*Kaldur, Foothills of Albany, House Of Mysteries
The excited but agitated warlock, John Constantine, paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. The eerie effect of saying the name 'Precursor' in the House of Mystery was startling. Kaldur could tell everyone was a little spook, even Dick who was acting aloof seemed perturbed.
After the weird phenomenon and Constantine jumping up and shushing any more speaking he had rushed to his desk and casted various spells, pulled out some amulets from hidden nooks, and even cut his hand and smeared blood on a book that glowed before returning to normal. Based on his nod of approval he had completed all his preparations before he started pacing.
A few moments passed with no indication the warlock would stop.
Kaldur gave Zatanna a pointed look which she responded with a nod of understanding.
"John..." she hesitantly asked.
"What just happened?"
Still pacing Constantine gave a snort, "Something that I thought I would never in my lifetime ever see."
Slowing his pacing he kept his eyes on the fire.
"The House of Mysteries is unique in that while it is here physically it is also connected in a way to several realms. Such a unique existence allows it to access... mysteries that most mortals are not privy to. That makes it a great source of information but also vulnerable to powers that are best left unmentioned."
Wally interrupted, "What does that have to do with what just happened now!?!"
Stopping his pacing and turning towards Wally, Constantine said irritated, "I am getting there."
Rubbing his head and eyes he said, "In the normal world invoking a name of an entity will typically not get you their attention, too many mystical energies on Earth. But here it can echo louder and reverberates, especially if it is focused on this plane of existence."
Walking back to his armchair he sat slouched and poured more whiskey into his cup.
"Usually I have things like amulets or spells activated to prevent the majority of entities from noticing them being mentioned but you idiots said something I never would of thought possible... Precursors."
At his saying everyone looked around to see if the same effect would happen, though Constantine and Zatanna remained calm.
"So..." Kaldur said carefully, "We can now say 'Precursors' with safety?"
Constantine nodded, "Aye lad, we should be safe. But after you all bugger off I am going to scrub this place clean of any lingering gazes."
While Constantine took a swig of his drink Zatanna gave him an annoyed look.
"John," the irritation clear in her voice, "How did you recognize the name so quickly?"
Constantine pointedly kept his gaze on his drink, "Oh you know, I like studying all sorts of thi..."
SHATTER
The glass in the warlock's hand shatter, but the pieces, ice and whiskey swirled towards Zatanna who with a mutter word and snap of her fingers made it disappeared.
"Cut the shit John, you may be one of the experts on the occult but even my father barely knew anything about them. I don't doubt you have the resources to find out, but I doubt you would waste your time on one of a thousand ancient stories that have been told. Especially one that has little to no whispers or indications of coming true..."
With a narrowed gaze at Constantine she continued, "Unless something happened recently that made you research them."
"Nothing can get past you luv," a annoyed Constantine remarked.
"Please," Kaldur interjected.
It felt like they were going around in circles, right now they needed answers.
Reaching into his pocket he withdrew a note Batman had given him to guarantee Constantine's cooperation with the team.
Tossing it over to the Warlock the man who looked it over before smiling and a snap of his fingers made the note disappear without reading it.
Cracking his fingers he said, "Well the Bats always knew how to speak my language."
Standing up Constantine walked to his desk and began ruffling around papers and books looking for something.
While he searched he spoke in a tone more serious then ever before.
"A few weeks ago there was an unusual pulse of energy, some power of something. Whether it was mystical or cosmic is something I still haven't figured out, but whatever it was alerted every practitioner and entity on the planet. Perhaps even further."
With a grunt he found the book he was looking for and lifted it straining under the weight. Walking over to a table closer to the team he plopped the book down and began flipping the worn pages.
"Naturally, anyone who was anyone immediately began searching for the source and what exactly happened. And everyone seems just as lost to whatever it was. Best anyone seemed to find is that the pulse of energy came from somewhere in central Asia."
The flipping of pages stopped as he traced the words of some archaic language.
"However, unlike others I happened to know a few underworldly denizens that are safe to talk with about sensitive matters. Especially when you play poker and get them drunk."
Nodding in satisfaction at what he read he slumped back into his chair.
With a sigh he said, "Last night I was set on striking out when I happened upon a interesting demon with a penchant for aged bourbon. A few thousand dollars worth of drinks and a handful of karaoke to Bryan Adams the creature let something slip."
"Wait!" Wally shouted, "Demons are real?!?"
"Yes, yes now please shut up," Constantine said dismissively.
Seeing the speedster go quiet the warlock continued, "The demon let slip that some of the higher ups from downstairs were particularly spooked. No one knew exactly why only that during one of the meetings the word 'Precursor' was used."
Constantine pointed to the book in front of them, "Besides referencing some of the old prophecies the demon had little else to say on the matter. I came home and opened up what good ole records showed. And all was revealed..."
M'gann feeling the eerie tension building asked excitedly, "Really?"
The rest of the team and even Kaldur were hanging onto his words carefully. The atmosphere building with the suspense Constantine built.
And with a snap it evaporated.
