Chapter 5

Convergence

There was a flash of light and she felt herself being pulled through something, like thick sticky cobwebs, grasping and pulling, but still she moved until with a soft pop, she was standing on the sidewalk in front of a bar, head spinning, and feeling sticky all over.

"Okay not something I am going to look forward to doing again, but… "She turned and looked around. "You know a picture or description would be nice. Makes people a little easier to find." She stood there waiting for a bit, for her energy to return, this was not fun or anything she wanted to make happen on a regular basis. Taking another deep breath she muttered softly. "Thgil pu ni ym sdnim eye eht eno I kees!" Then turned and started looking for someone to light up with a glow when she looked at him.

After looking around outside, she glanced up at the bar sign and shrugged walking in. Most of the men turned and looked at her; the skin tight outfit was attracting a lot of attention here, a mental shrug to bring jeans next time. She looked over the people in the bar, and there in the back a figure lit up brightly in her vision, and with a half smile she walked towards him, stumbling to a halt a bit when she got closer.

~Definitely not what I was expecting, too young by about 40 years, but he glows, so I hope he is it~ Taking a deep breath and a mental swallow she walked over to the table, stopping besides it. "Hello, is this seat taken?" Flashing her best smile.

The young man looked up, a single dark eye looking at her, a patch covering the other one. "Depends, did Buffy or Willow send you?" Completely unimpressed by her smile, though his eye did a quick run down her outfit and back up, but she got the feeling he was scanning her for weapons, not for her form. "Though in that outfit I somehow doubt it."

Zatanna blinked, this was not the normal reaction she got. "Who? Umm.. no they did not send me." Waiting a bit awkwardly, not sure how to deal with this young man, not the aged warrior she had thought she was coming for.

"Well then sit, last time I checked it was still a free country. So what do you want?" He nursed his drink, wanting to get blitzed, but a lifetime of living on Hellmouths' advising against it.

She sat slowly, quickly revising everything, and remembering what the tape had shown Madame Landau saying "Ask, explain, he might help, demand and you will lose all chance", so she took a breath and dumped all plans of sweet flirting, and went for straight talk. "My name's Zatanna." She had to stop because he started laughing.

"Really? And where are your fishnets and top hat?" A half grin lighting his face.

Zatanna was surprised by how much younger and handsome the smile made him, and she wondered about the battles he had seen, but answered a little confused. "I left them at home, I did not think they were appropriate."

A soft snort came from the man as he poured another glass of whiskey. "So go on, you want one?" Waving the bottle towards her.

"Please?" Was her response, wondering how to put all this, and finally just going with outright blurting and hoping she could get through ~now why didn't Diana or Batman come with me to do this, they are SO much better at explaining things.~

The waitress dropped off another glass, earning a flash of a smile from the young man. He poured her a glass full and pushed it her way, then went back to sipping on his drink looking at her. "So, what did you want?"

Zatanna took a mouthful, letting it burn its way down, then looked hard at the young man with the old eye gazing at her hard. "I was sent to ask you to help us. About 6 months or so a wave of mystical energy swept through us, and in its wake seemed to have created or awoken what a friend said her oldest stories call Slayers. We don't know what to do with them, and are worried about other things that seem to be coming through also. We were told you might be willing to help us? Will you please?" Hoping she did not sound like she was begging, but Zatanna really did not know what else to do. As she talked, the young man went white.

At the end of her speech he muttered "dammit Willow!" and took a big gulp of his whiskey. He then looked up at Zatanna. "I take it that you are not from this Earth?"

She blinked; most people did not realize there were other earths that quickly. "No, not from this one, but Earth yes."

"Are there shrimp there?" He asked?

Zatanna blinked, confused by the non-sequiter, but answered. "Yes, we have shrimp."

"Hmm… that is a start. So why me and what do you want me to do?" Still looking at her with a piercing look.