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BREATHE…

The autopsy report will read, "Cause of death, asphyxia due to suffocations caused by water entering the lungs," also known as drowning.

If there is an autopsy.

They have to have a body to perform an autopsy.

With the water's depths, the currents, not to mention the goddam anchor chained to my leg, I doubt they'll be finding this body any time soon.

The gods hate me. I know it!

How else would you explain that it's always me who gets into trouble?

Okay, forget that I'm the only non-meta-human on the team; forget that I'm also the smallest and youngest; forget that as the protégé of The Batman that I jump into dangerous situations on a regular basis. Forget all that, and then yes… the gods hate me.

A simple fact finding mission, Red Tornado said.

Get on the yacht, hack their computer, get off, Kid Flash said.

Two man team only, Batman said.

We can handle it, Aqualad said.

Let's add the dis to the aster, I say.

The water is getting deeper, darker, pressing in on me from all sides. I don't want to die like this. Like some clichéd pansy in a bad gangster movie. Seriously, who handcuffs a semi-conscious kid to an anchor and drops them overboard?

I'd like nothing more than blame Kaldur for this, but really, it's my own fault.

I got cocky.

I always get cocky.

I can't help it if I'm not only the first, but the best?

Okay, falling into the depths of the ocean where I will undoubtedly become shark food before the night is over? So, not the best right now.

The guard snuck up on me.

In my defense, their system was a little more high security than I thought it would be. It took me thirty seconds to hack in instead of the ten I thought. We just won't tell Batman about the files of porn I downloaded for later…

For all the good it'll do me now.

God, I suck!

I need to breathe…

I've been holding my breath for almost a full minute now. Really, not that long. I can usually get close to three and a half when training with Bruce. But then, those are controlled situations. This is so not controlled.

The blow to the side of my head had left me reeling, seeing triple and quadrupled everything as I was dragged out onto deck. Two sets of handcuffs were produced, one for my wrists, the other for my ankle and the anchor. Next I know, I'm hitting the water and down I go.

Where's Kaldur?

He wasn't on the ship with me. He was waiting below the surface at the stern of the boat with my scuba gear.

They tossed me off the aft.

He probably doesn't know I'm not on board anymore.

…unless that's him with the really scary set of teeth swimming around above me.

Okay, breathe in now Rob! You do not want to be conscious when that thing glomps on to you!

Screaming underwater, while not auditorily rewarding, is very cathartic when you get a surprise bump from a second shark.

Except now I'm really out of air.

And getting bumped again.

Do sharks play with their food?

None of the books or Discovery Channel Specials went into that aspect of shark week.

Huh, I'm not descending anymore.

But I am inhaling…

Oh god! It hurts!

God, let me die!

How does water burn?

I cough… I inhale more water… I'm on fire!

Why aren't the sharks eating me yet?

Hands out of the darkness, taking hold of my face.

Warm lips on my silently screaming mouth, sucking the water from my lungs.

Salty air inflates my airway and the fire recedes.

Kaldur is here. He is staring at my face.

He looks scared as he breathes for me, taking in the oxygen in the water through his gills and passing it on to me.

How the hell is he doing that?

Actually, I don't care.

I'm pulled away from him suddenly. Crap, forgot about the damn anchor.

He's grabs me again, reaching down and snapping the cuff around my ankle like it's nothing. The anchor drops away from me and I watch it as he breaks the chain between the cuffs on my wrists.

I forget sometimes he's so strong.

I won't be forgetting again.

His mouth is on mine now, breathing for me again as we slowly ascend toward the surface.

Right, human. Decreasing pressure too quickly can kill me faster than drowning can.

It takes nearly twenty minutes for us to surface.

Was I that far down?

It doesn't matter.

Above the water, I can breathe on my own again.

Taking in that first breath is a feeling I will never forget. It could almost be equated to a baby's first breath the moment after birth.

Because that's what it feels like to me.

The first breath of a new life.