Young Justice: Central City
July 28th, 2010
While we waited for Jay to go find Diana’s phone number, Zatanna and I hurriedly did our best to come up with a story. Since Wonder Woman and Red Tornado were both part of the Justice League, it was all but inevitable that the two of us looking for Kent would get back to Zatanna’s dad.
Neither of us were particularly looking forward to that, but Kent’s safety was more important. With any luck, we’d be able to play things off as a one time occurrence, though Zatanna seemed pretty certain that she was going to be grounded for the rest of her life. I think we were both going to be rather upset if it turned out that the man had just decided to take a nap or something.
“So I went to take my lesson with Kent, your dad already knows those are going on, and I couldn’t find the Tower. Then I came over to Shadowcrest looking for him, but found you instead and you tried to call Kent for me. When that didn’t work, you decided to call Jay because your dad is busy and you didn’t want to bother him.”
“Yup, I got it.” Zatanna confirmed. “That’s probably about as good as we’ll get. Dad might be upset about me not calling him right away, but I think he’ll at least understand that I didn’t want to bother him since he’s been so busy.” She sighed heavily. “I’m definitely still going to get grounded for the rest of the summer.”
I shook my head, “It is still so strange to me that seventeen is not the age of majority here. Eighteen is such an awkward number and what difference really does one more year make?”
Zatanna snorted. “I bet he’d ground me even if I was eighteen already. Dad’s…always been really protective of me, but…ever since mom died he’s been even more intense about it. He means well, but…” she trailed off and I squeezed her shoulder supportingly.
“He makes things hard sometimes, even if he doesn’t mean to,” she said softly. “You know, I once tried to invite a girl from school over to hang out with me and he had Batman run a background check on her family? And then, even when it came back clean, he still said no anyway! And like, I’m never allowed to stay after for clubs or anything, he’s completely against me visiting anyone, and even over the summer it's impossible for me to go hang out with anyone!”
I wasn’t really sure what to say to that. Zatanna and I had simply grown up in two worlds that were too different for me to really understand her experiences, but I did understand the gist of it. “Well,” I tried, “there are certainly benefits to living in this world and not my own. Back home, even once you are considered an adult, parents and other elder family members retain a large amount of legal and social influence over your life.”
Zatanna sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder. “Maybe. I’d bet anything that he’s only going to get more pushy when I turn eighteen. I want to be a hero and join the Justice League, but I doubt he’ll ever be willing to let that happen. Some of the other heroes have sidekicks; Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy…But whenever I bring it up dad tells me I’m too young and too inexperienced. I’ve seen Robin––if he’s a day over fifteen I’d eat my hat––and how am I supposed to learn if he refuses to teach me anything!”
Zatanna sighed again and all the energy she’d built up over the course of her speech drained out of her in an instant, leaving her looking tired and worried. “I hope Uncle Kent is okay,” she whispered softly. “He told me ages ago that if dad was still being stubborn when I turned eighteen, he’d try to talk to him, or even take me under his wing himself.”
“He’s a good man.” I leaned my head against Zatanna’s and rubbed her back. “We’ll find him.”
“Yeah. I hope so.”
We sat in silence for several minutes. Upstairs, I could hear the faint sound of Jay moving around at super-speed, plus an occasional curse or clatter of falling objects. It seemed as though the man was not the most organized person, but he did seem confident that he had Diana’s contact information somewhere.
Eventually, I turned to Zatanna. “I want you to know that, even if…this doesn’t work out. Things between us, I mean. I hope they do, but… Anyway, you’re always welcome at the pub. I don’t know where life is going to take us, either of us, but even if I’m not there, my hearth is open to you. Whether you need somewhere to get away or just safety and a place to rest your head.”
Zatanna studied my face for several seconds, then looked away. “Thanks Hydrys. That means a lot.” Then a sly smile appeared on her face. “So does that mean you’ve finally got a bedroom set up?”
I considered the somewhat lumpy transfigured mattress and sheets I’d slept under last night. “Uh…let’s go with somewhat?”
Zatanna laughed, and some of the tension I could feel in her shoulders eased, so I would count that as a win. Soon after, Jay finally came flying down the stairs, carrying a slightly faded posted note and a cordless phone.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Here we are, I knew I had it somewhere!” he exclaimed. He dropped both objects on the coffee table and retook his seat, leaving two new bite marks in his lemon bar and nearly draining his glass of water. He picked the phone up and leaned over to squint at the note. “So that's…two, zero, two. Eight, one, two. One…drat, is that a nine or a four?”
Zatanna looked down at the note. “Nine, then four I think?”
“Right, right. Nineteen-forty-one. Knew it was something like that.”
