"Are you able to locate the source of Klarion's spell?"
Zatanna nervously bit her lower lip. "I don't know. I have never performed a spell of such scale. I usually base location spells on an object familiar to the person I want to locate and that helps a lot but without it..." she shook her head and looked at him with a sorry look. "I don't know if I would be able to do that."
Dick suddenly remembered that she was only seventeen and that she was only a kid.
Unlike him.
He could only imagine the pressure and stress she was under at that moment and to which she was probably not used to. Seeing all her teammates suddenly disappear as well as all the adults in her life and realizing that she was the only hero left on Earth...yeah, well, it sure sucked.
The acrobat approached her slowly, aware of her analytical gaze fixed on him, and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, restraining himself from removing it when he felt her stiffen under his touch. "I know you are scared right now and think you are not good enough. However, I trust you and your abilities. I know you will do your best and I also know that your best will be good enough. You are not alone, Zatanna. I will be with you every step of the way until we solve this situation. And we will solve it together. As a team. I will not abandon you. I promise." he declared in a grave and solemn voice, keeping his masked gaze fixed on her.
Zatanna swallowed hard, completely overwhelmed by the mercenary's speech. She knew that she should have felt frightened by his words and the fact that an extremely dangerous person like him would stay by her side during this situation but she was not. In fact, she dared to say that she was even comforted by his words and his beautiful pep talk that actually helped to calm her deepest fears a bit.
Which was definitely strange but at least for the moment she put it aside.
Zatanna gave him a watery smile. "I didn't think you were capable of such pep talks." she tried to joke but her words still came out tense.
"I've always been an artist, I suppose." the assassin said with a mysterious smirk.
The sorceress' snort turned out shakily and she took a long, deep breath. "I can try." she affirmed, straightening her shoulders and back. A steely look crossed her eyes, which became determined and resolute. "I'll make a few attempts first to figure out how to cast the spell and stuff like that."
"Take all the time you need." the Talon reassured her with a gentle smile. "No pressure."
The girl was briefly surprised by his kindness and did her best to shrug it off. She smiled at him: a genuine smile that conveyed her gratitude. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
While Zatanna was busy figuring out how to cast the spell, Renegade headed for the monitoring room. He connected his holographic glove to the main motherboard of all the many screens and began to type rapidly. It did not even take him a full thirty seconds when a screen in front of him went completely black for a few seconds before showing his own reflection and in the upper right corner was the small symbol indicating that he was live worldwide.
The meta-human straightened up and sent a beaming smile at the screen. "Hello, kids from around the world. I am using special and the most advanced technology to broadcast this message worldwide on every phone, computer, TV, radio and all other electronic devices.
"It is likely that, given your young age, most of you do not know me. For those who do know me, however, I want to assure you that I do not want to create additional panic that none of you need at such a critical time as this. In fact, I want to send an important message that I hope will reach as many people as possible."
"Look! Baba is on TV!"
Cass, Joey and Rose's heads immediately snapped toward the television, gaping wide when they actually saw their older brother/father figure on TV.
"-I know that right now you are scared and wondering where your parents, older siblings and all adults in general have gone. I know that right now you are feeling alone, scared, terrified, lost without an important reference figure in your life."
Rose had a huge smile on her face and emitted a little squeal of happiness. "Go, big brother!"
Joey and Cass looked at each other and smiled.
Dad is the best of all.
You're right, Cass. Dickie is the best of the best.
"-However, it is necessary for all of you to remain calm."
Billy Batson's eyes went wide in shock when he recognized Renegade's figure live from a television inside a restaurant. "What the hell is he going to do?"
"-I know that it may be very difficult for you to remain calm in such a critical situation that we are all experiencing at the moment. However, it is of utmost importance that you do your best to keep calm and not panic. Panicking will not help anyone and will only create further chaos that no one needs.
"Everyone take a long, deep breath and release it slowly. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale." at the same time Renegade was giving a visual demonstration of said breathing technique, showing the steps and repeating it a few times. "Repeat along with me, come on."
