The door slid open, allowing J'onn and Da'vizz into the office of their superior. Commander Kris'to'fer was waiting for them, seated behind a desk of steel. The office was sparsely decorated, giving it a sterile appearance. "Greetings on this holy day of H'ronmeer," he greeted them stoically.

"Greetings on this holy day of H'ronmeer," J'onn and Da'vizz responded in turn. It was the second day of the religious celebration. Upon arrival at the Manhunter headquarters, J'onn and his partner had been informed that their commander wished to see them. No doubt it involved yesterday's raid on the illegal battle arena and its incompleteness.

Many of the gamblers had been apprehended and processed by now. Even J'von had gone through the process, though he was currently receiving medical attention. His raasp form had been a poor choice to weather the blow of a grilant and had been immediately taken to a medical center for treatment and recovery. The damage he had sustained in his raasp form had remained upon his return to his normal Martian form.

However, the operation hadn't been a complete success.

"Tell me of your raid the previous cycle," the commander ordered, staring at the two Manhunters. He too wore the red X across his chest, but on the upper left arm of the X, the sigil of the commander rank was present.

"We were able to apprehend most of the participants," Da'vizz immediately answered. "We apprehended many of the workers, along with the gamblers and even the combatants."

"And of the ones who ran this operation?"

Da'vizz tilted his head slightly towards J'onn. It was clear his partner wanted him to deliver the only drawback to a most successful operation. "Three individuals were seen in attendance that are considered to be persons of interest," J'onn stated. "Unfortunately, they were able to flee before they were captured."

"Any visuals obtained?" the commander questioned. He did not sound upset nor pleased. He merely wanted the facts, nothing more.

"I visually located them. Da'vizz was able to obtain images of them. Their identities are unknown at this time," J'onn responded.

"Have you relayed your visual to the artisan?"

He nodded. "I have." The artisan was a Manhunter that created portraits of suspects or victims. This allowed for circulation for these people of interest, to discover their identities, and keep a record for the Manhunters. Time was an insidious thing, which caused degradation to memories. The greater the distance between the occurrence of the memory and the present, the greater the degradation. What one remembered as a child may not be what an adult recalled. It was of great importance that a Manhunter relayed their findings to an artisan if only to create a physical copy of their experiences. While a digital copy had been made when Da'vizz had taken a picture, there were limits to such images. The wrong angle could hide an identifying marking, for instance. So J'onn and Da'vizz had spent time with the artisan along with handing over their obtained footage to better assist the investigation.

"Good, because you are no longer on this case."

J'onn and Da'vizz stared, their mouths opening in surprise. They were no longer working this case? Why was that? They had made incredible progress with it, thus their removal came as a shock.

"May I ask why?" J'onn eventually inquired after a duration of stunned silence. It had been quite some time since he had been removed from a case. It must have been when he was an inexperienced Manhunter and had made a procedural mistake. He had accepted his reassignment as the natural consequence. It was not an experience he wished to experience again and had not until now.

"This is not a reflection of your conduct and performance," Commander Kris'to'fer reassured the two Manhunters. "The two of you have been exemplary in your performance. It is because of this that I am having you reassigned."

"We are having difficulty understanding," Da'vizz responded, still uncertain of what was transpiring.

The commander took a deep breath. "As you know, we have just begun the Holy Week of H'ronmeer. That began yesterday. Unfortunately, there was an incident."

Yes, the two of them were aware of the religious week. As for the incident, J'onn could not help but grimace. While criminal activity was not desired, for it to happen on such an observed day only increased the profile of an incident.

"At a cathedral for H'ronmeer, one of the worshipers fell ill," the commander explained. "He became quite delirious and demonstrated seizure-like behavior. The worshiper pleaded for help during this incident."

"It sounds like this person requires medical professionals, not Manhunters," Da'vizz pointed out.

"While true, I am not finished. In addition to these symptoms, the sigil of H'ronmeer appeared on their head."

J'onn shared a curious look with his partner. "How did this occur?" he could not help but ask.

The commander shrugged his shoulders. "According to witness testimony, it created itself during this medical incident. The reason for our involvement is to determine if this is a single incident, or the beginning of something greater. I want my best Manhunters to look into this situation and that is you two."

