answers to reviewers questions or statements:

Sonic2610: It's a possibility, just having two or three of any of them would put one on par with the lord of Apokolips in a variety of ways.

REX5678: She will.

Jason Chandler: Guy antagonizes everyone, no matter who they are.

Harbinger of Kaos: Not everyone that associates with Constantine ends up dead.

Spider-Menace76: A few, maybe ten. Peter and Diana aren't exactly chummy-chummy at the moment.

Chayio: I've seen the show, love the comics. I'm not against making a possible crossover in the future.

cabrera1234: It'll slowly start to develop further while their on Earth. But if your looking for any declarations of everlasting love, that's a loooooong ways off still.

WriterSpenser: No, she won't be.

trinity seven: Carol and Diana's animosity towards one another will reach it's peak before this arc on Earth ends.

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


"This is insane John"

"So, stay in the car"

"Oh right, because the damn Prius is gonna keep me all safe and cuddly from what your about to do"

Ever since that New God from Apoko-something appeared, things had been spiraling completely out of control in Chas's opinion, damned what Constantine says. While the two very mortal men were unable to see the fight between this 'Peter' and the five demons that Constantine was supposed to kill for Nergal, they both heard plenty.

Chas would admit, he never thought he'd hear Demons begging for their lives, let alone crying.

"And what is it that I'm about to do that's so terrible Chas?" John said with an eye roll as he and Chas slowly made their way through the halls of Nergal's mansion, passing a few lesser demon slaves and poor humans that were desperate or dumb enough to strike a deal with the Demon Lord.

"Set a God against a Demon with us right in the bloody middle!" Chas scowled at the man.

"We'll be fine" Constantine said with a wave of one hand while the other reached into his jacket pocket for a cigarette "Once those two start tossing each other around, you and I will slip out, call those useless Super friends wankers to come in and take care of them both"

"And what about my daughter?" Chas said, coming to a stop and glaring hard at Constantine "How are we gonna get her away from Nergal if he's too busy getting his arse handed to him?"

"That's where the Soul Stone comes into play Chas" John said as he turned towards the man with a patient look on his face "If I know Nergal as well as I do, he would've put her, and every other soul he has in his possession, into the stone already. With Nergal soon to be busy dealing with Darkseid's twerp, the magics he uses to keep the stone hidden and secured will be weaken and I'll use that opportunity to swipe it, free little Trish from his clutches, return her to her body and we can all go out and have a pint to celebrate"

"Well how are you going to get her out of there?" Chas asked with a unsure look on his face.

"Just... just leave that to me Chas" Constantine said with a sigh as he turned away from the man "Come on, lets get this over with before Nergal realizes what's about to happen"

"I really don't like this John" Chas said with a shake of his head as they continued down the hall towards the study where Nergal was said to be waiting.

"Neither do I Chas... neither do I..." Constantine said as he lit his cancerous causing guilty pleasure and took a long drag from it before blowing out a cloud of smoke.

Peter's fight with the five demons did not end in the way that Constantine had hoped. The blasted new God was in far better shape than John would've liked after he was done with the cabal of unholy arseholes, rendering John's original plan of finishing him off afterwards unwise. But it was a distinct possibility that John took into account and had already made a backup plan for that possible outcome. It wasn't perfect, and far too open to unexpected and unfavorable changes, but it was all he had on such short notice.

And time was something that he, or more accurately Trish, didn't have. By now, a number of spirits, shades, and rogue demons were beginning to notice Trish's body was unoccupied and were likely trying to get into it, thankfully before Constantine and Chas left for America to find the girl's soul, John called in an old favor to watch over the girl. But as powerful as they were, their protection spells won't help keep Trish's body alive...

'I really need a drink when this all ends' John thought as he and Chas entered the study to see Nergal, in all of his horrid glory, lying before a lit fire, watching what seemed to be burning limbs with an unreadable albeit pleased look on his face. Taking a deep breath, and steadying his nerves for what was about to come, Constantine muttered a quick summoning spell and had a large blood soaked bag appear in his hands before he tossed it towards the Demon.

"It's done Nergal..." Constantine said as h bag bounced across the floor before coming to a stop next to Nergal's serpentine tail.

"All of them wiped out in one fell swoop?" Nergal said in a pleased tone as he turned and reached down for the bag and tore it open to reveal the bloodied, mangled heads of the Demons he hired Constantine to take care of "Well played Constantine... well played"

"Indeed, John..."

