The second they stepped out of the House, Clara bristled. The House had dropped them off in the middle of a swamp, where there was barely any light. In the darkness, the trees resembled deformed creatures with vines hanging off them, ready to trap whoever disturbed them. 

Blood, it appeared, shared the same sentiments. "All right, I'll ask. Why are we in the middle of a godforsaken swamp?" 

 "It's a favourite hidey hole of one Alec Holland," John explained, using magic to swat aside some flies. "Whose corpse was taken to be the most recent Avatar of the Green."

"Bet you won't find that on your bloody cell phone," He added as an afterthought, looking right at Bruce.

"Our data's more factual," Bruce simply replied. "Alec Holland was murdered by terrorists. His body was never recovered. End of story."

"Not quite," John answered carefully. He looked around the swamp, which seemed to get darker the further they walked in. They arrived at the edge of a lake, mist floating all above it. The lake seemed like the perfect hiding place. 

Suddenly, a dark growling voice echoed from all around the lake. "Go away."

John summoned a magic circle and stepped on it. He floated to the center of the lake and began, in his usual manner, provoking whatever mysterious Avatar of the Green thing they were after. Hands in her pocket, Clara was ready to cast a spell to protect herself (and everyone else) against a tentative attack. 

The lake water stirred as tentacles slowly rose out of it. They started merging together, gaining a very humanoid, yet monstrous shape that towered over them all. 

"What is that?!" Clara mumbled as she took a step back, nearly bumping into Bruce. 

The humanoid swamp monster spoke John's name with the utmost disdain, which is when Clara knew. This was another person (swamp thing?) he had pissed off. She probably would not be able to count on two hands how many people John had pissed off. 

Zatanna rushed forward and muttered a quick incantation, cancelling John's flaming magic circle. Clara followed, wincing at the splashing sound. Stepping straight into the waters of a random, unknown and possibly magical lake should have been a no, but the situation demanded the opposite.

Boston, meanwhile, hovered near John. "Dude, your social skills are horrendous."

"Ain't that the truth," Clara nodded in agreement. 

It was Zatanna who finally spoke to the green humanoid. "Please, we aren't here to harm any plants, but our need is urgent. Don't let your feelings for John stop you from doing what's right." 

The Swamp Thing leaned closer. "You have a garden."

"Yes, I find it relaxing," Zatanna said calmly. "And I water it every week. We need to find a man, a wizard named Felix Faust."

"A single human among your teeming masses," The Swamp Thing remarked. "I only know John Constantine because he enrages me."

Clara rolled her eyes, seeing John just shrug his shoulders like he had done nothing. 

"Faust lives in an observatory which is invisible," Zatanna continued to speak. "It's a place where dark magic would infect the earth below it." 

"I will take you there," The Swamp Thing said. "So you are no longer here." The Thing raised its arms, and tentacles erupted out of the ground, surrounding them on all four sides. 

Clara's vision completely darkened as she felt a disorienting wave pass through her body. It was a familiar sensation, reminding her of the teleportation spells she used. Then, the tentacles retreated back into the ground. Clara opened her eyes, only to find herself and everyone else at the side of a cliff, overlooking another empty cliff top.

The Swamp Thing pointed to the latter. "The place you seek is there."

'Ostendo,' Clara muttered under her breath. Golden sparks danced in front of her eyes as the spell activated her magical sight, allowing her to glimpse at Faust's hidden observatory. At the same, Zatanna uttered her own spell, casting blue magic circles that allowed for a temporary glance at the observatory.

"That place is heavily warded," She said, frowning. 

"The wards are going to be a pain to get through," Clara added. 

John just nodded, before he turned and walked towards Swamp Thing. "I know we've had our differences, but we could really use your help. If we don't get a handle on this rotter, he'll threaten all of humanity." 

"What of it?" The Swamp Thing said.

Blood stepped in. "You were once human, just like me."

"No longer," The Swamp Thing replied. "Perhaps his actions are a kind of justice, for who destroys more of the green than your kind?" With that, he descended back into the ground, tentacles slithering through cracks in the dirt.

"Aand Swamp Thing has left the building," Boston commented. 

