//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16: Bennett 
// Story: Young Amazons 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//


Young Amazons
By Ackbarfan5556
Executive Produced By Wanderer D
Chapter 16: Bennett

 










Zatanna was resting comfortably in Rio after she returned to the hotel room. Things had gone on a bit longer than expected due to some behind the scenes issues involving the show, but Zatanna was never one to truly make a big deal out of issues like that.
 
She had quickly got ready for bed before she essentially crashed on it and fell asleep. It was getting close to four in the morning when Zatanna’s dreams began to change.
 
“Zatanna. Zatanna,” she heard the voice of Dr. Fate in her dreams. “Wake up; I need you to come to the Tower of Fate immediately.”
 
A minute later, the dreams stopped and Zatanna slowly began to wake up, her mind focused on the words Fate had said. She yawned before she looked over to the clock and saw the early hour.
 
“Oh, this better be important if you’re waking me up now,” she grumbled to herself as she got out of bed and got dressed.
 
By fifteen minutes after four, she was opening the portal to the Tower and walked into the main chamber where Fate was sitting.
 
“Considering it still is very early for you right now, would you care for some tea, Ms. Zatara?” Fate asked as he levitated a teapot near him and poured himself a cup.
 
“Coffee, and make it extra strong,” Zatanna huffed as she sat down in the chair opposite of him.
 
“Certainly,” he said before he had a cup of coffee appear on the table in front of her.
 
Zatanna reached forward and took a sip which quickly jolted her awake. “Well, that certainly helped,” she told him before she put the cup back down. “Now, what exactly is going on that requires you to meet with me at four in the morning?”
 
“It’s relating your apprentice,” Fate explained before he took a sip of his tea; it somehow just went through his mask into his mouth.
 
Zatanna suddenly felt a wave of worry roll over her after he said that. “Sunset? What? Is she okay? Did something happen?”.
 
“I believe so,” Fate answered vaguely, “I was quietly meditating earlier before I suddenly felt a rapid surge of magic come from the world; it wasn’t just any normal magic, but very powerful chaotic magic; not dark, just uncontrolled.”
 
Zatanna leaned back in her chair as she felt slight dread now coming over her. “And, what,” she paused, “does this have to do with Sunset?”
 
“It originated from Gotham,” Fate said, “and I only know one being there at the moment that could have the power to use magic in such a powerful way that I could easily notice even here.”
 
“And you’re absolutely sure it was her? Could it be possible that some other magic user was there?”
 
“No, I know it was her, it was the same kind of power I felt the first day she arrived to our world,” he took another sip of tea. “Remember when we first met, Zatanna, your apprentice has considerable power with both Chaos and Order.”
 
“An almost perfect blend, like Harmony, as she later told me,” Zatanna look down, “but that still doesn’t answer what has happened.”
 
“I’m not entirely sure myself, but all I know is that the girl used some sort powerful spell earlier tonight.”
 
Zatanna could guess where this was going. “Now, hang on Fate, I think I know where you’re going with this, so how about I try to figure out what she did and if she’s okay before you decide to throw the cuffs on her. I still haven’t forgotten what you wanted to do with her when she arrived.”
 
Fate slowly got up out of his seat and was practically glaring at the magician. “She’s still a danger, no matter what you’ve been doing these past few months. After tonight, with that power I felt, I’m certain a few agents of Chaos will be checking out Gotham soon.”
 
Zatanna crossed her arms while giving Fate an angry look. “All I’ve seen is a remarkable young woman and friend that has been trying her hardest to be one of us. She’s proving herself all the time and yet you still refuse to acknowledge that. I mean, you haven’t even said a word to her since the day after she dropped those sandbags on Cobblepot. What does she have to do to finally earn your trust?”
 
Fate didn’t respond to her, he merely just continued to stare at her. The tension was only broken when Zatanna’s cell phone surprisingly went off.
 
“Wow,” she said as she pulled it out. “I didn’t know this place was able to get reception. Hello?” she asked as she flipped open the phone.
 
“Zatanna, are you there?” She heard Bruce’s voice on the other end.
 