Constantine and Chas both blinked at the sound of a woman's voice and turned to see the lone arm chair was was also looking at the fire beside Nergal. A beautiful women dressed in a small, tight black dress and heels stood up and turned towards the two mortal men with a small grin on her face.

'Ohhh shit...' John thought as he stared at the woman in surprise.

She wasn't an actual woman, more of she was the City of Los Angeles's spirit in a physical form and yes it was as absurd and as confusing as it sounded. Though the thought of the spirit of Los Angeles being in league with a Demon like Nergal wasn't all that absurd, with how fucked the city was, it seemed fitting.

"Angela, you two... you've been working together this whole time?" Constantine said with a displeased frown, looks like those unexpected and unfavorable changes to his plan were coming early.

"Nergal's been visiting me for a long time..." Angela, as she introduced herself to John not too long ago, said with a tired smile as Nergal slithered behind her with a dark grin on his twisted face "We're old... well friends certainly isn't the word"

"More of reluctant acquaintances" Nergal teased.

"You told me you wanted these demons all gone" John said with a pointed look aimed at Angela.

"Five... is good enough" the Queen said with a displeased look on her face before she turned towards the Demon Lord beside her "Nergal I'm afraid would put up a bit of a fight that could destroy my city and I can't have that"

"So we've made an arrangement" Nergal said with a smug look on his face.

"He stays and runs his little 'franchise' but limits his activity to an acceptable level" Angela said with a resigned look on her face.

"There's not acceptable level where that's concerned" John bit out with a glare as he pointed towards Nergal "If you think he's gonna honor whatever deal you made with him, your a damn bloody idiot. If he's not looking for loopholes to exploit, he's simply waiting for the opportune moment to double cross you. It's how his kind are"

"Aww, you hurt my feelings John" Nergal chuckled darkly as his eyes began to glow with an ominous warning "Careful... wouldn't want me to take my anger out on a certain little someone-"

"You even think of touching Trish and I'll-" Chas took a step towards Nergal with a snarl before Constantine grabbed him and held him back before he got himself killed.

"You want her...?" Nergal said with a laugh as he held up his hand and suddenly the Soul Stone was there, floating just above his fingers "Come and get her"

"Oh we will" Constantine said as he suddenly shoved Chas away and pulled up his shirt to reveal an odd symbol on his chest "Ever hear of the Trojan war mate?"

"John what are you-" Angela began, confusion etched on her face while Nergal's eyes widened in surprise as recognition flashed through his face.

"Who are you summo-" the Demon began before John ran a hand across the symbol on his chest, causing it to glow a dark red-ish orange color before a bright flash suddenly appeared and everyone in the room was forced to advert or cover their eyes less they go blind.

"Hmm, dark ambience with a rich gothic feel to it? Yep, this is most definitely a demon's domain" a new voice suddenly spoke up as the light faded to reveal a man dressed in dented, scratched up black armor with flickering yellow biolights across his body along with a large glowing spider on their chest with a small Omega symbol at the center.

"Who are you?" Nergal snarled at the newcomer, already sensing his nature as a New God.

"The owner of that stone in your hand" Peter nodded darkly at the Soul Stone "Give it back, and maybe I'll forget ever laying eyes on your unsightly appearance"

"Your welcome to try and take it" Nergal hissed as he closed his hand around the stone and coiled the lower half of his body in preparation to move.

"Have it your wait" Peter shrugged before he noticed the woman standing next to the Demon and quirked a brow at her "And you are?"

"The Queen of Angels, Angela" the woman revealed as her gaze flickered up and down Peter's form "You are from Apokolips, yes?"

"What gave it away?" Peter asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Your father's symbol" the Queen gestured to her own chest as she nodded at his "It's hard to not recognize it"

"Someone's informative. Don't go too far, I have a question I'd like to ask you when I'm done with tall dark and ugly bedside you" Peter said before he suddenly fired off a Venom Blast at Nergal, causing the Demon to roar as he unfurled his wings and with a single beat, shot off into the air and over Peter's attack and towards the New God himself.

Peter glared at the fast approaching Demon and unfurled his spider like limbs from his back and used them to push off the ground and out of Nergal's way. Constantine and Chas had already rushed out of the room to avoid being caught in the middle of the two supernatural powerhouses' fight while the Queen of Angeles watched on with a unreadable expression on her face.

