Warning: Language . . .
It took three weeks to contact Aquaman. In that time, Dick had taken to staying in Gotham and commuting to Bludhaven for work and patrols. He hadn't been back to see Elle in all that time, didn't take her calls, and only texted when he had to communicate. And it was making him sick . . . Physically sick!
After the first two weeks, Elle had stopped calling and no longer answered his texts. That was bad enough, but the past week he hadn't been able to sleep more than an hour or two a night, if that. The need to go to her had him shaking. It seemed to support his theory that Elle had somehow cast a spell over him or something. It took every ounce of will power he had to drive to Gotham instead of to her apartment. So it was with considerable relief when Bruce had sent him a text earlier that day that they would be meeting Arthur that evening.
Dick hoped that the Atlantian king had some idea what was going on and how to fix it. He was going a little out of his head, and the depression that was falling over him now made the one he had after his and Babs' breakup look like a fiesta in comparison. Bad enough, in fact, that the family had taken to checking on him several times a day, and as annoying as that was, he still appreciated it because there were times when the idea of stopping the world so he could get off looked incredibly appealing.
Aquaman was waiting for them at the zeta tubes when Batman and Nightwing stepped out.
"You've been hounding me for over a month, so this had better be good," Arthur said in way of greeting.
Batman placed a hand on Nightwing's shoulder, and nodded with his head toward an empty conference room.
"Privacy would be better," he said, pushing the younger, silent man in front of him.
Arthur Curry, otherwise known as Aquaman to the surface world and as King Orin to the kingdom of Atlantis, followed the two men. The door shut behind them. He was annoyed, but curiosity was quickly overwhelming that initial emotion as he watched the other two men sit down, grim-faced.
Of Batman, this was expected and accepted as normal, but Nightwing . . . Arthur knew the young man when he had been Robin, although he hadn't worked very closely with him for years; not since he took on the new personae as Nightwing. What he remembered of the boy, however, was his cheerfulness and optimism. He couldn't help but wonder about the man's presence or his serious demeanor.
He sat down at the head of the table; a habit that the years of being a king had given him. This put him closer to Nightwing. On closer inspection, he thought the younger man looked tired and not a little uncomfortable. Was he well?
It was with uncommon gentleness that he restated his earlier demand as a question. "What has happened," he asked.
At first no one spoke, and then Batman once again laid his hand on Nightwing's shoulder. So, Arthur thought, this concerns the boy . . . Or rather the young man.
Nightwing took a breath, blowing it out as if preparing himself for breaking bad news. "Aquaman," he began. "I asked Batman to contact you because I have met someone that you should know about. I also have a few questions that I am hoping you could answer for me . . . Please."
The please intrigued him. Robin had always been a polite child to the members of the Justice League, but this wasn't politeness, he determined, but rather an entreaty; a plea for assistance.
"I will do what I can," he said. "Perhaps you can enlighten me about this particular 'someone'."
"She is a woman I have met a few months ago." Nightwing started. He spoke with care, and seemed to be concentrating on regulating his breathing. The young man was struggling with something. "She told me an interesting tale; a family legend about a merman who impregnated her great grandmother after saving her from certain death after her ship went down at sea.
"Since then I have witnessed her diving five stories into a river and miraculously save a child's life against all odds. I've learned that she has a severe allergy to chlorine that result in blisters that can be shed when rinsed in pure filtered water, river or seawater. Her fingers are normal when she is dry, but when she becomes wet develops webbing between her fingers and toes."
Arthur blinked. This wasn't exactly what he had been expecting. He waved Nightwing to continue.
"But lately I've discovered that she can affect people with her voice. She instills a sense of honesty and sincerity when she speaks, but it is when she sings that one can see enormous changes in the moods, emotions, and attitudes of those who are present. I was hoping you could tell me more about her?"
Nightwing laid a cell phone on the table. He hit a button and slid it over to Aquaman. Arthur pulled it closer and looked down as a beautiful young woman began to sing. It took less than thirty seconds before he realized what he was hearing and leapt to his feet; knocking his chair over in the process. He swept the phone across the table and slapped his hands over his ears.
"Turn it off," Aquaman cried. "Quickly! Turn it off now!"
Both men jumped up, but Batman was faster; snatching up the device and turning it off. Aquaman swung around, furious.
"Where did you get that recording," he demanded.
Nightwing glanced at Batman before answering. "She sent it to me."
"That," he pointed at the phone still in Batman's hand, "is a Siren!"
