CALLIE LIKED TO think that she had a fairly impressive repertoire of strange experiences, but racing towards a magical fight on motorcycle (courtesy of Oliver and Dinah) was not something on her resume. She didn't quite know what to expect, and it seemed as if Jason didn't either. Which was mildly concerning, because she was banking on him knowing.

Overreliance. Dependency.

Or he's the actual vigilante while you're still an outsider in his world.

Her arms were wrapped around his waist as they sped through the Star City night. It struck her, suddenly, that she'd never actually travelled through Star on motorcycle. Cyrene didn't use motorbikes—she could fly fast enough. And she'd never quite asked Oliver or Dinah to take her out on a joyride around town either, though they'd offered once or twice.

Everything was a blur. It was a far nicer city than Gotham. Probably why her parents had migrated here instead of that hell-born city.

She hadn't thought about her parents in a while. It didn't hurt as much because it was so much more distant. And perhaps a part of herself had completely repressed it. She hadn't watched them die—thank god, but she wasn't sure if it made things any better.

I could be racing towards my doom right now.

But at least she wouldn't be alone.

That was a strangely comforting thought.

The night air kissed her skin, leaving small goosebumps. Jason was speeding up, and she tightened her grip around his waist, leaning forward slightly. He wouldn't be offended. They'd done more than press their bodies together, and she had a perfectly good reason for doing it. She wanted to stay alive, and that involved not falling off the bike.

Rebecca Smith-Howard lived in a quiet part of town, respectable and clean, but tonight the silence was ripped open by the sound of their motorcycle blazing past. But there was nothing else. No sound of magic blasting through the air, or grunts from landed punches or the shattering of glass, and Callie highly doubted they were sitting up there having a nice, quiet discussion. Something was up.

Jason stopped the motorcycle beneath an apartment complex, glancing up, brows creased. "She lives on the third floor."

"Absolute silence. But the lights are all on."

Strange.

"I'll go up first. You have your comm, if I don't reply—"

"Damn you, Jason, I'm not staying here by myself," she seethed. "It doesn't look like there's danger. I doubt all four of them could be knocked out or dead, and if that somehow is the case, Rebecca Smith-Howard would have ran a long time ago. I'm coming up with you."

He turned his head, casting her a glance. He didn't look happy. "I'm really starting to regret this. Why can't you just stay in like last time?"

"Because," she snarled, "that was a stealth mission, which I am most definitely not qualified for, and this is us making sure everyone else is alive. There's also multiple members of the Justice League involved, I think they can make sure I'm safe."

"Your logic is utterly and completely flawed."

"Stop wasting time. Let's go."

So they did. They hiked up the stairs, trying to keep their steps as quiet as possible, and Callie did her best to listen for anything. She didn't bother using her powers on the rails—no point leaving fingerprints, and it wouldn't yield anything useful anyways.

The door to Rebecca Smith-Howard's apartment was unlocked, and she could see the light spilling out from the small slit. Jason stalled, pulling out a gun. Callie, after a moment's hesitation, did the same.

They entered.

The lights were on, but there was no one. Only small evidence of scuffle—a scattering of paper on the floor, a smashed vase, but nothing else. No one was there. No blood, no bodies, no nothing.

Just a completely ordinary apartment.

"There," Jason murmured, pointing his gun towards something on the ground. Callie glanced over.

A ruby red necklace set in gold. The necklace from the picture Sylas Thorne had shown her.

"What on earth...?"

"Magic. It's probably teleported them all to some other realm or the like, oh for fuck's sake, we—"

They took a step closer, and then everything turned black.

—

WHEN SHE OPENED her eyes again, her surroundings were cold and unfamiliar. Ruby red crystal walls, almost translucent, but she couldn't see past them. The ground, cool to the touch as she got onto her feet. All her belongings were still on here, she simply wasn't in Rebecca Smith-Howard's apartment anymore.

She was alone. There was one passageway out of the chamber she found herself in, leading down a long corridor she couldn't see the end of. She heard sound, voices, echoing around.

