My Own Greek Tragedy - part 4

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Dancing has never been your forte, and by how Rose cycles evenly between smiling and scowling as your feet find the floor and her own, she knows as well.

But, if Bruce couldn't ruin your night, a few missteps wouldn't either. Though, it may be better to err on the side of caution.

The two of you speak quietly to one another, about things that don't really matter, staying far away from any conversation regarding your other lives, or moving driftlessly with the cadence of the music.

Suddenly, a force strikes your side, nearly causing you to stumble. You turn and catch sight of the person who had collided with you, a woman dressed in a purple gown.

The two of you right yourselves, and you brush off an invisible piece of dust from your shoulder.

She's tall, towering over Rose's form, and at level with you. Raven hair air spun like soft silk and eyes as clear as a blue sky, endless in their depths, and framed by a pair of inexplicably ordinary glasses, for someone like her.

Beautiful.

But there's something more to her, something that you couldn't name or really even grasp. It's not lust or desire, even though those too are present.

You've never really felt anything like it before.

It's just something...more, an aura that made her almost a beacon for every eye around her, a hum in the back of your mind of familiarity with this mystery woman.

"Apologies," she says. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No problem," you wave it off easily.

"My name is Diana, Diana Prince." She offers her hand out in greeting.

You accept it without thought, only to be surprised by the firmness of her grip. "Cadmus Othrys."

Her grip tightens for but the flutter of a moment and had you blinked, you would have missed how her brow furrowed.

"A pleasure to meet you. Enjoy your night, the both of you."

"You as well."

She gives a parting nod to Rose and you before fading into the swirling crowd.

"Come on, let's enjoy tonight." Your hand returns to rest on her waist.

"I could if you'd stop stepping on my toes, you big idiot." She nonetheless leans into your touch.

A genuine laugh bubbles up out of your chest, and Rose's lips quirk into a smile.

Minutes turn to hours as the night disappears into a swirl of laughing and dancing, and any worries or thoughts of the future go with them. Time lost its meaning, all that mattered at this moment was the girl in your arms and the smile on her face.

And maybe, just a bit of excitement of what would likely happen tonight.

Unbeknownst to the both of you, two pairs of eyes watch you intently from the rafters, one belonging to the Princess of Themyscira, and the other, the Dark Knight of Gotham.

The Hall of Justice, Headquarters of the Justice League

The Justice League was renowned for being the shining beacon of hope for the world, its members capable of feats that would astound any normal man.

Paired with their reputations, and their uncanny ability to defeat any danger they face, it isn't surprising that some actually believe them to be blessed by God, or gods, for that matter.

But, the League had not assembled in full force tonight, with its greatest members in attendance from Wonder Woman and Superman to Martian Manhunter and the Flash, to address an approaching world-ending apocalypse or a galactic conqueror hell-bent on taking Earth into his yoke.

No, today, The League faced a new and wholly unique problem, a novelty in itself.

Because, displayed prominently on a holographic screen was no incoming alien armada or eldritch horror that had crawled out of someone's nightmares, but the picture of one Cadmus Othrys taken at the Wayne Gala just the night before.

None spoke, not the Big Blue, or the Amazon, or the man from Mars, all were content to wait for the Dark Knight to break from his silent repose at the head of the table where he gazed intently at the laptop in front of him.

All of them, except for the Crimson Speedster.

"So, is this the kid that's got you so worked up the past week?"

The fastest man alive reclined back in his seat, legs kicked up onto the table and unabashedly ignored the look of reproach from Wonder Woman.

"Yes, this is him. Cadmus Othrys." Batman responded.

"So, what did he do to get you to bring Diana along with you to the Gala?"

His cheek twitched in annoyance.

"If you'd be quiet for one moment, you'd get your answer."

The Flash rose his hands in faux surrender.

After a suitable time filled with the sound of the Dark Knight clattering away on his computer, he gestured to the lone woman present.

"Diana, if you would."

The statuesque Amazonian accepted the offer graciously and joined Batman at the front of the table. Long gone was her facade as Diana Prince, now, there was only Wonder Woman, Hero of Themyscira.

In place of a gown, she had only worn a short few hours ago was her iconic attire, a tight-fitting one piece of red and blue with a prominent gold W in the center. At her hip hung a length of rope that emitted a low golden hum, the Lasso of Truth.

"I encountered Cadmus Othrys at the Wayne Gala last night," Wonder Woman began. "and I do agree that Batman was right to bring this to our attention."

"Ahem, I'm just a teensy-bitsy lost here," The Flash rose a finger in question. "can I please know what he did, because it seems like I'm the only one who doesn't."

"He murdered Oswald Cobblepot," Batman responded blithely.

The announcement garnered many shaking heads and murmurs of disapproval from the present members. The Flash remained undeterred.

"The Penguin? Killing's bad, like a no-go obviously, but the guy was a total scumbag, kid's gotta be given justice but-"

"Along with another two-hundred and seventy people."

