The Ultimate Warrior - DC Justice League version

by long night of solace

Humanity is an impressive intergalactic empire. When John-117, supreme commander of human military and his AI friend Cortana discovers a mysterious signal from another universe, the truths and the hidden secrets will force them to ally with the native heroes on a race to save the multiverse.

7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own DC or Halo franchise

A/N: Well, looks like that's quite positive reviews for this story. Thanks to you all for supporting this. I will keep improving my writing as much as possible.

Now to the reviews and suggestions. I don't understand why everyone thinks low of Darksied. He is one of the most powerful beings in the universe and possess the omega force. Also he is multiversal in storylines like 'Final Crisis". Chief will have a tough fight with him.

As for the episode star crossed, The Spartan, Miranda and Cortana alone in his ship can destroy Thanagarians and they can smell trouble many lightyears away in a blink of an eye. So to level the field, Thanagar will have an alliance that proves to be a challenge to UGSC members. Also, for the episode of Aresia, John will be immune to the germ. Remember, the Spartan IIs possess 0.3% of unlocked precursor genome that gave them the metaphysical abilities. I can't divulge much, but Miranda and Cortana will be the ones to have the spot.

Previously on Justice League...

"We are from an Alternate universe-...and belong to 62nd millennia"
"That's crazy!-..."-"We are not lying"-"No, I too have faced similar things"

...

"Humanity conquered stars and other planets"-"But the civil war threatened everything"-"I was part of the Spartan II program since age 6...kidnapped"-"You accepted this!"

...

"The Human covenant war lasted 3 decades and began to shift when we found Halo"

...

"We colonized other galaxies, rose in power both in evolution and technology"

...

"You guys are extra-galactic-...Never thought humans would reach that level!"

...

"Where are you from, Soldier?"-"I am the supreme commander of the human military in my universe"-"Weapons are out of the question...*LOUD JEERS*"

...

"Piss off, you jackass!"-"EVER DEFIANT-...YOU WISHED YOU HAD TALKED!"-"AAAHHHHHH!"

...

INTRO: As the sun rises above the horizon, 8 figures walk slowly towards the front, prideful and confident.
Then comes a man in Bat themed costume throwing a batarang at unknown enemy, then a woman with a tiara and patriotic colored dress, blocking bullets at high speed. A man surrounded by emerald green energy forming a lantern shape as a green costumed man clench his fists as his ring glows with energy. Then a man in a blue dress and red cape smashing through a wall as he flew in. Then a dragon like being morphing into a caped man with yellow eyes.

Then a red costumed figure with yellow lightning streak in the chest sprint towards the unknown. Then in the sky, a woman with wings and a hawk mask carrying a spiked mace flying in the sky.

Then finally a tall stocky armored being jump the ground with blast carrying a rifle in one hand and a hammer in another hand as huge dark monsters were ready to kill him as he turned and ran towards them with a hammer slash that cuts to all 8 figures standing side by side and the words 'JUSTICE LEAGUE' forms below.

Chapter 6:

A week after being inducted into the Justice league, John and Cortana helped Keyes to have a base set up in NewYork since she felt she can't be in the ship all the time isolated from civilization. They equipped the place just enough for to keep her human identity on the ground. She also took Diana as Cortana suggested Diana should roam the city to get to know the man's world better.

"Diana, if you want to learn more about the world and it's culture, you gotta blend in" Cortana said.

"But alone, I can't do it. I am entirely new to the place" Diana replied stating the facts.

"I can help you with it then. Besides, I can even help with threats on the ground side along with the league" Miranda said with little excitement.

"Then it's settled. I will get you both a civilian identity to hide your trail" Cortana said to which Miranda and Diana nodded.

"What about John? I think he too need to come down to relax and change his focus time to time" Diana said shifting her focus to the spartan.

"Trust me, That was one thing in my existence I failed to persuade him to do. When I asked why? Trust me, his answer was 'Apologies, but that's not my strongest suit!'. And he was quite adamant about that" Cortana scoffed.

"Well, If he says no, then NO! Though I wonder what he will do when it comes to hanging his armor for good" Miranda said.

