Spider-Man: Throne of Atlantis
Chapter I: Red-Headed Stranger
Peter Parker sometimes wondered if he was just running round in circles. After eight years as Spider-Man, he was still tangling with the same criminals he fought back when he first got his powers. Take the Vulture for instance. He was the very first supervillain Peter encountered back in the day. Yet, just last week Peter had to go play Spider-Cop and catch him after he broke out of prison for the umpteenth time. Peter sometimes wondered if he wasn't making any progress because it sure seemed like every criminal he put away kept coming back for more.
Moments ago, Peter had received a distress message from Captain Yuri Watanabe. His former mentor, Otto Octavius, better known as Doctor Octopus, had broken into an Oscorp facility stealing Tritium, a highly rare and expensive isotope. After the Devil Breath's incident in Times Square months ago, who knew what Octavius was planning this time around.
Swinging across the brightly lit streets of New York at breathtaking speeds in his now iconic red-and-blue Advanced Suit, Peter was currently in hot pursuit after the mad doctor. Using the Oscorp facility as a starting point and the location Octavius was last sighted, Peter quickly deduced that the mad doctor was heading towards Whitehall Terminal.
Peter arrived at the terminal with no time to spare. Just as he had predicted, Octavius was making his way towards the docks. He was flanked by four guys, each with firearms. The mad doctor wore a fully armored body suit this time around and made use of his mighty mechanical arms to cover great distances at an astonishing rate.
"Hey, Doc Ock, fancy meeting you here! Going on a vacation?" Peter quipped as he flicked his wrist and sent a powerful jet of webbing that pinned one of Octavius' mechanical arms to the ground.
Swinging forward, Peter let loose a blast of webbing that wrapped around both the first henchman and one of the dock's concrete posts.
"You insolent arachnid," Octavius cursed. "Why can't you leave me alone!" Using one of his mechanical arms, he hurled a nearby car straight toward the wall-crawler.
With the proportionate strength of a spider, Peter easily caught the vehicle. Thankfully, the fight had occurred during the middle of the night, as it meant that there were scarcely any bystanders who were at risk of being caught in the crossfire. Even then, what was left of the bystanders before the fight had already fled in terror amidst the chaos.
"What are you waiting for, dolts? Shoot him!" Octavius ordered his henchmen, who beforehand, were all too engaged in watching the spectacular confrontation between their boss and Spider-Man. The three remaining goons began firing wildly at the spider-themed hero, forcing Peter to shift his attention away from Octavius and focus on taking out the henchmen instead.
With Spider-Man distracted, Octavius attempted to make use of the opportunity to exit the scene and head back to his secret underwater base in New York Bay.
Noticing that Octavius was in a hurry to leave, Peter made short work of the second henchmen, webbing the man to the side of a wall.
"Man, you guys are embarrassing. Even Jameson usually gives me more trouble than this," Peter teased. He swerved his way through a barrage of bullets and followed up with a sweeping kick that took down the third henchmen. A quick web-shot at the last remaining henchmen was all Peter needed to refocus his attention back onto Doc Ock.
"Leaving so soon, Ock?" Peter jokingly asked as he fired a web-line that snagged onto two of Octavius' mechanical arms. Peter hurled himself forward and would have landed a dropkick if not for a prickling sensation at the back of his head— his spider-sense was tingling. He swiftly avoided the third mechanical arm aimed for his head only to be struck from behind by the supervillain's fourth and final mechanical arm. Uh oh.
"You will address me as Doctor Otto Octavius, and you will treat me with the proper respect I deserve, arachnid!" Peter was slammed into the ground repeatedly with enough force that would have killed an ordinary human many times over.
"That all you got, Doc?" Taunted a slightly battered and bruised Peter, who was pinned under one of Octavius mechanical arms.
"You underestimate your abilities, dolt," commented the mad doctor. He flung Peter towards the ocean before grabbing onto two parked cars and hurled it towards the wall-crawler.
With his superhuman agility and reflexes, Peter was able to twist his body mid-air to avoid both of the cars thrown at him but was unable to save them from falling into the ocean. The two unfortunate car owners were likely to have a bad day tomorrow finding out their cars were tossed into the sea, Peter mused to himself.
He fired his web-shooter towards the ledge of a nearby building to swing himself back onto solid ground.
To his dismay, Octavius had already fled the scene and descended into the ocean depths. It was unlikely Peter would be able to catch up to Octavius especially in his current condition. Without modifying the formula for his web-fluid, he was unable to use his web-shooters underwater. Still, he wasn't going to let that deter him from chasing after the mad doctor.
