They received a visitor in the Tower, one day. Fishnet tights, top hat, tailcoat and a coquettish glint in her eyes, Zatanna presented herself to the Titans that morning. The magician was greeted familiarly by Koriand'r and remarked the absence of her long-since extinguished flame (one Richard Grayson).

Zatanna gave the explanation for her visit as such: "I was in the area- thought I'd drop by.".

The other Titans, by that point, had assembled in the living room to observe this unknown lady; save one, the witch, who would arrive momentarily, and Robin, who was in the process of training Titus the dog a few cities away. Upon entering the living room (after sensing the strong magical presence), a smile seldom seen lit Raven's face.

Having explained who she was to the other teens, Zatanna was free to greet Raven as easily as ever.

"Raven!" She enveloped the witch in a special, close sort of hug. The kind of intimate, familial embrace one saves for only their dearest.

"Hey Zee." Raven murmured, head resting on the magicians shoulder. The woman's aura was homely, to Raven. Not because Zatanna excluded warm, comfortable vibes; but because she felt like magic. The same thing that rested within her heart and every fibre of her being too lay at the core of the magician.

Zatanna pulled away from the hug, holding Raven's shoulders and asking, "How've you been sweetie? I haven't seen you in so long."

The half-demoness shrugged, "Just fine. You?"

"Alright."

"So Constantine hasn't been annoying you to death?" Raven raised an eyebrow, a stark, Damian-like action.

Formidable as she was, Zatanna laughed, "Ohh, maybe just a little.

"I've been meaning to talk to you Raven."

Kori, hands on hips, grinned at the magic-wielders, "They're plenary of time for that Zatanna. Come, sit. I'll make us some tea." She jerked her head towards the kitchen.

Remembering the last time Koriand'r made tea (though she was gradually improving), Raven offered to do so herself. Leaving Zatanna to the Titans, Raven made for the kitchen. Not before hearing the first of Kon's attempts at a one-liner, however.

By the time the witch had made the tea, the other Titans had exhausted their supply of questions for her fellow magician and seen fit to return to their previous activities: training with Kori for the others whilst Jaime called his parents- as was his habit every morning. Sitting on one of the sofas (rendered comfortable by years of constant use), Zatanna gratefully took the steaming mug from Raven, setting it down on the coffee table in front.

Tucking a stray raven lock behind her ear, the witch started, "I've been working more on healing spells, from the Tome of Magnus V. They've been going surprisingly well so far." She shrugged, "I'm thinking of moving on to offensive spells- hexes, perhaps."

Zatanna's eyes brightened, "Oh yes!- I have some materials for you! I brought them especially for you- just hold on a second..." she made a circular motion with her wrist (fist closed) and muttered "nepO." Then thrust her hand forwards, in to a hovering black circle roughly the size of her palm.

She rummaged around someplace neither she nor Raven could see. The frustration grew on Zatanna's face so, with a huff, the magician stretched the circular void. Peering in to the blackness like she could see in to it, Zatanna grinned upon locating her prizes. Pulling out a stack of modern hardbacks, ancient scriptures, tomes and bound parchment, Zatanna was pleased at the wonder on Raven's face.

"Now," Zatanna set them on the table besides her tea, "we've got some third-generation copies of Merlin's Anthology of Curses, Passive-Aggressive Jinxes by Bukare, a compilation of Vinni and Marcella's notes on elemental magic, The Channelling of Deities, and a bunch of other stuff. When I was younger, I often spent hours just going over some of these. Every time I reread them, I learnt something new. That's the beauty of the classics- and some more modern takes on the magical arts.

"Hopefully you'll find these useful. I dug them up a few days back going through some old things- figured they'd be of more use to you."

Raven couldn't help but pick up the first book on the pile, openly marvelling at it. "This is what?- a thousand years old?"

"One thousand two-hundred and sixteen, to be exact."

