the Helmet of Fate to its previous spot on the shelf before heading for the zeta chamber. The members of the team plus Black Canary were all still present, wrapping up their practice session.
"Time to go, Zatanna," Zatara said, beckoning his daughter to him.
"What, already?" Robin asked, voice loaded with disappointment.
"I'm afraid so. League business at the Watch Tower," he explained as Red Tornado silently whirled down from his loft apartment to join them.
Zatanna let out a groan. "Meaning I get to be bored to tears sitting in the library at the Hall of Justice by myself."
"Well if that's the case, why don't you just stay here and hang out with us?" Robin asked.
"That's a great idea!" Megan chimed in. "We'd be happy to keep you company, if you'd like of course."
"I'd love to stick around and hang with you guys." Zatanna turned to her father. "So, can I?"
Giovanni fixed his daughter with a level stare. "Well, I suppose it's okay," he finally relented. "I'll swing by to get you as soon as our meeting is over."
Zatanna gave her father a hug and a peck on the cheek before he walked into the zeta tube with the others.
"Recognized, Zatara, 1-1. Recognized, Batman, 0-2. Recognized, Black Canary, 1-3. Recognized, Red Tornado, 1-6."
The mechanisms gave a grinding whir and in a flash of light, the four members of the Justice League were gone. Zatanna turned back to the other teens gathered in the zeta chamber. "So, what do you guys do around here for fun?"
Megan smiled brightly. "We have all kinds of things. Come on, we'll show you around."
The group started walking, Megan at the lead. Robin hurried to walk next to Zatanna, knocking Wally out of the way in the process. The speedster looked at Artemis and gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes.
"So, Zee, you think your dad will let you join our team?" Robin asked.
Zatanna sighed. "I don't know. He's just soooo over protective. That spell I used on you, the one that made multiple copies of me? I have to use a scaled down version just to get out of the house sometimes . . ." Her eyes bounced from Robin to the other members as she spoke. "How did all of you end up on a team together?"
"Me, KF, and Aqualad responded to an emergency call on behalf of the Justice League when they were preoccupied with something else. We ended up finding Superboy," Robin pointed at Conner, then he pointed at Megan. "Miss Martian came shortly after. And finally Artemis made the Team after saving KF." Artemis shot Wally a satisfied smirk and a flush of embarrassment spread across his cheeks as he pointedly glanced away.
I recognize you," she said, her eyes swinging back to Robin, "Kid Flash, and Aqualad thanks to the news, but I've never seen the rest of you."
"Oh, well, I'm Martian Manhunter's new protégé. He's my uncle," Megan revealed. "Conner is a clone of Superman, and Artemis is working under Green Arrow's tutelage."
"So, what kind of abilities do you have?"
"I'm a telepath. I can also go invisible and I have telekinetic abilities. I can't density phase shift though," Megan explained. "It's still too advanced for me. And Conner is just like Superman, except he can't fly or use hea-"
"I'm nothing like Superman!"
Conner's outburst startled everyone, bring the group to an abrupt halt. He glared at them all for a moment before stomping off down a different hall.
"Uh . . ." Zatanna said, unsure what to think.
"Don't mind Superboy," Robin said.
"Yeah, he's always moody," Wally added with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He's got clone complex issues."
"Right," Zatanna said, sounding unconvinced. "Note to self: don't mention Superman to Superboy." When it was clear Megan wasn't going to continue, Zatanna looked at Artemis. "What about you? What's your ability?"
Artemis blinked, clearly caught off guard. "I'm an archer," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "kind of thought the bow and quiver full of arrows on my back was self explanatory," she replied facetiously.
"Well, duh, I got the archer part. But what else can you do?"
The others watched curiously, bouncing their attention back and forth between each girl.
"What do you mean 'what else'?" Artemis asked, an edge to her voice. "Is being an archer not enough or something?"
Zatanna held her hands up in a placating gesture. "No, being an archer is great. It's just . . . I can feel a power coming from you, like a magical aura, that's all."
Artemis's eyes widened a smidgen in surprise before she managed to mask it entirely. "I don't have any powers," she responded brusquely.
"Yeah, no, Artemis doesn't have any powers," Megan repeated, her voice an octave higher, almost as though she were nervous.
"But I can feel-"
"I don't know what you think you feel," Artemis cut in, voice frosty, "but I'm not a meta-human. There's nothing special about me." She turned away and stalked back the way they'd all come without uttering another word on the matter. Wally stared after her retreating figure, his brows furrowed in concern.
