CHAPTER 8. EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION.


21:00

After returning from the top of the mountain where the view of the great catastrophe that had befallen the town of Little Volos had been seen, Zatanna, Dick, and the friend they had accompanied had gone to a bookstore that was still open, in which the friend had hastily searched for all available books about the disaster. At first, the two friends thought that there would not be many, but it turns out that there were quite a few, and after buying those books, he also bought two maps of the region that were available in the bookstore.

After those purchases, the three went to a motel, where they rented a room. Dick and Zatanna would have preferred to go back to Gotham City, their hometown, but their friend's emotional state upon learning what had happened to the town of Little Volos had made them stay. They had already been alarmed by his sad and angry look, coupled with his quiet demeanor during the return trip from the mountain, where they had been driven by an elderly man named Jay. And, it wasn't just his friend's state of mind, but also how obsessive he was being to find out what had happened to that unfortunate town, which was proven when they had entered the room.

Seconds after entering, he tossed his backpack onto one of the beds, took out the books he had bought along with the maps, and placed them all on the table in the room. He turned on the light and began to read everything he could consider important. Zatanna and Dick helped him put some order in the room and turn on other lights, eventually taking one of the books he had brought and starting to read it, although choosing the chapters they thought would have something important to tell to their friend.

In that time, they managed to discover what exactly had happened to the town. It turns out that the Petropoulos comet, discovered by the Greek Alexander of the same surname, with an orbital period of 1,200 years, approached Earth three years ago in March. The most unexpected thing was that the core broke up at its perigee. When the core broke, a fragment became a meteorite and fell across the country, and of all the areas where it could have landed, it turned out to be in the unfortunate town of Little Volos, killing more than five hundred people in an instant, one-third of the entire town's population. What made it all the more ironic, in a tragic sense, was that the death toll would not have been so high if it weren't for the fact that they were celebrating a Greek holiday called Katheri Deftera in the same place where the fragment turned into a meteorite impacted. Because of this, no one lived in that town anymore, although the ruins left behind by the explosion, which could be seen with the naked eye from that mountain, were also good reasons for not living there anymore.

In that time, in which they discovered everything that was happening, he never took his eyes off the books or the maps he had bought, several of those books were the history of the town, compilations of news about that tragic incident, the customs of the villagers. Although, he already knew what had happened to the town, now, he needed to know what had happened to the girl he had come to see. It was not known if she had survived the catastrophic event, and curiously, there were also no images or reports of Mayor Princeton, who would surely receive a prestigious position or place in one of these books, pages or chapters, but found nothing of him.

Seeing that the boy she had felt attracted to could continue like this uninterruptedly, Zatanna decided to check if there was a list of the people who had lost their lives in that fateful event, maybe she could give him the answer, and she could tell him if the girl he had come looking for was still alive, but she didn't know her name, because the boy still didn't want to give it to her. Surprisingly, the list was available on the internet. That was also a book, but it had been replicated by other websites and other news pages in order to gain more views and cover the event more widely.

"Bruce, look. Maybe this will help" She told him, handing him her cell phone so he could see the electronic device.

Zatanna's friend was carefully looking at the article on her cell phone, while they both looked at it with the same level of attention, they hoped that this would give him some comfort, or that it would stop the strange behavior that he was having for this person that they did not know. Thirty seconds passed before he stopped. They both knew that he had found something, but for some reason, he said something in a low voice that they couldn't hear. What he had said was "Allen, Barry".

It was a tough thing, the girl he had come looking for might be dead, and that nice blond boy was dead. The two friends thought he was going to stop, but the person they were concentrating on quickly recovered and continued searching the list for that girl's name until it stopped again, but this time for two minutes.

"It's her" He said, but with a voice of surprise and sadness.

Dick and Zatanna took the cell phone and he pointed out the name of the unknown person. The person was one named 'Galanis, Diana', because that's how it was written in the article. Obviously, this drove both of them out of their boxes. How was it possible that his friend was interested in a girl who was long dead? Had they scammed him? That was more than likely.

"There has to be a mistake, Bruce. It can't be her. I mean, this girl died three years ago" Zatanna said, a little uncertain at first, but then she was more direct.

Zatanna's friend shook his head. He also did not understand this confusing situation. "Three weeks ago she told me that I could see the comet" He initially said in a voice audible to both of them. At that moment, a thought, a connection formed in his mind. If three weeks ago, she'd told him about the comet, but he couldn't see it, that meant something was off with the time they'd been switching bodies. "That means..." He wanted to say, but he couldn't. At that moment, the voice of the blonde woman he spent some time with resounded in his mind.

"Diana, you are dreaming, right?" It was what the voice of that woman told him.

