4 Chapter 3

MC POV. 3 years later. February 12, 2010.

3 years after I met Zatanna and things have been going well.

We even reached the point of giving each others nicknames, Dee for me and Zee for her. Though I can't be sure if she likes me, as I do, it doesn't mean that we don't care for each other.

Though my Tear Stigma still hasn't awakened yet, I'm currently working on a theory to practically activate it myself.

My grasp on Logomancy has risen. As well as some new magics that were taught to me by Xana.

"Etativel" I mutter silently, lifting myself upwards.

It turns out that intent, tone, pitch, and belief fuels the power of a Logomancer.

*whosh*

Of the 3 years past, my association with Zatanna has earned some very jealous suitors. The most dangerous of them all was my current target, Nick Necro.

A former disciple of Zatara and old crush of Zatanna, until I came along and revealed his true intentions to her. He only wanted to use her, to get the Books of Magic that her father had guarded.

*whosh*

I was currently chasing him around town, using magic along the way. Wearing a special outfit Xana had made just for me, as well as a pair of golden earrings she insisted I wear at all times.

"Idiot! Zatanna is foolish to associate with you!" Nick said. The guy was older than me by 4 years, yet he still chases after a 13-year-old girl.

"Quiet!" I aim my hand at him and shoot a sword construct that formed behind me.

Nick took the time to face my way and immediately conjured a magical shield to block.

*clang*

"Hmph! Energy constructs? Do you think that can do anything to New York's most powerful young warlock!?" he then shoot a few dozen Aldrich projectiles my way.

I didn't try to conjure a shield and just conjured a golden platform construct to step on, using it to maneuver around.

It was an aspect of training I had practiced to better prepare myself in case I needed to fight along with using magic. I had to exercise and spar with Asa to develop some real combat experience.

Plus it was a good way to develop some muscles, additional handsome points. I think...

"Give it up Nick! She'll never like you! And you will never get those books Zatara keeps. Fulgur! " I say as I shoot a bolt of lightning towards him.

The bolt struck him straight on, destroying his concentration. He then fell to the ground.

I followed him and prepared a spell.

"Looks like you lost Nick. Gotta say I was quiet-"

*KRZZT* *BANG*

Electricity exploded from him, I just had enough time to dodge the brunt of it. The electric shock still coursed through me despite it though.

"NO! NOTHING WILL KEEP ME FROM THOSE BOOKS! NOT HER, NOT ZATARA, AND CERTAINLY NOT AN AMATEUR MAGE LIKE YOU!" he screamed, arcs of electricity bounded from him scarred the surrounding area.

"Nick! You're overdoing it! STOP NOW!" I could see the effect his out-of-control magic had, it tore cement and disintegrated cars with a slight touch of electricity. This can't go on.

"HAHA! WHOSE WEAK NOW DANE!?" he points his hands my way, shooting a torrent of lightning bolts.

"Tcetorp me!" I muttered as the ground behind me moved and formed a globe around me.

As the lightning crashed on the globe, I could feel my eyes hurt and my body weaken.

I could hear Nick slowly come closer, the intensity of his attack start to crumble the globe.

Seeing no other choice, I readied a teleportation spell and opened a gap just above me.

"Etativel!" I mutter silently as I rushed myself upwards and out of the globe.

"Lanuae!" with the teleportation spell ready, I decided to appear right behind Nick.

However, Nick seemed to have noticed my teleportation as he suddenly faced me and attempted to shoot another barrage of lightning bolts my way.

The pain in my eyes began to worsen, just as I hoped. Just a little more...

I waited for the last moment to react, using the prepared spell I had kept and casting it on him. The pain in my eyes caused me to cry blood, but it went away not a second later.

I felt something change within me, a change I couldn't afford to explore right about now.

"Animalis Maledictum!" spell hit him, curbing his actions and stopping the attack spell. My spell quickly worked its way all over him, morphing his body into a shape that I set beforehand.

It was an Animal Transfiguration spell I had learned from Xana, which she was only too glad to teach and share her experiences on turning evil men into frogs or goats. My preference for animals however was different.

"Iimax!" I finished my spell.

I watched as Nick Necro slowly shrank, his skin turned slimy and slick, his limbs all shrank to his torso as it elongated, and his head smoothed out and mixed with the rest of the body. By the end of it, nothing remained of the man except for the clothes and items he wore.

