31 Chapter 30

-[Mount Justice]-

-[Dante]-

Superboy, M'gann, Robin and Dante stood in the mission room with Batman in front of them. Artemis was still recovering, Wally was on probation that Dante wasn't about to lift and Kaldur was busy with Aquaman, leaving only four of them.

M'gann could sense Dante's emotional turmoil with how troubled he was. Before she had a chance to ask, Batman began speaking.

"This is Kent Nelson or as he is more commonly known, Dr Fate." The holographic screen beside him showed images of both figures. "He's been missing for a little over three weeks. With Kent missing, that leaves the helmet of fate unguarded. Your mission is to find Kent and make sure the helmet is safe."

He then pulled out a golden key, giving it to Dante. "This key will grant you access to the tower of fate."

As everyone nodded in understanding, Batman then added. "The life of your teammate is potentially at stake. It is imperative that you do not fail this mission." His gaze turned to Dante as M'gann, Superboy and Robin had their eyes wide open in shock.

-[Later]-

The four of them sat in a tense silence as the Bioship flew them to the coordinates Batman had given them.

The silence lasted until M'gann decided to speak out. "What did Batman mean when he said your life was potentially at stake?"

That was the single question that had been on their minds since they left the cave. Though Dante had masked most of it, she could just barely feel his internal turmoil.

'It's going to come out eventually…' Dante thought, holding back a sigh. "How much do you know about Dr Fate?"

"Well, he was a member of the Justice Society of America way before the League existed. He was a powerful magic user unlike any other." Robin answered, being the more knowledgeable of the three.

"Yes that's what the public knows but what do you truly know about him?" Dante pressed.

"Batman implied that the helmet is very powerful." Superboy answered unsurely.

"You're on the right track but that's barely scratching the surface. Like you said, the helmet is very powerful but Dr Fate and Kent Nelson are two different people." He said, gaining looks of confusion all round.

M'gann spoke up. "But Batman said th-"

"Yeah I know what Batman said and he's not completely wrong. The helmet of fate is more than just a power source, it's an entity on its own. When someone puts on the helmet, they essentially relinquish control over their body to this entity." Dante explained.

"That sounds…terrifying." M'gann said with a horrified look.

"That's putting it lightly. The entity in the helmet is a lord of order, one of the beings that govern the balance of the universe. And just as there are lords of order, there are also lords of chaos." Dante explained.

"How do you know all this?" Superboy asked in confusion and his question was well founded.

"A few hours ago, I was summoned by the lords of order and chaos." He revealed with a grave expression.

The looks of shock on his team's face said they understood the severity of the mission they were on, even if not completely.

"Why would they summon you?" Robin asked.

"They didn't answer any of my questions so I don't know. I'm hoping to find Kent so he or Fate could shed some light on this." Dante answered in a slightly frustrated tone as he fished his phone out of his pocket.

At least that was what he attempted to do. 'Where's my phone?'

-[Star City]-

Back in Dinah's apartment, Dante's phone lay on the bed, ringing loudly. With everything going on at the time, his phone was the last thing on his mind.

In his haste, he had forgotten it when he and Dinah headed to the cave.

-[New York]-

-[Zatanna]-

Staring at her phone, she couldn't help but be worried. 'He's not picking up.'

There was the possibility that he was still on a mission but she had a bad feeling about it. As she let out a sigh, she paused as she heard voices outside her room.

Her dad was back from work but she didn't recognize the other voice. It was familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Carefully opening her door just a little, she peeked through as she saw a blonde woman talking with her father.

"…en a situation." She heard the woman say as her eyes widened in recognition.

'Dante's mom? Then where's Dante?' She wondered, not seeing the blond boy anywhere.

"What happened? You sounded urgent on the phone." Zatara asked, as serious as ever.

The next words that came out of the woman's mouth caused her heart to freeze.

"It's Dante, something happened."

-[Salem]-

-[Dante]-

Robin, M'gann, Superboy and Dante exited the Bioship, now standing in a grassy clearing.

"There's nothing here." Superboy said in confusion but that wasn't what had Dante's attention.

He spread his mental perception in all directions as wide as possible. In his frustration, he didn't bother being subtle, M'gann's light gasp proving that she felt the slight touch of his mind.

He immediately found what he was looking for. His open palm tensed before tightly clenching his fingers into a fist.

•••

Inside the abandoned theater behind the team, a tall thin man with a black ponytail hairstyle stood on stage. Also on stage with him was an elderly man with grey hair and blue eyes tied to a chair with an exhausted look on his face.

"Tell us where to find the helmet." Abra Kadabra, the faux magician, ordered.

"Enjoy it…while you can…" Kent Nelson, the captured man, managed to say despite the torture he had been put through.

Before either of them could speak, their spectator screamed in shock. A very young scraggy boy sat in one of the front seats of the empty and abandoned theater. His short dark hair did nothing to hide the horns that rose over his ears.

"What's happening to me?!" The boy screamed in shock as his body began fading in and out.

His scream drew the attention of his partner, Abra Kadabra who looked on in confusion. "Wait! What's going on?"

The boy ignored him as he started looking around frantically. "Where's Teekl?!!"

Before he could get any answers, his body lit up in a red flamelike energy, engulfing him. There was a brief flash of light and a red ethereal looking diamond with a flamelike aura floated in his place.

Even Kent watched in shock as the diamond rose high up, passing through the roof and continuing its journey upwards.

•••

Dante turned to his team who were attempting to locate the tower of fate. "I found something. It's in there." He said, pointing to the building behind them.

"That's an old theater. It's been abandoned for a few years." Robin observed as they followed behind Dante.

As they headed towards the theater, M'gann let out a low gasp as she looked into the alley beside the building.

Following her line of sight, the team found themselves looking at a domestic cat with ginger fur and tiger stripes. The most important thing to note was its crushed neck.

"I guess they don't like cats around here." Superboy commented with a barely disturbed look.

"Who would do such a thing?" M'gann wondered in a sad tone.

"Can we please focus?" Dante asked as they reached the entrance of the building which was nailed shut by a few planks of wood.

Calling on his telekinesis, the nails were immediately pulled out, hovering above them as the wooden planks were lifted out of the way.

As they entered, they found a man with dark hair tied in a ponytail looking panicked as he screamed at a tied up man.

"What did you do?!"

[That's Kent Nelson!] M'gann exclaimed in recognition.

Robin's eyes widened as he saw the dark haired man. [Yeah and that's Abra Kadabra.] Robin said through the link.

[There's no one else here besides them.] Superboy informed.

Though Dante already knew that, he nodded in confirmation as he reached out with his telekinesis, raising Abra Kadabra into the air.

"W-what?!" That was all the man could say before a mind blast from Dante knocked him out.

Robin and Superboy blinked owlishly. "Well that was easy."