Chapter Text
I run around this strange and familiar world of mine, where people float and are able to do all sorts of amazing feats. I have a nice friend named Barry Allen. He always seems to be in a rush, though, it's unfortunate, really. He's such a nice fellow. Just always in a rush and can never talk.
Last week, I met a man that could shrink and grow to the size of an ant and the size of a dinosaur at will, with the help of something he called a nanite suit. His name is Ray Palmer. Quite peculiar, if you ask me. A good friend of mine, name's Jefferson Jackson. He can shoot fire from his hands and fly and do all sorts of fun things. Last night, I met a friend named Khalid Nassour. He's got a mad name, and well, what he says is even madder.
Always shooting off about prophecies that make no logical sense whatsoever.
What strange friends I have...
Tonight, during my dream, I found myself in a road that I haven't travelled down before.
"Hello!" I greet. "Haven't seen you around here before."
"Neither have I."
"Well, in that case, let's not be strangers. My name's Zatanna. What's yours?" I asked, surprised to see a new friend in this strange world of mine.
"My name's Lori. Want to walk with me?" The girl asked, dressed in all black and her hair in pigtails, floating in the air and sipping on a drink.
I follow the strange girl down the road before seeing something that looks like it doesn't belong.
"Lor- Lori, what is- what is that?" I asked, motioning to the plant that's moving on its own in a way that plants shouldn't move. "That's a friend, don't worry. Her name's Pamela. Want to say hello? You can pet her, she's friendly."
"I- I don't know if my daddy would like that..."
"Come on. Pam's harmless other than a few things, strangling a few people, don't worry, Zatanna. She's harmless."
"No. I don't- I don't like this game. I don't want to touch Pamela."
She stopped smiling. "This isn't- this isn't real..." I muttered. "Why, of course it is, darling."
"No. This is a- a dream. I need to wake up. Get back to my parents. I'm sorry, Lori. I need to go, I really do."
I pinched myself and then was teleported back to home.
"Daddy..." I breathed.
I grabbed Buttons, my stuffed bunny, and walked out to where Daddy was talking with his friends and co-workers.
"Giovani, imagine this."
"No. I couldn't. Look, I... what you're proposing, John, sounds like paradise, and that's just it. Paradise is unatainable. I have-"
"Maybe for you, Giovanni."
"I have duties here. My daughter, she's six. I can not simply leave her all alone to chase some power-driven fantasy that you have."
"Of course you can."
"Unlike you three, I actually care about what happens to my family."
"Your family being one girl. Sindella is already gone."
"She did what she had to do. She didn't have a choice."
"Daddy..?" I said softly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, almost certain that I didn't hear what he said about Mommy correct. He said that she's dead, she died while giving birth to me. "The dream again, Love?"
"Yes, Daddy... and I'm scared... I really am..."
"Don't worry, Zorina, Daddy's here to keep you safe." He turned back to his co-workers. "Excuse me, gentlemen, my duties call. I won't be long."
He ushered me into my room and sat down on the bed while I laid down. "So... want to tell me about this dream you're having?" He asked, running his hand through my raven hair, calming me down.
"It's the same one for a year now, Daddy. Don't most have different dreams every night, with different characters?"
"Not everyone, Love."
"Daddy—"
"Why don't you just tell me about your dream?"
"Okay. There's.. I was walking down the road, as usual. There's my usual friends... there's these twins, Alura and Astra... they can fly, Daddy. Without wings. They can do a whole lot of other things, too. There's- there's a green girl."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a green- green girl. Her name's M'gann M'orzz. She can disappear. She can shapeshift. She can do all sorts of things. Tonight, I met a girl named Lori. She can float. I also came across this wonderful plant. Lori said she, her name is Pamela, Lori said that she strangled people, asked me to pet her. Do normal girls dream of this type of things?"
