Author's Note: Well, this is the conclusion to my first published fanfiction! The fic ended up being caught somewhere in the middle between 'chalant' and 'babymagic', so I hope no one was disappointed by the ending. And to be honest I'm not too terribly satisfied with the ending but I didn't want it to drag on for too long, and I guess this could explain how she was led to join the Justice League. If it's not quite what you were hoping for, please tell me what I could do better for future reference by leaving a review. And to everyone who did review: thank you all so much for the encouraging remarks and for sticking with me to the end of the fic. My writing needs a lot of improvement, I think, but I enjoyed writing this none the less. Thanks for reading!

Zatanna's eyes fluttered as she was roused by a voice in her ear. Once her vision focused, she jerked upright, propping herself on her elbows. Her head felt foggy, as if someone had wrapped a blindfold around her mind.

"You okay, Zee?"

Her heart fluttered in her chest like a caged bird. "Oh, I'm feeling the aster," she replied with a coy smile.

Dick grinned back, and Zatanna had to wrench her eyes from his gaze to take in her surroundings. "Uh, hey, everyone."

"How are you feeling?" M'gann asked, the epitome of concern.

"Fine," she assured her quickly, her voice carrying like the chink of a pin dropping in dead silence. She cleared her throat and repeated, "I'm fine."

"We will leave you to get some much needed rest." Kaldur stated firmly, casting a sideways glance at his team mates.

"You know," Wally said as they exited the room, "I really love what you've done with the place," he said, gesturing to the walls of Zatanna's bedroom where various posters had been hung up. "I mean," he added over his shoulder, "I would've complimented you sooner on your interior decorating skills, but you never invite me in."

With an exasperated sigh from Artemis, the rest of the Team was gone, save for Zatanna and Dick.

There was a moment of silence, and she wondered if she should try to make light of the whole situation. What came out, though, was "You must hate me."

Dick's eyebrows jumped in surprise. "I could never hate you."

"You saw me kiss Klarion," she gnawed on her lip, but before he could reassure her, she mumbled, "and our powers connected somehow. When I was around him I felt more... powerful." It was the truth, but more of a "gray" truth than a pure white one. When she had been around Klarion, she'd sensed the bond that had formed. He was dark and cruel, but intoxicatingly so. It was as if everything he touched became pulsating with life.

Dick fixed her with a piercing gaze, before shaking his head. "No one's going to judge you, Zee."

She winced as he used her nick-name, wracked with even more guilt at how her heart leaped at hearing him say it. "I know."

"You're a part of this Team and-"

"-Actually, I was thinking of leaving for a little while."

Dick's mouth formed an "o" of surprise.

"Just for a little while. Maybe. I-I need a bit of closure."

"Right." Dick said in a deadpan voice. "If you every need anything you know where to find us."

"I know," she replied. And she meant it.

But when her belongings were packed to magically all fit in one suitcase, and she took her first step outside of Mount Justice, she felt free. It was dizzying, like taking a gasp of air after being submerged underwater. Zatanna had felt trapped within the recesses of her own mind for too long. She was ready to escape the shadow her father had left. She was ready to move on from her past of being Zatanna Zatara, Mistress of Magic, the daughter of famed Giovanni Zatara, and to instead become simply 'Zee'. And maybe when she came back, she'd rejoin the Team. Or maybe an entirely different path would await her.