"But..."
Batman fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Standing out in the open like this puts us at risk. If he keeps wasting my time, I'll..."
Before he could finish, a voice echoed from the shadows behind him.
"You know, seeing a grown man hiding dramatically in an alley like this is honestly ridiculous."
Batman turned sharply.
Constantine stepped out of the darkness with a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips.
"You can still walk around, huh? I heard your back got wrecked at ACE Chemicals. Last I checked, Joker ended up dead because Homelander decided to settle your problems for you."
Constantine wasted no time mocking him.
"I can handle it."
Batman's reply carried more than one meaning.
Constantine exhaled smoke and nodded with exaggerated admiration.
"Impressive. At this point I'm convinced ninety percent of your bloodstream is painkillers."
Then he gestured casually.
"Get in the car."
Batman frowned. "What car?"
The answer arrived immediately.
A vehicle sped into the alley at reckless speed before slamming to a stop beside them.
The brakes screamed violently against the pavement, spraying muddy rainwater across Batman's boots and cape.
Inside the driver's seat sat a young man wearing a bowler hat.
Constantine pointed toward him.
"Charles, this is Batman."
Then he looked toward Batman.
"Batman, this is Charles."
After making introductions, Constantine added with a grin, "If Batman makes the atmosphere depressing, don't take it personally, mate."
It was another jab at Batman's permanent grim expression.
"Come on," Constantine said as he opened the door. "Get in."
Batman peered into the vehicle suspiciously.
Sitting in the back seat was an old acquaintance.
Detective Chimp, Beppo.
The chimpanzee wore a green plaid suit and sat stiffly with his arms folded across his chest. His face carried the expression of someone deeply unhappy with life itself.
When he noticed Batman staring at him, he barely reacted.
"Detective Chimp?"
Beppo continued staring forward before muttering dryly, "Excellent observation. Get in already."
Batman remained silent for a moment before reluctantly climbing into the SUV.
Even before the vehicle started moving, he already sensed something deeply wrong.
Batman squeezed into the back seat beside Beppo while Constantine settled comfortably in the passenger seat.
"Alright, let's move!"
Charles tipped his bowler hat.
"Right away."
The SUV launched forward violently.
Within minutes, Batman understood why he had felt uneasy.
Charles drove like a man possessed.
The SUV swerved across lanes recklessly, narrowly missing other vehicles multiple times. After overtaking a Toyota at dangerous speed, the vehicle abruptly drifted toward the left side of the road.
A pickup truck thundered toward them from the opposite direction while blaring its horn furiously.
Charles reacted at the last second, jerking the wheel hard to the right.
The SUV narrowly avoided a collision.
Batman sat rigidly in the back seat.
Even driving the Batmobile through Gotham at midnight had never felt this unsafe.
Finally, he looked toward Constantine.
"Couldn't you find someone capable of driving on the correct side of the road?"
Charles had obviously spent years driving in Britain.
Unfortunately, his instincts still treated America like the United Kingdom.
Constantine appeared completely unconcerned.
He glanced back toward Batman.
"There are very few people I trust in this world," he said casually. "Even fewer I'd trust behind a steering wheel."
He smirked slightly.
"Relax, sunshine. We'll get there eventually."
Batman folded his arms without responding.
His expression darkened further, almost matching Beppo's.
Constantine quietly leaned toward Charles.
"Quick, take a look behind you."
Charles obeyed immediately.
The sight nearly made him lose control of the wheel again.
Batman's face beneath the cowl looked utterly miserable, while Beppo resembled a chimpanzee contemplating the collapse of civilization itself.
Charles bit back laughter.
Constantine was already struggling to keep a straight face.
Moments later, Charles finally burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
Constantine joined him instantly, laughing even louder.
Batman's brows tightened beneath the mask.
"The world is descending into chaos," he said coldly, "and somehow the two of you find this entertaining."
Before Constantine could answer, Beppo spoke up first.
"Oh, come on. I'm a talking chimpanzee wearing a suit, and you're a billionaire dressed like a bat."
