# Chapter 352: Conspiracy, Sharing a Ride, Drawing Lines
"Blood Sacrifice to an Evil God, John, how confident are you?"
John Constantine sat in a wheelchair, his entire body bandaged like a mummy, with only his eyes visible through the bandages.
Even his eyes were so swollen they were reduced to mere slits.
"As long as Kid Flash can complete the mission and finish drawing the Formation Diagram, the success rate is eighty percent!"
Hearing his old friend's words, Bruce Wayne pushed the wheelchair through the garden. The rubber tires of the wheelchair crunched on the cobblestone path.
"Just now, someone discovered Penguin's corpse on the outskirts of Gotham City. He and his seven Personal Bodyguards are all dead, their blood completely drained. The police only found eight Dried Corpses at the scene. John, don't you have an explanation for me?"
Bruce Wayne stopped the wheelchair amidst a flowerbed.
"Penguin, that Gang Boss from Gotham City, did he offend someone? Gotham is your territory, I'm not familiar with this Penguin!"
"But the locator I installed on you shows that you were near there when Penguin had an accident—"
"You suspect me!" John Constantine suddenly raised his voice. He seemed to want to turn and confront Bruce Wayne, but the next moment, the violent movement pulled at his wounds, causing him to slump forward onto the wheelchair.
Watching Constantine hiss and gasp in pain, Bruce Wayne's expression remained unchanged. His gaze was still sharp.
"I want to know the reason you were there during that time. What were you doing there?"
"I sensed a powerful magic presence there, so I rushed there to investigate!"
"What did you see?" Bruce Wayne pushed the wheelchair forward, the wheels rumbling.
"I arrived late. The spellcasting black mage had already left. There was a massacre there. It should have been done by that black mage. The dead were the Gunmen sent by that Gang Boss called Penguin!"
Constantine described the scene when he arrived to Bruce Wayne, mixing truth and lies.
"Harley Quinn!"
Although Constantine replaced Harley Quinn with "a certain black mage," the shrewd Batman immediately locked onto his suspected target.
After all, only Harley Quinn and Penguin had clashed during this period.
Not only that, he also deduced that his old friend Constantine was definitely hiding something from him.
However, for him, now was not the time to pursue all of this.
"John, I don't want the tragedy of three years ago to repeat itself!"
"Three years ago was just an accident. I didn't expect that demon could break through the seal. Believe me, Bruce, this time we are sending something out, not summoning an Evil God.
Even if the magic array is wrong, there won't be any accidents!"
Constantine gestured with his bandaged arms, making a solemn promise to Bruce Wayne.
Three years ago, Constantine was invited to Gotham City for an exorcism ritual. Due to interference from one of his nemeses in Hell.
The exorcism talisman he carved, reflected on the ceiling above, turned into a summon demon ritual.
That ritual nearly destroyed half a Street Block in Gotham.
This was the reason Bruce Wayne was so wary of Constantine.
Those Gang thugs and Supervillains in Gotham, except for the Shadow Warriors and that madman Joker, at most just fought over territory.
But this guy Constantine, if you weren't careful, had the ability to drag the entire City into Hell.
"You seem very agitated!? Working so hard, that's not like your usual behavior!"
Bruce Wayne nodded and smiled in response to a passing servant. He leaned down, staring intently into Constantine's eyes. Regrettably, in the eyes that were reduced to mere slits, he couldn't discern anything.
"Master Wayne, you don't think the destruction of the world is just your problem! I live on this Earth too. Do I want it to be destroyed? If Earth is destroyed, should I run to the moon to perform exorcism!"
"Spellcasting in a vacuum environment in a spacesuit, huh? If I summon a demon in a vacuum environment like the moon, can it survive in a vacuum environment?"
Bruce Wayne was momentarily stunned by Constantine's train of thought. Then he said with a cold face:
"I haven't done any research on dark magic, and I'm not interested!"
"Take Mr. Constantine for a longer walk in the Garden and let him get some sunlight!"
Bruce Wayne called over a gardener who was trimming the lawn and asked him to push Constantine for rehabilitation exercises. He himself turned and returned to the Room.
"What do you think of his plan?"
On the second floor of Wayne Manor, in Bruce Wayne's Master Bedroom, the decor colors were very monotonous. Although every piece of furniture and item was truly high-end custom-made.
However, the single color scheme gave the Room a dull and rigid taste, just like Bruce Wayne himself.
At least the Guest sitting in the Living Room of the Bedroom didn't particularly like this style of decoration. For him, this style might be something he would only try after the age of sixty.
A Middle-Aged Man in a gray suit, wearing a red tie and a pair of flat lens glasses, sat on the sofa opposite Bruce Wayne, drinking coffee.
