Be a Decent Poker Player
"Ugh, do you frequent these places often," Zatanna crinkled her nose as they walked by bunch of poker tables.
"Only when I need to," John answered.
Cigars, cigarettes, and cheap whiskey filled the air as Zatanna and Constantine walked through the show room. Everyone around them looked relatively normal. They were all just boring humans in tuxes and fancy dresses.
"Uhh Johnny, are you sure we're in the right place? And are we even underdressed? We stick out like sore thumbs!" Zatanna worried.
"Don't worry bout it, luv. We're in the right place."
They arrived at a large door with a pair of bouncers guarding the entrance. One of them stepped forward glaring at Constantine.
"Name?" he asked.
"You know who we are," John smirked flipping the guard a gold coin.
"Hmmm. Welcome. The Demons Three will be arriving shortly."
The guards opened the doors and led them into a private room. A wet bar with wine and other liquors sat off to the side. The large windows gave a view of Las Vegas down below. In the middle of the room was a large poker table. One of the seats was filled by a gentleman in an olive suit. He had slicked back red hair with a streak of gray down the side.
"John Constantine. I shouldn't be surprised someone like you would be here," the man spoke.
"Now now, Jason. Is that anyway to greet a friend?"
"A friend? No. You? One must always be wary. Ah Miss Zatanna. Lovely to finally meet you."
"Uhhhh hi! And you are?" Zatanna sheepishly waved.
"Blood. Jason Blood. Your father and I were associates for a time. A good man. Happy to make your acquaintance," he smiled extending his hand.
"Wow! I guess my father was really well connected," she said shaking Jason's hand.
"Your father or rather your lineage is more important than you realize," Jason warned.
Before Zatanna could ask another question, a ring of fire appeared before them. Out stepped three large ghastly demons. One was rather short with a red mohawk. The second had a more muscular build but one of his short horns was cut off. The last was clearly the leader as she stood tall and proud with his long horns intact.
"I am Abnegazar. These are my brothers Ghast and Rath," he said gesturing to the big demon and the little mohawk one respectively.
"Hehe shall we play?" Rath screeched.
All parties sat down as John picked up the deck and began to shuffle.
"Ah ah! I don't think so Constantine," Abnegazar shook his head, "We do not trust you with your slights of hand. You! New girl! You will shuffle."
"Me?" she pointed to herself.
"Yes! You. We cannot trust Constantine here and ol' two-face over there always has an ulterior motive. You look innocent enough. You shuffle!"
"Hey! You can't call him, Two-face! That's taken!" she tried to ease the tension in the room.
"Just shuffle!" the demon ordered slamming the deck on the table.
Zatanna picked up the cards and began shuffling the deck as she eyed the three demons.
"I assume you all know the buy in?" Ghast asked.
"Right. Of course," John agreed snapping his fingers.
In an instant, a stack of poker chips appeared on the table beside John and Zee. Jason Blood knocked on the table as his chips appeared as well.
"Five thousand dollars each. As per the rules," John stated.
"FIVE THOUSAND WHAT?! Johnny, can we talk in private?" she exclaimed tugging on John's coat and pulling him aside.
"Be quick about it!" Rath called out.
By the bar, Zatanna was fuming.
"Johnny, I do NOT have five thousand dollars to just throw around."
"Easy Zat-Zat. Don't worry. We're not really gonna lose five G's. Remember, we're here for information and the shard."
"You'd better be sure. Because that is a lot of money!" she scolded pointing at him with her left hand.
A gleam of light shined from her ring onto John's eye. As she walked back to the table, John scratched his head a bit before returning.
"Huh. Didn't peg her as one to accessorize," he pondered.
The game was underway as the two magicians returned to the table. All seemed fair at first as the demons and humans went back and forth. Zatanna won a few hands racking up a decent chunk of change. Johnny too picked up a few straights and flushes. As the night started to wind down, the humans started to lose pretty harshly. Luckily, Ghast and Rath both busted out leaving Abnegazar as the remaining demon.
