Author's Notes: I know I should be working on my other stories, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head, so here it is! Enjoy, and please review!

Husky woke in a panic to find himself underwater. Underwater? Had he fallen in a river? Had there been some sort of flash flood? Were the others okay?

No time to panic. I'm a fish now; I won't drown. I have to check on the others. Which way is land?

Still only half-conscious, he surged upwards, only to roughly bang his head on something, jolting himself fully awake. Had he gone the wrong way?

It was dark. Black dark, not nighttime dark.

His eyes were open, he was sure of it. Had he gone blind? What had he crashed into?

He carefully rose to the surface again. If he closed his eyes to avoid the disorienting feeling of pitch black, he instinctively knew which way was up. Sure enough, there was something there, about an inch above the top of the water.

What on earth? A ceiling over a river? That doesn't make sense. Maybe some sort of tunnel…

Thank goodness he was a fish +anima. If he'd been anything else, he probably would've drowned by now. If not, he certainly would've, because it would be nearly impossible to get enough air from such a small gap.

Husky stroked the ceiling over his head, trying to figure out what was going on. It was smooth, like glass, not rock or dirt, so he wasn't in a cave or canal. He felt around, only feeling a continuation of that smooth thing above the water.

He randomly chose a direction and followed it, keeping one hand running along that thing above him and the other stretched out, looking for something, anything.

In only a few seconds, he met a wall. It had the same feel as the thing above him. The thing above him and the wall met at a corner, but no matter how he pushed on either, neither gave the smallest bit. He randomly chose to go to the left and follow the wall and ceiling things, far too soon coming to another wall.

Here he started to panic, a familiar trapped feeling welling up in his chest. A memory of the giant glass tank he had 'performed' in when he worked at the circus came unbidden to his mind. Along with that memory, came visions, all too vivid in this pitch blackness, of the ringmaster grabbing hold of him and telling him he'd never let his beautiful mermaid princess get away…

No no no no no…

He quickly followed that wall to a third, and that third to a fourth, which he followed back to the first. The ceiling covered the whole thing. Ceiling, or should he say lid?

Already knowing what he would feel, he went down as far as he could, only to find a floor of the same substance.

It probably was glass, because he'd bet anything he was in some sort of fish tank. A box roughly 10 feet cubed, and completely empty except for water and himself.

Bad. Very, very bad.

No! No way! What about Cooro, Nana, and Senri? Where were they? Were they okay? What had happened?

The fish +anima charged to the top of his prison as fast as he could, slamming his hands into the glass lid painfully.

Nothing.

He pushed and pushed upwards, sideways, at any and every angle. There had to be some way to get this thing off!

Angry and scared, he banged his fist into the lid as hard as he could. Glass was supposed to break, wasn't it?

Nothing. The lid seemed to bounce at the impact, sending a vibrating throb through his arm.

No way! If it won't move, I'll break it! I'm not wasting my life in a fish bowl!

He punched the lid again and again, but nothing happened. He continued on as long as he was able, but after what felt like hours he gave up.

His hands hurt from the impact with the glass. His arms ached from the strange vibration that ran up them each time he lashed out. His head was ringing from the stress of the situation.

Feeling tears flowing out of his eyes and into the water, he let himself sink to the bottom of the tank.

Where am I? What happened?

His voice ringed in his own mind, thick with despair. Angry at his own helplessness. Terrified for his friends. Panicked at the realization that he was someone's prisoner, to do with as they pleased.

There was loud humming sound, then blinding light.

Husky let out a cry that, being underwater, went no further than his lips, and quickly hid his eyes behind his hands. They burned after all that time in the pitch black darkness.

"My, what a beautiful creature I've found…" came a strange voice, having that strange hollow sound that all voices have when they travel through glass and water.

Husky managed to take his hands away and, after a few blinks to adjust to the lighting, which wasn't so bright after all, looked towards the voice.

A man, probably over 6 feet in height, but thin and gangly. Dressed in a rich bathrobe, of all things, and slippers – in all honesty, like he'd just finished a shower and was lounging around before bed. He had wispy blond hair and narrow yellowish green eyes, staring at Husky, and not as one usually stares at a child. This stare was appraising and possessive, like someone who'd purchased something of value.

To Husky's relief, he saw no lust or perversion in those eyes. No violence or cruelty. Just interest and admiration, a small smirk of pleasure and possession.

The man watched as the beautiful mermaid he'd captured in that other world watched him warily, as all pets are at first. He made a point to not move too much and to look as unthreatening as possible, especially after the banging he'd heard earlier. Thankfully, he'd accepted the offer of the special shock-absorbing glass, knowing that water creatures tend to get violent and even self-destructive when introduced to a tank.

