SBAT Chapter 12

Steph feels as though she’s seeing and thinking more clearly now. She just doesn’t like it much.

“Is this the part where you threaten me?” she asks.

“No. I don’t have to. And like I explained before,” Demi goes on, cracking open another soda. “Threats are the last thing I’d try with someone with your profile. Only an idiot reaches for the stick before trying the carrot. I mean, your file makes it pretty obvious. You suck at what you’re doing, but whatever identity you have is tied to it. You hang in there because you think there’s a shot at making up for your mistakes, while if you walk away you have to admit that you’re a total failure. And a part of you knows that by staying in, you just risk making it worse and compounding the problem. You know that you should walk. You know that you’re doing the wrong thing. That’s why it feels so shitty. It’s just a shame you’re no good at it. Things would be different if you actually brought something to the table. You’ll never be Barbara Gordon, but at this point you aren’t even Kate Kane. Even she had the sense to accept that wearing pointy ears was not the solution that she needed. But you can’t change. Change is scary.”

“I don’t wear pointy ears,” Steph says tightly. “What are you offering me? Metahuman powers?”

Demi beams at her. “I wasn’t planning to, but I can throw those in if it’ll sweeten the deal.”

“There isn’t gonna be a deal. You can’t scare me.”

“I’ve already scared you. But scaring you isn’t the point. You’re a hero, Steph. Even if you do it for all the wrong reasons. Heroes are nothing if not predictable.”

Demi flinches as Steph puts one purple boot on the desk with a bang. Steph slouches, and her hand finds the grapple gun on her belt. “Go on,” she says.

“Predictable. You aren’t gonna shoot me with that.” Demi twists in her chair and taps a few keys. The screen shows Constantine and Selina dangling over metal grinders covered in blood. “It wouldn’t hurt me, it wouldn’t help you, and it wouldn’t help them. What would be the point? I think that’s the big thing about getting away from mortality. You start to notice how many things mortals do that don’t really seem to achieve anything. Maybe I’m just productivity oriented.”

Steph’s only half-listening. She licks her lips, staring at the screen. “You’re going to offer to let them go?”

Demi shrugs and tosses her empty can into the recycling basket. “I wasn’t planning to. But sure, I can throw that in too. Sweeten the deal.”

“What deal?” Steph snarls. “How do I know that’s real?”

“How do you know anything’s real? I just put you in a dream that you thought was real. And you came to hell, a clueless mortal, and fucked a beautiful, gorgeous, very successful demon. Does that seem believable to you? Just kidding! Kidding!”

“Jesus.”

Demi snorted and wiggled her hand. “Want me to put some clothes on?”

“Please.”

“Ouch.” She starts getting dressed.

“So, if I don’t make a deal with you, you’ll drop them?”

“No. They aren’t mine to drop. I didn’t put them there, but I don’t know how you thought John Constantine was going to walk into hell and things would just go smoothly. I guess you don’t know him very well. And I keep telling you, you’re a hero. We don’t threaten heroes. It doesn’t work.”

“You’ll threaten the people I care about.”

“Wrong again. That’ll just make you mad. Won’t it?” Demi asks as she buttons her blouse.

“You don’t care if I’m mad.”

“Of course I do. You’re a customer. I want you happy.”

“How are you going to make me happy?”

“By giving you what you want.”

“Do you have Bruce?”

“I can’t give him to you.” Demi takes her seat and leans on the desk, suddenly serious. “But you remember, Steph, all that stuff I said to make you understand how rough we can make it for you down here?”

“Yeah,” Steph says darkly.

“And now we think about all the people that you care about. Mom. Baby. Tim. On and on. Now, bear with me.” Demi gestures meaningfully with both hands. “What if you had the power to guarantee that they would never have to worry about any of that? It’s not about the things that I can take from you. It’s about what I can give you. What you can give them. That’s what you’re trying to do, isn’t it? Steph? You want to help people. It’s all you ever wanted. This is your chance.”