I don't own Ben 10 or Young Justice
A/N: I don't plan to do much with this story so I figured this would be a good time to do a special chapter release since Season 4 is now on HBOMax. Lots of changes to the OG YJ show, keep that in mind. From here on out, it'll be totally original plot-lines with some stories from OG YJ scattered in there.
Purgatory
For a long time there was nothing, it felt like Ben had been knocked over the head but, without the headache; he opened his eyes and looked around… wait, did he have eyes? Did he even have a head? Was he looking or just, existing? It was dark for a while, very dark. He wasn't quite sure if he was dead or not, Alien X had told him there was a heaven, so he was definitely expecting something to happen after sacrificing himself but, time felt so nonlinear that he wasn't sure if it was a matter of when or if he was going anywhere. For all he knew, this was hell. There was nothing around his non-corporeal body but an empty void forever in every direction, or maybe just a few miles, or maybe distance didn't factor in at all; he couldn't feel his body, or his brain or any of himself but, he still felt like he was there, like he was still existing.
"Hello, there!" he heard a familiar British voice announce itself as suddenly his own body materialized, at least it did visually, "I'm terribly sorry that I'm late, or am I early? I don't like the temporal physics of purgatory at all…" Paradox appeared in a flash of light, the only light he'd seen since he left Earth, he appeared to be completely in-tact and physical, unlike himself, holding a pouch of assorted candies, "Care for a gumball?"
Ben looked down at his candies and back up to the time-traveler; he was in his body again suddenly but, everything was a blur; it was all faded and everything he heard was an echo, this was some sort of different dimension he could figure, "What happened?"
Paradox sighed and tossed a candy into his mouth, "I'm afraid in the heat of saving the world... you've died, young Benjamin."
He played with the idea for a moment, recalling the last moments before he appeared here, saving the Earth from the Reach MFDs and vanishing in the crisis; with a click of his pocket-watch Paradox displayed two clouded portals, one in either hand on either side of him. The one on the right was where he'd just left, the Universe of superheroes where, in the Arctic snow, M'gaan cried out into the cold winds with Artemis and Wally comforting her, however; on his left was a blank empty white void of nothingness, just as empty as where he was now but, perhaps a bit lighter.
"So, I'm finally done?" He asked as he heard his own voice repeat two or three times after he spoke, this didn't apply to Paradox for whatever reason.
"It would appear so," The white voided space came into focus and displayed his childhood home, the one he grew up in, the one destroyed by Vilgax; sitting in the living room was all of his family and friends having dinner at a large table, Gwen, Kevin, Julie, Grandpa Max, his Parents and his Aunt and Uncle all breaking bread and sharing stories, one of the happiest moments he could possibly imagine, or at least, it's what he would have wanted. They didn't seem to notice him watching, they were simply enjoying what Ben could only imagine was their perfect heaven.
A tear formed in the corner of his eyes as he backed away from the two portals, almost afraid but also in shock to see his family healthy again, "Because of your countless sacrifices for this reality and others, my employer, and I should repeat myself for emphasis, my boss, has decided to give you an ultimatum," Paradox explained as he held both portals on either side of himself up just a bit higher, "You can return to where you left to see your new family or you can join your old family in eternal happiness."
Ben turned around facing the void of darkness for a moment before turning back to him, "What do you think I should do?" he asked Paradox, finding he was the one who usually had all the right answers.
He reached into his lab-coat and pulled out a pouch of gumballs, leaving the portals floating where he had held them, "Hmm, you've dedicated your entire life to peace in the name of justice, don't you deserve to be happy?"
This left Ben thinking on what he and M'gaan had discussed the morning before his death, did he deserve a chance to be happy, especially now that he's effectively saved two different Universes over half a dozen times total, was that enough for him to finally retire in perhaps a more permanent manner? Gwen, Grandpa, Julie, and Kevin were all in their prime, just as he remembered them before everything that had happened that day, as if seven years was only seven days for them; Gwen stood from the table and approached the portal being the first to notice it, looking out at him, she smiled, "Come on, what are you waiting for, dweeb?"
He reached his right hand out, shaking as he hesitated, "I...I want to, I really do," tears welled in his eyes as his hand fell back down to his side, an emotion he wasn't certain was physically real but, still just as impactful as he turned to watch the fall out of his death and M'gaan's crying on the portal beside him, "But, I'm not sure that I'm done here yet." He gave her a gleaming smile with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Ben, you've been a hero for as long as I can remember; it's who you are. Live your life, I promise we aren't going anywhere," her smile gleamed as bright and carefree as he remembered. She slowly held a handout, placing it flat against the portal as Ben reached out, once again quivering, only to place a palm against where hers was, "Take as long as you need to take... doofus."
"Not a day goes by that I don't miss you, all of you," He sighed as the group of family turned from their seats and looked back at him, all smiling and all seeming at peace with their current afterlife.
Hugging his wife close to him, Carl too shed a tear, "We've never been prouder of our boy." Saundra wept with tears of joy into Carl's shoulder whom only embraced her with a smile of his own.
Grandpa Max cleared his throat as Paradox watched, shifting in his chair to face the portal, "Son, I know that whichever decision you make will be the right one, you deserve to be happy but, the definition of that happiness is up to you to make, you define your own life." Ben knew that was wisdom only his real Grandfather would impart to him, finding solace in that advice.
"I define my own happiness... ya know, I've been so lost without you guys... that's some of the best advice you could have given me," Ben said with a half-smile, looking around at all of his old friends and family.
