Chapter Text
Chapter 1– Kaldur I
***
“You sure, Kaldur’ahm? You could rest for a few hours on Mt. Justice; it’s been a long mission,” M’gann suggested, stopping the Bioship next to an inconspicuous dock in Happy Harbour.
“I appreciate your concern, however, this matter requires my immediate attention. Aquaman has informed me that has been an irregular spike in water activity near our current location. It is unlike anything we have encountered,” Kaldur informed them gravely, shaking his head.
Wally patted his shoulder. “Well, don’t die,” he chirped, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Of course.” Kaldur smiled and walked over to the opening on the floor of the Bioship. He thanked M’gann with a nod of his head before jumping off, diving head-first into the water. The cold of the harbour swished gently against Kaldur’s skin, the surface of the water glistening under the moon.
Kaldur’s tracker buzzed in his toolbelt, and with a jolt, he took it out and studied the red dot pulsating on the middle of the screen. He was getting closer.
He flowed in synchronization with the currents passing through the sea, letting them carry him along to his target. When he felt the buzzing of his tracker notifying him that he had reached his target, Kaldur broke away from the tides, finding himself near an underwater trench. It wasn’t unexpected, given that anomalies of this magnitude didn’t tend to happen off in a random sandbank a few yards from shore; there was usually more to the story– hence, probably what was inside the trench.
Just as he was about to dive in deeper to investigate, something caught his attention in his peripheral vision. Out in the near distance, a figure was laying on the ocean floor, arms and legs spread out in a starfish-shape. With caution, Kaldur swam a little closer to inspect the figure, careful not to go too close.
Kaldur knit his eyebrows together, silently confirming to himself that the figure was human. The guy’s– no, boy’s– jet black hair floated around his face ethereally, his figure well-built but slender and toned, like that of a swimmer. His clothes seemed… dry. Kaldur wondered how that was possible. But, to ask more sensible questions: what was a human doing in the middle of the godforsaken ocean? Was he even alive? How could he be, the pressure surely would have already crushed him, not to mention the fact that he would have probably drowned already…
Maybe the disturbance– whatever it had been– had killed him. There were no boats anywhere in their relative location, but Kaldur didn’t put anything past the anomaly. If it had been an explosion of sorts, with the high spikes Arthur told him of, it would have been more than enough to blow the ship out of the range of his senses.
“... I have time to at least move his body,” Kaldur thought out loud, pitying the poor kid. He just seemed too young to die like this– he seemed 16 at best.
Kaldur started towards the boy, who was still at least a few yards away. The more he approached, the more his instincts screamed at Kaldur that something was not right. He paused for a moment. What could possibly be wrong? He suppressed his flaring thoughts with a shake of his head, then started to move again.
The boy opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to stare directly at Kaldur’s soul. Then, he raised an eyebrow. “Hey. Who’re you?” He smiled lopsidedly.
A soft gasp escaped Kaldur’s lips as he staggered backwards a little, shocked at the new revelation. “But… how? You– you were dead just a second ago…” he muttered, shell-shocked.
The boy let out a laugh, sitting up. “Dead? What gave you that idea? Can't a man just lay down, jeez.” He shook his head amusedly.
Maybe not in the open ocean, no, Kaldur thought.
“Well,” he continued, “since I seem to have scared the shit out of you, let me make it up. I’m Percy– yours truly– perfectly fine and alive.” He held out a hand with a mischievous grin.
Kaldur skeptically shook his hand, now scanning the boy– Percy, apparently– with a new set of lenses. He truly had an aura of power, not unlike a god, Kaldur thought. Of course, not to mention for the fact that he was breathing underwater and not crushed to death by the pressure. And those eyes… the bright sea-green orbs seemed to see directly through Kaldur. He felt, for lack of a better word, naked. “I am Aqualad, of Atlantis,” he responded. “Who… who are you?” he asked in genuine wonder.
“Atlantis, huh?” the boy diverted the question, adjusting his sitting position to face Kaldur. “The one ruled under Aquaman or..?”
Kaldur frowned, confused. “You speak as if there is another,” he pointed out.
The boy only snorted in response.
“You have not answered my question.” Kaldur’s originally alert stance started to melt into a more comfortable one, having not been attacked. He determined the boy to not be an immediate threat, for now.
“Well, neither have you,” the boy shot back, raising his eyebrows.
Kaldur didn’t answer, still skeptical about revealing too much to this new variable. He was here to investigate an anomaly after all, and on a time crunch. “Are you aware of anything that may have seemed unnatural or out-of-place here for the last couple of hours?” he asked instead.
Percy shrugged. “Not really. I’ve been here for quite a while now. I think it’s been– what– five hours?” He looked up, trying to remember.
Five hours underwater? Kaldur frowned. “What have you been doing, if I may ask?”
“I was just– oh.” Realization dawned on the boy, and he let out an exasperated sigh and hung his head, shoulders slumping. “Are you, uh, here to look into some sort of disruption in the water, perchance?” he asked with a wry smile.
His frown deepened. “How did you know?”
A hammerhead shark nudged Percy from his side, and he turned to play with the shark and fish that had gathered around. He gave the shark what Kaldur could only describe as a belly rub before patting him one last time and sending him off. “Sorry,” he muttered, “fish tend to go crazy around me. As for your question, uh.” He looked around awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I– that was probably me. Happens whenever I practice with water or poison. Sorry-not-sorry.” He pulled a phone out of his pocket and checked the time, his eyes widening. “Oh, fuck, is it morning already?” he complained. “Well, Kaldur, I think we’ll meet again, if you're from Atlantis like you said. But, for your little anomaly thing– bottomline, it seems like a huge deal but really isn’t. Just me testing my limits.”
Percy gave a casual two-fingered salute, grinning widely, and swam off faster than anyone Kaldur had ever seen.
He had called him Kaldur despite him not having given any hints to his identity whatsoever.
He had so many questions.
***
“He swam away before I could further question him,” Kaldur completed his report to Aquaman. He had searched the area and ran multiple tests on the surroundings, but had found nothing. It was almost like the boy hadn’t even existed in the first place, and was a fragment of Kaldur’s imagination. It wasn’t a good look.
“Hm.” Arthur put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “And he said he was ‘practicing with water and poison’?”
Kaldur nodded gravely. He genuinely did not know how he should approach the situation in his head.
“He was also breathing kilometres underwater. He might just be Atlantean, I’d say, if not for the poison bit.” Arthur shrugged. “Probably just a rogue meta, Kaldur’ahm. As for the anomaly, I will send a research group to investigate later, you need not worry about it.”
Kaldur sighed. “Very well, my king. Will that be all?”
“Well…” Arthur replied thoughtfully, “one more thing. Lord Poseidon is hosting a banquet at his palace this weekend, and invitation has been extended to you and I both. You are my protégé, and therefore heir to the throne and the mantle of Aquaman, Kaldur’ahm,” he explained, putting a hand on Kaldur’s shoulder. “I would like for you to start gathering experience and establishing political connections as soon as possible; you never know what the future holds.”
“If that is what you see fit, then I shall attend, my king,” Kaldur said plainly. He gave a small bow of his head before exiting the room.