He shrugged.
"Let them laugh."
The SUV finally turned into a secluded alley before coming to a stop.
"Here we are," Constantine announced.
After stepping out of the vehicle, Batman narrowed his eyes at the ordinary-looking building ahead.
"What exactly are we doing here?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
Constantine walked toward the wall and casually drew a magic circle using chalk.
Purple light shimmered across the markings.
A hidden doorway materialized.
The group stepped inside.
As soon as they entered, Beppo frowned.
"Why didn't we just open the door normally instead of wasting magic?"
Constantine smirked faintly.
"Then turn around and tell me if there's still a door behind you."
Beppo looked back.
The entrance had become a solid wall.
"Magic," he muttered.
Then he glanced sideways at Constantine.
"You seem a lot more comfortable with it these days. You used to treat magic like a plague."
"I never hated magic," Constantine replied. "I hated idiots who abused it."
He led them deeper into the building.
The interior resembled a massive empty hall with only a few pieces of furniture scattered around the edges.
At the center of the room was a glowing purple magic circle.
Even inactive, the array radiated overwhelming magical energy.
Beppo crouched down and pressed a hand against the floor.
"This is..."
His expression changed.
"A restraint spell."
"Exactly."
Constantine lit another cigarette.
"It suppresses movement, bloodline magic, spiritual energy, everything. Even the strongest sorcerer would become helpless inside this thing."
Beppo slowly stood up.
"What are you planning?"
Instead of answering directly, Constantine turned toward him.
"How much do you know about Homelander, also known as Adrian Kent?"
The question caught Beppo off guard.
Constantine shifted his attention toward Batman instead.
"Actually, maybe I should ask Bruce. You two know each other best."
Batman remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, he answered quietly.
"I know no more than you do."
Constantine shook his head.
"No, Bruce. You know everything."
His tone sharpened.
"You know his family. His weaknesses. His habits. But you never share information because you trust absolutely nobody."
He looked down at the glowing magic circle.
"But I can talk. I've known Adrian since he was still in high school. I've been inside the Kent house. I know his parents, his brother, and exactly how difficult he is."
Constantine's eyes darkened slightly.
"The Witch Mark incident and the battle in Shangri-La changed him. From that moment onward, he was cursed by the Triple Goddess."
He exhaled smoke slowly.
"He can never truly draw power from the magical side again. At the same time, ordinary magic barely affects him. A blessing and a restraint all at once."
Beppo frowned.
"So what exactly are you trying to say?"
"We need abnormal magic to deal with him."
Constantine's voice became colder.
"And we need to neutralize the person closest to him who poses the greatest threat."
Batman immediately understood.
"Rachel."
"Yes," Constantine replied. "Rachel Kent, Raven."
His expression became serious.
"She's gifted. Dangerous. If she wants to, she could track every single one of us effortlessly."
Beppo's face darkened instantly.
"She's just a girl."
"She's innocent," he continued firmly. "She hasn't done anything wrong."
Beppo glared at Constantine.
"If we start targeting family members, then how are we any different from the monsters willing to wipe out half of Coast City for victory?"
Constantine looked genuinely irritated.
"I'm not trying to hurt Raven."
His tone lowered slightly.
"When she was an infant, I carried her through hell while people hunted us. I watched her grow up in Baron Winters' house. Zatanna practically helped raise her."
He pointed toward the magic circle.
"I only want to contain her temporarily. That's all."
Batman remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
"You're playing with fire."
Constantine gave a humorless smile.
"I always play with fire."
At last, he stopped hiding his true intentions.
If Rachel was brought here, the entity connected to her would eventually emerge.
And that entity was the key to his real plan.
"Let's move," Constantine said.
He crushed his cigarette beneath his shoe.
"We still need to gather the others."
Beppo stared at him.
"What are you really planning, Constantine?"
Constantine drew another magic circle across the wall before answering.
"Homelander started a war."
His voice lost all trace of humor.
"He took the mother of my daughter away from her. He stole her childhood."
His eyes hardened.
