"Sorry, Teekl might be a bit excited."
Wizard Boy offered an awkward smile to the group. He adjusted his stance, pulling the orange cat close and covering its mouth to keep it quiet. Once he managed to restrain his pet, the room's attention shifted back to Constantine.
Constantine took a slow drag from his cigarette before speaking. "There is a reason we have not used magic directly against Homelander."
He exhaled, his expression tightening. "It is not only because Homelander shows resistance to certain forms of magic. There is something else out there, something tied to magic itself. It is powerful, invisible, and absolutely furious. The aura it gives off feels like pure destruction."
The room fell silent as his words settled in.
"We have already sensed it. We do not know what it is yet, but we cannot ignore the possibility that it might be working with Homelander."
Several of the gathered magic users stiffened, their expressions turning grave.
Constantine glanced toward Detective Chimp Bobo. "Now, Detective Chimp believes, "
"Alright, I need to say something before I lose my mind," Harvey Bullock cut in, waving a hand. "I am out."
"Bullock?"
Batman stepped forward immediately, trying to stop him. Their relationship was not particularly warm, but there was still a level of reluctant respect between them.
Harvey gave a brief nod but said nothing more as he turned toward the door.
He had reached his limit. Sitting in a room discussing life or death matters with a talking chimpanzee pushed him beyond what he could accept.
If an animal rights group were present, they would probably call him prejudiced.
"I am a chimpanzee."
Beppo, who had been crouched on the ground, spoke with visible irritation. He was no saint and had no intention of pretending otherwise.
If this were not an important meeting, he would have already argued back.
What was wrong with being a chimpanzee?
Why did people look down on animals so easily?
Harvey shrugged. "Look, I want to help. I do. But I have no idea what I am doing here. I am not a magician, and I cannot tear open walls and crawl through them like the rest of you."
He turned to leave.
"Harvey."
A woman with a ponytail called after him.
"It is alright, Montoya. Let him go," Batman said firmly.
Renee Montoya hesitated. She knew Harvey well enough to recognize when he would not budge, especially after everything that had happened following Gordon's sacrifice. Reluctantly, she stepped back.
Harvey reached for the doorknob.
"You are a detective," Beppo said suddenly.
Harvey paused.
"I have heard about you. You are a very good one."
Beppo stood and walked closer, his gaze steady. "I knew your chief. Jim Gordon is a good man. He never cared about what I am. He cared about solving cases and protecting people."
He stopped in front of Harvey, meeting his eyes.
"You feel out of place here, do you not? Do you think I belong here? I am a talking ape. I do not have the luxury of a comfort zone."
He tapped his chest. "But I am here for the same reason Gordon was."
He held Harvey's gaze, his voice softening. "Stay."
Harvey froze.
The sincerity in Beppo's expression caught him off guard. It was not what he expected, not from someone he had dismissed so easily.
His grip on the doorknob weakened.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
"Meow?"
The orange cat in Wizard Boy's arms broke it.
Zatanna shot him an annoyed look. "Can you keep it quiet?"
"No." Wizard Boy's tone turned serious. He held Teekl tighter. "Teekl senses something. Something is coming."
"What?"
Before Zatanna could press further, Jason Blood's expression changed dramatically.
"The seal has been broken!"
He shouted toward the room, then toward Harvey. "Do not touch it. Close the door now!"
Harvey had already pulled it open slightly.
"Close it!" Jason Blood rushed forward.
Detective Chimp Bobo's face twisted in alarm. He pointed at the door and shouted, "Close that door!"
A blinding light poured through the narrow opening.
Even that small gap released overwhelming energy. The pressure felt bottomless, crushing the air itself and making it difficult to breathe.
Harvey grabbed the handle with both hands and braced himself, pushing back with all his strength.
His face reddened with effort. "I cannot, I cannot hold it!"
Jason Blood reached him, shoving him aside and taking his place.
"Get back, it is dangerous!"
He pressed both hands against the door, fighting to force it shut. His eyes glowed red as he began chanting.
"Vanish, vanish, rise, mortal flesh, demon Etri"
Before he could finish, a surge of energy burst through the opening.
Jason Blood screamed.
His flesh disintegrated instantly under the force. Blood and fragments scattered across the floor as his body was reduced to a stripped, grotesque skeleton in seconds.
Harvey stood behind him, shielded just enough to survive.
Then the door exploded inward.
The iron slab slammed into Harvey and sent him flying across the room.
"Harvey!" Montoya shouted.
The entire space trembled violently.
Zatanna raised her hands and conjured a magical barrier, bracing against the incoming force.
Constantine was knocked to the ground, landing beside Jason Blood's ruined remains.
"Oh my God," he muttered, staring at the skeleton.
Batman turned sharply. "What is that? What is attacking us?"
"I do not know!" Constantine snapped, pushing himself up.
Wizard Boy pressed his fingers to his temples. "Let me see."
Teekl leapt from his shoulder and stared toward the doorway.
A suffocating pressure filled the room as icy wind surged inside.
"The monkey is down!" Harley Quinn shouted.
Constantine hurried over.
Beppo lay in a pool of blood.
"Is he alive?" Constantine asked.
"He is," Alfred replied, kneeling beside him. "But barely."
Harley checked his breathing. "Shallow. He is in bad shape."
She picked up his fallen hat, her expression softening. "Poor thing."
Zatanna rushed to Wizard Boy. "What did you see? Klarion, what is it?"
Klarion's face went pale.
"This is bad. It is the Spectre."
Zatanna froze.
The Spectre, the Spirit of Vengeance, an entity bound to divine judgment. Its power was nearly limitless, its purpose absolute. It punished sin without mercy, often with methods more brutal than the crimes themselves.
An entity of that magnitude appearing here meant one thing.
There would be no easy escape.
Elsewhere, Adrian had assigned Clark to investigate the food processing plant on Canal Street.
Clark stood inside the factory with Amy.
"So, you made up with Adrian?" Amy asked, her tone subdued.
"Something like that," Clark replied after a moment.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means I believe Adrian has protected Earth in his own way, even if I disagree with how he does it. If I stay close to him, maybe I can influence his decisions."
Amy frowned. "Sounds like you switched sides."
Clark did not respond immediately.
"Batman and the others probably saw this coming," she continued. "That is why they stopped involving you. Adrian is your brother. You will always hesitate where he would not."
"Adrian is not ruthless," Clark said firmly.
"Then why did he ask you to investigate Batman? You used to trust him."
Clark fell silent again.
Instead of answering, he activated his vision, scanning the area for clues.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked suddenly.
Amy shifted uneasily. "I touched that gang leader earlier. I saw how he dies."
Clark turned to her.
She described the scene in detail. A dark road, a startled deer, a reckless ride. The man lost control, crashed, and was thrown forward. Without a helmet, his body struck the ground violently, sliding across rough asphalt.
The damage was catastrophic.
By the end, his body was broken beyond recognition.
Clark listened carefully. "So he survives the hospital, then dies later in that accident?"
Amy nodded, her face pale.
"That means we still have time," Clark said. "We go to the hospital and question him before that happens."
He placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance.
Then a deep rumble echoed across the sky.
Clark looked up instantly, his expression sharpening.