"I doubt you people will ever see that day, from what you have told me about him" Diana replied that made the other two to raise their eyebrow, though they understood she was not entirely wrong.

Once this was decided, John and Cortana had one more thing to take care of regarding Keyes. She's still the human from 26th century while the humans of 62nd millennia were significantly taller, a lot stronger and tough and lived for 780 years.

"Ms. Keyes, before we get you a battle suit, we need to accelerate your evolution to bring you to the current human life standards. For that, we need to subject you to genetic therapy that will make you better than before"

"That sound's great. So I too will live for centuries, correct?" She asked feeling little compelled at the implications on her own life.

"Yes, John has readied the bio-chemical lab 5 floors above the ship's bridge as I requested. Let's head there" Cortana said as she walked her way to the laboratory.

Since the procedure could be painful, more like burning sensation as if the body was on fire, Cortana prepped a cryonic chamber to conduct the operation inside. She entered the chamber naked and after being frozen, Cortana began the procedure.

Though, Miranda was under the influence of both the cryo drug and anesthetic, she could still feel the burning sensation as she subconsciously felt the effects of the bio-chemical alteration. John was worried about her vitals that were displayed in the holo-display, her breathing and heart beat pumped to abnormal levels as this brought memories of his first spartan augmentations that left much to be desired, the sight of his fellow spartans rejecting the augmentations, dying in agony still overshadows his current perception.

"John, don't worry. She will be fine. She's a strong willed woman, we know that!" Cortana consoled him to which he nodded in agreement. John when he was under her command, even felt she was worthy of becoming a Spartan II, a sentiment he shared with two of the former dead UNSC soldiers, Shiela Polaski and Corporal Locklear after their bout with 'Raid on Ascendant Justice'.

"This is a 60,000 years of evolutionary journey we are talking about. She has to go through this, no other choice" She said.

"I know" was his only response as he wished she comes out of this intact. He couldn't bring back Johnson and he's not going to waste this second chance. The procedure was over in 2 hours.

Cortana saw to the letter that she was 100% good anatomically speaking. To their satisfaction, Miranda was fine. After 24 hours, she woke up with a stress in her eyes as she flexed her fingers and got a good look at herself only to see she looked quite different, a little younger and taller and her senses were quite sharper than before. Cortana then helped Keyes adjust to her newself. She now stood 6'2 now and had the strength to bench half a ton easily, though this was just the base strength of normal civilians and non-augmented soldiers outside their battle armor. An extra side effect of this was, her metabolism too changed as she began eating a lot than before.

She dressed herself in civilian clothes and went on to meet John and Cortana.

"Hello Miranda, how do you feel?" John genuinely asked her.

"Never been better! I feel as if my senses were dialed to 11! My ENTs are topped unlike anything. And my strength!? It's like I can punch through walls like nothing" She said as she felt her innate strength.

"Imagine this! This is how a normal civilian is back at our place. Though John was worried, even asked me to stop the procedure midway after seeing you tremble violently" Cortana said with a grin to which Keyes smiled.

Miranda knew why John would say that. She knew, he thought that if she too will end up like his early Spartan II soldiers that died of enhancement complications. John always cared about those around him and made sure, they never died on his watch. Ever since she got back, he was a little over protective of her like she was some kid and he's some big muscled brother, though she found it both endearing as well as annoying.

"I can very well understand. I cheated death once-..." Miranda said folding her hands.

"Not an apt answer, but I'm glad you are back the same as you were" he said to which she nodded smiling.

"Cortana?" he called to reveal the next part of the plan. Cortana brought a 3D hologram of a class 5 battlesuit worn by non-augmented military personnel.

"This will be your new armor while on field. You can use your wrist communicator to summon your armor from slipspace container, anywhere...anytime. Good luck!" He said neutrally.

"Beautiful! I hope I can test its use sooner" She said sounding enthused.

