Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise.
Tim POV
I walk out of the airport, looking for my distant cousin who's supposed to pick me up.
Social Services got wise to how much time my parents don't spend with me and sent me off to stay a distant cousin in Australia that I've never met while they investigate. Bruce offered to take me of course, but my Social Worker thought it would be better to stay with unknown family than the man who I've pretty much been living with for three years.
A man walks over to me with a kind smile, (not armed, no clear signs of combat training, I'd say he works in a office.) "Timothy Drake?" he asks.
I nod, "I take it your Neil Gilbert, the cousin I'm staying with?"
"That's me" he confirms, showing me to his car, "I don't know that they told you but I have a son, Elliot a few years younger than you and a daughter, Emma a year older. They'll looking forward to meeting you, my wife too."
"I'm sure I'll like them" I tell him, loading my bags in the car then taking a seat.
He starts driving, "I understand this isn't what you wanted and probably think you can take care of yourself just fine, but I think you'll fine having family around really nice once you get use to it."
"I am" I reassure, "I've already done the get use to family after being alone forever thing" I tell him after his confused look, "Da-Bruce, my neighbour his three sons and daughter gave me a guess room three years ago that is my room now, I know your doing the right thing by family you've never met by letting me stay with you, but cause you said yes they wouldn't let Dad take me in officially. So I ask when the investigation is done don't try to keep me here or anything that will stop Da-Bruce from adopting me, I just want to go home" I tell him honestly, wanting to be clear from the beginning.
Bruce Wayne is my Dad, I don't want to be here, missing patrol, my hero friends, my family.
"Of course" he nods looking sorry, "Sorry I took you from your family in the first place. I won't keep you here you have my word, just think of this of a small vacation okay? We have lots of great beaches, theme parks, tourist attractions around here that I'm sure you'll love and Emma can show you were the teenagers hang out alright?"
A vacation? Well every tells me I need one. "Yeah that sounds good Mr Gilbert."
"Neil" he smiles, "Ah here we are" he turns into the drive way of a nice house.
We get out of the car and he takes a few of my bags and I take the others. When I get in he is quietly talking to his family, telling them what I said before and not to worry about me. Good.
"Hello love" Neil's wife smiles, "I'm Lisa."
"Nice to meet you" I smile kindly.
"Emma why don't you show Timothy to the guess room" Lisa suggests.
"It Tim actually" I correct.
"Tim then" she smiles.
Emma nod and takes my bags off her Dad. "This way" she motions with her head.
The room is basic and nice, three white walls, one blue with a queen bed in front of it and matching blue bed side tables, and a wardrobe with paintings of the beach on the walls.
"Do you want to grab a juice?" Emma offers, "My friends and I are meeting up at the Juice Net Café today and I'm sure they'd like to meet you."
"Alright" I agree putting my bag down, might as well get to know my cousin while I'm here.
I follow her back to the living room where she grabs a bag, "I'm taking Tim to meet the girls."
"Alright" Lisa nods, "But be back by 6 for dinner."
Emma nods and I follow her out the door.
As soon as we're out she takes out her phone, holding in a way I shouldn't be able to see the screen (but still can, cause training) and texts someone, I read the previous messages as she types.
From Rikki: Emma you need to get here now.
From Emma: I told you we have a cousin coming today, I can't get out of family time, Mum and Dad want to spend the day getting to know him.
From Rikki: So bring him, tell your Mum your showing him around or getting to know him. We'll hand him off to Lewis and we can get to work.
I read the text Emma just finished, From Emma: On my way with Tim, have Lewi ready to distract.
I stop reading, what is she up to? I can't help my curiosity, I'll be ditching this Lewi guy and following.
When we get to the café two girls (one blond, blue eyed, I'd say attitude problem, the other one brown hair and eyes, darker skin, shy but strong when needed) and a guy are waiting (Blond, blue eyed, smart. None of them have any training but they have a secret) "Tim these are my friends, Rikki, Cleo and Lewi" Emma introduces.
Lewi shakes my hand and pulls me inside, "Lets get a juice."
The girls order too, then five minutes in Cleo 'gets a text' and runs off with Emma and Rikki. Claiming a friend needs them and saying sorry.
Lewi starts going on about fishing, trying to get me talking and keep me distracted.
"I might go" I tell him after a juice, I want to have a look around."
He nods, not stopping me. I imagine if I had said I was going back to Emma's he would have stopped me so I wouldn't tell her parents she ditched me.
