Roy time with a twist! Sorry for the wait!
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The team found themselves in the pool once again on the next day, laughing at their youngest's childish antics. Robin was flipping and jumping just like he did on land.
"Red Arrow 20" the computer announced. Before anyone could get over the shock of Red Arrow coming in to the mountain, Roy himself walked in. Robin swam over to the edge by him, put his arms on the ledge, put his chin on his arms, and grinned. Roy rolled his eyes and ruffled Robin's hair. "Having fun little bird?" Roy asked his little brother. Robin nodded vigorously. "Good. I heard the team found out about you." He turned and glared at the team and said "If you ever try to hurt him, you're dead. Got it?" The team all nodded.
"Obviously you know too. How did you find out?" Wally asked Roy.
"Well, the first time we met was actually years ago, when I was still with the Navajos." Roy began.
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Robin is about six or seven in this; Red Arrow is about 11 or 12
Robin's POV
Wow, the rock is red. At least the water is warm here. Robin thought as he swam in the deep river. His parents had finally said he could go swimming in the river. Dick didn't like this place much, though. It was too dry and hot for him. He had to drink at least five and a half gallons of water a day to stay hydrated. Times like this he really hated his physiology.
BOOM!
Robin jumped as he heard thunder. Uh oh. Better get back or Mom and Dad won't be happy. I wonder how long it's been raining… Robin thought. He suddenly heard a roar and he turned to see a huge wall of water. The water threw him around, into rocks and the river bottom until black consumed his vision.
Roy's POV
Roy stealthily walked through the small forest by the river. He knew Brave Bow didn't like him down there, especially alone, but what is the worst that could happen? He had his bow, a bit of dressing for cuts, and his water skin. It had just ended raining when Roy began heading for the river, figuring he could get his feet wet.
Is that a fish boy? Was Roy's first thought as he saw the small boy. The boy looked about six or seven with black hair and a dark blue tail. The second thing Roy saw, was the blood. He ran over and saw a long gash across the right side of the boy's forehead. "Hey, hey, wake up!" Roy yelled as he shook the boy. The boy didn't even stir. Roy looked closer at the boy's tail and saw that it looked dry and the boy was sweating and panting. Roy emptied his canteen of water on the boy, ran down to the river, filled his canteen, and poured the water on the boy again. He looked at the boy. Brave Bow will know what to do. Roy thought as he picked the boy up and began to walk towards his and Brave Bow's house.
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At Brave Bow's
"Brave Bow, Brave Bow!" Roy said, running into the house.
"What is it, child? Oh my." Brave Bow said as he saw what Roy was carrying. "Put him here. Luckily, I know a temporary remedy." Brave Bow gestured to the beat up couch then ran to grab herbs. Roy set the young boy on the couch and began applying a poultice to the gash on the boy's head. The boy began to pant again and Roy gave him a drink of water, then while waiting for Brave Bow, stroked the boy's hair and looked at his tail.
"Here, help me apply this, Roy." Brave Bow said, coming in with a thick paste. Roy helped him apply it to the boy's tail. After a few seconds, the boy woke up, silently screaming. The screaming soon turned loud as his tail became two legs.
Suddenly the boy looked at Roy and Brave Bow, and jumping said "Mami, tati! În cazul în care sunt eu? Cine eşti tu? Vreau să merg acasă!" (Mommy, Daddy! Where am I? Who are you? I want to go home!).
"What did he say?" Roy asked Brave Bow.
"Young man, do you speak English?" Brave Bow asked.
The boy seemed to think, then with a thick Romanian accent said "Bit. Home. River. Haly's Circus. Please help. Home."
"Haly's Circus?" Brave Bow asked the boy. The boy nodded furiously and said "Home." Brave Bow nodded and said "We will take you there."
"Thank you" The boy said. "De apă?" at the confused looks the boy then said "Water?"
Roy gave hime some more water, which the boy greedily drank. "Where is Haly's Circus?" Roy asked Brave Bow.
"About a day's walk north. I have met Haly before. He will let us stay for a night." Brave Bow said as he packed food and water for the journey. "Luckily, you found him this morning. Poor boy must have been in the storm last night. If you hadn't found him, he would probably be dead. Help him stand. He will probably be very unsteady." Roy walked over to the boy who was looking at them curiously.
