Seeing Mera fall completely silent, Batman allowed himself a faint smile and turned his attention back to flying the plane. A sheltered princess like Mera—heh, to him, she was laughably easy to handle. Whether it was probing with words or testing with actions, it posed no challenge whatsoever. He had never feared an enemy being too strong, because any foe he could see through would inevitably fall to his plans. Even improvised plans! As for the kind of enemy Batman worried about most? The ones he couldn't read, naturally!
Just then, Batman's train of thought was interrupted by the appearance of a bright blue figure. Superman was flying alongside them, scrutinizing Batman inside the plane and the thoroughly dejected Mera dangling from its grapnel claw. "Buddy, I didn't expect you to get attacked right after you left, so I came to check on you!" Clark said to Bruce through the cockpit glass.
Hearing Clark's words, Bruce furrowed his brow deeply. Once again, it hit him: if a Kryptonian wanted to, he could barely escape their notice! His aircraft needed lead lining, everything needed lead lining! He reminded himself emphatically, while making casual conversation with Clark. "Indeed, I ran into a surprise. An Atlantean princess who wanted to meet the Sun God."
"Princess?!" Clark blinked, casting a long look at the exasperated Mera. Then he turned back to Bruce and grinned. "The Dark Knight here, instead of charging at the dragon, actually captured the princess. I bet Great-Grandpa would bust a gut laughing if he heard about this!"
"Heh, he's always been one for a good laugh, and I'm genuinely glad about that. Because he's not God. God only laughs when humans think, but he laughs when humans are happy, isn't that right?"
As they spoke, Clark grabbed the wing of Bruce's plane and accelerated abruptly, towing the aircraft and Mera along. In the next instant, the three of them arrived almost instantaneously above the Kryptonian ship. At the sight of them, countless citizens below erupted in cheers, trying to catch their attention. But this time they didn't linger outside. The ship's roof opened up—a dome exit that had been retrofitted within a single day—providing a spacious landing pad for Bruce's plane. The three of them descended directly through the dome passage and into the ship.
Upon landing, Mera couldn't avoid seeing Heisenberg, who was smiling at her. Having watched countless videos, Mera recognized him at a glance as the Sun God… So she abruptly covered her face with her hands and slumped in defeat. How she wished there were ocean below them, so she could dive in and never come out. This was beyond embarrassing, beyond embarrassing!!! If only she had been captured by Superman, but no, it had to be that giant bat. A mere mortal! No matter how much others mythologized Batman's prowess, it didn't change his fundamental nature in the eyes of someone like Mera. His essence was that of a mortal! Sigh…
The plane touched down, and the grapnel claw gently deposited Mera on the ground. Immediately, countless small robots nearby aimed their energy emitters—which looked like penguin wings on their bodies—at her. This made Mera nervously step back. Seeing this, Heisenberg waved his right hand. "Give her a secondary-level clearance." At these words, the robots abandoned their targeting of Mera and returned to working on the ship's modifications.
Meanwhile, Bruce also hopped down from the plane and stood beside Clark. Together, they walked toward Heisenberg. A moment later, Bruce came up beside Heisenberg and said quietly, "An Atlantean princess who wanted to meet you. Since Diana mentioned something about the undersea people, I thought it necessary to bring her."
"You did the right thing, buddy." Heisenberg smiled, clapped Bruce on the shoulder, and then started walking away from Mera. As he did, he added softly, "That princess named Mera, come along. If you want to chat, the hangar isn't exactly suitable, is it?"
Hearing Heisenberg's words, Mera looked at Clark and Bruce walking away with him and gently bit her lip. At least she wasn't being laughed at—at least not on the surface! That eased her mind a little. So she slowly followed behind Heisenberg, arriving near a small dining table that had been hastily set up when they'd had lunch earlier.
Particles reconverged into a table, then further evolved into four chairs, allowing the four of them to sit. Bruce fetched a portable cooler he'd brought down from the plane, taking out two bottles of red wine and drinking utensils, distributing them among the four. As he did so, he made a casual remark, "Good thing I had a set ready for Diana, or else it wouldn't have been enough for four!"
"Indeed, no one expected that before I could find you Atlantis, you'd actually come looking for me first!"
As Heisenberg said this, he gently tapped the table. The red wine uncorked by itself and floated over to pour for everyone. Seeing this magical sight, Mera accepted the glass with an honored expression, clutching it tightly. Atlantis had not seen their Sea God for too long; Mera only knew the etiquette required before a god from ancient texts. So she somewhat nervously raised her glass toward Heisenberg. "I offer this fine wine to you, Lord Heisen—"
"Stop!" Heisenberg twitched a finger, speechless, and Mera immediately lost the strength to move, her ritual naturally cut off. This made Mera look at Heisenberg in surprise, while Heisenberg just smiled gently at her. "It's 2017 AD, not BC, so there's no need for those tedious and dull formalities." As he said this, after Mera regained control of herself, Heisenberg raised his glass. "Bruce, Clark, let's toast this glass to our friend from the sea!"
