The smoke still lingered in the air like a bad memory.
Chunks of concrete were scattered across the ground, glass shards twinkled under the morning sun, and the once-cozy neighborhood bar now looked like it had hosted a heavyweight match between gods and monsters.
Didi stood silently amidst the wreckage, her expression unreadable. Her long dark coat fluttered gently in the breeze as she surveyed the remains of the home she had quietly made here. The wooden frame splintered like bones, the bar counter reduced to firewood, the neon sign hanging at a pathetic tilt.
She sighed, and from behind her, footsteps crunched against debris.
A familiar voice followed, laced with sarcasm and irritation. "What the hell happened here?"
Didi turned to see a man with tousled blonde hair and the weariness of too many lifetimes strolled toward her, cigarette dangling from his lips. He wore a yellow trench coat, the kind that had seen better years, and a scowl that never quite left his face.
"Hi, John," she said with a small smile. "Nice to see you."
John didn't return the smile. He waved the smoke from his face and snapped, "Forget the greetings. What the hell happened to the bar? I came here for a drink to get rid of this damn headache."
Didi arched a brow. "The bar's gone, obviously. Leveled. And here I thought you might be more concerned about my well-being."
John gave a short laugh, dry and low. "If Death herself is in trouble, love, then this entire bloody universe might as well start writing its will. I'm just trying to numb my head before the end."
Didi let out a light chuckle, a soft, melodic sound that somehow didn't match the carnage around them. She glanced at the smoldering rubble. "Anna is taking care of the guy who did this."
John blinked. "Anna…?"
Before Didi could reply, a faint tremor pulsed through the ground—subtle, but unmistakable. Dust shifted. A car alarm wailed a block away.
John's expression darkened. "Anna," he repeated, squinting as he processed the name. "The girl from the other reality."
Didi watched him silently as John shoved his hands into his coat pockets and exhaled smoke into the air. "Figures. I step out for one damn day and this place goes to hell. Literally."
He turned began walking away as casually as he had arrived.
"See you later, John Constantin," Didi called after him, teasing.
Without looking back, he raised a hand and said, "It's Constantine, love. Rhymes with 'wine'. You know that."
But his mind was already elsewhere. 'Anna Marie."
He remembered the day he met her like it was yesterday.
He knew then—she didn't belong in this dimension. In this reality.
So he struck up a conversation, casual, effortless. John Constantine had made it an art to make people talk without ever feeling interrogated.
Anna didn't say much at first. Eventually, she let slip Ethan's name.
Ethan Carter. Or, as the news liked to call him, Aeon.
A man with no background, no past—suddenly appeared in alien invasion and then in Washington D.C.
Later he found Aeon biotech firm in the world practically overnight. The media fawned over his charisma, his mysterious origins, his innovations.
But John wasn't fooled by charm.
No one builds a company like that unless they've got power. And Ethan? He wasn't just powerful. He was otherworldly.
John had been observing him from the shadows—carefully, subtly. But he knew information on Ethan was limited. So he'd taken the alternate route. He befriended Anna.
Gain her trust. Learn what they were planning.
Because whether they were saints or monsters, people like that didn't just land in a world like this without purpose.
As he walked down the broken alley, ash rising from burning wood, he paused at the edge of the street and lit another cigarette.
He took a drag, then exhaled smoke like a sigh.
The question is... what the hell are they planning to do in this reality?
John narrowed his eyes and his gaze heavy as he stared up into the sky where the battle had raged.
One thing was certain—he was going to find out.
------------
Meanwhile, on the other side.
A blast of dust erupted from the rubble as Anna dragged herself out of the crater in the side of the building. Her brows were furrowed, and her lips curled into a snarl. She launched into the air with a furious glare in her eyes, zeroing in on her target like a missile.
Lobo barely turned before she closed the distance between them—her fist swinging with feral force—but he caught her by the throat mid-swing.
With a chuckle, he slammed her into the concrete.
BOOM.
The impact cracked the earth and sent out a brutal shockwave. Anna gritted her teeth beneath his grip, coughing as dust coated her face.
Lobo grinned, lowering his face toward hers. "What's wrong, little lady? Main man got your tongue?"
Before Anna could respond, a blue-and-red blur streaked down from above.
Superman.
Hovering silently beside Ethan moments before, he'd seen enough and decided to intervene.
With a burst of speed, he grabbed Lobo and carried him skyward—far from the civilians, far from the shattered buildings. Somewhere he could finally stop holding back.
Lobo laughed mid-flight, clearly enjoying himself.
But then, without warning, he reached into his vest and pulled out a glowing green ring. With a wicked smirk, he clamped it against Superman's face. "Catch, Boy Scout."
The ring glowed ominously.