"Home?" The boy asked. "Home." Roy assured him, firmly grabbing one of the boy's arms and helping him stand. The boy nearly fell over right away, but Roy holding him stopped him from falling. Roy helped the boy walk in large circles until he was steady enough to walk on his own. Brave Bow gestured for both boys to follow him as he walked out of the door and into the woods.
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About seven hours later
Who are these people? I know the red head saw my tail. Why are they helping me? I wanna go home. Where are Mommy and Daddy? I hope they aren't mad. Dick thought. He kept looking for anything that looked familiar, even the big top over the trees. He still didn't see anything, but these people said they would take him home. They even gave him a lot of water. He had already drank eight canteens and stopped at a creek for a drink, but it was getting late. He was tiring quickly. He needed more water, and soon.
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An hour later
The boy was looking very tired and heavily panting again. I guess he needs more water again. He walked over and handed the boy his canteen. The boy looked gratefully at him and he took a few gulps out of it, then handed it back. He then looked at where Brave Bow was going then at Roy as if asking "How much longer?"
"Brave Bow!" Roy yelled. Brave Bow turned and looked at Roy. "How much longer until we get there? I don't think he can go much further. He's exhausted and parched."
"Maybe ten minutes. We are very close."
"Close. Soon." Roy said to the boy, smiling comfortingly. The boy tiredly smiled back and trudged on. Roy swung his quiver around so that the strap covered his back, stepped in front of the boy, and crouched down, gesturing for the boy to get on. The young boy climbed on and said "Thank you."
After about five minutes later, the boy climbed off and began walking faster toward Brave Bow. Finally they reached the circus' camp. The strong man turned and saw Robin. "Karla, get Mary and John! Richard is back!" He jogged over and the boy, who Roy assumed was Richard, hugged his leg. Suddenly a man and a woman came sprinting around a trailer. "Dick!" The woman yelled. The boy immediately let go of the strong man and ran over to the woman, jumping into her open arms. The man was right behind her and hugged both of them. "Multumesc lui Dumnezeu ca esti bine. Nu te speria ca niciodată că ne din nou!" (Thank God you're alright. Don't you ever scare us like that again! )The man scolded the boy.
"Îmi pare rău tati. Am fost înot și nu am dat seama că a început să plouă.Apa are mai dur si am lovit la cap.Băiatul a văzut coada mea. Îmi puteți da niște apă? Sunt foarte sete. Am fost de mers pe jos toată ziua și au nevoie de mai multă apă în curând." (I'm sorry Daddy. I was swimming and didn't realize it started raining. The water got rougher and I hit my head. The boy saw my tail. Can I have some water? I'm really thirsty. I have been walking all day and need more water soon.) The boy said, his speech muffled by, who Roy assumed to be, his father's shirt.
A man dressed in a top hat came over to Roy and Brave Bow. "It is good to see you again Haly" Brave Bow said.
"It is good to see you as well. Thank you for returning him to us. We have been extremely worried. What exactly happened?" Pop Haly asked.
"Roy here found him passed out by the river. I assume he was caught in last night's flood. He has a nasty gash on his head, but he will be alright. I must ask though, since when have you had merpeople?" Brave Bow asked.
Haly looked at Brave Bow with a saddened expression and said, "He is the only one. The Graysons found him dying on a beach and took him in. For quite a while, he had nightmares. We were able to figure out that his parents were killed by hunters with harpoons, right in front of him. The poor boy. He is a vibrant, lively member of the circus now. Everyone is attached to him and we were all very worried. I am assuming that you won't tell anyone about his tail? Is there anything I can do for you? Anything you need, ask."
"Of course we won't tell. We need a place to stay for the night, and we will be on our way in the morning." Brave Bow said to Haly.
"Of course. Richard seems fairly attached to Roy, doesn't he?" Haly said, looking behind Brave Bow. Brave Bow turned to see Richard hugging Roy's leg and speaking in fluent Romani, only taking a break to drink out of the large water bottle his parents had given him. Roy looked confused, but put an arm on the younger boy's shoulder. "It will be hard separating them." Haly said, looking sad.
"Perhaps they will meet again. For their sake, I hope they do." Brave Bow said.
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Current time
"So we actually met years ago. I've known since, well, before Batman." Roy said with his legs in the pool.
"Wow, dude. You really do know everyone, don't you?" Wally asked. Robin just gave an evil grin.
What next? I'm kind of running out of ideas. I'm thinking Kaldur with a potion that makes the transformation not hurt, and lets him talk. You like idea, or not? And how do I get to that point?