And just as Gwen expected, Zatanna fell for it.
Perhaps it was the deep-seated unwillingness to lose, or perhaps a simple desire to impress her new friend, Zatanna pulled a common coin from her pocket.
He dangled the coin in front of them, then with a flick of his small hand, the coin vanished.
Then, she pretended to be mysterious, reaching behind Brucey's ear, and the coin magically reappeared at her fingertips.
Brucey was completely unaware of her sister Gwen's little scheme, her eyes filled with surprise and adoration.
After that, as if encouraged, Zatanna produced various small magic props from herself.
Unlike usual, her voice grew louder when performing magic; though still somewhat unclear, she exuded confidence.
And every time she completed a trick, Brucey would get excited, her small face turning red, and her small hands clapping enthusiastically like the best audience.
While clapping, she continuously exclaimed, "Wow, Zatanna, you're amazing! This is too magical!"
However, the performance eventually came to an end. Seeing Zatanna had stopped, Gwen knew it was time to add more fuel to the fire.
Gwen also had a perfectly appropriate smile on her face, clapping along with Brucey.
As she clapped, she looked sincerely at Zatanna with calm eyes, praising softly, "Zatanna, your magic just now was really interesting. I can tell you put a lot of effort into it."
Although her tone and demeanor were very gentle, and every word was articulated extremely clearly, showing utmost politeness, Zatanna keenly perceived that this praise seemed to be merely superficial, more like a social nicety.
It was akin to inviting someone to stay for dinner, and when the Master asked if the food was to their liking, the guest would politely say, "This meal is fantastic."
Zatanna bit her lip slightly, a surge of defiance welling up inside her.
As a magician praised by her father as a genius, she possessed an inherent pride.
Normally, she appeared somewhat poor at communication, timid, and introverted, but that was only because she wore braces, which made her speech slightly distorted, leaving her with little confidence to speak, fearing ridicule from peers.
But magic was her forte, and no matter what, she hoped her friends would genuinely be surprised when they saw her magic.
She had originally planned to pause her performance but changed her mind. Zatanna closed her eyes, began to concentrate, and mobilized the power within her body.
At this moment, Gwen seemed to sense something and couldn't help but be startled.
Zatanna slowly opened her eyes and shouted loudly, "Cylinder Hat!"
With this shout, a wisp of spiral smoke suddenly shot out from the palm of her hand.
The smoke, as if alive, spiraled upwards, growing denser in color, enveloping her left hand.
Then, she waved both hands left and right, the smoke abruptly dispersed, and a delicate top hat appeared before them on her hand.
A very classic magician's hat.
Zatanna noticed the fleeting surprise in Gwen's eyes, and a small sense of triumph swelled within her.
She composed herself, and a slightly mischievous idea popped into her mind.
She spoke again, her voice clear and bright, shouting, "Great Transformation!"
As the shout fell, Zatanna reached her hand into the top hat she had just conjured.
When this incredible scene appeared before Brucey, the girl was completely stunned.
She saw two enormous fingers suddenly extend into mid-air, fingers that seemed to belong to a giant, exerting an unimaginable pressure on her.
These two fingers firmly pinched Gwen's shoulders, effortlessly lifting her from the ground.
Gwen, under the control of these giant fingers, appeared incredibly tiny, like a fragile doll.
Although she understood what was happening before her, instinctively, Gwen still moved her hand to her small, broken watch.
And the small, broken watch, which normally required a button press to activate, now automatically entered activation mode.
Now, Gwen only needed to press the dial to transform.
She instinctively reached for the watch dial, but her inherent composure quickly regained control of her body.
Looking up, seeing herself getting closer and closer to the light curtain where the large hand appeared, her mind raced, trying to recall the strange sensation that Zatanna's magic had conveyed earlier.
Just as Gwen was about to be sucked into the light curtain, Gwen took a deep breath and, gathering all her strength, shouted, "Restore!"
As she shouted, she also mobilized a surge of energy within her body that she hadn't noticed before.
This power from Gwen's body transformed into a similar wisp of smoke that swept through the entire laboratory.
Under Zatanna's astonished gaze, a magical change occurred.
The hat in Zatanna's hand instantly vanished, and the two giant fingers holding Gwen rapidly melted away like ice meeting heat, the large hand along with the light curtain disappearing completely.
And the disappearance of these things meant Gwen had no point of support.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly, preparing herself the instant the magic was dispelled, and landed steadily on the ground.
After landing, she slightly bent her knees, maintaining her balance, then stood upright, her face regaining its usual composure, and began to recall the recent experience.
Seeing this, Zatanna's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Her mouth was slightly agape, and a few "uh… uh…" sounds escaped her throat, as if a thousand words wanted to burst forth but were caught in her throat, unable to be spoken.
Her hands involuntarily trembled slightly, clearly startled by Gwen's recent dispelling of magic, and the panic on her face was impossible to hide.
Gwen felt a little surprised; she had indeed felt herself expend some energy.
However, this energy rapidly flowed back like a tide, refilling her body in the blink of an eye.
Not only that, the power that had originally been hidden deep within her body, almost imperceptible, began to become increasingly clear after its recent use.
She could feel this power slowly flowing within her body, and she could control it however she wished.
Each pulsation made her a little stronger. Gwen felt as if a special door had opened, successfully allowing her to access the mystical side she wanted to touch.
And at this moment, Zatanna looked at Gwen with a hint of fear in her eyes.
She suspected that this Miss Wayne was also a magician and was here to capture her and her father in one fell swoop.
Otherwise? Could it be that this Miss Wayne learned Backwards Magic by herself just by seeing her use it once?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!