Hi guys, I'd like to start off by recommending a fic written by my good friend, DLTA-BOT: 'Wrong Place, Right Time: A Hero's Story'
He's a great guy who's done a lot for me, and his story is really awesome, especially if you like longer fics. It's about Damon, a third-generation Spartan, broken by the War, lands in Fallout after a mistaken experiment. His objective is to return to his universe, but life has a funny way of changing plans. He and his companions find out that, sometimes, you have to write your own story and, along the way, become something and someone you never thought you were. It's a story of violence and pain, but one less about how they affect people, and more about how they overcome them. It's a story about character and healing. A story about becoming a beacon. It's A Hero's Story.
So, if you like Halo and/or Fallout stuff, please check his story out. You won't be disappointed.
Also, TRIGGER WARNING: The ending section of the story will contain allusions to child abuse. Please be aware.
In her adventures, Robin had seen many unusual types of folks. Giants, dwarfs, sky people, mermaids, fishmen, cyborgs, skeletons that could dance and sing, Lunarians, and just about everything in between and beyond. After traveling all over her own world and then into another, the former Devil Child liked to think of herself as hard to surprise.
And yet...
"Batman, I ensure Building E is properly evacuated of civilians... Yes, it took longer than expected. Whatever Necro has done to the surrounding area, it has created some sort of telepathic interference."
Robin had seen this... man before. Or, at least, she'd seen pictures and videos of this man. He was part of the Justice League and appeared in some of her research of the group. Though, of all the members, this one -the Martian Manhunter- had the least information known about him. Even with how deep Robin and her informants had dug.
'Telepathy? He can read minds?'
A shiver went down Robin's spine at the thought. Viola's devil fruit had always unnerved her. Robin had too many dangerous secrets locked away in her mind to be comfortable around anyone who could riffle through her thoughts like the pages of a book. But the now-queen of Dressrosa was an ally and, by her own admission, many years of being forced to read minds for Doflamingo has left her with little desire to do it without just cause. High-level Observation Haki users could also peer into the minds of others, though that was closer to reading emotions, intent, or even the future to a limited degree. They, however, were rare.
Despite her limited knowledge of the Martian Manhunter's abilities, Robin forced herself to remain calm. Sprouting an extra few ears, she slowed her breathing and listened in.
"You've located the boy?"
Robin's sucked in a surprised breath. The boy... Was that John? It had to be.
"Very well, I will do one final scan of the surrounding buildings for..." the Manhunter trailed off. He cocked his head to the side and oh how Robin wished he had regular eyes. The eyes were windows to the soul, as they said, and they could tell you much about a man's state of mind. But the Manhunter's eyes were empty red pools, completely unreadable. "...Yes, I am still here. I will join you at Building F momentarily. Then we can converge on Nick Necro."
Nick Necro...
'Well, my green friend, it looks like I will be joining you in Building F. I don't care what you do to Necro, but John is mine and I will be taking him home.' Robin thought, a sharp, determined grin spreading over her face. Releasing her sprouts, Robin rose to her feet and headed for the door. She had a teenage boy to collect and, if need be, necks to snap.
From his place in the shadows, all the hair on the back of Batman's neck raised as J'onn phased through the wall next to him, settling into a crouch.
"Everyone evacuated?" he asked quietly.
If he'd give permission, J'onn could communicate with him through telepathy. Theoretically, such a method would be safer, being silent, and safe from ease-droppers. Yet Batman could never allow himself that openness, that vulnerability. The Martian had proven himself to be an honorable hero, a dependable teammate, and a good man. But Batman had too many secrets to protect, many not even belonging to him.
Still, it said much about his character that J'onn respected that.
"Anyone living on the premise has been encouraged to vacate for the night. Some left of their own free will, especially after I provided monetary compensation and directions to a homeless shelter."
"And the others?"
Bludhaven's homeless population was even larger than Gotham's, and while it had been declining in recent years, Batman still made a mental note to see what kind of programs he could donate to help that along. If he found none to be satisfactory, he could always have Wayne Industry make one. That was a last resort though; Dick always hated when Batman did anything in this godforsaken city.
"Some ran when they saw my appearance," J'onn replied, usual monotone voice sounding slightly bashful. Something that only increased with his next statement. "And others had to be... nudged into leaving."