He was silent. "Daddy, have... have I gone around the bend?" I asked. "Am I mad?" Daddy pressed his hand against my forehead. "Absolutely, baby. You're mad, insane. Off your rocker. But, let me tell you a secret, darling. All the best people are. Do you think you could fall back asleep?"
"Of course, Daddy." I smiled at him. He kissed me on the forehead.
"I love you, Zorina."
"I love you more, Daddy," I responded. "Remember. If a dream is too scary, all you have to do is pinch. That'll wake you up. Just like," he pinched my arm rather hard. "That."
"Ow, Daddy, that hurts..."
"Just remember to do that next time, alright?"
"Alright. I love you."
"I love you, Zorina."
He walked out of my room, and I fell back to sleep.
*TEN YEARS LATER*
"Where are we even going?" I asked after Dad shoved my door open as I was trying to work on a school project.
"It's time you know what I do for a living. C'mon."
"You work at home, holed up in the study. What could you possibly do?" I asked as he ushered me out of my room, folding my arms over my chest. "It keeps us living, right?"
"Whatever. I need to work on something, let's just get this over with."
He closed the doors behind us to the study. "St- Dad, why are you closing the doors? It's just us."
He shushed me. "Rude," I muttered. "You don't know who's watching, Zorina."
"I told you to not call me that. I'm not seven anymore," I complained, tucking my hair behind my ear and running my hand through my hair, letting my bangs fall back down, then the rest of it. "Point is, Love, you can never be too careful." He walked over to a bookcase and pulled on a book, revealing a secret passage. "Dad, where the hell? What do you even do for a living? God's sake, do you sell drugs?"
"Hush." He whispered something under his breath. "Dad, what's going's on?" I asked. "Stop."
"Wh-"
"Quiet. Now," he cut me off.
A gust of wind went past my hair. "We must be careful."
"Dad, it was a gust of wind."
"Come." He reached the end of the hallway to a dead end. "Okay, where are you taking me?"
"Relax."
He said something out loud, something that sounds like garbled English of sorts. "Nepo eht yawoord," he said, the wall splitting apart and revealing a library. "You work... in a library. And this is the whole secret-organization shit that you've kept a secret from me for years. Wow. This is exciting."
"Our family is special."
"The two of us when my mom "died" in childbirth?"
"Our family is magical."
"Magical?"
"Try saying something backwards. And mean it."
"Backwards?"
"As we got here. I said something backwards. Summon something."
"Summon what? What do you mean summon? Dad, what is- you're insane."
"Zee, I'm telling you. Ever have anything... strange happen to you at school?"
"Yeah. No thanks to you," I muttered. "Zee, look. Skoob etativel," he said.
Every book on the shelves started floating and . "What the hell?!" I yelled. "I'm just as insane as I was when I was six. I'm- Goddammit!"
"Zee, you're magical."
"Tell me the truth! Llet eht hturt!" I screamed.
"Your mom isn't dead. She had to leave to protect us. She was forced to leave by her people. Our family is apart of a magical line of humans called Homo Magi. I've been running a magical cult ever since you were seven, that's why I've been absent so much from your life," he blurted.
He was quiet for a second, but, then he gained control back. "Well done. Not many can best and take control of me like that. For your first time, too. Well done."
"You've lied to me about my mom being dead for my whole life?! And all you say is "Well done?!" Are you kidding me?! I'm out of here! Ekat em ot s'nohJ!" I yelled, taking me to my best friend's trailer.
I've had a crush on him since... forever.
But, it doesn't matter, anyway. There's a mob of girls chasing to date him, it's not like he'd choose me.
I landed in his familiar trailer.
"Woah, what the bloody- captionem!"
I stopped dead in my tracks, frozen in place.
"John, what the hell?!"
He sighed. "'S jus' you, Love. Thank God. Dimittis."
I was able to move again. "Like I said, what the hell?"
"Can never be too careful. Now, when have you learned how to teleport like that?"
"Since when are you magical?"
"Not magical myself, Love. Jus—... you know what, not the point. What're you doin' 'ere?"
