The Choice in His Hands
Chapter 1: The Domino Effect
Chinese Fairy: Yea, I'm back with more love for Kaldur. I still think he is under loved, so here is something else for him. It is another prequel before he becomes Aqualad, so magical B.S from me!
Disclaimer: Seriously, I only put this up because I don't want some O.C.D crazy person come and whine about the missing disclaimer. All the rights belong to Warner Bros., D.C Comics, and Cartoon Network… if you are still reading this I think you need your head checked out… And if I need to, I do not own the small sliver of plot from the Little Mermaid… I don't really think there is a whole lot, so this is just in case.
Warnings: Nothing much in the entire story, just a couple fight scenes, a tiny blood, and nothing else… If something pops out, then I'll let you know!
Chinese Fairy: Okay, get to the story, come on, it's more interesting than my endless babbling!
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The Choice in His Hands
Chapter 1: The Domino Effect
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Atlantis was the only known underwater civilization known to the human race; this was only thanks to King Orin, or Aquaman, who joined the Justice League in the fight against evil. Even though he joined the group of heroes, he still did not allow any of his allies come to see his world. Not because he was concerned for their well being underwater or for any similar reason to this, but because King Orin did not want outsiders entering his utopia.
King Orin was very protective of Atlantis and never wanted any human to know its location. This was forfeited when Batman was able to pinpoint his home's location in outer space from the Watchtower's supercomputer.
Aquaman settled for this, just as long as it was kept private between the League members. Superman swore to keep it a secret and the subject was forgotten; at least, that is what he told the Justice League. All three identities of the individual: Arthur Curry, Aquaman, and King Orin always had it in the back of their minds the uneasy nightmare of one day the surface world finding out the location of Atlantis.
This thought has plagued him for the several years he fought along side the League and it has only grew over time ever since Kaldur'ahm, his adoptive son, had begun to show an interest in the Human world.
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Four long years have past since the incident of the adventurous Kaldur'ahm and now the young Atlantean was now an energetic child of the age of thirteen.
Kaldur had long since grown into his long limbs and now he has become strong due to his less than frequent magical studies with his Queen Mera and physical training with his King Orin. Over the past four cycles of the Earth revolving around the sun, the young boy has also joined his King and father in sporadic trips to the surface world.
With the agreement of Kaldur asking for permission, they both had swam all across the seven seas visiting different bays, ports, harbors, and cities. This day was no different.
"Annex Orin!" called out Kaldur as he swam up to his King who was conversing with Prince Orm, the second in line for the throne. He placed his enclosed hand up to his forehead with this thumb touching his head in the respectful greeting.
Aquaman nodded to his son with a smile on his lips, "Good day, Kaldur'ahm. What brings you to the training hall so early in the morning?" asked Orin. His son nodded and quickly replied, "I was wondering my liege, you spoke yesterday of visiting the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in California and I was wondering… If I may be so bold as to…" Kaldur blushed at his own fumbling words and tried to ask his father the question he held.
Prince Orm chuckled and patted his brother on the shoulder, "I think I know where this is going; I shall take my leave and see what Vulko is doing right now." The youngest of the three bowed to the retreating form of his Prince, and Orm has swum away towards the Atlantis Science Center.
King Orin turned back to his son and spoke, "Now, what were you asking, Kaldur'ahm?"
The said young boy blushed in response and continued his train of thought, "I-I was wondering if I could go with you…" he glanced up to his king, patiently waiting for a response.
His father smiled warmly and replied, "Of course you can, vuerd'ah." Orin noticed his son's face brightening as he used the endearing term for "my treasure" and son. "As long as you ask and have permission from the Queen, you may accompany me. I shall be waiting for you by the teleportation hall." Kaldur'ahm was beaming up to his King and placed his hand once again on his forehead.
"Efcarestousei, Annex Orin!" he thanked his king and swam as fast as he could towards the Conservatory of Sorcery, where the Queen Mera was teaching.
