Be In Sync
The harsh winds blew the leaves across the dark sky. Footsteps crunched through the meadow. The sound of sirens pierced through the night. Chaos still reigned in the nearby city, and things were about to get crazier.
"Alright let's see here. We're getting close aren't we," Ritchie mused as he held up the Shadowcrest guest key.
It acted almost like a beacon. The ruby blinked faster if the holder was in the right direction. After taking a few steps, Ritchie saw the key blink incessantly. He pressed down on it. Out of thin air, right in the middle of the clearing, a large three-story mansion appeared.
"Hotdog! We found it! Kinda odd that it's been sitting here on the outskirts of Bludhaven, but hey, winner winner chicken dinner!"
He walked up the steps to the porch and inserted the key into the door. With a turn and a click, Richtie Simpson was granted access to the famed Shadowcrest Mansion of the Zatara family. He didn't get far into the house though. As soon as Ritchie stepped foot into the foyer, a squad of armored knights surrounded him.
"Halt. Identify yourself," the lead knight demanded.
"I'm just a friend of Giovanni Zatara no biggie. See, I have a guest key," he calmly answered holding up the key.
Instead of relaxing and letting Ritchie pass, all the knights raised their swords and prepared for battle.
"Incorrect identification. That key belongs to Nimue Xanadu. You are trespassing. Leave the premises immediately," the knight warned.
"Sorry, but I'm looking for something. Can't leave just yet," Ritchie smirked holding up two-thirds of the dreamstone.
"Alert! Alert! Dangerous artifact present. All units attack!"
Ritchie held out the dreamstone as it glowed bright red. In a flash, all the knights fell to pieces making a mess in the foyer.
"Now then, where to find the final puzzle piece?"
Back in Boston, Zatanna, Etrigan, and Greta stood idly by as John chanted a spell to begin the reconstruction of the House of Mystery.
"When this is all said and done, Etrigan shall find the man responsible and tear the flesh from his bone. Bloody Ritchie Simpson."
"Gonna be honest, I was worried you wouldn't complete the rhyme right there," Greta commented trying to ease the tension.
"Not now Greta. But we're still in the dark as to why Ritchie would do this to us?" Zatanna said.
"Bastard's had it out for me for years," John joined the group, "Admittedly it was probably my fault but this is a new low."
"Ok, there's all this mystery and vagueness about you being an asshole. Out with it! What happened with you and Ritchie?" Zatanna asked.
"It was a few years ago, Ritchie and I were in Mexico. We were looking for the eyes of Quetzalcoatl. Ritchie had found this groundbreaking tablet that was basically a map. I was the only one who could read it. So, we found the temple of the ol' God and found the two eyes. We got greedy and decided to take one eye for each of us. However, I had missed the fine print on the tablet. One eye would allow the user to heal any ailments. The other would essentially poison the holder and seal their fate in eternal damnation. I went left. Ritchie went right. And well, I'm not the one with magic cancer, am I?"
"I-um. That's not entirely your fault John," Zatanna tried to reassure him.
"Doesn't matter. Ritchie's held it against me all this time. And now he's burned me house down."
"That's not all he did," Greta mentioned as she looked out towards the town of Boston.
With bright red flashes, various demonic creatures were popping up. A dragon had come through and started spewing fire everywhere. There was even a giant clown letting balloons fly.
"Those look…..pretty real," Zatanna observed.
"Of course! Ritchie was merely a Trojan Horse!" Etrigan realized.
"DAMMIT TO HELL!" John cursed, "Ritchie is our mastermind. He needed the final two pieces of the dreamstone. He got the one we stored at the house. That means…..Zatanna, where's the key Nimmy gave ya?"
"Uh it's right…..I mean…"
Furiously Zatanna searched through the pockets of her jacket. Finding nothing, she took it off and began shaking it hoping the key would fall out. John couldn't help but stare because all Zatanna wore underneath the jacket was a white corset. With the jacket off, she showed off her bare shoulders.
"Oi! Blondie," Greta snapped her fingers getting John's attention, "Come back to Earth before she kicks you in the nuggets."
"I don't know what you're talkin' about," John said as he wiped the drool of his face.
"Dammit, I lost the Shadowcrest key. Ritchie must have pickpocketed me earlier. Fuck. It's all my fault!" Zatanna worried as she put her jacket back on.
"Zatanna, it's alright. He played all of us," Greta tried to reassure her.
"If Etrigan is being honest, Etrigan only hears every other third word at best."
"See, even the big lug wouldn't have noticed," Greta smiled.
Finding her resolve, Zatanna turned around and headed towards the city.
"C'mon. We've got to go help those people," she said.
"Whoa there, luv," John grabbed her arm, "We've got bigger fish to fry."
