"Do you really think this is a good idea?"
Zatanna Zatara stood in the sitting room of the House of Mystery. Her hands on her hips as she stared down John Constantine. The other magic user shrugged as he lit up a cigarette. Orange embers illuminated his tired face as he leaned back into the wall next to the fireplace. He reached up and scratched at the stubble that decorated his jaw and cheeks. Constantine took a long drag on his cigarette and let it out, dark blue eyes meeting Zatanna's lighter ones.
"What choice do we really got? We ain't gonna live forever," Constantine said, London accent forming each word.
Zatanna sighed, looking away from him. "But, John, they are just children," she said, softly.
Constantine pushed himself off the wall, cigarette hanging from his lips. "Ya didn't seem to have any issue when the League did it," he said, shooting her a dirty look.
"John, that's not fair! Those kids wanted to form Young Justice. This is… is….different. They don't have a choice. You said it yourself," Zatanna retorted, throwing her hands up.
"Zatanna, these kids are freaks. Like us. They'll never fit out there in that world. We ain't gettin' any older and all of us have nearly died more than we can count. Except, Boston, but when has Boston ever really counted? We need Young Dark more than ever. Mystic threats are poppin' up like daisies over a freshly dug grave. It's to much for just the five of us to handle. It'd do us some good to have a backup team," Constantine explained, shrugging.
He moved to the fireplace and rested his arm on the mantel as he stared into the warm glow of the fire. He flicked his cigarette into the fire, the shadows dancing across his face. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. The silence between the two was deadly and full of curses and harsh words.
Zatanna sighed and closed her eyes before looking up at Constantine. "Are you not worried about them dying? Or getting hurt?"
"If Young Justice is all fun and games, then this should be too," Constainte snapped, his anger building up.
"Young Justice isn't going up against demons and angels and possessions! This is a game they won't come back from!" Zatara yelled, stepping towards him.
"We all take that risk. We don't have a choice. Everyone of us is a freak. A misfit. Here, they at least get a chance to be themselves!" Constainte shot back, glaring.
He took a deep breath and shook his head as he let it out. "It doesn't matter anyways, Zatanna, they are here."
The front door of the House of Mystery swung open and a group walked in. There was five kids and two adults. Zatanna let out a soft sigh then smiled as a teenage girl with long dirty blonde hair and big, bright green eyes ran over.
"Mom! Er, Zatanna…" The girl said, smiling brightly.
"Everyone, this is my daughter, Calypso Zatara, or Cal," Zatanna introduced, she then turned to her daughter and hugged her tightly.
"Hello, Cal. This is John Constantine, the leader of Justice League Dark," Zatanna said, gesturing to the man by the fireplace.
Cal waved while she gave him a bright smile. She wore a pink dress, her hair was braided with flowers and ribbons intertwined. Pink kneehigh socks and white shoes made her look like she didn't belong in the sus and glum House of Mystery.
Constainte nodded, a strange look flashing in his eyes before it returned to his usual indifference. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one up with a snap of his fingers. A spark of flame hitting the end and lighting it up. He waved to a teenage boy.
"This is Cicero Constantine, my...nephew," Constantine said, sounding rather bored.
Cicero Constantine was tall, skinny and looked angry. He wore a black tank top, black jeans, black boots and a black biker leather jacket. He wore a black choker necklace with silver spikes. His hair was short and spiky and unmistakably a dark purple. Black eyeliner defined his dark gray-blue eyes and made his pale skin even paler. His left ear was covered in all sorts of cuffs and earrings. He stood with his arms crossed over chest.
"Madame Xanadu, Jason Blood, and Boston Brand. The three other members of JLD and of course their proteges, care to introduce?" Constantine stated, waving a hand.
The front door slammed behind them causing the kids to jump. Cal stepped forward, cocking her head. "Boston Brand? But, I only see two other adults? This isn't a Shazam thing right?"
Zatanna chuckled. "No, there is only one Shazam," she said, smiling.
"Etl lla reah mandead kaeps dna eb nwonk!" Zatanna said, casting her spell.
A ghostly figure of a bald man in a red aerobatic suit appeared. "Meet Deadman aka Boston Brand," Zatanna said, winking.
