CLXXIV
Epilogue: The Romantic Adventures of Tim Drake
Part Eight: For the Price of a Silk Cut
The room slowly spun around me as I attempted to gather my senses, now back within my physical body. This was my first out-of-body experience and it had brought me across the Universe, leaving me a little woozy upon the return. The overwhelming grief mixed with profound wonder wasn't helping wither.
Gazing at the bizarre scene around me, it was just a little too surreal.
I was once again sitting in a room surrounded by tropical fish. Death herself stood beside the Goddess of Hope (who happened to be married to my boss), who was in front of the God of Knowledge (who had just adopted the love of my life and allowed her to become a star, quite literally) who stood beside the LexCorp robot Suki-Anna had designed as her twin.
Besides them, there were nineteen other aliens from far distant worlds. The Blue Lantern Corps, who had given my hope the power to transcend the Universe.
And then there was Barbara Gordon in front of me… who was actually smiling.
Like I said, weird.
"Tim, I know it must hurt… But it was your hope that just saved two entire worlds and Raven... Don't ever forget that. The inhabitants of those worlds may never know it was you and Suki who truly saved them… but the Blue Lantern Corps do. If you ever need a friend, I'll be there… OK?"
A month ago, I may have misconstrued Barbara's concern for a romantic overture, but things had changed so much in that time. For me and for her. She had become engaged to Clark and I… I had just lost my soul mate.
The tragedy of it was that no matter how this whole thing had turned out, I'd been fated to lose Suki-Anna either way. Whether to a rare genetic disease or the stars. It had turned out for the best… but my heart was still broken.
Sensing my inner turmoil, Raven kneeled before the bed, looking directly into my eyes. It was strange beholding my friend in her Goddess-form, with crimson skin and glowing amber eyes.
She looked more like the other aliens in the room than the Raven I knew. Gently, she placed a consoling hand on my shoulder, and I suddenly felt a warm wave of love flow through me, as my tension melted away.
"… I wanted you to feel the love that Suki-Anna carries within her light, Tim… Because of you. You gave her the greatest gift anyone could have given. I also wanted to apologize for the other night. I may have sounded cruel when I pushed you to find your soul mate… but I knew it would be necessary."
What exactly was she saying? Did she mean…
"Wait a minute… Raven… you knew?! You knew this would happen?"
"Not precisely. I had a vision of billions dying beneath a burning sun, and my own demise trying desperately to save them… and somehow I understood that only your true love could save us. I didn't understand the vision Tim, and I didn't know when it would come to pass, but I knew that you must find your soul mate."
"…Raven, why didn't you tell me all this earlier?"
"Could you have carried my life and the lives of two worlds while you sought her out? With Bruce now at my side, not all my visions must come to pass, but this one did, much sooner than I had anticipated. We are fortunate that you located your soul mate in time and that Metron was able to aid you both."
My concept of reality was in danger of exploding. The fact that Raven knew I needed to find my soul mate days ago to prevent the death of two worlds… How much of a hand had she played in all of this? Had she orchestrated it from the start?
"So the whole contract… was it your idea?"
"No… although Bruce would have simply settled for a date. My contribution to the Contract was one single word… 'successful'. Please understand Tim, I had to make sure it was the right person.
If you had simply found a lover to ease your loneliness… the consequences would have been catastrophic. A star, the combined lives of two worlds, myself and the child I carry… all would have perished moments ago. But you found Suki-Anna Khan in time."
It was too much to take in.
"Wow… that's… almost inconceivable. Who would believe that finding a soul mate would mean so much?"
"I would."
"Thank you, Raven. That does help… a lot… I'll never forget her."
The crimson Goddess suddenly leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, making my soul burst into flames with the blue fires of Hope from her very touch.
"I know you won't… And thank you, Tim."
As Raven finished, I was startled by the figure who had now appeared beside her.
"Ahhh… I think Death wants to speak with you, Raven."
