The Shea and The Fish (open)

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Millie Newlyn, a young girl from Victoria, Australia had recently just moved to city of Jump only over a year ago. Not completely new in town nor was she used to city life. She was just happy that this place had surfing and not to mention her older cousin lived nearby and she got to work with him at the park. How tubeular is that? Millie had her pink wet suit on underneath her civvies. She put on her dark shades to conceal her turquoise eyes, grabbed her longboard and informed her parents where she was going. “Mom! Dad! I’m heading out to catch me some gnarly waves at the beach! Later!” she called before running out the door.

But, was stopped quickly by her overly protective mom. “Oh honey before you head out, remember what we talked about,” reminded Mrs. Newlyn causing her daughter to sigh.

“Yes, mom I know, I won’t use my powers unless it is an emergency and even then I will not give away my real identity to anyone,” Millie replied in exasperation earning a look she knew only too well from her mom. But, before she could say anything more Millie added, “unless I put on my costume.”

This made her mother frown and narrow her eyes at her daughter. “What costume?” she quickly demanded arms firmly crossed across her chest, aware of how sneaky her daughter can be given how long she was able to keep her powers secret from them.

But, Millie grinning her sly little grin only winked, grabbed her backpack containing her Multiplier costume and ran out the door before Mrs. Newlyn could stop her again.

Mrs. Newlyn just stood on their front porch shaking her head after Millie. Will she ever learn? She just prayed her rambunctious teen did not get into too much trouble this time. It really would be a shame to have to move again and just after getting settled into their new home and job too.

Millie had asked Devin, her older cousin, if she could borrow the park’s golf cart for this weekend and after some begging and pleading on Millie’s part he finally gave in. Just a big ‘ole softie inside, Millie had thought with a grin.

So, she just stuck her longboard in the back of the park’s golf cart and headed for the beach. After, arriving, she parked and taking out her longboard she made a bee-line for the sandy beach. “Ooooh,” she said with a giggle, “this sand feels so good against my bare feet. I just love the beach!” Then she took a deep breath. “Smells so good.” After finding a good sunbathing spot, she set her stuff down. She took off her civvies revealing her wet suit underneath and placed them inside her bag. Next, she covered herself with suntan lotion.

Once ready, longboard in hand she happily made a bee-line for the sparkling ocean. Belly on her longboard she began paddling out hoping to catch a wave.

Meanwhile, onlookers looked on wondering if this tiny teen could catch a wave at all. “Dude, check it, this menhune is trippin’!”

But, already she was too far out to hear any of them and at last she caught a wave. She started off just riding the wave. Next, she moved towards the edge of her board and began hanging five. Feeling a little bit bolder she allowed for both her feet to hang off her board’s edge, hanging ten. "Whoo!" she happily shouted waving her arms excitedly up in the air as she rode the wave.

These moves naturally got the onlookers attention. “Wow, she is not just a menhune! She is a shea!” they cried out, impressed by the young girl's abilities. "Yeah man!" agreed another.

ooc: Surfer lingo translation:
Menhune: A teenager (applies to both genders)
Check it: Hey or look
Trippin': Weird
Shea: A female surfer that surfs well

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Millie may have been surfing like a goddess, but there were things she still needed to watch out for. Cause baby, there's a shark in the water.~

Not really -- or at least not in Millie's immediate vicinity. In place of a shark was an ever-curious Atlantean who was getting too close to the surface for his own good. Lagoon Boy's meeting with the Teen Titans had gone so well when he had last surfaced! The superheroes of the land had even allowed him into their...posse, as Speedy had once referred to it? It was inconsequential, because La'gaan had surface world friends now.~ Great galavanting guppies, this was a cause for celebration!

He was just returning from Atlantis with the news that he would be spending much more of his time on the surface world -- for to defend the city of Jump, he had to be more acquainted with it, did he not? -- and that was when he noticed Millie surfing. Or rather, he noticed what appeared to be a plank of wood and a rather gangly seal flailing about on it. It was an easy thing to see when one looked from under the water. Triton's tongue, was his fellow sea creature in distress? He would certainly have to investigate, toot sweet!