Snorting Constantine laughed, "No you idiots!"
"Amunet, Myrridin, Cassandra and even good Krishna had barely anything to say on the subject. Most just mention the Precursors in passing as entities that lived long ago and no longer were of any consequence. Hell, I even had access to some copies of the original manuscripts and they all basically said the same thing. The Precursors are old, they all died, and that is all there is to them."
Enjoying the disgruntled looks from the Team made the warlock grin even wider.
Everyone seemed annoyed with Constantine except Zatanna who shook her head with amusement. She seemed used to the antics of the man, Kaldur however was getting more annoyed as the conversation continued.
Seeming to sense the frustration from Kaldur, Constantine gave him a look acknowledging the annoyance and cleared his throat.
"Reading such scant information would typically deter the lesser investigator but not me. I now had a niggling suspicion that someone has been censoring information."
Robin spoke up seeing where he was leading, "And why censor information if it wasn't dangerous?"
"Exactly!" Constantine exclaimed.
Standing up on his feet he gave a clap of his hands causing a light that blinded everyone for a moment. Kaldur felt his eyes burn, before some form of vision returned.
Blinking away the stars in his eyes he could see that Constantine had teleported them to somewhere completely different. Unlike the mansion this was a large circular room with large grey stone bricks making up the structure. Several stone pillars supporting cauldron fires gave the necessary light. In the center was a small wooden table worn with time and a thick leather bound book in the center.
A few of the teammates were still struggling to blink their eyes clear of the sudden teleport.
Constantine walked over and flipped over the old book.
"So I decided to hunt down an actual original copy of an ancient record. And who better then the brilliant if a little mad Abram the Mage."
BLEUGH
Wally had apparently not taken the instantaneous teleport well and had begun to dry heave. A ironic fact considering how fast a speedster could travel.
Off to the side Connor was not much better. He had leaned over placing his hands on his knees with a low muttering indicating his displeasure at the sensation of the magic.
"Don't do that again," Connor growled towards the warlock who was focused entirely on the book.
"Take a piss," Constantine said distractedly while motioning for Kaldur and Zatanna to come close.
"Look closely," he said softly while pointing at a picture in the book.
The picture was something Kaldur had never before seen. From a quick glance it was merely a myriad of stars swirling around a black spot that he assumed was a black hole, something you could see in a sci-fi flick or a telescope. But the longer he stared the more he saw minute details that boasted the beauty and the complexity of the image.
The stars clustered closely together almost had the appearance of warriors wielding weapons of swords, shields, tridents, arrows, and spears. The stars all appeared united in attacking the black hole which the longer he stared the more uneasy he felt. The black hole looked like you would expect, a glaring black spot in the center with wisps of white nebula being dragged into its maw. But like with the stars when he gazed at it long enough, it slowly began taking the appearance of a furious eye with flowing black flames.
Kaldur soon realized he had not blinked once in the minutes he had stared at the painting and as soon as he did it went back resembling a cluster of stars surrounding a black hole.
"Intriguing innit," Constantine's voice distracted Kaldur from trying to try to find the pattern again.
"Abram the Mage may of been fairly crazy, but you cannot deny his artistry."
"John," Zatanna tore her gaze from the image with a look of fear, "What the hell is this."
Constantine gently traced the perimeter of the book, "That my dear was the best way our primitive ancestors could describe the cosmic battle of gods, demons, angels and other powerful entities of our universe against the last of the Precursors."
"Are you saying these Precursors wage war against earth's deities?" Kaldur asked.
The warlock shook his head, "More like the deities of our world and all the others. And if I have learned anything about the various pantheons is the unwillingness to ever work together. But a common and dangerous foe is quite the bonding experience."
A few of the other teammates had come around to look at the painting, based on their expressions a few were able to see the details showing the story while others could not.
Batgirl eyes widened at the scale of what was implied by the story.
With a awed but shaky voice she asked, "Why did they fight?"
"Great question," Constantine said with a lighter tone while he close the book.
"Abram the Mage wrote very little about them, only that the Precursors are old... very old, even to gods."
"Well based on their name we already assumed that," Connor muttered.
Constantine sighed, "Yes but what I mean is they are impossibly old, so old they shouldn't exist yet based on these stories they did. Beings of immense power that took multiple pantheons to lead them to extinction. Beings that have not been heard, seen or sensed by the most powerful deities of our universe for countless eons. Only for a small whisper of their nearly forgotten power to echo across our world and plane of existence."
Batgirl had a pensive look and said, "It feels like we are missing a lot of pieces to this puzzle."
Constantine coughed, "Ya luv, you are right about that. Most of the deities and entities that know about this past are keeping tight lip about things. I have put out a few feelers but I am not hopeful."
The group then when silent. Everyone seemed to be absorbing all the information the Warlock had dumped on them. The terrifying mystery of ancient dead beings freaking out the deities of Earth left a cold unnerving feeling amongst them all.
Kaldur as team leader felt they had now been dumped with more questions then answers. He could only feel the headache building as he thought about telling Batman what they had learned.