"This still feels as if it is a medical matter," Da'vizz protested. "Our uses will be quite limited."

J'onn was in agreement with this. Medical professions were necessary to determine if this strange incident was a one-time occurance, or the beginning of something else. That did not require the presence of Manhunters.

Commander Kris'to'fer sighed. "I am in agreement with you, Da'vizz. However, it is because this occurred on the first day of H'ronmeer's Holy Week, there are high-profile individuals that want it inspected from multiple angles to ensure the safety of all. Our presence is only to reassure these individuals along with the population that it is safe to continue with their religious observation. I fully suspect you will be idle and then paraded before an audience to announce this reassurance."

"Could someone else be assigned this case?" J'onn asked then. The more he heard of this case, the less he found it appealing. "I feel this is an improper use of our agency's resources."

"Of course, it is, but the involvement of public servants—the high-profile individuals—demands our presence." There was a growing irritation in the commander's tone, one J'onn recognized as this meeting coming to an end. The commander didn't like this any more than they did, but his hands were tied when it came to the assignment.

"Very well, we will perform our duties," he responded, holding himself at attention. Da'vizz did the same, straightening out his posture.

"You are dismissed, officers."

With sharp nods, J'onn and Da'vizz left the office, the door sliding shut behind him. "How unfortunate," Da'vizz grumbled. "We perform our duties well and this is our reward?"

"Not all assignments are glamorous and exciting," J'onn murmured an old Manhunter refrain. It was something he had heard from an older Manhunter during his first year. It meant that not all of their assignments would be fulfilling. This was yet another example of the truth of this statement.

"So what is expected of us? That we visit this purely medical case, declare it as such, and then leave?" his partner continued to complain.

"I believe that is exactly what is expected of us," J'onn replied. "Though I would prefer to seek out the benefactors of the underground battle arena, perhaps if we complete this case quickly, we can be reassigned to that case."

"Then to the hospital?"

"Yes, to the hospital."

The medical facility was built to provide the best medical care possible. Worshipers of C'eridyall had blessed it in her name. J'onn was more familiar with the goddess' role in marriage, but she was a Goddess of Life, though in a different sense than H'ronmeer. Depending on your interpretation, she was usually invoked in the beginning of life, be it the combining of two Martians into wedlock, the birth of an infant, and so on. At some point, she was invoked for the continuation of life, thus her blessing of a hospital.

J'onn had been a paragon of health, so his time spent at a hospital was usually for others. In his case, it was the birth of his two children. That had been his last interaction with any such facility as M'yri'ah had seen to the rearing of their children more than he.

As he passed by a health practitioner, the sigil of C'eridyall displayed on the left side of their chest, J'onn headed for the room that housed the ill H'ronmeer worshiper. He and Da'vizz had received clearance from the staff at the hospital's entrance and then directed to this wing.

For whatever reason, J'onn felt uneasy. He couldn't help but sense that something was not quite right. It was something instinctual that he couldn't explain. It set him on edge.

At the end of the corridor was a set of doors, which was their destination. Reaching it, J'onn held up a badge, a physical one, not a biometric. Because of a Martian's shapeshifting ability, biometrics were the preferred security feature to restrict movement. The physical card that had been given at the front desk indicated that such security was not needed, but something was required. It felt odd to have to carry such permission rather than forming it from his own body.

Holding the badge to a small black box on the wall next to the door, there was a sharp beep, followed by the doors parting down the middle and sliding to either the left or the right.

Instantly, a rush of thought struck J'onn, causing him to flinch back, the same with Da'vizz. It was a chaotic cacophony of random images and words, noncoherent, which left him unable to understand what was being broadcasted. It was as shocking as it was surprising considering it started the moment the door opened. Something was being used to contain it when the door was shut, most likely a thought dampener.

"Do not create a link!" J'onn immediately warned his partner. His experience with Martians that had fallen under the sway of certain substances lent credence to this. As a Manhunter, he had come across Martians that imbibed or ingested certain compounds that left their minds a jumbled mess. Trying to establish a mental link with such people only dragged one down with them, inadvertently spreading their addiction to others. It was advisable to not mentally connect with them because of this. Many good Manhunters had joined the ranks of the addicted because of such actions.