The 15-year-old had his mouth comically wide open. "I can't believe my eyes! Renegade is helping all the children and teenagers in the world to keep calm and not panic through a worldwide live broadcast! Instead of exploiting all the chaos he is going to keep order and help as many kids as possible!" he closed his mouth and assumed a thoughtful look. "Perhaps he is not as evil as we all thought... perhaps Wonder Woman was right when she said that Renegade does not pose a problem for either the innocent or the Justice League and that we therefore need to focus our attention on other truly evil super-villains..."
"-You must all remain calm. Don't panic. You must maintain order, not create further chaos. Don't screw up now that no adult is present to watch over you. This is not the right time to do stuff like that. This is coming from someone who likes to create as much chaos and mess as possible."
"Who is he?"
A 16-year-old, Peter, lowered his gaze to a boy who could not have been more than 13 years old. He then looked around and saw that the rest of the group of young people in the bar also mirrored the 13-year-old's confusion. "He is Renegade. You know, the second most dangerous assassin and mercenary in the world."
Everyone else's eyes went wide with fright and paled slightly. "W-Why is he making such a worldwide reassurance speech like that?" asked Mark, a friend of Peter's. "I-I thought people like him were evil!"
Peter could do nothing but shrug his shoulders at his friend's question and returned his gaze to the screen.
"I don't know, man. I don't know."
"Duncan, look! Renegade is on TV!"
The seventeen-year-old Duncan, boyfriend of Zoey, looked up from above her and stared at the screen with wide eyes.
"-I know the world is scarier than usual right now because there are no your adults or Justice League heroes. I promise you that nothing and no one will attack our planet during the momentary absence of the heroes. I will stop them, whatever it takes. And I also promise you that I will resolve this situation as soon as possible. I will do everything in my power to bring all the adults back. And I will succeed. I promise this on my mercenary honor."
"Wasn't Renegade an evil super-villain?" asked Duncan, clearly shocked by the mercenary's speech.
Zoey pulled back from her boyfriend's arms and stared at him as if he had grown three heads. "You're kidding, right?" at his impassive look, she sighed. "Well, technically you are right in saying that Renegade is a super-villain since he is currently the second best mercenary and assassin in the world but he is not evil."
"How can you say that? To me that sounds like the definition of evil."
"He only kills the worst scum of the world!" Zoey exclaimed, waving her arms for emphasis. "He only accepts contracts on people like serial killers, rapists, human traffickers, pedophiles and so on! Only on the worst scum in existence! It is also common knowledge that Renegade kills those who contact him to kill both innocent people and heroes! Although his methods are undoubtedly legally questionable, it cannot be denied that they are efficient! Crime has decreased significantly worldwide since he came on the scene years ago! Despite everything, he is one of the good guys!"
Duncan blinked, surprised at such heated and excited behavior on her part. "Don't tell me you're a fangirl of his!" he realized in a gasp, not knowing whether to be amused or terrified.
His girlfriend shrugged her shoulders and in itself the gesture was significant. "How can I not be a big fan of someone who is actively helping to help others and make Earth a better place as much as the heroes themselves?"
"I can't believe it: my sweet girlfriend is a huge fan of the world's second most dangerous mercenary!" stated Duncan dramatically before pausing. "Wait a minute! If he is making this speech and has not disappeared... Renegade is not even of age?"
"They should award you the title of best detective in the world, you know that?"
"Did you know that?"
"No but I do now thanks to you, honey."
"I love you too, baby."
Conner Kent easily lifted two children from their car seats in his arms, careful of their bleeding cuts and superficial wounds, and extracted them from the car that had crashed into a tree. He turned and handed them over to their 16-year-old older brother whom the clone had pulled out earlier.
"Thank you so much!" the kid, Antony, thanked him with tears in his eyes as he held his little brothers. His body was shot through with tremors and more tears flowed from his eyes as he protectively held his little brothers close to him, laying a tender kiss on the tops of their heads. "I don't know what I would have done if they were... oh God, I can't even think about it!"
Conner sent him a small but genuine smile. "Don't think about the worst that is now water under the bridge and enjoy the moment with your little brothers. Take them to a safe place. Do you need a hand to tend to their cuts?"
Antony shook his head. "That is not necessary. My father is a doctor and he taught me a thing or two." he pointed his reddened eyes at the clone. "Thanks again, Conner. For everything. I owe you a favor."
"It's nothing." affirmed Conner awkwardly, still not used to too many compliments and thanks that made him a little uncomfortable. "Take good care of them."
