Half an hour later, John was still busy despite having answered many MANY awkward questions to the woman about her new body.

Yes, pregnancy is optional. As are periods. Teeth will grow back, but should be reinforced enough to not get cavities or damage easily. Fingernails grow when desired. Same with hair. Hair growth regions are selectable, and by default are limited to eyebrows and the top of her haid.

Age was optional. The Body wasn't limited to recovery, it could fully regenerate. No, cancer wouldn't be an issue as that would violate the Concept of a 'Healthy Sindella Zatara'. Same with most negative mutations and so forth, they should be resisted automatically.

No, he wasn't going to talk about any of the stuff his sister and the girls added into the Body template to enhance her love life. Read the damned booklet, it's all in there for a REASON, thank you very much!

No he wasn't going to date her daughter and… Wait what!? "Why did you even ASK that!?"

The woman had the audacity to giggle! "Just checking to see if you were paying attention, John. Now, tell me more about how to alter my skin pigment. Can I use this to add tattoos? Runes to my skin? Schematics?"

Um. "Yes for patterns or tattoos, no idea when it comes to anything Magical since the whole reason I've stopped by this world in the first place was to learn that stuff… But uh, from what I read in fiction? I think most magical drawings require the 'strokes' to be magically involved when applying them to a surface."

The boy brought up a projected image of her skin, simulated to show a 'tattoo' of a puppy on it. "This is direct alteration of skin pigment, so more like a bunch of dots instead of lines or branding… So I have no clue if they'd work the same way as other methods would. But at least, if nothing else, you can use this method to provide guidelines and stuff for the person tattooing you! That would be helpful, I think!"

Sindella was already testing the mental effects of the ability, adjusting her lip and eyelid color to simulate some tasteful makeup… Damn, she was getting proficient with all these new Body features at an astounding rate, really.

Was that a magical thing, or just her being talented? Or a mom thing?

Damn it, growing up in the Borg simulation didn't really replace John not having a mother. Maybe all mom's could do stuff like this, just arbitrarily learn a dozen new tricks and abilities to seamlessly modify their own bodies on the fly.

The girls wouldn't know, he was the one who made them… And even the legends they were based off of came from supernatural origins, so it wasn't like they knew what it was like to have a mom either… Maybe sis would know? She never mentioned her parents… Their parents?

Huh. Were parents a transitive thing? Like, the sister of my brother automatically shares the parents of both with the other?

That could be neat!

But maybe he should ask one of his pen pals instead… He'd think about it later.

Absently John pointed at her arm. "If you keep twisting it like that, your wrist I mean, you might misfire your laser. I had trouble with mine ALL the time, probably because of how my arm bus was tied into the data channel, and the other eight of my nine brothers used to diagnose potential causes for my issues over HOURS and hours and… Uh."

Why was she staring at him?

…Oh, right. "Never mind, I gave you the full organic option. That probably won't be a problem, you just have to worry about the super Magic issue." Lucky woman, really. "Man, not having to worry about your squishy bits misbehaving with your operating system REALLY simplifies getting used to a new body, doesn't it?"

The silence was a bit uncomfortable. Though at least Zatanna was trying to break the awkward atmosphere by quietly snoring in the background.

Um. "But at least this body you've got is structurally sound and not pulled into form by commanding existence and raw power and stuff, right? I mean, the first time I forced myself to exist I was ALL sorts of broken, and crippled and hurt and stuff, and I was in surgery for DAYS and I mean, sure I'm still a bit fractured and stuff even after all the recovery attempts and temporary solutions, but most of THOSE problems were due to my Soul collapsing or my Mind going mad or my Body not being designed to actually survive."

Golly, talking about his past was just embarrassing… "I must have made myself like a dozen different Bodies before I realized all the icky bits were actually NEEDED to survive more than a few months! Thankfully I got my act together before my sister found out I kept having to rebuild bits of me as they fell apart… I mean, there are still a few big issues and maybe bits of my System temporarily collapsed back then and all that, but at least I was able to sleep for a while without my liver decaying, you know?"

