"Flash, grab Rose and get to the Watchtower, now!" Tim yelled to the Watchtower's communication computer. He then pushed a button to end the call. "Steph, bring up Gar's comm-channel and patch me through. Did you have any luck with the street-surveillance footage?"
Stephanie turned her chair to face the main-computer; after typing in a few commands, she brought up the video of Hades grabbing Cassie. "I have no idea who the guy is, Tim. We never faced someone like him before."
Tim hit his fist against the panel as he grunted. "Who is he!" He yelled as he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, doing his best to calm down.
A frown had formed on her face as Stephanie watched him; the anger coursing through him, she never truly understood how much Tim cared about his friends. He was with them long before she found him. Tim had shared most of his life with Conner and Cassie, even Bart; they had an unbreakable bond. They accepted him like family, and they always looked out for each other. Stephanie grabbed his hand and spoke calmly to him. "Tim, we'll find her. Don-"
"Don't tell me not to worry! For all we know, we can be dealing with a god! We can't even do a facial-recognition to find out which god!" He snapped at her as he shook his hand away and walked to the other screen. He fast-forward the footage to Conner pushing through the ring of fire.
"Hey, I know you're upset, but that's no excuse to talk to me like that, Tim." She said as she stood from the chair. "I'm just trying to help."
He was hunched over the table as he looked at his hands. Tim let out a sigh before turning his head to look to her. "You're right. I'm sorry." He said calmly as he took her hand. "Can you forgive me?"
She leaned up to kiss his cheek as she placed her hand on his back. "Already forgotten." She looked to the video and paused it. "Look at this." With a couple clicks, she zoomed onto Conner and enhanced the video. "Oh my god…" She said as she covered her mouth, tears filling her wide eyes.
"What? What is it?" Tim asked as he looked to the footage; his eyes widened as he looked closer. Conner was on the ground, covered in burns, laying on his back in the now smoky-circle. "Magic flames!" He dove for the communication computer and called up Bart again. "Bart! Change of plans! Chicago. Conner is down!"
"On it! Beam us up in five!" Bart yelled as he quickly zipped over to where Conner lay on the city street. He knelt down and checked for a pulse. "He's not breathing!"
"Hold on!" Tim slammed his fist on a button, activating the transport-beam. "Beam activated!" He looked to Stephanie and grabbed her, snapping her out of her shock. "Steph, get the Med-Bay ready for 'Code-K', tell Dr. Charles to get a response-team on the main-deck! Go!" He let go of her and ran towards the main-deck of the Watchtower. He raised his cowl over his head and activated his comm-link. "This is Batman to all Leaguers, we got Code-K on the main-deck. I need a sweep-team in Chicago of anything Greco-Roman. Someone patch in Zatanna and Doctor Fate. I'll meet them in Midtown-Chicago in ten. Batman out."
**********
Bart and Conner had beamed in by the time Dr. Charles and her nurses got to the floor. They got him on the stretcher as Bart pushed it to the Med-Bay's Intensive-Care unit. He then ran back to Tim and put his hand on his shoulder. "Tim! What is it, magic?"
"Yeah, but we need to find out who. Some Greco-Roman. I'm meeting up with Zatanna and Fate in Chicago, I need you to stay here, in case Conner-"
"Let me come with you! I can sweep the entire-"
"No, Bart! Listen to me!" Tim gripped his arm as he took off his cowl. "I need to examine that circle. See who caused it. If it was Cerci, or some god. My guess is an Olympian, but it's one of two."
"Ares or Hades, right? Because Ares is the God of War, and Hades is the Lord of the Dead. But for all we know, it could be a Titan, like Kronos or someone who wants to over-take Olympus!" Bart exclaimed as he took off his own cowl. "I may not be as great of a detective as you, but I know how to examine a crime-scene. Barry taught me a thing or two from his records during his days in CSI."
Tim looked down and sighed. But before he could speak, Bart continued in a calm tone. "They're my friends too, Tim. You and Conner are like brothers to me, and Cassie is like my sister. Let me come with you."
"But Conner-"
"Let Rose stay with Conner. I'll contact her and Raven. At least if Raven is with him, she can hopefully access something in his mind that may help."
After a few seconds, Tim nodded and put his cowl back on. "Alright, get in touch with Rose and Raven. I'll meet you in Chicago. First, I need you to tell Stephanie to turn the Watchtower so that Conner's I.C. room-window is facing the sun. That should help his healing process. After that, meet us by the scene."
With a quick nod, Bart vanished from sight, leaving Tim alone. He quickly went to the transporter and beamed himself down to Chicago.
**********
The entire area was blocked off by the police; giving Doctor Fate and Zatanna plenty of room to do a magic-examination of the area. Tim showed up and walked over to Zatanna. "Any luck?"
"Sadly, no." She said as she turned to face him. "There's an aura all over the place, but it's not jut from the flames, it's from wherever the minotaur was. Not only that, if it is a god that we're dealing with, I'm not strong enough to find that type of 'magic-scent."
Doctor Fate walked over to the two while holding a rock in his hand. "Perhaps not at this time, but I believe I may have found something." He handed the rock over to Tim.
Tim took the rock and examined it. "What am I looking at?"
"Obsidian." Doctor Fate explained. "But we are dealing with something Greco-Roman, and that-"
"That means there's only one place that could've came from." Her voice echoed as she descended onto the ground. Cameras flashed and people yelled all around the heroes as she made her way to the others.
Tim was in shock but quickly snapped out of it. "I didn't think you were around."
"Well she is, and we couldn't ask for better help." Zatanna spoke as she stepped closer, a smile on her face from seeing her old friend. "It's so good to see you, Diana!" She said as she wrapped her arms around the Amazonian.
"You don't need to explain, I know who took her now." Tim said as he put the piece of Obsidian into his belt.
"I am pleased to hear that your detective-skills improved with age, Timothy. But I hope that you know I will be joining you on this mission." Diana said as she turned towards him.
"Are you sure? It's been a couple years since you put on that armor." He said as he gave her a quick smirk.
She tightened her fist and looked to Tim. "Hades has taken my sister. Do not think I will leave all the fighting to you." She said with a smirk.
"Don't you mean our sister?" Another familiar voice said as she made her way through the crowd.
"Donna?" Tim said as he walked over to her. "Word travels fast, I guess."
Donna Troy smiled and gave Tim a quick hug. "Hermes is the one who sent word to Themyscira. Now come on, let's get to the Watchtower. We have a god to ambush."
(To be continued...)