I apologize for the huge delay. My laptop was away from me for a few weeks, and by the time it came back, I got swamped with college work, so I didn't have much time to make the final touches onto this chapter. But I have now, so enjoy.
Namor simply levitated and stared at his son, unsure of what to say.
It was Orm who spoke up, glaring at his father. "You left me for dead, father! You took Orin, and you left me for dead!"
"I thought you were dead!" Namor yelled back, lowering down until he was only a few feet above Orm. "I would have never left my own son under the rule of Attuma!"
"Lies! King Attuma told me all about how you loved Orin more! How you only feigned your love for me, because you were a sociopath who only cared about power."
With his trident, Orm shout out lighting towards Namor, who was forced to try and dodge the blasts. Namor, Aquaman, and Mera all charged towards Orm while Cap, Alan, and Jay became distracted by the remaining Atlantean soldiers.
Aquaman, Namor, and Mera together were enough to overwhelm Orm, and he was forced through several jabs and kicks without being able to hit back. But when he finally got a free second, he pointed his trident towards the three and shot lightning towards them once more.
As the waters rose by six inches, Mera gritted her teeth, and Aquaman and Namor watched in shock as it looked like Mera rose chunks of water out from the ground, and formed them into six balls, shooting them all towards Orm, though two missed.
Namor looked exasperated. "You have hydrokinesis? Why are you only now doing this?!"
Mera sighed. "Don't have much experience with these powers."
Orm quickly got up, and held his trident up into the sky, to which the skies now turned even darker than they already were. He shot down lighting towards all three of them, sending them down to the watery ground.
As Namor went and got up, Orm bashed him in the back with his trident, before turning him around and grabbing him angrily.
"Before I take you to King Attuma, I want you to know, father, that he told me just how weak and uncaring you really were. If only Orin knew the ugly truth."
"There is no ugly truth here, son! Attuma messed with your mind! He lied to you!"
Orm yelled in rage and threw Namor towards the car. "King Attuma said you'd try to deny it! You know, I never wanted to believe Attuma's stories about you. But eventually, I forced myself to accept the truth. On the bright side, it makes it easier to kick your ass."
Orm sighed. "Long live King Attuma!" He yelled, the hurt in his voice all too apparent.
"Son, I -"
"Save it, father!" Orm shouted as Aquaman and Mera both got up. "…I used to dream of seeing you again, with you proving Attuma's stories wrong. Those were good dreams…but I've given up on them. I just want to kick your ass, you damned piece of shit!"
Aquaman and Mera both charged towards Orm, but he turned around and bashed them both with his trident.
Orm snarled. "You! You scumbag! All these years, and you still follow father? You are a damned idiot."
Aquaman felt his cheek and looked at his brother with concern on his face. "Listen to us, Orm! Attuma deceived you! This idea that father hated you…it's not true! You have to listen to us!"
Orm shot a death glare towards Aquaman. "Why should I?"
He darted towards Aquaman with his trident, but Mera shot more water missiles towards Orm, causing him to be lunged towards a nearby car.
"Getting better at this…" Mera muttered to herself.
Orm narrowed his eyes. "You will all be brought before King Attuma!"
He held his trident up, only to be shot at with lighting. Namor, Aquaman, and Mera all looked up to see Thor in the skies, shooting the lighting towards Orm with his hammer. He ceased, and Orm looked at Thor for a second before pointing his trident towards the god and blasting lighting towards him, to which Thor blasted lighting back with Mjolnir.
The two both gritted their teeth and grunted as their lightning collided with each other. Both tried to push their lightning against the other's, with Orm yelling as he briefly gained the upper hand. But then Thor let out a war cry and pushed all of his lighting towards Orm, sending him down to the ground.
Thor levitated down to the ground as Namor, Aquaman, and Mera watched on. Orm laid there in the water, unconscious.
Hal, Carol, and Wonder Woman all flew down and were next to Thor, while Barry and Jay super-sped towards the scene together.
