EIGHT: Small But Mighty

Damian and I searched for the others while trying to remain undetected. As the building began to shake, I realized we might be in a bit of trouble.

We rushed toward the center of the shaking. Hundreds of tiny demons swarmed the room. A flash of light ran past us.

"Barry..." I mumbled.

As an arrow shot perilously close to me and hit two demons at once, I realized Green Arrow was there, too.

"Okay, Luthor isn't paying me enough for this," Ollie declared. "Actually, he isn't paying me at all. I need to renegotiate my contract. Either way, I'm out!" He fled from the room, not noticing me or the kid in the shadows.

It's nice to see that, even evil, Green Arrow's sarcasm remains in tact, I thought.

"Bollocks..." A British voice groaned.

"Constantine!" I said in relief. At least we'd found someone. Damian and I raced toward the sound.

He was buried under debris from the ceiling, but the slew of creative curse words which followed told me he was still very much alive.

I started digging him out as the demons ran around the room wildly. Damian realized he couldn't move most of the debris easily, so he used a few of the demons for target practice, keeping them away from us.

Finally, I found Constantine. He had nearly been crushed, but a layer of magic seemed to be holding the weight off of him. It was failing rapidly, so I moved the last of the debris before the shield broke.

"Thanks, Mate," he greeted me. He quickly said some sort of spell and the demons vanished back into Hell.

"Are you hurt?" I asked.

"It's nothing I can't handle," he replied. "Where's Zee?"

"I don't know. I lost track of everyone. If Damian hadn't found me, I'd probably be dead."

"That's right, Grayson," Damian chimed in. "You owe me a life debt now."

"I think Gar's alright," I continued, ignoring him. "He scurried away before they saw him... But we need to find Kara and Zatanna."

"There's a lot of power radiating from someone in this direction," Constantine said as he started walking. "I'm not sure who it is, but maybe it's one of our girls."

We followed him down a dark corridor. At the end was a room. He opened the door and was immediately attacked by magic.

"Bollocks!" Constantine cried again as a powerful spell nearly blasted his head off.

"Stay away from me!" A voice shouted. It sounded much younger than I'd expected.

"This must be the kid Harley mentioned," I realized aloud.

"I mean it! Don't touch me!" The girl continued.

"We're not going to hurt you, sweetie," I said gently.

She stepped into view then. She was visibly panicking, and she clutched her head in her hands and started talking to herself. It seemed like she was losing the argument.

I was concerned when Damian stepped out from behind me. "It's okay," he said. "I know these two are blithering idiots, but we're here to help. I'm Damian."

She sniffled in response, but she didn't attack. I would have been offended by his words, but they appeared to be working. Damian slowly moved closer to her as if he was approaching a frightened wild animal.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Lex told me not to trust anyone," she replied. "He's been protecting me."

"Lex is the one who made this world what it is," Damian explained. "He's only protecting himself. He's using you for your powers."

She hesitated, studying him carefully like she was trying to decide whether or not to trust him. "I'm scared," she finally admitted softly.

"It's okay to be scared," Damian replied. "If you let me, I'll protect you." He paused before asking again, "What's your name?"

"Raven," she said. "My name is Raven."

"Okay, Raven," Damian replied. "That's Constantine, and this is Robin."

I was surprised when he used that name, but I also realized it didn't feel right. I don't know if Barbara got in my head or what, but she was right... I wasn't Robin anymore. How could I be after everything that had happened?

"Like the bird?" Raven asked softly.

"Yeah," I replied, hoping I wouldn't scare her off.

"I'm named after a bird, too..." She hesitated before asking Damian, "Are you sure you trust them?"

"Yes," he replied, surprising me again. "We share a common goal." He reached toward her and asked, "Do you trust me?"

She nodded slowly and cautiously took his hand. He guided her closer to me and Constantine. "Our allies are missing, Raven. Can you help us find them?"

She nodded again. "The dark-haired girl is close... The blonde is going to be harder to rescue," she said.

"Then we'll start with Zee," I decided. Kara was supposed to be basically indestructible. I had to hope that was true, because as tough as Zatanna was, she could be killed. That meant she needed us more than Kara did.