“Yes, who is this?” She knew it was Bruce’s but considering the time it was, she just wanted to make sure she didn’t say the wrong thing in case anyone happened to be listening; much like how she and Sunset talked on the phone.
 
“It’s Bruce, listen, I need you to come to Gotham as soon as you can.”
 
“It’s about Sunset, right?” she guessed.
 
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s going back to her apartment right now.”
 
Zatanna nodded. “Alright, I’m on my way, thanks for telling me, Bruce, I’ll meet you there soon.”
 
“See you then.” The dial tone soon rang as the call ended.
 
“I think it’s safe to assume that the Batman might know more about what happened tonight,” Fate said as he sat back down in this chair.
 
“Well, he won’t know for sure, I know that. Bruce wasn’t much for magic since he couldn’t use it,” She didn’t bother keeping Bruce’s secret identity hidden since Fate was already well aware of the connection. “He only learned tricks from my father in his journeys.”
 
Zatanna began to walk out of the chamber before Fate stood up once more. “Oh, Zatanna,”
 
She turned around to look at him. “There’s one more thing I should mention. Sunset was here earlier tonight.”
 
“She was?”
 
Fate nodded. “She showed up looking like she had been in quite the fight, as she explained, with an eight-foot-tall zombie.”
 
Zatanna raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what he meant. A few seconds later, her mind clicked on the answer. “The old Solomon Grundy legend?”
 
“She specifically asked for information about him,” he said.
 
“Well, if it was indeed Grundy, then maybe there’s a reason why you felt all that magic; perhaps she was attempting to stop Grundy once and for all,” Zatanna suggested. “Whatever the answer is, I’ll figure it out and then tell you what I’ve discovered. I’m sure there was a reason.”
 
“That remains to be seen,” Fate replied coldly before Zatanna left.
 



 
Zatanna arrived in Gotham through a portal not too long after leaving the Tower. She walked towards Sunset’s apartment, the only people around were those just leaving Halloween parties or those who had some late errands to do.
 
She got up the stairs to Sunset’s level before she pulled out the spare keys she had on her and unlocked the door. She opened the door before locking it behind her and quickly moving towards Sunset’s room.
 
Zatanna turned the corner and found Sunset lying on her bed with a pained look on her face.
 
“Sunset…” Zatanna whispered as she kneeled next to the bed and felt pain grip her heart. The young red and yellow-haired girl was her protégé and friend, and more recently, felt a bit more like a little sister at times.
 
“She’s alright, just clearly in some sort of coma,” a voice said behind her. Zatanna turned around to see the Batman looming over her. Zatanna stood up before pushing the Dark Knight out of the room before closing the door.
 
She then continued to push him back into the living room before she raised her hand up and nearly slapped him, but not before he grabbed a hold of her arm and stopped her.
 
“Why didn’t you tell me she was in a coma, Bru- Batman!?” she shouted but kept it down as not to alert any of Sunset’s neighbors.
 
Batman had a somewhat disappointed look on his face underneath the mask. “I didn’t want to make you worry more, especially considering it’s somewhat my fault she’s like this.”
 
“What happened?” Zatanna asked in a stern tone.
 
“Sunset and I were after Solomon Grundy. He was doing as the legend told and attacking the descendants of Gotham’s founders; at least, that’s what he wanted to believe.”
 
“It wasn’t the real Grundy?”
 
Batman shook his head. “No, it was Clayface. He escaped Arkham and was performing an elaborate crime tonight. Fake being Solomon Grundy-” 
 
“-and make people think that the real legend had returned to life,” Zatanna finished his sentence. “I have to admit, that’s pretty clever.”
 
“Even had me fooled for a bit,” Batman sighed. “Anyways, we figured him out when we confronted Grundy at the wax museum and fought him. Clayface got the drop on me when I was in Parish’s office. Ended up on the wax factory floor while Sunset confronted him.”
 
“So what happened next? It doesn’t look like Clayface did that to her.”
 
