Young Justice: Salem
September 28th, 2010
And then, despite my instincts screaming danger, I bit my tongue and lowered it. The force with which Giovanni had attacked me had momentarily knocked me off balance, but now more than ever I needed to stick with what we’d discussed before. Attacking him now would just, in his mind at least, prove him right. Furthermore, while I doubted that our relationship would ever be an overly positive one, I also needed to focus on preserving my good will with Zatanna and Kent.
“Mr. Zatara, pleas––”
Another spell slammed into me, most of the power behind it dispersed by my protective magics and the rest dying against my aura. It still felt like a kick in the gut and sparks of silver and green erupted around my entire body. My back crashed into stone behind me and enchanted masonry gave way first, spiderwebs of cracks spreading through the enchanted rock that made up the Tower’s inner walls.
I had already known that Giovanni was a powerful and experienced wizard, but there was a real difference between knowing something on an intellectual level, and seeing it in practice. I had covered myself in every protective spell I could think of, powered by both my own magic and the incredibly potent strength of colored mana. I was wearing clothing and magical jewelry enchanted to protect me. I had my aura, an extra layer of defense sheathing my body in the light of my very soul.
And yet, even still some traces of Giovanni’s spells were punching through all of it. My head ached from the force of that first spell, though thankfully none of it had managed to penetrate into the core of my mind. The second had broken two different shields, split one of the bangles on my arm in half from the magical backlash, and then ate a significant chunk of my aura as well. It was lucky that the third was a more traditional attack, one that my remaining shields were better suited to deal with, and yet I’d still felt the strength of his magic.
“Dad, stop!” Zatanna shouted, grabbing at her father’s arm. Kent was hurrying around the table, his cane held firmly in his hands and a severe look on his face.
I raised my free hand in the air in front of me. “Sir, I swear I didn’t––”
“I’ve heard more than enough from you!” Giovanni shouted, reflexively dodging away from Zatanna’s clumsy attempts to restrain him. “Ecnelis! I don’t know what lies you’ve woven over my daughter’s eyes, but no more!”
My lips kept moving but no sounds came out. It wasn’t a spell directed at me––my magic would have dealt with that––but rather it seemed as though he’d surrounded me in some form of bubble from which no sound could emerge. An excellent trick.
I continued to speak, or at least pretend to do so, ‘begging’ for Giovanni to calm down. Before the man could cast anything else, I silently and without any wand movements surrounded myself in a fresh protego shield, reinforced by a single colorless mana instead of a white mana to ensure the barrier remained fully transparent instead of appearing with a white sheen. It wouldn’t be as strong as if I’d cast it properly, but it was still another layer of defense without me visibly seeming to cast anything.
Fortunately, it seemed as though that was an unnecessary precaution. Kent appeared behind Giovanni and grabbed the younger wizard’s shoulder, yelling for him to control himself. Giovanni continued to shout and rage, but a flare of gold erupted as he attempted to cast his next spell, shattering the half-formed logomancy before Giovanni could finish his incantation.
I stood back, an expression of worried deference on my face even as I smiled internally, and watched as Kent and Zatanna shouted over Giovanni and each other as they bodily pushed him back into his chair. The man fought them initially, but eventually relented at Zatanna impassioned pleading.
Only once he was back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest mulishly and a glare burning into me, did I finally step away from the wall and slowly made my way back to the table. Somehow, probably because we were sitting side by side and not across the table from one another, the table remained fully undamaged by the commotion. I grabbed my glass and took a long drink of water, my wand still held in my hand beneath the tablecloth and my heart pounding in my chest.
“Are you okay, Hydrys?” Zatanna asked worriedly. She leaned forward, her eyes boring into mine, then briefly glared at her dad. “Seriously dad, what the hell was that!”
I nodded jerkily. “I will be. Yeah,” I said haltingly, “Nothing serious.”
Kent, who was standing at the corner of the table between Giovanni and me and leaning heavily on his cane, spoke up. “I must say, Giovanni. I understand your anger, but your response was uncalled for.”