As soon as I'm clear of Lewi I pull out my phone and check the bug I put on Emma, I put my headphones in and turn on the listening device.
"-ure Cleo?" Emma is saying, sounding really worried.
"Positive" Cleo replies firmly, "I heard them talking on that boat, they're smuggling in guns tonight, a lot of them."
I blink in surprise, arms smuggling? This is not what I was expecting.
"Can't we just call the cops?" Rikki suggests.
"How would we explain how Cleo heard them?" Emma shoots back.
"Its called a anomalous tip" Rikki replies like its obvious, "We don't to say how we know.
"They have the police paid off" Cleo cuts in, "We have to do this ourselves."
"Cleo" Emma speaks nervously, "This isn't like the illegal fish or the turtles. These guys will be armed to the teeth. And will kill us if we interfere."
"If we don't a lot more people will die than us" Rikki speaks, determinedly.
"…alright" Emma agrees, choosing her side, what are we telling our parents?"
"The boat gets in at ten, tell them your tired at nine and meet at the moon pool" Cleo tells her.
"But tonight's…" Emma trails off.
"We control it now remember" Rikki replies.
I'll be going to that, I decide. To be backup if the need it and observe what they plan to do.
I check my watch and head back 0to the Gilberts, meeting Emma on the way and getting back in time for dinner.
I don't say anything about her leaving me alone, which clearly confuses her and chat with the family getting to know them until 8 when I clam jetlag and go to my room.
I put on my stealth gear, (no colours, no hero symbols, all black Kevlar lined fabric and a full-face mask, plus all of my favourite weapons and gear in a dark red belt.) and sneak off to the docs to get my own intel.
After finding out where the ship would doc and some of the buyers coming to meet the boat I go back to the Gilberts and watch for Emma.
She climbs out her window, wearing black jeans, a orange and black jacket and a ski mask.
I follow her to a isolated beach where she jumps in the water, a orange tail flicking at the top of the water as she goes.
Mermaids, Emma, Cleo and Rikki are mermaids. That would they knew and why they think its up to them to stop the smuggles.
I can't help smiling as I get a jet ski from the Bat-Clan supply cash that Dad put in when he found out were I'll be for the next few months and follow the tracker I managed to attached to her tail to a island called Mako.
I park on the beach and follow the tracker up the dormant volcano and into a small cave entrance, noting the almost unnaturally bright full moon, almost lining up with the volcano.
I go into the cave silently then look into the chamber behind it, there's a big pool of water and three mermaids inside talking.
"-Plan, we can't just make a huge storm and sink the ship" Emma is saying.
"What if we made a controlled storm" Cleo suggest looking thoughtful, "I could try to use the wind to knock everyone over board, Emma can knock people out with some hail, we get everyone into live boats and sink the ship."
"I don't know" Emma says worriedly, "What if I hit someone to hard with the ice and hurt them badly? Or worst kill them? And Cleo do you have the kind of control over air to knock someone into the water from were you can't see them."
"I think so" she nods, "I've been watching a lot of Avatar last air bender and thinking, we use our powers through hand movements, I'm pretty sure we could do more with other movements, so I've been watching the air bending style and I think I can replicate a few things."
Smart, I nod using what you know to teach yourself.
"Okay" Rikki says with a raised eyebrow, "Prove it. Blow one of the big rocks from the other chamber into the pool, show me you can do it without looking."
What cham-oh crap. Before I can finish that thought I'm being blown by the wind into the water.
I swim up to the surface and am meet with three scared faces.
"Who are-" Rikki stops looking up to the top of the volcano cone where the moon is lined up with the opening, "Oh crap."
The water starts bubbling and floating up in small glowing drops.
I can't help staring, I don't why but its almost hypnotising.
I blink when the moon moves away, "What was that?" I ask, my voice modulated behind my mask.
"A problem" Rikki glares moving her hand up and to me, "Who are you and why were you watching us?"
What is it Dick says? Put trust in someone and they'll put there's in you? I need to know what that was…..I take off my mask.
"Tim?" Emma blinks in surprise, "What are you doing here? How….?"
"I saw your texts and got curious" I admit, "I ditched Lewis and followed you, heard what you said about the smugglers and wanted to help, so I followed you."
"You followed a mermaid through water and kept up without me seeing you?" Emma raises an eyebrow.
"I'm rich, alone and from Gotham" I shrug, "Its not that hard to get cool spy gear back home."
"Your saying you put a tracker on Emma?" Cleo frowns.
"Yep" I agree.
"But how did we not see you" Rikki looks to the others.
