#but then again she also nakedly following you in the snow

[corneille-moisie]

every fucking time i get to act 2 and come accross the enchantress im just like... theres no way someone that white skinned would wear so little in the fucking desert skdkxkkdmsh

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Wedding (End): Black Swan Bay Nightmare

We’re almost done with this. HOLY HECK. My brain is melting out my ears on how to finish this series in the most impactful way. MC gonna hit the end of this story like a METEOR. Just you wait!

@rurifangirl

You startle awake with a gasp. You’re lying in the snow. The breeze is frigid, but you’re well protected in layers of warm clothing and fur. You don’t remember falling asleep but you immediately know where you are. 

Black Swan Bay, 1991, Christmas Eve.

Of all the orphans that day, you were the oldest and the number 3 ranking. You were tall, muscular, but your body was not womanly like Khorkina. Your hair was black as soot and your eyes were charcoal. You weren't a white icy queen, like Renata. So you had no one to dance with you at the party.

The blizzard that day was very intense. The wind howled around you like a screaming demon. But you stood tall against it, looking into the distance. Not a ray of light could be seen in the sky. The world was plunged into a thick darkness and the whirlwind swept the snow powder into a white dragon in the sky. Black Swan Harbor closed the main entrance. All the doors and windows were boarded up so that the snowstorm would not affect the atmosphere of the Christmas party.

You walk toward the recreation building, Golden Hall, where the party was being held. You’re not hampered by the snow or the wind. You were a hybrid and this great storm was only a mild inconvenience for you. You lift your head and look behind you. Your instincts were trained and always good. You could sense when you were being followed. You wait for several seconds, but nothing happens. You turn around and continue to walk.

You push open the door, and the warm air and music poured in, shards of gold leaf flew in the air, and the golden hall was brilliantly lit.

 Soldiers played accordions and young girls sang and danced. Children gathered around the huge Christmas tree to make wishes and tiptoe to reach the gifts on it. The scent of beef soup, baked sweet cakes and the perfume of women filled the air. The appearance of the Doctor sparked a tidal wave of applause as the Doctor greeted everyone with his hands raised.

 "My dear friends, today is Christmas and an important day for Black Swan Harbor. Our friend Major Bondarev from Moscow has confirmed to me that our research work has been highly commended by our superiors! Soon we will be able to go home in groups to visit our families. Everyone here will be rewarded, you will have military medals and be able to go to the Caspian Sea for vacations! You are a credit to your country! Let's sing and dance! On this wonderful night!"

You stand apart from it all. Your heart filled with a terrible rage and sadness. Liar. He’s a liar. He was lying this whole time. 

The golden hall was getting more and more lively. The room was getting warmer. The young people were dancing the sailor dance. They got so hot that they took off their uniforms and threw them aside. The nurses took off their outer clothes, showing the white lace of their underwear under their undershirts. 

They had all been drinking a lot, and their eyes were nakedly provocative. The smell of hormones overpowered the smell of perfume, stimulating everyone's body to redden. They danced and embraced. The soldiers put their hands in the undershirt of the nurses, they bit each other's lips like lovers and bloodthirsty beasts. 

The children also stirred up, following the adults' example and hugging each other in a face-to-face dance. Anton and Khorkina are eighteen years old, Yakov is sixteen years old, and look very different from the thin and small Renata. The boys' upper lips had grown moustaches. While the girls' breasts had filled out and their waists swayed lightly as they walked.

You press yourself to the wall, but they still come at you, hands searching, not asking you to dance but chasing you! You cover yourself with your hands, swatting away their fingers, slapping their faces. Their faces are horrific and stretched into rictus grins. Their eyes are wide and blood shot.

You flee. You run into the night!

A loud bang! And you throw yourself to the ground. A ball of flames is rising from the laboratory building, red and gold, mixed with black smoke. Debris is thrown into the air, streaming fire behind them like fireworks.

Every single building went up in flames like this. But everyone was in the dance hall. Finally, the Dance hall itself went up.

“Renata! Renata!” You are running and the shadow is chasing you, faster and faster!  You skid to a halt.

Four children are on a dog sled. They’re trying to run. But Bondarev is approaching them. Bondarev pulls a gun. With expert precision, he puts a bullet into their hearts. One for each child. You fall to your knees and that’s what saves you. Visibility is down and you don’t move as he looks around. Next to his foot is a small piece of chocolate. Vera.