She heard Dinah's voice first. And then Oli's. Zatanna's, mumbling some spell. Roy's, grunting in frustration.

Where's Jason?

And what about Rebecca Smith-Howard?

Her gun was still in hand, though she wasn't sure how useful that would be in some strange, magical realm. It was almost as if they were inside the ruby, though she was sure that couldn't be right...

But this wasn't science. This was magic. And she ought to have done more investigation into it. But then again, she'd never thought that would ever come in useful.

She walked down the corridor. Her own steps echoed. If everyone else was talking, there shouldn't be any danger, unless this was all some elaborate scheme to get her to put her guard down.

But if this realm wanted her dead, it would be able to do so easily. No point. Might as well pray the voices really did belong to the others.

"Black Canary? Zatanna? Green Arrow? Arsenal?"

Silence for a moment, and then, "How are you—" that was Dinah's voice, but Callie quickly cut her off. The voice sounded relatively near, but she didn't trust it was a way to locate the others.

"I'll answer that later. Have any of you seen Red Hood? And what is this place?"

"A pocket dimension. There's chaos magic, but it's not strong... And I can't find Rebecca Smith-Howard. Green Arrow and Black Canary are with me." It was Zatanna's voice this time, somewhere to her right. Callie, after a brief moment of hesitation, started heading in that direction. Meeting up with the magician seemed like her safest best.

"And Red Hood?" she demanded.

"Did he arrive with you?" Zatanna asked. "If he did, he should be here somewhere. Red Hood, can you hear us?"

But there was no response.

Callie placed her hand on the ruby red walls, but she only got blankness in return. Was this, then, why Rebecca Smith-Howard had been immune to her powers? She wasn't knocked unconscious this time, thank god, but it had to be related. A property of this ruby, perhaps?

"Callie, where are you?" Oliver asked. But then, as if he realised the ridiculousness of the question, he continued, "Never mind. I've been leaving arrows behind in the corridors we've gone through, have you stumbled upon any?"

"None," Callie replied. She'd most certainly have noticed them otherwise. "Can Zatanna use a locating spell? Or... Canary, can your voice break through these rubies?"

"I can try," Dinah said grimly, "but I wouldn't want to do it unless as a last resort. I don't want to deafen any of you."

"It's scrambling my magic," Zatanna scowled. "Not stopping it completely, just making it more difficult... Gnirb em ot Eillac!"

A moment's silence. "Well?"

Zatanna's annoyed voice growled, "It's meant to teleport me to you, but it's... it's showing me an arrow of where you are, I suppose. Would you mind staying put?"

"Of course."

"Arsenal?" Dinah asked, sounding concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Roy's voice finally sounded. "I'm also... leaving arrows behind. And trying to find Red Hood. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. Find Callie first. And Red Hood."

Callie was not convinced, but she stayed where she was, leaning against the ruby wall, trying to make sense of everything.

Should she have insisted on coming here with Jason?

It didn't seem like they were in danger, but how were they going to get out? And where was Rebecca Smith-Howard? If she'd been transported into here and was a civilian, surely she'd have started panicking and calling out by now? Which suggested she was aware of what the amulet did, and where they were now.

Or she was knocked out cold. Potentially dead. Or somehow not in here at all, and had escaped after everyone else had been transported into the necklace.

Hearing footsteps, she raised her head, finally spotting familiar faces as Zatanna, Oliver and Dinah rounded the corner. Dinah let out a visible sigh of relief upon seeing her as Callie scrambled to her feet, opening her mouth but then shutting it when she realised she wasn't sure what she was meant to say.

Instead, she turned to Zatanna silently, who ought to know the most about their current circumstances.

"It's a maze," Zatanna announced. "I've read about this before. These are all defense mechanisms to protect the centre of the pocket dimension. We find that, and it's our ticket out."

"But we need to find Arsenal," Callie said. "And Red Hood. And potentially Rebecca Smith-Howard."

