Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Patrol

Eve POV:

Apparently I have a sister now. When I showed up at the Shadowcrest to surprise Zatanna, I had expected her to be happy, and maybe excited. I had not expected her to stare at me, unmoving for almost a full minute before tears started rolling down her cheeks. When I finally got my feet under me and managed to rush over and ask what was wrong, she just answered: “Nothing. Nothing is wrong anymore. Welcome home, sister.”

Since Zatanna was great, and we already had the start of a sisterly vibe going, I just took it in stride.

The reason I had moved in was actually because Mr. Zatara had all but begged me to come live with them. Apparently, Zatanna hadn’t been the same ever since her mother died, and after I had visited, it was like he finally had his daughter back.

The Kents thought it was a great idea, and I couldn’t really keep living in Clark’s old room, so I accepted.

I did realize I had had an effect on her that night, but I hadn’t realized how much. That first day, she had seemed lonely and anxious. She was friendly and enthusiastic, yes, but there was something about her that made me feel like she needed a hug. So I had given her one. And apparently I was good at giving hugs.

The new Zatanna was a walking ray of sunshine. Over the last week, I don’t think I ever saw her without a smile on her face. We went shopping, we went to the zoo, we had a picnic in the park and we practiced magic together. All the while she had a peaceful expression on her face as if she didn’t have a single worry in her heart. Whenever I asked what she was so happy about, she just gave me a mysterious smile.

Oh, and Mr. Zatarra — or ‘just Giovanni’ as he had insisted I call him after Zatanna declared our sisterhood — had moved the Shadowcrest. Gotham was, as I suspected, a magical hotspot, so it was a great place for magicians to live. It was not a great place for children to grow up in, though. Since Zatanna had rarely had any desire to leave the house, this had been fine until now, but with her new lust for life Giovanni decided it was ‘time for a change of scenery’. Thus, the Shadowcrest was now located in the middle of Metropolis.

I also have a cellphone now. Dinah had shown up one day and invited both me and Zatanna out for coffee, and she just gave it to me saying: “A girl your age can’t live in Metropolis without a cellphone. Take it, or I’ll have failed my role as a senior in womanhood.” And that was that. There was no refusing that woman.

Magic practice was also going at a much faster rate now that Zatanna was helping me. Our magic was very different, but her advice on mental imaging and mana control was invaluable. My mana expenditure, even on new spells, had nearly halved! This meant I could even cast 3rd-level spells without great effort. 4th-level spells were still beyond me, but I was getting there.

It was a lazy Saturday morning, Zatanna and I were both practicing flying when we got an unexpected visitor.

“Finally joining me in the sky, Eve?”

We both looked up to where the voice came from and saw Superman descending towards us. He was carrying some sort of high tech case that looked like it was made of opaque crystal. Sunstone, I realized. He had brought along something from the Fortress of Solitude.

“Superman! I’ve been living in your city for over a week and you haven't visited until now?” I said in mock offense.

“I come bearing gifts, if that helps?” He said as he landed softly in front of us and handed me the case.

“You’re forgiven!” I said in a sweet voice as I took the case. He just chuckled before turning to Zatanna who was staring at him wide-eyed.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Miss Zatara. Your father often speaks fondly of you.”

She looked stunned for a moment before scrambling to take his outstretched hand and stutter out a response.

“You too! I mean, nice to meet you too! I’ve seen you on TV!”

“I imagine you would have.” He chuckled as Zatanna turned beet red. “I hope Eve has been treating you well.”

“She’s been treating me perfectly! T— Thank you! I— I— I mean—.” She kept stuttering until I interrupted her.

“Zatanna. Take a deep breath.”

Her eyes widened a little more before she closed them and did as I suggested. After centering herself she spoke again more calmly.

“I’m sorry. Dad doesn’t talk much about his work with the League, but I really look up to all of you.” She bowed formally. “Thank you for keeping us safe.”

Superman looked surprised for a second before his smile became so warm that I was sure it would actually hurt me if tieflings didn’t have fire resistance. “You’re very welcome, Miss Zatara.”

