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God, were you really entertaining this idea? You had no way of knowing if Joker would keep his word. You had no way of knowing if you would survive the fall into the vat.“Unless you’d like to go back to the two Mister Constantines’ method?” Joker grins, knowing he’s presenting only one way out for you.
You turn your head to look down again. All you had to do was jump. You didn’t need to stay in there…If it was acid then at least John would be cast to Hell and you know he’d escaped there many times. You’d both be free.
Fuck…I think this is the best option.“I’ll do it,” you say quietly.“Wonderfullllll,” Joker purrs, moving away from you. “My dear, do me a favour? Try a flip! It’s much more fun that way!”You grasp onto the railings, climbing over and holding on. You had to take several deep breaths. If it was acid then this was going to be a really painful way to die.“DO IT!” Joker screams, causing you to let go in surprise. ** You fall, the inertia pulling you headfirst as you watch the Joker waving to you and growing smaller and smaller.You close your eyes rather than wanting to see the end as you hit the vat, warm liquid swallowing you into its embrace. There’s this curious sensation of floating and you’re expecting pain but….nothing comes.It’s just a feeling of calming gelatinous liquid swirling all around you. It’s not acid….but it is something else.The more you stay under, the more you just want to laugh, laugh until you can’t stop. You kick off from the bottom, bursting through to the air above before letting out a laugh of relief that doesn’t quite seem to want to go away. You’re stuffing your hand over your mouth to keep it contained but it just keeps spilling out.“Cooo-eeeee!” Joker waves. “How are we, my dear? Seeing the funny side of life?”You’re gripping the side of the vat to stabilise yourself as giggles just keep pouring out of your mouth and tears are streaming down your face. It’s starting to hurt. Your abs are on fire as you stutter out laughter.“What the bloody hell is going on?” you hear from above you.“I’m just doing what you couldn’t. She’s broken now and that makes her my thing to play with,” Joker replies in that dangerous voice.“Bugger off, she’s mine,” one of the Johns snarls. “I claimed her. I did most of the work on her. This is not breaking her spirit, it’s just artificially ruining it.”“By all means, my good man. Jump away and save your…damsel.”You can tell he’s expecting the John to not want to risk his own sanity and that the Joker can then be selfish and keep whatever this shell you were all to himself. He really did like broken women.It hurts so much now. You’re gasping for breath as the giggles won’t stop coming.“Alright.”Then there’s a giant splash behind you as a body hits the surface of the liquid and the next thing you knew, you were being dragged out of it and off to the side before a hand seemed to press on your chest and you gagged as something was forced up your throat. You turn to the side, vomiting yellow ….something….before you felt the urge to laugh diminish into nothing.“Better?” one of the Johns asks.“Yes. What was that?” you shy away from him, pressing yourself further back against the wall.“The stuff that made him,” he points upwards to the gangway where Joker was sneering down. “Now come with me. You look a right state.”He doesn’t really give you a choice as he slings you over his shoulder and you’re too weak to protest. You’ve not had a decent meal in….you don’t actually remember. Time has blurred so much in this place. You just end up hanging limply from John’s grip as he walks up towards the Joker again.“Spoilsport,” Joker pokes his tongue out. “Must you ruin my fun?”“Told you. She’s mine to break,” comes the firm answer before you’re deposited down in front of him. “Don’t try that again, mate. You won’t like the consequences.”“Lighten uuuuuup,” Joker twirls on the balls of his feet. “Can’t take a joke?”“Release him,” you cut in.“Ooo she speaks!” Joker chuckles to himself. “Come on, speak up! Speak loud!”“You said if I jumped, you’d release my John. So do it.”“I did say that, didn’t I?” Joker muses. “Very well. We’ll take him to an undisclosed location and um….Bats can pick him up.”“But you’re staying with us, lass,” John grips your shoulder. “So well done on saving goody two shoes but you’ll be joining us indefinitely.”“Or until you’re bored of me,” you say without thinking.Joker bursts into fits of giggles, “Very smart, this one. Get her cleaned up, Mr Constantine. We have work to do. Welcome to the team, my dear.”You’re frogmarched into the communal shower area, past the gathering of villains who definitely take note of your appearance. You see Harley’s face fall from cheery to hurt then rage settles there instead.“Did my puddin’…..did he….that bastard!” she shrieks, grabbing her hammer and stalking off in the direction you just came.“Possessive, that one,” John whispers in your ear before carrying on.You deliberately don’t look in the direction of the other John and Ivy. You hoped Joker would keep his word.Once in the showers, John took a hosepipe and made you line up against the cold, tiled wall.“Get your kit off, luv,” he nods his head.“I….”“Oh you don’t want to? Fine by me. Just thought it’d be more comfy than wandering around with wet knickers.”Then you’re blasted with icy water that steals your breath away. You try and cling to the tiles, your body shivering as you desperately try to shove air into your lungs. It’s so cold that it’s painful as the water beats down upon your form.“S-s-st-st-o-oo-o-p!” you cry out, your teeth chattering.“Too cold?” John smirks. “I’ll turn the temperature up if you take off your clothes. How about that?”You’re too numb to protest, too eager just to feel a little bit of warmth. You know if you tried to heat yourself via magic, he’d just blast you with the freezing water again.You throw off your trousers, your t-shirt, even your underwear. You’re just desperate at this point.“Oh luv,” he purrs. “You could cut diamonds with those nipples. How about I warm you up using me own body heat, eh?”“What in hell’s teeth are you doing?!” comes the voice of the other John as he comes over. “What did you do?”“Just cleaning her up. She had the Joker’s laughing acid on her.”“She’s shivering, gimme that,” the other John yanks the hose away. “Riddler wants you. You’re being cut loose today. Go on, get!”Now you’re with the other John and he adjusts the dial on the hosepipe tap before testing the temperature as it spews out before coming close and you feel hot liquid hit your skin, almost burning.You’re crying with relief.“Come ‘ere, lass,” John magics the hose to float into the air like a proper showerhead before grabbing shampoo and such and coming back over.Normally you’d just run away, you’d find the nearest corner but there was something so familiar about him soaping up your hair and running his fingers through to detangle it that you just stay still, frozen to the spot. The feeling was returning to your limbs and you didn’t realise, until you leant back, that John was right behind you, under the water as well.“You’re getting soaked,” you point out.“That I am,” comes the response as he puts conditioner in your hair too. “Didn’t know you cared.”“I don’t. I don’t care about demons,” you counter back.He moves in front of you, still rinsing your hair out, “But you’re letting this one touch you.”And it was true. You knew very well this was Demon John and that the other one that’d subjected you to the cold water was your John. The subtle differences were hard to spot after Demon John had gained a good understanding of your John’s movements and mannerisms but after so long, you were beginning to catch the giveaways.You found though, you simply didn’t give much of a shit now. Too much had happened to spoil the memory of your time before Arkham. You no longer associated any particular John with what came before and after the dive into the vat, you were even more numb to it.Maybe it was a side effect of the Joker’s acid and the magic but you felt more….attune towards Demon John. You were less horrified by his actions, less scared of him.“So I am,” you answer.“Life with me won’t be sunshine and picnics, lass,” his hands travel from your hair to your shoulders. “I’m the only John here now. I won’t torture you any more though. Think you’re too strong for that somehow.”Then he’s using shower gel and rubbing your skin with a gentleness you didn’t expect. His fingers know exactly how to work out all the knots of tension and you’re actually relaxing.“But we need to go, the Batfamily is coming for you, now you did that little stunt with the telepathy. We’ll leave your John behind.”“I need clothes,” you stare at the ceiling.“I’ll get you some.”He leaves you alone under the hot water and you just let it wash over you. This was going to be your life now and you should probably get used to it. At least your John was free. There was always the possibility he could come after you.But what would be left of you when that time came? ** John felt like was under a haze, like that one time Rich tricked him into drinking magic mushroom tea.Everything was a little fuzzy, his vision a little swirly and he heard things like they were underwater. Gradually things were coming into focus though and at first he thought he was in front of a mirror…until the mirror moved.“You,” he growls, straining against the bonds he was in. “Let me free and let’s have a fair fight.”“Tempting but no,” his counterpart snorted. “I already have what I wanted.”John’s stomach dropped. He looked around himself and saw he was alone in the common room with you nowhere to be seen.“Where is she?” he asks immediately.“Who?”“Don’t fuck me about, you rotten bastard. Where is Star?”“With me,” Demon John shrugs. “Loyal bird, ain’t she? Took forever to crack her. Weeks of torture and you know the one thing that finally did it?”John kept silent but the thing kept talking.“Joker said if she jumped into a vat of his laughing acid, he’d let you go. So she did and here we are.”“What happened to her? Is she alright? Tell me!” John begs, struggling against the ropes.“She sees things more our way now. She really did love you though, you know Take comfort in that.”“You’re not leaving with her,” John spits. “Over me bloody dead body.”“Don’t tempt me, mate,” the other John pulls a face. “And yes we are leaving with her and you’re staying here. Before I go though, lemme just give you back the memories of exactly what you’ve been doing to her whilst under Ivy’s magic.”