He lifted the phone to his ear and pushed the big green button below all the numbers. After several rings, the person on the other side answered the phone and Zatanna and I both leaned in trying to listen.
“...Hey Diana, it's Jay. You’re not too busy right now, are ya?” There was a long pause. “Goody, so nothing important then…Yeah, we missed you this weekend! It was a real downer seeing how old everyone’s getting without your youthful good looks to cheer us up…No, no it’s not about that…No, not that either, why would…Look, I’ve got these two kids here with me…No, Diana why would you––don’t answer that question…”
Jay loudly cleared his throat and sighed. “Anyway, I’ve got Giovanni’s kid and Kent’s newest student…Yeah, Hydrys, didn’t realize he’d mentioned him to you. Anyways, the kid tried to go over to the Tower for a lesson and it was gone, and Kent isn’t answering his phone. I’m pretty sure Tornado’s got the key, but I can’t say I know how to get a hold of him…It's probably nothing, but I’m with the kids on this one that it's best to be sure, you know? Do you think you could…Oh, perfect. Even better, really…Yup, yup, see you soon.”
He pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call, then turned to the two of us. “Diana said she’ll be by in a few minutes and can take the two of you to meet Tornado. I’d come along, but I think I’m starting to get too old for all this running around and excitement. You’ll come by and let me know how it all goes, okay? And feel free to give me a call if there’s trouble. I’m not as young as I used to be, but I’m still plenty fast.”
Zatanna only seemed to hear the first half of what Kent had said. “You mean Wonder Woman is coming here? In just a couple of minutes?”
“She sure is. Shouldn’t be too long, the Justice League has some fancy-shmancy tech they use to get around now, not like it was in my day.”
Zatanna looked down at her clothing, hastily brushing away a few invisible crumbs and straightening her shirt. She turned to me. “Do I look alright? Is my hair––”
I brushed a strand back behind her ear, “You look perfect as always.”
Zatanna glared at me, then smiled and thanked me when I conjured a floating mirror in front of her. She wasted several seconds manually moving her hair around with her fingers, then slapped herself on the forehead and cast the same spell she’d used on my hair two days earlier. I personally didn’t see much of a difference, but it made Zatanna happy so I guess it didn’t really matter.
Jay just laughed.
A few minutes later and half-way through a story about how Kent once accidentally flew into a mountain, there was a firm knock on the door. Jay went to get it and the two exchanged soft greetings I couldn’t quite make out. Then I heard footsteps approaching and Zatanna and I both rose to greet them.
Diana Prince––that was her name apparently and, while it wasn’t as big a secret as some identities, I was firmly told to not share that name around––was a tall, fair-skinned woman with long black hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders. She was very beautiful and had a sort of ageless air around her, her body giving off the air of a perfectly crafted sculpture more than that of a flesh-and-blood woman.
She cut a striking figure, dressed in a form-fitting blue suit that helped refine the air of authority that hung around her into a keen blade. She just looked important and in control, much the way that Aunt Bella––five-time European dueling champion and three-time world runner-up––sometimes did. She was clearly used to being the most dangerous person in nearly any room she entered and she knew it.
I extended a hand out towards her. “It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to assist us.”
She took my hand and our eyes met. I nearly pulled my hand away when I felt the rivers of raw power flowing her body, the sheer magnitude making my skin prickle, but controlled myself and held her gaze. She stared into my eyes for longer than was probably fully appropriate, then shook my hand once.
“Of course. I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention. I’m glad that Kent has found such a caring and attentive student” Her voice was smooth and strong, her English tinted with just a hint of an accent I couldn’t recognize.
She turned to greet Zatanna and the two women shook hands as well. “The family resemblance is striking. I look forward to seeing great things from you, Zatanna.”
Zatanna seemed very pleased by the older heroine’s words.
From there, things moved quickly. We wished Jay farwell and then Diana led the two of us to a small alcove hidden in plain sight near the park I’d just apparated to less than half an hour earlier. Some manner of apparatus scanned the three of us, and then we were transported from the park to what looked like a poorly lit but clearly well used cave.
“I’m afraid I must leave you here,” Diana warned us. “Red Tornado is aware of your arrival and should be down shortly. Please do not go anywhere or touch anything.”
And then she stepped back into the apparatus and vanished with a soft call of ‘Recognizing zero-three’.
Zatanna and I looked at each other and shrugged. I’d been hoping to have some time to ask the woman some questions, and Zatanna clearly had been as well, but if she was busy then she was busy and there was nothing we could really do about it.
I drew my wand and was just about to conjure the two of us some chairs––the room was completely bereft of those, when we both heard voices coming towards us down a hallway.