"And then there were five," Zatanna said disheartened as she watched the seemingly offended archer skulk around the corner and out of sight.
Robin groaned. At this rate, the new girl would feel so unwelcome she wouldn't want to join the team even if her father would let her.
"My apologies for my fellow teammates' behavior," Kaldur said. "Conner and Artemis can be-"
"Stubborn?" Wally supplied. "Brash? Standoffish? Anomic? Touchy? Pighea-"
"I think she gets it," Robin deadpanned, stopping Wally. The speedster shrugged but said no more. "Come on, why don't we show you the rec room? We've got a wicked air hockey table."
The group of five continued on down the hall.
x x x
I'll show you all the places I'm dreaming of
I'll take you to the ocean, I'll bring the sun
We are seventeen we have just begun
I have loved a five, four, and then some
But you are the one . . .
A haunting harp melody accompanied by piano rifts and heavy base drumming poured from Artemis's earbuds, consuming her as she sat on the common room couch – eyes closed, still in uniform – a green iPod nano loosely clutched in her right hand.
You have stolen all my senses
There's a fever in my heart
And you are taking my defenses
You are pulling me apart
Forever we're young and we are dying
And you will be spilling all our blood
So I will take away my feelings
I will be an animal . . .
I'll tie you in my ar-
The music in her right ear dropped off suddenly as the earbud resting there was pulled from her ear. She immediately hit the stop button and opened her eyes. The song she'd been listening to always made her think of Wally, of them, not that there was a 'them' to think about really, and there he was, hovering over her, her missing earbud dangling from between his finger and thumb as if just listening to that song had summoned him. He sat down without her invitation and lightly dropped the white earbud into her lap. She quickly wrapped the cord around her iPod and set it to rest on the coffee table in front of them.
"So . . .," he began, "Zatanna seems nice. Not really deserving of the attitude you gave her anyway."
Artemis sighed. She hadn't meant to be so rude to the new girl. She'd just been so caught off guard when she'd point blank insisted Artemis had some kind of power, and in front of the others at that. Even Megan sounded nervous when she tried to reassure Zatanna that Artemis didn't have any supernatural abilities. It was no excuse for her behavior though. The new girl hadn't meant any harm.
"You're right."
Wally gave a satisfied sigh, a goofy smile on his face. "That's the second time I've heard you say I was right."
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it."
They sat in a companionable silence for a moment. Then Wally spoke.
"You know, this might sound kind of cheesy, but . . . you are special, Artemis." At Artemis's less than impressed look Wally stumbled on. "I mean, being a meta-human is awesome, but you . . ." he took a deep breath and looked her square in the eye, "you do the job of a hero on raw talent and hard work, something very few people can do." Wally's voice dropped a notch, the quality gruffer. "To be honest, I don't know if there's anything about you that isn't special."
Artemis's cheeks tinged a pretty shade of pink at the sincerity in his voice. She dropped her gaze to her lap, too embarrassed by his praise and the intensity of his stare to maintain eye contact. She was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that she was sitting there alone with Wally and it made her unbearably self conscious. She couldn't be alone with him and not reflect on the passionate kiss they'd shared the night of the Homecoming incident a week ago, no matter how much she didn't want to. With the way his bright green eyes were locked on her profile, she had a feeling she wasn't the only one thinking about it.
Artemis cleared her throat, but did not lift her eyes. "Listen, Wally-"
A shrill alarm erupted over the intercom. The feminine PC voice calmly announced, "Intruder alert. Bioship hanger has been breached. All available personnel please respond."
Artemis's head whipped up, her wide eyes mirroring Wally's as the computer repeated the message on a loop.
Mount Justice was under attack.
To be continued . . .
(1) In issue 11 of the tie-in comic, they show Kent Nelson's funeral in Salem (assumedly Massachusetts) on August 21st (two days after the events of ep 7, Denial). Zatara is shown in the crowd of heroes who have come to pay their respects.
A/N: Zatanna has finally made an appearance, so yay :) I always liked her. I'm taking some liberties and combining a few different episode elements into one here, hopefully in a way everyone enjoys. Next chapter might take a while since I tend to spend more time on fight scenes and there is clearly going to be one. As usual, thanks for all the kind reviews and support! Over 300 reviews! Whoot whoot! :)
SakuraJade