Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay helped John grab a few things. She grabbed her own bag, just shoving in a pair of jeans and spare t-shirt. She knew it was pointless taking much else as she didn't have much else. The only other important thing she had was already round her neck from earlier. If this was under any other circumstances, she may not have backed Jay up but now wasn't the time for all that. There were more important things to deal with.

She followed John out the apartment, hung back whilst he locked up the apartment and headed down to the cab, getting in in the back with John. If he wasn't so angry and heated she would have grabbed his hand to try and help him in some way but she knew it'd be pointless. She stared out the window but left one hand on the seat between her and John. She figured IF he needed to grab ahold of her, it was there, of not it just came across as a way of sitting in the back seat like she did any other time she was in Chas' cab.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas pulled up into the cab depot, that just so happened to be conveniently located next to the London building that served as the portal entryway to The Watchtower. Jay was the first out, By the time John was out and Chas had made it around to the boot, she had already grabbed two volumous backpacks and slung them over her shoulders. Chas grabbed a dark backpack, tossed it at John who caught it and put in on in one smooth motion. Chas carried his bag in one hand, it contained his shotguns, he wasn't taking any chances.

The four began to walk towards the entrance, Jay slipping on a pair of aviators, that somehow made her look even more badass than usual. It was like a scene from a movie, John and Jay in front, Chas and Kay behind. They had somehow fallen into a walk style somewhere between a saunter and a march. All that that was missing was an explosion in the background and some dynamic music.

Nobody attempted to stop them as they made their way towards the portal. They looked as if they belonged there. John's card was all they needed to gain access, sure there were bio scanners and gate analysis, but none of them would stop them. In a flash the group re-emerged on the space station and were faced with an incredibly beautiful view of the Earth. John looked at the three of them. "Stay out my way and out of view when I'm bollocking these guys, they aren't used to the truth."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay got out the cab and slung her backpack satchel on her back instead of the usual one shoulder. She walked beside Chas behind Jay and John and went along with everyone else. The look of the four of them didn't go unnoticed to her but she didn't care.

Stepping through she took in the view of earth to acknowledge she wasn't down there anymore. If she wasn't pissed that Elliott was taken, she would have paid more attention. When John turned to the three of them and told them to stay out of view and out his way, every fibre in her being wanted to protest but her head knew better, so she just nodded silently. She knew deep down if he needed backup, he'd call for it and they'd all be there in a flash.

"Give them hell but come back to us", she thought to herself.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay nodded, touching two fingers to her forehead in a sort of salute gesture. There was no malice or mocking in the gesture. With that John strode towards the double doors that marked the entrance to the main meeting room. Jay pulled out a camera "there is no way I'm missing this opportunity" she explained as she followed John. Chas stood at one side of the door with Kay, while Jay took the other side.

With one kick, John smashed the doors on, his fury taking itself out the wood. He had no superhuman strength, but the anger surging through him meant that the wood around the lock splintered away. Every head in the room turned to face him, their faces conveying a while range of emotions. "Do you arseholes have any bloody idea what you've just done?" He seethed, not shouting, but not speaking at normal volume either. His anger was a heavy presence descending on the room.

The majority of the room had moved backwards, their instincts telling them that an angry John Constantine was not somebody to be around. The only exception was Batman, who stood his ground and stared him out. "I tried to persuade them other wise, but since he volunteered, there was nothing to be done." John knew Wayne was telling the truth, he did after all know about Elliott, and would keep his secret, so long as John kept his identity a secret. "And theses arseflaps didn't do anything to stop it?" A shake of the masked head.

John turned and glared at the table of League members, some of them noticeably shrinking under his gaze. "You people disgust me. You didn't even stop to think did you? No, why would you? The easy way presents itself up on a platter and you grab it with two hands and don't even bother to check if the stories pan out. " "I'm guessing you are here about the mage? The criminal is already on his way to Attil as we speak. He'll face trial and their justice there. We've done nothing wrong Constantine"

Wrong move.

