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It's a small, small (superheroine) world (For BRR & MMRS)

"No, sorry," he replied. "It sounds like the Justice League, but it could be completely different for all I know."
 
"Remember what I said about multiverses?" Zatanna asked. "Well, the Justice Guild actually existed in one universe, but in my universe, they're a group of characters in a comic book. And when the Earth in their universe had a nuclear war, the comic went out of publication in my universe. I know that because...well, it's a long explanation. It could be your universe is a nexus of information gathering for the rest of the universes. For example, it seems to me that you know who all five of the women in that cupboard were."
 
Leo paused, trying to take this in. An day ago, that explanation would have been ridiculous. Now, it seemed entirely rational. "Yes, I do know them," he answered. "So you're saying that other worlds exist, and information about them flows to our world in the form of stories and comic books. But what does that mean about you coming here and replacing the figurines?"
 
"Haven't a clue," Zatanna admitted with a shrug. "Though it does remind me of a movie that, for the life of me, I can't remember the details about, including the title."
 
"So what do you suggest doing now? Should I send you back too? And what about the rest of the spell? It still hasn't been completed yet," he said. He didn't know what movie she was talking about nor did it ring any bells, so he'd focus on what he could know.
 
"Please don't be offended by me saying this, because it's not directed at you," Zatanna began, "But there's a device that can draw people from my world into yours, without their powers, and at a reduced size as well. I need to understand how this is working, to make sure that it's at least kept out of the proverbial 'wrong hands.' So, do the computers in your world have search engines?"
 
"No offense taken," he assured her as he began to click on the computer. "And yes, we've got search engines. Probably more than a single reality needs," he answered as he pulled up the Google home page. "What do you need to know?"
 
"Well, first of all, I'm curious what you know about myself and Wonder Woman," Zatanna began. "And I don't know who the blonde woman in the...unusual costume was, but she used a name that I would attach to Super Girl. But she definitely didn't look like Super Girl. And Wonder Woman didn't look like the Wonder Woman I knew. And I have absolutely no idea who the two women above us were, but I assume they were some kind of...metahumans?"
 
"Power Girl," Leo answered her. "Apparently the figure being used was a mistake. They got the hair wrong. So it was still her, but a different appeance on the figure seems to reflect the appearance of the character," he answered. "As for the two above you, they were superheroes from a different set of universes. They were from the Marvel universes, whereas you are from the DC universes," he explained as he looked up Zatanna, careful to avoid the image search. He also pulled up the wiki page about her, just so she could see the information.
 
"So is this Power Girl related to Super Girl somehow?" Zatanna asked, as she looked at the wiki page about herself. "And DC, Marvel, I presume these are the mediums that convey to your world what's happening in mind?"

As Zatanna read her wiki, she actually laughed at one of the pictures inset by a paragraph about her 'character' in Smallville. "I look a lot like this Serinda Swan, don't I? It kind of reminds me of a movie I once saw, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he plays himself and a character he supposedly played at one time. Um, that's presuming you have Arnold Schwarzenegger in your world?" Zatanna asked.

"So I presume the Wonder Woman I met, and this Power Girl, are like the Wonder Woman and Super Girl in my universe? And what can you tell me about these Marvel women?" Zatanna asked.
 
"That's right. Marvel and D.C. both publish comic books about various superheroes. And yes, there is an Arnold Schwarzenegger in our world. He's actually the governor of California," he added with a chuckle.

"I assume they're the same, though just like you I'd have no way of knowing. As to the other two, the one who talked back at you was Emma Frost while the other was called storm. They're what's known as mutants from their world, basically being metahumans." As he explained this, he pulled up wiki pages for all of them. As he did so, a thought started to weigh on his mind, but he was worried about bringing it up.
 
"Hr's a governor?" Zatanna said, astonished. "Next you're going to tell me you elect actors and reality stars as your presidents."

Zatanna read through the different wikis, nodding to herself. "I think if we need help," she said, "We'd be better off not bring any of these...mutants who are members of this Hellfire group. Or Brotherhood, for that matter."

Zatanna looked up at Leo and asked, "You look like something's bothering you. What is it?"
 
He paused. He didn't want to say anything because it might be bad, but he wanted to be honest. He scrolled down on one of the pages, arriving at a section mention retcons. "I wonder...if your reality actually exists. We have retcons in our stories; things that we retroactively changed in the lore or so on. You can find all sorts of these things and contradictions across comics. So I'm wondering, what if you're a consciousness created by the spell based on the common perception of what your personality and memories would be like."
 
"A little, but not enough to know what you're referring to off the top of my head," he answered. He wasn't sure how she would explain the contradictions, but he was very curious.
 
