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***
Karen fought off the crowd of para-demons with all her might. It was one thing to fight off an enemy once, but it was another thing to do it continuously, fighting an untold darkness of opponents at the same time.
Even the Kryptonian's mighty strength was rapidly weakening, and Beast Boy was unfortunately no help to her.
Beast Boy distracted Starfire, who flew after him and scattered bright green lights all over the cave. Not a few demons had died at her hand, just by accidentally getting caught in her stray fire.
That's how a pack of para-demons got caught in the explosions and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
«I've had enough of you! - Starfire shouted.
Only miraculously glimpsed between the shattered beams did the Beastmaster remain alive. He tried to buy as much time as possible to relieve the pressure of the enemies on Karen, who had most of the para-demons on her.
Except that no matter how hard Beast Boy tried, he couldn't escape Starfire's fire. When the flare was almost upon him, Karen fought off two demons and rushed toward him, taking him behind her back. The flaming volley slammed into Karen in a huge wave, and bright tongues of flame flew apart, falling in a rain of fire across the Apocalypse base. The Para-demons and everything around them began to be covered in fire, engulfing the portal the Para-demons were coming out of already.
Frustrated with her attack, Starfire directed the para-demons to defend the portal.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was trying to bring Karen to her senses.
«Are you okay, Karen?!
Seeing nothing but hatred, Starfire flew at full speed toward Karen, and without noticing Beast Boy, threw him off with a sharp palm strike to the cheek. Then she grabbed Karen's neck, moaning in pain, and....
«It's all your fault! - Starfire shouted resentfully, squeezing Karen's neck.
At that moment, a yellow flash appeared in Starfire's eyes, causing her to cover her eyes sharply. Then a hand gripped her arm, twisted it, and threw it away from Karen with a jerk to her chest.
When Starfire raised her head to figure out what had happened, an iron battleaxe flew into her face and sent her flying far away.
«HUM RAN! - cheerfully shouted the girl who appeared, and then looked at the bent battleaxe and added: "oyyyyyyyy..."
The ones who interrupted her were a guy in a white T-shirt and a black raincoat and a woman in clown coloring. Willard Light and Harley Quinn came to the rescue.
«Who are you and why are you here?! Oh, wait a minute! I know you, you're Willard Light, special target! - Starfire pointed her finger.
«Hey, Puddin, you seem to have a big reputation in the neighborhood.
«I didn't want to be so popular. Hey, Karen, why didn't you call me right away? - Will asked, sitting down beside Karen.
She was breathing heavily and was severely exhausted.
«It's okay. I hesitated for a moment, thinking it would be a lot easier.
«Batman was right, you Kryptonians are too arrogant," Will said, looking back.
The entire underground Apocalypse Factory was slowly collapsing and burning in Starfire's flames.
"In a way they did manage, but there's a whole portal and factory here. Why was it guarded by Starfire alone?"
«What about the host?
«They melted it down, knew we wanted her free," Karen said.
«I see...I have a spare carrier. I'll try to use it to free Starfire. Beast Boy, Harley, cover me," Will said, bending to his full height and turning to Starfire.
«You want to save me from her even after getting trapped? - A chuckle sounded behind his back.
And this one ridiculously didn't belong to Starfire.
Will felt someone else's presence behind him and grasped his target sharply, but... there was only blue smoke in his hands.
«Smoke?
The only answer that came to mind was mages. And Will broke out in a cold sweat.
«Zatanna!
Will threw his arm out sharply behind his back to grasp Karen's hand, but Zatanna had already appeared between them and intercepted his arm, and the air around him was suddenly a mist. There was a cheerful smile on her lips.
«Finally got him!
In a lightning jerk, Will intercepted her hand, afraid of close contact with the mage, but as soon as he touched her, Zatanna vanished in a cloud of air. It was too late. And the cloud of mist began to spread rapidly in all directions, engulfing the entire dungeon.
"I don't see anything."