Giovanni bristled. “Uncalled for? This…this…” he briefly switched to Italian, calling me some sort of criminal, before continuing, “assaulted my daughter, my darling Zatanna. I should––”
“Dad!” Zatanna shouted, “Hydrys did no such thing. He was a total gentleman and everything that happened was completely my fault.”
Giovanni waved his hand dismissively. “You do not know what you are talking about, my dear. He is a sly trickster, but I know his ilk. You only think that it was all your idea, and now that he has used you he will vanish into the night like the villain he––”
Zatanna had finally had enough. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! It's not like that! Hydrys is amazing and wonderful and I don’t care what you think. We’re going to get married, we're going to raise our children together, and I wanted you to be part of that, but it's obvious that you’re too blind to see that Hydrys is the best thing that ever happened to me. Ever since mom died you’ve been stuck in your own little world, but newsflash, I’m not ten years old any more! I’m going to be an adult in less than a year, but you still treat me like I’m made of cotton candy!”
“I just want what’s best for you!” Giovanni all but roared, slamming a hand against the table in front of him, making the cutlery shake and glasses wobble. “I told you to stay away from that rotten boy for your own good, and see now what came from your foolish rebelion? You may not be as young as you once were, but you certainly still act like it! I won’t have it, I won’t! I forbid it!”
“Giovanni––” Kent began, but that just made the man whirl towards the elderly wizard.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“And you, Kent! How could you encourage this foolishness! This boy is taking advantage of Zatanna’s youth and inexperience and you just stand back and allow it! I understand you owe him your gratitude, but this goes far beyond that!”
Giovanni’s tirade cut off as he clenched his hands into fists and took a deep breath. Then he stood up, his chair skidding back away from him and nearly toppling. “Zatanna, we’re leaving,” he declared, his tone brooking no arguments. “Kent, thank you for the dinner. It was delicious. I’m afraid I must cancel our dinner next week.”
Zatanna folded her arms over her chest like her father had done just minutes before and glared at Giovanni. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Zatanna. Do not test me right now.”
“No.”
“No?”
“You heard me. I’m going to stay right here until you sit down and listen when I’m talking to you.”
Giovanni turned around slowly to look at his daughter. “Zatanna. We. Are. Leaving. I don’t want you to spend another minute in the company of that boy.”
“He has a name!”
“And I wish I’d never heard it!” he shot back. “Nothing good has come from him.”
“I think Uncle Kent and a whole bunch of Atlanteans would disagree, and so would I! Hydrys is amazing and I’m lucky to have found such a kind, loving man to spend the rest of my life with.”
Giovanni snorted dismissively. “That is certainly not going to happen on my watch. We are leaving and that is final. I will make sure you never see this boy again and hopefully by next summer we will be able to put all this foolishness behind us. I’m certain I will be able to find a… loving family for his…spawn and that will be the end of it!”
I watched silently as father and daughter argued back and forth. This…wasn’t going anywhere. Zatanna had been confident that she’d be able to talk her dad around, especially with Kent’s support, but I was really starting to doubt that assertion.
I waited for the next brief break in the argument and stepped in. I doubted it would do anything, but I felt it was important to make an attempt, if only so that I could say I’d tried later.“Mr. Zatara, sir, please. I know you’re angry and just want what’s best for your daughter, but so do I. I’m not going to abandon Zatanna. She’s an amazing young woman and I’m fully prepared to take responsibility for what happened. The pregnancy was an accident, but we’re going to make the best of it and––”
Giovanni managed to listen silently for somewhat longer than I had expected, but eventually he cut me off with a disgusted snort. “Make the best of it? Hah! I’ve heard more than enough from you. I know your type. You do not want what is best for her, only what is best for you! Rats and leaches have flocked to our name for centuries, but we have always stood strong against the onslaught.” He turned back to Zatanna. “I am done with this, daughter. Let’s. Go.”
Zatanna squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers leaving wrinkles in the hem of the blue table cloth in front of her. She took a breath that was more a sob than anything else and then looked up at Giovanni, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. One of her hands moved down to rest on her belly, slowly rubbing the pale white fabric separating her hand from the bare skin beneath it.