As soon as Millie finished riding a wave and the swell died down, La'gaan's head broke the surface of the water and he began making very animated gestures whilst honking and squealing in sealtongue. After a few moments of doing this, he got his bearing and realized Neptune's nuptials this wasn't a seal it was a person. The fishy lad froze in the water, round red eyes blinking awkwardly at Millie for a moment, before he immediately began to ask for forgiveness.

"I ask a great pardon of mi'surface lady and her piece of driftwood for my grievous mistake! I must admit, I had believed you were a seal," Lagoon Boy said, then immediately squirted a jet of water into Millie's navel as a sign of his great shame and a request for her forgiveness.

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Just before the wave ended Millie was able to enter the tube; which caused her bright blue-green eyes to light up in awe. Taking a deep breath she smelled the fresh ocean air around her. ‘I…I feel so free in here. I don’t ever want to leave! It…it is too beautiful!’ she thought to herself, tearing up. “It’s almost like I’m flying! Whoooooooo!” she happily called out with both of her arms stretched out. She felt pretty stoked. And unfortunately just as she took another breath her wonderful wave ended; which left her still standing on her longboard. In fact it took her more than a moment to realize that her ride ended.

That and the sight of a strange looking head poking out from the water causing the Australian to yell out, startled. Squating back down on her board she got to the strange being’s eye level and looked back curiously at the odd looking creature before her and she was about to fight back when it began to speak. ‘Wait, this thing actually knows…English?’ she thought to herself, eyes blinking. Looking back at the creature both confused and impressed by its no his ability of human speech.

And he was…apologizing to her for thinking her a seal. Such an assumption caused the young Australian to giggle because it was not something she would expect from a sea beast to say. Then again sharks do mistake surfers for seals all the time, so really given that logic it is not so surprising.

“Don’t take this the wrong way dude, but uh what are you? I mean you are a dude, right?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Could one really blame her for not knowing? For all she knew this sea beast could in fact be female. She had no idea since in all her years of surfing she never encountered such a thing before.

Then for some strange reason the sea beast squirted water at her stomach. Again she narrowed her eyes at him. “Uh, what was that for? Is that some sort of strange ritual to say hello? Please, are there more of your kind and do they all say, hello, by squirting water?” she asked, indeed curious about this strange and unique find of hers. A real ironic thing considering, Lagoon Boy had asked so many questions of the Titans only recently and here Millie was railroading him with a million questions albeit all innocent, understandable questions.

Note: I don't think her bellybutton is showing since she is wearing a full wetsuit.

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When the girl initially cried out at his sudden appearance, La'gaan flinched in response, his ear fins flattening a bit in his shame. He had not meant to startle the surface worlder, nor had he known that she would take fright at his fishy form. However, he pushed through with his apology, desperately wanting to atone for his mistaking her for a seal.

Then he heard it. A giggle. Face fins flapped eagerly in response to the noise, a wide smile stretching across the fish boy's features. Laughter was as positive for the surface worlders as it was for Atlanteans, was it not? That meant...he was not...frightening?

Apparently not, because now that the girl's initial fear of him had subsided, she was peppering him with all manner of questions. Neptune's beard, but such questions! How could he even begin to answer them? "Forgive me, one-who-is-not-a-seal, but I'm not sure what a dude is. I am an Atlantean, born and raised beneath the sea!" La'gaan declared, unable to keep his chest from puffing out -- literally -- in a show of pufferfish pride. "I am called La'gaan. And who are you, not-seal? Are you what they call a dude?" he questioned, swimming a little closer to Millie on her board in curiosity.

Oh, but she had not responded kindly to his request for forgiveness. Had his deed really been that unpardonable? Slippery seahorses, how could he ever make it up to -- oohhhhhh. She merely did not know of his kind's customs. How foolish of him to think otherwise!

"Not at all! The squirting of water in one's navel expresses my great shame and is a request for forgiveness. I merely ask your pardon for mistaking you for a seal," Lagoon Boy explained, then tilted his head and asked, "Is that not how surface worlders ask for forgiveness?"


ooc: It doesn't need to show; he's just squirting water where her navel would be were it not covered with a wetsuit. :3

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The fish boy made Millie laugh some more when he called her a ‘not seal.’ Apparently, there was much he did not understand and Millie thought how great it would be to teach him all she knew about the world.

