I swear to god Wattpad if you keep deleting my drafts I'm going to hurt you. I've literally lost around 15k words worth of drafts since I started posting stories.

"Now before my performance can begin, because of the circumstances, I will allow you a few questions in advance!"

This was too sudden. Too out-of-nowhere. One second you were getting freaking jewelry and the next your talking to a magician on a huge screen in a room that didn't exist before.

'I have to admit I'm quite flabbergasted, I mean this is some off screen shit. Wait.......of course, this was a simple retrieve and retreat mission, IT'S ALWAYS ON THE SIMPLE MISSIONS THINGS GO WRONG, ESPECIALLY IN COMICS'

You realized your error and lapse in judgement, that you should've remembered the cliché. The most simplest of missions always end up going wrong in the worst ways.

'But still, Zatanna? I mean, I didn't expect my first encounter with a magic user to be here of all places, and with her. Have we met?'

"Uhm so.....I.....how did you know I was going to be here?"

"Excellent first question!"
The magician gave a you a few little excited claps.

"Now, I don't wish to answer this question specifically but you see, in Gotham there are currently many events going on"

Confetti began to fall from the ceiling as if on cue, with Zatanna

"And these events are expensive as hell"
Zatanna said that with a smile, but in an almost dead inside way.

"So you see, although Br- Batman can't get involved directly, he can send someone like me and few others to watch the locations that would most likely be raided by those who wish to get into said events"

"So I got caught by pure coincidence?"

"Not really. We were kind of hoping to get you specifically, as well as Static"

Her voice dropped in excitement as she mentioned your partner? in crime.

"Ok, second question, what do you mean by we?"

She merely let out a wink in response.

"Don't you wink at me"
She let out a second wink.

Ignoring the irritation that was starting to bubble from within, you you instead decided to do something more useful.

"What's your goal?"
"Come again?"
"What do you want from me, and how do you know about Static exactly, are you in contact with the Titans?"
"One question at a time, those were the rules"

Her persona broke a little as she spoke in a more upset tone.

You on the other hand, were not happy with such a response.

"Oh fuck you"
"Slow down big guy we just met"
"You can't take my dirty jokes, that's like 60% of my personality"

She giggled a little before finally deciding to answer your question, her face turning serious.

"Well you have a lot to answer for don't you? I mean there's the elephant in the room that you killed Joker, your currently responsible for Gotham becoming a modern hell, you got numerous notorious villains working together to capture you, the League of Assassins are helping you, you gave Star the ability to speak Spanish which let me tell you is not fun to hear in random bursts, you somehow got Static to betray his team and help you even though the guy has a heart of gold, there's a manhunt out for you which is attracting even more dangerous people to Gotham, and you're kinda the reason Constantine's gone even more off the deep end. So our goal currently is to capture you and Static. Sum all our reasons for doing that up?"

She ended that entire monologue of the things you've done with a bright smile.

Your expression however, was completely blank.

"The League of the who now?"

The woman ignored your question and instead looked down at her wrist.

"Now we just have to wait for backup to arrive and we shouldn't have any trouble bringing you in. Although I'd rather not risk a confrontation with you right now seeing as......nevermind"

"What do you mean by "we"?"

Zatanna gave you a little wave through the screen.
"Have fun while you waaaaaaaiiit~"

The ginormous screen in front of you shut off, leaving you alone in an empty movie theatre room.

'This is less than ideal, but I can get out of this. I mean it's only a reality warping witch and the chance of others being here as well. Those are......decent......odds..............I'm so fucked'

You punched the wall you supposedly came through earlier.

'Ok Y/N, calm down. What do you know?'

The first thing you did was check your earpiece, and to your surprise you heard Hugo's voice on the other end.

"L/N what is going on?! I lost contact with Virgil a few minutes ago and couldn't get to you until now"

"Ok, now would you believe me if I said this one wasn't my fault?"

"With the luck we have I wouldn't be surprised even if you didn't have a hand in this"

You had to agree with him on that one, recent events have always seemed to deviate greatly from the intended outcome.

"Well I have good news and bad news"
"Bad news first"

"Static is missing. Zatanna, a magician, has trapped me in a room. There's a chance others are also in the Museum. And Batman's behind this"
"............................"
"Good news is we got the chance to have a nice old one on one talk, just like old times!"

You had an empty smile on your face, while on the other end of the coms it was just dead silent.

