Heroes of the Storm
Author Notes: One thing I've been pondering is if I should add the 'Terminator' into this story? I got an idea of how to intergrade the 'Terminator's' into the story.
Chapter 14: Black Manta
June 23rd, 2012
Sicily, Italy
The Quinjet lands on the mountainside, where there weren't many people as Merlyn quickly parked the Quinjet before they all walked outside to see the infamous city of Sicily.
Harry conjures some Mediterranean clothing as they walked into the city. As the city was full of tourists, they wouldn't look out of place if they were looking around.
Harry walks around, looking at the many street markets and the tourists and guests shopping around the market.
Mera kept looking around in amazement, as this was the first human city she's ever set foot upon without learning about a human city within Atlantis.
"Keep your hood up, Kitana," says Harry. "as Emperess of the Terran Empire, it would be wise for you not to be seen in another country. Even if it's officially a short vacation."
"Sorry," says Kitana. "I'm not used to see things so – peaceful."
Harry understood what she meant. Shao Kahn kept Outworld in a constant state of warfare and chaos. No matter who won, he always won. Kitana lived her entire life as Shao Kahn's personal assassin and didn't have any childhood.
Harry picks up some fruit and hands it to Kitana before he pays for the fruit. Kitana takes a bite and enjoys the rich flavor of the fruit.
Kitana wasn't the only one fascinated by the appearance of Earth. Mera walks among the market, looking at everything, bewilder upon what she was seeing.
Arthur hands her a fruit, and she takes a bite and clearly was enjoying the fruit as she's never had anything so juicy or delicious from above the surface.
"This is what's important," says Harry. "when I see people walking in peace, that's what I wanted to protect, no matter how small it is for everyone."
"It is beautiful," says Kitana.
"Sir, I found something," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported within Harry's earpiece.
"What is it, J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Harry asks as his contacts came alive.
His new combat contacts something Stark came up with for him gave him a hud-display of information in real-time. Stark was remarkable in his inventions. Stark tended to come up with things no one else could ever think of putting together.
"I believe I have located a possible location towards the next clue," says J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Location," Harry says as he listens to J.A.R.V.I.S.
"The Statues of Rome's First Leaders," says J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Got it," says Harry. "pass this information towards the rest of the team."
"Understood," says J.A.R.V.I.S.
Harry walks towards Mera and Arthur, who were by the foundation and in some sort of argument.
"You risked our lives, based on a children's book?!" Mera snaps angrily.
"Wait, it's a book?" Arthur says as he looks at the book. "I got it from a movie."
Mera looks at Arthur in confusion as if unsure what he meant by the term 'movie.'
"I got the location," says Harry.
"Where is it?" Mera asks at once.
"Up, on the old hill," says Harry. "by an old castle."
"Alright, let's go," says Arthur.
They walked up towards the old castle where the statues were located.
"In the bottle, you will find the charted path," Mera says as she looks around.
Arthur grabs the bottle and looks through it and laughs upon seeing cracks within the bottle.
"What is it?" says Mera.
"There are cracks on the bottom of the bottle," says Arthur. "what was the last line again?"
"Only in the hands of the true king, can he truly see," says Mera.
"Marcus Agrippa," Arthur says, looking at one of the statues. "He was a great general, but he was no king. Neither was Scipio."
"How do you know this stuff?" asks Mera.
"Cause of my pops," says Arthur. "He made sure I knew my history. To forge a better future, I had to learn the past. None of these guys are kings, except for this guy, Romulus: The First King of Rome."
Arthur places the bottle on that statue's hand and quickly stands up behind him and adjusts the bottle to the point he could finally see the path.
"I got it, map coordinates," says Arthur.
"Let me see," Mera says excitedly. She quickly jumps up on the statue and looks to see the coordinates. "I don't see the coordinates."
Harry steps up to see through the bottles and could see the cracks in the water and on the horizon.
"It's an ancient map coordinate," says Harry. "numbers that should point in a clear direction. Give me one second to find the location."
Before Harry could punch in the coordinates, the statues exploded, sending the group flying backward. Harry quickly conjures an energy sphere to shield Kitana from the attack.
As the dust begins to settle, Kitana stood in her 'ninja' outfit with her razor fans in her hands. Jade also stood at the ready as several strange armor individuals jump to face them.
