Rain fell through Gotham's night sky, as though weeping for the city's scars.
The Batwing glided through the heavy clouds like a silent, giant bird. In the cockpit, Batman's gaze stayed fixed on the data flickering across the screen. In the back seat, Zatanna lightly traced her fingers over a floating crystal ball. Starlight swirled within it, illuminating her focused, worried face.
"Fluctuations in four different continents within three hours. New York, London, Cairo, Tokyo. Either he's learned to teleport, or these are decoys."
"John's specialty is leaving a confusing trail." Zatanna did not look up, her eyes fixed on the constellations spinning inside the crystal ball. "But magic has its own rules. Every spell, especially interdimensional teleportation, leaves an echo across the planes. Like a stone dropped into a pond..."
She stopped abruptly, her fingers tightening. The starlight inside the crystal ball spun wildly before settling into a tangled mass of light and shadow.
"Not four locations... there's a fifth."
Disbelief crept into her voice. "He's using false traces to conceal where he really went."
Batman quickly brought up a world map. "Coordinates."
"51°30' north, 0°07' west."
Zatanna frowned as she read out the numbers. "London?"
"Alfred, bring Satellite Seven online and scan central London."
"Already scanning, sir. But so far, we've found no anomalies matching the magical signature Miss Zatara provided."
"That's only the surface," Batman said thoughtfully. "Constantine wouldn't stay somewhere that easy to track. He needs a magical blind spot, or... somewhere below. He's beneath London."
Batman's fingers danced over the control panel, bringing up a map of London's underground structures-the subway network, drainage systems from the Victoria Era, World War II air-raid shelters, and ancient Roman ruins, layered over one another like an inverted city.
"Is there anything unusual down there?" he asked.
Zatanna closed