"Lewis, I know you want to find the scientific reason behind our transformation but researching alongside Denman is too dangerous."

"Wait...you were listening?" He looked at the other girls who were mostly ignoring him as he rambled.

"When do I not listen? Look..." I sighed, "I know you want access to her equipment but is there some lesser kind that could help just the same?"

"Well yeah...but its expensive."

"Well then shall I be the first to invest in you, Lewis?"

He looked taken aback but he still pushed, "But her research?"

I sighed and held him back so the other girls wouldn't hear, "If I can give you a summary of her research, will you back off from this idea?"

"You really can tell the future, can't you?" His eyes widened.

"Not exactly, but I have good ideas about it."

I could already see the wheels turning in his mind.

"But how?"

I turned to look at him, "I'd become your new science experiment if I told you."

"Do you know what kind of stocks to invest in?"

I sighed, "Lewis, you are getting off topic."

He nearly bounced on his feet, "But can you?"

"I..." I hesitated. I knew Lewis could be trusted in the long run. I just needed to hear him out, make sure he was heard. "I have some idea."

He nearly whooped in joy, "I'm going to be rich!"

I faced him and he faced me.

"Do we have a deal, Lewis?"

He pretended to ponder the prospect, a hand on his chin.

"You tell me about Denman's research."

I nodded.

"And future investments."

I nodded.

"And help me get better lab equipment."

I let out a long sigh, "Fine."

I sure hoped it would be worth it in the end.

The next day I handed him everything I knew about Denman plus notes on what would be discovered regarding the girls DNA when water was added.

Lewis looked through the file, "Well some of this I already had, but this..." He held up the one page regarding our DNA and water and celluar mutation. "How did you figure this out? Research or..." He waggled his eyebrows.

"A little bit of both."

"If I had become her assistant..."

"There was a high chance you'd make a mistake leading to Denman finding out our secret."

"I wouldn't..." He shook his head, "I couldn't."

I raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'oh really'.

"Dr Denman is hot, young and flirtatious. Like beach babe hot."

"Oh..." His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. "Yeah that could do it. If I got flustered then..."

"You could accidentally leave something behind you shouldn't."

His eyes widened, "If you knew...did you know from the beginning..." His eyes narrowed, "If so why...?"

"If things go the same way as I expect, the world will need at least 3 mer to save it." I whispered, keeping my voice low so no one would overhear us in the Juice Net. "I tried several times to give a chance to Emma, so she wouldn't...but in the end she did."

"Was that why you were worried about your power?" He whispered.

"From what I know only an odd number have ever been turned at a time. Well that's excluding natural mers."

"Right, right." He nodded along until he stopped, "Natural as in real..."

"Yep."

"Wow!" He sat back and looked shocked. Lewis.exe had stopped working. I could almost see a status wheel turning above his head before he came back to himself and leaned forward. "So how much can you tell me about the future?"

I sighed, this would take awhile.

"What do you want to know?"

His eyes nearly sparkled, "Everything."

——

"You've been spending lots of time with Lewis lately."

I raised an eyebrow at Cleo who had cornered me at the moon pool.

"Are you jealous?"

Cleo blushed and looked away.

"Oh you are...You know he's head over heels for you, right?"

Cleo looked back, blinking in surprise. Her arms paused in the water.

"What? No, we've been friends since we were little."

I chuckled, "Friends-to-lovers is a trope for a reason."

She looked at me through her eyelashes, nibbling on her bottom lip. "And you and him aren't...?"

I shook my head, "Just friends and business partners."

I watched as relief flooded Cleo's expression. I wondered how long it would take until she came to terms with her own feelings.

We were at the beach together with the rest when Cleo took Lewis to the side to chat.

Rikki came to my side. She looked knowingly over at the two, "So you talked her into it."

"Didn't have to say much." I turned my head and decided to tell her an idea I had, "Oh Rikki I was thinking. If you want to make some cash in a low-risk environment my job is asking for more part-timers."

She perked up, "Really?"

"Yep." I nodded.

"I'll check it out thanks."

Lewis rejoined us and sent me a quick wink, "We need to be careful. I've heard of some illegal fish smuggling that's been going on, some even working out secretly from the marina. A couple of fishermen were almost suckered into getting fooled. There really is no such thing as getting rich quick schemes."

I let out a laugh and the girls looked at me curiously. Lewis's hints were a little too on-the-nose, we'd have to work on them later until then...

I looked over at Cleo then Lewis, "So do you two have any news for us?"

Cleo looked at Lewis, who looked at her with a blush and a grin.

"It's official guys. We are boyfriend and girlfriend."

"About time!" Rikki shouted.

"You have been circling each other for awhile." Emma agreed.

I smiled at the two lovebirds, "I'm glad you two finally talked."