"Let me go, John! People's lives are in danger."
"That may be, but if we don't stop Ritchie, the whole world goes."
Just as John said that, a bright green light flashed into a giant lawn mower that began chewing up some demons. Two other figures with bird wings flew around fighting other demons back.
"See! The Justice League is here. That leaves us the chance to chase down Ritchie," John pointed out.
"Even so, we don't know where to begin," Zatanna worried.
"Let's start with Shadowcrest, ay?"
"How?! I've never been!"
"Doesn't matter," John put his hands on her shoulders, "It's a Zatara household. You're a Zatara. You've got rightful claim to it. You just have to believe in yourself. Call to it."
"But John, I've never done that before. I didn't even know the house existed until today."
"I believe in you. We all do," John said as his hands traveled from her shoulders, down her arms, and held her hands, "Let your heart guide you. Call to the house. When you've got a location, I can teleport us there."
Despite still having doubts, Zatanna closed her eyes and searched through her heart. Admittedly, she got very sidetracked and distracted. Images of a young boy in a red and black suit flooded her mind. That cheeky grin and cackle filled her with glee. Slowly that boy grew taller and morphed into a handsome man. The red and black suit changed into black armor with a bright blue bird on its chest. The cheeky grin softened into a loving smile that permeated even to her face on the outside. Unconsciously, Zatanna beamed widely as if she was experiencing real happiness. John could feel her relax as he let his own smile grow on his face not realizing he had zero effect on her change in mood.
"Are you sure she's going to reject him? Your prediction is starting to look grim" Etrigan asked.
"Dude, I've walked in on her and her boyfriend about to do it. Trust me, John's got nothing on him," Greta reassured.
"Your comment as a twelve-year-old girl is concerning. What exactly have you been learning?"
"Yea well, technically I should be like nineteen or whatever by now. Not my fault ghosts don't really age!"
After digging and sifting through thousands of images and memories of Dick Grayson, Zatanna finally found a deeply hidden power. She grabbed onto it and a picture of a large three-story mansion popped into her mind. At last, she had her location.
"Bludhaven," she spoke without opening her eyes.
"Got it," John replied muttering another incantation.
In a poof of smoke, the group disappeared from the Boston clearing and reanimated at the outskirts of Bludhaven. Zatanna let go of John's hands and looked around. She saw the city in the distance. Buildings were on fire, and everyone was panicking. If she squinted, she could spot Donna Troy lassoing a demon by the neck and Starfire blasting her starbolts.
"At least he has backup," Zatanna smiled.
"Etrigan is perplexed. Where is Shadowcrest?"
"That's the best you can do? Honestly, it's like you're not even trying to rhyme anymore." Greta groaned.
"Child, please. You try if you think you can do this with ease."
"Quiet! If Zatanna says the house is here, it's here. I trust her," John interrupted.
As if on cue, Shadowcrest appeared behind them. But the aura felt off. Red smoke circled the house and red lights shined from the window. The front door opened revealing Ritchie standing upright with a red glow.
"Ritchie! What are ya doin' mate?!" John cried out.
"Shut up John! I was never your mate. If I was, you woulda told me about the cancerous eye!" Ritchie spat back with venom.
"Ritchie. I didn't know I swear. I overlooked it while translating the tablet."
"LIAR! John Constantine only cares about one person. Himself. No matter. I've cured my cancer with this dreamstone. And now. Now I can control people's dreams."
"This isn't like you, Ritchie. It's the stone. It's got the soul of a demon. He's controlling you."
"Ritchie please. People are dying and getting hurt. Put the stone down and let's talk about it," Zatanna pleaded.
"We've gone way past talking about it," Ritchie yelled.
His voice grew deeper and growled. A red flame enveloped Ritchie changing him. In his place stood a large, hooded demon with a skull-like face and a the dreamstone embedded in his chest.
"I am now immortal and supercharged! Destiny and I are one!" he roared.
His palmed glowed red as he let out a huge blast of energy towards the group devastating everything in its path. It hit the group with a huge explosion. Not really caring if they survived or not, Ritchie (or now Destiny) flew up and towards the city. When the smoke cleared, a blue dome shined brightly as Zatanna had put up a shield blocking the blow. When it disappeared, Zatanna fell to her knees.
"Ok uh that was a lot of magic," she panted.
"Dammit. Ritchie's being played like a fiddle. We've got to stop him," John said.
"Etrigan will happily smash his head. For killing sweet Orchid, Ritchie shall tremble with dread."
"Zatanna, you ok?" Greta asked kneeling with her.
"I'm good. Just needed a breather. C'mon, Ritchie's already got a head start!"