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Kaldur'ahm shot through the water faster than any dolphin as he raced away from the house of sorcery and rushed as quickly as possible to the teleportation hall where his King was waiting.
He reached his destination in record timing and once his form came to a halt before Aquaman, Kaldur saw his father's amused expression. "I take it Mera has given you permission?" asked the Ruler of the Seas. The younger Atlantean beamed and replied happily, "She said as long as I make it back in time for dinner, it is fine with her!"
Aquaman chuckled and moved closer to the portal, which lead to the surface world. "I have already set the destination for off the coast of Santa Cruz. Let us go," he ushered the thirteen-year-old youth in through the barrier that transitioned from seawater to a bubble of air.
Bright lights flickered all around them and just as it was reaching blinding proportions, the two found themselves once again submerged in water and far away from Atlantis. Kaldur moved around via a few kicks of his webbed feet and felt the difference between the Atlantic water and the Pacific Ocean.
Aquaman appeared by his side, "Welcome to Santa Cruz, Kaldur'ahm."
His son was smiling and beaming with warmth that could challenge the sun and Orin was pleased with him to have made that special smile grace Kaldur's lips.
Their forms floated in the slightly murky water for a few minutes so their forms could adjust to the different temperature and "tastes" in the water. "Can we go see the boardwalk now, my King?" questioned the energetic boy. Aquaman nodded and they began swimming towards the shore that held a hot spot for people in the summer.
It was late spring now and the beach was flowing with people coming to try and bask in the sunrays. Kaldur's head breached the surface of the water first and he let out a bubbly laughter as he saw all the people running, playing, or enjoying the beach. "Annex, this beach is so full of life!" proclaimed the child as his father emerged from the sea as well.
The King of Atlantis chuckled at his exuberant son and replied, "Yes, this is a good day to see the humans at their best." They free stroked to the shore and once their feet touched the coarse sand, they began wading out of the water.
Some people looked on at them as the superhero and his son walked out of the ocean while the others went on with their leisurely day. Kaldur'ahm was still smiling as he jogged onto the place where the sand transitioned from wet to dry. "What shall we do here, my liege?" he questioned; Aquaman followed Kaldur at a slower pace, "I brought you here to spend the day with you, nothing more."
Kaldur turned to his father with wide eyes and a shocked expression adorning his face. Orin let out a strong chuckle and stated, "My son, you resemble a guppy at the moment." The younger of the two blushed a deep red and bowed his form from his hips junction.
"Est teru Efcarestousei, Annex Orin." He kept his form bowed in a respectful position while he said, "I am thankful, King Orin," until his father lifted his head up to meet his gaze. "Rise Kaldur'ahm, you do not need to thank me. This is a day that I wished to spend with you. Now come, this is your chance to try that human food I spoke of."
Kaldur's happy expression returned as he now ran towards the scent of human food with the ecstatic thoughts of finally trying what his king called, "cotton candy".
They reached the cart that served the sweet treat and the thirteen-year-old looked ready to burst from his body with all his compressed energy.
"Touve a donomihea hure'ua, Kaldur'ahm." Said the King of the Oceans as he gently urged his son to step forward and pick a bag filled with the candy that had cotton appearance. While the young boy looked at all the vibrant colors before him, the man tending to the cart had a "what the heck?" look on his face due to the strange language Aquaman spoke in, but he did not say anything. Finally, the youth pointed to a bag full pf blue cotton candy.
"I… would like… this one, please." Kaldur spoke this request in English and felt his cheeks grow warm at his attempt to speak a human language. Orin smiled at his son; "He has truly been paying attention to his English lessons… I believe his is an attentive student, so why does Mera say he seems distracted in his magical studies?" his thoughts were living proof that the son could never go wrong in his father's eyes.
The man running the cotton candy stand plucked the bag off the rack and offered it to the boy with a smile, "Here you go kid, enjoy." Kaldur hesitantly took the bag in his arms and nodded, "Efcarestousei!" he thanked the man in Atlantean and bounced off back to the beach.