“Hey!” I spoke up. “Sorry to interrupt you while you’re having a moment, but how do I open this thing?”

He chuckled. “Blue button on the front.”

“Aha!” I pressed it and was rewarded with a very sci-fi whooshing sound. Inside the case, resting on a bed of fabric was… ten bucks. It took my brain a few seconds to connect the dots before I grinned up at him “Told ya!”

“You did.” He admitted with a wry smile. “But that’s not the gift.”

I looked back into the case and pulled out the mysterious silky black fabric. A hand, an arm, a torso, another arm, legs… it was a full body leotard. With a cape attached. My size.

“I had the Fortress fabricate it. It should fit perfectly.” Superman spoke while I stared at my superhero costume. “It may be a little plain. I can have the Fortress change the colors if you want. You said you wanted to use your powers to help people so I figured you should look the part.”

I sat there stunned for nearly half a minute before I cast ‘Haste’ and rushed inside to change.

----------------------------------------

Superman POV:

“How do I look?” Eve said as she twirled around in her new costume. I had been worried pure black wouldn’t look very heroic, but she pulled it off.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“You look awesome!” Zatanna nearly squealed at seeing her friend in full superhero getup. She had forgone the mask, pointing out that she would need body paint and a hacksaw to even have a chance at hiding her identity. Besides, she could hide her appearance with magic anyway.

“So, you want to take it out for a spin?” I asked with a grin that got even wider at the look she gave me.

“I can go on patrol with you?” She asked incredulously. “I mean, my spellwork has gotten pretty good, but I don’t exactly have any experience with hero work.”

“Neither did I when I started out.” I pointed out. “Besides, I’ll be there to make sure nothing goes too wrong. Have you decided on a cape-name yet?”

“I still think ‘Witch Girl’ is—” Zatanna started, but Eve cut her off.

“Too close to ‘Witch Boy’, and I don’t want any association with Klarion.” She winced. “You agreed ‘Arcana’ was fine, right?”

“‘Arcana’ is a great name.” I interjected. “And you’re right, Klarion the Witch Boy is not someone you want to be associated with.”

Eve pointed at me while raising an eyebrow at Zatanna and just said: “See?”

“So!” I said before there could be any more distractions. “Come on Arcana. Time for our first patrol as mentor and sidekick!”

----------------------------------------

Eve— no, Arcana was still cackling about me referring to her as my sidekick hours later. Which I had not expected. The other sidekicks always objected to that word, and I had actually used it to tease her. But she loved it. She was brimming with pride whenever I introduced her as such. When I asked her about it, she just commented that I ‘shouldn’t make her doubt the other sidekick’s intelligence before she even met them’.

It was a calm day in Metropolis. The kind of day where I would usually just hover visibly above the city to remind any ne’er-do-wells to stay honest. There was always someone to help though, and I let Arcana deal with most of it to give her both practice and recognition. She performed beyond all expectations, using her magic to deal with any and all problems.

----------------------------------------

“Mimi climbed up the tree and now she can’t get down, the stupid cat! Can you help her, Superman?” The young girl asked, worry tinting her voice.

“Arcana?” I asked, turning towards my new sidekick. “Can you help Mimi down?”

“Sure!” She grinned, and hovered up to grab the cat out of the tree. Mimi wasn’t on board with that idea though, and hissed and scratched at her. Rather than be deterred she… spoke to the cat.

“I understand you’re scared, but I’m only trying to help. … Yes, I know I’m not your human, but your human can’t fly, so she asked me to help. … I’m sure your human will give you a treat when you get down— *sigh* Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

She hovered back down with an exasperated look on her face.

“Do you have any cat treats on you?” She asked the young girl who was looking a little confused by now. “Mimi doesn’t trust me, and wants a treat as a sign of good faith.”

She reached mutely into her pocket and grabbed a little brown pellet that she handed to Arcana, who gave a quick “Thanks,” and hovered back up to the cat in the tree to present her offering. A short exchange later and the cat calmly climbed into her waiting arms with a smug look on its face.