“Wait, no…”John didn’t want to see that. He knew he’d done horrible things because of how dirty he felt whilst coming round. There were flashes of images in his head but nothing concrete and even that was enough to let him know he most definitely did not want to have the full memory.“This is for being such an annoying cock,” Demon John places his hand on John’s forehead.All the repressed memories get yanked to the forefront of his brain with a horrible wrenching sensation and he’s forced to watch himself beating you, torturing you with magic, having sex in front of you and playing with your emotions. The last one to come through his mind was him using the freezing water to make you strip in front of him.The lasting image was you, gaunt and skin red raw, shivering in front of him. You looked so broken, so numb to it all. Your hair was hanging in sodden rivulets over your grey face and your fingernails were blue.Demon John had already left but he made sure to keep the door open so he could parade you by in your newly acquired Arkham jumpsuit. You met his gaze for a few seconds and you looked at him as though he were nothing but an inmate. All trace of your love for him was erased.Then he was left alone with only the echoing screams of the inmates to bounce around the room. That was, at least, until he heard a rhythmic beeping sound and looked down to see a hidden counter nestled in his shirt with wires snaking out from the main box.He was rigged to explode.John’s screams joined the other inmates as he howled for the loss of you and the fear of losing his life.“John? John is that you?!”Zatanna poked her head around the door frame before spotting John sobbing on the chair. Immediately she rushes forward.“Stay back!” John shouts. “I’m wired up!”Not long after the words leave his mouth, Bruce, Nightwing and Robin barrelled into the room. John could see Bruce’s gaze assessing the situation before he kept the other two back.“How long?” Bruce asks.“Two minutes,” John looks at the timer.“It’s enough. Robin, Nightwing, scout the area and see if the others are still here. Zatanna, you stay with me. I may need help.”Bruce moved behind John’s chair, pulling gently at various ropes until they came free and dropped to the floor with a thud. Then he got clippers from his utility belt and began dragging the multicoloured wires out, studying them.“We need to move, Bruce,” Zatanna looks around herself, clearly disturbed. “I wouldn’t put it past them to have rigged up the building to blow as well.”“One thing at a time,” Bruce says with a gritted jaw as he carefully snips a yellow and green wire. “This is the more imminent problem.”“John….John?” Zatanna tries to get his attention. “What happened?”“I…I can’t,” John shakes his head, not trusting himself to not break down completely.“Nearly there,” Bruce cuts a purple wire.“Building’s clear, they’re gone,” Nightwing came back, Robin in tow. “Just the usual inmates around.”“Done,” Bruce proclaims as the last wire is cut and the timer cuts off at twenty three seconds left. “Now, my friend, let’s get out of here.”“Star-”“We can find her, I promise you that but we need to go now. Live to fight another day, John.”“Alright,” John gives up, feeling miserable. “Help me.”And so John’s arm is slung around Bruce’s shoulder as they make their way out of Arkham Asylum, the harsh sunlight assaulting his eyes as he breathes fresh air for the first time in weeks.
I’ll find you, Star. I promise. I’ll save you.
** You were on a riverboat, somewhere in the estuary overlooking the Gotham skyline. The air felt warm as it whipped by you, picking up strands of your hair as you looked at the twinkling lights.Behind you an argument was in full swing as Ivy was screaming at the Joker for making her leave her 'toy’ behind. You just ignored it.The more time after the Joker’s acid had passed, the less tolerance you had for things, the less you fully cared about anything. You felt like acting on a more baser instinct but decency was still keeping you in check for now.Bang!There was a gunshot and a sudden heavy weight dropped to the deck. You casually glanced behind you and Ivy was dead on the floor with Joker laughing his head off.“OoohoohooooHAHAHAHAHA!” he cackles, dancing around the corpse and singing. “I only want team players on my teaaaaaaaam.”“And now we have a body to deal with,” Riddler rolls his eyes from his deckchair. “I’m not touching it.”“'Smatta?” Joker rounds on him, his grin stretched to inhuman proportions. “Is it too much of an undertaking?”You snort at the pun and Joker’s attention turns to you now.“Am I…amusing you, my dear?” he says in a tone that wavers between dangerous and interested.“You’re really putting the fun in funeral,” you quip back.Joker blinks for a second, unable to comprehend that you were giving humour back to him until his eyes practically sparkle and the dark chuckle in his throat grows louder and louder in volume. Then he turns to Riddler with an expression of disdain on his face, “This one gets it.”“Good for her,” Riddler sighs before going back to his book.You move back towards Ivy’s body and just feel a kind of cold indifference. You should be celebrating, given that she made your John do awful things but all you can feel is…nothing. You take her hands and start dragging her to the side of the railings before giving her one final shove with your boot and she rolls off the side of the boat, plunging into the inky waters.“Thank you,” Riddler looks up. “She was spoiling my ambience. Why do I always seem to find house plants without the will to live?”Harley’s coming out of the cabins with a sour look on her face. She’s sporting bruises around the eye and that must be from when she tried to challenge the Joker over his use of the acid on you. Clearly it hadn’t gone the way she had intended.She comes to the puddle of blood in front of her and squints at it before looking around. She seems disappointed that it’s not from you.“Missin’ one, huh?” she says loudly.“Our dear Ivy decided she would rather protest at her lot in life rather than get on board,” Joker relays, his eyes still trained on you.“And her?” Harley points.“We’ve had this discussion, cupcake,” Joker shoots her a clear warning.Harley ignores it, too hellbent on her own jealous nature, her self destructive streak. She saunters over like a predator and you note she’s got a knife strapped behind her back that she keeps fingering as she approaches.“Ya ain’t one of us, dollface,” Harley snarls. “So get out.”“No,” you reply simply.“Excuuuuse me?” her voice raises an octave. “Who the hell do ya think you are, lady? This is my turf and I ain’t lettin’ some doe eyed Brit take my spot and my puddin’.”“I don’t care.”“Why I oughta!”“Ought to what? You can’t do anything. I assumed you already tried to and that’s why you got that shiner, huh? Am I right…Mister J?”You knew that would be the one thing to set her off, the one thing that’d make her completely lose control. Possessive women were easy to manipulative if you knew how.She screeches in an unholy kind of way before launching at you where you side step and she bangs into the railings. Then you grab her by the ponytails and bounce her head off the metal; once, twice, three times.She staggers backwards after you release her, cradling her skull before you jump at her, knocking her to the deck and hammering your fists into her body. There’s a rush as you do it, a rush that makes you feel alive and you crave it so badly after so many weeks of being numb.There’s a symphony of Joker’s laughter as you systematically destroy Harley’s ego until she’s begging you to stop. Only then do you get off her.“Bloody hell,” comes a voice from the cabin doorway. “I leave you all for ten minutes and there’s some girl on girl action going on.”Demon John was standing there, looking suitably impressed, perhaps even a little excited.“Wonderful!” Joker claps. “Sensational! Brava!”You look to Riddler who’s just got this tiny little smirk on his face. Clearly he’d never thought much of Harley either.“So, lass. Take it you’re seeing things our way then,” John moves to you.“I’d just had enough of her petty jealousy,” you shrug.“Come on luv, let’s have a private chat,” he starts pulling you away and to the cabins.From behind you, you hear Harley wailing and fawning over the Joker and it kind of made you feel sick. You pressed on quickly until John pulled you into, what looked like, the Captain’s room.“It’s freeing, isn’t it?” he starts, shrugging his trenchcoat off. “Not giving a shit.”“Yeah it is.”“And that rush when you do bad things….addictive.”“How did you-”“Demon, lass, come on. Don’t be thick,” he chuckles. “I’m practically sin incarnate.”“So what now? I help you?”“If you want. Could piss off and do your own thing but going back to the goody two shoes life won’t satisfy you any more.”“I don’t like feeling numb,” you cross your arms.“Then don’t,” he comes up to you, taking your waist. “Feel everything. Feel everything to its extreme. Don’t try and bury it. Take anything you want. Do anything you want.”You look up at that crooked smirk you’re so used to seeing and feel a surge of want. God, it had been so long since…“Take anything you want,” John repeats. “That includes me but know I won’t be like St Johnny boy. Nothing’s off limits for me.”Your mind explodes with the possibilities and all these repressed urges spill out into your imagination. You knew full well that your brain had been warped into something else because you weren’t even afraid of these prospects any more. You weren’t afraid of Demon John any more.“No? But you’re so similar,” you tease.John’s eyes narrow, “I can show you a whole different world, lass. You’ll never go back to how you were.”“Show me how you’re different.”John obliges, his irises staining to coal black before it bleeds across the white of his eyes. His aura changes a little too, projecting the scent of Hell.“Hmm, not running for the hills this time,” he notes. “Progress.”“It’s kinda….fascinating,” you stare into those eyes. “Like I’m staring at the void but the void is staring back at me.”“Poetic bird, aren’t you?” he grins. “You like it? I can tell you do. Go on….take the plunge. See what a night with evil feels like.”You lean further into him, his arms now exploring the crook of your back and you can tell the coiled muscles of his body are just waiting for you, waiting to unleash his desire.“Keep the eyes,” you tell him.“Kinky,” he winks before bending down and you’re meeting each other in a messy and bruising kiss. ** John’s watching through the spell for your soul merge, trying to figure out where you are but all he sees is you in a room with his demonic counterpart….flirting.
