Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who kill their fathers!

"Thank you all for coming. I am a stage magician."

Zatanna stood on the stage, smiling warmly at the audience before her.

"Tonight, I won't just be a performer; I'll also be your guide to a world where dreams come true. Keep an open heart and a curious mind, and miracles will unfold among us."

As she spoke, she gave a graceful bow and removed her top hat.

"Whoosh!"

The moment she took off the hat, a flurry of doves burst forth, fluttering into the air.

Amidst the applause, Zatanna picked up the hat again. "Thank you for your applause. Next, I'll pull a rabbit out of this hat."

Sitting on a nearby chair, she reached into the hat with her hand.

In the audience, Clark and John watched intently, trying to figure out how she accomplished her tricks.

On stage, Zatanna whispered under her breath, "Emerge, rabbit, from within the hat."

As she uttered the backward spell, a white rabbit quietly appeared inside the hat.

Grabbing the rabbit by its ears, Zatanna pulled it out—only to freeze in shock.

In her hands was a rabbit, bleeding profusely from its eyes, ears, and nose. Its wide, lifeless eyes reflected unimaginable agony, and blood dripped ominously from its hind legs onto the stage.

"Oh my..."

Zatanna stared at the rabbit in horror, completely at a loss.

She had no idea what had gone wrong with her magic.

The audience, thinking it was part of the show, erupted into even more enthusiastic applause, punctuated with cheers and whistles.

Snapped out of her daze, Zatanna peered into the hat, only to see a swirling purple magical energy, dark and dangerous, coalescing within.

"No!!"

Her panicked cry rang out as black, viscous tentacles, riddled with grotesque tumors, erupted violently from the hat.

The tentacles writhed and flailed like a storm surge, spreading outward in all directions.

The audience, still under the impression it was part of the act, clapped even harder, convinced they'd never seen such an intense and visually striking magic trick.

Amidst the thunderous applause, Zatanna shouted urgently, "This isn't part of the show! Leave now!"

Before the audience could react, a thick tentacle lashed out, snatching a man from the crowd and dragging him onto the stage.

Thud!

The unfortunate man landed heavily on the wooden floor.

Groaning in pain, he was quickly ensnared by even more tentacles, which coiled around him like a living web.

For a moment, the audience stood frozen, unsure whether to scream or run.

Finally, a piercing scream shattered the silence, and panic rippled through the theater as people scrambled for the exits.

The once-calm auditorium devolved into chaos. Terrified screams and frantic shouts echoed through the space.

Peter Parker, seated among the fleeing crowd, stood up with a serious expression.

John stared at the writhing tentacles on stage, incredulous. "Dad, what is that?"

Star-Lord added, equally baffled, "Is this some new kind of magic? Rabbits and now tentacles?!"

"This doesn't look like an ordinary magic trick," Peter replied, his eyes narrowing at the sinister appendages.

"Godfather, we should help her," Clark said urgently, looking at the stage.

Though he didn't know the girl performing, her panicked expression made it clear the tentacles were out of her control.

Peter glanced at the stage and then told John, "Take Clark and Star-Lord out of here."

Though reluctant, Clark knew Peter always had a plan. He followed John out of the auditorium.

Meanwhile, the man caught in the tentacles clawed at the stage floor, leaving bloody trails as his nails broke against the wood.

"No! No!" he screamed in agony, struggling desperately as he was dragged closer to the cursed hat.

Zatanna stood paralyzed, overwhelmed by the horror unfolding before her.

"Oh no! I... I don't know what to do!" she stammered, panic making her mind go blank.

At that moment, a blast of white energy surged from the audience, disintegrating the tentacle holding the trapped man.

The freed victim landed with a heavy thud on the stage and promptly passed out.

Zatanna turned to the source of the energy, her eyes wide with shock.

Who was this man?

Peter Parker calmly lowered his hand, his body radiating divine energy.

With a hum, his hands became enveloped in an ethereal light.

"Zzzap!"

With a swift motion, Peter severed an approaching tentacle. In a blur, he leapt onto the stage.

Zatanna stared at him in awe. This mysterious man had effortlessly cut down the sinister, magic-laden tentacles.

Snapping out of her reverie, Zatanna grabbed a lighter, gritted her teeth, and pointed it at the remaining tentacles.

"Burn, flames, consume them!"

As her reverse incantation echoed, the lighter's flame transformed into a fiery dragon, engulfing the tentacles.

The burning tentacles released a charred, acrid stench as they writhed in their final moments.

Just as Zatanna thought the danger had passed, one last tentacle, ablaze but defiant, lashed out and struck her arm.

Biting back a scream, Zatanna clutched her injured arm and collapsed, gasping for breath.

Moments later, she noticed a pair of polished shoes before her.

Looking up, she saw the man who had saved her.

Peter retracted his divine energy and shook his head, slightly disappointed.

"I was hoping for a classic magic act, like sawing someone in half and putting them back together," he said dryly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice calm.

Zatanna hesitated, then nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you... thank you so much."

Her eyes darted to the chaos around her—the unconscious man, the wrecked stage—and she exhaled shakily.

Peter offered her a faint smile. "Your magic show was impressive. Nearly killed the whole theater."

Zatanna flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I don't know what went wrong."

She suspected someone had tampered with her props, though she couldn't imagine who.

"Whether magic or illusion, it's dangerous if not mastered. You still have a long way to go," Peter said cryptically before turning to leave.

Zatanna watched his retreating figure, a mix of gratitude and curiosity brewing within her. She wanted to ask his name but hesitated.

With the stage in ruins and her arm throbbing, she realized her days at the circus were over.

For now, she needed to focus on her next move.

That night, at Podrick Farm, Star-Lord sighed, disappointed.

"I don't get it. Why were there tentacles in her hat?"

Peter shrugged. "Maybe her magic went haywire."

"Still," Star-Lord persisted, "how does a magic trick spawn killer tentacles? Unless..."

John interjected, "Unless she's not a magician but a sorceress, like that witch teacher Dad fought."

"Yeah," John said with a shrug. "Witches are real. Who knows? She might be one."

Star-Lord turned to Peter, eyes gleaming. "Dad, can you conjure tentacles from a hat?"

"No, I can't," Peter replied flatly. "And no sane magician would try."

"Aw, too bad," Star-Lord pouted. "I thought it was pretty cool."

...

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