Aquagirl (Fem. Percy x YJ)

56

"Where are they?" I rushed over to my king, Calvin close behind me.

"Sha'lain'a, you must calm-"

"Both of my children were captured and tortured for almost three months, do you really wish to tell me to calm down?"

Orin swallowed. "They are being housed in one of the cells here."

"Why in a cell?" Calvin asked.

Orin looked at my children's teammates before responding. "They still believe they are in enemy hands. We moved them after they went for sharp implements."

Every muscle in my body tensed and Calvin rested a hand on my shoulder. We both know what he meant.

"May we see them?" I asked.

"Megan and Connor can take you to them. I am still waiting on some others."

I nodded and followed after the two teenagers. They led us into a small room with a window looking into an adjoining room.

I walked over and my hand flew to my mouth. My babies...

"Don't go in there!" Megan yelled, stopping Calvin from opening the door. "They'll try to attack you."

"I am willing to risk that." Calvin opened the door. I followed him inside.

I walked to where Kaldur laid on a cot and knelt at his side. "Kaldur."

A growl left his lips and a pang shot through my heart.

"Kaldur, you must look at me. I am not going to harm you. You are safe."

He covered his ears, tears coming to his eyes. He curled up. Tremors wracked his body.

I looked back at Calvin, who was getting no response from Percy.

Leaning down, I kissed the side of Kaldur's head. "You are safe now. The king saved you, you are going to be okay."

His breathing caught and I made a split second decision. I wrapped my arms around him and lifted.

Muffled screaming filled the room, but he did not fight me.

"I am sorry. I am sorry. Hush, I do not mean to cause you this pain. I just need you to realize you are safe." I apologized, tears trailing down my face as I held my son.

"Sha'lain'a, hold him still."

I looked back at my queen. "I did not hear you enter."

"I am doing my best not to disturb them." She placed several containers on the floor and carefully arranged them before opening one.

The door opened and Orin entered, carrying a large pot of water. "Where do you want this?"

"Place it here." Mera waited until it was on the floor. Water rose and she scooped something out of the container letting it dissolve. The water began glowing.

"Mera, it may be best if we have Superman hold him." Orin suggested. "Or Calvin at the very least."

Mera shook her head. The water pressed against Kaldur's skin. Screams tore from his lips and I ran my fingers through his hair.

Mera placed the water into the large empty container.

Kaldur sobbed. He turned his face to mine and I gently wiped his tears away. "It is okay. It is okay. You are being so brave."

He reached a hand up and rested it on the side of my face. More tears streamed down his face, tinted red from the blood dried on his face.

"It's okay, little one. You are okay now. Will you allow the queen to finish helping you?"

He stared up at me, until his eyes closed and his hand fell away. 

"Kaldur?!" My eyes widened and I shook him. He didn't stir.

"Everything must be catching up with him. Percy has been unconscious since the rescue. Megan said she could not knock him out, but she did block his sensory input and motor control until we arrived here. Honestly I am surprised he lasted this long." Orin sat down.

That did nothing to calm me.

"I need to finish tending to his injuries. If I do not, they run a high risk of getting infected." Mera pulled more water out and dissolved a powder in it before using it like she had earlier. Kaldur didn't react. I did my best to avoid looking at his injuries but it was hard for me to not see every single one.

It was hard for me to know I could have prevented this. If I had told him that he could not become Aqualad, he would have never been on the surface. He never would have been captured. He...he never would have been tortured.

Even after the queen finished treating him, I sat there holding my son close.

"Sha'lain'a, you should let him rest." Orin said. "He needs-"

"I do not want my children assisting you anymore."

His jaw dropped. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "You do not mean that."

"I mean every word of it. My children are my top priority and I do not want them in more danger than they have to be. Seeing them like this, it makes me ill. How would you feel if your own child went through this? How would you feel if you raised a demigod and prayed every day that her brother would not be in the same danger and then this happens to the both of them? I am so afraid that one day I will hear that my children have died and then I will have to carry that for the rest of my life." I cried, clutching my son's unconscious body like a lifeline. "I just want them to be safe."

"Neither of them will want to give this up."

"Maybe not before, but how can you say what they will wish to do now? When they have been tortured for three months? You know very well what that amount of time without affection will do to an Atlantean by itself, coupled with torture it is a miracle that these two are alive. They need to stop before it is too late."

Orin sighed. "It is still their decision on whether they will stop. For now, return home and-"

"I am not leaving them to be-"

"Allow me to finish. Return home and remove anything sharp from the premises. Once they recover, they can return home."

"Why can they not return at once?" Calvin asked.

Our king did not make eye contact as he responded. "Kaldur's gills were mutilated."

My cat is pretty and I gotta go get ready

My cat is now on my grandma's chair

See yah