The Flash slowly slunk back into his chair, but between the golden lightning bolts on his mask and the bright red he wore, he did not do a good job at making himself inconspicuous to the many eyes that stared at him.

"Oh." he offered weakly.

"So," Superman finally spoke, his voice demanding the attention of the room. "he's a serial killer."

"No, not exactly." To everyone's surprise, it was no Batman to respond, but Wonder Woman. "The others were Penguin's henchmen."

"Henchmen, criminals, what matters is that they were people, and they were killed."

Diana's frown made it clear her opinion on the Dark Knight's thoughts.

"We understand, Batman, please continue. There will be no more interruptions." The Martian Hunter said pointedly, like a father chiding his unruly children.

"Thank you, J'onn." He pressed a button and the screen flickered to a projection of the Iceberg Lounge. "On December 17th, Cadmus Othrys under disguise killed Oswald Cobbelpot along with many of his associates."

The screen changed multiple times, displaying the ruined remains of the Icebreaker and many safehouses and warehouses that had gone up in flames.

"Since then, he has remained low and out of sight. No chatter on any black market comms, or from any mercenary boasting about offing the Penguin."

He paused, giving the silent signal for others to speak. Superman asked the question everyone else wanted to.

"This was almost two weeks ago, why isn't he in custody?"

"Because Cadmus has displayed metahuman abilities that would make his capture nearly impossible under the current circumstances, including but not limited to, teleportation-like, powers, combined with super strength and durability."

"And where is he right now?"

The Dark Knight examined the large clock across him. "In 6th period."

Like he was to many things, whether it be facing off against the Joker, or recognizing his failures as a caregiver, Batman remained unfazed to the varying level of angry outbursts and an exclamation from every person in the room.

"You're letting him walk around free? Around other children?" Aqua-Man asked incredulously.

"He is under watch. Robin and Batgirl are under orders to keep watch. Arrow's protege is also in attendance."

"Artemis?" Green Arrow asked. "Wait, this isn't the same guy that our kids saw during the fight with Ivo, right? The one that made the doc disappear and left the robot that caused us trouble, a rust heap?"

"Yes, he is. It was also Artemis's arrow that took down Amazo."

"After this Cadmus guy caved in its chest with his bare hands, and then disappeared with Ivo. You think he's responsible for putting him upon the spire too?"

"I do."

Green Arrow looked torn between groaning in annoyance or shouting in anger, judging by how his face shifted to a beet red, it was leaning towards the latter.

"Batman, with all due respect, this a great lapse in judgment on your part." While the Martian Manhunter may have spoken softly, the set of his jaw made it clear his own anger.

After all, his niece was on that very team and had come face to face with this dangerous criminal. Luckily, she had escaped. But next time...the Martian wasn't sure.

"It still doesn't answer the question of why you needed Diana," Superman said.

"Because, with all this information taken together, I suspect that Cadmus Othrys is not entirely human."

The Flash, a man of science and principal, who unlike his peers gained his powers through experiment was the first and loudest to object.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, the kid has some funky powers, but we've seen crazier stuff from meta-humans, no need to bring gods into this. Um, no offense, Diana."

"None was taken," she replied cooly. "But Batman is correct, Cadmus Othrys is not human, or at least not entirely."

"Some other alien race, maybe?" Superman hedged. "Maybe some other race that benefits from yellow sunlight?"

"I checked the past fifteen years for any reports of UFOs crashing into Gotham carrying newborn children. There haven't."

"You're suggesting he has godly blood." Aqua-man rumbled, arms-crossed in thought.

"I was able to procure a DNA sample from the subject. There was no trace of any human genetic markers. And given his name, we believe he has some connection to the Greek Pantheon."

"Isn't there some guy called Maxie Zeus running around Gotham? Calling himself, well, Zeus? Why haven't we brought him around for smiting people with lightning bolts? If I remember my myths right, nine out of ten chance he'd be the kid's dad."

He yelped when Diana's hand crashed onto the stone table.

"That mortal is not Zeus." Wonder Woman replied through gritted teeth, eyes flitting across the room, daring anyone to argue.

None did.

"Okay, okay, message received. Let's say this kid is the son of one of the Greek gods, which one do you think it is?"

"We can exclude any of the female ones off the bat," Batman began, impassive to the eyes of Hawkwoman and Black Canary glaring at him. "None of their domains align with Cadmus's powers."

"Six down, six to go. This shouldn't be too hard."

"We can rule out Dionysus and Hades as well unless he can make people rise from the dead or make wine from thin air."

"He can't," Batman confirmed. "No earthquakes or water manipulation either, so no Poseidon."

"I should hope so." The King of Atlantis muttered. Even for as long as he had reigned, a spawn of the Sea God would have posed a great danger to the stability of his lands.

The Flash tutted as he scratched another name off his list.

"Then that leaves only a few likely suspects. Zeus, Apollo, and Hermes. Diana, you're our Greek expert, what do you think?"