«Will! We need to leave before it's too late. Zatanna's not the only one here! - Karen shouted.
The space around him seemed fake, intangible, cloudy, like a dream. Will blinked only once and found himself in an unfamiliar space. It was a hall, a large and spacious hall of some mansion.
«An illusion," he said.
«I've always wondered, Willard Light, how do you know so much about me? I put so much effort into catching you, even though you're not even a mage... amazing," Zatanna said.
Zatanna appeared on the second floor, leaning her elbows on the wooden railing, and looked at him with a slight smile that expressed neither kindness nor malice. It seemed that Zatanna herself had not yet made up her mind. As usual, the sorceress wore a black magician's costume with mesh stockings, a cylinder hat on her head, and the only thing that hinted at her unhealthy mind was a red-and-black necklace created by Darkseid.
«Don't be so serious, I'm not gonna bite. How about we have a little talk?
«And what's that about?
Zatanna opened her lips to answer him, but Will beat her to it: he moved to her back and put his palm around her lips; with his other hand he put his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. Anything to take away her ability to conjure.
"As long as she's quiet I can avoid the spell."
«Nice try, Willard Light, but I know what you're capable of, too. Two nil in my favor so far," Zatanna said.
Zatanna's hands fell into a dozen hissing snakes, which immediately hissed and lunged at him. Will took his hands off the barbed fangs just in time and moved to the first floor, increasing the distance between Zatanna and himself, which was a mistake, but he couldn't do otherwise.
Distant laughter echoed throughout the house.
Listening to the sensations, Will hastily folded the Kai seal, suspending his flow of chakra in his body, but nothing changed.
The expensive ancient hall he'd entered hadn't disappeared anywhere, or even blurred into magical patterns. It was real.
«After Raven sealed your power, you're not as dangerous as you used to be. What's it like to feel powerless?
«If that were the case, you wouldn't be hiding behind an illusion.
Zatanna paused for a moment, as if contemplating something.
«You know, before it's too late, you should give up your naive attempts to stop the Apocalypse. You can save your life if you join us.
«Thanks, I'll pass.
«Don't be so harmful. Our Master appreciates your abilities, after all, you're the one responsible for Kanto's disappearance, aren't you? - She asked, pausing for a moment. Zatanna seemed to want to confirm that fact.
"Canto?"
Will tried to keep his cool, not at all sure what he was talking about. Apparently Zatanna was probing him, since their army had lost one of their important combat units. Will had heard about it, but...
Kanto was Darkseid's favorite assassin and was one of his elite. One of the best assassins in the universe. Kanto's most fearsome ability was his ability to easily catch up with his victim, even if he was somehow miraculously hiding in another temporal stream. In fact, it was impossible to hide from him, and the traps he prepared left no chance for the victim.
When the Apocalypse Army came to Earth, Kanto was ordered by Darkseid to get rid of Lex Luthor, Dr. Fate, and others in the first few days.
«Metropolis, the skirmish at the Daily Planet. That was the last time he was seen," Zatanna continued, scrutinizing Willard's reaction.
«Metrolopis? It was so long ago.
Will's memories flashed back to the days when Raven had revealed the location of all of Earth's hidden resistance bases. Will had tried to stop her that day, and the battle had moved to the Daily Planet building... and then Will had suddenly lost consciousness and woken up outside the building.
At the time, it seemed to him that Raven was running away because she was afraid of losing, but if you think about it that way, she was leading him to Kanto on purpose...?
«That day Kanto had to get rid of you, Willard Light," Zatanna finally finished.
She stood directly across from Will, and looked into his eyes with cold certainty.
«Then there was a confrontation between you and Kanto that resulted in Kanto losing," she claimed, though it was an obvious assumption.
No doubt Zatanna was trying to find out the truth.
"She seems to be deluded, but it is to my advantage to leave her in ignorance," Will thought.
«So what if it is?