"I was prepared for a fight," Oliver sighed, glancing down at his bow. "Instead we're stuck in a damned maze."

"Would you prefer getting injured and hurt?" Dinah asked, raising an unimpressed brow. Oliver shrugged, looking a bit sheepish.

"It can't be that large," Callie mused, "if we can hear each other's voices? Unless it's just us close by, and Jason and Rebecca are further away. That might complicate things."

"It cannot be that large a space," Zatanna agreed. "We're practically just... in the necklace. We ought to be able to navigate through. Are you armed?"

She showed her gun. Oliver tilted his head, pleased. "Red Hood's?"

"A gift."

"Good choice."

They started on their way to seek Roy next, Zatanna once again casting a spell as they began their way through the maze. They eventually stumbled upon an arrow Roy had left behind, and it wasn't long before they'd located him as well.

Still no sign of Jason. Callie was beginning to get worried.

Dinah seemed to notice, giving her a pat on the back. "Don't worry, he knows how to take care of himself."

"Why would he be missing?" Callie frowned. "Is it all random, where we appear?"

"I haven't a clue," Zatanna admitted. "Magic works in mysterious ways. Your powers don't function?"

"Not on these walls."

"That is interesting," Zatanna murmured. "Especially when your powers are not magical in nature. You are certain of that, though? Your sister fashioned herself in a mythological sense."

"As far as I'm aware, our powers have nothing to do with magic."

"If this material suppresses Callie's powers," Roy suddenly suggested, "could it be altered in a way that allowed her to control her powers? She can't stop herself from reading memories right now, but if this blocked it..."

Zatanna tilted her head. "That is a possibility. I can't make any promises. Is this chippable? Does anyone have something I can chip a piece off with?" The red crystal broke rather easily, a piece the size of a fist coming off before Zatanna pocketed it, glancing at Callie. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Callie gave a dip of her head in appreciation. But reliance on some red chaos magic gem didn't seem like a long-term solution either. She would, eventually, have to learn to use her own powers. She'd procrastinated it for far too long.

And onwards, in the maze. It took a while before Zatanna's locating spell worked again, as that magical arrow appeared before them, spinning around as if its directions were scrambled before finally settling to their right.

Callie laid her hand on the stone again as they began moving, expecting nothing in response, and was taken aback when something blasted at her in her mind. She leapt back, blinking.

Roy turned his head. "Callie?"

"Something just like... attacked me. When I touched the stone. Not literally, but in my head." She frowned. "I don't know if I like this thing. First time I get knocked unconscious for hours, second time nothing, and now third time a blast in my head."

"Try not to touch it for now." Dinah's eyes narrowed. "I wonder if it's the same thing for all psychics?"

"We'll have to experiment," Zatanna mused. "That is quite interesting."

"Come on, kid," Roy murmured, walking towards her. "You can keep going?"

"Absolutely."

So they kept following the arrow. They took twists and turns, and at points it felt like they were walking in circles, but Callie didn't voice her concerns because she didn't need to make things more difficult than they already were. And she resisted the urge to test her powers on the Crystal again. If she did end up knocked out cold, they'd have to carry her unconscious body around.

Considering the way it chipped so easily, Dinah's powers ought to work as a final resort. That way, certainly, they'd find the centre of the maze.

Her mind flickered through the possibilities—what if time moved differently here? What if there wasn't a way out? What if they were trapped forever? What if they got to the centre and there was nothing at all?

The journey felt interminable.

No one said a word. But she knew they were all thinking the same thing.

Until they took a turn, and before them was a crystalline door that they could just about see through. And past that, two figures. One curled up like a ball on the floor, the other, hovering above.

It was Zatanna who finally broke the silence. "I don't think we just found Jason. It looks like we found Rebecca Smith-Howard and the centre of the maze too."

Oliver pushed the door apart, bow raised as he entered. In the room, Jason glanced up. "Took you all long enough."

"You didn't hear us yelling?" Dinah asked, a brow raised.

Jason shrugged. "Didn't hear shit."

