I honestly can't remember if it was Primary School or Secondary School. Huh.
Anyway, I'm dressed like a British person during winter, rather than a superhero or model… Okay, fine, idiosyncratically attired rich lunatic, like I normally am. Dr. Balewa usually dresses down, but for this trip he's left his kaftan on the Watchtower in favour of a long, puffy, bright red coat. It doesn't do much in the way of camouflage, but it's ridiculous enough that no one is going to think he's a superhero.
Heh. When
was the last time OL went out in public in anything other than combat armour or a perfectly-tailored suit of clothes, I wonder? As for Doctor Mist, I'm amazed he isn't channeling
Professor Badass.
Chavy-ridiculous, not normal-superhero-clothing ridiculous.
Feel a bit awkward about Alan being here. Huh. I wonder. If he'd had his renovated ring at the time, would I have invited him? Yes, yes of course I would. Even if it might have affected his ability to join the League later -and I know how much he likes being part of the League- I would have wanted him with me.
'
Chavs' being a particularly British subculture. For an American equivalent, think Dude-
bros. With a side of '
Wigger'...
Sheesh,
culture today...
"If he's been here all along then I'm going to be annoyed with myself."
"Part of him."
Seriously, if John has been hiding out in the Tate Club this whole time......
I frown, but if he's going to do the whole cryptic wizard thing… I suppose that he's earned that right. Someone his age is going to sound cryptic to someone my age even if they try and speak as plainly as possible, and that goes double for an actual wizard.
Scanning our surroundings for a moment I spot Alan, who appears to have decided that his best cover involves dressing like a stereotypical American tourist. Half his clothing has an American flag on it somewhere, and the other half appears to have been purchased from a London-themed market stall. The camera around his neck is a little incongruous, except he spent plenty of time around professional photographers and can probably talk about it in enough detail to cover himself if someone asked about it.
Good lord, talk about hiding in plain sight.
And standing next to him-. No. No, that's not-.
"Nommo?"
Oh, for... Did they seriously let the Demon Constantine out in
public? I hope they have
very good leashes on him, as many as they could pack on...
"You know how he was created?"
"Roughly."
I mean, it's not like
John would ever have talked about on of his best swindles...
"Consider the situation. John Constantine has inherited the power of a Lord of Order, but he cannot handle it. You have seen John Quinn-."
"The use of his mother's maiden name was a bit obvious. And the fact that he looks like an idealised John Constantine. So that's what he is? It's a lot less worry… Ing…"
Huh. That sounds worryingly
plausible, and entirely
not what any of us were expecting.
"Do you see the problem?"
"Creating a golem like that involves removing memories. So if he removed… What, every heroic memory and… Thought? Then he'd be-." What? "Don't tell me the thing I've been calling The Demon Constantine is actual-John?"
I rather suspect a Chaotic Evil John would
not be very different to normal...
Marginally less concerned with friends and allies' safety than usual, maybe.
"No. Though knowing Constantine as I do, it does not sound beyond him. According to the Demon, he used a duplicate of himself that he had already created."
"From before he created the Demon, or after?"
And you're sure you can
trust what the Demon told you?
"Thet, the Demon did not know."
"Oh, come on. You told me that you knew enough to find John."
...Maybe he left a message for OL with the Tate Club crew that he's never thought to ask about?
"Thet is why were are here. The Demon wishes to use the echoes of John's actions, here and in other places, to become more like him. Since John Constantine is not inclined to help mass murderers, I felt that permitting this was in the interest of Earth."
"Always up for a bit of redemption. Why does he want to become more like John?"
And if John has done a runner from the universe - unlikely given that we haven't seen a new Lord of Chaos turn up yet - I suppose the Demon is as good a substitute as you can get.
"Why did you want to regain your memories after the second time you died?"
"Fair-. No, wait. I wouldn't have created a golem like that in the first place. For me it was like curing Alzheimer's, but the Demon never had those memories."
Also because those memories were
his. And we all know how well OL handles losing
his stuff.
"No, but he had a memory of having those memories." Dr. Balewa look away, probably reaching for an appropriate metaphor. "He would have thought, but they would not make sense because the experiences that would-."
"Like Mister Cairo from Phantom Twenty Forty."
If anyone was wondering:
Phantom 2040. Sort of a '
Batman: Beyond' version of a classic
superhero.
Fun fact, said original is
oddly popular here in Australia.
"You cannot make me feel older than I do already."
Think I just made myself feel old.
1994, folks.
That was
28 years ago... Some of you readers weren't even
alive when that show started airing.
"He was an intelligent computer program created from the mind of a widower to find out what caused the particularly nasty car crash that killed his wife. Unfortunately, he got damaged before being completed and was just left with an obsessive desire to learn everything. Once he finally learned the thing he was originally created to learn he returned to his creator and tried merging with him."
"Tried, and failed, then."
Not quite as
explosively as the merger in the conclusion of '
Tron: Legacy', at least.
"By that point in their lives they were just too different to merge, even though they both wanted to. The widower got the information he wanted and could carry on with his life, but the infomorph was stuck knowing that its whole purpose was already fulfilled. The Demon Constantine's purpose was to go to Hell in John's place, which he did. The only good memory he has was Kathryn Ryan, and that didn't-. He remembers the relationship, but it wouldn't really have context."
I frown at him.
Yes, quite the conundrum.
"And we can't just telepathically dub stuff over because his body is a construct of demon magic and so he doesn't literally have a brain."
Dr. Balewa smiles. "That was the first thing you thought of, wasn't it?"
OL can't help but want to improve the situation of those
useful to him... His way of rewarding loyalty, in a way...
"Yes, of c-." I'm getting distracted again. "But returning to the subject?"
"The Demon claimed that John Quinn is keeping John Constantine in the Tower of Fate, using him to maintain control of the link to Order and Chaos."
Again, you know he's not lying,
how? Did Diana test him with the Lasso?
"Wouldn't you be able to detect him using that much power? Or not just you, I mean, wouldn't it be obvious?"
"If he were using it all of the time, yes, certainly. If he were simply doing what Nabu did and drawing what he needed, no."
Clever, but hardly the
best solution to the challenge of embodying both Order and Chaos. ...But sadly, it
is such a
Constantine solution...
"Right then. So we're fighting Nabu Two. That explains Hyde Park."
"Thet would not be wise. While I heff not seen it, if John put enough of himself into John Quinn to use Order and Chaos, he would be far more powerful than Nabu was. And John was always more cunning than Nabu. A direct confrontation…"
Especially if he'd some inkling that it was coming... He'd have you face-down in the gutter in
seconds.
He shakes his head. And he's right. The potential for collateral damage alone-.
"But we're freeing John Constantine and not talking to John Quinn about it in advance?"
"I do not share the optimism of some other League members. I think that taking away his weapons first is far wiser. And thet is why we are going to break into the Tower of Fate."
So, it's a heist mission, then. To quote Carl Johnson: '
Here we go again...'