“Goodness no I’m not a dude! I’m a girl and I was merely jazzing the glass. Was really hoping to get inside the barrel this time,” she answered, her Australian accent showing.
Looking at him she wrinkled her nose. “Well, your voice sounds male and your name sounds like a guy’s, so you must be a dude. Dude is just another word for a guy,” she explained hoping he’d catch on.

“The name’s...Maverick,” she introduced with a smile, offering her hand for him to shake. “Up here we shake hands when introducing ourselves,” she explained in case La’gaan didn’t understand the gesture. She bit her lower lip. She did not like lying to someone so naive and friendly, but she had to for her and her family's sake. She couldn't afford people finding out about her and her scrap with the Agency.

She laughed again and shook her head. “No, can’t say that it is. I mean you’re the first person I have ever seen to squirt water at someone when apologizing. And it is no problem. I mean I have read that sharks often mistake surfers for seals all the time because of our wetsuits, which is why there are so many shark attacks on people,” she corrected. ‘My they certainly have strange customs under the ocean. Wait, are there more of his kind? There must be,’ she thought. She studied him. “So, there are others living down there in the ocean like you? What exactly are you?” she inquired out of curiosity.

ooc: Surfer lingo:
Jazz the glass- To ride the waves
Barrel- Another term referring to inside the tube of a wave

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Jazzing the what? Inside the who? Good gracious guppies, all of these surface worlder terms were mighty confusing! La'gaan's face scrunched up a little as he expressed his perplexed feelings, not sure at all how to reply to the girl's statement about glass and barrels.

But he did understand what she meant when she defined what a dude was. Ohhhh, so that was what she meant when she had referred to him as a dude! How marvelous! ...But wait. That meant that he had accidentally labeled her as the opposite sex. Travesty of all travesties. His fishy face fell in admonishment.

"Yes, I am male. A thousand pardons for thinking you were the same, not-seal! An honest mistake on my part," Lagoon Boy apologized, his round red eyes swimming with guilt.

Fortunately, it seemed all was forgiven. The not-male, not-seal introduced herself as Maverick and held out a hand for La'gaan to shake. Surface worlders...shook their hands at each other? He had not been shown that custom yet by his fellow Titans. There was the slapping of each other's palms, and the flapping of each other's arms at one another. But he had not yet had to shake another person's hand before.

"Ooohhhh," the fishy lad gasped, a large, webbed hand slowly emerging from the water to grasp Maverick's. He took hold of her hand gently enough, but then began to shake and and flap it about so ferociously it was likely he was going to wrench her arm out of its socket. He had yet to understand that his strength outweighed the average human's, and that he need not apply brute force in everything he did.

Lagoon Boy released his grip on Maverick's hand, the scaly appendage going back into the water from whence it came. "Was my shaking satisfactory?" he asked, eyes sparkling mirth. Learning different customs was fun!

Of course, he couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion again when Maverick asked what he was. Had he not answered this question already? "I am Atlantean; I told you this already, did I not? And yes, friend Maverick! There are others of my kind down in Atlantis, though not all possess my fishy appearance."

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Millie laughed when Lagoon Boy once again apologized for his thinking her a seal. Did this mean he was color blind? Her wetsuit is pink and last time she checked seals weren’t pink. But, she decided such questions could wait for later. “Nah, it’s cool,” she assured.

Seeing her hand the fishy Atlantean did take it into his and shook it. However, he shook it so hard that Millie feared fish boy would accidentally pull her whole hand off. Were all Atlanteans so strong? Millie kept her teeth gritted the whole time so not to yell out as Lagoon Boy shook her hand. At his inquiry of how he did, Millie opened her mouth to tell him off. But, after looking into his eyes Millie could tell that fishy Atlantean had not shaken her hand so roughly out of malice and she couldn’t bring herself to yell. Instead, she forced a smile to her face and shook her hand out.

