Reality, a construct made from what the senses can tell, but, what happens when there is something else? Something beyond the senses, the mind of even comprehension

With a force so chaotic in play, how could you possibly hope to deal with it?

Why, with the Occult, of course

The people involved in this dark area of knowledge are bound to a life of strangeness and magic, hidden from public knowledge. Hardly suitable for raising a family

...Especially if that wasn't your plan, to begin with

So was the case of John Constantine, an infamous occult detective, and con-artist residing in London. A man sometimes involved with superheroes, sometimes not, but one thing was for certain, his intentions were always a mystery as he was not one to follow rules

That included sometimes getting carried away with someone. However, no action was without consequences, and he would soon understand that lesson

It started as a regular day, nice enough for the con-artist to be spending on a couch, asleep without a care in the world

Unfortunately for him, this changed the moment the doorbell rang. Groaning in annoyance, he decided to ignore it at first

Then, it rang again and again and there was even knocking, making it almost impossible to avoid

Constantine: Alright I bloody heard! For fuck's sake...

He insulted in a low voice as he slowly walked towards the door, but the moment he opened it, he found himself alone in the hallway

Not even magic could tell him if there was truly someone there

Constantine: Huh, alright then

The blond was going to close the door when he heard a noise, an innocent cry for help

Recognizing the source of said noise, Constantine's eyes widened fearing the worst and when he looked down, it was confirmed

There was a small baby boy recently awake, with small h/c colored hair. Definitely not a newborn

The little one was residing in a basket in front of him, with a white, shining feather resting by his side

He reluctantly picked him up and spotted a note left beside him that said:

"The name's Y/N, don't screw up"

Inspecting the feather, John was able to figure out who left the baby at his doorstep

Constantine: Fantastic... now what?

Without much of an option, he picked up the basket and walked back inside his place, which now looked in terrible shape

And all it took to realize it was the arrival of a baby

John dragged a chair nearby and sat on it, just thinking about what to do about the new person in his life

This lasted for a few seconds until the baby started to look around with his e/c orbs and stopped on his father, sensing something about him

The man couldn't help but smile at the little boy, who was curious about where he was

Constantine: He's surprisingly quiet for his age

Then, his little stomach growled and the baby immediately began to cry as a reaction, much to his annoyance

The detective used magic to get his "son" something to eat, keeping him quiet for now, at least until he figured out his next step

John: This ain't my cup of tea, I even needed magic to keep the little man quiet, what-

He stopped talking when a big idea came to mind, something so good, John didn't even think it twice

With a newfound smirk, he grabbed the little boy, still drinking from a feeding bottle and cast a spell that made them both disappear

The house of mystery

A place for few men and women rich in the way of the unknown and its powers, now serving as a base of operations for a certain group of people

Someone knocked at the door and it was answered shortly after since only certain individuals know their way in

Two people opened the door. One of them was a woman with black hair as well as beautiful blue eyes while the other was pale, with white eyes and had no hair with him

The woman went by the name Zatanna, and she was a famous magician as well, seen with much better light than John due to the way she used her magic in stage performances, magic acts publicly just for the sake of it

As for the other man, he was called Deadman, a spirit who could possess others at will. He was an aerialist turned superhero, associated with their team

And the man at the door was Constantine himself

He smiled when he saw his comrades

Constantine: Allo, Z, Boston

He greeted them casually, much to their surprise

Zatanna: John? What do you- Oh my God

While she was stern at first, Zatanna's gaze softened immediately when she saw the infant in John's arms, who returned the stare and gave her a small giggle

The stage magician allowed him to step in and closed the door, still in shock by what she was seeing

Zatanna: What happened? Is the baby-

Constantine: Yes, yes he is mine

He walked inside but did not look back at them as he answered

Deadman: How did that happen?

Constantine: Long story

Then, he turned around to see the others, doubt written all over his face

Constantine: Any ideas on how to deal with the little brat?

