answers to reviewers questions or statements:

MCRasengan: That's what makes Constantine so great, he just pops up and screws everyone over.

Triton0501: Clark and Kara's relationship here is a bit more in tune with how it was at the start of the New 52, a little hostile which isn't helped by the fact that Clark is still brooding over Diana being taken from him by Darkseid of all people. He's not exactly taking his frustrations out on her, more of he's just not in a happy mood all the time and angsty teens seem to use that kind of crap to fuel their own drama.

Bladewolf101: How is she being selfish? Did she at any point say 'I'm living on Apokolips now after my own father threw me to the wolves'? All Diana said was that Kara shouldn't assume that she's alone in her suffering, that there are others that she can relate to if she'd simply pay attention. That's not being selfish, that's imparting some rather useful advice so that Kara doesn't continue to grow up bitter and angry at the universe because she feels or believes she's alone. And at one point has Diana shown to be unfaithful? At what point as she tried to initiate any sort of intimate actions on Superman?

darthwolf: Perhaps.

Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: Gee I don't know why Darkseid would bother with marrying the mother of one of his children, whose power is great enough to wage a war against him with the resources and alliances they have with other siblings or members of his royal court. What can Darkseid hope to gain by in a sense appeasing said child so that he doesn't launch a civil war right when he's facing threats from not only New Genesis but also an unknown threat that's wiping out his worlds at the same time? He's married or tried to plenty of times in the comics if said marriage advances his agenda or ensures Apokolips's superiority.

Mr No Bo Dy: I'd be more worried about what Peter's gonna do in retaliation for Constantine's interference. He isn't exactly a 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man' in this one. And being raised in a society with a strong sense of 'eye for an eye and than some', Peter's likely to make sure Constantine think real hard and really long the next time he entertains the idea of getting between Peter and what he wants.

Tom2011: Shit's about to go down.

Joe Lawyer: Magic isn't a very easy thing to counter, if that were the case than someone like Batman or Luthor would've found some way to combat it directly years ago. Magic, based on how DC seems to do it, is wholly unique to each individual mystic/mage/sorcerer and what's good against one may not be as effective to another. I mean even beings as powerful as the Spectre are susceptible to powerful forms of magic.

Harbinger of Kaos: Just because he may need a god like being to do him a favor doesn't mean he's fucked up, it's very likely he simply encountered an issue that requires a God, like perhaps solving some sort of riddle or reaching something only an immortal could or something along the lines. And even than, John's been around long enough, and gathered enough knowledge and items over the years that he can usually handle things himself without the need of calling in some God. Just because he knows about the Stone doesn't mean he won't give it up, more often he finds a way to either make it seem getting it is a waste of time or detrimental to whoever would want it and that letting him keep it will be the smart move. Constantine knows that Peter isn't just some flunkie of Darkseid, he clearly referred to Darkseid as 'daddy' when he spoke with Peter, so he knows that he's got a lot more going for him than a Parademon. And just because Peter's smart doesn't mean jack when it comes to Constantine, the guy has pulled fast ones over Gods and beings like Trigon who are practically omnipotent and the Devil himself. Not saying Peter can't give him a run for his money, but Peter isn't used to dealing with beings that can baffle or trick even the likes of his father and live to tell about it.

Djernnman: Aside from outright destroying all magic, it's not really something can be effectively combated.

DainBramagedMoFo: Peter may or may not be getting a new girl out of this whole trip to Earth.

DoctorWhoXX: Each stone will get it's own chance to shine. The Mind Stone will be getting it's over the next few chapters.

I craft experiences: I don't know, when I get to it maybe? I don't exactly have a schedule for these things.

CRUDEN: Very true.

chimera629: It did warn him, did you even read this chapter or just jump to the reviews read what others put than put your own? You seem to like doing that rather than actually read the chapters.

Just Phatom: Peter here is around a few hundred years old, like he was born around the time of Ra's al Ghul. No he's not the second youngest, he's older than a few aside from his literal baby sister but not by much.