----------------------------------------

“What? We’re just looking for a good time.” One of the three men cornering a young woman in an alley said. “We know you want it, so why play hard to get?”

“Arcana?” I said with a worried frown to my sidekick… who was already moving.

“C’mon! Why you wearin’ that skirt if you don’t… if you… don’t…” *thunk* “...ZZZZzzzz…”

The thug, along with his two friends, collapsed in the middle of his sentence. Asleep.

“Are you okay?” Arcana asked as she approached the scared woman cautiously before pausing and turning to me. “Superman, could you…? My appearance is a little—”

She was interrupted by the young woman rushing forward and throwing herself around her neck muttering: “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou…”

----------------------------------------

“Shit!”

A man who looked like was late for a job interview had spilled coffee all over his white shirt.

Arcana snapped her fingers and muttered “Presto,”... and the stain disappeared without a trace.

“Huh?”

He never even noticed us hovering above him.

----------------------------------------

“You’re a natural at this.” I told her as we were sitting on the edge of the roof of the Daily Planet. “You might already be better at it than me.”

“I’m versatile.” She said with a grin. “Most mundane problems become trivial with even beginner magic. You should spend a day at the Shadowcrest, the Zataras have turned the idea of ‘mundane utility’ into an artform.” *Huff!* She scoffed. “Why make your bed when you can just tell the bed to make itself?”

She gazed out at the city below us for a second. The people milling about like ants.

“Against a real threat, though?” She shook her head in resignation. “I’m not much better than any of the ordinary people down there. Not yet, at least. A plane about to crash? No chance. A bridge collapsing? Duct tape would be more useful. And in a fight?” She sighed. “I won’t have an issue with thugs like the ones I dealt with earlier. Might even be able to deal with some minor villains, or someone particularly weak to magic. But if Black Adam shows up I’ll be dead the second he wants me dead.”

“Not everything is about big disasters and supervillains.” I pointed out. “Today is a good example of what most days are like.”

She smiled at me. “I know. And this is what I want to be doing.” Then her face turned serious before she continued. “But the big threats are out there. And they will show up sooner or later. Which is why I practice. And train. I even asked Black Canary to help me out.” Her lips twitched. “She asked if I had any healing spells.

“I’m under no illusions that hero work is a walk in the park, even with magic. I’ll fail, I’ll get hurt, I’ll get up, and I’ll fail again. But I’ll keep training, and eventually, I’ll succeed more than I fail.”

“And the Justice League?” I asked intently. “You want to join us, right?”

“If I’m invited, I’ll accept,” She said with a shrug. “I don’t have to be in the League to do good, but anything done together is done better.”

For the first time, I realized how insightful the young woman beside me actually was. The other sidekicks — Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Speedy and Troia — all wanted to join the League more than anything. They always went out of their way to impress their mentors, claiming they were ready. None of them ever thought about what being ready to join the League actually meant. Arcana had figured it out without even knowing.

At some point, we had had a discussion about when the sidekicks would be ready to join our ranks in full. The conclusion was that they had to realize exactly what Arcana had just said. Not in those exact words of course.

“The Justice League is an ideal, not a goal. We are heroes first, and League members second. We all do what we do because we wish for the world to be a better place, not because we seek recognition. Until they understand this, they will not be invited to join our ranks.” Batman had concluded, and we all agreed.

“You’re not like the other sidekicks,” I said after a long, comfortable silence.

“Let me guess,” She said. “They’re pissy about not being allowed to join the League despite barely having hit puberty? And they keep acting more and more irresponsibly to demonstrate how ‘worthy’ they are?”

“Heh! Something like that,” I said. “They’re good kids, but they’re a little too focused on proving themselves.”

“Kids stuck in Chinese handcuffs.” She scoffed, then sighed before adding, “I shouldn’t judge them. Apprenticeships under literal superheroes probably come with some expectations.”

“Well, you’re in the same boat, now,” I said with a grin and nudged her shoulder.

She laughed. “Luckily, the only expectations I’ve ever concerned myself with are my own.”

That was a very healthy outlook. I hoped she would never change.