Both Constantine and Brand stood frozen in place. Brand glanced left and right before saying, "Did I just experience an illusion? It seemed like someone was yelling your name, Constantine?"
Constantine swallowed hard, watching the encroaching vine move towards him. He stepped back and said, "Does this look like an illusion? Do you often dream of plants coming to life and beating you up?"
With that, he turned and ran. All the trees, fences, and plants in the streets and alleys chased after him, all hell-bent on attacking him.
"Doctor Brand! Save me! Save your patient! Use your flame magic! I'll pay double… no, triple the medical fees!!!" Constantine yelled out.
Brand appeared from the flames and arrived by Constantine's side, saying, "I don't need the extra medical fees, but if I save you, you have to promise to quit your drug addiction!"
"Then you may as well let the plants eat me!!!" Constantine shouted as he ran. The next second, he was whipped by a vine on his arm. He cried out in pain, "Ouch!", tripped over another plant,
The attack from the plants was relentless, leaving him no time to cast any spells. When he reached a crossroad, Constantine raised his head and shouted, "All Things Green! There must be a misunderstanding between us. Whatever has happened to you, it was definitely not my doing!"
But the frenzied plants showed no signs of stopping. Constantine had to hop around, look left and right, and then chose the most open route to run down.
"All Things Green! I've always been a plant lover! I've never hurt any plant. Of course! Eating vegetables doesn't count! And I don't eat vegetables often, you know, my favorite is meat pie!"
"Okay! Well! Tobacco is also a plant, but I'm not the one who smokes the most in the world. How can you blame me… I've never schemed against you! Wait a second… or did I?"
Constantine slowed down to think, saying, "I should not have… right? In the chaos of the last council, I happened to be there, but it wasn't my fault!"
"And that one who was in charge of the vine… What's his name? He was schemed by All Things Red. It's got nothing to do with me?! Just because I was there, does it mean I'm guilty for not saving him?!"
The plant's attack grew more aggressive, forcing Constantine to keep summoning ash avatars to distract the plants. He ran while thinking of the people who had a grudge against him in his head.
When you have managed to offend virtually all the factions in the mystic world, it's hard to figure out who's causing trouble for you today or why. When you are troubled daily, the cause of the trouble doesn't matter anymore.
Constantine rushed into a narrow alley. He looked back and realized the plants hadn't caught up. The vines crept past the entrance of the alley, and just when Constantine breathed a sigh of relief, he heard a rustling sound behind him.
He turned back and was shocked to see a massive birch tree erupting from the ground. Constantine swallowed, saying, "All Things Green, let's talk this out. I think we can negotiate…"
Just before the tree came to life, a circle of fire, the kind you see in circuses, appeared in front of Constantine. Clenching a talisman in his hand, teeth gritted, he said, "About time you showed up!"
With that, he jumped through the fire circle. The next second, he was on top of a skyscraper in Gotham City Center. A woman dressed in a cape stood in front of him. She wore a top hat and held a magic wand, resembling a magician.
"Oh, God, Little Zha, you've saved me!" Constantine exhaled slowly and said, "I knew you were a good girl..."
Zatanna, standing before Constantine, rolled her eyes, folded her arms and said, "You said I plotted behind your back and made a deal with All Things Green. But now, why is All Things Green chasing you down? Could it be that you promised him something behind my back then decided to break the promise, just like you've always done?!"
"Of course not!" Constantine raised his voice and said: "How could I possibly break our agreed plan and go to All Things Green instead? We both know such a being is not reliable!"
"Glad you still remember our plan, which you've now messed up completely!" Zatanna waved her wand in annoyance: "And all this, thanks to your meddling!"
"I just wanted our plan to be more perfect. You've been away from Gotham for too long. You don't know how many formidable characters have emerged here now..."
Zatanna humphed softly, approached the edge of the building and looked down. Dense fog rose from the street, swallowing most of the buildings. The roofs of the skyscrapers above the clouds felt like another world.
Looking past the fog layer, the alleyways under the smog had diffused colors from the neon lights. The bar sign lit up at dusk in Gotham.
The bar was bustling. Constantine, sitting by the bar counter, finished the drink in his glass. The bartender, while wiping his glass, grinned and said to him, "Hasn't that weirdo in the tight suit come looking for you?"