“No, Sunset said she had a plan, the two of them exchange a few words before Sunset uses some sort of magic that caused Clayface to scream and shined a bright light; what she did exactly, I have no idea,”

 “And?” Zatanna asked.
 
“And when the light died down, I ended up back in the office; she’s on the floor, out cold and crying, while Clayface reverted to Ethan Bennett. Gotham PD will more than likely take him back to Arkham,”
 
Batman shook his head once more. “I should’ve done something more… I shouldn’t have fallen for that trap Clayface laid for me. Maybe I should’ve just convinced Sunset to go home or something, I probably would’ve taken care of him myself.”
 
“Please, you should know that Sunset wouldn’t listen to you about going home.” Zatanna chuckled.
 
Batman gave her a stern look. “You’re the one encouraging her. She’s just a girl, Zatanna, she shouldn’t be doing this, she should have a normal life,” he sighed. “Not like us.”
 
“Listen, she has considerable power, a power greater that she thinks. That’s why she’s doing all this, I asked her if she just wanted to live a normal life or use her gifts to help others,” Zatanna explained. “She made her decision that night Penguin crashed our show, she wanted to help.”
 
“I’d still like to know where you found her,” Batman crossed his arms.
 
“Sunset would be more than likely to let you in if you did it yourself. I think she’s close to figuring you out, Bats. She’s an incredibly clever girl.”
 
Batman couldn’t help but nod in agreement. “You’re right about that, she is smart.”
 
“Look, how’s about you head back home, I’ll look after Sunset now.”
 
The dark vigilante nodded. “Alright then,” he glanced back down the hallway. “I do hope she’ll be okay. I hate to admit it but she’s kinda growing on me.”
 
“Oh, is the Batman looking for a sidekick?”
 
He smirked. “I wouldn’t dare to truly take her away from you. I’d be much too scared,” he snuck back out the window before swinging off into the dark Gotham night.
 
Zatanna walked back into Sunset’s room and brought a chair with her that she sat down in and slowly dozed back asleep, making sure that Sunset would at least know she was there when she hopefully woke up.
 



 
Bruce Wayne walked the dark halls of Arkham Asylum, hearing only the cries and insane laughter of those admitted as he followed along one of the chief doctors of the asylum, Dr. Hugo Strange.
 
“I appreciate you taking the time out of your day and coming down here, Mr. Wayne,” Strange said. “I was almost thinking you wouldn’t have even picked up when he asked for you.”
 
When Bruce woke up in the morning after finishing his patrol as the Batman, he was surprised to learn from Alfred that the asylum had called and informed him that Ethan wanted to talk to him.
 
“Ethan is one of my oldest friends, Dr. Strange, but I’m honestly surprised to talk to him; I thought he was still, well, unable to be reached.”
 
“That’s the thing, Mr. Wayne, in all my years of physiological analysis; I’ve never seen anything like it.”
 
“Like what, Doctor?”
 
“Last night, several of the orderlies saw him in his cell while he was still in his Clayface persona, still answering to that name rather than Ethan. Then he managed to escape sometime in the night before he was brought back by the police, only he was as himself once more.”
 
“Well, that’s certainly interesting,” Bruce admitted.
 
“That’s not what’s unbelievable. He woke up sometime early in the morning and asked if his family could be contacted and allowed to visit. Now, of course, that’s mostly not allowed, but I was at least curious to know why. I spent an hour talking to Ethan and for the first time since he arrived, he was acting exactly like he used to.”
 
“You mean he was like his old self again? Before the Joker captured him?”
 
“Mr. Wayne, in my professional opinion, I think Mr. Bennett was somehow cured sometime during the night,” Dr. Strange said as the two of them reached the room where Ethan was held. “Not once in our conversation did the Clayface persona make an appearance.”
 
“Th-that’s great!” Bruce smiled. “What exactly did you do during the night, Sunset?”
 
“Anyways, his family quickly came over and we observed his conversations with them. Like before, he was perfectly normal; albeit, at one point he did shift his arm into something else.”
 
“His biological mutation wasn’t cured but his mental health was, right?”
 