No, love. Please don’t. Please don’t give in to this.
But he knows it’s fruitless. You’ve been damaged, possibly irreparably damaged by whatever solution the Joker had forced you to jump into. He’d made sure Nightwing had taken a sample of it before they all left and they were trying to analyse it in the laboratory to see if it was reversible.He watches Demon John show more of his true form and far from being horrified, he can sense that you’re…excited, aroused even. Shit, shit shit! This was a fucking nightmare!He didn’t want to keep watching but it was like a train wreck and his eyes were glued to it. You were leaning forward and he knows what’s coming.You’re kissing Demon John and you’re loving every minute of it. John was feeling the sensations of deep lust and he felt sick, in fact, he had to break off the connection to run to the bathroom because his stomach started dry heaving.He was just bombarded by that image and all of the ones of him being forced to please Ivy, all of the ones being forced to torture you. He hacked until his lungs were burning as he gripped the sides of the toilet to steady himself.“John?” comes Zatanna’s soft voice and he feels her hand rubbing circles on his back. “Talk to me.”“It’s all fucked up, Zee,” he shakes his head. “They won. They took everything from me. He took everything from me. I should never have made him.”“It’s not too late, John. It’s never too late,” she assures him. “We’ll get her back. I promise.”“I….I just…I just…I just can’t…..can’t watch her…with him,” he starts shaking violently.“You know it’s not her. That’s not your Star doing these things.”“But what if she’s unsaveable? What if this is how she is now? I might have lost her forever, and all because I’m a bloody cowardly twat.”“Enough,” Zatanna pulls him away from toilet bowl. “This is not the John I saw when you first got here. You were happy, you were confident and you were proud.“Because of her, Zee. Without her, I’m just yellow bellied, I’m a waster.”“You’re the strongest magus I know and you will get her back. Believe in yourself. She did. She jumped into that vat for you.”“Aye she did,” John sighs. “How bad must it have been for her to do that? That she thought it was the only option for keeping me safe? Fucking hell….”“So don’t let her sacrifice be for nothing. She got you out and you need to shape up and do the same for her.”Zee’s words made sense to him but it still hurt. It hurt knowing the lass he loved so fiercely was shacking up with his literal demons.“Now come on. You’ve got all of us to help you. Don’t let her down now.”“Hey hey hey,” Boston Brand phases through the wall. “We got somethin’ in the lab. Get a move on, ya mooks.”“See?” Zatanna raises her eyebrow.“Know it all,” John frowns before getting to his feet. “Is it good news, Bos?”“It’s somethin’,” Boston shrugs, hovering over the cistern. “I don’t know 'bout these newfangled tech things that Bats does. He just told me to come get ya.”“We’ll be down soon,” Zatanna nods and Boston disappears into the wall. “Come on, John.”“God I hope he’s got something,” John stands up.He tries so desperately to resist the urge to see through your eyes again. He’d always been a little masochistic and he so wants to know what’s going on, whether you’ve completely succumbed to Demon John.Zatanna elbows him in the side whilst they’re descending into the Bat Cave, “Stop overthinking.”“Piss off,” he mumbles uncharitably.But he manages to fight the compulsion before finally meeting with the others. ** Your Arkham issue jumpsuit is ripped off your shoulders, the fabric tearing as Demon John desperately tries to get at your skin.You’re pressed up against the wall, both kissing hungrily, like you’d been starved of sex for years. One leg is wrapped around his back and you’re moving with him, grinding bodies with a low series of guttural moans.Then your fingers are wrenching his shirt open, buttons spraying everywhere before you use his tie to keep him close to you, your other hand raking your nails down his bare chest. There’s a growl that starts deep in his torso before he’s picked you up and thrown you across the room to land on the bed.Then he’s on you, clawing at the remainder of your clothing, letting the ribbons of polyester fly out around you.“Your body is just….mmmm…fit bird, aren’t you?” he rasps against your ear. “Can’t wait to ruin you.”“Give it your best shot,” you challenge back, turning your head and biting his earlobe.“Oh? Wanna play it that way, hmm?” he chuckles before yanking off his tie and putting it over your neck, shortening the length until you’re gasping for air.His hand dips in between your legs and you feel his fingers skate across your folds, no resistance whatsoever.“You bad bad girl,” he tuts. “So wet. I’m hurting you and you’re soaked. Bet St Johnny boy didn’t know this about you, did he luv?”“You gonna talk or do something with that smart mouth?” you arch back.“I’m gonna taste you, then I’m gonna hurt you some more,” John winks. “I need to hear you scream for me.”“Get to work then,” you grab him by the hair and push him down.“So bossy,” he shakes his head. “You really are too much of a handful for John. However did he cope?”“I don’t wanna talk about John. I wanna get off, so help or get out,” you say harshly.Demon John rises up, grabbing the tie and pulling it so viciously that you can feel the bruises forming around your neck in a perfect ligature line.“Say that to me again,” the voidless eyes look at you.“Help or get out,” you growl around your restricted airflow.“Oh lass, you really are a fiery one. I can’t wait to claim you as mine.”“Better hurry before the Joker starts knocking at my door then,” you say impatiently.You know both John’s personalities to a tee and they were extremely jealous and possessive. By throwing the Joker’s name out there, you knew it would spur him on. His pride was too great.“I don’t think pastyface would give you as good a time as I would,” John bites at your breast, drawing a gasp from you.He lets go of the tie before moving in between your legs, his tongue already delving into you as he moans obscenely. His technique is different to the other John, a lot harsher, a lot more unforgiving. Where the other John would know to hold back at certain points and not overwork you, this one kept lapping at you despite the oversensitive spot. He pins you in place to stop you moving away and you’re lost in this sensation of overstimulation and the relentless pace.When you cum, you’re not shy about your noise levels. It’s intense and it leaves you shaking, twitching as the aftershocks wrack your body.Then you’re practically screaming as he starts again, barely giving you any time to recover. You’re desperately trying to scrabble away but he firmly has you as he forces another orgasm out of you before quickly divesting himself of his clothes and pushing his cock in so he can feel you contract around him.“Shitting hell, you’re so tight,” he groans as he lazily fucks you for a little while before pulling out and flipping you over onto your hands and knees. “Time to leave my mark I think.”You hear him retrieve his belt from his trousers before it lands across your back, a dull thud as it makes contact with your skin. Then again…and again…and again…Stripes of bruising form across you as he hits without ever tiring.Then he gets bored of using the belt and his hand comes down over your arse so hard you can feel the finger imprints forming.“Come on, lass. Beg me to stop,” he challenges.“Is that all you got?” you reply.“Fuuuuuck, I can see why Johnny boy fell in love with you,” he laughs. “Nah, that’s not all I got, bit. Not even close.”After ten more hard hits of his hand, you can feel the tenderness of the skin if you even move your leg a little. You were sure you’d have deep deep bruising but it felt good. You felt alive.Then he seats himself in you again, grabbing the tie and pulling it back round so he can make your back arch up whilst strangling you with it.Even the other John’s most brutal pace was nothing on this. He was feral in his thrusts, a single-minded need to get himself off.He bends over you, dropping his grip on the tie and winding his hand into your hair instead, “Scream for me. Scream me name so the whole sodding boat can hear. I own you now, lass. You’re mine to play with.”His other hand reaches around you, finding your nipple and pinching it painfully, prompting a stream of swear words to spill out, punctuated with breathy moans of 'John’.“That’s not screaming, luv,” he says disapprovingly before gripping your hips and slamming himself into you, over and over again.You’re not screaming but the noises you’re making aren’t human. They’re animalistic, just a bunch of growls and grunts. You feel reduced to the most primal version of yourself.“Are you ready for me?” John groans from behind you. “Are you ready for me to fill you up?”“Mmmhmm,” is all you can manage as you cling onto the bed sheets.He pushes as deep as he can go, his voice dropping an octave as he shouts, his hips stuttering a little. Then he’s still and you can feel a wetness running down your thighs.