Because of a Martian's need to communicate through telepathy, being unable to use a mental link hindered such communication. In response, the only known way to continue communicating was to broadcast one's thoughts to anyone and everyone in the vicinity. Any Martian would hear you, removing the use of private conversation, but that was preferable to losing one's own mind.

Venturing through the doorway, the doors sliding shut after them, the Manhunters headed towards a doctor whose profile was towards them. He was looking through a large window, his concentration focused on what was beyond it. J'onn made a direct line towards him.

"Doctor!" J'onn called out, drawing the physician's attention to him. "I am with the Manhunter Division, Officer J'onzz. This is my partner, Officer Da'vizz."

"Greetings on this auspicious day, Officers," the doctor responded. "I was informed someone from your agency would be visiting. I am Dr. Loon'de'gaard. How may I be of assistance?"

"We were sent to investigate the incident that occurred at the H'ronmeer Cathedral," J'onn replied.

"I see. Well, you have found the one at the center of it."

The doctor gestured to the window and both Manhunters turned towards the glass. Beyond it was a Martian strapped down to a table. Three other Martians were standing, each in an airtight suit, their faces being revealed by a small window in their helmets. They were milling around, performing some medical tasks that took J'onn a moment to recall. One was obtaining vital signs from the ill Martian, while another appeared to be administering some sort of medication. The last one had their back to the window, so it was uncertain what they were doing.

As for the ailing Martian, they were shifting and restless, resisting the restraints that kept them pinned to the table. J'onn could sense the broadcasting of random thoughts came from this Martian, but it was pure nonsense. None of it made sense when put together. If there was a meaning behind them, then he failed to identify it.

However, that was when an image of a thought forced its way into his mind. Blasting out from the suffering Martian's mind, everyone within the vicinity was presented this thought whether they wished to view it or not.

Fire.

The image of an open flame caused all of the Martians, the ones at the ill Martian's side to the ones watching, to flinch. Fear sent a tremor up J'onn's spine before he immediately called upon his mental defenses, shutting out the fear-inducing image along with the scattered thoughts. That was also an instinctual response by him, though its necessity had been developed during his isolation. He was thankful for it at this particular time.

"What is happening to him?" Da'vizz couldn't help but broadcast his thought, his tone indicating his own discomfort with what had just happened.

"We are uncertain," Dr. Loon'de'gaard responded, his own fright evident in his speech. "He has been this way since his collapse in H'ronmeer's Cathedral is my understanding."

"He is afraid," J'onn surmised, which earned him the attention of his fellow Martinas. "All Martians fear fire, so it is only natural such a thought would appear, I think."

"Quite possible," the doctor agreed dubiously. "A professional in psychology would be better to determine such a prognosis."

"Is there any identification on this man?"

Dr. Loon'de'gaard nodded. "His name is Th'mas, a resident of Dea'var's lower eastern sector."

At this time, the third Martian servant of C'eridyall had turned to face the window, a set of syringes in hand. They moved to Th'mas and used a needle to poke into his skin. It became apparent they were drawing a blood sample.

It was at this time that Th'mas flinched from the needle poke, tossing his head away to better face the window.

Which revealed a strange symbol on his forehead.

"What is that?" Da'vizz questioned as he stepped closer to the window, squinting his head in an attempt to better focus his vision. "That strange symbol on his forehead?"

"It is the sign of H'ronmeer," Dr. Loon'de'gaard immediately answered. "According to the report received from the first responders, that marking appeared on Th'mas' head during his initial outburst. According to witness reports, it burned itself there, as if he was being invisibly branded."

Now J'onn was narrowing his eyes, but not in the manner that Da'vizz had. Invisibility was an uncommon ability amongst the Martian population. Children blessed with it used it in their games of Seeking the Hider. Many made demands such abilities could not be used in their game, but there was always one that used it anyways. J'onn remembered learning how to spot such players in order to combat such disregard of the rules.