"You know, I'm really starting to hate this planet" Peter said as he stuck to the ceiling after avoiding Nergal's lunge, his spider legs brought in close to either lash out or defend at a moment's notice "In the two days I've been on this mudball, I've had to deal with either an old decrypted God or a bunch of inbred Demons that a Bug wouldn't wanna scavenge off of. Now I'm facing some two bit Hell Lord in some crummy mansion in some backwater city... no offense Queen"

"None taken" the woman replied with a shrug as she folded her arms under her bust.

"And I never thought I'd have to contend with one of Darkseid's mutts" Nergal chuckled at Peter as he turned and stared up at the New God with a savage grin "Pity you aren't Kalibak or En Sabah Nur, something worth boasting about killing"

Peter grinned at this, his fingers digging in to the ceiling "You think you'd be worth either's time? Please, you'd be lucky to even get a passing glance"

With a yell, Peter tore a chunk off the ceiling free and threw it towards Nergal who quickly brought up his tail and used it to smack it away... just as Peter hoped he would. Holding both arms out, Peter shot two web lines to either side of Nergal and pulled himself towards the Demon and turned his body so that his feet collided with it's head, sending a powerful shockwave throughout the room that splintered the floor and caused the fire to flicker out and the various furniture scattered about to fly into the walls and shatter. Nergal let loose a pained yell as he was sent flying into and through a wall, sending a cloud of wood and paint ships into the air as his body collided with something in the hall outside.

Peter landed with a roll and sprung up only to come face to perky chest with the Queen of Angels. The New God blinked and looked up slightly to see the supernatural entity looking down at him with amusement.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his body felt like it was vibrating with how much adrenaline was pumping through it.

Peter wasn't like a majority of his brothers, he didn't take delight in combat like they did. But he'd be lying right now if he said he didn't feel more alive now than he has in the past hundred years.

"You must know that Constantine will attempt to betray you. You are a means to an end for him" Angela said as she stepped aside to allow Peter to pass.

"I'm aware" Peter said as he took a single step past the woman before he stopped and glanced at her "But if I want what I came here for in the first place, I'm gonna have to suck it up and deal with it"

"He intends to contact the Justice League and summon them to my city" the Queen said with a distant look on her face "And after he gets what he wants from Nergal, a child's soul, he'll hand over the Stone to them"

"Is that right?" Peter said with a frown as he turned towards the queen of Angels "How do you know this?"

"I've been following Constantine ever since he returned to my city with it" Angela revealed with a look of displeasure "I could sense it, the millions trapped within, crying out for freedom. And those cries have only intensified since Nergal's begun to supplement the stone with the souls he's acquired to feed off of"

"Well than let me go and shut them up for you" Peter said before Nergal's tail suddenly shot out from the hole his body made and seized Peter by the neck "ACK! R-Right after this-"

Peter was yanked through the hole and brought face to face with the snarling visage of Nergal, one of his horns was shattered, whether it was from Peter's kick or being sent through a wall, the New God didn't know nor care too much to ask.

"N-Nergal, I hope you realize you just interrupted a conversation I was having and it was business related" Peter said as he reached up and grabbed Nergal's tail and began to channel his Venom blasts into his palms and fingers causing the demonic flesh to begin burning.

Nergal grunted at the burning sensation and with a flick of his tail, sent Peter flying down the hall, causing him to slam into the wall before he bounced off it and skidded across the floor. With a yell, Nergal charged after the New God, his demonic bat like wings flapping erratically as he clawed his way across the floor, leaving deep tears and scratches on the floor. Peter looked up in time to see Nergal lung at him, his mouth wide open, intent to sink his teeth into him. Thinking quickly, Peter shot a glob of webbing into Nergal's mouth as the Demon lord slammed into him, causing the unholy being to let out a gurgled choking sound. His hands quickly found Peter's neck and began to squeeze while wisps of flames began to slip through the webbing in his mouth.

Peter narrowed his eyes at the sight and shot another line towards the mass of webbing and held on as he channeled his Venom blasts through it and into Nergal's mouth, causing the Demon to let out a muffled roar of pain.

"Too hot for ya?" Peter asked as Nergal ripped his hands off the New God and began to claw at the statically charged webbing, now smoking from a combination of his hell fire breath and Peter's venom blasts.

