[closed]

[wroughtiron]

Characters: An NPC (wroughtiron), Annabeth Chase (sophos), Hellboy (histruename), the Doctor (iwaspromisedtea) and Zatanna Zatara (backwordscompatible)
Date: November 25/28th.
Location: The Mainland.
Situation: These characters are tracked down by an NPC and given some information, as well as asked a few things in return. Individual scenarios are in the main body of the post itself.
Warnings/Rating: Shouldn't stray much above pg-13, but if it does I'll let you know.

Comments

[wroughtiron]

Would you help? If you could?

[There's not much hope to her tone but there is a very faint bit of it in her expression.]

[backwordscompatible]

If the Emperor's really doing all those things you said? [No offense, but at this time, all she really has if your word.] Of course.

[wroughtiron]

I don't have much to prove it.

[She chews on the inside of her cheek, and then seems to decide something.]

There is something I could do. Or... show you. Something that the Emperor's done.

[backwordscompatible]

[She sits up a little straighter. Interest piqued and attention captured.]

What is it?

[wroughtiron]

[Almost hesitantly, she rummages through her bag a second time. This time, she comes up with a small pendant charm which she holds out after a moment. She seems reluctant to part with it.

The object itself hums with faint, finely-tuned magic. It's obviously enspelled.]

When you get back to Tu Vishan, this... might come in handy. I'm not going to tell you what it does, so don't ask. If you're half the magician you think you are, you'll figure it out.

[She huffs a bit.]

[backwordscompatible]

[Zatanna could easily sense the subtle power radiating from the charm. But aside from that, she had no idea what it was.]

Why do I feel like I'm being tested?

[wroughtiron]

Because you are.

[Eva wrinkles her nose.]

Because if I'm going to ask you to help me spy on the Emperor, I'm going to damn well make sure you have half a brain in your head to do it with.

[So there.]

[backwordscompatible]

[Spy on the Emperor. Sure, Zatanna said she'd be willing to help if there was any way she could...but when it was spelled so out in the open like that, the hesitation in her eyes become a little clearer. For several reasons, each more worrisome than the last.]

[Not that she was backing down.]

[She focused instead on the charm. Turning it over in her hands, reverting to every basic bit of knowledge she had been taught in an effort to identity it.]

It has power. [The simplest of them all. Normally something that went without saying, except for one important detail:] But if it had been charmed by someone remotely, it shouldn't work like this, here, right? So that must mean its power is self-sustaining.

[She took a moment to run her fingers over the intricate carvings] Look like...water? Waves and rivers or streams. [It could've been a red herring, but an innate magic object with obvious designs on it] ...could its power be elemental in nature?

[wroughtiron]

[Eva nods encouragingly.]

You're on the right track, love.

[Technically, it protects the wearer from being underwater. Nullifies the need to breathe (that part she's fuzzy on, but it has something to do with scientific modification of the individual modification of molecules in the water) and allows the body to withstand the massive pressure of being a ways under the ocean.

Fancy? No. But functional, you can bet your ass.]

[backwordscompatible]

[All things she will discover after her first testing. She had the water hint. It was simply a matter of attempting to use its power around the element and see what happened.]

[Once she was certain a physical exam would yield no more information, however, Zatanna looked back up again.]

But...I mean, how exactly am I supposed to find you again? If magic doesn't work all the way out here, I'd basically be searching blind.

[wroughtiron]

Oh, that's the easy part. Here.

[She flips a small, cellphone like device out of her bag and into her hand.]

I've got tonnes of these. They're all biomechanical, same as the facilities on Tu Vishan. People used to use them to communicate way back when, I guess. But they can call from one to another as long as they're charged.

[Yes she has discovered the Modern Cellphone. Excuse her ramblings, Zee.]

Regular tech doesn't work too hot out here, but the biomechanical stuff is a little hardier. I've got plenty back at the cave.

[backwordscompatible]

[Zatanna could start up a collection of communication devices; she was already starting to lose count of how many she'd gathered.]

I'm guessing this is another one of those things the Emperor can't find out about under any circumstances.

[No telling how distinct this particular cellphone could be.]

I'll keep it hidden.

[wroughtiron]

No need. It's salvage, remember?

[Her grin is just the tiniest bit smug. She likes the idea of outwitting the Emperor, okay.]

[backwordscompatible]

Oh, that's true. I guess people have been finding all sorts of random things around here.

