CHAPTER 3: DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
TENNYSON'S RESIDENCE, ROW HOUSE, NEW YORK
Ben arrived in an alley in New York after receiving a call from Bruce Wayne, along with Rook and Ester. They arrived through the Boom Tube opened by Cyborg; he was originally part human and part machine, the machines that Cyborg was made from the Fatherbox technology, which is able to control any technologies around the world, to heal wounds, and to open a Boom Tube portal.
Titano and Zeno on the other hand, are staying at Smallville along with Kara and Connor. Kara wanted to go with Ben to New York to see Ben's family but, Kara had to prepare for her graduation along with Connor.
"Here goes nothing." muttered Ben, as he was nervous and hadn't seen his family for 8 years.
As reaches in front of the door, Ben was walking left and right as he was feeling a little uncomfortable seeing his family again.
"Take your time, Ben," Rook said with his sarcastic tone. Rook and Ester decided to use a holographic projector to disguise themselves as human just as they did back at Smallville.
Rook turns to Ester. "I'll bet 5 bucks that Ben will get slapped or hit in the face." whispered Rook to Ester.
"Deal." answered Ester
After taking time, Ben finally knocks the door.
*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*
As the door was open, Gwen Tennyson, Ben's cousin, was the one who opened the door. Gwen was shocked and surprised while almost in tears, didn't know what to say after seeing her long lost cousin. She had long red hair, green eyes and was dressed in a black miniskirt, black nylon stockings and a red shirt with a white one underneath.
"Gwen, I-" as Ben was about to explain, he got slapped on the face then got his stomach punched because of her anger of Ben's disappearance for 8 years.
But the surprise is that Gwen hugs Ben while she's in tears. "You selfish asshole! How could you leave us like this?!" she asked, as she cried.
Then Gwen 's parents, Frank and Natalie Tennyson, show up. "Gwen, what's going-" as Natalie Tennyson was about to respond, she was in shock too, including Frank Tennyson, to see their long lost nephew, Ben Tennyson.
"Hey Uncle Frank, Aunt Natalie." Ben waved at them while still hugging Gwen. It didn't take long for Ben's uncle and aunt to rush towards Ben and hug him too.
A few minutes later, Gwen and her parents let Ben, Rook, and Ester inside the house and are sitting down on a couch.
"Ben, where have you been?" asked Natalie Tennyson.
Ben was thinking what was he's about to answer. So he finally decided to tell the truth, because he's trying to see whether his family would accept his "alien friends" or not.
"You'll never believe me if I told you." replied Ben while his eyes went narrow.
"Try me." demand Gwen, as she demands answers on why Ben has been disappearing for 8 years.
"I was in space for eight years. It happened when I was abducted by alien bounty hunters. After realizing how far Earth was, I have no chance of going home." explained Ben, then he turns his attention towards Rook and Ester. "Rook, Ester," Ben gave them a signal to reveal themselves. So Rook and Ester deactivate their holographic projector to reveal them as aliens; Rook has periwinkle-blue colored fur, black markings on his face, and pointed ears. The middle of his face, his chest and his stomach are white. He has black stripes on his shoulders, waist, lower legs and lower arms, while Ester wears a purple jacket, with white fur collars and cuffs, pink stockings, and purple snow shoes. She has pinkish-red hair and a tiara with a diamond-shape at the top. Ester also has purple eyes and light pink skin, with two purple markings on her cheeks, and large whitish protuberances where a human's eyebrows would be.
Gwen just raised her eyebrows while Gwen's parents are just a little surprised that Ben's friends are actually aliens.
"Whoa, that's some friends you've got there." replied Frank, aftering seeing Ben's friends as their "alien forms".
"I am Rook Blonko, a Revonnahgander from the planet Revonnah." Rook introduced himself then shook hands with Frank.
Ester then used her arm to stretch all the way to the kitchen without knocking anything over and got something for Natalie to drink. "Here you go, Mrs. Tennyson. My name is Ester, I'm actually a hybrid of human and Kraaho."
"Ehmm… Thank you, Ester." said Natalie, feeling surprised by Ester's stretching ability.
But Gwen interrupts. "Look Ben, you're not the only one who gets to see something weird."
"How weird are you talking about?" asked Ben.
"Well…" As soon as Gwen is about to explain, she shows her magic powers as her hands are glowing pink. Then she levitated the couch, making him sort of surprised.
Ester and Rook were also in shock and amazement. "Whoa." said Rook.
"How did you do that?" asked Ester.
"Magic." Gwen replied.
Ben was even more shocked to hear about this, "I'm sorry…did you just say…"Magic"?" asked Ben, receiving a nod from Gwen.
