5.
Unknown Underwater Cavern – Site One
August 09, 18:53 UTC
"Okay, I think we're pretty much done here." Slapping his hands together, Beast Boy got any excess dirt off then stood back to check his and Aqualad's handy work.
Explosives from the weapons room the green boy found were planted every few feet between the mounted sacks. Wires ran from a single large detonator to every explosive pack near the bottom of the cave with each one in turn wired to the next one nearby. It had taken them a while but now, everything was in place.
"I agree," the team leader said. "I think we have rigged everything properly and need to set the timer for detonation."
"How long do you think we'll need?"
Picking up Trident's weapon, which had a switch for the hidden cavern entrances, Aqualad programmed the detonator. "Given how far below the surface we are and the length of the tunnel to the nearest exit, I would say at least five minutes to be clear. That means three to get to the closest corridor with an exit to the outside and two to get clear."
"Now we just need to wait for the other two."
"And let us hope they will not be long."
Unknown Underwater Cavern – Site Two
August 09, 18:55 UTC
Blood dripped from a gash in La'gaan's left arm as he made his way through the long dark corridor. He had a slight limp in his step as a nice, long slice made its way from his knee to the middle of his shin. Letting out an Atlantean curse, he stumbled over a rock and quickly picked himself back up to continue onward when he heard voices come over his earpiece.
"Aqualad? Aqualad, can you hear me? Su…Superboy, come in. Ragh!"
He could hear his team mates clearly but couldn't get a signal out to them. Reaching into his right side pocket, he pulled out another glowstick, shook it, and cracked it in half it replace the one he previously had. As he continued further, the heavy sound of footsteps ahead of him became clear. Judging by the pattern he heard, it wouldn't be long until he would meet up with the person who was making them.
Taking position at the passageway's bend, La'gaan puffed his torso up in case the incoming individual was a threat while hiding his light. Once the shadow's owner was close enough, he threw a hard right hook and connected with the individual's jaw.
"Gah!" a very familier voice said before letting out a growl. A clang echoed off the walls as the control portion of one of the Trident clones weapons fell to the floor.
"Co…Conner?" La'gann stammered.
"La'gaan?" Superboy asked as he imagined breaking the Atlantean's neck for the cheap shot. "What was that for?"
"Shut up." Lagoon Boy whispered. "I thought you were one of the Trident clones, chum."
Grabbing his partner, and trying not to kill him, Superboy drew him close and growled. "I'm not! And don't tell me to shut up! Now follow me so we can get out of here." Letting go, he turned to lead the way to the nearest exit. "Aqualad rigged a cave to blow and we need to get out."
"Trust me, you really need to keep quiet."
"What for?"
As if to answer Superboy's question, a roar erupted from where the shrinking fish humanoid came from.
"What was that?" Superboy asked as he picked up the control from the floor.
"An ex friend I ran into named Nanaue. He…he's angry."
Incredibly heavy footsteps stomped down the corridor at a high rate of speed, causing the loose rocks around the two team member's feet to bounce from the force.
"It would be best of we run now," Lagoon Boy said as he took off at a full sprint, leaving his teammate behind.
"Aqualad!" Superboy yelled into his com unit as he ran after the fearful fish boy. "Set off the charges! We have another problem over here!"
"What is it?" Aqualad asked over the radio.
"Lagoon Boy said it's someone named Nanaue."
"Nanaue? He was overthrown as ruler and banished from his city-state three years ago. What is he doing-"
"Just set off the bombs, we'll find a way out!" Catching up to his partner, Superboy pulled out his mapping device and charted the nearest exit. "Lagoon Boy, take the next right then hold up for a minute and patch yourself up!"
"Why should I? If Nanaue catches us, we'll both be chum!"
Letting out a growl, Superboy yelled, "Trust me!"
Doing as the veteran team member ordered, Lagoon Boy took the next right and waited. His arm was now bleeding more, the wound reopening from running, and he was currently trying to get it to stop. He then heard the cracking of stone and looked back to see Superboy break one of the stalagmites in half and waited for their pursuer to catch up, being he was right on their heels. With Superboy dealing with Nanaue, Lagoon Boy was able to apply a makeshift bandage from a portion of his spandex pants.
Hiding in the dark, Superboy gripped the end of the stone formation like a bat and waited for whoever this Nanaue to appear, although the name sounded faintly familiar. Less than ten seconds later, a large shadow painted the walls, making him wind up and swing his weapon as hard as he could. The stone collided with the side of the large chaser's face, making him stumble back for a moment then lay eyes on the one responsible for hurting him.
