Chapter Text
The Watchtower was actually much more impressive in person than Jazz had anticipated. She was sure Danny was seething that she was the first Fenton to be invited to observe the technology. Stopping for a moment outside the zeta tubes, Jazz admired the expert craftsmanship on the hull, each bolt and rivet perfectly maintained so they were safe in the atmosphere. Even the plastic of the windows provided an amazing view of the planet below. She wondered how thick it was to survive the pressure.
“Dr. Fenton,” her guide reminded her, and Jazz smiled apologetically.
“Sorry. I know you don’t allow photography but this is amazing. My brother is going to be very jealous.”
Nodding, the tech whose badge just read Martinez gestured them down a hallway. “Our engineers work day and night to make sure we’re in top condition. Barely felt the last solar storm, and the safety panels are genuinely a work of art. Are you interested in aerospace engineering?”
“Sort of.” Jazz drank in the sights greedily as they walked, the alloys and materials foreign to her. “I might have focused my formal education on psychology and parapsychology, but I’ve always been interested in xenoengineering. It’s a bit of a family business.”
Martinez hummed. “No wonder Canary invited you. You fit right in with the rest of the lab folks.”
Laughing, Jazz shook her head. “I doubt it. I get too stir crazy to sit in a lab for very long. Now my parents, on the other hand…” She sighed. “Well, they could practically live in the lab if I didn’t call to remind them to come out for meals.”
“We have a dedicated lab wrangler for that reason. Full-time plus benefits, and I can only imagine they need it.” Martinez gave her a toothy grin. “It’s just down here, by the way. You’re the first interview of the day, so it shouldn’t be much of a wait.”
The hallway opened up to what looked like a small waiting room. Jazz was the only one there, except for a small robot at the counter that looked to have a check-in system in its chest. Martinez flashed his badge over the machine’s head and it chirped, lighting up for a moment before going dark again.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked as he gestured for Jazz to take a seat. “Water? Coffee?”
“No, thank you. I’m sure you have things I’m keeping you from.”
“Well, if you change your mind, just wake up Blobbo over here. He’s got a full menu for the cafeteria. These interviews tend to run long, so don’t worry about putting in an order midway, okay?”
Jazz nodded again, watching as the tech wandered down the hallway in a different direction. She sat back on the chair a little, looking around again. The air here felt charged, the result of too many spells in too small a space. Jazz was mostly good at wards, but she had been a fairly quick study under several of the ghosts who had declared themselves part of the newly established royal court. It wasn’t how she had imagined spending the time between classes her first two years of college, but it was something to do when she couldn’t sleep. Danny hadn’t been kidding when he joked about how useful Clockwork’s time-outs were when freeing up the rest of her schedule.
There was some commotion down one of the hallways, an argument barely filtering through. Jazz tried to ignore it, at least until she saw a woman and something smaller walking together and coming her way. It took a second, but she realized the second person was an ape of some kind. A chimpanzee, she was pretty sure, although she’d never seen one in real life. Jazz blinked once and quickly decided it was none of her business. After all, the ape was arguing back with the woman and they both looked like heroes.
“There is no way that would work to maintain his tangibility,” the woman argued, her words finally clear enough to understand. “If the ring didn’t manage to make him visible, possession is really our only option for civilians.”
“I could not disagree more,” the ape replied, accent surprisingly crisp. “We have dealt with many types of magic that could render him visible. It’s just a matter of finding a skilled practitioner who can share their knowledge. Even an amulet to carry around would be better than having one of us down in an emergency.”
“And I suppose you just so happen to know someone who could perform that kind of enchanting?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I do.”
The woman’s heels stopped suddenly, and the ape gave a choked off hiss as Jazz looked up from her book. She found that the duo had stopped dead and the woman was staring at her. She was startlingly fit, though that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Most heroes were. The fishnets were a choice, though. The tower seemed to be a bit chilly, and Jazz wondered if the outfit was at least reinforced with a nude-colored underlayer. She understood the idea of a good aesthetic and loved the top hat, but heels and a tight vest couldn’t have been comfortable while exercising, either.