"Descartes was the first to come up with the concept of the 'brain in the vat,' being unable to tell reality from a carefully constructed delusion," Zatanna explained. "Finally, he decided that, 'I think, therefore I am,' meaning accepting reality was easier that coming up with a convoluted theory on how everything was an illusion."

"In my universe, at least, Hugh Everett came up with the concept of multiple universes. For example, in your universe, you opened up the package, and the end result is me and you having the surreal conversation about reality. Perhaps there's another reality where the package got lost, or wasn't sent, or where you got it, but the laws of physics were such that it didn't suck any individuals from other universes."

"I think where you might be getting philosophically frustrated is that these retcons, contradictions, would seem to prevent me from existing, or at least me existing as a being from another universe. Now, there's a number of ways to look at this. You could consider comic books like history books. And you know how two historians can disagree hows and whys of a certain event, even if said event happened within their lifetime. Or what if the comic books are representing not one reality, but multiple realities. With that much....for lack of a better word, 'bleed over,' there's bound to be some inconsistencies in the facts as they're presented, particularly if the individuals who are writing these histories from their subconscious don't know they're writing history."

"So, Descartes and Everett would both argue that I'm real, and my world is real, and possibly there are more worlds out there with their own versions of Leos and Zatannas. Or possibly there is only one Zatanna, which would relieve quite a few people," she said with a laugh, "And these retcons, as you call them, are a product of bad reception by whatever method your comic book artists and screen writers are copying down the events of my world and other worlds like them."
 
Herring their associated theories jogged his memory, never having been good with names. He sat silently, nodding ocassionally. Her points made sense. "I guess even if what I said was true, we'd have no way or knowing and it wouldn't effect this current situation. Sorry," he finished, habitually apologizing as he always did. "And for what it's worth, I'm glad there's at least one Zatanna."
 
"Actually, I may have a way to prove that I'm not like something out of...did your world ever have a movie entitled 'Night at the Museum?'" Zatanna asked.

"Anyway, here's my idea. Put me in the cabinet, and close the door," Zatanna said. "That should turn me back to a figurine. Well, that's not what it will do, but you know what I mean," she added with a wave. "Then take one of the other figurines, and put her in the cabinet, close the door, and then reopen it. If I'm right, the figurine won't be replace by a tiny superheroine. Once you do that, remove the figurine, put the figurine of me back in the cabinet, then close and re-open the door. I should be back. Got it? Oh, and in case I'm wrong, don't use that Emma Frost woman."
 
This seemed like an odd method. He also had absolutely no idea why the cabinet would work that way. Still, it's not like he could object. He needed to know more as well. So he picked her up, walked over to the cabinet, and put her in, shutting the door on her. He then opened it up, finding she was indeed gone and only the figurine was left. He put her back with the others as he tried to decide which other girl to bring if not Emma. He decided to obey his male instincts, grabbing the Power Girl figurine. Just as she instructed, he put her in the cabinet, and closed. He waited a few seconds, then opened it up. If Zatanna was right and only the figurine was there, he would follow the rest of her instructions.
 
Seeing Zatanna's words were true, he returned the figure to the others. He then retrieved Zatanna again and returned her to the cabinet where he closed and opened it, as per her instructions.
 
As soon as Zatanna appeared, she said something under her breath, but nothing happened.

"Damn!" she swore, as she looked up at Leo. "Well, the good news is that I've sealed the portal that your cabinet opens up. Not just my universe, but in any universe it can connect to. The bad news is I was hoping that meant that I could show up and do magic. Unfortunately, unless and until we can figure out a way to restore me to normal size in your universe, it appears that I'm powerless."

"But the good news is, you now have proof that I'm not just a figurine with false memories," Zatanna explained. "Unless you can come up with a theory about how I stopped your cabinet from bringing action figures to life. Um, I'm assuming I did stop the cabinet from transforming, didn't I?"
 
"Wait," Leo said, confused. "If you sealed the portal, how did you get back? Actually never mind, I don't think I'd understand," he hastily corrected himself. "More importantly, why did you come back?"
 
"I closed a door," Zatanna answered, "I didn't brick it up. As to why I came back, part of it is curiosity. My appearance here is proof that magic works in this world. And somebody, or somebodies in your world, knows how to construct a device that can open portals to other worlds, and draw people from those worlds to yours, and against their will at that. So I thought we might investigate that. Assuming you'd like to help?" Zatanna asked with a smile.
 
"I'm on board. I'm too deep in to just forget this," he answered. He also though maybe there was a chance he could meet more people from different worlds, and that thought alone greatly interested him.
 
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