✦ 010 ✦ [VIDEO]

[backwordscompatible]

[Well, that was even less fun than the whole accidentally-hexing-the-entire-Turtle-for-a-week incident.  Although, speaking of...]

[She's not quite as done as she was for her last announcement to her not-so-adoring fans, but there is a notable trace of both exhaustion and dryness to her tone as she leans back in her chair.  Arms folded and a smudge of the iridescent paint still visible on one cheek.]

For the record?  No, it wasn't me.

[Meaning the disappearances.]

[With that settled, she moves to turn off the console, although perceptive ears might be able to hear her mutter:]

Geez, one little mistake, and suddenly everything's always your fault....

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[asouthron]

[ Isn't that the million dollar question... You know, if McCoy had any use for a barbaric currency system.

The best answer he can give is a shrug before he pulls out a portable digital pad, frantically jabbing at it until he hands it over to her. ]

After I returned to the land of the living, I lost my voice. There's nothing physically wrong with my vocal chords or larynx. I /should/ be able to create sound...

[ The obvious implication is that it must be something otherworldly. AKA magic. And when magic is involved, he goes to this girl. ]

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[The tablet earns an inquisitive stare until he passes it over to her, and she reads what he's written.]

...oh.

[Her lips press together firmly. That's right. Jack had been telling her about this. People were losing things left and right. Voices. Eyesight. Memories.]

[He was close enough that she didn't even need to get up again. Instead, Zatanna closed her eyes. Focusing intently. Her ability to sense things wasn't nearly as good as her fathers, though she had noticed she'd been gradually getting better and better at it over the last couple of years. It tended to be a bit more difficult on the Turtle, considering everything radiated of faint magic. On top of the numerous Foreign Magic Users, the locals themselves were at least partially capable of such a gift. Their auras were so close they almost--]

[No. Wait. There.]

You're right. I sense...something.

It's hard to make out, but it's there.

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[asouthron]

[ The only reason he actually believes you are doing something besides pulling his leg is the fact that he has an overgrown elf on his team that gives the exact same expression when he's doing Vulcan hoodoo. ]

So it /is/ some sort of magic? I presume it's fixable then.

[ Notice the lack of a question mark on that last sentence. Give him good news, Zatty! ]

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[backwordscompatible]

[...Zatty?]

Most magic is fixable. Assuming you have enough power or the right ingredients. Not to mention, the know-how.

[In the past, she may have seemed a lot more confident. Ready to experiment with a few--in her defense, actually legitimate--ideas to counter whatever it was affecting his ability to speak. But these days, her confidence had wavered. For reasons that were known to the entire turtle. After all...it had been pretty hard to miss.]

The only problem is that, unless I know exactly how this was done, I can't guarantee a quick-fix. I have some ideas, but...

['I'd rather not make things any worse than they already are']

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[asouthron]

[ Yeah. Zatty. It's easier to say.... Or introspect with. Whatever--Look, it doesn't matter because he can totally read your mind right now. And he doesn't like what he's reading. ]

Well, if all you have as a guinea pig is me, then I think I'll pass on the whole basket of "ideas" thing.

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[backwordscompatible]

[Most of her friends tend to go with "Zee', but...you know...whatever floats your spaceship.]

[Surprisingly (or not), Zatanna isn't too offended by his rejection. She wasn't very comfortable with using him as a guinea pig in the first place, so she couldn't exactly blame him for not being comfortable with the idea either. Although it did bring to mind something else.]

Actually, that reminds me. I was talking to Jack earlier. About how, you know, a lot of people who were ghosted seem to be affected in some way...and...well...so far, I can't figure out if anything's wrong with me or not. I mean, I feel okay. But what if something really is wrong, and it's keeping me from realizing?

I don't suppose you could check? From a medical perspective.