Raven's eyes were greedy for the rich knowledge held within the yellow-tinged, thin-textures papers. The effort dedicated to crafting such deep and wondrous texts made her heart yearn for all their secrets. So much so was her want that Raven was almost impatient for her good friend to leave so that she might delve in to their contents as soon as possible.

Sensing the half-demoness' eagerness to tackle the magical literature, Zatanna almost laughed at how similar she'd once been. "I should get going soon Raven. I'll find Kori then go. You make good use of you're time- those books will teach you as much as can physically be taught about the craft. The rest is intuitive."

Raven reached over and hugged the magician tightly. "Thanks. Really Zee, I can't tell you what this means to me."

"I can tell" she laughed, "I'm always happy to help sweetie. You know you can come to me for anything- magical or not. I'm only a call away.

"Off you go now! I know you're itching to get started." Zatanna's knowing smile made Raven feel a little guilty. Not guilty enough, however, to stop her from lifting the texts in a purple bubble and scurrying straight to her room.

***
Slinking through the shadowy recesses of a Gotham industrial site -oxidising copper pipes, bulky steel bolts and stray metal sheets marked it as abandoned- a figure radiated danger. Every shift in the darkness forced an unescapable coldness on the air. The voice that followed resonated with the same carefully honed ferocity as the aura excluded by the masked vigilante.

"The show's over Harley, Penguin. Surrender."

The blonde's fire-engine lips formed an unnaturally wide grin. "I don't think so Batsy!" She held two brightly gloved hands up, putting two fingers in her mouth and whistling loudly. "Bud! Lou! Come say hi ta the nice bat!"

Two slobbering, snarling hyenas emerged from the darkness behind her. Their frothy mouths and feral yellow eyes were keen for play...perhaps for a snack. Besides her, Oswald Cobblepot shrank back a little from the creatures, cackling nonetheless. I say cackling, I more so mean squawking.  A few of their assembled hired hands uneasily guffawed along.

They were classic goons, of no immense threat but annoying to have to be wary of. Bruce had to show restraint to them.

A second piercing whistle from the Queen of Crime set the hyenas pounding for Batman. A high-frequency tone from the Batsuit sent them scampering away. Bruce knew it was for the best that he get them away from the scene- Damian would surely try to pet them and undoubtably adopt the wild animals.

On the topic of Damian, Robin joined the action just as Harley began to charge at his father with her oversized whack-a-mole style hammer. Ascending from seemingly nowhere, Robin kicked Harley Quinn's legs out, flooring the criminal before launching an offensive on the rookies.
Batman tackled the Penguin, dodging a bullet from Oswald's umbrella-gun and punching him right in the beak- sorry, in the nose.

Robin grappled with Harley, slamming in to the side of a warehouse at one point: that was sure to leave some bruising. He ducked upset her fist and kicked her in the abdomen, winding the villain momentarily. Damian paused, ready for the fight to be over. This was when Raven would swoop in and- wait... Damian recalled, the witch wasn't there.

With just enough time to roll out of the way of Harley's sledgehammer, Damian glanced over at Batman: his father had taken down the dozen-or-so subordinated and subdued Cobblepot.

One duck. Another. A mid-section side-kick. An elbow strike. A step out of the way. A vault over scrap metal to avoid the hammer.
Step. Duck. Duck.

Then a single, unanticipated move to the side caught Harley off-guard. Damian slammed a left hook in to her face and jabbed his knee upwards to her jaw. With that, Harley Quinn was down.

"Nice job boys."

Damian and Bruce sun at the words from nowhere. The latter's pulse skyrocketed at the speaker's voice.

"Selina."

Catwoman's coquettish smile was one Bruce had longed to see for far too long.

"Hey Bruce.

A.N:

Oop.

-Bats :3

Dis-moi, si je dois partir ou pas
Dis moi
Dis moi, si tu aime ça Houna
Car je suis fou de toi Houna
Quand tu ne m'appartiens pas

Dis-Moi: by BB Brunes

(Just to get in the mood for a Bat/Cat moment😉)