Changeling and Raven arrived at the mineral expo and were met with the the gaze of Nightwing and the Titans. They were acquainted with this new team, so they swiftly noticed the absence of their son from the roster.
"Where is Crow?", Raven asked worriedly.
"Lost in time", said Michael.
Changeling and Raven looked at him with confusion and Nightwing and his comrades looked at him with disapproval.
"What he was trying to say", said Nightwing, "is that we think Crow may have...time traveled"
"What? How?", asked Changeling.
Raven just looked confused.
"Some villain wanted the quartz here for an unknown purpose. It's likely time travel related, given the properties of the rock. It's possible that whoever it was sent him to an unknown temporal location", said Nightwing
"Do you remember ever meeting him in the past, when you were younger?", asked Jack to the adults.
They all thought about it for a few moments, then Changeling said "Not pulling anything", and Nightwing and Raven seemed to agree with their glances.
"So, this means he went to the future?", asked Twila
"Probably", said Raven, "If I have a reference point, which I do given he's my son, than I may be able to trace his position in time and space. How long that would take, though, I'm far from certain"
"Do you have an estimate?", asked Nightwing
"At most? A few months. But it could be as quick as a few seconds. I have no means of knowing, really", answered Raven
"So, what about the guy who did this?", asked Changeling
Nightwing turned to Jack.
"Well, the only time traveling villain you've told us about is Warp, but he didn't look anything like him", said Jack, "and we haven't the slightest clue we're he could be anyway. He threw some kind of grenade at his feet, but when it detonated everything around him was left in tact"
"You think Cy would know about that tech?", asked Changeling
"Advanced tech is his forte. If anyone knew about this, it would be him", said Nightwing before turning over to the Titans. "And you three, you should go back to the tower. We'll sort this all out"
"What?", said Michael, clearly offended, "but he's our teammate"
"And under normal circumstances, your assurance would be welcome. But there really isn't anything any of you can do about his current predicament", said Nightwing
"He's right", Jack said,"none of us really have the ability to aid this situation"
"So, what, are we just gonna be benched until this is sorted out? Marcus was our best fighter!", said Michael
"You're all good fighters, as long as you keep at peak condition. There's nothing you three won't be able to handle, and if I'm wrong you'll have us to fall back on. It'll just be slightly harder is all", reassured Nightwing.
"Well, let's get back to the tower", said Jack,"maybe we'll be lucky and they'll have this figured out by tomorrow"
Twila nodded and Michael rolled his eyes, and they complied.
Nightwing got into the Batmobile after loading the evidence in (with over-the-phone permission of the organizers), and he let thought stir for a few minutes. Then he got his phone, and called Cyborg.
After ringing for a few seconds, the call was answered.
"Hello?", asked Cyborg.
"Hey, I've got some stuff I need you to take a look at. Mind if I bring it down to the Hall?"
"Depends on what kind of 'stuff' you're talking about"
"Just some mechanisms and minerals. We think one of the new Titans might have...accidentally traveled through time"
"And you think this because he was messing with whatever it was you were talking about?"
"No, some villain did it, I don't know who though. Kids said it wasn't Warp, but I'm bringing down security footage with me"
"The Cave'll have better equipment for me to work with than the hall. Come pick me up and I'll see what I can do"
"Got it", Nightwing said as he started the Batmobile and drove off.
Raven entered her concealed personal library to and floated in as perfect of a center as she could.
"So, is there a reason you're doing this in here?", Changeling asked
"Many of these works are arcane literature, it will amplify my power and speed up the process", said Raven
"Anything I can do to help?"
"Bring me something of Marcus's. It'll probably speed up the process"
"On it"
Michael paced gratuitously in the kitchen portion of the commons room. He wiped the dust off the screen of his handheld and considered playing it. But he couldn't. It may seem strange, but he could only play video games with laser focus, and his mind was very clouded at the moment.
"You seem concerned", Jack said from behind, startling him
"Jesus Christ, what are you doing up so late?", Michael asked as he calmed down from the initial surprise
"It's only ten. And I'm getting some cold milk, helps me sleep"
"Crow keeping you up too?"
"Naturally. But have faith in the old Titans. I'm sure they'll be able to fix this mess"
"And if they can't?"
"I'm...not sure. All we can do right now is wait"
Michael nodded and zipped his handheld back up in its case. He went back down through the corridors, presumably to his room to sleep.
Jack poured his milk, and sipped it in infrequent intervals. Once finished, he rinsed the cup out then returned to the counter, where he stared at the bottom of the cup.
"Morning", came the voice of the Twila from behind him. He saw the pink sky outside, and was surprised when he realized he had spent all night staring at the bottom of the cup. He didn't even feel tired.
"Morning, Stell", he said
"Have you seen Archimedes?", Twila asked
"Archimedes?"
"Yes, that's the name I've given to my pet"
"You mean that dog-bug thing?"
"Yes"
"Haven't seen him"