'Note to self: Work on a prototype for a deepsea suit,' Peter thought. Gulping a large chunk of air, he prepared to leap headfirst into the sea when miraculously, a powerful jet of water erupted from the sea and sent a yelling Doctor Octopus, along with the two passenger cars that sank earlier, flying toward the terminal platform.
Peter turned to see a woman rising out from the water. And boy, was she a woman.
She had long, flowing fiery red hair, and emerald eyes, as deep as the ocean. Her skin was white and had a healthy tan to it. A straight-edged nose and kissable lips. Sharp, killer cheekbones that were paired with a smooth jawline. She wore a unique bright green one-piece outfit that had small hexagons resembling fish scales that served only to enhance her impressive figure.
She was absolutely, in every sense of the world, beautiful.
Peter took a step back when she laid her eyes on him. Reading her thoughts, Peter said, "I'm not with him," referring to Doctor Octopus who was just starting to get up.
"Argh! You witch! You'll pay for that," Octavius grunted. Recovering from the unexpected attack, he utilized his telepathic control over his mechanical arms to strike at her.
The woman raised her hand and out of the blue, a powerful blast of water counteracted Octavius' attack and sent him crashing into the side of a wall. Peter had a feeling she wasn't from around here. Maybe she was an alien? An alien from under the sea?
"Tsk-tsk. That's no way to treat a lady, Otto," Peter mocked. He threw himself towards the temporarily stunned villain, delivering a powerful punch that sent the man sprawling ten feet away.
"Damn you, Spider-Man!" Octavius cursed. "I'll destroy both of you!"
So that's what they called him, the woman thought to herself. Spider-Man, the name had a ring to it.
Without saying a word, the beautiful redhead delivered another wave of water with sufficient force behind it that it damaged two of Octavius' mechanized arms. Maybe she was the silent type, Peter guessed. But if there was one thing he knew, it was that she was an absolute badass.
Focusing on the situation at hand, Peter delivered a devastating roundhouse kick that damaged a considerable portion of Octavius' armor. He then sent a barrage of webbing that trapped the villain and his mechanical arms, preventing any form of escape. As a final step, Peter removed the interface connecting Octavius to his mechanical arms, rendering the supervillain powerless.
"Sleep tight, Otto," Peter commented, eliciting a painful groan from the now semi-unconscious villain. With a tap on the side of his mask, Peter informed Yuri that Octavius and his four henchmen were down and fastly secured to a street light.
It was then Peter shifted his attention back to the mysterious redhead who assisted him. She was sitting on top of a ledge, staring out into the vast open ocean.
"Thank you for your help," Peter said, suddenly realizing he didn't know her name.
She turned to look at him intently, almost as if she was considering whether to speak to him. But she remained silent. Maybe she didn't understand him, Peter thought, but it couldn't hurt to try a second time.
"New York could use more heroes like you, to deal with guys like Doc Ock back there. It really would have been a huge nightmare for all of us if Ock got away, so thank you," Peter elaborated, pointing back towards Octavius, who was still knocked out and dangling from the lamp post.
"You're welcome, Spider-Man." The woman replied, finally speaking. Her voice was alluring. "You say there are more like him?"
"Well yeah, there's the Vulture, a grumpy old guy in a mechanized wingsuit. Then there's Electro, living electricity. Rhino, Mister Negative—" Peter paused, realizing he was rambling. "You're not from around here, are you?" he asked, taking a seat beside her.
"Atlantis." The woman replied after a while, looking like she was contemplating whether to tell him more."I'm from Atlantis," she repeated. Well, technically she was from Xebel, but it was unlikely the man would know the difference between the two underwater kingdoms.
"Great—Wait a minute, Atlantis is real?" Peter exclaimed, sounding like a kid in a candy store. When he was younger, he was fascinated behind the story of Atlantis but had always believed it was a legend. Well given what the woman was capable of, anything was possible.
"Its supposed to be a secret, I wasn't supposed to let you know," she revealed, contemplating if she could trust him. She'd never been to the surface world before, but from what she had gathered, Spider-Man was a true hero.
What did she mean by that? Peter was confused. He had too many questions and too few answers.
"Can I trust you?" she asked.
"Yes–" Peter was interrupted by the sound of approaching police sirens. Yuri and her fellow officers in blue were about to arrive. Peter turned back and was about to continue the conversation when he realized the redhead had moved away. She was now hiding behind the side of a wall and gave him a 'Don't let anyone else know about me, prove that I can trust you' kinda look.