Tsuki-no-Hazama Hime: Did you even bother to read this chapter? It's pretty obvious who attacked Peter.

superpierce: Magic isn't something that can be easily defended against, even beings as powerful as Darkseid and the Spectre can be harmed by it.

Parker: Sorta.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.


Los Angeles California, the City of Angels...

If there was one city on earth that one John Constantine could say was a complete contradiction to it's namesake, it was good old L.A. While the city wasn't exactly a nexus of magic like some places in the world, it had a unique energy to it that could still be considered attractive to some mystics and those that dabble in the occult.

Or Demons, looking to open up a little corner of hell and collect souls from desperate mortals hoping to make it big.

"Your crazy, you know that?" the man sitting across the blond haired man said with a look of disbelief after just being told what happened.

Half an hour ago, John Constantine had returned from Central America empty handed, the god he was hoping to use to help kill off a few Demons that he'd been roped into killing had just been finished off by a New God of Apokolips. Most people would've fallen into despair at the lost of a such a powerful albeit, temporary ally, but not John. Instead he traded up the old God for the New and to make sure he gained said deity's cooperation, he stole the very thing that likely brought the dread deity so far from his fiery home world.

"What gave it away?" Constantine said with a snort as he took a sip of his drink, it wasn't a pint, but it was descent enough for American brewed beer.

"I don't know, maybe the fact you tried to get some ancient god to help us out only for said ancient god to get his arse kicked into oblivion and now you want to use the bloke that did him in and to do that you took some kind of fancy glowing rock to make sure he will show up and do what you say" Chas Chandler said as he held his face in his hands "This is gonna end badly, I just know it!"

"Relax Chas..." Constantine signaled for another drink for himself and his friend as they both waited for the New God John encountered to show up "I have everything under control. Besides, he won't be the first pissed off god I've had to tango with"

Chas looked at John with a look of uncertainty before it slowly began to change into one of sheer terror as he raised a shaking finger and pointed at something behind John.

"You mean that pissed off God?" Chas said in a terrified voice.

Constantine blinked at this before he looked over his shoulder to see the new God he left in South America standing right behind him, a ominous blue and black colored portal closing behind him. He looked a little worse for wear, the once shiny black armor was covered in scratches and the yellow bio-lights were flickering in some places. But what really caught Constantine's attention were the four bloodied spider like legs emerging from the deity's back, twitching every so often.

"Hmm, got here a little faster than I thou- whhaaaaa!" the blond yelled he was suddenly seized by the shoulder and lifted into the air and thrown towards the wall.

The force of the impact knocked the wind clean out of Constantine and as the man slumped to the floor, The New God seized him by the throat and hoisted him up into the air before slamming him back into the wall, cracking it's surface.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't break your neck in half" Peter growled as he held Constantine up until the tips of his toes were just centimeters from touching the floor.

"C-C-Can... h-h-he-lp... w-w-ith... s-s-s-stone!" Constantine choked out as he tried to pry Peter's hand off his throat before it was crushed entirely.

"Oh, in what way?" Peter asked with a raised brow as he lessened his grip enough for the man to somewhat breath.

"T-The sss-stone wasss... t-taken ffff-fffrom me!" Constantine wheezed out, causing Peter's eyes to widen in shock.

"WHAT?!" he yelled at the man as he brought his other arm up to catch a wooden chair being wielded by Chas that was meant to hit him in the head.

With a slight push, Peter sent Chas flying back as he continued to glare at Constantine. With a growl of anger and annoyance, Peter threw Constantine in the same direction he shoved his would be helper and watched the two men collide with one another in a heap.

"Bugger me..." Constantine coughed as he tried to climb to his feet only for a web line to snag him by his back and yank him towards Peter.

The New God unfurled one of his spider like limbs and used it to stab the blond haired man in the shoulder and pin him to the ground. Constantine, to his credit, only hissed in pain as Peter loomed over him with a glare to rival the darkest of pits on Apokolips. If the infamous con artist had any doubts of Peter's lineage, the dark look he was on the receiving end of put those thoughts to rest.

"You lost my stone?!" Peter hissed at the pinned mage, red and black arcs of bio-electricity surging across his hands, arms and torso.

