Chapter 341: The Meeting, Harley Quinn
Inside the Batcave at Wayne Manor, it was evident that the people present were somewhat surprised by Constantine's arrival.
Especially Wonder Woman. As a demigod hero who had lived since World War I, she had been active in the Magic World for a long time, and it was clear she had heard of Constantine's notorious reputation.
Facing John Constantine's move to step forward and embrace her, she immediately gripped the hilt of the sword behind her back, giving him a look that clearly said, "If you dare come closer, I'll chop you into pieces."
"Alright, it seems Ms. Diana has some misunderstanding about me!" John Constantine shrugged, expressing regret.
Constantine naturally knew Wonder Woman. Diana's identity was no secret in the Magic World, and Constantine had always wanted to be friends with this demigod lady.
Among his female friends were witches, demons, and angels, but he had never had an in-depth interaction with a demigod.
Diana seemed to have no favorable impression of Constantine, her face practically radiating disgust, like she was looking at a repulsive slug: "Misunderstanding! I don't want to be in the same Space as a man who fucked a City, it makes me sick!"
Saying this, Diana turned her gaze towards Bruce Wayne: "What's the point of calling this guy here? Or are you hoping to use his third-rate magic methods to deal with thousands of Parademons!"
Bruce Wayne looked at Diana, then back at John Constantine, and asked with some doubt: "John, Diana said you fucked a City, what's that about?"
Gossip is human nature. Hearing Diana's words, not just Batman, but Cyborg, Aquaman, The Flash, and Green Arrow also gathered around.
Cyborg even scanned Constantine's appearance immediately and performed a data comparison on the Internet. Soon, he found a large amount of news about John Constantine online.
Cyborg read about John Constantine's deeds at overclocked speed. His gaze towards Constantine couldn't help but become strange.
"Fucked a City, literally? Cool! How did you do that?" Although The Flash, Barry Allen, didn't know the origin of the man in the brown trench coat before him, the bits and pieces from Wonder Woman instantly piqued his curiosity about this man with a cigarette dangling from his lips, a scruffy beard, and messy hair.
"Young and reckless, those are things of the past!"
John Constantine smoked his cigar, blowing out a smoke ring to hide his embarrassment. As for the matter of fucking women, Constantine didn't have much of a psychological burden, but back then, he was fucked by the incarnated City Spirit of Los Angeles.
Back then, to deal with a demon, he borrowed a path through Los Angeles, and the City Spirit of Los Angeles ended up having its way with him.
Being fucked by a City, this point made the chauvinistic Constantine unable to speak for a moment, so he could only change the subject.
He glanced around at the superheroes invited by the little Bat, and at the same time quickly analyzed them in his mind based on their expressions.
Hmm, that big oaf and that kid apparently don't know his Constantine's reputation. Later, when encountering difficult demon creditors, he could perhaps trick them.
The ash from John Constantine's hand drifted down, outlining an invisible magic array. Deep within his eyes, two unnoticed hexagonal star-shaped red shadows flashed as he looked at the two of them.
That big oaf's entire body was permeated with water magic power. Was he from the Fishman race or the Atlantean race? The strength permeating this kid's entire body was quite peculiar. He'd pay attention later to see what kind of ability this guy possessed; maybe he could be another good shield.
This Cyborg's strength was also decent, but technological power didn't pose much of a deterrence to his demon and angel creditors.
John Constantine's gaze swept over Cyborg and Green Arrow, not lingering long. Neither of them was within his scope of potential friends.
The former looked at him with a strange gaze, seemingly aware of his past. The latter felt very much like the little Bat, not someone easy to fool. Thinking this, the cunning Black Mage greeted each of them one by one, focusing his attention on The Flash, Barry Allen, and Aquaman Arthur.
"Hello, I'm John Constantine, just as Ms. Diana said, a third-rate Magic User who knows a little magic!"
As he spoke, he held the nearly finished cigar in his hand in front of him. The moment his fingers released it, the burning cigar fell and vanished before everyone's eyes as if it had been devoured by something invisible.
"Cool, how did you do that?" Barry Allen said in surprise.
On the other side, a hint of surprise also appeared on the faces of Aquaman, Cyborg, and the others. Cyborg's mechanical eye continuously read data, replaying Constantine's action from moments ago, but found nothing abnormal.
"Just a little magic trick!" Constantine showed off a small special skill, saying casually:
"It's just Displacement Magic. He used magic to move the ash somewhere else!" Diana ruthlessly exposed Constantine's trick.
