- - -
Hopefully, that would be enough time for Billy to do whatever it was that he needed to do. Cyborg hoped it would be.
- - -
When Captain Marvel's golden boots touched down at the main gates of Belle Reve, he was immediately greeted by a pair of security guards with large metallic guns in their hands. He gave them a smile, only to get a curt nod in return.
"You'll have to excuse them, Captain-" a voice said, causing the demigod to glance up towards the entrance and at a dark-haired man in a deep blue uniform currently walking towards him.
"They're on edge because of the breach," the man said, holding out his hand for the raven to shake. "The name's Aman. A pleasure to meet you," he said, shaking Cap's hand before motioning for him to follow him into the penitentiary. "Though I am surprised the League sent you- our guys had come up with something magical in nature, so we were expecting someone like Zatanna or Dr. Fate."
"Oh uh, heh, right- well I'm pretty well-versed in magic myself- it's just not something I tend to advertise," he said as the pair passed through a metal detector, the Captain leaving out the part about the League not exactly sending him here at all, followed by the pair of armed guards.
"You don't have to explain anything to me, Captain, don't worry. I'm a fan- I meant it when I said it was a pleasure to meet you," Aman continued, making the larger man rub the back of his neck with a blush.
"The escape happened in cell 64A," he explained as they stepped into an elevator, the metallic doors sliding shut behind them.
"Who was in the cell?" Cap asked, Solomon already getting to work as the cogs in his mind began to turn.
The elevator doors opened and Aman led the Captain out, taking a manilla folder from another guard and opening it. "Morgaine Le Fay. She was a new arrival and we were just barely containing her power if I'm honest," he said, handing the file to Marvel. He scanned the information, continuing to follow Aman towards the cell.
He hadn't had a run-in with the villainess himself, but Marvel knew the League had encountered her before he'd joined them and that she was chaotic and destructive- lusting after eternal youth and immortality and not allowing anyone to get in her way.
A talented magician for sure, so it wasn't a surprise they had trouble keeping her there.
"Could she have managed to break herself out?" he asked as they turned a corner, closing the file and passing it off to a guard. Aman shook his head, though his motions were hesitant.
"She had an inhibitor collar on- it should have stopped any magic she could have conducted. We worked personally with Dr. Fate to ensure this, but..." Aman trailed off as they came closer to the cell. "There's always a chance," he said, looking at the cell in question.
Captain Marvel took the lead, passing by a couple of guards and scientists and walking into the cell itself- concrete walls, metal bars, a cot in the corner. It was a basic cell for a prison-like Belle Reve, but if a prisoner had an inhibitor collar on, this is the kind of cell that would be deemed necessary.
A foul, residual energy permeated the air around him, thick and rolling over the demigod in waves. It was old magic, the kind of old that only beings like the Wizard and the Gods gave off. Morgaine Le Fay may be the same Morgaine of Arthurian legend, but even she wouldn't have this kind of power- not without help.
"That rules out the solo escape..." he mumbled to himself, only to get a look from Aman. "Sorry," he said, giving the man a small grin. "The magical energy in this cell is too old, too- too arcane to be Morgaine's. She had to have had help in escaping."
"That reminds me- could you get something from the footage?" Aman asked, a hand shoved into his suit pocket.
Cap. thought it over for a moment before nodding. "Probably- but I have to hurry," he said. Zatanna would probably be here soon, and he really didn't need her questioning him about where he'd been.
Aman was handed a tablet and turned it around to show the demigod a loop of the Cell. Morgaine was pacing around the small space with a thick silver-colored collar around her neck, cursing the guards by the looks of it. She continued to pace back and forth around the cell before a sudden warble appeared in the footage. Captain Marvel saw what looked like a dark, deep violet tinted with gold aura surround the villainess, though she seemed to be unaware of it.
The footage fuzzed-out and warped for a moment, scrambling Morgaine's image. When it settled, the woman was gone. Captain Marvel narrowed his eyes at it, bringing a hand up to his mouth in thought. the magic was archaic for sure, that color set it in stone.
A golden tint to magic usually suggested ancient, divine magic, while a violet color usually meant the castor had an innate ability for it- that they didn't need spells to cast. Zatanna's magic tinted slightly purple at times, suggesting she had the capability of performing wordless magic, while Captain Marvel's own magic was a full and rich golden color- a reflection of the pantheon of gods that worked through him.
"Right- thank you, Aman. I'll have to get in touch with one of my occult friends, but I can promise you that I'll do my best to get Morgaine Le Fay back," he said, giving the man a grin.
"I have no doubt that you and the League will do your best," Aman replied.
"Wait, he's here?" a feminine voice said from down the hall, making the demigod tense.
"Well, I'm gonna get right on that. Thank you so much again, Aman," he said before throwing his hand out and opening a portal. On any normal day, this kind of thing would take quite a bit of power and wasn't really something he was very good at yet, but the portal led to the Rock Of Eternity; a place he'd been able to make a portal to since day one.
The portal glowed with golden light and he stepped through it just as the sound of heels came clicking into the room he and Aman were in.
