2012-08-05 Flash and Fishnets

The door shimmers in its teltalle way, announcing a new arrival, and Gregorio De la Vega steps into the bar. He nods to those he recognizes on the way in, regulars and such, but then he takes a seat at the bar near Zatanna. He glances at her drink, then up to her face, cracking a thin smile. "Well, how festive. I had been considering something a bit harder, but when inspiration strikes, one must take it, no?" He gestures vaguely to the bartender, drawing attention, and says, "I will take a seabreeze, more tart than sweet, por favor."
Zatanna looks over at De la Vega and she smiles. "Extrano, isn't it?" she greets. "I don't think we've formally met. I'm a friend of John Constantine. Zatanna Zatara," she offers him a hand to shake.
De la Vega's hand is offered, but it is accompanied by a faint grimace. "I cannot seem to shake that name, no matter what I do. I tend to go simply by mi apellido these days, just 'De la Vega.' Of course, I am 'Goyo' to my friends, but I don't wish to be unduly forward." His smile returns, and he gives a nod. "But of course, I have heard of you, Zatanna Zatara. You are quite famous, and now you are with the Justice League, are you not?"
The grimace makes an even fainter return, and De la Vega shakes his head slowly. "Ah, perhaps -- but to me it is more than just a name I once used. It represents a more innocent time, and in truth, it carries a great deal of, shall we say, baggage. I am no longer the man I was when I took that name, and while I cannot say that it shames me, it... well, it feels much more a part of who I was then than who I am now." He gives a light shrug of his shoulders, then turns to thank the bartender as his drink is delivered, raising the glass. "In any case, I am not worried you will 'go Batman' on me. I am generally pleased with what I have heard of the Justice League."
"I think it might do some good for the Magic community if we are seen as having representation on it," Zatanna admits. "With the way mutants have been treated, I would rather not have humanity going all crazypants on the Homo Magi set, you know? So I'm trying to buy us some good will. Plus, it never hurts to be able to call Superman a friend." She grins. "As for the name, I get it. I do. But we're magicians. Flashy is our signature. You'll need something snappier than De La Vega." She winks at him and sips her drink.
"Well," he answers, "I do approve of your membership, and I certainly see the value of calling Superman a friend. I wish your league well with its mission. I'm certain the world could benefit greatly from its presence." Then, at the return to the subject of his name, De la Vega shakes his head a bit. "Flashy is needed for performers -- and your family is certainly noteworthy for being great performers -- but I have outgrown my desire for flashy names and costumes. I am content to let my name be my own." A smirk touches his lips, and he tilts his head a bit. "Perhaps my old friend Constantine has begun to rub off on me, eh?" He touches the glass to his lips, sipping the drink.
"Oh Lord, don't let John rub off on you too much. You might catch something," Zee jokes. "But I think I understand about you name. Makes perfect sense when you put it that way. I don't think I could ever give up the stage entirely myself. It's in my blood."
There's just a tinge of bitterness to the quiet laugh that De la Vega offers in response. "Ah, yes. Poor Juanito, he cannot help his... flaws. And yet, I remain quite fond of him." He sips the drink again, then turns to regard Zatanna more directly. "For you, the stage is in your blood. For me, the stage was a presumption thrust upon me instead of a choice of venue. I grew tired of playing the clown." He waves a hand, then, setting down his glass. "But this is all demasiado antiguo. It does not bear dwelling upon. Let us speak less of then, more of now."
"So what do you want to do now?" Zatanna asks curiously. She's been toying lightly with the idea of forming a secret Magic society, and De La Vega would be an ideal addition. She watches him over the rim of her fruity drink umbrella.
The smirk resurfaces on De la Vega's lips, though this time it is markedly less bitter -- perhaps even amused, if sardonically so. "Now? Now, I am here to do what I am called to do, whatever that might be. I once retired from the world because I believed I had been a failure. Now, I see that there was no failure -- my mission was completed, even if in spite of rather than because of my efforts. So, now I look to the future and ask, 'What next?' My mission may have succeeded, but my purpose remains. Yet, I have no longer any guidance in that purpose, so I wait."
Zatanna pulls out a card. It has nothing on it, and is completely black, but it's the size and shape of a business card. She hands it to him. "I'm considering putting together a somewhat informal group of magical minds to work on larger scale mystical emergencies and threats. If you are interested, when I think I've found enough participants, this will have an address on it for us to meet."
De la Vega reaches out, taking the card, and nods. "Excellent! I will be pleased to render whatever assistance I might offer." He tucks the card away into a coat pocket, then lifts his glass once more, raising it in Zatanna's direction. "Well, then. Here's to new ventures, no?"
Zee smiles broadly and clinks her glass to De la Vega's. "To new ventures." Then she tosses back the rest of her dacquiri and sets the glass down. "Put it on my tab, Gus." She has no idea what the tender's name is, she's just always called him Gus. "I'll be in touch," she notes to the other mage, then she gathers up her book and saunters out.
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