(last post, I'll do up John's big speech for tomorrow, I'm going to be a bit of a perfectionist about it)

 

[MzHyde]

Kay followed and then hid next to Chas on the side lines. She watched as John just kicked in the door, knowing she had never seen him this angry beforehand. Not to this extent. Yet she didn't blame him for this angry, she knew it was warranted.

She listened in on what was being said between John and everyone in the room. The moment they said they did nothing wrong, she knew that would tip John over the very very thin edge he was balancing on in this moment in time. It even made her seethe hearing it, to the point her fist clenched. She had no plans to disobey John and show herself, but a clenched fist did help to control her own anger.

 

[_gallifrog_]

If anybody had thought that John couldn't get any angrier, they were completly and utterly wrong. He could get angrier, much, much angrier. His anger was a presence, very much alive and weighing down on everybody in the room. John was known for challenging almost every Justice League member and complaining about any decisison they had made. But this.....this was different. His anger was all consuming, coursing through every fibre of his body. This was animal anger, a feral force that couldn't be contained.

"You've done everything wrong" John shot back "and yet you still have absolutely no idea about anything. You call yourselves heroes, you claim to be fighting for the little guy, for the people unable to stick up for themselves. " he fixed Superman with a gaze, singling him out for the next comment, which was delievred with venemous acidity "peace, Justice and the American way."

"Maybe at the start you actually were, but now that's nowhere near the truth. All that matters to you is your image, your reputation. You believe that just because a way is your way, it must be the right way. You want the whole world to dance to your tune. I don't call that a hero, that right there is a dictator. Look at yourselves, sitting up here in your pressurised bubble, so far removed from everything that is going on below. Judging the world from above like some kind of malevolant deity, yet not actually doing anything. You only fight when it suits you, and blame others when it goes wrong."

"You look down your noses at people like me, the gutter fighters who were brought up the hard way. Those who had to use every ounce of their smarts, because life didn't grant us super strength, eye lasers, millions of dollars to finance your night time vigilantism or enchanted rings created by futuristic civilastions. You simply expect us to back down at your superiority. To bow and scrape at your command."

"Well I'm standing here, a British bastard out of the grottiest streets and the darkest alleys, a con man, a manipulator, a thief with innocent blood on my hands calling your bullshit. I'm not letting this go, I'm not backing down. You're little better than a bunch of kids.You've never experienced the true darkness of the world, you've only had the faintest of glimpeses of the ugliness that lurks beneath. You don't bother to try and look through the outer shell to the rotteness beyond."

"You didn't even bother to question why a mage, with a kill or capture bounty on his head, who has succesfully eluded capture for over a decade suddenly decides to hand himself in? You didn't ask why he looked like he'd just been beaten up, and why he hadn't bothered to magic away the black eye, one of the simplest magic uses there is. You didn't question it, a thing you criticise me for doing. You just took it at face value, taking the easy way out. Another thing you spend all your time criticising me for doing. You should be ashamed of yourselves"

"This mage, he has a name. And I suggest you bloody well learn it, because that name will be your downfall. It is that name that will haunt your every waking moment and it will be the name that mars your dreams. It is the name that you will wake up screaming in the middle of the night, as if acknowledging it too late will change the facts. It will be the name that you will never forget as long as you live - Elliott Zachariah Quinn."

"You think that he will face justice?" John began to pace around the table, his coat flapping behind him. "You think he will get fair trial? Everybody could see just how deadly serious he was, just how much steel, venom and deep burning anger was in his voice. "You think that the Devra will show any kind of mercy to him? You think that they actually care about him?" Looks were exchanged between the members, uncertain of where he was going with this. "Let me answer that for you, they don't. I'm guessing none of you stopped to do the maths, to actually use your brains for once in your life. They've been after him for twelve, almost thirteen years, yes?" Hesitant nods.