Rook and Ester were stunned by this, "How did you do that?" asked Rook.
"Turns out, I stole a spell book from my friend's rival." Gwen explained. "Then I use the spell book to polish my magic skills, with the help of a mentor."
"Your friend has a rival?" asked Ben. "And you have a mentor?"
"Yeah." said Gwen. "I'll introduce you to a friend of mine."
"Wait!" halted Ben "Speaking of weird, I have my own weirdness that I would like to show you."
Gwen and her parents were surprised to hear about it. Then Ben shows the Ultimatrix, then transformed into Grey Matter, a grey-skinned, frog-like, bipedal alien who is only 5 inches tall. He has large, green eyes, with rectangular pupils. He wears a green jumpsuit with a black stripe going down the middle of the chest, which connects to black rings around his neck and waist, black rings around his wrists, black coloring from the knees down, and has an Ultimatrix symbol on his chest.
"Ta-da".
Gwen and her parents both gasped when they saw this, "Oh my God!" said Natalie. "That is adorable." he asked.
"Hilarious." Grey Matter responds in a sarcastic tone.
Gwen picked the Galvan alien up into her hands and smiled at this, "Awwwwww." she cooed, as she's trying to tease Grey Matter.
Natalie and Ester both giggled at this, while Rook smirked to see Ben, as Grey Matter, got made fun of by his cousin.
"So, about your friend." Grey Matter still remembered what Gwen was about to say about her friend.
ZATARA FAMILY VILLA, MANHATTAN, NYC
As Ben, Gwen, Rook, and Ester arrived at the home of Gwen's magic friend.
*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*
As Gwen knocks the door. And it is answered by a young woman about her age, she had a slender yet curvy figure, long black hair, icy blue eyes and fair skin. She was dressed in a purple tank-top and white shorts. "Gwen! Good to see you!" she said, hugging Gwen.
"Hi Zee." she greeted her back.
Gwen turned around and showed her Ben, "Oh, Ben, this is my friend, Zatanna Zatara." she said, introducing her cousin. "Zee, this is my cousin, Ben Tennyson."
"Hi there, Zatanna." said Ben, blushing at the sight of her. 'Wow, she's gorgeous.' It was true, a lot of guys thought she was attractive, and she was aware of it.
"Ahem.." teased Zatanna. "I'm standing right here, big boy." she winked at him, making his face even more red. "Your cousin's kinda cute. Where has he been the whole time?" she asked.
"He's been in space for 8 years, mostly since his parents died in a car crash." she told her friend.
"Whoa!" said Zatanna, feeling a little stunned and at the same time, she felt sad for Ben, so much so, she hugged him. "You poor guy. I'm sorry about your mom and dad." She showed her sympathy for Ben and yet felt saddened by the fact that her father can never return after putting on the helmet of Nabu. Giovanni put the helmet on after he made a deal with Nabu to make sure that Zatanna was safe from the evil of Klarion the Witch Boy, who she had a grudge against, as well as Felix Faust and other evil magic users. "Wanna come inside?" asked Zatanna, trying to invite Gwen and the rest of the guests inside her home.
"Sure, I'd be delighted." said Ben, "Ladies first." he said to Ester, Gwen and Natalie, allowing them to go first.
After Zatanna was done letting them in, she sat down in the middle of Ben and Gwen. Then Ben starts to ask questions.
"So how did Gwen suddenly have magical powers?" asked Ben.
"Oh, we.." Zatanna is about to explain about her past.
"I took Charmcaster's spellbook, I've begun to study magic while Dr. Fate has been mentoring me." explained Gwen.
"Wait. Who is this Dr. Fate?" asked Rook.
"Uhhh, you'll meet him someday." Zatanna answered, as she's not feeling comfortable about Dr. Fate, despite being Gwen's mentor.
Then, a knock from a door was heard, Zatanna and the others heard it. As Zatanna opens the door, it is revealed to be Wonder Woman.
"Diana, what are you doing here?" asked Zatanna.
"I need your help." pleaded the Amazon Princess.
(FLASHBACK) YESTERDAY, IN GOTHAM, OUTSIDE THE MUSEUM.
Wonder Woman and Batman are on a stakeout because Batman got a tip that the museum of art was going to be robbed that night. Both heroes are standing at the rooftops waiting for the robbery to happen.
Then Wonder Woman began to wonder about her relationship with Batman. "You know, I've been thinking. We should get out more as a normal couple instead of… you know… just… working."
Batman already knows that Wonder Woman is about to ask him out, but stays silent.