Sindella's expression was a tad odd for some reason. "Anyway, I'm MUCH better now, aside from accidentally fracturing my mind recently… And uh, maybe splattering my CURRENT body over a few temporal axes, but I'm getting that fixed so that doesn't count… Um."

Damn. "Sorry, what were we talking about? I think I may have gotten distracted at some point."

The mother responded with a dry tone. "I believe you were attempting to warn me not to activate my wrist laser. One that I shouldn't have, as I declined to be made into a robot."

Right! Right. "Thanks, I sometimes babble a little… But uh, yeah! You're doing great, Zatanna's mom! There's only another few chapters of the instruction booklet and we are basically done entirely!"

Oh, speaking of which. "Just a heads up, my girlfriends and my sister will probably be sending you and your daughter letters at some point. We like to keep in contact with friends I make as we travel from Realm to Realm… Anyway, please don't tell them about this embarrassing stuff in your replies, alright? They get a bit scared and angry and stuff when I get mutilated or whatnot. I mean, I appreciate it, I really do! But uh… Yeah, sometimes in life you pick up an ouchie or two, you know?"

Sindella stared at him harder. "I'm going to set aside the multiple girlfriends comment for the moment, to keep the other mountain of questions company. And we will both look forward to your letters… I assume you mentioned this because you can't stay long?"

John winced. "Well… I mean, TECHNICALLY I don't have a time limit… But you know, I can feel a bunch of people running this way and I'm pretty sure at least one of them is genetically related to Zatanna and he seems REALLY mad, and the other people look really worried about you and I'm kind of worried that there will be all these mushy feelings and stuff. So uh… I figure I'd just leave a mailbox and go explore this Realm a bit more for a while, you know?"

She glanced out the nearest window. "Ah, I see! My lifesigns are now fully detectable from outside what is left of my daughter's spell… Hold on, HOW mad is my husband right now?"

Um. "I think he stopped using Magic a few times and forced himself to move faster using only raw rage." Which was actually really impressive, really! "But I'm sure he'll calm down and stuff once he gets here? Probably?"

Then the supernaturally beautiful woman paused… And looked down at herself before snorting. "Even odds that he calls me a succubus or demon trick trying to deceive him. And honestly, if I didn't know the situation, I'd actually agree with him in this situation. 'Honey, I got a new body!' is not a NORMAL response to 'Why do you look so different!?' after all."

Oh. Crud.

John quickly tried to come up with a solution… "Would more prudish clothing help?" He could Craft something up! "I can get you a big turtleneck sweater, with clashing colors and stuff. And maybe a big poofy dress and a scarf and…"

Zatanna's mother just waved him off. "I was more powerful than my man BEFORE you rebuilt me with this Body of Sin! I'll be fine. I don't' even need a spell to just tie him up or something."

Then she looked a bit contemplative… "In fact, I may do that anyway… It has been a while since my darling and I…"

NOPE! "ANYWAY!"

[[Pop!]] "Have a mailbox. Ignore the material it is made out of, it doesn't exist here. This version is so safe that it won't even let you mail babies through it anymore! Don't forget to check it… Right, and tell Zatanna I'll come back after the angry dad and sappy reunion stuff is all over, don't forget to write me IMMEDIATELY if your Body feels off or you need anything while I'm still in this Realm, and HOLY SHIT ANGRY DAD GOT FASTER BYE!"

