#riftstarter

Zatanna glared at a billboard. Some shirtless posing asshole named Criss Angel had her spot at the Luxor. She wondered how long it would take to get it back. If it would be before she found a way back home. There she’d had her father’s reputation behind her, but even then, she’d started in crappy tiny clubs, here in New York even, not wanting to bank on her family legacy. Well, here she was again. Dressed in her trademark- well, only back home- outift of heels, tailcoat, top hat, fishnets and barely there dance shorts, she managed to standout like she had a spotlight on her, even among all the other ostentatiously dressed and attention seeking street performers. Feeling a lingering presence behind her, Zatanna whirled around with a luminous smile and showily shuffled her cards, tipping her head so her top hat sat just so. “Hello there, wanna see a magic trick?”

M’gann walked through the streets of this new world, observing every difference she could. She wasn’t overly familiar with New York in her world, but even just the stores around them appeared different. She hadn’t seen a single Big Belly Burger, or Wayne Enterprises building yet. 

Being a good spy meant being able to belong anywhere. That meant belonging nowhere, which- she’d flubbed on, over the years, growing ever so quietly attached to the Avengers and her place among them. Even so, she’d never lost her ability to operate on her own, and never would. And so, belonging anywhere. Natasha didn’t exactly expect that would mean clawing out a life and new alias in some sort of alternate dimension, but sometimes things were like that. Apparently.

He had to admit, it wasn’t as bad over here as he first thought. Part of him actually preferred it. No one breathing down his neck constantly, questioning his methods or his intentions. No one knew whether he was a good or a bad guy. The Red Hood was able to completely start over. Sure, the old man was still over here. Considering Fate’s sense of humor, Jason was positive he would never actually be rid of Bruce’s presence. But he wasn’t a crime lord in this New York. Yes, people were still asking for his arrest, along with the arrest of the Rooks. But they were fighting the mob. Not pretending to be one of them. 

Perhaps he was a little too dressed up, but first impressions are always important. And he certainly wanted to make an impression on this town. And he couldn’t wait to get started. Black fedora on his head and cane in hand, he welcomed the city crowds. There were very few differences from this world, and his. But most importantly, it was a world that wasn’t used to people like him. This was going to be fun. Standing in the middle of Times Square, a smirk was planted firmly on Edward’s face as he tried to decide how to appropriately introduce himself to this world. 

If there was one thing Clint was grateful for, it was that this New York still had the best damn pizza in the world. He flipped his change up into the air, catching it easily and sliding it into his back pocket. He turned to head out the door, intent on wandering the city some more, seeing what had changed. As the door opened, he bumped into someone else, and his slice slid to the ground with a sad plop.

Selina sat on a rooftop, one leg cross over the other and her feet hanging over the edge. Her new suit was finally finished. Something very close to the one that she had in her own reality. She flexed her fingers in just the right way and her claws came out, then retracted again. It felt good to be herself again. To be i her own skin. Selina was well known for her ability to adapt. But with the suit on, it finally felt like normal. For all they knew, there was no way back. So she was prepared to make this reality feel like home. And from her perch, she had the distinct pleasure of seeing two men (clearly amateurs) trying to break into a diamond shop. Selina rolled her eyes. It wasn’t even a high end place. Where was the fun in that? “Is this all this reality has for me to play with?” 

The lobby of the apartment building was fairly bland. It definitely wasn’t the best place Tim had ever live, but it beat some of the dives he had seen around Gotham. It felt a bit weird to being living somewhere this cramped, but he could get by.