"...................Is there any chance both you and Static get out of this with the jewels as well as not seriously injured?"
"I would answer that, but I don't have a calculator to calculate the amount of bullshit we'd need to do so"
"The Van I had was completely destroyed in that chase against Task Force X, I have no means of being able to transport you guys back if you're unable to do so yourself"

This was the worse case scenario. From what you could gather from Zatanna there were "others" on their way to help subdue both you and Static, so you had to get out as soon as possible.

Problem is, you can't make it back to the Asylum on foot without a huge chance of getting caught by Zatanna or her reinforcements. Which means-

"I'm going to find Static, his Saucer is the only way any of us can realistically make it back"
"I see. Then there's nothing else I can do for you guys, good luck on making it back"
"We'll need more than that"

You took out your earpiece, before letting it drop to the ground. In a swift motion, it was crushed underneath your foot.

'Chances of us making it out of this are small, and I don't doubt someone like Batman can use something like a simple earpiece to find Hugo. I just hope Static did the same'

You looked around the enormous, almost luxurious room you were in.

'I can't just stay here, but how do I get out?'

'Think, who is Zatanna? A magic user that's also has a job as a real life magician, someone who doesn't seem to hate me personally from what I could gather from our talk'

You began to walk down one of the two aisles available in the room, getting closer to the enormous screen.

'An entertainer, who even enjoys her job as one, becoming even a core part of her personality'

'Which in my world has been called out as a potential character flaw'

You stood in front of the massive, yet blank screen in front of you.

'When she first popped on here she mentioned a "performance", a show of some sorts. And if I'm the protagonist of this show that she mentions......'

You reached your hand out to the screen.

'Then it wouldn't exactly be fun if I was stuck in a single room this whole time now would it?'

But instead of stopping, your hand went directly through the screen, a cold feeling enveloping your arm as you did so.

'Or in my case'

You continued, allowing your body to also seemingly sink into the screen, a ripple like effect spreading from where you made contact with it.

'A way out'

When you opened your eyes, you found yourself a few inches away from a wall.
It was actually a floor, but you didn't realize that until you hit it.

You dropped onto a hard surface, a quite loud thud accompanying the action.

You laid for a few moments, shivering as the cold feeling that had enveloped your entire body faded away. Eventually it did, and was instead replaced by a throbbing pain, especially coming from your ribs.

Who knew, maybe entering a portal only to fall from it wasn't exactly ideal for a man who was hit multiple times by a spiked metal bat? Maybe it's just me. By

'Ok, note to self. I just went through a GODAMN PORTAL HOLY SHIT!'

Although you didn't exactly enjoy the effect it had on your body, the concept of entering something such as a portal to someone that came from a place that didn't have any, was unrealistic. However, in a place like this, it was considered the norm.

Still didn't make what just happened any less exciting in your mind though.

'Also note to self, never want to do that again. Reminds me too much of what happened in Canada'

You pushed yourself off the ground and onto your feet in one swift motion, ignoring the dull pain coming from your mid-section and finally taking the chance to observe your surroundings.

You were in a long, narrow hallway. In fact there was only enough space for maybe 3 shoulder to shoulder. Multiple paintings were hung up on either side of the corridor, as well as weird pearls dangling from the ceiling.

Suddenly, a little poof of pink smoke filled the hallway, before disappearing again.

Zatanna was there, only this time she was inside the closest painting to you. Her body was small enough for her to fit perfectly in it, and she seemed almost 2D.

"Congratulations!"

A cake appeared on a table in front of you, with the words, in icing, saying the phrase she just said.

"Thanks?"
"I'm so happy you managed to make it past the first obstacle Y/N! Since it'd be boring if that was enough to stop you. You got out rather quickly though?"

A hint of confusion was clear in her voice as she stared at you, but soon her suspicious expression went back to her more showman like one.

"Now, I'm sure you figured out that there will be multiple obstacles for you to go through if you want to reach my actual body and Static, since the me talking to you right now isn't the actual me, but instead something more of an aware pre-recorded message"

"And why are you telling me this?"

"To up the stakes of course"

An almost dangerous look shone in Zatanna's eyes.

"Tell me, how long do you think Static can last against me and another person sent by Batman himself?"

The mini form of her was looking at you- no, glaring at you with intensity you didn't expect.

"A game like this is no fun if the contestant isn't desperate to win isn't it? It makes everything so much more.........exciting"

"Are you a"-

"A-NY-WAYS allow me to tell you how this whole thing will work. You see just case you did show up I prepared a few items in advance"

She gestured towards the almost translucent beads that hung from the ceiling.