"I…what was I…?" He tried to ask, but couldn't finish the question.

So, at 2100 hours, here they were, in the same motel room. With two friends completely confused and concerned about the situation in front of them, while the other person was absorbed in the investigation.

Seeing that he would continue reading the books and looking at his cell phone to find additional information about that event, Zatanna decided to go out and go to the vending machine for an iced tea, Dick decided to get out and follow her. They both wanted a break from what was absorbing their friend. Zatanna sat in a nearby chair, opened the bottle, and took a small drink. Seconds after sitting down, Dick also went to the vending machine and ordered a bottle of water, he also wanted to cool down, and it wasn't very cold that night, despite being a rural area, and they were still wearing their jackets.

"How lively it sounds in that room" Zatanna said, trying to cheer Dick up.

"Yes, you can tell that when Bruce is reading articles about a tragic event that he had no idea about, it always puts him in a good mood" Dick told him sarcastically, but animated. "He seems obsessed with that" He said, taking the bottle out of the machine's output tray. "What a day" He said as he sat in another chair.

"Yes, I can swear that this is the strangest situation I've ever been in, and that being the daughter of a famous ex-magician has brought several similar situations, but with magic tricks" She said before taking another drink from her tea.

"Yes, this is also another very strange situation for me, and it is strange, because Bruce, despite his position in the city, is someone who does not do these things" He said after drinking some of his water. He turned his gaze to Zatanna. "What do you think of what Bruce is doing with this town and comet thing?" He asked, something doubtful every other word, considering how stressing this was.

Zatanna took a deep drink of her iced tea to steel herself.

"You know? I liked him" She said with a smile. "I came to feel something for him …because of how he was acting recently" She completed his answer.

This surprised Dick, who opened his mouth in an O shape for a few seconds.

"I mean, he's always been a nice guy, but, recently, he's been more charming. He was trying harder. He was cuter" She said looking at the ground, remembering how much she liked that version of that person. After this, Dick shut his mouth and looked ahead, watching the cars go by. "But I do think that what he told us doesn't make any sense" She said, answering the question, looking up, showing her disappointment and confusion over the situation.

At that moment, three men walked past her, laughing and chatting happily, not stopping until they reached their room.

"But now I know that he met someone and that person is the reason for his change. That's the only sure thing" She said, still staring up at the sky.

Dick sighed then to collect his words and turned to Zatanna.

"I thought you were the reason for his change. It was something I wanted him to have" He said.

Zatanna was confused again, but this time with what Dick had told her. Why did he want his friend to have a change?

"You didn't met Bruce before college" Dick began, making sure Zatanna didn't know that about him. It turned out that he was correct, especially with her shaking her head. "Well, Bruce and I have been friends since junior high school. Like you, I am the son of famous trapeze artists, but they wanted to give me a better life in Gotham City, since they thought that was better than knowing the world and swinging on a big stage over and over again. So, I got to junior high school, and because I didn't know people, I didn't know that Bruce was the guy that everyone wanted by their side because of his wealth, and I didn't know any of that until we had to do a project together, and from there we became friends" He began.

"But, in high school, for his money, he went to a face, and I had to go to a normal one. We were separated most of the time, but I was determined to enter the university where he was going to enter, so that we could see each other again. That's why I was studying like crazy to pass the exams with the best grades and receive a scholarship from the Wayne Organization, you know, the one that supports students with the best average or in difficult situations. I didn't think I could do it, but I did. They gave me the scholarship and I went to that university where I met him again, and there we met Tim, who had also entered the university on a scholarship, he is smarter than me, sometimes. Well, the point is, I thought everything was going to be like old times, but with a new friend" He said, looking up with a smile that quickly faded.

"But it was not like that. When we met again, in the first semester, Bruce was either angry all the time or didn't want to talk. I asked him many times what it was, but he wouldn't tell me what it was until one month later. He had told me that he had met a girl with whom he had established a relationship. It seemed like a long-term relationship, but, one day, when he had gone out to a restaurant in the mall to spend time alone, he had found her on a date with another guy, he even saw them kissing" When he said this, Zatanna had covered her mouth. She couldn't believe she had done that to her. "Then he told me that he went to ask her why she did that, and she just told him that she just didn't want to have anything with him anymore, and the guy she cheated on him with told him he better go, and he did, which I never thought he would do" He said rolling his eyes a little. He didn't like remembering him like that.

"After he told me that, he was sad for another week, but then he went back to his usual quiet and reserved behavior. As you know, he is an important person, and many did not stop wanting to approach him for money or just for social interest. It wasn't until he knocked over three tables in a room that all the classmates stopped talking to him. They didn't want to disturb him. But, it bothered me and it saddened me to see him like this. Seeing him sad, he was letting his experience with a girl and being used as the object of ridicule throughout the school leave him like that, and he didn't want to do anything to get out of it" He stopped for another moment to take another drink from his bottle.