"Not good. I remember hearing an Eastern proverb called using a tiger to drive away a wolf. The general meaning is that when you can't deal with one beast, you use another, more powerful beast to drive away the first one!"
"But how can you guarantee that you won't be eaten by that more powerful beast! You don't have a gun in your hand, that gun has already been broken by you!"
"We have no other choice. The last Mother Box has also been taken by Steppenwolf. Even knowing that the Mother Box can resurrect Clark Kent, we are powerless now!" Bruce Wayne said in a deep voice.
"Although I don't like gambling, in this situation, we can only gamble once!"
"Then what about the recording from the locator you put on Star-Lord?" The Middle-Aged Man with a mustache stirred the coffee in his hand and looked up at Bruce Wayne.
"I want to reach a cooperation with you! You help our world get through this crisis, and when you need it, I will do my best to help you!"
Bruce Wayne stated his intentions.
"Why should we believe you?"
"You should have learned about our world in the comic book. I swear on the honor of the Wayne Family, as long as you help us get through this crisis, when you need it, I will be there whenever you call! This is my promise, Mr. Tony Stark!"
Hearing the man in front of him say this, Tony Stark's stirring coffee spoon finally stopped.
Just as Bruce Wayne said, before he returned to this Universe, he had discussed with Captain.
Facing the quantum entangled universe that they didn't know when they could find, and the enemies they might encounter in the future, they indeed needed an ally.
Although Captain didn't agree with Bruce Wayne's philosophy as Batman, his character was beyond doubt.
"Cooperation is possible, but there's a condition!"
"Speak!" Bruce Wayne motioned for Tony Stark to state the conditions.
"We help you get through this crisis. As a condition, when we ask for your help, I want to get the help of the entire Justice League, not just you alone!"
After hearing Tony Stark state his requirement, Bruce Wayne did not immediately agree.
"I need to consult with the others for their opinion!"
"Please do!" Tony Stark spread his hands.
"Also, I need to know how you want us to help you. Help you get the Mother Box back? Steppenwolf is one thing, but Darkseid behind him is an existence no less than Thanos!"
"John's plan will proceed as usual. I hope you can serve as a backup force. If the plan goes wrong, you can do your best to help us keep the Mother Box on Earth, at least not let the Mother Box fall into the hands of either Darkseid or that unknown Evil God!"
"You suspect Constantine will give the Mother Box to that Evil God?!" Tony Stark understood Bruce Wayne's concern upon hearing his words.
"John once suggested hiding the Mother Box in Hell. I'm worried that after the Hell Demons get the Mother Box, they will use its power to descend into the Reality World, so I rejected his suggestion!"
"So you're worried that Constantine will use this Sacrifice to sacrifice the Mother Box as well!?"
"Given John's madness, he is capable of doing such a thing! And I suspect that the Evil God John is sacrificing to is related to those magic weapons you brought with you!"
"Tang?" Tony Stark frowned.
"Tang?"
"He's a person from a Parallel Universe we passed through. He possesses a certain supernatural power."
While Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne were discussing the mysterious "Tang" from that Parallel Universe.
Wonder Woman Diana had already walked away from Wayne Manor, wandering around aimlessly along the road towards Gotham City to clear her mind.
She wasn't feeling down because of the argument with Constantine.
Diana's feelings towards the Olympian Pantheon and her Father, whom she had never met, were very subtle.
She had lived on Themyscira (Paradise Island) since she could remember. The Amazons on Themyscira were all female warriors. They would not die or grow old. For Diana, Themyscira was her home.
It wasn't until that man entered her world that her originally calm life was disrupted.
She also learned from her Mother that she had a Father, Zeus, King of the Gods of Olympus. As the daughter of Zeus, she bore the duty of crusading against Ares, God of War.
Because of the sudden responsibility placed upon her, bearing the so-called duty of Zeus's daughter, she followed him out of Themyscira, which she had never left for over twenty years.
Initially, Diana was excited to leave Themyscira. She had never seen the outside world. Compared to the unchanging Themyscira, the outside world was truly wonderful.
Modern humanity's cars, aircraft, she was truly like someone from the countryside entering the city back then. She didn't even know that she had to pay money to buy things.
Recalling the embarrassing moments from back then, Diana, walking along the road, felt as if her past memories were attacking her. Thinking of the awkward scene, Diana kicked a small stone far away with her foot.
"Hey, miss, need a ride? I'm heading back to the City District! It's on the way!"
A taxi drove up from behind Diana and stopped beside her. The middle-aged white person driving waved at Diana.
Diana was about to refuse, but then she thought that she had nothing to do right now and it would be a good opportunity to go to downtown Gotham City to buy some clothes.
Diana walked up, pulled open the car door, and noticed there was already someone sitting inside.
