DC:The Darkest Knight

[3RD POV]

In the Batcave's training area, Zatanna and Selina were practicing. Selina wanted to adapt her new abilities, while Zatanna aimed to gain more combat experience.

"llaw enots," Zatanna chanted, creating a stone wall to block Selina's strike.

Digging her cat-like claws into the wall, Selina climbed the wall and jumped over it toward Zatanna.

"hsup dniw." As Selina leaped, Zatanna cast a wind spell to push her back.

After being pushed back, Selina didn't rush again but decided to blend in with the dark to take advantage of her night vision.

"dleihs." Noticing Selina's change in strategy, Zatanna formed a protective shield and scanned the area for her opponent.

While Zatanna searched, she felt a hit on her shield from behind. When she turned, her shield was attacked from the opposite side, which was behind her again.

Seeing that Selina was relying on her abilities to sneak attack, Zatanna lifted her hand up.

"THGIL EB EREHT TEL!" she shouted as the entire cave lit up with a very bright and blinding light that caused Selina, who was in mid-air, to get momentarily stunned and crash to the ground.

But it wasn't only Selina who was affected by the light. The bats on the cave ceiling got startled and began to fly aimlessly inside the cave.

"NRUTER DNA NWOD MLAC" Zatanna quickly cast a spell to calm the bats, guiding them back to their spots. Then, she hurried to help Selina.

"Selina, are you alright?" Zatanna asked as she assisted her friend in standing up.

But as soon as Selina grasped Zatanna's hand, she pulled her forward and leaped behind her as Zatanna fell to the ground.

Selina sat on Zatanna's back, her claws resting on Zatanna's throat.

"Looks like I win, magic girl," Selina said with a smug grin.

"You cheated, Selina; that doesn't count," Zatanna replied, trying to rise, but Selina held her down.

"Says the girl with the power to make anything she says reality. A win is a win, magic girl. Don't be a sore loser. Just admit I'm better than you," Selina said, leaning closer to Zatanna's ear. "And I look better with Bruce than you do."

"ezeerF," Zatanna said, and Selina suddenly froze. Zatanna stood up, wearing a smug expression.

"Looks like I win, cat girl," Zatanna declared. Then she leaned in close to Selina's ear. "Now I'm going to be alone with Bruce, while you stay here like the good little kitten you are." Ignoring Selina's furious glare, Zatanna walked away toward the third layer, where Bruce was.

***

[Meanwhile]

Sitting in front of the smaller Batcomputer on the third layer, Bruce watched the sparring match between Zatanna and Selina.

Four years ago, when they first met, the two girls were best friends. and their friendship only grew stronger when Zatanna showed Selina her magical abilities a year after they met.

For Selina, it felt like a whole new world had opened up. She did ask Zatanna to teach her, but she wasn't able to learn anything since she was exactly talented in magic and Zatanna was still a student herself. So Selina just watched in amazement and wonder with stars in her eyes every time Zatanna used magic. However, their friendship took a turn when they both realized they had feelings for Bruce.

This changed the dynamic of their friendship forever and turned them into rivals.

From that point on, they competed for Bruce's attention, constantly comparing themselves to each other. They argued over who cooked better, whose meals Bruce preferred, and whose hugs he liked more.

Seeing that the fight had ended, Bruce opened his real-time vitals. He looked at his vitals with an empty vial in his hand, which contained the puberty serum that he had injected himself with for the first time a few minutes ago.

"I thought the serum effects would show immediately," Bruce said, his voice high-pitched and hoarse. It wasn't due to illness or side effects; he had woken up like this yesterday, marking the start of his puberty.

{The serum is currently integrating with your body perfectly, sir. You will be able to feel the difference in a few days, and it will take approximately 3 months for the serum to fully integrate into your body. After that, your body will adapt, and you can inject yourself with an increased dosage of the serum.}

"Is the honey ready?" Bruce asked again with his irritating voice that sounded like someone was scraping their fork on a plate.

{Yes, sir. I'm currently running tests to detect any side effects.}

"No need for that. Even I can't tolerate my own voice. Just send it with the drone," he said, tossing the empty vial in his hand.

"Bruce, what are you doing?" Zatanna asked as she stepped out of the elevator.

Bruce opened his mouth to answer but closed it again, recalling how he sounded. Since the only ones who heard him were Teleute, who found his irritating voice cute, Bruce knew she was just being nice, and Alfred panicked like the world was ending because he thought Bruce was dying.

"Bruce, why aren't you speaking? Did something happen?" Zatanna asked with concern, moving closer to him.

{Miss Zatanna, Master Bruce has a sore throat from yesterday's experiment.}

Eden chimed in as a bat-drone arrived with a vial. Bruce stood up, took the vial, and drank it down, feeling the warmth spread in his throat.

"Bruce, you really should be careful with those experiments of yours. They are dangerous, especially in your hands. No offense, but I don't think you are mentally stable," Zatanna said.

"Don't worry, Z. You know me, always doing experiments and creating things, yet still healthy as a bull," Bruce said as he flexed his muscles, his voice back to normal, maybe a bit deeper.

"Did you finish your spar with Selina?" Bruce asked as if he hadn't watched the whole thing.

"Yeah," Zatanna said, placing her hands on her hips and looking up. "And as you can see, I won," she added, glancing at Bruce, looking for praise.

"Great job, my little sorceress," Bruce said, pulling Zatanna into a hug and kissing her.

Taken aback by Bruce's actions, Zatanna was surprised. Her cheeks flushed, and she turned away for a moment before looking back at him. After a brief internal struggle, she broke free from the hug and gave him a quick kiss. Then, covering her face with her hands, she dashed away, squealing with joy, completely forgetting about Selina.

With a sigh, Bruce got up and made his way to Selina to help her out with the magic skills he gained from Batman since Zatanna had already left the Batcave through the elevator.

***

"Thanks," Selina said to Bruce with a shamed expression. She felt embarrassed for losing to Zatanna, especially after Bruce had given her powers.

"It's okay, Selina. It's only been a few weeks since you were injected with the serum. You have nothing to feel bad about. You should actually be proud that you learned to use your new powers so quickly," Bruce said, gently stroking her head.

"I wanted to show you that I'm not just the lost kitten you found years ago, but someone who can stand with you," Selina replied, moving closer to Bruce. His touch made her purr softly like a cat.

"Selina, Zatanna comes from a family lineage of Homo Magi, humans who are capable of magic. She has been trained by her father, Giovanni Zatara, a powerful magician, since she was a child with the utmost discipline and strict routine. She works very hard, and the only time she gets to relax is when she visits me once a month. So, you can see how much effort she puts into achieving the power she has," Bruce explained. Selina lowered her gaze, feeling anger rise within her at the unfairness of life. She had a drunkard father who killed her mother, leaving her alone and forcing her to steal to care for her sister, while Zatanna had the power to do anything and a father to support her through everything.

"I watched your fight. You made Zatanna defend herself. She has had her powers since she was born, while you just got yours a few weeks ago. Don't feel ashamed; be proud, Selina," Bruce said as he looked into Selina's eyes. "Because that means you can beat her if you work hard."

'Which is complete bullshit. There is no way she could ever defeat Zatanna, who, in the future, will become powerful enough to be considered a multiversal powerhouse. But I hope this ignites her fighting spirit and determination to be stronger; otherwise, she will be just a waste of time,' which was Bruce's real thoughts.

"Yes, you're right. I can beat her. I can be better," Selina replied, feeling renewed. "Thank you, Bruce," she said, giving him a quick hug before hurrying to the training area.