Maybe he shouldn't have given her the benefit of the doubt. After all, he only met her moments ago. Yet a part of him felt like he should, and it wasn't just because she was drop dead gorgeous. It was an intuitive kind of feeling. The kind Peter didn't really know how to describe. Nodding his head, Peter managed to catch the woman mouthing, "Thank you, we'll talk later after they're gone," before he turned back to face the approaching police cars.
"Hold your applause, ladies and gents, Spider-Cop's favorite captain, the one and only Yuri Watanabe is here," Peter playfully commented.
"I must say you handled the situation far better than you did the last time you were here," remarked Yuri, who got out of the police car with a smirk on her face.
"Oh c'mon Yuri, we promised not to bring that up again," Peter said, slightly embarrassed. Yuri was referring to an incident eight years ago when an inexperienced Peter first confronted the Vulture. It seemed as if Peter had the upper hand at first, but then the fight escalated. He screwed up and caused the Vulture's weapon to split the Staten Island ferry in half. In a desperate attempt, he had to use his webs and hold the ship together himself, rather painfully if he might add, until help arrived.
"I'm just teasing you. Can't be the only one having all the fun, Spider-Cop."
"I'm rubbing off you!" Peter exclaimed, smirking under his mask.
"In all the wrong ways," Yuri joked. "But you did good work today, Spider-Man," she said, shifting back into her serious mode. "I'll make sure Octavius is transferred to a more secure location, and hopefully, he'll remain there this time." Behind Yuri and Peter, a group of police officers outfitted with heavy-duty vests was loading up Octavius and his four henchmen into the back of an armored police truck. A second truck parked beside it was used to store Octavius mechanical appendages.
"Yeah about that, I'm a little concerned with all the recent breakouts at The Raft. First the Vulture, and now Octavius. Any ideas who's behind it?"
"I have my suspicions, but whoever is responsible likely has half the prison guards on their payroll," Yuri sighed. "Look, I'll get back to you when I've gathered more evidence. In the meantime, don't be surprised if we have to deal with another supervillain breakout soon enough."
"Great, looking forward to it," Peter replied sarcastically.
"Anyways, Spider-Man, I have some unverified reports saying an unknown female assailant with hydrokinesis abilities assisted you in taking down Octavius. Is that true?" Yuri asked with interest.
Peter turned back briefly to glance at the redhead, fast enough that Yuri didn't register it. One of the props of having superhuman speed. "Whaaat? I think I would be in better shape if someone did help put the beat down on Ock," Peter said, referring to his slightly battered red-and-blue suit. "And you know I've always gone solo, Yuri."
"Then how are you going to explain all the water left behind in the wreckage?" Yuri questioned, pointing towards the numerous puddles of water that littered across the plaza.
"I, uh, dunked Doc Ock into the water with my finisher move."
Yuri knew Spider-Man was lying. In fact, he was a terrible liar. Why Spider-Man chose to withhold information from her, she could analyze for a later time, she told herself. After all, it seemed like he wasn't going to budge.
"Are you sure?" she asked one last time for good measure.
"Yeah," Peter replied, trying to sound confident.
"Why did you voice suddenly get so deep?"
"This is my usual voice."
"Yeah, yeah," Yuri said, deciding to entertain herself for a moment. "You're not fooling anyone. Before you sounded like a kid."
"Hey! Not cool."
"And now you sound like a kid again," Yuri chuckled. "Look thanks for the help once again, Spider-Boy," she said, which earned a second "hey!" from the spider-themed hero. "I'll let you know if we need your expertize dealing with another superhuman nutjob. Keep in touch," she said, waving goodbye before driving off with the two armored police trucks in tow.
"They're gone," Peter said after standing guard at the same spot for a few minutes, just in case Yuri decided to turn back and check on him. Judging from the police captain's expression, it was likely she suspected something. Not that it was difficult, given the lame excused he'd given. But hey, he managed to keep his identity a secret after so many years; That had to count for something.
He glanced over his shoulder to see the Atlantean redhead motioning for him to come over the other side of the wall, which was more secluded. Thinking back to their conversation before they were interrupted by the cops, Peter concluded that she genuinely wanted to remain hidden, for reasons currently unknown to him.
"Thank you," the redhead replied courteously.
"You know, I don't know even know your name."
"It's Princess Xamera Shabella Challa. You may call me, Mera."
"You're welcome, Mera," Peter said. "I'm Spider-Man, but you already knew that."
"I may not be from around here, but even I know that's not your real name," Mera said, eyeing him.
"It's a secret identity. I'm sure you know a thing or two about that. Its sorta like how you want Atlantis to be kept a secret." Peter replied, instantly regretting that he sounded a little too defensive.
