OK, sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I was having a bad case of writer's block and also school related matters. You know how it is. Anyway, enjoy this part of this arc. Enjoy.

Trouble in the Deep part 3

(King Orin's Castle. March 13th, 18:34)

The sound of a struggle is heard as Orm threw Aquaman through a wall, the king of Atlantis yelling out as he glared, his bandaged stump of a hand noticeable as he picked up his trident and got up. "Now Brother, why do you still fight? You angry that your better has betrayed you?" Orm asked, holding his own trident as he glared.

"Arthur!" said Garth as he was held back by Ocean Master's men, as Kaldur glared darkly at this sight.

"Orm...you are my brother, why did you do this?" Arthur asked, sounding both enraged and sadden by this discovery, his eyes narrowing as he glared. Orm just chuckled as he walked over.

"Isn't it obvious, brother? I wanted the throne that I always deserved. I am a full-blooded Atlantean, I have lived here longer and not to mention, I am clearly the smarter of the two of us. You? You're a half-blood brute who solves his problems with his fists, never using actual strategy or planning. And look where that has gotten you as a king: You have lost a hand because of that brute Manta and you have lost your first son...and soon, your second." Orm said with a chuckle.

Arthur growled as he got up and says "You touch my son or Mera and I shall feed you to the Tiger sharks, Orm."

Orm sighs as he says "That is exactly my point...how you were chosen to be king, I'll never know." Orm then sent out a pulse of energy, sending Arthur flying backwards as he hit a window that was behind him, causing it to crack. He growled as he got up, glaring darkly.

"...I don't think you understand what I have been through, brother." Arthur glared upward as he got up, holding his now missing hand. "I have been through more than most of my friends have been through. I was put overboard when my father's ship was taken over and he was killed, my best friend was corrupted and created a band of pirates from the men who killed my father, and not to mention my old friend had killed my son."

"...And?" Orm asked, looking at him calmly as Arthur got up, glaring darkly as he got his trident ready.

"And that proved to me on why I am the King of Atlantis: This title isn't just about a crown and the love of the people...it is to protect them and everyone in it. But that was how I used to think about just Atlantis...until I discovered something: I am not just a king...I am a hero, a protector of the innocent." Orm just laughed at this as Arthur glared at him as he asks "What is it now?"

"Oh, I am just finding it amusing that you care about those surface dwellers." Orm said as Arthur glared.

"You weren't there. That ship...it was the first day I became a hero. I was looking for David then...when I was wondering where he went with the crew. But then I saw something shocking: A child had fallen out of a ship...and people were panicking. I wasn't aware then, but I was the only choice to save him. So, despite it all, I went to help and got him back onto the ship."

"So...you are sentimental towards a boy?" asked Orm with a chuckle.

"No…that boy proved to me what I had to do if I would become king: I would protect the innocent from all threats, no matter who or what I am saving. Atlantean or Surface Dweller, I will be there to protect them." Aquaman said as he got up. "And now...I must protect my people from you, brother. Because family or not...you are a threat to Atlantis, and I will not stand around while you are here."

"Alright half-breed...let us fight." Orm said as he rushed forward, but was stopped mid-swim by Aquaman, who sent him through a wall with a powerful kick. "Ugh...since when were you that strong?"

"I rarely ever used my full strength...because lets remember this: We Atlanteans are much times stronger than the average Surface Dweller due to our adaptation to the sea...so lets see how well you fare. Because even as a half-Atlantean…I am as strong as 250 men!" Aquaman said as he dropped his trident and picked him up and then sent a punch with his good hand. "And I am curious if the saying 'Beat you with one hand' can be put to the test..." He glared; as he got ready as Orm ditched his own trident as the two jumped at the other, ready to begin the second round of their battle.

Back inside, Kaldur looked at all of the warriors around him, frowning as he whispers, 'what now?"

"Not sure…if we make a move, we're chum." La'gaan said, looking at all of them. The four got ready when a pulse of water hits the men, as they all turned…

'Queen Mera!" Kaldur said with a surprised look as Mera glared at Brak and his men, her eyes shining blue as marks formed on her skin, all glowing bright blue.

