Waterbird

*~`2~*

When Raven awakens again she at first thinks she must have been dreaming about what happened before. Despite the pain it couldn't have possibly been real. As she opens her eyes she finds herself floating in a large cylindrical tank of water. She panics at first thinking she is going to drown but when she calms down she realizes she can breathe. Looking down it is confirmed it wasn't a dream as she finds that she no longer has two legs but a scale covered fish like tail the same color as her hair tapering down from her waist to her ankles and in place of feet she has two large translucent fins. She touches her hip in disbelief only to find she isn't seeing things. Its real...but why was this done to her, she wonders. She shrinks back scared as the face hovering over her before appears out of the shadows in front of the tank.

"If you really must know, you are a test. If anyone were to survive it, I thought it would be one of you super powered do gooders. Now keep your thoughts to yourself."

Raven looks up wide eyed as she realizes that this is Trident.

Before she has time to ponder the thought, in the shadows beyond her field of vision the door to the lab bursts open.

Trident turns toward the source of the unwelcome intrusion.

Tram speaks some unintelligible words as he runs off toward the bank of computers leaving Aqualad to face down the villain.

"Get out! You have no business here."

"If your business involves capturing and genetically altering humans for the entertainment of who ever is willing to provide you with toxic waste, then it very much concerns me."

"You're too late, if you came to save her."

Aqualad glances behind the villain to see someone immersed in a tank of water. Not just anyone, he quickly realizes that its Raven. He stops staring at her, she's no longer human but what surface dwellers think a mermaid looks like. A part of him has to admit that its a good look for her. Aqualad snaps out of it as Tram yells at the computer then whacks it with his hand.

Finally Tram gets the information he is looking for. He inserts a disk making copies of the data then he smashes the computer once he removes the disk and turns his attention to freeing Raven.

Raven looks down as Tram steps up to the tank. She puzzles over the words he mumbles but gets the meaning that he is going to get her out of here.

Tram knocks on the glass and decides breaking it is a bad idea. He searches all around the cylinder before he spots the opening on the top. Tram grows larger and pries it off, he holds his hand down into the water.

She takes Tram's hand letting him pull her out of the water. She expects to be unable to breathe air now that she has been changed but is relieved to find she has no trouble. Can she still use her powers to help defeat the villain she wonders. Using them to attempt an escape before she was experimented on never occurred to her. She tries now but she is so weak its too difficult to focus. Raven is aware that Tram is saying something to her but she soon slips back into unconsciousness.

*~`'~*

When Raven comes to she is resting in a shallow wading pool. She looks up as Aqualad sits down by her.

"Its good to see you finally awake. I was getting worried."

Raven looks around. "Where are we?"

"My place. I didn't think it was a good idea to take you all the way to Atlantis given how weak you are. Tram is gone to get the other Titans."

"Trident?"

"I stopped him. At least that one. There could still be some of his clones lurking about. How are you feeling?"

"Weak."

"Doctors from Atlantis came to check you out. You lost a lot of blood. They are taking a look at the data Tram lifted from the computer to see if they can change you back."

Raven looks down at her new body. For the first time in her life she actually feels beautiful. "What if I don't want to be changed back?"

Aqualad looks down at Raven stunned by her question. "Its your choice Raven."

She looks up startled, not having realized she had voiced her thoughts out loud. "He said I was an experiment."

"He was laying in wait on the surface waiting for you or Starfire to show up...maybe even Robin too."

"He said he thought someone super powered would survive the test."

Aqualad nods. "You were lucky to survive."

"How did you know what he was doing?"

"I got word that some rich nutcase was willing to supply him with toxic waste to make more clones, if he could produce the mythical equivalent of mermaids and mermen for his own private aquarium. Tram and I were on our way to stop him."

Raven looks at her new fish like tail. "Myth..."

"Real merpeople don't exactly fit the look of the myth. If you really want to stay like this then you realize what danger you could be in on the surface don't you?"

She shrugs, too tired to think about it right now. Raven would like nothing more right now than to drift off to sleep. Something does occur to her. "You said if."

"If what?"

"If I could be changed back."

"You were mutated. No one knows exactly how he did it or what chemicals he used yet."

Raven shudders from the memory of the pain. "It hurt so bad. I don't want to go through anything like that again."

"You should rest now. The other titans should be here in a few hours." Aqualad watches as she drifts off to sleep before he even finishes speaking. He touches her hair which also appears to have been mutated. Water doesn't soak the strands. Her hair is completely dry the moment it is removed from the water. There are other concerns to worry about with her if she is stuck in this form besides her safety on the surface. His mind swims with all the dangers she needs to be schooled on in the water. Can she even maintain her body temperature in the ocean? He couldn't imagine being stuck away from the water in some confined area? What if she were to be confined to some heated pool back on the surface? It would be better he thinks if she were changed back and returned to her life on the surface world, but at the same time a part of him doesn't want to see her go.