"And that would make him ten, eleven when they started persuing him." Realisation started to dawn on faces. "Exactly. What kind of kid that age can commit a crime awful enough to put a captire or kill warrant on his head? None, because he's a bloody exile!" John slammed his hands down on the table. Hard. "They cast him out, flinging him into the void of space in a prison cell of ship with no care as to whether he lived or died."

The alien mebers of the league blanched, most having experienced alien standard prison ships and long duration spaceflight, Superman in particular losing his usually tanned complexion and turning a shade of white not far off paper. "They cast him out because he was a mage! Because he had an ability they couldn't control, couldn't counteract, couldn't exploit. Not to mention the Devra are one of the most magic racist beings to ever exist."

"You think he'll get off lightly? You think he'll be allowed to continue living his life with some kind of dignity No, he won't. They are going to do what they would have done all those years ago." John paused long enough to look them all in the eyes, his icy eyes penetrating right into their souls, before he delivered the next blow. "They are going to kill him. They will kill him and make him suffer through every minute of it. They will rip him apart. And his blood will be on your hands.Your hands. Not mine. Yours. You sentenced him to this fate. I bloody hope it was worth it."

(That took far longer than I expected, but I'm happy with it, I have one more bombshell for him to drop on them before he waltzes out trenchcoat billowing in non-existant wind.)

 

[MzHyde]

( haha a good read though!! )

Kay listened in on what John was saying. She may not be able to see what he was doing but she damn well feel it, just from his tone it was obvious he was pacing and giving them hell. Just like she WANTED him to. If they knew about her, she would have joined him in scolding the lot of them. John knew how she felt about Elliott even if she didn't know the full story...until now of Elliott's past.

Hearing the full truth for the first time made her more angry at the League. Though she felt not all this anger was her own. No...it definitely wasn't all her own. She glanced down and her bond sigil on her wrist was flickering in a faint glow but it burned, a tiny logo that symbolises John appearing on the chain part of their bond. It dawned on her then, that if roles were reversed he'd get a logo symbolising her on his. She could take the burn due to her bloodline but she knew in that moment, their bond made them feel each others' greatest emotions. She was sharing his anger and pain. She quickly pulled down her jacket sleeve over her wrist to hide it. They didn't need yet another topic to deal with right now. This bond was between her and John.

 

[_gallifrog_]

He let the facts sink in, giving them a little time to stew in their emotions, to realise just how badly they had fucked up, how they had fallen so low, that it was John Constantine who had to point it out to them. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." he said, his voice lower, darker and more mocking, but none the less audible to everybody. "If it was me wanting to sacrifice one life for the 'greater good' then you'd be condemning me for it, and doing everything you could to find another way to prove me wrong. But now the roles are reversed, proving you to be the hypocrites I always knew you were. And now I have to give you the bollocking that nobody else in this bloody organisation has the balls to do."

He glared at them for the hundredth or so time, a look that had not lost it's effect through out the entire speech. "and since between you there only seems to be about six brain cells between you, and only one decent poker face." a gesture at Batman, who was the only one able to mask his inner thoughts the entire time. "I'll tell you what you want to know. It's written all over your faces. You want to know why I of all people care about this"

He reached the head of the table, the Leaguers who had already been standing there moving out of the way. John was untrustworthy at best, but right now he was enraged and would not hesitant to dispense violence on anyone who tried to cross him. "This mage, that you just all but sentenced to death, you know him as Elliott Quinn, or maybe even his alien birth name. He has another name" he paused partially for effect, partially to steel himself for what he was about to do. "Elliott Constantine."

Cue shock, horror and looks of "oh shit, what have we done?" "You arseholes just sentenced my adopted kid to his death. Bloody well done. Now I'm off to steal one of your ships, fly to an alien planet and get him back, possinly starting an intergalactic war in the process. In other words I'm doing your job for you. And if he dies, if anything at all happens to him, it is on you." With that he strode towards the door, his trenchcoat flapping behind him, his shoes deliberatly beating the tiled floor hard and clear, leaving the room in stunned silence.

