New York, NY.
July 13, 2013.
Erika POV.
The day after my fight with Snowflame, after thinking about everything that had happened, in retrospect, I had come up with a couple of things I could have done to fight him, but of course, in retrospect, we always think of things we could have done differently after the conclusion of an event we didn't like. I really had a bad taste in my mouth because I hadn't been able to defeat that cokehead and everything had gotten so complicated.
I had thought of some spells or even strategies for using my Anodite powers, but since I didn't want Nimue to scold me for not taking a break, I just thought about it. However, during breakfast, I discussed with her the strange effect that the mental trick she had taught me had in me when Lilith tried to read my mind.
What I had used last night to counter Lilith mental readind was part of a branch of magic called Mentalism, which, as its name suggested, was related to various mental abilities. In other words, Mentalism allowed someone to read the minds of others and, in a way, worked a bit like Harry Potter's Legilimency, and since that existed, of course, there was also something similar to Occlumency that allowed someone to combat it.
Nimue had taught me a little about the latter.
Some time ago, before Nimue taught me that trick, she admitted that she wasn't very good at that branch of magic, but years of practice had given her a good foundation and she was able to protect her mind and make it extremely difficult for a telepath to read her thoughts. Even considering that Nimue had told me she wasn't very talented at it, there was no denying that her teachings were useful.
However, last night I not only protected my thoughts, but the effect that using that trick had on Lilith and me was unexpected. I didn't really know why we had connected that way, and neither did Nimue. Although, given my status as a Magical Alien, who knew what I could or couldn't do? Only trial and error would tell me.
As for Lilith's visions, Nimue told me that although seers were rare, they were not as unheard of as many people thought.
"Some people experience déjà vu in their daily lives, and it's not because they're imagining it, at least not all of them. In some cases, they have these feelings for a very valid reason: they have already had visions of what they are experiencing at that moment. But of course, even though psychics are less rare than one might think, finding a psychic who remembers and knows how to interpret what they saw in their dreams is much rarer and more special. But of course, there are other means besides dreams to do something like that, but those are specific gifts or developed abilities such as tarot readings." she explained.
Nimue also mentioned that my "premonitions" could be interpreted as some kind of means of reading the future. When she said that, I just nodded shyly, trying not to show my embarrassment at the lies I had told her some time ago. Anyway, putting aside the whole issue of visions of the future, while I was talking to Nimue, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to teach Cleo the mental trick I had learned. I didn't know if she would master it quickly, but at least I wanted her to practice and get to the point where she could detect when someone was trying to read her mind.
After my breakfast with Nimue, the morning passed quite quickly, and my relaxation time, which consisted mostly of watching television, was interrupted when the building's doorbell rang and I went to open the door. To my surprise, I found something a little unpleasant on the other side of the door.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Under the spell that disguised me as human, I glared at the redhead in front of me.
"Hi." Lilith smiled at me and greeted me nervously.
"Ratgirl, why did you bring her here?" My glare turned to Cleo, who was standing next to the redhead and looked quite uncomfortable. "Better said, why the hell are you with her? If you tell me you gave her your number, I'm going to beat you up."
"She came to my apartment half an hour ago." Embarrassed, Cleo shrugged, causing Sebastian, who was on one of them, to stagger a little.
"Don't be mad at her. Last night, when I read her mind, I saw where she lived. I went there and convinced her to bring me here. And don't be angry about that either, for the same reason, I already knew where you lived, she didn't tell me anything, I just didn't want to come here alone." Before I could say anything, Lilith raised a finger and added. "And no, I haven't read her mind again."
"And how can I know if that's true?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"We can do that nonsense with the connection again and check it out." She shrugged and looked at me. "I know you don't trust me, but at least give me the benefit of the doubt since our initial meeting and I've done what you asked me to do."
I hated it when someone used logic on me. I wanted to pout, I glared at them both, but I wasn't going to let myself be defeated, so I reached out to take Sebastian and a second later I slammed the door in their faces. Surely living with just the rat would cause me fewer headaches than those two.
"Open the door, Erika, stop being such a grump." said Cleo, banging on the door. "And give me back Sebastian."
"I'm not giving you anything back, and I'm taking custody of the rat away from you. You should have called me." I scolded her.
Realizing he was separated from Cleo, a desperate Sebastian squealed in my hands
In the end, after Cleo begged me for about 10 minutes, I had no choice but to give up and let them in. And shortly after, we moved to the building's living room. Lilith's presence made me uncomfortable, but it was true that I couldn't be so unpleasant to her when she was trying to do what I told her to do. Besides, I didn't know what else to do. Lilith already knew where I lived, and unless I could erase her memory, I couldn't think of any other way to prevent her from coming back here another day.
[Well, besides of beating her. Fucking, Tomato Head.]
"You still haven't answered me, what are you doing here?" I asked after we sat down in the living room.
"Well, I think I have a masochistic streak, and Cleo is nicer than you," Lilith replied.
In response, I gave her my best resting bitch face, and Lilith rolled her eyes.
"I already told you that I had to meet you, see you once, and that you threatening me doesn't count as meeting you." She shrugged. "I thought you'd be in a better mood today."
"I am in a better mood." I replied dryly.
"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't seem like it."
I glared at her.
"Come on, stop looking at me like that. Anyway, I came here because I think I can help you with something. I know Cleo and you were looking for someone to take care of your legal documents, and it turns out I know that person quite well and could help you with that..." she said.
"Yes?" I replied curtly, but since Lilith wasn't going to leave, I decided that at least I would get some information out of her. "By the way, yesterday you mentioned something about Snowflame and why he was at the club burning things. What do you know about that?"