"A what?" Nightwing blinked, confused.
"My God," Arthur exclaimed, gasping at the implications. "It is impossible! How can she even exist?"
Batman set the phone back onto the table. "I think we had better sit down and you tell us more about Sirens."
Arthur was shaken. Had he realized this . . . Well, he wouldn't have waited nearly so long to answer the Dark Knight's request. But how could he have possible predicted that his request was concerning a Siren? He picked up his chair and sat back down, striving for calm.
"A Siren is a race of Atlantian who is capable of bewitching others with song. They were one of the first Atlantians to learn the mystic arts and were among the most powerful; so much so that their kind was eventually banished to the outer reaches of the kingdom." Arthur told them. "Do you remember the stories of mermaids enchanting sailors with their songs and causing ships to wreck amongst the rocks?"
"You're saying that those tales weren't myths," Nightwing said. His shoulders slumped as he appeared to deflate with the news.
"Unfortunately, no," he said. "They can captivate with their voices, but it is in song that their power is truly felt. A Siren spell cannot be reversed except by another Siren. Even today with many Atlantians well versed in the mystic arts, there are still none capable of reversing a Siren's song unless the one who cast it or another, equally powerful, Siren releases the one bewitched."
Batman leaned forward. "And this woman is one of these creatures? Do you have any who might be able to release someone who has been caught in her spell?"
"Sirens are a dying breed," Arthur told them. "I only know of two that still live, and they are on the outskirts of my kingdom. I am not certain, if I can find them, that either would be willing to help."
"Can you not order them to, as their king?" Batman asked.
"I can try, but that doesn't mean that they will do it. You see, I am not immune myself to their magics. If either of them were to sing to me a refusal of sorts, I might walk away not remembering their existence. I might never find them again. Although," he looked thoughtful, "I might entice them with the knowledge of the existence of this woman. The Sirens that I speak of are male. There are no known female Sirens left in existence that I am aware of . . . Well, until now, apparently. That might be worth something to them."
Nightwing straightened suddenly. "What do you mean, 'worth something'? Are you suggesting that we . . . sacrifice this woman to these male Sirens for the sake of undoing whatever minor enchantment she might have unwittingly made?"
"Unwittingly?" Arthur leaned back in his chair. "I have never heard of a Siren unwittingly enchanting someone before."
"Nightwing . . ." Batman said warningly.
"No!" Nightwing glanced over at his mentor and then returned his gaze to Aquaman. "If you are saying that you want to just 'give' her over to these strange men without her consent, then no! Forget it!"
"It might not be without her consent," Batman told him. "She might want to meet others of her kind; particularly if they are indeed a dying breed."
Nightwing jerked his arm away from the older man's grip. "Toward what purpose? Perpetuating the species? Creating more of a race that apparently all Atlantians' scorn? How could she possibly want that?" He slammed both hands down onto the table and stood up. "No! I won't allow it!"
"Nightwing, sit down," Batman growled.
"Fuck off, Bruce," Nightwing shoved his chair back and moved away from the table.
"Nightwing! No names," Batman raised his voice.
"Like Arthur Curry doesn't know your secret identity, or mine, for that matter," Nightwing scoffed. "Don't change the subject! Or better yet, let's do! Elle is off limits. I've changed my mind. I don't care if she put a spell on me to make me love her or not! I will not pimp her out to a couple of strange men for the vain hope that I might be cured or whatever the hell you call it! What if it isn't a spell, Bruce? What if I just love her?"
"This was your idea. You are the one that said you couldn't stand not knowing," Batman growled standing up as well. "You said you hate the idea that she might be manipulating you. What else could it be when these last few weeks of avoiding her has made you ill? Don't think I haven't noticed that you don't sleep anymore; that you hardly eat! Whatever depression you had after Barbara, this is a hundred times worse! You are sick and you don't even know it! That sounds exactly like a spell to me."
Nightwing shook his head. "I won't do it. I can't do it, Bruce! You're right, though. Being away from her is making me crazy . . . I don't know why I even questioned it. I am happy with her!"
"Are you? Or is it just an illusion," Batman reminded him. "How do you know she loves you in return?"
Nightwing mouth tightened. When he spoke again it was quietly; calmly. "Because I can see it in her eyes. I can feel it in her touch. I can hear it in her voice, but it isn't in what she says so much as what she does. She cares, Bruce. She's sweet and funny and takes care of me when I'm sick and worries about me on my job. She's a good person! Hell, she didn't even know she was anything other than a regular, normal surface dweller that happens to have a great voice and loves to swim. She doesn't hurt people. You know that. She helps them. And if she wants me to love her, then I'm more than happy to do just that."
