Meeting Zatanna

'Yeah, right. I bet it was rigged. Bruce Wayne gave it to you.'

Coincidence after coincidence. Ha! The odds were really stacking up. Normally, this would have garnered a little bit of suspicion but at this point it was downright confirmation. Aaron pretended to nod appreciatively. "Lucky." A smile crept on his face. "My daughter will be so jealous when I tell her I met Zatanna. She's her idol."

He was sure that comment would give Batman pause. Daddy issues, the most weaponizable thing in the world. Aaron was aware of how Bruce Wayne's parents were shot and killed in front of him. Everybody in Gotham knew. It was what spurred Batman on, made him who he was today: a paranoid, logical, intelligent, yet emotionally-driven detective.

Arriving at the magician's door, Aaron could feel the magic swirling inside. Was she just going to blast him with it? No, probably not. Iman was with him and she was an innocent bystander. He suspected a magic circle. A trap. Something that would go unnoticeable in the chance he was innocent.

Afterall, the fact that Batman was going out of his way to do this meant he had no grounds to confront him. No tangible proof. Only this elaborate plan that he could only entrust to a close alley. The details to Bruce and Zatanna's relationship were lost on him but he could casually deduce that it was not just professional. Maybe there was romance or maybe it was purely platonic.

It didn't matter regardless. For now, Iman opened the door and the two of them went in. Zatanna sat her dresser and reapplied her red lipstick. She puckered her lips together and pretended she saw them through the corner of her mirror.

"Oh, hello!" Zatanna's voice was genuinely lovely and her curves more so as she stood up from her chair. He wished he could one day rip her stockings and hear her moan. "You must be the visitors. Come in, come in!"

Aaron noticed a carpet between them. He smiled. So that was it. Underneath it was the magic circle. Again, it was discreet. If he wasn't the Chosen One, it would have gone under his nose. But he could see the magical outlines as though he had x-ray vision. Judging by Iman's calm eyes, that wasn't supposed to be the case. The magic circle was intended to be hidden under the carpet completely, not glowing like a neon light on a street.

He suspected Batman had also fitted the place with cameras and microphones. On paper, there was nothing Aaron could do to deactivate them and to prevent Batman from noticing suspicious activity. There was nowhere else to go.

Aaron stopped onto the carpet.

Nothing happened.

He could see the confusion dancing in Zatanna's gorgeous eyes. She seemed almost hesitant as he and Iman stepped forward.

"Your performance was incredible," Iman praised. "I've been watching you and your father since I was a little girl. Just…fascinating."

"Thank you!" Zatanna recovered quickly and graced the Persian woman with a smile. She gestured to the top hot on her dresser table. "You want me to sign it for you?"

"Oh, yes!" Iman clasped her hands together. "Please. It would mean a lot to me."

Aaron stayed quiet, hands in his pockets. On the inside, he was cackling and he could practically hear the perplexity from the Bat Cave. Here was the hole in Batman's plan, a facet of his being he did not understand: Aaron Reigner was undetectable.

To God, to ****, to the universe, the Chosen One did not exist. He did not register within their omniscience. The Manhunter said it himself during their conversation. He was simply undetectable. A spell from a great magician would have worked on anyone but him.

'How unlucky for you, Batman. Your plan was flawless. You only lacked information. To completely activate my skill and avoid springing her magic circle, I had to think empty thoughts. Admittedly a little difficult because of Zatanna's stockings but easily doable as long as I was focused.'

How did he know? Cosmic intuition known as the Collective ****.. It was like the universe was advising him on what to do and the results were plain to see. He had casually trudged through the most dangerous magic circle in the universe without blinking, and now that he had stepped off the carpet and magic circle, he was free to think as he pleased. Of course, once he stepped back on it again, he would have to clear his thoughts. For a calm, rational person like Aaron, it was as easy as eating pie.

'It really is a good thing I figured it out in time. Otherwise, I would have gotten caught.'

"Hey, this might be strange," Aaron said, "but could I get your number? My daughter is a huge fan of yours. She'd love it if you could talk to her. She's asleep right now so I don't think I can reach her now."

"Aww, of course! I don't mind. As long as you don't spread it." Zatanna winked at him. He smiled and bowed his head a little.

"Thank you, ma'am."

Aaron and Iman decided to leave not long after. Empty thoughts, empty thoughts. He got away. The magic circle did not activate as his shoes nonchalantly crept on top of it.

As the door closed, he could hear Zatanna calling up Bruce and telling him that he was totally wrong. As the Chosen One, his hearing had evolved to the point that he could hear across entire buildings (assuming he focused intensely–he still didn't have complete control over it). Stepping into the limo, he could hear her complaints through walls and doors.

The limo started to move. He could still hear. A kilometre, two kilometres–

"–not a zilch of magic. I thought I sensed magic in the crowd but honestly? I feel that kind of thing all the time. Human magi that don't know of their potential are more common than you think. When they get exposed to my magic, they feel it and their bodies naturally respond to it by radiating a little magic of their own. It's normal."

He couldn't catch Bruce's response. The phone was too quiet, too low. Fortunately, he didn't need to. Zatanna's replies gave him a pretty good picture of what he was saying.

"It was a quadruple-layered magic circle. If he was the Chosen One, if he was some sort of reality warper, I would have noticed. You trust my expertise, right Brucie? Then listen when I say this guy isn't it. The Chosen One is here in Gotham but they are not this Aaron individual."

A murmur from the phone. Aaron waited patiently. Thank god Iman was silent. It wasn't easy focusing on their position in a moving car. He required total focus.

"No problem." A sigh from Zatanna. "The next suspect is Dick, huh? I mean, saying your own son is the Chosen One is a bit conceited, wouldn't you think? Wait, John is also on the list? Wait, you brought him here to Gotham!?"

She seemed petrified by John's presence. So it was true, the British man he met at the urinal was Zatanna's ex boyfriend. Interesting. Her reaction was a dead give away. 'To think the ramblings of a cocky British guy would help me outfit the greatest detective. I got lucky,' Aaron thought.

Nonetheless, Zatanna was closer to Batman than he assumed. Another interesting facet of her life but largely irrelevant. The main takeaway was Batman's method of investigation. Aaron was just another suspect among a long line of them. That made sense. The World's Greatest Detective had to remain objective and count his losses when he had to. Given his cunning nature, he likely already prepared a plan to expose Dick too. According to Cassandra at least, Batman was the type to have plans stretching the alphabet. Dick, Tim, Aaron, Superman, whoever the Chosen One was, Batman had a plan to rip apart their identity.