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homodemens ([info]homodemens) wrote in [info]spinningcompass,
@ 2020-08-21 11:31:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!closed, !plot, john constantine, ~higgs

If at first you don't succeed...
Who: John and Higgs
Where: An abandoned section of the Station
What: Higgs finds John
When: After this.
Rating: TBD
Open: No
Status: Finished


Higgs left Loki with a bit of fire in his belly. He took his time to wander his "beach" as he cooled off and pondered his next move as he travelled in the spaces between.
"Stupid "gods"." He thought to himself.

He yelped as he stood on something hot and stepped backwards sharply. Looking down, he saw that his beach had intersected a ley-line on the station. Interesting.
Leaning down he placed two fingers to the strong magical resonance and touched them to his tongue. Perfect, he grinned, tasting malice and excitement in his own belly. He sniffed the air and closed his eyes.

With a sound like lightning mixed with a gunshot, in a crackling fizzle of amber-red light and vibrant yellow lightning he sparked into existence about five feet from John Constantine in a quiet and abandoned sector of the Station.

"Hello, John." he grinned, his long southern-drawl elongating his syllables like molasses. "Good to meet you in the flesh."


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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 11:04 am UTC (link)
John nearly jumped out of his skin. Sure he had felt something drawing near but he brushed it off. Then came the sound. That noise that cracked the air, the sudden rush of bright yellow and orange, vibrant red, and before he knew it he had jumped out of fright, catching his breath briefly.

"Bloody hell..." he said as he composed himself again. Dark brown eyes swept up to look at who it was. His head tilted to the side slightly as that same feeling returned. One of dread. One that could sense a great amount of power and it was coming from him. John knew he had to play it cool. Like he always did.

He took his cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one, closing his Zippo with a flick of his wrist. It closed with a satisfying clack sound and he pocketed it.
"Can't say the feeling's mutual..." he said with a smirk. He took a drag from the cigarette and looked Higgs over. "So... what now? Why are you here?" he asked. "Something you want me to help you with?" he asked, his tone far from genuine.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 12:10 pm UTC (link)
"Sorry, friend!" Higgs grinned, "It's just how I get around."

Higgs was dressed in a dark black poncho, hood up, the lining black and gold horizontal stripes. Underneath, all black cargo pants, shirt and a tactical vest with some kind of tank attached to its front. Over his shoulder, a folded mechanical arm hung. His forearms covered in long black gloves with golden finishing on the back of the hands.

"I was taking a walk and found your leylines, and I thought to myself, there's a man who knows his stuff. Especially magical." he grins wider. "After my last conversation with one of this station's guests I figure I'd take my chances elsewhere."

"So yes.. I need your help John. I think you are the only man who can, and might, help me. After all, you and I are survivors. Right?"

His smile was easy going, cock sure and radiated a malicious power.

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 12:59 pm UTC (link)
John could see the manipulation immediately. He had danced with the devil and won. All his adult life he had been dealing with monsters, demons, angels and the more monstrous and terrible humans that played with them. John was something of the con artist himself. A deceiver who frankly brought ruin to anyone who got close to him. He never could forgive himself for Newcastle.

"True enough..." John said, choosing to play along for the time being. "So, what do you need from me then?" he asked confidently. His voice did not waver once. His stance remained confident and strong, the cigarette smoking away between his lips. One of his hands was tucked away in his trouser pocket, holding back his trench coat.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 01:04 pm UTC (link)
Higgs seemed distracted briefly, looking over his shoulder before he returned his attention to John, a small smile playing over his face.
"Well, you know a lot about the magic on this station, right?" he nods, "How it works, how things here change when things get different?"

He places his hands behind his back and clasps them together, pacing slowly in a circle around John. "I reckon you can be my guide, of sorts, help me find what I'm looking for here more expeditiously. Don't get me wrong, John, I will find what I'm looking for. I just know that the quicker I do, the quicker I can help my station and save countless lives. People are starving, John."

