Chapter 24 - 7. Demons

Constantine immediately leaps to the side as massive flaming sword falls where he stood. The warlock chants and the creature, a tall lanky red imp, gets tangled in chains of fire. "Now", yells Constantine. 

Zatarra then jumps out from behind the creature and beheads it with its own sword. Its horned head crashes on the floor with a loud thump and rolls next to Constantine's feet. Both heroes take a deep breath and looks at Doctor Fate who is currently working on a massive portal.

"How's the barrier holding?", asks Constantine.

"It will not hold for long", answers Doctor Fate. "We must close the rifts immediately. I'm afraid everything we've fought so far are merely scouts, here to test the waters". 

"Well, fuck me sideways", curses the warlock. "So how's the rest of 'em doing?"

Zatarra presses on his ear before shacking his head. "I'm afraid the odds aren't in our favor. So far, only Wonder Woman has managed to subdue any of these creatures. Batman is currently looking on some countermeasures while Superman is trying to handle the rest of our less supernatural problems". 

Constantine sighs. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cigarette. He then takes the demon's flaming sword and uses it to light his cigarette. "So what now?" he asks.

Zatarra answers. "Batman says he has a plan. Doctor Fate, you're needed in Mount Justice. We'll manage from here". 

The doctor nods and a large ankh teleports him away. Constantine then looks at the old man beside him and grunt. "Now what?"

The magician sighs and looks at the rift in front of them. Both magic casters stand next to the rift and begins to chant, making the interdimensional hole grow smaller and smaller. Then, a large armored arm reaches out of the rift, holding it open. Both heroes try to continue their chanting but the hand wouldn't budge and a powerful force throws them both away. 

As Constantine stands back up, he sees a giant stepping out of the rift. It's body is clad in thick black armor and it has a large horned helm. It wore bones and skulls like jewelry and wields a large two handed axe. 

Constantine gawks at the daemon. "Well, fuc-". before he could finish what he was about to say, the demon knight kicks him and the warlock gets thrown to the side. Constantine grunts. He looks at his wrists and sees a few of his protection charms slowly crumble into light. 

He immediately stands back up, seeing Zatarra trying to hold his own against the demon. Constantine throws a few fireballs at the demon, getting its attention. "Hey, you big rusty bucket. I'm still here".

The demon growls, running towards the warlock. It swings its axe and Constantine barely dodges the edges of its blade. Both heroes chant and chains wrap sprout out of the ground to wrap around the demon but the creature easily rips it apart. 

"Any ideas?" asks Zatarra. 

Constantine shrugs. "I got one. It's an oldy too. Keep it occupied for a bit, will ya?"

The warlock hides away from the battle while the magician tries to keep the demon busy. Constantine picks up a rock and begins drawing on the ground. As he completes the circle, the warlock begins to chant. "Come now, you slimy bastard", he says. "I'm right here. Fresh as a daisy".

Suddenly, the ground begins to burn. Then, the ground splits open and one hideous hand reaches out. Another demon climbs out of the ground, this one covered in scales and horns. "Hey there, you bastard. I was told you were looking for me", says Constantine.

The demon laughs, his laughter like metal grating on each other. "Hello worm", calls out the demon. "What new toy have you brought me this time? It's been ages since you handed me that little flesh bag. I had quite the fun time with it. What was her name? Oh yes. Astra".

The warlock grits his teeth at that. "Yeah well. Maybe you'll like this new one". 

Then, Zatarra comes tumbling right next to him. He looks at Constantine and sees the demon standing next to him. "You summoned another one?" he says with contempt. 

"Trust me. I've done this hundreds of times", says the warlock with a grin. 

They both hear a roar as both demons face off against each other. Constantine's summoned beast lashes out first, its claws scratching at the other demon's armor. The other creature swings its axe and the scaled demon raises its arm to block the attack. However, the blade cuts right through it. The scaled demon screams, clutching whatever is left of its arm. 

But just as the armored demon was about to finish the other off, the scaled demon leaps towards it and with its claws, stabs between the other demon's armor. The scaled demon laughs with metallic grating. He pulls out his hand and licks the black ichor from his nails. It then looks at the warlock and gives him a malevolent grin. "Now, it's your turn, John Constantine". 

But as the scaled demon takes his step, an axeblade sprouts from its chest. The scaled demon gurgles as ichor drips from its mouth. Constantine and Zatarra looks wide-eyed as the armored demon rips its weapon from the other demon's corpse. 

"Well, fuck me sideways", curses Zatarra.

---

Wally rubbed his eyes as he turns the corner, heading for the kitchen. Expecting to see Megan cooking some pancakes, Wally grinned. "Gooood morning!", he said cheerfully. 

However, the moment he looked, the first thing he saw was the black haired instructor staring at him nonchalantly. "What the hell are you doing here?" screamed the speedster. 

"It's a weekend. We're on break. Why the hell are you here?"

During the whole breakfast, Wally continued to grunt and complain. To be fair, he had been taking the brunt of all the man's "training". Everyone ate quietly while Wally went on a rant, screaming out all the gripe he's had against the man.

After, the group has had their food, Dick assembled the team and they all head to the meeting room where they found the teams hero-mom waiting for them. "You've got a mission", said Black Canary. 

---

"These portals have been opening up all over the world", says Black Canary. She turns the monitor to the next slide and shows the team photos of said portals.

"Team Dark has confirmed that these things are portals to another dimension, codenamed hell-gates. So far, we've had over a dozen scouts coming out of these things. We've managed to contain them but it's only a matter of time before something worse start coming out from the other side".

"Seriously. We're already got aliens to worry about. Now, we gotta worry about more demons as well? Don't we already have teams that handle the supernatural stuff" yells Wally. 

"They're more than that". The group turns around and sees a pale teen covered in purple cloak walking towards them. "They're unlike anything you've ever encountered before", continues the new girl. 

Wally bolts right next to her. "Hi. Wally West. And you are?"

"Raven", she answers. 

"Nice name. Very goth. Where are you from?"

Raven raises her hand and points at the monitor. Everyone looks at her curiously. "What?"

"She is from Azarath", says Doctor Fate, now standing behind Wally. "And she needs your help to stop an invasion".

---

A.N.

Hey everyone. I'm back. Lot's of mixed reactions from last chapter. Expected since it was the Joker chapter. 

Work is busy and I've got other projects I work on so I'm just taking my time with this. Hopefully though, I'll be able to push out 3 new chapters every other week. Hope you continue to enjoy this story. 

Cheers!