Chapter Text
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John groaned loudly as the old gray phone that sat beside him on the coffee table made a shrill beeping sound, pulling him from his sleep and into the waking world. "Blasted thing... one of these days i'm gonna get rid of you completely," he grumbled, glaring the device down before reaching towards it to silence it.
The blonde slumped back onto the worn leather, shutting his eyes tightly before bringing his hand up to simultaneously pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his eyes. He sat up slowly, scratching just above his ear before stretching. Why was he waking up so early again?
His thoughts were interrupted by the clatter of metal pans tumbling from a cabinet, followed by a series of colorful curses.
Oh right... Chas was here too.
John ran a hand through his tangled blonde hair before tossing his blanket to the side and standing up with a groan. His white button-up shirt was rumpled and wrinkled, but he honestly didn't really care as he made his way towards the kitchen.
He found Chas, his closest friend of nearly 20 years, fumbling with ingredients and attempting to cook breakfast. John tilted his head slightly, leaning on the doorframe and clearing his throat. "Any luck there, mate?" he asked, his voice gravelly from disuse.
Chas glanced up at the blonde in surprise, giving him a smirk. "Of course. I was just gonna make breakfast. You want anything specific?" he asked, setting the pan in his hand down on the stove. John thought for a moment, scratching at the back of his head for a moment.
"Coffee."
Chas gave him an unimpressed look. "You know where the pot is then, you arse."
John smirked and moved past the brunet to make coffee, only to pause at the thrumming pain that suddenly struck his head. "The hell..." he breathed, bringing a hand up to his temple. The sensation grew, growing warmer and louder until he had a full-blown pounding headache in his temples.
The blonde shut his eyes against the pain, his jaw set as warmth he recognized as magic pooled in his core. "Uh, Johnny?" Chas said, the slight panic in his voice forcing the blonde to open his eyes to glance at his friend-
Only to find objects around them floating, enveloped in a yellow aura. "Bloody Hell-" John winced, putting a hand against his eye and pushing in an attempt to get the pain to stop.
Only one damned thing ever made his head hurt like this. The Rock of Eternity, source of all magic in this and every other universe. John grumbled to himself about the sodding Wizard and just what must be happening at the Rock or in the town intrinsically tied to it for this to happen.
"Chas, I have to go."
The brunet in question gave him a confused look. "What? Why? You float all the mugs in the kitchen like some kind of poltergeist and then bolt without an explanation?"
John gave him a withering glare, trying (and failing) to ignore the steadily increasing pain behind his eyes.
"Ooh... mate, you alright?" Chas asked, ignoring the look the man gave him. "What's wrong?"
"The sodding Rock of Eternity's what's happened," John growled back, gripping the edge of the counter. This headache was lasting a lot longer than any others had before, so whatever was happening-- it was big. Monumental, even.
Something that caused ripples throughout all of magic and affected all those who had ever wielded her.
"I have to get to Fawcett."
Chas tossed the towel in his hand onto the counter without another thought. "Well let's go then."
The blonde was going to argue, but Chas was already moving out of the kitchen and on his way to grab John's duffel bag. decided to let it go, finding it easier to just bring the man along than to argue with this agony surging in his skull. He kept a hand against his head as he followed suit, shutting his eyes tightly for a moment as he tried to push through the pain.
"The sooner I can get rid of this blasted headache, the better."
Chas nodded, duffel bag thrown over his shoulder as John opened a portal to Fawcett City.
- - -
The pair stepped out into a non-descript alleyway in Fawcett, and John's headache doubled down, causing his portal to falter and for him to fall to his knees with a groan of pain. He set his jaw against it, hands gripping the sides of his head as a ringing sensation echoed through his ears.
As soon as it had come, though, the pain vanished. John was left staring dizzily at the asphalt beneath him, sweat beading on his brow as he sat up with labored breaths. Chas was hovering over his shoulder, a worried look on his face. "You good there, Mate?"
"Fucking hell..." John breathed, sitting back onto his knees before standing up. "Yeah... 'M good now... whatever that damn Wizard's done, it's over..." he said, looking around with a shaky breath. "We'd better take a look around, make sure there are no lasting effects."
"Last thing we need is one of the sins breaking loose..." he grumbled, taking a single step out of the alley, only to have a sudden red blur fly a few inches in front of him. The force of air that succeeded him caused John to wobble on unsteady feet, stumbling back a step before glaring in the direction the blur had gone.
"What the Hell- " The man growled. The sorcerer's eyes narrowed before he took off down the sidewalk, intent on catching up to whatever that thing was. "Come on, Chas!" he yelled, footsteps clicking against the concrete.
John rounded the corner to find a car that looked like it'd been thrown across the street. It was nearly folded in half, covered in dents and twisted metal, and had what looked almost like grip marks gouged into the hood. He paused, glancing around the abandoned street and spotting a woman trembling with her back pressed against the wall. "The red blur! Where'd it go?!" he asked, the woman pointing down the street with wide eyes.
The magician took off again, Chas trailing behind him with a gentle apology towards the woman.
Please don't be a sin, please don't be a sin, PLEASE DON'T BE A BLOODY SIN-
John winced at the sight of a large, grotesque, demonic-looking creature being slammed into the wall of a building and then immediately forced all the way through it. The creature hissed, its flesh bubbling as it launched itself from the hole its body created, soaring towards something in the air- something clad in red and white.
The man furrowed his brow at the sight of the figure in the sky. He didn't look like any of the League's boys- well, not any of the ones he was familiar with anyways. That wasn't many of them, but he was sure Fawcettt didn't have any of those jokers in tights running around. The man in question had raven hair and a muscular frame, very similar, if not identical to Superman's- but he wore a stark red uniform with a billowing white cape. He had golden circlets surrounding his wrists, and golden boots on his feet to match.
His chest was the kicker though- a glowing, golden lightning bolt was emblazed on his barrelled chest, electricity encircling his frame and jolting in and out of the symbol on his chest.
John swallowed back his shock- that was the Wizard's symbol, and he knew for a fact that the guy in the sky was not the crotchety old man John had dealt with in the past. This left only one possibility... one that explained both the man and the sudden power surge that ould be felt by every magic user alive.
The old man had finally found his champion.
The blonde grinned for a moment, unafraid to say that he was in awe of the mythical hero destined to protect the Rock of Eternity. The man blessed by the gods to wield their power and the embodiment of magic itself. He watched the man, the demigod, the Wizard's chosen champion, float majestically in the sky, as if gravity were an afterthought to him, as if there was nothing in Heaven or Hell that could touch him.
Then he watched him be unceremoniously tackled out of the air by the toxic creature he was battling.
John winced.
The Wizard found his Champion... but the man had absolutely no idea what he was doing.
Great.
- - -
TBC...