Batman tore his eyes from the building in front of him to level a disapproving look at J'onn, who simply shrugged. An oddly human gesture on the alien, perhaps a side effect of spending time among his Earthly colleagues.
"They won't remember anything unusual or frightening. They'll just wander to the homeless shelter where they will be safe, at which point the mental hold will released."
"Hmmm," Batman growled, a low, non-committal sound. "At least the grounds are clear for when Zatanna and the others arrive."
"...There is something else. When I was searching one of the buildings, I sensed a presence."
Behind his ask, Batman's eyes narrowed. A silent prompt... no, demand for the Martian to continue.
"At first, I thought it was another of the building's secret tenets. Yet, when I tried to focus in on it, I noticed there was something off about the thoughts."
"You couldn't read them?"
J'onn was always hard to read, something about his pupil-less eyes and the strange proportions of his face made most of Batman's standard tricks unusable. Still, if he were a betting man, Batman would have bet the Martian was confused.
"Not... completely." At Batman's deepening frown, the Martian continued. "Her thoughts were... odd. It was like trying to understand a different dialect of a familiar language. I could understand some of the words, as well as the intent behind the words, yet it was never completely clear."
"Her?"
"Her," J'onn confirmed with a nod. "And, before you ask, I do not believe she is an enemy. Her thoughts were far too... focused, she was intent on finding and protecting someone. I did not detect aggression in her mind, but there was also confidence in her ability to complete her objective. Which, I believe, is to find a 'boy'."
Boy. If they were right, there was only one 'boy' in the vicinity.
"She's here for John too."
"Yes, I believe that is the case."
The wheels of Batman's mind started turning, shuffling through what he knew of John Constantine and the teenager's associates, trying to deduce who this mysterious woman could be.
"What did you do with her?" he demanded.
"Nothing. I sensed no hostility in her so I thought it would be best to simply wait to see how things unfold."
"What?!" Batman's voice rose, "You let an unknown factor wander around on a mission? That's foolish and dangerous! At best, she will be in danger, and, at worst, she will be a danger."
J'onn's red eyes stared at him passively. "I highly doubt that."
"Why?"
"Because I was in her mind. You were not."
Whatever response Batman could have given was cut off by the tell-tale woosh! of Flash arriving. Even in the dim light, the gold of the speedsters boots and costume highlights shone bright. Bright and obvious and dangerous.
"This the place?" he asked.
Grabbing the young man's shoulder, Batman shoved him down into a crouch. "Yes," he hissed. "Zatanna and Wonder Woman are doing one last loop. When they get back, we'll move in."
Flash nodded. "Is Hawkgirl still scouting around?"
Batman grunted in agreement, turning his gaze back to the building. Out of the corner of his eye, he still that Flash was still staring at him.
'Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say-'
"So... Will Nightwing be joining us?"
Now J'onn's eyes were on him. He didn't know the relationship between Batman and Nightwing -that was known only to Superman and Flash- and while Batman trusted that J'onn wouldn't go rooting around for answers in Batman's mind, just the idea made him uncomfortable.
"Keep focused on the mission," he grunted.
Flash looked like he wanted to say something, but it was his turn to be cut off by the arrival of Zatanna and Wonder Woman.
The goddess floated down gracefully, her beautiful frame backlight against the bright moon. One strong arm was wrapped around Zatanna's waist for support, as they flew together. Batman knew that Zatanna could fly or levitate, but, by her own admission, it required a lot of energy and concentration, so she preferred not to do it. As they neared the ground, Wonder Woman released the magician, allowing Zatanna to safely drop to the uneven cobblestones of the apartment complex's overgrown courtyard.
"Everyone here?" Zatanna asked, looking around.
"Hawkgirl is still flying around," Flash replied, waving a hand upward. "Should we wait for her?"
Zatanna clicked her tongue, glancing toward the building. "I'm not sure we have time. I can sense a lot of magic going on right now, and I'm worried about what it's being used on."
An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Batman felt his teeth grind together. 'It's John, let's not pretend it's being used on anything else. What it is being used on is the bigger concern.'
"She'll join us later. For now, she'll be more helpful as eyes in the sky," he said before turning to Zatanna. Nodding towards their target, he asked, "You mentioned there is a shield around the place, anything else we should know?"