“I’m so glad I damaged you,” he laughs to himself. “Worth the effort, worth the wait.”He pulls out before lying next to you, his eyes flicked back to something more normal. You just collapse forward onto the bed, completely wrecked. You don’t even bother moving your head out of the pillow, you were that drained.“Mmm, pretty little marks,” John runs a finger down your back, admiring his handiwork. “Hope you’re not expecting me to cuddle you or some shit like that.”“Don’t cheapen it,” you shake your head. “Let’s just get dressed and see what the others want to do. I’m still kinda restless.”“So you’re up for causing a little mayhem then?” John quirks up an eyebrow. “Well colour me surprised.”“Yeah. If it makes me feel like this just did, I want more. I wanna do more.”“Funny you should mention that,” John tucks one arm behind his head. “Because we were planning on blowing up Wayne Enterprises tower. Fancy tagging along with us?”“Count me in,” you smile back. “I’m quite good at destructive magic.”“Music to my bloody ears,” John grins broadly. “We’re going to be quite the team, you and I.”“I think we are,” you nod.As you lay there, looking at the bulkhead, you felt like you should’ve been feeling…something. You knew you’d just technically cheated on the other John but all you felt was a sense of satisfaction and some deliciously sore limbs. The Joker’s acid mixed with John’s magic had definitely stripped you of your morality and your inhibitions, along with your stronger emotions.Guess you just weren’t capable of love any more.
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“Tell me you found summat,” John starts immediately upon seeing Bruce.“Without proper testing, I can’t be a hundred percent sure,” Bruce replies, reading the data on the screen. “But I think we have an antidote. The strain is different every time the Joker uses it. It’s always difficult to fathom out.”“But you have…right?”“Yes. I think if we put it in an aerosol form it’ll be easier to administer. Syringes are unreliable when the subject isn’t willing.”“Brill, right. So…you expect her not to stand there for a jab but to stand there for getting sprayed in the face? Do you even know me missus?” John huffs. “And now she’s full darkside. I have no idea what she’s capable of any more.”“And I’m just a spare part, huh?” Boston shrugs.“What?” John turns to him in annoyance.“Did you forget I can possess folks? I go into your gal, I stand still n’ voila! Hot Brit chick is lawful good again.”“Shit….shit yeah. That could work. Ah Bos, I could kiss you!” John exclaims.He thinks he surprises Boston when he manages to grab hold of his face and plant a big kiss right on the lips. Only a handful of people who knew magic could ever make him corporeal enough to touch and none of them Boston fancied much.“Ah geez louise, John!” Boston exclaims, wiping his mouth. “Not in front of the kids! I have a reputation!”“We know all about your reputation,” Zatanna rolls her eyes.“Come on, sweetheart, how about you pucker up instead?” Boston offers.“I’ve just forgot, I have to wash my hair,” comes the dry response.“Are we quite done flirting?” Bruce cuts in. “Only we need a plan. So far Deadman will possess Star and keep her steady whilst we use the aerosol but that still doesn’t account for Demon John.”“And if I know meself, I wouldn’t let her go without a fight,” John adds grimly. “I’m a bit of a needy bugger like that.”“Which means we need a strike team keeping Demon John and the rest of Reckoning at bay. Dick, Tim and I can handle the Gotham regulars but Zatanna, you’ll need to help with Demon John.”“That didn’t go so well the last time, Bruce,” Zatanna stiffens.“But we need to try. If only to get her free from him. Are you in?”“Yeah but I’ll help with the Gotham regulars. I can’t face Demon John again.”“Alright, we’ll switch places,” Bruce nods. “You keep my boys safe.”“I will do and….you owe me, John,” she sighs turning to face him.“Put it on the tab,” John smiles weakly.“Alright, let’s tool up and meet back here as soon as possible. John, you need to find out where she is,” Bruce straightens up, moving to his laboratory.“Don’t make me look,” John winces. “I can’t..I….”Bruce softens a little before clamping his huge hand down on John’s shoulder, “It’s not her. Whatever she’s doing, it’s not her. That girl loves you. Anyone can see that.”“Yeah…..maybe…..but for how much longer?” John mutters to himself before finding a quiet place in the cave to meditate.He found your emotions first, that sated feeling, the sore feeling. It was plainly obvious what had happened and the hurt struck him hard in his lungs. He felt like he couldn’t breathe properly but he forced himself to look.You were still in that room he’d seen before but now you were viewing it from the bed and naked next to you was Demon John. His counterpart was stretching lazily and making a comment about how different sex with a demon must be and why would you ever go back to John. You’re telling him to shut up and you don’t want to talk about it.John felt like he could interpret that so many ways if he couldn’t feel what you were but there was just numbness, just nothing. It was like you were on autopilot and it frightened him immensely. You were a girl who had her heart on her sleeve and wore her emotions obviously on her face. This was so far removed from what he knew.Then you looked up to the window and John could see water, water and a harbour. You had to be on a boat somewhere and there was a tower, a tower with a W on it.Then he heard you remarking that you felt like you were being watched and Demon John put his hand on your forehead. Instantly John was thrown out of the connection with a harsh pain in his mind and he fell backwards, breathing heavily.Shit. How was he supposed to keep tabs on you now? ** It was easy to feel the tickling sensation behind the eyes when you didn’t feel much any more. You got the distinct impression of someone using your vision, hijacking your senses.“I think we’re being watched,” you say to Demon John.“Oh aye?” he quirks up an eyebrow. “Ah shit, yeah. Soul connection. That’ll be St Johnny Boy sneaking a look. I hope he’s got a good view. Let’s make sure he can’t spy on us, eh?”His fingers touch your forehead and instantly the sensation vanishes and you don’t have the second hand emotions of betrayal and anger swirling around your mind.“Better,” you remark before getting up and looking through the drawers for some clothing.“Here, luv, take this,” John goes in the closet and throws you some of his clothes. “Can always shrink ‘em to fit. Don’t like seeing you in other people’s things.”You shrug on a shirt, dress pants and a red tie which start conforming to your body type. You do ignore John’s protests though to grab a black trenchcoat from the closet. Gotham wasn’t amazingly warm at night.“Actually suits you,” comes the appreciative response. “I’ll be glad to rip it off ya later.”“Let’s get some work done first,” you chide. “Sex can wait.”“Oh and it’s worth waiting for,” John chuckles. “Come on lass. Let’s get busy.”You rejoin the others on deck who look suitably miffed off. You assume they must have heard you two going at it.“Have fun, huh?”Harley says acidly.“Lots,” John says curtly. “Now we’re after some more. Wayne Enterprises.”“Boooooring,” Harley rolls her eyes.“Miss Quinzel,” Riddler cuts in. “What doesn’t exist the moment you speak its name?”She looks perplexed, umming and ahhing until you’re finding her constant idiocy irritating. She was meant to be a former doctor but she sure played the dumb card well.“No?” Riddler tuts. “Anyone else?”“Silence,” you answer immediately.“Exactly,” Riddler points. “So please employ some silence, Harley. Let the grown ups talk.”Joker was playing with a yo-yo which he was making do tricks until he whirls around on the balls of his feet and throws his arms out wide, “Chaos…..I want chaos! Can you promise me it will be oh-so spectacular? Can you? Pretty please?”“Aye, we’ll make fireworks if you like,” John smirks. “I’ll teach this one to unleash darker magic too.”“Let’s take out Mr Fox too,” Riddler muses. “Gotham’s other brain. Batman gets all his help from the man I believe.”“Oh sure, sure,” Joker rolls his eyes. “But Batsy having his little gadgets is all part of the fun!”“Give us an hour,” John remarks, putting a hand on your arm to steer you away. “Then we’ll be ready. This one needs some practice. Light magic is such bollocks.”“Make it amusing,” Joker says in that voice that wavers on threatening.You’re led to the back of the boat where there’s crates littering the deck. John moves behind you, his mouth practically by your ear.“Now….spells to blow stuff up. All well and good I guess but do you know how to make things evaporate? How to pull Hellfire into things?” he whispers.“You know I don’t,” you huff. “I only know what I read from the other John’s secret stash when he was asleep.”