"I will." Antony nodded and after the final greetings and thanks he walked away, gently bouncing his little brothers on his chest.
Conner stared at Antony's retreating figure for a few seconds before letting out a weary sigh. It was since all the adults had disappeared that he had been doing his best to help as many children and kids as possible without obviously displaying his superhuman abilities.
He was tired as he had been going on for hours rescuing, reassuring and comforting children and kids without taking even a short break that he knew he could not afford.
There were so many people in Metropolis who needed help and since Superman was not available it was up to him to offer the help to the civilian population: in fact, Clark was training him not only to control his powers and abilities but also to offer words and deeds of comfort and reassurance to the victims and in general to the people who needed it.
Although Clark never told Conner that the youngest should protect Metropolis in his absence, the clone still felt a duty to do so for a number of reasons. Not only did he owe it to his older brother/father figure for all that the Man of Steel had done for him but also and especially because he felt deep in his heart the need to help people who needed help.
Conner was diverted from his thoughts when his super-hearing picked up a series of chaos noises and he headed in that direction. He soon discovered that inside a restaurant was a pile of children and teenagers huddled in front of something and the clone, driven by curiosity, entered. He froze when he heard a familiar somewhat muffled voice and moved forward, opening his eyes and jaw wide when he saw the figure of his best friend in the television screen.
"Right now it is extremely important for the older ones to watch, supervise and protect the younger ones. I know it is a big responsibility for the older ones but it is necessary. Right now the little ones are very vulnerable, both physically and mentally and emotionally, and it is up to the older ones to take them under their wing to make them safe and to reassure them. Do not ignore those who need help: help each other. Only all together can this critical situation be overcome."
Conner closed his jaw tightly and crossed his arms, a small smile breaking out on his face. He did his best to ignore the countless questions and confusion that the large crowd of children and teenagers were asking and creating at that moment, focusing on the masked face of the person who saved him and toward whom he had infinite respect and admiration.
I am so proud to call you my best friend, Dick.
Renegade repeated his speech in all the languages he knew, which numbered more than ten, excluding Latin and ancient Greek for obvious reasons. A few minutes later, once the speech was over, he turned off the live worldwide link and took a deep breath.
"I would say eavesdropping is wrong but it would be hypocritical of me, Zatanna." he stated without even turning around.
He smirked when he heard a gasp coming from behind him and turned to look at her, noticing her embarrassed look at being caught. "How did you know I was behind you?" she asked curiously, delving further into the room.
"The main reason was that I could hear your heartbeat and your breathing. That and I heard your footsteps."
The sorceress opened her eyes wide. "Do you have super hearing?" she asked surprised.
"Enhanced hearing." he corrected her. "It's not even comparable to Superman's hearing, which can hear for the whole world but is still enhanced. But even without it I would have known you were behind me. No one can sneak up on me." he stated in a slightly smug voice.
Zatanna knew that this was not arrogance or haughtiness: he was simply stating the facts as they are and given his countless accomplishments it was not all that surprising. "It was nice of you to make that speech so heartfelt and spontaneous worldwide." she said, changing the subject. "You will surely have helped save many lives of children and teenagers."
The antihero shrugged his shoulders. "It's the least I could do in such a situation."
The sorceress wanted to point out to him that no one would have expected that speech from anyone, no less than a super-villain of his caliber, but she restrained herself, merely fixing him with an analytical gaze.
Renegade was so thoughtful to give a worldwide speech of warning and advice to follow to children and teenagers who are all confused and lost right now without suddenly a figure of reference, not concerned about his image and reputation once the adults come back.
It may not be about image and reputation at all but that exactly reflects his ideology and line of thinking: namely, that he in his own way wants to do good on Earth, albeit with questionable methods to say the least. No villain would have deigned to waste their time to give such a speech and yet he did it anyway.
"I can almost hear the gears moving in your head."
Zatanna emitted an amused snort. "I was thinking that maybe you're not as evil after all as we all thought."
Despite his mask it was obvious that she had caught his attention and interest. He tilted his head to the side. "Oh?"
"No villain as such would have done what you just did." she pointed out. "That and the principles on which your ideology and your mercenary career are based."
"You mean the fact that I only kill people who deserve it and that I have not hurt and never will hurt an innocent person?"