"Bollucks! In what bloody plane of existence does four of a kind lose?" John exclaimed losing another nine-hundred dollars.
"Too too bad Cons-tan-tine! Hehehe," Rath chuckled.
"Have you gained weight?" Ghast asked, "You need to watch your health or this gal of yours won't stick around for long."
"Oh! Uh we're not together hehe. Just old friends," Zee corrected not noticing the slight hurt look in John's eyes.
"Careful now, Constantine. You keep losing like this, you won't have enough money for your girl of the night," Abnegazar teased, "I on the other hand am raking in the cash. Say, girl, how much do you charge anyway? By night or by hour?"
"Screw you!" Zatanna fumed, "I happen to be a proper lady thank you very much!"
"Not if you're hanging around the likes of Constantine here haha," the demon retorted.
"What say you let your other half play a little, Jason?" John asked Blood, "He might change our luck around here."
"Ladies and gentlemen, another bad idea from one John Constantine. The only reason I'm even in this boorish establishment is to find a relic and keep it safe. Lord knows the world is succumbing to chaos as we speak."
"Oy oy! You blokes are boring me. Shall we continue?" Abnegazar interrupted as he shuffled the cards.
Once receiving their hands, everyone took a peek at their cards.
"I fold," Jason declared.
"I'm out too," Zatanna said placing her cards down.
John smirked and pushed all his cards to the table. Abnegazar squinted his eyes. He laughed.
"Hehe well as much fun as this has been John, we have another appointment. As such, it's time to bust you out. I'm all in. Oh wait, you can't match. Looks like you're out!"
"On the contrary oh ugly one, I've got more up my sleeve," John smirked snapping his fingers, "I bet…the House of Mystery."
From behind outside the windows, a large mansion appeared out of thin air. It floated in place above the buildings with a yellow hue to its glow.
"I bet the house and everything inside it. Looks like I've got the higher bid, mate. Your call," John folded his arms.
"Johnny!? Are you insane?! Is that your family house? This is a bad bad idea," Zatanna warned him.
"Relax, luv. I've got 'em right where I want 'em."
The demons huddled up and began talking strategy.
"Seems like a bad risk."
"But the House of Mystery though!"
"It's a pretty hefty price. How can we be sure we've got the better hand?"
"Oh, we've got the better hand. Besides, think about it. The chance to have our way with Orchid? That's worth everything in the Nine Realms!"
The Demons Three broke the huddle and agreed to call. A smaller ring of fire appeared and Abnegazar pulled out a small chest. Slamming it on the table, he opened it revealing some gold coins, jewels, and a single shard of the red Dreamstone.
"Aye, now we're talkin'," John agreed.
"Time to show our cards then!" the demon declared.
John put his cards down showing a three-of-a-kind with three 2s along with a 7 and a King. All three demons burst out laughing at the sorry cards in John's hand.
"You've got to be kidding me? You were bluffing with that?!" Rath cackled.
"Lost your touch eh, John? Tryna impress girlie over here? Bah!" Ghast roared.
"Read them and weep, Constantine. Your luck has just run out," Abnegazar smiled.
The demon put his cards down showing a straight flush from ten to ace, but with a quick yellow glow, cards ten through king changed to randomized numbers creating pretty much a worthless hand.
"What the?" Abnegazar exclaimed.
"Ooooo sorry, mate. That won't get you a pint down at the bar. Welp. I'll just take my winnings and be on my way then," John teased.
"Arrghhh fuck you Constantine! You cheating git!" Abnegazar screamed as he flipped the table spilling cards, poker chips, and coins all over the place.
Jason jumped out of the way and hid behind a pillar while Zatanna sprung right back up into a fighting stance. John rolled on the ground and hit the side of the bar.
"How dare you cheat us! You are nothing but foul scum!" the demon roared.
"Technically, we both cheated. I was just better about it," John retorted picking up a blue dagger.
"I'll rip your worthless heart out! Then I'll fuck your girl!"
"Hey! I'm not his girl!" Zatanna shouted.