"Calling it a shield is a gross oversimplification, Batman," Zatanna said. "Wohs su eht cigam!"
The air around them shimmered before the layers of red energy became visible. One surrounded the building in front of them, and a much larger, more lightly colored one covered the apartment complex in a dome of magical energy.
"My father called this spell the Bullseye Guard. It contains three layers of magical barriers: the first-" Zatanna pointed to the red dome above them "-is the weakest. It allows living energy signatures to enter but, when working properly, won't let anyone out. Like a lobster trap. But, because it's the weakest, I was able to trick it. Now, we can pass in and out as we please without the barrier deactivating and alerting Necro."
Reaching out, she prodded the barrier covering the building. A pulse rippled out from her touch, the movement of the energy eerily smooth and organic. Despite the unease eating at Batman's gut, he forced himself to step forward. As he got closer, Batman felt an odd vibration frequency fill the air and radiate through his body. He could feel it in his teeth and bones.
"This one is going to be our biggest problem. It's not where the magic is strongest, but it is a solid wall -nothing in and nothing out. More than that, this is the layer that usually has other spells mixed in. In short, it's likely booby-trapped and, since the barrier's magic is the most pronounced, I can't sense what those other spells might be."
"Can you trick this one too?" Flash asked. "Or maybe I can vibrate through? Not sure if that'll work, but..."
He trailed off, looking young and eager to help even under his cowl. Zatanna gave the young speedster an indulgent smile but shook her head. "No, that wouldn't work. No more so that J'onn-" she flashed the Martian a sweet smile "-could phase through it. Even trying would probably fry your systems. And, considering we can't be sure what other nastiness Necro mixed in there, I don't want to risk either of your even trying. So... I'm going to have to burst it."
Now it was J'onn's turn to be confused. "Burst it?"
"Yes, a single magical attack delivered hard and fast to a single, focused point. So long as I make it powerful enough, it should be enough to disrupt the magical connection that holds the energy web together and POP!"
Batman raised an eyebrow in the magician's direction. "Should?"
Zatanna shrugged. "Well, I've never done this before. So, I'm going on what my dad has told me, my own research, and a bit of hypothesizing. Now, everyone needs to get behind me."
"I really wish you hadn't told us that," Flash mumbled under his breath, even as he did as he was told while Batman followed behind silently.
'I hate magic,' he thought as Zatanna began to chant.
"Evitcetorp dleihs dnuorrus su! Lacigam raeps, mrof dna ekirts reirrab! Lla eht htgnerts I evah!"
A beautiful, bright blue aura surrounded the group of heroes, glowing in the darkness. The muscles of Zatanna's body tensioned as she focused on the energy swirling around her hands and forming an energy spear. With a grunt, she thrust her arms forward and-
BO-OOM!
Heat and cold and the buzz of pure energy rushed over Batman's body in rapid succession, nearly knocking him to his knees. Blinking the spots from his eyes and fighting the wave of nausea with every motion, the Dark Knight stood his ground.
"Ugh," Flash groaned. "You couldn't have warned us there, Glinda?"
"If I hadn't put up my own shield, there is a good chance we would have all been obliterated when the barrier burst," Zatanna replied.
Studying the courtyard around them, the detective frowned that the pieces of the barrier that were still sticking up out of the ground like giant shards of red glass.
'Or teeth.'
Pushing that thought away, Batman instead quickly checked over his teammates. J'onn looked on impassively, the only thing of note being his slightly narrowed eyes. Diana was merely brushing some dust off herself, barely a hair out of place. Flash looked pale against the red of his suit but was vibrating in place, anticipation obvious. It looked like, once again, only the normal human was suffering any ill effects. Speaking of that, Batman turned to check on Zatanna and was unnerved to see that her body was still tense -ready for battle.
"Zatanna?"
"Stay ready everyone. Necro will know we're here now. Something is come-"
RARWWWW!
Batman's eyes widened as one of the 'shards' of the barrier morphed into a massive, black and red tiger-like creature that leaped at Zatanna. Before he could even think of moving, a red blur shot forward, colliding with the beast and zipping it away.
"Guard demons!" Zatanna shouted. "Get ready!"
