Constantine

2008 - London, United Kingdom - Dilapidated Bar

At the bar, sits a handsome blonde British man with blue eyes wearing a beige trenchcoat, a red tie loosely hanging from his neck, and a white dress shirt that is very unkempt. The man is very disheveled, drinking his worries away.

I walked up to him in my Clark Kent getup and took a seat. I ordered water from the bar, flashing my fake ID, pointing to the blonde man, indicating I'm here to meet him.

"A water, eh?" John asked, "What kind of man goes to a bar for water? That's like going to a strip joint for the all-you-can-eat wings. Sure, the wings will do in a pinch, but nobody's there for them."

"I'm not sure that analogy works. Though, I'll give you a break since you seem to be very inebriated." I said. "Perhaps you should switch to water. Also, please stop smoking. It's bad for your health. Haven't you heard of cancer?"

"Eh, fuck off!" John grunted. "What are you, my mother?"

"I'd rather be your daddy." I winked.

John laughed uproariously, "I didn't know you had a sense of humor under that nerd demeanor. You look like an accountant." He looks serious for a moment. "And you don't seem like the type to flirt with me. You must want something."

I smirked and said, "Very perceptive, John. I've flirted with Batman because I knew I could make him flustered. But with you, I had planned to use your bisexuality against you to perhaps secure a favor." I paused. "Damn it. Why do I have to be so honest? You know...life would be so much easier if I could be manipulative like Lex Luthor?"

John looks extraordinarily pleased by what I said.

"Oh, I find it refreshing." He said. "Feel free to flirt with me anytime, gorgeous. I can tell you have quite the body under that poorly tailored suit. Now...just what can I do for you?"

I wrote out a series of seven symbols on a bar napkin with the pen from my pocket. I slid the napkin over to John and waited.

John studied the symbols, then said, "And just what do you plan to do with those."

"I plan to open a doorway to the Rock of Eternity. I need to speak with the wizard Shazam. Have you heard of him? I'd like to send him a message to request an audience with him. If that doesn't work, I'll use those symbols to open a doorway to the Rock of Eternity myself." I explained.

Constantine looked shocked.

"You didn't strike me as the type to believe in magic, much less get involved in one of the premier magical titans in existence. Don't you think you're aimin' a little too above your weight class? I don't sense a lick of magic in you." He scolded.

"That's the reason I'm doing this." I explained.

"You know, there are plenty of rituals and artifacts that can grant you access to magic. Why start at this level?" Constantine insisted.

"Will you still help me if I keep that to myself?" I asked.

Constantine bit his lip then grunted, "Fine. Keep your damn secrets. I'm trying to help you. You don't wanna get mixed up with these types of magical entities. While he's not exactly a God, he's powerful enough to be one, according to what I've read. You must have zero sense of self-preservation. Do you realize what could happen to you if that meeting goes the wrong way?"

"Thank you for your concern. I'm truly touched." I grinned. "Now, how do we go about sending a message?" I wrote the name Mamaragan down on the napkin I wrote on earlier.

Constantine looked at it and said, "This certainly makes it easier. If this is his real name, I mean. People this powerful tend to go by other names. Since true names have power. While Shazam may have gone by that name for even thousands of years, it doesn't mean it would work quite the right way."

"Good to know." I say abruptly, already figuring all that out myself.

"Well. How do you want to go about sending this 'message'? Send him a letter. I'd rather not send your spirit there, you might not end up coming back. And I'm not sure what level of protection that place is warded, you might get lost for eternity considering the name of the place. If you get in, you might be trapped from leaving. Or if you can't quite make it in, you might be bounced somewhere who knows where. While I'm anchoring you, there are certain places you could go where if they're warded strongly enough your body can be disintegrated by trying to enter uninvited and your spirit can be banished to the darkest depths, even if I'm anchoring you." Constantine cautioned even further.

I pulled out an envelope with my letter inside and handed it to him. Constantine raised an eyebrow. He snorted when he read to whom it was addressed.

TO MR. MAMARAGAN AKA SHAZAM AKA THE WIZARD (LAST SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF WIZARDS)

The Council of Wizards' Meeting Space

The Center Chair

The Rock of Eternity (nexus of magic),

Dimension Outside the Normal Confices of Space-Time

The letter was addressed in Harry Potter font and styled in the form of letters that go to new students at Hogwarts.

"Are you trying to provoke him?" Constantine asked.

"No. I just want to make sure it gets to the right place." I said with an innocent expression. "Hey, can you conjure an owl to deliver this letter to him?"

Constantine laughed, "That might be pushing it a bit too far." Then he got a bit serious. "Look... I can do the spell. Based on the location that you're sending this letter, there's no guarantee I can send it through. If this is truly going to a pocket dimension, it's surely magically protected. The best I can do is send a request. Sort of like knocking on the door to receive the delivery from a courier. If this guy is as powerful as the legends say, then he surely should have some form of omniscience and figure out we're sending him a message."

Constantine finished his drink, then chanted under his breath, I heard the names Mamargan and Shazam while the letter glowed then finally it shimmered out of existence.

A few minutes went by.

"Well, I guess he didn't like my message." I said.

I turned to look at Constantine, but he was gone. Everyone in the bar was gone. I saw white light emanating from around the door to the entrance and the floor was shaking. Trays of bar nuts fell from the bar due to the shaking, a couple stools fell over. I quickly stood up and walked over to the door that was glowing. I opened the door and walked through.