All Kaldur wanted to do was take a nice swim in the pool. What he didn't remember was that the pool was being cleaned so the sea salt was exchanged for chlorine water. It felt fine at the beginning until he was completely submerged. It felt like he was being drowned, he was flailing and trying to get out. Connor was able to hear the sound of thrashing and ran into the pool. He dove in and dragged Kaldur out of the water. The other followed him and Robin told them to get the hose to get the chlorine off of him. They took Kaldur to the infirmary and made calls to Aquaman and Batman. Aquaman came to the cave along with Batman and they examined Kaldur. He seemed to be fine and the only burns that were visible were only below his gills. He would live. The idea of Aquaman living was a different story. Batman pulled him aside and demanded answers.
"Why didn't you tell him!" Batman said in a booming voice.
"I-We-I never knew that Kaldur was going to be exposed to that kind of water. I would have told him if I knew." Aquaman explained.
"You sure." Batman said.
"Yes. I would never allow anything bad to happen to him." Aquaman insisted.
"And this has nothing to do with the fact that he's Manta's kid?" Batman asked.
"No! How dare you even think something like that. We took him in after Kalina died and treated him like he was ours." Aquaman explained.
"Don't you think this is a little odd that this happens a day before the anniversary?" Batman asked as he started to tread into deep water with Aquaman.
"How dare you. This has nothing to do with..," Aquaman said before Batman cut him off.
"Careful how you answer that. You never thought about getting even with David. Ever. Even after you took him in." Batman said as carefully as possible.
"No." Aquaman said not even believing himself.
"I don't believe it. He will be under the care of Black Canary until I can prove this was purely an accident." Batman said.
"You can't do this. He's not even your protege." Aquaman said in disbelief.
"You almost got him killed by not warning him. I promise you Orin that if it was anyone else I would do the same thing." Batman said.
"I know you would." Aquaman said with a long sigh.
"Orin. I know what's like to lose someone you love. But you can't take it out on the boy. He admires you too damn much for you to do that." Batman explained.
"I don't believe you. You're standing here telling me not to blame anyone for my son's death. Did you blame anyone for the death of your parents. Didn't you?" Aquaman said desperately.
"Watch it." Batman wanted.
"You started it. I love Kaldur. He is all the son I am ever going to get on this earth. I would never ever allow him to get hurt because of who his father is. That is what David did to me. I would never shame my little boy by doing it to Kaldur." Aquaman said as his voice started to crack.
"I know. You lose him for a week. Canary will take care of him." Batman said as he placed a comforting hand on Aquaman's shoulder.
Aquaman walked back to the zeta beam and typed in the coordinates.
"Orin, when are you going to tell him?" Batman asked.
"Kalina never wanted Kaldur to know. She wanted to spare him. Her last request was for her son to be happy and safe. I hope that Canary can take better care of him than I have. I truly mean that." Aquaman said before he walked through the zeta.
After the week went by, Kaldur was able to go to Atlantis to visit. He stayed in Atlantis for a few hours before heading back to the cave for a mission. Aquaman was acting a bit odd to Kaldur. When he came back, he warmly embraced him. Normally his king would give him a pat on the shoulder and his queen would give him a hug. Aquaman told Kaldur that he had to tell him something. Before he could, Kaldur got the call. Robin said that it was an emergency and that they were leaving the second Kaldur arrived. Kaldur promised his king that they would finish the conversation when he returned home.
One of the prisoners of Belle Reve had information to tell them. Batman didn't tell them who the prisoner was. When they got to the prison, the warden took they to where the prisoner was. To everyone surprise, Black Manta was on the other side waiting for them.
"This is a joke right." Kid Flash said with a chuckle.
"Hello Team. Kaldur, ju duken mirë." (Kaldur you look well.) Manta said.
"Ata thanë se keni pasur informacion për të na treguar. Unë sugjeroj që ju të merrni më me të. Tani." (They said that you had information to tell us. I suggest you get on with it. Now.) Kaldur demanded.
"But I do. Only this has nothing to do with the League. This has to deal with you." Manta said.