Nergal reached deep into the smoldering mass of webs and ripped it, and a few teeth, out of his bleeding mouth and glared down at Peter with a snarl "Your torment will be legendary"

"I love it when you demons talk dirty to me" Peter said before Nergal grabbed him by the throat and threw him through a wall.

...

"JOHN WHAT DO WE DO?!" Chas yelled as the two raced ahead of the carnage behind them, a rather difficult task given that the mansion seemed to be falling apart around them.

"WORKING ON IT!" Constantine replied as he and Chas leaped over a fissure filled with fire that suddenly opened up.

He summoned a small mystical window that also doubled as a 'phone' and concentrated on who he wanted to speak to. He didn't have to wait long as he was greeted to the sight of Zatanna's face, flushed and covered in sweat, her hair in disarray. It appeared that John interrupted her and some poor clueless bastard's 'after show' special or whatever it was she called her little hook ups with a fan.

"John" Zatanna said with a annoyed expression on her face "What do you-"

"GET OUT FROM WHOEVER YOUR UNDER AND GET YOUR DAMN JUSTICE FREINDS TO L.A. ZEE!" John yelled over a rather loud and powerful explosion that shook the mansion to it's supernatural foundations "NERGAL'S HERE AND HE'S SLUGGING IT OUT WITH ONE OF DARKSEID'S BASTARDS!"

"What-?" Zatanna began before John 'grabbed' the screen and held it out above him so that the mistress of magic could see what was behind him and Chas.

Zatanna Zatara, and her company for the night, were greeted to the sight of Nergal crashing through a wall with the New God of Spiders on his back, tearing one of his wings membranes apart with his bare hands while four demonic spider like limbs were repeatedly stabbing the Demon lord's torso and snake like body. The New God's armor was cracked and sparking in some places and half of the suit's mask was ripped away to show the bruised and bloodied face of Peter. One of Peter's limbs managed to strike a particularly sensitive spot on Nergal's back, causing him to let loose an agonized roar before he suddenly flew up into the ceiling, causing the hall to begin suddenly caving in.

"What in the fu-" Zatanna began before John was forced to cut the connection.

"You think she and the League are on their way?!" Chas said as the two entered a less destroyed looking hall just as the one they were in went up in fire.

"If not, then we both might as well get used to burning for an eternity" John said as he took his last cigarette out and held it out to one of the fires spreading through the mansion and lit it "Least I should. You on the other hand should settle for Purgatory at worse"

"Your a real comfort John, you know that?" Chas said with a frown aimed at the man who shrugged in response.

"If you want comfort, should've stayed in London with your wife and the Nightmare Nurse"

...

Peter thought he really needed to begin investing in better cushioning for his suits, or at thee very least install some numbing agent dispersal unit into it so that way when he starts fighting someone, he won't feel the pain.

And right now, he was feeling a lot of pain, he still had yet to recover from his fight with Mictlāntēcutli and his fight with the five demons Constantine was hired to take out earlier hadn't helped. Now he was facing a Demon Lord that easily rivaled some of the strongest Lesser sons off Darkseid, like Peter himself or Ullin'raaw. His armored suit was able to withstand most of Nergal's blows, but it was quickly coming apart with each passing minute. It was designed to withstand the blast of a Nuclear Bomb, but punches from Gods and Demon Lords, along with mystical energy like Hell fire tended to wear even the most sturdy metals down.

'Note to self, add more Nth metal to this when I get a chance to repair it' Peter thought as he and Nergal's fight finally made it's way outside into the mansion's front yard slash driveway.

The Spider God took a quick look around to see if he could see Constantine before half his mask was suddenly clawed off by Nergal, leaving two deep scratches on the left side of Peter's face. The Demon Lord hissed as he slapped Peter into the side of a very expensive looking car that looked like it cost as much as the mansion itself and pinned the New god with his tail.

"I must admit, having you brought past my wards by being sealed inside John was rather clever" Nergal chuckled as he leaned down towards Peter "And this is the most fun I've had in a while. For that, your torment will be fairly mild-"

With a yell, Peter grabbed Nergal by his remaining horn and pulled his head in close enough for Peter to bite the Demon's nose and tear it off with a jerk of his head.

"AHHHHHHH!" Nergal screamed in pain, his hands flying to the bloodied tear on his face "YOU FUCKING WORTHLESS DOG!"

