Axel curled his lip with obvious disdain as Bruce and Rachel embraced, smothering the table with affection.
"Tsk, tsk, you two are way too extra."
He dropped his voice low, then immediately slung an arm around Selina and planted a hearty kiss on her lips, loud and unapologetic.
Then he turned toward Kara and practically growled,
"Come on, damn it, let's give them something to think about! They might assume your boy here can't pull a woman."
Axel waved enthusiastically at Kara, whose eyes flicked from Selina to him with absolute disdain before she turned her head.
"I said I heard you," she muttered as she flopped down into Axel's lap, wearing a long-suffering expression.
Selina sprang up, shoved Axel away, and grabbed Kara's face in both hands.
"Back off, pervert!"
Kara tried to struggle under Selina's determined grip, but Selina just kept pushing forward.
Nearby, Constantine watched the chaos, then extended his hand toward Barry and said,
"We should probably—"
"Get away from me!"
Barry disappeared in an instant with a flash of speed, watching Constantine warily from across the room.
Constantine shook his head, clearly disappointed his plan to involve Barry in anything had failed, then clapped his hands once.
"All right, everybody, supper is pretty much wrapped up."
He yawned, sounding both lazy and dramatic.
"Honestly, I could stay here longer, but I am a good man, buddies. I don't want to overstay and influence your universe too much."
Constantine flicked his cigarette butt casually onto the carpet and stomped it out with a boot, then sauntered toward the door with his hands in his pockets.
"Barry, Kara, we should get back to our own universe."
"Damn it, you're just scared your counterpart is gonna show up and kick your ass for stealing all his artifacts!" Barry yelled, eyes rolling.
Constantine gave him a smile that was all joke and threat combined.
"Otherwise, how else would young John learn humility? If I met another me in my youth, stealing all my stuff to knock some arrogance out of me, I'd worship that bastard."
He drew deep on another cigarette, smoke curling around him like deliberately dramatic fog.
Alfred, watching this, couldn't help but speak up.
"I don't know what you've endured or what you've lived through, so I can't judge your choices. But, friend from another universe, you smoke far too much. You've been in this manor for less than twenty minutes and you've already gotten through eight cigarettes. If this continues your body—"
Constantine burst out laughing.
"Heh heh, I know, I'll get lung cancer. But you don't have to worry, I already had it once. That was about twenty years ago, Satan himself pulled those cells out of my lungs."
He took another lazy drag, exhaling it with theatrical satisfaction.
Just then, Kara shoved Selina off Axel and stood up.
"He's right. We should leave now that we've done what needed to be done. Barry, get the cosmic treadmill ready!"
"Woohoo, so rushed? I was just thinking maybe we'd spend the night — otherwise it wouldn't be fair to all that effort, Kara~" Axel said with a cheeky grin.
Kara shot him a stiff smile.
"Axel, I honestly can't tell if you're rewarding me, or if I'm rewarding you."
Axel laughed and patted her butt before waving to everyone.
"Let's go, let's see these three buddies off."
"Oh, actually," Bruce began, "I still have so many questions — about Barbatos, the multiverse, spacetime travel, the Speed Force, magic —"
Axel casually patted Bruce's shoulder, cutting him off.
"All right, do you think these three are a hundred thousand whys?"
He turned and led Bruce and the others toward the courtyard where Flash was already setting down the massive cosmic treadmill from his ring.
Bruce's eyes went wide as he stared at it, trying to take in every detail.
Kara approached Axel with a calm, serious look, ready to say her final words.
"In my world, my cousin Kal died before he ever reached Earth, and the codex was entrusted to me. I thought just carrying it was enough, but after traveling through so many universes with Barry, I realized how incredible he was. I may never be that kind of man, but I owe something to Kal, who died for me. It sounds cliché, but my world needs me, Axel."
Axel grinned with that infuriating confidence of his.
"Got it, okay, go on, damn it. I've got infinite life and energy. I'll see you again in future travels, and then we can actually catch up."
"I'll be waiting… always…" Kara said, taking a deep breath before raising her hand and gently stroking Axel's face.
Behind her, Barry had already accelerated the treadmill, surrounding them with swirling lightning.
Constantine lazily exhaled a cloud of smoke, then waved toward Axel.
"You're a damn good buddy."
He grinned, then said in a reflective tone,
"I originally wanted you to save me in front of Hell, but then I realized, in no universe has John Constantine ever fully fallen into Satan's hands. Maybe I should've known that I could be the one to bring myself everything I ever wanted."
"Are you talking about the second artifact you gave yourself?!" Kara snapped, cutting him off before stepping into the lightning.
The lightning swirled and crackled, and in an instant the three of them vanished.
Bruce gasped as the courtyard fell silent, then looked at Alfred with a relieved expression.
"Alfred," he said quietly, "I really have so much to learn."
Alfred gave him a warm, supportive smile.
"Whenever we feel we understand a lot, the unknown just becomes greater. But don't worry, Young Master Bruce, I'll be with you."
Just as that moment could have been tender and slow, Axel clapped loudly, destroying any sense of sentiment.
"All right, what's with all this sappy crap? Nobody wants heart-to-heart anymore. Damn it, it's bedtime! Bruce, if you won't take Rachel to rest, then I'll put her in my room! Or are you really gonna have her sleep in the basement?"
Bruce blinked, emotion gone from his eyes, then gave Axel the middle finger.
He didn't wait, he grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her toward their room.
As they ran, Rachel whispered,
"Is this okay? That's Wraith… are you sure he's not going to get up in the middle of the night and take both of us—"
"Hey, Rachel, I said I have excellent hearing!!!" Axel hollered back, which shut her up instantly.
Bruce and Rachel disappeared into their room with speed and strict purpose.
Alfred walked up behind Axel and said softly,
"Thank you, Axel."
Axel paused, confused.
"For what?"
Alfred smiled as he continued,
"I heard what that fast child said. In every universe, Bruce carries the most burdens. A normal family would be proud of him, but few know how weary he truly is inside. Gotham looks rough now, and you're like thunder striking the city, obliterating its fragile order. But regardless of everything, thank you for bringing back the real Bruce."
Axel laughed aloud, giving Alfred a light pat on the shoulder.
"I thought you were gonna hit me with something poetic. You're my butler, so why are you being so damn polite? Just say goodnight like a normal person!"
He slung an arm around Selina's waist and started walking toward his room.
Axel fell asleep quickly, leaving Selina awake, her thoughts buzzing from everything she had witnessed that night.
Bruce and Rachel were also awake, though for very different reasons.
Bruce could only sleep for two hours before rising to scribble equations on multiverse theory and cosmic travel.
Rachel turned in bed and whispered,
"Bruce, if you really can't sleep, maybe instead of flipping pages you could flip me instead?"