Maes Hughes was tired; he'd spent the past two days investigating the case of the former state certified 'Freezing Alchemist.'

The man had so far managed to evade the military's every attempt to capture him and seemed to have gone back into hiding, which only made him a bigger target to catch in the eyes of the Fuhrer. Unfortunately, that translated to a bigger workload for the Investigations Department and an even bigger workload for its head.

Joy.

Cracking his neck, he stood up from his desk and looked out into the night sky. The only highlight from this week was that Roy-Boy was on route to Central and would arrive in a few days. Maes practically giggled in excitement at the prospect of meeting his best friend again- he had so many new pictures to show him!

Even though Hughes made sure to call every time Elicia did something amazing, which was everyday, it just didn't have the same effect as looking at the captured moment with your own eyes. Plus, Roy sometimes didn't answer. Maes couldn't fathom why.

Glancing over at the wall clock beside him, Hughes cursed slightly at the time. He had promised Gracia he would stop by the grocery store for some milk. He couldn't just go home empty-handed! He had a duty as a family man to uphold his promises!

Unfortunately, Lady Luck just did not seem to agree with him tonight. The store's closing time was in fifteen minutes.

The Lieutenant Colonel hurriedly closed the folder and packed it into his bag. Normally, he would leave it in the office, but something had caught his eye last minute.

Putting his military jacket on, he nearly sprinted down the hallway. Catching himself, Maes settled for a very fast walk. There weren't that many people still in Central Command this late, but he didn't want to disrupt the few that were here.

Making quick work of the hallway, he slammed open the doors leading to the outside, only barely catching the receptionist's "Goodnight, sir!"

"Goodnight!" Maes skipped down the steps and once he was at the bottom he broke out into a full out sprint.

Thankfully, the store wasn't too far.

He arrived just in time; the employees were about to close the doors. "I'm so sorry for my tardiness, work just made me lose track of time! I only need a gallon of milk, I swear." The two workers in front of him frowned, eyes narrowing the slightest bit towards his uniform.

A few minutes later saw Maes smiling in relief as he made his way down the sidewalk, gallon of milk in hand. His promise upheld, his mind had started to drift towards his lovely family so much that he almost neglected to notice the crumpled form in the alleyway he'd just passed.

Keyword being almost.

'That's impossible...'

Robin and Miss Martian stared at the entrance to the tunnel in frustration and something akin to desperation.

At least, what should have been the entrance to the tunnel.

The metal was horribly twisted into itself, blocking anyone from entering.

Robin scanned the surface of the closed off entryway, noticing something peculiar. Holding a hand out in front of M'gann, who had been alerting the rest of the Team about what they had discovered, he swam closer to the warped metal. Once he was less than a foot away, he reached out his hand and trailed it over the odd markings that littered the edges of the tunnel.

Activating his holographic computer, he took a quick snapshot of the markings, making a mental note to research them later.

'Superboy, I need you to come down and get this tunnel open. I'll meet you on land and give you my rebreather. Miss Martain, retrieve the bioship; I have a couple more rebreathers stocked inside. Artemis, KF remain on guard and come with Superboy.'

'On it.' Superboy immediately took off in the direction of the water, Kid Flash and Artemis not too far behind.

Robin looked back at the twisted contraption before swimming up towards the surface, worry slithering around in his mind.

Maes walked cautiously towards the crumpled form, senses on high alert. Putting the gallon of milk on the floor, about a foot away from his target, Hughes crouched, never letting his eyes stray.

'Male. Dark-Skinned. Late teens.' Maes' eyes trailed over the boy, taking special note of the odd eel like tattoos tracing his arms, as well as the long gash on his left limb, blood leaking lazily from the wound. Frowning, he looked up towards the boy's face, only to stop at his neck.

Three slits marked the boy's neck on both sides, flapping gently in the wind.

The first thought that came to his mind was that someone had slit this boy's throat, but that was quickly debunked by further observation. No blood was present around his neck and the skin didn't appear to be disrupted by them.