Her words were confirmed when more of the shards began shaking and warping, growing and morphing as they took on different shapes. With a war cry, Diana threw herself forward at a demon shaped like a standing crocodile. She shoved her left wrist into the thing's mouth, forcing it to bite down on her indestructible bracelet. Bracing her powerful legs against the ground, the goddess unleashed two furious punches on the side of its head. With another scream, a third punch sent the demon flying across the courtyard before Diana threw herself after it to finish the job.
At his side, J'onn's frame shifted and changed -not unlike that of the shards- until he took the form of a giant cobra. Striking forward, the Martian caught a bat-like demon in his mouth, shaking it viciously, before diving downward and phasing through the ground. Zatanna was swiftly surrounded by a trio of what could only be described as goblins, each about waist height and wielding crude weapons. Nimble as could be, the magician danced away from a flurry of attacks before her eyes began to glow.
"Eci drahs mrots!" she called. A small cluster of storm clouds form overhead and unleashed a shower of sharp ice down on the goblins with enough force that two of them dropped almost immediately -death by a thousand cuts. "Hninthgil tsalb!"
A bolt of lightning shot from Zatanna's palm, frying the final goblin into a darkened husk. But, before she could rust to help anyone else, a massive spider scuttled out of the darkness towards her.
All of which left Batman alone to face a corrupted version of a fairytale troll. He dodged to the side as the beast rushed at him with a club. An incendiary Batarang was sent flying into its face, exploding in a cloud of fire and smoke. The force was enough to stun the monster, blinding and stopping it in its tracks. The effect wouldn't last long, but it would give Batman the chance to fire and wrap his grappling hook around the beast's wrists. As soon as the troll realized it had been bound it began thrashing, yanking its arms side from side until it eventually ripped Batman straight off his feet. Not one to be deterred, Batman used the momentum, kicking off one of the buildings and angling his body so both he and the grappling hook cord would wrap tight around the troll. Tucking and rolling his body to avoid being bludgeoned to death by a giant club, Batman darted and weaved around the troll's legs, wrapping the cord tight. When he was sure it would hold, only then did Batman jump back and pulled with all his might.
THUD!
The ground shook under his feet as the troll fell, stunned and dazed by the force of it all. Looking on, Batman couldn't help but have the amused thought of, 'Just like David and Goliath.'
His amusement faded quickly when the creature regained its senses and began to struggle. Made of his own personally modified 304 stainless steel, the inner rope of his grappling hook was among some of the strongest in the world. It could have easily supported a suspended car. And yet the troll's struggles started to snap the individually braided wires. Pressing a button on the side of the grappling hook electrified the wire rope, zapping the troll with the strongest amount of technically non-lethal electricity voltage possible. Off course, that was nonlethal to a human. When turned against whatever the hell this thing was, it might have as well just been a bit of static electricity.
"AHHHHH!"
A shrill war cry filled the air, and a mass of gray feathers and green fabric dropped down from the sky, landing on the back of the troll and pinning it to the ground. Before Batman could say anything, Hawkgirl raised her mace high and brought it down on the troll's head. One, two, three times... Until black and red bits of... parts flew through the air, coating Hawkgirl and the ground around her in a thick fluid that Batman could only assume was this creature's blood. Even with the mess, Hawkgirl still struck it four more times before she stood.
"Awww, you guys started the fun without me," the alien woman teased. She flicked her wrist, spraying some of the viscous fluid that dripped from her mace onto the ground. "So, what's going on?"
Running his thumb along his belt, Batman mentally took stock of what he still had and what he could afford to use on this mission before answering. "Zatanna says they're called guard demons. We have to defeat them before we can get to Necro. If you have any more questions, I suggest asking him."
Batman nodded toward another demon coming their way - a tall, bulky creature with green skin, pointed ears, red eyes, and sharp teeth. Sharp teeth that were poking out of a drooling mouth.
With a chuckle, Hawkgirl raised her mace once more, sinking into fighting stance. "No problem," she said. " And if he doesn't want to answer, then I'll just beat the answers out of him."
Under different circumstances, Batman would be unnerved by Hawkgirl's bloodlust. She was one of the more battle-driven smaller trees members of the League, always the first to throw herself into a fight. And while boldness was certainly an admirable trait in their line of work, Batman was just waiting for the day this would backfire on all of them.
