CHAPTER THREE

     The Batmobile was cool. There was no denying that half of the Justice League (mainly Barry and Hal) wanted to take it for a drive sometime, though Bruce wouldn't allow them within ten feet of the thing. So, Clara considered herself lucky that she, along with Zatanna and Boston had somehow managed to snag a ride along in the awesome vehicle.

      Zatanna and Bruce were in the front, while she and Deadman sat at the bag, Judging by the expression on Boston's face, Clara knew he was about to say something stupid.

      "I don't even think his kid could fit back here," Boston said, looking towards both the magicians. Clara almost scoffed. Bruce Wayne with a kid. 'Now that's an image I'd like to see.'

     "It's pretty comfortable as it is," Clara told him, muttering under her breath.

      "Sorry Boston, but life is for the living," Zatanna simply said.

      Clara snickered behind her, wanting to add another quip of her own, but before she could do so, Bruce spoke up.

      "Boston Brand," He started to say. "He was a circus performer."

      "Batman's heard of me? Sweet!" Boston stated, sounding excited. "Tell him, I'm a fan of his too. But you know, be cool about it."

      "Yeah, that's him," Both Clara and Zatanna said together, looking at the bald-headed ghost with identical expressions.

      "Ask him if he caught one of my shows," Boston added.

      Zatanna scoffed a little before smiling. "He was a trapeze artist who loved being famous, especially with the ladies. Husbands not so much."

      "You're killing me," Boston facepalmed, shaking his head.

      Clara rolled her eyes. "Aren't you already dead?"

      "He had a knack for irritating the wrong people," Zatanna continued with her explanation and though Clara already knew the story, she listened carefully. "Then, about five years ago, karma caught up with him. It was a weekend show, full house. Boston was in the middle of his death defying act when he was shot. And he died, and that should have been that. But with Boston, things tend to get a little complicated. His spirit was called by the goddess Rama Kushna. She took pity on him and gave him the power to possess the living so he could bring his killer and others to justice."

      "Hey, I don't wanna brag, but I'm good," Boston said, his expression wavering slightly. Looked like hearing about his death still unnerved him a little.

      "Why did he feel the need to write on my walls like a child?" Bruce questioned, sounding annoyed.

      "Don't mind it. He's sorry about that," Clara answered with the tiniest of grins.

      "Where is this address?" Bruce added after a moment's pause. "GPS doesn't seem especially useful tonight."

      "It's not an address," Zatanna said. "The House of Mystery tends to move around. I didn't put the symbols in there for the GPS to find it. I wanted the House to come to us."

      The House of Mystery was a place Clara had only heard about but had never seen. Supposedly, it was a place of strong and powerful magic although why a place like that would pick John Constantine as its owner was a little confusing. Then again, magic itself was confusing.

      Clara sighed, staring out the window into the darkness of the night. Suddenly, she tensed, feeling a great surge of magic flow through the air. When she turned her attention to the front, a massive tornado was hovering just metres away from them, appearing out of nowhere. The freakishly fast winds carried with them tree branches, which Bruce deftly dodged as he tried to steer the Batmobile out of harm's way.

      Zatanna pointed her hands towards the tornado, yelling a quick spell to stop it. But, it didn't work, the shield barely lasting a second against the harshness of the wind.

      A monstrous mouth like structure appeared at the bottom of the tornado and before anyone of them could do something, they found themselves hovering in the middle of a tornado, the winds spinning them around like a toy. Zatanna yelled out another spell, pointing her arms outwards. A shield appeared around the Batmobile protecting it from the debris flying around.

      "Contrarium!" Clara yelled, pointing her arms outwards. The opposite. It was a spell that would make anything the opposite of what it was. Fire would become water and a tornado would become a breeze. A golden glow surrounded her hands as she struggled to keep the spell up. She needed at least a minute for the tornado to be transformed into a gentle breeze. But the winds were too fast and she continued to struggle.

      "They can't hold their spells!" Boston yelled towards Bruce. "Do something!"

      Bruce immediately pressed his hand on a lever, giving the Batmobile a boost. With the added acceleration, they were out of the tornado, landing back on the rocky pathway. But Clara's job wasn't over yet. She had to keep her spell up. She had to change the damn tornado. Why the fuck wasn't her spell working?

      Then, her concentration shattered and so did the spell.

      The Batmobile bumped over a rock and Clara almost found herself thrown into the front if not for the steadying grip she had on Zatanna's seat. In the distance, she saw the House of Mystery appearing on a nearby clifftop, magic shimmering in the air around it.

      "There!" Zatanna pointed towards the clifftop.

      Bruce pressed on the accelerator once more and with another boost, the Batmobile soon arrived right next to the cliff. Hurried, Clara, Zatanna and Bruce jumped out of the car, followed by Boston who was floating behind them. The tornado was still after them, chasing them with its ugly monstrous mouth.

      Even as they were nearing the House, the door opened and out stepped John Constantine. "Into the House!"

      Everyone ran inside, the wind still chasing after them. But with a wave of his hand, John slammed the door shut and the ugly noise from the tornado died down, leaving them in an eerily quiet position.