"And I kinda need my heart, thank you very much," John said as he shot a beam at the demon.
The dagger turned out to be some sort of ice relic. The beam created ice along the demon's eyes temporarily blinding him. Ghast tried to lunge at Zatanna but she had a wind spell ready to repel him.
"LLawdniw!" (Windwall).
Ghast smacked his face into the barrier but distracted Zatanna long enough for Rath to jump on her back.
"Oh no you don't! You will NOT mess up my hair!" she screamed flinging the demon off her back and into Ghast.
Abnegazar ripped the ice off his face and summoned his ax. John's hands began freezing over before he ditched the dagger and dodged a strike from the demon.
"Oy! Blood! Now would be a good time to switch dance partners and have him tag into this little rodeo!" John called out to Jason.
"No can do, John. That would be another one of your bad ideas."
John rolled away from yet another ax swing and ran across the room to duck behind a column. Zatanna meanwhile had two demons circling around her.
"I like this one, Rath. She's got some meat on her bones," Ghast licked his lips.
"She's really really balanced. Meat on top and bottom. Boy these human girls get better and better as the centuries go on."
"Ok demons from hell or not, you both are disgusting! Kcohsrednuht!" (Thundershock).
Small bolts of electricity shot out from her hands and blasted the two demons away from her. Ghast flew into the bar shelf as it collapsed on top of him. Rath recovered quickly and jumped to Zatanna scratching her arm.
"Ahh!" she screamed at the wound, "You asshole! This is one of my favorite jackets!"
"Hehehe."
On the other side of the room, John spotted Jason in the corner. With his hand, he spoke an incantation forcing Jason to repeat everything he said.
"Gone, gone the form of man. Arise the demon, ETRIGAN!" John and Jason spoke.
Jason keeled over and feel to his knees. Fire enveloped him as his human body burned to ashes. In his place, a large brutish form rose from the ashes. The fire cleared revealing yellow skin, red armor and purple cape. His fish-like eyes wiggled as he smiled baring his sharp teeth. His red eyes squinted as he glared at the three demons awaiting his wrath.
"Oh yes. This should be fun!" Etrigan growled.
"Hang on? What happened to the rhyming?" John asked.
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to consistently speak in rhymes? I grew tired as I laid dormant with time."
"But…"
"Be quiet! We shall converse after the fight. Beware demons of Etrigan's might!"
Rath and Ghast hesitated at first. They backed away from fear over the mighty fire demon.
"Easy brother," Rath pleaded, "We're on the same side, right?"
"Yea! Let's use our words and talk this out," Ghast agreed.
"Are you having a laugh? We're the Demons Three. We're killing him. We're killing John. Then we'll have our way with John's harlot!" Abnegazar ordered.
"FOR THE LAST TIME I AM NOT JOHN'S HARLOT!" Zatanna shouted from the back.
Etrigan ignored all conversations and jumped at Abnegazar. He roared and ripped the leader's head clean off before backflipping to face the other two. With a roar, he breathed fire onto the two demons burning them to a crisp. Abnegazar's head hopped over to Constantine who was rummaging through the chest looking for the Dreamstone shard.
"We won't forget this Constantine," Abnegazar warned, "We will devour your soul one way or another!"
"Get in line, ya twats," John retorted.
Sensing defeat, the demons opened a portal to hell. The ring of fire sucked in all three demons and their dismembered parts and then closed with a poof. John got up holding the tiny shard in his hands.
"Well, that went better than expected," he exclaimed.
"Pft. While you bask in victory, your companion suffers from injury," Etrigan pointed at Zatanna.
She walked over holding her right arm a bit. It was a just scratch, but it still bled heavily enough to leave a trail on the floor.
"Guys I'm fine, really. Just a flesh wound," she winced as she tried to reassure the two.
"That don't look too good, luv. No worries, my house is just around the corner," John said pointed at his still floating mansion.
"With the enemies thwarted, Etrigan would like to see the pretty Orchid."
