Zatanna remained rooted to the spot, her gaze shifting from Constantine to Batman, then back to Constantine. It was as if she'd recalled sothing, a wave of doubt and shock rippling through her eyes.
At this point, Constantine took the initiative to move forward, putting his arm around Zatanna's shoulder, saying, "Little Zha, you're still too young. So things can't be achieved by brute force, magic isn't omnipotent. We have to be mindful of our approach..."
"Good heavens! Not this again!" Zatanna rolled her eyes and threw her hands up, saying, "I know you much prefer to solve problems without using magic power, going about it in a roundabout way. But, considering our urgent situation, do you really have ti to preach these grand principles to ?"
"No, Little Zha, listen to . Actually, this matter...ahem... Have you considered... your approach of confronting this issue directly might... encounter a small amount of resistance?"
Constantine ford a circle with his thumb and index finger, looking at Zatanna as he said, "Have you ever considered that the person who took the Curse dium might not be particularly willing to cooperate with us?"
Zatanna responded in confusion, "Unwilling to work with us? Of course he wouldn't. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken that dium in the first place. But his unwillingness isn't justification for him to wander freely, holding such a dangerous object."
"If everyone can carry around a bomb and go into important places, then what's the point of having police and security? We can't just let a criminal kill people just because they are unwilling to hand over their weapons, can we?"
Upon hearing Zatanna's argunt, Batman instinctively furrowed his brows, saying, "...has he committed a cri with that object?"
After uttering this, Batman himself seed taken aback. Then he cleared his throat lightly, as though he was reflecting on the absurdity of his own words.
"The issue is that he could beco a criminal." Zatanna knocked on the floor of the helicopter. "We can't gamble on whether or not he will choose to use the object to destroy the world."
"If he wants to destroy the world, he doesn't really need that thing..." Constantine spoke softly. Zatanna shot him a glance, and Constantine shut his mouth. But Batman then said,
"If there is indeed a dangerous curse in Gotham as you've described, then I need to uncover it. However..."
"What's the 'however' ?!" Zatanna spoke with an air of frustration. "What is going on with the two of you? Why aren't you clear about the situation?"
"Set aside who holds the cursed object for now, those Black Magicians will not be hesitating like us. Once they learn of it, they will go crazy trying to find that individual, to snatch the Curse dium from him!"
"We must get ahold of it before they do and destroy it. Regardless of who holds it, can they really be a match for us?"
Unexpectedly, her question was answered by silence from both Constantine and Batman.
Constantine brought his fingertips together, gently maneuvering them as he spoke, "...this issue is indeed worth discussing."
"If the holder of the Curse dium is actually Shiller, we can't allow him to hold onto it." Batman's eyes were shadowed under his brow, as he stated, "I suspect he may not realize how dangerous it is, as he, like , knows little about the mystic world."
After contemplating for a mont, Constantine nodded and comnted, "Quite right. Shiller might be aware of the existence of the mystic world and its influence on Gotham City, but he probably doesn't know what that object really is, or where it is. Perhaps he wasn't even aware he had obtained the Curse of Evil when he did."
"Many items from the mystic world have this quality. It's hard for an ordinary person to realize their danger once they have them."
"Don't many of the horror stories you see in ghost films originate from cursed dolls or objects haunted by vengeful spirits?"
"In any case, if the curse dium really is Shiller's umbrella..." Constantine started to conclude, "then you better not expect to ask Shiller for his umbrella. He won't give it to , but..."
Constantine turned his gaze to Batman, who returned his silent stare. Constantine stepped forward, placed his hand on Batman's shoulder, and said, "Maybe you don't realize your weight in Shiller's heart. He is willing to spend so much ti on your thesis, maybe also..."
"There is no maybe." Batman said vacantly, "You haven't noticed yet? In this world, no one could possibly weigh more than that umbrella, no matter who asks him for it, the result would be the sa."
Constantine briefly recollected his acquaintance with Shiller, then revisited so rumors he had heard from others. The "others" mainly referred to so anonymous cryogenic scientist, an unknown restaurant owner, and the son of an unnad godfather.
Then, he nodded deeply, feeling that Batman was right, but quickly tapped his chin and said:
"Since we can't ask directly, we can find a way to trick him into giving us his umbrella. I'm confident I can lift the curse without damaging the umbrella itself, all we need is to have it for a couple of hours, then everything would be solved."
Batman's tone suddenly raised a notch, he asked Constantine, "...How do you plan to deceive him?"
Constantine turned to Zatanna and said, "We can't talk about this without ntioning the brilliant magician in front of us."
"Allow to reintroduce, Zatanna Zatara, magician, mage, and most importantly, a psychic magic skill holder, a master of mory invasion."
Batman imdiately turned to Zatanna, Zatanna rolled her eyes, understood Constantine's train of thought, and said, "True, force against force will always consu power. If we fight over the upper hand and get taken advantage of by those black magicians, it would be bad."
"I do have a way to invade a person's mory directly, and like so mysterious entities, I can also find the vulnerabilities in mories and create opportunities for compromise...Yes, that's it, let's do it this way!"
Zatanna cheered up. She walked towards the helicopter, looked back at Constantine, and said:
"Alright then, your old-fashioned preaching still has so uses. Let's go find a safe place, directly hypnotize that man nad Shiller in his mory, and get him to give up the umbrella."
Constantine feigned a smirky smile and said, "Miss, you're a genius. An excellent plan indeed. So, you guys just..."
He was talking as he moved towards the helicopter's door. But the mont his hand touched the door - "clack" - the door was locked. Batman gazed straight ahead, emotionless, and said:
"Not you guys, us."
Constantine was frozen in place.
Suddenly, the wind was coming up in Gotham, at the edge of the clouds. The light was squeezed from the gaps in the dark clouds. When it shone on the ground, it carried with it a sense of fleeting eeriness.
The thin rainlines hit the helicopter's propeller, stirring up water vapor that looks like fog, or clouds.
The helicopter gradually diminished into a spot, flying towards the horizon. There was a tower there, towering into the clouds, vaguely visible in the deep fog and rain.
User Comments
0 comments from readers