Zatanna took a deep breath as she stood, ready for her performance for the night. She wore her usual fishnets with tails and her top hat. "ecnartne!" Zatanna said as she appeared in the center of the stage. It was time for magic.
"syob?" Zatanna said as several hunky "assitances" appeared around her. "Something for everyone, girls and boys," she said with a wink to the crowd. She flashed a smile and began to move through her performance. She started with the easy stuff, pulling a rabbit out of the hat, doves, cards out of the sleeves. The usual fun stuff. Then she moved on to the more fun stuff, like Houdini's Water Torture, where she would hang upside down in a straight jacket and she would escape with ease.
Finally she got to the last bit, her father's final trick. It was out of date and extremely cheesy at least the wording, but the "mighty comet" routine always got the crowds. She smiled at the audience. "Can I get a volunteer from the audience?" she asked, looking around. She grinned when she noticed that a group of guys were pushing their buddy towards the stage. "OK you. What is it, your birthday?" she asked him.
He got a sheepish grin on his face as he looked at her. "No, bachelor's party," he stated.
"I'm sure your fiancee is glad that you're here with me instead of with a stripper," Zatanna teased. "Or maybe the strippers are later? I can lend you some of my boys if you want." Zatanna joked. The guy blushed slightly and Zatanna grinned, putting him in the wood coffin-like device. She held up her wand as energy swirled around it and she prepared to chant the "spell" for it. Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Magic was at work. She looked around quickly, trying to figure out what it was until her prop exploded, sending peices of wood flying. "What?" Zatanna shouted as she looked at the bachelor she had put in there earlier. He seemed unharmed, but also very angry.
Without warning, shards of wood floated into the air and came right at her. "srewolf!" Zatanna said as the wood turned into flowers. "dniw!" she added quickly as a gust of wind pushed him back. "sffuc raeppa no sih tsirw!" Zatanna shouted as handcuffs appeared on her attackers wrists.
With that done and handled, she turned, flashed a smile at the audience. "That's all for tonite folks!" she said, grinning and acting like she had this all planned to begin with. The curtain lowered and when she turned to find the bachelor, he was gone.
Detective Dorian Kaneis, hated magic shows, but if the captain wanted extra secruity for Zatanna's show, he needed the over time. She being a "retired" super hero made for certain that Dorian would be there.
Dorian never really understood people's fascination with "magic." Slight of hand, and smoke and mirrors, that was all magic was. He watched the show trying to figure out her game, how her tricks were done usually, he could easliy figure out how each trick was completed, but there was something special about Zatanna. That something special could spell trouble for New Haven City.
He watched as the young man approached Zatanna to be her volunteer, then the props on stage shatter like glass, wood doesn't shatter. In midst of the ensuing chaos Zatanna cuffed her attacker with some "magic cuffs," but her playng to the crowd allowed him to escape through the emergency exit.
Dorian chases after the suspect, he sees him stopping at the end of the alley. <Time for some "magic of my own> thinks Dorian. Turning his watch to 12:00, a light flashed and Dorian was encased in the Dark Wolf Armor.
Leaping down in front of the suspect, Dark Wolf realizes the man is terrified. HE picks him up to his feet, saying "What happened in the show?"
"I....I... I don't know," the young man manages to get out before going near hysteria.
<This is going to be an interesting case.> thinks Dark Wolf
Zatanna stood on the stage after the performance wondering who exactly had tried to mess up her performance and why. She ran through the list of mystical villians and really couldn't get anywear. It couldn't have been Tannarak. First of all, this isn't his city. Second, it really isn't his style to use others.
She sighed, wondering who was after her this time. With a lot of thought, Zatanna remembered her "other self" which she had defeated quite a bit ago. Could the other Zatanna have gotten free? This was exactly how she had done it before. Or is it just someone making her think it was the other self. She was perplexed. Nothing she could really do now, but stick around.