He looks at John, thick black tears of tar streaming down his face. "I need help, so I can save them. I need to find the Heart."

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 01:15 pm UTC (link)
John didn't much like that the other man paced around him. It was something of an intimidation tactic. John knew he could defend himself if need be. It wasn't as if he trusted Higgs. Heck, he barely trusted anyone at all. People had to earn Johns trust. And sometimes Johns trust was not the best thing to have.

The talk of people starving did pull at Johns heart strings. As much as he played the tough role and acted like nothing really effected him, people suffering always brought him pain. He did what he could to save people, even if that meant sacrifices were made along the way.

The Englishman did his best to keep his eyes forward, only bringing his hand up to pluck the cigarette from his lips, a wisp of grey blue smoke tumbling from between slightly open lips.

"Heart? Might need to be a bit more specific. When it comes to magic, there's been a fair few of those around across different cultures. So which one are you looking for? And why?" he asked. He was curious as to how much the other man knew about magic. He wasn't entirely sure if he was using magic himself or some sort of technology. But that look on Higgs' face? Those tar like tears? Was his magic tied to corruption? Chaos? Death?

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 01:35 pm UTC (link)
"You must have heard of the one I mean, John. I'm sure you have. You know, big magic gem, controls the ebb and flow of the events of this station. The weird. The wonderful. The odd." Higgs continued, using his hands to gesticulate as he continued his slow pace.

This was going about as well as he had expected. The man opposite him was a tenacious individual, he didn't even need to attempt to scan his mind. He knew that the barb about the people starving had hit home.
"I figure a man like yourself has at least heard about it. Am I right?"

He stops, his fingers making a little circle in the air as he turns to face John slightly, dipping at the hips into a slight bow. His smile playing across his face again. "As to why? Like I already said, John, I need it to help the people back on my station. If I can appeal to the Heart here I can maybe copy some of this station back to my one. I can help them fix broken wheels, I can help them eat, I can make sure that families are reunited that have been torn apart. I don't think that's too much to ask."

He waggles his finger, "And before you ask, no. I won't destroy you and your friends to do that. What sense is there in killing one reality for another? Damned wasteful if you ask me."

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 01:48 pm UTC (link)
John didn't really know much about the heart. It was something he had thought to seek out but thus far he had resisted temptation. He had focused his efforts on research. Learning some of the alien language among other things. He had been on the station for over a year and it had taken him some time to pick things up but he had catalogued a great deal of what he had found over that time.

John started to watch the other man carefully. He took another drag of his cigarette and mulled over the other mans words.

"Some things can't be fixed, mate. And the things that can't sometime shouldn't be. Not the easiest thing to accept, from personal experience" he added. "You could have walked in here and told people what you wanted. Somehow I don't get the feeling your intentions aren't all that pure... We could have given you what you needed to take back. Food, seeds to grow your own food, supplies..." he said, shaking his head slightly. "No, I'm not buying it, mate. Not one bit" he said, taking one last drag on the cigarette. He tossed the end to the floor and put it out with the heel of his foot.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 02:12 pm UTC (link)
Higgs looks away from John briefly, before looking up at the ceiling and taking a deep breath. He shakes his head and casts his gaze to the floor.

"Can you blame me, John?" he says, his eyes fixed forward, not looking at the man. "Where I am from you don't just get help. You gotta be smart about how you get it. I could have begged for help but it ain't the way that it works on my station. Folk'd string you up and take advantage quicker than you can snap your fingers."

He wheels round to face the man again, his arms going out wide. "Sure I ain't been completely honest. I've been civil though ain't I? I am trying to do things your ways. I can fix it. I want to. I just need a bit of help to make it faster."

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 03:10 pm UTC (link)
John could understand. He made some pretty desperate moves and he wasn't above stabbing someone in the back either or tricking them. He would trick his oldest friends if it meant putting an end to a threat. It was funny, Higgs mentioning folk being quick to take advantage. There seemed to be so few on the station who would, and yet John made a living taking advantage of stupid people. Gullible people. The con artist knew the con and he could smell one a mile away.