"Exactly." the sorceress nodded. "Of course, I don't agree with your way of doing things and I don't accept it completely but I can understand it. All this paints a picture of a person who is not a bad person."
As soon as she finished speaking she gasped, having just come to a sudden realization.
"You are really an anti-hero." she whispered, almost as if in wonder.
Zatanna was staring at him with a look that the acrobat had never seen aimed at him from her.
That is, as if she was seeing him from another angle, from another perspective: not stopping at the appearance of his status as the world's second best assassin but going beyond it.
The Talon gave a dramatic bow. "That's what I've been trying to get you to understand for, like, forever." he chuckled. "Congratulations on being the first one to figure it out."
Zatanna was silent for a few seconds before slowly a huge smile appeared on her face. "Unfortunately, I can't take that credit. I'm not the first one to figure it out."
The meta-human did not like that smile at all and was already anticipating trouble. "Surely it is not Batman since he seems to want to strangle me every time he sees me." he joked.
The sorceress chuckled amusedly. "Definitely not him." she snorted in agreement and the mischievous smirk from before returned. "You know, the first one to get it is a wonderful woman." she particularly emphasized the last words by giving him a meaningful look.
The anti-hero remained silent for a few seconds, his body completely still and his masked gaze unreadable, when his shoulders slumped and he let out a defeated sigh. "Too obvious, isn't it?"
The young girl stared at him indifferently and merely clicked her tongue.
The acrobat's next sigh was abruptly interrupted when he opened his eyes wide and looked at her with a look that was clearly alarmed and upset despite his mask. "Did she get it too?" he asked in a frantic voice.
Zatanna did not know whether to be amused or surprised by the clear panic Renegade was displaying that she did not know he was even capable of feeling given all that he was capable of. "I'm sure she doesn't know the reason for your flirt with her." she squinted. "And now that I think about it, I'm not sure either."
"Well, it's only to mess with your minds, of course." stated the assassin with a beaming smile.
The sorceress was stunned for a few seconds by his charming smile -no one could deny the beauty of the young mercenary, even with his mask on: it was a simply objective fact- and she thought that perhaps in another universe and under different circumstances she would have fallen in love with that smile. In any case she shook her head to dispel that foolish thought and stared at him with an impassive gaze, arching an unimpressed eyebrow. "You'll have to be more convincing."
Renegade groaned and raised his hands in defeat. "You know what? All right! Maybe I might have a slight crush on Wonder Woman but that's all it is. Nothing more." he denied insistently.
"Uh uh."
"I'm serious!"
"Sure."
"Fuck you." Renegade bit back with zero heat in his words.
"I'm not the one you want to fuck."
The mercenary froze in place and comically opened his jaw wide, giving her one of the most shocked looks Zatanna has ever seen on a person's face, let alone from the notorious Renegade. "What the fuck? No! Or rather yes! I mean... fuck!"
The sorceress burst out laughing at his reaction and doubled over in laughter.
If anyone had ever told her that she would witness Renegade so shocked, stammering and stumbling over his own words, she would have called them crazy.
Yet there she was, risking to die of laughter at seeing the world's second most dangerous mercenary so clumsy and damn if she was amused!
Renegade stopped rambling and babbling incoherently and groaned, awkwardly running a hand over his face. "You got me."
Zatanna finally stopped laughing, although a few more uncontrollable giggles escaped her lips. She was surprised and shocked when she noticed the blush blossoming on Renegade's cheeks but she did not point it out, worried that he would kick her ass. "What are your intentions with Wonder Woman?"
The question caught the Talon off guard, who looked at her with wide eyes. "Huh?" he said very unintelligently.
I'm surprised that Zatanna has caught me off guard so many times in such a short time. Slade would be so jealous and impressed by her.
The sorceress's words were finally registered by the acrobat's brain and he stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me, Renegade." Zatanna affirmed indifferently. She crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. "I can tell a mile away that you feel a deep attraction to Wonder Woman, far more than you would ever admit." she ignored his indignant denials and continued. "However, I must be sure that your intentions are good with her."
"Don't we have more important things to think about?"
"Answer me."
A frown materialized in the young assassin's features. "I don't think this is any of your business."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's been my business ever since you started your flirt with a good friend and teammate of mine. I won't hesitate to cast another truth spell on you if-"
"Not. Dare."