“You sir are very strong. Are all of you Atlanteans as strong as you are?” she asked. “And yes, you did well. But, here is a little tip: next time try not to shake so hard. Not everybody is as strong as you are,” she explained as calmly as she could.

She then nodded at his explanation of who and what he was. Had he truly told her already? She must have forgotten.

“Well, I’m heading back to shore now. Want to come with?”

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La'gaan's eyes could have been converted into a flashlight with the way that they were shining over Maverick's appraisal of his strength. She thought he was...strong? Triton's teeth were surely sparkling today for him to have received such praise!

"Most Atlanteans are stronger than I, fair Maverick! I am fairly weak and insignificant compared to the upper classes in our society's hierarchy. I consider myself most fortunate to have been accepted into a prestigious academy for magic and trained by those who are better than I," Lagoon Boy unflappably explained. There was no malice or lingering hurt in his voice, nor any sign of disapproval over his position on his fishy face. Being a lower class Atlantean was something he had accepted long ago -- who was he to argue politics when he was unworthy to do so?

Still, it was most interesting that he was considered strong by this human's standards! And it was an entirely welcome compliment as well. Yes, he should thank his new friend for saying something so flattering! "It tickles my fins to hear you praise me for my strength, friend Maverick! And may I just say that your pink flesh covering is marvelous to behold!" He was, of course, referring to her pink wetsuit; one compliment deserved another.~

A clawed hand popped out of the water and scratched the scales on top of his head as Maverick invited him to come ashore with her. Though he was still not entirely accustomed to the way some of the surface worlders stared at his fishy appearance, he was calmed by the fact that Maverick did not think of him this way. Plus, he would be with her when they left the ocean. There was no fear of rejection when he already had a friend -- how could he refuse?

"I would be most pleased to accompany you back to dry land, friend Maverick! I shall swim right beneath your fashionable piece of driftwood," La'gaan chirped, ducking beneath the waves and beginning the short swim to shore.

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“Fairly weak?” repeated the Shea in disagreement. She chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t think so. Don’t sell yourself short here. You are pretty damn strong by our standards. Now if only you had some confidence…” she said thoughtfully.

Listening to him go on about how much stronger all the other Atlanteans were made her feel sad that her new fishy friend apparently thought so little of himself. But who was she to question their customs? She didn’t even know anything about their kind. Before meeting Lagoon Boy she had thought that Atlantis was just a child’s bedtime story. She had no idea it was actually a real thing. Who would have thought it? It seemed she still had much to learn in this strange world of heroes.

She felt her cheeks flush as Lagoon Boy complimented her wetsuit. Sure he said it rather in an odd manner, but the thought was still nice. “Oh this old thing? Oh, you're so sweet” she said as though she had a million newer ones. “It’s just something I decided to slip into for surfing purposes, but thank you kindly just the same,” she said with a sly grin.

She nodded when the fishy Atlantean agreed to accompany her to land. “Okay, see you on the other side,” she said. She laid down on her surfboard and began paddling towards the shore. She knew that not everybody would be as accepting of Lagoon Boy as she was due to his sea monsterish appearance, but decided to deal with it her way once the time came. With all her clones out she could intimidate people.

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Oh, friend Maverick was so kind with her compliments! His fins could not be more tickled right now -- to have another person praise him for his strength and not be scared of his fishiness made him want to shout praises to the great Triton. Boisterous barnacles, but was this a fabulous encounter!

"I would not, erm...sell shortly these standards of yours. Surely you surface worlders have strengths to be admired, too! After all, you are the creators of the television!" La'gaan pointed out, his grin threatening to split his face in half. It was very possible he'd gained all of his knowledge about the surface through television series aired around the 1950s.

The Atlantean's giant ear fins flapped excitedly as Maverick became bashful because of his compliment about her pink flesh covering. "You are most welcome, new friend," he said, prepared to squirt a jet of water at her chest before he remembered oh yes surface worlders didn't roll like that. He redirected his blast, spitting the water back into the ocean. He'd learn to adjust to their customs eventually.

A webbed hand shot out of the ocean to give friend Maverick a small wave before Lagoon Boy submerged, his streamlined body cutting through the water with little effort. His fishy appearance wasn't just for show, after all.

La'gaan reached shore before Maverick, stopping when the water was up to his knees and giving his body a small shake, much like a dog would. Webbed ears flickered back and forth and round red eyes took in his surroundings before turning back to the sea. It was easy to spy Maverick's pink-covered form from here; he waved enthusiastically to her as she neared, heralding her from the shore.


ooc: Were we going to shove a certain fishy villain named Trident into the mix right about now? ;D

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Television, was he serious? Well, she might as well humor the little guy. “Television! Ha! What is so great about that? I’ll tell you what! Nothing! Television is nothing, but brain cell killing rubbish! I prefer to play outside. Always have. Always will. Why, I remember this one time when I was only six and my best friend she invited me over for a slumber party and…and then she and the other kids watched television and when the shows they were watching were all over they acted weird and I mean really, really weird. Scary, mind altering weird,” she happily ranted giving a few moments of pause to allow Lagoon Boy to think things over.

“And that my friend is why I do not watch the T.V. Wasn’t that a fun story? You want me to tell you another?” she excitedly asked and without giving the poor fishy Atlantean a chance to answer she went on to tell yet another disturbing tale of why T.V is bad and rots the brain. The funny, sad part was she seemed blissfully unaware that her stories likely traumatized the poor, impressionable fish boy for life.

She became all giddy when Lagoon Boy called her ‘friend.’ “Aw, you called me your new friend. Oh gosh you are so sweet,” she said, blushing yet again. She giggled as the fishy Atlantean sprayed water into the ocean. “Wish I could do that. It would beat having to carry a water gun wherever you go or a spray bottle,” she mused with a small smile.

And with a wave of his hand and in a flash Lagoon Boy had disappeared beneath the ocean leaving Millie to her own devices. She watched him suddenly appear on shore. ‘Damn, he’s fast,’ Millie thought. ‘Must remember not to challenge him to a swimming race. As good as I am I’d lose for sure.’

As Millie paddled she spotted a large wave coming straight for her, so standing up on her surfboard, she prepared for it. She rode the edge of the wave until it died. By the time it died Millie was only a few feet from the shore to which she paddled the remainder to the way. Upon making it she dragged her heavy surfboard out and walked onto the shore where Lagoon Boy was waiting for her. She waved at him as she shook her now wet hair out of her face. With her hair now down she made a mental note to fix her precious spikes later.

ooc: And sure. Would give Millie a chance to show off some of her skills. But uh who will be him?

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Lagoon Boy tilted his head to the side, not entirely catching Maverick's point. Television was...evil? Apparently it murdered brain cells. Those poor creatures! What could have ever prompted the television to kill such things? Unless the brain cells were bad. Why were they called brain cells? Did they have something to do with the brain? What is...what was...

La'gaan was so lost in his thoughts that he barely even caught half of what friend Maverick was saying. Had he been listening better, he probably would have been much more concerned and possibly terrified of the supposed effects watching TV had on the brain. Or brain cells. Wait, what? In any case, his red eyes adopted a rather listless expression as Maverick chattered on and on about her probably horrifying stories. When it looked like she was about done talking, Lagoon Boy snapped out of his trance and nodded, a placid expression slapped onto his face. Unfortunately, he had no clue what she had been talking about -- something to do with television -- so he decided to just wing it.

"Um, yes! The television is a most marvelous invention. It is a portal to the surface world and explains much of their culture. It is how I have learned your strange ways," the fishy lad chirped, not knowing that what he was talking about wasn't even close to Maverick's display of anti-television vehemence. Whoops.

It didn't matter, at any rate. They had agreed to meet back up at the shore and La'gaan was already completely submerged, his streamlined body rocketing through the water. In no time at all he'd reached the shallows, his fishy body popping up out of nowhere and probably startling one or two unexpected passerby. Lagoon Boy ignored the stares as best he could as he shook the excess water off his skin and waited for Maverick to come ashore. With her surfing skills, it didn't take long. La'gaan clapped like a giddy schoolchild as she caught a wave and rode it in. She was quite marvelous on her fashionable piece of driftwood.~

"Snorting sea slugs, you are talented! You stand on your driftwood very well, friend Maverick," Lagoon Boy complimented, running over to meet his new friend as she dragged her board out of the shallows. "Maybe one day you could teach...me..." The young Atlantean's voice dwindled down to a shocked squeak as he looked at something monstrous rising up from beneath the waves.

