"So I don't fight back and everyone thinks I'm easy prey?"
The Atlantean border patrol's laser fire rocked Hal's construct. The Green Lantern ship began to yaw and tumble, losing stability as beam after beam slammed into it.
Gritting his teeth, Hal forced his focus tight—steadying the ship with sheer willpower while lining up his counterattack. A heartbeat later, he fired a volley of green energy shells.
BOOM!
The explosions rolled through the water. Two Atlantean patrol craft were blown out of the pursuit line, spiraling away in smoking debris.
But their target was far too obvious.
More ships kept pouring in from every direction—waves of reinforcements closing like a net.
"I'll intercept them!"
Superman moved to leave the ship, preparing to hold them off alone.
Ben didn't stop him—but he also didn't want their biggest hitter getting blindsided.
"Be careful, Superman. Atlantean tech uses magic. Your resistance to that isn't as high as you think."
Everyone knew the joke version of the truth: Superman's "magic resistance" was basically zero.
Reality was a little less extreme, but compared to his near-invincible physical durability, his defenses against magical effects were absolutely not on the same tier.
"Don't worry," Superman said, chest lifting with that effortless confidence. "Because I'm Superman."
He even copied Batman's tone on the last part, as if trying it on for size—then shot out of Hal's ship like a missile.
Attacks came from all directions, but underwater or not, Superman's speed made evasion look casual. And his strength was so overwhelming that he could literally punch through an Atlantean craft—one punch, one ship—even in crushing deep-sea pressure.
As for regrouping later?
His super-hearing could track his teammates' movement signatures.
With Superman running interference, Hal shrank the Green Lantern ship to a smaller profile. At the same time, Batman tossed a special smoke bomb—something like an octopus-ink dispersal agent—which blossomed through the seawater in a thick, murky cloud.
They slipped out of the encirclement.
"Up ahead—on the seabed of the old city," Mera said fast. "There's a wrecked ship. Arthur's mentor is waiting for us there!"
After making that much noise, Mera knew her original plan—escorting them straight to her father—wasn't realistic anymore. They'd be spotted no matter what.
So the priority changed.
She needed to bring Arthur—and the Justice League—to Vulko, Arthur's teacher, so Vulko could guide Arthur toward the lost trident.
Meanwhile, she would try to take the evidence and meet her father personally—force him to recognize the truth behind the "attack," and stop him from joining Orm in declaring war on the surface.
Guided by Mera, Hal flew through the ruins of the ancient city.
The old structures were nearly unrecognizable after endless erosion. Shellfish colonies and vivid corals grew wild across what had once been towering, glorious architecture.
Schools of barracuda swept past like a silver gale. Far-off whale song became a low-frequency tremor—like the ocean itself, humming an ancient, heavy thought.
"We're almost there," Mera said.
They stopped beside a shipwreck so old it might as well have been part of the seafloor.
Hal wrapped each person in a sheath of green light and guided them through a curtain of water into the wreck.
Inside, an air pocket—an "air-bag" bubble—sealed away the sea. It felt like walking onto land.
Everyone instinctively looked around, fascinated.
"So Atlanteans still need to breathe air underwater?" someone asked.
Mera shook her head.
"No. Only noble families keep air-bags. The main benefit is it keeps marine life out—otherwise this place would be chaos."
As she spoke, a mature, handsome Atlantean man casually tossed a flopping little fish back out through the bubble boundary into the water.
"The most important thing is it keeps all the sea creatures outside," he added with a polite smile, as if confirming her point. "Otherwise it'd be a mess."
His eyes moved over the assembled heroes, calm and observant.
"I didn't expect you to bring Arthur," he said to Mera, "let alone this many… friends."
This was Vulko—Arthur's mentor.
He was genuinely glad Arthur had people at his side.
But the way they'd barged into Atlantis was reckless beyond belief. And he certainly hadn't expected to see a Green Lantern among them.
Back when Atlantis still sat above the waves, Green Lanterns were treated as honored allies—welcomed by the whole nation.
But since the sinking… it had been many years. Most Atlanteans had forgotten the Lanterns entirely.
Even Vulko only knew them from scattered fragments in old historical records.
"Vulko," Arthur said, stepping forward with a grin, "I'm here. After all these years… looks like it finally happened the way you wanted."
Vulko didn't indulge the reunion.
Time was running out.
He shoved a bundle of crucial guidance into Arthur's hands—information tied directly to finding the lost trident.
"We don't have time to catch up, Arthur. Orm already knows you're here. You must leave immediately and follow the instructions—find the lost trident."
Because of the "surface ambush," Orm had successfully pulled Mera's father to his side. Now Orm had enough military leverage to strong-arm the remaining kingdoms into joining the war.
"Don't panic, Vulko!" Mera insisted. "We have proof. We can show the attack was Orm's own staged performance!"
She signaled Cyborg. The recorded evidence projected into view—clear, damning testimony.
"With this, we can shatter Orm's scheme to drag the kingdoms into war. Believe me—I can convince my father!"
Vulko shook his head.
Mera's confidence was naïve.
"That attack was a spark tossed into a powder keg. The keg has already exploded. The call for war is rising—it's not something a single truth can stop anymore."
He met her eyes, steady and grim.
"Mera… it isn't that simple. Only power—the power the trident grants—can make the Seven Seas submit."
Listening to them, Ben decided it was time to accelerate things.
"Cyborg," he said, "open a Boom Tube for them. Destination: the Sahara Desert. Once they're there, they have their own way to navigate."
Cyborg blinked, then looked toward Arthur and Mera.
"The Sahara? How did you even stash that in a dead zone like that?"
Vulko answered evenly, as if stating the obvious.
"When the trident was lost… that place was still ocean."
A heartbeat later, a Boom Tube tore open in front of them—an impossible doorway, humming with power.
Cyborg motioned everyone forward.
"Let's move. Like he said—find the trident as fast as possible, and end this conflict."
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 10
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 10
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