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“I don’t understand,” Tim huffed in frustration, looking at his fins in disdain. His tail shimmered blue and silver under the fluorescent lights of the Batcave, mocking him with its sparkles. “Why can’t I do this?”
“Hey take it easy, Timmy,” Dick said as he tossed him a towel. “You’ll get it.”
They’d been at it for hours. Tim felt no closer to “getting it” as he ever did.
Ever since they had gotten back from Australia, Tim had been working really hard on developing his magic. His goal was to be able to touch water without transforming. He was tired of always having to avoid getting wet. It was a major liability. Using Dick’s lotion and spell had gotten him this far (which, really, he was grateful for), but he was no longer willing to deal with their awful side effects. It was time to take matters into his own hands.
But no matter how hard he tried, he grew a tail. Every. Single. Time.
He knew it was possible for merfolk to control their transformations. His mother could do it. Tim had seen her get wet plenty of times without sprouting a tail. One time, National Geographic had even published an article that had shown his parents scuba diving!
But whenever Tim had asked his mother about it, she had simply called it “a family secret.” She told him he had to learn how to avoid water “the old-fashioned way” before she would allow him to “take the easy way out.”
And now, the secret seemed to have died with her.
“Maybe we’re approaching this the wrong way,” Bruce offered. He had been doing all kinds of research trying to help his son, but thus far, nothing had come up. “Maybe it’s not supposed to be your own power, but something external. Like Dick’s sun tattoo.”
“I don’t know about that,” Tim shook his head as he continued to dry himself off. “Mom always said that tattoos were for criminals and trailer trash.”
“Ouch,” Dick snorted.
Their father frowned. “And you never noticed her muttering a spell or doing any specific gestures when she got wet?”
“Never. Sometimes, she would be caught completely off guard like I was back in Australia with the champagne. The difference was, nothing ever happened to her. And she was always able to scuba dive with my dad when they did underwater digs, so that means whatever her secret was allowed her to be fully submerged in water for long periods of time. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Dick cocked his head. “What about something she wore? I’ve definitely heard of witches and other members of the supernatural community using enchanted jewelry.”
Tim thought for a moment. “Actually, there was this ring she always wore. It seemed very important to her. She never left home without it.”
Bruce was intrigued. “What did it look like?”
“It was silver. The band was made of two opposing mermaids both reaching out for the center stone, which was this beautiful sky-blue pearl. My mom said her grandmother had crafted it.”
Now that he said it out loud, it seemed so obvious. How on earth had he never thought of it before?
“Seems like a decent enough lead to me!” Dick grinned.
“That is, if we can find it,” Bruce reminded somberly. He looked to his son. “Tim, do you have any idea what may have happened to the ring when your mother passed?”
His legs took that opportunity to make their grand reentrance. Tim allowed Dick to pull him up to his feet before answering. “I’m pretty sure my dad kept it locked away somewhere. I don’t know if he knew the ring’s true significance, but I don’t think he could bring himself to sell it. My parents had their issues, but he really did love my mom in his own way.”
Dick folded his arms across his chest. “So he never said where he stashed it?”
Tim shook his head, swallowing a lump in his throat. “My dad never liked talking about anything related to merfolk stuff. After my mom died, he said he just wanted to forget that merfolk ever existed. I don’t think he liked the fact that I turned out to be a merman – he thought it was too girly or whatever. I tried asking him about the ring once, but he shut me down really fast. I didn’t bring it up again after that.”
His relationship with his father had been… complicated. After Tim had transformed for the first time, his dad had grown more distant. He and his mother had travelled more and more often, and when they had stayed home for extended periods of time, Tim had almost always been sent to boarding school. His dad had often promised to be better after his mom died, but nothing ever really changed. By the time his father had actually started supporting his son – both as himself and as Robin – it had been too late.
“I’ll start doing some digging,” Bruce promised, turning back to the Batcomputer.
Dick placed his hand on Tim’s shoulder. “In the meantime, how about we take a break and go do something fun? You’ve been talking about the new arcade that just opened up downtown. And I happen to know it’s right by that sushi place you love.”
It was tempting. He loved hanging out with Dick, and it had been far too long since they had gotten some one on one time with each other.