"…Is that the guy behind it all?" Barry asked as he started at Orm's unconscious body.
"No," Namor replied. "Orm here was only acting on behalf of King Attuma, who from the looks of it, is still in Atlantis."
"Ah," Barry replied, rubbing his neck. "Speaking of which, what's Orm's deal?"
Namor looked down to the ground. "He's my son. And Attuma twisted his mind."
Barry stood there, an awkward silence in the air. "…I'm sorry."
"Don't waste your efforts on apologizing, Barry. It won't bring my son back to me."
Before Barry could reply, Superman's voice came through all the Vanguardian's ear comms. *It looks like the Atlantean army has been completely cleared of*.
*We've got the leader of the invasion unconscious here by Union Square Park* Carol replied through the ear comm.
*Great. On my way. Everyone, regroup by Union Square Park!*
Alan showed up as Superman said that, standing next to Barry and Jay. J'onn and Cap quickly showed up as well, and Superman zoomed towards the group as fast as he could. They waited as Iron Man, Batman, Black Panther, Hulk, Zatanna, Hank and Wasp all arrived, with Batman and Black Panther having to get out of their jets, and now the entire Vanguard was together, along with Jay, Alan, Namor, and Mera.
"So…what's the plan now?" Wasp asked as she flew around her comrades.
Mera looked at Aquaman and Namor and began speaking Atlantean to them. The three discussed in Atlantean for a minute before Aquaman and Namor looked back to the rest of the group.
"Mera here says that it's best that we all head to Altantis." Aquaman said to everyone, making motions with his hands. "New York was intended to be the start. But we have a chance to strike at Atlantis before they ready up the rest of their forces. Mera stressed that all of us must come. Our combined strength is the best bet at overthrowing Attuma."
Wasp gasped. "Wait, we're going to the actual Atlantis? Like, the real place?! HOLY SHIT!"
"Yeah, that is pretty awesome…" Barry said with a smile on his face. "…But some of us don't have the powers or technology to survive underwater."
Hal created a miniature sphere with his ring. "Well, Alan and I can bring everyone to Atlantis in giant air bubbles."
"Won't be necessary," Batman interjected. "I got a backup Batsub over at the Vanguard Tower."
Though it was partly covered up by his helmet, Hank gave Batman a deadpan look. "Batsub? Really?"
Iron Man sighed. "Don't question him on it, Hank. Trust me. Just don't."
Batman paused for a moment before speaking back up. "Just remember this: Nothing in that sub was cheap. I better not see so much as a single dent from any of you."
Hal chuckled. "Well, Bruce, what are you gonna –"
But Barry put his hand on his shoulder before Hal could finish. "Don't, Hal."
Everyone stood silent as Namor translated all of this to Mera, who had just been standing there confused. After Namor translated everything, Mera just looked at him for a moment before nodding.
"It works just fine." He said to everyone.
"Well, wait a minute." Black Panther interjected, raising his finger up. "What about the civilians? The relief aids will almost certainly need us."
Superman nodded. "I got all of that covered, T'Challa. I super-sped everyone in the flooded areas to safety."
"That is good." Namor said, nodding. "We need to get to Atlantis as soon as possible. All of us."
Jay adjusted his helmet and whispered to Alan, "Been what, 30 years since we've been to Atlantis?"
"32 years, Jay."
Orm groaned as he woke up, and Mera kicked him in the chest and grabbed him by the neck, only for Namor to turn her by her shoulder and yell in Atlantean while everyone just watched. Mera looked at Namor, and then at Orm, before kicking him in the chest again. She spoke to Namor in Atlantean while everyone still watched, some of them feeling a bit awkward.
After about a minute, they looked back at everyone else. "We gotta get Orm tied down," Namor said. "And we have to get to Atlantis. Now!"
