DC: The Dark One

Grabbing my face and leaning on a nearby tree, I started debating with myself on what to do next. Looking at my clothing I sighed knowing that my platoon commanders would probably say I was MIA, KIA, or perhaps a deserter. Honestly speaking none of them were a good option neither for me nor my family back home. Although I guess I could hope for either the MIA or KIA so that I could prove it wrong when I inevitably return. 

At least to say goodbye to them because I could already feel the change in my personality even if I didn't want it to happen. While I knew there was probably a way to separate myself from the curse of the dagger, to keep the benefits whilst paying a different price. It was possible after all, as the few things I've written about the magic users in the DC universe showed that the man John Constantine paid the price constantly and had to outdeal demons.

All the while one Zatanna Zatara just spoke backward and reality would just bend, although I was sure there was probably more to it. Perhaps Zatanna had a natural affinity for magic whilst John had to go through different methods to even achieve the same feats. I felt as though my magic was more in between the two, it felt like Fae magic to be perfectly honest, or something like it.

"Huh?"

Now that I thought of it, if I wanted to make deals with magical beings it didn't necessarily have to be a demon or an earthly being. It was possible the Fae realm existed in one form or another so something for the future. I got my pencil and journal out and started a new little chapter in my book, mostly on possible deals I could make in the future, mostly the beings which for right now were limited to humans, demons, or the possible Fae.

For right now though I just looked at myself trying to think of what I needed to do next. Well if those newspapers were correct about all those heroes popping up it was bound to get the US government's attention in one form or another. Perhaps a special little squad to battle against Hitler's forces. Who if I'm not mistaken was obsessed with gathering mystical objects to prove themselves superior. 

I think only a few of their high-ranking members even believed they were real or had any power at all. However, in a world like this, there was no telling which artifact held power or not. Either way, perhaps gathering a few for myself would prove fruitful, if they held any semblance of magic at all. 

Well if I was going to try and find them, and join up with their merry band even if temporarily better get some new clothes. Taking a look at my army uniform I thought about what I should wear, perhaps something stylish and reminiscent. Welp I had plenty of material to draw from and I waved my hand and began changing them. I had changed my pants to nice sleek striped grey ones. I then turned my former army into a nice purple undershirt. 

Seeing as I did;t have a complete set, I began ripping the bark off a nearby tree gathering the material needed to complete the change. Now based on the dagger's collective knowledge of alchemy, which was a neat little thing as well this would require a bit more effort to transform. 

Alongside a bit more effort, it needed a few symbols added to it. A bit more on the mystical side of alchemy but when in Rome do as the Romans do, or in this case when trying to create clothing do what's needed. I grabbed a stick and made a circle large enough to fit the pile of wood, alongside a circle of smaller circles with some squares inside them. I then wrote a few symbols that I would need to figure out what they symbolized at a later date. 

Otherwise,, it'll bite me in the ass later and once it was all completed I placed the wood in the center of the circle. I then touched the circle and let the magic given to me from the dagger, letting the natural darkness reshape the bark into a nice black vest with some buttons and a nice coat to match my pants. 

Once it was all done I put the clothes on and erased the little symbol on the ground with my army boots. Which I would have to replace at a later date when I'm not in the middle of a war. Didn't want to conjure some dress shoes I think they were called and then have to run a mile in them. Well in case I can't teleportt away in an instant, or some magic user barred me from using it. 

Even then I couldn't resist changing my look, I was going to become someone new after all whether I wanted to or needed to. The dagger would influence me as even now I heard the voices of previous Dark Ones, they weren't as loud as they were in my dream, which probably used quite a bit of luck. 

Conjuring up an illusion of myself, I looked at myself checking every detail, and sighed seeing that I heavily resembled Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon a Time when he first became a Dark One, far more than I would've liked. Dispelling the illusion I began to draw a large-scale circle with a particularly large tree at its center. 

Based on what the Dagger's knowledge told me, this should be a good little locator spell albeit one that had a high chance of failing. Mostly because it was all based on memory or knowledge of an individual. So rather then a spell using something that belonged to a person, it relied on the casters memory. 

Again a useful spell at the moment but not one I would ever try again and the only reason I did it was because well a deal could be made with them. A deal to use my power to help them win the war in exchange for a few items that may seem mundane to them but not so much to me or to what the dagger believed. 

For example, somewhere in my mind, I remember a certain demigoddess and a pilot who would probably die in this war. That is if this DC world followed a similar pathway, but even then a deal could be made, a favor needing to be repaid at some point in the future. After all, I was thinking of getting myself a pawn shop in Gotham, I know it's an insane dark place crawling with supervillains...in the future. For right now it's just a normal crime-riddled dump with cheap real estate. 

That and well while I wasn't an avid comic fan, I did remember a piece of trivia about it. That being it was a heavily cursed place. After all why would so many twisted individuals spawn out of it, that or the greed/corruption its deep in. Well I could be wrong but still cheap real estate and plenty of people to bargain with, good and bad. 

Now why a pawn shop, I just think it would be both a good place for me to gather intentionally magical artifacts for a relatively cheap price. That and be a good explanation for why I would have gold. Just a bit of inspiration frm the show and one that would probably prove useful in the future, if I can figure out how to spin string into gold. 

Once I finished creating the large circle I then made four lines connecting the circle to the tree. I then created a smaller circle connecting the lines nearly finishing the large circle with the final touch being if I remembered it right was a bit of blood from the caster. Taking my dagger out I sliced my hand and placed my blood palm on the tree letting the tree soak it in, letting the dark magic flow through it. 

"Well I just hope that my luck hasn't abandoned me yet."

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Author here sorry about the wordy chapter, you can skip this if you want to but their will be some point made here that will happen again in the future. Next chapter we'll hopefully see the introduction of the Justice Society and the beginning of the DCAMU AU. So I just hope you enjoyed what has amounted to an introductory chapters so far.