A hand takes yours. It’s Renata. You crawl away and she leads you back to another sled. This sled was pulling something large and very heavy. Along with your friend Z, who smiled at you sleepily. He wasn’t tall and proud. He was weak and couldn’t even walk. He looked at you directly and asked. “Who is that?”

Suddenly, everything stops. The wind, the snow, Renata, the explosion. Time completely stands still and you’re the only one moving.

“Who… is… that?” Z asks again.

This was a dream. You knew what was going to happen next. A big explosion, bigger than you’ve ever seen in your life even up until today, would turn all the Black Swan Bay into ashes. You and Renata would be shot from a helicopter. Renata would push you into the icy sea.

But despite your mind going through the beats, the image before you didn’t change. You follow Z’s gaze and you see a man in a tuxedo looking bewildered. “Ruri…?” You tilt your head. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

The dream ends. You open your eyes. It’s still dark, but the air is warm. Your chest and stomach hurt. You’re staring into the eyes of Ruri Kazama. Those swirling hypnotic mandarin shapes were the last thing you saw when you went to sleep. “Where am I?”

Ruri Kazama does not answer. “How did you break it?”

“Huh?”

“How did you break it?” Ruri’s voice was a low threatening growl. “No one has ever broken free from me.”

“Break… what?” 

You’re surrounded by deep humid forest. The air was alive with insect sounds and sounds from croaking frogs, and night birds, nothing like the silent howling of the winds of Siberia. The sky was still dark and the wind still blew and the rain still fell. Ruri Kazama is staring at you. 

His bone spines are still embedded in your body, pumping a steady supply of clean blood to keep you from turning into a deadpool and dying. You don’t remember when you fell asleep or how long you’d been out. “Where are we?” You ask again.

“Tama River area. It’s all woodlands here. Very isolated from Tokyo. I’m taking you to where God will awaken.” He finally speaks. 

“Okay. What about Herzog?”

“He won’t touch you. He needs me. He will honor my request to have you there with me.”

You look down and see that you’re high in a tree, several yards off the ground. Ruri Kazama’s long white hair drapes like fine cloth behind him. Ruri Kazama has changed from his tuxedo to the great colorful kimono of the stage. You’re still in your wedding dress, but the skirt has been cut shorter so as not to be so unwieldy. 

He crouches and then jumps, hovering over the canopy of green leaves. He jumps from tree to tree like someone dancing over stones to cross a river. He’s so graceful, his long hair sails behind him like a tropical bird. These mighty leaps were like the rocking of a rocking chai. Even though he would jump over twenty meters at a time, he landed with silent grace. You found it soothing.

Once Ruri Kazama killed Herzog - again - you wondered what he would do after that. What was his end game? Even though he was lovely as a human, it turned out that he had the same philosophy as Herzog. The winners devour the losers without mercy. You didn’t think there was any real limit to his killing. Even though he said he would go back and become a performer of Kabuki, it was far more likely that he would go back and kill his brother and every Hydra member. Cassell would send their members after him and he would kill them all too… or die.

Who would he not kill? Who would not hunt him? Both of those lists seemed to begin and end with your name. You were the last person in the world he wanted. You were the last one in the world he trusted.

All noise in the forest has fallen silent. Dawn is breaking but it’s still dark with clouds. There are no birds. The wind rattles the naked treetops. When you turn and look, everything is covered in a heavy layer of what looks like snow that has miraculously endured the heavy rain. On closer inspection, it looks more like spider silk. The blanket stretches as far as the eye can see. Under the blanket is a thick layer of dead leaves as though autumn came and the trees dropped all their leaves in a matter of hours.

“We’re here.”

“Everything… looks dead.” You say. “What’s are those white threads?”

Ruri is accustomed to explaining things to you now. “It’s a growth from God. It’s feeding on all the surrounding life. It detects a heartbeat and quickly cocoons it. We have to keep moving or we will be swallowed as well.”

You were on the edge of the silky, fungal growth. Looking further into the woods, you would see that the trees ahead have been completely encased like cocooning insects. Even the ground was covered. “How are we going to make it through all that?”

A loud thumping sounds overhead. Ruri stands up as a helicopter flies low. Lightning flashes and you see it clearly in relief against the sky. 

“Hold on.”

He unsheathes his sword and the power from it lifts him in the air with an extra burst of height and speed. The ground races away from you and the black helicopter rushes towards you. The open cockpit comes into view and he lands cleanly without a sound. A seat was open so he sat himself down as though he were a simple passenger.