"Let me guess, Orm sent you to kill us," says Merlyn as he appears before them.
"Princess Y'Mera Xebella Challa, you have been charged with high treason," says a commando.
Mera takes a step back, knowing the charges were serious.
A commando suddenly was sent flying upwards as Merlyn lands before them.
"It is unwise to ignore me," says Merlyn.
"Kill the surface-dweller," shouted the commando.
Merlyn transfigures their water into alcohol. The commando's started grabbing their masks once they realized they weren't breathing in water, but alcohol.
One of Kitana's razor fans penetrates into one of the commando's helmet and shatters his faceguard, causing blood to splatter everywhere before he falls back on the ground.
Kitana and Jade went on the attack upon their would-be ambushers. Without water, they were no longer able to use their hydro cannons. They struggled to deal with Jade and Kitana's agile quickness.
Kitana and Jade would slide on the ground and kick the Atlantean commandos to the dirt as they struggled to launch a counter-attack.
Merlyn's primary instinct was to stay and protect Kitana and Jade. Merlyn, his saving people thing, was really a curse for him as it caused him to put his loved ones first before anything else.
Merlyn instead heads to where he sees Arthur Curry trying to fend off a much larger commando, but one who clearly had combat experience and could fight well on land.
Merlyn was surprised to see the bulky black suit's blade puncture Arthur's shoulder causing him to yell out.
"Call me, Black Manta," says Black Manta. "now you'll die."
Merlyn raises his hand, surrounding the 'Black Manta' in his magical energy, causing him to rise up in the ground. Black Manta looks around him, bewildered before he begins to fire that red beam in his helmet around. Buildings all around were caught in the explosion from the energy beam.
Arthur grabs a pole and smacks Black Manta, knocking him back towards the statues as Mera appears and jumps over the roofs.
"Wait," Arthur shouted as he takes after her.
Jade and Kitana soon appear and jump off the side down to the street below. Merlyn didn't hesitate and soon follows them as the intense water shots shoot after him.
Several commandos jump over the cliff after him. Still, they ended up crashing into several of the buildings instead of landing gracefully on the roofs.
Merlyn had to thank the Illuminati for their training sessions. Learning to master his center of balance while off-balance was by no means a natural skill to learn or master. Merlyn jumps roof to roof as the Commando's desperately tried to give chase.
The red beam of energy destroys the church bell tower causing Arthur and Mera to get separated. Arthur falls nearly four stories down and crashes into the pavement. Debris from the destroyed bell tower came crashing down as Arthur leaps up and shoulder tackles the bell into the building to prevent it from crashing down on several people.
Merlyn waves his hand, and the bell turns into a flock of birds that flies off.
"Aquaman!" shouted Black Manta. "You owe me blood!"
Kitana slices a commando with her fan, cutting his throat open as he falls to the ground, gargling on his blood. Kitana continues to dives and avoids the rapid-fire by the Commando's, as they were trying to kill her quickly but were unable to lay a hit on her.
Black Manta stood up and fires an intense red blast at Aquaman. When it ended, a woman wearing an amazon outfit stood there with her bracelets slighting glowing.
"Wonder Woman?" several people who were watching says out loud. Many of them brought their phones out to record the fighting.
"Stay out of this, Wonder Bitch," Black Manta shouted. "I only want Aquaman!"
"Such destruction serves no purpose," says Wonder Woman.
"Then, you will die!" Black Manta shouted as he fires his optic blast.
Wonder Woman blocks the optic blast again with her bracers. Merlyn appears in front of her and absorbs the optic blast, sensing the hydration within the intensity of the blast.
Merlyn stood there as the optic blast ended.
Merlyn waves his hand, and the water turns to air. Black Manta was grabbing his helmet as if something was very wrong. Wonder Woman flies at him, and hits in him in the face, sending him flying backward.
Arthur Curry groans as he wakes up to see sea kelp wrapped around his body.
He peels it off to see his wounds have healed nicely. The sound of someone playing the flute could be heard. Arthur gets up and sees Mera playing the flute while she had a bruise on her left eye.
"Did you steal a boat?" Arthur asks, wondering where they got a boat.