"UGH, taken, not lost" Constantine groaned from the faint shocks he was feeling in his shoulder as the red and black bolts traveled down the spider limb and into his body "D-Difference... a-and it's n-not yours"

"Regardless, you cost me the stone" Peter growled as he tore his spider limb free of Constantine's shoulder and reached down to seize the man by the throat again and hoist him to his feet "Where is it!?"

When Constantine didn't immediately answer, Peter punched him square in the face, shattering his nose and causing him to let out a pained grunt before it turned into a yelp as Peter jabbed a finger against the man's broken nose and began to push it inwards.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!" Constantine gritted out as he tried to ignore the pain long enough to answer the New God's question "It's in the possession of a Demon. Name's Nergal! He took it from me as a sort of down payment for a deal we're already involved in"

"Nergal?" Peter said, quirking his head to the side slightly "Huh..."

"Yeah" Constantine nodded "You know him?"

"No... but I will soon enough. And he'll know me" Peter said as he suddenly released Constantine and turned to leave "Don't go far. When I'm done with this Nergal character, I'll be back for you"

Constantine muttered a quick spell of healing to fix his nose and shoulder as he struggled to climb back to his feet "Do you even know where to look for him?"

Peter paused mid-step and turned back towards Constantine and gave him a look that could be felt, even when covered by his mask "Demonic energy isn't exactly subtle genius. I picked up a large concentration of that worthless waste of cosmic backwash on the edge of the city the moment I stepped foot in it"

"And I suppose your just gonna waltz straight in and take the stone back, am I right?" Constantine said with a snort "Challenge a demon in the heart of his own stronghold?"

"No, I thought I'd ask for it back nicely with the promise of images of my elder sisters fucking one another" Peter said with a scoff as he turned to leave before Constantine's next words stopped him.

"You really have no idea what your dealing with, do you?" the man said as he stared at the stilled God.

"Oh... and you do?" Peter said as he slowly turned back towards the man.

"I have a idea" Constantine said with a shrug "Better than most at any rate"

"Than please" Peter said as he turned around and stared at the man and folded his arms across his chest "Educate me"

"Now why would I do that?" Constantine asked with a smirk "Seems to me, me knowing what it is your after is all that's gonna be keeping you from ripping me apart"

Peter hummed in thought at this "You sure about that?"

Before Constantine could say anything else, Peter held up a hand and suddenly the seam that covered the small compartment that housed the Mind Stone opened and revealed a faint yellow light. Constantine paled at the sight while the stone slowly rose and came to hover in Peter's hand.

"Now, we can do this the easy way... or the hard way" Peter warned the man "Tell me what you know about the 'Soul Stone' and maybe, just maybe, I won't tear the skin from your body and fashion it into a noose to hang you with after I'm done tearing your mind apart"

"Jesus... you already have one of them" Constantine muttered with wide eyes as he stared at the near mythic Mind Stone.

To see One of the Six Stones was nearly unprecedented, aside from the fact that they've all been lost for centuries, scattered tot he ends of the multiverse. But to seer two in half as many days, in the same plane of existence no less, was virtually impossible. Add the fact that one was in the hands of a New God of Apokolips, who in turn was seeking another and was very close to gaining it, disturbed Constantine down to his very core.

'If I don't play this right, things can get real shitty, real quick' John thought as he reached up to wipe a few beads of sweat from his brow as Peter waited for his response. After a few more seconds of staring at the very source of psionic energy in the universe, Constantine adverted his gaze to Peter's "What uh... what do you want to know than?"

"The stone that I came here for, what is it? How's it connected to the one I already have?" Peter demanded.

"That's... a bit of a hard one to know exactly..." Constantine said with a frown on his face "No one knows exactly where the stones came from. Who made them, how they were made, what purpose they serve. All anyone ever knew was that creation itself could be harnessed and molded with them. Some say that they are the sources of the fundamental energies that dwell within existence. Space, time, reality, power, life, all originate from the stones"

"Is that right..." Peter said as he glanced down at the Mind Stone with a thoughtful look on his face.