"Team we are leaving." Kaldur said as he turned to leave.
"You do not want to know what happened to your father?" Manta questioned with a small smirk.
"Team give me the room." Kaldur ordered as he stopped.
"Aqua-" Robin started to say but was interrupted.
"Now." Kaldur said again but firmer.
The team left the room. You could cut the tension with a knife. Kaldur and Manta stared daggers at each other. Finally Kaldur took a seat in the chair.
"What do you know?" Kaldur asked.
"Don't you want to ask your mentor for permission for this?" Manta said with a small chuckle.
"He is not a factor in this. Tell me." Kaldur ordered.
"Your father is very much alive." Manta said.
"How do you know this?" Kaldur asked keeping a stern look.
"Because I am your father." Manta said bluntly.
Kaldur froze in his chair. His mind started to race along with his heart. He tried to calm down his breathing so that Manta wouldn't notice. Sadly for him, Manta saw that his breathing changed which caused him to smirk.
"You're lying my father was killed in the war." Kaldur said in a stern tone.
"I will take a DNA test if you do not believe me." Manta said.
"Why? Why tell me now?" Kaldur demanded.
"Because you need to need a father." Manta said.
"I do not need a damn thing from you. Give me one reason why I should believe you." Kaldur challenged.
"Prince Orin the second. Do you remember what happened?" Manta said.
Kaldur eyes widened in shock as he stood from his chair. Suddenly memories of his youth came in waves.
'This just came in from the royal young heir has succumbed to the posion and has died." The radio announcer said as Kaldur watched his mother collapse to the ground.
Kaldur swam to his mother and tried to help her stand. All he could hear were her sobs and her cursing at Manta's name. Kaldur didn't hear the words coming from her mouth about this man. He had no idea who David really was.
The next memory he has was going to the palace and in the royal chambers. His mother got down on her knees and and motioned Kaldur to do the same.
"Lartmadheritë juaj Royal, unë e kuptoj se ju keni pësuar një humbje të pabesueshme. Unë e di unë nuk kanë të drejtë të kërkojnë këtë prej jush, por ju lutem, kam nevojë për ndihmën tuaj. Biri im, Kaldur'ahm, ai është i ri. David do të vijnë për djalin tim, në qoftë se ju nuk do të marrë atë kujdesin tuaj. Unë kam sakrifikuar aq shumë në mënyrë që të mbrojë atë. Unë do të takohet Neptun shumë shpejt dhe unë nuk dua që djali im të shkojë tek ai njeri. Ky përbindësh. Ju lutem, unë e di që ju jeni ende në një fazë të zi dhe i mbushur me pikëllimin dhe unë jam tmerrësisht keq për humbjen tuaj. Një fëmijë dhe të dy prindërit kanë vuajtur tashmë në duart e Davidit, unë nuk dua që djali im të bëhet një viktimë e kësaj lufte me Manta Zi. Unë lutem për ju, për të mbrojtur djalin tim, sepse së shpejti unë nuk do të jetë në gjendje për të." (Your Royal Majesties, I understand that you have suffered an incredible loss. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please, I need your help. My son, Kaldur'ahm, he is young. David will come to my son, if you do not take him your care. I have sacrificed so much in order to protect him. I will meet Neptune very soon and I do not want my son to go to the man. This monster. Please, I know you are still in a stage of mourning and filled with grief and I'm terribly sorry for your loss. A child and both parents have already suffered at the hands of David, I do not want my son to become a casualty of this war with the Black Manta. I beg of you, to protect my son, because soon I will no longer be able to.) He heard his mother beg to his king and queen.
Kaldur realized what she meant by that. All of these years he tried to figure out what he meant by that. Now he realized that she was pleading for his life.
"You bastard. You killed him." Kaldur said with shock and his voice was filled anger.
"I was never arrested for it." Manta said with a smirk.
"You fled like a coward." Kadur growled.
"I am not a coward." Manta said angrily.
"Cowards kill children." Kaldur retorted with a small grin.