"Nice job, Kid," I said to Damian. "I didn't think they taught compassion at the League of Assassins."

"They don't," he replied firmly. He stayed close to Raven, visibly determined to protect her as she left the room.

We followed our tiny guide down the corridor. Someone suddenly grabbed my arm. I almost attacked him before I realized who it was.

"Robin!" Captain Marvel cried in relief. He pulled me into a tight hug. Billy Batson might not look too impressive in his true body, but in the adult superhero form he wore now, he was extremely strong.

"It's alright, Cap," I told him, not using his real name in case anyone was listening who shouldn't know it. "We're here to get you out, but we need to rescue Zatanna and Kara first."

"Zatanna's alive? Oh, thank the Gods..." Billy mumbled.

"Maybe not for long if we don't hurry up and find her," Constantine pointed out.

"Who's this ray of sunshine?" Billy joked.

"John Constantine," I replied. "And this is Damian... Batman's son. And I assume you know Raven?"

"Yeah, we've met," Billy replied.

Raven nodded. "He's kind to me," she said.

"Robin's my friend, Raven," he said. "He's a really cool guy! You can trust him and anyone he hangs out with."

Raven seemed to be reassured by his words. She relaxed a bit. "This way," she said.

We soon reached a room. I could hear muffled sobs coming from inside. Constantine pushed the door open before anyone else could.

We found Zatanna inside of the room. She knelt over a pile of ashes. As she sobbed, I wondered what had broken her.

"Zee... What happened here, luv?" Constantine asked.

She didn't answer him. Constantine cast some sort of spell and the recent past played out before our eyes.

I recognized the man standing over her as she regained consciousness. So did Zatanna.

"Daddy?" Her past self asked. "How?"

That was an excellent question. Giovanni Zatara had sacrificed his freedom to save Zatanna from becoming Doctor Fate. He was only allowed to see her as himself for one hour once a year, and the rest of the time, his body was a vessel for Doctor Fate.

"Apophis freed me, my child," Zatara replied. He smiled sadistically at Zatanna and I knew this was bad news. "He destroyed the helmet which had imprisoned me. And now, I will free you."

"Daddy... This isn't you," Zatanna said cautiously.

"Of course it is." He attacked her, grabbing her by her throat and squeezing.

"Dad... Dad, stop! Let me go!" Zatanna choked out.

"Join us, Zatanna! You'll be much happier with us than with them!" He laughed as he added, "I'd tell you to ask Wally, but I killed him."

Zatanna's face filled with horror and grief, but shifted quickly to rage. "Yb erif, uoy lliw esaeler em!" She cried.

Zatara's body went up in flames. He let Zatanna go as he tried to find a way to put himself out. He didn't have enough time. The flames engulfed him too quickly for him to do more than pat at himself frantically and scream in pain.

It wasn't until he was nothing but ashes that Zatanna fully registered what she'd done and broke down.

The past faded away, and only the current Zatanna was left with her father's ashes. My heart broke for her.

"Oh, Zee..." I said softly. I pulled her into my arms and held her as she cried. She finally seemed to focus then.

"I killed him, Dick," she whispered. "I killed my father..."

"You saved him, Zee. He wouldn't have wanted to be Lex's puppet. He would have never forgiven himself if he killed you or turned you evil."

"But I killed him..."

"It was self-defense, luv," Constantine said soothingly. "You won't be damned for it. You weren't even trying to kill him... He just went up in flames too quickly."

"I just wanted him to release me... I would never hurt my father... I...." She shook her head.

"Don't cry, Zee," Billy said as he wiped away his own tears. "You did him a kindness. I've seen the way the people Apophis turns rot away inside. This was better."

It was Raven who courageously walked up to Zatanna and gently touched her arm. "He wasn't in there anymore," she said. "Your dad left his body with Doctor Fate. He's okay... He didn't feel it."

Zatanna looked into Raven's eyes and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Raven promised. "I can feel them... Some of them fight to hold onto their bodies. They're still in there... The others can't be changed back."