"No... no I can't blame you" John replied. "Look, mate. My heart bleeds for you. Really, it does" he said, his face straight, his brow furrowed. He tilted his head back and to the side slightly, keeping his focus on Higgs.

"You're not going to get what you want here, mate. There's a whole multi-verse out there, try somewhere else. Maybe start off by telling the next station what you're after. Couldn't give a toss if it gets you killed" he said. His eyes rolled back in his head and under his breath he whispered, "Ignius!" and with that, both his hands became wrapped in fire.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 03:49 pm UTC (link)
Higgs barely flinched. He had seen the man's anger coming, he had smelt the ozone warping around John as he drew power. He felt the crackle of fire on his skin before John had thrown his first punch.

Higgs simply waved his hand over his face and the gold skull mask appeared.

"Well now, John. This wasn't the turn I saw this little conversation taking."
He grinned, the amusement palpable on his voice and timbre. Black tar seeped from under his feet and spread quickly over the floor, coating the entire room they stood in in ankle deep black liquid.
Whilst this pooled around John and soaked into his clothes, Higgs stood delicately atop it as though it were a complete solid.

To those observing this little conflict between the pair, John and Higgs' minds blinked into darkness. Probing further into their heads left a sickly tar and oil feeling that coated every inch of their skin.

With the same lightning crackle, Higgs disappeared and reappeared about 20 feet away from John.
"Now I get it, you want a little break from the grind. This is what you've been waiting for the whole time... So I'll ask you one last time before you cast the first stone, John. Is this really what you want to do?"

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 04:53 pm UTC (link)
That tar like substance covered the floor, pooling around John's feet and soaking into his trousers. It felt, horrid. Whatever it was, it seemed to come from inside Higgs. John wanted to take a sample of it. Figure it out, but for the time being, he needed to stand his ground. He had taken that step forward and there was no going back. Not while he had people he needed to protect.

"Oh come on now, you didn't come here to play fair, Squire. You came here to get something you want... And frankly mate I've had a better time trusting a two-faced lying priest than you" he added, smirking.

John fought dirty and he didn't care. After all, it was about surviving. Being the one who could walk away after things got physical. He curled his fingers around the flames, pulling them into a ball, and with both hands, one after the other, he lunged the fire at Higgs.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 05:03 pm UTC (link)
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The black jar on Higgs' chest glowed a sickly, malicious red. Simultaneously, the mechanical arm on his shoulder sprang to life, folding in front of him and opening into a claw, resembling a three-petalled flower. It caught the fireball with horrific speed and snuffed it from existence.

"So be it..." Higgs smirked his hands began to smoke black. "It can be so hard to form connections, but fortunately I have a good connection to the other side..."

His back turned to John and tendrils, resembling umbilical chords, of tar shot from his fingertips into the tar pool. He tugged and pulled and dragged. The tendrils grew longer and longer before eventually, with a roaring cry, a huge roaring four legged beast, dripping in tar with a flat face made of gold sprang forth from the pool. It shook itself, as though a dog padding forth from the ocean, sending rivulets of black tar flying around the room. It stood the height of two men, with a mane made of black dripping tentacles.
Hungry and black void eyes fixed upon John.

Higg's looked over his shoulder at John, laughing out a sort of "Oooh hooo hooo hooo" sound.
"You're on the menu, John. I guess this is what you wanted..."
He dissipated in a blink of the same golden lightning, his skull mask appearing over John's shoulder like the Cheshire cat, his arrogant voice ringing from it. "A game over."

With a cackling laughter and the same jab of lightning, the mask dissipated, leaving John facing down the four legged beast which looked set to charge...

