Abracabra and the whole nine yards. DC AU Multicross

Then I stared at the blank space below, trying to figure out where to start.

The obvious approach would be to find people with latent magical talent. Individuals who had the potential but no training, who could benefit from structured education. That was how most magical academies operated, had operated for thousands of years. Find the talented, train them, send them out into the world.

But that approach had problems. Finding people with magical potential meant searching, investigating, potentially drawing attention I didn't want. And it meant starting from scratch with students who might not understand the importance of what they were learning.

I needed a different approach. People who would benefit from magic immediately, who would understand the responsibility that came with power, who were already positioned to make a difference.

I wrote: HEROES?

Then immediately crossed it out.

No. Not the big names, not the established heroes. Batman would go paranoid. Superman would investigate. Wonder Woman would probably show up with a list of questions about my intentions and credentials. The Justice League members were too important, too powerful, too watched. Giving them magic through [Magic Bestowal] would drain me for weeks and probably trigger every alarm in the superhero community.

But what about the minor heroes? The street-level operators who weren't carrying the weight of the world?

I wrote: WILDCAT.

Ted Grant was the Boxer who turned vigilante, one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the DC Universe. He trained heroes, taught combat, ran a gym in Gotham that served as an unofficial recruitment center for Batman's network. He was important, sure, but not Justice League important. Street-level now, respected and someone who understood discipline and training he was old now and couldn't do what he used to back during the Justice Society.

Giving him magic would make him more effective without making him super dangerous. He could teach his students defensive spells, healing magic, techniques that would keep them alive in a city where being a hero often meant dying young.

But there was a problem. Wildcat was in Gotham, which meant he was in Batman's territory. Approaching him meant potentially drawing Batman's attention, and I was trying to avoid that for as long as possible just for the annoyance he was.

I moved on.

THE QUESTION.

Vic Sage was the Faceless detective, conspiracy theorist and vigilante who operated out of Hub City. He was paranoid, brilliant, completely dedicated to finding truth no matter how uncomfortable. He'd investigated everything from corrupt politicians to alien invasions, usually with nothing more than his fists and his brain.

Magic would give him tools he didn't have. Divination spells to find hidden information. Protection magic to survive the dangerous situations he constantly threw himself into. Scrying to track criminals without putting himself in immediate danger.

But the same paranoia that made him effective would probably make him refuse. The Question didn't trust easily, didn't accept gifts without suspecting ulterior motives. Approaching him with an offer to teach magic would probably result in months of investigation, surveillance, and ultimately rejection.

I crossed out THE QUESTION and moved on.

HUNTRESS?

Helena Bertinelli. Mafia princess turned vigilante, operating mostly in Gotham but with enough independence that she wasn't fully part of Batman's network. She was brutal, efficient, willing to cross lines that other heroes wouldn't.

Magic could temper that. Give her options beyond violence. Healing to save people she couldn't reach in time. Wards to protect civilians. Divination to find criminals before they struck.

But she had the same problem as Wildcat. Gotham territory, Batman's attention, complications I didn't need.

And there was another issue. The Huntress often worked with The Question in the comics, at least in some continuities. If I approached one, I might end up dealing with both, and that multiplied the paranoia problem exponentially.

I set down the pen and rubbed my eyes. This was harder than I'd expected. Every potential student came with complications, connections, reasons why approaching them might backfire.

Maybe I was thinking about this wrong. Maybe instead of seeking out heroes, I should look at the magical community itself. Establish relationships with other practitioners, get the lay of the land, understand how magic worked in this version of the DC Universe before trying to recruit students.

I wrote: ZATANNA ZATARA.

Stage magician and actual mage, daughter of Giovanni Zatara, member of the Justice League Dark in some continuities. She was established, respected, powerful. If anyone could give me information about the magical landscape of this world, it would be her.

But approaching Zatanna meant revealing myself to someone who was already part of the hero community. She worked with the Justice League, knew Batman personally, had connections throughout the magical world. Anything I told her would potentially reach people I wasn't ready to deal with yet.

Still, it might be worth the risk. Better to introduce myself on my own terms than wait for her to find me when the ward network started pinging every magical sensor on the West Coast.

I wrote: GIOVANNI ZATARA.

Zatanna's father, older, more experienced, less connected to the hero community. He operated as a stage magician and private consultant, helped people with magical problems without necessarily involving the Justice League. He might be more approachable, more willing to have a conversation without immediately reporting back to Batman or Superman.

But Giovanni was also protective of his daughter, suspicious of new practitioners, and powerful enough to be a serious threat if he decided I was a problem. Approaching him had its own risks.

I set down the pen again and looked out the window. The ocean stretched to the horizon, grey and vast under the afternoon sun. Waves crashed against the cliffs below the mansion, a constant rhythm that had been there for millennia and would continue long after I was gone.

I was overthinking this. Planning too much, worrying about complications that might never materialize. The quest required ten students and recognition from a major hero or organization. I had the location, I had the power, I had the knowledge. What I needed was to start.

Pick someone. Make the approach. Deal with the consequences as they came.

I looked back at the list. Wildcat. The Question. Huntress. Zatanna. Giovanni.

Each name represented a different path, a different set of complications, a different risk-reward calculation.

But before I approached anyone, I needed to finish the academy's infrastructure. Set up classrooms, develop curriculum, create the physical and magical space where teaching could actually happen. I couldn't recruit students to a school that existed only in concept.

I stood up from the desk and walked through the mansion, taking stock of what I had and what I needed.

The library would serve as the main classroom. Large enough for group instruction, quiet enough for focused study, filled with books that could supplement magical education once I filled the shelves with appropriate texts.

One of the ballrooms could become a practice space. Large, open, structurally sound enough to handle magical experimentation without worrying about damaging important systems.

The bedrooms upstairs could house students who needed living space. Not all of them would, but some might. Runaways, people fleeing dangerous situations, individuals who needed sanctuary as much as education.

The conservatory could serve as a space for botanical magic, growing components, creating a connection between the students and the natural world.

The mansion had potential. It just needed work, organization, transformation from abandoned estate to functional academy.

I spent the rest of the afternoon planning, measuring, mentally cataloging what needed to be done. The work was grounding, practical, the kind of thing I'd done a thousand times as a teacher. Set up the space, organize the materials, create an environment where learning could happen.

By the time the sun started setting, I had a plan. Not complete, not perfect, but workable.

I walked back to the library and looked at the notebook, at the list of names I'd written and crossed out and written again.

Somewhere out there were ten people who would become my students, who would learn magic and change this world in ways I couldn't predict.

I decided to go for a walk.

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