I picked up the result, a small creature that is too gross and too slimy to hold. In short...I turned him into a slug.

I picked up his artifacts and burned the clothes before deciding to fly away. But not before checking myself in a mirror construct.

In it, I saw my usual blonde and red-eyed handsome face, but my eyes contained a faint teardrop shape in the middle. Along with mysterious symbols encircling the irises.

I finally had my Tear Stigma.

*ringing*

I felt my phone buzz, and when I opened it. Zatanna was calling.

"Hello?" I answered.

'Dee! Thank god! How'd it gone? Is Nick still around?' she asked.

"Hey, Zee. It's fine. Nick is currently finding ways to burrow himself underground" I reply, currently grasping the globe construct that housed worm, Nick.

'That's good! Are you hurt?' she asked in concern, making me smile.

"I'm okay. The whole thing was... an eye-opener for me" I replied.

'Hmm...I feel like that was a pun only you understood' she suspected.

"I have no idea what you mean. Anyway, I have to take care of a few things for today and maybe tomorrow. So, I wanna ask you out on a date on the 14th, interested?" I asked, feeling my heart suddenly pump harder now.

'Oh!...Dane. You know my father hates you, ever since that night at Carnegie Hall. But...Okay! Where do we meet?' she agreed, great relief and happiness grew in me.

"My House. 10 AM. I have a place in mind for our destination" I said.

'Okay then. Bye! Have fun!' she then disconnected the call.

"Oh, I will...Now, time for some magic! But first..." I turned and face the destruction Nick had caused.

"Erotser eht egamad enod!" I chanted, the words echoing.

Everything around me started to move as the once broken area now slowly restored itself to its former look. I couldn't restore the damaged cars as they were too burnt to have anything to start from so I just focused on the street and the buildings.

When it was done, I gave it a once-over before going to work.

I conjured a New York map construct on my left and chanted my spell.

"Etacol cigam sresu!" the spell made tiny red dots on the map, indicating the magic users I wanted to find.

My body's weakness continued to worsen as I used one spell after the other. So I decided to rest for the day and went home, still keeping the slig Necro in a construct until I get a more...permanent solution for him.

Both my moms were having to go through their usual routine when I asked them to demonstrate all the magic they taught me once again. Xana wondered why, but Asa immediately jumped at the chance.

"Look alive Dane! I'm about to show you my specialty!" she began to conduct a series of magical demonstrations.

It took me a while, but soon I managed to reuse that feeling in my eyes. Activating Tear Stigma as I stared at Asa do her magic.

Suddenly, I knew how she did it. From the way, her magic flowed into the spell to the intent she put in to make the effect precise. Everything was clear to me now.

"You're amazing mom! Thank you!" I clapped my hands and went in to hug her. Asa snuggled me into her breast once again.

"Hang on! I've yet to show mine. Watch Dane!" Xana butted in and began to demonstrate her magic.

Thus ended my day, in the company of my two beautiful mothers who were only too eager to show off to their only son.

The next day, I did a quick check on slug Necro and found him still in slug form. The transformation spell was meant as an active spell, requiring me to want to dispel for the slug to turn into Nick again.

Seeing him still locked, I went on my morning routine and used Tear Stigma to analyze the Tear Stigma using a mirror.

The information I got was, as expected, scary. The Tear Stigma was exactly like the one Ryner Lute had, having the ability to analyze and copy magic as well as a pair of offensive abilities.

The offensive abilities were lethal, and overusing them might paint me as a villain and attract some unwanted attention from the Light. So I decided to keep them as a last resort type of thing now.

With that out of the way, I dressed up and fly out. I quickly found out that I may have copies and understood magic, it doesn't mean that I could use them effectively in combat.

I had decided to go on the path of a Battlemage, using both magic and martial skill in battle. And I need battle experience, to do I need a villain to fight.

I went as far from the city as I could, in a large plain with nothing around but plant life.

I retrieved slug Necro and set him on the ground. I took a few steps back before dispelling the transformation spell.

"Ahhh! You...fucking-" Nick tried to say but I quickly used my Tear Stigma to shoot a single beam that burned a hole right through his right thigh.

*screams* *grunting*

"Nick, Nick. As much as I hate to admit it, you are powerful. As such, I need your help" I said.

*muffled grunting*

"Go to hell, Constantine!" he said, casting an ice spell on his thighs.