Jay tucked the camera away and headed towards the hangers

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was left speechless and breathless after he said what he did. It took a lot for him for to say that, to admit to the league who Elliott. It would take alot for anyone to say that in this instance, she knew deep down John would be no different.

As he left the room and she saw Jay stop recording and put her phone away she followed close by with her, John and Chas. Even if she had words to say, she knew now was not the time to say. So she followed silently. She also was aware that if this happened when she was younger, she no doubt would have stormed up to one of them, slapped or punched them hard in the face before she stormed off. Luckily for everyone and her, she was older and wiser.

"I have no idea if you'll feel this John, but I'm bloody proud of you" she thought, discreetly running her thumb over where their bond is on both of them.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay took the lead, when they reached the large metal doors she punched in the correct code first time. When Chas gave her a "how do you know that code?" look she just shrugged "I hacked this place" like it was no big deal, before enetering the hanger.

A wide grin spread over her face upon seeing the vast hanger space, and the wide variety of sleek spaceships. "oh yes, this is what I'm talking about." she muttered to herself. Already she was evaluating each and every ship factoring in distance, speed, style, armour, weaponry and space.

The decision was made quickly, she knew the craft when she saw it. It was maybe twenty metres long and sleek, covered in pannels that interlocked together like snake scales of bird feathers when folded back. It had wings like a fighter plane, which folded back against the hull. By the time Chas and John caught up with her, she was already up in the cockpit running through pre-flights checks.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay followed and when Jay said about hacking the place she was not in the slightest bit surprised. She too was impressed by the hanger space and amount of ships they had. She knew the League had money but this was utterly insane to her.

She stayed nearer Chas and John and made their way to Jay's chosen ship for the flight, seeing her doing the pre flight checks. The inside of the ship was just as impressive to her as the outside and the realisation of where she was was still partially kicking in. Oh how her life had changed dramatically. She knew if she was still in contact with Sam, she wouldn't believe her for a second.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Chandler, I'm going to teach you to fly a ship" Jay called down as soon as the cabbie stepped foot in the ship. "Heading up now kid." Her bags were already hanging from purpose-built hooks on the wall, that meant they wouldn't fall off and brain anybody during crazy arial manoevers. "Hang the bags on the hooks, then strap in." Chas hung his up on the hooks, before climbing up to the cockpit.

John copied him, then followed up, and took a seat on the main deck, strapping himself in. Jay was already explaining the basics rapid fire, Chas nodding intently. The cockpit was similar to that of a plane.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay followed through and hung the bags up just as instructed. She then sat in the remaining seat, strapping into the seat that was next to John. She couldn't resist listening in on Jay explaining the controls to Chas before giving John a glance to check on him.

She was worried about him greatly, but more worried about Elliott for obvious reasons. Though she kept hope they could get to him and bring him home. Glancing downward she kept quiet, still figuring out if there was anything she could say to John.

Coming up with nothing, she just stretched her arm across and touched his arm in a reassuring manner.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was mainly tech stuff, what does what, what to keep an eye on, what could be ignored if necessary. She was teaching him the launch baiscs, as that was the first thing they'd have to do. He was after all only co-pilot, but having another pair of eyes did help. "I'll teach you properly once we're on our way, but for now, you'll be just fine." she finished

She beagn to flick switches, the rocket engines rumbling into life, sending small vibrations through the whole ship. They rose in intensity as the ship strained to let all the power loose. At the right moment Jay slammed the throttle forwards, hard, opening the engines.

And with that the ship jumped fowards, streaking away from the Watchtower, the g-force pressing them all back into their seats. Chas and Jay fought it, keeping the ship under control. But eventually they levelled off, the thrust was reduced, and Jay engaged some form of auto pilot, herself and Chas swinging around to face them. Nobody was quite sure how to break the silence.

 

[MzHyde]

Like the others, Kay didn't know how to break the silence either. She looked between Chas and Jay seeing if they knew but then she remembered how John always told her things he bottled up to everyone else. Could their bond really help in this instance? Could it help at all? She didn't know but she had to try. She gave them both a look that said 'give me a minute, I have an idea'.