"No, no dating for the Batman, it might cut off your brooding time." teased Wonder Woman
Then Batman responds to Wonder Woman. "One, dating a teammate always leads to disaster. Two, you're a princess from an island with immortal warriors and I am a rich guy with issues. Lots of issues. Three, if my enemies knew I have someone special, they wouldn't rest until they've got to me through her."
As Wonder Woman was about to say something, then an alarm went off to see a robber in a black bandit mask and tight black spandex, trying to open a back door. So Batman dived down to the alley while using his cape-glider to glide down.
"Save by the bell." muttered Wonder Woman, as she dived down to the alley with Batman.
They landed down and cornered the robber, who's carrying a crowbar.
"We'll take the crowbar." told Batman.
"Sure thing." said the robber, as she threw the crowbar towards Batman, the crowbar itself turned into a cobra. Luckily, Batman dodged it.
Then the robber uses her magic to reveal herself as Circe, an immortal sorceress with purple hair and a bright green outfit.
"Circe!" Wonder Woman exclaimed, as she saw a very familiar foe then warned Batman. "Be careful. She's-"
"Yeah, I know." replied Batman as he threw his Batarangs, but Circe turned the Batarangs into doves.
"What are you doing here, witch?" asked Wonder Woman.
"You know, the usual. Turning people into animals." replied the sorceress.
"Let's not give her another chance." says Batman, as he and Wonder Woman about to attack her, but then, Batman is zapped by a blast of energy and it was revealed to be a man with pale skin, a set of sorcerers garments and a staff that looked like it had a sphere in it and his face looked like he was wearing skull face paint, almost like a voodoo shaman, this was Hex, Charmcaster's uncle.
"Now, where was I?" Circe then walked towards the unconscious Batman, then turned her into a large human-sized bat. "There's my pet." as Circe is petting Batman as a bat monster.
"NO!" Wonder Woman yelled in rage, as she failed to stop Circe and Hex. Then Circe, Hex, and bat-monster Batman walked through a portal created by Hex and walked away.
(BACK TO PRESENT) ZATARA FAMILY VILLA, MANHATTAN, NYC
After hearing this from Wonder Woman, they were baffled by this. Ben was a little confused with the villains that the heroes faced on Earth.
"Who's this Circe?" asked Ben.
"An immortal sorceress, she can turn men into animals," said Zatanna.
Ester cocked her eyebrow, "Only men? Her powers don't work on women?"
"No." replied Wonder Woman. "Women are not affected by her spells." she added, making Gwen and Zee look at each other. "I tried to contact the rest of the League, but when I found them, Circe and Hex were already there and turned them into animals too." she informed them, making them all gasp.
"Now that's just messed up." replied Ben. Wonder Woman responded with a glare.
"I agree with you Ben," said Diana.
"Do you have any idea where to find this Circe, Hex, and the rest of the League?" asked Rook.
"No, I am gonna need some help though."
"I have an idea, but I'm not gonna like this." Zee said
"Oh no. Zee, you can't possibly think-" as Gwen is about to reply, but Zatanna cut her off.
"No choice, Gwen." said Zee "He's the last person on Earth that I want to see right now."
This had Ben feeling a little baffled about who they were talking about.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY, LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
They now find themselves in a place of magic and mysticism, the House of Mystery and here we see a blonde man dressed in a pair of black pants, black shoes, a white shirt, messed up red tie and a tan duster coat, smoking a cigarette sitting at a table playing a game of poker with a man who had short red hair with a streak in the front and a woman who had an all purple, black and magenta body. These were John Constantine, an occult detective and professional sorcerer, Jason Blood, a knight from Medieval England who was bonded to the demon Etrigan and Black Orchid, the spirit that lives in the House Of Mystery.
It was then that one of Zatanna's spells could be heard, "Ekat Su Ot Eht Esuoh Fo Yertsym!" and in a flash of light, Zatanna teleported herself, Gwen, Ben, Natalie, Frank, Rook, Ester and Wonder Woman all ended up in the room where Constantine and the others were playing poker in.
"Fancy to see you again, love" said John.
"Hello John." said Zatanna, "I know that you and I have had our differences, but something serious has occurred."
John raised his eyebrow, he turned around to see the Amazon Princess in the room, "Ah, Diana, nice to see you." he said, winking at her, making her wide-eyed. He then saw Zatanna's other guests there. "Oh, Gwendolyn Tennyson, didn't know you were coming."
"Yep." said Gwen, and then she introduced Ben to him. "Oh, this is my cousin, Ben. Ben, this is John Constantine."
He then sees the watch on his wrist, "Nice piece, Benji. What is it?"
"It's called the Ultimatrix, it has the DNA of a select number of aliens." Ben said.
John raised an eyebrow, "An odd group for a road trip. To what do I owe you the pleasure?" asked John.