"Guess we do it the hard way," John said. 

"Or not," Blood interrupted him. "Gone, gone, the form of man. Arise the demon Etrigan!"

Blood's body glowed with a bright light which transformed into devilish flames. Once the flames faded, the demon Etrigan stood in place of the human wizard. Etrigan let out a loud growl and blew the same flames out of his mouth and captured them between his fists. When he pulled apart his hands, swords took the place of the flames. With another fierce growl, Etrigan flew through the air towards the observatory. 

"I suppose we just follow?" Clara said, looking at Faust's observatory.

"I suppose we should," John muttered, sounding a little too annoyed. 

*

Zatanna and Clara made their way in first, the rest following behind. 

But the second they stepped inside the observatory, Clara knew something was wrong.  As Zatanna grabbed onto Faust's book and went onto to utter a spell, she couldn't. Clara opened her mouth to cast her spell and she couldn't say anything either. 

She grabbed her throat in shock, glaring at Faust. 

Faust only smirked. "Do you two like what I've done with the place? No woman can speak in my sanctum sanctorum. I conjured it just for you two, and of course, men everywhere." 

He laughed as he cast magic circles to attack them. Clara and Zatanna swerved to the opposite sides, barely dodging the attack. Clara crashed into one of the shelves and fell onto the floor. The pained grunt she wanted to let out fell short in her throat. Zatanna fell a few feet away from her. Clara immediately stood up and ran to her, helping her up. She could see the same frustration she felt mirrored on Zatanna's face. 

Behind them, John and Bruce came rushing in just as Boston possessed Faust. Boston was a capable guy, ghost, and it looked like he was able to grab a hold onto Faust's soul, even if it was temporary. 

Bruce looked ready to grab his grappling gun, but John just shook his head. "Not everything can be solved with your peashooter."

In the meantime, Faust had successfully grabbed Boston and pushed him out of his body. "Just because you're dead doesn't mean you're beyond my retribution."

He cast the same magic circle as earlier and Boston let out a pained scream, even though he was a ghost. If it was hurting him that much, then it would have been a whole other level of pain for Zatanna and Clara. 

Zatanna and Clara stood back (temporarily) as John and Bruce went to attack Faust; the former with flaming orbs and the latter with 'peashooters'. The two attacks met in a bright explosion, which Faust dodged easily before sending another one of his dark magic attacks towards John. Clara took to the side, following Batman behind a pillar and Zatanna went the opposite way. 

John simply blasted Faust's attack out of the way. "Is that it? Well, it's off to the old magicians home for you, mate. Pudding night is Thursday." 

Faust ignored him and snapped his fingers, the purple glyphs on his spell grimoire glowing. A wave of water erupted from behind John, capturing him a cube like prison. 

"Try that fireball once more, Constantine," Faust sneered. "I'd love to see you cook your own goose." 

Bruce stepped ahead and shot his grappling gun straight at the grimoire. And surprisingly, managed to capture it in one go, tossing it towards the water cube John was trapped in. And with some careful maneuvering, Bruce managed to get him to land relatively safely. 

On the other side of the building, Etrigan fought against the monstrous demons while John returned to fighting against Faust. 

In the meantime, Clara had snuck behind one of the shelves, watching the battle with a frown. She had to find a way to break the enchantment that wouldn't let her speak. She turned and realised Zatanna was motioning for her. Clara looked at her curiously, only to notice that she had pulled out her wand, the one which she rarely used. 

Instantly, Clara understood. She nodded, watching Zatanna cast a silent enchantment. The orb of magic floated away, and disappeared somewhere into the fight. The two mages hid behind some bookshelves in the meantime.

"Zatanna, where are you, darling? I know you can't speak, but at least give me a wave. You're the only one here who's a threat. Clara's just the weak one. "

Clara clenched her fists. One more comment from Faust and she was going to let go of all control she had on her magic. That would easily break his enchantments. She took a deep breath as she ducked behind a shelf. Getting angry would be of no use now. She had to wait for the right moment. 

(Oh, but she wanted to curse Faust to the worst hell imaginable.)

"There you are," Faust smiled menacingly. "This will sting a bit."