Maxwell only smiled in return, giving a final wink to his grandson, "All of your family and I have ever wanted was for you to be happy, no matter what that means."
"Thank you, both of you, all of you. I'll join you one day and by then I'm hoping I'll have a few friends to introduce," Ben thought optimistically as they nodded with proud grins all around the room, until it turned to smoke and vanished entirely, the only portal left was the one into the real world, "but until then... I'm going to have to take a raincheck," Ben could feel the smile over his face spite not actually having a mouth, looking into the portal of M'gaan, Wally, and the other members of the Team and League gathering around the young Martian.
"Then it's settled!" Paradox announced closing his pocket watch as the portal leading to the dinner table vanished and the Arctic portal grew to the size of a door he could walk through but, Ben didn't budge for a moment or two, still deep in pensive thought.
He narrowed his eyes and locked a glare with Paradox, being too clever to not connect the dots, "Your boss, he didn't just give me this option because I've been a great guy, did he?"
"There are far worse threats to the Universe than Vilgax, even if he does have some of his stolen power remaining; if this timeline is to survive you must be present for the oncoming danger," Paradox stated without taking his eyes off Ben, reminding him of his unfinished business.
"And if I chose death?" Ben surmised.
"Well, you certainly wouldn't have had to worry about that, would you?" Paradox motioned nonchalantly towards the portal as he smiled, "Do you think you'd still feel guilty, Benjamin?" he asked.
He searched his feelings for a moment but, answered without hesitation, "Yes."
"Then your work, is not yet finished," Paradox left the shapeshifter with a smile before flooding his vision with bright flash of white light, "is it?"
...
Ten Minutes Later
Arctic Circle; May 30th, 2019; 5:22PM.
Bart and Barry had caught their breaths, billowing out into steam around their faces, arriving to the Bioship, and being happy to fly back to base after the sprint they just went on. Conner and Artemis helped M'gaan up from the snow as she sniffled, still looking out into the barren wasteland hoping for a miracle. Whimpering, and wiping tears away as the sight of the cyclone was cleared and they were prepared to leave, returning to the cities that still very much needed their help.
Flash wiped his brow, while Bart slowly limped over to help Wally up from the snow, "It was supposed to be me," he muttered staring out at where his friend had vanished, tears welled in his eyes as he keeled back over onto his hands and knees punching the snow, "It was supposed to be me!"
Artemis turned her attention back toward her boyfriend, shouting at the ground; she would rather battle the League of Assassins than fight back the tears building up behind her strengthened composure, "There's nothing you could have done," she said quietly as she approached, kneeling down with her hand on his back.
"C'mon, we need to assist the League in crowd control and rescue those who were injured by the weather phenomena," Kaldur stated by her side as she slowly got to her feet, they suddenly heard thunder erupt from the heavens as the sky cracked open. They turned their backs as a surging beam of white lightning shot down from above and struck the ground in front of them, dropping two figures into the snow, on their feet drawing the attention of the heroes still approaching the ship. Ben stepped out of the light planting his feet into the snow with a large imprint of his boots left in the frozen tundra, immediately he made eye contact with M'gaan who wasn't sure if she were hallucinating or not. 'Hey,' Then she heard his voice in her head, the feeling of his mental touch, the warmth and security.
She giggled uncontrollably as tears streamed down her lightly freckled green-cheeks, "H-Hey," she responded with a happily stunned tone.
Artemis, Wally, Dick, Kaldur, and Conner watched as the light dimmed and Ben was in full view. His body and clothes had been completely restored including even his emerald-trimmed white hoodie, unharmed standing beside a tall Caucasian man with jet-black hair wearing a long lab-coat, "Sorry for the wait, I've always found it difficult to be on time," Paradox introduced himself as best he could, with as cliché of a remark as he could muster.
"Ben..." Artemis announced cupping her hands over her mouth as joyous tears flew over her fingers down her face. M'gaan huffed into the freezing cold air, shuffling her feet through the snow at first before levitating over it, hesitantly floating forwards, realizing that she wasn't going crazy after all. She rushed through the air grappling her arms around his neck with enough momentum to spin around once with him.
"Don't ever do that… ever… ever again!" M'gaan shouted in his before tucking her face into his chest once again.
Ben turned to face Paradox with his right hand placed comfortingly on her head and his left a hand out between them to shake his friends hand, "Thank you," he said with a gracious tone.
The time-traversing immortal chuckled, "It's I who should be thanking you, Ben Ten Thousand," raising his voice he addressed the hero by his title for the first time ever as he shook his hand, out of respect the shapeshifter assumed, "Without your intervention this world would have perished, surely," he finished as he released the hero's grip and looked back at Ben's friends relishing in the victory. "As much as I'd love to stay and catch up; An artificial intelligence from another Universe has gathered the Infinity Stones of all things… an observant associate of mine needs assistance," He looked at Ben, as they retracted their handshake, who smirked at him in response noting how M'gaan refused to un-cling herself, "In observational terms only, of course," he adjusted his tie before giving Ben a rather obvious wink, "ta-ta!" before another white light enveloped them and when it dissipated, Ben was left standing in the smoke with just the red-head holding him tightly
As the snow slowly fell from the overcast sky onto their hair and shoulders, the weather returned to normal now that the Reach devices were shut down, "I still can't believe you're alive!" she said pulling her face back to look into his bright emerald eyes.
"I'm so sorry for scaring you, all of you," Ben turned to address the rest of the present team, "I wasn't sure I had anything left here to live for but, I was so wrong. You're my everything M'gaan and I just can't die without spending the rest of my life with you," he slowly fell to one knee in front of her as the rest of the team watched.