???: John Constantine, you have finally met the child

From behind them, an echoing voice made its presence known. A key-shaped portal opened and a man in golden armor floated through

This man was the group's most unusual and powerful member, known as Dr. Fate

Zatanna: Hello Dr. Fate, I didn't expect you here

Dr. Fate: I sensed the child in the house, my presence here was needed

Constantine: What do you know about him?

The man took the baby in his arms with kindness, looking at him for a moment before he continued, his white eyes glowing as he spoke

Dr. Fate: Y/N L/N, later known as Y/N Constantine, the result of an affair between John Constantine and-

Constantine: That doesn't matter

The con-artist waved it off, a gesture that the doctor chose to ignore

Dr. Fate: He will be the one to take Constantine's mantle when the world needs it, a bridge between worlds

Fate returned the baby to Constantine and his eyes returned to their white color

Dr. Fate: Destined to be the best of us, Y/N can only accomplish this if we protect him now

Deadman: Who would've guessed? You will actually raise a child, and even someone important!

The spirit said trying to lighten up the mood, while Constantine just turned around and began to walk away with a sigh

Constantine: *sigh* Why did it had to be now?

The woman approached him by putting a hand on his shoulder, frowning

Zatanna: What do you mean?

Reacting to her touch, John turned around, visibly upset

Constantine: I'm in the middle of an important case! I can't be here playing dad!

Dr. Fate: This is beyond you, John Constantine

Zatanna: John, you HAVE to take care of him!

Constantine: I will! But not right now

As if he were a toy, Y/N was handed to Zatanna, who was angry at the gesture, but too stubborn to try and bring him to his senses 

The woman took the infant into her own arms using her own magic and looked at the man with a pissed off expression

Zatanna: If you don't take care of him, I will

Constantine: Alright, luv, do your best, but I don't want to receive a call saying that you lost him an hour later

She scoffed, slightly tightening her grip on the child, clearly not appreciating those words

Zatanna: He will be fine, John

The detective took out a cigarette and lighted it up before walking out of the place, not even saying anything else before he left the enchanted building

Deadman: ...That was cold

Zatanna sighed and looked down at the baby, trying to reach her with his short arms, gaining a giggle from the magician while she lent her hand for him to touch playfully

Zatanna: I'm sorry you had to be his son, Y/N

She could really be all day paying attention to the infant, but Zatanna had her own agenda for the day, and it was calling her. Her ghost friend noticed her sudden movement and approached her

Deadman: What's wrong, Zee?

Zatanna: I have a show starting in a couple minutes, I need to go now

Dr. Fate: What about the child?

Zatanna: Don't worry, unlike John I don't think to leave the kid by himself. I'll have one of my trusty assistants to take care of him while I work

Deadman: I know, I'll go with them just to make sure everything goes alright

Dr. Fate: Then it is settled. Farewell

Deadman: He will be fine, isn't that right, little guy?

He looked at Y/N and played with him a little, gaining a laugh from the infant

And so, they left the house of mystery to attend Zatanna's show. Using portals, they were able to reach the place immediately and without wasting time, the magician left Y/N in Boston's care

And how could a spirit manage to babysit the kid? Simple, he possessed one of the staff members

The baby was allowed to experience the show in the first row. Coming from a family of magicians and sorceresses, it came as no surprise that he would enjoy the show so much

Of course, the mind of an infant was really impressionable, but magic could amaze anyone if performed correctly

And Zatanna being the stage magician she was, there was no room for disappointment in her spectacle

At some point of it, she even made elephants float in the air like if they weighed nothing and then made them disappear leaving only some kind of confetti falling from above, much to the public's amusement

Boston looked down to see the boy's expression of astonishment by the woman's abilities and couldn't help but smile at his reaction

Deadman: She's pretty good, ain't she?

The act was going excellently until the lights were abruptly cut off. For a moment, all Zatanna could hear were gasps, a monstrous growling and the cries of a baby

Everything was confusion

Deadman: Zatanna, the boy!