"Ok seriously, what is with you all and the soul of my house!?"
The trio entered the famed House of Mystery and arrived at the parlor. Zatanna sat down on the couch while Etrigan leaned on the staircase.
"Seriously, Johnny, I'm fine!"
"Nonsense, Zat-Zat. Let Orchid help with that."
"It's just a flesh wound!"
"And a nasty one at that. Orchid! Where are ya!"
"Right here, John," Orchid answered appearing by his side in an instant.
"Bloody hell woman! I told you not to do that!" the Englishman screamed.
Next to John stood a purple humanoid being. She had no hair but definitely had the curves of a woman. The only things distancing her from the human race were the fin on her head and the light wings on her back.
"I am glad to see you are well. I am…less glad to see you have brought yet another woman into the house."
"Huh? Oh! No no no nooooo. Johnny and I are old friends. That's it."
"Hmm. I see. Strange affirmations however as I sense conflict in your heart. Perhaps regarding a recent quarrel? And yet, your heart is still steadfastly set on someone."
No one really noticed John perking up a bit at this observation. He had held out a little hope that Zatanna's childhood crush remained a thing but still wasn't quite sure.
"It's nothing…" Zatanna frowned looking away.
"Nevertheless, I believe John has summoned me to heal your wound. Let me help."
Orchid approached Zatanna and placed her hands on her scratch. With a light green hue, her magic began healing the injury and closing the wound.
"As ravishing as she is adept, your beauty, dear Orchid, has pierced my soul direct," the demon tried to flirt.
"Hello Etrigan," Orchid responded kindly.
Now healed, Zatanna stood up ready to get back to business.
"Alright, so we've got part of the Dreamstone. Half is still at Shadowcrest. Now what? How do we lure out the madman with the other half?"
"Not sure quite yet. I need a drink," John said summoning a bottle of whiskey, "Zat-Zat? Etrigan? Care for a few fingers?"
"Hmmm I do not care for your company indeed, but Etrigan is always ready to consume mead!"
The demon rumbled over and attempted to pry the whole bottle from John. With surprising effort, John was able to hold onto the bottle and resist Etrigan's strength.
"Now look here you foul git! This is a rather expensive bottle of Macallan's, and I will not have it wasted on the likes of you!" John struggled.
As the two wrestled over the bottle of whiskey, Zatanna pulled out her phone. Though surprised she actually had service within the House of Mystery, she immediately sent a text hoping not to be left on read.
Meanwhile, high above a church, a crying woman held a bundle of blankets in her arms. A cross and rosary beads wrapped around her hand. The woman, though saddened, extended her arms and the bundle of blankets over the edge. A voice called out from behind startling her as she pulled the blankets back into her chest.
"Hey uh, why don't we step away from the ledge and talk this out?" the voice asked from behind.
The figure stepped forward revealing his bright blue crest on his chest. The woman softened into a smile before returning back to her gloomy state.
"It's not my fault! I can't keep this. It's the devil! I've given birth to the devil!"
The blankets shifted revealing to Nightwing a tiny baby with a little tuft of blonde hair. It slowly woke up and began wailing. However, to the mother, all she could see was a little demon roaring and screaming in her arms.
"You're tired. Why don't you give me the baby and we climb down from this roof huh? Let's just relax for a second, ok? That way nobody gets hurt."
For an instant, the mother saw the baby as a normal baby, and she relaxed. She walked forward towards Nightwing and extended the child to him. At the last second, the woman's vision saw her child as a demon once more causing her to panic and toss the baby over her head and off the ledge. In the blink of an eye, Nightwing dove over the building and down towards the crying baby. Quickly, he caught the child and grappled up to the ledge. He held the child in his arms confirming that she was safe. Unfortunately, he immediately heard a thud and looked over. The mother had jumped off and fallen on the sidewalk dying instantly.
"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he whimpered cradling the child into his chest.
