"You know," Marcus said quietly, divine light crackling around the Rex pistol in his hand, "sometimes the direct approach is the most effective."
The abandoned railway tunnel before them reeked of sulfur and corruption, demonic energy so thick it made the air itself feel oily against their skin. Where divine power met infernal essence, the atmosphere hissed and sparked like water hitting hot oil.
"This is definitely the place," Marcus observed, studying the tunnel entrance. The masonry was old, probably dating back to the early days of Gotham's industrial expansion, but the supernatural contamination was fresh and deliberately concentrated.
Marcus stepped forward without hesitation, channeling his bio-field manipulation to draw the heavenly power from his weapon into his arm. Divine energy flowed along his limb like liquid light, gathering strength for what he planned to do next.
"Let's announce ourselves properly," he said with a grim smile.
Using the Crushing Ruin technique enhanced with captured divine power, Marcus drove his fist straight into the tunnel wall. Heavenly energy exploded outward in a concentrated wave, racing through the underground passages like purifying fire.
The response was immediate and gratifying.
Inhuman roars echoed from deep within the tunnel system – multiple voices expressing pain, rage, and genuine fear. Whatever was hiding down there had just received a very unpleasant introduction to the kind of power they were facing.
"Well," Marcus said with satisfaction, "we're definitely in the right place."
They advanced into the tunnel, Constantine clutching his silver cross and holy water while Marcus kept the sanctified pistol ready. The demonic contamination grew stronger as they descended, accompanied by new odors that suggested recent human activity.
After several minutes of careful progress, Marcus paused beside what appeared to be a solid stone wall. To normal perception, it was just another section of tunnel masonry. But his enhanced senses detected a hollow space beyond, cleverly concealed but not perfectly hidden.
"Hidden entrance," Marcus announced, tapping the wall with his knuckles. The hollow sound confirmed his assessment.
Rather than search for a mechanism or secret switch, Marcus simply drew Tatsu and carved a deep slash through the false wall. Stone and mortar parted like silk before the enhanced blade, revealing the passage beyond.
The stench that poured out was overwhelming – not just demonic corruption, but the specific reek of rotting flesh and spilled blood. Constantine's face went pale as he recognized the implications.
"This isn't just a demon nest," Constantine said grimly. "Someone's been conducting experiments down here."
Marcus nodded, noting how Constantine instinctively tightened his grip on his protective talismans. The exorcist's experience was showing; he knew the difference between naturally occurring supernatural threats and artificially created horrors.
They moved through the concealed passage, Marcus's bio-field creating a subtle barrier against the worst of the contamination. The passage opened into a large chamber that had clearly been converted from its original purpose into something far more sinister.
The sight that greeted them was worse than either had expected.
The chamber had been transformed into a makeshift medical facility, complete with operating tables, surgical equipment, and holding pens that looked more suitable for livestock than human patients. But the most horrifying element was the procedure currently in progress.
A naked man hung suspended from the ceiling, his body partially covered with stitched demonic flesh that was still being grafted onto his limbs by several figures in blood-stained surgical scrubs. The victim was clearly alive but unconscious, his chest rising and falling with labored breathing as alien tissue was integrated into his body.
The moment Marcus and Constantine entered the chamber, the surgeons abandoned their work and fled through other exits. Their departure triggered some kind of automated defense system – metal bars slammed down around the two intruders, forming a substantial cage.
"Welcome, new subjects!" a cheerful voice announced over hidden speakers. "Please don't struggle too much. It makes the preliminary examinations more difficult."
Constantine's anger was immediate and volcanic. "Who are you? What gives you the right to torture people like this?"
"Rights?" the voice replied with obvious amusement. "We're conducting groundbreaking research into human-demon hybridization. The applications are limitless! Military enhancement, supernatural resistance, extended lifespan – we're pioneers in a field that will revolutionize humanity."
"You're creating abominations," Constantine snarled. "This is an affront to everything natural!"
Marcus studied their prison with professional detachment. The cage was sturdy but not designed to contain someone with his capabilities. More importantly, he could see that the suspended victim was beyond saving – demonic corruption had already spread through most of his circulatory system.
"That man is dead," Marcus said quietly, stopping Constantine from attempting a rescue. "Even if we cut him down now, the integration process has gone too far. The kindest thing we can do is end his suffering quickly."
Marcus's eyes began to glow with heat vision energy. Twin beams of superheated force sliced through the cage bars like they were made of paper, creating an opening large enough for both men to escape.
"Your turn to play," Marcus said to Constantine. "I'll handle the big targets if things get complicated."
Instead of responding to the voice over the speakers, Marcus drew Tatsu and released a massive volley of enhanced dragon souls. The spectral spirits streamed through the chamber, seeking out every source of demonic contamination with deadly precision.
The fleeing surgeons barely made it to the chamber exits before the dragon souls caught them. Divine fire consumed their forms instantly, reducing them to purified ash. The suspended victim was granted a merciful death as the spirits severed his connection to the grafted demon flesh.