Looking down at the smaller hero, the one called Nanaue, let out a deep growl and bared row after row of sharp teeth in his powerful jaws. Black, baseball sized, doll-like eyes centered on Superboy who couldn't take his eyes off what looked like a human/shark hybrid in a pair of green speedo trunks. Its leathery skin reflected the light from the glowing algae, which also allowed the Kryptonian to see long, sharp claws on each hand. This creature was at least ten feet tall and nearly as wide as the seven foot wide tunnel they were in.
"Bad idea." Letting what was left of the stalagmite fall to the ground, Superboy backed up and prepared for a fight when Aqualad informed him they only had four minutes left to get out.
Gripping the piece of trident in his fist, Superboy quickly moved out of the way as Nanaue's teeth snapped shut where his head was a moment ago. Pressing a button, a point blank energy blast shot out and knocked the large shark humanoid back to buy him and Lagoon Boy time to escape.
"Get to the door at the end of the tunnel!" Superboy ordered. "It's our only way out!"
Reaching the end, Lagoon Boy came to a stop at another watery entrance like the one he was in when he first woke up after being attacked. "How far are we from the surface?"
"Don't know," Superboy answered as he pressed another button on the bronze trident piece. "You don't happen to have a rebreather, would you?"
"You're asking an Atlantian if he has a rebreather? You have got to be kidding me."
"Look, that thing is not going to stay stunned for long and I can't breathe under water like you can, so either help find a solution or-"
A roar bounced off the walls, signaling Nanaue was once again giving chase.
"You trust me, chum?" Lagoon Boy asked.
"About as much as you trust me."
A few seconds later when Nanaue arrived in the cavern, both heroes were gone with the only trace of them being the ripples in the once still water. Outside in the ocean, a thick metal door opened with Lagoon Boy and Superboy shooting out away from the cave. Over their earpieces, Aqualad announced they had thirty seconds until the bombs detonated and needed to get clear as soon as possible.
With a deep breath of air in his lungs, Superboy hung onto Lagoon Boy's wrist as the Atlantian swam them both out of the underwater cave. A normal person was capable of swimming at two meters per second, factor in super strength, six to eight. Atlantians well surpass that at fifteen to twenty meters per second with how their bodies are built and it was that little fact Superboy found himself depending on to get him to the surface. Behind them, muffled explosions could be heard from the bombs going off with large bubbles of air shooting to the surface as the sunlight above them grew brighter.
"Get ready!" Lagoon Boy yelled a second before he puffed up and hurled Superboy ahead of him.
Breaking the surface, Superboy inhaled a lungful of air as he bobbed in the water with Lagoon Boy joining him soon after. Pulling out a set of keys, the Kryptonian team member signaled for the yacht to autopilot to their position. It was a good thing it was owned by Batman as that little feature wasn't standard on the non-hero models.
"You're welcome," Lagoon Boy said condescendingly.
"For what?" Superboy asked as he tried to raise the others.
"For saving your life, chum. Now you owe me one."
"Don't think so." Looking around them, Superboy could see one of the three islands they were at some mile or so from their position. He hoped it was Maui since that's where he docked the vessel. He then tried to raise Aqualad and Beast Boy over the com units but to no avail.
"Hey, I'm bleeding pretty bad," Lagoon Boy said after several moments.
"Just keep pressure on your arm," Superboy told him. "The boat will be here in a few minutes."
"Listen, Conner…with how you helped me back there by buying me time to patch up…thanks. I know you hate me but-"
"I don't hate you, La'gaan." Conner interrupted him. "Just the things you do."
"What's the difference?"
"The way you acted around me when you were dating M'gann by rubbing it in my face, how you treated some of the missions as if they were games or jokes, how you treated Garfield before he turned dinosaur on you. Do I need to go on?"
"Yeah, well…I guess I was just looking to make my place on the team with some of those missions. And I knew Garfield never liked me being with his sister and admittingly, I did have fun rubbing it in your face."
"Be careful where you go with that," Superboy said with narrowed eyes and a sneer.
"A part of me always knew she still wanted you and I never had a real chance to be anything more than a temporary rebound. Still hurt when she dumped me if that makes you feel any better."
"Yeah, well…"
"Look, I know we'll never be friends, but teammates, maybe?"
"Yeah," Superboy nodded. "Teammates."
The two shook hands and continued waiting for the boat as Superboy kept trying to contact the other two team members and only received a beeping from the speaker. "Aqualad, Beast Boy, do you copy?"