"I have practice" I admit, "I figured out who Batman and Robin were when I was five and spend 8 years following them on patrol without them noticing. Your easy compared" I tell them, not lying but not saying everything.
Rikki shakes her head, "Are all people from Gotham this weird?"
"Yes" I reply immediately, "Seriously though what was that?"
The three share a look, "It was….too long a conversation for right now" Emma sighs, "We have to take care of these smugglers, but we'll talk after."
"Let me help" I ask, "You can't get on the boat without drying off first, which will take time. you can use your powers from the water and I'll be above, making sure everyone is off the boat and downloading all their records."
"I don't know" Cleo frowns.
I hand them waterproof in-ear coms, "We can keep in contact this way, do you have codenames?"
They frown at each other, "Why would we need codenames?" Emma asks.
"If they hear us talking they could learn our names from it and track it," I hand them masks too, "I'll be Shadow, Cleo is Wind, Emma Frost, Rikki….." I haven't heard anything about her powers.
Rikki grins "Boil."
"Okay you can come" Emma agrees, putting on the mask.
I put my own mask on ands set it to be a rebreather, then follow the others under water and let Frost speed swim me to the destination.
I silently climb up the side of the ship and sneak onboard, going to the captains office and downloading the files.
Its not just this one time, they've been smuggling for years and its not just these people, according to the captains journal this is the main smuggling port for Australia, everything from guns to people (illegal immigrants and slavery) come in and out of here. Looks like I know how I'll be spending my 'vacation.'
Once I got the intel and put a virus in their system I start moving and contact the others. "Shadow to team, got the intel how's it going on your end?"
"We got the life boats down ands one of them is full of knocked out bad guys" Boil replies.
"Good" I nod, moving to take down as many bad guys as possible, normally I'd just take down the bad guys and give the cops the boat and them, but Cleo was right when she said these ones have been paid off, if we hand over the everything no one will be charged and everyone will walk plus they'll get these guns back on the streets and this will be for nothing, no I'm going to send a copy of the data to a higher level government organisation, as well as the local cops. These enough to bring a lot of them.
Once I'm sure the boat is empty of life I jump over and swim to the girls, who have their hands to the sky and are calling a huge storm. It doesn't touch as or the life boats but the ship sinks quickly.
The three of them drag the live boats to the docs while I go through the them and zip tie everyone's hands and feet.
"Nice job" Wind high fives me once the cops have collected everyone and we've gone back to the Moon Pool.
Boil takes her mask off, grinning "That was kinda fun."
It did go pretty well for a team of rookies, "Yeah you guys did great" I tell them, taking off my mask. "So are you going to tell me what this place is now?"
They all take off the mask and share a look, "…We call it the Moon Pool" Emma starts, "Because of what happens when the full moon is over head. When the moon is full and someone is inside the pool it…"
"It gives whoever's inside a tail" Rikki speaks Emma trails off.
That's how they got their powers and I was…. "I'm going to turn into a merman" I say, thinking how ridiculous this is. I'm going to turn into a fish.
"12 hours after" Cleo tells me, "That's when you'll get your tail, then its here to stay.
"You can't tell anyone" Emma tells me with a begging look, "If people found out…"
"I won't tell" I promise, "In fact while I'm here we could help each other" these three are good people, its clear they're going to become heroes on their own but if I help them it will go quicker and I'll have three new allies, "I know a few things about being a hero, this ship was the tip of the smuggling going on and I know your not going to stop with that ship, I'll teach you to be heroes and you teach me how to use the tail I'll have tomorrow."
They share a look and Emma smiles to me, "You have a deal….Red Robin."
I smirk, she's smart. Good every team need a thinker.
After a few more minutes of me telling them what I found and what I'm going to do with the data we all go home and I call up the cave.
"Tim" Dad nods as soon as his face pops up.
"Hey Timmy!" Dick grins coming into frame, "How is it with your cousin?"
"Okay, Neil, Lisa and Elliot are nice. Emma though" I smile slightly, "She and her two best friends are powered, and I helped them take down their first smugglers tonight."
Jason huffs, "I thought you were going to take a break replacement."
I shrug, "I can't help it, trouble finds me. Speaking of I ended up in the place they got their powers and they say I should have some 12 hours after."
Dick cackles, "Nice Baby Bird."
"What sort of powers?" Damian asks, trying to act like he doesn't really care.