Wally cleared his throat, "Is he going to-"
Artemis elbowed him in the ribs, "Shh!"
They hadn't yet put a title on what their relationship had blossomed into after Ben's return to the Team and League but, she was certain of what she wanted now, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Ben, I thought I lost you for ten minutes and it felt like my life was over," looking down on him, her eyes welled up with tears again, holding the sides of his face as her thumb caressed the scruff of his beard, "Now I know that I never want to feel that way again even if it means I have to fight by your side for the rest of my life!"
"I..." he muttered as a smile slowly crept over his face, holding her head with his fingers laced comfortably into her crimson hair with his left hand, the other around her waist as he pulled her in, "You have no idea how much that means to me, I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you." He paused almost for dramatic effect, taking a deep breath, "M'gaan M'orzz?" Ben didn't have a ring, it was such a spur of the moment, something he couldn't even believe he was doing but, after that brush with death, he knew exactly what he had to do to truly be happy, "Will you marry me?"
"Yes! A thousand times, yes!"
Bart dashed in from behind and holding a ring made entirely of crystal-clear arctic ice, "Vibrated it to shave it down, should fit," he gave them both a genuine smile, seeing the man who helped him make all of this possible finally get his happy ending was everything he ever wanted. Ben stood back up and took the ring from Bart who backed away a few feet, all watching as he slid the ring over her finger.
"Fits?" He pulled back a foot or two just to get one final look into her eyes before brushing his lips gently up against hers for a heart-warming moment, locking their lips before giving it more passion by intertwining their tongues, separating finally only for air as they pressed their foreheads together in the frosty air. Looking into each other's eyes as they imagined what the future may hold.
"Like a charm," she hummed up into his eyes.
2 Years Later
Watchtower; June 1st, 2021
Standing in the center of the main computer holodeck, Ben Tennyson stood looking up and around at different cascading screens that projected themselves with information all around him, at different angles. Since becoming Kaldur's second in command in leading Earth's division of the Justice League, considering the founding members of the group had been dispatched into space to aid Rimbor and Raan in an invasion dealt by the Reach Empire. Bitter from their defeat and exile from Earth by the Lanterns, they broke their treaty in order to enslave more defenseless species'. With the Green Lantern's and half of the League occupied off world, the stress was clearly getting the better of the shapeshifter as he struggled to coordinate dozens of heroes across the globe.
"Beta, how goes the security and zeta-tube installation for the new Hall of Justice?" Ben spoke into a communicator embedded into his ear which relayed his message to the team in Washington D.C overseeing the construction.
Down on Earth, Jamie and Veronica were supervising the site for support, "Beetle and I are looking over the construction while Vic handles the technical side of things," Veronica gave her status report just as the man clad- no, made almost entirely of silver advanced alien armor and components, finished connecting two cables together. His entire body aside from the right-side of his face, torso, and arm were integrated with gleaming technology centered around a crimson power-source humming from his chest.
He stood to face them revealing a relatively young eighteen-year-old African American well, he was of that skin tone before the accident; now the only way you could tell was the half of his face that remained untouched. "I told you guys to call me Cyborg now, Victor Stone is gone," he voiced his opinion rather frustratedly but, he resumed his work without a word nonetheless turning back to the large horizontal cylindrical steel tube that would eventually generate enough zeta beams to teleport entire groups of people across the entire planet including to and from the orbital Watchtower. With enough time, this tube, much like the Watchtower's, will even be capable of deep space teleportation.
Ben sighed over the comms as Veronica took a few steps away, out of range, "I switched us to a separate channel, how is he adjusting after… you know?" he inquired while doing his best to not bring up the elephant in the room, there was enough tension as it is bringing him into the Team so soon after so much trauma.
Veronica turned allowing her long raven-black hair to sway with the motion, feeling out what feint emotions she could wafting off of him, the mechanical half of Vic's body disrupted her ability to sense him for the most part yet, she could still feel the misery and anguish that raged within like a storm. "As well as can be expected, I suppose," having become fonder of her human form, Veronica opted to use it more often recently specially when she had no reason to hide her identity as did Jamie. "He's…" she watched him grow frustrated, turning to slam his cybernetic fist into the wall beside the tube, "Adjusting." Jamie shoved his hands into his cargo-pants pockets and sighed, glancing over at Veronica with an unsure expression.
Ben gave a long-exasperated sigh, disconnecting with them and refocusing on another feed. Checking in on week old footage from Raan, being that there was still a delay for their interstellar communication beacons. Superman flew through the air breaking the sonic barrier a hundred times over as he plowed through a Reach ship with his invulnerable body, circling around to do the same from the bottom upwards as he soared into the sky followed by an eruption of flames. As the massive ship exploded with plumes of smoke and fire exuding from every vent and airlock, he watched it crash into an evacuated swamp area, shaking the camera feed with the shockwave. Superman glanced up as another dozen war-ships identical to the one he'd just taken down were in the skyline, likely even more just outside orbit. Wonder Woman flew in from behind holding a winged Para-Demon warrior by the head, snapping its neck with her godly strength, tearing off its mindless head. She dropped the body parts several hundred feet down as Superman turned with crimson light engulfing his vision only to let it disperse, giving Diana a nod as they both flew up into the air towards the warships with Icon, Captain Marvel, and three unknown Green Lanterns waiting for them to begin another assault.
