003 | Action + Voice

[noitatnacni]

[It's pretty easy to spot the differences. The apartment Zatanna shares with Artemis suddenly goes from full to half-empty overnight. Everything, from clothing to weaponry to the tools she'd left in a pile on the table are just gone.

She's heard about it happening before. But like they say, hearing about it and going through it? Two completely different things.

Zatanna tries to find her: message over the journal, a locator spell she's been working on, just walking around and looking around the village. Things don't get any better, however. It's even worse by mid-day, when Zatanna pulls out her journal again.]

Uh, hey. [Zatanna's trying to smile--or rather, she's trying not to cry. There's a reason she's not using video for this, but all that emotion is still pretty evident in her voice.] I know some of you know Artemis and Static. They went home, but it's a good thing. They've got to help save the world and all. Teenage superheroes. The job's never done, right?

[She hesitates, wondering if she should say anything else. In the end though, there's only more silence before she closes the journal. She's going to answer the people who reply, eventually. For now, with the book set aside, Zatanna draws her knees up to her chest and just hides. She probably won't be that hard to find if people know where to look: the rooftop of Community Housing 5. But since she's alone--really alone--she lets some of those tears fall. She just can't keep it in anymore.]

Comments

[action]

[teenwonder]

[Robin doesn't reply after Zatanna makes her message. It's not the sort of thing words can fix. There was an ally for her here, a companion that fit from her world in a way nobody else could. You can't just say 'hey that sucks' and move on.

And so Robin will be beside her on that rooftop. Not announced, not bearing greetings. He's just there, tugging her body out of its contraction, offering a hug.]

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

[She's not expecting company. Zatanna's not expecting much of anything to be honest, but the feeling of arms around her has her swallowing hard, because she hates anyone seeing her cry.

It doesn't help when she opens her eyes and figures out just who it is, either.]

H-hey. [But even if she doesn't want to keep sobbing in front of him, Zatanna isn't going to turn away from that embrace. She wraps her arms around Robin, clinging more tightly than she realizes to him.] Guess you heard.

[action]

[teenwonder]

[He lets her cling as hard as she needs to do it, resting his chin on her shoulder.]

Yeah. I heard.

[And that 'you invaded my privacy' grudge he'd been holding? They can just forget about all that.]

voice

[stilldontgotit]

...Believe me, I know how that is. Same thing happened to Sora, after all.

[Going back to the worlds he left behind to deal with... whatever it is Xehanort had planned. It's easy to brush it off, say it's for the best, but Riku knows it's not always that simple. You can make a million excuses to try and dull the pain, but how often does it work?]

But if you need some kind of distraction, let me know. Sometimes it's good to just blow off some steam for a while.

voice; filtered 99%

[hero_of_smiles]

[He bites his lip for a moment at this message. A friend gone from Luceti and probably the first time it's left an impact on him.

She was one of his friends and now she was gone. Damn it. He just wants to ask Zatanna to make sure that Artemis was still around. The thought instantly becomes stupid because of course, if these two were such close friends either of them would continue to look for the other until it was fruitless.

He wants to cry himself, but doing so would just be a selfish act right now. Right now, Zatanna probably needed the comfort.

Going on voice he makes his voice even:]

Zatanna...? Do you need anything right now?

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

[Good thing. She'd magic him right off the roof if he brought that up now.]

But hey, they're back home. Away from all of this. [Yeah, she's not being very convincing. Zatanna knows it, Robin knows it. But she's trying--maybe too hard.]

Artemis is going to get to see the Watchtower soon. It's pretty cool.

[action]

[teenwonder]

You don't have to pretend with me, Zatanna. It's okay to be sad for a while. You've earned it,

Re: voice

[noitatnacni]

[The answer is never; it never works.]

Thanks, Riku. A distraction might be good. [If he's still there; Zatanna hasn't been answering right away. She hasn't been able to pull herself together enough to.] Don't know what you'd have in mind, though.