"No. That's something like spider silk!" The pilot said. He spoke in a quivering fearful voice, like he was seeing a ghost.  But the ghost was behind him. He was going to die. He didn’t deserve it. But you couldn’t stop Ruri.

Not yet.

You only watch as Viper Fang appears in his hand and pierces the copilot clean through the head, his blood filling his flight helmet.

 "You…  who are you? How did you get up here?" The pilot turns in a panic and you see he’s wearing a Cassell College badge and what looks like a camera on his head. The black lens shimmers like an eye. It would see you, attached to Ruri Kazama.

Viper Fang moves so fast, the cherry-red blade seems to grow from his heart in a flash. You couldn’t speak out loud but you mouth the words as clearly as you can to the camera. “Caesar. Don’t worry about me. Thank you. Goodbye.”

A terrible sound resounded through the helicopter, the sound of a long sword being drawn from a heart, the blood spurting, sounding like wind.

You weren’t on the helicopter for long. It turned out you were less than one kilometer from the great hole in the ground that held the underground lake full of mercury. Without a care, Ruri Kazama leaped from the helicopter. You look up and watch it fly away to crash somewhere. The ground rushes towards you but Ruri uses Viper Fang against the ground, buffering your descent politely before landing. You wrap your arms around his neck and bury your face in his shoulder, using your hair as a veil to look through. All the members of the Devil Clan around you are shocked by your sudden appearance. Ruri Kazama stood still like a demon. His eyes glowing in the steady downpour, daring anyone to approach. But no one does. Quite the opposite. They are curious about you, but the killing aura is so strong they swallow that curiosity and decide that some answers aren’t worth dying over.

The well is many meters across and spanned by a large cross beam. Ruri walks over it and stands there, holding onto you.

White filaments crawl all over the inner walls of the water storage wells. They grow from the bottom, like the mycelium of some kind of mold. These mycelia can not only stain soil and trees, but can even penetrate steel. They can grow to several meters long, hanging on steel beams or trees, like countless slender hands swaying in the wind.

On the cross beam, Ruri seemed to fall asleep, his long hair drenched by the rain. There was nothing to do but wait. His eyes were open but empty. He was like one of the wooden doll children. He would move when instructed.  He didn't say anything and didn't listen. You immediately adopt that empty eyed posture. It is as familiar to you as a sort of meditation. The lightning flashes again and you see a smile on his pale empty eyed face.

The people working in the well were wearing protective clothing with extremely corrosion-resistant coatings to protect them from being stained by the white silk. The pumps are working at full capacity and twelve streams of blood red water are pouring into the deep well. This chemical reagent was mixed with the serum extracted from the deadpool fetuses. 

The bones of dragon-like and snake-like corpses were soaked in the mercury tainted well, and the bottom of the well was still filled with the deadly mercury vapor, so the Hydra members did not have time to explore the well thoroughly. The Iwarui Institute concluded that there was no longer any living thing in the well, but right after they left, a large number of bubbles were rising from the bottom of the water, as if something was spitting bubbles at the bottom of the well.

Humans always repeatedly make this kind of mistake. They never really understand the dragons, always imagining them as creatures similar to themselves.

White bubbles piled up on the surface of the water like foam. The heavy smell of blood filled the deep well and the water temperature gradually increased to near boiling. Millions of dead lung snails floated up with the bubbles. Their stench from being cooked alive and the smell of blood became a putrid aroma, enough to make an ordinary person gag. The pool of boiling water was like a soup pot full of flies.

The King General Herzog strolls along the beam after Ruri Kazama and praises him in a poet-like tone: "Smell it? This birthing smell! This is the smell of life being born! That great life is waking up! This day Satan returns from hell to earth, and it will cleanse this rotten and bony world with fire, and a new world will be reborn by fire."

He stopped. Ruri stared at him with a clear threat.

“Oh come now, won’t you let me see her? It’s been so long!” He pleads.

After a moment’s consideration, Ruri pulled back the veil of your hair. You were staring at Herzog with your tongue out and your eyes crossed.

Dr. Herzog leaned back and clutched his stomach in roaring laughter. He staggered and slapped his knee, whooping and hollering like a mad man. “It’s been so long, MC. You haven’t changed one bit! Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!” He lifts his mask slightly to wipe away a tear. “Never one to take anything too seriously.”

Ruri Kazama did not answer. He just smiled grimly, as if he was incomparably joyful.

“The god has awakened. Now please lend it your precious blood for a moment and pay homage to the newborn god." The king general patted Ruri Kazama's shoulder while still chuckling at you.