Once all the setup was ready, Miranda and Diana toured the city in a custom made car, which was the civilian version of a UNSC warthog that garnered attention of the people seeing a rather odd vehicle. Diana also acknowledged that Miranda looked quite different than before as Keyes explained everything that happened, regarding her evolution which the amazon found intriguing. Diana and Miranda enjoyed going to malls and restaurants. In civilian space, Diana felt a little out of place, Miranda felt she needed this so much. She was born when humanity was already threatened by Covenant and all she ever saw was worlds on fire. This was a new life to her, a new life of being human to the fullest. She took her time.

There were those who were amazed to see two beautiful women, while some paid attention and left it be, some men had less than noble intentions on them. But Keyes and Diana effortlessly taught them a lesson by breaking their bones and more cringe things that could end up for them never getting to see their next generation. Some were interested in their custom ride and even took pictures with them rhapsodized at the sight of something that looked cool.

John and Cortana were glad that they are enjoying themselves though occasionally the ladies chided him for secluding himself alone which he didn't mind.

John then spoke with Batman about sharing technologies. Though Batman wondered why he would even discuss this in the first place with him. John replied that he is aware of his real identity, Bruce Wayne. Bruce while he was caught off guard with this revelation, didn't express it in his face. But he wasn't surprised either, since with the level of technology at his disposal, anything would be possible.

"So how would you like this to be done?" he asked.

"Every piece of technology we discussed so far about sharing. I wish it to be distributed through Wayne industries"

"Just curious...Why?"

"Because I trust Bruce Wayne. People like Lex Luthor or Simon Stagg...have pretty bleak reputation" he said impassively though this surprised Batman. Of course, Wayne industries always worked for the betterment of people and the spartan was right on that regard.

He then gave the Wayne bio-medical research the formulae of polyseudomorphine and sealant-bioshells which had the egg heads reeling with the way they worked with instant heal and eliminating pain without addiction. Then Wayne ordered for mass production after he personally tested and verified it. Then they would be distributed to all hospitals and medical centers. This had a huge impact in the quality of lives of the people.

Next was the blue prints for Plasmadynamic power generator that are used in current Mammoth heavy vehicles and hydrogen powered automobile engines of the 26th century. This power generator is as efficient as a fusion power, except the plasmadynamic power has more safeties and can't be weaponized. While the UGSC used Nitrogen molecules as source, Bruce slightly modified the design to make it work with Xenon for large scale power generation in a powerplant. This power technology would eliminate the need for hydrocarbon based power generation and they had to face a critical backlash from those who holds authority over the conventional power generation companies. As for the hydrogen fueled automobiles, Bruce was astonished to find that all this needed was water in any form, be it salt water or waste water. The hydrogen synthesis and storage was that needed work. Wayne industries successfully demonstrated the use of hydrogen powered vehicle through their first prototype after a series of tests. Though this too had lot of backlash from private oil firms, while people and the government welcomed this as it completely eliminated the pollution caused by fossil fuels. Wayne industries having always strived for people's welfare coupled with the Spartan's involvement convinced the people to be more supportive of these two projects.

Batman was satisfied as he saw huge profit and the percentage of share he held were increased ten folds. Though he cared more about the people than money, he was satisfied with the positive change that has begun to sprout among them.

When Bruce offered a share of royalty for his help, John politely rejected stating he has no use for that and instead asked him use for other nobler purpose, charity to begin with to treat poverty and as relief funds to help with natural disasters and man made conflicts. This act of kindness alone made the people around the world to hold the spartan in high regards.

...

A few weeks later...

There was continuous rain for the past three days as the weather reports from all news channels have acknowledged the start of monsoon period as the storm raged over. With the rain, the sea was quite tumbling with its waves as it boiled above the normal height.

Under the ocean which was calm, There was a submarine USS Defiant cruising in a straight line into the abyss. The naval officers were in their stations working through the controls as the SONAR went on raising a beeping alarm through the bridge.

"Sir, an unidentified craft approach our position, bearing 0-1-0" one of the operator said to the captain as he watched the image.

"Here? Impossible! Try establishing contact" the captain ordered a female officer to which she pressed all the buttons to send out signal in all the possible frequencies.

"Tried in all possible frequencies, Sir. But no response" she replied turning to him.