      Clara, who had unintentionally gripped Bruce's arm to steady herself, immediately let go. "Sorry," She quickly muttered before turning away from him. Behind her, Zatanna was being helped up by John.

      "I should have known you were the reason I'm not back in London enjoying a pint," John said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "The House always did like you better."

      "Odd group for a road trip," He added, looking at Batman and then Clara and then Boston, although he stared at Clara for a second longer than the others, sensing the magic within her soul. "To what do I owe the visit?"

      "The League thinks that a recent spike in homicides may have a magical cause," Bruce explained.

      John's eyes narrowed slightly at his words. He carried a suspicious look on his face as he took them inside, probably contemplating the situation just like Clara had, at first.

      "Told you something stinks," Boston grumbled. "Now we know someone doesn't want us asking questions."

      "Well, that's kind of an obvious thing," Clara muttered under her breath, scanning the surroundings. The House was an impeccably designed place, with magic surrounding everything in it. No wonder her magic sensing ability went wack the minute they stepped inside.

      "Looks like you've cracked it wide open, mate," John said sarcastically.

      "What did he say?" Bruce asked, looking towards John. (or rather where Boston was floating)

      "Nuh-uh," John shook his head. "I'm not playing telephone between you two." He uttered a quick spell, golden energy appearing around his hands before disappearing in a second. Boston took a more solidified appearance.

      "We online?" He asked with a thumbs up. At John's nod, he immediately floated towards Bruce. "Great. Sorry about the Batmobile. I hope your insurance was paid up. What, is there even a policy for something like that?"

      Clara facepalmed, shaking her head. She tended to do that a lot around Boston (and Hal...let's not forget Hal). Bruce, thankfully, didn't say anything, although she had a feeling he wanted to stab Boston with a batarang.

      She suddenly jumped when she felt another magical presence enter the room. The presence was strong. She looked at the strange-looking woman next to John, who just appeared out of nowhere. Her skin was a light purple, with darker stripes across her body. The figure didn't have any hair but she did have a mohawk like structure on her head.

      "Hey, I told you not to do that, Orchid," John reprimanded the figure. "Use a bloody door."

      "I am glad to see you are well," Orchid spoke, her voice inexplicably soft and calming.

      Zatanna sat down on one of the armchairs near the fireplace, an amused look on her face. "How new is this one?"

      "Not what you think," John immediately said. "It's the magic of the House. Decided it wanted to experience humanity and gave itself a body."

      "Hmm," Clara said, observing as Orchid, the magic of the place they were standing, walked up to Boston. It was a strange thing, but not unheard of. She had heard of spirits manifesting as humans for some reason or the other.

      "It sure did,' Boston mumbled as Orchid stopped in front of him. She took his hand, speaking in that same soft tone as before.

      "A spirit whose existence is not its own, like myself," Orchid said. "Interesting."

      "Yeah, um..." Boston suddenly appeared embarrassed. "We are that."

      "Dead smooth you are mate," John stated sarcastically. He seemed like he did that, a lot.

      Orchid quietly walked towards Zatanna, standing in front of her. Zatanna sat up a little straighter. "Powerful in true magic. Angry at John. This, I understand," The purple spirit said. "Yet, you still have feelings for him."

     'So, he is the guy Z had mentioned,' Clara quietly thought. Both of them tended to have bad luck when it came to dating. Maybe it was a trait all magicians/sorcerers shared. Terrible love lives must be a side-effect of all the magic they used.

      "I could kill him," Zatanna simply said, although it felt like there was something deeper she was hiding.

      Clara's thoughts came to a stop as Orchid walked towards her. When the spirit stopped in front of her and stared at her with those intense violet eyes, she felt like hiding behind a chair.

      "You have strong magic," Orchid said calmly. "Your family is blessed by the gods themselves. And yet, you still wonder sometimes who your real parents are."

      She immediately froze. 

      'My real parents...' It was a well-kept secret that few people knew. Clara had taken so much care so that no one would ever find it. She had even magically hidden the records. And now, Orchid just revealed everything like it was simple fact. She didn't like thinking about it. Alice and her parents were her real family.

      And that was that.

      She felt Bruce's stare on her and knew instantly that he had questions. After all, not even the World's Greatest Detective knew about this secret of hers. Though, she didn't have the chance to say anything, watching as Orchid walked towards him.

      "You exude pain," The spirit stated. "Your life is a patchwork of blackness with no time for joy. How do you cope with it?"

      And as though it was an obvious answer, Bruce said, "I have a butler."

      Clara snorted into her hands. Yeah, he was right though. He'd be nothing without good old Alfred. The British butler was her favourite, possibly more so than Bruce.

      "That was enlightening," John said. He clapped his hands together, summoning a bottle of whiskey and a couple of glasses. 

      "Well, I guess we should have that chinwag about now."

Well, I guess that's a big revelation hehe. Yes, Clara is adopted. And yes, you will learn about her real parents in this fic only, but not for a while. But, I can say, it will be pretty surprising. About this chapter...writing it was a lot of fun and I can't wait to write more of John because he's hilarious and I literally love him so much. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments!