Vol. #1 - Entering Free Fall

Four - The Hellish Aftermath

Trigger warnings: Bad Writing, Cannon-typical Violence & Swearing

Earth 168

Location: Gotham

Date: December 6, 2023

Time: 7:25 P.M.

"Do you know how this happened?" Kyle asked, now standing in the front corner of the room.

"You know how my aunt has dated a lot of people over the years?" Riley asked.

"Yes? What does that have to do with this?"

"Well, one of the people that she dated was John Constantine?" She continued, framing the statement more like a question.

"Again, why does that matter right now?"

"And when I went to Old Gotham he was there, and I kinda said some things he knows only I say." The vigilante finished hastily.

"Wait, if your aunt dated so many people then why does he know you so well?"

"They were on-and-off for most of my childhood."

"Okay, so we're going to talk about that later," Kyle said, taking control of the conversation and taking a deep breath, "do you think he-"

The vigilante's best friend was interrupted by a shrill ringtone emitting from Riley's bag.

Sometime after 6:55 on Wednesday - Unknown

"Ma'am, it appears that John Constantine has shown interest in this so-called 'Freefall', shall we send out the next Catastrophe yet?"

"Not quite, Jasper, we must not reveal our hand so soon,"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"After all, I have found watching this girl rather amusing."

3:00 Thursday Morning - The House of Mysteries

A blonde man sat, pondering in the early hours of the morning.

"You figured out who the girl is, didn't you?" the woman asked, though she knew the answer immediately.

"There is only one person I know that uses the phrase 'holy hell' and lived in Westview," Constantine stated.

"Then I guess your little Riley A. James has changed over the past few years." the phantom whispered.

The two Magicians and the ghost stared into the fireplace, a million words unsaid, and yet they were completely understood.

Wednesday 7:28 - Spencer Apartment

"Hey, Kenze, what's up?" Riley asked.

"Hey, can you come home soon? There's someone I want you to meet." Her aunt said.

"Yeah, I just need to finish what I'm doing,"

"Great, see you then?"

"Yep,"

"I love you,"

"I love you too, bye."

"Bye." Riley ended the call with a sigh.

"McKenzie wants me to come home soon."

Kyle nodded, "And?"

"And it's because she has someone for me to meet."

Flashback - Westview

There were things that Riley left out of her explanation of the events of that fateful week in Westview, and one of these things could have held rather important information.

In the days after the weeklong 'storm' Riley experienced a steadily growing discomfort that spread from her heart all the way to the base of her skull. It felt like someone was filling her body with pressure, just waiting for her bodily systems to explode.

On the second morning after this pressure began Riley rubbed the sleep from her eyes and she noticed a small blue light emanating from her wrist. It looked like if a person were to shine a bright blue light through a broken mirror. She yelped sharply, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. She could not wake up her aunt, not even for this.

Riley had a feeling that she knew what this cracking meant. She had heard stories of magicians whose powers had grown too great for their bodies to hold, and in a few short and painful days all that remained of them was a pile of magical residue, bone fragments, and blood. And the girl didn't want to be next.

Flashback 1677 - Gotham

Nylora McCalla sat in the bar, pondering the years' events. It had been five years since the incident, and yet she couldn't forget. She saw the ashes rising into the sky, heard the screams of Amity Arkham as she burned. Nylora knew that these things weren't really happening, just a figment of her imagination. And yet those thoughts never calmed her racing mind.

At that moment, a man came in and sat next to her. He had dark red hair, and his skin was so pale it looked almost white. He was wearing a simple black suit. He wasn't the first to try this tactic, to sit beside her and try to get her to come home with them. And sure, their exact course of action always varied, but in the end, she would have to lead them into the woods, where she would dispose of them properly, just as her clients asked.

"Evening, Miss McCalla," the man said in a thick French accent, nodding to the bartender, who smiled slightly and poured the man a tall glass of a dark red liquid.

"I don't want to sleep with you," Nylora said calmly. She had done this dance many times before. The man would claim that they were 'destined to be together', maybe try and grab her waist or wrist to keep her from leaving, and then she would do the job as she was paid to.

Now - Gotham City

The walk back to Riley's apartment was miserable. The bitter wind tore through her thin flannel. On the plus side, she didn't see villains. Or heroes, she didn't think she could handle two in one day. As if anyone could consider John a hero, the vigilante thought. With all the bad shit he's done, I'm surprised he isn't considered a full-blown villain.

Freefall thought she was prepared for what was to come.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

A/n: I know this chapter is ridiculously short, but I promise that it was necessary filler for plot reasons!