But that, that was everything she needed to hear to get her mind back together. The woman raised her hands and began chanting another spell

Zatanna: Evig su emit!

Suddenly, everything began to move much slower, the time had been effectively slowed. She also made a spell to allow her to see in the dark

Upon inspecting the scene, Zatanna managed to spot a couple figures running away and she immediately rushed in to stop them, Deadman flew by her side

Zatanna: What happened!?

Deadman: I don't know! The lights were cut off and the next thing I knew was that the body I possessed was lying on the floor

Zatanna was closing the distance between them, until a massive figure emerged from the ground, smashing a club down to block their way. While time might have slowed down, there was no indication that demons were affected as well

Deadman caught up and began to attack the beast as best he could, but it was too strong

Deadman: This thing's tougher than it looks!

Zatanna (In mind): I don't have time for this

She turned towards the beast and began casting a spell as she avoided its attacks

Zatanna: Yortsed eht nomed!!

And with that, the beast exploded in front of them

Deadman: Good one!

Relieved to know it worked, she began running again, only to trip with a hand. What was wrong was that that hand wasn't there before

The magician looked back and saw the demon was rebuilding itself, and fast. She then turned towards her friend and ordered him to get the demons while she dealt with this new foe

Boston obeyed and flew past the scene to continue his pursuit, while Zatanna continued to fight this demon

The creature slammed Zatanna against the wall and threw its fist at her, only for it to dissolve the moment it touched her. Using this advantage, she moved to a different position and blasted the foe with an energy blast

To keep fighting would only waste more time, and the options were paper thin. That left her with only one option, it wasn't going to be good, but it was her only one

She took out a phone and dialed a number while attacking the beast blocking her path

"Not the right time, Zee"

The voice answered in annoyance. She had called the baby's father

Zatanna: John, they're taking your son away!!

She declared but got no answer. Instead, a portal opened and it began to drag the demon into it by force, taking it in no time

From it came a pissed Constantine, who immediately started to lash out at the woman the moment he laid eyes on her

Constantine: You said he would be okay!!

Zatanna: And now you care about him!?

Anger took over her as well due to the man's sudden change in attitude

Constantine: I was busy! Now thanks to you I'm even more!

Zatanna: Well I wasn't expecting demons to show up!!

Constantine: And at least do you know where they took him?

They tried their best to not tear each other apart and focus on the task at hand, one life was at great risk after all

Zatanna: Boston followed their trail, it leads there

She pointed at the building barely visible at the end of the hallway they were in

Constantine: Right, those bloody bastards love fancy buildings

They rushed towards the place as fast as they could, saving the magic for when they faced their enemies

However, a portal opened in front of them, with the symbol of some type of key in it, the same kind that appeared back at the house

Dr. Fate came out of the symbol and looked at them

Zatanna: Fate!

Constantine: Are you here to help or what?

Dr. Fate: Under normal circumstances, I would not interfere, but this baby will restore order, he must live to do so

Constantine: Then move your head from your arse and get us there!

With a gesture of his hand, Fate managed to teleport them inside of the building

Once they were, they saw multiple demons fighting against Deadman, who smiled when he saw his friends

Deadman: Hi guys! care to join?

Constantine: Well ain't that a welcome

The demons rushed to attack them as well. One of them alone was really hard to kill, but with three of the most powerful magic users and a spirit in the same room, it was impossible not to achieve victory

John left one alive and grabbed it by the throat, looking at it with anger in his eyes

Constantine: Where did they take him!?

Demon: Why should I tell you?

Constantine: Wrong answer

The detective burned one of the demon's legs using his magic, making it scream in pain

Demon: T-Top floor! Zuth on the top floor!!

This answer angered the detective, his gaze made it obvious

Constantine: Of course it was him

Zatanna: Who is Zuth?