And just like that, you were accepted onto what you were sure would end up a killing field like Black Swan Bay. Herzog will not let anyone leave this place alive. You were sure of it. But you play along and smile. Just like in Black Swan Bay, he will hype everyone up that they’ll be able to go home. Everything will be amazing. And then...

Boom.

Ruri Kazama drew his long knife and slit his wrist, pouring his blood into the deep well. It was only a few hundred milliliters of blood, and there should be no trace at all after being diluted by the large amount of water in the well, but at the precise moment those blood beads touched the surface of the water, the whole red well shook, as if something huge was stretching its body in the depths of the mercury.

"Sonar detects large object coming up to the surface!" The engineers working at the bottom of the well stepped back in fear, leaning their backs against the well wall.

 The King let out a large dramatic shout.   "Let's welcome the return of God!'' 

[incoherentbabblings]

An Endless Hope (3/9)

After a horrendous blizzard falls over Gotham, Tim undergoes a sharp change in character before disappearing. Upon discovering what has become of him, Stephanie sets off on a solo journey in a magic realm to bring him home, meeting some faces which seems awfully familiar along the way.

Archive Of Our Own Link Click Click!

On her way down to the botanical gardens, Stephanie’s mother rang.

Fumbling trying to hold onto her box of roses, Stephanie answered the phone. Her feet crunched loudly as she crossed the snow-covered grass. She flapped her fingers free from the mitten cover so the fingerless gloves could allow her touchscreen to work. She had worn Tim’s gloves since he had vanished, feeling like punishing herself for how she had failed him.

“Hi mom!”

Ooft, her fake cheeriness hurt even her own ears.

“Steph, are you okay? I hadn’t heard from you all week!”

Stephanie nearly dropped the plants in her fright. “Oh God. Mom, I’m so sorry. I’m safe. Promise. Are you okay?”

“Living out the hospital currently, thank you for asking.”

Shame flooded through Stephanie. “I’m sorry mom.”

Crystal sighed, deflating. “I guess I didn’t call either. It’s just been non-stop here. So many people needing help from the streets.”

“I can imagine. We couldn’t do anything the other night. It was too cold even for us!”

“You’re all good then?”

You meaning Tim, but Crystal would never say Tim’s name until held at gunpoint probably. He was just that boy, or him. It was sort of funny that – not only had Tim and Stephanie’s outlook’s on life undergone a flip – so had their relationships with their partner’s parent. Bruce liked Steph after a few years of tribulations (or so she thought), but the same time had not been kind to Crystal’s estimations of Tim.

Certainly, telling Crystal that Tim had kicked Stephanie the other night and run away would not have added positive points.

Stephanie swallowed dryly, not sure if she should lie for a moment, but ultimately sided on the side of fibbing. Her mother had enough to worry about at the hospital. Stephanie entering despair and seeking help from a misanthropic villain would not help Crystal do her job.

Yes, lying was the better option at the moment.

“We’re both good. We’ve got a lot of time to kill, we’re out at the botanical gardens today.”

Crystal sucked in air between her teeth. “Hmm. Okay, but Stephanie, try to remember to give me a call once a week. Just to stop my hair from completely falling out from stress.”

“Yes mommy.”

“Be good.”

And then the call ended.

Stephanie loomed outside of the greenhouse. It was covered in a thick layer of snow, thick enough to discourage entry. But there was a huge amount of warmth showing up inside, almost like an igloo, which was how she guessed this was where Ivy was. Stephanie looked for a way in, then sighed. Knocking on the door would probably be the best bet.

Ivy was at best indifferent to humans and at worst homicidal. She tended to lie low however when natural events knocked everyone back. Nothing levels the playing field of humanity like nature. Still, Stephanie was taking a gamble. She knew this. She was banking on Ivy having information Steph only had circumstantial reasons to think she held.

But Stephanie was desperate. And when she was desperate, her brain tended to throw things like caution and logic to the wind. Act on your gut, it’ll get you there in the end.

Except that one time when it really didn’t.

As far as Stephanie could tell, she had few other options, and she wanted to give Bruce some kind of information outside of a missing boy and car. If it meant risking her life and giving up her flowers, so be it.

Stephanie knocked, then opened the glass door, and slid inside.

It was swelteringly warm in the greenhouse, filled to the brim with plants and flowers which did not belong in the United States, let alone New Jersey. Stephanie stumbled into the fishpond, disturbing small lily pads.