Snowflame had said he was "delivering a message," but although I understood it was some kind of gang intimidation, I didn't have all the details. There were more things I wanted to ask Lilith, but it was okay to start with that and see what she said.
"Not as much as you think," she said hesitantly.
"But you know something, don't you?" I replied. "Spill it, Tomato Head."
"Why do you want to know?" she asked tiredly.
"Because I want to," I said irritably.
Lilith shook her head, but after a second she said,
"It was a settling of scores. Joey, the owner of El Dorado, recently... switched sides, and his former bosses didn't like that. That's probably why they sent Snowflame to burn down the club."
Lilith's words made me think about several things.
"Switched sides?" At that moment, I remembered the gang with the Spanish name. "But what sides are there, and Snowflame is pretty strong. Who are the people who sent him to the club?"
I couldn't imagine that cocaine addict working for anyone who wasn't super rich or much more powerful. Besides, I found it strange that Snowflame hadn't gotten rid of any normal threats long ago. I fought him and assumed that thugs and gang members, no matter how many there were, wouldn't be a serious threat to him.
"Look, you have to understand that this isn't just about Snowflame and Joey. Behind them are the 100 and Intergang. They're the ones in conflict. Two years ago, they started a turf war in several cities, and it's been escalating ever since, although they're still trying to keep a low profile to prevent the Heroes from getting too involved."
I had no idea who the 100 were, but I did recognize the name Intergang.
[Wait, didn't those guys have something to do with Darkseid?]
I wasn't entirely sure about that, but I seemed to remember there was a connection there. However, I couldn't remember anything specific about them, just a few mentions of that group in comics and some TV shows. Either way, all this made me a little worried. Darkseid wasn't a good thing, no matter in what situation.
[Fuck. ] I didn't like to think that gray idiot was roaming the earth. [I live here, damn it.]
"Who are they?" I decided to ask Lilith.
"Intergang and the 100 are the biggest crime syndicates in the country, but they're not normal criminals. Intergang has access to very advanced technology, and the 100... well, I don't know much, but they seem to be connected to... magical things."
"I'd heard of the 100 before, but I didn't know anything about Intergang," Cleo interjected, who had Sebastian on her lap and was slowly stroking him. "Why hadn't heard of them?"
Lilith looked at Cleo.
"You were living in Gotham, right?"
"Yes." Cleo nodded.
"Well, neither the 100 nor Intergang stick their fingers too far into that city." Lilith grimaced. "I once heard one of them call it a nest of scorpions. There are too many local gangs fighting for territory, and even though the city's villains occasionally hire some extra muscle from outside, they don't like outsiders trying to take what's theirs... not to mention Batman, who for some reason tends to be tougher on outsiders than on criminals in his own city."
For a second, I imagined Batman as some kind of violent guard dog that growled and barked at anyone who approached the courtyard where he lived. However, I understood what Lilith meant. Even if I were a villain, I would stay away from Gotham unless I had been born there.
"So Snowflame is associated with the 100?" I said.
"Yes, a year and a half ago, Intergang almost took over the entire criminal underworld of the city. The Italian mafia, the Irish mafia, and many other gangs quickly fell under their control, but the 100 brought Snowflame from South America to help them, did a couple more things, and since then, things have remained the same." Lilith made a vague gesture with her hand. "In a kind of status quo."
I would definitely have to ask Nimue about these 100 guys. If they had anything to do with magic, she might know more about them. Besides, there was the whole Intergang thing... If I wasn't wrong about them, and their connection to Darkseid, that could be really bad.....Fucking bad. However, something had caught my attention.
"You seem to be pretty well informed about this, even considering that you can read minds." I said to Lilith.
She would probably have to be close to certain people to know things like that.
"Let's just say I'm not a big fan of staying in my room on weekends," she replied with a smile. "Plus, I worked at Joey's Club for a while and couldn't help but 'hear' a few things."
[Well, I wasn't wrong.]
"Okay," I said with a doubtful grunt.
"Stop being so grumpy, Erika. You're not going to make any friends if you grumble too much," Cleo told me.
"I'm not grumbling," I complained, grumbling.
I knew I was being a little unpleasant, but now that I had a telepath near me, I couldn't help feeling a little defensive. Although I recognized that Lilith hadn't been so bad, that didn't mean my discomfort disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Yes, that's what I meant." Cleo rolled her eyes, and Sebastian let out a squeak to indicate that he agreed with his mistress. "And I think we're missing the point. Lilith said she knew someone who could help you with the documents."
I sighed and nodded. I hadn't forgotten that, I was just satisfying my curiosity a little.
"Okay, who do you know?" I asked Lilith.
"She's an old friend." She licked her lips. "I don't really think she'll like me introducing you to her, but since she owes me a favor, she'll have to adapt."
A.N: It's been a while. The truth is, half the reason I hadn't posted anything in this thread was because I had to correct a lot of things regarding the grammar in the first chapters. I've done that now, although I'm not finished yet; I've only done up to chapter 8. Later, I'll see if I continue with the corrections, although the rest of the chapters need much less of this. You don't know how boring and monotonous it is to correct all that, but it had to be done because when I started writing this, I used to make many more mistakes than I do now, and there were some terrible things written there. It was just grammar correction; I didn't change anything else.
If there is any mistake I apologize English is not my first language.
New York, NY.
July 13, 2013.
Erika POV.
Lilith had told me she would introduce me to her friend, but before going to where she lived, I left Cleo with her for a while and went down to the first floor of the building to inform Nimue that Lilith was there and also ask her a few more questions. Nimue wasn't upset that Lilith was in the house, but she didn't ask to meet her either. However, she did seem curious about something I asked.
"The 100?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
As usual, at that moment Nimue was sitting behind the store counter reading a book.