Getting up, Zatanna led the group down the hill towards the city. As if Bludhaven wasn't already a dangerous and crime-filled city, people were rioting and running for their lives. Not only were real demons walking around causing chaos, but the people's visions were manipulated. All everyone could see were crazy demons. They were fighting each other thinking they were killing demons. All this chaos and terror continued to fuel Destiny's power. From afar, Zatanna flew through the skyline carrying John, Etrigan, and Greta in a floating bubble.
"Alright. Priority is the stone. We've got to separate it from Ritchie's body then we can put a stop to all this madness," John ordered.
"Easier said than done. That blast earlier felt way too strong. And he was probably holding back out of hubris," Zatanna argued.
"We'll have to try."
"Maybe we should call in the League," Zatanna offered.
"No can do, luv. Now that Destiny is at full power, he'll pry and prod everyone's memories and manipulate them into attacking whoever he wants."
"What about us?"
"We're got a bit of magic in us. It'll take him a bit longer to dig through our skulls. The other heroes won't be so lucky."
"I saw Wonder Girl and Starfire around here somewhere."
"Then we'd best steer him away from those girls. Let's shoot the bastard with our big gun huh?"
"Llabnonac!" (Canonball)
With great force, Zatanna launched Etrigan towards Destiny. He turned around and merely slapped the rhyming demon to the ground and floated downwards.
"Fools. I am a God. You think I wouldn't be able to sense your presence? Pathetic," Destiny scowled.
Ignoring his musings, John came crashing down throwing fireballs at the demon. A red shield enveloped Destiny fizzling out the attacks. Zatanna and Greta landed next to John ready for battle.
"My shield is impenetrable. You'll only delay your deaths trying to pierce it."
"Since when does a God need a shield," Greta taunted.
"You bring a child to face me? Oh how far you have fallen John Constantine."
"You talk too much," John spat back.
Waving his glowing yellow hands, John gathered various pebbles and rocks around him and fired them like a stream towards Destiny. The shield blocked the entire stream as the rocks just flew around him.
"Pathetic," Destiny smirked.
"TLOBREDNUHT DNA GNINTHGIL!" (THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTNING)
A giant blue lightning bolt surged from Zatanna's hands striking Destiny and his shield. While still unable to break the barrier, the attack did back Destiny up a step.
"Intriguing," Destiny smiled.
Exhausted, Zatanna stopped her attack and knelt down.
"You mortals are sad. Is that the best you can do?" Destiny taunted.
Then, a rain of green lasers fell from the sky. All peppered Destiny's shield and distracted him. From the side, another raven-haired hero in a black leotard flew with great speed and punched the shield sending Destiny flying some distance.
"Kory! Donna!" Zatanna cheered with glee.
"Heya 'Tanna!" Donna waved.
"Greetings friend. Is everything alright?" Kory smiled.
"Long story short, we need to target the stone on his chest. Separate it from his body and we win," Zatanna explained.
Something suddenly felt off. Neither Kory nor Donna responded to her explanation. Their faces paled and then scrunched up in anger.
"Kory? Donna? Are you ok?" Zatanna asked worriedly.
"Uhhh Zat-Zat, we may be in trouble," John warned.
From the rubble afar, Destiny sprung up with his hand outstretched. It glowed red as he bunched it up into a fist. Immediately, Kory and Donna's eyes glowed red and they charged at the group.
"Shit!" Zatanna cried dodging Kory's starbolts.
"Destiny's got them in his palms. We've got to spread out!" John ordered.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Greta screamed running around with her arms up.
In the midst of the fighting, Etrigan finally woke up and rubbed his head. Groggily, he spotted Donna smashing a building as Zatanna scampered away. Coming to his senses, he smiled a toothy grin.
"It has been a while, but I shall partake in this battle with a smile."
With a roar, he lunged at Donna spinning around and throwing the Amazon at the flying Tamaranean. Both women were enraged and decided to double team Etrigan. Destiny watching the whole thing only shrugged. Another fire ball blasted his shield as he turned to look at Zatanna and John staring daggers at him.
"You never learn, do you?" Destiny chuckled.
With a wave of his hand, the surrounding sand and gravel from a construction site merged together to form a giant sand monster. It roared and stomped towards the two sorcerers. Before they could even make a move, the creature slammed its fist towards them. John quickly put up a yellow dome around them as the creature continued to smash. As John strained to hold the shield up, Zatanna pulled out her phone.
"Uhhh luv, now is not the time to get a selfie!" John groaned.
"I'm not getting a selfie! I'm calling for backup!"
"Not a good idea! I just said Destiny can manipulate anyone from the League."
"I'm not calling anyone from the League."
"Who the bloody hell are you calling then?!"
"My boyfriend."