The confused look was back and it grew exponentially as Aquaman paid for the sugary treat. "Here," said the King as he placed a coin in the man's and walked away before the man could say anything.
The human looked down at his hands and felt his jaw drop. A gold coin half the size of his palm was resting in his grasp. "You forgot you change, sir…" he said in a daze. Aquaman did not hear him and continued walking after his happy child.
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The two Atlanteans strolled along the beach with Orin keeping an amused eye on his son while Kaldur clutched the bag in his hold like fragile glass. "Vuerd'ah, you know that you are supposed to eat it, right?" asked the Ruler of the underwater world.
Kaldur'ahm glanced down at his prize and then up to Orin's amused face. "I-I want to… but if feels so fluffy; I do not think we are supposed to eat it. Are you sure Kerru Flash was right about this candy?" he asked the question and Orin noticed that Atlantean honorific for the Flash. "He is so respectful to everyone…" the term "kerru" was to identify a man similar to "Mr.", but with even more respect. The child was looking up to his king and it took all of Aquaman's strength to fight back a laugh. "He truly is innocent regarding so many traits and foods."
He turned to his son's determined face and replied, "Kaldur'ahm, Flash was telling the truth about the candy; you are supposed to eat it. If you do not eat it, what would you do with it?" Kaldur thought about this observation for a moment before opening the bag and timidly picking at the large ball of fluff.
A small piece of cotton candy was held between his fingers and he brought it up to his lips before nibbling on the candy. "Ah!" he gasped loudly and his expression now mirrored full-blown shock. His wide blue-green eyes turned to his kind as he reported quickly, "M-My King! It vanished! I had it in my mouth and it suddenly disappeared!"
King Orin could not help himself; his son was too adorable. He began laughing with his head thrown back and Kaldur stared at his king in awe. "I do not believe I ever saw Annex Orin look so young… His laughter makes the long lines of fatigue vanish from his face." A deep blush was settling on the youth's face when his King's laughter subsided.
"Kaldur'ahm, it is supposed to do that…" the smile that radiated off Aquaman vanished any embarrassment his son felt and Kaldur offered his King some of the cotton candy. Orin picked off a small piece and ate the blue tuff; this really was a good idea.
Until a scream in the distance caught them both off guard, they glanced to one another and one nod of the head from Aquaman sent them both sprinting off into the distance towards the shore.
The cotton candy was left abandoned on the sand dune.
There was a large gap between the people and the water as many beachgoers shied away from the water as a fin emerged from the surf. Thankfully, everyone knew Aquaman was a member of the League, so they hurriedly parted a path for him. One glance at the dorsal fin informed the Ruler of the Oceans that a great white shark found it way close to the land. This would have been an easy task to ten to, but a stray swimmer was bobbing in and out of the surface of the water.
Aquaman turned to face Kaldur and reverted back to their native language, "Est omnamiea l'ansi komiahu deipokei wa! Tul kethunamon ii algathue wei levimom!"
"I will drive the shark away! You save the swimmer!" he ordered and Kaldur quickly did as he was told. They both charged towards the water with loud gasps coming from behind them. Kaldur jumped in first and dove underwater for maximum speed. The panicked swimmer was still floundering and his motions were slowing down. The thirteen-year-old pushed his body to move faster.
The Tamer of the Oceans cut through the water in order to reach the shark before is sensed the human and Kaldur. King Orin stopped about five feet away from the beast and gently shut his eyes, allowing his telepathic powers to reach out to the beast known to scientists as Carcharodon carcharias.
"Be calm my friend, I am not here to harm you." He spoke to the shark mentally; immediately, the fifteen-foot shark calmed and it reverted from his predator mode. Aquaman's tense gazed relaxed as the shark started a leisurely swimming pattern in font of him.
Kaldur'ahm was not that lucky calming the crazed swimmer; he easily reached the man, but when he tried to offer the man help, he was violently pushed away.
"S-Stay away!" cried the man as he spat out some sea water that filled in his mouth.