It was these Martians that ended up using such an ability for less than reputable ventures more often than not.

"What other symptoms have you been able to diagnose?" he eventually asked.

"Delirium, which you can clearly see. Agitation is another. To be honest, this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It will be quite some time until we can definitively determine what it is and how to treat it."

J'onn nodded his understanding. "It would be much appreciated if you kept us informed of Th'mas' condition. I understand that you have your hands quite full with his treatment, but anything you uncover would be gratefully appreciated."

"I will do what I can," the doctor shrugged. "Hopefully the blood samples we are obtaining will offer us some answers."

"Farewell, and good luck," J'onn bade before he turned to leave, Da'vizz following behind him. As they reached the doors to leave, J'onn couldn't help but notice a small black box placed right in the corner where two walls and the ceiling met. That was a telepathy inhibitor, a device intended for the prevention of telepathic invasion. In this case, the inhibitor was keeping Th'mas' ravings within his cordoned room, much like he had expected. It would prevent others from linking with his mind on the other side as well.

The moment the doors closed behind them, Th'mas' delirious thoughts came to an abrupt end. Da'vizz left out an explosive mental sigh. "That…that was something," he said after a moment.

"Yes, it was," J'onn agreed.

"What do we do next?"

"We go to the H'ronmeer Cathedral."

His partner looked at him. "Why there?"

"Dr. Loon'de'gaard mentioned that marking on Th'mas' head appeared as if someone invisibly branded him. I would like to rule out the possibility that someone indeed invisibly branded him."

"And potentially gave Th'mas something that would cause his current state," Da'vizz finished for him. "Do you really think there's an external factor to all of this?"

"I am uncertain of that, but I would rather determine if there was one or not, rather than assume."

"Then to H'ronmeer's Cathedral."

It was rather unfortunate that the priesthood of H'ronmeer had made the efforts to clean up the cathedral. Following Th'mas' outburst, they had prepared the room for the next gathering of practitioners for the late-day service and the subsequent services thereafter. That meant that any clues that had been left behind had been destroyed.

"Greetings on this holy day of H'ronmeer," a priest greeted them at the entrance to the cathedral. Upon their arrival, J'onn and Da'vizz had introduced themselves to the first offical for the church, who had instructed them to remain at the entrance as they retrieved their superior. Although they obeyed, J'onn had scanned the cathedral with his eyes and had made note of the cleanliness of the room, much to his chagrin. "I am Priest He'mor of the H'ronmeer Cathedral. You have been expected. How may I be of service?"

"Greetings on this holy day of H'ronmeer," he responded with the appropriate response. "We are Manhunters from the local precinct assigned to the case of your fallen practitioner. We have come to perform an investigation here to rule out any foul play." He then purposefully glanced at the cathedral. "Though it seems we may be too late."

"I apologize for our haste," the priest spoke upon learning of the intention of the two Manhunters. "We needed to prepare for the next sermon and have cleansed the area. In the event there was negative energies involved, we have performed the appropriate cleansing rites."

J'onn understood the priest's intent, but that did not mean he wasn't annoyed by it. He was quite disappointed by their swift actions. They potentially destroyed or contaminated a potential lead they could have followed. Regardless, he wanted to observe the scene and see if anything, no matter how insignificant, was left behind and untampered, even if the odds of it were unlikely at this point.

"Then if we may be led to the area where the outburst occurred?" he ventured.

"Of course. Follow me."

Priest He'mor led the Manhunters to the bench, gesturing with one hand to the floor next to it. "I believe our unfortunate sufferer came down with his milady at this location," he intoned.

"Are you certain it was this spot?" Da'vizz inquired. "Not the seating before or behind it?"

"I am quite certain. We counted the pews between the incident and the altar to ensure we knew where to perform the rites."

