HOT TUB BLUES
DISCLAIMER: Blah, blah, blah not mine. Blah, blah, blah DC.
A.N.: This one got serious pretty quickly.
Aquaman swam through the city, enjoying the scenery of the undersea metropolis and sight of his people living their daily lives. One thing however did bother him: the climbing heat. He waved at the citizens as he bypassed them all dressed in either the traditional or outlandish Atlantean attire. He dove down, past the high shining uptown to the lower levels swimming to sit upon a large aquatic rock formation to watch a group of young ones play ball.
His phone burbled. He withdrew it from his pants and glanced at the screen. It was from The Flash. What weirdness would he pose now? The young man was full of questions about Atlantis and some were endearing while others… He read the message.
'With global warming heating up the oceans your home must be like a hot tub. That's gotta be all kinds of fun!' He frowned deeply at the thumbs-up sign ending the message.
He thought of the newfound struggles plaguing his people. He could not count how many cases of sea animals injured by the garbage humans pumped into the ocean he'd read this year alone. Then there was the poison contaminating the water. The funds spent on medicines to treat the sicknesses causes by the pollution climbed dramatically each year.
'Not to live in! Especially when it's full of garbage and the coral reef is disappearing.' He sent the message before he returned his attention to the game unfolding on the court. He almost laughed when one of the young ones, emboldened by her success at a difficult shot, started trash-talking the opposition.
He exhaled heavily, causing bubbles to froth forth when his phone burbled again. 'You probably don't want coral reef in your hot tub anyway.'
Arthur's scowled at the phone. Motherf-! Really? The ocean was not a hot tub for crying out loud. 'Would you stop focusing on the stupid hot tub thing! You all are ruining the ocean and marine life is DYING!' He inserted several angry emojis before sending the message. He ran a hand down his face out of frustration. Had he known The Flash's questions would have led to such a dark conversation, he would not have replied in the first place.
His left eyebrow literally twitched when his phone burbled. Po-frigging-seidon give him strength. 'Sorry. We really have done horrible things to your home. It's incredible you haven't turned evil in retribution.'
A sense of irony flooded him at the message and a wry smile twisted his lips. He was not proud but sometimes when he looked at the damage done to their aquatic home the thought crossed his mind. Sometimes he thought about hitting up Ocean Master and whoever the heck else and tell them to suit the feck up. The land dwellers had gone too far. And it was time to ride out and split skulls on a global scale. But then… What would he say to Mera? To the wives, parents, and children of the fallen soldiers? All he would accomplish was death and blood in the water on both sides. What would make him any better than any foolish tyrants in history?
He closed his eyes, chuckling at the response he'd give: 'Poetic justice. Knowing you'll all eventually be drowned by the very ocean you polluted really helps. I'm going to give your house to my dolphins.' He ended the message with smiling and winking emojis.
He handed the phone to one of his silent guards and swam toward the young ones on the court. "How about letting an old pro play!"
END
AN: Like I said I want to keep these a mostly light, but this one tried to sober up on me a bit. Hope you enjoyed it, though.