"Yes, what do you know about them?" Standing in front of her, I pointed to the ceiling. "According to the psychic upstairs, they have something to do with magic, but even though Ratgirl had heard of them before, when she lived in Portugal, she didn't know there was anything magical about them."
I had asked Cleo what she knew about the 100. Apparently, when she lived in Portugal, people sometimes whispered about them in the streets, and there were rumors about the organization being involved in drug trafficking and things like that, but she had never heard that they were magical or something.
"I'm somewhat familiar with them," Nimue admitted hesitantly, closing the book she was reading. "The 100 aren't that well known in North America since their executives tend to act through intermediaries, but yes, they have connections in the supernatural world, and I don't find it strange that Cleo knows something about them as an organization. They are much more active in Europe; after all, that's where they originated."
"Hmm, so Tomato Head was telling the truth." I looked at Nimue. "Does that mean they're magicians or something?"
"Not exactly," Nimue shook her head. "Some of their founding members and executives are or were practitioners of witchcraft, but they were always a minority among them. Even so, most of their high-ranking members have some knowledge of magic. They are a fairly old organization and their history goes back at least 500 years. I've known for a while that some of them were in New York, but you know I prefer not to get involved unless the situation warrants it."
I nodded, already knowing that Nimue had a kind of personal rule about that. She offered advice and guidance to others, but rarely got personally involved in what was happening in the city unless she thought it was necessary. I still didn't know what situation would warrant her direct involvement, but I assumed it had to be something serious.
"I didn't know that Snowflame had been personally brought to the city by them, but I figured there was a connection between them. Although not at the same level as in Europe, their branches in South America have quite a bit of influence and dealings with covens such as La Brujeria and La Cabala." Nimue continued and looked at me seriously. "Are you planning to get involved with them?"
"I'm not planning anything, I'm just curious about all this and wanted to know more about Snowflame." I replied honestly. "Don't you know anything else about them?"
My main motivation for learning about these guys was to be informed about what was going on in the city where I was currently living.
"A few more things, but nothing very important right now. Besides, I hear a lot of rumors and find things out on my own, Erika, but that doesn't mean I know everything that's going on in New York." She replied with a knowing smile.
"I didn't think you did." I shrugged, but I couldn't help asking something else. "What about Intergang?"
"I've heard the name once or twice and I know they're some kind of criminal syndicate that's pretty active in some cities, but that's all." she said.
I nodded again, and I wasn't surprised that Nimue didn't know much about gangsters, no matter how much super technology they had. However, for a moment I thought about asking her about Darkseid, but I decided it would have to be another day.
"Thanks, I'm going out for a while. I'll be back later."
Cleo and Lilith were waiting for me. I had just gone downstairs to ask Nimue about all this so I could be better informed.
"Sure, be careful," said Nimue.
I never expected the person in charge of creating or modifying legal documents through decidedly less than legal means to live in such a picturesque suburb as the one Lilith took Cleo and me to. The residential area we had reached by taxi from Nimue's shop was almost on the outskirts of the city and was a typical peaceful American suburb with white picket fences, freshly mowed lawns, and smiling neighbors. Or at least that's what it seemed to me at first glance.
"Is here." After we got out of the taxi, Lilith pointed Cleo and me with her chin to the house across the street. "Let's go."
Cleo and I nodded and followed her across the street and straight to the front door of the house. As we walked, I asked,
"Are you sure the person who lives here can help me?"
"I already told you, yes." Lilith sighed irritably. "And this is the third time you've asked me that."
"I just want to confirm what you're saying." I replied in an equally irritated tone.
Cleo didn't know the real name of the person we were looking for the day we went to the club, only their alias, so I still couldn't be sure it was the same person Lilith was referring to.
"Okay, but I'll say it again, Rae can help you. She's the best hacker I know, and it's not the first time she's done something like what you need."
"Are you sure?" I narrowed my eyes and looked at her back.
In response, Lilith looked over her shoulder at me and frowned in disgust.
"Don't worry, she acted a little like that when she first met me too," Cleo said apologetically, Sebastian's head poking out from the neck of her sweater and looking around. "She's nicer once she gets used to you. She's like a skittish cat that scratches and distrusts strangers."
"Hey, Ratgirl, stop comparing me to grumpy cats, and I'm right here, so stop talking as if I weren't." I complained.
Lilith rolled her eyes, and when we reached the door of the house, we only paused briefly when, instead of ringing the bell, she took a key out of her pocket and opened the door. I was a little surprised that she had the key to this house, but internally I just shrugged and followed her inside with Cleo.
Right after entering, being in my Semi-Anodite body, it wasn't difficult for me to pick up a certain smell in the air that I quickly recognized, having been to enough college parties to recognize that smell. Cleo probably recognized it too, because she frowned and wrinkled her nose.
Lilith finished closing the door and, as if she knew exactly where to go, led us to the living room where someone was waiting for us... Well, actually, she wasn't waiting for us because she wasn't even awake.
Lying on the couch in the living room was a brown-haired girl about my age, sleeping in her underwear. I looked around and couldn't help but notice other curious details that caught my attention, such as the fact that she had what looked like a half-eaten hamburger resting on her chest, which was slightly stained with ketchup, and a water pipe with some marijuana residue on a nearby table.
"So she's the one who's going to help me?" I asked doubtfully, pointing to the girl on the couch who, despite hearing my voice, showed no signs of waking up. "Looks like she fell asleep halfway through breakfast."
Lilith frowned and looked at the girl.
"I admit it's not the best first impression, but yes, she's Rae." Lilith sighed wearily, took a couple of steps toward the couch, and kicked the girl in the side with her foot. "Rae!"