"I prefer to call it a magic trick!" John Constantine said, taking out his sapphire cigarette case, flicking out a cigar to put in his mouth, while looking at The Flash, Barry Allen: "Kid, want one?"
The young Flash shyly waved his hand: "Thanks, I don't smoke!"
John Constantine then offered the cigar box to Aquaman, but this Aquaman's hobby for alcohol was clearly greater than for smoking. He raised the flask in his hand, took a sip, and declined his offer.
"Looks like you don't smoke either, lady!" After confirming that Cyborg and Green Arrow didn't smoke, John Constantine finally looked at Diana.
"I don't have that habit!"
Wonder Woman said coldly: "However, I need an explanation. What was the meaning of the magic you just performed?"
"Magic?" Hearing Wonder Woman's words, Bruce Wayne immediately looked at the heavily criminal record-laden John Constantine. He questioned in a deep voice: "John, what did you do? I need an explanation!"
"Oh, relax, Batman, it was just a little observation magic. As your Guest, you should show me some respect!" Constantine, who had snapped his fingers to summon a ball of black flame to light his cigar, complained to Bruce Wayne.
"John, you've never been a Guest. Ever since last time, when you summoned a high-level Hell Demon in Gotham City and almost destroyed a street, you lost the qualification to be a Guest."
Bruce Wayne said to Constantine with increased emphasis: "You still owe me an explanation, John. Without my permission, you'd better not use your forbidden magic again! Otherwise, I'll have to ask you to leave."
"So what if you're rich!"
John Constantine glared fiercely at Bruce Wayne, somewhat wanting to turn and leave. But thinking of the magic collection the Wayne Family possessed, he could only mutter a few curses under his breath in front of this rich guy.
"Alright, everyone's here. Now let's start discussing how to deal with that group of Parademons and the mastermind behind them!"
Bruce Wayne said to everyone, his back to Constantine.
After the late-arriving John Constantine took his seat, Batman, who was convening the meeting, cleared his throat. He took out a black pen and projected a blue projection in front of everyone.
On it were photos of the Parademons he had taken. Batman's photography skills were quite good, and the picture of the dense Parademon legion gathered together truly startled everyone.
Hmm, except for Oliver Queen, the others didn't feel much pressure.
"A bunch of cannon fodder!" Aquaman looked disdainfully at the photos of the Parademons. His focus was on Steppenwolf, and he didn't consider these small fries worth his time.
"This is the trouble we have to face, everyone. This is an extraterrestrial bio-weapon,"
Bruce Wayne said in a concise tone:
"About a week ago, I noticed these creatures called Parademons. Before finding you all, I tried many methods to deal with these guys.
These bio-weapons are very strong. The most crucial thing is their numbers. I infiltrated their Lair and found that their numbers amounted to several thousand. This number is doubling every day.
If they keep increasing at this speed, it won't be long before their numbers exceed the entire population of Gotham City!"
"According to the intelligence provided by Quill, they serve a Supervillain in the Universe. They came looking for the Mother Box. Once their plan succeeds, the Earth will be destroyed by them!"
Diana nodded, confirming his words: "I asked that visitor from the Alternate Universe. He said these Parademons are bio-weapons created by Darkseid, and their numbers are endless."
"What else does Quill know about Darkseid and Steppenwolf?"
Bruce Wayne looked at Diana.
"Darkseid is a Cosmic Overlord. According to him, all of our strength combined with Superman's still wouldn't be enough to defeat him. In the future, we will have a bloody battle with Darkseid, and the situation will be very tragic. In the end, we will have to rely on Barry to turn the tide!"
"Me!" The Flash, Barry Allen, heard Diana mention his name, pointed to himself, and after getting a positive answer in Diana's eyes, he quickly denied it:
"I can't do it!" Barry Allen said anxiously, shaking his hands so fast they were almost a blur of afterimages.
Hearing Diana mention Superman, a trace of shadow instantly flashed in Bruce Wayne's gaze. His straight back slumped slightly at that moment.
He was sorry for Clark Kent.
Clark Kent was a good person; Bruce Wayne was absolutely certain of this.
But facing this God Among Men, humanity, and even the Earth, were simply too fragile before him, so fragile that he couldn't even imagine how humanity would resist if Clark Kent were to go on a killing spree one day.
Humanity was born free and didn't need any God. Even if this God was Justice, he couldn't let humanity be in danger.
This was also the reason he had collected a container full of Kryptonite in his Batcave Armory.
He was guarding against Clark Kent, guarding against Superman, until Superman died.
From the moment Clark Kent died, a persistent sense of guilt had lingered in Bruce Wayne's heart.