She turned to John, giving his shoulder a squeeze. She wondered if he could feel her concern for him through their bond like she felt his anger earlier. It was worth a shot. She put all her emotions into their bond, she figured it'd have to be powerful enough for if to transfer between them, like his anger was earlier. She also tried opening up all her ability to calm him through their bond sigil.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was in a better frame of mind than he had been earlier. Turns out ranting at and insulting the Justice League was an excellent de-stresser. He could feel Kay's attemps to calm him through the bond which were helping. It wasn't a strong connection, he had no idea just how much of his anger had transfered to her earlier.

Jay broke the silence first. "There's one for each of us, hopefully it'll explain this mess.....somewhat." She didn't sound very certain, not having watched any of them yet. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out four USBs, holding them flat out on the palm of her hand. Each had a tag and a name label on it.

 

[MzHyde]

She hoped it worked, but she was aware of how his breathing had changed from when he was angry to now. For that, she was thankful. She definitely decided she had to work on and research about this new thing to make it stronger as she guessed it'd no doubt come in handy in the future. She also began to wonder what else the bond could mean for the two of them and do.

She looked at Jay when she eventually spoke and pulled out the USBs, each with their names on. This piqued her interest greatly and took the one addressed to her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John took his, as did Chas, both recognising Elliott's handwriting on the tag. "I don't know what's on these, but since he went to the effort of personalising the sticks, I'd say the messages are personalised too......so I'd recommend viewing them alone first." she added, her hand curling around the drive. Her tone very much implying that she really did not want to be the one giving them the USBs.

Chas nodded and descended, heading to one of the sections in the nose cone of the ship. There he sat down and plugged in the drive and earphones to his phone and hit play. Jay wasn't going to leave the cockpit, so John headed down too, for once checking to see if Kay was following.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded at Jay's words. She guessed that Elliott would want them to be heard privately if they were personalised. She let Chas walk passed her and John and then let John get up next.

She unbuckled and got up after and followed, seeing that John waited for her. He rarely did that to her so it was greatly noticable in her eyes. "I'm coming" she confirmed, descending with him, holding her usb tightly in her grip. She couldn't imagine what Elliott had to say to her that he'd want to even make a usb for her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John waited for Kay at the bottom of the ladder. "He planned this while thing, this" he waved the USB "only confirms it." Like Kay, and Chas, and even Jay, he was curious as to what exactly Elliott had recorded. He had a feeling he knew why the messages were recorded, Elliott would never have been able to say to him or Chas that he was going to hand himself over to the people who had ruined his life. Plus John knew he would have totally lost it.

With all three firmly out of the way, Jay put on her headset and inserted the USB into the side. The data key was universal, it could reshape itself slightly in order to fit into almost any device. Her hands were shaking slightly as she pressed play

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded in agreement. "Not that we had any doubt before." She replied. "But yeah.. it does confirm it." She added. She hoped whatever was in Jay's, that she'd be okay. She could tell Jay felt strongly for Elliott, just he did for her. This must have been eating her up as much as it was John.

Sighing, she looked at John as Chas listened to his. "Let's just hope this gives answers enough to understand why he's done this." She said one last time. Kay then lastly, gave John a comforting hug with one arm, leaning into him from the side. They had to figure this out and help Elliott, she didn't think her new family would cope if they didn't succeed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John nodded and wrapped one arm around her, hugging her briefly. He was going to follow Jay's advice and listen to it alone, he was in no doubt that his would be personal. He broke away and found another corner of the hold to listen in. He sat himself down on a supply crate, plugged in and pressed play.