In her worn trench coat, Death had kneeled down beside Raven… and was also staring at me. Even though she looked like a pale young lady, it was still unsettling when Death stares you in the eyes. You suddenly know who she is and what she does. Had she been upset that the sudden demise of two distant alien worlds had been averted?
"If you're done with all the mushy stuff, I'm going to need a couple of minutes alone with Tim. The fish and the robot can stay. The rest of you… skedaddle."
The sudden look of terror on Raven's face spoke volumes.
Had the strain been too much on my lonely heart? Was Death vindictive?
Death laughed out loud when she saw the look on Raven's face.
"Oh Geez, Raven… Nothing like that. There's some… other business I have to attend to… and I can't have all you Hope-types hanging about, that's all. I need an impartial observer. You can talk to Tim later... Promise."
Raven breathed a deep sigh. To be honest, so did I. I really thought I was a goner for a second… But what the heck did Death want with me?
After a brief discussion, Metron, Raven and the entire Blue Lantern Corps disappeared from the room, leaving me alone with Death, Suki II, and thousands of tropical fish. It was suddenly quiet again… and a little spooky.
Which was when another ghostly figure appeared alongside Death, wearing the exact same outfit that she was wearing. Or had it been that she was wearing the same clothes he was?
I watched in amazement as she gave this older phantom of a man a friendly jab in the shoulder, while he solemnly retrieved a pack of spectral cigarettes from the interior pocket of his trench coat.
Death was suddenly all smiles.
"Alright Constantine… Pay up, ya blighter."
I watched as he quickly retrieved one cigarette from the pack, before handing the rest of them over to Death's awaiting hands.
Whoever this guy was was, he had incredible nerve.
"One for the road, eh luv?"
The specter spoke in a rough English accent… His mostly grey hair had once been blonde and he had the kind of weathered face that could tell a thousand stories. Without pausing for her answer, the hardened ghost lit the confiscated cigarette and drew on it deeply… casting his gaze slowly around the room.
"If wishes were fishes… I'd cast me net in this room, eh mate?... Too bad. Well luv, seems our little game is done and ye've taken me last pack. So… which way we goin'? Up or down?"
Death pondered for a second.
"I haven't quite decided yet… Shall we flip a coin, John?"
The specter called John playfully placed his arm around Death, as though they had been life-long friends… or more.
"Girl after me own heart. Say, there's this nice pub 'round these parts, pours a pint of bitter that's truly to die fer..."
"My next day off is in sixty-seven years. And you'll be long gone by then."
"Well, can't blame an old sod fer tryin' though… Truth be told, y'er a lot prettier than I remember."
"You're not."
The ghost of John Constantine suddenly laughed out loud, slapping his thighs in mirth, hacking up (what I assumed) must be a piece of his own ectoplasmic lung. He was obviously a man who could laugh at his own folly - or had simply moved beyond caring. It seemed as though they really were old friends, Death and John Constantine.
Death continued.
"But before I decide the direction, we still require a final verdict for our little wager. After all, this game requires a judge. And that is why we need the services of Mr. Drake… Tim, have you ever heard of the Oldest Game?"
It took me a second to figure out that she was actually talking to me. This was turning into a very strange week.
"Ahhh… no."
"It's very simple actually. It's a game of forms that sorcerers used to play. The first player would transform themselves into something and then the second player has the opportunity to declare themselves as something that could eradicate the first.
For example, if I declared myself to be a fierce lion, John could say that he would become the hunter with a rifle aimed at my heart, while I could then become the Black Mamba the hunter had crouched beside, who bites the hunter and so on and so on..."
"Sounds a little morbid, but simple enough. One answer trumps the other. So if it's a game, how do you win?"
"Simply when someone can no longer go on… or they concede. A judge may also rule a response inadequate, at which point that player would also lose. To be fair to Mr. Constantine, I wanted you to judge my last response… even though John has already lost."
"So… If John loses… he dies?"
The ghostly bloke stepped forward and attempted to clap me on the shoulder… as his incorporeal hand passed through me.
"Don't cry fer me, mate… I'm already dead. I was playing fer one more day of livin', that's all. Got a good mate I'd like to see again."