Facing an event concerning the safety of the entire Earth, he had to force himself to raise his spirit and preside over this meeting.
..."I've seen these guys, they're annoying. The leader is a powerful guy!"
Aquaman Arthur said with a solemn expression. The ocean had always been his turf, but Steppenwolf had fought him Underwater and snatched the Mother Box from his hands, which made him take it seriously.
Bruce Wayne knocked on the table. He said with increased emphasis: "According to the current intelligence analysis, once Steppenwolf gathers the three Mother Boxes, the Earth will be in danger!"
"I know where the third Mother Box is! The Reason the Parademons kidnapped my Father is because they wanted to find the third Mother Box. These Parademons' keen sense of smell can identify people who have recently come into contact with a Mother Box!"
"Besides being able to open Boom Tubes to transport those Parademons here, what other effect do those Mother Boxes have?" Aquaman looked at Cyborg.
Although the history of Atlantis recorded the matter of the Earth Alliance resisting Darkseid back then, Aquaman was not a pure Atlantean.
His Father was a human, and as a hybrid, he had grown up in the Human World and didn't know much about this period of history.
"The three Mother Boxes combined can devour all the geothermal energy of the entire Earth, using it to terraform the homeworld of those aliens. If these aliens succeed, Earth will become a dead planet!"
Diana thought of how her mother had explained the seriousness of the matters to her when she rushed back to her Homeland. She said with a heavy expression: "So we must stop them!"
"If we can't stop it when the three Mother Boxes are combined, then..."
Diana didn't finish speaking, but everyone present could understand what she meant to express.
"Can we destroy this Mother Box we have in our hands?"
Green Arrow said tentatively: "As long as we completely destroy this Mother Box, the remaining two Mother Boxes shouldn't pose too much of a threat!"
"We can't do it!" Cyborg spoke up, denying Green Arrow's idea. His body was transformed by a Mother Box, and no one understood the Mother Box's power better than him.
That was a divine artifact from Apokolips. Nothing on Earth could damage it. Even back then, gathering all the supernatural power on Earth, the Gods of Earth and various races joined forces and could only split the Mother Box into three.
Cyborg began explaining his understanding of the Mother Box to everyone, one by one.
Everyone fell silent, thinking of countermeasures.
The Flash, sitting below Constantine, was somewhat restless among the group of big shots. He looked left, then right, and finally looked at the drowsy Constantine, asking: "Mr. Constantine, can you use your amazing magic to make the Mother Box disappear? That way, we can ensure it doesn't fall into the hands of those aliens, right?"
Upon hearing his words, everyone who was deep in thought turned their gaze towards Constantine.
"You guys plan to hide the last Mother Box? I actually know a few good places. I know some Demon Kings of Hell. If we put the Mother Box with them, I don't think these aliens will be able to find it!
Of course, even if they chase it to Hell, those Demon Kings of Hell aren't easy to mess with!"
John Constantine had been listening to everyone's description of the Mother Box, and his mind started to ponder whether trading this Mother Box could get him some remuneration from some Demon Kings of Hell.
"No!" Bruce Wayne and Cyborg rejected Constantine's suggestion in unison.
The two looked at each other. Bruce Wayne spoke: "The Mother Box's strength can open Boom Tubes. We can't guarantee that those hell demons won't use these Boom Tubes to cross over to the Human World. Compared to Parademons, those hell creatures are probably even more terrifying!"
"Then I have no method!" John Constantine spread his hands, indicating he was powerless.
Bruce Wayne continued: "According to the intelligence brought back by Arthur and Diana, Steppenwolf and the Parademons he leads can open Boom Tubes from the other side of the Mother Box. Even if we hide the Mother Box at the ends of the Earth, we can't hide it from them! I don't think there's anywhere more secret in the World than Atlantis and Themyscira (Paradise Island).
The Mother Box could be found even when hidden there, so we need to think of a method. John, does the magic you possess have a way to seal the Mother Box, preferably so it can't open Boom Tubes!"
John Constantine scratched his head, thinking about the magic spells he knew and if any were suitable for this situation. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of the small black flags the Dimensional Evil God Tang had given him.
"I do have a few magic weapons in my hand that can seal the Mother Box, but I haven't had these things for long, and I don't understand the Boom Tubes opened by the Mother Box, so I can't guarantee it one hundred percent!"
"We'll make two preparations. Victor, I need you to bring out the third Mother Box and let John use magic to seal and conceal it!
Diana, Arthur, and Flash, you'll come with me to the Parademons' Lair. We'll look for an opportunity to decapitate Steppenwolf and retrieve the remaining Mother Boxes!"