"Found out that I'm... magical. That, and that my mom didn't die when I was born. Oh, and my dad's been running a magical cult since I was seven."
I spot something out of the corner of my eye.
Barry Allen.
He shows me his watch and taps it, signaling that I'm late. "John, do you see that?"
"See wh—... I've seen that bloke in my dreams before, when I do sleep. What's Barry bloody Allen doin' 'ere?"
"I'm not insane," I whispered. "Thank God."
"You're not insane, Love. C'mon. No one got anywhere by bein' a bloody wimp."
We walked out of his trailer and into the open. That's when Barry started running.
"What the bloody- DAMMIT!"
We ran towards Barry.
"Wait!" Both of us called.
Nothing happened.
Shit!
"C'mon!"
I grabbed John's hand and ran after Barry.
"Barry! W-"
"You're late, you're late, you're late, late, late! Time's ticking!" He yelled behind us.
John's friend, Zed, stopped us. "¿Qué carajo, Constantine?" She called after us. "Zed, Love, we- Zatanna 'n I need to find something, I'll talk- talk t' ya later, yeah?"
"Who're ya chasing?" Zed asked.
I glanced over at John. "Johnny, she's not- not..." I trailed off. "Is she?"
"No. She's not. Now, Zed, if ya don't bloody well mind-"
"Don't you have some guy to hook up with?" I interrupted.
Frankly, I don't like her.
"Escucha, perra. Si miras en mi dirección de nuevo, te mataré," she spat out. "You do realize that I don't understand Spanish, correct, Zed?"
"That's the point, bitch."
Barry saw us and motioned for us to come to him. "So you're-"
"Nope. Not a bloody well thing. Zed, please. Jus' go."
"Fine."
She walked off, thank Lord, and we ran after Barry. "Wait! God's sa-"
He disappeared through a small hole in a garden wall.
"Goddammit!" I slammed my fist against the wall. "As I've jus' found out, both of us are magical, Zee. C'mon."
"Or we could just..."
I got on my knees and somehow got myself through the hole in the bush.
I went down further, and a full hole exposed itself.
I fell straight below, John right after me, and I started screaming.
Wait.
I have magic.
"Taolf!" I yelled.
Nothing happened.
What the fuck?!
"TAOLF!" I screamed, falling down at an impossibly fast pace.
I braced myself for a hard landing, but found myself on a soft landing. What..?
I looked around and saw an upside-down chandelier.
Quite peculiar.
I saw everything else upside down.
Perhaps I am, then.
But that wouldn't make sense...
Wait.
I'm magical.
All sense of logic is thrown out at this point.
Might be worth a shot.
My hair's standing straight up, and I mean really straight up.
Strange.
"You alright, Love?" He asked. "Quite, considering what just happened to me."
He jumped down, and landed on his feet. "C'mon, Love. Jus' jump. It'll be okay," he urged.
I jumped, and he caught me in his hands, and my breath hitched.
I started breathing heavily, my lips so close to his, and then he let me down. "Thanks."
We found ourselves in a room of doors.
Strange...
There was a key on the table.
Huh.
I picked up the key and tried every door.
It didn't fit.
"Move it, Zee."
He pushed me away from the door rather playfully. "Muta statum pessuli," he repeated into the door.
We still tried every one.
"Wohs eht yawrood," I whispered.
Violet magic floored out of my hand and went to a small part that we didn't quite check.
"What the..."
"Like you said, we're magical." I touched his hand, and recited the word "Knirhs."
We shrunk.
Down to the ground, almost to the size of an ant.
The perfect size to fit through the door.
"Ladies first."
"More experienced first," I countered. "Alright, alright. Muta statum pessuli," he repeated, a skull key appearing and unlocking the door.
"We could've used the normal key."
"We could've followed Zed away from the speedy bastard that appears in our dreams."
"True."
"Ladies first."
I opened the door, and stepped right into the land of my dreams.
With John at my side, who knows what we're going to get into?