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Chapter 6 by Koriandr Koriandr

What did Jatanna do?

Attempt to change herself back using the book.

Jason decided it was worth the risk. Clutching the wand tightly, she concentrated on the feel of her old gear, the weight of the Red Hood helmet, and the familiar scents of Gotham's streets. Closing her eyes, she began to chant an incantation backward.

"Nruter em ot deR dooH!"

As she uttered the last syllable, a jolt of energy pulsed through her. She felt dizzy, her surroundings blurring around her. The room began to spin, and a sudden wave of nausea hit. When it subsided, Jason felt... different. Not physically – she was still in Zatanna's body – but mentally. The urgency of getting back to her original form was replaced with an odd, almost magnetic, urge to embrace the essence of Zatanna.

Her reflection in the vanity mirror showed a mischievous glint in the eyes. The corner of her mouth curled into a playful smirk. Gone was the brooding intensity of Red Hood; in its place was the alluring charisma of Zatanna.

She caught herself humming a tune Zatanna would hum before a performance.

"Stop it!" she muttered to herself, staring into the mirror. But even as she said it, she noticed a sultry undertone to her voice.

"What's... happening?" Her voice wavered, still coming out as Zatanna's melodic lilt. "I need to... stay strong."

Zatanna's flamboyant costume felt almost natural now. He couldn't help but admire how the fabrics hugged his new form, caressing the contours of Zatanna's figure. As he draped a cape over his shoulders, he felt a jolt, like an electric current, urging him to succumb to her personality.

"Easy there, Jason. You got this," he tried to reassure himself. But the words felt odd in his mouth, coming out as, "Easy, Zee, you never get stage fright."

She blinked, terrified. That was a very Zatanna thing to say.

"No, no, no! This isn't me!" she exclaimed, but her voice had that playful, teasing tone that was unmistakably Zatanna's.

"I don't have a reason to get riled up, this is me, after all," she smirked at herself in the mirror with horror in her eyes. She was finding it increasingly difficult to verbalize her thoughts the ways he wanted. Everything coming through a Zatanna personality filter.

She tried to recall her time as Red Hood, to anchor herself to her original identity, but those memories felt distant. It was as though Zatanna's memories were overtaking her own. She still remembered who she was, but those just didn't seem all that important all of the sudden. Memories of performing on stage, the thrill of entertaining an audience, and the joy of magic, those took precedence over being a violent vigilante with daddy issues.

The diary beckoned. Almost in a trance, she found herself leafing through its pages, away from the transmutations section, the one relevant to returning her to normal. But... this was normal for her, right? No, no! Snap out of it!

Her fingertips tingled as they brushed against the handwritten spells, and she felt a deep yearning to cast them.

"I can't... I shouldn't..." she whispered, but it was a struggle to resist.

"Come on, Jason. Stay in control," she said, her voice coming out as "Go on, Zatanna. Cast a spell or two..."

What did Jason do?

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