"Oliver, you stay with John and Victor and protect the Mother Box!"
Bruce Wayne gestured towards Green Arrow. Oliver Queen followed his gaze, noticed Constantine beside him, and nodded in understanding.
"Beep beep beep—"
Inside the dim Batcave, Bruce Wayne, who was assigning the mission, suddenly heard his comms alert go off.
Bruce Wayne pressed the black pen in his hand. On the screen in front of him, a surveillance footage appeared. It was a scene near a high-rise apartment building, where a group of thugs armed with submachine guns and handguns were fiercely battling a woman.
The woman, who had two pink pigtails, had her makeup somewhat smudged, and her black eye makeup extended down to her cheeks.
Facing the armed thugs, she held a metal baseball bat in her hand and brutally smashed the heads of the thugs one by one.
"Harley Quinn!"
Bruce Wayne recognized the woman in the video at a glance – the former doctor at Arkham Asylum, now Harley Quinn.
As for the opponents fighting Harley Quinn, he also recognized their origin. "Penguin's Subordinates, why are they fighting!?"
Just as Bruce Wayne was filled with doubt, in the video, facing the difficult Harley Quinn, one of Penguin's Subordinate Gunmen directly shouldered a rocket launcher.
"Oh! Bruce, are the Thugs here in Gotham City so well-armed? They're even using rocket launchers for a robbery!"
Green Arrow Oliver Queen looked at the two sides fighting on the big screen, his gaze lingering on Harley Quinn: "A cool girl!"
In the surveillance footage, Harley Quinn, whom Green Arrow called a cool girl, flipped and leaped up, landing directly on a Gunman's neck. Under her short shorts, her fair, long, and strong beautiful legs exerted force, and with a snap, she twisted the Gunman's neck clean off.
"Boom!"
Facing the incoming rocket, she ducked and rolled under a nearby car. The rocket hit the wall of the apartment building, instantly erupting in firelight.
"Before we go find Steppenwolf, I think I have some matters to deal with first!"
Bruce Wayne watched the surveillance footage with a serious expression. Several ghastly white skulls wrapped in black mist flew out from under the car, aimed at the Gunmen holding firearms, and spewed out streams of black smoke.
The Gunmen immediately clutched their necks with their hands and fell down, their faces pale.
Seeing these skulls, Bruce Wayne immediately thought of Star-Lord releasing those undead creatures.
Suddenly, he turned his head to look at Constantine, his gaze filled with intense scrutiny.
John Constantine whistled, his gaze lingering on the surveillance footage with considerable interest. He didn't meet Bruce Wayne's gaze, but his left hand couldn't help but fiddle with the white bone prayer beads he held.
"I knew it, that guy definitely has a backup plan. Is this little girl his follower in this Reality World!? I must find a method to get rid of her, or if he finds out I took the benefit but didn't do the job, I'll be screwed!"
Bruce Wayne didn't see anything on Constantine. He greeted everyone and asked Green Arrow and Wonder Woman to accompany Cyborg to retrieve the Mother Box.
He, on the other hand, put on his batsuit and prepared to go to downtown Gotham City.
An hour earlier, Harley Quinn, who lived in a high-rise apartment in the Rose Garden of the Diamond District, climbed off her sofa.
Suffering from a hangover, she sat on the sofa and zoned out for a full half hour before she could barely remember what happened last night.
Last night, because she was dumped by that bastard, she went to get drunk at the Bar run by that fat Penguin. As a result, a thug there was showing off his string of beads.
That white string of beads seemed to have a special magic power. She and another woman both took a liking to it, and as a result, the two of them got into a fight.
"The string of beads, right, the string of beads!"
Harley Quinn felt her pocket and pulled out half a string of white jade beads from it. This was her spoils of war from last night, even though she only managed to grab half.
The other half ended up in the hands of that little bitch who fought her for the things.
While cursing, Harley Quinn held the half-string of orbs in front of her and examined them closely. She vaguely remembered that the orb had told her last night.
As long as she could get a few things, she could exchange them for anything from it, including eternal youth,
Uh, Harley Quinn only remembered eternal youth. As for immortality and supernatural power, they were secondary to her.
The orb also gave her a list, which listed things like Superman's blood, Mother Box... Harley Quinn felt she must have drunk too much last night. How could an orb talk? She casually placed the orb she had fought so hard to get last night onto the table and planned to go to the Bathroom to wash up.
Suddenly, Harley Quinn stopped. She heard deliberately light footsteps outside the door.
(End of chapter)