This is another feeble attempt to catch any and all adventure and make it my own in my own way. I was a little disappointed by the Lightning Thief movie's applicability to the books and I wanted to rest the agitated beast within me. So I hope you all enjoy this. Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. I wish I did.

Daughter of the Seas

What kind of a name is Serenity Savage? An oxymoron, that's what. Unfortunately, it's my kind of name. Hey, give me a break. The day I was born I had no means by which to protest my mother's name choice. Besides, she was all hyped up on epidural drugs that day. I was a difficult delivery apparently. Call me Sera.

So here's a little bit about me. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, the one great big hell hole. But it is my great big hell hole, thank you very much. I'm quite partial to every one of the 120 degrees that plague the rest of the population. To cope with the hellfire of my home, I began swimming at age two. Swimming, oh the glorious word. Water of any sort is absolutely necessary for my survival. Now, age 17, I am a synchronized swimmer for the Aqua Stars, the Arizona club team. One of the great things about doing my synchro (the affectionate name given by all of us girls to our favorite sport): I have built up my lungs for near ten years. I have always been comfortable holding my breath underwater; anything to let me stay in that wonderfully silent yet peacefully calm water. I have held the record for holding my breath which is a cool six minutes and fifty six seconds. The only reason I came up was that I had to hiccup. So needless to say, I was the freak of nature.

It didn't help being a five foot eight high school junior. Well, technically I am a senior now that it is the summer. In school I was anything but the popular girl. Me and my friend though, Bridget, we'd have the time of our lives by ourselves scheming new plots for running coups or discussing the latest episode of Chuck. Yeah, I'm a nerd too, you can say it. Hence, the adoration for Chuck, FlashForward, Firefly and Serenity (I'd like to think of that as my namesake), Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and many, many other geeky movies. I didn't have many other friends though. I guess you could say I had a friend complex. With Bridget I didn't feel like I needed anything else. We were just normal, American teens living the American dream and wishing to be anywhere but where we were.

I live at the local pool. When I was first recruited by the Aqua Stars at age ten, my mom let up the lease on our old apartment and we moved into the complex just adjacent to the practice pool. I'd always walk over and swim. My mom even bought me a season pass every year. I'd get a new one on my birthday, June 21st, every year. To me it is just the sign of pure awesomeness when your mother is willing do uproot everything just to support you in everything you set your mind to. She's a pretty cool girl, my mom. Jodi Savage has been a single mother for over 17 years and I have loved her every minute of it. For the first fifteen years of my life we had it pretty rough though. My mom is a graphic designer, making graphics and logos for different company. She hardly had any work that is until I was fifteen. She got offered a huge gig to do an ad for Coca Cola. At first she was hesitant to take it but I convinced her to go for it. We discuss everything together, she is one of my greatest confidants. They loved the ad and they recommended her to an agent who instantly got her a bunch of other offers from different companies. We then began to live comfortably. Suddenly, we had money we could spend and that was one of the nicest things to know. We didn't use it a lot but it was nice to be secure. That was always how I felt with my mom, secure, safe, at home.

So today was just another day for the two of us. I walked out the door at exactly 7:30 am, giving my mom a hug goodbye while she sat at her computer designing. I would say 'I love you,' and she would answer, "I know," just as she always did. But then as I walked through the door she called to me again.

"Don't get into any trouble today, okay?" I was slightly confused but shrugged it off.

"Alright, only one fight then."

"Sera," She scolded.

"I'm just kidding, gee. Love ya, bye." I called through the door as I made my way down the two flights of stairs to the street.

I drove my lovely and fantastically old Ford F250 to school. I know it's not very environmentally friendly, but it's safer than every other car. I'd like to see some little Prius try to rip through my full steel 1950s style frame. I arrived at school ten minutes before the bell. I headed up to the library to meet with Bridget. We had a morning ritual we hardly ever missed, even though it was the last two days of school and hardly anyone was even at school. In the library there was a little alcove where we'd meet and discuss our thoughts and plans.

"Good morning, Darklighter." I murmured as I saw Bridget sitting there on the couch, curled up with a math book and her homework. "Math is second period, you've got less than two hours to finish that." She looked up and smirked.

"Good morning to you, Thirteen. Just finishing up, actually. I have some interesting news for you." She put the book away, put her name on top of the lined piece of paper then put that way too. Patting the spot next to her, I scooted in.