"Circe's back and turning men into animals." told Ben
"Go find Matt Damon and tell him to buy a zoo." joked John.
Everyone understood what John meant about, Matt Damon's movie; "We Bought a Zoo"
"Jimmy Kimmel will love to humiliate Damon," said the voice of Boston Brand/Deadman.
"I bet he will." replied John, talking to the ghost.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Rook, as he, Ben, and Ester couldn't see Boston Brand, the Deadman, since he's a ghost.
"Uh-uh. I'm not playin' telephone between you guys." Then John cast a spell in order for Boston Brand to be seen and heard.
In almost an instant, Ben saw Deadman right in front of him.
"Name's Brand, Boston Brand." said the ghost. "But you can call me Deadman."
Zatanna began to explain about the ghost's origin, "He was a trapeze artist who loved being famous." said Zee, folding her arms and shooting a glare at him, "Especially with the ladies. Husbands not so much."
"You're killin' me here, Zee." said Boston.
"Boston Brand was performing a trapeze show. But during the death-defying flip, Boston got shot by a man with a hook for a hand."
"Damn, sorry to hear that, Boston." Ester said.
"Nah, no sweat it guys." replied Deadman. "Batman solved my murder case back then."
Wow, never knew Batman did ghost cases, Ben thought. "And who's that dude right there?" he pointed over at the man with short red hair.
"Jason Blood, at your service." he said to Ben, Gwen, her parents and their friends.
"He's a knight from Medieval Britain, the time of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." introduced Zee to Gwen and the others about Jason Blood. "He was bound to the demon who aided Merlin at the time, Etrigan."
Ben was blown away to know that Merlin was real. "Wow, King Arthur's story was real. Then that means, Avalon is real too." he said, getting a nod from Zatanna.
Then, a purple shaped lady-like creature appears, known as Black Orchid, the guardian of the House of Mystery. "Black Orchid." said Gwen, hugging her.
"I'm glad to see you are well, Gwen." she said.
"There, now the introductions are over," John interrupted, as he used his magic to summon a small pair of glasses and a bottle of shots. "Drinks?" offered John.
Ben and Rook raised their hands, while Gwen, Zee, Wonder Woman, and Ester glaring at the two boys.
"What?" said Ben. "He offered, I was trying to be polite."
"You don't drink alcohol, remember?" asked Gwen.
"I'm already at a proper age." he said to them.
"Oh, doi!" Gwen said, slapping herself in the forehead.
"Not the time, Ben" told Ester.
"Fine…" complained Ben, Rook, and John.
Jason then spoke up, "What has Circe done?" he asked.
Wonder Woman walked up to Mr. Blood, "Circe has joined forces with Hex and they've taken Batman after turning him into a human-sized bat and whisked him away from Gotham." she elaborated.
"Circe eh? I heard over the mystic ethernet that she made parole." said John, then uses his magic to show an image of a herb. "This can help you lot."
"The Herb of Moly." replied Wonder Woman, as she was already about the herb. "No one has ever known or gotten near to the herb."
Ben was a little perplexed about this. "How can that be?" he asked.
"It was heavily guarded by a Hydra." warned Wonder Woman. "A Hydra is a a gigantic water-snake-like monster with nine heads"
"And you couldn't beat that thing by yourselves?" he asked, feeling a little confused and at the same time
Wonder Woman was offended. "Mind your mannerism's Benjamin." she warned again. "The Hydra is not to be trifled with. Everytime you cut off one of its heads, two would grow back." she added.
Rook said, "Anyway, how exactly could it truly be defeated?" he wondered.
"The only true way to do so would be to turn it to stone," said Zatanna, denoting that. "But the only one who could is in Tartarus."
"Medusa." replied Wonder Woman.
"So this Medusa will help us?" asked Rook, as he doesn't know what Medusa is.
"Medusa is an immortal Gorgon with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone." answered the Amazon princess
"Great! Means she's not gonna be cooperative." said Ben.
"Especially with mortals." said Wonder Woman
"Now what?" asked Ester
"Well there is another way." interrupted John. Then he uses his magic to show an image of an amulet with a face of Medusa.
"An amulet?" Ben was looking at the image of an amulet from John Constantine.
"The amulet of Medusa, mate." replied Constantine. "But the problem is its being held by Felix Faust."
"Great…" replied Boston unenthusiastically.
"Yeah, it's dodgy alright. I'll look into it." as John is about to leave the House of Mystery. "Meanwhile the House of Mystery can drop you wherever you like."
The House of Mystery is actually a floating magical house, it automatically moves from one place to another.