"So the legends say" Constantine answered with a one shouldered shrug as he reached into his pocket and removed a carton of cigarettes and pulled one out to smoke "Rumor has it that the Mad Titan tried to gather them all up eons ago and use them to wipe out half of all life in existence"

"Well I can safely say he never accomplished this" Peter said as he placed the Mind Stone back in it's sealed compartment.

When Peter was younger, he heard the stories of his father and Thanos waging a war across the multiverse, seeking to assert their dominance over it. Now Peter was beginning to think that his father was trying to prevent the Mad Titan from eradicating him and half of all life. Peter assumed ruling a half empty multiverse didn't sound very appealing to his father, assuming he wasn't included in the half that was getting wiped out.

'Which means that these stones might affect even someone as powerful as him... interesting' Peter thought before he returned his attention to Constantine "If these stones are so powerful, why has no one tried to gather them before?"

"No one knows where they were all hidden" Constantine revealed as he summoned a light from somewhere and lit his cancerous creature comfort "Heard rumors that Asgard had found one of them before it was wiped out but that's about it. And it's not just one universe their hidden in, these things are scattered across multiple realities"

"Outstanding..." Peter said with annoyance.

"Yeah, someone really didn't want anyone to get their hands on those things. at the very least, someone like you and your pops" Constantine said with a glare aimed at Peter.

"Hmm, guess they should've tried harder" Peter chuckled darkly before his expression hardened "Tell me how to get my stone back and maybe I'll spare you any further pain aside from what I've already inflicted on you"

"Like I'm gonna take you lousy word for-" Constantine began before he suddenly stopped.

"John?" Chas said as he climbed back to his feet and watched as his longtime friend's face began to turn blue. He turned towards Peter and glared at the man as he picked up a piece of the chair that he trued to use earlier and held it at the ready "What are you doing to him?!"

"I had his brain forget how to work the muscles and organs that allow him to breath" Peter said as he held up the hand that had the Mind Stone's compartment hidden on it "You know, I'm really getting the hang of this thing..."

Granted it was taking a considerable amount of concentration on his end to utilize the stone that way he was now. Thankfully he didn't have to keep this up for too long, but the look on Constantine's face, he was ready to talk. With a flick of his wrist, a bit dramatic he'll admit, Peter returned the knowledge of how to properly operate it's respiratory system to Constantine's brain, allowing the man.

"H-Holy... f-f-f-fuck..." Constantine coughed as he tried to force the oxygen back into his lungs as fast as he could "Goddamn..."

"Now I believe you were about to tell me how to retrieve the stone you stole from me and pawned off to some demon like a common trinket" Peter said as he glared down at the coughing man with a look of utter contempt.

Constantine coughed a few more times before he looked up to Peter with an annoyed glare before he reached down to pick up his cigarette and place it back in his mouth.

"Yeah... I guess I am... useless wanker"

...

"Your certain they'll come?" Peter asked as he sat in a long abandoned church on the edge of the city.

It had been several hours since Constantine revealed to Peter how he could retrieve his Stone from the demon known as Nergal. At first Peter was vehemently against the plan, it was too far in Constantine's favor for Peter's liking, but after the meddling human explained to the New God that aside from storming the Demon's stronghold, and drawing far more attention than he'd likely prefer, Peter very reluctantly agreed.

"They'll be here" Constantine said from his spot against a collapsed column, a look of boredom on his face as he he took another drag from his cigarette "A New God calling out a bunch of Demons? They won't be able to resist seeing what the commotion is about"

"Are they powerful?" Peter asked as he glanced at the human with narrowed lenses.

"I don't think so" Constantine said with a shrug "If they were, I think Nergal would have done this himself. If anything their just a annoyance that he's too lazy to deal with so he has me doing it"

"You mean me" Peter growled in anger as he tore off a piece of the bench in front of him and tossed it back and forth in his hands before throwing it over his shoulder.

"Well originally I was gonna use Mictlāntēuctli for this, but than you had to go and all but kill him" Constantine said with a shake of his head "Couldn't have waited until afterwards"

"Next time I'll be sure to run it by you first" Peter said with a scowl of annoyance "And while we're on the subject of Mictlāntēuctli, why not just send him to launch an all out attack on this Nergal demon?"

