On the Batplane, Batman took the opportunity to probe for information.
"I heard you spent some time in Ravenska Mental Hospital."
Constantine's expression immediately darkened. "Are you serious? You're snooping into my private life now?"
The question touched a nerve, involving a past Constantine had no desire to revisit.
"Why not?" Batman replied, undeterred.
During his investigation, Batman had uncovered Constantine's connection to a tragic event from years ago—the infamous "Newcastle incident."
Constantine stiffened as the memory surfaced, his expression growing distant. "I don't want to talk about it, Batman. Can you drop it?"
Batman paused, his tone measured when he spoke again. "Okay, I won't push you."
"But you need to understand—if you want help from the Justice League, this is something you'll have to confront sooner or later. The League has to ensure its power isn't used for evil."
Constantine's face tightened. He turned his head away, muttering, "I didn't say I needed your help."
"Then why are you involved in this?" Batman countered sharply.
Batman wasn't fooled by Constantine's dismissive words. If Constantine truly didn't need the Justice League's help, he would have abandoned Batman and handled this on his own.
But he hadn't.
The fact that Constantine had approached Batman meant he wasn't confident in solving this matter alone. He hoped to leverage the Justice League's power to aid him.
As Batman had said, though, the Justice League was committed to helping the innocent—but only if their power wasn't exploited for malevolent purposes.
Batman hadn't spent enough time with Constantine to fully understand the man's character. He couldn't determine whether Constantine leaned toward good or evil. Still, the "Newcastle incident" weighed heavily on his mind.
Batman suspected that Constantine had been deeply involved in that tragedy, perhaps even its instigator.
Sometimes, a person's moral nature doesn't matter as much as their actions. And Constantine, as Batman observed, seemed to have a knack for turning good intentions into disasters.
Constantine, of course, could sense Batman's distrust. It embarrassed him, though he didn't show it outright. And, truthfully, Constantine did plan to drag the Justice League into his problems—he needed their help.
He had heard of Shazam during his conversations with Batman. Shazam's deeds were legendary in the magical community, and even a self-taught magician like Constantine was familiar with the Guardian's reputation.
Shazam's Rock of Eternity, a magical sanctuary filled with invaluable materials, was something Constantine secretly coveted. However, gaining the Justice League's trust was his immediate priority.
Reluctantly, Constantine decided to reveal the truth about the "Newcastle incident."
Batman had guessed correctly: Constantine was indeed the main culprit.
At the time, Constantine was a novice magician, barely scratching the surface of his abilities. He had attempted to rescue a young girl imprisoned by a group of dark magic practitioners planning to sacrifice her to summon a demon.
Constantine, in his arrogance, thought he could outwit them. He summoned a demon of his own, intending to use one demon to defeat another—fighting poison with poison.
But things spiraled out of control.
Without a proper binding spell, Constantine's demon broke free. It went on a killing spree inside the Playboy nightclub where the ritual was taking place.
By the end, only Constantine and his friend Chas were left alive. Everyone else had been slaughtered.
Even the little girl they had tried to save was ultimately dragged to hell by the very demon Constantine had summoned.
That night marked Constantine's first encounter with the true cost of magic. It was a harrowing lesson in his own powerlessness and the arrogance that had led him there.
The grotesque scenes of mutilated bodies and the girl's final screams as she descended into hell haunted Constantine to this day. They were nightmares he could never escape.
After unburdening himself, Constantine fell silent. The confession left a heavy air in the Batplane's cockpit.
He lit a cigarette with trembling hands, taking a long, deep drag. The smoke curled upward as he exhaled, his face etched with weariness.
"I figured it out after that day," Constantine said, exhaling what would have been another drag from his cigarette, "that a scumbag like me might've been born for dark magic, demons, or something like that."
He smirked grimly. "So when it comes to solving tough problems, I prefer to use their power. And yeah, I get your scruples—because I have them too. But if you're not going to help me, I can't promise I won't make another big mess trying to fix things my way."
Batman listened in silence, then pressed a button on the Batplane's control panel. In an instant, Constantine's cigarette was sucked into an exhaust system and disappeared.
"No smoking here," Batman said curtly.
------------------
Meanwhile, in the JL Tower, Dane received a notification from Cortana.
"Looks like our magic advisor is in trouble," Cortana said.
Dane clicked on the document Batman had sent over. Scanning through it, he quickly pieced things together.
"This sounds like the start of Constantine: Devil's City," Dane muttered.
The situation was clear: Los Angeles had become a battleground. Demons were attempting to turn it into part of hell, a foothold for the Hell Dimension to breach the mortal world. But with six demons vying to be hell's agent on Earth, infighting was rampant.
The demon harassing Constantine sought to use him to eliminate its rivals and secure sole dominion over Los Angeles.
Dane recalled the storyline. In the end, Constantine used cunning tactics—. He summoned an ancient, indigenous god to destroy five of the demons and then banished the god back to its realm.
Finally, Constantine relied on the love between Chas and Renee for their child to vanquish the last demon.
But the victory came at a cost. The final battle drained Renee and her child's love for Chas, leaving them with no memory of him as a father. Constantine also sacrificed his friendship with Chas; the bond was severed, and Chas lost all memory of their shared past.
Dane touched his chin thoughtfully. "Constantine's methods always cut deep. Even when he wins, everyone else loses."
This storyline also introduced the Spirit of Los Angeles, a rarity among city spirits. To date, Dane had never encountered such an entity. The presence of a city spirit added layers of possibility in magical strategy.
However, Dane remembered that in the original tale, even the Spirit of Los Angeles struggled against the demons. It had nearly consented to let the demonic ritual proceed in despair.
Dane had recently been attempting to communicate with the Spirit of Kandak, aiming to strike a deal. If successful, it would give him magical dominion over Kandak, turning him into a powerful godlike figure for the nation.
"Both publicly and privately, I can't pass this up," Dane concluded.
He turned to Cortana. "Get me a plane."
"Right away, Dane," she replied.
With the resources of umbrella's cutting-edge technology and Pioneering Technology's vast wealth, Dane's private jet rivaled Hawkman's N-metal aircraft. However, he rarely used it.
"Trouble?"
Diana entered the room in a white dress—eerily similar to the one she wore during her first appearance in BvS.
Dane glanced up and greeted her. "Not at work today?"
"I just got off," Diana replied. "Cortana mentioned demons. Need my help?"
Her question was genuine, but her eagerness was clear.
Dane considered her offer. Diana, armed with magical artifacts and unmatched combat skills, was a formidable ally against demons.
"You already know everything?"
Diana nodded. "Cortana filled me in. Demons, right?"
"Exactly," Dane confirmed. "This time, I'm wiping out their presence in the human world. But we need to keep a low profile and approach as ordinary people."
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