Nightwing turned to Aquaman. The Atlantian was sitting quietly in his chair listening and watching him spout romantic platitudes with a passion that made him a shoo-in for the male lead in Nicholas Sparks' next movie.
"I was mistaken, your highness," he told the man. "I apologize for wasting your time. There is no problem here."
Nightwing started toward the door when Arthur called out to him. "She loves you, too? You are certain of that, are you?"
He paused with his back to the room. Without turning around Nightwing answered him. "I am. I was only confused about my own emotions, apparently. That is no longer the case."
"There is something else you might want to know about Sirens then . . . before you go," Arthur told him cryptically.
Sighing, Nightwing looked back over his shoulder. "You won't talk me out of this, you know. And I won't let you take her to meet the last of her kind, either."
Arthur shook his head. "No, it isn't about that, although I confess to being curious about her. This is something else that I suspect you both should know about based upon what I've gleaned from this little outburst."
Nightwing was silent, but he didn't leave. Batman turned back to the table, picking up his and his son's chairs from where they had overturned. He sat down without a word, and glanced at his son's back.
Arthur looked from one to the other. It made him wonder briefly about these two men's personal relationship. He knew their identities, but he didn't really know much about either of them outside of the costumes. Bruce Wayne was a business man and a billionaire. Nightwing was Robin all grown-up and his name was Dick Grayson. He knew that when the boy was young, he had been Bruce's ward, whatever the hell that meant, but now that he watched their personal dynamics and really considered what he had witnessed on occasion between them years ago . . . Maybe ward was just another name for son.
After a moment, Nightwing . . . Dick moved back over to the table and sat in his chair without looking at the man he arrived with. Arthur winced. The temperature in the room had plunged several degrees compared to what he had experienced when they had first arrived. He felt a twinge of guilt for that, although he knew that he wasn't exactly culpable for it. Perhaps, this last bit of information would do its part to heal what Arthur suspected now was a father/son relationship. He would need to go back to Atlantis and confirm it all, what else he remembered from stories and legends about Sirens, but it certainly made sense based upon what he had just witnessed.
"I'd like the opportunity to double-check my facts, mind you, but from what I just heard I think I am remembering this correctly," Arthur said as an opening. "Sirens are renowned for monogamy. Oddly enough, all considering, but it is because they only mate once for life. They meet what has sometimes been described as a soul mate. This person, usually one of their own race, but not necessarily so, meets the other and a bond develops; an emotional and physical bond. It is permanent for the Siren; kind of a forever thing, you understand."
Well, he had both men's attention now. They were staring at him intently, almost as if he had suddenly grown two heads.
"They don't do well without the other. I heard that it can cause stress, sleeplessness, sickness, and in some cases, death."
Batman leaned forward; one arm coming to rest on the table. He was frowning; obviously worried about his son.
"Are you saying that if Nightwing chooses to not return to this relationship that he could die?"
"No, that isn't exactly what I am telling you," Arthur shook his head. He was silent a moment; searching his memory for anything contradicting what he thought he knew. When nothing else appeared to cause him to doubt his knowledge, he continued, clarifying. "Although I suppose it might be possible that he could sicken to the point of death without her, I believe it goes that the member of the other race, that would be you, if you are indeed truly bonded with this woman, would eventually recover, and in some rare cases go on to remarry if he or she so wished, but the Siren that is bonded would indeed sicken and die without his or her bond mate. Sometimes, the Siren wouldn't even last that long, but would choose to take his or her own life."
Was it the lighting or did Nightwing just blanch.
"Two Sirens that have bonded," and of this he was sure, "often would die together; the one left behind following the first into the afterlife. Like I said, this isn't necessarily the case when one bond mate is other than a Siren," Arthur said slowly.
"There may be more to this than I can remember," Arthur said apologetically. "I learned all of this years and years ago. And as I have not ever personally dealt with a Siren, I am pretty sure I haven't retained everything there is to know about them."
Nightwing nodded, absently. He looked a little dazed. Even Batman appeared a bit taken aback by what they had learned.
"Um, would all of this be relevant to a person that is only part Siren," Nightwing asked hesitantly. "Elle, uh, that's her name; Elle and her mother both had human fathers. She is only maybe one/eighth Siren. Her mother died when she was seven and her human father never told her anything about her heritage until recently, and of that, not much."