"I don't mean to be a realist," Lagoon Boy said with a worried voice, "but you don't think they-"
"Don't say it," Superboy sternly told him as he turned back to face Lagoon Boy. "I'm not mourning any more friends I…"
Looking past Lagoon Boy, Superboy caught a glimpse of what looked like a tall gray object coming towards them at a high rate of speed with a wave of water preceding it. Picking up speed, white crests of ocean shot into the air at least ten feet on each side as a triangular shark head rose above the water with its mouth open to sink its teeth into fresh meat.
Moving fast, Superboy shoved Lagoon Boy out of the way just as those massive jaws clamped down where he was. Unfortunately, instead of biting nothing but air, Nanaue bit down on the Kryptonian instead. Looking back, Lagoon Boy's eyes widened as his head fins flared out from realizing just how close he came to becoming chum himself.
Thrashing his head about, the humanoid shark tried to dig his teeth in further into Superboy's chest and stomach as he skimmed the surface of the water. Using the ocean as a tool, Nanaue dove under and continued his violent assault. Struggling to get free, Superboy slammed his fists into the ocean monstrosity's head a few times before being bent backwards by the shark man's powerful clawed hands in an effort to break his back. Refusing to give up, Superboy slammed his fist down as hard as he could and managed to strike Nanaue's snout, forcing him to open his jaws and roar in pain, sending his would-be meal floating to the surface.
Taking another deep breath, Superboy swept the excess water from his face while Nanaue shook off the pain from having his sensitive snout clubbed. Circling around, the great white shark man rushed his prey once again, fully intent on dragging him far below the surface and drowning him this time.
Readying himself, Superboy was planning on flipping onto Nanaue's back and attacking his gills, a weak spot for aquatic beings when his attacker was suddenly knocked hard to his left by a streak of green.
Thinking it was Lagoon Boy, Superboy swam after his injured teammate, knowing he would need help in fighting the creature when a green dolphin leapt out of the water and morphed into a whale. The massive mammal landed on the shark man as Superboy's name was called from behind him. It was Aqualad in the yacht motioning for him to swim to the boat.
"Superboy," Aqualad said as he helped his friend into the nautical vessel with Wolf anxious to see if his owner was okay, "this is a battle we must plan carefully. Nanaue, or King Shark as he likes to be referred to as, is not to be taken lightly."
"Where's Lagoon Boy?" Superboy asked. "I didn't see him when I swam over. And we need to pick up Gar."
"Lagoon Boy is below deck tending to his wounds. He has lost too much blood to be of any help in the fight. I am going to need you to take one of the jet skis to pick up Beast Boy after he lures King Shark where I have instructed as I take over from there. We only have one chance so be ready."
Some fifty yards away, Beast Boy had taken on the form of a penguin and was barely out swimming King Shark. The little green shaded aquatic bird zipped through the water as the set of massive teeth clamped down behind him. He was playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the eating machine when Aqualad announced Superboy was back in the water over his ear piece. Glancing back, Beat Boy saw the teeth just a little too far away and slowed down. Timing his next move right, he darted inside King Shark's mouth and morphed his streamlined penguin body into a type of carnivorous sponge armed with sharp spikes around its body. The moment King Shark closed his massive jaws, he felt the spikes dig into the roof of his mouth and tongue, causing him extreme pain.
With the humanoid shark's mouth open again to release a cry of pain, Beast Boy shot out and away from the set of teeth, as a barracuda this time, and headed for the yacht just as Superboy's jet ski passed overhead with Aqualad behind him. Leaping out of the water, Beast Boy morphed into his hybrid form, caught Superboy's hand, and situated himself on the seat behind him. The two took off back to the yacht as Aqualad took a flying leap off his jet ski and unholstered his weapons.
Summoning the water below him to form a platform, Aqualad landed in top of the solidified water as his jet ski crashed into King Shark's mouth, bringing him to a stop. He then fired a whip to the machine and sent a powerful electrical current from his body to the gas tank, causing it to explode in the humanoid shark's face. The blast was enough to send the team leader several yards away and back into the water as King Shark disappeared.
As the remainder of the ski burned on the ocean surface, Superboy drove around the area in search of Aqualad. Beast Boy flew over the area as a seagull and it wasn't long until he found the face down Atlantian. He dove into the water and morphed back into his humanoid form to radio Superboy and check on his team leader.