“Excuse me? Poison Ivy?” She gulped, fear apparent on her features, as she tried to locate the green lady amongst the foliage. “Doctor Isley?”

“The only people who still call me doctor are those mocking me.”

Pamela’s voice came from behind, making Stephanie jump in the frigid water.

“I’m not mocking. I promise. I… I just…”

Ivy looked down at the roses in Stephanie’s arms and frowned. Steph held them out for her to take. “I wanted to give you these. My boyfriend and I were trying to grow them, but he went missing during the storm. I’m trying to look for him, but I need someone to look after these until I get back.”

Ivy raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. “And I was your first choice to nanny? Hilarious. Get out. One warning.”

“No please. I’m not mocking I swear.” Stephanie brazenly trudged forward deeper into the water. Ivy looked bemused, but Stephanie knew her interest in this strange young woman wouldn’t last too long. “I want you to look after them, but I also wondered if you knew anything about this storm. I would give you these to look after in exchange for information and to let me look for my boyfriend.”

Pamela looked at the flowers, then at Stephanie.

“Your lover isn’t the only one missing in a snowstorm.”

“I don’t think this is just a snowstorm. Batman and Robin have gone chasing a lead, but I think they’re looking in the wrong place. I don’t think it’s an easy fix.”

“No. It’s not.” And finally she took the flowers from Stephanie, gently stroking the petals. “What happened to the red? They haven’t settled.”

Stephanie gulped and told a half lie. “An accident. They fell. They had their own box, but it broke and I tried to… I tried.”

Ivy snorted. “Not good enough. I’ll take them off you. You can leave now.”

Stephanie slowly got out of the water. “But you said this isn’t just any old snowstorm. Do you know who caused it? Or what?”

Pamela turned around, clambering onto a vine which lifted her high above Stephanie.

“Nothing natural,” She said dryly, chuckling to herself. “Why do you care so much?”

“If I can know what caused it, I can fix it.”

Pamela rolled her eyes. “And bring your beau home.”

“Yes.” Stephanie uttered, glaring at Ivy.

“Listen little girl. All I know is, the cause is not of this earth. Not to be found in a machine. Not to be found in men. Something else.”

Stephanie followed Pamela waltzing around two levels up, craning her neck as she moved around on the floor.

“Like magic? Because I know someone who knows something about magic. This can’t be good for your plants, right? Don’t you want the cold to leave?”

Pamela flicked her wrists and the doors flew open, tree branches holding them to allow the frigid air in.

“I want you to leave Miss Brown. Good luck getting the storm to end, and good luck finding that sweet boy of yours. Maybe when Mr Drake-Wayne returns, I will trust you with these roses again.”

Stephanie tried not to appear shocked that Ivy knew her and Tim from sight and inference alone, but she was nakedly frantic.

“But I—”

“It’s magic. Magic not from this world. That’s all I can tell. It will pass. Let it do so on its own you stubborn girl.”

“No. I need to know Tim is safe.”

Ivy dropped down once more and got uncomfortably close. She raised a green hand and cradled Stephanie’s cheek. Stephanie, for her part, stared right back, unafraid.

“I don’t enjoy humans and their little love stories. Who cares if this boy comes back to you? There’s always another.”

“…Not abandoning him. Not giving up. It’s a thing for me.”

“Hmm.” And in an unintentionally mocking manner, she curled her fingers into Stephanie’s hair, loose strands reminding Ivy of vines and Steph of how much more comfortable the motion was when it was Tim holding onto her. “It’s all a bit pathetic honestly.”

Stephanie swallowed bile, resisting the urge to spit on Poison Ivy to get her to back off.

“You know more than you’re telling me.” Stephanie pushed.

It seemed Ivy had had enough of Steph and took a step back.

“Leave.”

Stephanie noticed too late that a vine had curled its way around her ankle. Looking down, her stomach dropped, but before she could say anything, the vine tightened, flinging her back and out with a squeal. She landed on a large mound of snow, unharmed, but stuck with her legs flailing around. She heard the distinct solid thud of the greenhouse doors slamming shut.

“Oh, come on!” Stephanie wiggled, trying to loosen up the snow around her torso.

What a waste of time. Of course, this storm wasn’t natural. They’d known that from the start. And now she was stuck in snow, and she had given up her roses. Her beautiful roses that she had invested far too much emotional value in. Why couldn’t she do one thing right? Every solution she tried made things worse. Like a curse. Hold onto hope, because she certainly had nothing else going for her.

