teenwonder | appointments post

Because I know, Zatanna. [This is quickly barreling towards being a fight. He pulls his cape over his shoulders and lets it drop into a shroud, as though he might disappear into it.]

He's the key to this. Figuring out how he's connected to everything here is how we're going to get everyone home.

But you don't work like that. [Intuition plays a part, but she knows better. Robin's a detective.] Where's your proof? Your evidence. And I don't mean theories.

[Which is a pretty nice way of putting it, in her mind.]

The key? But what about the Malnosso? [She's never heard anything about Slade from anyone, which seems pretty unusual if he really is that important.] What does Sl--what does he have to do with them?

I saw him die. That's enough evidence.

[And that is, as far as he's concerned, all that needs to be discussed about Cyborg.]

He has something to do with everything. It's all a test. He's trying to see how far he can push me before I snap.

[That isn't what she's expecting at all, and Zatanna's eyes go wide with horror as Robin reveals why he's so sure Cyborg can't be from his future. It's really hard to keep arguing after he says that, and she's silent for a long moment after before she manages to get out anything at all.]

I'm sorry.

[For everything, really. For what he saw, what he believes--and the way she's still silently questioning his certainty.]

But--wait. [Something isn't really meshing for her as he goes on, and Zatanna frowns as she puzzles it out. The ego-centric view is what tips her off, makes her finally start understanding what he's saying, at least a little.] Is Slade someone from your world?

[Or maybe worse. For Robin to be so focused on him--]

[He's quiet after she expresses her condolences. It's not going to change anything. There's no sense in going on about it.]

Of course he is. He probably exists on yours too. And once you meet him, know that nothing is safe. Don't trust anyone, no matter how well you think you know them.

Robin...

[She doesn't want to do this. To pick apart his notions and his ideas. But Zatanna has to. The feeling of the paper in her hand, the countless times she's read that name over the past little while--she has to.]

You're saying that everything about Luceti--about this entire world--is all focused on you.

[He tilts his head, because that's not it at all. Hasn't she been listening?]

Of course it's not! It's about him and people like him. Don't you have someone where you're from that would want to see you put away indefinitely? Don't you think that your enemies would jump at the chance to send you off if there was some dimension that could hold you?

If I can find a way to trace this to Slade, then I'll know how it happened for everyone else. There's a keystone piece that connects worlds. Slade's going to lead me to it.

[She doesn't know whether to feel better or worse about how deeply his ideas run, or how widely he applies them. There's a single thin line of sense to it, because they do fight evil and people with superpowers, sure.

But specific application kind of makes the whole thing fall apart, and Zatanna shakes her head.]

It still doesn't make sense. Not in my world, anyway. The Light already had control of the Justice League. They wouldn't need something like this.

[Even if they had been so close to losing, thanks to the Team.]

But what if you're wrong? I mean, the one thing we know for sure is that impossible things happen here. Like being possessed, or having our entire lives rewritten. If Slade's responsible, then you can do something about it--but what if he isn't?

[What if you can't?]

I'm not wrong. [Full stop. Brick wall. They could entertain "what if?" scenarios for hours, but he refuses to lose sight of the bigger picture.]

I'm going to put it all together and prove it to everyone.

Edited 2013-09-14 12:46 (UTC)

Or you're going to be so focused on this one thing, you miss something important because you refuse to believe it.

It's like stage magic. People don't see the trick because they don't want to believe there is a trick, so they get fooled. And you don't want to see anything else but Slade.

Then you can focus on the other things. I'm going to keep letting the evidence lead me to the right place. [and that right place is SLADE.]

You mean keep making it fit into what you want to believe. [Robin could be right. Maybe someone named Slade is playing a part in this. But she thinks he isn't being objective, and there's a pretty obvious reason for it.]

Is he the one who killed your friends?

[WELP. If they weren't fighting before, they certainly are now. It's as though she's reared back and slapped him. He turns away from her completely then, voice dropping to a soft, smoldering whisper.]

Get out.

[Well damn. Robin turns away, and Zatanna knows she's pushed too far. But it makes so much sense if that's the case. If Slade's responsible, then Robin can stop him--and he can make him pay for what he's done.]

Because I get it, you know. What that's like. [Maybe not to lose her friend, but the person who's most important to her? To see the one who took him away standing there in his place? That she understands.

And notably, she isn't leaving.]

[She's not leaving, and he's not going to force her out. Not yet.

But that doesn't mean he has to stay here listening to it. He casts her a stare over his shoulder and makes a move for the window. Now that he's awake, he might as well survey the village from the rooftops and work on swallowing the bubbling hot emotion she's been raising.]

[Really? Really? AUGH Robin can be so frustrating. But even though Zatanna could stop him--she's really tempted to--she doesn't. It's pretty clear that he's not going to listen to her, so it's probably better that they separate right now.

So after he goes, Zatanna sticks around long enough to put the papers back where she found them before leaving herself.]

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