"Conner! I found him! We're about fifty feet from the explosion and floating out to sea." Looking Aqualad over, Beast Boy was relieved when he saw he wasn't hurt and gently woke him up with a few slaps to the face.
"G…Garfield?" Aqualad said. "Where is King…King Shark?"
"In Davy Jones locker. You got him! That was so cool with the platform and the electricity, not to mention that killer move you did jumping off the jet ski!"
"You okay?" Superboy asked as he pulled up beside them and leaned on the handle bars after cutting his engine off.
"As okay as I can be after being caught in a blast wave, my friend." Regaining his composure, Aqualad took hold of the side of the jet ski and shook the cobwebs out of his head.
"You think you got him?"
"I do not know. Nanaue does not admit defeat nor is easily beaten. For the time being, I would say he will not be bothering us."
"Sure about that?" To press his point, Superboy looked behind his friend and swept his gaze over the ocean. A moment later, he felt Aqualad climb aboard the vehicle with Beast Boy helping him up. "That sure, huh?"
"Better to be safe than sorry," Aqualad said as he too looked around the waters.
"Oh, and, uh, this?" Superboy said as he motioned between them. "This doesn't happen again. I'm the one who loses his shirt, not you, fearless leader."
Letting out a laugh, Aqualad looked down at his red and black uniform shirt and noticed he was missing a great deal of the chest and stomach area. "I will make sure this is a one-time occurrence, my friend."
"AW CRAP!" Beast Boy cried from the side of the jet ski.
Both Superboy and Aqualad instantly went on the alert. Superboy cocked a fist back as he looked around the area while Aqualad had one of his water weapons form into a sword.
"What?" Aqualad yelled. "What is it? Is King Shark back?"
"No," Beast Boy whined. "I missed my line!"
"Line?" Superboy asked.
"What do you mean by that?" Aqualad followed.
"I was gonna say 'we need a bigger boat' earlier and totally forgot!" Beast Boy explained. "We had a boat, a giant shark, sort of, and I missed my chance!"
Starting up the jet ski, Superboy shook his head with a grin forming on his face. "Let's just get back to base. I've had enough of salt water up my nose."
As the three took off for the yacht, none were aware King Shark was watching them from afar as he muttered Aqualad's name in Atlantean. His face was horribly blackened as was his massive chest and shoulders. He was in no condition to carry on the fight and instead stayed low in the water. What made it worse was part of his dorsal fin was missing. He could have sworn the green boy who morphed into a bird plucked it from the water on his way back to the boat but wasn't sure. Right now, he just had to heal and bide his time. They may have found his lair and clones of Trident, a useless creature he had long ago dined on and was cloning, but they neglected to search the area completely. He still had the Big Island left and they will never know to search there for his fallback lair, not when The Light conceals it in plain sight.
Apokolips
August 9, 18:59 UTC
Arriving back on Apokolips through a Boom Tube portal, Granny Goodness marched through a large chamber where her lord and master waited at the end of. Claiming his spot on a wide throne, the master of the war planet watched his general bow before him with her head hung low. Next to him stood Desaad in his usual stance with his hands clasped underneath his long, wide sleeves.
"Lord Darkseid," Granny started. "Volcanna-"
"I have already informed him on your failure, Goodness. We monitored everything you witnessed." Taking a step forward, Desaad carefully watched as the general of Apokolips' armies stood rather swiftly.
"And just what have you told him, you worm?" Emphasizing her tone of voice, Granny Goodness slammed her spear on the stone walkway.
"Words do not have to be wasted on your poor excuse for a warrior, Granny. Had the divine one sent one of my creations instead of your orphans, the clone would be destroyed and-"
"And your failure in losing the New Genesphere would be avenged." She looked at the deformed torturer with a mocking look in her eye. "So I wouldn't be the one brining up failure if I were you. As long as Volcanna did her job and tested KR's abilities, she succeded."
Marching up to the foot of the throne, Granny Goodness crossed an arm over her chest and bowed her head. "My Lord, if it pleases you, I wish to have another of my furies test the young Amazonian woman."
"No!" Desaad argued. "Master, allow me to send one of my creations. A mixture of flesh and Apokaliptian technology. I have a target in mind that will demoralize them all and make your impending arrival and victory all the more easier."
A long, profoundly quiet moment followed before Darkseid rose his hand to cause a screen-like image to appear before them with images of the both the Justice League and The Team in mid battle Vandal Savage and his associates provided them. "Your requests will be granted at a later time. For now, carry out your assigned tasks with Savage and his…followers, for the end of days is almost at hand."