"Umm, guys?" Callie piped up. "The door... the door's disappeared."

Where the crystalline door stood a moment ago, a wall had been erected. No way out. Trapped.

Zatanna frowned. "This is supposed to be our way out. This room."

"Can we address the elephant in the room?" Oliver asked, exasperated, nudging his chin at the woman sitting on the floor. "Did you know about this maze place, Mrs Smith-Howard?"

Jason answered for her. "She doesn't know shit. Give her a moment, she's overwhelmed."

On the floor, Rebecca Smith-Howard let out a shaky breath, slowly glancing up at them, giving a small nod of acknowledgement. "I've never been here before."

"Can you explain the necklace?" Dinah asked gently. "Do you know how we could get out?"

Slowly, the woman shook her head. "I don't even know how we're here."

"She wasn't even aware the necklace was magical," Jason supplied with a shrug. "Zee, you're our best magical person."

"We're meant to be able to find the way out in this room," Zatanna replied with a roll of her eyes. "Seeing as you've been here so long, have you noticed anything at all?"

"The room changes." Jason pointed to the centre. "There was a massive red crystal there some time ago, darker colour than the walls, but then it just vanished. Same deal with the doors. Appears and vanishes. It's why I didn't risk walking out."

Dinah circled the room, carefully observing the area. "Is it something to do with time, then? The massive red crystal sounds like what we're searching for. Rebecca, you've been here longer than Jason, certainly. What have you noticed?"

It took a long moment, but the woman finally leaned back, sucking in a breath as she surveyed the group. "How much trouble am I in?"

"Not much," Oliver replied, "as long as you tell us what you know."

"I didn't steal the necklace," Rebecca Smith-Howard replied, voice soft. "The old Mrs Thorne gifted it to me. I know she wasn't in the right state of mind, but she was so insistent. And there was just something about it... and I was short of money, you know. Thought I could just sell it for some quick cash if needed."

"You fabricated your entire identity. Why use the name Paris Abney?" Callie scowled. "That doesn't seem like you were completely innocent in the matter."

The woman shrugged. She looked older than she did in the pictures, even though it had only been a few years, but it was the same blond hair and tanned skin. And a northern British accent. She should have expected that, why did it surprise her so much? "I needed to start anew. Rebecca Smith-Howard technically hasn't done anything wrong, but she's married to a criminal. Not great if I want a good job. I have... connections due to my husband. I know I should have cut them all off, but it wasn't difficult to ask for one last favour."

"Did you know the necklace was magical?" Zatanna asked, walking over. "Do you have it on you in this realm?"

"No," Smith-Howard replied, lowering her head. She looked exhausted. "It's not here with me. I always wear it around my neck. This... compulsion. I don't know, I just thought it was my OCD or something. Or anxiety. At this point, I just don't know."

Dinah had positioned herself behind the woman, kneeling down to get on eye-level, placing a hand on her back. "That's fine. Deep breath. You're not in any trouble. We just need to find a way out, and we'll get this necklace matter sorted too."

"It's not a compulsion," Zatanna explained. "It's the magic. Tries to convince you not to take it off."

Beside her, Roy mumbled, "Just like the One Ring."

Callie shot him a glare. "You need to stop comparing it to the One Ring."

Roy looked offended. "But it's true."

"That's the third time you've made that joke in a day," Jason pointed out.

"Children!" But Oli was grinning at them, though he quickly wiped it off his face when Dinah glanced in his direction. "Not the time. I really want to get out of this necklace. Too much red. I'm a green guy, you see."

Callie decided she had nothing to say in response to that, and everyone else seemed to have the same notion. To that, Oli let out a soft sigh of protest.

hiiii so i think i might actually end up writing something for cyrene after all, albeit it won't be set in the same universe as this fic or its prequels. it'll instead be a young justice fic & im trying to decide which/if i need a love interest. front-runners r wally, roy or an oc but idk yet,,, either way it won't be a romance centred book!! in that universe cyrene basically doesn't die. basically.