«If that's the case..." Zatanna flashed a cold glint in her eyes and then sighed, turning away, "though it doesn't look like you did it. Someone else is involved, you, aren't you? He's the reason this war dragged on and Apocalypse couldn't suppress the Earthlings in time. Aquaman is the only one who could form the strongest defense against the walls of Atlantis. However, now that I've confirmed that you're connected to Kanto's disappearance, that changes things. After all, we're lucky that Raven sealed off the source of the major problems.
Will frowned, feeling a slight tension.
"If she believes that, Apocalypse could lose the brakes altogether."
«If it was my power that was sealed, I wouldn't be able to move freely.
Zatanna eyed him thoughtfully.
«I never understood that stubbornness. I have no reason to fear you, Willard Light, and you have no reason to fear me. Why fight when you can easily reunite with Cara? She's waiting for you.
«Are you trying to brainwash me without a motherbox?
«You're not fixable," Zatanna sighed. - Nothing will change for you, anyway. Since I've already caught you, I'll tell you something interesting before we take you with us. Batman... do you know where he is now? - Zatanna said, pausing mysteriously and looking at Will. Vaguely, but it seemed to him that she knew something important.
«Batman? He's dead.
Zatanna reappeared on the second floor, running her fingers along the staircase railing. Her heels tapped unevenly on the floor, as if trying to irritate her companion.
She smiled slyly and put a finger to her lips.
«So you still don't know...
Will could barely contain his emotion, since he'd obviously punctured himself. Maybe she was just playing with him, though.
«Be grateful to the General, Willard Lyde. Thanks to him, you get a small chance to win, but only because he saw you as a worthy opponent. He's, you know, interested in whoever was able to take Kanto's life, so he's giving you a chance to face him in mortal combat.
«Won't he regret it?
Zatanna shrugged.
«Look around you, Willard Light, what does Darkseid Elite have to worry about? You've already lost. Steppenwolf was deeply disappointed when he found out he wouldn't get any worthy prey after Superman's collapse and Batman's imprisonment. Personally, I certainly don't believe you can be a threat to us, but what can you do, my Lord's wish is law. Now, where was I, the General asked me to tell you that Darkseid has locked Batman away in a separate corner of the universe where even my magic is powerless.
«He locked him in...? - Will turned in surprise to see Zatanna standing behind him.
All this time he'd been trying to use the conversation to find the real her and capture her, but their strange conversation had turned into something more. Besides, without defeating Zatanna, going back to Karen was pointless, because Zatanna could pull him back into the trap at any moment.
«You're not trying to grab me anymore? - She grinned, as if reading his mind.
«I know you're a specialist in illusions," Will said calmly, still listening carefully to his surroundings. He used the Sense Sphere to search for the real Zatanna, while just dense magic in the guise of Zatanna circled in front of him.
Zatanna smiled as she sat down in her chair, stacking her feet importantly on top of each other and showing complete superiority in conversation.
«So what's the deal with Batman?
Will gave away the hopefulness in his voice that Zatanna hadn't missed. Of course, now that he'd learned that Batman was alive, his desire to win was strengthened. And the message he'd gotten from Batman at the end was finally making sense.
"If it's about Batman, he can change everything."
«Batman is trapped in a clever trap, the structure of which I will not tell you, but my Overlord fears that you can get Batman out of there.
«Come on... why would that be? - Will asked, "Is there anything that can get Batman out of that space that even you can't?
«... Who knows, Will, who knows? Maybe you can find the answer if you defeat the Steppenwolf.
«Your General will definitely regret his decision.
Zatanna shrugged.
«I hope so, or he'll be very disappointed," she said with deep skepticism, as if defeating Steppenwolf was something impossible. The General's assessment of her was over the top, and Will tensed involuntarily.
«I'll take note.
Finding the real Zatanna never worked out, and Willard couldn't take it anymore. Beastmaster, Harley, and Karen were probably barely hanging on to the ambush, and could soon fall. Having learned important information about Batman, he decided not to chill here any longer.