As they flew, Diana had a question she felt only her Kryptonian team-mater could answer, "Why would Darkseid support the Reach by providing them with additional forces?!" having to shout over the windshear of their flight.
Kal-El of Krypton narrowed his eyes, having noticed the same thing but, also having the same resulting answer, "I have no idea, but it isn't for entertainment's sake. He's planning something, watch your back!" he shouted looking into her eyes for a second or two, which at their speed could feel like an eternity, her blue eyes cascading in the light from the explosions erupting below them. In the last several years, after Lois couldn't take the long-distance of Clark being off planet for so long, the Kryptonian and Amazonian found something in one another that went far beyond just their status as teammates and friends.
Diana was as cocky as ever only, on her it seemed extravagantly beautiful, "Who says I'm not watching yours?" she smiled playfully as they darted upwards.
Ben didn't get much of what they'd said, only that a villain named Darkseid is involved and if the League is now fighting a war on two fronts, it might be time for him to step in.
Dispersing the footage, all of the screens vanished with a single gesture, Ben narrowed his eyes used his hands to guide the holographic screens, bringing up a single screen which displayed a mission from just two nights ago. After finally exposing Lexcorp Farms, Luthor's lawyers protected him from losing his seat as the Secretary General of the U.N but, that didn't mean his illegal activity had stopped all together.
This mission was simply recon and theft, he watched as his son led his team akin to how he led Gwen and Kevin back during his hay-day. Shifter, Wonder Girl, Arsenal, Impulse had been doing these missions on their own with little guidance from their superiors; this next generation was certain to surpass their mentors sooner rather than later.
Ben watched as Roy used a crossbow to fire two non-lethal arrows into the shoulders of the security guards protecting Luthor's personal office within Lex Towers. As they attempted to call for back-up, a blur of speed rushed through the room grabbing the landline from the desk, before stopping in the corner where he dropped it. The guard instead reached for his Glock holstered on his belt only it was gone and Arsenal had an arrow more prominently in his face.
"Looking for this?" Bart chided, twirling the unloaded gun on his index finger playfully.
Shifter and Wonder Girl in while Roy gave a silent nod before stepping into the hall to guard in case anyone approached; Ken twisted and pressed down on his thin emerald Omnitrix, summoning a hologram but, needing to flip through them for a moment before selecting. Slapping his palm down on the faceplate shun a bright green light which instantaneously summoned a Galvanic-Mechamorph in his place.
Cassie nodded and turned to watch his back as well while he formed into a stream of technological-goop which quickly merged with the computers and systems that ran through out Lex's entire office, he generated a USB capable of holding exabytes of data, black with green circuitry lined it as it popped from one of the monitors for Wonder Girl to grab. He then wiped all CCTV footage of their break in, private server or otherwise, to ensure they were never there. Upgrade slithered out of Lex's systems, reformed into a humanoid form, and slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest transforming back into the seventeen-year-old clone boy. As he'd grown, Ken had gotten taller and more experienced with the world, wearing a black and dark-green tactical suit, and turning to address his teammates, it was obvious he'd gained a lot of confidence as well.
Ben watched as he and Cassandra began smiling, but not speaking and without a telepath on the team, it was clear they just knew each other well enough to know what they were thinking. Kenneth scooped Cassandra up bridal style, literally sweeping her off her feet as she wrapped her arms around his neck, he could hardly tell through the feed but, it reminded him much of how he used to hold M'gaan when they first began dating. Kenneth transformed into Fasttrack and dashed out of the building with Impulse grabbing hold of Roy and following after them.
Ben swiped his hands across the screen dispersing the images, trying his best to clear his head, and just when he needed it most, the announcement system spoke up.
"Recognized: Miss Martian A24."
Ben turned to face a sight for sore eyes, M'gaan had been living on the Watchtower with Ben ever since he took up the mantle of co-leading the League with Kaldur, who had become the newest Aquaman in the last year when Arthur stepped down to focus on ruling his kingdom as King of Atlantis. He watched her strut across the silver metallic floors as her pale-Caucasian skin Megan persona melded away as her skin became paper-white though her lips remained a luscious pink, her orange hair had gotten darker, and her eyes had taken on a more natural Martial color with her sclera becoming pitch black along with bright amber pupils. Embracing both her Martian heritage and her human life on Earth. Her skin was no longer bright green or creamy Caucasian on a regular basis, she embraced her Human form but, also stuck true to her identity as a White Martian.
Ben held his arms open for her, his defined pectoral muscles and biceps were evident through his tight-silver shirt with a wide grey hourglass splayed across its design from shoulder to hip. M'gaan accelerated forwards levitating into a hug as she felt the warmth of his arms wrapping around her, his heart beating on her chest when he held her tight.
"I missed you," he muttered into her ear giving her a short wave of goosebumps chilling down her spine, prompting her to giggle ever so slightly in response, taking an inch or two to step back and look him in the eyes.
"We share the same bed?" M'gaan pointed out, drawing her fingers down his chest slowly breaking eye contact. Sometimes overly mesmerized by his peak-human physique, "You couldn't possibly miss me that much…" she finally looked up from his chest and back into his eyes.
Ben sighed with a smile, still looking into her eyes which felt almost mesmerizing himself, "I know, I guess I've just been enjoying the peace and quiet here on Earth…" with her free hand she cupped the side of his face and pulled him in for a warm yet gentle peck on the lips.
"Sometimes I wish I was back in the action, being a high-school tutor isn't nearly as thrilling," M'gaan scoffed pulling away and rounding the holodeck with her eyes on the main computer which was the only chair in the room. "It doesn't pay very well either," she sighed disappointedly.