Constantine: Just another soul claimer-wannabe

John let go of the demon. He turned around and began to walk away but he threw his cigarette towards the creature, setting it on fire as he kept walking

Constantine: Alright, let's keep moving, to the top floor

The sorcerers fought their way into the top floor, but it was guarded by the same kind of monster that attacked Zatanna, but more in number

Dr. Fate: I will deal with them, you go ahead

Dr. Fate rose his hands and began a barrage of mystical attacks so bright to the monsters, it distracted them from the others

Constantine burst open the door to reveal what looked like an altar with a bunch of demons. In the middle, their leader was holding the crying baby in his cold hands

Constantine: End of the line, Zuth!!

An old demon dressed in a well-tailored suit slowly turned around to face them with a grin

Zuth: Ah, Constantine, I see you have brought friends with you

Constantine: You picked the wrong guy to cross this time, mate

This gained a chuckle from the foe

Demon: Or the best one! If this child is your offspring then his soul is a must-have!!

The demon beside Zuth shout and took out a sacrificial dagger, nailing it in his own hand, making black blood to come out of it and fall on the boy, making his skin decolor

Constantine: GET AWAY FROM HIM!!

He demanded and began to attack the demons with everything he had in a sheer act of impulsiveness, only this time, backed by the others

Zuth: Kill them!

His minions rushed in to stop the magicians, putting up a fight and entertaining them while the process was completing itself

However, Zatanna managed to get free from the distractions and extended her hand towards the baby

Zatanna: Trever Lleps!

She cast a spell that began to reverse the process, healing the boy as well

Zuth: NO!!

In anger, he threw the boy into the air, only for the detective to free himself from those demons and catch him on time

Constantine: Don't worry mate, I've got you

The baby soon enough stopped crying when he saw his father's face again

The fight was not going well for Zuth in the slightest, demons were falling left and right and the magicians were all pissed off thanks to him

Eventually, they ended up surrounding their mutual enemy

Constantine: I'll give it up if I was you

Zuth: You insolent fool, your arrogance will be your downfall! If I'm going down, I'll take you ALL with me!!

In an act of desperation, the demon let out an outburst of energy powerful enough to shake the very foundations of the building, as it began to catch on fire and the roof was failing to sustain itself

He tried to fight them, but the heroes had way too much power, so he detonated himself in an explosion as a last resort

It all happened so fast. John held his son tightly to spare him any harm, Zatanna herself was bracing for the impact and even Boston was taken off guard by this

However, the explosion took place, yet none of them resulted hurt in the process, all thanks to a yellow, translucent bubble that surrounded them. Courtesy of Dr. Fate

The place was now ruined, the doctor, the ghost and the magician were assessing the damage, while Constantine looked down at his infant son, but something was wrong

He wasn't waking up

This came to everyone's attention and soon enough, concern

Constantine: Come on, kid! Don't leave me hanging!!

His tone was not his usual calm one, but a genuinely worried one. The blond fell to his knees with the baby on his hands, in desperation for him and even Zatanna put a hand on his shoulder

Zatanna: John...

Constantine: No!, he's strong, I KNOW IT, ZATANNA!!

"Z-Zat...Zata...Zatanna"

A young voice interrupted the scene, but also ended the great problem they thought they were facing. It was Y/N's voice

John's eyes widened when he heard his voice and the woman blushed a little by what he said as his first words in this world

Deadman: Did he just?...

Zatanna: Oh my God

Constantine: Y/N! I knew you were strong!

Happiness made its way into Constantine's soul as he looked at his child, safe and sound again. The fact that the baby was alive after that and even said his first words made it even more shocking

John hugged his son and with tears in his eyes and a newly found proud, he answered to him

Constantine: I knew it, I'm here, little man... Don't worry, I won't leave you alone again

Zatanna: Yes, because he's coming with us!

Deadman: Well, he does seem to like you, Zatanna

Dr. Fate: It is settled then, the child will reside in the House of Mystery from now on

Constantine: It might get him some time to get used to it, but it is a safe place for him to live in

"And I 'll make sure nobody tries to harm you again"