"So… The two of you were playing the Oldest Game to see if John could live more day?"
Death gazed at the thousands of fish in the tanks.
"Yes. A folly I admit… but in his final moment, this mortal offered me one Silk Cut for the opportunity to play… and his entire pack should I win. I accepted. However, in usual form, Mr. Constantine demonstrated poor etiquette and began with a very grandiose opening statement."
"Really?... What did he choose?"
"He said 'I am Death'."
I pondered for an instant. Whoever this guy had been, John Constantine certainly didn't beat around the bush. He was going straight for the jugular.
"That actually sounds like a pretty clever move… But you said he lost. What can possibly trump Death?"
"Many things. I am defeated every day. In hospitals around the world, or when charity is provided to the hungry, or by a single act of love."
I guess it wasn't such a clever opening statement after all.
"I never thought about it that way… We always think about the eventuality, but I guess lives are saved all the time... Was that the response that that you wanted me to judge, Death?"
"Not at all. I simply brought Mr. Constantine to this room, while you held Suki-Anna Khan in your arms, and told him that I am these two young lovers awaiting Death. They shall defeat me before the time I finish your cigarette."
"You were here? With him?"
"I am everywhere."
That was a little scary actually.
"Fair enough. So what did Mr. Constantine say in response?..."
Even as a ghost, John Constantine could never let anyone answer for him. The spirit chortled while replying.
"When I looked at you two, I told her that I'd take me day of livin' now - and could she please drop me off by the pony track on the East side. S'pose I got a touch cocky."
"And today, Suki-Anna and I trumped Death. I would agree with your response, Death."
"Trumped? You did far more than trump, Timothy Drake. The two of you saved the innumerable lives of two worlds. And true to my word, by the time my Silk Cut was finished, Suki-Anna had become a star and you had fulfilled the bargain."
I looked over at John. For all his brashness, I was still a little sad to see the old man go. However, as he had acknowledged, Death had outplayed him.
"I'm sorry Mr. Constantine, but I have to agree with Death. You lost this game. When you gave her the pack of cigarettes, you effectively conceded anyways."
He took another pull of his last diminishing cigarette before man was a serious smoker.
"Still… I had ta take one of 'em as a token of what's left t'us after we lose th' whole damned game, now didn't I?"
Of course, I had to ask.
"…What's left to us after we lose the Game, Mr. Constantine?"
Greedily drawing the last fumes from his spectral Silk Cut, John Constantine blew the final billows of his very last smoke at me, smiling that cocky grin he must have born with, and told me what I should have already known.
"Hope."
Seconds later, the coin flip went his way.
Despite all of our well-intentioned plans and measures, I guess in the end, that's about all any of us can hope for, isn't it?
Author's Notes:
This chapter is dedicated to Karen Berger.
For those of you who don't know who Karen Berger is… it's your duty to keep reading.
Karen Berger started editing at DC in 1979 and was soon cutting her teeth editing my favorite comic title of all time… 'The House of Mystery' starting with issue 292.
Karen was instrumental in bringing both Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman to a wider audience at DC, becoming the principle editor on Moore's initial run on 'Saga of Swamp Thing' as of issue 25, taking over from co-creator Len Wein.
On a personal note, she edited one of my favorite issues of all time - issue #29 of that series - the deeply disturbing "Love and Death" featuring Abigail Arcane. She was also the editor on issue 37 of Saga of Swamp Thing when a very famous character made his debut in comics…
John Constantine.
While that's impressive in itself, Karen Berger was also the chief editor on another series called "Sandman", written by Englishman Neil Gaiman. In fact, she was the editor for the entire 75-issue run of that landmark series. Which makes sense, considering Karen Berger was also the executive editor of DC's entire Vertigo line from its inception until 2013.
Any guesses who edited the first 40 issues of "Hellblazer"?
That's right… Karen Berger.
So thank you Karen, for helping to bring some of the greatest comics of the past 35 years to life. Thank you for your courage, your conviction, and your passion in helping creators bring great characters and stories to life.