Chapter 29: Decision

Sora and Zatanna now sat in the living room that was now fixed with Zatara's magic. The two members of the league stood a few feet in front of them discussing in hushed tones.

With them preoccupied, Sora had a few things on his mind.

'What was that spell!? It wasn't any normal spell for it to feel like that. It seems like Zatara a bit more unhinged than I expected. Something's not adding up.' He thought before reviewing what he knew and had observed so far.

'From when she came here, not once did she mention caring about whether her father was looking for her. She also seemed happy when talking about her freedom.'

'Judging from her reaction when Zatara barged in, this isn't the first time he's acted like this. He's even more overprotective and smothering than he was portrayed to be.'

'That and his refusal to listen to his daughter's opinion and words. Add that to his refusal to allow her even the smallest of freedom. He may have wanted to protect her but his actions did the opposite and pushed her away.'

'No wonder it was easy for her to make her decision.' He concluded after going through his facts.

"Now, Talk." He was brought out of his thought by Batman's deep voice.

"About?" Sora retuned, matching his calm tone. The dark knight may have wanted to intimidate him enough to talk but he would have to try harder than that.

The two stared at each other for a few moments before Batman turned to Zatanna.

"You said he said that he saved you. From what exactly?" He questioned. The girl shifted in her seat at the dark knights gaze.

"When I got here, I was kidnapped. I-" She was interrupted as Zatara cut in.

"I knew it. He can't be trusted." He said only for Batman to level a glare at him, shutting him up.

"I was kidnapped by a demon." She continued as if she didn't hear him, causing the two adult to slightly widen their eyes.

"A demon?" Batman asked, deep in thought.

"Yes. A demon by the name of Abbadon." She confirmed.

"That's impossible. If there was a demon here, it would have caught the league's attention." Zatara said, disbelievingly.

"Except that unlike all the other demons you might have faced that didn't require much brain power to beat, this one was smart and didn't show its face on the first day he got here." Sora said calmly, taking a shot at the mature magician.

The man's eye twitched but Batman wasn't down with his questions.

"What did it want?" He questioned. On the off chance that they were right, he didn't want to miss anything.

"To revive it's master, Aamon." Zatanna answered quickly.

The drop of the name was enough for both leaguers to open their eyes slightly.

'It's seems they know something.' Sora thought, noticing the subtle change in their expression, especially Zatara.

"The kidnappings…" The dark knight started.

"All a means to gather enough magic to revive him." Sora answered truthfully, knowing that the man had either done his research or had an eye on Tokyo for a while.

"And how exactly did you defeat him?" Batman asked, now focusing on Sora.

"Who knows." He answered with the same serious with which the question was asked.

"The incident at Tokyo cathedral…" The dark knight dropped, trying to get a reaction from him.

"An unfortunate effect of bad housekeeping." Sora answered, both of them locked in a stare.

He knew the Batman knew he was involved but he wouldn't admit it. That would only give room for him to confirm his powers and create countermeasures.

He wasn't the only one who knew the meaning of being cautious. With Sora's extended 'knowledge' he had the entire league at a disadvantage. He knew their strengths and weaknesses for the most part while they knew next to nothing about his powers.

He couldn't help but let a victorious smirk grace his face. The dark knight narrowed his eyes before turning to Zatanna who immediately looked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Batman and Zatara moved a few feet away again to have a silent conversation. The conversation seemed to heat up a bit but the dark knight looked calm through it all.

"What do you think is going to happen now?" Zatanna asked Sora who shrugged a bit.

"I'm not entirely sure but I'm preparing for the worst." He answered, his eyes still focused on the pair of grown ups.

They sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke again, though silent enough for only him to hear.

"I've made my choice." That got his attention. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit nervous. The fear melted at the resolute look on her face. Without speaking, she made her very choice clear.

Batman who seemed to be done talking with Zatara, walked toward the pair, looking to Zatanna.

"You and your father need to talk in private." She was about to resist but the glare he gave her made her pause. She looked to Sora who gave a nod, before getting off the couch to her father.