“Yes, but that's not what he was admitted for as you know,” Dr. Strange soon had an orderly unlock the door. “Now then, we’re still keeping him in containment just to be safe, so do understand.”
 
“I understand, Doctor. Thank you.” He shook the man’s hand before the door was opened and Bruce walked in by himself. He knew he was probably being observed as he walked forward into the room where Ethan was sitting on a small bench behind a glass wall.
 
The moment Ethan noticed Bruce walking in; a smile crept along his face. “Hey, Bruce!” The dark-skinned man waved as he stood up and walked up to the glass.
 
“Ethan,” Bruce replied as he took a seat in a metal chair that looked to the glass. “You’re certainly sounding like your old self.”
 
“I certainly hope so, today has been practically one of the best days of my life considering what’s happened. It feels like I’ve finally woken up from a long nightmare that I couldn’t get out of.”
 
“So you think that maybe you’re all right in the head again?”
 
“Got that right,” Ethan sat back down on the bench before looking around. “I wish they’d let me out of this cell sooner, but I understand their hesitation, just need to keep proving that I’m alright to be discharged.”
 
“Yeah, that’s probably the smart thing to do right now,” Bruce nodded. “By the way, I heard your family was here earlier, how were they doing?”
 
“Man, I tell you what Bruce, I have never seen my Moms cry like that the moment she saw me this morning. More or less, we just spent the time talking, though my niece wanted to know if I could still do my thing,” Ethan held up his arm and morphed into a S.W.A.T. riot shield. “So, in terms of my head, I pretty good there, though my body is still pretty screwed up.”
 
“Well, trust me Ethan; I’ve had Wayne Industries working on finding a cure for you so that shouldn’t be an issue for you one of these days.”
 
“Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of cool now that I’m not crazy, but I just want to be old normal Ethan again.”
 
Bruce smirked at his friend’s words.

“Once I get out, I’ll try to see if maybe I can get back on the force, go back out and do some good on the streets, you know?”
 
“I have some connections and favors I could use if you truly want to be a detective again, I’m sure there’s several at the GCPD that would be happy to see you again; Detective Yin for starters.”
 
Ethan nodded. “It would be nice to partner up with her again, though if that happens, I just hope we’ll stick on more normal work rather than going after some of those whack jobs again. I tell you what Bruce, I’m still uncertain about what I would do if I ran into Joker again; I’d either run the other way as fast as possible or do the city a favor and shoot him.”
 
“Maybe you should probably leave him for the Batman,” Bruce suggested as he slightly moved in his seat.
 
“Probably, besides, it was him and that girl that helped me last night,” Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Okay, the whole Clayface thing, the best way to describe it was I felt like a prisoner in my own body. I could see and hear everything but I just couldn’t do anything about it.” Ethan looked disappointed as he looked away from Bruce.
 
“And now?” asked Bruce.
 
“Last night, Clayface tried to pull a successful robbery as well as an escape from Gotham undetected. Anyways, the Bat and that girl, Alicorn, if I remember hearing that right, tried to stop him at the Gotham Wax Museum. I remember Clayface tossing Batman away before he let that girl try to get a hit in.”
 
“Sounds like a mistake on his part.”
 
“Oh, it was. There was some light show that she did. Next thing I know, Clayface suddenly is, well, I guess the best way to explain it is that he’s paralyzed in my mind.”
 
“You mean he’s unable to come back out?”
 
“Yeah, of course, it’s my head, to begin with, so it allowed me to regain control. I’m just locking him deeper and deeper into my mind so he never comes back again. I still feel him somewhere, but whatever she did, he’s isn’t going to be much of a problem anymore.”
 
Bruce smiled. “Well, that’s amazing to hear,” his cellphone started to buzz before he pulled it out. “Darn it, I’m sorry Ethan, but I’m needed for some meeting at Wayne Industries.” Bruce stood up. “I’ll be sure to visit again, Ethan.”
 
“Don’t bother, I might be out pretty soon if the docs think I’m good in the head again,” he paused. “Though, I’ll wait till I’m off the island to be sure that I’m free.”
 