With that, Heisenberg's glass drifted out and gently clinked against Mera's. Then he retrieved his glass and took a small sip.
Sipping, Heisenberg continued, "No need to be surprised, little miss from Atlantis. Once you've been around me long enough, you'll find I'm quite easy to get along with. Other gods might enjoy being looked up to, but when you reach a level as high as mine, you stop caring about how others see you."
"Yes, I understand, Lord!" Mera replied, then took a slightly excited sip of her wine. Setting down the glass, she straightened up with dignity and dipped her head to Heisenberg. "I attacked your warrior without permission. I'm sorry, and I will make amends."
"If you truly understand, then start by calling me by my name. Besides, Bruce isn't my warrior—he's my comrade-in-arms!" Heisenberg's emphasis made Bruce nod imperceptibly, while Heisenberg continued, "And I'm not Athena. What would I need warriors for? Do you think there's still some Hades or Poseidon on Earth these days to wage a holy war alongside me?"
"Haha, Great-Grandpa, you know Saint Seiya?"
"Not just know, I binge-watched the whole series last night. What can I do? When I search for stories about gods on this modern internet, the top results are all about Saint Seiya!" Heisenberg's grousing even made the perpetually stoic Bruce laugh. The three of them clinked glasses with a chuckle, and this prompted Mera, who had no clue what they meant, to quickly grab her glass and join in with a sip.
While drinking, she swore to herself that she would seek out this "Saint Seiya" as a sacred text and study it thoroughly!
Seeing Mera's tense expression, Heisenberg put down his glass and tapped the table lightly. "Girl, don't make me always have to ask your intentions. Why don't you tell me the reason you wanted to see me, hmm?"
"Of course, Lor— uh, Lord Heisenberg!" Mera straightened up immediately and said quietly, "As the people of Atlantis, we have been too far from the divine. When Lord Poseidon no longer answered our calls and sacrifices, when His Majesty the Sea King left our lives—then you appeared! You are the first deity Atlantis has laid eyes on in nearly five thousand years. Atlantis, like those Amazon women, has always been a warrior of the gods. So I simply wanted to meet you, Lor— Lord Heisenberg."
"Haha, enough with the pleasantries. You clearly want more than just a look at me. I can tell you're troubled by something, so why not talk about it?" Heisenberg said, continuing to pour wine for Mera. Watching the wine continuously trickle from the floating bottle, Mera nodded and went on.
"My lord, I am indeed troubled. It is because, after losing the Sea God and the Sea King, Atlantis has fallen into its current low point. Our people have not only lost their direction, but are gradually sinking into a vortex of chaos. I wish to know your view of me and my race, and if possible, you must be able to guide us!"
"Guide? Tsk, tsk!" Heisenberg smiled with interest, then glanced at Clark and Bruce and said quietly, "Look—traditional races always have a particularly clear definition of gods. Precisely because they are strong, they understand the gods' power even more. It's not something worth emulating, but it is a factor that allows a race to endure. Humans may not need to imitate it, but they do need to respect it."
As he said this, Heisenberg tapped his fingers on the table and looked at Mera, continuing, "I just told Bruce and humanity to learn your respect for the gods. But what I have to say to you is the opposite: learn from humanity's modern spirit of individualism. When you seek my guidance, do you realize that you are already striving to change your race? Since you are striving, why not strive a little harder? Rather than seeking my guidance, why can't you become the Sea King or even the Sea God you speak of, and instead guide the race you care about?"
"Me?! How could that be possible?!" Mera immediately let out a low, unconfident cry. Her words made Heisenberg laugh unceremoniously. "Why impossible? When you seek my guidance, don't you already believe the path your people are on is wrong? Since you know their errors and are convinced of your own rightness, why consult me at all? You just need to become a better version of yourself, and let your ideas influence more of your people!"
At these words, not only Mera but even Bruce nodded heavily. Heisenberg's respect for individual thought further eased Bruce's wariness toward him. Meanwhile, Mera across from Heisenberg looked at him with growing shock. She pointed at herself in amazement. "Me? Become the Sea King? There's basically no chance of that! Whether by bloodline or gender, I have absolutely no reason that would convince my people."
"Then what about me, Mera? Do you think I have a convincing reason?" Heisenberg asked.
Mera immediately nodded. "Of course you do, you are a god!"
"So let me tell you: go become the Sea King. How about that?" As soon as the words left his mouth, without waiting for Mera to reply, Heisenberg stood up directly and explained with a smile. "You know, while you're still agonizing over your people's future, I've already learned that Darkseid is about to return. Atlantis still holds its Mother Box—which means you're already very close to war. The ancient war may have ended long ago, but the war between me and Darkseid is only just beginning! Lead your people, fight for me and for Earth, how about it? Future Queen of the Sea?"
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