Realization

Aaron laughed till he recalled the gorgeous figure of Zatanna Zatara. Fuck the cigarettes, fuck the magic, he wanted to see the bootylicious sorceress.

Iman hardly heard him slip back down next to her. Sitting down, comfortable, watching the minutes of a sexy magician at play, Aaron should have felt at ease. Yet in the back of his mind there was a tingle. Zatanna disappeared and reappeared in an instant, a display of magic that caused the audience to go into an uproar. It was so impossibly fast that it shouldn't have happened. Physics would not allow it.

Strangely enough, Aaron wasn't keen to figure out the mystery. His mind was dissociated from the show. He wanted to smack himself. His arms on his lap, still as an unimpressed audience member.

'What's wrong with me? Focus.' The tits were right there but he couldn't. It was like…this was too good to be true. Right after he left the manor, right after an easy day of work, he was greeted with this? Zatanna Zatara herself? Iman had brought him here and…and…

Something was nagging at him and it wouldn't stop. A train of thought that ignored the breaks and kept twisting and turning until…until…

'Wait a fucking minute…' He blinked seven times, pretending to be awed by her magic. He wasn't. It wasn't magic that was shocking him, it was the harrowing discovery he just made.

'A strong source of energy in Gotham, the sudden appearance of Zatanna in Gotham by Wayne Industries…it's way too good to be true. Iman didn't even tell me where we were going until today. Right now. I get it now…this is Batman's doing. His little scheme.'

All those words, the offer to babysit Chloe, to hire him as a chef, it was a fake-out. A way to earn his trust. He should have seen it. Why would the World's Greatest Detective trust him with his most devastating secret? He wouldn't. No way. Cassandra had once told him that Batman was more paranoid than an owl. Just because he cooked well and gave Dick some comfort wouldn't make all that paranoia disappear.

'To think he said all that without actually meaning it. Batman hid his intentions well. Scarily well.'

Aaron understood why as well.

The Chosen One. The dangling thread in the mystery of Leviathan. That was what Batman was trying to solve and his only suspect was him: Aaron Reigner. Batman had likely deduced the coincidences surrounding him were too good to be true. His relationship with Cassandra, the Harley-Ivy incident, his very brief interactions with Hadiyah and Jace at Tanya Fox's party, his escape from the Tournament of 100, the sudden disappearance of Angel Breaker and Prometheus, and finally, the emergence of a powerful source of magic. The detective had managed to narrow it down to Aaron as the connecting thread.

He was the World's Greatest Detective. Of course he did.

Aaron glanced up at the ceiling. Given the discreet yet thorough nature of his actions, the detective's plan was simple: to get him to drop his guard. Perhaps, like Angel Breaker and Prometheus, the Bat was aware that the Chosen One was compatible with all of reality, including magic. He wanted to see if Zatanna could sense it. He likely invited this John Constantine character too, although it was clear he wasn't a stickler for the detective's orders. He suspected John had come to the theatre to leer at his ex, not to actually cooperate with her on the investigation. After all, he had left the place to smoke. Aaron could detect he was honest in that desire.

'John Constantine…I don't know who you are but thank you.'

A smile grew on his face. Aaron had to hand it to the detective, he almost got him. On top of that, he was sure that somewhere, whether physically or through a hidden camera, Batman was monitoring him. Scanning his every move. Judging him.

'So he thinks he's trapped me? I'll admit, it was a good play. Too bad that it got spoiled.' Talk about luck. The universe really did love him. If Aaron hadn't run into John (or John hadn't bumped into him like a crazy homeless guy), then the plan would have flown over his head. Things would have gone like this: he would approach Zatanna at the behest of Iman (who was likely doing this under Bruce's orders), talk to her, the sorceress supreme would cast a spell to expose his status as the Chosen One, and the remaining pieces of his actions would fall into his place. Aaron's cover would totally be blown.

Additionally, Batman had Chloe and a general sense of who Aaron was. Two key advantages. On the other hand, Aaron possessed three secret trump cards. First, the detective couldn't monitor him too closely when he was with Cassandra since the Batgirl was a monstrous fighter with absurdly sharp senses. If she, his adopted daughter, learned what Batman was doing, there was a chance she would lose all trust in him.

Second, Chloe. As long as Chloe was around, he could move as he pleased. If he didn't want to work for them, he could use Chloe as an excuse. If he wanted to go somewhere, again, Chloe was there. She was attentive and would agree to his little plans. The girl had once been homeless and he had already tested if she listened to him. She did, to the tiniest detail. She played the part of an adopted daughter incredibly well.