Tim looked to Bruce. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”
His father shook his head. “Go. Have fun. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything.”
The rest of his reluctance faded. “Okay, Dick. Let’s do it.”
Bruce called them three hours later, when they were sitting at an ice cream shop. They’d already hit the arcade and the sushi place. Tim hadn’t had that much fun with Dick in ages. And it had helped take his mind off of things. Lately, he’d been so obsessed with figuring out his mother’s secret that he hadn’t really taken time to unwind.
That being said, he answered the phone call immediately. “What’s up, B?”
“I found it,” his father reported. “Jack opened a safety deposit box at Gotham City National Bank a few months after Janet’s death. The contents listed in the GCNB database include a ring matching your description.”
Tim couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Really?”
“Really. I already called the bank. Someone is staying late so you can go pick the ring up tonight.”
His heart was beating a mile a minute. This could be the answer he was looking for. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he simply couldn’t help it. The thought of finally having control over his transformations was overwhelming.
Dick, who had been listening in on the conversation, beamed at him. “Well then, we’d better get over there.”
It took every ounce of willpower Tim possessed to wait until they got back to the Cave to take out the ring.
Bruce was waiting for them. “Okay, let’s see it.”
He pulled the ring out of the soft velvet pouch. It looked exactly like he remembered it.
That is, until it didn’t.
Upon contact with Tim’s skin, the ring changed. It slowly grew to his size, the band thickening into a more masculine silhouette. The merfolk reaching for the center faded from view then quickly reappeared as male. The only part of the ring that remained unchanged was the shimmering, blue pearl. Only now, the shade of blue looked identical to that of his scales.
“Whoa. That was awesome,” Dick breathed.
Bruce looked fascinated. “So it seems the ring is indeed enchanted. Why don’t you try it on, Tim?”
Tim took a deep breath. He could feel the mystic energy flowing out from the ring, calling out to his very soul. It slipped onto his finger with incredible ease, like it wanted to be worn by him.
His brother grinned at him. “Looks good on you.”
Tim admired his hand. The ring fit him perfectly. It felt… right. As if it had been made just for him.
Now all that was left was to test their theory.
The three of them made their way back over to the training mat where Dick and Tim had been practicing earlier.
“Ready?” Dick asked, picking up the small, water-filled spray bottle they’d been using.
Tim nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
He held his arm out and allowed Dick to spray him.
They all waited in tense silence.
Please work, he prayed. Please, Mom, tell me this is it.
Ten seconds past. Then fifteen. Then twenty.
Nothing happened.
There was no flash of white light. No losing his balance as his legs disappeared. No blue fins spreading across his forearms. No gills popping out of his neck.
He was still human.
“Oh my God,” he whispered, unable to believe it. “It worked. It actually worked.”
Dick tackled him in a hug. “I knew we would figure it out,” he cheered. “Congrats, bud.”
Tim let out a shaky breath as he wrapped his arms around his brother. He was suddenly overcome with emotion. “Ever since I was ten, I’ve had to live in constant fear of being exposed. And all this time, the answer was right there. To think that my mother kept this from me… she had the solution the whole time and still made me go through all of that stress. How messed up is that?”
“I know, kiddo,” his brother soothed, rubbing circles on Tim’s back. “I’m sorry she wouldn’t help you. You deserved so much better. But try to focus on the positive here. You have the ring now. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Dick had a point, of course. There was no use dwelling on the past. What mattered now was that he had found his answer. He took a deep breath to regain his composure. “You’re right,” he told Dick as he slowly pulled out of the hug. “Thank you so much, Dick. You’ve been with me on this journey from the very beginning. You tutored me in magic the best you could, and I really appreciate all the time and effort you spent on me. You too, B. All that research you did… and then you found the ring for me. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”
Bruce clapped him on the shoulder. “I have faith you would have solved it given enough time. You always do. I’m just happy I could help.”
“We gotta tell the others and celebrate,” Dick grinned. “They’re gonna be so happy for you.”
Warmth spread through Tim’s chest. At least his Batfamily supported him no matter what. “Yeah, let’s go tell them.”