For once, John Constantine was speechless. He actually froze and lost focus for a bit causing the dome to crack. The next smash brought him to his senses as he quickly grabbed Zatanna's hand and ran. The sand monster demolished the dome but lost sight of the two magicians. From behind a building, John and Zatanna caught their breath.
"Wait, you have a boyfriend!?" John asked.
"Johnny, this is really not the best time for this."
"All this time you've had a boyfriend?! You didn't think to bloody mention it?!"
"I thought it was obvious?"
"What do you mean it was obvious?"
"Uhhh hello?" Zatanna pointed at the ring on her left hand.
"I thought it was a fashion statement!"
"Also, both the shrouds of death and the soul of your very own house noted that my heart was connected to someone else. That's two different magical entities, John."
"I thought they were talking about me!"
It was Zatanna's turn to be speechless. Her jaw was left agape as she glared at the dumb blonde.
"How-How narcissistic are you?" she asked.
"Hey that's not fair. You liked me when we were kids."
"Yea! When we were kids! It's been fifteen years John!"
"Whatever. How's this stupid boyfriend of yours going to help anyway?"
The ground rumbled as the sand creature stomped its way around the building. It found John and Zatanna and was just about to smash the ground when a small object flew into the side of its head. Upon closer inspection, Zatanna noticed that the object was circular and started blinking with a blue light. She smiled. The blinking sped up before the little grenade exploded. The fire turned half the monster into glass as it lost its footing. The rest of the sand body couldn't keep up the construct and destabilized. The glass portion fell to the ground and shattered. Zatanna couldn't wipe her goofy grin off her face knowing exactly who defeated the giant monster with a simple grenade.
"What the bloody hell?" John asked scratching his head.
His answer landed on a streetlamp behind them. Zatanna turned around and beamed with glee. John turned around and was still confused.
"Oh no," John groaned, "Please…not him."
"Hi honey," the crouched hero greeted, "How's work going for ya?"
"Hey baby. Oh, just the usual stuff. Powerful black magic demon taking over the world. No biggie," Zatanna responded in kind.
Zatanna's boyfriend flipped from the streetlamp and landed on the ground. She immediately rushed to him and hugged him tightly.
"I missed you," she whispered in his ear.
"I missed you too. But it's only been like what, fourteen hours haha. We've still got work to do."
"Agreed," she smiled pecking his lips quickly.
"Alright coach, what's the play?"
"Oy what am I? Soggy fish and chips?" John asked.
"Ok so basically, I need you to distract tall, hooded, and ugly while I surprise attack him from behind. There's a stone embedded in his chest that we need to pry out," Zatanna laid out the plan ignoring John.
"Ohhh ok gotcha. We're running a 'circus boy' and then transitioning into a 'hammer and anvil'. Neat," Dick replied.
"Precisely. I love how you're so smart on the uptake," Zatanna grinned kissing his nose.
"You've got planned team moves!? You've got to be kidding me!" John wailed in the background.
"If we're gonna make this work, I'm gonna need some help. Kamino me, baby?"
"Ekam Snoisulli Fo Gniwthgin!" (Make Illusions of Nightwing) Zatanna chanted rolling her eyes.
Five puffs of smoke appeared revealing five extra copies of her beloved boyfriend. Nightwing A (the original) pulled out his escrima sticks and charged them with electricity. Nightwing B pieced the two sticks together into a staff. Nightwing C equipped electric knuckles. Nightwing D put on a wrist launcher and loaded some grenades into it. Nightwing E held a pair of wing-dings in his hands. Finally, Nightwing F just cracked his knuckles.
"We got your back, Zee. Just do your thing," Nightwing A reassured her.
"Thank you, baby. I'd kiss you but then I'd have to kiss the other five and we don't have time for that," she winked before running off.
"Oy, Zatanna! Wait for me!" John scampered off with her.
"Who's that?" Nightwing E asked.
"Probably a friend she met along the way? It's been a weird few hours," Nightwing C commented.
"He stinks. Smells like cigar smoke and whiskey," Nightwing B said covering his nose.
"Alright team focus up here," Nightwing A ordered, "We need to annoy the shit out that demon guy. Do your best. Here's the playcall. Flex right stack 394 dragon smoke kill turbo sucker right. We good?"
"Sir yes sir!" the Nightwing battalion saluted.
The six Aerial Avengers emerged from behind the building. Nightwing D fired a few smoke grenades at the floating Destiny creating a cloud of black smoke.
"Foolish humans," Destiny rolled his eyes and waved the smoke away with his hands.