However, Deadman floats and blocks John's way out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Look, it's better if we work together. Come on, it's a dream team; you, me, Zatanna, Gwen, Etrigan, maybe even Benny and his alien friends."
"Benny and his mates are bloody useless, especially against magic. Much as for the capes and tights crew." replied John, who prefers to work alone.
"That's why we need you." replied the ghost. "You can lead us."
"Boston, do I strike you as a team player? Much less a team leader." John is making clear about how useless "team-ups" really are. "Point is, it's bloody useless for a bang-average wannabe heroes to interfere." Then John looks towards Zee and Gwen. "Zee, Gwen. You two could be usefull."
Then both Zatanna and Gwen stood up from the couch. "Okay." replied Zee.
"But we'll do it together, as a group." finished Gwen.
But John is getting frustrated. "Aaaarrghh, this is the monkey cage in Sumatra all over again. "Ooohhh, we need to save the monkeys," she said."
"God, you're such a dick!" said Zatanna.
"Thanks for reminding us how much of an ass you are." Gwen joins Zee to complain towards John.
"Aahhh, the monkeys" said Boston to Ben, Rook, and Ester. "Zatanna used to have a 'thing' with Johnny."
Zatanna did have a thing with Constantine, but Gwen personally doesn't like John's relationship with Zee. Gwen has always seen Zee as a sister from a different family.
"We're wasting time." interrupted Ben "But Gwen and Zee were right, we should do this together."
"Fine." grumbled John. Then finds a magic book. revealed to be a picture of Felix Faust. "There you are, you ol' bastard. I give you the evil wizard and asshole extraordinaire, Felix Faust."
Felix Faust is an evil sorcerer and an enemy to the Justice League. Having made a literal deal with the devil, he is an immortal being obsessed with the pursuit of mystical knowledge. He wears a blue coat and a "turban-like" blue on his head.
"The League has encountered Faust before, but never succeeded in finding him." replied Wonder Woman.
"Yeah, well wizards don't make a habit of signing up for credit cards or social media." replied John "His grandly name of the cosmos is hidden from the likes of Batsy and Superman. But not for me."
John levitates a page of a book containing a picture of Felix Faust. Then he grabs a pin and makes a spell. As the magic did begin, pins were unable to track as it spun around.
"I'm guessing that the magic doesn't work." guessed Ester.
"Felix Faust takes precaution for any locater spells for any dares to find him," said Zatanna.
Then John had an idea. "There's another way. But it involves asking a favor of someone that I don't have the best relationship with."
"Someone else dislikes you? Shocking." said Jason Blood in his sarcastic manner.
Then John looks towards Ben, Rook, Ester, Zatanna, Gwen, Princess, Boston, and Jason. "Let's go."
"Wait. We can't just let Circe go rampage with her Beastimorphs." said Wonder Woman, as she heard an emergency that the Beastimorphs were attacking the city.
"Fine, do as you please then." said John
"By my own?" asked Wonder Woman, believing that she needed backup to contain the Beastimorphs.
"I'll go with you." said Gwen
"Me too," said Deadman.
Wonder Woman knew how dirty Boston could be, but given the circumstances, she didn't have a choice. "Okay, let's go then." she said.
LOUISIANA, SWAMP
The House of Mystery managed to land on the Louisiana swamp. Ben, Rook, Ester, Zatanna, and Jason walk to the swamp.
"Alright, I'll ask," asked Jason. "Why are we in this god-forsaken swamp?"
"It's a "fave-hidey" hole for Alec Holland." answered John, then he snapped his fingers to burn the annoying flies. "Who's corpse is taken to the avatar of the green."
Ben was a little disgruntled, "A dead guy who was taken to an Avatar?"
Then a light from the moon was blocked by the trees, as it was moving.
"GO AWAY." Someone with a deep voice warns the group to leave.
Ignoring the deep voice's warning, John opens his matchbox, lids up his matchstick, then creates a fiery-path to walk through the waters. "Swamp Thing, I know you're seeing this." threatens John, as he's going to burn the plants. "Get over here these poseys get it!"
Then a bunch of vines grow from the watery ground and through the trees, forming a large humanoid body. It is revealed to be Dr. Alec Holland/Swamp Thing, he's also the one who has the deep voice earlier.
"John Constantine. You dare threaten the green?" warns Swamp Thing.
"Emalf tuo." as Zatanna casts John's fiery-path to flame out, which makes John fall.
"Dude, your social skills sucks man." commented Ben.
Meanwhile, Zatanna is talking to Swamp Thing, asking for help. "Please, we're not here to harm your plants. But our need is urgent." pleaded the mistress of magic, then looked towards John. "Don't let your feelings for John stop you from doing what's right."