"Because these five demons are no better than what Nergal's doing" Constantine revealed with a shrug "Smaller scale in comparison, but still a blood nuisance to the rest of humanity. This damned city has enough issues going for it, don't need to throw demons looking for souls into the mix"

Peter grunted at this and returned to breaking off another piece of the bench in front of him to occupy himself with before he felt his sixth sense begin to tingle. Peter sat up and began to scan the shadows with narrowed eyes, his combat systems springing to life.

"Their here" Peter said as he slowly stood up.

"About bloody time" Constantine said as he took one last drag of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and stomping it out "Chas and I will set up a barrier outside so they can't slink away. Once the demons are done with, I'll personally take you to Nergal"

"Where I'm gonna have to kill him too, aren't I?" Peter asked with a frown as he watched Constantine head for the door "Something tells me he won't just hand over the stone which in turn will force my hand... and as a bonus, you et out for working for him"

Constantine stopped for a moment before slowly glancing back at Peter with a smirk "It... may have crossed my mind when I gave him the stone in the first place. Cheers mate!"

Peter growled at the man's chuckling as he made his way out of the abandoned church, leaving the New God alone in the darkness. He didn't have to wait long before the unholy creatures began to make their presence know to the New God, one of which fell to the ground in front of Peter, it's wings twitching slightly before slowly standing up and glaring down at him with revulsion in it's four eyes.

"Is this the... God, that invited us?" one of the Demons asked with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"No, it was the other god. The one with the three faces" Peter said with a bored look on his face as he took in the winged four eyed demon's appearance 'Must be a bastard of one of Trigon's great grandsons or something... sure smells like one'

The demon hissed at Peter as more of it's kind began to emerge from the shadows, each more horrific looking than the last. One of the demons had the appearance of some two headed reptile, while another looked to be some sort of bird or bat like creature with a large eye in it's mouth. Another demon, larger than the previous three possessed no eyes at all and instead had a large mouth on it's stomach while the last, an even larger beast had a circular maw like a leach and odd bony protrusions emanating from it's back.

"I swear to the Source you demons get uglier and uglier with each century" Peter said with a shake of his head as he stood up and placed his mask on and waited for the plates to click into place.

"What brings you here little 'God'" one of the demons sneered at Peter, the one with the two heads.

"Well it's not to take beauty tips from you, that's for sure" Peter said as he scanned the demons, noting their claws, extra limbs, wings, and anything else that could give them an edge in a fight "According to this human by the name of John Constantine, your all in some sort of conflict with a demon that he's been hired by and wants you gone"

"Is that right?" the Demon with an eyeball in it's mouth sneered as it seemed to glide around Peter "And how are you going to enforce that decision on us?"

"Simple... I'm going to kill you all, have Constantine use your deaths as a way to gain access to Nergal's stronghold and get me inside and than take what's rightfully mine" Peter told the demon before he focused his attention on the bastard spawn of Trigon "Starting with you, four eyes"

Before any of the demons could react, Peter's arm shot out and fired off a single Venom blast that tore through the air like lightning and tore into the four eyed demon's head. The unholy spawn didn't so much as mutter a sound as it's head was all but incinerated by the red bolts, leaving a charred stump in it's place. The demon's body swayed for a moment before collapsing in a heap. Peter sighed as he lowered his arm while the remaining four demons backed away from their now headless companion, his body already turning to ash.

"If it's any consolation, I intend to kill Constantine when this is all over" Peter said as he felt his sixth sense go off as the remaining demons growled and hissed at him.

Than, without another word, the Demons attacked.

...

"Another world has fallen my master..."

To say Darkseid was displeased by this news would be putting it mildly, the planet that was just destroyed was one of his largest Parademon breeding factories. Almost nine percent of the entire army's foot soldiers hailed from the long conquered world. It was also farther into his territory than the previous assaults in his empire by the mysterious butcher.

"What accounts do the survivors describe?" Darkseid asked as he stared out into the dark hellish landscape of his world with an unreadable expression.