Ben chuckled and watched as M'gaan plopped herself into Batman's large comfortable computer chair meant for monitor duty personal. She spun herself as Ben gave a light chuckle, wondering how he could have gotten so lucky to end up with someone as amazing as M'gaan. He watched as her hair danced around her as the chair spun in place, stopping as her crimson locks splayed over her darkened eyes, she was simply amazing. She regained her balance from the spin and brushed her bangs out of her vision, noticing his stare at her, "What?"
"Nothing, you just look amazing-"
"Well," a male voice announced itself suddenly from behind them both, "I suppose it's just a happy coincidence that Wayne Enterprises funds all you costumed yanks," his thick British accent sounded familiar but, just as Ben turned around with fists engulfed in mana, he settled down realizing who it was.
M'gaan on the other hand was clueless, "Computer, there's an intruder al-" but before she could finish the stranger interrupted her.
"I'm afraid your posh computer scanners don't mix well with dark magic, love," the man was about Ben's height only a bit scrawnier wearing a white t-shirt under a long brown trench coat, he actively pulled out a cigarette and popped it between his lips, "Not to worry, I've come to collect on a debt mistah Ten Thousand owes me."
"John Constantine…" Ben muttered as his guard dropped, though M'gaan was still left confused at the man she'd never met, standing in a League headquarters, in space, sparked a cigarette nonchalantly. John quickly flicked his thumb up in front of his face which ignited a flame from the tip of his fingernail, using it to light his cigarette casually.
The Martian spoke up before Ben could recollect his thoughts, "How did you even get up here? You don't have clearance," she glanced over at Ben who was still staring at John, making deep eye contact with his hands on his hips. They most certainly had some sort of history together, the way they glared into one another's soul.
Ben muttered without breaking eye-contact, "John has a funny way of being wherever he needs to be whenever he needs to be there," Ben shifted his stance and folded his arms, "Look, last time we worked together I was a different person, whatever you're asking for, the answer is…"
"You owe me for Astra, Benny boy," John interrupted catching the shapeshifter's attention, forcing him to grow tense and stiff just at the sound of that name, "She sits in hell while you lollygag up in the mortal realm with your fiancé… and you know why," he got uncomfortably close pressing his pointer finger into Ben's chest only to use his free hand to pull the cig from his lips, blowing a plume of smoke into the heroes face.
Ben and M'gaan had made strict promises to each other to prohibit reading minds between the two, especially during arguments or serious subjects, however; Constantine was open season to her. While Ben closed his eyes as he thought pensively about what happened and how he should respond, during those few seconds, M'gaan went on the hunt. Her eyes lit up bright green but, just as her mental projection reached the threshold of his mind, it was as though she entered a hall of screaming fire. Endless flames, and suffering, anguish, and blood everywhere but, the screaming was unbearable; like a symphony of a billion tortured souls. She was only within his mind for a second but, she already knew that even if she were attacking him psychically at her full strength, whatever was protecting his mind would likely shatter hers before she made any real progress. Even if she assumed her true form, trying to keep a straight face after feeling and seeing what was inside his psyche.
"Oh, apologies love," M'gaan took a step back holding a hand up to her right temple as John smiled casually at her, watching her suddenly cling to Ben standing by her side, sweat running down her brow, "I've spent time in the deepest pits of Hell, even bloody Lucifer doesn't want the chit to my soul, lass," he dug his right hand into his trench coat pocket holding the cigarette with nothing but his lips.
Ben wrapped an arm around her as she stabilized herself, regaining her composure taking deep breaths of air into her lungs, "You tried to read his mind, didn't you?" he consoled her.
She nodded in response but, never took her eyes off of John, like she'd never seen such darkness in anyone that seemed so content, "I'm afraid I've lost my manners, allow me to introduce myself, love. John Constantine, expert of the occult, master of the dark arts, and prodigy warlock extraordinaire," he held his hand out for her to shake but, she only slowly reached out having been thrown off by what she saw inside of his mind. He started her by flicking his wrist making her flinch but only using sleight of hand to produce his business card from his sleeve. "I bring the bloody house down for kids birthday parties," he joked as he held the card out with two fingers.
M'gaan regained her composure completely and grabbed the card with a rough pout, quickly pulling Ben by his arm, spite him refusing to take his own glare off of John, the blonde man kept a confident smirk as he puffed his cigarette looking back into Ben's eyes. Once they were a few feet away, M'gaan spoke directly into her boyfriend's head, watching the strange man examine the massive satellite as he looked around.
M'gaan looked directly into Ben's eyes though he couldn't take his off John still waiting by the Watchtower Console, "How do you know this man? The things I saw in his head, it's… it's… unnatural. And it was like his true thoughts were guarded," she was a little too paranoid for her own good but, Ben put a reassuring hand on her shoulder while smiling down on her having finally taken his glare off the man.
"That would be the demon blood he infused into his body while he was in Hell, you can't read his mind unless he wants you to," Ben thought for another second before correcting himself, "Unless you could whammy your way through the torment of trillions of damned souls…" M'gaan looked up into his eyes and saw true fear, guilt around him that was equal to what she felt when he left the Team the first time.
Glancing over at John who still had the same nonchalant smile, splayed across his face, "In the years after Albedo destroyed New York I got into some pretty crazy shit," Ben was apprehensive to say anything more, so she decided not to push him. "I had stopped using the Biomnitrix and focused on intensifying my mystical abilities, John and I were… partners so to speak," he used the term extremely loosely with his tone.