Then Swamp Thing looks closer towards Zatanna. "You have a garden." Swamp Thing always tolerates people who take care of the plants.
"Yes." replied Zee. "I find it relaxing and I water it every week."
Then Zee asked a favor to Swamp Thing. 'We need your help to find Felix Faust. He lives in an observatory which is invisible, it's a dark place where dark magic would affect the Earth and everything below it."
"I will take you there, so you are no longer here." Swamp Thing replies as he does hold grudges towards Constantine.
Then Swamp Thing grows tons of vines, covering around Zee, John, Jason, Ben, Rook, and Ester, as they were teleported to a different place.
FELIX FAUST'S OBSERVATORY
Swamp Thing finally unvined the team as they reach Felix Faust's observatory. "The place you've searched is over there." as Swamp Thing points on the edge of the rocky hill.
"Laever S'tsuaf yrotavresbo." as Zatanna spell makes Felix Faust's observatory visible. "That place is heavily guarded," warned Zee.
John smirked towards Zee, then turned his attention towards Swamp Thing. "I know we have our differences, but we could really use your help."
"I am the protector of green, as I am no longer human. Humanity must fight their own fights." as Swamp Thing went down to the ground and disappeared.
"Great, now Swampy's ditched us." comment Ben.
"GONE, GONE THE FORM OF MAN, ARISE THE DEMON ETRIGAN!" as Jason Blood transformed into Etrigan the Demon, then grew a fire from his hand and formed it into a large sword, and immediately leapt far towards the observatory.
On the observatory, Felix Faust is floating on the air while reading a couple of spellbooks. Then on the ceiling, it was smashed by Etrigan.
"Who dares?!" exclaimed Felix Faust.
"I, Etrigan found this house, and will build a tomb for Felix Faust!" As Etrigan is striking Faust, the evil wizard blocked it with his magical shield, causing an electrical charge to knock Etrigan away.
"Please, as I was intimidated by a demon." sneered Faust, as he used his spell again to summon a large-sized dragon.
But does not make Etrigan to back off. "Dragon it may be, but slayed dragons they will be." As Etrigan charges towards the dragon and attacks the dragon with his sword.
Then as Felix Faust floats while watching Etrigan fend off the dragon, Zatanna floats and kicks away Felix Faust. As Zatanna was about to cast a spell, she was surprised that couldn't speak.
"Like what I did to this place?" taunt the evil sorcerer. "No woman can speak at my sanctum." It turns out that Faust has made a precaution in case Zatanna or any other sorceress will come to this place and attack Faust at his observatory. Then Faust fired his magic bolts towards Zee, but she dodged it and flew away.
Arriving late, Ben, already transformed into Heatblast, and John Constantine shows up. As Faust is about to attack Zatanna, he then gets his attention to Heatblast and Constantine. Then Heatblast and Constantine fired their fireballs towards Constantine.
*BOOM-BOOM*
But Felix blocks those attacks with his magical shield. While his magic book is still floating and glowing, Felix snaps his fingers, creates a large amount of water and traps Heatblast and Constantine into a cube-shaped water. "Try the fireballs again Constantine. You and your matchstick friend will-"
Rook uses his Proto-tool, using it as a grapnel to grab the spellbook away from Faust seeing that his magic came from a spellbook.
"NOOO!" yelled the evil sorcerer.
Ester stretches her arms to the cube-shaped water where Heatblast and Constantine are drowning. Both Heatblast and Constantine hold Ester's arms, then Ester pulls both heroes away as the cube-shaped water is disassembled. As John recovers he turns towards Rook and Ester. "Find the amulet!" ordered John to Rook and Ester. So Rook and Ester ran off to find the amulet.
While Zatanna is trying to find a way for her to speak again, and Heatblast and John Constantine are fending off Felix Faust, Etrigan wrestles the dragon.
*GROWL*
The dragon roars, Etrigan hugged the dragon's neck then broke the dragon's throat. After defeating the dragon, Etrigan turns his attention towards Felix Faust.
As Felix was distracted by fending off Heatblast and John Constantine, Etrigan leaps and pounces towards Faust.
*CRASH*
Etrigan pounces Faust and crashes into the book shelves. But Faust quickly levitates a stake and stabs through Ertigan, sends him flying and turns him back to Jason Blood.
Meanwhile, Zatanna might not be able to speak, but she still got a magic wand and uses it to guide her where the curse comes from as she pointed her wand to her throat, then a small light and guided Zee to locate the cause of her "silence". Then it was revealed to be a statue of a goddess with angel wings while her mouth was gagged with a white scarf. As Zee finally grabbed the statue, Felix Faust was floating behind Zatanna. "Where did you think you're going?" threaten Faust.
