My dearest Raquel
I write to you now to inform you that I will no longer be in the Atlantean prison. Indeed I have discovered that the Light wishes me dead, as such I shall not risk captivity but I have decided to take the fight to the Light. As such I am afraid that I may not be able to see you or Amistad for quite some time... It is regrettable but it may be the only way for me to keep both of you safe.
I will be thinking of you every moment of every day and I hope that we will all some day meet again... I am sorry that I could not be there.
Sincerely Kaldur'ahm
Raquel read the note that had been left for her. She hadn't seen or herd Kaldur since She let out a deep and sorrowful sigh. Some days it seemed like she'd never even known him... Even the League wasn't too sure where he was, they'd heard whispers and the Brain had been found dead. Several other people known to be working for the Light had been handed in to the authorities.
Rocket turned as the door to her room was opened. She quickly hid the note in a small box on her table. Behind her was Cheshire, a bemused smile on her face. Rocket smiled in greeting. It was 7.15 in the morning but all the adults were up and active.
"Morning Jade." Said Rocket
"Hi. Just thought I'd tell you the kids have legged it again."
"Urgh! Today of all days! I'll go and get them." Sighed Rocket
She went outside and looked around the island. She already knew where they'd be... Using her powers she began to fly towards their favourite hiding place.
2/2/2/2/2/2
Amistad Ervin lay face down floating on the water, looking down at the sea life bellow him. He contemplated each of the aquatic creatures, from the fish to the mosques. At nearly 16, Amistad was a tall, muscular teen. He had silver eyes that seemed very similar to him for some reason that he couldn't place. The boy had short black hair that stuck on end no matter what he tried and high cheek bones. The teen dove under the water.
He didn't need to hold his breath, as soon as he went under the water, his neck would open up and reveal a set of large gills enabling him to breathe under water. His hands and feet were webbed and he had long fins on each of his legs. He wasn't sure why but he always felt at home in the water. It didn't matter how deep or cold the sea was, he loved to be in it. The teen came back up to the surface after a moment.
"Hey Ami!" A voice called him "Come see what I found!"
Amistad turned around to look at a young woman. She had long flowing black hair, deep blue eyes and slightly tanned skin. She was a tall and slender person. The younger teen swam over to his friend, she was a fair bit older than him but that didn't stop them from sharing a close bond. He smiled at the young woman who showed him a strange piece of machinery. They often found them around the island but could never figure out what they were.
"Cool find Li." He said in his usual deep voice but with hints of his mother's accent
"Hey, weren't you going to show me what you've been practising?" Asked Lian Harper
"You wanna see?" He asked her
"Sure!"
"Ok then... This is gonna blow your mind!"
The young aquatic teen dove down under the water to the very bottom of the sea floor which was about 5 meters down. He crouched down on the sand bellow and looked up to see the sun and Lian currently looking down at him. Then he kicked up and swam as fast as he could. The strange tattoos on his body lit up in a dark red light as he propelled himself ever faster. Then, he was out of the water and flying at incredible speed out of the water. His belt lit up with light as he preformed a triple looping in the air. An arrow sped past his nose, distracted he crashed back into the sea. Lian chuckled.
"Not bad fish boy..." She laughed
"What? You insane or something?" Asked Amistad "Why are you shooting at me?"
"You practice, I practice. Right little bro?" Lian said "You might want to keep it up, then you might actually stand a chance against me!"
"I could wipe the smile off of that mug of yours easily!" Declared the boy his tattoos flickering slightly
"Yeah, it looks like your mom's gonna do that for you..."
Lian pointed at an approaching purple dot on the horizon. Amistad turned his silver eyes to face his incoming mother. Uh oh... The teen opened his gills and want back under the water, if he was going to go down, he was going to go down in style! He repositioned himself just as he had done only a few moments before and waited until his mother was right above him before kicking up once again he took to the air. Raquel let out a surprised yell as her son flew past her coming out of nowhere before landing back in the ocean.
"Amistad Ervin! What do you think you're doing?" She yelled at him
"Just practising mom..." He said
"Practise is for the cave or when there's someone about to make sure you're not going to split your head open on a rock!"
"Come on aunty Raquel..." Said Lian "If Ami doens't practise how's he ever gonna beat prince perfect?"
"He won't beat anyone if you don't learn to do as you're told! I thought I said that we were going somewhere!"
"Yeah... You did." Said Amistad
"Why aren't you ready?" Asked the boy's mother
"I am..."
"Yeah, we're going as Raquel and Amistad Ervin!" She said pointing at the boy's blue swimsuit "Now move!"
Amistad let out a sigh and rolled his eyes earning a glare from his mother and both he and Lian began swimming back to the island. Once they reached the shore, Amistad set about changing into his civilian clothes. He usually just wore a blue and black jacket which he made sure hid his gills with the collar and some baggy jeans to try and hide his fins. As per usual he hit his belt underneath his jacket.