The ghost crossed his arms and huffed. "Sure, Zatanna, just ruin the surprise! They coulda gone on forever never knowin' I existed," he grumbled.
"Anyways, this here is Booker Grady. Also known as-"
Deadman was cut off by Booker interrupting. "Sense the 6th! Epic boy medium with the power to contact and summon the dead with his very own mind!"
Cicero scoffed and rolled his eyes while Cal giggled. "That's so cool!" Cal exclaimed.
Booker Grady also didn't seem to fit the traditional role of cloak and dagger magicians and sorcerers. He wore a bright orange t-shirt, dark brown cargo pants, a pair of strappy sandals and a green vest. A bandaid was slapped over the bridge of his nose. His skin was the color of milk coffee and his hair was in long dreadlocks that had been put up into a ponytail. He waved while standing there with a big stupid grin on his face.
A gypsy looking woman stepped up, her hand resting on a young girl. "This is my protege and niece. Morrigan Vesta better known as Lady Tarot," Madame Xanadu introduced.
"It is a pleasure and an honor," Morrigan said, bowing her head.
Morrigan had short dark red hair cut into a bob at her chin. Her skin was pale save for the light dusting of freckles across her face. Her eyes were brown and intuitive as she stared at the others in the room. She wore a black skirt with black tights and boots. A dark blue shirt with a black shawl that had strange occult symbols on it. Her face was expressionless, nearly showing no emotion whatsoever.
"That leaves Spike Tsao, my assistant," Jason Blood said, setting a hand on the last teenager's shoulder.
Spike Tsao was short yet strangely lanky. He had a pair of black glasses and was from Asian decent. His black hair was slicked back and he stood in a pair of ratty black high tops. His blue jeans had a hole in the left knee, his white t-shirt was wrinkled and the gray over shirt was frayed around the hem. He looked ratty standing next to Jason who was in a 30-piece thread olive green turtleneck and black slacks.
"This is great and all, but, why are we here?" Cicero asked, looking annoyed as he glared at everyone in the room. His voice held a softer London accent, not as noticeable as his uncle's own.
Constantine stepped away from the fireplace and into the middle of the room. He ran a hand through his messy dark blond locks. Zatanna looked down at her feet, obviously not pleased with what was about to happen.
"We called you here for a spectacularly brilliant reason. Justice League Dark is full of almost old burnouts. It's a mystery as to how long we all will be around. You lot are young and fresh. Full of potential even greater than ours. That's why we've decided to form Young Dark. While JLD is taking care of large scale mystic attacks and assisting the Justice League, you five will be taking care of minor occurrences, reckon, intel and low to mid level mystic threats," Constantine explained, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
"Any questions?"
"So, we are basically the magical version of Young Justice?" Booker inquired, cocking his head.
Constantine nodded. "Except this is a requirement. Ya don't get a say on if ya joinin' or not, we need Young Dark more than ever with mystic threats on the uprise," he stated, tone leaving no room to argue.
"But, of course, you do have voices and we will listen," Zatanna said quickly, offering a genuine smile.
"Will we be staying in the House of Mystery?" Cal asked, rocking on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Don't be silly, child. We have chosen a more….stable location to serve as your headquarters," Madame Xanadu said, smirking.
"We gotta be able to keep an eye on you," Deadman added, floating around the five's heads.
"And, the House of Mystery is probably very mundane for a group of teenagers to call home," Jason said, leaning on his cane.
"So, where will be staying?" Spike asked, speaking for the first time.
Constantine chuckled. "Ekat su ot kcigaM ronaM," he uttered out.
The ten soon appeared in a modernly decorated sitting room. It was done in black leather with silver chrome and white trimmings. The kids looked around and ooed and awed at the place.
"Woah, this is so cool!" Booker said, fist bumping the air above him.
"Welcome to Magick Manor, the headquarters for Young Dark. This place is nestled in Gotham City. It's a Brownstone consisting of exactly six levels. It is equipped with living spaces, a training and practice room, a library and archive floor, a rec and commons space, weaponry and relics, as well as a technology and communications room. Magick Manor was designed by Justice League Dark in mind for Young Dark. The only people who may enter unscathed is us ten. Magick Manor is equipped with a series of mystical as well as technological defense systems. Your headquarters will also serve as a place to store important information and items that we do not want in the House of Mystery," Jason explained, tone very serious.