From behind the smoke, a pair of wing-dings spun forward and exploded upon contact with the shield. The surprise caused Destiny to float down to the ground, but the shield remained intact. Before Destiny regained his senses, A flurry of Nightwings rushed at him from all directions. Nightwing B slammed his staff at the side. Nightwing C smashed his electric knuckles from above. Nightwing E and F flipped over Destiny and threw some more explosives onto the shield. Nightwing A jumped through the smoke slammed his escrima sticks onto the shield. Then, they all scattered and let Nightwing D fire more grenades. Destiny could barely think as the army of Nightwings kept peppering him with various attacks.
Meanwhile, Zatanna and John were sneaking around the square getting into position for a counterattack.
"You're joking, right?" John asked, "You're dating baby-bats over there?"
"Don't call him that! And yes, I am dating him. Have been for seven years now," she scolded him.
"But him? Really?"
"What'd you expect, John? That I'd wait for a guy who didn't even say goodbye when he left. We were kids, John! Things change. Look, we can talk about this later. Right now, we need to focus."
In front of them, the six Nightwings were doing a great job keeping Destiny's focus away from Zatanna and John. The Boy Wonders' speed and agility kept them alive as they effortlessly and routinely attacked then jumped away. However, despite their brave assault, they were not able to penetrate Destiny's shield at all.
"Alright new question, how come Bird Boy hasn't succumb to Destiny's mind trick yet?" John asked.
"Actually, I'm not quite sure," Zatanna paused.
"Ok, better question. How do you know he's not playing you right now?"
"Because we did a magical lovers' pact. I feel what he feels."
"You WHAT!?"
"Again, John. Now is really not the best time for this conversation!"
Enraged, Destiny reached his hand out past the shield and ran it through the chest of Nightwing E. The poor clone disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving Destiny's hand to grasp air. Before the demon could pull his hand back into his protective orb, a sharp wing-ding flew right by and pierced his palm.
"Rahhhhh you will pay for that!" Destiny roared.
He raised his intact hand as his eyes glowed red. His spell tried to attack Nightwing's mind but was somehow stopped by a barrier. Try as he might, Destiny could not infiltrate Nightwing's mind or manipulate his nightmares. Nightwings B thru D unloaded more grenades both blinding and staggering the demon. Nightwing A hid behind a flipped car and remained in Zatanna's eyeline. He motioned his hand past his neck and then joined his fingers together clearly sending a signal to his girlfriend.
"What's he on about now?!" John asked.
"He's telling us to kill the play and regroup," she answered wiping her eye and then pulling her earlobe.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Telling him to audible and we'll follow his lead."
"How the bloody hell are you two doing that?"
"It's call sign language John. And quiet! I'm talking to my boyfriend," Zatanna huffed.
"I may not know American Sign Language, but I damn well know what you two are doing does not compute into words."
"It does when you have a secret language with your boyfriend. Now hush!"
John continued looking on with at baffled face as the couple conversed in their weird made-up signal language.
Nightwing: He's vulnerable outside his shield. I just cut him with my wing-ding.
Zatanna: Yea we figured that part out already. But we don't have a way to cut through the shield!
Nightwing: Who says we need to break the shield? We just need to get past it. Have him pull us in personally.
Zatanna: You sexy genius! Alright uhhh let's do 'Get Help'!
Nightwing: I doubt he'd show us any mercy. Oh how about 'Human Torpedo'?
Zatanna: Yea how about no. He'd just let us run head first into the shield and go splat. No wait I got it! A reverse 'Get Over Here' mixed with a 'Substitution Jutsu'!
Nightwing: Babe, you rock. Break!
Finally in agreement on a plan, Nightwing flipped over the car and cartwheeled over to Destiny who had just killed Nightwing B and D.
"Alright lovebirds, mind letting me in on the plan?!" John asked.
"Nightwing's gonna give us an opening. We just have to wait."
"….Did you two actually strategized or did you just flirt? This seems like the original plan!"
"John shut up and let us do our thing, ok?"
With another few blasts, Destiny destroyed all the Nightwing clones while the original perched himself atop some rubble.
"Sooo Skelator, I gotta ask, what's your M.O.? I mean you're summoning demons, making people see their worst nightmares, what happens next? You and the Sandman have a drink and play checkers?" Nightwing taunted.
"You are an insolent clown. I shall have your mind in minutes!" Destiny scowled back firing a blast.
"No seriously, what's the point? Most villains want to rule the world, but if you've made everyone crazy, what would you rule over?" he asked dodging the blast.
"Shut up! You vex me. All you do is talk. Why won't you obey me, jester?!"
"Excuse you, I'm a professional acrobat!" he chuckled throwing more wing-dings at the shield, "As for you, if you're so almighty powerful, why the shield?"
"Shut up!" Destiny cried firing another blast which Nightwing dodged yet again.
"I mean seriously. I'm just a dude in a fancy suit. What are you afraid of? Can't take me one-on-one?" Nightwing mocked as he shadow-boxed.