Superman's eyes widened. 'Kryptonite.'
Lobo used the same tactic to beat him earlier—he removed the ring after weakening him, waited for his opponent to regain some strength, and then used the ring again to weaken him.
A moment later, a punch drove deep into his gut, and Superman flew back, smashing through a skyscraper with a thunderous crash.
Back on the ground, Ethan descended gently beside Anna, who had managed to stand again, brushing debris from her arms. She looked more annoyed than injured.
"You alright?" he asked, teasing lightly as he surveyed the destruction.
Anna shot him a side glance, arms crossed. "Oh, I'm peachy."
He gestured around the devastated street. "Next time you throw a punch, maybe check your surroundings first. Honestly, you caused more damage than Lobo."
Anna groaned, turning to take in the carnage. Flattened vehicles, shattered storefronts, cracked pavement.
"Ugh… I know, Dr. Carter. No need to lecture me. I'll be careful. Next time, I'll beat the crap out of him somewhere else."
Ethan smiled faintly. "Congratulations, by the way."
She blinked. "For what?"
He raised his hand, and an orange arcane circle shimmered into existence over his palm.
"You made your first superhero entrance… in jeans and a hoodie. At least learn from me—I was dressed decently when I fought Darkseid."
With a flick of his wrist, magic pulsed out toward her.
Her clothes began to glow, morphing into a new form.
Gone was the casual streetwear. In its place was a battle-ready outfit: a snug, tactical bodysuit in bold shades of green and yellow, with black accents tracing the contours of her frame. Brown leather boots reached her calves, and matching gloves hugged her hands—though the right one remained half-pulled off.
A short, olive-green jacket with a high collar rested atop her shoulders, the sleeves rolled up for mobility. A belt with small capsules and tech attachments circled her waist, and her auburn hair fluttered as if charged by her own energy.
Anna looked down at herself and grinns. "Now that's more like it," she said before cracking her knuckles. "Don't worry—I'll drag him into the Mirror Dimension and teach him some manners."
Ethan stepped closer and placed a warm hand on her head, ruffling her hair gently.
"That's my girl. And don't worry—Superman and I already evacuated the civilians. As for the damages…" He shrugged. "I'm sure the local playboy in black tights will foot the bill. After all, this is his city, right?"
Anna raised an eyebrow. "You really think Bruce is gonna cut a check for this?"
"I think," Ethan said with a wink, "he already has."
His expression turned serious as he stepped back. "Use your full power, Anna. Otherwise, you won't be able to stop him."
Her grin faded as she nodded. "Understood."
With that, she shot into the sky like a missile, a booming crack following her ascent.
Up above, things were going from bad to worse.
Superman crashed into Metropolis's main street, carving a deep trench in the pavement. People screamed and ran, but the evacuation efforts had already cleared most of the zone.
He succeeded in making Lobo leave Gotham, but he ended up bring him to Metropolis instead.
Lobo, now riding his signature space-hog motorcycle, whistled and puffed on his cigar. From a compartment under the seat, he pulled out a weapon that looked like a cannon mated with a car battery.
With a pull of the trigger, streams of crackling electric eels surged from the weapon, zapping across Superman's body.
The Man of Steel growled and retaliated with a burst of heat vision, burning the eels to ash mid-air.
But Lobo was already leaping down.
He landed on Superman's chest and began pounding his face in, one blow after another while wearing Kryptonite ring. Shockwaves cracked windows and toppled light poles.
"Come on!" Lobo snarled. "You're supposed to be the strong one! Even the little girl gave me more fight than you!"
Superman coughed blood, and Lobo grinned savagely.
He grabbed the Kryptonian's cape, spun him like a discus, and flung him back into a crumbling parking tower.
As he walked back to his bike, ready to take out his gun, but before he could a Sonic boom echoed from the sky.
BOOM.
Anna descended at sonic speed, a red and gold streak of fury.
She aimed for his jaw. But Lobo was ready.
He ducked, grabbed her arm mid-swing, and delivered a brutal counter-punch to her face that sent her spiraling backward into the asphalt.
Crumpled, but not broken, she coughed and wiped blood from her lip.
Lobo tossed his cigar and ground it under his heel. "Had hopes for you, kid," he said before cracking his knuckles. "Took a few hits to see if you were worth my time. Guess not."
He marched to his bike, pulled a mounted laser cannon free, and leveled it at her chest.
"You're nothing but a loud little girl in tight clothes."
The cannon hummed.
Anna's eyes glinted. And then she smiled.
Slowly, she pulled off her gloves—revealing her bare hands and before Lobo could react, she reached up and touched his arm.
A spark shot through his body.
"What the—?"
Anna twisted his arm, aimed the cannon skyward, and let it fire into the clouds.