She was beautiful, or was it a male? It was impossible to tell, but with such a beautiful pet, did it really matter? He owned a mermaid! Something no other collector in the world could claim! Everything else was irrelevant.

The mermaid had chin-length silver hair that seemed to shine blue in the bright white lighting he'd had installed above the tank. When she nervously tucked her hair behind an ear, he noticed pretty sapphire earrings. She turned to look at him again, and he admired those giant, round, light blue eyes, full of intelligence and expression. He knew exactly what the remarkable creature was thinking. She was wondering where she was, and appraising if he was a threat.

His eyes went down her beautiful fish form, somehow so much more beautiful than the general idea of a mermaid. There was no giant breast scantily clad in clamshells, no shocking transition at her waist from skin to tail. The only parts of her that were human were her arms and head. The fish part of her started at her neck, with a sort of collar of those beautiful silver-blue scales. Her chest was flat and appeared to be where her gills were, and she had a large dorsal fin on her lower back, a pair of pectoral fins around where her hips would be if she were human, and of course her long, elegant tail.

It all flowed quite harmoniously together, and every movement she made was graceful and smooth, like a dancer. He could spend hours just admiring her.

He smiled slightly, imagining the future, when she'd relax more and begin to look forward to his visits. When he'd be able to watch her swim around, dive, maybe even play.

Yes, he'd need to find toys for her to occupy herself with. She was wearing earrings, so perhaps she liked jewelry.

Oh! And more practically, he needed a name for her! Something that could be either masculine or feminine, since he wasn't sure of the gender. And he had to figure out what she ate, and get some decorations for her tank, which was dismally empty, in stark contrast to the rest of the room.

Which she seemed to have just noticed. He watched in pleasure as her wide eyes took in where she was. The elegant room in his mansion was draped in rich reds and browns. A fireplace was along a distant wall, and expensive paintings by Rembrandt and Monet hung along the walls. Thick red carpet covered the whole floor except for the stone around the fireplace and the tile below and around her tank. Three large, overstuffed chairs and an enormous sofa were arranged facing her tank, and a shelf filled with thick novels stood along the wall with the one door out of the room.

Her eyes latched onto the door, frowning. Then she looked around her empty tank, and noticed the connection of the water filter to her tank. She quickly dismissed it as of no importance. It was far too small for her to escape through, only about four inches square.

She again met his eyes, and this time her mouth seemed to form words. English words. He frowned in confusion. She glared in annoyance and again mouthed the words.

Who-Are-You?

He blinked, then his smile grew enormously. She could speak! This was wonderful!

"My name is Colin. I'll take good care of you, don't worry."

She scowled and mouthed some more words. Colin wasn't that good at reading lips, so he just shrugged.

His mermaid looked irritated. She gestured to the top of her tank and made a lifting motion with her hands.

"You want out? I'm sorry, but I don't want you trying to get away. Maybe, if you're very good, I'll open the lid enough for you to talk to me for a bit. Does that sound good?"

She glared at him, her wonderfully expressive eyes telling him that NO, it was not good enough, and that she wanted out NOW.

He laughed. Such an entertaining creature! He took a book down from the shelf and settled himself into a relaxed position on the couch.

"Where are we?" wondered Cooro. The black-haired boy was standing on the edge of a tall building, staring in awe at all the enormous buildings, the likes of which he'd never seen before. It was all completely foreign, with the bright colors and hundreds of rushing people who didn't even notice the three strange children on the roof of a department store.

"Jump City," said the slow, careful voice of Senri. The teenage gray-haired boy was staring at a huge "Welcome to Jump City! Home of the Teen Titans!" sign.

"Thanks, Senri," said Nana sincerely. She was a cute girl with long blond hair. "But what we really should be worrying about is Husky." She chewed her bottom lip, worry clear on her face. "That man that we saw carrying him off…"

Cooro frowned, looking crestfallen. "I'm sorry I lost him. I couldn't keep up with that strange thing. What did those people call it? A car?"

"I couldn't keep up either, so I can't blame you," said Nana. She sighed. "And Senri had his hands full just keeping that strange door open for us."

Senri nodded and looked down towards the street, noticing a group of teenagers around his own age coming out of a nearby building. They all appeared to be carrying bags laden with food, so perhaps the store was some kind of market. He frowned. Something was weird about them.

"Different," Senri said, gesturing towards them.

Cooro and Nana looked over, both frowning. Yeah, those kids did look different from everyone around them. The smallest one was green and bouncing around like he had springs in his feet. One, a beautiful red-head, was flying, and without any wings! The next seemed to be made of metal and some weird blue stuff. A fourth had a cloak on with the hood up. And the fifth wore a mask and cape.

The fifth looked up and straight over at them. Well, the three assumed he did. It was hard to tell with the mask. But the frown on his face was clear. He started towards them, purpose in his stride.