Then a large vine grows to the ground as it binds around Faust. It was revealed to be Swampfire, one of Ben's aliens. Swampfire's skin color is light green, his face is colored yellow, red, and orange. His hands are colored black, with four yellow claws (with spikes on the knuckles), and yellow holes in the palms, used to unleash his fire powers. He has six red horns with yellow spots (aesthetically resembling flames); two on each forearm, and one on each shoulder, as well as a green horn on each foot, knee, and elbow. He has a large collar raised up around his neck, which is yellow on the inside. The Ultimatrix symbol is on his chest.
"What's this, a Swamp Thing wannabe?" commented John after seeing Ben as Swampfire.
'Shut up!" replied Swampfire.
But it didn't take long for Faust to break free from the vines, then he's filled with anger. "I HAD ENOUGH WITH YOUR MEDDLING YOU-"
"NO!" said Zatanna, as her voice returned after ungagging the statue, while floating in the air. "REHTAG EHT CITSYM REWOP, REHTAG EHT CITSYM REWOP, REHTAG EHT CITSYM REWOP…" as Zatanna chanted, she began gathering up all her magical powers against Faust. "GNINTHGIL EKIRTS NWOD TSUAF!" she casted, as a massive amount of lightning strike down towards Faust
*ZZZZAAAAAAPPPPP*
Not even his magical shields are able to protect him from the light.
Then it leaves Felix unconscious. "Hmph. Not bad Zee" said John as he didn't want to admit that her magic is powerful.
"Is that a compliment from you?" asked Zee with a grin.
"Guys!" said Ester, as she runs back with Rook. "I've found it." as she held the Amulet of Medusa.
"Good, now let's get the hell outta here." said John.
IVY TOWN, CONNECTICUT
We now find ourselves in the city of Ivy Town, Connecticut, home to Ray Palmer, the Atom. Wonder Woman, Gwen and Deadman went there hoping to find him.
"Hmm, this should be where the Atom is," said Wonder Woman. "Normally, he's working in his lab or teaching at the college."
Boston looked a little confused, "How do ya know dat?" he asked.
"It's the League's business to know," said Wonder Woman.
Ray Palmer, also known as the Atom, is one of the candidates that the Justice League are about to recruit to expand.
"Yeah, that sounds good, but where could he be?" said Boston, wanting to get back to the matter at hand.
Then they encountered the Beastimorphs, who were formerly known as Justice League heroes. Superman had been turned into a humanoid rhinoceros, Batman has turned into a humanoid bat, Flash has turned into a humanoid cheetah, Cyborg has turned into a humanoid bear, and Martian Manhunter has turned into a humanoid chameleon. Hal Jordan/Green Lantern was not available as he was on space for a Green Lantern duty on space, while Aquaman is busy ruling Atlantis since a duty of king is a big job and he has been away from Atlantis long enough.
"Ohh, another one." said Crice as she notices Atom, immediately uses her magic to turn Atom into an ant.
"Great.." mumbled Gwen.
"Be careful," warned Wonder Woman. "We're here to contain them, not hurting them."
"If only it was that easy." muttered Deadman.
Beastimorph Superman charged at Gwen, but she jumped out of the way, due to her agility she got after years of gymnastics. Next, Beastimorph Superman fires his heat vision towards her, but Gwen blocks it with her magic shield.
Beastimorph Batman was about to pounce Wonder Woman, but then out of nowhere Beastimorph Atom came back from the microscopic universe and was turned into a Beastimorph Ant, that was the size of human, she got into an awkward situation with him as Beastimorph Atom did not try to attack her, instead, he was starting to get affection on her.
Beastimorph Flash dashes towards Wonder Woman and Gwen, but Boston, who's a ghost, flies towards Beastimorph Flash and merges inside of the Beastimorph. Using his speed as an advantage, Deadman/Beastimorph Flash charges towards Beastimorph Martian Manhunter, then charges again towards Beastimorph Cyborg.
Far away, Crice and Hex are floating up in the air, but annoyed to see one of their Beastimorph are fighting against another Beastimorph.
"Ugh, I've always been annoyed with annoyances" Circe felt annoyed.
But then Hex uses his magic eyes to see through Bestimorph Flash's body. "There, it's the ghost." pointed Hex.
Deadman/Beastimorph Flash dashes around, then Hex appears and trips Deadman/Beastimorph Flash with his magic. Hex then raises his hands and fires his energy magic through Deadman/Beastimorph Flash's body which causes a separation between Deadman and Beastimorph Flash.
"ARGGHHH" as Deadman was in pain while binded from Hex's magic.
"Foolish ghost." said Hex. "You should have stayed dead when you had a chance."
