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A man in a familiar tan trenchcoat is shoved through the door, spewing out a haze of cigarette smoke and with a tin pail and ladle in one hand he uses his free one to pluck the cigarette from his lips.
"No need to shove, Bat." He says through another plume of smoke. "I told ya, just a room over."
He steps into the room, and the light, fully. The man before you can only be described as.. rough. Shocking blond hair, an untucked dress shirt, and loose tie accentuate the bags under his eyes. He looks to you and pops the cig back in his mouth before nodding at Mercury.
"He give you any trouble?" He speaks casually as he stirs the content of the bucket with the ladle.
"Not much, he misplaced his ball and wanted me to pass it over to him. Said he'd give me answers in exchange."
"Did you?" Batman asks, gliding in from the blackness of the doorway. The Brit laughs and shakes his head.
"Have some faith in your boy, Bat. Notice how he isn't tryna claw my eyes out' me 'ead? Suffice to say he's demon free."
"Demon? Like actually? From HELL?" You follow up.
"Oh my.." He says softly craning his neck to Batman. "You're letting me pop his cherry? I'll be gentle."
He steps forward and takes an exaggerated bow, plucking the cigarette from his lips and arcing it wide behind him. The trailing smoke brushes over you and you inhale. It's familiar... VERY familiar.
"I'm John Constantine. Welcome to my house of Mystery and allow me to introduce to you our special guest." He ashes out his cigarette into the bucket and scoops up a ladle full of the liquid before chucking it past his shoulder.
Mercury erupts into a writhing mass of screams and sizzling flesh, the water evaporating into steam the moment it touches him and leaving his skin red, shining, and scaly. You instinctively place your hand on your weapon and take a step back, bumping into the shelf, and causing the red ball to roll off it's place on the shelf. As it rolls across the floor John raises the toe of his loafer and stops it.
"What the fuck is that?" You ask, pointing to the bucket.
"Take a look for yourself." He replies, scooping another spoonful and chucking it forward.
You hardly get your shout out and hand raised before a light splash of luke warm water hits your hand and soaks into your clothes. You lower your hand and examine it.. no discoloration. No burning. You pull it close and sniff. No scent aside from the lingering sulfur aroma.
"Holy water?" You venture to guess.
He digs his hand in the bucket and pulls out a rosary by it's wooden bead. Jingling it lightly.
"Fine for humans. But a real bitch to a Crossroads Demon." He scoops another bit and chucks it again. The screams bring a genuine smile to his face as he drops his burnt out cig into the bucket and fishes another from his pocket without hesitation.
That package.. it WAS familiar.
"You smoke Silk Cut?"