At the sound of her name and Lilith's kick, Rae opened her eyes abruptly, jumped up from the couch, causing her half-eaten hamburger to fall to the floor, and assumed a fighting stance, but what caught my attention was what had happened to Rae's fingers when she do all that. The tips of her fingers had turned a steely gray and had lengthened slightly, taking on the shape of razor blades.
Even in her fighting stance, Rae blinked and looked at Lilith. A momentary confusion in her eyes was replaced by recognition, but this recognition turned to confusion when she looked at Cleo and me.
"What the hell, Lilith?" After saying that, Rae's fingers stopped being razors and she abandoned her defensive stance, but she didn't take her eyes off us. "Who are these people?"
"You have work to do. She need some things from you." Lilith pointed at me.
"Why didn't you even call me and tell me you were coming? Damn it, why did you bring them here? If they want something from me, they don't need to meet me in person. The internet exists for a reason." Rae complained, seemingly unperturbed by being in her underwear in front of two strangers.
"I didn't call you because I know you don't like dealing with your clients in person, and I knew you'd get angry..." Lilith said.
"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that it keeps someone from shooting me if they get angry for some stupid reason." Rae interrupted her angrily. "Why the hell are you bringing them here? Can't you see how bad it could be if someone knew where I live?"
"I live here too," Lilith replied impassively. "And it's no big deal, calm down. I trust these girls... even though one of them is a bit of a bitch."
"Hey!" I complained.
"You only live here half the time," Rae replied unconvinced. "And how can you trust them? Who the hell are they? This is the first time I've seen them."
"I met them yesterday.... but it has to do with my visions."
"And your visions told you to bring them here?"
"No..." She said doubtfully.
"Then why did you bring them here? I'm pretty happy living in anonymity. And I like that people don't know where I live." Rae gestured around her. "You don't usually invite people you just met to your secret base, let alone don't even let me know you're going to do it."
"It's a house, not a secret base." Lilith rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean," Rae said, crossing her arms.
"Fuck, you know, for a second there, I thought you were Tomato Head's Ratgirl, but now I think Tomato Head is your Ratgirl," I interjected, because she had a point.
"And what does that mean?" Cleo complained, frowning at me.
"Didn't you think to call me this morning and tell me that Tomato Head was with you? Don't think I'm going to forget that, Ratgirl." That was the least these two could have done. I ignored Cleo's pout and looked at Rae. "So you're Razorcat, huh?"
That was the alias of the person Cleo had been looking for last night, a forger and information broker operating in New York.
[I never imagined it would be this girl, although I understand the name Razor.]
I frowned and looked at Rae. She had no magical potential or aura, and she seemed quite human to me, so her powers must be some kind of metahuman ability, unless she was a cyborg or something.
"Yes, it's me." Rae ran her hand through her hair. "And who are you?" She looked at Cleo and frowned. "And why the hell is there a rat on your neck?"
"I'm Cleo Cazo, and this is Sebastian," Cleo said, pointing to the rat.
"I'm Raelene." She looked at me and said, "And who are you?"
I approached them, took her hands, and introduced myself.
"I'm Erika de Santis, guardian of rat girls, occasional good Samaritan, and aspiring magical girl."
"Huh?" Rae said, confused.
Watchtower.
Diana POV.
"Well, that confirms her super durability," said Diana as she looked at some of the images of the fight between Lazuli and Snowflame.
There wasn't much material, but a boy uploaded to the internet the moment when the villain used motorcycles set on fire as weapons against the blue-skinned girl.
"And it's not a small thing; it doesn't look like those attacks did much to her." said Green Arrow.
"But they did cause her discomfort," added The Green Lantern, John Stewart.
"We can also confirm her super strength, if she was able to face Snowflame like that," Batman interjected.
At that moment, the four of them were in the Watchtower meeting room. It wasn't one of their usual meetings, but after learning what had happened in New York yesterday, Batman had asked Diana to meet to exchange information about Lazuli. John and Green Arrow were there with them because they were on duty at the artificial satellite that day and decided to join them.
Batman was not wrong. Although Snowflame's super strength varied, he was generally not an easy opponent, and despite his unusual fighting style, there had been occasions when Diana had been slightly outmatched in that regard when she faced the villain. However, although Snowflame had been a minor thorn in her side since he appeared in New York, they had rarely faced each other.
"So what do we know about her? Is she human or an alien?" Green Arrow asked those present. He was the one who had the least information about Lazuli.
"Neither Hal nor I found anything about her in our ring records. Some similarities with known species, but little else." Stewart shrugged.
"Superman hasn't found anything either, and my investigations haven't gotten very far since Lazuli hadn't appeared in public again until a couple of days ago," replied Batman. Almost no one else would have noticed, but she, who had known him for a long time, knew that his tone indicated that he didn't like that very much. "But now things have changed."
Diana also knew that her friend didn't like having little information about Lazuli, not only because she was an unknown element in the superhero community, but also because she had recently been in his city, and if there was one thing that irritated the bat, it was having little information about the people who set foot in Gotham.
"Although in a way we should be grateful that the events she has been involved in show a certain tendency to do good... even if sometimes it's not in an orthodox way. There's no doubt that she saved many lives in the plane bomb incident," she said.
The heroes, including Batman, nodded at her words.
"I didn't talk to her much, but my impression is that she's willing to do the right thing... but I have to admit that she didn't seem too willing to talk to me."
Lazuli was very evasive in her encounter with her, and although Diana didn't want to pressure her with too many questions, the few she did ask seemed to be answered reluctantly.
"Did you notice anything else?" Stewart asked.
Diana hesitated for a second before speaking. She wasn't sure about what she was going to say, but it seemed right to say it.