"I've never been good at protecting people. Too many people trusted me and died because of it."
He pushed the hidden door open.
"I can't bring Rose's mother back. Well, technically I could, but that would end horribly."
A dangerous edge entered his expression.
"But I can make the bastard responsible pay for it."
His voice grew colder with every word.
"Revenge is something I understand very well. I've fought monsters, demons, and gods."
Batman and Beppo remained silent as Constantine continued walking forward.
Then Constantine smiled faintly.
"And now I'm going to kick our god right in the balls."
Meanwhile, at the Justice Society headquarters, Adrian sat alone at the center of the conference hall.
Stacks of disaster reports lay scattered across the table.
As he reviewed the documents Hanna had prepared for him, his expression gradually worsened.
The situation was even more complicated than he expected.
Coast City's destruction alone was already catastrophic. On top of that came the collateral damage caused by the Green Lantern Corps in other cities, followed by nonstop media pressure and political fallout.
Adrian felt the beginning of a headache.
Although he rarely involved himself personally in political affairs, his intellect allowed him to process information faster than almost anyone alive.
Normally, Hanna and Betty handled these matters for him.
Now that he was dealing with them directly, he understood exactly why politicians aged so badly.
Perhaps he really did need more people managing the political side of things.
Footsteps echoed through the hall.
Mera entered casually.
"You seem surprisingly relaxed."
Her tone carried lazy amusement.
"I assumed you'd be busy comforting Wonder Woman right now."
Ever since the ambush during the Battle of Metropolis, Diana had remained furious.
Being outmaneuvered by Batman's faction humiliated her deeply.
For an Amazon warrior as proud as Diana, losing to ordinary humans felt unbearable.
Mera naturally enjoyed every second of it.
Especially after being the one who rescued Diana and the Flash.
The conflicted expression Diana wore upon waking and seeing Mera nearby had nearly made the Atlantean queen laugh aloud.
She loved the fact that Diana clearly disliked her but could do nothing about it.
"Mera, Diana isn't fragile."
Adrian set the documents aside.
"Haven't you heard the saying that women are naturally fragile?" Mera replied lazily.
"Even Wonder Woman can't escape that."
Today, Mera wore a low-cut top beneath a loose wool coat.
Combined with her burgundy hair and confident posture, the effect was striking.
Rumors claimed that traces of siren blood existed somewhere within Atlantis' royal lineage.
Looking at her now, Adrian found the theory increasingly believable.
"Mera," Adrian said evenly, pulling his attention back to the conversation, "I doubt you came here just to discuss Diana."
"Only partially."
Her expression became more serious.
"What are you planning to do with Hal Jordan?"
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You imprisoned him inside the metahuman facility," Mera continued. "You removed every ring and trapped him inside that furnace construct of yours."
Concern flickered across her face.
"But I don't think it'll hold him forever. His power keeps growing stronger."
After claiming the Yellow Lantern Ring, Adrian had used fear energy to suppress Parallax within Hal Jordan.
He recreated something similar to Oa's Central Power Battery, a massive furnace fueled entirely by fear itself.
Hal had been imprisoned within it ever since.
"If he escapes the furnace," Adrian said thoughtfully, "then it means he's overcoming my fear."
Mera frowned.
"And what does that mean?"
"It means his will is returning."
A faint smile appeared on Adrian's face.
"Parallax exploited his weakness and transformed him into a creature driven entirely by fear. But now his true self is fighting back."
He leaned back slightly.
"The fearless Green Lantern inside him is beginning to awaken again."
"So he's recovering?" Mera asked carefully.
Adrian shook his head.
"Human beings don't overcome themselves that easily."
His eyes darkened.
"They sink into suffering. They lose themselves. Sometimes he's sane, sometimes unstable. Sometimes heroic, sometimes monstrous."
A trace of amusement crossed Adrian's expression.
"That internal war is far more painful than death."
Mera stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you actually a devil?"
She folded her arms.
"Hal is supposed to be your subordinate, yet you sound almost pleased by his suffering."
===
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