Re: The Party Pooper + Everyone
The second the first crash called Zatanna's attention, she assessed the situation-- crashers in the form of thugs and a demented clown-- and then turned her attention to the children. More than one had burst into tears and they were all ashen with fear. Their guardians for the night were still there, of course, but they hardly looked any better off.
Zatanna, who was about as scared as she'd ever been in her life, herded the group toward a wall, away from the hail of bullets and frantic guests. (They were liable to get trampled otherwise.) There would be no point in trying to get out of the gallery-- the venue was too small and, moreover, they couldn't move fast enough. Not with the children so upset.
Crouching down, Zatanna had them huddle up to her, protecting as many ears from any follow-up gunshots. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw the Joker waving his gun as if it were a plaything and rage welled up inside of her. There were children here-- frightened children with no parents to comfort them. Had he no decency?
Well, no, she supposed he didn't. Zatanna gestured for the guardians huddle tighter around the children, then stood and turned to face the scene before her. Yeah, still utterly terrifying. But her anger was greater. It was as if her momma bear instinct had suddenly kicked in and she had to speak up-- had to protect the poor orphans. (That was the point of this whole night, right?)
Zatanna made sure she was blocking the children as best she could before clearing her throat. Normally there'd be at least a half dozen snarky responses on the tip of her tongue but nothing about this was normal. "If it's the money you want, just take it," she said, surprised when her voice didn't catch or shake. (She wondered if this was the stupidest thing she'd ever do-- or perhaps even the last.)