The Atlantean sighed and tried again to help the man in his mid-thirties. "Sir, I am not here to harm you! I want to help!" he tired to reason; his form floated closer to the drowning man and he looped his around the man's upper torso. Once he encircled him, the man resumed freaking out.
With the combination of heightened sense, too many unknown anomalies, the threat of the shark in the water, and this unfamiliar thing restraining him, the swimmer struggled and flailed his arms wildly. Kaldur tried to hold onto the man and off him floating support, but the body mass difference was too great. Even with his stronger body, the Atlantean was at a slight disadvantage.
One swipe of the man's arm struck Kaldur right in the face and he temporarily released his hold on the human. He moaned and his fingers felt around his nose; once he pulled back his digits, those blue-green eyes saw blood coating his fingers.
Kaldur'ahm's eyes widened considerably, "Nemon keriau…" he whispered. "No please…"
It is said that a shark can taste blood in the water about a mile away from its position, so it was no surprise when the great white shark's eyes dilated from tasting Kaldur's blood in the water. It whisked passed King Orin and was now on a collision course with Kaldur and the panicked human.
"NEMON!" yelled Aquaman as he chased after the creature in hopes to stop it before it reached his son.
Kaldur'ahm sunk down into the water just in time to see the shark charging towards him as fast as it could. "The Great White Shark is a hunter who attacks its prey at the surface and tries to get it from underneath!" even in this time of pure fear, Kaldur still tried to use reasoning in this dire moment.
With all the strength he could muster, the young Atlantean broke through the surface again and forcibly grabbed hold of the man and began swimming towards the shore. He glanced back at the dorsal pointing out from the water and shouted, "Take a deep breath!" ordered the Atlantean to the man; he didn't know if the human heard him, but this was the time to dive and use his speed to save them both.
Kaldur'ahm dove under water and his body took off like a shot. The man was still in his arms, but he did not have the luxury of worrying about him at the moment; if the man wanted to live to see another day, he would have to endure this minute.
The shore finally was close enough for him to started running on the same coarse sand and the thirteen-year-old struggled to wade through the waist high water and carry the limp man. For some odd reason, the shark did not relent as it neared the shore. Even with the threat of being beached, it still charged after Kaldur.
In a split-second glance towards the beach, he saw that there was a group of what he guessed were healers; the white word on their jackets said, "paramedics" on the beach and shouted, "Catch!" he threw the man with the last of his strength towards the group of people and turned to stop the shark from advancing.
"Tul neimkalifrun waklu te haulatom!" Kaldur cried towards the large shark. "You cannot go any further!" He respected all sea creatures, just like his father and he did not want to hurt the shark, but he could not allow any harm to befall the humans.
Aquaman saw that his son was not going to move out of the way of the incoming great white and he felt all the blood in his body freeze. "Nemon…" he breathed and his body stopped swimming.
In a strong motion, Orin violently raised his arms above his head and shouted in his native tongue, "Est oumkel ii wei hanpo'alu dep nominaum aqua!" he concentrated his will into the water and the liquid listened to his call, "I call upon the water to listen to me!"
The water levels began to rise from its calm state and swept over to its master's call. He pushed his hand towards the shark and like a seamless shadow, the water turned into a wave and moved to capture the shark into a large sphere shape.
Kaldur stared in awe as a large portion of water came together and acted as a prison for the shark that was only ten feet away from his standing position. He glanced around the sphere and saw his king. "Annex Orin!" he cried and tried to move closer to his father.
"Tul un egnouim ma!" ordered Aquaman in a tone that Kaldur has never heard before. His King's tone froze his son in his place as those words struck him in the heart. "Stay where you are!" the statement was just used to keep him out of danger, but the young Atlantean inferred from his father's tone that King Orin was angry with him.
His blue-green eyes moved to gaze upon the imprisoned shark and saw that his King was now motioning with his arms for the water to pull back from Kaldur and the shore. Once a large distance was placed between the thirteen-year-old and the beast, Aquaman and the shark vanished under the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
Kaldur'ahm remained rooted in his placed with the water still waist deep and the cold, empty feeling swallowing his entire body whole.