Mera shot him a look that told him not to mention Atlantis.
"Look, Mera, I understand the importance of keeping a secret. I can promise I won't say anything to anyone," Peter said as he backflipped to stick onto the side of a wall. "But—"
"You're wondering why I even showed up in the first place," Mera deduced.
"Yeah," He nodded his head, encouraging her to continue.
"I was sent on a mission to learn more about the surface world," she said truthfully.
"And this mission of yours somehow concerns the fate of the world," Peter jokingly guessed, only to realize she sounded serious about it. Now he was silently praying that she would say no.
"Yes," she replied, deadly serious.
"Care to fill me in on the details?"
"I would if you trusted me."
What did she mean by that? Peter thought to himself, somewhat confused.
"As of right now, I know next to nothing about you, Spider-Man," Mera answered, reading his thoughts. "Yet, you know much more about me and where I come from. If you want me to trust you, you have to do the same," she said, patiently awaiting his response.
Maybe it was because his spider-sense was tingling, but something deep in his heart told him that he could trust her. He barely just met her, but if this mission of hers really concerned the fate of the world, then it was worth the risked he told himself. Taking in a deep breath, Peter prayed that he wasn't making a mistake as he took off his mask. "My name is Peter Parker, and I've been Spider-Man ever since I was fifteen," he said, looking at her straight in the eye.
Mera was pleasantly surprised by the hero's decision. Taking a moment to observe his features, Mera found he was cute with his tousled brown hair and brown eyes, in a nerdish kinda way. It wasn't until she saw the man fidget a little did she realized she had been staring for a while, causing a faint blush to appear on her cheeks.
"You're the second person that knows who I am under the mask," Peter commented, oblivious to her reaction. He hoped that she'd realized how significant him revealing his identity was. She was the only other person to know this aside from his ex-girlfriend, Mary Jane.
"Thank you for trusting me, Peter," Mera said, understanding his point. A part of her felt special knowing she was the only other person to know his secret. "A loyal advisor to the crown has reports that Atlantis is planning for an invasion against the surface world six months from now," she continued, getting back to the point they were on before Peter had revealed his secret identity. "The Atlantean Army is the single largest force on the planet. Billions will die if this war were to happen."
"How can I help?" Peter asked, sounding somewhat unsure. After all, this was on a whole other level than what he was used to dealing with. He was much more accustomed to being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
"I need a guide. Someone who can teach me more about the surface world and the good that it can bring," Mera revealed. "As the princess, I may be able to influence the others with what I learn and avoid the possibility of war."
"That's a plan, I'll give you that. But why choose me when there are so many other heroes out there?" the wall-crawler asked, genuinely intrigued.
"I've been monitoring you along with all of Earth's other heroes," Mera revealed, looking down at the ground as she felt somewhat embarrassed. "Of all of them, I can tell you are the one with the most heart, that you would be the someone who could represent the best of humanity."
Peter was taken aback. He had to admit, the high praise the beautiful redhead had given him was starting to get to his head. "I'll help you," he said with utmost determination.
"We'll start tomorrow," she said, taking the lead.
"Deal—" Peter paused to reflect. "Look, I know we didn't start on the best footing, so let's start over," he said. "I'm Peter, it's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand with a smile on his face.
"Mera. The pleasure is mine," she replied, taking his hand with her own as she gave him a smile that would make most men go weak at the knees.
"Central Park, nine in the morning?" he asked, turning his head to the side for a moment to appreciate the calmness of the night sky.
She nodded her head.
"Cool," Peter responded as their eyes locked together for a moment.
"See you, Peter," Mera told him, before quickly disappearing back into the ocean to Peter's surprise. He was about to ask her if she had a place to stay. How was she was going to contact him anyways? Given his line of work, he realized that those were rather pointless questions. She probably had it covered.
After eight years as Spider-Man, Peter Parker thought his life couldn't get any crazier. But standing here at the docks, while looking out at the vast open sea, Peter had a feeling he was dead wrong now that Mera showed up in his life.
A quick A/N to everyone who has read this, I hoped you enjoyed it, and have a wonderful Christmas! This version of Spider-Man is inspired by the PS4 game, with some changes and elements from the MCU/comics. As for Mera, she is based on her appearance in the very recent Aquaman film, played by Amber Heard. The events of the movie will play out differently in this story. Think of this crossover-universe as a brighter version of the DCEU with Spider-Man added to it. There might be some cameos from other Marvel heroes, but Spidey will be the focus. Do leave a review and let me know what you all think. Stay tuned for more!