"Wait, does that mean we will be living here? All by ourselves?" Cal asked, eyes wide as she sounded worried.
"For the most part yes, but, the five of us will be checking in on you throughout the weeks. We will all take turns training you in combat, both mystical and non," Madame Xanadu said.
"So, a fancy flat with no real purpose? We just sit by and act like good behaved attack dogs for you lot then?" Cicero snapped, glaring directly at Constantine.
"That's not at all what we have in mind, in fact, we got an operative all ready for you!" Deadman exclaimed, floating down to sit on the leather sofa.
"Oh my god! This is gonna be so cool!" Booker proclaimed, jumping in joy.
"What exactly is expected of us?" Morrigan requested.
Constantine waved a hand, a image appearing in the air. It showed major cities all around the world. As well as people seemingly walking around in a lovestruck daze as they decorated the cities in pink and red. Jewelry stores were overran for engagement rings and churches full of people wanting to get married on the spot.
"It seems that some kind of love spell has infected millions all across the globe," Constantine said, pointing at the floating image.
Zatanna nodded. "People are behaving strangely and seem to be in some kind of trance. The Justice League handed this one over to us and we are handing it to you."
"So what? Some wizard is playing Cupid and it's a matter of national security?" Cicero spat, shaking his head.
"It is when the love spell makes them lash out and go crazy. It seems that as soon as a couple gets married, they do a 360. They go bananas and attack anyone in sight!" Deadman said, making stabbing gestures.
"Like Boston said, this is a medium level occurrence. We'd handle it but we are needed elsewhere. Consider this a test of your loyalty and capability of becoming the next Justice League Dark. You'll need to figure out your rankings. We'll leave a briefing on Floor Six," Jason said.
And with that, the five adults had vanished from the room.
"Who do they think they are? They can't do this!" Cicero cried, throwing his arms up.
"Now, hold on a second, this could be the perfect opportunity for people like us. It's not like we are regular kids," Spike said, walking over to Cicero.
Spike placed a hand on the other male's arm only for it to be swatted off. Cal walked over and bit her lip.
"Come on, JLD just wants what's best for us. I know my mom would never do anything she didn't think was good for me," Cal said kindly.
"More importantly, I think it'd be beneficial to know what we are all capable of. Our powers to be more exact," Morrigan pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I'm a homo magi! Like my mom. I can do magic," Cal supplied, trying to be as helpful as she could be.
"Why do they need two more homo magis?" Cicero grumbled, obviously sore he wasn't the only sorcerer on the team.
"I already told you all what I can do," Booker said, walking to the kitchen and rummaging through the fully stocked double door fridge.
"I am trained in the mystic art of fortune, tarot and taslims," Morrigan said, giving a small bow.
They all turned to look at Spike who was awkwardly standing there. He toed the carpet with his high top as he felt their eyes burning into him. They all were awaiting an answer, he scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"It's kind of complicated, but, uhm, a big, scary demon named Abigor kind of lives inside me," Spike said, giving a nervous smile.
"That's totally wicked, man!" Booker said, voice going high pitched as he stared in awe.
"We need a leader. I say it's me. I mean I was raised by Constantine himself, he's practically the magical equivalent of Batman," Cicero said, smugly.
"Cal's mom is freaking Zatanna Zatara! She's one of the most powerful homo magi known! Plus she has been apart of THE Justice League! That should make Cal a shoe in!" Booker said, vaulting the kitchen counter and landing on the sofa.
He spilled his bowl of grapes in the process causing Morrigan to shoot him a dirty look. His skin darkened and he quickly looked away from her. Morrigan rolled her eyes and rubbed at her temples.
"I think Spike should be the leader. He is most versed since he has served as Jason Blood's assistant. He has more knowledge. We can combine that with all of our experience. Spike will be the most stable," she said, giving a small smile to the boy.
Spike's eyes widened. "Woah...If no one has a problem with it, I'll gladly accept," he said, smiling.
"Fine, but you all are making a mistake," Cicero growled.
"Well, Spike, what do we do first?" Cal asked, beaming up at him with naivety.
"We go check out Floor Six and complete our first mission as Young Dark."