“Oo crafty bird, like it,” he chuckles. “So, let’s imagine Hellfire in your veins and then you’re directing it at a target, pulling it back into yourself from their insides. Say the words with me….inferni daemonstrus.”“Inferni daemonstrus,” you repeat and you feel the scorching heat run down your body before you direct it into the crate and yank it back out again, making the crate burst into red flames that instantly reduced it to ash.“Colour me impressed, luv,” John’s hands wind around your waist. “Takes real commitment to the Dark Arts to do that so nicely first time. You really have shed your hero image.”“Teach me more,” you demand, the rush still in your body.“How about this one…..redatarae ministhius. Feel the tightness and then break free from it.”You repeat the words and feel a squeezing sensation in your chest that just binds tighter and tighter. Just when you think you can’t take it any more, you physically open your stance up and you watch with interest as the other crate contracts and expands into shards of splinters.“Well aren’t we a swot?” John chuckles. “Alright, last one. This’ll give Joker his fun. A spell to bring down a plague swarm. Instant mummification as it eats away their flesh and they shrivel. Now…a crate won’t do much good so how about I bring up one of the crew and you can practice that way?”“Sure,” you shrug.What was one life anyway? The Reckoning were going to kill them as soon as they got off the boat so may as well make their deaths useful.John disappears into the hold, returning a few minutes later with some struggling boy of perhaps only twenty. He seems disturbed how strong John is and he keeps trying to dig his heels into the deck as though he could stop the progress.“Go on, lass. Try this'un. Mallifas nurtessa.”As you repeat it, targeting the shivering boy, there’s the sound of buzzing. The buzzing becomes a vibrating down your arms and you see flies escaping from your skin, rushing towards the guy who is engulfed in a humming black cloud and you can see his skin start to sag and his bones start to protrude before all that is left is a husk which collapses to the floor. The flies dissolve into the air.“Biblical, ennit?” John remarks. “Bet St Johnny Boy would never let you do stuff like this.”“Well no. It’s Dark Arts magic,” you keep looking at the body, wondering why you’re not feeling anything.You just killed a person…for target practice. There was still some corner of your brain where that seemed like it was a heinous thing for you to do. That the old you would never have even entertained the idea. All you felt was just this default emotion though.“We’re ready,” John spins you round, leaning down and biting at your bottom lip. “Sure we’ve not got time for a quick shag?”“If you can be quick.”“I make no promises, luv.” ** “Bollocks, bollocks, BOLLOCKS!” John slams his hand into the floor over and over until the knuckles scuff.“What?! What’s goin’ on?” Boston says in alarm, floating over.“She knows I’m spying through the soul merge. Other me just chucked me out,” John stood up in a rage. “And they….and they….”“Hey, look, I ain’t the best guy to talk 'bout love n’ stuff but listen to Zee when she says that ain’t your gal there. Star ain’t some two bit floozy. She’s bewitched. I saw her at the meeting and she ain’t took her eyes off ya unless someone else spoke. The dame is so in love with ya.”“So everyone keeps saying,” John grits his jaw.“And it ain’t like she’s shacking up with the Joker. She’s still with you…technically. Just the evil version. Least she ain’t fancying other guys.”“I guess. I’m just…I’m angry and I can’t express it, mate. Bloody sucks balls.”“Express it on ya demon when we catch up,” Boston shrugs. “Did ya get any info before you were thrown out?”“Only that it’s a boat overlooking a large tower with a W on it.”“A W? Wayne Enterprises? Oh boy, Bruce ain’t gonna like this,” Boston turns upside before righting himself again and speeding off towards the Batcomputer.Not a minute later, Bruce was striding over with a worried look on his face.“A tower with a W, are you sure?” he barks roughly.“Yeah, yeah and it was the highest tower I could see out of the east side of the boat,” John relays.“They’re going to blow it up. Joker’s been threatening it for years but now he has the power behind him to do so,” Bruce cradles his head. “I need to evacuate everyone and then we’re heading down.”“Master Bruce?” Alfred says, bringing a tea tray down the stairs. “I could get the message to evacuate out if you’d like to start making your way there.”“Please, Al,” Bruce nods genially. “Come on, John. We need to go.”“I’m not ready,” John shifts.“None of us are but people need us. Star needs you. Are you going to let her be brainwashed into doing villainy? Are you going to leave her with your demonic twin?”“No.”“Then suit up, John Constantine. Gotham’s in danger.”John pulls his trenchcoat on before fluffing up the collar and retrieving a cigarette, “Just like the old days, mate.” ** Wayne Enterprises Tower loomed above you, stretching as far as you could see craning your neck back. It reminded you of those art deco architecture projects with its clean lines and thin windows and proudly displayed in the midst of the facade was the Wayne Enterprises logo, illuminated by a swathe of blue light.What a shame you’d be destroying it.Some of the lights near the top were still on and if you squinted, you could see a shadow move past the windows on occasion.“We have company,” you point up.“I ain’t had a good smack session in aaaaages,” Harley twirls the hammer in her hand. “Can we barge in yet, Mister J? Oh can we? Can we please?”“Go speak to the receptionist Harley and make sure we get a thoroughly good welcome,” Joker motions to her, chuckling under his breath.You notice Riddler seems a bit reticent now to participate. He hasn’t been enthusiastic since you had to leave Arkham. Maybe he was getting bored with the team up or maybe he was bored of his colleague’s lack of challenging intellect.“Stay behind if you want,” you offer him.“I’ll leave when the time is right,” he says cryptically, tipping his bowler hat.You hear an almighty shriek and then a sound like eggshells cracking before Harley opens the door and you see a blood trail behind her.“Come on innnnn,” she says in a sing song voice. “I think the alarm went off though, oopsie?”“That’s our cue, lass. Let’s fry the electronics,” John strides into the building.You follow, taking in the ostentatiousness of the marble foyer. This is definitely something that wouldn’t burn down easily.You step over the body of the receptionist and security guard before touching your hand to the camera monitors, muttering the words that the other John had taught you all those months ago. It was a lesson in breaking and entering where he’d also shown you lockpicking and the ability to cloak your sounds. Handy…very handy for the task ahead.The CCTV splutters and dies, the alarm codes fizzle out and you’re just left with the basic lighting as the back up generator kicks in. You’re off the grid for now but it won’t take long for Batman to come. He always seems to know when trouble happens.“Upstairs. We need to blow out the building where the logo is,” John nods to the lift. “That sends the clearest message.”“Off you two lovebirds go,” Joker waves John off to the lift before grabbing you and speaking into your ear. “Make it oh so fun, Star. Remember to have a blast….a blast, HA!”“Sure thing, Mister J,” you wink at him and there’s a purr that starts in his chest.He really did love that nickname.You move with John to the lift, going up to the top levels of the tower. It seemed to take no time at all and then you were exiting out, almost bumping into a man who was hurriedly trying to close his briefcase whilst attempting to get into the lift.“Hello hello hello,” John smirks and the man reels backwards, running towards the desk. “Who have we here?”“I warn you, stay back!” the man yells, grabbing a gun.“Oh I don’t think so,” John laughs before making the gun melt into useless bits of metal. “Your name.”“It’s Lucius Fox,” you point to the placard on the desk. “That’s who Riddler wanted, right?”“Wanted dead, aye,” John nods.“I’ll never tell you any of Mr Wayne’s secrets!” Lucius says defiantly.“Who says we want them?” you shrug. “We’re just here to have fun.”“He’s coming, you know. Batman?”“Oh I’m quaking in me boots,” Demon John snorts. “Bring it on.”The window suddenly explodes and there he is…Batman. He lands on the desk, standing tall and he makes quite the imposing figure with the extra height.“Enough. You’ll be coming with me, Star,” he growls.“Don’t think so, mate. She’s mine now,” Demon John folds his arms.“It wasn’t a request.”“And neither is this. Back off, or I kill your friend.”“Now, Deadman!” Batman jumps to the side and a streak of white and red rushes towards you.You just have time to see the blank void of his eyes before there’s a freezing sensation that fills your body and your consciousness is stuffed down to make way for Deadman’s. You’re not controlling your body any more and that makes you want to lash out.