Arthur pursed his lips as he considered that. "I don't know. But you said she has certain qualities that are Siren, so it is possible that a serious separation might not, or might still, lead to her death. You are having troubles after being apart from her so long, I think it is safe to say that she would easily have as many, if not more, of those troubles herself. I doubt being so ignorant of her kind as she seems to be that she'll understand what has been happening to her. I would suggest that if you love her as you claim; you contact her with that information as soon as you can."
"I think . . . Yes, I think that maybe that would be a good idea." Nightwing nodded.
"Only one/eighth Siren, you said?" At Nightwing's nod, Arthur held out his hand. "Might I see that recording again?"
Nightwing took the cell phone back from Batman and brought up the video. He hadn't listened to it since he showed it to Bruce three weeks before. He didn't count the few seconds it had played for Aquaman. He pressed play, but hesitated in sliding it to Arthur.
Elle appeared on the screen giving directions to the person recording it for her. He watched her pick up the ukulele and start strumming. He smiled, the constant tension in his chest easing slightly. And then she sang and he relaxed for the first time in three weeks. She sang for him and suddenly all was right with the world again.
After a minute, he remembered Arthur's request and he slid the phone toward him. The king of Atlantis picked the phone up this time and watched the video with interest. At the last note, he saw her motion for the video to end, but it did not end right away. Arthur watched the young Siren, of this he had no doubt, turn to the musicians behind her and raise her arms joyfully into the air and shout, "I'm so in love!". There was laughter and then the screen finally went blank.
He slid the cell phone back to Nightwing, and smiled at the man. "You are very lucky, I think. She seems completely guileless and mostly human. Now, that I have actually heard her voice, I'm not certain that she has the capability of casting a spell, at least not without some kind of instruction anyway. What I witnessed was the projection of her own emotions through her voice. The lightness of being and loving feelings that you get from listening to her sing are merely what she feels for the person she is singing to." Arthur looked closely at the younger man. "I assume that the person she was singing to was you?"
A pained look crossed Nightwing's face at his remark. "Yes." The word came out as barely a whisper.
"I believe I can safely say that she hasn't placed you under a spell, although I heavily suspect you are in the midst of a potential bonding. I hope this is the news that you were hoping to hear. If it is not, then it might still be early enough that you can head it off. I cannot be sure the same would be the case for her, but the option may still remain if you do not wish this for yourself." Arthur stuck out his hand to the younger man. It had been a long time since Arthur had the opportunity to use the surface-dweller's gesture of shaking hands.
Nightwing stood and shook his hand. "Thank you for coming and answering our questions."
Arthur stood as well. "You are most welcome, Nightwing. I wish you the best of luck. I think I would enjoy an introduction to this young woman at some point. I will leave you with this." He handed Nightwing a small shell.
Nightwing frowned at the shell, holding it in his open palm.
"Believe it or not, it is a communicator," he said, laughing. "It will guarantee that you can reach me if you have more questions later. I will go back to Atlantis and research what I can find about Sirens in the meantime."
Nightwing smiled, closing the shell in his hand. "Whatever you can find in your books will be plenty. Let's not mention Elle to those male Sirens, however, if you don't mind."
"The brothers?" Aquaman grinned. "I won't search them out without an express request."
Batman and Aquaman shook hands. "Thank you, Aquaman, for your time."
"A pleasure for once, Batman," Aquaman nodded. "And I think you both still have time to go home and patrol, do you not?"
It was ten-twenty p.m. A late start perhaps, but still most of the night left. Batman wasn't sure if Nightwing wanted to stay the night now or not. He turned to ask his son what his plans were when he saw Nightwing stagger; catching himself against the wall.
"Nightwing!" Batman ran to his side; grabbing the younger man's arm before he slid down to the floor. "What's wrong?"
Nightwing was gasping. He turned desperate eyes to his father. "Elle! I need to get to Elle! Something's wrong!"
Aquaman was there suddenly; pulling Nightwing's other arm over his shoulder. He gave him a knowing look. "Then let's not keep her waiting!"
The three men took off at a run; Nightwing struggling to keep his feet despite the support of the two other heroes. He felt her despair, her fear, and her pain. Something or someone was hurting her!
REACTIONS? C'mon, you had to see this coming, right? Or did I surprise you?
Ah, now this explains everything! Now, hurry back, Dick . . . She needs you!