Vanguard Technology also had a branch in Los Angeles, and Dane met Batman and Constantine at the branch office.
The first time Constantine saw Dane, he was almost blinded by the divine blessings on him, which were so strong they were practically exploding.
This guy is extremely favored by the power of Light! Constantine thought to himself.
Completely the opposite of himself. If given the choice, who wouldn't want to be a Knight of Light?
Constantine suddenly turned into a 'lemon spirit,' feeling almost emo.
Dane first healed his injuries, and then said:
"So, your plan is to agree to help that demon eliminate his competitors?"
"Cuixi is in its hands, I have no choice but to do this."
"How do you plan to execute this?"
Constantine looked at him strangely.
Dane then realized, and said with a slight laugh:
"Well, well, you're trying to rope me in."
"Don't you call yourselves the Justice League?"
"If you don't solve this, who else can?" Constantine said righteously.
"Sorry, I'm Dane Davis, the boss of Vanguard Technology. I have no idea what Justice League you're talking about."
Constantine was instantly dumbfounded.
"Alright, just kidding. Helping you isn't out of the question."
"However, my suggestion is to wipe out all these demons in one go."
"Otherwise, if any of them escape, it will cause endless trouble."
These guys are all demons; coming to the human World is troublesome, but returning to Hell is easy.
If they can't win, they can just retreat to Hell and hide, then come out to cause trouble again when Dane and the others leave.
In that case, his intervention would not only fail to solve the problem but might even create more problems.
"You're right, this matter really needs to be planned carefully..."
"Wait, what do you mean by looking at me like that?"
Constantine saw Dane and Batman looking at him with strange expressions and quietly moved his chair back.
Dane said sincerely, "John, I hear you're quite famous in Hell!"
Hearing him say that, Constantine's face darkened.
"So, you see, is there a possibility..."
"You go and try to gather those demons, then trick them into believing you can help them deal with Beru'er?"
"They won't believe me."
"It seems you're not entirely unaware of your own reputation," Dane teased.
Constantine, hearing this, showed no shame at all; instead, he seemed quite pleased.
Tricking people is immoral. Tricking demons is an act of virtue!
Dane continued, "Then you should make better use of your abilities and your reputation."
"I think, since Beru'er could trust you, surely other demons would be no problem."
Even so, Constantine was still unsure.
He was afraid those demons wouldn't even listen to him before crushing him to Death.
"You don't have to worry about that; Batman will be with you."
"Please forgive my bluntness, but Batman is just a normal human."
"But how come I heard he already killed Beru'er once?"
Constantine was stunned. He had forgotten that detail.
Dane patted him on the shoulder, "I know your concerns, so this time I brought something very threatening."
With that, he opened a nearby briefcase, revealing the miniature missile inside.
Its casing seemed transparent, and it emitted a faint blue glow from within.
"What is this thing?"
"This is a miniature missile made of eternal metal. Its explosive power is moderate, but its magic lethality is very strong."
"How strong?" Batman picked up the missile and examined it carefully.
Dane said lightly, "It can threaten me."
Batman's movements paused for a moment. Diana, observing, noticed this and gave him a meaningful look.
"Does that mean that Batman and I can directly take out those damned demons?"
Constantine's spirits lifted.
Dane reminded him:
"This eternal metal missile is still a prototype, so there's only one for now. It's meant to provide you with deterrence."
"If you really want to use it to kill demons, it's not impossible, but it can only kill one at most."
"The remaining demons will then be wary of you, and the mission will be harder to complete."
Constantine understood his meaning, feeling a bit regretful.
But at least his life was guaranteed, so he couldn't ask for too much.
Just as he was about to pick up the eternal metal missile to examine it, he noticed Batman had already hidden it in his utility belt.
"Hey!"
"Since I'm protecting you, this item should rightfully be in my safekeeping."
Constantine's mouth hung open for a long time, unable to come up with a single reason to refute him.
But what Batman was thinking was how to take this thing back, analyze the properties of eternal metal, and see if there was a way to use it against Dane.
With the weapon, Constantine and Batman left.
Dane didn't ask if he was willing to join the JLA.
Even if Constantine ultimately didn't join, having this collaboration experience meant there would still be opportunities to work together in the future.
It wasn't strictly necessary to become a team member.
"Bruce seems very wary of you." Diana walked up to Dane.
"He's wary of all metahumans." Dane said unconcernedly.
"And I believe he's probably already developed many plans to deal with us in his computer."
Diana asked curiously, "And you still invite him?"
"It's precisely because of that that I invite him. Metahumans do need some oversight."
In the U.S. comic World, the troubles caused by superheroes are often no smaller than those caused by supervillains.
Flash caused the Flashpoint event to save his mother, and Batman often found his investigations leading back to Wayne Enterprises.
Superman being controlled by villains and losing control on many occasions also serve as evidence.
However, if Bruce wanted to use eternal metal against him, he might be overthinking it.
Because the amount he possessed couldn't possibly be more than Dane, who owned the Rock of Eternity. Moreover, eternal metal wasn't Kryptonite.
Dane wasn't Kryptonian either.
"I don't trust the government because they always want to control everything, but Batman is different."
"He is both a superhero and an ordinary human."
Diana shook her head, "You trust him a lot, and you indulge him."
She no longer dwelled on that issue and changed the subject.
"What do I need to do?"
Dane thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.
"How much do you know about ancient Aztec mythology?"
"I know a little, but not much."
Although Diana worked in a history museum, what she knew most about was related to Greek culture; she knew very little about American things.
"But I heard that the Aztec gods have all died out."
Dane's expression was intriguing, "Not necessarily. At least in this city, there is still one god clinging to life."
Most of the gods in Aztec mythology enjoyed live sacrifices, no different from Loki.
To obtain enough offerings for the gods, the Aztecs would launch "Flowery Wars" against surrounding cities to capture prisoners for sacrifice.
Such a detestable civilization naturally died out quickly, and along with them, those gods who loved live sacrifices also vanished due to lack of faith.
But only one god has survived to this day, and he is hiding in Los Angeles, waiting for a comeback.
He is the ancient Aztec God of Death—Mictlantecuhtli.
He now resides in an underground space beneath a pork slaughterhouse, sustaining himself by absorbing the energy of dead animals.
But even so, Mictlantecuhtli still possesses a certain degree of power.
In the original plot, he even single-handedly killed five demons; although he was severely wounded, it still counted as formidable combat power.
Dane had always wanted to create a divine artifact of his own.
But he had the materials for creating a divine artifact, yet still lacked one crucial thing—divinity.
Divinity can bless a divine artifact, bestowing upon it power akin to a law.
Wonder Woman's divine power shield is one such divine artifact; as long as the shield is intact, the person behind the shield will not be harmed.
Shooting her feet would be useless.
But now Dane might have an opportunity to acquire divinity, the God of Death's divinity—he was determined to have it!
For justice, the God of Death must die!