"Some time later, he told me and Tim that he was going to intern at your father's agency when I noticed he was more animated. I assumed it was because of a girl, and seeing you today at the train station, I assumed it was you from work, since I didn't know your name until today. It was the first time in a long time that I saw him enthusiastic and committed to something, I don't even see him like that at school. And then, seeing his behavior, I assumed that you were the reason. Like you said, he was cuter, charismatic, not afraid to talk, kinder than he usually is, and what told me he was about to make it was that day at the park where the dogs adored him, something that in his normal state he would not do. He's never liked dogs to be this close, but he reacted like he was an animal-loving child volunteer. It was clear that he was happy for someone, and I thought it was because of you" He sighed once more, and his spirit dropped a little.

"But, now seeing that the girl he was looking for died a long time ago, I am worried that he will return to that state. I'm worried that he'll let this situation leave him in that mood again, and maybe we can't fix it" He finished before taking the final sip from his bottle. "Do you think he can be better than before, or do you think he can go back to that state?" He asked, tilting his head a little.

Zatanna didn't say anything for a full minute. Now that she knew this story, she knew that Bruce was someone who truly loved people, in his own way, but he had had his heart broken once in a ruthless way, and it was likely that he would be broken again. And with this, her doubt about what to answer increased.

"I think he's going to get through this, in a better way and not go down again. If I'm wrong, then I'm too optimistic" Was the answer she gave with a half smile. She hoped she was right, but she was worried she was wrong.

XXX

22:00

He had reread the book of the compilation of the news that covered the incident in the town of Little Volos, still hoping that something would give him an answer or a clue as to what had happened between him and her when they swapped bodies, and why she had told him that the comet could be seen three weeks ago when it was three years ago. He had no success again. He was only seeing paragraph after paragraph of the information that Dick had told him earlier, but not seeing anything useful.

The only thing he had learned about the town in that time of research, although that was not his objective, was the origin of the town. With World War I breaking out, many Greek immigrants left in the exodus that brought many immigrants from other European countries, besides that, to the United States. When exploring the area, several Greeks saw the great lake in that place, and decided to settle there, calling it Little Volos, because they tried to bring the greek traditions from their original country to the United States, and they were also honoring one of the biggest country cities with the name. Unfortunately, they had nothing to honor their country, seeing how it was destroyed by a comet.

Another piece of information that he had acquired is that, despite being a town with descendants of Greek immigrants, a handful of American citizens had also found refuge in that quiet and small place. This was why, while there were families like the Galanis, there were also families with American surnames and ancestry like the Wests and the Allens.

Desperate, he took his cell phone again, unlocked it and went into his diary, hoping to see all the funny notes she had written to him, but that couldn't be either. The only entries there were those he'd written in his uniform style, nothing with the many emojis she always put up. He stared at the screen for a few seconds, hoping there would be some change with his mind, but nothing happened. Sad, he just lowered his head until he touched the table.

"It was all a dream" He said to himself. He was sad, just as it had happened with that girl he hated so much now, everything had ended in disaster, but this time for both of them, not only for him. "I recognized the scenery because I had memories of the news from three years ago" He said again, trying to explain and justify himself about making this trip that had resulted in nothing more than an extensive investigation that he would not let rest on an event that had happened a long time ago. This was telling him a voice, but another was telling him that it couldn't be a dream. There had to be another explanation, it couldn't be a dream. "Or was I fantasizing? Or is it just a personality change?" He asked, hoping that an answer would come to him right away, raising his head. In his mind, he reasoned that it might be more of a fantasy, since she couldn't be a ghost, because, if so, then he would need to go with a fake witch and con man to gain access to the world of the dead.

That thought was replaced by another, he wanted to remember that girl's name, the one he had seen in the article Zatanna had shown him on her phone. It seemed a simple thing.

"Her name was…" He tried to remember, but everything got worse. "What was her name?" He asked again, but, against all odds, he no longer remembered the girl's name.

"I'm going to take a bath, Bruce. Don't stop me" Dick said opening the door and going directly to the place he had mentioned and then closed the door.

"Is that how Dick always acts?" Zatanna asked. "Very charismatic, but direct?" She added happily. She didn't want him to find out that Dick had told her that story about him with that girl.

This brought his friend out of his concentration, who was still trying now to even remember the name of that girl whom, for some reason, he couldn't remember either.