"Sir, whatever it is, it closing in fast!" the SONAR operator replied. The captain looked at this and made a decision.

"Evasive maneuvers, Planes down 20 degrees. Now!" he barked in authority as the crewmen pilot the ship in the ordered direction. As the sub dived down, a large vessel followed them at high speed and the sensors beeped once again.

"Sir, the vessels still following us-...It's gonna-...*BAAM*" before the officer could finish, the unidentified craft hit the stern of the sub that cracked the hull as the water started to leak in.

"Damage report!"

Sir, the starboard rudders are out!" the officer replied.

"Damn!" The captain thought grimly as he prepared for the worst case scenario. He was more concerned about the plutonium inside the reactor in the propulsion chamber. If the water flooded the reactor room and field the sub, everyone would die of radioactive poisoning.

"Sir, the craft is making a turn. Its coming for another round!" The office yelled in tense.

"Prepare all torpedo tubes!" the Captain ordered through a comm.

"There's no time sir!"

By that time, the unidentified craft dashed through the top of the sub, tearing it's hull open. The crew were suddenly hit by high pressure salt water as they struggled to swim against it and gain control of their movement.

"This is USS Defiant and our sub has sustained heavy damage from an attack by unknown party. We are going down! I repeat, we are going down!" the female officer sent a distress call as the distress call as the submarine sank, touching the sea bed.

Meanwhile a man in a medieval clad armor looked through the periscope and turned to face another man in the seat behind a shadow, grinning.

"My king? The submarine has been neutralized" he said as the bearded man in the seat leaned forward as the others could see his face. He was wearing ornate armor and a crown, fit for a king.

"Good. Let it sink" he said.

At this point the Javelin flew from the sky as it carried 4 of the league members. It was Green lantern, Superman, Diana and Miranda in her newly given class-5 battle suit.

The armor had combination of steel blue and black parts, with the former being the majority. It was also tight fit to her as if it appeared like another layer of skin. The reason why class-5 suits don't have energy shield was, the non-augmented soldiers can only push themselves to an extent unlike the spartan supersoldiers that use class-12 battlesuit. Because of this, class-5 armor has limited purposes and so the power supply is in the form of fuel cell arrays. But it doesn't matter since the armors are made of NC-D material, they are impervious to conventional and plasma explosives. You will need a very high energy particle beam with continuous exposure to even crack the hull. In that way, Miranda is more than formidable in this suit. She carried a Ion-Particle rifle, Talon launcher attached to her back and a GMX pistol attached to her right thigh.

"Good to have you here Captain Keyes" Superman said as he was seated to her right, while Stewart and Diana pilot the Javelin.

"No need Superman, I'm just doing my duty" she replied genuinely.

"Yeah, but do you have carry that much of hardware for a rescue mission, Captain?" Stewart asked looking at two big odd looking weapons on her back.

"The sub was attacked. Rescue is only a part of this mission. We have enemies to deal with" she said in a commanding tone.

"Where is the Spartan? I thought he would join us" Diana asked to which she smirked behind the helmet.

"Well, he and Batman are in a business to meet with Stone, regarding the mother box" Miranda replied.

"Oh right. Batman said something like that yesterday. Hope they find a good place to hide it" Superman said as he was never fond of the mother boxes. They only reminded him of his struggles with Darkseid and his uncle Steppenwolf.

"Cortana, is the submarine intact?" Miranda asked as the AI spoke through the external speakers for everyone to hear.

"Negative Captain. I am detecting multiple hull breaches as many of the decks are already flooded"

"Oh god! We need to get the survivors out before they drown. Also there is this nuclear reactor room that poses a great risk" Keyes said worried about the radioactive poisoning that could kill everyone inside. That was when the Javelin dived under sea. Batman and J'onn already tested the hydro thrusters successfully for situations like these. Miranda's armor thrusters can switch between air and water medium on her command.

"USS Defiant, This is the Justice league. Help is on its way" Miranda said as she used her suit's comm to reach out to the submarine. Stewart maintained the nosedive for a certain depth and then leveled out.