A few brave people rushed over to the youth and gently pulled him to shore. A few spoke to Kaldur, but he paid them no mind. "Annex Orin, did I displease you? Did my actions shame you?" This was the usual pattern that his mind followed and no matter the problem, whether it was big or small, his thought process always placed him in the wrong whenever the topic concerned his King.
One of the human healers, or a "paramedics" gently wiped the partially dried blood on his face and winced; "Sorry kid, but the guy got you pretty good." Stated the man and Kaldur winced as he wiped the rest of the red liquid from his nose.
"Thank you," the Atlantean murmured; he was still shaken from his King's tone, but the paramedic thought it was from the shark incident.
Five minutes later, Aquaman emerged from the water and made his way over to his son. "Let us return now." He said curtly and turned to leave again. Kaldur nodded and drifted from the people and ran to catch up to King Orin.
Kaldur took one more glance at the beach boardwalk and faintly thought to himself, "I do not believe I will ever see this place again…" their bodies broke through the surface and they began the long trek back towards Atlantis.
The young Atlantean never felt such an awkward setting before between his King and himself…
Aquaman silently called upon a pod of dolphins to come and speed their journey along and neither spoke for the rest of the swim home.
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Queen Mera knew something was wrong the moment her husband and her son returned from their trip to the Pacific Ocean. As they passed through the grand doorway that lead into the main hall, Kaldur swam straight to the corridor where his room was and her love, Orin, slowly floated to her side. She rose from her seat and he pulled her into his arms.
"I can sense you are troubled, love… What happened?" she asked quietly; Orin exhaled a breath and answered, "I worry about Kaldur'ahm's safety… We arrived at that boardwalk and a shark appeared… H-He protected the humans even at the risk of his own life…"
Mera pulled away from her husband and gazed into his blue eyes for and endless minute. When she spoke again, her voice held a sad tone, "Orin… He is following your footsteps; I would not be surprised if he asked to join you in your surface world duty's." her love pulled completely away from her and turned his back towards her.
"I will not accept that!" he roared; the five handmaidens for their Queen jumped at his sudden outburst and Mera noticed this, "Leave us." She commanded and they quickly fled the room.
Aquaman still did not face his wife as he continued in a more restrained voice, "Kaldur… He is too innocent for that world… I do not hate the humans as I used to, I may even care for them now, but… I will never allow him to be part of that insane world. Atlantis is peaceful; Atlantis is safe for him and safe is where he will stay."
His tone was final and Mera knew that the conversation was over. She swam closer to her husband and hugged him against her lithe form. "Very well, my love…"
Neither noticed the eavesdropper as Kaldur'ahm allowed his tears to mingle with the water and he pushed himself away from his hiding place at the doorway and shot off out of a window into Poseidonis, the capital and his home.
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Kaldur already had a destination in his mind as he rushed towards the Conservatory of Sorcery. As usual, Tula and Garth were training on the roof of the grand building and they paused their spells when he touched down next to his friends.
"Kaldur!" cried Tula with a smile and she swept him into a hug. He barely responded to her embrace and Garth saw this as a bad sign. "What is it, brother?" spoke the other male Atlantean.
Kaldur remained silent as his tears kept integrating into the seawater around him until a sob broke from his form. Garth moved closer and pulled both Tula and his brother into a hug. As the oldest, it was his job to make sure both his friends were okay, "It seems like I have failed you, Kaldur…" he thought as the red headed Atlantean cooed and murmured soft comforting words to her friend as the thirteen-year-old continued to cry in their arms.
Neither has ever seen Kaldur cry before, so this was very unnerving.
