LOOTING DC #45. Arcane Threat 2
The silence was brittle.
Wonder Woman broke it. "The Lasso," she said, nodding to the golden coil looped around Jake's left hand. "What did you do to it?"
Jake glanced down at the artifact, it's weave still glowing with that faint crimson spider motif. He met her eyes without flinching.
"It doesn't matter," he said, voice low and edged. "Goods once looted can't be returned."
"The Lasso is mine now." He said it with deliberate weight, as if declaring a verdict.
Wonder Woman's jaw tightened. She stepped forward, fists curled - but Constantine moved first, slipping between them with practiced ease.
"You've got fight in you, sure," he said, tone level, almost friendly. "But there's still a glimmer of decency under all that edge. I can see it."
"Says the conman," Jake shot.
Constantine gave a half-smile and brushed the comment off. "That said, you're stepping on some very sacred toes."
He jabbed a thumb toward Wonder Woman and Zatanna. "Not mine, technically. I'm not exactly on the team anymore..." He caught the warning look from Diana. "...but that's a whole mess on its own."
He turned back to Jake. "Point is-"
"You looking for work?" Jake cut in, calm, almost amused. "I could use someone with your skillset."
That hung in the air. All eyes turned to Constantine.
He gave Jake a skeptical look, then shrugged. "Wasn't offering myself, now was I?"
Jake didn't blink. "Turn on them, and I'll grant your greatest wish."
That got a reaction. Zatanna shifted. Wonder Woman tensed.
Constantine raised an eyebrow. "Bit forward, don't you think?"
"You want freedom," Jake said, pressing the word like a button. "Freedom from eternal damnation. I can give you that."
"All you have to do is prove you're on my side," Jake said.
"And what side is that?" Wonder Woman called from behind Constantine. Zatanna looked like she was holding her fury by a thread.
"The kind that doesn't do labels," Jake answered coolly. "But with your divine gifts, you'd be a hell of an asset too."
Zatanna's voice cut in, sharp. "So that's what this is about? Power? Is that why you were after Lian? And Raven?"
She tilted her head, mock-thoughtful. "Funny thing, though. Lian's power vanished after last night's fiasco. Chaos on a world-ending scale... and then, nothing. Where did it all go?"
Her tone turned colder. "Trigon was targeting you. Which means you're the reason she got possessed. You put her in danger. Ironic, considering how loudly you threatened everyone else about harming her."
Her voice was rising now. "What have you done with Lian? What were you planning to do with Raven?"
"What are you really after, Spider?"
Jake exhaled, a slow smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Not a fan, huh? That stings. But since you're all so curious, let me save you the hunt."
"You were right," he said plainly. "I am an arcane threat. I took the Lasso. I've been knee-deep in at least two major mystical incidents."
He raised his chin, voice turning resolute.
"But none of that compares to what comes next."
"Besides recreating the Night of the Crimson Moon..." Jake's gaze swept across them, unwavering. "I might decide to conquer this world."
A cold wind slithered through the space between them, raising the tension despite that being an obvious bluff.
"Bold words," Constantine muttered, eyes fixed on Jake with unsettling calm. "And I hate to admit it, but he just might have the power to pull it off."
"John..." Zatanna warned, her voice tight. "Don't even think about it."
"My offer still stands," Jake reminded, nodding toward him.
"It's a tempting one, I won't lie," Constantine said. "But my gut's got a nasty habit of knowing when something's off. And right now, it's telling me I should've finished my damn point before you started preaching about eternal damnation."
Jake's lip curled. "Funny you should say that. I've got a sense for these things too."
"Then you've probably noticed the pressure building around you," Constantine said. "The negative energy. The way the air's getting... heavy."
Jake remained still. The air felt solid now. Something was pressing in. His Spider-sense wasn't screaming, but it was definitely watching. Waiting.
He'd felt something ever since breaking the exorcism - like a presence hovering.
"I've never really gotten the whole 'conquer the world' pitch," Constantine said casually. "Seems like a lot of work. Too many people. But magic? That I get. And demons?"
He tilted his head, eyes flicking to the glowing symbol forming beneath Jake's feet.