"Hmm, odd. No sign of additional crafts nearby" Cortana said.

"Diana, do you have anything on the SONAR?" Keyes asked just when the sensor beeped.

"Yes, I have got a fix on the Defiant's location! One mile north from our position" She replied.

"Any hostiles nearby?' Stewart asked as he flew the javelin towards the sub's position.

"Looks like one just got a lock on us now, look!" Superman said pointing out to a huge craft of unknown design appeared before them and armed its weapons.

"Evasive maneuvers, Sergeant!" Miranda yelled

"On it!" Stewart dived under the craft and evaded the ship, though outclassed in size, it had speed. But its belly side cannons locked on javelin and open fired upon them. The green orbs exploded upon the javelin though it didn't do any visible damage.

"Hooh! Looks like we lost them" Stewart said feeling relieved.

"Uh-Uh, Not so fast gunny!" Cortana said as the alarm once again beeped.

"Now what?" he thought as they all witnessed many more crafts came from the hidden depths and looks like they didn't like the league's presence here.

"Damn! We can't keep playing 'Catch me if you can'. The sub's crew members are losing time!" Stewart yelled in frustration as others too agreed on it.

"Then let's get out there and fight" Miranda said as she got out of her seat.

"The Captain's right. We don't have to wait. Lets get out and do it ourselves" Superman said and wore a breather as he opened the water hatch and went outside to deal with the hostiles. Diana and Stewart did the same.

"Time to see what this armor can do" Miranda thought as she switched her thrusters to water medium and dived outside as she watched two enemy craft firing upon the three. She took out her Talon launcher and aimed at one of the cannon and fired as the missile completely vaporized it along with a small part of the ship's hull. She fired another missile towards another craft that did the same thing.

Stewart used his ring to create a blockade to resist the fire from the crafts. Diana used her bracers to deflect the ammo. Soon the place became a major battlefield.

Superman took out the remaining cannon with a punch and ripped them off with brute strength. But there were many cannons per vessel and it was still a problem for the team's powerhouses.

"Superman, Diana? Can you take care of the stern side cannons while I grease things for you" she asked.

"Yes Captain" Diana replied.

"You got it" Superman answered.

Keyes then used her visor to look for the weak spots. But the crafts already tracked her and focus their fire on her and that's a good thing since her armor can easily take that punishment. The rounds were not that powerful as her armor took everything. But she dodged and evaded the missiles that may be a disadvantage to her since being under water, the turbulence could prove to be a problem. The enemies soon began to realize the armored being was a big nuisance. The suit's thrusters helped her for maneuvering their attacks and reach their sensor's blind spot.

Stewart used his ring to fire energy beam to clean cut through the craft as it was split into two. The crew were thrown outside into the sea as they swam to safe distance. Then he used the ring to break the ship's glass that let the water in drown them all.

Superman then went to a side of one vessel as Diana reached the side of the opposite vessel.

"Now Push!" Superman said as they both pushed the huge craft with their strength and made it collide with each other.

"Cortana, the sonic disruption charges. Will it be fatal?" she asked before proceeding.

"No Captain, it will create a significant bulk head damage, but won't destroy the craft right away. Guess I know you are planning exactly what I think" she said.

"Exactly" She replied as she flew towards the last big craft and took out the sonic charges, activated them and released it from her hands as it charged towards the vessel and attached to its hull.

**BOOOM** a loud sonic boom could be heard as it crippled the vessel's bow and also the remaining enemy forces to become disoriented. But not only them, the heroes too felt little out of focus due to the momentary exposure to the high decibel shock.

"RRRHH! What-...was that!?" Stewart asked holding his ears in pain, "Next time, I'm gonna need some ear plugs!" he thought.

"Sorry team! But This was the only way to stop them" Cortana said apologetically.

"No need! Looks like they are pretty weak to sounds as they appear to be crippled...paralyzed more likely" Superman said.

The hostiles have been taken care of finally. But her visor already displayed multiple bogeys coming their position.

"Good to hear-...Uh-Oh! Team, we still got lot of bogeys headed our way" Miranda said. Cortana had controlled the javelin and hid it beneath a rock.