The man in the white suit saw Diana get in the car, nodded at her, and politely moved over.
Diana hesitated for two seconds, then told the driver the address she wanted to go to, got into the back seat, and closed the car door.
The taxi drove towards the direction of downtown Gotham City. Diana's eyes were fixed on the fleeting scenery outside the window, as if watching the friends she had lost in the past. Her life after leaving Themyscira was very exciting.
She participated in the World War, killed her half-brother Ares, God of War, and ended the war.
But when life returned to calm, as time passed, watching the familiar people around her grow old and perish.
Only then did she realize her difference from Ordinary Person. As a God, she would not grow old or die.
While the friends around her were Ordinary Person. Not long after the war, she said goodbye to the first man who had entered her heart.
Regarding Zeus, her Father whom she had never met, Diana researched everything about him after coming to the Human World. Well, at that time, after flipping through the book containing the Olympian Mythology in the library, her first reaction was to want to beat up that King of the Gods.
She never expected a person (god) to be so promiscuous, not sparing his own older sister, younger sister, younger brother's wife, niece, daughter, or even beautiful cows.
If these mythological stories were true, she would rather not have this embarrassing Father.
The chaotic, no, decadent life of the Olympian Pantheon once made Diana refuse to acknowledge her identity as the last Deity of Olympus.
After all, it was too embarrassing to say out loud.
However, as time passed, out of curiosity about Olympus, she had also visited Mount Olympus multiple times, searching for the marks left by the Gods.
But, as Ares said, the Gods had long since perished in successive god wars.
Even her Father, whom she had never met, Zeus, King of the Gods, had perished from Ares's backstab after expending most of his divine power to seal the second-generation God King Kronos who had broken free.
Decades passed in the blink of an eye. Diana sometimes felt a sense of loneliness in her heart, a feeling of loneliness without kindred.
In these decades, she tried to make fewer friends, because she found it difficult to accept the departure of friends. The people around her would eventually grow old. "Perhaps after this matter is over, I should go back to Themyscira and stay for a few years?"
"Miss, this kind of 'jinxing statement' behavior is not auspicious!"
"jinxing statement, what does that mean?" Diana turned her head to look at the fellow passenger.
The man's age seemed vague, with the handsome appearance of someone in their mid-twenties, but his demeanor carried an unusual steadiness.
Even though Diana was past the age of judging by looks, she still had to admit that this man possessed a unique Eastern aesthetic.
"In our East, this is called 'planting a flag,' which means saying something inauspicious before doing something!"
"You probably haven't watched some Eastern television programs. It's like before a battle, if a soldier says he's going home to get married after this fight, or celebrate his parents' birthday, or that someone is waiting for him at home, his fate is often very bad!"
The man explained the meaning of jinxing statement to Diana.
"So it's a kind of curse?" Diana turned sideways to look at the man.
"It's not quite a curse, just not very auspicious!" The man smiled gently.
"You can understand it as once you say something like that, your luck will often be bad afterwards!"
"Are you a wizard? Next, are you going to read my palm?" Diana looked at the man in front of her with amusement. She didn't sense any energy fluctuation on him.
In her opinion, this was just an excuse for the man to flirt with her. She was very confident in her appearance and had experienced countless attempts at flirting, with all sorts of reasons, but this reason was interesting.
"Haha, reading palms, I can't do that. I'm just a tourist. I heard that Gotham is a place renowned for its talented people and spiritual energy, so I came to take a look!"
Tourist! The middle-aged white person driving the taxi couldn't help but glance at him through the rearview mirror after hearing the man's words.
"Sir, let me remind you, the public order/security in Gotham hasn't been very good lately. Don't wander around aimlessly. And the same goes for this lady, it's best not to leave the Wealthy District!"
Listening to the driver's kind reminder, the man smiled: "Thank you for the reminder, I'll be careful!"
Diana also nodded at the driver, thanking him for his good intentions.
"Hello, I'm Tang Song. My friends call me Tang, from New York!"
Facing the hand extended by the man beside her, Diana hesitated slightly before shaking it.
"Diana Prince, you can call me Diana!"
"Tang, you are Chinese!" Feeling Tang Song's hand briefly squeeze and then withdraw, Diana felt a slight liking for this man who knew his boundaries.
Of course, it was just the kind of non-aversion one feels towards a stranger.
Diana vaguely felt that Tang Song's name sounded familiar.
"You can tell by this face, haha!" Tang Song smiled.
Infected by Tang Song's hearty smile, Diana also laughed: "Indeed, you Eastern people have very delicate skin!"
With the conversation started, Diana and Tang Song chatted in the car.
The man named Tang's knowledge and intellectual capacity made even Diana, who held several doctor degrees, feel a bit ashamed.