Peter spat the nose out with a look of disgust and brought his hands up and unleashed a powerful beam of his venom blasts and blew the Demon Lord off him, the sheer intensity of the blast fried a majority of his suit's circuits and caused the biolights to crack and shatter.

Nergal's body flew across the yard and slammed into the wall that surrounded the estate, causing the stone to crack and crumble around the wounded Demon. Peter used this opportunity to pull himself free of the car he was slammed into before he kicked it away with a grunt.

"Cheap..." he said before he reached up to his right shoulder and took a deep breath before pushing it back into it's socket and winced "Ow..."

With a yell, Nergal tore free off the rubble he was buried under and glared at Peter with utter hate in his glowing eyes. Peter barrowed his eyes at the Demon Lord for a moment before he spat out a bit of blood and cracked his neck.

"Are we done or are you going to give me my Stone?" Peter asked as he reached up and brushed a bit of oil and dust off his shoulders "Cause I have things to do other than fight some demon. A ungrateful wife to keep happy, displeased in-laws to meet, a new Fury to recruit to replace one that my brother ate not too long ago, rebellious slaves to cull and the list goes on and on-"

Peter was cut off by the sudden appearance of a large black orb appearing over Nergal's head, stretching close to thirty meters across. For a moment Peter thought the orb was some sort of wide devastative area attack before he sensed something off about the orb. It didn't feel like an attack more like a... homing beacon.

"And what do you think your doing, calling for help?" Peter asked in a curious tone as he watched the odd black orb begin to crack and splinter before a large red tear appeared in the middle and fire began to spew forth... along with a horde of leathery winged, horned demons.

"More like, calling in favors" Nergal grinned darkly as he reached up to wipe away the blood dripping from his torn off nose "Today's special, kill one worthless New God and get a hundred free innocent souls to torment"

"Pity, I prefer coupons, much more reliable at the markets" Peter said as he charged up his Venom blasts and began to blast the approaching Demons, reducing them to piles of charred flesh.

The Demons dropped and died with relative ease, the amount of energy Peter was using in his Venom blasts wouldn't have killed a Parademon. But the sheer number of them spewing out from the portal almost made up for their apparent fragility... almost.

"If your intent is to tire me down while you lick your wounds, it won't work" Peter said as he shot a Venom blast that raced towards the demons and began to jump from one to another, violently electrocuting them until they turned to ash.

Nergal's grin began to slowly fade as he watched his horde being slowly pushed back into the portal until they literally were unable to step through because Peter was now firing a seemingly never ending stream of his venom blasts into it's opening. Before Nergal could open another portal to summon even more demons from, he saw Constantine and his 'friend' Chas emerge from his burning mansion. The Demon Lord snarled at the two and flew towards them with a yell, intent on killing man man responsible for his current predicament.

"CONSTANTINE!" Nergal yelled as he reached out to seize the man by the throat and choke the life out of him with his bare hands.

"Nergal..." Constantine said in a calm and collected tone as the Demon Lord drew closer and closer until he suddenly froze, his claws mere inches from the man's throat.

"Wha-" Nergal began before he was suddenly yanked back by a web attached to the end of his tail.

"Give me my damn stone!" Peter yelled as he jumped on to Nergal's back and grabbed both of the Demon's wings and began to pull.

Nergal let loose a agonized wail as the flesh of his wings began to tear where they connected to his back until they were ripped clean. Peter grunted as he stumbled back in surprise, his front covered in demonic blood as twin geysers of blood gushed from Nergal's back.

"Mmm, juicy one, aren't ya?" Peter joked as he tossed the two wings away before he grabbed Nergal's thrashing tail and lifted the still moaning Demon into the air and slammed him back into the ground... repeatedly.

Chas and Constantine both watched the scene with wide eyes before the magical con artist finally came to his senses and grabbed Chas by the arm and pulled him away from the fight.

"You know Nergal-"

KOOOOM!

"All I wanted-"

KOOOOM!

"Was my stone-"

KOOOOM!

"But nooooo-"

KOOOOM!

"Had to resist!" Peter said as he slammed Nergal back into the now demon sized crater his body made "How's that working out for you- AHHH!"

Nergal suddenly turned and fired a stream of Hell Fire into Peter, causing the New God to stumble back as he was engulfed in the raging inferno. With a hiss, Nergal smacked Peter away with his tail as he slowly rose out of the crater and slithered towards the burning New God, summoning the Soul Stone as he went, it's orange-ish glow creating an ominous atmosphere.