But if any of his servants were to see his eyes, they were say they burned with an unfathomable rage.

"There are none my lord" Desaad said, bowed before his lord as Steppenwolf and Grayven stood off to the side, watching "The butcher was quite thorough in his extermination of the planet. All we received was a brief warning before the assault began"

Darkseid growled in anger as he turned towards his servant, his eyes glowing red with anger "How have you allowed this usurper to reach so far into my domain?"

"We do not know yet how he moves from one world to another, from one plane of reality to the next" Dessad said as he bowed even lower in fear "We believed he had a Mother box, or perhaps even a Father box with him but now we are not so sure"

"Than you have failed me Dessad" Darkseid claimed as he began to slowly descend the steps that led to his throne, each footfall sounding like a thunderous boom in the near empty throne room.

"I await your judgment my master" Dessad said in a quiet voice, his eyes on the floor before him.

Darkseid growled at this and prepared to incinerate Dessad before Grayven stepped forward and bowed.

"Father if I ma-" he began before a single beam of Darkseid's Omega beams erupted from his eyes and shot towards the New God.

Steppenwolf barely managed to step out of the way as Grayven was struck with his father's most powerful attack and sent flying clear across the throne room and into a wall. Grayven's screams of pain echoed out into the halls outside before they were reduced to whimpers as the Omega Beams ceased their assault on his very being. Darkseid snarled at his son before he turned his gaze back to Dessad.

"You will take Steppenwolf and bring me the head of this aggressor" Darkseid declared as he leaned forward gripped the New God by the head, forcing him to look up into the glowing eyes of his lord "And for every word he has destroyed, you will conquer me another thousand"

"Y-Yes my master" Dessad gulped as he was released and allowed to fall to his knees.

Darkseid nodded at this and turned to leave before he stopped and glanced at his still whimpering son in disgust "On your feet Grayven. Even your lesser brothers would be silent and standing by now. Perhaps you believe your mother will come to cuddle you?"

"Y-Yes... f-father" Grayven groaned as he stumbled to his feet, causing Darkseid's annoyance and disgust for his current behavior to rise.

Not for the first nor last time was the dreaded lord of Apokolips beginning to regret his decision to name Grayven his second. With the Membrance festival only weeks away, Darkseid could not afford to seem weak before the Highfather. He was under no illusion that the loss of his worlds has escaped New Genesis' notice nor that they may break the sacred vow that the God of Evil and Highfather foolishly agreed to millennia ago. To discourage any moves against him, Darkseid needed his forces to seem unyielding and strong, to convince the weak minded and fool Highfather, who cares so dearly for his people, that war would be too costly for him and his people.

With a growl at the last thought Darkseid turned and returned to his throne, slowly climbing the steps to his seat of power.

As Darkseid to his seat, Grayven limped forward, doing his best to seem strong in the eyes of his father "My lord I-"

"I did not give you permission to speak, Grayven" Darkseid cut his son off with a glare, his eyes glowing in ominous rage "Be silent or I shall condemn these halls to the torture that is your insufferable screaming as I carve you apart!"

Grayven flinched at this and quickly kneeled before the dark god in repentance.

Once his son was properly cowered, Darkseid leaned back in his throne and allowed his mind to wander to recent events that have been plaguing his domain.

Dozens of his worlds were being destroyed by this 'Butcher' and avoiding his forces as if they were blinded rocks. Meanwhile Grayven slowly maneuvering his servants into Apokolips's court and armies so he will be in a position of power to wipe out his siblings while the likes of Zunn and Twidle fled to the edges of Darkseid's Empire to avoid his wrath after their attempted rape of the amazon Diana. Than there was Peter sneaking around trying to gather the accursed Infinity Stones for Source knows what.

The coming days were going to prove to be quietly lively for the dreaded dark god. But Darkseid was unbothered nor afraid of these details, if his demise and that of Apokolips was to come, than he would make sure whatever the cause was bled for every step it took. Only the strong were allowed to rule while the weak served or burn...

And he will damn well make sure whatever pretender succeeds in their usurpation of him remembers that.

...


And done.

Next chapter, The Warbird of Apokolips...