Swinging her ankles, she screamed, which soon morphed into a cry. Snow crumpled and went in her mouth, making her wail.

Bad day, bad week, bad life…

Someone seemed to take pity on her, and grabbed her black legging covered ankles, dragging her out from her snowy prison. Snow went up her jacket and top, making her squeal in discomfort.

To her surprise, the person who tugged her out had bright blue skin.

“Klarion!” She exclaimed.

“Oh good! It is you. I followed the smell of Christmas and desperation.”

Stephanie sat up, shaking her coat free of snow, despair momentarily forgotten.

She had helped Klarion the witch boy once or twice, never of her own free will, but still. He was harmless enough, to her at least. He smiled widely at her, but in a way which was not reassuring. Her own smile turned brittle, then cracked and fell into misery. She was still reeling from the useless encounter with Ivy. It had maybe narrowed down where to hunt akin to reducing the search from a needle in a haystack to a grain of sand in a rice bag.

Disoriented and directionless were two words that came to mind. She tried very hard to not let her frustration seep into her acknowledgement of Klarion (who looked entirely too happy to see her), but still, her tone had some bite to it.

“What is it? Does Teekl need a new girlfriend?”

“Oh no,” He said, and sure enough, his ginger cat familiar hopped up around his shoulders, acting like an oversized scarf. “I have come to help you this time. I understand you are a friend of a friend of mine. I have many of these here nowadays.”

The last thing Stephanie wanted was a distraction, however well meaning, from trying to melt the snow and find Tim. She held up an apologetic hand.

“I’m sorry Klarion, but you’ve caught me at a really bad time and –”

Klarion, in his silly little pilgrim outfit and pointy black hair, bit his index finger. “Oh, I know! I know how you are feeling. You saw me when Teekl ran away… oh I was crestfallen. And before you so did Timothy!”

Stephanie, still sat on the snow, gaped. “You know Tim?”

Klarion seemed shocked she did not know. “You mean he never mentioned me? Why, we saved the world together, and Teekl, who is my world, a year or two ago. At least I think it was… time is funny here.”

Hope sprung anew in Stephanie’s chest and she rose, holding onto Klarion’s forearms.

“Then you know he’s missing?”

“Exactly! I am here to help you bring him back home and…brr… end this winter.”

“Oh! Klarion! You’re a godsend!” She hugged him tight. “What do we need to do?”

“Come, come! We must go to the river. Perhaps call your family. This trip may take a while.”

 *****

 “Oh my God you’re blue.” Cassandra exclaimed as Stephanie and Klarion arrived. Duke looked equally dumbfounded. The wind was icy, whipping around the pebbly ground underneath Kane bridge. It pierced Stephanie to her core, but Klarion seemed – as always – unaffected by his surroundings. Sighing, Stephanie waved vaguely between a politely smiling Klarion and the two batfamily members.

“Cassandra, Duke, this is Klarion. Klarion, this is Cassandra and Duke. They’re Tim’s siblings and friends of mine. Klarion is a witch who’s a… friend… of mine and Tim’s.”

“Hi…” Duke waved. Klarion bowed, and Cassandra made a woompf noise. She did not have a good history with magicians and took a cautious step back and behind Duke. Teekl appeared on top of Stephanie’s car, then leapt into Duke’s arms. He caught the cat, exclaiming, whilst Cassandra flinched away, not enjoying the vibes the witch and his familiar were giving off. It was off kilter and feral. Unmanageable and unpredictable.

“Right.” Klarion said, peering across the river with a dramatic step forward, looking like a Smurf pilgrim pioneer. “Are you ready to go?”

“You haven’t told me anything. Where are we going?”

“Not we. Just you.”

“Alone?”

Cassandra pushed Duke forward, calling over the wind, “What’s going on?”

Klarion ignored her, speaking only to Stephanie. “Hmm? Oh, you don’t know about the storm and its creator?”

“Only that it’s not of this Earth.”

“Indeed!” Klarion sounded entirely too cheerful. “You have been to my realm Stephanie, but there are many others to explore. The lady who caused this storm usually stays within her own, but sometimes she gets bored, and likes to go exploring.”

Stephanie slowly put the pieces together. “So… a magic… lady did this?”

“Magick. But yes. She likes to pick up people sometimes. I try to keep quiet track of my friends, and I noticed Tim had disappeared a few days ago. That coupled with this nasty weather of hers, well, one does not have to be a detective to put the pieces together!” Klarion nudged Stephanie in the gut, trying to be playful, but she only looked sick at his words.

