Just minutes ago, Superman was still tangled up with the enemy.
Superman was kind—almost to a fault. He wanted to subdue them without causing too much collateral damage, and that made the fight drag on longer than it needed to.
Atlantean tech and magic weren't weak at all—if anything, they were leagues beyond the firearms the surface world relied on.
On land, even if a robber pulled out a gun with a ridiculous caliber, Superman could literally catch the bullet with his eyes. Atlantean weapons were different.
Just like Ben had warned, weapons infused with magic could make Superman feel pain.
When his super-hearing picked up that Wonder Woman was coming to back him up, Superman had no choice but to speed things up. Diana wouldn't be as gentle as he was—she was a pure warrior, and she tended to use the most efficient way to end a fight.
With super-hearing acting like sonar, Superman locked onto every pursuer around him.
Then, using super-speed, he circled them in tight, violent arcs—until the water itself began to rotate.
A massive whirlpool formed, big enough to swallow the whole enemy formation.
The vortex's current yanked the border patrol ships toward the center. They couldn't control their direction at all, drifting helplessly, slamming into one another in the chaos.
Under that kind of flow, they couldn't even aim at Superman, let alone shoot him.
After disabling the ships' propulsion systems inside the vortex, Superman swam toward the ruined seabed city where his teammates were regrouping.
But as he neared the old city, he didn't immediately move to rejoin them—he heard the sound of pursuit behind him.
The ships being crippled hadn't slowed the Atlanteans down.
They were trained fighters. In fact, their swimming speed was faster than the undersea craft they rode in.
Realizing they were still closing in, Superman fired heat vision into the water ahead of him.
The intense temperature flash-boiled the surrounding sea, generating thick clouds of steam bubbles. It became a scalding barrier—blocking vision and forcing the pursuers to halt.
With the pursuit finally handled, Superman followed Wonder Woman's voice and rocketed away from the battlefield at top speed, appearing right in front of her.
"Looks like you dealt with them," Wonder Woman said with a smile.
She still admired him—this unstoppable warrior, this body of steel that refused to fall no matter what the world threw at it.
She missed fighting at his side.
"I don't think they want to fight you," Superman replied.
With super-vision, he glanced back at the pursuers stalled behind the high-temperature barrier. They were trying to cool the water—it wouldn't hold them forever.
But the distance was already too great. They'd lost the pair's exact position. If the border patrol wanted to find them again, it would take time.
"We should head back. Batman probably has the next step planned already. Race you?"
The moment he finished speaking, Wonder Woman accelerated like a fired torpedo and shot off.
Whoosh—!
Superman surged after her. Even with a slightly slower start, it didn't matter—he quickly matched her.
As the destination drew near, both slowed, and their figures came to a stop at the wrecked ship.
They slipped through the watery curtain and entered the air pocket inside, arriving in front of the others.
"We're not late, are we?" Superman asked. "What's next?"
"No," Batman said, giving them a brief glance. "You're right on time."
He didn't waste words.
"We're leaving Atlantis. We need to visit the kingdoms that haven't agreed to war yet—buy time for Arthur to find the trident."
Then he looked at Ben and Hal and issued assignments.
"Ben. Hal. You're going to the Fisherman Kingdom. They inherited Atlantis's historical records. For an ancient ally like Green Lantern, they should still show respect."
Hearing Batman place a mission into the hands of someone who was obviously underage, Vulko frowned.
"Wait—are you really sending a fifteen-year-old into this kind of conflict?"
Ben knew Vulko meant well, but he couldn't do much about being stuck in a fifteen-year-old body after the whole cross-universe mess. Being underestimated wasn't new.
"Being too young really is a pain," Ben muttered. "If only I could grow up faster."
He tapped his watch, flicked the dial to Ripjaws, and slammed the activation.
"This is exactly when Ripjaws takes the field!"
Sure, a Kryptonian could hold their breath underwater even before getting full powers—but Ben's "blank slate" Kryptonian transformation needed sunlight exposure to unlock abilities step by step.
And deep under Atlantis, there was barely any sunlight at all.
Green light flashed.
Ben's body grew rapidly. Claws pushed out. Scales spread across his skin. Two rows of huge, protruding teeth interlocked like a trap.
In seconds, he looked like a mutated humanoid anglerfish.
Hal couldn't hold it in.
"Ben, you look ugly as hell. Is this form from the Sea of Japan or something?"
"That's a nasty insult," Ripjaws-Ben shot back flatly.
Ben didn't want to be Ripjaws either. But underwater, Ripjaws really was one of his most versatile forms—unless he transformed into a Kryptonian and had time to surface for five minutes of sunbathing first.
Watching Ben's transformation, Vulko finally understood why a "kid" could stand alongside these heroes.
"That form is suitable for dealing with the Fisherman Kingdom," Vulko said. "Even if… aesthetically, they may still find it unpleasant."
The Fishermen had devolved toward fish-like physiology, but they had originally been human. They'd used magic to adapt for survival. Their standards of beauty still leaned more human.
Batman, meanwhile, studied Ben's watch with interest.
"Why don't you try recording Atlantean DNA into that device?"
"I already tried on the way here," Ben answered.
Back when they'd been traveling from Arthur's home, Ben had tried touching the watch to Mera and Arthur. The Omnitrix didn't react at all.
"Atlanteans aren't aliens," Ben said. "They're like this because of magical transformation—so the watch can't record them."
…
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 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 20
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 20
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