J'onn stared at the floor, then the seating. He could not see anything unusual, no doubt a result of the subsequent cleansing. He didn't detect anything with his telepathy either. If emotions were strong enough, they could linger in an area for a short time. It was why certain cleansing rites were performed after heinous crimes, to rid the area of particularly negative emotions. That was what he had been taught at a young age, though he suspected it was perhaps more to comfort those of the living to be in a place that suffered from horrific events. The mind was quite powerful and could influence itself without being suspected that it was the source of its troubles. A cleansing rite assisted in removing such potential thoughts, or so he believed. At this particular moment, he was not actively reaching out with his mind as his telepathy was sensitive to detect any ill-intent should it be expressed. It seemed that he needed to be present at the time of the incident to know for certain, or the priests' cleansing rites had been quite thorough. "Which part of the service was being performed?" he asked, his head turning to view other areas of the room.

"We had just begun the great melding of minds, the joining of all Martians to the Great Mind," the priest answered. "It was shortly after this that the practitioner began screaming in clear discomfort."

"We have seen the practitioner," Da'vizz responded. "He still appears to be in distress. He also had what appeared to be the sigil of H'ronmeer branded to his forehead. Do you know how that came to pass?"

Preist He'mor shook his head. "I do not. I was not close enough to the unfortunate Th'mas to see this. I did detect surprise and alarm when it allegedly happened. By the time the priesthood and others that could be of service arrived at Th'mas' side, the mark was already there."

"You did not sense any ill-intent at the time, did you?" J'onn questioned. "As it was explained to us, it appeared as if the sigil was formed as if someone invisible were applying it."

"No, not at all," Preist He'mor was quick to answer. "Nor did I see any signs that there could be someone invisible at Th'mas' side. If there was one, they simply had no time to flee as the congregation swarmed around our fallen brother. It made reaching him rather difficult."

"Then during your cleansing, did you or any of your fellow priests identify any strange markings or items that did not seem to belong?"

The priest paused at this as he considered the question. "I am unaware of any such things. Neither of my fellow priests reported anything and I did not see any myself. I apologize for not being able to be of greater assistance."

That was unfortunate. While J'onn was certain that even if there was any clue left behind, the priests would have been able to identify them for what they were and would have still disregarded them. It was no fault of their own save for the fact that they should not have tampered with the scene to begin with. His irritation with the situation had yet to be relieved and only seemed to be growing.

A thought occurred to him then. "When did you first learn that the Manhunters would be performing a cursory investigation?" J'onn asked.

"Not until we were nearly complete with the cleansing and purification rites," came the answer. "Had we known, we would have delayed our efforts."

That was easy to say at this moment, but that did make J'onn wonder who made the decision to have an investigation performed. His initial suspicion that maybe some sort of foul play was performed did not come to fruition. Was this incident merely some unknown medical mystery and that it just happened to occur in a cathedral?

"Of course," he spoke, if only to reassure the priest that his intentions were pure and not malicious. "If there is anything you discover or detect, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or my partner. Any new details will be greatly appreciated."

The priest bowed his head. "May H'ronmeer favor you in your investigation."

"And may he shine his light upon you and the devoted," J'onn responded in turn. It was a familiar refrain he had heard since his childhood. It was an automatic response at this time. Even Da'vizz murmured the response, though his was softer in comparison to J'onn.

The two Manhunters then turned and took their leave. However, before they left the cathedral, another priest came rushing in, passing by the two as he headed right for his superior. J'onn and Da'vizz turned, watching the man, detecting his distress. "Priest He'mor," the man spoke urgently. "I have distressing news. There has been another incident."

J'onn shared a look with his partner. Another incident? That did not sound good. The two Manhunters reversed course and began returning to where the two priests spoke.

"What do you mean, there have been more incidents?" Priest He'mor questioned.

"We have just received word from our brother church that one of their parishioners has fallen ill. They report many of the same signs that our own parishioner has suffered."

There was a second case now. J'onn did not like that. "Pardon my interruption," he interjected, earning the two priests' attention. "I could not help but overhear your most distressing news. You said there has been a second case?"

The priest nodded. "There has. I have put out word to the other houses of worship to keep us informed of any more incidents."

That was a wise course of action. However, the fact there was a second incident indicated there would be more. With little to go on as to how it started, they were all still at the beginning with little to show for their efforts. Naturally he and his partner would need to see this second Martian to determine if the cases were the same, or just coincidental. He rather hoped it was some other malady.

Otherwise, he felt this was going to get worse before it got better.