What surprised her the most was that this Easterner was very knowledgeable about ancient Greek history and Olympian Mythology.
With a common topic, the two became more and more engrossed in their conversation. Unknowingly, Diana told the man the locations of some ancient Ruins she had discovered on Mount Olympus.
"Bang bang!"
Several muffled gunfire sounds suddenly came from ahead. The driver performed an emergency stop. Tang Song, sitting in the back, seemed not to have reacted. If Diana hadn't steadied him, he would have hit his head on the back of the front seat. "Thank you!" Tang Song said with a startled look, nodding at Diana. He then asked the driver:
"Driver, what's going on?"
"There are two Gangs fighting up ahead! We can't get through, let's take a detour!"
The driver leaned out to look at the intersection, then turned back to ask the two passengers for their opinion.
"Okay, drop this lady off first!"
Tang Song nodded at the driver.
"Is your Gotham City this chaotic? Gun battles in the street, doesn't the Police Department do anything!"
The driver turned the car around and drove for a distance before entering another road.
"The Police Station in Gotham City has only improved somewhat since Gordon became Director, but the detectives below still don't dare to provoke those Gangs!"
The driver shook his head: "But these Gangs weren't this rampant before. I heard that Penguin is dead, and now all the Gangs, big and small, in Gotham City are fighting over the territory he left behind!"
"Penguin!? Is that a nickname?"
"Oswald, the biggest Gang Boss in Gotham. Penguin is his nickname. With his death, the whole of Gotham will probably be in Chaos for a while!" Hearing Tang Song's doubt, the driver sighed.
Perhaps because of the recent gun battle, the three people in the car lost their interest in chatting.
The driver drove smoothly and quickly, and soon reached the first Destination, Gotham's largest and most luxurious shopping center. The luxury goods street here almost covers the world's top luxury goods brands.
"Goodbye! Tang~"
After getting out of the car, Diana turned and waved at Tang Song before walking towards the shopping center.
"..."
Smiling and waving back at her, Tang Song, who was sitting upright, suddenly had a change in demeanor.
"Didn't realize this lady was a rich person. So beautiful and so rich, sir, you should really seize the opportunity!"
The driver stepped on the accelerator, leaving the core area of the Wealthy District. He glanced at Tang Song through the rearview mirror, feeling that this passenger seemed a bit different.
But where he was different, he couldn't say, it was just a feeling.
"The Princess of Themyscira (Paradise Island), of course she's not short on money!" Tang Song smiled.
"Princess, this lady is a Princess! I knew I felt intimidated talking to her! She really has presence!"
The taxi stopped at the Hilton Hotel Entrance. The driver took the tip Tang Song handed him and quickly promoted himself: "Sir, are you here to travel in Gotham? Do you want to hire my car? I'm familiar with all the major attractions in Gotham City!"
"Thank you, but I won't trouble you. I won't be staying in Gotham City for many days. I'll leave after I finish my matters!" Tang Song politely declined the driver.
"You still have matters to handle,"
"Just a small matter, won't take many days!"
The driver pulled a business card from under the driver's seat and handed it to Tang Song.
"This is my phone number. You can contact me if you need anything!"
"Okay! I'll contact you if I need to!" Tang Song took the business card and turned to walk towards the Hotel.
Outside Gotham Harbor, at the abandoned dam, the area was now completely occupied by Parademons. Countless dense Parademons were entrenched in this old district, their numbers despairingly large.
Barry Allen, with a yellow talisman paper attached to his body, ran at super speed through this old district.
"23673, 23674, 23675, 23676,..."
Even though it was daytime, the sunlight overhead was obscured by the dense army of Parademons.
On the roofs of the abandoned houses nearby, rows and rows of Parademons squatted and stood everywhere.
The senses of these extraterrestrial life form bio-weapons had been specially modified. Their sense of smell could not only detect scent but also sense the fear of their prey.
As Barry Allen ran past at super speed, this group of bio-weapons that fed on fear, although they couldn't see Barry with the invisibility talisman, sensed that fear.
Countless dense Parademons flew up, trying to catch the prey emitting fear.
But the prey's aura was fleeting. The Parademons who missed could only circle in the sky a few times before landing back on the roofs.
Barry Allen counted the number of Parademons, overcoming his inner fear, while drawing straight lines on the ground with the bone rod in his hand, following the satellite guidance on his wrist.
Wherever he went, a shallow groove half a foot deep extended rapidly. Within the straight shallow groove, streaks of gray Misty Energy attached themselves to the ground.
Upon reaching the node indicated by the satellite, according to Constantine's instructions, Barry Allen took a flag from his backpack and fiercely inserted it into the ground. The flagpole sank into the ground.
(end of chapter)