“Poor form, Bats,” John growls. “I said back off.”Then with a few words, Lucius’ torso seems to crumple in on itself, the bones cracking with the compression before there’s an explosion and everyone is splattered with blood, bones and gore. What’s left of Lucius hits the floor with a sickening squelch.“NO!” Batman roars, flinging a batarang towards John who dodges, only for it to blow up nearby, sending him flying into the lift doors.“I can’t hold her much longer, Bats!” Deadman uses your voice.You see Batman pull himself together for an instant, the rage reducing to a calm anger before he says into a comms device, “John, it’s time.”A portal appears in the room and your John runs out of it, holding a can of what seemed like pepper spray. You weren’t really sure what they were trying to achieve but it couldn’t be anything good.You resist harder against Deadman, pushing him out inch by inch, your consciousness screaming. You’re slowly winning the fight.“Quickly now! She’s fightin’ me!” your voice says again with a New York accent.Your John sprints but he’s not quick enough and you expel Deadman before rounding on the approaching magus.“Inferni daemonstrus,” you chant, feeling the familiar burning in your veins as you whirl Hellfire around you, scorching the marble floor and ceiling.“Fucking hell!” your John skids to a halt before muttering a counter charm, a hail of water descending from the roof and drenching your spell until only smoke remains. “Shit, Bats. He’s taught her the Dark Arts. Deadman, try again!”An explosion from several floors beneath you rocks the tower and you stumble for a second before shouting, “Mallifas Nurtessa!”The spell narrowly misses. Your John manages to erect a defence shield in time which ricochets it towards Demon John who was getting to his feet. It hit the demon, wasting away the flesh until only gleaming muscle was left and the faint greenish hue around the eyes and mouth.“Look what you did, lass,” Demon John growls in annoyance. “What use are you to me if you can’t aim spells right? This will take weeks to regrow. I should teach you a lesson. Some discipline.”“Try it,” you snarl back. “You were an entertaining fuck and a moderate teacher but I’m not your plaything.”“Excuse me?” Demon John starts stalking towards you. “Are you chatting back? Know your fucking place, you demon whore.”“Oi!” your John yells. “Don’t call her a demon whore!”There’s an almighty crack as John strikes his demonic counterpart in the head with a paperweight from the desk before he notices you readying Hellfire and jumps out of the way, motioning to Deadman as he does.Bruce is still seemingly guarding what’s left of Lucius.“Hellfire? I’M MADE OF HELL!” Demon John roars as the flames erupt from his body, make the muscles bubble.“And now you can go back where you came from,” you shrug, walking over and using a phase spell to yank the golem bag out from where his heart should be before tossing it to the other John who promptly destroys it.The husk of Demon John wastes into black sludge on the floor, finally dead.You watch all the heroes warily, readying your stance for another fight. You knew damn well they’d try and take you, they’d try and undo what was done. You just wanted to be left alone. You understood how the Riddler might be feeling right now. Sometimes solo was better. You could do whatever you wanted without some man or woman dictating the terms of how you lived your life.Then your thoughts are cut short by Deadman diving at you again, struggling to box you away inside your own body now you were a bit wiser to it.“Now!” Deadman shouts with your voice.John dashes over and sprays something at you, a mist. You inhale it, spluttering and at once you’re assaulted by so many feelings you begin lashing out in an attempt to make it stop.Deadman is ejected and you launch at John, battering him with your fists as you roar like a wounded bear, so much anger, so much grief, so much self hatredBatman pulls you off before jamming a syringe into your neck and you struggle for a bit longer in his vice like grip before your muscles started relaxing and you slumped, the world fading into darkness.
Oh my god….I killed someone….I killed someone.
** The tower rocks again with another explosion.“We need to go guys,” Boston motions. “I don’t think Nightwing has got Joker contained.”“I can’t leave…” Bruce motions to Lucius.“Look, if we don’t get out, everyone here will die. Don’t let Lucius have given his life for nothin’,” Deadman pleads. “We stopped the Demon John, now we need to go.”“He was my friend,” Bruce says without emotion, like he was too shocked.“Snap outta it!” Boston yells. “Ya got an unconscious gal in your arms. Move it!”That seems to get through to Bruce who shook his head before throwing you over his shoulder. John couldn’t really ask him to be gentle with you when he felt like he was the reason Lucius was dead in the first place. If only he had never made the golem….if only he’d been able to break free of Ivy’s control and kill his demon self quicker.“Come on. Time to return,” Bruce grapples out of the building with you, your hair whipping in the breeze.John made a portal back to Wayne Manor before seating himself in the Batcave, nervously bouncing his leg up and down.What if the solution didn’t work? What if you never regained your humanity? What if you never loved him again? This could’ve all been for nothing.
How much has been lost because of me, because of my cowardice? Christ…I’m such a fuck up. If you’re there God, you owe me one. Bring her back to me.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It took about twenty minutes before Bruce carried you down the steps, you still limply hanging over his shoulder.The rest of the team were trailing behind, looking suitably worse for wear. Zatanna had cuts above her eyes, Nightwing had half of his suit torn and Tim was covered in paint. Only Deadman was unscathed but then again, it was hard to hurt a ghost.“Al, get the ropes,” Bruce nods to his butler, who retrieves some from a drawer in the lab.“That’s not gonna hold her if it didn’t work,” John notes.“Well….I’m waiting for your suggestion,” Bruce huffs acidly. “She’s your partner.”“Put her on a chair, I’ll do the rest.”So he sets about to work, making chains out of powerful binding magic and looping it around and around until it covered your entire mid section. Then he made a padlock to shackle it all together where the embedded runes shone bright.“Seems a bit overkill, John,” Boston looks over his handiwork.“I don’t think we want another repeat of the tower,” John says quietly, still feeling incredibly guilty over Lucius.“When’s she gonna wake up?” Tim asks, coming close himself to inspect the chains. “These are pretty neat.”“Cheers lad, and I don’t know. Bruce?”“Sometime about now,” Bruce just turns away, everything about his body language screaming that he wanted to be left alone.“Shall I, ya know, jump on in again n’ wake her up that way?” Boston asks.“Nah, don’t wanna freak her out. Best not.”There’s a groan from you and you slowly raise your head, extremely groggy before you just started screaming at the top of your lungs. John panics, seeing you writhe in the chains, desperate to get free. He doesn’t understand. You should be fine. The aerosol should’ve worked…unless…“Why is she screaming?!” Tim steps back suddenly.“No idea, let me use the soul merge,” John stands firm before casting his essence out and what he feels makes him collapse to the floor.“John!” Zatanna runs over, scooping him up. “What’s going on?”“She’s overfeeling. Too many emotions. Gotta calm her down,” John manages to spit out. “Something’s not right.”“Here,” Dick comes over, handing a syringe. “That one will keep her drowsy.”“Forgive me, luv,” John takes the syringe before jamming it into your bicep and depressing the plunger. “I bloody hate hurting you like this.”Gradually the screams fade out to a soft whimper and he’s able to think again. Something had gone drastically wrong. There was more than just the Joker’s acid in what had happened to you….perhaps magic too….perhaps….but that couldn’t have happened…right?There was no way you could’ve absorbed some of the demonic power from the other John and that’s why conventional medicine wasn’t working…..right?“I need outside help,” John runs a hand through his hair, yanking the strands slightly. “I need an expert.”“You’re not an expert?” Zatanna quirks up an eyebrow.“I know a lot about demons but not about their effects on humans, less so on humans marred by the divine,” John relays. “I’m outta me depth.”“So find an expert,” Bruce slams his hand on the computer console. “Because if Lucius died for nothing, John, I’ll rip your fucking head off.”“Alright, mate. Fair,” John holds up his hands. “I know someone, like. Just don’t…wig out when she gets here.”He finds a comfortable stance before starting the summoning charm, feeling the familiar resistance building up as he pulls the demon into the mortal plain. The air picks up around him, a gust swirling and he smells the scent of brimstone mixed with musky perfume.