The Amazon hummed to herself in thought. "He hasn't exhibited flight or weather manipulation, but strength is a hallmark of the sons of Zeus. But teleportation, no, that could only be Hermes."

"The Messenger God? He never really struck me as one whose kids like to go on killing sprees." Superman said.

"He's a demi-god, they all like to do that," Flash replied acerbically.

"Touche."

"Still...something doesn't fit. Strength, durability, near imperviousness, Hermes has never demonstrated anything unique in those areas."

"Maybe he got them from his mom? We don't know who she is either, right? Damn this kid is just a giant question mark."

The one to fill the silence next was none any would have expected. As though summoned by the invocation, a faceless man emerged from the shadows like a ghost.

"What if, it isn't an Olympian?" The Question asked.

Flash gasped loudly and flailed in his chair as the uninvited guest materialized next to him.

"Jesus Christ man, you almost gave me a heart attack. Who let you in here?"

"The door was unlocked." The Question answered blandly.

"No, it wasn't," Superman replied.

"Agree to disagree. Now as I was saying, what if the father is not an Olympian?"

"It can't be any of the minor gods, his abilities are too powerful."

"You know what I mean, Wonder Woman, what if it's something else? Something older?"

Older. What could be older than the gods? That was the question now to be answered.

Wonder Woman shook her head quickly.

"Cease this nonsense immediately, or I will remove you from here."

"Why do you even care, Question?" Aquaman questioned.

"The question needs to be answered, I don't care how, only that it is."

"Of course. That makes sense." The Lord of the Seas drolled.

"You are treading dangerous ground, Question," Diana warned.

"Sometimes you have to go to the places we don't like to get the answers we seek."

"What's he talking about, Diana? What's got you so worried?" The Man of Steel asked with clear concern.

Wonder Woman remained fierce in her defiance, jaw clenched tightly in anger and something...else.

"What he is insinuating is madness. Complete and utter madness."

"I'm somewhat of an expert on that." The Manhunter piped in. "Please Diana, explain."

It was only with great reluctance that the Princess of Themyscira did.

"Before the time of the gods, before even Olympus, there were other deities. You would know of them as Titans."

"I vaguely recall mention of some of them in ancient Atlantean scrolls," Aquaman added. "of a deity called Oceanus, Titan of the Seas."

"You are correct, Oceanus was one of the Titans, but far from the greatest, or the most terrible. You see, the Titans were not benevolent to man. They did not understand compassion. How could they? The Titans were not like gods who held command of their domains, they simply were them. How could the Sun understand Man, or how could the Ocean grasp the emotion of a mortal?

"From atop their thrones on Mount Othrys, they looked down on mortals, viewed humanity as playthings and entertainment. And what some of them did, Iapetus the Piercer, Perses the Destroyer, the stories my mother would tell...no, it would not do for another to have to hear them."

"So they were bad. Ignoring for a second that the kid's last name is the same as the spooky mountain." The Flash summed up succinctly. "But didn't the Olympians cast the Titans down, replace them, and that was the end of it?"

"No, Gaea knows I wish it were. Not even the Olympians combined could slay the Titans, so they were imprisoned within the Pit of Tartarus for all eternity."

"There, that's the end of it. See, Question?"

"Wait. There's more. Isn't there?"

"...Yes, except for one. The most powerful of them all, and the cruelest and terrible was not put into the Pit."

"Kronos." The air within the room turned cold when the Dark Knight uttered the name of the Titan Lord.

"Yes, yes, The Lord of Time," Diana paused. "he was as close to omnipotent as any being could be. He was Time, he is Time. It took the combined might of all his children to finally bring him down. The Master Bolt of Zeus rended Kronos's Black Throne into a dozen pieces which were placed into the care of the Olympus's loyal followers to forever break the Titan's power. There is one such piece on Themysicra, locked within our deepest vaults and guarded by our sisters night and day."

"And another on Atlantis, under the guard of my greatest warriors."

"Wait a minute, you're telling me the guy who ate all his kids is still alive?"

"Yes, but he is imprisoned within the Halls of the Dead, forever under the guard of his eldest son, the god Hades."

"I'm sorry but I don't really have much faith in Underworld security after the last time we went down there."

"Batman, have you ever been near Cadmus when has used his powers, did you feel anything? Anything at all? you must be specific!" Diana pressed.

"Diana, please, calm down-"

"It felt...cold like I was sinking into molasses and then I blinked and he was gone." Batman finally responded haltingly, as though admitting to it was weakness.

Diana collapsed into her chair, muttering in Greek beneath her breath. The League exchanged looks amongst each other with clear concern.

"Oh Gaea, this is bad. This is very, very bad."

Superman rushed to her side.

"What is it, Diana? What are you thinking?"

"I fear that the boy's father is not a god at all, but a Titan. And if my suspicions are correct, which I pray to Gaea I am not, we are all in far greater danger than we had thought."

Amidst the tumult within the room, none noticed that the Question had disappeared.