"Impossible!" the voice over the speakers had lost its casual confidence. "You're not just human – you're Kryptonian! If we can capture you, our research will advance by decades!"
"Capture me?" Marcus asked with dark amusement. "With what army?"
The answer came in the form of bestial roars from multiple directions. Hidden doors around the chamber burst open, releasing a horde of artificial demons – each one a unique combination of human base and grafted demonic components.
They were grotesque parodies of the stitched abomination Marcus had destroyed earlier. Some had been enhanced with demonic claws or armored hide, others sprouted additional limbs or sensory organs. All of them radiated hunger and barely controlled rage.
"Just these rejects?" Marcus asked dismissively, raising the Rex pistol.
The sanctified weapon spoke with divine authority. Each shot carried enough heavenly power to punch through demonic hide like tissue paper, the blessed bullets leaving trails of purifying fire as they found their targets. Artificial demon after artificial demon collapsed as divine energy burned through their corrupted systems.
Meanwhile, Constantine had armed himself with what appeared to be a simple steel pipe, but Marcus could see the faint glow of consecrated oil coating the metal. The exorcist wielded his improvised weapon like a medieval war hammer, each blow delivering divine punishment to the creatures attempting to surround him.
"I should have known," Marcus muttered, watching Constantine enthusiastically bludgeon demons with his makeshift holy weapon. "Why do all the mages I meet prefer close combat?"
It reminded him uncomfortably of the Ancient One, who had often abandoned mystical combat in favor of physically beating opponents with magically enhanced martial arts. Apparently some things were consistent across multiple universes.
The battle was brief but intense. Between Marcus's sanctified ammunition and Constantine's consecrated bludgeoning, the artificial demons stood little chance. Within minutes, the chamber floor was littered with purified remains.
"Well," Marcus called out to the hidden speakers, "that was disappointing. I was hoping for more of a challenge."
Silence answered him.
"I know you can see what happened here," Marcus continued. "Shouldn't you come out and explain why you thought torturing people was a good research strategy?"
"You may have destroyed our test subjects," the voice finally replied, now carrying obvious strain, "but this is only one facility. Our work will continue, and eventually we'll find a way to replicate your abilities. Until then... goodbye."
The sound of escaping gas filled the chamber, followed immediately by sparks and open flames. The entire facility had been rigged for self-destruction, probably to eliminate evidence of the illegal experiments.
But Marcus had dealt with far worse than a simple explosion.
The blast wave and superheated gases converged on his position, then seemed to fold in on themselves as Marcus used his bio-field manipulation to gather the entire conflagration into a concentrated sphere in his palm. What should have been a facility-destroying explosion became a basketball-sized orb of contained fire.
"Are you hurt?" Marcus asked Constantine.
"Physically, no," Constantine replied, though he was clutching his chest. "But I just used my last holy oil. Do you have any idea how hard that stuff is to make? I only get about a dozen bottles per year, and I just wasted one on these artificial monsters."
Marcus nodded sympathetically while converting the captured explosion into something more useful. Drawing on the divine energy he'd collected earlier, he transformed the fire into holy flame – pure white radiance that would burn away demonic corruption without harming anything natural.
With a casual gesture, he spread the holy fire throughout the chamber. Demon corpses, bloodstains, surgical equipment, and every trace of the facility's original purpose dissolved under the purifying flames. Within moments, the chamber looked like nothing more than an empty cave.
As they emerged from the tunnel system, Marcus extended the holy fire across the entire area, eliminating any lingering demonic contamination. The zone was now so saturated with divine energy that no demon would willingly enter it for years to come.
"So," Constantine said as they walked back toward civilization, "I still don't know who you actually are. We just destroyed a demon factory together, but you're still a complete mystery."
Marcus smiled, creating a small orb of holy fire and letting it dance between his fingers. "Have you seen the statue they put up in front of Gotham's Central Church?"
Constantine's eyes widened with sudden recognition. "You're the one they call the Saint? The one who sealed the demon portal twenty years ago?"
"Saint?" Marcus looked genuinely puzzled. "Is that what they're calling me now? When I left, they just wanted something to keep the demons away. I had no idea it had become a religious thing."
"The people of Gotham consider you their patron saint," Constantine explained. "They believe you're an angel sent by God to protect the city."
Marcus sighed and shrugged. "I suppose they can believe whatever helps them sleep at night. As long as the protection holds, the details don't matter much."
He snapped his fingers, and thick fog immediately surrounded them. When it cleared moments later, they were standing on a Gotham rooftop with the city lights spread out below them.
"Teleportation," Constantine said with weary acceptance. "Of course you can teleport. At this point I'd be surprised if there was something you couldn't do."
"Let's go find Bruce and Selina," Marcus said. "If it wasn't for your investigation, they never would have known about the demon factory. They'll want a full report on what we discovered."