"Captain, wait!" Zatanna's voice echoed through the portal as he leaped through, landing in the Rock of Eternity on the other side and sealing it up tight. Someone much more powerful (and much more Egyptian) than Zatanna could open the portal again and follow him, but since Adam was nowhere to be found and was the only other person able to re-open a portal to the Rock, the demigod let out a breath of relief when it closed.
"Yeah, I'm gonna pay for that," he said to himself, running a hand through his hair before turning on his heel and walking further into the multiverse's center of magic.
- - -
The room was dark. Old, dripping candles were lit sparsely around the area, set precariously on the edges of shelves, chairs, and floor. The various sources of light flickered around the two figures poised in the center of the dark room, casting long shadows that danced along the walls.
"Are you sure you're ready for this...?" the first figure asked, a dark cloak resting upon thick, dark locks serving to cast the figure's eyes into shadow.
"You insult me," the second figure replied, also draped in a dark cloak that concealed their eyes, though the flickering lights danced upon golden, metallic curves that poked out from under the velvet cloak.
"The price for this ritual is high, you realize," the first figure said, only to get a sneer from the second.
"With the gods of old, it always is."
The first figure rolled their shoulders. "Excuse me for wanting to make sure you wouldn't bail. She's been waiting for this plan to come to fruition for long enough."
"Yes, and why She lent you her power, I'll never understand."
"Bite your tongue, I'm just as skilled a sorcerer as you."
"You seem to believe so."
The first figure rolled their eyes. "Let's get on with this. Best to not keep her waiting."
- - -
Constantine had been at his desk for what felt like hours by this point, flipping through archaic books and old tomes in an attempt to find a solution to a particularly nasty possession in Suffolk.
The obvious solution was to get someone with access to divine magic to cast a banishing spell, but John didn't really have anyone like that at his disposal currently. The sun had been at its peak when he'd started, and was sitting on the horizon by the time he deemed it necessary to take a break.
That wasn't due to any moral obligation, though, but rather because he had a severe lack of caffeine and nicotine at his disposal and Chas was being a complete arse about bringing him any more.
The blonde stood and stretched, rubbing at his eye tiredly. There was a knock at the door, which was odd in itself since the House of Mystery was cloaked and Chas had a key. John rolled his eyes at the knocking and set a new pot under the coffee maker before heading towards the front door. He swung it open with a disgruntled look, only to have the annoyance vanish at the sight of a certain overly-muscular raven standing in the doorway.
"What, couldn't wait for me to come back to the rich bloke's place?" he asked, leaving the door open for Captain Marvel and heading back towards his brewing pot of liquid death. Marvel followed him in, hands fidgeting when John glanced back at him. The sight of the demigod reminded him of his squabble with the youngest Wayne, but he decided to keep quiet on that for now. The guy looked pretty upset.
"Alright, spill it kid," he said, grabbing a relatively clean mug from the sink and wiping it out with the edge of his shirt.
"Okay, so I went to Belle Reve since there was a breakout and the League thought that it might have been because of magic, right," Cap started off, rambling about his time in the max security prison. The demigod started to pace as he talked, and John watched him from his spot leaning against the counter.
"So I'm walking up to the cell that Morgaine Le Fay was in, which, amazingly, was just an ordinary cell, no extra wards or anything," he said, glancing at the blonde in exasperation, "-and I can feel this magical aura just permeating throughout the place. It was like a fog it was so thick, John, and when I looked at the footage, it was purple and gold. There was a tinge bit of green in there which didn't make a lot of sense but I- I just-" he let out a breath, running a hand through his hair.
"I had to get out of there pretty quick because Zatanna was about to show up and Solomon hasn't been able to come up with anything and I just--" the demigod looked frazzled, high-strung and panicked.
"Kid, breathe. Power down and take a seat. When was the last time you slept?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and raising a brow. The raven sputtered, shaking his head and continuing to pace.
"I uh- I slept last night, and I can't power down, this- this doesn't feel right. There's something going on here, John. I can't- I don't know what it is, but my gut tells me that something big is going on."
"Kid, your gut also tells you that it's a good idea to wear spandex and fight crime. I think that's a bit biased," John said, glancing back at the coffee pot when it began to beep. He grinned at the little machine and poured the black coffee into his mug, setting the pot back on its holder and glancing at the demigod.
"Okay, well, obviously not bein' able to come up with a solution is gettin' to you. Why don't you come help me with a possession in Suffolk, and then we can dedicate some time to figuring out whatever it is you're so worked up about," the blonde suggested, taking a sip of his coffee and melting at the hot bitter liquid hitting the back of his throat.
"I can show you how to do a proper banishing spell, and you can get rid of my little demon problem with that divine magic you got!" he said, remembering he had a big godly battery standing right in front of him.
Captain Marvel chewed on his bottom lip in thought, a habit John had seen the kid do plenty of times before, before meeting his eyes. "Alright- I should probably learn more occult magicks anyways," he said, setting his hands on his hips.
"But we'll have to be quick. I gotta be back at the manor before anyone realizes I'm gone."
"Atta lad, sparkplug- Lemme finish this and we'll head off. You can tell me why you're avoidin' Zee on the way," he said, smacking the demigod on the arm and walking further into the House of Mystery.
- - -