"People kill out of anger and revenge. Take a guess which one it was for me." Manta asked.
"Both. You are a bastard. You deserve to rot in hell." Kaldur said as he walked out of the room.
"It does not matter what you call me, you are still my son," Manta said as he slammed the door.
Kaldur leaned heavily against the door as his body began to shake violently. His team came to him and tried to figure out what was wrong.
"Aqua what's wrong?" Robin asked worriedly.
Kaldur's head was pounding loudly. He couldn't think straight. His eyes soon became filled with tears as the room around him became small. This is the one feeling that Kaldur hadn't felt in a long time: fear. Kaldur in a shaky breath had started to regain some of his composure.
"I am fine. We can leave now, Manta has nothing for us." Kaldur said with a shaky voice as he pushed off the wall and walked back to the ship.
"Aqualad, are you okay?" Miss Martian asked worriedly.
"Do you wish for the short version or the long version?" He asked.
"Short." M'gann said.
"I honestly have no idea if I will be okay." He said as he walked back to the ship.
The entire ride back to the ship, Kaldur's leg was shaking like an earthquake along with his fist. M'gann senses an angry and depressed vibe off from Kaldur's mind. She wanted to say something but Kaldur told her not to go around reading minds without permission. Connor was to his left and thought he saw a tear roll down his cheek. He looked back and saw another tear roll down his cheek.
"Kaldur, are you okay?" He asked softly.
Kaldur bit his lip so hard that soon it was going to bleed. He started to nod his head before he shook his head saying no. He let out a small broken sob before he quickly covered his mouth to hide his sob. His whole body started to shake as he put his head down. Connor got up and rubbed his back. Artemis and the others, minus M'gann, went to Kaldur and tried to figure out what was wrong. Artemis was able to turn the chair around and got on her knees and looked at him.
"Kaldur, look at me." Artemis ordered in a soft voice.
Kaldur looked at her and tried to calm down.
"What did he say? What did he say to make you so scared?" Artemis demanded in a soft kind voice.
All Kaldur did was shake his head. He grabbed her hand that was in his lap and squeezed it tightly. Like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
"I-He. I am so tired. I am so damn tired." Kaldur said with a long sigh.
"I know. It's gonna be okay." She said as she gave him a tight hug.
Kaldur held her tightly as he tried to stop himself from crying. They separated after a while and they all went back to their seats. Kaldur wiped the tear streak on his cheek and tried to fight himself from crying. When they landed back at the cave, Kaldur instantly went to his room and Kaldur told Robin to tell Batman what happened. Batman wanted to ask why he wasn't present but he knew better.
Kaldur laid on his bed and looked at the hand drawn picture of his mother. He held it to his heart before sitting up. He wiped his tears that started to swell in his eyes and tried to calm himself down. He put the picture safely in the drawer and closed it. He looked at the buckle on his uniform. He sighed heavily and changed into his civilian clothes along with his plain worn gym shoes. He walked to the back of the cave to go on a run. He was sadly stopped by Black Canary.
"Kaldur, are you okay? Batman seemed to think that something was wrong." She asked worriedly.
"I am fine. I just need to clear my head." Kaldur practically lied.
"Kaldur, you know that you can talk to me about anything." She said as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I know. Can I go?" Kaldur asked trying not to sound rude.
"Do you want to talk to Aquaman about this?" She asked.
"No. I am asking you not to tell him of this. I just need to clear my head." Kaldur said his voice started to shake.
"Kaldur please," Canary tried again.
"I have to go." Kaldur said as he walked through the back door and ran.
Canary didn't go after him. Kaldur ran through the trees as everything that happened replayed in his mind. He made it to the streets of the Happy Harbor but he still ran, trying not to run into people. After a good three hours of running around the Harbor, he stopped at the port. When he sat down, all of the pent up emotions became too much. He hung his head and cried his heart out. He honestly lost track of the time. When his comm started to ring, he cleared his throat and put the comm in his ear.
"Yes." Kaldur said in the comm.
"Hey you." Roy voice said in the comm.