"But we can save the ones who held on?" I asked.

"I think so... But I don't know how. I just know it won't be easy."

"Then we have to try. I won't give up on them... We'll save as many of them as we can."

"Robin... I think Lex's tech genius is-" Zatanna began.

"Batgirl? Yeah, I found that out the hard way."

"Are you okay?"

"Not really... But I'm alive, thanks to Damian. I'm not gonna lie... I kind of froze when I realized it was her."

"We'll get her back, Robin. We'll find a way."

"This has all been very inspiring," Damian said dryly, "but Supergirl needs our help."

"He's right," I said. "They still have her."

"Wait, there's a Super girl now?" Billy asked.

"Yeah. I'll explain later," I replied. "Let's go find her so we can get out of here and regroup. I don't want to run into battle with two little kids if I can help it, even if one of them is already a tiny master assassin."

"She's this way," Raven said. She started walking, so we followed her, but she froze when she reached one of the doors. "I don't want to go in there," she whispered. "He scares me."

"Who does?" Damian asked as he moved closer to her automatically like he would fight anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way.

"Superman," she whispered. "My head hurts around him... My heart hurts, too. He's fighting so hard, but that tiny piece of him that's still good is trapped in the deepest corner of his mind. Superman is Lex's scariest friend... He can't be stopped and he's thirsty for carnage."

"But the real Superman is still in there?" I asked.

"He is... But he's getting weaker every day..."

"Then we'll fix him. No matter what, we'll fix him."

"Robin, you might not be able to," Billy said sadly.

"It's Superman, Cap. We're going to fix him. I refuse to give up on him, because he would never give up on any of us."

That was part of it, but Clark was also Bruce's best friend. I couldn't save Bruce. I refused to let Clark die, too.

"Stay out here, luv," Constantine said to Raven. "Zee and Captain Marvel will stay with you and protect you. Baby Batsy, I need you to be our lookout. Robin and I will handle this mess, alright?"

"I should go with you," Billy said. "I can match some of Superman's powers. It doesn't matter if he figures out they still work, because I'm leaving with you guys."

"We need your powers," I agreed. "Damian, stay with Zatanna and Raven, alright?"

I expected him to protest, but he took one look at how scared Raven was and nodded. "I'll make sure everyone is safe," he replied way too stoically for an eight-year-old.

Billy, Constantine, and I headed into the room. I was relieved to see for myself that Clark was alive until I realized what he was doing.

Kara dangled several feet in the air, bound to a ceiling pipe by her wrists. She was struggling to free herself while Clark beat her with a whip that had crystal shards attached to it. He handled it carefully and I realized what the glowing shards must be.

"Kryptonite," I said softly.

"Kal-El, don't do this to me! This isn't you!" Kara insisted.

"It's the new and improved version," Clark replied as he hit her again. Kara screamed in pain as the shards touched her flesh.

I was about to make my move when Billy stopped me. He shook his head and took a deep breath before casually showing himself.

"This looks like fun," he said. "Can I join you?"

"You're powerless," Clark reminded him.

"I can still use a whip." Billy pouted before adding, "Come on, Superman! I need an evil outlet besides punching people!"

Clark chuckled darkly. "I understand how frustrating this must be for you," he said. "Alright, take this. Help me torture my pathetic excuse for a cousin."

Billy caught the whip and remained on the ground. Kara began struggling harder, determined to free herself. Billy raised the whip above his head. He looked like he was going to use it on Kara, but at the last second, he flew into the air and used it on Clark.

I hated seeing Clark in pain, but considering he was evil at the moment and he was torturing Kara, I supported Billy's choice.

Billy hit him again, this time knocking Clark to the ground. He hurried to free Kara, carrying her in his arms as he flew toward the ground and through the door.

"He won't be down for long," Billy said. "We need to get out of here right now!"

Kara clung to Billy, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck as the rest of us followed them. Constantine cast a spell and a portal opened. I could see a strange living room with a fireplace on the other end. Figuring it was the only chance we had, I shrugged and said, "Alright, everyone, follow me!"