“Take care of yourself, Ethan,” Bruce said as he walked away.
 
“Oh, Bruce, one last thing,” Bruce turned around. “Next time we meet out there, we’ll do some one-on-one.”
 
The billionaire gave the former detective a smirk. “Oh, think you can keep up with me up and down the blacktop?”
 
Ethan laughed. “Oh, now you’re asking for me to blank you! You won’t even get a chance to shoot the rock!”
 
Bruce couldn’t help but chuckle. “Remember, it’s got to be fair. No stretching your arm to cover the hoop,” He turned back around and left the room as Ethan sat back down in his cell.
 



 
Sunset’s head was throbbing with dull pain by the time she began to wake up. Even though her eyes were closed, she could tell that she wasn’t waking up in the wax factory but rather a bed; probably her apartment.
 
She opened her eyes slowly and saw that it was indeed her room. She pulled off her covers and found herself still dressed in her Alicorn outfit while her mask was lying on the nightstand next to her.
 
The clock beside her showed that it was twelve and since the sun was out, it meant that she slept in and missed most of the school and probably would miss gymnastics training.
 
“Morning, or rather afternoon,” Sunset turned to the bedroom door and saw Zatanna leaning against it. “Your friend Barbara called and asked if you were coming to school this morning, I told her you weren’t feeling good though that was only after she calmed down when she realized she was talking to me.”
 
Sunset gave a small chuckle. “Well, Barbara is one of your biggest fans. I guess you came as soon as you heard.”
 
Zatanna nodded. “Batman clearly brought you back home and Fate told me that he felt a powerful wave of magic from somewhere in Gotham during the night, and I came almost immediately.”
 
“Magic portal or the red-eye?” Sunset asked as she rubbed her eyes as she tried to fully wake herself up. “Weren’t you playing in Brazil last night?”
 
“Yeah, I was, and yes I used a portal, but don’t worry,” she moved her hand and a flight ticket appeared in her hand. “I usually always make sure just to leave a bit of an alibi just in case.”
 
“The world would probably think you being halfway around it so fast would be more of a stunt rather than actual magic,” Sunset said.
 
The older magician gave a small laugh as she brought in a chair and placed it next to Sunset’s bed before sitting down. “I’ve thought about doing that kind of stunt, but it would raise a few too many questions.”
 
“Speaking of questions, I bet you’ve certainly got a few,” Sunset sighed.
 
“Yeah, I do,” Zatanna nodded. “I was told by a certain Dark Knight about what happened last night when I came over. Sounds like quite the mystery, thinking you’re dealing with a swamp zombie raised by black magic only to find yourself facing a shapeshifter.”
 
“Surprised he stuck around just to tell you after bringing me back here,” Sunset paused. “Then again, wouldn’t surprise me considering its Bruce under that mask.” If Sunset hit the mark, then Zatanna had quite the poker face because she clearly couldn’t see a tell that would confirm her accusation.
 
“What makes you so sure it’s Bruce?”
 
“Well, mostly the gadgets, the body type, plus he certainly would have a pretty good reason to be a crime fighter, wouldn’t you agree?”
 
“You know, Bruce was attacked by Cobblepot a few months ago, while he was being recorded for a news story. It was at Wayne Manor and Batman showed up while Bruce was still with the news crew.”
 
“So? Maybe Alfred was the one wearing the suit or something,” Sunset said as she rolled her eyes. “I think I have it figured out so why don’t you tell me if I’m right?”
 
Zatanna smirked. “Does a teacher tell you that you got a question right on a test when you ask them?”
 
“Touché,” Sunset smirked back. “I suppose you’re right when you put it that way. Still, it would be nice to know for sure.”
 
“You’re a smart and talented girl, Sunset, you’ll find out sooner or later,” Zatanna patted her protégé on the back. “Now, could you tell me what exactly you did last night?”
 
“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “It all began last night after we discovered that Grundy was truly Clayface trying to perform a robbery while leading us in the wrong direction as well as truly escaping from Arkham. Batman told me about who Clayface used to be.”
 