Unease settled in Hughes' stomach, as his mind came to a conclusion. 'Gills.' Could this boy be a chimera?

Maes Hughes was no alchemist, but he understood Alchemy at a basic level, and consequently, chimeras.

Scooting closer to the boy, Maes reached out a hand and felt for a pulse. It was certainly there, albeit a little weak. Hughes furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed webbing between the teen's fingers, further cementing his earlier speculation.

Leaning back, Maes let out a heavy sigh. If the boy really was a chimera, which he probably was, protocol states he immediately notify Central Command. But, Maes couldn't help but feel conflicted. He knew what Central did to chimeras, and seeing that the kid had a more humanoid appearance than other reported instances, Hughes didn't doubt that the military would conduct an 'extensive study' on him.

Letting out a low groan, Maes shrugged off his jacket and draped it over the boy. Grabbing him gently, the Lieutenant Colonel managed to get the kid's right arm over his shoulders, allowing for Maes to support his body weight.

Grunting a bit from the added weight, which was surprisingly quite a bit, Hughes awkwardly kneeled to grab the gallon of milk left on the cement. Readjusting himself, he continued onward to his home, opting to take more secluded routes in order to lessen the chance of people seeing a military officer hauling an unconscious teenaged boy and a gallon of milk.

Maes was breathing quite heavily once he finally reached his door. Although young and lean, the kid was hefty, probably due to the amount of muscle on his body.

Thankfully, there was no one at the front desk when he'd entered the complex, so he hurriedly snuck into the elevator, opting to take that versus the stairs, to get to the third floor.

Shifting his 'burden' slightly, and dropping the milk, he fished around his pocket for his key, and, after finding it, jabbed the small thing into the keyhole, unlocking it quickly.

Once inside his home, Maes shut the door gently and leaned against it, catching his breath.

"Maes?" Gracia sat on the couch in her nightgown, a book propped open in her hand and a mug of tea on the table beside her.

Maes looked up at her, letting a smile slip onto his face. Even now, he sometimes couldn't believe that this radiant beauty before him was his.

And then, he was reminded of his little companion and his smile quickly turned into a sheepish grin.

"Guess I should explain, huh? Help me lay him on the guest bed first, though." Gracia nodded, a worried expression on her face. She stood and walked over to the nearby guest room and opened the door. Taking a deep breath, Maes straightened and followed Gracia to the doorway.

Once inside, Hughes quickly approached the bed, slipping the boy gently onto the soft blankets. When he was sure the kid was properly situated, Maes swiftly reached into his pocket and grabbed a pair of handcuffs. Not wasting any time, he handcuffed the kid's right hand to the wooden bedframe. Kid or not, Maes wasn't about to let a possibly dangerous stranger free in his house and around his family.

Putting both of his hands on his hips, Maes let out a deep sigh and looked over at his wife. "I know you want an explanation," Maes began, "but the truth is I don't really have one. I found him unconscious and injured in an alleyway on my way home. His left arm has a pretty deep gash, from what I can tell." He paused to run a hand through his hair. "I don't know how to explain it, but I just have this feeling that I should try to figure more things out on my own before getting the military involved."

Closing the distance between him and Gracia, Maes wrapped his arms around her in a strong, yet gentle hug. "I'll protect you both, so don't worry too much." Gracia's face smoothed into a soft smile, as she reciprocated the hug. "I know and I trust you. But," Gracia looked up at him, her smile tugging into a tiny frown. "I just hope you know what you're doing, love. I don't want you getting hurt."

Maes tightened his embrace. "Get hurt? Pshh, have you met me?" Gracia giggled, leaning her head against her husband's chest. "Yes, that's why I said it."

A few seconds passed before Gracia broke the hug. Giving a small kiss to her husband, she left the room.

Maes gazed after her and sighed as he closed the door gently. Hauling a small chair from the desk in the corner of the room, Maes sat nearby his guest, right hand positioned over his throwing knives.

It was going to be a long night.