“You’re Constantine’s new girlfriend,” the woman started, recognition lighting up on her face. Jazz tilted her head slightly, before recalling the woman from when John had gotten cheeky while she was with Dan. One of the heroes he worked with, then.
“We’re seeing each other,” Jazz replied diplomatically, standing. “Jazz Fenton.”
“Oh, please. No need to be bashful. He’s been sneaking off to Jersey for ages at this point.” The woman shook the redhead’s hand, her perfect teeth flashing in a movie-star smile. “I’m Zatanna, call me Zee. And this is Bobo. What brings you to the tower? John’s been in Gambia for the last week as far as we were aware.”
Jazz reached over to Bobo for a handshake, and he seemed to hesitate for a moment before clasping her hand back. His grip was nearly limp in hers. Maybe he was afraid of hurting her? “I’m actually here for an interview,” Jazz explained, nodding toward the desk and the robot. “I just finished my doctorate, so it’s nice to be out in the job market for more permanent work. Didn’t think I’d get this big a chance in my first six months, though.”
“You’re not staying an ambassador of the Infinite Realms?” Zatanna put a perfectly manicured nail to her chin. “If that’s the case, are you interested in heroics?”
“I’ve had my fill of being a hero, to be honest.” Jazz could smile a perfect smile as well, and she allowed her height to really make itself known as she stood up straighter. “Pariah Dark was enough excitement for a lifetime.”
“The former High King?” Bobo asked, looking up at her. He didn’t seem that intimidated, but at his height, Jazz supposed all humans seemed tall. Still, he understood the body language. “I suppose that is understandable. Best of luck with your interview.”
“Thank you. Would you believe I was less nervous when I interned at Arkham Asylum?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sure you’ll do great,” Zatanna assured. She reached out, as if to pat Jazz’s shoulder, but her hand stopped. “Wait, did you say Arkham?”
“I spent two semesters there as part of my research. The place has curses down to the rebar, I swear.” Jazz tried not to grin. It had been completely fascinating to meet the ghosts of the place and unstick some of the wailing dead. And the amount of information she had gotten on the effects of stagnated ectoplasmic radiation on the human soul had been worth every attempted murder. It had, unfortunately, squashed the idea of reversing the contamination in high-exposure patients, but her more traditional thesis of the social contagion aspect of rogue behavior had gotten her an excellent review. And an invitation to the goonion, which she had politely declined after some consideration. She did help Danny direct a new ectoplasm pickup spot for the more liminal villains, though. Maybe being less hangry would tone down some of the violence. She hadn’t gotten back to Gotham for follow-up yet.
“Wow, no wonder John likes you.” Zatanna’s smile had lost some of the fake quality, dropping to a more lopsided smirk. She still seemed enamored, though, and Jazz wasn’t used to such focused attention. “Boston is going to be so disappointed he missed you. He was on a mission when we were called to Gotham and John acts like talking about you will kill him. You’re the biggest mystery we’ve had for months.”
“Can’t imagine why,” Bobo interjected. “We’ve been so respectful of his boundaries.”
Zatanna glared down at the chimp, crossing her arms. “Well, if he would stop sleeping with harbingers of the apocalypse, we wouldn’t have to be so nosy.” The magician glanced back at Jazz, quickly. “Not that he’s sleeping with anyone else right now. He’s a bastard and I think abstinence would actually kill him, but he’s not a cheater.”
“I wasn’t really worried, but thank you.” John could do as he wanted, as far as she was concerned. Jazz had never been a particularly jealous person by nature and while they had been together for months, they had never actually decided to become exclusive. She wasn’t interested in seeing anyone else, but what he did was his own business.
The door behind the desk opened, revealing another superhero. Bobo turned first, expression twisting. “Zatanna, we should go. We’ve taken up enough of Dr. Fenton’s time.”
The magician turned as well, before sighing. “Fine. It was great to meet you, Jazz. Please, any time you have some free time, give me a call. We can do lunch or something. I’m in Gotham in July.”
They barely allowed enough time for a goodbye as Bobo pulled the woman off. Jazz offered a small wave before turning toward the other hero. This one also had fishnets, though she at least had layered some leggings underneath and was wearing a jacket.
“Dr. Fenton, please follow me,” the hero began, gesturing. “The interview team is just down this way.”