A little later, police cars and ambulances had arrived onto the scene. Multiple officers and detectives had warded off the area to prevent any civilians or press from getting too close. Nightwing recognized one of the detectives on scene. He shined a light into the detective's eyes signaling him into the alley. Picking up on the sign, the detective sneaked off towards the light.
"Nightwing! Holy shit man, what's going on?!"
"I'm not too sure, Peralta. Based on what we've witnessed, people are hallucinating demons and devils in their midst."
"You're telling me! One dude said that his arms were actually pythons, and they were eating his face!"
"All we can do is riot control and keep everyone calm. I've got someone looking into the magic of all this."
"Wait, magic is real!?"
"Yea. That's how Doctor Fate works. He's all magic."
"No way. I don't believe you!"
"There are literal aliens on the League as well as dudes who can make anything appear out of their rings and magic is where you draw the line?"
"I mean….when you put it that way."
"All units we've got a possible health emergency at 114 Dewberry Road. A child is having seizures and her mother is unable to reach her."
"That's close by here. Gotta run Night-" Jake turned around to find nothing but the alleyway, "How does he do that?!"
At the Dewberry Road residence, a woman frantically banged on the bedroom door of her daughter. She cried and cried worried for her. Glass shattered from behind door causing her even more grief. On the other side, Nightwing was able to enter the room via the window. All along the walls were crosses, pictures of Jesus, and one portrait of Obi-wan Kenobi from "Attack of the Clones". In the middle of the room was a ten-year-old girl who was having muscle spasms. Dark shadows emitted from her body acting like tentacles. Nightwing tried to approach her, but the tentacles flung him back towards a shelf. A notebook fell on his head. Picking it up, he read the name scrawled on the cover. He got up and slowly approached the girl once again.
"Rachel? Rachel, can you hear me?" Nightwing called out.
Surprisingly, the girl stopped seizing. She laid still as the tentacles started to withdraw back into her.
"Rachel, I need you to calm down, ok? Everything's going to be fine. You just have to calm down!"
As if being soothed by his voice, Rachel relaxed, and the shadows began dissipating. Finally able to approach her, Nightwing cradled her head into his lap.
"That's it, Rachel. I've got you. I'm not going to hurt you."
Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the blue bird as well as the domino masked face of Nightwing.
"W-who are you?"
"Uhh hi! I'm Nightwing."
"How do you know my name?"
"Uhh it's written on your notebook. The one with unicorns?"
Abruptly, she got up and jumped out of his arms. She stood there huffing and waving her arms.
"Uhhh I don't like unicorns! No way! They're lame and uncool!" she exclaimed flustered.
"Hey hey it's ok! I won't tell anyone. Although, if we're being honest, I think unicorns are cool!" he reassured her.
"Really?"
"Totally! I mean they're tall and majestic and so colorful! Plus, the horn is like super strong!"
"Right! And they sparkle so much too!"
"Exactly! Anyway, your mom is worried sick out there. Why don't we let her know that you're ok?"
"O-oh. Yea. That's probably a good idea."
He stood up and extended his hand to her. She reached out and took it before they walked to the door.
"Mr. Nightwing?"
"Yea?"
"Thank you for saving me."
Atop a roof, Dick leaned against a brick wall taking a quick breather. All night he had been chasing cars, saving suicide jumpers, and quickly transporting people to the hospital. This night had been wild with people all experiencing some sort of induced terror. It was nonstop. He was about to close his eyes before his phone vibrated. Tiredly, he pulled it out.
Zee🐰: Hey baby. I think I'm getting close to stopping all this madness. Hope things are going well on your end. I miss you.
Zee🐰: *I LOVE you 3
Despite his heavy fatigue, he curved his lips into a smile. Was he upset that she didn't trust him enough to tell him about all her weird premonitions? Yes. Would he hold it against her and jeopardize their relationship? Never. Nimbly, he texted back before shutting his eyes for a quick nap.
Dick😉: You got this. Call me if you need ANYTHING. I love you too :3
AN: Aight Imma be honest, if you've seen the movie you kinda know where this is going. But I'll still tweak it and give it that ol' Chalant canon makeover!