"Stay away from those children…Brak." Brak gave a nervous smile to the queen as his men backed up.

"Mera…my queen, listen…we are not against the crown, we are just against some half-blood being in the throne instead of the man who truly deserves it." Brak explained, as Mera shared a flat look with the other four, who just shared it with him.

"Shall we, children?" asked Mera, her eyes glowing blue as Kaldur's eyes glowed bright blue as well with his marks, Garth's eyes turned pitch white and gained markings on his own as Tula's eyes glowed green and La'gaan's glowed red, as did his marks on his shoulders.

"Lets…" La'gaan growled as he turned into his more hulking form as Mera nods as she gets out something from a near-by room as a watery whip threw something at Kaldur, who caught it.

"What…is this?" Kaldur asked, shocked as he saw it was a black pack of sorts with high-tech hilts attached to it.

"Call it a gift. I had it made for you for your more advanced studies. Your old ones were getting quite ancient." Mera said as Kaldur nods and put them on. He took the hilts as water flowed around them, creating new swords.

"Now this…feels right." Kaldur said with a smirk as Mera nods.

"Now…Strategy Zeta Chi Delta Rho!" Mera said as the five charged at the soldiers, as La'gaan grabbed one of them and threw him into another, roaring out as Kaldur smacked down two with his new blades.

Garth glared as he sent out a burst of Tempest energy out as Tula kicked a few away as Mera fought against Brak, using a watery sword to block against his spear as she saw a shadow and smirked.

"Topo! Lunch!" She said with a smirk as Brak went wide-eyed as he screamed, getting grabbed by a large tentacle from Topo. The giant octopus roared at him via his beak before it's tentacles grabbed him and brought him closer.

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Brak screamed as the giant creature swallowed him whole.

"I didn't do anything." Mera said with a smirk as she glared at the other traitors. "Garth, do it."

"Tenet de rege in mare." Garth said as watery chains wrapped around the remaining soldiers as Tula pets Topo.

"Good boy, Topo…" She said in a cooing voice, as La'gaan and Kaldur just stared as the ferocious creature actually began to purr faintly from the affection.

"…Odd…" Kaldur said as he heard explosions down below to explosions in a lower area. "The King and the Prince are heading to the lower east side of the castle."

"That's the War room!" Tula said, her eyes widening in shock.

(Orion's castle War Room. 20:35)

Arthur yelled out as he crashed through a room, groaning a bit as he got up, spitting out some blood that mixed with the water as he rubbed his chin with his stump of a hand, glaring upward as he noticed a spear near by with a curved blade, similar to a hook with a curved under. He then got an idea as he grabbed a glove off of some armor and broke off the blade of the spear.

"Where are you, brother? Finally decided a trident is too difficult to fight one handed?" asked Orm with a smirk, walking into the room with his trident in hand, walking into the room as he flicked his arm, releasing light.

The room itself was like an ancient Greek room with a large rounded table with the Atlantean flag on the back with a large seat for the king to sit and six seats around him for the five generals and himself.

"True brother…it is hard to so…but who said I needed a real hand?" Asked Aquaman as he used the hook on the end of the harpoon and crushed the fingers of the armored glove to keep the spearhead to it.

"What is that supposed to be?" asked Orm with a faint chuckle. "A new toy?"

"You can say that…yes…but this shall aid me in this battle." Arthur said as he attached the glove and the upper area of it to his own arm. "A temporary prosthetic of sorts, but it should prove useful." He jumped and tackled into Orm, who grunted at the hit before the younger full-blooded Atlantean kicked him away.

"What is that meant to improve?" asked Orm…before he noticed Arthur going into a stance with his trident, the hook now posing as a second hand.

"For starters…it helps make this easier to hold." Arthur said as Orm gets his trident out, both tridents glowing; Orm's glowing blue with Arthur yellow.

"How about we make this final one here…and now…a Bellum vult Atlantica." Arthur said as Orm smirked.