PARTHENON, ATHENS, GREECE
Meanwhile, as the House of Mystery reaches the Parthenon, Ben, John, Rook, Zatanna, Jason, and Ester arrive. But there doesn't seem much danger on the Parthenon, except a statue of a Hydra.
"Well, this doesn't seem like a dangerous threat to get the herb," said Ben with his lax attitude.
But then the statue of a Hydra suddenly grows from a statue into real life Hydra.
"Now there's danger there. Happy?" asked Jason in his sarcastic manner.
"Way to open your big mouth, Ben." said Ester.
"Ow, come on.." complained Ben.
*STOMP-STOMP-STOMP* *HIISSSS*
As the Hydra stomps towards them and about to attack them, John then steps forward. "I don't have time for this." complained John, then he reaches his pocket and shows the Amulet of Medusa. As the amulet was activated, its magic allows to turn Hydra into stone.
"Well, that was anticlimactic." said Ben.
"I've found the Herb." Rook said it as he holds the herb of Moly.
"Excellent, Rook." said John, as he gripped Rook's hand in a 'good job' kind of way. "Now, let's meet up with Diana and the others so we can stop Circe and Hex!"
IVY TOWN, CONNECTICUT
Back in Connecticut, Wonder Woman, Gwen and Deadman did their best to hold Hex and Circe off a little bit, but they kept getting hammered, especially Deadman. Hex is still trying to dispose of Deadman, but he can't be destroyed.
"This is such a pain in the-" as Hex is about to complain, the House of Mystery appears in Connecticut, then Ben, John, Zatanna, Rook, Ester, and Jason, already transformed into Etrigan, jump down from the house.
"Well, Hex old boy, seems you came 'ere at a bad time." said John, taunting the voodoo shaman.
Hex had a stare of anger in his eyes, "John Constantine!? What...Are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Oh, just got off a pint of ale and bashed up Faust in order to get this." he said, showing off the herb of Moly.
Etrigan began to pounce towards the Beastimorph Justice Leaguers to aid Wonder Woman and Gwen.
Ben on the other hand, revealed the Ultimatrix, activated it and transformed into Diamondhead. "Bring it assholes!" he yelled.
Circe was confused about who he was and yet, she had a look of romantic hunger in her eyes. "Mmmmm, what a hunk." she said, admiring Ben from afar.
"Eat this!" as Diamondhead fired his crystal shards towards, but Circe teleports away.
"Hmm, I may not turn you into an animal like the others, but I'll think of something…" said Circe in her flirting tone, while floating and using her magic to grow a large hand made out of rocks from the ground and hit Diamondhead.
"What a shame, I could use you to be my boy-toy, but-" as Circe is about to attack Diamondhead again, John interrupts as he is levitating with Zatanna, thanks to Zatanna's spell, then John blows the herb towards Circe.
"Aaatchoo" sneezed Circe. "What are you trying to…" then something hits Circe's mind. "Wait, that's the Moly, its…" by the time Circe realized it was the herb of Moly, her magic is suddenly began to disappear. "NOOOO!"
Since Circe's magic began to disappear, the Beastimorph Justice Leaguers began to transform back to their normal state.
"Wha… what happened?" Superman slowly began to regain consciousness, and so did the other Leaguers.
"No! THIS ISN'T OVER! I SHALL-" as Hex is about to say more words, Ester punches him with her stretchy limbs and slams him to the ground.
*SLAM*
He crashed to the ground, creating a crater, and was unconscious.
"Oww, shut up." Ester getting annoy with Hex
In the end, Circe and Hex were tied up by Wonder Woman's lasso.
"Guess that's a wrap." joked Rook.
Everyone is looking at Rook with a grin, except John, Batman, and J'onn.
"Sorry, this is what happens if I hang out with Ben too long." He did learn Earth jokes from Ben during his time in space.
"Dead smooth you are, mate." said John.
TENNYSON'S RESIDENCE, ROW HOUSE, NEW YORK
As Ben, Gwen, Rook, and Ester came down to their room to get breakfast. But it was revealed that Superman and Wonder Woman are sitting down on the couches while talking to Gwen's parents.
"Guys. There's something we like to offer." said Superman, with a small smile.
THE END OF CHAPTER 3
Note 1: I personally scrapped Bellwood with New York. Because New York reminds me of Marvel Heroes patrolling New York, so why not have Ben Tennyson or a DC Character to have their "base" in New York.
Note 2: Gwen Tennyson is a "magic-user", but she's not part Anodite.
Note 3: Gwen's codename is Lucky Girl, and she'll be a part of a "Justice League Dark", a team specialized in magical threats.