noitatnacni | 001 | Action/Accidental Video

001 | Action/Accidental Video

[So, being rained on in the woods makes it pretty clear she's not on the Watchtower anymore. There's a few possibilities: she remembers flying back with the force of Fate rejecting her spell, so maybe she hit her head. Or maybe it's some illusion caused by the rebound. A very real illusion, as she can feel her whole body ache as she sits up. But there's no way she's not hallucinating this.]

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in outer space anymore. [She mumbles the words to herself, unaware that anyone might be listening. The journal has gone beyond notice, though it's been silently broadcasting the scene since a minute or so before Zatana woke. Thankfully she's close enough to a tree that the rain falling on her is light enough to not be too much of a concern. Instead her eyes have wandered downward, taking in her change of clothing with a frown.]

Oh you've got to be kidding me. [Zatanna tugs at the collar of the dress she wears, clearly displeased by the slip.] Yeah, this has to go. Emit ot egnahc sehtolc!

[She lifts her hands over her head as she speaks the words, and seconds later a cloud of smoke flows up the same path to cover Zatanna completely. It doesn't last long, vanishing within moments to reveal the girl now wearing an outfit better suited for a magician. For some reason though, it makes the pain in her back worse, and her jacket feels far too tight. She shifts where she sits for a moment before shrugging off the outermost layer to reveal a pair of grey wings.]

What in the--?! [Zatanna gasps, eyes wide as she takes in the sight of the appendages now attached to her. Actually attached; they move when she thinks of moving them, and she feels it when she touches them.] Great. A fake world with bad taste in clothing and accessories. Just what I needed.

[She takes another look at the jacket, slowly shaking her head.] At least I've still got my magic. Dda seloh rof sgniw! [After another cloud puff, this only only around the jacket, she slides the coat back on--gingerly, since the wings still hurt.

She makes her way to her feet then, determined to find out what's going on. Hopefully exploring will give her the answers she needs to get back. If she's lucky, maybe she'd wake up and find out there could still be a chance to thwart Fate.

The only place she ends up, however, is in Luceti proper. With the advice of a few good samaritans in mind, Zatanna changes into something a little less battling-bad-guys ready using the same method as before. Not that the rain makes exploring easy, but there's not really much avoiding it. Luckily summoning an umbrella is easy enough to do, and gives her adequate cover as she wanders pretty much everywhere public, just trying to get some idea for where she is.]

{ooc: open action or voice to any; Zatanna will be looking around randomly, so feel free to catch her anywhere.}

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[Her kindness knows no bounds.]

You sure know how to set the stakes, mysterious stranger. Now, let's see. I'm used to all kinds of weird things, and I like to think my powers of observation aren't failing on me. So I think I'll go with "poof, out of nowhere" for 500.

It's all practice for my future career as a femme fatale. [Said with only a hint of a smile as she teases Kurt. Then he makes his guess, and her grin widens as she glances up at the umbrella.]

Congratulations. You've avoided one shopping trip. At least for now. [But if he is going to play tour guide, Zatanna won't leave him to get drenched in the rain. So she lifts a hand toward the umbrella.] Ekam siht na allerbmu rof owt!

[There's no smoke this time, but a visible transition as the umbrella grows in size until it's large enough to cover them both. The effect doesn't take long to complete, and she shifts the umbrella so it's over each of them.]

I'm Zatanna. Nice to meet you.

[The 'femme fatale' remark gives him a soft, knowing smile.] Please don't tell me this means we're going to have to fight eventually... [He really doesn't need another Boom Boom on his hands.

Still, he cheers at his victory, pumping his arm through the air.] Yes! [And then, turning to surprise as his eyes widen at the growing umbrella.]

And I'm Kurt. Nice to meet you, too, and what did you just do.

[Wow. Zatanna almost feels bad for Kurt when he smiles that way. Almost. Not enough to stop teasing him, though.] I don’t see why it would. Not unless you’ve got a history of making yourself a target.

[At least he’s a good sport about being roped into showing Zatanna around. He’s so excited about not going shopping he doesn’t seem to realize she pretty much volunteered him. But hey, she’s not going to complain; if everything Zatanna’s heard is true, she needs to get a feel for the place.]

Pretty sure I made the umbrella bigger. [Of course she realizes Kurt isn’t asking about the final effect, and she grins as she actually answers his question a moment later.] Just a little spell.

Or maybe I just have a history of having to stop femmes of an unfriendly nature. [He says quickly with a shrug before focusing back on the umbrella. He doesn't see the harm in showing her around the place and making a friend at the same time - good way to spend an afternoon. But she's certainly no ordinary teenager.]

A little spell. Like a... [He waves his right pointer finger through the air in imitation of swishing wand.] Bibbity babbydee boo?

Good thing that I’m not unfriendly, then. [Maybe a little mischievous, but only in the pursuit of harmless fun. Really, though she teases Zatanna isn’t looking to make enemies or anything. She knows all too well what it’s like to suddenly have her whole life disrupted, and now it’s happened again on an even bigger scale. Ticking off the locals, making herself public enemy number one? Not on her to do list.]