My Stigma was activated so I got the spell to use for myself, but I didn't stop him as he tried to heal himself.

"I don't think so. The other guy already went and it still didn't take" I shoot another beam and burned another hole on his other thigh.

*screams* *grunting*

"Fucking-"

"Gag mih" I chanted. His coat tore itself and wrapped over his head and mouth.

"I need your help. But I don't need your crappy voice to do it" I stated.

*muffled words*

He tried to talk, so I opened a slight gap on the gag to let him.

"What...what do you...want!?" he screamed as the pain course through.

I then cast my own, better, healing spell on both his thighs. Healing the wounds until only scars were left.

"I need you to fight me" I simply said.

He looked at me, confused. I didn't say anything as I readied myself.

"I remember these words from long ago. To become stronger, you must first defeat your own weaker self" I said.

A giant golden glyph appeared behind me, forming weapons constructs of every variety from it.

I pulled on the one nearest to me, a longsword, and pointed it at Nick.

"I guess you could say, that 'weaker' me is...you"

*KRAKAKOOM* *crackling*

Immense magical energies exploded from Nick, electricity shot from him in arcs that burned the grass below.

"WEAK!? HOW DARE YOU!!" he aimed both hands and shot a massive bolt of lightning my way.

"Typical," I said, making a gesture with my empty hand.

*wooh* *wooh*

The weapons behind me rushed towards him with great speed, attracting his attack like a lightning rod.

"Nommus cigam dleihs!" he chanted, forming a transparent shield around him.

*clang* *clang*

The weapons, despite being charged with lightning, harmlessly bounced off it. It didn't bother me, as I simply observed him with my Tear Stigma the entire time.

"Black Magic and Logomancy. Interesting, you seem to be more skilled at it than Zatanna" I commented.

"Flattery, Constantine? Do you think I'll spare you with that?" he haughtily replied.

"You misunderstand. As always. Anyway, let's continue" I conjured another massive sigil behind me, only this time I'm using chain constructs.

I hurl it at him, which he simply used his lightning to destroy them. But my chains were different from the swords earlier.

The destroyed chains disappeared in a golden haze and were immediately replaced with another. It shot forth once more, as did many others.

It was a spell I had designed to mimic the original Gilgamesh's Vault of Babylon and Enkidu's Chain of Heaven. The magic required to keep it up was surprisingly manageable.

I watched Nick rapidly move around, sometimes using a short-range teleport spell to get out of the way. But after a while, the chains eventually found him.

I coiled all over him, binding his limbs, torso, mouth, and even his head. He was then dragged towards me, still bound.

"That was an amazing display of spells, Nick. Had enough?" I asked.

*mumbled incoherently*

"Right. Right. Let's start again" I will the chains to throw him upwards and continue to fight.

Asa POV.

"Hmm... Where is he?" I looked around the house but Dane wasn't there.

I grew worried as noon approached, so I used the demon blood I had shared with him to track him.

I precisely gave it to him because I wanted to keep my eye on the boy. It also provided him with immunity to all types of human illnesses, an affinity towards the fire, and accelerated healing ability.

But that didn't stop me from insisting on completing his vaccinations. Better safe than sorry.

I closed my eyes and reached out towards my blood. I quickly found him just a few miles away from the city.

I cast a quick teleport spell and appeared just behind him.

He was currently crouched beside a Homo Magi I remember crossing paths with last year. Nick Necro.

The man was burned and blood stained his clothes. Dane was currently casting a healing spell on him.

"Dane? What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I found him spying on Zatanna's bathroom window, so I chased him down and we had a fight" he answered.

"A fight? And you won??" I asked in disbelief. Seeing his state, I didn't expect my 13-year-old to do that much damage to him.

"Barely. I discovered I could use fire magic. This one" he held out a hand and a small fire enveloped it.

I recognized it.

"Dane...that's Hellfire" I stated in shock.

"Hellfire...that sounds cool" he smiled.

I was about to say that only demons could conjure it but...I didn't. I don't want my boy to think that he was a freak.

"Well... let's get you home. I'll send Nick to the Justice League for imprisonment" I said.

"Oh, about the League. Mom..." he suddenly changed town, he wants something.

"What is it, Dane? You can tell me" I said.

"Well...I wanna join the Justice League" he answered.

Oh no...Xana is not gonna like this.