"You dare insult a God. I could rip you apart in seconds?"
"Really? I'd like to see that. Step into the ring. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," Nightwing smirked continuing to punch air.
"You baffoon! GET OVER HERE," Destiny yelled flying over to Nightwing.
"Heh, they always say that," he stood his ground waiting for the demon to arrive.
In the blink of an eye, Destiny rushed over to a waiting Nightwing. He stretched out his hand and choked the Boy Wonder by the throat pulling him within the shield. Destiny lifted the hero off his feet and pulled the struggling human close to his face.
"Uhhh Zat-Zat, he's about to snap your boyfriend's neck…" John worried.
"Not yet," Zatanna waved him off.
Inside the shield, Nightwing struggled hard slapping Destiny's hand in hopes of getting free.
"Not so cocky now are you, human?" Destiny growled.
"Oof buddy. Get a few mints in ya. Your breath smells horrid," Nightwing choked out.
"Chatty till the end are we. Before you die, tell me, how are you resisting my control?"
"Hold that thought. Actually better yet hold this for me will ya!"
While Destiny was busy gloating, Nightwing had stabbed a wing-ding right into the chest behind the dreamstone prying it out slightly. With the demon in pain, Nightwing smiled and winked. A puff of smoke appeared in the shield blinding Destiny completely. When it all cleared, Destiny found that he was no longer grasping Nightwing's neck, but instead was holding a handful of beeping grenades. Before he could react, they all exploded in his face sending him flying back into a nearby building. The surprise attack stifled his focus and forced him to drop his shield. More importantly, the explosion had knocked the dreamstone right out of his chest. Seeing this, the demon sprung up immediately and charged at the stone but was trapped within a yellow circle drawn on the ground.
"What?!"
"Sorry, squire. Your time in this realm is over," John smiled at him.
With runes encircling his hands, John began the incantation to send the demon to hell.
"Ralag magnific. Ralag magnific. Ralag magnific!" John chanted.
Destiny tried to reach out and draw the stone back into him.
"Rettahs!" (Shatter).
Cracks formed all over the dreamstone. Seconds later, it exploded into millions of pieces never to be used again.
"Oops," Zatanna smirked.
John's spell began taking effect as Destiny screamed and writhed in pain. Flames once again enveloped the body burning the demon away.
"DAMN YOU CONSTANTINE! WHEN YOU INEVITABLY FALL TO HELL, I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF! AHHHHHHH!"
"Yea yea, get in line," John scoffed.
Finally, all of Destiny burned out leaving a weakened Ritchie to fall to the ground. He struggled to get up trying to catch his breath. He looked around to see John, Zatanna, and Nightwing glaring at him.
"John, I'm sorry. I just wanted to be cured. You have to understand," Ritchie pleaded.
"I may not have saved you properly back then," John looked on sincerely, "But I'm not responsible for your actions today."
Everyone looked up to see countless shrouds of death appearing behind Ritchie. Panicking, Ritchie tried to crawl forward.
"No. No! John please! You can't let them take me! Please! I'll still got more to live for!"
"Way I see it, the shrouds said you only had minutes to spare. You were living on borrowed time, mate," John shrugged.
A pair of shrouds grabbed Ritchie's arms while a third pulled his soul out. Most flew up into the air with Ritchie's soul, but a couple stayed behind. One flew over to Nightwing and got a little too close to his face.
"This one has escaped us on multiple occasions," the shroud shrieked, "He should have died many times, and yet something is protecting him. It is vexing."
It tried to touch Nightwing but a bright yellow shield enveloped him and repelled the shroud away.
"Argghh. Remove your barrier and accept death, foolish mortal."
"Hmmm nah," Nightwing smirked crossing his arms.
Giving up, the final shrouds flew away. The dark clouds dissipated, and the various demons vanished. The citizens of Bludhaven all stopped what they were doing and calmed down. Their nightmares perished and everyone began coming to their senses. In the distance, Etrigan flew through a building wall and crashed down in front of the three heros. Greta poked her head out from a car and ran forward. Lastly, Donna and Kory landed with everyone.
"What-What happened?" Donna asked.
"Yes? I am most confused. I recall assisting Zatanna with a hooded demon of some sort. Then Everyone looked like a demon," Kory recalled.
"Not to worry. Said demon had you two under mind controlled, but it's all good. We saved the -WOAHHHH," Zatanna tried to recap.
From behind, Nightwing had hugged her waist, picked her up and spun her around. The pair were now giggling and savoring the huge victory.
"Di-Nightwing put me down! Hahaha you're embarrassing us!" she giggled.
"As you wish, milady," he laughed spinning them a little ways away from the group for some privacy.