"You want this stone little God, than I'll give it to you" Nergal snarled at the burning New God as he came to a stop a few feet away from the deity and held he stone up "In fact, I'll make sure your never far from it again-"

TWIP!

"WHAT?!" Nergal gaped as the stone was seized by a strand of webbing shot from behind and yanked out of his hands and into the the hand of a completely unscathed Peter.

Nergal stared at the New God in disbelief before he turned towards where he saw the man burning only moments ago only to see noting was there!

"How-" Nergal began before Peter interrupted him by holding up his other hand, revealing a glowing yellow stone.

"You saw what I told your mind to see" Peter stated with a bloodied smirk "You thought you lit me on fire, but I was already out of the way when you turned. I just placed a nice little image in your head of me being caught by it"

"That's... that's..." Nergal sated at the Mind Stone with shock on his face, never before in his lifetime has he heard of anyone possessing two of the Infinity stones.

"Still trying to figure out all the nooks and crannies of this thing, but I oh so do love a challenge" Peter said as he stared at the Mind Stone with a thoughtful look on his face before it flickered towards the Soul Stone "And when I get bored with it, which I doubt... I'll have another to keep me occupied"

Granted he won't be able to do any real deep analysis or testing of the stones until he gets back to his lab on Apokolips, but he's brought enough equipment with him to keep himself occupied until his mission to wipe out the renegade Intergang cells was completed.

"You... you..." Nergal snarled as he began to shake with unrestrained fury.

Peter smirked at the enraged expression on the Demon's face "What's wrong Nergal, angry that I have what's mine again? Don't be, you should feel happy for me-"

"I WON'T LET YOU RUIN EVERYTHING I'VE BUILT!" Nergal yelled as his eyes glowed red, like miniaturized suns and arcs of red and black lightning erupted into a storm around him.

Peter's eyes narrowed as he backed away from the violent tempest before he felt his sixth sense begin to buzz "What are you-"

The New God was cut off as suddenly dozens of explosions began to erupt across the city and literal tears appeared in the ground before spires of black glossy looking rocks shot up into the sky, some covered in hellfire and had dozens of demons clinging to them. The hordes of unholy abominations began to fling themselves from the towers and at the people around them, killing, mutilating and raping anyone they can get their hands on before their fellow hell spawn ripped away their fin and forced them to seek new ones.

Peter sighed as he glanced at the city and watched as hundreds of fires began to spew up, their explosions overcome by the screams of thousands, tens of thousands, car horns, sirens, gun shots and a legion of inhuman roars and yells.

"UGH, I just know I'm gonna hear about this..." Peter groaned as he stared at Los Angeles becoming a literal hell hole before he turned his attention back to Nergal, hovering over him with a snarl smeared across his bloodied face, his hands engulfed in Hell Fire while wings made of a similar substance sprouted from his back, allowing him to fly temporarily.

"I'll rend the flesh from your bones!" the Demon hissed.

"If I had a planet every time I heard that threat, I'd be able to make my own Galaxy at this point" Peter smirked at the Demon as he held up the hand possessing the Mind Stone, it's yellow light shining brighter and brighter as Nergal summoned a massive ball of Hell Fire above him.

"DIE PUNNY GOD!" Nergal screamed as he threw the massive orb of fire towards Peter.

"LIVE LARGE DEMON!" Peter yelled with a laugh as he he concentrated every ounce of energy he had into the Stone and used it to telekinetically stop the orb of Hell Fire halfway between himself and the Demon who threw it.

Nergal's eyes widened at the sight before a look of panic appeared on his face when he saw the look on Peter's own.

"Catch" Peter said before he sent the orb of Hell fire back towards Nergal and watched with amusement as the Demon Lord was engulfed in a fiery explosion "Hmm, not the sort of bombastic ending he was hoping for I'm sure"

Nergal's burning and screaming body fell back towards the ground and landed with a tremor, the earth around him tearing and splitting. Peter hopped back a few meters and watched as Nergal rolled around on the ground, screaming in pain. The Hell Fire had dissipated the moment Nergal hit the ground, but Peter used the Mind Stone to keep the pain he felt going and caused his mind to react even more strongly to what nerves he had left.

The result, a Demon Lord withering on the ground like a beaten babe.

"Pathetic..." Peter shook his head as he approached the Demon and came to a stop at the edge of the small crater the Demon made when he landed.