With a wave of his hand, Zatanna was trapped in an ice cage, a surprised look on her face. Clara nearly jumped out of her hiding place, but before she could do so, Etrigan leapt out of nowhere, crashing into Faust and sending him straight into the bookshelves. She hurried out of the way, careful to keep hidden. At the same time, she kept an eye on her trapped friend, cursing Faust out mentally. 

Clara noticed the blue orb from Zatanna's spell earlier and smirked. 'Oh Faust is so screwed now.' It took Zatanna less than a second to break out of the ice cage and cast a powerful, wordless spell at Faust, who made a loosing attempt to block it. 

But Zatanna's magic was stored magic and Faust was able to block it, sending her to the ground. He raised his hands, summoning multiple magic circles. Magical blasts shot out of them and Zatanna deftly dodged them. Clara blinked and closed her eyes. She could try and cast stored magic too, but that was one thing she was never really good. The attempt was futile though, as Zatanna was captured in demonic looking arms, summoned by Faust. She was clearly struggling to escape. John rushed in from the other side, and Bruce tossed one of his batarangs at the arms. The explosion, combined with Faust's magical attacks, created a massive cloud of dust, smoke and rubble. 

Clara grabbed at her throat, gasping. 'Did Z lift the enchantment...?'

Her question was answered a second later when she noticed Zatanna floating in the air, eyes glowing. Oh shit. Clara knew what was going to happen. And it was not going to be nice. She could feel Zatanna's magic floating through the air. The magical pressure was settling over her body.

Zatanna began chanting a spell; a spell whose words Clara understood. Oh fucking shit. Z was pissed and Faust was probably not going to survive if the spell was casted in full. Debris and books floated above, sucked into the tornado of energy surrounding Zatanna. Even as Faust attacked her, she simply sent his blasts back at him. There was only going to be one outcome of this fight and that was going to be Zatanna's victory. 

But somehow, Clara knew. She knew that this spell was dangerous and risky. It would affect Zatanna in a very intense way, a way that Clara had little to no knowledge of. John must have known too, because he stopped her, leaping in front of Faust just as she was about to strike him with the spell. Miraculously, Zatanna actually listened to John. The spell slowly faded and she landed on to the ground, John walking to her. 

Minutes later, everyone gathered together. Bruce had Faust in cuffs. And that stupid magician was whining, "Why are you here? I haven't done anything to warrant this kind of response."

John summoned the holographic projection of the ring in his left hand. "This yours?" he asked Faust, the ring floating towards him.

"I don't know. Maybe." Faust shrugged. "I have several hundred rings of varying design and properties." 

"It isn't him." 

Everyone turned around. Blood, in his human form, was walking up to them. The demons that Faust had summoned lay defeated behind him. "Felix Faust isn't the one behind the nightmare crimes. he summoned our old poker buddies in their more massive forms." 

The demons glowed with dark purple light before fading into more whimpering, pathetic and defeated forms. 

"The hell does it all mean?" Boston asked, sounding very confused.

"It means Felix Faust had access to the artifact whenever he wanted," John explained. 

"What artifact?!" Faust cried out. 

"Well, I suppose we are back where we started," Clara said, pressing her lips together in thought. 'What exactly could be going on with this? Unless...'

"Unfortunately, no," Bruce interjected. Still holding Faust in his iron grip, he said, "We were sent here by your friend, remember?"

"But Ritchie's dying," Zatanna added. 

Very bluntly, Bruce said, "Is he?"

"People do crazy things if they want to live. Us with magic, we do even crazier things," Clara said. With a deep breath, she continued.

"We need to go back to the House of Mystery now." 

You know, I still cannot believe that I was able to finish this chapter this quickly after the previous one. I literally thought at one point in the past few months that I had lost my ability to write, so really, it just feels good to be able to return to how I used to write, albeit slowly. We are now moving into the climax of the movie, which means the ending is really close, which means I can finally write my Clara X Bruce scenes. I also need a new ship name for them lol (currently stuck 50% in love with BatMage. But if y'all have any suggestions, let me knoww)

I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Comments and votes are super appreciated <3