Lobo blinked, stunned, then looked at her grinning face.
"Now," she said, her voice low and steady, "let me show you what I'm really made of."
Lobo dropped to his knees, the cannon in his hand clattering uselessly to the ground as his body began to tremble. Veins pulsed violently across his skin, bulging with unnatural strain.
Anna stood above him, her hand still gripping his arm as her power worked through him like a siphon. She could feel it coursing into her—the raw, brutal energy of an immortal being. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"He's… immortal?" she muttered under her breath, blinking as she tried to process the scope of power she is absorbing. 'No wonder his power felt so endless.'
A shadow moved above, and Superman descended from the sky, landing nearby. Though wary, he kept a safe distance—Lobo still wore that cursed Kryptonite ring, which weakened him even from afar.
Anna's eyes flicked to the ring as she absorbed the last vestiges of Lobo's strength. Just before reaching deeper into his memories, she suddenly kicked him squarely in the chest. The force launched him backward, slamming him and his bike through the side of a nearby building.
Superman landed softly beside Anna. He gave her a polite nod. "Thank you, Miss…?"
Anna smiled and flicked some hair from her face. "You can call me Rogue."
Superman tilted his head, slightly amused. "That's… a very unique name."
"Tell me about it," she replied, crossing her arms as if daring anyone to make fun of it.
Moments later, Ethan landed nearby, his coat fluttering slightly in the breeze. Anna gave him a smug look, silently demanding praise for her victory.
But Ethan didn't respond the way she expected. He glanced at the smashed building, then at the fallen debris around them. "You should really make sure your enemy is down before celebrating."
As if on cue, a loud blast thundered from the dust-filled street. Smoke billowed out, but the trio didn't flinch. When the dust cleared, Lobo stood atop his bike again, holding a massive cannon over one shoulder.
"I knew he had a regenerative factor," Anna muttered annoyingly. "But he bounced back fast—even after I drained nearly all his life energy."
Lobo grinned, "You're not the first one to try draining me, girl. But I gotta say… I'm impressed with your sucking technique."
Ethan arched a brow. "That's... disturbingly specific."
Anna winced. "Yeah, that sounded way creepy."
Lobo's grin widened, his teeth gleaming like fangs in the low light. Oh, you wanna hear somethin' creepy? he drawled, "When I was with a Almerican whore once, I cut my dick off and pushed it in her asshole."
Superman's jaw dropped, "You… what?"
"You should've seen the look on her face!" he howled, "Then, get this—my dick grew back, and I fucked her raw in both holes at the same time."
Anna recoiled, her hand flying to her mouth. She hissed, "There's something seriously wrong with you."
"Nah, I'm just messin' with ya," he said, his voice dropping to a low rumble. "But you should've seen the look on your faces. Priceless."
Superman had enough of this and stepped forward, "Alright, enough games. This is your last chance, Lobo. Leave now, or things escalate."
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You're giving him another chance?"
Lobo chuckled, taking a drag from a fresh cigar. "And who are you supposed to be, mister?"
"Doctor," Ethan replied dryly.
Lobo blinked. "Mister Doctor?"
Before the banter could continue, Anna shot forward with blazing speed, driving a fist into Lobo's jaw. He flew backward—but not before planting a sticky bomb on her torso. It exploded mid-air.
When the smoke cleared, Anna hovered unharmed—her clothes slightly singed, but her expression full of rage. "That's it."
She flew down and landed gracefully in front of Lobo, who was lying battered on the ground. Without hesitation, she reached out and touched his hand once more, beginning to absorb the remnants of his power.
She knew he'd recover eventually—Thanks to his immortality. But Anna also knew that if she maintained physical contact long enough, she could permanently absorb a person's abilities. And now, her eyes gleamed with determination.
She was after his immortality.
Soon, she would be just like Ethan—untouchable by time.
Lobo lay groaning on the ground while chuckling weakly as he realised Anna is trying to make him loose consciousness by absorbing his energy.
Ethan looked at this, "Looks like he hasn't fully recovered from your energy drain before."
Superman stepped forward to stop Anna—when another explosion rocked the street nearby. The shockwave blew back loose debris, and all three turned toward the source.
"Oh, come on." Ethan groaned. "Now what?"
Emerging from the smoke, a purple-skinned man locked in combat with a green-skinned alien. Ethan narrowed his eyes, lips curling into a frown.
"Well," he muttered, "looks like we've got more company."
------------------
Author's Note:
How was the chapter?
Also, I'd love your input—can you suggest some characters from the DC Universe who could potentially manage Aeon Biotech in Ethan's absence? I have a few names in mind already, but I'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions too.
Drop your ideas and reviews below!