"Hello Red." Kaldur said slightly happy into the comm.
"What's up with you? I got a call from Canary saying that something was bothering you and then I call Robin and he said that you were tired. Talk to me." Roy explained worried for his friend.
"I do not know where to begin my friend." Kaldur admitted as tears started to roll down his cheeks.
"Talk to me. Just give me an idea and I could guess from there if you don't want to straight up tell me." Roy suggested.
"It involves Manta and my father." Kaldur said bluntly.
"Did Manta kill your father?" Roy asked.
"Try again." Kaldur said.
"Did your father kill Manta?" Roy guessed again.
"Try again." Kaldur said as he gave Roy one more idea.
"He is your father." Roy said with shock in his voice.
"Yes. He told me and he said that my mother and Annex knew." Kaldur explained.
"That sounds rough. Do you want me to come and get you?" Roy asked.
"No. I just need to figure everything out first." Kaldur said.
"Alright. Just call me if you need anything. Okay." Roy said.
"I have to go. Thank you." Kaldur said before he hung up.
He got up and went back to the cave. He knew that he had to confront Aquaman for his own mental and emotional health. He used the phone that Aquaman gave him for emergencies. He called him as he walked back to the cave.
"Yes." Aquaman said.
"My king where are you?" Kaldur asked.
"I am at the Watchtower. Why?" He answered slightly confused.
"We need to talk. I am coming to you." Kaldur said as he entered the code.
"Kaldur, are you alright?" Aquaman asked worriedly.
"I will be." Kaldur said as he ended the call.
Kaldur transported himself to the Watchtower and to his surprise, his team was there in main hall. Out of pure rage and anger, that had finally boiled over at the sight of his king, he went up to him and punched him square in the face.
"You son of Hades I will kill you!" Kaldur shouted as he was being restrained by Connor and Canary fought to hold him back.
"Kaldur what are you doing?" Canary demanded.
"How long did you know?!" Kaldur demanded angrily as he fought in their arms.
"Know what? What are you talking about?" Aquaman asked confused as he rubbed his cheek.
"Don't you dare act like you have no idea. Who is my father?" Kaldur explained as he looked Orin dead in the eyes.
"Kaldur you know this. He died-" Aquaman said before he was interrupted, " don't you dare try to lie to me!" Kaldur ordered angrily.
"What do you want me to say?" Aquaman asked as he started to become frustrated
"I want the truth damn it! You look me in the eye and tell me the truth." Kaldur demanded as he became frustrated.
"Alright. Yes he is your father." Aquaman said in defeat.
"How could you lie to me? How long have you know?" Kaldur asked sadly as he twisted out of Connor's and Canary's arms but didn't make a move to attack him mentor.
"Who told you about him? When did you find out?" Aquaman asked as he had an idea on who told him.
"My team went to Belle Reve prison and we spoke to one of the prisoners." Kaldur answered.
"Who told you?" Aquaman repeated his question.
"Who do you think?" Kaldur said as he gave him a blank stare.
"I am sorry that you had to find out the way you did. You were never suppose to know." Aquaman apologized.
"Why did you tell me? I asked you before I came to the surface if I needed to know anything and you lied to me!" Kaldur asked as he started to become angry again.
"She never wanted you to know. I promised her that I would not tell you. Kalina only wanted to protect you from him. She came to me and begged me to take you in if he got to her." Aquaman explained and he tried to walk up to Kaldur.
"How long have you know?" Kaldur repeated as he took a step away from him.
"When she came to me at the palace. The day after my son died. She brought you with her and begged me to take you in. Mera took you to a different room while she told me about her relationship with David." Aquaman explained.
"I remember a man in my home as a child. I remember one night we left our home and moved to a place closer to the palace." Kaldur said as the memory came to his mind.
"It was after he killed a man on the surface. She knew what he did and she never want you to be a part of that. She took you and a few things and left. The years went by and, you know what happened." Aquaman said as he tried to not cry at the mention of his son.
"So he found us and killed her. You are trying to tell me that the man who killed my mother is my father." Kaldur said in shock.