His cold, icy tone froze Zatanna in place and she felt her heart skip a beat. Only then did she realize that Renegade was towering menacingly over her, revealing an aura of extreme danger that enveloped him along with the shadows that suddenly surrounded him, making him even more menacing and more like a hellish demon than a simple meta-human.
Zatanna remembered with growing horrible awareness that despite all the jokes and laughter, the boy in front of her was still the second best mercenary and assassin in the world with a body count exceeding eight hundred in just a few years, capable of easily carrying out even the most atrocious, horrific, inhumane killings, who never failed a contract, who began his mercenary career at just eleven years old, who defeated the entire JL twice while holding back a lot and was so skilled that practically everyone in the criminal world agreed that it was a matter of time that he would surpass Deathstroke The Terminator himself, his father and former mentor.
Yes, at that moment the sorceress realized that perhaps antagonizing him hadn't exactly been her brightest idea.
I'm lucky to still be alive, honestly.
Renegade stared at her for a few more seconds -which for her was an eternity- before letting out a deep sigh and taking a step back, running a hand tiredly over his face. "Shit. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."
Zatanna didn't even have the mental strength to deny it. That and also the fact that she was surprised by his genuine apology which she hadn't expected in the slightest. "T-thank you." she barely managed to squeak, ignoring how that simple word came out shakily even to her own ears.
The mercenary groaned, looking away -was that guilt? Zatanna couldn't be sure and was once again surprised- and staring at a random wall in the room. A tense and awkward silence fell in the room and the antihero cleared his throat. "I'd better delete the Watchtower camera records. In case anyone should check them and find out about this conversation of ours."
Zatanna appreciated his genuine attempt to break the tension and nodded with a smile that she hoped wasn't as strained as she felt. "Wise choice. Imagine the other heroes finding out about your crush on Wonder Woman, especially herself." she tried to joke back.
Renegade, who had already started typing on his holographic glove, snorted in amusement. "I would rather face all the super-villains blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my backs." he drawled sarcastically, smiling slightly when he heard her let out a giggle. It took him a few seconds to erase the recordings, and once he did, he turned off his holographic glove. "Et voila! Recordings deleted."
Zatanna stared at him with a look of surprise and wonder. "Did it really take you that little time?"
The Talon shrugged. "There is literally no security system or electronic device that I can't breach and hack."
"Is there anything you can't do?" Zatanna huffed, throwing her hands in the air a little frustrated. "It's frustrating and worrying that you're so capable of all these things, you know?"
The antihero chuckled but didn't respond, merely sending her a mysterious smile and getting a sigh in response. "So? How are you doing regarding the locator spell?" he asked instead.
At his question the sorceress had a huge smile on her lips. "I managed to locate the source from where the spell was cast. Our next destination is Roanoke Island."
Renegade smiled back. "Perfect. Great job, Zatanna."
Despite the fact that Zatanna didn't need his praise at all, she couldn't lie even to herself the overwhelming feeling of warmth that filled her when she heard the mercenary's so genuinely proud tone. "Thank you, Renegade. It was also thanks to you that I was able to cast the locator spell thanks to your helpful and effective pep talk." she thanked him genuinely. "Thank you for filling me with self-confidence. I needed it."
"No problem." Renegade smiled brightly at her and the sorceress automatically found herself smiling back. "Do you need to get ready before you leave?"
"Let me think first about what spell I could use against a powerful sorcerer like Klarion."
"Take all the time you need."
Zatanna smiled at his tone of reassurance and kindness.
Renegade is not evil at all, on the contrary. He is kind, patient, funny and a very pleasant person to know. Sure, he can certainly be very scary and deadly but he shows more of his kinder and nicer side rather than his lethal and deadly one. I can say almost 100% that he is not as evil as we all thought and probably even has valid reasons why he became an anti-hero mercenary.
"Renegade."
The mercenary gave a hum of recognition, silently urging her to continue.
"…By the way, Wonder Woman is single."
Renegade froze for a few seconds, not expecting that at all -his heart, if it could, would surely have done a somersault with happiness- and stared at Zatanna with a clearly shocked look before it transformed into one of extreme gratitude and genuine affection. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Obviously you didn't hear it from me."
"Hear what?"
"Perfect."