That left the brooding pair together.

"Makoto Sora. Twelve years old and orphan as of roughly two months ago." The dark knight spoke as if reciting it.

"You've done your research. I'm surprised how long it took you to find us. It's not like we tried too hard to hide." He prodded before continuing.

"Or maybe you already knew where we were and kept it from Zatara because you wanted to continue observing." He said, staring Batman straight in the eyes.

The dark knight was unfazed except for the narrowing of his eyes.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Why are you watching me?" Sora questioned, still calm after the confirmation.

"You are a wild card. An unknown variable that popped out of the corners of the world. With the loss of your mother you might be inclined to indulge yourself in some less than legal things." Batman said, basically confirming his theory.

"What are your powers?" He questioned.

"Nothing of consequence." Sora answered bluntly.

"What is your goal?" He all but demanded.

"I don't see how that concerns you. You broke into my home and interrogated me. Are those the actions of a hero? I'm more concerned about my own safety from you than from criminals." Sora stated, his tone not shaking one bit.

"It's illegal to hire a minor." The man said, hinting at his job.

"It's also illegal to attack a civilian, not to mention, a child." Sora retorted.

The two continued their back and forth for a while, knowing it wasn't getting them anywhere.

The father and daughter duo walked towards the brooding pair who seemed to be in a heated stare.

"And?" Batman asked, wanting to know the results of their talk.

Zatara let out a depressed and tired sigh as he stood behind his daughter. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.

"I'm not going." She said firmly.

Unlike what Sora expected, Zatara didn't explode in anger or disagreement. All that could be seen was cold acceptance.

By now he had calmed down enough to understand that should he force her to go with him, he would end up losing his daughter permanently.

He was okay with her hating him as long as she was safe but doing so would cause her to run away again or do something even more drastic and he didn't want that.

He had no choice but to allow it. His previous talk with Batman also helped him make this decision, with Batman convincing him to allow her make her own decisions.

Batman had also analyzed Sora's behavior and his connection with Zatanna. With how she practically asked his permission a few minutes earlier, he could tell that the boy wouldn't sit down and allow her to be taken away.

From the small confrontation that they had, despite how it may sound, Zatara is likely lose in a fight against the two children. The boy was used to fighting and his tactics and lack of hesitation showed that.

The next few minutes were spent with Zatara lecturing his daughter to stay safe and out of trouble. He gave a not so subtle glare at Sora while speaking.

Zatara finished speaking and was ready to depart with Batman when the dark knight turned to Sora.

"Some things aren't worth it. Revenge is one of them." He said vaguely but Sora showed no reaction as a yellow light surrounded to two grownups before they disappeared.

Using Energy Sensing, he searched around to make sure they were gone before speaking up.

"Zatanna."

The girl in question, furrowed her brow in concentration as she raised a hand to eye level. Her palm was engulfed in a blue glow as a the air seemed to vibrate a bit.

Tiny objects the size of tiny marbles were drawn to the space above her hand. Her eyes narrowed even more as she clenched her palm, crushing the objects above her hand, turning them to dust that was immediately caught in a plastic bag by Sora.

"If he thinks he can spy on us then he's wrong." He said as he tossed the bag of destroyed spy tech in his inventory as a precaution.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Batman, that boy…he's dangerous." Zatara said to Batman as they appeared in front of a Zeta tube in a different part of Tokyo.

"How so?" The dark knight asked.

"That pendant on his neck is one of magical origin. It hasn't been seen for centuries. It can only be worn by either those it deems worthy or those who are part of 'his' descendants." Zatara said as a shiver ran down his back.

"Who?" Batman asked with narrow eyes.

"The sorcerer whose power rivaled demigods and more cruel than even demons. Champions of each of the gods came together and only then did they stand a chance."

"In the end they managed to defeat him but at the cost of their lives. Only one survived but just barely before she disappearing to create her own culture. The sorcerer by the name of Aldous."