Aquaman, Namor, and Mera swam down into the dark oceans below without any problem. Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, Manhunter, Carol, and Iron Man also swam down with them, though Iron Man had to get on a special suit while at the Vanguard Tower, one that could withstand the immense pressures of the ocean. Alan and Hal had circular shields around them, to protect them from the intensifying pressure. And Jay and the rest of the Vanguard were in the Batsub.
Everyone followed the Atlanteans as they made their way down into the ocean, in search of Atlantis.
Batman was piloting his sub while everyone else stood around, with Jay, Barry, and Cap watching a strapped down Orm at the back of the sub. It was pure chrome walls in the sub, not unlike that of the Vanguard Tower walls. Jay and Barry stood there, watching over Orm. He squirmed, but the metal bars across his body prevented him from getting up.
"Namor and Alan had it rough as parents…" Jay said, looking down at the ground.
Barry looked at Jay and raised an eyebrow. "Alan was a parent?"
"Yeah. He had twins in the early eighties. But their mother was psychotic, so he was forced to give them away, to protect them. But then they disappeared recently, and we haven't been able to locate them anywhere."
"Oh…" Barry replied, feeling awkward. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"And then…well, you've already figured out Namor's situation." There was a brief moment of silence before Jay paused. "It makes me wonder. Joan and I…we could never have kids. When the doctor broke news, we were devastated. It was one of the worst days of our life. But then Alan and Namor had kids…and then all of this happened…and I wonder what would've happened with me. Would I have gone through anything like they had to suffer through?"
"I…I…" Barry was slow to respond, unsure of how to reply to Jay. "…Well, I know for a fact that you would've been of the best fathers a son could ever have."
Jay chuckled. "Thanks, Barry. Part of me still wishes I could've been a parent, but after seeing what Alan and Namor had to go through…I don't know. I just don't know."
Cap, who had been sitting down in a chair, got up and walked up to the Flashes. "Shortly before our final assault on HYDRA, Peggy and I discussed whether or not we had kids. …Of course, that never happened. I saw that she never had kids…makes me wonder if I still should…"
Jay let out an 'hmm'. "I think she would've wanted you to not be stuck on her, like she was with you. She would've wanted you to be better."
"…Right…"
Orm began to yell at the three of them; since he spoke the Altantean tongue, they could not understand them, but they did understand that he was a combination of angry…and afraid.
"Huh…that tone…" Jay cupped his chin. "What could be afraid of?"
Before they could ponder that matter further, Hank, Wasp, and Zatanna all walked in.
"How are you doing, boys?" Zatanna asked while looking at Orm.
"Fine, fine." Barry answered.
"I still can't believe we're actually going to Atlantis!" Wasp yelled in excitement.
Hank let out a sigh. "You've mentioned how excited you are like ten times, Janet."
"Well, come on, Hank! Atlantis!"
"It is pretty exciting." Zatanna added on.
Then all of a sudden, they heard a roar.
"…What was that?" Zatanna asked.
There was another roar, this one louder.
Everyone looked at each other with confused looks on their faces. The confusion only worsened when Orm began to chuckle.
There was another roar, this one higher in pitch. Then there were two roars at once, with both the deeper and the higher pitched roars echoing into the sub. Everyone's eyes widened as to what ths could mean.
Outside of the sub, everyone was just as confused, except for Namor, Aquaman, and Mera, who all looked horrified.
"That…is that…" Aquaman struggled to say as a daunted expression colored itself onto him.
"It must be them." Namor said, looking just as daunted as his son.
Two black figures could be seen in the distance, one to the left of the Vanguard and their allies, and one to the right. As they got closer and closer, it soon became clear what they looked like. One was a beast colored a forest green. It had to be several hundred feet long, and it had eight gigantic tentacles. The other was a monster the size of a blue whale. This monster looked like a gigantic, dark grey fish man, with neon purple all around it. The latter creature let out another high-pitched roar.