He looked around his nautical themed room and made sure that he was wearing his shell bracelet, he wasn't sure why he even bothered checking, he couldn't actually remember not wearing it. He left his room and came across his mother and Lian and her parents all ready to leave and waiting for him. They used the Zeta-tube to beam themselves straight to Star City. He went to high school here but wasn't sure why they were here on a Saturday usually they either hung out around the island or went to the cave.
The two families soon split up and Amistad was left with his mother. They cut down several streets till they reached the central park. As nice a day as it was for a stroll, the boy could tell that something was on his mother's mind as she kept on looking around expectantly and when she wasn't she seemed to be starring into space.
"Yo mom, where we going?" He asked
"You'll see..." She told him
The park was virtually deserted apart from the occasional jogger. Amistad scanned the area and found his eyes falling upon a man in a jacket somewhat similar to his own. The man turned to look at them, his eyes widened. The teen stopped dead, his mind was racing he'd seen the face on the Justice League computer and news papers...
"Mom villain ahead!" He yelled
"No Ami don't!" Yelled Rocket
Too late, the boy's belt lit up as he took to the air and sped towards the man. He collided head on with the villain knocking the man clean off of his feet before flying him into the air above the trees. Then he dropped him. The bad guy crashed through the branches before eventually getting stuck upside down in one of the trees. Amistad flew back to his mother and landed proudly.
"Not bad huh?" He said puffing out his chest
Rocket shook her head and let out a frustrated sigh before she too taking to the air and going into the tree. She came out a moment later, holding the man by the hand. She gently let him stand back on the ground before flying back to her son who starred at her in disbelief before narrowing his eyes.
"Mom! Helping the bad guys isn't usually on the schedule!" His tattoos began to shine lighting up his jacket
"Amistad calm down!" Commanded Rocket
"You know who that is right? The only guy ever to have betrayed the team!" Said Amistad channelling the water out of one of the fountains and forming a water blade with it
"Yeah I know..." She let out with a sigh and looked at her feet before looking back up at her son who was in combat stance "Amistad... He's more than that... This is your father."
"My what?"
Amistad eye's widened. He let the water slip out of his hands and crash to the floor. His tattoos stopped burning. He looked at his mother than at the silent Kaldur'ahm. What has his mom just said? Father... No he couldn't be... He'd never known his father, he'd always figured that he'd either died before he was born; left his mother like a jerk or it had just been a one night stand thing... How could he be his father?
"Hello Amistad..." Said Kaldur softly
"You- You're... No! Mom, you're under some mind control or something!" He began to yell
"No, Ami I'm not..." She muttered "It's the truth..."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" Amistad roared
"Do not take your anger out on your mother!" Kaldur'ahm ordered taking a step forwards "Take it out on me..."
"If you're my dad then prove it!" Challenged the boy
"You have always had the bracelet on your wrist and cannot bare to remove it although you do not know why..." Said Kaldur
Amistad's face suddenly grew pale and his anger left him. How did he know that? He hadn't told anyone not his mother or anybody else. Kaldur seemed to be fiddling around with something in his pocket and got out a carefully folded piece of paper which he unfolded and showed his son. The boy's eyes widened as he saw a picture which he could remember drawing as a child and has mysteriously disappeared.
Amistad's silver eyes flashed over to the man. Kaldur'ahm was tall, muscular and powerfully built. His face seemed somewhat jaded however a few age lines had already appeared around the corners of his mouth. He looked into the Atlantean's powerful silver eyes which commanded respect, he'd seen them before... They were his own... He spent a moment in silence before laughing darkly to himself.
"At least that explains the fish bits..." He said
"I am sorry for not telling you earlier Amistad..." Said Kaldur " We merely thought that it was time for you to know the truth... I would understand if you would wish me to leave you."
"No!" Amistad declared "No... Stay... Please..."
Kaldur offered his son a grateful smile. The boy looked back up at him still unsure what to make of this new discovery. Should he be angry at his father and mother for not telling him? Or grateful that he actually had a dad? Lian was never going to believe this!
2/2/2/2/2/2
Half an hour later the small family was sitting round a table, exchanging glances and smiles to some drinks. Amistad smiled as he listened to his father's story with his eyes wide with wonder. The cafe was almost deserted apart from a few other people who weren't paying any attention to them. They were blissfully unaware that they were sitting only a few feet away from an entire family of superheroes.
"So after that what happened?" Asked Rocket
"Well, Conner brought us to this air vent and we crawled through." Kaldur recalled "Robin soon figured out that they'd try to track us with the motion sensors so he hacked them and..."
Kaldur was cut short by the door opening. In stepped Roy, Jade and Lian. They almost instantly spotted the other family and headed over to them. Amistad wondered if he was going to have to explain the whole situation but apparently his father already knew Red Arrow, Cheshire and Lian. He shook the red archer's hand.