"It's possible that Lazuli is some kind of magical creature or species, but I can't say for sure. This is just a guess based on how her presence felt." Technically speaking, all Amazons were magical creatures, but not all of them had a talent for magic or were able to perceive that talent in others. However, Diana, being a demigoddess and having so much experience dealing with similar matters, had learned to perceive some traces of it. "But if I am able to perceive it, it is because she is not... normal, so to speak... and I was not the only one who sensed something; Troia did too."
Even through the mask, Diana noticed Batman frown before saying,
"Perhaps we should consult Fate."
"Ha." Green Arrow snorted. "Good luck getting him out of the tower."
Doctor Fate rarely left the Tower of Fate, but that didn't mean he didn't keep in touch with the League or help them. However, unless Klarion was involved or at least an entire city was in some kind of serious danger, the supreme sorcerer didn't bother to intervene in other matters. Apparently, anything that didn't affect the "natural balance of order" was none of his business.
"I want to see if he has any ideas about what Lazuli might be." Batman said.
New York, NY.
July 13, 2013
Lilith POV.
"I can do it..." Rae said, grimacing.
After Cleo and Erika introduced themselves to Rae, and she got dressed and stopped wearing only her underwear, Lilith and everyone else sat down in the living room to hear what Erika needed from her friend.
"...but I don't work for free, you'll have to pay me." she continued.
[Well, that's not entirely true.] Lilith thought.
Rae could work for free, but most of the time when that happened, it was because she was really bored or someone close to her needed a favor.
"I never planned on not paying you." Erika said casually.
"I charge in advance." Rae said.
"Okay." Erika shrugged and smiled. "Anyway, if you try to screw me over, I know where you live."
At those words, Rae turned her head and glared at Lilith. She sighed internally and connected to her friend's mind using her telepathy. She had a specific way of announcing her presence in the minds of people who knew about her telepathy; it was like the mental equivalent of knocking on a door.
[See, this is why I didn't want people to know where I live.] Rae complained after sensing Lilith in her head and letting her in.
On top of that, they had spent so much time together that Rae had learned to sense when Lilith was reading her thoughts, or at least when she wasn't being subtle about it.
[Just help me here, Rae.] Lilith pleaded wearily.
Lilith had already realized that Erika was a little annoyed... Well, quite annoyed, but she could be a little comprehensive about that, because she understood her reasons a little. From the brief glimpse she had into her mind, she knew that the reason for this distrust was mainly the fact that Erika didn't like other people meddling in her thoughts.
Lilith was a telepath, but she knew how invasive her power was and that people usually got nervous around her when they found out what she could do. That was one of the reasons why she had decided long ago to keep her abilities a secret. Only people very close to her, like Rae, knew everything she could do.
[Fine.] Rae replied sharply.
"However, I don't like being threatened." Rae said, narrowing her eyes. Despite having agreed, she was still a little moody.
"I'm not threatening you." Erika waved her hand to dismiss her statement. "I just wanted to make it clear that if you don't mess with me, I won't mess with you."
Rae sighed and nodded.
"Sounds good to me, I feel the same way." At that moment, Rae seemed to remember something and added, "And just to confirm, you're that blue girl who saved those people from the plane?"
"Yes, yes, that's me." Erika nodded, frowned, and asked, "How do you know that? Did Tomato Head tell you?"
"After I had the vision about you, I told Rae a few things," Lilith interjected. "I saw your face, but I also saw... your other form... and it wasn't hard to find information on the internet about what had happened just one day earlier."
Most of Lilith's visions came to her when she was asleep, and she rarely confused them with dreams because she somehow instinctively knew they were visions, but there had been a few occasions when the visions came to her while she was awake. Her visions were images, sounds, and sensations, but Lilith often felt as if she were walking through some kind of maze where every turn around a corner was like turning the pages of her life.
"Yes," Rae agreed.
In fact, knowing that Erika had saved those people was what finally convinced Lilith that she should look for her. It wasn't that she hadn't felt the need to do so before, given the clarity of the vision, but that was the factor that finally pushed her to do it. If the blue girl in her vision had helped those people, she couldn't be all that bad.
"Well, it seems tomato head isn't so gossipy..." Erika said.
[But she's still annoying...] Lilith thought, stifling a sigh.
However, she already knew it wasn't a good idea to ignore the vision. The only time she had ignored a vision like that... was a long time ago, and it didn't turn out well.
".....normally I would say it would take a week to get everything ready, but I can do it in less time....." While Lilith was lost in her thoughts, Rae continued talking.
"It's okay, I don't need it right now, you can take a week if you want," Erika interrupted her.
"I'll have it ready in four days, but I'll need a photo of you and a few other things," Rae replied. "I can create a legal and virtual trail for you, but is that all you need?"
Rae had been doing what she did for a couple of years. When she and Lilith met her friend was already good with computers, but it wasn't until three years ago that she started taking on jobs and making money from it on a regular basis. Over time, she had built up a reputation, but few people knew that Rae was the hacker Razorcat.
"For now, yes." Erika said.
Lilith had been wondering for some time why Erika needed that. The simplest answer was that she was hiding or that she wasn't born in this country, but she quickly dismissed those ideas and now assumed there was something else going on. Lilith glanced briefly at Cleo, who was sitting silently next to Erika listening to the conversation, and then looked away.
Lilith could have found out more about this if she had read Cleo's thoughts, but she didn't want to do that, not only because it would definitely make Erika distrust her more, but also because, despite having interacted little with the "rat girl," Cleo was starting to like her, and she didn't like to intrude without permission into the minds of people she liked.