The distant screams, gunshots, explosions and general mayhem from Nergal opening rifts between this world and that of Hell had begun to die down, though it wasn't because the Demon's concentration on the portal was broken and mankind had rallied to defeat the unholy invaders.

The Justice League had arrived... or at the very least, Diana and her friends Batman and Superman had if the minds he could sense were anything to go by.

'Of course they show up after the fighting is done' Peter rolled his eyes at this before he glanced down at his great prize.

It was so much like the Mind Stone and yet so different that words couldn't really describe it. But there was something else about the Soul Stone that stuck out to Peter, it felt... closed off. Asleep almost, if what he could feel could be considered 'sleep'.

"Curious... very curious" Peter said as he stared at the ominous glowing rock in his hand before he glanced at the approaching forms of Constantine and Chas with an unreadable expression on his face "Huh, figured you would've left by now. Your League friends are here to clean up your mess"

Thanks to the Mind Stone he could sense their fear and anger radiating off of them like radiation from a star. Constantine was thinking of how he was going to be able to survive holding Peter off long enough to warn the League of what he possessed when the New God cut his train of thought off with his next few words.

"The girl your here for, Trish, she's one of you two's daughter yes?" Peter said as his gaze flickered between the two men.

"She's mine" Chas stepped forward nervously though a sense of determination settled in his eyes.

"I see... and this demon, took her from you, correct?" Peter said as he glanced down at Nergal's form as he began to stir.

"He did" Constantine said with his eyes narrowing as he began to discreetly gather what mystical power he had left to swipe the stone from the New God.

"Than you'll be pleased to hear that since you both helped me re-obtain it, overlooking the fact it was you that took it from me in the first place, I have decided to be merciful" Peter said as he held up the gem as it began to glow before a single small light the size of a grain of rice shot out from it and into the air.

"What's you do?" Chas said with confusion in his voice while Constantine's eyes widened.

"I freed your daughter's soul from the stone and sent it back to her body" Peter revealed as he lowered the now dim stone, a wave of exhaustion hitting him and nearly driving him to his knees.

His vision grew blurry for a few moments and Peter's body felt like he was just thrown into a fire pit on Apokolips.

"Y-You... you freed her?" Chas said with wide eyes, filled with hope and fear.

"I did..." Peter nodded as he struggled to not collapse, his breathing coming in hard and labored "She... should be... at her body... by now..."

Chas stared at the New God for a moment before his hands flew to his phone and pulled it out of his pocket and he began to rapidly dial the number of his estranged wife's phone.

"How do we know your not lying?" Constantine asked with barely hid weariness in his voice.

"Renee... it's Chas, is our little girl... is she" the man said as he turned and stepped away from the two beings so he could hear his wife before he suddenly fell to his knees, his hand going to his mouth as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Chas?" Constantine said as he turned towards his childhood friend with a concerned look on his face "Chas what's happened? What's-"

Chas shoved the phone towards him and let him listen to what was on the other line... cries of joy, of relief, of a woman constantly thanking her god, Chas, even Constantine along with the laughter of a young girl.

"She's..." Constantine said with shock on his face before his gaze slowly turned towards Peter "You-"

"Consider it payment... for helping me regain... my stone..." Peter said before his voice began to darken as he held up the dim Soul Stone "And as an added incentive... to keep quiet on what I've obtained. It'd be... a shame... if little Trish was suddenly lost again... because you went and told the Justice League... certain things about what's transpired here..."

"You son of-" Constantine took two steps forward before the Soul Soul began to glow and Peter held his hand up a little higher.

"Give me a reason Constantine... I'm begging you" Peter growled.

In reality, Peter knew he wouldn't be able to do it, not because of some moral standing, but because his sixth sense was warning him that if he attempted to use the stone again, for any reason, it'll utterly drain him of his own soul... and kill him. And not just the Soul Stone, but the Mind Stone as well. He'll have to look into that, how and why the stones leave it's wielder's exhausted.

"John..." Chas said as he looked up at Constantine with a pleading expression on his face "Please... please don't make him-"

"Chas, if he keeps that stone, both of them, your little girl being trapped in a cosmic pearl will be a paradise compared to what he'll do to everyone and everything in existence" Constantine tried to reason with the man "It won't matter if she's still trapped in there or not-"

"And as a further incentive, I'll use the Mind Stone to force Nergal here to release the other one. Astra I believe she's called..." Peter said suddenly, causing Constantine to stop and glance at the New God with a pale face as the blood drained from it so fast that the New God half expected him to collapse from blood loss.