"It has been a while..." Kaldur declared
"Too long..." Sighed Red
"Hey Li, this is my dad." Amistad announced
"Nice to see you again uncle Kal." Said Lian with a smile
"As it is to see you Lian..." Said the Atlantean
"Wait you guys know each other?" Amistad almost yelled
"Yes... I lived with you and your mother for the first year of your life..."
Kaldur and the others all began explaining everything to a stunned Amistad.
2/2/2/2/2/
It was much later when they finally decided to head home. They all discretely made their way back to the local zeta-tube teleporter. Kaldur was the last to step through, he was quite excited about going back to the place that he had so many fond memories of. As he arrived, he almost jumped backwards from fright and astonishment.
The entire team and several members of the league were waiting for him. They were all dressed in civilian clothes and smiling warmly. Some he recognised instantly Artemis, Conner, Megan, Wally and Nightwing others he had to remember who they were...
"SURPRISE!" They yelled
"What?" Kaldur asked surprised "Thank you... I was not expecting..."
"Oh come on!" Said Wally running over and putting an arm around the Atlantean's shoulder "You didn't think your friends miss your 'coming back to the good side' party. Did you?"
"No... I suppose not." He said with a smile
Kaldur smiled and greeted his various friends that he hadn't seen in years. Several of them had had children including Artemis and Wally who now had a daughter who was only a few months younger than Amistad and an eight year old son with another child on the way. Amistad's friends knew of course where he lived but never before had so many come to his house. He kept on making sure they were all in the same place and that none had wondered too close to the jungle where they'd probably never return from.
Around half way through the evening, Amistad was signalled away from the crowd from his mother who brought him to a slightly more secluded part of the patio.
"Ami how about talking to him?" She suggested showing Kaldur'ahm by himself standing with his ankles in the sea
"Sure..." He prepared to walk off but noticed his mom wasn't following
"I think this should be a father son chat..." She said
Amistad might of argued back but in his heart he sensed that she was right. He slowly began to stroll down towards the ocean, slipping off his sandals to walk barefoot on the sand. He approached Kaldur quietly, his father seemed most in his thoughts, looking out over the sea with his arms folded over his chest.
"I will be returning shortly..." Kaldur declared "It is just that I am not used to so many people..."
"Where've you been living if not here?" Asked Amistad
"All over the place, I have been hunting down villains since I left..."
"Sounds lonely..."
"Indeed, I have a friend who is currently hunting down Ra's Al Ghul or rather trying..."
"I take it he didn't want to come to the party..."
"No... Jason is not the party sort..." Said Kaldur with a vague smile "Enough about me! Your mother told me that you are part of the team..."
"Yep... My hero name's Torpedo."
"Ah! As in water and Rocket... I see..." Said Kaldur with a smile "Do you enjoy it?"
"Yeah..." The teen's voice trailed off
"Amistad?" Asked Kaldur
"It's nothing... Just... I've always wondered what it would be like to have a father."
"I apologize for not being here for you or your mother as I should have been but I was trying to keep you safe." Kaldur said sadly "Not a day passed when I did not think of you..."
Amistad looked up into his father's silver eyes and gave him a brief hug. Kaldur hesitated before returning the gesture. There was still a long way to go but it was a step forwards in the right direction.
2/2/2/2/2
"Jason! I am about to go to bed and would appreciate if you would stop cursing!" Said Kaldur into his large makeshift communicator
"I don't care what you're about to do Kaldur! Where the hell are you?"
"I am home..." He told the man at the other end, there was a notable pause
"You made it back huh?" He finally said
"Indeed..." Kaldur sat down in an armchair
"You meet your boy?"
"Yes..."
"So? Is he the same do nothing goodie two shoes as you are?" Asked Jason, Kaldur let out a deep sigh
"No... He is more like his mother..."
"Don't get all soppy on me! Should I get ready to do this gig by myself?" Asked Jason
"Do not go by yourself it is suicide."
"Well what do you suppose I do, Talia's got my scent!"
"Come here... There is a spare room."
"Seriously? Come to the place that my ex-mentor funds and hope that he doesn't know I'm here?"
"Your choice, my place or the streets?"
"Fine! But don't expect me to stay long or talk it out with Nightwing or Bats!"
"Now would you permit me to go to bed?" Asked Kaldur somewhat frustrated
"Of course, you just remember we've still got Lights to kill."
Kaldur let out a relieved sigh and turned off his radio. Everyone had long since left. He approached what used to be his bedroom wondering just how he was going to explain to Raquel that Batman's resurrected sidekick was going to stay the night. Was she even expecting him? He opened the door sure enough she was waiting and gave him a hug.
"It's good to see you again..." She told him
"Indeed... I have missed you more than I can say."
"You impressed your son..."
"I am very proud of him, you have done well." Raquel kissed him on the lips just like she had 16 years ago
"There's something else isn't there?" She asked after a moment
"The Light is still out there Raquel... We only killed one. More will come..."