“How do I bring him home? Will she hurt him?”

“Yes. She doesn’t mean to of course, but she likes humans so much. They freeze thanks to her though. She is sad for a little while, then decides to try again. Something we do not want for Tim.”

“No.” Stephanie breathed.

Klarion’s look became sympathetic. “He was very cruel before he left wasn’t he?”

Stephanie said nothing, and Klarion tutted. “It’s her way. She is not fond of a human’s warmth, not realising it is what makes them such.”

Cassandra meanwhile stomped her foot. “Who is ‘she’?”

“A Snow Queen!” Klarion gestured around him. “In case that was not obvious from the weather. Fey. Magick.”

“Fairy-tale.” Duke finished, blinking in realisation. “It’s just like a fairy-tale.”

“Is it?” Klarion shrugged. “I don’t know what that is. Regardless, Stephanie, you should be the one to melt his heart and bring him home. Since you’re the one who lost him.”

She tried not to let his matter of fact manner of speaking sting. “Why just me? Why can’t I go get my Batgirl suit? Why can’t you come with me? Or Cass and Duke?”

“Wait, he knows your secret ID?” Duke muttered, three steps behind Steph and Klarion’s conversation.

“Oh dear, Stephanie. You are going to be sick of this reason soon I am sure.”

She laughed brokenly. “It’s magic reasons huh?”

“Magick. And yes. Remember, the rules are very different in different realms. And names matter. Timothy Jackson Drake has been taken from Stephanie Brown. Stephanie Brown must be the one to bring Timothy Jackson Drake back. Anyone else entering will be kicked out. Their purpose does not fit with the rules. One human over there is bad enough… two!  Oh dear. Three? Four? It will end terribly!” After his worrisome but somehow cheery doom of a lecture he held out his hand for Steph to take. “Here, I will share with you what I use to keep an eye on you and Tim. It will feel like an instinct to a human, pulling you in the right direction.”

Stephanie took off her (Tim’s) gloves, then held Klarion’s right hand. It was painfully warm. Soon enough her heart jerked, and she stumbled forward, almost careening onto the frozen river. Cassandra caught her and pulled her back.

“Oh!” Stephanie huffed, her heart legitimately aching from the separation.

“You will get used to it. Follow that pull, and you will find Tim. Remember, magick is not just something you do; it is something to hear and feel. Remember that and you will find our friend. I know you will succeed and find him before his heart freezes for good.”

Klarion smiled in that weird manner of his. Supposedly reassuring and bright but to the three humans standing by the river, it was unnerving and dissonant with his message.

Duke shook his head. “All well and good for Tim, but what about the storm? It’s been a week of this, how much longer? Is Stephanie going to fight a witch with her bare fists too?”

“Oh my God.” Stephanie groaned, crumpling in on herself. Cassandra remained curled around her, protecting her from the wind.

Klarion looked up, shielding his eyes against the glare of the white clouds reflecting off the white ground. Stephanie herself felt like she had been squinting for her entire life, like her eyes would never be fully open again.

“The storm will dissipate soon enough. She got what she came for, and this leakage will fade the further into her realm she returns. This is a problem which will fix itself. Tim however, will need a bit of help.”

“But why Tim?” Stephanie asked, desperation for him blending with relief for Gotham. “Of all the people on this planet, why target him?”

“That I do not know.” Klarion clapped his hands. “Come now, the more time we waste the less time you have to catch up.”

“But Bruce and Damian aren’t here.” Cassandra urged. “We should wait. There may be another way… so that Stephanie doesn’t have to go alone?”

At that moment the wind picked up, screaming it was so fierce, pushing the group away from the frozen water’s edge. She didn’t understand why, but it made Stephanie’s hackles rise. It felt like a challenge, or a warning. Don’t follow.

She was a squishy human. Klarion was seemingly willing to send her alone into a realm where that was not the norm. Whatever she would be hunting, it was strong enough to bring a city to a standstill by just leaking across the border. She didn’t know where she was going, or for how long. She didn’t know if she would make it to Tim, or what to do when she found him. How would she bring him home? What if she got there (wherever there was) and it was too late? What if she failed?

But what was the alternative? If she didn’t go, she failed Tim. If she went, there was still a chance she would fail Tim.

Just a chance.

The wind died down, and Stephanie got up, displacing Cassandra. Everyone watched as she went back to her little purple car and pulled out her satchel.

“I’ll go.”

“Stephanie.” Cassandra’s voice was unabashedly worried, and Duke did not look any happier with her decision. Stephanie ignored them.