He put her down and she turned in his arms to cup his face.
"Hey," she began, "I'm sorry for not being fully honest about everything. I just didn't want you to worry."
"Zee, you are my partner, my soulmate. I love you, so I'm always gonna worry. But that's the best part about us. We support and help each other. We vowed to do so," he whispered kissing her palm.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"It's ok. But next time, we're being honest with each other. That way, we can help each other the best we can. Deal?"
"Laed," she smiled pulling him into a kiss.
From afar, the ragtag group of heroes all smiled at the cute couple, well all but one anyway.
"Oi, ghosty," John leaned down to Greta, "I never had a chance, did I?"
"Not in this universe, no," she answered.
"How serious are they?"
"Well, they live together."
"Ah."
"They sleep together."
"Oh…"
"And they share a pet bunny."
"…..damn."
Disappointed John crossed his arms. However, he looked to his right with intrigued. He raised his eyebrow and nodded to the Amazon and the Tamaranean. Both women looked back with disgust.
"Ew hell no," Donna gagged.
"I don't think so," Kory politely rejected.
"Hehehehehehe John Constantine, as the kids say, has no game, for he is unable to bed a fair dame."
"Oh piss off."
After making out, Nightwing and Zatanna returned to the group hand-in-hand.
"Alright, I have to know," Greta asked, "How come Nightwing here never succumbed to Destiny's dream magic. Also how can he repel freakin' death shrouds?!"
Nightwing and Zee shared a glance before he reached into the neck of his suit and pulled out a gold Roman coin.
"What can I say," he laughed, "I've been blessed by the Zatara's."
"OH BLOODY HELL!? HE HAS THE FAMILY COIN!?" John shouted.
Nightwing glared at John for his outburst while Zatanna flinched a little but held her boyfriend back.
"Actually, everyone, may I speak to John in private?" Zatanna asked.
"Uhhh are you sure, Zatanna," Greta asked.
"It's fine, really," Zee reassured her.
"C'mon Donna, Kory. We need to coordinate search and rescue," Nightwing ordered.
"The day is won. Etrigan's work is done."
The helpful demon was about to stomp away before stopping in his tracks. He froze and almost looked like he was pleading.
"No no! Please allow Etrigan more time! He shall not commit any crime!"
He shivered and shook before reciting his last rhyme
"Begone, Begone, O Etrigan. Resume once more the form of man!"
Flames encircled the demon. All everyone could see was a dark silhouette inside. Slowly the dark figure shrunk down to human size. The flames dispersed revealing a man in a green suit with red and white hair.
"Phew. Glad that's over with," Jason Blood announced straightening his suit collar.
He walked over to John and quickly punched him in the face knocking the Brit to the ground.
"That's for forcibly changing me into the demon! I'll give you some leeway this time since the fate of the mortal plane was in peril, but never again John Constantine will you control me for your own selfish needs!"
In a huff, Jason Blood walked off leaving the rest of the group stunned. After getting over the initial shock, Nightwing, Donna, and Kory left to begin search and rescue. Greta glared at John one last time.
"You try anything stupid; I'll haunt you for eternity," Greta warned before disappearing.
"Merlin's beard, you have some rather intense friends don't ya, Zat-Zat."
"Johnny, we need to talk."
"Save it, luv," John countered putting up his hand, "I get it. Bastard like me can't compete with a stud like him."
"Well, while you're not wrong, I need you to understand that a lot of things have happened since we last saw each other. I won't deny that I found you to be really cool and suave when we were kids. But that's just it. I was six. I didn't know any better. The idea of an older, cooler boy was fascinating to my six-year-old brain. That was then. Now, we're adults. And in our time apart, I found someone who makes me happy. I love him, John. I really really do."
"Pft. Anyone could see that. It's just- I dunno. I left under some bad circumstances and not of my own doing. I held out hope that I'd see you again."
"I understand. But I can't be that hope for you anymore, Johnny. I'm sorry."
"It's ok. I don't need ya pity. Life goes on as the Earth spins, eh? I'm happy if you're happy."
"Thank you, John. Friends?" she asked extending her hand.
"Mates indeed. I may invite ye to a pint or two in the future," he smiled shaking her hand.
Zatanna raised her eyebrow and glared at him for a bit making him slightly nervous.
"Alright alright! Boy Wonder can come with! Promise!"
"There ya go."
After helping with rescue and relief efforts, Dick and Zatanna finally returned home to the Arconia. As they walked through the front door, little Pocus rushed towards them hopping gleefully into Zatanna's arms.
"Hi Pocus! Did you hold up well here at home?" she asked kissing his fluffy fur.
Instead of answering them like they expected, the little bunny just nodded and nuzzled Zatanna's cheek.