"...What?" he whispered.

"Astra, the little girl you allowed Nergal here to send to Hell where to this day she's starved, beaten, raped, degraded, and all manner of other unpleasantries are inflected upon her almost daily" Peter said as he tossed the stone back and forth in his hand "You keep quiet, and I'll release her. And allow Trish to stay... but speak a word to the League, and both of them will be taken away"

Constantine stared at the New God with an unreadable look on his face, while Chas had one of fear as his eyes darted back and forth between the two, unsure of what was about to unfold...

...

Peter stared down at Nergal's beaten, bloodied form with a look of disinterest, drool and blood leaking from his face as he stared up at the sky with a vacant expression on his face.

"Now what am I going to do with you?" Peter muttered as he placed his foot on the Demon's chest and pressed down on it, pushing the demon further into the bloodied, scorched ground.

"Did you kill him?" Angela said as she was suddenly beside Peter, looking at Nergal with a blank look on her face.

She looked a little tired, and a bit undone, likely a result of hundreds of Demons rampaging through her city and killing dozens, maybe even hundreds before the portals were closed with Nergal's defeat and the demons that were still running around being rounded up by the Justice League.

"No, he's not dead..." Peter said as he held up the Mind Stone as it's light began to dim "But he won't be thinking anymore, that's for sure"

"Not sure if that's better or worse" Angela said with a hum as she lightly kicked the side of Nergal's arm with her heel.

"Upset?" Peter asked as he glanced at the Queen of Angels.

"No, he's been stealing the souls of thousands in my city for decades" Angela said with a look of anger and disgust "Men, women, children, old, young, sick, healthy, it didn't matter to him. I tried to stop him several years ago myself, in response he instigated a massive riot that lasted for six days, killed dozens, hurt hundreds and caused quite a bit of destruction in one of my neighborhoods"

"So no tears for the brain dead Demon?" Peter said with a chuckle.

"None" Angela said with a small smirk as she glanced at Peter out of the corner of her eye "When you have time, stop by a small club called Lux. There's something I'd like to speak to you about"

"If I an be bothered to remember, I'll entertain the idea" Peter said with a wave of his hand "Now get out of my sight before I decide to stop ignoring the fact you were in league with the beings that stole my stone"

"As you wish..." Angela said with a grin as she faded away, leaving Peter alone with the demon lord-

"Peter!"

The Ned God almost flinched at the sound of Diana's voice using his name and turned to see said woman land only a few meters away, dressed like she was about to storm New Genesis itself. Behind her landed Superman, Batman being carried by Captain Marvel, and several other beings that Peter's never seen before, though they all radiated mystical power.

Neither side said anything for a few moments, the only noise emanating through the area belonging to either the now vegetative Demon Lord at Peter's feet, and the crackling of fires scattered throughout the now mostly destroyed mansion.

"Uhhh... hello?" Peter said after a few moments with a small wave.

"Peter... what... what happened here?" Diana said as she gestured to the devastation around them "What are you doing here and who is that?"

"Well..." Peter said as he silently slipped the Mind Stone into his subspace compartment along with the Soul Stone and removed his foot from Nergal's chest "To answer your questions in order, the first two specifically, I'm here because of Constantine, might wanna find him before a better understanding of what's going on since I only just recently got involved. As for who this is, this was once some feared and all powerful Demon by the name of-"

"Nergal" a demon like being standing behind his wife said as he took a sniff and began to approach the two, his gaze on the drooling Demon at Peter's feet "A most crazed and malevolent lord, now brought low and left useless like a discarded cord"

"What he said" Peter nodded towards the Demon "Mister... I'm sorry, I don't believe I have a name..."

"Etrigan" the Demon huffed as it crouched next to Nergal and began to run a hand over his scarred, bruised form, muttering something too low for Peter to hear or properly decipher "What did you do to him? His mind is quiet and dim"

"I didn't do anything to him" Peter said with a shrug as he backed away from the two demons.

It wasn't exactly a lie, he personally didn't do anything to Nergal, he simply told the stone he wanted the Demon's mind gone... and it was.

What the Stone did to it was anyone's guess.

...


And done.

Next chapter, Amazonian in-laws...