"I think I see them" Stewart replied. The league members finally got to see multiple men riding underwater bikes in a strange armor. One of them looking big, muscled and having along hair and beard, carrying a trident took the lead.

"Okay, you don't see that everyday! Jeez, my days are getting weirder and weirder" Cortana said as Keyes chuckled in response Her amor's visor scanned them and revealed their physiology to be quite different from the humans.

"You have invaded the sovereign border of Atlantis. Leave or you will be destroyed!" The leader warned pointing the trident towards them.

"Didn't know there's a drowned civilization underwater" Miranda let a sarcastic quip.

"Leave or face consequences!" he grunted studying the woman in a strange looking armor.

"Aquaman, apologies for coming here. But we received a distress call from the submarine" Superman replied being as diplomatic as possible.

"They should have stayed where they belonged" Aquaman replied coldly.

"One question. Who attacked first?" Miranda asked with considerable authority. He may have an appeal of a king, but she's a leader in her own rights. Aquaman was quite irked by this.

"What was that, surface dweller?" he asked with mild anger for interrogating a king.

"That was a simple question, Who began the aggression, Mr. Whatever" she asked not having the patience to deal with royalty.

"They invaded our lands, is that not enough?"

"This woman is more stubborn than I thought. I can sense her strength, But I don't know if she's brave or stupid to question me!" he thought as this is the first he was interrogated like this and can't believe he's even allowing this.

"Basic rules of naval engagement states that you don't open fire until the enemy open fire on us. By attacking the sub, you have successfully portrayed yourself as the aggressors. Don't think this will go un-noticed by the surface government" Miranda said getting straight to the point.

"Is that a threat, human?" he asked glaring at the armored woman tightening his grip on the trident.

"No, but a fact that you will have to face the consequences of this, that might put your kingdom and its innocent civilian lives at risk. Would you allow that? Would you let your anger be a bane for your own people?" she asked which made Aquaman to ponder. Though Miranda could have used force, she's not someone who would go into war and cause strife unnecessarily. Her actions could have ramifications on the surface world as well.

"There is truth in her words, but-..."

"Please! Those men and women would die if you don't allow us to help them" Diana pleaded. Aquaman gave a thought didn't find harm in their motives.

"Fine, help them. But the vessel stays here" he said.

"What? not a chance in hell! That's a nuclear sub-marine. Do you think we would let it fall into hands of someone like you?" Stewart castigated.

"What makes you think you are in position to make demands?" Aquaman asked raising his eyebrow. Stewart charged his ring in anger only to be stopped by Superman.

"Stewart, we need to help the crew. That's our priority!" he said as time was running out, to which he reluctantly depowered his ring glaring at the atlantean king as he went near the sub. He then used his ring to create an air bubble to contain the surviving crew members.

Miranda gave one last look at Aquaman as she sheathed her weapons on her back and swam across the position of the submarine.

"Cortana, patch me to the sub"

"Done, captain"

"This is the Justice league to USS Defiant. Do you copy? Help is on its way"

"Loud and clear! Thank god, we thought we were done for" one of the officer replied feeling relieved of hearing the rescue party.

"What's the status of the sub?"

"The reactor chamber is flushed. But we still have the nuclear missiles" the officer.

"Shit! That makes things worse!" She thought.

"Can you disarm the warhead?" she asked.

"Negative! The controls are shorted out. The remote uplink to the warhead no longer works" the captain replied to which Miranda chided. Any attempt to manually remove the warhead will only trigger war with the atlanteans and John would never like it one bit. He always prioritized zero casualties.

"Leave it Ma'am. We have to hope it stays inert" Cortana consoled her.

"Yeah...But I don't trust these fish men. Something tells me this is going to be a huge problem" Miranda said to which Cortana was in silent agreement.

Diana and Miranda then both entered the javelin and got to the pilot and co-pilot seat.

Stewart lifted himself above the surface water carrying the crew inside the energy bubble, as the Javelin followed suit. Finally Superman lifted up as Aquaman and his escorts came above to see them.