It took their youngest friend several minutes to compose himself and when he did, Kaldur whispered his words; his voice was hoarse from the crying, "A-Annex Orin is upset with me and… and he may n-never allow me to return to the surface…"
Tula held him closer and glanced up to Garth, this was something they both knew one day it would happen… Garth pulled Kaldur out of her grasp and made his best friend gaze into his eyes, "Munweii tom," he began; Kaldur looked to meet Garth's eyes since he said his nickname, "Curious One" and the raven haired youth continued, "King Orin cares for you like his own son and he does not want you harmed. He is thinking about your safety; he's not trying to be cruel…"
Kaldur'ahm tore himself from Garth's warm hold and replied angrily, "I want to see the human world, but now I never will ever see it again!" he turned to flee from the rooftop of the magical studies, but Tula stopped him.
"Kaldur wait," she pleaded; he paused at her tone and tentatively turned to face her. The red haired Atlantean moved closer to him and offered him a small vile; it fit into his palm easily and held a cloudy white liquid. He glanced at her, confused and she smiled up at him.
"It is a summoning spell… Queen Mera taught us a new spell and this is the only successful batch. All you need to do break it open and both Garth and I will appear wherever you are… I can tell you need some time alone and we will respect that for now. Just remember that we are here…" her smile encouraged him and Kaldur smiled softly back.
"Efcarestousei Tula," he glanced to Garth, who was also smiling, "Garth… I-I shall see you both later."
With that, Kaldur'ahm vanished off into the distance towards a coral forest.
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Kaldur continued swimming until he reached a small opening of the forest and settled on the pure white sand of the ocean floor.
"My King is angered and does not trust me… He will never allow me to see the human world again and it fills my every dream. I wanted to be with him while he was Aquaman, but now… That dream is gone…" he spoke to himself; the ambiance of bubbles from random fish, the fluttering of tail fins, and the bumping of shell creatures against the coral reef.
He sighed and closed his eyes… "I would give anything to see the human world just once more…" he murmured and pulled his knees close to his chest.
"Poor child who dreams of another world, but is imprisoned in this seaplane…" spoke a deep male voice as an Atlantean floated into the clearing, which held the saddened Kaldur.
The said thirteen-year-old gasped and whipped around to see the owner of the voice. The Atlantean had a strong built body and was adorned in a black one-piece suit similar to his King's attire. The said person was also garbed in flowing gray robes, which fluttered with a slight current. Finally was a helmet that obscured his face; it was a dark blue, almost black color, in a cone shaped shell helmet.
"Wh… Who are you…?" asked Kaldur as he was readying his body to flee at a moment's notice.
The said Atlantean floated the equivalence of two feet closer to the youth and replied, "I am called Ocean Master and I heard you speaking of your plight. I would like to help you…"
Kaldur seemed hesitant and the elder Atlantean sensed it; he placed his hands up in a calming motion and continued, "Do not fear me child, I only wish to talk now. I am a powerful sorcerer who helps those who needs it the most… Your calls have reached my ears and I want to make your wish come true…"
The thirteen-year-old boy contemplated swimming away from this stranger, but a faint voice in the back of his head begged him to stay. "Just listen to him! If he can grant you one more chance to see the surface world, then you should take it!" urged the voice.
Kaldur remained silent for another moment before nodding, Please, Kerru… T-Tell me more," he asked with a respectful nod.
Behind the mask, a devilish smirk adorned the Ocean Master's lips, "The plan has already been set into motion…"
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Chinese Fairy: Well, what do you all think? This is an in-between-er for my next story and now… I may start the other this coming Friday, but I'm not sure. Don't quote me on that!
Anywho, like I said, the prequel of Aqualad that I cooked up in my kooky mind! This may only turn out to be three chapters, maybe four… Who knows?
NOTE: Kaldur may seems a little out of character, but I had to make him a little more emotional and immature since he is three years younger than his age in Young Justice and he is Robin's current age. He is immature, but still respectful! He will change as the story progresses! ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT HE IS INNOCENT AND CHILD-LIKE IN THE WAYS OF THE HUMANS!
Please excuse any errors, PLEASE REVIEW! Other than that, see you all later!
Take care!
P.S: MORE LOVE FOR KALDUR!