Night patrol was as usual. Dick moved silently through the shadows of the harbour until he spotted a group of smugglers. He easily kicked the last one unconscious and clapped his hands together, his eyes falling on one particular container in the corner.

"Well, let's see ...... what exactly is worth the risk they're taking?" He pried open the crate, and a faint smell of the sea hit his nose. Inside the crate, a small, narrow tank of water sat alone in the centre, the liquid in the tank sloshing slightly, reflecting a huddled figure.

Dick blinked, not holding back a low mutter, "Mermaid? Or something else? Isn't that supposed to be a plot point in a story' and how did I stumble upon it?"

He put away his baton and was about to move a little closer when he heard hurried footsteps in the distance. With no time to think about it, he quickly assesses the situation and decisively reaches out to fish you out of the tank, firmly carrying you on his back, before quickly withdrawing through the night.

After shaking off his pursuers along the way, he finally makes it back to the safe house with you. The sound of your weak breathing makes it too late for him to even walk through the door, so he simply leaps through the window and into the bathroom, where the first thing he does is to gently lower you into the bathtub, unscrew the tap, and let the water gradually come up. Once that was done, he took a long breath and stretched, casually turning around and preparing to turn on the lights.

However -

"Splat"

came a subtle, slimy squirming sound from behind him.