"What do you owe him for? Who the hell is Astra?" M'gaan folded her arms even though they weren't moving their lips they still spoke with body language out of habit.
Ben was silent, looking away with a thick wave of shame rolling over the entire room, a mistake he thought he could forget coming back haunted his every waking moment no matter how well he was able to hide it. It was just as much his fault as it was John's with what happened to Astra, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered as he could still hear the screams echoing in his memory, a little girl begging for one of them to save her. M'gaan raised a brow and tugged on his shirt, but before they could get further into the discussion Constantine interjected, "Did I forget to mention that this a time sensitive mattah, ya? So knock off the bloody CW drama and let's get to work, Tennyson, you aren't the only mage on my list…" he gathered the couple's attention as Ben reluctantly nodded in response to him. Knowing he had to do this regardless of whether he wanted to drudge up old memories or not.
"If you're going, than I'm going…" M'gaan insisted looking between the two with a determined glare, stepping in between them with her hand on Ben's chest.
John glanced into Ben's eyes and back to the Martian woman, "Are you gonna handle this mate? or do I have to get my hands dirty?" he summoned a certain orange aura around the palms of his hands, a mental spell not even J'ohn could resist from a wizard like Constantine.
Ben scoffed and turned away from him, grabbing M'gaan lightly by the shoulders to guide her away from the excessive man, "Nobody needs their memories wiped, look, this is mysticism and sorcery… most importantly dark magic."
"So what?"
Ben sighed and looked to the ground in shame, shaking his head before looking back up at her, "This is my area of expertise, I know how to defend against and use the type of magic we'll be up against… having you out there would only get you hurt."
"You promised you'd never use your powers that way again…" she made a good point, intertwining her fingers with his, saying this only out of pure concern.
He shook his head, "If I could make you understand why I have to do this- I made a promise to someone else before the Reach ever came to Earth. I have to honor this."
"One last time?" M'gaan practically pleaded, tightening her fingers with his.
"One last time."
"Enough of that now, ya?" the Hell Blazer flapped his trench-coat back and placed his hands on his hips, "Now, do I have to warp us out of this musty cosplay speakeasy or should you get on it?"
"Where am I even taking us?"
"Z has a storage unit in New Orleans that has the last remaining piece to the puzzle," John practically whispered to him, trying his best so that the League security couldn't hear him considering Zatanna was a League member herself.
Ben rolled his eyes, "Fine, but you're going to explain exactly what's going on once we get there, got it?"
"Yea, yea, don't get your knickers in a twist, I'll be open as a bloody book once you get us outta here," it was obvious John didn't like being trapped in a giant inescapable space station with a bunch of heroes roaming around.
M'gaan took several steps back as she watched Ben smile at her one final time, returning the gesture with an accompanied wave, he grabbed John's shoulder as his eyes flashed bright-blue engulfing them both in light that whisked them away.
She turned around and huffed, walking over and taking a seat at the holographic console monitoring the League's progress, she watched and waited for a moment. Curious, even though she should have just taken Ben's word for it, it still prompted her to bring up the JL database, anxiously searching a single name.
'J-O-H-N C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-E'
…
New Orleans; Louisiana; June 1st, 2021; 12:07AM.
A dome of blue formed in the middle of a narrow alleyway lined with garbage and overfilled trash-cans, their sudden appearance in a flash of light startled the stray cats that quickly darted off into the darkness; Ben waited and watched as John pulled yet another cigarette from his coat pocket, popping it in his mouth without yet lighting it.
"Don't you smoke any grass?"
John didn't look at the half-Anodite while he answered instead approaching the wall beside them, feeling his hands atop the damp brick, "I did once, though Swampy isn't too keen on people messin' with his precious green."
Redirecting the conversation, Ben scoffed at what they were doing as rain began to trickle down from above, "I thought you said we were meeting Zatanna at her storage unit?"
Constantine laughed, "Wrong, I said that the missing piece to our puzzle was inside Z's storage unit, and I never said it was on the mortal plane," he pulled out a switch blade from his trench and flipped it open, nicking his palm to produce a good amount of blood. His eyes shun with golden light as he slapped his bloodied palm on the brick wall, "Introitus Ad Negatum!" the lining of the brick-wall began to illuminate as it shimmered and materialized into a portal leading into the depths of a white void.
Ben followed John in quickly, having had enough of the games and his avoidance of the bigger question, grabbing him by the collar of his coat, "Why are we here?! What does this have to do with Astra and- and-"
"And your precious Gwenny? Ya," John pushed him back and fixed his collar, "That night, we tried to perform an incomplete resurrection spell to bring back two massive clangers, one of yours and one of mine."
Ben's expression softened, looking back down at his boots, "Gwen is gone, and so is As- wait, what did you mean by incomplete?" he returned to the conversation in full force, "We did everything right, the incantation was perfect."
"Wrong again, mate, we were missing a sort of mystic stabilizer… keeping things like demons from snatching the loved you just saved back into the pit," Constantine was already scouring the pocket-dimension, shelves of items were lined up, amulets, jewels, and a cavalcade of books on mysticism. He recalled how they had just rescued Astra, a little girl John had failed to save years prior, when a powerful demon from the depths of Hell reached out and yanked her right back in. Her screams still echoing in his mind when he thought about it.
"And so, this item your looking for is going to keep the portal locked from the outside, so only the caster can bring souls through?"