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 05:04 pm UTC (link)

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-21 05:40 pm UTC (link)
Johns heart sunk the moment Higgs caught the fire and snuffed it out. He had taken a step forward and walked right into danger. All he had to do was play along with Higgs. Maybe see if he could earn his trust and find out more about what he wanted. About what had happened to the station he was on. John was starting to have the feeling that maybe just maybe Higgs had caused whatever had pulled his station into ruin.

Before he knew it, Higgs was gone, leaving John with both a feeling of anger and dread. The creature, whatever it was, seemed to be made of the same stuff as whatever was inside Higgs. If he survived, he knew what he wanted to do but for the time being he had to just survive. He wanted to bunch Higgs even more for leaving on the note he had.

"All right then, d'you want some then?" John said, rolling his shoulders and reigniting his hands. There weren't many places to run to or places to hide, and the thick, horrid substance on the floor certainly wasn't making things any easier.
He hurled two shots of flame towards the strange looking beast, hoping this time they would land. Hoping even more that they would do something. If he knew its name, he could banish it. Possibly. But he didn't. He had to think on his feet.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-21 09:15 pm UTC (link)
The beast began to lope forward the distance towards John. The fireballs landed clean, one smashing chunks of gold from its face, the other flittered somewhat ineffectually into the oily black substance of the creatures skin.

It let out an abmammalian screeching howl as it closed the distance towards John, mere metres away from crunching into his flesh and bones. For its size, the beast was deceptively fast, but bore the trademarks of such a large creature. Its movements were highly telegraphed, its reflexes by its nature slower.

Its head lowered, bringing the golden faceplate to John's height, aiming to collide to crash into his body with devastating momentum.

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-22 01:37 pm UTC (link)
That hadn't seemed to work all too well. Sure, it had taken off some of the gold plate mask but where the other fireball had landed, nothing had seemed to happen. Perhaps the golden mask like face was the weak spot? He had to just hope he was right. His life was on the line, and he didn't want to end up as dinner for some strange, twisted monster.

"Come on, Johnny, you've beat the bloody devil you can do this..." he muttered to himself as the large beast lowered its head. Before he knew it, the creature clashed with him, striking him with its head. John was sent flying back, hitting a nearby wall and falling to the murky, oily floor below. His hands pressed flat on the ground, reaching through the ooze to try and push himself up. What if there was a way he could control the black stuff? If he could do that, he could use it to hold the creature in place so he could destroy it. But that was a long shot and he didn't have a whole lot of options.

His eyes rolled back once more and he muttered strange words under his breath. He raised both of his hands to create a shield of sorts. He held the shield with one hand, and with the other, he used his magic to attempt to knock the creature back, hoping the sheer force of the wind like magic would be enough.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-22 02:21 pm UTC (link)
The beast reared up, shielding its face as the wind buffeted it with another howl, it's size and awful slick skin appearing more terrifying as globules of tar flicked from it's coating. It landed back onto all fours with a loud and resonating crash that warped and flexed metal on the floor with rending creaks.
The tar under its front legs splashed violently in a jet black wave towards John. It pressed forward into the wind, those void black eyes fixed on him with a hollow determination.

Quick as a whip, it spun round on the spot, a lashing tail flicking towards the man and his shield. Despite being made of the fleshy black liquid, it looked razor sharp and deadly.

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-22 03:09 pm UTC (link)
Johns heart was pounding. Not that he would admit he ever felt fear. The only time he really admitted weakness or apologised was generally to trick someone. He never ever truly meant those sorts of things, and his true fears he kept hidden. Demons and monsters scared him far less than the true and utter brutal darkness within human beings. Now humans? Those scared him the most. Demons could be tricked. Same went for Gods and other supernatural creations. Yet the one before him was a complete mystery.

John bright the shield up with both hands. The tail ripped through it and thrashed him, ripping his shirt and cutting through to him. The shield had taken some of the force away but it hadn't been enough. John was pinned to the wall and he needed to get away. Drawing from the leyline energy, John focused, whispering under his breath, "Fit aere visus celeremque motum!" he hissed, and with that he seemed to vanish. The translation to what he said was, Become air, move swift and unseen. His form moved past the beast. As he reappeared, his hands reignited in flame and he attacked, launching fire at the beast.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-22 06:16 pm UTC (link)
The beast's frustration was palpable, the air tense with its anger and rage as John faded from its view. It thrashed around in the tar like a fox trying to coax prey from snow.