She tossed nearly everything out of her bag – her purse, her phone, her keys, her umbrella – leaving behind a bottle of water, Bruce’s scarf that she had held onto (just in case she found Tim…just in case he was cold) and a bag of dried apple slices.

It was anything but a suitable bag of provisions for a journey which had no destination or time stamp, but Stephanie’s stubbornness had clicked on, and she had made up her mind.

“You can tell Bruce I have gone to bring Tim home. I may be a while. But he has to trust me to do it. I can do it. I will do it. You believe in me Klarion?”

“Oh yes. Absolutely.”

“That’s good enough for me.” She looked to Duke and Cass, who had both paled. “You can cope a while without me, yeah?”

Klarion had moved down to the river, and held out his hand once more.

“Don’t joke! Stephanie this is insane!” Duke exclaimed. Stephanie leapt down to join Klarion on the ice. Duke and Cassandra went to follow, but with a wave of Klarion’s hand, they were shoved back several feet. The two rushed back to the edge but were somehow unable to make the final step onto the frozen river.

“You should trust your friends!” Klarion called out.

Stephanie looked up at the two on the riverbank and smiled reassuringly. “Cover for me with Bruce, yeah? I’m fixing a mistake. For honest for real.” Stephanie took Klarion’s hand. “How do I get into that world?”

“I cannot go with you, but I have opened the way. Cross the Gotham river, and do not drown.”

Stephanie looked at their feet on the ice. “It’s frozen right now. Really frozen.”

“Not for much longer. The storm is moving north very fast. Spring is coming.”

Stephanie pulled out Bruce’s scarf and wrapped it around her neck. Then she adjusted Tim’s gloves, recovering her fingertips with the mittens. She breathed into the wool, feeling it warm her neck and cheeks. She muttered to herself a small pep talk.

“Okay. Cross the river. Follow my heart. Melt Tim’s heart and bring him home from a human obsessed ice witch. Easy-peasy. It’s like a fairy-tale. Just like a fairy-tale.”

“I wish I knew what that was.” Klarion gently shoved her away from him. “Remember Stephanie. Different realm, different rules. It will turn your human head inside out if you are not alert. It has happened to Tim. Do not make the same mistake.”

The river was covered in several inches of snow, but even so, Stephanie felt unstable, like she was standing directly on black ice. Slowly she turned, took three steps, then whipped her head back around.

“Wait my mom!”

But Cassandra, Duke and Klarion were gone. Instead it was an endless frozen lake, with the only land viewable across the bay as she slowly returned to facing forward. The sky was piercing pale blue, and already she could feel the temperature rising.

“Oh. Oh my God. Steph, what have you gone and signed up for now?”

She then took a breath, and began to cross the frozen river, heading straight for land.

Back on regular Earth, Duke dropped Teekl when Stephanie vanished. Klarion waved goodbye to the open air, then turned around to see Cassandra and Duke glaring at him.

“She will be fine.” He said, for once reading the atmosphere.

“You’ve sent her to die! Both her and Tim!” Cassandra yelled. Klarion looked mortified.

“I absolutely have not! What a lack of faith you have in your friend.”

“It’s not a lack of faith knowing someone going on a magical journey with no destination with nothing but the clothes on their back is suicidal.” Duke bit out. “I hope Batman wrings your neck.”

“Is that something he does?”

“Sometimes.”

“Oh dear.” And then Klarion stepped back off the river. “Nevermind. I’ll head off now, nothing more to be done here. Stephanie will succeed. It may take a month or two, but be patient.”

“Two months?”

Everyone turned to see a very angry Batman looming from above under the bridge, Robin perched a couple of beams down. Both looked like they were genuinely considering strangling Klarion. Teekl hissed at the perceived threat. Klarion simply shrugged with his entire body.

“Or a year. Just be patient! Trust in her!” With a little uncomfortable laugh, Klarion portaled himself away, his voice echoing through the open air.

Cassandra and Duke gulped as Bruce landed in front of them.

“Care to explain how Tim and Stephanie went missing?”

“It…It was…” It was Duke’s turn to take a step behind Cassandra, who grew very puffy.

“It was magic! Or something stupid like it. Can’t you call for help?”

Damian looked out at the river. Everyone could hear new cracking noises, and the ice began to crumple under the weight of the thick snow it held up. It was still bitterly cold, but Klarion was right. The worst of the storm had passed. Gotham would recover.

Tim and Stephanie were another matter.