"You know? All of this could be avoided in future" Superman said.

"How?"

"Air your grievances to the world council"

"You want me to stand before them-...like a beggar?" He asked furiously.

"No, stand before them like a king" Superman replied as he flew away following Stewart and javelin. Aquaman gave a thought about his suggestion, perhaps he could be right.

...

Meanwhile...

John was standing atop a building in his armor when he heard a heavy flapping sound behind him. Batman slowly walked towards the towering spartan. He turned to look at the dark knight in his new Batsuit v8.02, that gave him a more predatory appeal.

"You spoke with Dr. Silas?" John asked cutting to the chase.

"Yes, he will be here in few minutes" he replied. Both were standing atop none other than the STAR labs building. They could watch the city from a vantage point as the clouds covered everything. The buildings were bright like day light. This reminded John of two cities that had a similar appearance at night time. One was the city of New Alexandria in Reach and the city of X'lara in Charum Hakkor.

"Once we secure the mother box, what's next?" John asked.

"There is a secret chamber in Wayne Aerospace R&D lab where I conduct my private research to develop technologies for-...my nightly adventures. None of my associates are aware of its existence. We can keep it there" Batman replied.

"Good, I have readied the natal void container to place the box inside. The dimension will mask its signature, render it completely undetectable" John replied as the dark knight nodded. Batman is familiar with these kind of storage technologies and even reverse engineered some after studying the boom tube years ago.

"This Natal void-...Is this an alternate dimension?" Batman asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, a unique dimension that only feeds on external energy, but never allows any residues to flow out. We use it to hide dangerous objects or objects of great importance" he replied. Batman was quite amazed by this. Also the fact that they have identified 125 alternate dimensions was mind boggling...even he don't have that much amount of resources to pull it off.

"Surely, their humanity had come off a long way to achieve this much" he thought.

That's when they heard an elevator sound reaching the top as they both watched a man inside. As soon as the elevator light hit green, the door opened to reveal a black man in his scientist robes, wearing specs. He was quite aged, well into his late 50s. He walked out as he approached the two figures.

Dr. Silas Stone.,Ph.D in Engineering Physics, chief scientist of the STAR laboratories. He has quite a reputation among the scientific community, especially with his theories on alternate dimensions. John had read his scientific papers in his free time and was quite impressed. He may be a soldier, but the Spartan IIs intelligence are unparalled. After all, they were the creators of Shun-space dyson spheres, an immense feat of megascale astro engineering.

Silas identified one being the Batman in his new suit. But the other made him quite astonished. It was the infamous Spartan. Ever since his arrival and his appearance in the world assembly, he was interested in studying about him, especially the technologies he possessed as they were beyond even his understanding as per what Batman briefed in their previous meeting. The fact that he is a leader of his people in his universe and that they had conquered galaxies was close to a fantasy to him. Though he held hopes, he is quite level headed as the Spartan firmly said that he won't share dangerous technologies and he respects that decision since he too feared what if those fell into unsavory hands.

"Batman! Spartan! Good to see you both"

"Greetings Doctor Silas" He said extending his hand. Silas shook his hands to the offered gesture. Despite his terrifying appearance, Silas found him to be quite friendly and respective, a trait he found rare among people holding great power.

"Thanks for the meeting Doctor" Batman said respectfully.

"Huh, Please! it's nothing. You have helped me a lot in the past. But I guess, you are not here to reminisce the good old days-...given your attire" he said chuckling giving a glance at the towering spartan.

"Yes, I can't go into much detail. But the spartan here is actually on a mission to track down a threat. We suspect it involves many powerful artifacts and one of them is these mother boxes" Batman that threw Silas quite out of loop.

"Mother box!? Oh no! How does this Spartan know about these objects or was it something I missed!" Silas thought in dilemma.

"I don't understand. What's with the boxes?" he asked felling out of loop.

"One of them was stolen from our personal acquaintance by someone the Spartan suspects. We believe he or she will come back for the one you have" Batman said which stunned Silas.

"What? Who?" he asked in horror feeling if this is going to bring trouble to him.