Superman tapped Hal's shoulder and motion for him to increase the size of his circular shield. Hal did so and now his shield guarded everyone, including the Batsub. Alan took it a step further and created a giant fortress around them all as the monsters tried to approach the group.
"Okay, I can talk now. So….where did those monsters come from!" Superman asked, looking at Aquaman and Namor.
"Back when I was king, I used those monsters to guard Atlantis from surface dwellers. Looks like Attuma actually kept one of my ideas." Namor answered.
"Well, what are we going to do about them?!" Carol shouted out in response.
"Some of us are going to have to stay behind and fight them while the rest of us travel to Atlantis!" Wonder Woman pointed out.
Then Batman's voice came over the ear comm. *Most of our powerhouses should stay behind to fight the beasts off, and then come back to help us fight the Atlanteans*
"I can help fight them off!" Alan exclaimed in response.
"Atlantis will also be guarded by a dome. However, we cannot just pass by the monsters – they will destroy the dome, and Atlantis, just to get to us. We'll need Superman or Thor to break the dome open so some of us can get in while the rest fight off the monsters. It'll be the quickest way in." Namor added on.
Superman paused for a moment before speaking up. "Alright then. Alan, Wonder Woman, Manhunter, Iron Man, Thor, Carol, Hal, all of you stay behind and fight the monsters. I'll you once I get the dome open!"
A tentacle burst through the fortress as both creatures roared. The fortress disappeared, and Hal's shield vanished so that Namor, Aquaman, Mera, and everyone in the Batsub could get down to Altantis.
Aquaman took a moment and looked back as several of his comrades began to fight off the beasts. But he looked back straight, and he could see it now. He could see Atlantis.
With a circular dome around it, Altantis was finally in sight. However, many of the golden buildings had a more decayed look to them than he remembered, something he quickly chalked to Attuma. Superman's eyes heated up and he punched the dome's glass several times until the dome broke open, allowing the Atlanteans and the Batsub to get into the city. He left to join the others in fighting the sea monsters.
The Atlanteans all swam as fast as they could through the city, and now they and those in the Batsub could see people down in the city looking up at them with confusion. Many of them looked starved and afraid, and some of them began to collapse onto the streets. More than a few, actually. And they all looked at the Batub with eyes the size of dinner plates, as if they were afraid that this was some contraption created to pass down judgement upon them. Some even peered out of the windows of the buildings, looking just as horrified. There was no battle going on at the moment, but these people looked like they were in a war zone, and they looked fearful for their lives.
"My God…." Was all Cap could say.
Even Batman seemed bothered by the sight of the decaying city, though he said nothing about it.
Namor and Aquaman stopped in their tracks and took a moment to look around. "…He's brought the city to ruin, father. He has reduced Atlantis to a shell of its former self."
Namor hang his head in shame. "I know, son. I can hardly believe it myself. We must overthrow Attuma now! We must prevent this from getting any worse!"
"I hear you. Get to the palace!" Aquaman said, his finger on the ear comm so his teammates could hear. "Attuma will be there, and you'll all be able to breathe in there."
In about a minute or so, they saw a grand palace, one that looked to be in much more pristine shape than the rest of the city. Aquaman and Namor looked around and saw denziens collapsing to the streets, looking greatly frail. They then looked at each other, concerned.
They and Mera swam down towards the doors of the palace, and opened them up. They had them open long enough for the Batsub to get in, and once it was in, they sealed the doors.
Everyone in the Batsub got out, and they were greeted by a golden interior, with statues of Atlantean kings and queens throughout the hallway. There were several windows, from which they could the ocean that lied ahead.
Their attention was taken, however, when they saw soldiers, of both blue and pink skin, charging towards them. And there was a man with a golden trident and long black hair leading them, stopping when they were but a few feet away.
"Well, well, well….Namor and Orin. You've finally come back." The man said, grinning.
Namor narrowed his eyes. "Your reign over my kingdom ends now, Attuma!"
To that, Attuma only smirked.