"Are the boats at the marina not for public use?" Mera says as if it was a dumb question.
"No, those belong to people," says Arthur.
"Huh," says Mera.
Arthur chuckles as he sits down, wondering where everyone else was located.
"Where are the Avengers? And Wave?" Arthur asks Mera.
"I ditched them," says Mera. "Wave got injured, so they were tending to her when I grabbed you and took you on a boat. The surfacers cannot know the location of the Trident, and they cannot seize possession of the Trident."
"You really think they're doing all this, so they can steal a trident?" says Arthur.
Mera says, nothing looking down. Even with her temporary alliance with the surfacers known as The Avengers, she didn't trust them. Years of propaganda against the Surfacers has been within the Atlanteans society for centuries. It wasn't something that would disappear with a few pretty words.
"The ones who attacked us were Orm's elite Commando's. They hate surfacers and have no compassion over whom they kill. The one who was leading them, he wasn't an Atlantean. I've never seen him before."
"I have," says Arthur. "he and his father were pirates, and he blames me for his father's death."
"They picked a dangerous line of trade," says Mera. "It's not your fault."
"That's not how it is," says Arthur. "I did have a chance to save them both, but I chose not to. I'm now learning that I'm the firstborn son of my mother, and my younger brother is hell-bent on a war to destroy the surface. You want me to be a leader to a world, I'm not apart of, a world who hates people whom I swore to protect."
Mera looked down and realized that the King they wanted wasn't what they needed. Arthur Curry was indeed the better choice over Orm, but he didn't want to be apart of Atlantis if it meant destroying the world he grew up apart of. To save Atlantis, they needed to win Arthur Curry.
"You believe the surface world will accept Atlantis?" says Mera. "all they care about is destroying this world."
"Is that all you see?" says Arthur. "did you see nothing when you were in town? Discrimination will not save Atlantis. It is good upon this world, a beauty, and we are all apart of it, and if we don't stand together, then there won't be a world left to save. I'm not going to waste my time with a country that refuses to change and accept what should be, instead of what they want to be."
Mera stands up and sits next to Arthur.
"You believe we can coexist with the surface?" says Mera.
"Would you rather have a war?" says Arthur. "If you don't reach out and try to make peace, then you'll only be trap in this cycle of hatred forever. I will not be apart of that."
"To change Atlantis, you must find the Trident," says Mera. "getting there will be suicide."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asks Mera.
"The Trident is hidden within the Trench," says Mera. "the Trench is where Atlanteans send those to die under the death penalty."
"That doesn't sound promising," says Arthur.
"No, it's not," says Mera. "If the Trident is there, it would make sense that is where it is guarded. No Atlantean would dare enter the Trench, not one who is sane."
"It's a good thing I'm not sane," says Arthur.
Above them, in the Quinjet, Merlyn and Wonder Woman stood looking at the screen. The Quinjet was hidden before the clouds keeping them hidden from the two Atlanteans.
"Should we go down?" asks Wonder Woman.
"No," says Merlyn. "this part of their journey, they must continue onwards alone. We must prepare for the war against Atlantis. We must seek the one named Namor."
The screen goes off as Merlyn heads towards the cockpit. Jade was behind the seat, and she looked a bit beat up with blood and dirt on her body.
"You alright," says Merlyn.
"Yeah, I can fly until we arrive at Argus Island," says Jade.
The sound of metal scuffling could be heard as Kitana was looking at the armor from the Commandos before tossing them aside. An Atlantean commando was handing in midair with his hands stretch outward.
"So," says Merlyn. "what do we do with you?"
"I'm going to kill you, surface-dweller," snarled the Commando.
"That would be interesting to see," says Merlyn.
Merlyn conjures a bottle of water into his hands and holds it so the Commando could see it clearly. The Commando's eyes follow the bottle of water, clearly as he wanted or needed to drink the water. Merlyn then opens the bottle of water and drinks it profoundly so the Commando could watch ever drop go down Merlyn's mouth.
"Water is so good," says Merlyn.
"Give me the water, surface dweller," snarls the Commando.
"Want me to drop him off at the Sahara?" Jade says from the front.
Merlyn places his hand on the head of the commando and begins to look within the Atlantean's memories. The Atlantean tries to resist, but without any water, and clearly dehydrated, the Atlantean couldn't resist showing Merlyn what he wanted to know.
