Lost Souls Remain

SEVEN: The Impossible Is Possible

SEVEN: The Impossible Is Possible

The first call wasn't what I expected, but I knew we had to act. "We need an extraction," Gar said urgently.

"Which one of you already had your cover blown?" I asked in concern.

"It's not me or Harley," he replied. "It's Cap."

"Captain Marvel? What happened?" I asked.

"His powers still work, Robin," Gar said as if that should explain everything.

"So what?"

"They can't be corrupted," Zatanna reminded me. "That means Lex doesn't actually have control over him."

"Was that Zee?" Gar asked in shock.

"Yeah. She's okay," I said. "We also acquired a drunk British magician."

"Constantine!" Harley cried in delight. "Now things should get interesting."

"Good guess, luv," Constantine replied.

"You're the only drunk British magician I know who wouldn't be phased by the apocalypse," Harley replied.

"Gar, has Lex figured out that Billy's not evil yet?" I asked.

"No, but Billy thinks he's close," Gar replied. "He approached me as Billy, so Apophis wouldn't notice him. He told me he's been keeping up the act and just telling Lex his powers aren't working. Lex doesn't know that if his powers fail, he turns back into a kid."

"We've got to get him out," I decided. "Captain Marvel's strong, but Billy's still just a kid."

Honestly, Billy was only a couple of years younger than me physically, but there was an innocence to him that I hadn't had since I lost my parents. It always made him seem about half my age.

"How do we get him out?" Kara asked.

"Meet us at the lair in two hours," Harley said. "I'll give you the coordinates."

*

Two hour later, we stood in the shadows outside of Lex Luthor's "secret" lair. It wasn't exactly hard to find. It was one of many buildings he'd owned before the end of the world, but he'd changed some things and built an underground world beneath the exterior building that made the Bat Cave look like a closet.

I took it all in as Gar let us in. "I don't know about this," Constantine said. "Maybe you lot should stay out of this and let me handle things. It feels like a trap."

"Billy isn't tricking us, John," Zatanna said. "His powers only work if the wielder has a pure heart. He must still be on our side."

"I don't doubt that, luv... I'm just worried that our shiny-headed foe knows exactly what we're up to."

"He didn't seem suspicious," Gar replied.

"Even if he's not, Apophis probably is," I said. "We still have to do this. I'm not leaving Billy here to fend for himself."

"I didn't say we should leave him," Constantine pointed out. "I'll take the risk to get him out."

"You're not sacrificing yourself, John," Zatanna said firmly. "We're in this together."

"They're kids, Zee... And I won't risk you."

"We're survivors, Constantine," I said. "And we'll survive this, too."

"Exactly," Kara agreed. "We stand a better chance together than apart."

"We're here. We have a mission. We will complete the mission and be done with it," Damian piped in.