"You were not suppose to know like that. I wanted to tell you before you left for your mission." Aquaman explained.
"It doesn't matter how I was suppose to know. You should have told me!" Kaldur shouted as his body began to tremble.
"She wanted to wait until your were older. Kaldur you were a child when all of this happened. You were already suffering through so many things, this was something that could have been addressed when you were older." Aquaman explained as he tried to get Kaldur to calm down.
"Why would you bind yourself in a promise like that? For Neptune's sake, he killed your son! You should have saved everyone the trouble and.." Kaldur started to rant but Aquaman stopped him.
"If you finish that sentence Kaldur so help me I will personally slap you!" Aquaman ordered in a booming voice.
"You know it's the truth! Was my accident even an accident?" Kaldur asked in shock.
"How dare you even think that," Aquaman started to argue but Kaldur stopped him.
"Can you really blame me? I mean can you honestly blame me for asking?" Kaldur asked in a calmer tone.
"I guess I can't. I only had your best interest at heart. The only reason why I even said yes was because Kalina said that one child has already suffered at his hands. We did not need another. No more children needed to die at his hand." Aquaman explained as he tried to slowly make his way to Kaldur again.
"Was any of it real? Me enlisting and everything I have achieved?" Kaldur asked nervously as he allowed Aquaman to walk to him.
"Yes. I made sure that you got a fair chance. I already lost one son. I could not lose another one. Eve thing I have done was always to protect you." Aquaman explained as he took his hand and placed it on his shoulder.
"I am asking you if there is anything else that I need to know. I swear to you Annex that if I find out anything else like this and it does not come from you I promise you will lose me. Am I understood?" Kaldur said as the emotions of anger and rage started to fade.
"Kaldur, your mother was a very powerful healer. There were things that she never told me. Other than the identity of your father and your mother's killer, I know nothing else. I swear that to you." Aquaman explained in a soft tone. "I also know that she loved you. I know that she loved you enough not to ruin your childhood more than what it already was. She loves you enough not to ruin your life. She will always be with you. Never forget that." Orin said.
"If I did not nearly drown in the pool. If I never talked to him. Would you have told me?" Kaldur asked slightly worried about he answer.
"I am not going to lie, I probably would not." Aquaman admitted.
"I figured as much." Kaldur said as he let out a shaky sigh.
"Kaldur, I am going to hold you okay. Are you going to fight me?" Aquaman asked.
Kaldur shook his head as he crashed himself in his arms. Kaldur sobbed angrily into his arms as all of the emotions of sadness and hurt soon surfaced. Even with all of his anger he felt in his heart, he was still hurt by not knowing the truth.
Aquaman knew that Kaldur was going to have to know the truth eventually. He wanted to be the one to tell him though. Kaldur was too young to find out the truth like that. It nearly killed him to hear him crying like that. No matter how old Kaldur got, he was still going to be his baby. Just like any father would treat their son. Aquaman held him tightly in his arms, hoping to take away some of Kaldur's pain. He slightly rocked Kaldur in his arms as Kaldur began to calm down. When Kaldur regained his composure, he pulled away from him.
"Are you alright my son?" Aquaman asked calmly.
"Yes. My king, I am truly sorry for hitting you. I was so filled with anger and rage I was not thinking." Kaldur began to apologize but Aquaman stopped him.
"I understand my son. I probably would have done the same thing. You simply reacted without thinking and I can understand that. I may be asking for too much right now but is it possible for you to forgive me. I know that I am asking a lot from you." Aquaman said in a solemn voice.
"I-I know I can forgive you, I know I should forgive you, I know I want to forgive you. That does not mean that I have to. I can not forgive right now but I will. Does that make sense?" Kaldur said honestly.
"I understand." Aquaman said as he was honestly not surprised by his answer.
"I am also sorry for the loss of your son. I truly am. I promise that I will help convict him." Kaldur said softly.
"I may have lost a son, but I also gained another one as well. Thank you." Aquaman said with a small smile.
Kaldur returned that smile to him.
The End