He looked dangerous.

Cooro and Nana met glances, nodded, and let their wings out.

Robin was the first to catch sight of the three strange kids, well, two kids and a teen. He frowned. For one thing, they were standing on the edge of a department store building, carefully balanced on the tiles of the roof, looking around with far more than normal curiosity. For another, they were dressed like they were from another time, maybe even another world.

In seconds, Robin took in the basic information.

The girl had long, wavy blond hair, green eyes, and was dressed in an old fashioned dress decorated with flowers and lace, and probably petticoats from the way it flared out. A fabric hat was tied to her head and a homemade bag hung from a strap on her shoulder. She looked about 10 or 11.

The boy had black hair and brown eyes, and his outfit was hard to describe. Some sort of leather tunic top over a sleeveless shirt, and matching detached sleeves that came up his arms but exposed his tattooed shoulders. He also had multicolored feathers tied to an aviator cap and loose denim shorts that came just past his knees, ending at the tops of his long, leather boots. He had a small fur-covered bag attached to his belt. He was probably about 12.

The teenage boy had gray hair with blue beads woven into it, and an eye patch covered his left eye. He outfit seemed Native American, some sort of buckskin poncho and matching pants, both with tassels and beads. A large knife of some sort appeared to be sheathed at his side. He could be about 16.

They didn't appear immediately dangerous, but they did appear lost. And far too serious to be just looking for directions to a gas station.

Besides, something about them just wasn't normal, and it was more than their strange dress or the fact they were on a roof.

They saw him shift direction and start towards them, and from the alarmed looks on their faces, either they were criminals and were scared of the famous Robin, or had no idea who he was and thought he might hurt them.

The rest of the Teen Titans noticed Robin shift directions, and their eyes looked in the direction he was going in and also locked on the three strange kids.

The girl and the boy met glances, and then the strangest thing happened.

The girl and boy suddenly grew wings. The boy's were birdlike and pitch black. The girl's were also black, but batlike. The girl's ears also grew to enormous proportions, giving her all the more appearance of a bat. The two kids quickly turned, grabbed hold of the large Native American teen, each by one arm, and jumped off the roof, swooping out of a dive and quickly flying in the opposite direction from Robin and the rest of the Teen Titans.

Of course, this was no problem for the Titans.

"Catch them," ordered Robin. "I think they're up to something!"

Beastboy jumped into the air, shifting into a green falcon. Raven set down her book and floated up, her dark eyes glaring towards the kids. Starfire, already in the air, took off after them. Cyborg ran to the T-car, leaping behind the wheel, the engine roaring to life. Robin ran to his nearby R-Cycle, jumping on and having it taking off in seconds. This was so routine to them, they didn't even drop their grocery bags.

The three strange kids were instantly trapped. Seeing themselves chased by air, they dropped to the ground and started running, which didn't help in the least as they had no idea where to go and no time to hide. Within minutes, they were cornered.

Beastboy dropped in front of them, shifting back to human form when he saw their faces. The girl was terrified, the boy was worried, and the teenager was frowning. To Beastboy's surprise, the teenager stepped protectively in front of the winged children and raised his right arm, which morphed before his eyes into a giant bear-claw.

Well, he could do that too, but it didn't seem like it would help matters. Starfire and Raven appeared at his side, lowering themselves back to the ground.

"Look, guys, we don't want to hurt you," said Beastboy, trying to calm them down. "We're the good guys. We help people."

The batlike girl took a deep breath, looking like she was going to scream. The boy quickly slapped his hands over her mouth. "Wait, Nana! What if they can help us?"

Raven frowned. It sounded almost like the boy was stopping the girl from using another power, more than just getting her to shut up. From the way the girl's eyes narrowed, and the emotions coming off her, Raven was pretty sure she was right. The kids had one more way out of this situation, or at least they thought they did.

"It is quite alright, visiting children and teenager. Our leader felt you were 'up to something,' which means the planning of mischief. Were you?" asked Starfire.

Robin and Cyborg pulled up behind the three Titans. Robin leaped off his R-Cycle, and Cyborg jumped out of his car, both running over to where the rest of the team had the kids blocked in an alley.

Robin frowned at seeing the teenager's bear arm, and he glanced over to Cyborg, who already had his arm flipped open and was scanning the children for any anomalies.

"We weren't doing ANYTHING!" shouted the girl angrily, though still hiding behind the boy with the bear arm. "We're just looking for our friend!"

"Husky was kidnapped," explained Cooro, his eyes wide and earnest. He pulled on Senri's normal arm, and the puzzled teenager slowly lowered his bear arm and let it change back to normal. "Can you guys help us?"

The Teen Titans all glanced over to Robin, who was frowning and examining the children carefully.

"Tell us what happened," he ordered.