"That I know inside and out."
Jake glanced down. His webs stuck. The ground beneath him shimmered gold, a sigil pulsing like a heartbeat. It looked familiar.
"What is this?" Jake asked, tension creeping into his voice. "A hex?"
"I didn't cast anything," Constantine replied, almost cheerfully. "You did that all by yourself the second you walked into an active exorcism circle."
Jake's eyes narrowed.
"Let me give you the short version," Constantine continued. "Exorcism 101: What happens if you break the process midway?"
"The backlash hits the exorcist, and the demon stays in control - stronger than before," he explained. "But you broke the gem. No anchor to the host. The exorcism still needed to finish, but there was nowhere for the demon to go. It couldn't flee, couldn't be destroyed. So it dispersed - pure energy, stuck in limbo."
"Energy like that doesn't vanish," Constantine said. "It drifts. Reassembles. Finds the thing it craves most."
He gave Jake a long look.
"And guess what Trigon wanted more than Raven."
Realization dawned, and Jake finally struggled against the sigil.
"When that energy touched you, the circle reactivated," Constantine said. "Now it's got both of you - demon and vessel. All wrapped up with a neat little seal-"
Bzz...
"Oh, you should've said so," Jake muttered. He stretched his leg out of the circle. The moment it crossed the boundary, the seal shattered like glass. He stepped free, brushing off the lingering energy like dust.
Constantine stared, slack-jawed - less shocked than genuinely disturbed. "How do you keep doing that?"
Jake shrugged. "I dunno. I see through your cheap tricks?"
"Tricks?" Constantine barked.
Jake nodded, casual as ever. "That's twice now your magic's felt... off. Potent, sure, but with this weird texture I can't describe."
"Like a scam wrapped in spells," he added with a grin.
A vein pulsed on Constantine's forehead.
"I've faced demons and gods-"
"S-s-spider...?"
Raven's voice. Faint. Strained.
Jake spun instantly, hurrying to her side as she stirred, eyes heavy and voice raw.
"Raven - how are you feeling?" he asked, gently lifting her upright.
"W-what happened?" she murmured, fingers reaching for her forehead, searching for the gem that was no longer there. The moment she realized it was gone, her fatigue vanished.
She levitated fast, eyes wide, scanning the battlefield. "Where is he?! Where is Trigon?!"
"Raven, breathe," Jake said quickly, rising to meet her eye to eye.
"I will stop you, Father!" she declared, her aura flaring with raw intent.
"He was defeated!" Jake said firmly, cutting through her panic.
"Technically," Constantine chimed in, "displaced into raw energy."
"Yeah. That," Jake said. "It's okay now. You're safe."
"No." Raven shook her head. "He has to be imprisoned. Or destroyed."
"Neither's an option," Constantine explained. "Not in this form, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Raven asked, eyes narrowing.
"The energy's still here. And it's circling him," Constantine said, pointing at Jake. "Like a moth to fire. It'll hover until Trigon can reform."
"And the only way to contain it..."
"Not happening," Jake cut in. "No one's locking me up that easy."
"That's fine by me," Zatanna said, stepping forward. "I've been waiting for you to shut up long enough for me to put you in your place."
Raven moved before she could act, floating between them.
"That's not necessary," she said firmly to Zatanna. "I'll watch over him. I'll make sure Trigon doesn't reach him."
"Trigon's not the only threat here," Zatanna snapped.
"Wait," Wonder Woman interjected before tensions could spike. "Zatanna, stand down."
She turned to Raven. "Your suggestion may be our best move for now."
Zatanna frowned. "And what about the crimson moon? His plan to conquer the world? His arrogance?"
"All valid concerns," Wonder Woman said calmly. "But this may not be our moment to act."
She looked to Jake, eyes resting briefly on the Lasso in his possession. Then to Constantine, still wrestling with confusion. Finally, to Raven - defiant, resolute, shielding Jake.
"There's still much we don't understand," she said. "But for now, a direct confrontation would be unwise."
She turned to Zatanna. "The Trigon situation is stable. Our mission here is complete."
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