John picked up a ruby-necklace and gave it a wide smile, "Look at you, beauty, why's Z letting you gather dust in here, hm?" he pocketed the jewel and glanced back at the judgmental hero. "What? Believe it or not, she owes me more than just one after I helped send that wanker Faust back to his own dimension."
"Just find what we're actually looking for before Zatanna shows up wondering why her ex-boyfriend is raiding her stuff," Ben folded his arms across his pecks, glancing back at the open portal leading back into the alleyway.
John pulled out a shard of crystal from yet another of his many trench coat pockets, waving it around at the shelves and dressers amongst the white void, "No need to scurry, I think I've found juuusst…" the crystal lit up bright red as he approached a drawer with, "What we came for," pulling open the cabinet he grabbed a stone rune that seemed ages old and craved with simple tools.
"And that is the…?"
"Charm of the Damned, forged in Hell by Beelzebub himself, and the only mystical item in the mortal real capable of keeping a stable connection into the afterlife," John held it up to the light of the pocket-dimension as the inscriptions across it illuminated red for the briefest instant.
"Ahem," they all turned to a stunning black-haired woman clearing her throat, dressed in fishnet stockings, a white button-up crop-top using a crimson bow-tie to keep it fastened around her neck. She held a top hat in one hand and a black-stick with a whitened tip as her wand in the other, "And it's also mine," Zatanna announced herself finally, lowering her guard when she recognized the faces of Ben and her least favorite ex.
"Oi, Z, love, I was just about to ring you whe-" John was cut off too quickly for his excuse to have any real meaning.
Zatanna stuck a hand up in the warlocks face, refusing to hear it, "Save it, John, just tell me what you plan to do with that?" she turned to face Ben specifically, "It's not like last time, is it?"
He gave a long sigh not sure how to respond, "I sure hope not."
"C'mon, lad, whatever she says to you don't erase your debt to me… we have kick rocks and get this done before the Mrs cancels your dinner plans," he gave Ben a pat on the back and passed him heading back towards the portal as she didn't attempt to stop him from leaving.
Zatanna placed her hand gently on Ben's shoulder, stopping him from following for just a moment, "You can't bring her back… it'll only end badly," she warned with the most serious expression of concern he'd ever seen on her face. She had been too bust attempting to free her father from Dr. Fate's power the first time Ben and Constantine attempted this but, now she was simply not wiling to help tamper with forces beyond their understanding.
"If it were me, she wouldn't have ever stopped trying, she was like my sister… Constantine is the only other person than me that's bargained with Gods and got what they wanted," he glanced back at John who now sparked his cigarette with his thumb once again outside the portal and out of earshot, "If there's even a one percent chance I can pull this off I have to treat it as an absolute certainty."
"I won't let you two do this alone," Zatanna concluded, feeling Ben's resolve radiating off of him in waves, the determination he was expressing was admirable. Ben was one of the first people she'd met the day she first joined the team over ten years ago, she wasn't about to let him go in alone. "If you're doing this than I'm going too…" she insisted as she turned to make her way out of her own 'storage unit' to stand next to John in the rain.
Ben followed her out as the portal melded back into a brick wall, sealing off her personal stash of mystical items from the mortal realm, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" the shapeshifter questioned.
"I think you'll probably live a lot longer if I'm there with you so, yea," she said with a confident smile.
"I meant working with Constantine again, after… ya know?" Ben felt he could cut the tension with a butter knife as she glanced back at him and rolled her eyes in response.
Zatanna stepped up to Ben and looked him in the eye, "I know what this means to you, so…" her expression changed to that of disgust, "I'm willing to stomach him for you."
"I owe you one, Z."
Zatanna gave a light deliberate giggle, "Everyone does, now, where to next?"
John leaned against the wall of the alleyway, his cigarette cherry crimson red in the darkness as the lights flickered over his blonde head of hair from above, "Hold on to yer' top-hat, love, we're going back to where it all began," Constantine clapped his hands together as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, before they illuminated with a bright golden glow, "Tolle Nos In Quo Nos Defecerimus," his voice echoed, his hands slowly spread out revealing a trigram-design formed of light which he expanded around them, imprinting on the ground at their feet. The glowing symbol fired a beam of golden energy up into the sky at the speed of light, bringing its passengers along for the ride.
…
Newcastle; England; June 1st, 2021; 1:07PM.
They materialized in front of a massive castle, overgrown with moss and foliage, the windows were boarded up and the door hung ajar loosely on the front porch.
"Welcome… to my House of Mystery, my compatriots…" he approached the door and waved his hand around the door, prompting an illusionary spell to fall apart around them revealing a much more well-kept building before them. Also, the door was properly closed and locked once the illusion dissipated.
Ben placed his hands on his hips and glanced up at the marvelous architecture of the castle before him, "How the hell did you end up with a place like this?"
John casually gripped a doorhandle which would have paralyzed anyone else without access on contact and swung the door open, revealing a lavishly kept home, "I won it fair-and-square in a game of poker from three demons, the house has the interesting ability to phase-shift between dimensions… making it the perfect spot to perform our littl' ritual, ya?"
"Let's start the preparations; Benny-boy, around the corner in the kitchen should be some left-over demon blood on the shelf, fetch it for me, would you?" John was about to turn around when he added to his order, "And a bottle of scotch from fridge while you're at it!"
Zatanna didn't know what to say, glaring at John furiously, flaring her nostrils with discontent but, still she said nothing and yet John spoke up in response anyways, "Are you going to talk about what's eatin' you before the hero gets back and feels all that resentment you're sending my way?" he knelt down on the ground began scrubbing the surface of the dark wooden floor with a rag. Placing the rune in the center of the cleaned spot.