"So what do we do now?" Batgirl asked.
Constantine cracked his hands and raised them to clap only to pause and pointedly look at Connor before saying,
"First, everyone close your eyes!"
Kaldur and everyone obliged as the warlock clapped and the blinding light came again. When the Atlantean opened his eyes they were back in the library of the House of Mystery.
Constantine walked to one of the bookshelves and pulled a velvety rope which caused a large canvas map to unroll from the top down. While looking antique and boasting names of many locations in older rather then modern tongues, the map was accurate... frighteningly so.
Walking up to it, Kaldur traced a particular spot in the north Atlantic that was considered privileged and secret.
"How does this map have the location of Atlantis?" Kaldur asked in awe.
Constantine laughed, "You think that is crazy, this old beauty has the ability to get you to the Amazonians island. A fact trust me, still makes ol Hippolyta pissed beyond measure."
Looking at it closer, Kaldur realized how incredibly detailed the map depicted the lands. In fact, the longer he stared the more he could see the specific currents of the oceans, the roads between every city on Earth, the small stone paths leading to mountains unexplored, the entrances to other dimensions, prisons both mortal and immortal. So many details and secret paths that it began to force Kaldur to look at every detail, every road and every path.
'Incredible... wait I cant move... what the... What is going on!?!"
A rough hand gripped his shoulder and spun him away from the map.
"Woah, sorry lad, should of warned you!"
Constantine looked apologetic.
"This map belonged to a conquistador who made a deal with a blood god. In exchanged for a map that is beyond accurate he sold his soul plus that of his men. The price was definitely not worth it for him but has provided myself and other lucky dogs quite a potent if cursed artifact."
"Is everything you own cursed," Wally complained while giving Kaldur a concern look.
"Mostly yes!" Constantine happily.
Pointing back at the map he said, "Just don't look too long at it and you wont go insane. But the main reason I brought it out is that in a maybe a week's time I will be able to pinpoint within a 25 mile radius where the outburst of energy came from. One week and I can direct you on a little trip to see what all the commotion is about."
---------------------------------------
*Felix, The Order base, Unknown Location
In a conference room of The Order most of the chairs surrounding the table were filled. A stiff silence resounded as the men and women in suits sat quietly waiting.
Felix sat at the head of the table and while it had been awhile since the Commandant's punishment he still occasionally gave involuntary twitches.
'Some pain never fades,' Felix thought bitterly.
His failures at acquiring Krios had him pay dearly, and he feared what would happen if did so again. Already, had he failed twice, the first with John and Sarah, and now with their son. The Commandant would not forgive him for a third time.
A beeping broke Felix from his thoughts, it appeared the meeting could begin.
Clicking on a control a video call connected with the audio activated but a black image filled the screen.
The distinct accent and gruff tone of the Commandant spoke,
"Report"
A man to Felix cleared his throat, "Sir intelligence has been sparse about Krios after he escaped the Justice League in Gotham..."
"Spare me the history lesson and get to the point!" The Commandant growled.
The man visibly paled and stammered, "Of course! What I mean is that we were able to trace him boarding a flight to Africa where he met up with the the mercenary called Death Stroke. After that the two traveled to the Middle East but that is where all traces go cold. I am sorry to say I have not fou..."
Halfway through the man speaking he stopped and gasped. Clutching his heart he moaned and began coughing blood. Soon the moaning turned to hoarse groans of pain with blood leaking out from his eyes and ears before he finally slammed down on the table.
Even without checking his pulse Felix knew the man was dead, it seemed the Commandant was in the mood for a object lesson today.
"I have left The Order to its own devices for far too long it seems," the Commandant spoke quietly but the anger could be felt sending fear to all attending the meeting.
"I joined and later took command of this Order because your old masters and I struck a deal. They would help me and I would help them. I kept my promise, and yet this pathetic group has yet to succeed where it matters most."
The silence in the room was palpable, not even the death of John and Sarah had the Commandant been as infuriated as he was now.
But fate seemed willing to grant them a reprieve and they all took small comfort in the lifeline he offered them with his next words.
"Despite these shortcomings I foresee you still being useful. The recent burst of energy has been noticed by many and I do not doubt they will find ways around the protections wrought to hide its release. Fortunately, I do not have such limitations."
Another beep sounded and onscreen a map of the world showed a satellite view of a mountainous region.
"Krios can be found hiding amongst the League of Shadows. It seems the my old enemy has decided to take action against me and my plans."
'Ra's al Ghul was now willing to challenge the Commandant?'
Such a thought confused Felix considering the past that was shared between the two powerful men. Al Ghul had paid a terrible price and it seemed like the old assassin knew when to not poke the sleeping bear.
"Go to their hideout in the mountains of the Himalayas, use whatever resources are necessary."
Felix stood and respectfully said, "We shall not fail you Commandant! Krios will be in our hands very soon. However, what do you want done with the rest of the assassins?"
The Commandant's voice came firmly and spoke coldly,
"Wipe them out... All of them!"