"Zanna" He said, using her classic nickname for his friend. "I'm…sorry." He hesitated. "I know I've said a lot of weird things…and I've done a lot today" He apologized, but he was still wondering what this weird situation was doing to him in his mind. "And thank you for accompanying me this day" He thanked. They hadn't done anything during the trip, but they had helped him a bit in his research.

As he was saying this, Zatanna was opening her backpack to take out her pajamas, and had taken off her jacket.

"No problem" Zatanna said, shaking her head. Seeing the current situation, she could go to the bathroom to change her clothes, but Dick was there, so it seemed that the only option to entertain herself was to read a little in the books that her friend had bought, because she doubted that he would like her using her cell phone or turn on the television they had in the room. "Pass me the book that talks about the town, please" She asked.

He searched for it, found it, and delivered it to her in seconds. So long reading and he no longer remember what the books looked like.

"I'm going quickly for a bottle of water" He said opening his wallet and taking out one of his bills. He had to keep them well. He didn't have much left, just enough for the hotel, a meal, and return train tickets. Another handicap that Dick and Zatanna brought up.

"Understood" Zatanna said.

When her friend left, she began to leaf through the section of the chapters, and she saw one of the customs that was in that place. So, she started turning a few loads of pages to get to that section. She made it to said section when her friend entered with his newly opened bottle of water.

"Look, Bruce" Zatanna told him. "In that town they made braided threads. Those are very pretty" She said pointing to the photo in the book with a more cheerful tone. She hoped that this would cheer him up a bit, so much so that she started to look at him, but it was clear that he was still doubtful about what he was doing in that place. She looked down a bit and saw what was on her friend's wrist. "Are you wearing a braided thread?" She asked, leaning in a bit to get a closer look.

Fortunately, this caused him to put down his water bottle on the table and look directly at the bracelet he wore on his wrist with the utmost attention.

"Uh…I think someone gave it to me a long time ago" He said, still doubting what he was saying, but more because he couldn't remember who had given it to him. "Sometimes I use it as a memory of something, but I don't remember what anymore" He added, looking at the bracelet, but his tone of voice was still discouraged. "Who gave it to me?" He asked aloud, worrying Zatanna again, it seemed like she had made it worse.

"Why don't you go shower after Dick gets out?" She asked, trying to get him to stop thinking about this situation that was already making him feel bad.

"Yes...No" He said. He was beginning to be sure of something. "Someone who makes these threads once told me that they represent the passage of time. They tangle and twist, unravel and reattach themselves. That is the passage of time" He said touching the bracelet and looking at it, as if the object could speak to him. In fact, it did give him an idea. "Maybe in that place..." He said taking a map and unrolling it. There could be something there.

Zatanna was sad and worried. Her friend was caught up in the investigation again, and because of her.

XXX

2.00

After Dick came out of the bathroom, already in his pajamas, Zatanna also went to shower, and came out some time later, drying her hair. In all this time, the friend they were worried about kept examining the map that he thought would give him an answer to what he should do. He was in his own world, so much so that he didn't notice when they told him to go to sleep soon and wished him goodnight before going to bed to try to sleep after a strange but kind of fun day.

He continued examining the map and the books he had brought with one of the lamps in the room, this so that Dick and Zatanna could sleep, for a while longer. He wanted to find something useful that would help him, but, despite the fact that the braided threads had brought back a vague memory, he had not obtained the expected result, only a question that he had written on the map that he had brought that said "Here?" in one section.

He continued like this until he fell asleep with his head and arms resting on the wooden table. He was exhausted from all the research that had brought him nothing and from the day he'd had, but he didn't rest for long. He began to hear someone's voice in his dreams.

"Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. You do not remember me?" The voice told him.

For the first time in a long time, his eyes snapped open and he sat up. That dream that he couldn't remember once he woke up had bothered him again.

He sighed, and looked again at the red bracelet on his wrist. He still hoped that looking at it would lead him to something else that could solve this mystery with that girl and the town of Little Volos.

XXX

12:00

Zatanna was the first to wake up. She hadn't set an alarm, the curtains blocked out the sunlight, and luckily her father hadn't sent her messages, so she got up slowly, expecting to see the friend she was so worried about asleep from exhaustion or that he was in the bathroom. So, she went to the bathroom first and saw that it was empty. She went to the table and saw that the books her friend had bought were neatly stacked one on top of the other, but the maps were no longer there, but there were some twenty bills that totaled two hundred dollars and a written note.

"I HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE. GO BACK TO GOTHAM WITHOUT ME. I'LL COME BACK LATER" That's what the note said.

"Bruce" Zatanna said. Lowering the note and head. She now didn't know where he was, and she didn't know if he was safe, nor could she help him if he got into trouble or something bad happened to him. All she could do now was wait for him to return, hope that he was safe while he returned and that he could find what he was looking for.