“Then go,” she whispered. She swallowed heavily, and repeated herself in a louder voice. “Then go. Just go. I’m not going to get rid of my baby and I’m definitely not going to give my baby up to someone else. Hydrys has a house. He’ll take care of me until I’m done with school.”
She took a deep breath, her voice dropping once more until it was only a tiny bit louder than it had been at the start. “I won’t drop out. Even if I want to. I’ll finish the year. I’ll graduate. Like you and mom wanted. And then we’re going to raise our family and be happy. And I want you to be a part of that.” She choked back another sob. “But not if it means giving up my baby. So just go. Please.”
Giovanni stared at his daughter. He opened his mouth, paused, and wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. He looked at me, loathing burning in his eyes. He looked at Kent, who looked impossibly tired but still met the younger wizard’s eyes squarely. He looked back at Zatanna.
Giovanni closed his eyes and sighed, his shoulders sagging. Zatanna’s expression turned hopeful for a brief moment, but then Giovanni turned around without opening his eyes. “Then so be it,” he whispered. “This is not over.” And then he walked out of the room, the stone wall opening up in front of him as the Tower understood his unspoken request for the door.
The three of us watched him retreating back in silence until the wall closed behind him. No spoke for several long seconds, the only sound in the room the rhythmic tap of Kent’s cane as he walked back to his chair and collapsed bonelessly into it.
“That could have gone better,” I said softly.
“He…left,” Zatanna whispered, clearly not hearing my words. “He just…left.”
I wanted to say that yes, she had in fact asked him to do so and he’d finally listened to something she was saying, but that was obviously not going to help anyone so I held my tongue.
Zatanna’s shoulders shook. My eyes widened and I swiftly rose to my feet, rushing around the table just in time to catch Zatanna’s arm as she began to cry, sob, and then finally wail, tears flowing freely down her cheeks and dripping onto the school uniform she was still wearing.
I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly even as she continued to cry big, ugly tears. Kent and I exchanged looks and he gestured towards Zatanna. I shrugged, then mouthed ‘tea’ towards the man. He nodded and swiftly left the room, leaving just the two of us in the big, empty dining room.
I closed my eyes and focused on rubbing slow circles on Zatanna’s back, my lips mumbling sweet nothings in her ears as her tears soaked into my shirt and blazer. So much to do. So little time. It seemed like Zatanna and I would be spending a lot more time together in the coming months than I’d initially suspected, which was a good thing but would make extraplanar exploration somewhat more difficult. Still, I’d make time for both.
I needed to.
Even with all my preparations, Giovanni had nearly broken my defenses with three measly spells. I was too weak. Knew too little. Giovanni was powerful, but there were both heroes and villains on this Plane who were far stronger than he was, not to mention all the indirect ways someone could come after me and mine. If I was to protect myself and my new family, I would need more. More mana. More magic. More money and power and secrets.
For now though, there were more immediate problems to deal with. Zatanna could sleep in my room of course, but she’d need her own desk and a space where she could retreat to if she wanted privacy. Plus, she’d probably want electricity and internet, something I wasn’t really sure how to organize. Wards needed to be strengthened, protective charms and enchantments had to be woven into her clothing. I’d also need to figure out how she was going to get to and from school, arrange some time to go shopping for new clothing, and a million and one other tasks that I hadn’t been expecting to worry about for some time yet.
The next few days…weeks…months were going to be busy. Very busy. But I was fine with that. These past months on this Plane had been productive, but unfocused. I had just been aimlessly cruising through life, improving but not driven as I once had been. Now I had a new goal. A new reason to push forward every single day beyond just my own life and survival.
Zatanna and our unborn child were worth every ounce of effort I could give them. My forefathers had bled, fought, and died to secure the future of the House of Black. I would make them proud to call me their descendant. Lord Hydrys Black had a good ring to it. My lips curled into a small smile. And so did Lady Zatanna Black. And also…dad.