This little blurb at the top? It's only here so I can point out how absolutely annoying the disclaimers most people put here are. We're on freaking Fanfiction, the site created specifically so people could create stories based on other people's works. Anyone with half a brain can tell that you don't own the show/movie/game/book/whatever, so stop chattering on and on about it. Now, on with the show!

Third-person POV

Batman stood in front of a computer screen, the harsh light throwing his features into stark contrast. As usual, the Dark Knight wore an expression that gave no clue as to his thoughts. On the screen, the image of an Atlantean girl shone. He studied her, assessing her strengths and weaknesses as members of the Bat-family are wont to do.

"And you think she can make it on the team, Aquaman?" Batman asked. "You haven't even allowed her on the surface world yet."

Hesitancy was clear from the other end of his comm link. "I think that this is the wisest course of action for dealing with Morgan'auli. Her family confided to me that she had stated that she would go to the surface world whether I condoned it or not. Mera teaches her class on Combat Magic and says that Morgan'auli would not rashly make such a decision."

Batman was silent for a second. "There are guards in Atlantis. Surely they could make sure that one teenage girl stays where she should be."

"She is convinced that she belongs up here and that fighting crime—or 'cleansing pollutants' as she puts it—is the right path. She knows—as everyone here knows—the fate of the previous Aquagirl, and the risks that come with the mantle. I am reluctant to let a person of such conviction and training go to waste, and Morgan"—he shortens the name for convenience—" does not seem to be the type to follow anyone's orders if she is truly set on something. I would rather avoid the possibility that she hurt herself trying to leave. Besides, she is of age."

Batman grunted. "I'll send Miss Martian to Atlantis for a test of her combat abilities, but I cannot promise anything more."

Aquaman nods, then remembers that Batman can't actually see him. Or maybe he can, one never knows with Bat-people. "Understood. Aquaman-" The ruler of Atlantis suddenly registers the lack of noise from the other end of the comm link. Looks as if Batman's managed to calculate the closest time he could hang up by without missing needed information. He sighs. "-out."

First-person POV

I stand before a mirror, trying to psych myself up before I go to the surface world for the first time. What will it be like, feeling sunlight dance on my black hair and pulling light, intangible air into my lungs instead of cool water over my gills? Confined to placing one foot in front of the other on the ground instead of using my whole body to dart above the floor? My king, brazenly addressed by the name Aquaman and not by the title of King above the waves, says that it is very different from Atlantis. But I know little of the surface world beyond the rudimentary education we received in school.

I finger the smooth white surface of my water bearers nervously. My king has given these tools to me. They are intended to carry water so that I may use it as a weapon in the absence of a body of water. A thoughtful and generous gift from my king and mentor. I cannot help feeling that I do not deserve this chance to be a hero, nor these weapons and my new uniform: a sleeveless, light green-blue top with two thin black stripes on either side of my torso, a belt with an "A" glyph on it, and navy pants. So similar to the Aqualad uniform…

Aqualad. Though I have hidden it from my king, lest he or others deem it a petty reason to travel to the surface world, Kaldur'ahm's disappearance from Atlantis is my true motivator for this journey. It has been 5 years, 10 months, and 19 days since he joined a team of young heroes, mentored by the Justice League and nicknamed Young Justice. Then, I was a student of thirteen years, though I had been in Kaldur'ahm's class before he left. I was comparatively immature in those days, for an Atlantean, admiring his calm from a distance. One day after his departure, I was practicing my sorcerous skills when I saw him again, clad in his Aqualad uniform. I challenged him to a duel for the fun of it, and we caught up on old times. I learned that despite his absence from the Conservatory, Kaldur'ahm far outstripped me in combat, but also observed that his magical abilities were not keeping pace. I offered to teach him some tricks if he would give me some pointers on battle, and my former classmate agreed. We met regularly after that, or as regularly as is possible when the other person must return to the surface to fight those who would pollute that world with evil. Kaldur'ahm taught me maturity and the ability to be stoic, and I could never really say that I taught him anything more than the most recent incantation my instructors had shown my class. Over time, I grew to love him, while worrying that I was too weak and worthless to ever be in his league. I pushed myself harder after that, letting my studies consume me.

And then he vanished. I thought at first that he was just on a mission that was longer than normal. When my queen stopped telling us stories of her husband and his protégé's missions during Combat Sorcery, I began to fear that Kaldur, the name I thought of him by but would never dare address him, had died. And when there was no announcement made of my friend's death, I knew that something else was going on, a mystery that had to be solved. Someone—or something—had made Kaldur disappear.

I might tell my king that I wanted to fight evil and learn more of magic, but that is a lie. I head to the surface world today to find Kaldur'ahm.