Re: voice; filtered 99%

[noitatnacni]

No; I'm okay. [That's a lie, but Zatanna isn't big on the whole asking for help bit. Kind of ironic, considering what she does. But sharing her sadness isn't really something Zatanna's a fan of, which is why she hasn't been answering until she's got a better grip on her emotions.]

What about you? I know you and Artemis were friends.

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

I'm not-- [But she is. Zatanna sighs, then aborts her denial in favor of something a little bit closer to the truth.]

My dad used to say stuff like that too. I don't know why it never really stuck.

[action]

[teenwonder]

... Do you want to tell me more about your Dad?

[It's a sensitive issue and he knows it. But maybe some talk is something she needs.]

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

...Wow. You really do want me to be sad.

[She knows he doesn't. But talking about Zatara is just something Zatanna can't do without coming close to tears. And since she's already there, there's no way she won't end up bawling.

But it's the first time he's asked. And somehow, it's still better than thinking about Artemis just then.]

Do you have a Doctor Fate in your world?

Re: [action]

[teenwonder]

[He pulls back just enough to somb the hair out of her eyes.]

We do. I've never met him though.

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

[She closes her eyes as his fingers brush against her face, but the touch isn't at all unwelcome.]

I have. Pretty intimately, since he possessed my body.

Re: voice; filtered 99%

[hero_of_smiles]

[He has to take a moment to think on this. He's not going to start blathering how much it sucks to know she's gone. That's not what's needed. So maybe semi honesty is needed?]

Can't say I'm doing cartwheels over the fact, but, I'll be fine. You've got a point I can't really argue with. Young heroes gotta save the day and all. Can't just leave it to the adults, am I right?

Re: [action]

[teenwonder]

What was it like?

voice; filtered

[curiositykills]

[Normally, he'd be all for providing company, but he's sure Dick's already got that covered, so he's not sure how much good it would do. Besides, he knew that sometimes, you needed some time to yourself, so he doesn't want to be pushy or anything.

It feels kind of cheap to just offer condolences, but he can't not say anything, either.]

I'm sorry, Zee. Bet you've heard it a hundred times by now, but we're here for you. We've gotta stick together, you know?

[fashionably_strong]

Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. Even if it's good that they're not stuck here anymore.

[She'd just been getting to know them, but she'd considered them friends.]

voice

[stilldontgotit]

We could always beat stuff up in the battle dome. Not the most constructive way to go about it, I guess, but it's worked like a charm in my experience.

[It keeps his mind off of the bad until he's had time to grasp the situation. Of course, that takes energy, and he's not sure if she's in the mood for it.]

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

Like being in an empty room, except there are windows. I could see what was happening, and feel it. But I wasn't in control at all.

[Zatanna swallows hard, her memories of that time clear--and what followed all the worse because of it.]

Fate is connected to his Helmet. Whoever wears it is possessed, and I put it on to fight Klarion the Witchboy.

Re: voice

[noitatnacni]

Beating up stuff was more Artemis' thing. [Though Zatanna's gone along for the ride with her friend, she doesn't get the same release as the other girl.

But hey. It's not like she's got any better ideas.]

Does it count if I use magic instead of my fists or anything?

Re: voice; filtered 99%

[noitatnacni]

[That actually earns a short laugh.]

I don't know about Static, but Artemis is going to be saving the adults. The whole Justice League got brainwashed by this group of supervillians back home.

Re: voice; filtered

[noitatnacni]

[It's just a bad situation, no matter how they look at it. Zatanna's trying to keep the positive in mind, but it really isn't helping a lot.

Hearing Jason does though. At least a little.] Yeah, definitely. Just because they are fewer of us doesn't mean we're not still a team.

[noitatnacni]

Yeah, me too. It's kind of weird now; Artemis was the only other person from my world here.

[And now? The closest she comes is the alternate version of the guy she really likes back home--an alternate version she's kind of dating.]

I know she'd be glad not to be here anymore, though.

Re: voice; filtered 99%

[hero_of_smiles]

[Oh good, his cheering up skills are working!]

Of course the adults get brainwashed. Well, with Artemis on the case that shouldn't be to hard. Plus, with that entire team of hers it should be cinch.