Today though, would hopefully not be that day.
"Have your fun," he said. " I'm going to see if I can slip inside the building and find Necro and Constantine. Maybe we still have a chance to take him bu surprise."
"I'll cover you," the alien warrior grunted, not looking back in his direction. "Alright, you pointy freak-eared freak! Time to-"
Both Hawkgirl's boast and Batman's rush towards the building were interrupted by the strangest of sights - two pairs of very human arms sprouting from the beast's shoulders to wrap around its neck and head. Identicial pairs sprout from it's sides to catch and hold burly arms in place. The demon started to thrash about but the arms held strong as began to pull and twist.
SNAP!
Neither Batman nor Hawkgirl flinched at the loud, visceral sound of snapping bones that filled the air. They did, however, watch on with confused amazement as the monster fell forward - the arms disappearing with a flash of pink petals- and hit the ground before its body dissolved into black goo that evaporated into nothingness.
"...You saw that too, right?" Hawkgirl asked, glancing over her shoulder at Batman.
Batman grunted in affirmation. 'Zatanna, was that you?'
Astra was adorable. That had been John's first thought when he saw her. She was a tiny girl with long curly brown hair that poofed out around her face, big brown eyes, light brown skin, and a cute brush of freckles covering her nose. The first time John saw her, he was reminded of the scrawny little alley kittens that he sometimes saw skittering around the alleyways of Liverpool and New Castle. Adorable and sad, all in one.
It was no wonder they got along so well.
"What did Dad and his friends do to you this time?" Astra whispered, eyes big and glistening even in the room's dim light.
John grunted, putting off the need to answer for just a few seconds long. He wanted to shower and change his clothes so bad, but asking for that would almost certainly result in a beating if he was lucky and demands for 'payment' if he wasn't. So, instead, John grabbed a stray blanket off the back of the chair and wrapped it tight around himself before collapsing on the narrow bed next to Astra.
"Nothing to worry about, luv," he promised. "Nothing I can't handle."
Astra shook her head. "You shouldn't have to handle anything. That is my problem, not yours! You should just leave John, leave and go somewhere safe. That way at least one of us-"
Reaching an arm out from his blanket cocoon, John took Astra's hand and squeezed it as tight as he dared, cutting her off.
"Hey, none of that now. Okay?" John asked, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "I promised I'd get you out of this, and I will. For now, we just gotta hang in there, got it? And by being here, I can protect you. Nothing your old man does can be worse than what mine did, and we both know what his rules are about me staying here."
Astro didn't look like she quite believed him. Which was fair because it was a lie. Thomas Constantine was a right bastard, there was no doubt about that. But all this cursing, beatings, and peeking at his teenage daughter while she was changing was nothing compared to the depths of depravity that Alex Logue got up to.
The owner of The Casanova Club was a third-rate sex-and-drugs magician who was more interested in orgies than magic. But despite the man's inadequacy in his chosen craft, like any addict, Logue was constantly chasing more intense, more powerful highs. Magical highs, sex highs, drug highs... it was never enough, and pretty soon, Logue had cultivated quite the following of like-minded sickos. Sickos that he would go to any length possible to satisfy and keep near, even if that meant looking close to home for resources. The bruises on John's hip ached as he shifted on the crappy mattress, trying to get comfortable. The movement sent a wave of nausea through him. All that blood Logue had taken from him left him lightheaded and nauseous.
'What I wouldn't do for some juice,' John thought before shoving the idea away harshly. He knew exactly what Logue would force him to do for a some juice.
"Alrighty, brat, you wanna stay here? Then you'll have to do what I say. You'll be mine, just like little Astra here. You'll do what I say, when I say, and you won't complain if you know what's good for you, no matter what it is. Got it?"
John remembered looking up at that nasty face, ugly grease paint smeared across his skin and into ratty hair. He had forced himself to smile and looked down at his feet, sweet and meek and unthreatening. He had called the man 'Sir' and agreed without question, all while fighting down the urge to hit and scream and bite at this sick fuck for everything he'd done to his own daughter!