“Long time no see, John,” comes that seductive voice. “I hope this isn’t a booty call because I’m so not that type of demon any more.”“No thanks, lass. Just need an opinion on summat,” he opens his eyes to see her standing there.She was clad in a purple uniform that barely came past the top of her thighs, her cleavage was spilling out of her shirt and she was sporting thigh high boots that would put a stripper to shame. Asa, the Nightmare Nurse.“Oh, how novel,” she drawls before looking past him to Zatanna. “Oh and no hard feelings, sweetie? You know, that whole taking over your body thing.”“Really, John? Asa?” Zatanna looks disgusted. “You couldn’t have summoned Ellie?”“Ellie’s dead, Zee,” John says softly. “First of the Fallen figured out she were spying for me.”“Shit,” she swears before folding her arms. “Fine. I guess she can stay.”“Not that anybody asked you, babe,” Asa winks. “So what do you need? What can the great John Constantine not do that I can?”“I need you to check over me missus,” John points to you. “She’s been tampered with magically but I can’t tell how. A combo of that and some chemical solution sent her right insane.”“That’s your squeeze?” Asa looks over at you. “She’s cute. We should all play around sometime.”“Concentrate, Asa!” John growls in frustration.“Alright, alright,” she rolls her eyes. “Can’t a demon have some fun? Fine, I’ll look her over.”She moves to you, deliberately bending so her dress rides up and Dick and Tim get an eyeful. John can hear her muttering something as a lilac glow descends around you. Asa seems to be concentrating hard until her lip curls, like she’s trying to force something until she staggers backwards, recoiling.“What? What is it?” John asks worriedly.“Oh there’s definitely demonic influence there,” she straightens up, breathing hard with exertion. “And your signature is all over it.”“Come again?” even Bruce is interested now, walking up to the little party. “Are you saying John caused this?”“Yeah, simply put,” Asa flips her hair. “The girl is archangel tainted but John’s magic has embedded something in her body that’s fighting it. I sense something around the heart area. It’s something demonic but definitely John’s magic.”“My golem twin,” John sighs. “He did something to her.”“No, not him. You,” Asa looks at him pointedly. “Although I can’t tell exactly what without delving into her subconscious.”“Me……oh no,” John puts his head in his hands. “When I was under the spell. I must have done summat.”“Can you look in her subconscious and set her free?” Zatanna asks.“I am the Nightmare Nurse, sweetie. I’m sworn to heal,” Asa pops her hip out cockily. “And this one needs healing or she’ll burn out. Her fragile little mind can’t handle the dual emotions.”“Do it,” John says firmly.“You gotta come with me,” Asa holds out her hand. “I need a connection, a link to ground her. She’ll throw me out otherwise,”“Then what are we waiting for?” John takes her hand. “I got me bird to save.” ** The feelings were too much. They assaulted your senses, making you tense up horrendously just in case that might make it stop. You wanted to cry, you wanted to laugh, you wanted to scream with anger, you wanted to giggle with excitement.It was too much. Too much.You vaguely registered being stuck with a needle before the sensation dimmed to something more bearable but you still sobbed. Then there was a feeling of time passing before fingers were touched to your forehead.“No!” you yell “Fuck you! Get the fuck away from me!”“Star! Star! It’s me! It’s John!”“Leave me alone, you demonic fuck!” you bellow. “You caused this!”“Star, I love you. Please.”“I hate you! You did this to me! You ruined me!”Then your head was forced back and you just fell back into dreams. You fell back into the worldscape of the Dreaming, the stars and nebulas whirling overhead. It gave you a sense of peace…but the peace didn’t last long.Two versions of John and some woman you’d never seen before in what looked like a naughty nurse’s outfit were standing in the maelstrom of galaxies with you. This was different than before though, one John was clearly the human one and the other had a strange mottled green tint to his features.“Luv, I’m here to help you,” the human one said. “I wanna make you stop overfeeling. I wanna get you back to normal.”“I am normal. I’m free,” you reply, backing away from them.“Don’t listen to that git,” the demon John tells you, coming close and running his hand along your shoulder. “You do what you want, whenever you want.”“Piss off!” the other one scowls. “Murder is not Star’s way.”“Murder…” you trail off.Right…you killed someone…a young boy….You remembered the look of abject fear on his face. You remembered the smell of death. You remembered the sound he made when his body hit the floor.You double over, feeling sick.“Oh look what you’ve done, Johnny boy,” Demon John pouts. “She’s regretting things.”Both Johns make a move towards you but you scurry back, reading your magic. The woman appears behind you though, touching her hands to your head and it feels like she’s scraping around inside your brain.“Oh, got it,” she purrs, directing her answer to the human John. “There’s a golem bag in her.”“What?” John blinks. “There’s…..what the bloody hell?”“What have you been up to, John?” the woman tuts.“Shit,” John rings his hands. “Demon me must a’ used some of his golem pouch to make a new one and implant it into her.”“Bingo,” the demon one chuckles. “Although it was a plan we hatched together, Johnny boy. Don’t you remember? Fastest way to bring her to our side.”“What traits of me have you given her?” the human one rounds on the demonic one.“The anger, the indifference to suffering…maybe the rampant sexual need too,” Demon John shrugs. “Point is, she’s tainted and tainted beyond what the archangel blessing can cure. The two entities are fighting each other. That’s why she’s overloading. Shoulda just let her be like me. Now nobody can have her.”“You fucking prick!” human John launches himself at his counterpart only to phase through the body and land in a heap on the floor.“Uh uh uhhhhhh,” the other John wags his fingers before coming up to you. “I’m part of her, mate. Doesn’t work that way.”“Asa! Exorcise him!” human John yells.“I need her consent first,” the women, Asa shrugs.“Luv, cast him out!”“No,” you reply blankly. “I felt free. I don’t want to go back.”“What about us?” John implores you. “I love you, you silly bint. You love me. I wanna marry ya.”“I don’t want that any more.”He looks like you’ve ripped his heart out. His face falls and all the life drains out of his body. Even the light in his eyes dims a little.“Star, please,” he all but whispers, his voice cracking. “Don’t do this.”“Stay away from me,” you back up, Demon John winding his arm around your shoulder.“You heard her. Back off, short stack,” Demon John smirks.“I can’t do anything John,” Asa moves away. “She needs to want to be saved, raised from perdition. If she accepts this now, her soul will twist. She’ll be a demon.”“Lass, I know you don’t want this,” human John tries, stepping forward. “Demons tried to kill you, demons killed your mum, don’t become one.”Therein the memory of your mother’s brutal murder became the scene around you with the blood and gore streaking up the townhouse’s walls. You felt the grief to your core, the feelings still raw even now and there seemed to be a moment of clarity where something like longing swelled in your chest for John.“That’s it, luv!” John sees your expression. “Remember!”He blasts Demon John from your side before running up and taking your face in his hands. You try and fight him away but he holds fast. Then his hand jams against yours, linking the tattoos and you feel his fierce devotion to you, his love.How could you have forgotten that? How could such a feeling disappear for you?“It’s fading,” you panic, the flood of memory rushing back. “I can’t hold onto it. Love. I can’t, it’s-”“Asa, now!” John yells.“Do you consent?!” Asa grabs your other arm.“Yes!” you nod furiously, spotting Demon John starting to charge towards you. “Help me!”Then you almost shout as Asa’s face becomes less and less pretty and more gnarled, more evil. She’s rapidly speaking Latin and you feel this pinch in your stomach that knots tighter and tighter. You feel sick. You want to be sick.“Keep holding on for me, lass,” John presses his forehead against yours. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”“But you did all those things to me…” you trail off, the other memories of your time in Arkham flooding back.He looks pained, “I know, bit, I know. It wasn’t me. I would never do those things. I would never harm you…unless you asked me to in a kinky sorta way. I love you. I feel dirty for being made to do what I did. Star, I never consented to anything. I-”A mothering instinct takes over, the old you. The you that put other people before yourself.