The back door opens as the weary Atlantean falls from the quintet into the open sea.
"What did you see?" Kitana asks her husband.
Merlyn casts an illusion so everyone could see the memories he acquired.
Lady Atlanna was seated upon her seat, talking to whom appear to be Orm and his guards.
"Mother, this expedition is a waste of time," says Orm. "we should be going to war against the surface-dwellers, not obeying the demands of a would-be usurper!"
"Quiet Orm," Lady Atlanna hissed. Even if they were mother and child, there clearly was no love or respect in Atlanna's part towards her son. Orm didn't respect his mother all the same and only spoke to her as if she were an instrument. "as long as I sit, you will do as you are told. You will also cease your dealing in those surface-dwelling pirates in attacking their ships."
Orm took a step back, clearly surprise that Lady Atlanna knew about his dark dealings.
"The expedition will be done, and respected," says Lady Atlanna. "when its over, another will rule Atlantis."
Lady Atlanna swims past Orm, but he pulls out a knife and stabs his mother in the back without remorse or hesitation.
"I want a war mother," says Orm. "and you have been in my way for far too long. Goodbye, mother, you will not be remembered."
The illusion ends.
"So he's a sociopath," says Wonder Woman.
"All he cares about is himself, not others," says Merlyn. "he believes himself to be superior. That he's destined to rule this world and intends to kill anyone who stands in his ways. The things he tells his people is merely a speech to cover up the fact he's a genocidal maniac."
"Shall we alert the Avengers?" asks Wonder Woman.
"Indeed," Merlyn says in agreement. "It's time we assemble and meet this – Namor and end the Atlantean Civil War."
Wonder Woman nods her head as the Quinjet turns away from Mera and Arthur as they head towards Avengers Island.
Merlyn had conjured some freshwater so Wave could heal from her injuries she sustained from Orm's Commandos.
"JARVIS," Merlyn speaks to the A.I. "bring those who are available online now."
"Yes, sir," JARVIS replies as the holographic images of Tony Stark, Batman, Superman, and Starlight appear.
"I take it you're going to report on the incident in Sicily with those strange mercenaries who attacked a town in broad daylight," Batman says at once.
"Indeed," Merlyn replies. "They were Atlanteans Elite Commandos under the direct command of Prince Orm. I have extracted information that proves he killed Lady Atlanna. I have also acquired the location of Atlantis."
"I couldn't find Atlantis," Cyborg says as he enters the screen next to Tony Stark. "I've been looking, and there are no signs of any cities on the ocean floor."
"You don't know where to look," Merlyn says simply. "Atlantis is a large city near the equator of the Atlantic Ocean. Hidden by a network of caves that no non-Atlantean has ever entered. The city isn't on the ocean floor, it's hidden underneath the floor."
"That would explain why no one has ever discovered Atlantis," says Batman. "why it continues to remain hidden, elusive, and legendary."
"Orm plans to wage war with the surface one way or another," says Merlyn. "Regardless, we need to eliminate him from the picture and attempt to bring the Atlanteans to the table through peaceful diplomatic means."
"Is that possible?" asks Superman.
"We may have an ally," Merlyn replies. "Arthur Curry, or Orin – the son of Poseidon. Once the Atlanteans learn of his heritage, they will follow him. The Atlanteans worship Posidean and will not risk losing their god favor by outcasting his only son and true heir to the throne.
"Orm will never go for it," says Starlight. "he will kill his half-brother before he can ascend to the throne."
"Which is why we have to move and move fast," says Merlyn. "I'm updating information on the recent attack and what I have on Atlantis to our server. Watch for any movement within the Atlantean areas. We may not have much time before they attack."
"I'll get to work," Batman says at once.
Merlyn returns to the cockpit where Jade was flying as she heads toward Avengers Island.
"I'll take Wave and Diana with me back to Avengers Island," Merlyn says. "you take the Quinjet and fly back to Argus Island. Kitana cannot be seen on Avengers Island so soon after the conference."
Jade nods her head as Merlyn teleports himself, Wonder Woman, and Wave on Avengers Island.
Jade turns and heads straight towards Argus Island, headquarters of the Empire.