"Pray tell, what news do you bring me, Darklighter?" Now I'm going to interrupt so I can explain the names. I'd gotten my name because the first day I met Bridget I had just come home from a swim meet and my number was still written in bright blue sharpie on my arm. "13" it read. She had just moved into a house in the subdivision next to our complex and we bumped into each other at the mail box where she was getting someone's mail for them. Seeing the number she decided to start our first conversation with it. She asked if my name was Thirteen. Being the stupid and utterly punch drunk girl who was wiped out from a swim meet I decided to be funny. Sarcastically, I answered yes and she just left it at that. The next day she was in my fifth grade class and she continued to call me Thirteen. As to her nickname, when we were in seventh grade we were working on a big research project together and were going through material and highlighting. However, instead of grabbing the highlighter, Bridget grabbed the navy blue sharpie. I then said, "Well I guess you're not a highlighter anymore." And we laughed. She then asked what she was if not a highlighter. "A darklighter, duh," I replied comically. So from then on I called her Darlighter.

"Well, do you see the boy over there, no there, standing up, yes up up, there you go. That boy." I finally looked to where she was meaning even though she couldn't point.

"Yeah, what about him?" I stared at him for a moment. He was a tall, blond kid with sea foam eyes and a strong nose that looked like it had been broken at some point or another. He was reading something and giving it a hard look, as if he didn't agree with it. Suddenly, as if he knew, he looked up and caught me staring. I smiled awkwardly and hesitantly waved. He smiled a small, but genuine, smile and waved back.

"His name is Benedick King, transfer student from Texas and junior."

"A transfer in the last week of school?" I asked dubiously.

"Apparently, so my sources say, he transferred last month."

"You are always so well informed. One day I will get out of you who your sources are."

"I just like to be informed on all new activity in the school." Bridget grinned wolfishly.

"So what about this new Texas kid?" I asked, running a hand through my blond hair. I'd had it kept short for a few years, but now decided to grow it out a bit. It was hard to get used to it getting in my face all the time.

"It appears he is interested." Bridget said with a sly look. Her pale green eyes always held a minty sparkle in them that always spelled trouble for me and my thinking process. I chuckled.

"What are you now? Yoda? Quit talking in riddles. What's he interested in?" I pulled a piece of gum out of my terribly handcrafted yet much loved Wolverine bag that I had sewn myself. It wasn't dramatic, it just looked normal for me. I unwrapped the gum casually and put it in my mouth.

"He's interested in you," Bridget said with a smirk. I then choked on the gum I recently put in my mouth. Bridget reached over and swatted me on the back.

"Come again?" I asked as I caught my breath again. Dang it, I swallowed my gum.

"He's been asking about you. Apparently he wants to know more."

"Ok, now I definitely disbelieve your sources."

"Well, that's the information, do with it what you want." Bridget sat back and gave a "that's that" look to me. I opened my mouth to protest, but the bell rang.

The rest of the day I was slightly curious. Who was this guy? He certainly was kind of cute but I mean I'd never really noticed him before. School came and went like it always did but tomorrow was the last day of school, therefore that meant that today was the practical last day of school. There wasn't any reason to come on the last day anyway. I was home free now. I walked into the apartment and called out.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"I'm home, I'm just going to head over to the pool for a bit. I have my phone."

"Ok, I've got a deadline so don't worry about me. I'll be holed up here all night with my tea and my headphones to keep me company." I couldn't help but smile. My mother was one strong woman. She'd raised me from birth by herself. She told me Dad died in a boating accident when she was expecting me. It was ironic that the one thing he loved the most, the high seas, killed him.

"Mom," I poked my head into her little office space where she had her Mac up and running in a vector program.

"Yeah, baby?" I smiled.

"Don't get drunk or pregnant." I laughed as I said the oft repeated line. Whenever I would go out the door my mother would caution me with those same words. She turned back toward me in her fancy ergonomic swivel chair. Her black rimmed glasses made her look like some sort of intense reporter. But the smile she gave made her look like my mom.

"Love ya." She said.

"Love ya, too." I answered back as I went to change into my swim suit.