Besides, Lilith couldn't forget that Erika somehow had an ability that allowed her to connect their minds and know when she was lying. That ability was disconcerting to her. In the past, she had encountered one or two people who were able to block her telepathy, and she knew there were other telepaths in the world, but this was something else. When she connected with Erika, it was as if she had built a corridor between their minds and they were both walking through it.
"So... I know it's none of my business, but... are you a metahuman?" Rae asked.
That question also interested Lilith.
[I'm sure what she did with surely has something to do with whatever Erika is... Hell, I know it does.]
Lilith still wasn't quite sure what Erika was, but she knew she wasn't human. Another important clue to her non-human nature was that her thoughts had a strange feeling that was easy to detect if you paid attention. The thoughts of humans, even those like Rae who had powers, didn't feel that way.
[And then there's that thing from a couple of hours ago...]
That morning, when Erika had seen Lilith for the first time, she was a little surprised that she couldn't sense her mind.
Although Lilith didn't constantly read the thoughts of everyone around her, she was able to sense the mental presence of the people around her as a kind of faint hum. But something strange had happened during the half hour they spent talking in the living room of the building where Erika lived, because during that time, Lilith couldn't even detect Erika's psychic presence, and it was even stranger because her psychic presence returned to normal once Erika came back upstairs after talking to her teacher downstairs.
Erika hesitated for a moment before speaking, but after looking at Lilith and Rae, she sighed and said smugly.
"All you need to know is that I'm fabulously magical."
"What the hell does that mean?" Rae said.
"Duh, that my powers have to do with magic." She looked at Rae. "What about you? Are you a metahuman?"
"Yes," Rae replied simply. "By the way, I have to say that magic is a nonsense."
"You don't believe in magic?" Cleo asked.
"No, I do believe in it. After all, I've seen too much nonsense, but it's still nonsense. I'll stick with science, and that gives me enough headaches." Rae replied.
Cleo nodded at her answer, and Lilith didn't find it strange that she did. Erika wasn't the only one who had something strange about her. Lilith's gaze turned to Cleo 's rat, Sebastian, which was on the sofa between its owner and Erika. Almost as if the rat could sense her gaze, it raised its head and exchanged a glance with Lilith.
[Weird.....]
When she concentrated hard enough, Lilith could even detect the mental presence of certain animals, but of course this didn't mean she could read their minds, or at least she couldn't pick up words from those thoughts. What she got when she entered an animal's head were only vague feelings of mood, and they definitely didn't seem to understand her when she communicated with them telepathically, but in Sebastian's case, it wasn't quite like that. The sensations emitted by the rat were much more...defined.
"Well, I don't blame you." Erika gestured with her hands and said. "Videtur hic nunc."
In the blink of an eye, and with a small flash of light, and a wad of bills appeared in Erika's hand, which she then threw to a surprised Rae, who caught it in midair.
"Yes, it's a nonsense., but it's useful," Erika said.
Even though Lilith had only interacted directly with one magician in the past and didn't even feel like reading his mind, she couldn't disagree with that statement. Magic was a nonsense.
July 16, 2013.
Erika POV.
"You know, this would be easier if Lilith helped me practice," Cleo suggested.
All she got in response was a frown from my part. At that moment, we were sitting on the floor in the small library of Nimue's building.
Three days had passed since Lilith appeared where I lived, and although Nimue still frowned when I even mentioned the idea of continuing to research spells to get a body, that didn't stop her and me from teaching Cleo the mental trick to detect telepaths during those days. The key to mastering the mental trick was to have magical potential and some practice, so she was learning quite quickly.
"Stop frowning," Cleo said, almost pouting. "And stop being so grumpy."
I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, if you want to practice with her, go ahead." I said reluctantly.
It wasn't like Cleo needed my permission to do anything, and it wasn't as if my discomfort with Lilith had prevented them from getting along and even exchanging phone numbers.
"Lilith isn't a bad person. You should stop growling when she's around."
"Fuck, I don't growl that much," I complained.
It was true. Although Lilith and I hadn't interacted again in three days, the idea of having her around no longer bothered me as much as it did at first. I also had to admit that meeting Lilith was useful, even if only because it allowed me to meet Rae and speed up the process of get what I wanted. However, I still felt a little defensive.
"Okay." Cleo shook her head and stood up. "Well, it's getting late, I'm going home. See you tomorrow."
Sebastian, who had been hanging around the library, ran over to Cleo and started climbing up on her pants until he reached her waist, and she picked him up in her hands.
"Sure." I stood up. "Remember to practice what Nimue told you."
Cleo came to the building almost every day, not only to spend time with me but also to receive some small lessons from Nimue. So far, she was still making small but important progress in her magical learning.
Twenty minutes after Cleo left, I decided to go down to Nimue's shop. It was only an hour before nightfall and my teacher closed her business, but since I was a little bored, I decided to go talk to her for a bit. My boredom was mainly due to not having much to do, but it wasn't as if that boredom was useless; in fact, it had led me to discover a few things.
It was something I hadn't noticed until I got my Semi-Anodite body, and therefore had a body closer to that of a normal human once again, but being in my true Anodite form made my perception of time somewhat unusual. That explained why I sometimes felt that the hours passed too quickly. It seemed that Anodites did not perceive the passage of time mentally like other people.
Perhaps that had to do with the fact that... Well, we had extremely long, if not infinite, live. However, my immortality was not something I liked to think about too deeply. I felt a little overwhelmed by the fact that I had such a long life expectancy.
But despite that, most of the time I still preferred to be in my Semi-Anodite body, not only for reasons of personal comfort, but also because being in this form greatly diminished my magical signature and aura, making me seem more normal. Although, according to Nimue, my magical signature was still well above average and could be detected if a magic practitioner close to me was trying to find it.