…Do I look like a fairy godmother to you? [She has to laugh at the mental image, although Kurt does at least have the right idea.] I’m a magician, which I’m going to assume is what you were going for.

[He gives a meek chuckle and runs his hand through his hair.]

I guess not. You look about as much like a fairy godmother as you do a real femme fatale. So, a magician, huh? Does that mean this is all just a trick?

[Give her a few years. For now, she’ll just grin at his commentary.] Way to make a girl feel special there.

Considering that you’re not getting drenched anymore, would you say it feels like a trick? [The umbrella above them both is solid and real, and effectively keeping the rain off.] Although if you want me to pull a rabbit out of my hat, I can manage it. It’s just that stage magic gets a little boring once you start learning the real stuff.

Hey, you - you have a happy medium at least?

I guess you'd be right about that. So this is full-on magic. Sorceror stuff. [It's odd - everything he's known thus far that is "magic" has been rooted in mutant powers. Although at least being in Luceti this long and hearing about the filial spirits has helped him to open his mind about it.]

Hmm. [Zatanna taps her finger against her chin, looking thoughtful for a moment.] Not too bad of a recovery, I guess. Maybe a six.

[She nods.] Not to say that it doesn't take skill to pull off a good stage show too--but yeah. What I did with the umbrella is the real deal. And the kicker is? I'm still an amateur.

I'll take it. If I scored perfect on the first try, then I'd have to stress myself about being disappointing later.

But wow, really? [It's definitely seems like even more legit magic to him than Billy or even Wanda's powers.] What can a pro do that you can't?

Well, it depends. All sorts of things, really. Magic has it's limits, but there's a lot that can be done with it. [She thinks about it for a second, not just to find the upper limit of magic in general, but what she might be able to do in the future.] I'm still learning when it comes to enchanting objects. And I don't know if I could hold my own in a magic versus magic fight. [The only times she's fought a magical enemy, she hasn't really done well--never mind that said enemy was a Lord of Chaos.]

It's kind of hard to define.

Don't sweat it, it's no test. I was just curious. So what do you use this magic for, if it's okay to ask?

Mostly? Fighting crime. [Said with a casualness that is far too easy to be accidental. Granted, she wouldn’t normally be so open about it, but she’s in an alternate universe, right? It’s not like anyone’s going to be hunting her down at Happy Harbor High from this place.] Although it makes day-to-day living easier too. And it’s good for sneaking out of the house at night.

Superhero business and breaking curfews. [He broke out a laugh.] What do you know, we share some hobbies already!

Is that so? [Hey, Zatanna can definitely get on board with this. Kurt already seemed like a pretty cool guy. He may be about to earn a few points.] So what sort of superheroing do you do?

It's not exactly what you'd call your typical superhero-ing. [As weird as it is to take a step back and realize he's gone from being a persecuted mutant and someone who could define himself as any degree of superhero.] We mostly deal with thugs who cause trouble, or work on snooping around for the greater good. But we do have our share of big bads with even worse fashion sense. [Says Mr. Baggy Pants and Boxer Shorts Sticking Out here.]

I don’t know. That sounds pretty typical to me. [Superheroing great and small, or something like that.] So did you get your start as a sidekick too, or did you work your way onto your team in some other way?

[Given his age, Zatanna would bet on sidekick.]

[He raises an eyebrow.]

Sidekicks? Now this is starting to sound like comic book stuff. No offense! But all I had to was attend this school... for young people with special abilities. [He's a little hesitant about bringing up the word "mutant" so early in knowing someone.] They taught us to use our powers constructively, for good. And those good things just wound up being superhero-y things most of the time.

None taken. It is pretty out of this world, unless your father happens to be a superhero who introduces you to the sidekicks of all his Justice League friends. [Yes, Zatanna leads an awesome life like that. But Kurt’s doesn’t sound that bad either, and she grins.]

Oh, you mean with powers? That’s cool. [Said without skipping a beat, since this is pretty normal for Zatanna.] And I guess that’s what’s bound to happen when you can and will do what ordinary people can’t. Provided you don’t decide to go evil with it.

Justice League... Now this is sounding even more like a comic book. [He says with an astonished laugh.]

I guess our career options do tend to be pretty limited. But I'll have to make a note of this "don't go evil" part, just to make sure I remember.

Hey, you said you got your start at a school, right? Is your team going to split up after you graduate?

[The adults have to go somewhere, don't they?]

You definitely should. Especially since I know to punish you with shopping trips if you forget.

[No, she doesn't take supervillians out on mall crawls. But Kurt doesn't seem like he's got an evil bone in his body, so she's good joking about it.]

It's hard to say. Some of my friends already graduated from high school, but we all still stay around tine Institute.

Right. The world would be a better place if that punishment replace prison.

So you've got the sort of bond that transcends homework and final exams? That's strong stuff.

[She laughs, shaking her head.] You know, not everyone sees shopping as their personal walk through Hades.

It's only the strongest.

You're right. I guess both friends and enemies could be cool with that kind of thing. If I was at home, it'd be easy to find out for sure whenever a department store had any big sale on spandex.

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001 | Action/Accidental Video

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