Third had to do with Catwoman. She was carrying out a little mission for him. It would be important for later. Aaron suspected something like this would happen and put in a countermeasure just in case, but not this soon. His opponent was much cleverer than he presumed.

Aaron cupped his cheek, smiling. Put simply, this was a battle of wits between him and Batman. A game of cat and mouse. A chase.

There had to be a crack in his plan. A hole he could exploit. But who? How? Aaron thought he saw Sid Bunderslaw in the audience. Would he be useful though…? Probably not. His eyes wandered and settled on the Persian beauty beside him.

'Maybe the crack is closer than I thought.'

Iman Avesta. Since she was totally unaware of his daughter, the chances Iman was told of her purpose here was slim. In other words, she didn't know this was a mission to trap the Chosen One. At best, she was told to keep an eye on him for safety reasons.

Interesting. That gave a little insight as to how Batman treated his allies. Lure them close but not too close. Offer them rewards and friendship but never the truth.

Time seemed to slow. Think, think, think. He removed his hands from his cheek and drummed his fingers on his lap. 'How do I get out of here without causing alarm? I'll need Iman's help. I'll need to control. Should I just kiss her? No, that would be too out of character, he'd figure it out instantly.'

Strangely, Aaron wasn't panicking. He was as cool as the other side of his pillow.

Meanwhile, Zatanna proceeded to summon fireworks through her hat. Applause. Some people stood up. Zatanna ran across the platform and swooped down the remaining crackles in the air into her hat.

Swish and bow.

"Thank you, thank you!" Her hat extended, head bowed, cleavage in their direction, and a wink, she caused a greater uproar. She stood up straight, smiled, and raised her arms out. "This was Zatanna Zatara, Mistress of Magic! Remember that name!"

As the audience continued to applaud her, with a final flourish, she vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the audience in awe and another thunderous round of applause. Next to him, Iman stood and clapped. Silent but glowing with enthusiasm.

'She's not pretending. She really enjoys Zatanna's shows. Hm. A mistake on Batman's part.'

The audience dispersed and headed into the foyer. There was a large crowd centered around Zatanna. Conversations were exchanged and cheques were written. There was also a camera following the magician. Aaron made sure to stay clear as servers carrying drinks zig-zagged the area.

Aaron smiled as he took two glasses. "A drink?"

"Sure," Iman replied, immediately taking a sip. "I was thirsty."

'You should have told her more, Batman. Telling her to just keep an eye on me is too vague.'

He calmly sipped on his drink and watched her. In the background, a buzz of noise came from Zatanna and her presence. Although away from that crowded region, they could listen in on them. Frankly, it was just a bunch of nonsense. Flirting, donations, sexual innuendo, and arrogant phrases of the rich. Aaron wondered how Zatanna put up with it.

"You know," Iman began, suddenly talkative, "I'm Arab so I'm not supposed to drink. Being in Gotham changed that."

"You're from Iran, right?"

"How'd you figure?"

"Heard you speak Farsi once," Aaron explained. "Iran has banned ****, if I'm correct."

Iman nodded and took a small mouthful of wine. "I believe so. Of course, I was born and raised in Gotham. I am not too attuned with my ethnicity besides knowing the language and culture. My dad forbade me from drinking, but well…life kicks you in the ass sometimes."

She must have been tipsy if she was swearing. Even so, Aaron didn't stop her.

Another sip. Iman tilted her head back and proceeded to down the rest of it. Aaron pretended to be surprised and then offered her his chalice.

"Need another?"

"Haha, thank you."

He keenly observed her taking his half-drunk glass of wine and emptying it in an instant. He smiled.

By drinking his glass, she absorbed his saliva into her system. A small, insignificant amount, but an amount nonetheless. He could feel the neural link, the shift in her eyes.

Iman Avesta was in his control now.

He didn't verbally give orders. A mere glance and Iman knew what to do. She obeyed. She listened. With the sliver of pure Element X inside his soul, growing and growing with every passing day, he didn't need to give a roundabout order. He could circumvent it entirely.

It was an impossible tell. An undetectable change. Not even Batman would notice.

"I got backseat tickets to Zatanna's dressing room," Iman brought up. There it was. Batman's trap. This was how he was going to be led to Zatanna. Where she would expose him. "I was lucky. Between the directors, only one person and their partner could go. I was chosen."