"Yes…we fire at the same time and see who can keep their strength up the longest. Given you have weakened greatly due to today's activities…this shall be an easy win. Shall we, brother?"

'Lets." Arthur as he backed up, as did Orm as Arthur began to count slowly, "Unum…"

"Duo…" Orm counted with him as the two fired at the same time and yelled at once;

"TRIBUS!" Two powerful bursts of energy came out of their tridents, as a massive aftershock came by as the five others came from the upper levels, only to be pushed back by the aftershock, all yelling out from the hits. But the two in the battle were oddly focused, their eyes focused on the other.

"Arthur!" Mera said in shock as she saw this. "…the Bellum vult Atlantica…that's an ancient ritual…one that would allow any one challenge the king for the right of the throne…" She saw Arthur staring at Orm with a glare, his longer hair being pushed back by the power.

"But he's been fighting for so long! Why is he doing this!?" La'gaan demanded, sounding angry. "We gotta stop this!" He was about to move, but Kaldur stopped him, shaking his head. "Kaldur'ahm let me pass!"

"I cannot, my friend. This is an ancient tradition within the royal family. And it would be wrong to interrupt." Kaldur said as La'gaan growled in frustration, as he noticed something about the two…as he heard faint pulses in his mind.

"Wait…are they also in a mental duel?" La'gaan asked, shocked as he realized what he was hearing were stray thoughts coming from the two, due to his mostly aquatic animal appearance.

"Yes…their mother was a powerful telepath in her own right…as was most of her bloodline." Tula said, getting up with a groan. She shook her head as she says, "and because of that, Arthur and Orm both inherited that power."

The two continued to glare as the tridents continued to be even, as Orm tried to push his mental attack harder against his brother, as Arthur fluctuated a bit as the energy from Orm's trident began to get closer.

Arthur grunted as he says in his mind, 'I will not…give up…not after all I have been through!' Suddenly his eyes dilated as images flooded Orm's mind, making him grunt.

One image was of Arthur as a child with his father, who said "Here son, this is how you do it," as he showed him how to fix up a ship with a hammer and nail.

Next one was of now-14 Arthur angrily chasing after a laughing African-American teen with a black T-shirt and a pair of slacks. "DAVID, YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU JERK!" He yelled as the teen just laughed.

"Just try and catch up, small fry." 'David' said with a laugh as the image changed to show Arthur falling from the ship with a scream after seeing his father being killed.

It then changed to him meeting up with a younger Garth, who nods as the two fought against various creatures with a younger Tula, Topo and Mera. And other sad scenes like his son's death and Garth's original leaving.

"I'm sorry I failed you, Arthur." Were the last words Garth said that day as he left before the image shifted to Aquaman coming to the various battles Arthur has had as Aquaman, even teaming up with heroes prior to the Justice League forming.

The final image shown was of Arthur visiting Mera when their second son was born, and holding him in his arms before Arthur's eyes shined bright white as he yells out, sending out a large pulse of both energy from his trident and mental power.

"GAH!" Orm was shot back from the force of the hit, crashing into a wall as Kaldur and La'gaan both glared at Ocean Master and stood over him.

"What shall we do this traitorous dog?" La'gaan asked with a faint growl. "I say we let the kraken beast eat him next like Brak."

"No. He shall stand trial for his crimes against the crown, as will all of the traitors. For now…we need medical attention…and I would like to talk to you two alone." Aquaman said, giving the two a smile. The two young teens looked at each other with confusion.

Mera smiled as she saw Vulko come in with their child, as she held him and smiled to Arthur and hugged him tightly, with him holding her just as tightly with his good arm.

"My king, we must get that checked out…will you like a permanent prosthetic?" Vulko asked as Arthur looked at the hook.

"You know…maybe a more practical hook could work." Aquaman nods as Vulko gave the child to Tula and lead the king to the medical area while guards picked up the now outcold Orm and lead him out of the room to the dungeon

(Present Day)

(Washington DC. Hall of Justice. March 15th, 12:23)

"And that is what happened." Aquaman concluded, as the Justice League just stared in shock after hearing all of this.