John's assault, now unseen and beyond it's perception thundered into it's body and blew sizeable chunks of tar and gold from it. The fire cascaded over its body as it yelped in reaction.

Blind, angry, and backed into a corner, an animal at its most dangerous albeit larger and made from the dark matter Higgs summoned, it swiped an angry strike towards John with a fore limb.

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-22 08:10 pm UTC (link)
Maybe it was the tar like substance that slowed him down. It seemed to cover far of John than he would have liked. He was no fighter and he always did terribly unless he could find a way to cheat. A way to play dirty. For the time being he was trapped in an oily room and a large raging beast. His attacks had only seemed to anger it more.

The beast caught him again, knocking John back down to the ground. He tried to pull himself free from the mess. He knew what he needed to do in order to kill the beast. It was risky, but it was worth it. He had to lure it in to believing he was down and out. Lie there in the muck and focus as much as he could on creating a fire spell that would engulf the entire room while hopefully shielding himself. He couldn't hurt himself with his own fire or at least he hadn't been able to. He didn't want to risk that being changed by the strange black substance around them.

John lay there, looking up and over at the monster. He grinned as best he could.
"Is that it?" he asked, raising a hand to give the creature the middle finger. Not that it would have done much. Certainly made him feel better though.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-22 08:21 pm UTC (link)
Were the beast a smart creature it would have seen John's bluff. It would have prepared itself for a last gasp.

It was a being of rage, malice and hunger. With slow and purposeful steps it padded towards John with resonating thuds, approaching as a cat would captured prey. Savouring the anticipation of cruel and drawn out agony, the thrill of killing and consuming a fallen and helpless prey.

It placed a leg either side of him, one crunching down on his arm with bone splintering force. It's grotesque and golden face glowered over the man as its hauntingly deep and black void eyes gazed down on him with a hungry contempt.
It emitted a low growling, chittering sound as it reared up for one final lunge...

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[info]worksbestalone_
2020-08-22 08:36 pm UTC (link)
John let out a blood curdling cry when the creature pressed down on his arm. He had been stupid, arrogant. He was fairly certain it was broken. Fighting through the extreme pain and discomfort he was in, he focused on his spellwork, pressing his hands into the murky ground.

His eyes reopened, staring up at the beat, glowing bright orangey-red. They used to glow orange before, but with the Demons blood in his system, the colour had changed somewhat. His magic was fuelled by the leylines and it was fuelled by the Demon blood in his system. Powered by the pain he was feeling too. Oh, John knew how to channel his pain the right way.

"Omne iter ignis!" he shouted, and with that not only did his hands ignite, but this time the fire spread. Once it caught the surface of the ooze around them, it spread fast, lapping up the walls and then engulfing the beast above him.

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[info]homodemens
2020-08-22 08:58 pm UTC (link)
The beast let out a final shrieking howl that vibrated the room as the burning fire cascaded over it's body. A sort of rigor mortis cast over it as the black tar turned to the same gold on it's face.

Cracks rippled over its form with audible force and for a brief moment in time, it looked beautiful, a golden statue of a beast rampant. A testament to the great battle that took place in this very moment, this space in the station.

In the same instant, it exploded with blinding light. Force expelled over the ground and buffeted John, albeit gentler than the strikes and slams he had been subjected to already. In the space where the creature stood, instead was a jagged coral cluster of golden material, radiating dusty and glittering particles that floated upwards toward the ceiling.

The tar, oil and black viscera turned to ash, dissipating as quickly as it had appeared.
John's mind was freed from the obfuscation and concealment of Higgs' "magics". Detectable by his peers on the station.

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