«Moving already? - Zatanna asked.
Before Will could use the Thunder God tag, he froze in place and glanced at the smiling Zatanna.
"Why is she acting like that?"
«Why are you frozen? Don't you want to help your friends? I'm sure they're waiting for you. Move.
All the while he watched Zatanna and the change in space carefully, waiting for a catch, but nothing happened.
«Why don't you freeze, Willard Light? Teleport or die!
Zatanna snapped her fingers and snakes appeared under Willard's feet and immediately jumped at him. Will used the mark and...
Nothing happened.
"Why?"
In mild shock, Will stepped away from the snakes' attack and froze against the wall with a focused expression.
"I'm trapped."
Probably since she said: "I know what you're capable of, too." It had been foolish of Zatanna to move him here, knowing that he could move back to Karen at any moment. On the other hand, Will wasn't entirely sure this place was real. If this mansion turned out to be an illusion, he'd be wasting chakra.
«Let me guess, Willard Light, you didn't get a chance to move, did you? - Zatanna said with a smile. It wasn't evil or mocking, but it was infuriating.
«What have you done to me?
«A little trick.
«So the Batman thing was a lie and you didn't want to let me go in the first place?
She shrugged.
«Alas, but it's true. I couldn't disobey Steppenwolf and rip you off. However, that truth was the easiest way to get you to use the Thunder God's Mark. You were so excited that you lost all vigilance. You're not a threat to Apocalypse now," she sighed, "Now I know your powers are useless against my magic, which means you're no longer a threat to the General. That's the end of your adventures, Willard Light.
Zatanna waved her hand, and a portal opened in space, from which Superboy and Demian, who had been turned into Darkseid's servants, emerged.
«Now, do me a favor, don't fight it. You'll never get out of this dimension anyway.
«Well...I wouldn't say that.
Zatanna, who was sitting on the chair, suddenly contorted her face in pain, and golden chains appeared around her neck and arms, tightly wrapping them around her and pinning her to the ground. And then she began to dissolve into a blue cloud, because she had been an illusion all along.
The real Zatanna appeared not far from Damian and Superboy and fell to the floor, bound in chains.
Clapping his hands, a man with stubble and blond hair appeared on the second floor. He grinned crookedly and looked like... a bum in a raincoat, but surprisingly important and pathetic.
«John Constantine!" Zatanna shouted, but it sounded like a swear word.
«The circumstances of our meeting are always bullshit, sweetheart, but it can't be helped. Thanks to you, I finally found Willard Lye. Now, if you'll excuse us.
With a snap of his fingers, John jumped from the second floor. Demina and Superboy didn't even have time to move before their bodies were shackled with the same chains as Zatanna.
«Well, boy, we don't have much time, so listen to me carefully and absorb like a sponge," John opened the door to the hallway, "follow me.
«How did you find me?
«I did. We'll discuss it later. Zatanna sealed this house with powerful magic, and it's gonna take a lot of sweat to get out. And, yeah, just don't open the doors.
«Doors?
There were doors all along the corridor, and the building itself seemed to be a maze of endless corridors. As they ran, a batarang flew at them from behind, and while Will fought it off easily, the magic that suddenly appeared out of thin air hit him in the side, sending Will crashing into John, who was running beside him.
John and Will flew through the nearest door and into a room... with a seashore. A giant monster with a dozen tentacles was peering out of the shore.
Lying on the sand, Will spat up and said:
«What the fuck...
«I told you not to open the doors.
The giant Octopus pointed its tentacles at them, and Will jumped up sharply from his seat, grabbed John, and they flew out into the hallway before the monster grabbed them. There was a rumble of impact behind them.
Along with John and Will, a huge tentacle flew into the hallway and began to spread apart, grabbing both Damian and Superboy, and Zatanna.
«How are you going to get out of this hole? - Will shouted.
***
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