"Damn…" Tim said, looking at Aquaman with sadness.

"Orm did all of this? He fought with us when a sea beast came to Themyscira…where is he now?" asked Diana with a scowl as Christian saw the figure from before, the new 'Aqualad' walk out finally.

It was revealed to be Kaldur'ahm, wearing a full black jumpsuit similar to Garth's Tempest uniform but without sleeves that reveal his eel marks, his feet fully shown to allow more mobility in water and fin-like points on the back of his legs and the new pack on his back.

"Permission to give a report, my king?" Kaldur asked calmly, as Arthur nods.

"Granted, Aqualad. And you do not need to be so formal around our friends." Arthur explained as J'onn looked at Kaldur curiously, as did the others.

"I apologize." Kaldur cleared his throat as he began his report. "Prince Orm, now presently known as Ocean Master, is now banished from Atlantis after a trial of the people. Since he brought the Trench to Atlantis, they banished him to the outskirts to the sea and is never to return. We have also sent search parties for Prince Nanaue and Black Manta, all lead by our new captain of the guard, La'gaan."

"…Wow, he's more of a stiff than Bruce." Green Arrow said with a laugh, as he added, "and just as serious too." Dinah elbowed him in the gut for that, making him cringe but getting a laugh out of Wildcat.

"But he is kind of cute." Mia said as she came in, as she says, "What's up, Kal?" Kaldur looked visibly uncomfortable at the closeness she was giving him, which just made her smirk. 'Stiff as a board, but all to easy to make him squirm.' She thought with a snicker.

"He is more…formal than Garth was, that's for sure." Flash said with a snicker. "I never saw a kid that wound up."

"Given what we heard about his childhood, I'm not surprised." Hal said as Christian looked at Aquaman with a sad gaze, as if knowing what he been through.

"'Kal'?" He asked, confused at Kara and Spoiler snickered at this. Katana just looked at this oddly, as she sighed a bit.

"So…take it that you're part of the league now, Kaldur?" asked Captain Marvel, as Kaldur shrugs.

"If you allow me too, yes." Kaldur said with a nod as Batman frowned.

"Since you have proved yourself to Arthur, you must now prove yourself out in the field to us." Batman said calmly as Kaldur gave him a nod.

"Yes sir. Understood." Kaldur said as Cyborg heard a beep from his arm as he pressed a button on his arm.

"Yeah?" He asked, confused as he saw an image of Amanda Waller come out. "What is it, Waller?"

"I need to meet with the Justice League, now. It's a matter of social security. And I also need the location of the Teen Titans." Amanda said, looking at Cyborg.

"OK, we're on our way…and the Titans have a squad in Dakota because of this bombing incident that happened there. It could take a couple days for them to get back too ya." Cyborg said, as Amanda sighs.

"I'm not sure we have the time…" Amanda said as she clocked out, leaving the League to look in confusion at this.

"Something tells me this will be bad…" Captain Marvel said, looking nervous at this time as Superman frowned.

"Well…we got new allies for any problems ahead." Superman said, looking to Kaldur, Samurai, Katana, Kara and Alchimia.

"And we wouldn't have it any other way." Samurai said with a small nod, giving the team a faint smile as the group looked outside.

"Well…speaking of things to discuss…I have been thinking of maybe allowing Atlantis a position in the United Nations." Aquaman said with a faint smirk, as Alchimia snickered at this.

"This shall prove interesting, for sure." J'onn said with a nod, looking to the outside as Alcimia got out his phone and began to look over ideas he had for the future, but he saw one that caught his eyes and smirked.

'This should help us out if we need it…' On his phone were blue prints for a new type of jet, known as 'Project JAVELIN'.

End of this Arc

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this arc, folks. Next up is a One Shot involving everyone's favorite faceless nutcase, the Question, going up against a conspiracy involving the infamous China White and in the main series, an adventure with the Titans to Dakota City to have us all get a shock to our systems, So please Read, Review and Suggest away!