“Detective Ethan Bennett, he was an old friend of Bruce’s,” interrupted Zatanna.
 
“Did not know that,” the young superheroine continued. “Well, the Bat explained to me about what happened to him and how his mind was, broken, that’s a good word to sum it all up. I had a thought cross my mind about a way that I could help him,”
 
“See, I was learning from some of spell books that the Tower had and one of them was a sort of calming spell for the mind that I’ve been using for myself to clear my mind but I thought perhaps I could be able to do the same for Ethan and help him maybe break Clayface’s hold on him. Of course, to do something like that, required me to do something that I didn’t want to do, or at least, what I could be able to do at the time.” Sunset wrapped her arms around her legs like she was curling up.
 
“Do what? What didn’t you want to do, Sunset?” Zatanna sounded concerned with Sunset’s vague answer.
 
“I wasn’t going to be able to use just the calming spell itself as it only works on the one casting it, so I had to mix with another one that I knew,” Sunset took a deep breath before speaking once more. “Well, with what I did, it felt a bit similar to something King Sombra used to do; the difference being was that I was trying to heal, not harm.”
 
“King Sombra? Harm? Sunset, you’re going to have to explain more.”
 
“King Sombra was a unicorn that took over the Crystal Empire a thousand years before I was even born and ruled with an iron hoof. He was the equivalent to several of the dictators that this world had or currently has,” explained Sunset.
 
“When I was Celestia’s student, I let my curiosity get the better of me and I read some things that I probably shouldn’t have. One of them was a spell that Sombra would use on his captives, he would torture them with the spell that would cause the victim’s mind to shatter and leave them a former shell of themselves.”
 
“You… you used dark magic last night?” Sunset could hear a touch of pain and anger in Zatanna’s tone.
 
“No, it wasn’t, but it could easily be used as one. I was trying to free Bennett from Clayface’s control, not break Clayface’s mind since that could’ve harmed Ethan.”
 
Zatanna took a deep breath. “I’m a bit disturbed that you kept this information from me, Sunset,” The magician stood up out of her chair.
 
“I know,” Sunset muttered before she got up as well. “I’ll start packing my things; maybe Pamela or Barbara can let me stay with them.”
 
Zatanna gave her young charge a look. “What are you talking about?”
 
“You’re probably firing me as your apprentice; it’s how that conversation with Celestia started too when I first crossed the mirror.”
 
 Sunset felt Zatanna place her hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “Sunset, I’m not firing you or kicking you out, I’m sorry I gave that impression but it’s just, this isn’t something to be taken lightly.”
 
“I know.” Sunset disappointedly said.
 
“The use of dark magic, can send someone down a slippery slope and I for one do not want to see you falling to the forces of chaos.”
 
“As I said, Zatanna, I was only trying to help him, hurting Bennett was the last thing I wanted to do.”
 
Zatanna nodded. “Well, I am upset that you did it, but you clearly are showing me that it wasn’t of malicious intent, but next time, maybe just try to stay away from trying to use anything that resembles dark magic.”
 
Sunset nodded as she gave a small smile. “Trust me, I’m not planning on using that spell again, nearly took everything out of me and was dangerous. There was a good chance it probably wouldn’t work. And for all I know, constantly trying it might end up shorten my lifespan, so I don’t want to take that risk.”

 “Well, don’t risk yourself like that, but it seems to have paid off. I just finished talking with Bruce shortly before you woke up and from the sounds of it; Ethan appears to be recovering quite well at Arkham.”
 
The smile grew on Sunset’s face. What she had done seems to have bared fruit. “That’s, that’s terrific! I guess you were right about what you said before about me bringing hope.”
 
“Looks that way, you just quite possibly removed from Gotham one of the greatest threats of a criminal it had, and in a non-violent way, I might add,” Zatanna smiled as she patted the young girl on the back. “You’re very well on your way to being quite the superheroine.”
 
Zatanna left the bedroom while Sunset just stood there for a moment, deep in her thoughts about what Zatanna had said to her.
 
“Would you be saying that stuff about me if you knew the truth, Zatanna?”