But he couldn't, not while Astra was sitting beside him quivering and sniffling in fear of her father. John had tried conving her to run at least a dozen times by now, but the girl was just too scared. She was convinced the man could hunt them down to the ends of the earth and, when he caught them, he'd hurt them both in all sorts of ways. Things that until then, only existed in the man's threats.
So, for now, John just dealt with it. He kept his head down and did what the man told him while picking the pockets of all the drunken bar patrons and squirreling away food (and booze) from the kitchen, trying to make sure that he and Astra would have enough supplies when the time came to run. But the most important thing he used his time for was studying Logue's spellbooks. For all the man was shit at magic, his books were the real deal. And he was usually so blazed out of his mind that John could sneak a book into his and Astra's bedroom to pour over. Astra might have been scared of her own magic, but John devoured each spell like a man starving. It would be the knowledge in these books that finally got them somewhere safe, that finally got rid of Alex Logue once and for all.
"Will it... Will it be much longer?" Astra asked, her bottom lip quivering. "I can't take much more of this, and I don't want you to have to suffer anymore either."
John bit the inside of his cheek. "I don't know, luv. I'm trying to think of something but..."
His voice trailed off as tears began to flow freely from Astra's eyes.
"If I have to go into the basement again, I swear I'll... I just won't do it, I won't let Dad get me down there! If I have to take a knife to my own throat, I promise I won't go down there again!"
A shiver went down John's spine. "Oh, you don't mean that. Please, Astra, don't tell me you mean that!"
"I don't want to," the girl cried, " but, at least if I'm dead, then there's nothing holding you here. You can leave and not feel guilty. You can be safe."
"But that won't matter if I don't have you with me," John replied. "I promise that it'll be the two of us who left here, and if it isn't then I have no reason to leave here either. Just... Try and hang on a little longer. I'll think of a way to fix this, I'll keep us both safe. You'll be free Astra, just give me a little more time."
John tried to wiggle closer to the crying girl on the bed. He opened his little blanket cocoon beckoning her to come closer so they could snuggle up like they had in the past. Usually, John hated being touched if it wasn't by Cheryl or Chas, having long since learned that touch usually equaled hurt. Astro was different though. She was sweet and kind and took pity on a street rat who was trying to sleep on a park bench by buying him a sandwich and a soda. So, even though John hated being touched more than ever now, Astra would always be the exception.
Yet the closer he got, the quieter Astra grew. The tears vanished from her eyes, as did the fear, and she sat up straight staring at him with a cool expression.
"But you didn't, did you, John?" she asked.
He gave her a confused look. "Huh?"
Astra frowned. "You didn't keep your promise, John. You didn't keep me safe! I never got a chance to be free!"
Now it was John's turn to sit up, despite the protest of his many cuts and bruises. "Astra, luv, what are you talking about?"
"I died, John!" Astra screamed, the wall behind her bursting into flames.
John scrambled backward on the bed. The blanket tangled around his legs, catching on an exposed spring and tearing as he fell onto the floor. The back of his head slammed against the floor, knocking John's vision dark. When he blinked away the dark spots, he yelp in fright as he saw Astra on the bed above glaring down at him. Only it wasn't Astra, her skin had turned bluish-gray, her puffy hair was now long and stringy, and sharp dark teeth jutted out from under split lips.
"You got drunk and passed out so Dad dragged me into the basement. Then, after he and his friends finished taking their turns, I was so scared of what they'd do next that I tried to summon a demon to do what you couldn't: protect me!" Not-Astra shrieked. Behind her, the fire started to spread over the other walls and onto the floor. "And it came and killed my father and his friends. For a second, I was happy. But then it turned on me. Do you want to know what it did to me, John? Or how much worse it got when you tried to 'help'?"
Shaking his head, John pleaded desperately. "No! No! Astra, I'm sorry! I tried to help you! I didn't know how strong Nergal would be, I didn't know I couldn't keep him bound. Please, I didn't mean to hurt you!"
The fire continued to spread as John sputtered apologies did little to help his friend. He closed his eyes as she leaped down at him, her newly grown sharp fangs starting ripping into his guts.
"All you got to stop all of this is tell me where the Books of Magic are, Johnny," Nick's voice slithered into his ear. "Tell me the truth, and you don't have to suffer anymore."