A pillar of water suddenly burst into the air, towering above the beach dwellers. Perched at the top was another Atlantean -- he almost looked similar to Lagoon Boy, but his flesh was a darker green and his build was much larger and stronger. His skin was more heavily armored as well, and his face resembled a living mask. One of his hands was clenched around an impressive trident.

"Atlantean! Where is your companion, Aqualad?" a deep voice boomed from the creature on top of the pillar of water. "I have a score to settle with him, and the Teen Titans! Trident cannot be defeated in battle just once. Trident. Is. Superior!"

Back on the shore, there was chaos. The people in Jump City were used to seeing strange things, to be sure. They were also used to running far away from them. Within no time at all the place was close to being deserted. With the exception of Lagoon Boy and Maverick, of course. Wait, why hadn't she left yet?

"Merciful minnows," La'gaan gulped, staring up at his adversary with a healthy amount of trepidation. It took him a moment to realize that Maverick was still there, but once he did he immediately sprang into action. "Friend Maverick! You must leave, it is not safe here," he insisted, attempting to nudge her away from the shoreline by shooing her with his hands.


ooc: -takes on the mantle of Trident; fails hopelessly-

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She let out an exasperated sigh when it was obvious Lagoon Boy didn't fully comprehend her television is bad for you rant. Still, she couldn't help smiling at him. "Oh wow, it's a good thing you're cute," she said with a shake of her head. "But you my friend have much to learn. Hey, I know I could teach you our surface world customs if you teach me some of yours. Come on, it'll be fun!" she all but squealed.

When she arrived on the shore after him, she felt her face turn bright red at him complimenting her surfing. It was one thing for him to compliment her clothes, but quite another for him to compliment her surfing skills. "Why, thank you and sure I could teach ya some of my moves," she said with a smile. But, for some reason Lagoon Boy looked scared half to death, so she cocked her head curiously at him unaware of the danger behind her. She frowned at him. "Hey, what's wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost," she teased with a small laugh. But, when he did not answer and instead reverted to looking terrified, she waved an impatient hand at him. "Hello, Earth to Lagoon Boy. What's..." She, however did not get the chance to finish her sentence for all of a sudden water went everywhere and she felt soaked. "Hey what gives?" With a shaky hand she placed her hand on her hair and noticed her spikes were all gone.

Now hearing a thunderous voice making all sorts of demands she looked up and spotted a large, ugly fish creature standing right behind her. With one quick movement she ran over to Lagoon Boy's side. "Oh nevermind," she whispered to Lagoon Boy. "I see what you were looking at now," she said with a nervous laugh. She now watched as the other beach goers scrambled and took off screaming. Poor Millie though found herself much too frightened to even move. 'I suppose this is what I get for wanting to hang out with heroes,' she thought to herself. But suddenly she felt herself moving. "Huh?" But, wait she was not the one doing the moving. Glancing to her right she noticed her new fishy friend trying to push her out of harm's way. "But Lagoon Boy, I have a plan," she whispered to him, flashing him a small wink to reassure him.

Clearing her throat she turned to the hideous intruder. "Excuse me my good sir, but you are mistaken. You cannot destroy the Teen Titans for Lagoon Boy here was just about to introduce me to them. Isn't that right, Lagoon Boy?" she said, winking at her Atlantean companion once more. "Say yes," she informed him in a hushed whisper. "And he cannot do that if they are as you say destroyed therefore presenting a problem that can only be fixed with non-violence. So to you I propose a challenge. If you can get past me then you can exact your revenge on Aqualad. But, if you cannot then you must promise to leave all the Titans be and go home. Refusal to accept will likely cause all witnesses here to think you cannot handle a little girl," she slyly challenged for she did have a plan. She just hoped it would work. The Aussie knew she could never outmatch Trident's muscle, but maybe she could outsmart him.

ooc: Thankies Sammers! And btw Lagoon Boy is so adorable.