"Huh? That's odd. I half-expected him to say something," Dick wondered.
Confused as well, Zatanna held Pocus up and looked him in the eye.
"Pocus, sweetie, can you not talk anymore?"
Pocus shook his head.
"Well, he still understands us. Has he always understood us?" Dick pondered.
"Maybe it was all the dreamstone. That one piece supposedly revealed our thoughts and nightmares. Maybe it let us hear Pocus's thoughts for a while," Zatanna reasoned.
"I guess. Kinda weird that our pet bunny thinks in a Scottish accent."
Pocus stuck his tongue out at his dad.
"Even so, he's still our little baby, aren't ya Pocus?" Zatanna smiled kissing Pocus's head.
She finally let the little guy free and watched him scamper off and settle into the couch. In the meantime, Dick and Zee shared a warm hot shower before finally settling into bed exhausted from the day's adventure. He laid on his back as she curled herself to his side. Her head rested on his chest and drew lazy circles as he held her waist. Both for once were simply content to lay in bed and cuddle.
"Happy Birthday, Zee," he whispered kissing her hair.
"What a birthday, indeed. Didn't expect to go out and save the world from dream demons," she mumbled into his neck.
"Yea. I meant to take you to dinner. Then probably a movie after."
"Mmmm that would've been nice," she said sleepily, "Oh! I almost forgot! I have a house now!"
"Huh?"
"Yea! Shadowcrest Manor! Apparently, it's been in my family for generations. Now that I'm twenty-one, I've inherited it."
"Oh, neat. We should check it out later!"
"Absolutely. Nimue said that my father and ancestors have a lot of ancient texts and artifacts in there. Maybe something in there could help free my father from Nabu."
"Maybe. But for now, let's just relax. I'm happy to just cuddle with my beautiful girlfriend."
"And I'm happy to cuddle with my favorite pillow, Officer Grayson."
"Detective Grayson," he corrected, "My scores finally came in."
"What?!" Zatanna awoke and sprung up to hover over him, "You-you mean?"
"Yes. You are now sleeping with Detective Dick Grayson of the Ninety-Ninth Precinct."
"Oh my gosh! Congratulations, baby!" she cheered peppering his face with kisses, "I'm so proud of you! I'm so happy you're getting exactly what you wanted. When do you start?"
"Next Monday. So, we've still got the weekend to ourselves."
"Really now," she mused sultrily, "That means you don't have to wake up early tomorrow, right?"
"That's right. Did you want to do something?"
"I have a few ideas…" she purred.
"Thought you were exhausted?" he teased catching on to the game.
"I got a second wind. Besides, I never got to open my birthday present," she whined kissing his chest, "I've been a good girl. Promise. I saved the world after all!"
"With my help!" he pointed out.
"Baby, do you want to fuck or not?" she asked bluntly slightly annoyed with him beating around the bush.
Laughing he flipped her over on her back and bit her neck. She held him close scratching his hair as he tickled her sides.
"Hahahahah why do you always tickle me?!" she howled.
"Because I love the way you laugh," he answered kissing her to emphasize his feelings.
"Hehehe. You really are a corny dork."
"Guilty as charged."
"But you're my dork. I would never trade you for anything."
"Same here, Zee. I love you."
"I evol you, ybab."
The next morning, Dick and Zee laid in bed tangled in sheets. He rested on his back while she slept on his chest. Everything was quiet and it was an easy tranquil morning…while it lasted anyway.
"Uhhhh Zatanna? Zataaannna! Hello!" a quiet voice whispered.
Groggily, Zatanna responded to the small attempt to wake her up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before seeing a familiar ghost once again in her bedroom.
"Mmmmm wait…..GRETA!" Zatanna realized covering her bare chest with the blanket and sitting up on Dick.
"Huh? What the hell!?" Dick stirred as well.
"Uhhh hey guys. Sorry to wake you two like this again, but uh I have a favor to ask."
"Um sure, I guess. What do you need, Greta?" Zatanna asked.
"So as a ghost I can't really touch things in the mortal realm. Could one of you turn on Netflix so I can watch 'Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir?"
Dick laid his head back and buried his face in his hands. Zatanna tilted her head unsure of how to answer the ghost.
"Uhh ok?" Zatanna stuttered.
"Yay! Thank you! Pocus! They said ok!" Greta cheered as she left the bedroom.
Zatanna continued to stare at the bedroom door very very confused.
"What just happened?" she asked her boyfriend.
"I think we just adopted a friendly ghost…"
AN: Phew. Glad to be done with that arc. I'm sorry if it feels a little too much like the movie. I tried to deviate where I could and add that Chalant flair to it. Hope yall enjoyed the read. Next up is Dick's first day at the 99!
