"Thanks a lot for your vote of confidence!" Constantine said sarcastically. "Comparing me to that bunch of idiots shows your emotional intelligence, and thinking I'd use that thing to destroy the world reflects your IQ."
While the two were arguing, an unnoticed thin vine emerged from the rooftop door. It sneaked near Constantine's feet and tightly wound around his ankles.
With a "thud", Constantine was pulled to the ground, dragged by the vine. He tossed back a talisman, but more vines surged out of the rooftop door.
Not intimidated, Zatanna swung her magic wand, summoning a giant rabbit from her top hat. The rabbit hopped in front of Constantine and bit through the vines ensnaring his leg.
But then, an increasing number of plants started to attack the roof. Cursing, Zatanna queried, "What on earth did you do to piss off All Things Green? It seems like they want you dead!"
"I don't know!" Constantine, getting up, claimed, "Maybe it's because I didn't help when All Things Red bothered them last time."
"Wait a second..." Zatanna furrowed her brows, "I think I can hear the plants screaming... Yes, that's right, my spiritual senses have always been sharp, it's like they're crying out in pain... Oh my god, Constantine, you devil! You're not planning to murder All Things Green, are you?!"
"You can't do that!" Zatanna raised her voice, "It represents all the world's plants, it's the cosmos's symbol for green, and it's also the god of rebirth and budding. You can't..."
"Let's move..." Constantine had already made it to the edge of the building. He turned back to Zatanna, "We can discuss all that once we survive."
But the nearby buildings were covered in dense vines. Looking up, Constantine saw the entire city engulfed by green. The endlessly spreading vines, like a tsunami, had swallowed the city, encapsulating buildings, vehicles and street signs.
The crazed citizens, once feasting on their kin on the streets, were now immobile due to the vine outbreak. They were ensnared and could only scream helplessly.
Just as Constantine was contemplating jumping down, the sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air caught his attention. Looking up, he saw a helicopter with a bat emblem landing over his head. Batman called to him, "Get in!"
Glancing at the approaching vines again, Constantine did not hesitate to leap onto the Bat Helicopter, followed by Zatanna.
Batman clearly stunned for a moment when he saw Zatanna, but she didn't recognise him at all.
She simply turned to Constantine and demanded, "You must give me an explanation. What exactly did you do to All Things Green? Plants are crucial for human survival; if you destroy them, the world will..."
"Wait, let me explain!" Constantine interjected, "If All Things Green is after me, they wouldn't just send plants. You know how formidable these representatives of colors are, if they wanted revenge on me, they wouldn't just stop at these tricks."
"Hold on." Batman cut in, "What is All Things Green? And who is this lady...?"
"Oh, I forgot." Constantine noticed, "Batman, let me introduce her. This is Zatanna Zatara, she comes from an ancient magical family. Her father is also a magician. Unlike my rough and ready style, she's from a well-known magic family in the mystic world..."
Lost in thought, Batman turned to Zatanna, asking, "Was your father a magician?"
Zatanna's eyes widened, "You know something about my father? Wait, your chin... you look familiar... Oh my god, Bruce Wayne?!"
Zatanna took a deep breath, then went rigid. The atmosphere in the helicopter turned strange. Constantine, clueless, commented, "Little Zha, you shouldn't be this surprised about Bruce Wayne's identity, should you?"
"I mean sure, it's weird to see a rich guy dressed like this, but compared to the bizarre get-ups in the mystic world, it's nothing right?"
"I... that... " Suddenly tongue-tied, Zatanna turned her head away. Sensing Batman was still looking at her, she hesitated, then murmured, "Okay, it was my fault for leaving without a word. But at that time, my father had disappeared, so I had to go looking for him all over the world..."
Constantine's eyes went wide as he glanced back and forth between Batman and Zatanna. Batman, however, stood up and walked to the back of the helicopter, saying, "It's okay. So what brought you back this time, Zatanna?"
"Oh, right!" Snapping out of her daze, Zatanna blurted, "Bruce, you have to help us. Gotham is under a dangerous curse and a bunch of mad magicians are trying to secure it!"
"A dangerous curse?" Unexpectedly, Batman didn't correct Zatanna's title for him; he just frowned deeply.
Zatanna approached him, trying to explain, "Yes, the curse. You don't understand magic, so you might not be familiar with this. But a curse is a long-term, adverse magic spell that is triggered by a medium."
"Gotham's current state is due to a Curse of Evil that lies within this city. It leads everything towards the worse and eventually plunges everyone into hell and the abyss."
"You must understand what kind of weapon it could be to those who wish to destroy the world. If they get hold of this curse, they could obliterate the entire mystic world and even the human world, the spirit realm and hell."
Batman repeated the name "Curse of Evil". Suddenly, his hand froze. Seeing this, Constantine immediately spoke up, "You've heard of this curse, haven't you?"
Before Batman could respond, Constantine said, "If you know anything about this curse, you need to tell us right now. I swear to you, I will eliminate this curse!"
"Remember what I told you before?" Constantine, looking into Batman's eyes, uttered, "Gotham can't be saved due to reasons relating to magic. At that time, I didn't know the specifics, but now, Zatanna has brought us the answer."
"Batman, you've been trying to save Gotham, but without purging the influence of magic, you'll never succeed. If you can help us find and eliminate the Curse of Evil, perhaps your dream will come true."
Constantine was genuine and earnest in his plea, a rarity considering his penchant for mixing truths and lies.
Yet, what puzzled him was Batman's eerie silence in the face of such a crucial problem.