1Disclaimer: Arthur Curry/Aquaman belongs to DC comics and the Professor's name, Hatcher, was taken (I think) from "Aquaman Goes to College". Everything else is mine. As a scientist, I wanted to write a story about a young DC hero and try to give a reasonably believable scientific explanation of the hero's strenths and weaknesses. I also wanted realistic action and romance (somewhat inspired by the first few seasons of Smallville). This is my first post, I hope you enjoy it.
THE TIGER'S DAUGHTER (An Arthur Curry Adventure)
Chapter 1
Arthur Curry stepped out onto the walkway and closed the door behind him, twisting the knob to make sure it was locked. Wearing only a pair of tight, knee-length black shorts, he headed for the stairway that would take him down to the beach. The warm night breeze swept across the back of the building and pushed his blond hair across his face. It was the longest it had ever been, hanging nearly to his shoulders. He was clean shaven, square-jawed and had intensely blue eyes that rarely gave away what was going on in his head.
The Gulf Breeze Luxury Condominiums occupied a prime location on the southern part of Fort Myers Beach along Florida's Gulf Coast. It was too expensive for most twenty-four year old graduate students, but Arthur had been able to purchase the condo with his share of three hundred year old Spanish gold, recovered from a previously unknown wreck south of Key Largo. He chose the location for its proximity to Florida University's Gulf Coast Marine Research Center where he worked on his graduate research studying the biochemistry of rare marine microbes.
Arthur descended the stairs and passed through a breezeway out onto a short boardwalk that traversed low-lying sand dunes sparsely covered with dune grass and a few scattered palm trees. Three spotlights mounted on the building lit a hundred foot wide swath of sand and water, creating an oasis of light in the otherwise dark stretch of coastline. On either side of the Gulf Breeze were small vacation homes, deserted for the summer, leaving the beach dark and deserted outside the bright lights.
Confident that he was out of sight of curious eyes, Arthur stepped toward the water then froze when he heard something he wasn't expecting - whispers and a groan. He stood silently, waiting for confirmation that what he had heard was real. This time the moan sounded like the word No.
He stepped back from the water and turned toward the darkened houses behind him. More whispers, then a soft feminine voice, "Not here, not like this."
Arthur cocked his head, trying to get a fix on the source of the voice.
"Not now, everyone else is inside."
The deep and gruff whisper that followed was unintelligible.
"Please, Ricky, please."
Another gruff noice.
"No, stop I..." the voice was suddenly muffled.
Arthur turned walked toward the sound. Behind one of the small cottages, were a few palm trees in a square patch of sand partially surrounded by a flimsy wire and wood fence. In the center of the property, a dark rectangle covered a portion of the sand. As Arthur drew nearer, he could see two reclined figures on the dark blanket.
The muffled voice sounded more frantic. Feet thrashed in the air.
Arthur closed the remaining distance more quickly, his footsteps quiet enough that they would not be heard over the crashing surf. The stray light from the condo's spotlights cast shadows of the nearby palm trees behind one of the houses. Arthur remained in the shadows as he stepped forward and faced the two figures intertwined on the blanket.
"Is everyone all right?" he said in a low resonating voice.
There was sudden shuffling and Arthur saw a young man sit up. His shirt was unbuttoned and he wore baggy shorts. On the blanket beside him, a slender young woman was smoothing out her tank top and short skirt while she wriggled away from the young man.
"We're fine. Get the Fxxx out of here," said the one apparently named Ricky. His voice was too winded to properly convey the anger his words suggested.
"Are you ok?" Arthur said to the young woman who sat up on the opposite side of the blanket from Ricky.
"This is private property, so Fxxx off," Ricky said.
Ricky stood and faced Arthur. He was just under six feet tall, had short dark hair and a goatee. His hands closed into fists as he took a step toward Arthur.
Arthur stepped out from the shadows. The faint light that strayed from the condo's spotlights cast shadows across the muscular contours of his upper body and his eyes reflected an eerie blue iridescence, fleeting and cat-like. Arthur's eyes were equipped to see in the near total darkness of deep ocean trenches as well as in the light of day and at times there was something about them that was not quite human.
Ricky paused, wide-eyed and uncertain, then turned around and shouted toward the small house, "Johnny, Paulo...come out here, you guys."
A light came on in the house behind them and the sliding glass doors slid open. Ricky turned back toward Arthur with a confident smirk.
"Give me a break," Arthur muttered, shaking his head slightly. He turned away and started walking toward the water