"I don't know" I admit, "Cleo has hydrokinesis and aerokinesis, Rikki has hydro-thermokinesis, pyrokinesis and electrokinesis and Emma has hydro-cryokinesis and cryokinesis and combined all three of them have atmokinesis. Plus they all turn into mermaids. I think the way they got their powers is supposed to be one at a time so they got divided powers, these might be all of them but there could be other powers too, they were in the water with me so I may get whatever they didn't."
"Go back" Jason grins, "You're a merman now?" he laughs at me.
I raise an eyebrow, "Why is that funny? Your friends with Atlanteans."
'I'll ask Aquaman what he knows about this" Dad speaks before me and Jason start arguing, "Write up a full report."
I nod, knowing he would say that.
"Do they have a team name yet?" Dick asks curiously.
"They are thinking H20" I reply.
"Sweet" Jason shrugs.
I write up the report then go to bed, knowing tomorrow will be weird.
The next morning I get up do my workout routine, read over the data and wait for my phone to tell me its been 12 hours.
When it does Emma walks over to me with a smile, "Come on, I told Mum and Dad you hit it off with the girls yesterday and we're showing you around town today."
I follow her to the secluded beach she and the other met on yesterday.
"Go on" Rikki motions to the water.
I nod and step in the water and count down with then, "10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1" I fall over, a blue tail in place of my legs.
"Why's yours blue?" Cleo questions.
"Maybe it's a gender thing?" Emma suggest, "With some birds and fish the male and female have different colourings."
"Possibly" I nod, looking at my tail, this will be fun, "Who wants to swim?"
The girls smile and jump the water and after a quick lesson on how to swim with a tail we're off, swimming with dolphins and checking out reefs, having fun.
After 5 hours of amazing swimming (without needing to come up for air once) we go to the moon pool.
"So what did you think?" Emma asks with a grin.
"You all need to learn sign language and the quick gestures used in scuba-diving. It will ASL will make communicating easier for missions and knowing what scuba-divers are saying to each other always comes in handy" I reply, thinking about the training they need.
"Emma meant swimming with a tail" Cleo smiles, "Though knowing to sign would make things easier."
"Oh" I nod, "Yeah it was pretty amazing" I smile, the reef is gorgeous I see daily swims in my future.
Rikki looks to me, her eyes lighting up, "We still don't know what power you got."
"Make a bunch of random hand movements and see what happens" Cleo suggests, her eyes bright.
"Making random hand movements with new powers sounds like a recipe for disaster" I tell them, thinking to my powered friends, they all say they can feel their powers inside them, if I look for it…. I close my eyes and feel it. I move my left arm up and twist my hand while making a fist.
"Oh my god!" Rikki says, alarmed.
I open my eyes and see them looking past me.
"Were did he go?" Emma asks worriedly, "Did he teleport?"
"No" Cleo shakes her head smiling, "Look at the water, he's still there he's just invisible."
I look down at myself, I am gone, I see a out line around my everything but its like there's nothing there. So cool! I twist my fist back, turning visible again.
"How long can you hold it?" Rikki asks curiously.
"I don't know, but a imagine a while" I tell her, "I think the Moon Pool is meant to be one at a time, so you get a set of powers, but the three of you went in together and got a piece of the powers each but the parts you got were more powerful than it would have been as part of the whole set. I imagine invisibility would have been one of the weaker parts of the set, only able to hold it for ten minutes at a time, mostly as a defence mechanism, but since it was the piece I got…"
"You might be able to hold it for hours" Emma says happily.
"You should have one more power" Cleo tells me, "We got our extra ones on a odd kind of full moon, it was the same kind last night."
I smile, sweet. Without thinking I raise a hand and move a rock on the side of the pool.
"Telekinesis" Rikki grins, "Nice!"
"Kind of" I nod looking to the floating rock, "It's more like…. I can feel the h20 particles in everything and direct them" I try to explain.
"Could you use that for mapping?" Cleo asks, "If you can sense the water in everything then you know where things are, its like another sense! you could try and map it out like that comic book hero Daredevil, hell people are mostly water if you could sense people…"
"Then I'd know were the bad guys are before seeing them" I grin, it will take a lot of training, years maybe to get it that precise but if I could learn to do this it would be so worth it.
(The people in Mako Mermaids showed telekinetic abilities, but that didn't fit with their other powers, which were mostly water and weather based, (even if invisibility didn't fit with that either, but its cool and made sense in the how mermaids stayed secret idea) so I thought maybe it had more to do with the fact that everything has some kind of water in it, even if it's the smallest particle of it, so maybe they weren't telekinetic exactly but controlling water on a smaller level.)
ONE-SHOT.