"5, there are 5 different sections of beads in this hallway. When you walk under them, they will trap you in a trance like state and bring your consciousness to whatever game I have prepared for you. Quite useful items but, also very expensive"

'So that's what this is turning into'
A game. You knew Zatanna was an entertainer however you weren't expecting this side of her to be this extreme.

"Once you best whatever challenge I've set up, you may move on to the next bead. That door on the other end leads directly to where I and another are currently fighting Static, so that's your goal and reward for completing in this game of mine"

"You better hurry Y/N, make sure to struggle a bit and put on a show worthy of getting out of this for me m'kay~"

Then, she vanished. Disappearing into nothingness and leaving an empty landscape in the painting behind her.

You on the other hand, we're massaging your forehead as if it were in pain.

'Sadist. She's a sadist. No one who isn't one would do this. Is she enjoying watching me struggle to make it to Static in time? HOW COME EVERYONE IN THIS UNIVERSE'-

'.....................Fuck'

Now wasn't the time. Static may be incredibly versatile but against someone like Zatanna, who in some iterations you've read could literally do anything that didn't really matter.

You looked ahead to the first strand of beads that fell from the ceiling, they were almost see-through.

You double checked behind you to see that there was, in fact, only wall.

Then you began to walk.

After only a few steps, you stood underneath the beads. Then, a flash of white blinded you.

You were floating. Gravity didn't seem to exist where you were. The space around you was completely white, yet didn't seem to shine.

"I'm so HAPPY to see you again Y/N!"

That voice. That voice you'd only heard once in your life yet had been ingrained into your mind since there first time you heard it.

You turned your head, and saw another floating figure beside you.

"We have quite a bit to discuss. I mean so much has happened since we last talked!!!"

You wanted to, at that very moment, rip out the throat of the man- thing in front of you. So much so that in your moment of rage you thrashed your body towards him, yet the lack of gravity prevented you from moving.

"My my, so violent! I expected nothing less but still, don't you wanna catch up a bit? Chat?! I know I wanna!!"

He was smiling, a grin that outclassed Hugo's by a mile. Something you didn't know was possible.

"Although, seeing that look in your eyes, you don't seem to want the same now do you?"

You didn't realize the face you were making, but the being in front of you did.

Through gritted teeth, you managed to almost spit out your question.

"Why. Are. You. Here"

"Why I'm here? Why, I'm, here?!?!?!"

A look of pure insanity on it's face did nothing to quell the anger you felt bubbling to the surface.

"I'm here because it seems as if there's been a flaw in the gift I gave you my little protagonist"
"Flaw?"
"You see Y/N, I expected you to die on that rooftop. That's why I even came personally to bid you adieu"

That tip of the hat the thing in front you gave that night seemed to flash across your mind.

"Therefor, I took away the gift I gave you, or at least part of it"

"And what gift did someone like you, give me?"

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I don't wanna tell"

He was suddenly in front of you, face to face. That unhealthy looking smile was all you could see.

"You know, I dropped you in Gotham because I wanted to see what would happen. But killing the Joker IMMEDIATELY?!!!?! YOU HAVE NO IDEA THE JOY YOU'VE BROUGHT ME IN UNDER A MONTH"

You tried to moved your body, but it was as if your arms and legs were bound. An unbelievable pressure keeping them pinned in the air.

Slowly, he began to reach an outstretched hand towards your head.

"So allow me to reinstate my gift to you Y/N L/N. To give you chance to entertain me even longer. To"-
"W-Wait"

You managed, despite the pressure, to utter out a single word.

Tilting his entire facial expression to the side in an almost cartoonish manner, you found yourself able to speak again.

"Will you ever send me back"

"........................"

He stared. His extremely exaggerated expression morphed and became completely blank. No hint of emotion came from it. The light in his eyes went dull.

"That's not my choice to make"
"What do you m"-

His hand met to top of your head.

Your body crumpled into nothingness.

You found yourself sitting in the ground, your breath ragged as you let your hands roam around your body, double checking that you were still even alive

You gasped for air, as a voice interrupted your "coming to terms with reality" freak out. Or would it be the opposite?

Standing to the side of you, was an enormous, extremely wide stone staircase that went high enough to the point where you couldn't even see the top.

"Welcome to the first game!"

Literally woke up from a nap to this in my notifications-

I don't know who you are, but I will find you.
And I will kill you.