บท 37: Intermission: Life continues in DC.
~ One year after Artoria has left ~
— P.O.V Zatanna Zatara —
Zatanna: "Dnib mih ni sniahc."
I sigh as I bind the last man of some wannabe bank robber gang so the police may take them away.
'This is the 3rd bank robbery attempt today alone.'
Shaking my head in exacerbation I hear a friendly voice call out my name from above me.
???: "Hey, Zatanna!"
Turning around and looking up, I see the friendly smile of Shazam as he gives a wave to me while floating down to stand next to me.
Smiling and waving back I say, "Hey, Shazam. How are you doing?"
As he softly lands next to me, he smiles and says, "I am doing good. The crime rate is slowly getting better in my city thanks to all the help you've been giving me. Thank you by the way."
I smile at him, but wave off his thanks.
Zatanna: "It's fine, Shazam."
He then loses his smile and a look of worry crops up.
Shazam: "How are you holding up though, Zatanna? We haven't really touched base a lot since… well."
I watch the cops take the criminals away for a few seconds before I answer him.
Zatanna: "Better. I won't sugar coat it though, my dad's death still hurts. But I am channelling my grief into something better than moping around."
I can see a small wry smile creep up on Shazam's face a little out of the corner of my eye while he nodded.
Shazam: "Yea, I'll say. You've been incredibly active these past five months. You're not burning yourself out right? Or?"
I smile and turn to face him.
Zatanna: "I am not, do not worry. I won't lie though, I was in a very dark place for several months after the… thing… was pushed from our reality. I looked at every possibility to try and get the power to fight her. To go after her even."
Shazam looked sad, but nodded his head in understanding while I continued.
Zatanna: "But, several months ago, I had an epiphany of sorts. I saw the Light if you will. I already have the power to fight her. I am just not strong enough. So, I am changing that. I am working hard to get more familiar with my powers, more creative.
After all, Nabu is of the firm belief that when she returns, none of us will be her match. Hell, there is a very high possibility that none of us would be able to even perceive her! So, I am working to change that. I won't lie to you, Shazam. This is about vengeance, as much as it is about stopping her Darkness."
Shazam nodded his head grimly.
Shazam: "No. No, I understand. Just. Do me a favour, and do not lose yourself okay?"
I beam him a smile and nod my head.
Zatanna: "You don't need to worry about me, Shazam! I won't lose myself, I am very grounded!"
He smiled as he lifted off to float.
Shazam: "That's good, Zatanna. I need to go, League meeting. Not going to come again?"
I shook my head while he nodded his.
Shazam: "Thought as much. Alright, well. Don't burn yourself out, or grind yourself down. Be safe Zatanna, and keep in touch more!"
I wave at him, and shout when he starts to take off.
Zatanna: "You don't have to worry about me!"
I stand there for several seconds, before I turn around and my face becomes serious.
Zatanna: "After all, I have you to keep me grounded and on the right path. Isn't that right, Glimmer?"
[Yes! You don't have to worry Zatanna, I'll make sure you are not going to suffer burn out or lose your objective. But, congratulations on completing one of your daily quests! Would you like to claim the reward now, or hold off for later?]
'Later will be fine, Glimmer. I'll use the recovery option again most likely to keep up the pace. I have a long way to go if we are to be a match for that Creature. Show me my status please."
[Sure thing, Zatanna!]
~Zatanna Zatara~
Race: Human
Age: 28
Light Alignment: 17%
Overall rating: E+
Target of [Righteous Hunt]: Artoria Pendragon Alter
Prey's last known rating: AA++
Skills: +Expand+
Abilities/Spells: +Expand+
'A long way to go indeed. Remind me, what does the Light Alignment do again?'
[Okay! When that reaches 100%, the Light will be one with you. And as such, it will be able to protect you better from the Darkness's corruption, empower your magic against the Dark, among other things! You will most likely need it at 100% from what the Gods and Goddesses of the Light think. Artoria is growing at an alarming rate, even more so since she has no system or anything of the sort!
So, it'll take everything we have to make sure you're ready for the battle with her Zatanna!]
I nod my head with a serious look on my face, and a glint in my eyes.
'Right. Don't worry, Glimmer. I am willing to put in the work. Now, the next daily quest, and after that maybe some more training in the tower.'
~ The Watchtower meeting room ~
— P.O.V. 3rd person —
Several heroes could be seen sitting around the large meeting room of the Watchtower, which had been completely repaired. A rough cough sounded out, and every hero that was present took that as a sigh the meeting was about to start as they all settled down.
Batman: "Today's agenda has a few things on it. But before we start that, Superman. How is the recovery going?"
Superman shook his head as he stood and spoke up.
Superman: "Not terrible, but not great either as you all can see. Shazam and Black Adam were able to stop the magic from consuming my soul. But, there are still some remnants of her magic left which is causing my wound to not heal. Shazam thinks they will be able to fully remove all the magic afflicting me within a few months, and then I can have my fortress fully heal me in a matter of hours."
Batman nodded his head and said, "And I trust you are okay to work with that prosthetic for now?"
Superman nodded his head, as he flexed his life-like metal arm.
Superman: "Indeed. While this won't be able to fully replace my arm, it is a good substitute. It's made out of a bit of Kryptium, so it should hold up to my day to day. While it was programmed with sunstone to make it more responsive than anything humanity would be able to do."
Batman: "Good. The world needs a Superman. And appearances are a factor too."
Superman nodded as he sat back down while saying, "I understand."
Batman: "Next on the docket is the Black Water-like substance Artoria has left behind. We have successfully contained it for now. But this is only a stop gap measure. The liquid is slowly increasing in volume."
Green Lantern: "And how slow are we talking?"
Batman: "As it stands, it will break containment within 3 years. It doesn't appear to be picking up speed in its creation, so the timing should be highly accurate."
Green Lantern: "The fact that it is growing at all, is worrisome."
Everyone present nodded their heads at that.
Shazam: "Yea, no kidding. More so now that we understand exactly what it is. Or, at least we have a much better understanding of it."
Green Arrow lifted his hand with a sly smile on his face.
Green Arrow: "I uhh.. Didn't read the file. A quick rundown?"
Batman: "Depending on the strength of the soul of whatever touches the Black Water, the effects will vary. But the general theme is that a weak soul will have their body be completely destroyed by the waters. While a strong soul will become corrupted.
We are making a few assumptions on the corruption part. But the magic community thinks this is what is/has corrupted Artoria."
Shazam: "I mean, she kind of told us that herself didn't she?"
Batman: "She did. We will need to count on the magic community to come up with a permanent fix for this situation though. A greater concern is there is a high probability that someone has broken in and gotten a sample of this Black Water."
Everyone broke out in talk at that declaration before Superman managed to calm them all down.
Wonder Woman: "How did this happen?"
Batman: "I found signs of some of the personnel being brainwashed. I move that we make finding this sample one of our top priorities, as it could be very damaging in the hands of evil."
Everyone: "Agreed!"
Batman: "And now the last topic, the Secret Society of Super Villains. And the ones that most likely stole the sample."
[author] PC fully died. Wrote this on my phone~. NEVER AGAIN! I'll be looking into getting a new PC today some way, some how! See you in the next one eventually everyone~. Sorry it's so short, but damn I am not writing again on my phone...[/author]
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