"Last time you tried this you lost two souls; Astra and her Mother will never be the same even if you save them now… and Gwen… are you can even bring her back from a different Universe?"
John waited as Ben brought him the vial of demon's blood about the size of a 5-Hour-Energy bottle but, more than enough; he methodically poured the blood across the ground forming a design with the droplets, "In the God Sphere, being the sum-total of all existence, only has one afterlife designed to be several infinities in size to hold all the yanks and wankers that end up above or below," he finished the design on the ground and pulled out his switch blade again, handing it over to Ben who gulped in response.
He grabbed it and quickly sliced the palm of his left hand, dripping his blood into the mix on the ground, add his DNA to better track down his desired soul amongst the infinitude.
Zatanna took several steps back as the symbol on the ground began to glow brightly, humming in and out with light sparking across the blood lighting it ablaze suddenly. "Ego Iubeo Portas Post Vitam! Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Satan himself!"
A powerful beam of light exploded outward from the portal that formed through the symbol in the ground, all of Ben's instincts told him to transform but, he didn't think any alien form would help in a situation like this.
"JOHN CONSTANTINE! YOU DARE INVOKE OUR NAMES?!"
John readjusted himself, clearing his throat, and speaking into the spiraling vortex of flames at their feet, "How much do you walking corpses think the chit to my soul is worth, eh? You could be the first to torture good ol' Johnny when the time comes?"
"INTRIGUING OFFER, BUT YOU'VE COME LOOKING FOR MORE THAN JUST ONE SOUL, HAVEN'T YOU?"
Constantine shrugged as he took the cig from his lips and flicked it onto his tile floor, "It was worth a shot, bargaining and all that…" after puffing his cigarette in between his lips, he stretched out his fingers cracking them all at once, "Flectere Ad Voluntatem Meam Reducet Eos Quos Amamus!" from Constantine's rune summoned chains which kept the portal open and blocked off as John searched through the afterlife for their loved ones. Slithering through the infinite to find just two single people, finally finding Astra's soul, "I got her! I got Astra!" he quickly grabbed a hand extending from the portal where a twelve-year old girl crawled out, shaking and terrified, still in shock.
Zatanna summoned a cloak from nowhere and threw it over Astra's shoulders, comforting her and assuring her things would be okay, separating her from the ritual still going on.
Ben stepped forwards and placed his hands on John's shoulder, funneling mana into his mysticism, "Look for this signature, I know it'll work this time!" He had to be optimistic otherwise what was this all for?"
"I've got her but, I'm not the only one!" John reeled back as the energy connecting from his palms into the portal yanked harder, like trying to hook a fish in the water and reel it in.
"Another demon?!"
"Worse! Much w-worse!"
John was electrocuted by crimson lightning sending him vaulting back, hitting a China-cabinet which collapsed atop him, shattering century old wood on his back, dishes clattering to pieces around them as Ben rushed over to help, "P-Prope Nunc," John weakly muttered shutting the portal before anything else could go awry.
"What the hell just happened?!" Ben asked as he telekinetically flipped the three-hundred pound China-cabinet off his back and across the room; slightly out of angry but, also frustration.
John huffed and held his forehead, now bleeding down the size of his face, he shook the pain off and reached into his trench coat, "Astra," he glanced back at the terrified girl in the corner who he would need to have a long talk within a few moments, "Was an innocent soul, a nobody… Whoever your cousin is, she must be pretty powerful for one of the New Gods to be so interested."
Ben took a step back, worried about the answer he might get in return, "Which New God?"
…
Apokolips
A massive throne room lined with silent guards and warriors standing at attention led to the throne itself with a ten-foot tall deity sitting atop it; he watched as an old-woman clad in emerald and crimson armor dubbed Granny Goodness dragged two women by the hair down the long hall which led to the throne.
She tossed two red-heads at his feet and knelt down to one knee, "Do I look like I am in need of satisfaction?" his eyes illuminated as though the mere suggestion would have her erased from existence.
"You misunderstand, my Lord and Master; these women are formattable warriors…" after receiving no response and a glare that obviously showed no interest in these females, "One is Tamaranian traded to us by their world when you conquered it; the second female cant be identified but, her power readings are impressive to say the least."
Darkseid was silent for a moment, the flames billowing behind his throne illuminating through and casting a menacing shadow across his stone-cold face, "Lock them in the re-education chamber, make sure they're fed well, I would like to see how they perform in battle."
"Of course, Lord Darkse-"
The New God wasn't finished, he continued just to make himself perfectly clear, his eyes flashing the most menacing crimson, "Should these new potential Furies fail me, it will be all three of your heads."
"Yes, Lord Darkseid," Granny got back to her feet, strutting forwards and grabbing hold of each of the women by their distinct red-hair, and making her way back towards the end of the hall where she would direct herself to the programming facility.
A room full of screens with hypnotic visuals, a pair of sound-proof headphones, a tiara across her forehead to induce electroshock therapy, and finally both bound to identical seats bolted to the ground. After fastening both women into their seats, ensuring they were bonded properly, Granny activated a device that extended out from the seats reaching around and clamping their eyes wide-open.
"Now, be good girls for Granny; I'll be back to check on you two in say eight-hours," a maniacal laugh echoed through the hall as the door shut behind her leaving them with an irresistible brainwashing program playing before them. Anytime they tried to resist the tiara's atop their heads would deliver an electric shock to stimulate the brain and weaken their psyche.
…
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