When I went down to the store, Nimue was standing behind the counter, arranging some things on the shelves. She turned to look at me.
"Has Cleo gone back to her apartment?" she asked me.
"Yes," I replied as I approached a chair and sat down. "I was bored, so I came down to see you. How has your day been?"
"Same as always," she said with a smile.
Nimue's shop didn't have a large number of customers every day, but she did have people who came regularly every week to buy a few things, and some of those customers, who at least suspected that Nimue was more than she seemed, dared to ask her for advice about something supernatural. Although Nimue had told me that these supernatural things were sometimes not so supernatural, just misunderstandings.
Since we were alone, I thought it was the right time to ask my teacher something, but before I could do so, the shop door opened and I turned my gaze toward it. For some time now, having more examples to compare, I had learned to identify the difference between a person who had magical potential but did not practice magic and a person who had magical potential and practiced magic constantly. Thanks to that, I could tell that the man who entered the room was a magician, and not only that, he had above-average potential, but most surprising of all, I recognized him.
"Hey, Xanadu," said the blond-haired, slightly disheveled but attractive man dressed in a black suit and brown trench coat. "I need a favor."
I looked at my teacher, and if I had any doubts about who this man was, they disappeared when Nimue frowned in a way that clearly indicated slight annoyance and said,
"Constantine."
A.N: Recently, since writing Wonder Woman's POV, I felt a little strange about something after writing it. I find it a little odd that she uses her heroine name to refer to herself in her internal dialogue. I think there must be heroes who identify so deeply with their secret identity that they think of themselves that way, but in Diana's case, it seemed strange to me. I think I might change it, and I might also change Superman's POV because I don't think Clark refers to himself that way in his internal dialogue either. But I don't know what you think about that?
If there is any mistake I apologize English is not my first language
New York, NY.
July 16, 2013.
Erika POV.
When I thought of the words Magic and DC Comics, John Constantine always came to mind. I couldn't help it, even though I knew for a fact that Constantine was a relatively "new" character compared to other magicians like the Zatara family, he was still one of the magicians who had always caught my attention.
I got to know the character thanks to a certain movie from the past, which, although I knew it had changed some things from the comics, I still liked it a lot. True, from what I knew, the guy was a cynical jerk half the time, but it was funny and interesting to see him live through his stories.
However, even though I had already seen a photo of him on the internet, I was a little disappointed to confirm in person that this guy didn't look like Keanu Reeves. Don't blame me, I've always liked Keanu Reeves. On the other hand, this guy, although somewhat attractive, well, looked like a...
"Nimue, a homeless man just walked in. He seems to know your name, but that just disturbs and scares me." I pointed at Constantine and looked at my teacher. "Should I call the police? Or should I find a broom and throw him out myself?"
Constantine wasn't dirty, and from here he didn't seem to smell bad, but the trench coat he was wearing looked like it was 100 years old and needed some repairs. He also smelled like an obscene amount of tobacco, looked like he hadn't shaved recently, and his hair didn't seem to know what a brush was.
"Haha, how funny, who's the clown?" Constantine said in a dry voice as he approached us.
"The clown is someone who, unlike you, doesn't look like a bum." I replied.
I glanced at his magical aura. It was golden, but at the edges I could see traces of something black seeping into it. It was a little strange.
"This is Erika, my apprentice."
"Apprentice, huh..." Constantine looked me up and down. "Interesting, but there are other things I want to talk about."
"Erika, this is John Constantine, an old acquaintance." Nimue said.
Since I didn't think it was that important, I hadn't told Nimue that one of the magicians I had been looking for weeks ago, thinking he might be able to help me with my body, was this guy. Of course, it wasn't as if I was seriously looking for Constantine; I just searched his name on the internet, but he had been one of the people I had considered asking to teach me.
"I thought we were friends." Constantine said.
"Half the time you show up, you just give me headaches, John." Nimue took a deep breath before saying, "What are you doing here?"
"Like I told you, I need a favor." he replied.
"What is it?" she asked doubtfully.
"I need to talk to Midnite."
"John, Papa Midnite said he'd kill you the next time he saw you."
[Papa Midnite? I think I've heard that name before.]
I was almost certain that he was some kind of scary black man who practiced voodoo or something like that, although I didn't know much about him beyond that.
"It's been two years since then, I'm sure he forgot that." Constantine waved his hand dismissively.
"If you think he forgot, then why are you here and not with him?" Nimue said critically.
"Well," Constantine hesitated. "He might still be a little angry, and since I want to avoid trouble, I came to you to get a pass. If I have a pass from you, Midnite won't do anything."
"And how do I know that if I give you a pass, you won't use it to attack him once you're close to him?" She shook her head. "There are rules, John. They keep things civilized and prevent chaos and deaths."
"I'm not going to attack him, I'm just going to ask him a couple of questions. I promise."
"Your promises are useless to me, John."
This sounded a little interesting, so I decided to ask a couple of questions.
"And what is this pass?"
Constantine looked at me curiously and then looked at Nimue.
"As you should already know, Erika, I offer advice when necessary and basically play a neutral role most of the time in this city among the magical community. Because of that, sometimes when there are conflicts between factions, I make sure there is always a way for them to talk in person without it coming to a fight," Nimue explained.
"Yeah, yeah." I nodded, understanding what she meant. "So basically, this bum here is asking you for diplomatic immunity."
"Yes, but John has a tendency to do whatever he wants once he gets what he wants." She sighed.
"I won't attack him." Constantine looked frustrated. "I'm working on a case and I need to ask him some questions. Aside from the fact that I'm being paid, this isn't about me, there are innocent people in danger."
That made Nimue hesitate, and after a second she said,
"What case?"