I forgot about that.

[She reaches for the small pack, zipping it open to reveal two separate communicators. Placing the cell phone in the same pouch, so that they remained all together.]

[wroughtiron]

Oh! And I suppose I meant to offer this a while ago, but is there anything you'd like from home? It can't be organic, but anything else should be fair game. I've been itching to give this new transference spell a try.

[SHE ACTUALLY LOOKS A LITTLE GIDDY AT THE PROSPECT...]

[backwordscompatible]

Anything from home...

[She had to actually stop and think about this for a moment. What she wanted most was to see her dad again, but Eva said that it couldn't be anything Organic. And her dad was most definitely organic. But what else was there? Her uniform, she could easily just magic up like she had the first time. Same with most anything else.]

Does it...have to be an object?

[wroughtiron]

[She thinks about that for a moment.]

I've never tried anything bigger. I mean... it's a tricky business. If I tried to bring a person here they could end up, I dunno, inside out or somesuch. Which would be a little... alarming.

[Her expression shifts, becomes somewhat more pensive.]

But I could always show you something from back home? Like a window. If there was someone you might want to check in on.

[backwordscompatible]

[There were so many people, honestly. Who all just happened to hold the answer in one particular moment of her future. It was a point in time tied directly to why she was here and now...meaning it was possible. She might be able to see him. Make sure he was okay. Even though a part of her was afraid of the answer.]

[Knowing that whatever she saw would've been her fault.]

[...still, she had to know:]

Can you show me my dad? [Then, softer:] Please?

[wroughtiron]

[Her expression softens.]

Of course, love. Is there... a specific time you'd like to see?

[backwordscompatible]

[This part was much easier to decide. She just needed to figure out how exactly to explain it.]

Just after I was brought here.

There were...things happening back home. We were in the middle of a fight. [Rather not go into much detail unless it was absolutely necessary.] I was pulled away before I could find out whether or not we won, but...I'd...like to make sure he came out of it okay. If that's possible.

[wroughtiron]

[Wordless, Eva does as bidden. Creating the tiny window - out of air and energy - is the easy part, though she drains one of her magic cubes to do it. Finding the point in time the girl had asked for is a little harder, and her brow furrows in concentration at doing so, but finally it happens.]

[backwordscompatible]

[It was like watching a distant memory, only from a third person's perspective. Zatanna saw herself put on the helmet. Become Fate. The battle with Klarion was intense, but evenly matched. Except the barrier was holding; they couldn't break through.]

[And she was flickering; the Helmet was apparently occupying both worlds as well. Tearing her soul apart.]

[But then, the tides turned. The barrier fell. Klarion was trapped. And, with the air of both Captain Marvel and her father from beyond the realm, they were able to merge the worlds back. They won.]

-

[Zatanna would have been satisfied with that much, but the scene didn't end. There was more.]

-

["Did we win?" Robin wearily asked. He was okay.]

["Yes. At a cost."]

["Great Nabu. Release my daughter."]

["...no."]

[That was it. He wouldn't let her go. Her affinity for magic made her a perfect vessel for Fate. Not even at the continued insistence of one Kent Nelson:]

["...so I released his spirit into the afterlife."]

-

[She let out a silent gasp of horror as the image flickered away, shielding her mouth with both hands. So it was true. All of it. Not only had she doomed herself to the Helemet, but it had also come at the cost of another.]

[wroughtiron]

[welp, that wasn't pretty. Eva's quiet a moment as she waves a hand over the still mirror and banishes the images, and then she leans over to give the girl a hug.

She doesn't have to know exactly what was going on there to know that it was personal.]

[backwordscompatible]

[Zatanna did not immediately react to Eva's touch. Hands still covering her mouth, she was partially hunched over, eyes closed, as she tried to regain herself. She wouldn't cry. No matter what the vision had shown her, she wouldn't cry here.]

[Inhaling deeply, she gradually straightened. Her voice soft and expression forlorn, but in control, as she turned back.]

Did that--I mean...is that what's going to happen?

[Meaning, was there anything she could do to stop it?]

[wroughtiron]

I--

[she shifts uncomfortably. she doesn't much care for being put on the spot like this.]

It's... hard to say. Changing things... changing the future... there's so many variables, so many things you have to consider. And I've thought about it, believe me. It might be a better idea to simply work to fix it after the fact than trying to change it prior to.