I can't explain the feeling I get when I dive into a pool. The sound of the splash is enough to make me smile, and I make a big splash. I'm not skinny by any stretch of the imagination, but I like to think I am in shape enough to take out a full grown man. This time I just started out with some nice easy warm up laps doing twenty five yards of no breathing and fifty with, alternating breathing sides of course. The people from the pool know my name since I practically live there. When not at practice with Coach Melesa and the rest of the girls, I was usually there just swimming and getting my exercise. There weren't many people at the pool yet, it was still early in the afternoon when all the little kids are getting home from school. The sun shone brightly through the open canopy roof. Since the weather was nice they opened the pool up to the natural world. When the weather isn't so nice, it was a smart feature to put a cover on. The sun warmed the water in places and made waves of warm and cool water throughout the lap pool. This was how I relaxed.

After swimming about a half hour or so, I finally stopped to catch a breath and people watch. Pools are the best place to People Watch, except maybe Disneyland or Six Flags. As I was observing I watched a woman emerge from the women's locker room. Oh my gosh she was beautiful. But from the look on her face, one of smug comfort and showing off, she knew she was flaunting and wasn't afraid to share it. All the male life guards (there was one girl life guard on duty who just rolled her eyes) turned and couldn't help but stare at her. Her perfectly bronzed legs were long and led up to a short cover up that tied in the front like a kimono. She shook out her long blond hair from its ponytail as she made her way to the water's edge. The way she leaned back and gently untied the kimono, revealing a tight fitting bikini and perfectly toned abs and a pair of double Ds, was too much like in the movies. Excuse me while I hurl. Looking up at the girl who was in charge of watching the lap pool, I gave her a look that said what gives? when she looked my way. She just shrugged and rolled her eyes. Alright then, whatever. I did notice, however, that one boy was not ogling at the girl. To my great surprise, it was Benedick King, the kid Bridget had told me about earlier. He just walked over calmly and took over for the girl for his shift. As he took the chair, he kept an eye on me. Feeling awkward I waved a hello and swam off.

I don't know how long I practiced by myself; at least a couple of hours. And all that time Benedick was on the lap pool shift. I found it odd, but hey I'm not running the place. And that busty tramp was still hamming it up over by the zero depth entry. I was well and truly disgusted by the actions of the males falling all over themselves to help her. The funny thing is that I never heard her speak. She'd giggle occasionally, nodd often, but never really spoke two words. An odd one, that chick.

Finally, I could see it was getting late. Time for a warm down. As I swam my laps again I watched out of the corner of my eye. Our friend Mr. King got down from his chair and began sweeping down the pool. Hmm, so he's not just watching me. Interesting. I finished a 100 meter warm down, pulled off my goggles, and then began to take off my cap. It felt really good to go under the water and let my hair just trail out behind me. Coming up, I brushed the water from my eyes; more out of habit than pestilence. Suddenly there was a voice behind me. This voice was different than any normal human voice I'd ever heard of. The ethereal quality was soft and voluptuous, but to me a red flag suddenly went off in my head.

"Excuse me?" I asked as I turned around. There was no one else in the pool area besides me, Benedick, and the tramp. The tramp was talking to me. I noticed she wore heavy shades even though it was the twilight hour. Slowly, she took off the glasses to reveal a pair of radioactive yellow eyes that glowed maliciously.

"Holy heck!" I nearly yelled, as I pushed away from the wall back to the middle of the pool. She smiled wickedly, revealing a mouth full of perfect pearly whites.

"We know what you are, Serenity." The tramp said. The voice, that calming and beautiful voice, almost pulled me back to her. But then I wondered.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"We know everything about you, daughter of the seas!" Suddenly the girl pulled off her white swim suit cover up revealing a pair of feathery white wings.

"Holy crap!" I yelled and dove into the water. I heard the unearthly song this girl sang, even under the water. I tried to plug my ears, hold my breath, and swim at the same time, but it wasn't happening. Suddenly, I felt a tight hand grip around my foot, yanking me through the water. Unable to catch a breath, my body went into panic mode. The black tunnel appeared in my vision. That hand yanked me from the water by my ankle, pulling me out upside down. Spewing water from me as fast as possible I tried to look up and see what the heck was going on. That girl… she was … flying! I couldn't believe my own eyes. I've died. That's what. I've died and now I'm hallucinating that an angel is taking me to heaven. I must have hit my head on the bottom and drowned, because this is not real!

The black tunnel had almost enveloped me. I couldn't control my body any longer. I laid back limp in the arms of this winged creature. The last thing I remember before blacking out was… a tail? Yeah, a long scaly blue tail. Like a fish, you know? I guess that is what you get when you swim for ten years.