RUN AWAY!

~~~Pocket System~~~

Sindella Zatara stared at the now boyless hospital room, one arm absently combing through her sleeping baby's hair.

That incredibly odd entity (Baby god? Some sort of embodied concept?) had just vanished.

It wasn't any spell she recognized, nor had it left any traces… And with her CURRENT power levels, she would CERTAINLY sense if otherwise!

That hadn't been magic. At all.

…Which made sense, considering all the OTHER impossible things that 'boy' had done while ALSO not using magic.

Such as finding her daughter, hidden away in an unfindable palace.

Or returning said daughter to her side, despite Sindella ALSO being magically 'lost' and 'forgotten'.

Not to mention using the raw powers of Creation to spawn her a new body, one that resonated with what felt like the Primordial Essence of Existence.

Each step? A dozen well known and researched magical phenomena declared with assurance to be impossible.

Every action? Logic and history demanded them to be lies in some way. A fiction, a falsehood.

How was such a boy possible?

No clue.

Sindella had probably gone over a few dozen detection spells while her daughter's personal hero babbled over her new abilities. She had cast verification charms and analysis hexes and everything in between, fully taking advantage of her newfound power, expanded magical reserves, and diverse knowledge.

And all of it came back with the equivalence of reality itself shrugging.

The magical equivalence of 'Eh, I dunno', which was less than helpful.

Oh well, the 'boy' was nice enough, if a little strangely innocent. Seeing someone that POWERFUL being impressed by her random bits of magical trivia had also felt more than a little unreal… But being magical meant that logic and facts sometimes just wandered off the rails a little anyway, so she adjusted to it all…

Sindella flinched!

Suddenly she could sense it too, could HEAR him…

[[MINE! MY CHILD! MY WIFE! M͠͏̷́I̸͠҉N̷̶E̡̢͜͡!́͘̕͟͢]]

Oh my…

Her man was in FULL ON caveman mode!

His raw power and fury just seduced her magic as she felt him thrusting towards her hospital room and…

Mmm, yes.

It was a GOOD thing the boy decided to wander away for a bit.

She was so focused on the door she didn't even realize that her magic had begun layering magical silencing and sleeping spells to keep her daughter unaware for just a little bit longer.

~~~Pocket System~~~

Giovanni Zatara was riding his emotional high with a coarse core of pragmatism and power.

He needed to be as FAST as possible, yet even enraged and battle worn as he was? The man ALSO knew he needed enough magic available when arriving at a potential ambush or warzone to slaughter EVERYONE between him and his family!

A balancing act.

Every step faster lowered his ability to act when he arrived.

He knew this. Fundamentally.

But the urge to just grasp existence itself and rend it asunder for even a fraction more speed burned in his throat.

Only years of self control and the IMPORTANCE of those he was coming to protect kept him from outright DAMAGING himself to move faster. FASTER!

He passed shocked friends, friends who clearly should have been with his wife already, hours ago…

Without pause. They could explain things at some later date.

Non-magical bystanders and security points? He forced them all to ignore him completely as they were left behind at a rapid pace.

They were barely worth noticing when he WASN'T urgently needed. Much less now.

Soon, though it felt FAR too late, he was at his beloved's hospital room door and SLAMMED it open! "SINDELLA! ZATANNA! ARE You… All…"

…He stared at the bed where his dying wife should have been, gobsmacked at the smirking love of his life who was magically protecting their little baby girl. "...What?"

Raw power, HER magic, soaked into this space. Anointing it with her essence, while laying claim to this territory with an almost uninterested and trivial amount of effort.

Her hospital gown, which previously had been covering her near skeletal frame, clearly wasn't enough to hide how stunning she currently looked…

His woman smirked at his dumbfoundment. "Welcome back, my love." She brushed back her regrown locks of hair, clearly bemused by his shock. "I've decided to go with a new hairstyle… Does it suit me?"

Giovanni just stared at this impossible miracle in shock. "Buh?" What? "You are both…"

And she began to snicker! GAH! "Yes, we are both more than alright." She pointed at their floating girl, currently snoring with a bit of drool making a mess. "Our daughter got trapped, accidentally summoned or attracted some sort of baby Outer God, convinced him to bring her home and heal me using impossible means, then got us both to agree to become pen pals with the boy."

What? "Buh?"

With a flick of her finger, the feeling of love and power was used to pull something from the medical bed into the air. "The entity, who goes by the pseudonym 'John Doe' if you can believe it, even made us this mailbox so we can easily keep in touch! It is this odd thing, which as far as I can tell is made from materials that shouldn't exist…"

What? "Buh?" He felt so confused, so off balance… What was happening right now?

She snorted again. "I'll explain everything else later, come kiss me NOW, please. It's been FAR too long since we've had some time together…"

…THAT he could do, thankfully.

Hopefully the rest will make more sense later…