That’s right. John was repeatedly date raped whilst under voodoo. She sometimes let him have his cognisance only to have me tortured in front of him. He’s a victim too. That’s why I tried to save him by jumping.
“Help me, John Constantine,” you beg before the last syllable is marred by you shrieking in pain as it feels like something is clawing in your chest, digging into your ribcage to stop from being yanked out.“Asa! Hurry up!” John cries, breaking away from you to erect a magical barrier just as Demon John draws level.Something’s forcing its way up your throat, raking up your windpipe as it scrabbles to stay put until you start spewing out red smoke.“Time to get back to the real world, John! The rest of the battle is there,” Asa grabs him.There’s a blinding light and suddenly the world of the Dreaming dissolves back to Wayne Manor. ** John rejoins his body, stumbling backwards before he sees you there with eyes completely black. To say he was freaked the fuck out was an understatement. Demon John’s essence was on a level with the Third of the Fallen, in that it was incredibly strong and wasn’t being destroyed without a fight.“What’s happening?!” Zatanna demands, seeing the progress. “Did it not work?”“Works fine, sweetie,” Asa grunts, steadying herself. “This is part two. Now I need to do this.”To everyone’s horror, she jams her fist into your breast bone, shattering it before thrusting her hand into the cavity. She’s nearly set upon by Bruce and Dick but she draws back her hand and there’s a small leather pouch, stained red with blood that’s emitting orange light.“Extraction complete,” she tosses the bag to John. “Now destroy it whilst I fix her up.”John wastes no time in setting the bag on fire and it explodes into a ball of hissing flames before petering out in his hand until only ash slipped through his fingers.Asa was humming something as she traced over your wound, the skin magically knitting together and the bones reforming. Your eyes weren’t black any more but they weren’t focused. You were crying but you didn’t seem to realise it.Fucking hell, you seemed so traumatised by it all. John just wanted to give you the world’s biggest hug but he was frightened of coming near you. He felt responsible for you being this way.“Is she….” Tim asks.“Completely clean of demonic essence and influence? Yeah. Can’t say her mind will fare too well but that’s not my area of expertise,” Asa flicks her hair back before realising her hand is still covered in your blood and she surreptitiously licks it before her pupils dilate. “Man, angel tainted blood. It’s been a long time.”“Oi!” John scowls. “Me missus is not a buffet bar. Stop ingesting bits of her.”“A thank you would be nice,” she huffs.“Yeah yeah, thanks for helping me out,” John shakes his head, remembering he’s the one that asked for the favour. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”“And if you ever summon me again, John, I want to have the fun time with your girl, not you. You’re not exactly hot stuff in the sheets,” Asa smirks cattily.“Bugger off!” John lunges for her but she’s already gone.“She’s alive, right?” Zatanna cuts in. “Star I mean?”“If she wasn’t, she’d be joinin’ me right now,” Deadman muses.Bruce is scanning you with some kind of handheld device, “There’s a steady pulse. Probably in shock.”“Getting a hand through your chest can’t be fun,” Dick shakes his head. “Wow that was just….ouch.”“Star?” John shakes you gently.You don’t respond. He tries touching your tattoos together and nearly shits himself when you reel backwards, your eyes open wide and you’re breathing hard.“What the fuck happened?!” you look around yourself. “Are you…is this…am I still in Arkham?!”“No, luv, you’re safe. This is Wayne Manor,” John tries to reassure you.“Which one are you?” you hiss accusatorially.“Your one,” John grabs your wrist and jams them together again so you can feel his emotions. “We’re out, Star. We’re free. You did it, you got us out.”“I…..” you trail off. “I don’t remember.”“What’s the last thing you can think of?” Bruce asks.“Um….being made to…to….strip and have freezing water blasted at me,” you mumble, turning pink. “I don’t know if I was dreaming after that. It felt horrible. All of the things I did in that dream….”“It’s just a dream,” Bruce cuts in. “You’re safe now. We got you out. Had to check you for boobytraps, that’s why you’re in the chains.”“Oh….oh right,” you blink, looking down. “Makes sense. Thank you. Thank you everyone for helping us.”John’s just staring at Bruce though. He can’t believe what he just said. He’d outright lied about what had happened, but why?“Al, can you take Star upstairs and get her refreshed?” Bruce asks Alfred.“Certainly, Master Bruce,” the butler nods. “Come along now Miss Star. You’re in need of some good ol’ fashioned cake.”“That sounds lovely,” you smile brightly and John magics the chains away so you can leave.There’s this odd moment where you look at him, like you’re uncertain what to do. You seem to keep your distance rather than touching him or kissing him and it hurts a little but John understands you’ve been through a lot and it’s going to take time.Once you’re out of earshot, he turns to the billionaire, “So what were that about?”“She doesn’t need to know what she did,” Bruce answers flatly.“It’s two days of her life that went missing.”“I think she’d rather not know she killed someone in that time,” Bruce fixes him with a dark look. “The girl’s been through enough being tortured in the first place. Knowing she did things with Demon John….it’s best she never finds out. Mental health is important and sometimes blissful ignorance helps. So I say to you all, the official story is that we found them in Arkham because of her telepathic message and got them out. Ivy was killed in the crossfire, Joker and Harley are incarcarated again but Riddler is on the run. Are we clear?”There’s a chorus of yes’s from everyone but John still feels like he can’t let it go.“But Lucius,” he trails off.Bruce takes a very deep breath before recentreing himself, “We freed her, we killed your demonic twin, we stopped Wayne Enterprises tower from collapsing….I think Lucius would give me this one. He, more than anyone, understood that you need to protect the innocent at all costs.”“Thank you,” John nods gratefully. “Now if you’ll excuse me guys, I need to do some damage control.”“Good luck,” Zatanna pats him on the shoulder.John makes his way up the stairs and to the dining room where you’re hungrily scooping down chocolate cake like it was going to disappear.“Not saving any for me?” he pouts.“Get your own,” you mock scowl, hoarding the cake away with your hand like a petulant dragon.“Not very nice, luv,” John sits down next to you. “Are you…..are you alright?”“No,” you answer bluntly, putting the cake fork down. “And I won’t be for a long time. What happened in there….it’ll leave scars.”“I am sorry, Star,” John stares at the table, crushing guilt weighing heavily on his chest.“I know you tried to save me a few times,” you look at him. “I remember. I just….it’s hard not to associate you with him, you know? There were times when I didn’t know who was who.”“This is definitely me. I promise you. I’d never hurt you,” John says earnestly. “I tried so hard to get you back. You wouldn’t believe.”“I know you’re suffering too. God, we are a right pair, aren’t we?”“Aye, lass. That we are,” John sighs. “Are we okay? Do you still want…”“Are you asking me if I’m going to break up with you over this?” you scrunch up your nose. “You are such a moron, John Constantine.”“'Scuse me?!”“If I let Demon John tear us apart, he’s won. That’s what he wanted all along. I’m not going to let him get the satisfaction…but I will need to take it slow.”“Whatever you need, bit,” John nods eagerly, feeling hope blossom in his chest again. “I’m just so happy we’re free. What you did for me, I’ll never forget it.”“Well….I love you, you berk,” you shrug. “I never stopped trying to get you out. I never gave up.”“Heaven sent, indeed,” John laughs softly. “Can I be so bold as to kiss you?”“You’re asking permission? That’s not the rough and ready scoundrel I know,” you quirk up an eyebrow.“Oh…right…well I didn’t think you’d want me to be so….affectionate so soon,” John blushes.“I need normality,” you smile slightly. “I need you to be as you are because then there’s a clear separation in my head. Does that make sense?”“Aye, it does. Well pucker up, luv,” John leans across, kissing you gently.He doesn’t put his hands on you, too afraid he might set you off but you take one of his hands and place it on your cheek. You’re a lot braver than he expected and he’d spend all day admiring your internal strength but he was just lost in the moment.It felt like it’d been years since he’d last kissed you, since he touched you. All of his buzzing anxieties were just melting away and it felt like home.“I….I need some time now,” you pull away, standing up and moving to the door. “I need to be alone for a little while to sort this all out.”“I get it,” John nods. “I’m here when you want me.”“I always want you, John. Thought you’d got that by now. I’m not going anywhere.”“Promise?”“Promise.”
I’ll hold you to that, luv. Fuck am I so glad I got you home. This is where you belong. With me.