"Four children between the ages of 1 and 2 have disappeared in the last two weeks. One of the parents, suspicious of something unusual, heard about me and contacted me." Constantine took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. "After doing some investigating, I learned that the man's suspicions were correct."
"Who do you think is involved in this?" Nimue asked.
"La Brujeria..."
That was another name that was familiar to me, and not because I had heard it in my old world. Nimue had mentioned those guys a couple of days ago after the whole Snowflame thing.
"...Midnite must have information about them." Constantine continued.
"Why would Papa Midnite help you?" Nimue seemed doubtful.
"Sometimes you miss the subtleties, Nimue."
"Answer me, John," she replied dryly.
"Things aren't exactly tense between the 100 and them. It seems like the former are favoring La Cabala more lately."
Once again, it was the 100. It seemed like these guys were involved in everything magical in the city.
"Is Midnite part of the 100?" I asked Nimue.
Constantine gave me another curious look, but I ignored him.
"Technically, he is." Nimue admitted. "But he's more like an associate. Papa Midnite is La Cabala's contact with the 100. La Cabala is a coven of warlocks and witches."
"So, let's get back to the point. I just want to ask Midnite some questions. He might even be willing to answer them, but with all this talk about him wanting to kill me, his pride might outweigh everything else." He shrugged. "So I need a pass."
"And those questions will lead you to the Children?" she said.
"It's a possibility. Come on, Nimue, you know I wouldn't play around with this too much."
"There's also a possibility that you'll do whatever you want," she stared at him hard for several seconds before nodding. "...but okay."
Saying this, Nimue made something appear in her hand. I glanced at it; it was a card with an image of the sun on one side and the moon on the other. She handed it to Constantine, but before he could take it, I grabbed it and said,
"Wait, I'll go with him."
They both looked at me, a little surprised.
"You want to go with him?" Nimue raised an eyebrow.
The card between my fingers emitted a strange energy, although if I concentrated a little, I could sense that it was very similar to Nimue's.
"Yes, if it has to do with the 100, I want to see what comes of it." I explained.
"Didn't you say you weren't going to get too involved?" Nimue said.
"I did, but fuck, I can't bury my head in the sand like an ostrich all the time." I shrugged. "At least I want to meet this Papa, whatever he is."
I hadn't asked Nimue about Darkseid yet, since I didn't know how to answer some questions she might ask me, but if these 100 were in conflict with Intergang, I at least wanted to meet Midnite. This was a fucking comic book world where there were a lot of shitty people, so being at least a little prepared and not just waiting for trouble to find me was common sense.
"If that's what you want, fine." Nimue looked at me and nodded.
This wasn't just about that, but also about learning more about the city where I currently lived.
"I don't know if I feel comfortable taking the girl with me." Constantine said.
"Erika can defend herself, if that's what you're worried about," Nimue said.
"Besides, I don't need the approval of a scruffy homeless man to go where I want." I added.
"Fine, I'll wait for you outside. I'll smoke for a while. Don't be long." With that, Constantine glared at me, took his lighter out of another pocket, and turned to walk out the door.
"If you're going to go with him, keep an eye on him," Nimue grimaced. "John is a good man, I can see the goodness in him, but he's also devious and often thinks that only his opinion matters."
"Sure."
"So before we take a taxi, explain to me why this guy wants to kill you?" That was the first thing I asked Contastine when I left Nimue's store.
"Why do you want to know that?" Contantine took a drag on his cigarette.
"Because if you do something stupid, I want to have information to distance myself from you and leave you there alone." I replied sincerely.
"How sweet of you." He shook his head and sighed. "But it's no big deal, I stole some things from him two years ago... and well, I cheated him a little."
"Some things?"
I doubted that stealing just a few things would lead someone to want to kill me or anything like that, although maybe I wasn't someone to talk too much about it. After all, I was sure that if the Penguin knew I had stolen from him, he would at least try to screw me over a little.
"Some things I needed and were valuable, although I put them to better use." He started walking down the street and I followed him. "And now that you're asking me questions, I'll ask you one: how long have you been with Nimue?"
"Less than six months," I replied vaguely, not wanting to tell him the exact time. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious that she took on an apprentice. As far as I know, the closest thing to that was Giovanni's daughter." he explained.
That made me curious.
"Okay, let's keep exchanging questions. Do you know Zatanna?"
I knew that some alternate versions of him had been boyfriends of versions of Zatanna, but in this world, they were at least a few years apart in age. I was sure that this Constantine was at least 30 years old, Zatanna was 17, and although Constantine was many things, I didn't think he had that kind of relationship with teenagers.
"I've known her since she was a little girl. Giovanni was my magic mentor for a couple of years, but that ended."
"And why did it end?"
"Now it's my turn to ask a question." He said. "What did you mean when you mentioned the 100? Do you have anything to do with them? I'm asking because if you have any conflict with them, I don't want to get involved."
"I just ran into someone who works for them in the past, but other than that, I have nothing to do with them." I couldn't even say that Snowflame was my enemy or anything like that. We just fought for a while, and then we each went our separate ways. "And now, answer what I asked you a moment ago."
Nimue hadn't mentioned Constantine to me even once before today, and given that this man seemed to tire her in some way, I could imagine why she hadn't, but I was curious about what had happened between Zatara's father and this guy.
"It's none of your business." He replied sourly.
"What a bad-tempered homeless man you are." I snorted.
"I'm not a homeless man, apprentice girl." Constantine finished his cigarette and threw it on the floor. "By the way, you're paying for the taxi."
"You are totally a bum." I shook my head. "But, where are we going?"
"Midnight Club."
A.N: If there is any mistake I apologize English is not my first language