Kay's video was about three minutes. The Elliott in the clip had a black eye, and it was being filmed on the roof of John's apartment block. "Kay, first off, I'm sorry that you're going to get dragged through the shit show that is my life. I can't expect you to fully understand why I'm doing this, or why I'm going to be putting John and Chas through this crap. I have no idea how much of my life story you know by now, but it's all gonna come flooding out over the next while. What happens next... it's not going to be easy... on any of us. There are two pieces of advice I'm going to give you. I would say try and keep John sane and stop him from doing stupid crap, but, we both know that's not gonna happen and that Chas is better suited to that role, bond or no bond. I'm asking you to be there for him, don't force anything out of him, he'll just clam up further. Another thing, if Jay and John do start trying to beat the crap out of each other, get them apart immediately. They could and would kill each other, especially after the whole punching me in the face ruse. The two of them are more alike than they would like to believe"

He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair before continuing. "As for why I'm doing this? I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago- refusing to let my life be dictated by a bunch of arseholes millions of millions of miles away. I'm making a stand, and I'm doing it my way. By surrendering, I've rattled the cage and caught their attention. If you can't beat the odds, change the game."He smirked slightly, before ending the recording.

(last post)

 

[MzHyde]

She knew the hug would be brief but they both needed it. When he let go and went to his spot, she did the same thing. She perched on a different crate and pressed play after plugging in and putting headphones on.

The moment she saw the state of him she knew instantly when he did this. The night they came home and they watched TV whilst he went on the roof. She couldn't believe he made them believe he was doing music related things up there. That almost family moment they had when he got back in meant so much to her now.

She couldn't help but smirk when he mentioned about John and doing stupid shit. Even she knew he was right there. She'd never get in the way of his and Chas' friendship, Elliott didn't need to worry about that. The moment he mentioned bond, she knew John told him everything. As for John and Jay, she could definitely do that if it came to it. She didn't care who Jay was, she'd protect John til her last breath.

When it came to his reasons for doing this, she honestly saw his point of view. But she was still mad at him for it. What she wasn't expecting though was the last line. That shocked her to her core. Could he have been that masked figure that saved her ass? Did he have anything to do with that? He had to have done, it was no coincidence that two people in the space of 24hours used that same line.

When it ended, she removed her headphones. Still taking it all in, then it all started replaying in her mind. The saying, John being called GJ.... "The son of a bitch" she breathed out. If what she was thinking was right, then she honestly thought Elliott would be okay.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Needless to say, Chas and John had longer messages than she did. Chas's finished first. He sat there for maybe a minute after the clip ended, just mulling everything over. He then pulled off his headphones, shook out his head a couple of times, then said, more to himself than anybody else. "Really Ell? Quoting Six of Crows? Sure it's an excellent read, and a very applicable quote, but what ulterior motive do you have?" He mused aloud, as if the stick would hold an answer.

John ended up listening to his twice, there was a lot to take in. He too had realised that when Elliott had said he was 'recording', he didn't actually mean music. So, it wasn't a lie as such, more of a let people assume what they want to assume type of thing. A thing John himself had done many times. He pulled off the headphones "He's either a bloody genius or an idiot with a death wish. But either way, he's damn well got balls for doing this."

 

[MzHyde]

She looked between the two of them to see their reactions to their recordings. She guessed Elliott used the same quote he had in hers to Chas. "He used the 'if you can't beat the odds, change the game' line in yours too huh?" She spoke up to Chas when he reacted to his recording.

When John finally took his headphones off and reacted she had to agree with him. Of course, she didn't know what was said in his recording but it was obvious by all their recordings Elliott was definitely scheming something. "I think he'll be okay..." She started to say, "just hear me out. It's a crazy theory but when is anything not insane with us. Anyway... The use of the book quote makes me believe this is probable." She said, before turning to John, "back at my home, that Masked person that came in and helped you save my ass. They used that exact same quote and I don't think for a second that's a coincidence. We've already between us they're from some future right? Right, so add those two together with Elliott using the quote AND the fact they said 'they told me you both would be like this'. Thet were warned by people who clearly know us well." She took a breath before continuing, "Now here comes the mind blown bit...thinking it all over and adding the bit where they called GJ? I think I know what it means...I think it stands for 'granddad John'. If that's the case, then he has to get out of this. It's a clue he'll be okay" she finally finished expressing her theory.