"I can't divulge that information, Doctor. But these boxes are of great power. It shouldn't fall into the enemy hands" Spartan rushed his words. Silas measured the weight in his words and he too agreed on that part.

"What do you want me to do?" he finally asked.

"We have to hide it in manner that no one would be able to find it" Batman replied.

"I have been working months to contain it. But somehow our sensors always picked up its signature no matter how much we try to mask it. Not even the shunt chambers were effective" Silas explained to them.

"No worries, I have a natal void container which will isolate its presence from this reality" John answered which made him gap his mouth like fish in awe.

"Wait!... Are you saying-...you don't mean-...!?" Silas stumbled, struggling to articulate the words as he quite understood what the spartan meant by that.

"Are you suggesting to store it in an -...alien dimension? Your people even have technologies for that?" Silas asked amazed by the sheer scale of advancement the spartan was implying. Spartan gave a simple nod. Silas expressed eagerness in his face to study its function, but he knew he was getting ahead of himself.

"Doctor, we don't have much time. Please give us the mother box" Batman said one more time as Silas was serious on his own thoughts.

"Perhaps, Batman and Spartan could be right. Besides, I no longer need it as I have completed my research on it and compiled all my reports" he thought finally deciding to give the mother box to them.

"Fine, I will give you the mother box. You have the container ready?" Silas asked pointing to the Spartan.

"Affirmative Doctor" he replied as he took a strange rounded rectangle shaped object from his back.

"Fine, then please wait here. I will go down and get it back. I don't want to draw unnecessary attention" he said.

"Understood and-...Thanks!" Batman replied to which Silas smiled as he walked towards the elevator.

After 30 minutes, Silas once again came to the building top in the elevator and he was carrying an advanced looking suitcase. Batman and Spartan noticed his arrival.

"Here, the mother box as you asked. Must admit, I had to sneak under my associates noses" he said as he opened the case to reveal a glowing energy cube that had everchanging pattern on its faces like a 1D rubik's cube.

John activated the container as the top and bottom faces protruded out, expanding the case and revealing an assembly at the front face and suddenly a portal opened up the size of the Mother box. Silas was amazed at the sight.

"Incredible!" he thought in fascination.

"Doctor, push the box in" the Spartan said. Silas wore a special set of robotic gloves and took the box in his hands. Then he slowly pushed it through the portal. Along halfway, the portal's gravitational force pulled it in as it slid out of his hands. Then John pressed a small holographic button above that closed the portal and retracted the top and bottom face to normal self.

"Thanks Doctor. We will be on our way" John said.

"No problem. As long as this doesn't bring any trouble, I am good with this" he honestly replied.

"And thanks for helping us, Spartan. I reviewed the technologies that you shared. I must say, they will indeed make this world a better place to live" Silas said to which he nodded in approval.

"Until then, If you still want to enjoy the view from here, You're welcome. I need to leave" he said with a smile to which both nodded. Silas then left the place using the same elevator.

"Take this container and hide it. I don't want to know the location" he said giving the container to Batman.

"Agreed" he replied as he saw the logic behind this. Then Batman held the container on his left hand and used his grapple to fly away from the place. That was when his comm came to life.

"Commander? Its Keyes" Miranda called in. John never forgot about them as she went with the league on a rescue mission underwater.

"Yes Captain"

"There is something we need to discuss. Please get back to the watch tower" she said as if she had something important and also of an urgency.

"Acknowledged, 117 out" he said as he closed the call and teleported out of the place.

...

Aboard the Watch Tower...

The Labyrinth was cruising around the planet with Cortana inside. Though she can project her hardlight form whenever she wanted inside the watchtower.

Currently the league members present were Superman, J'onn, Wonder woman, Green Lantern. Miranda was there in her armor minus the helmet that was retracted to her back neck.

Superman was talking in a phone to an officer of US Navy.

"I understand Admiral, but we had a crew to rescue and we couldn't focus much on the vessel when their lives were at stake" Superman tried to reason with the Admiral.

"The Admiral's got a point. We shouldn't have let them keep the sub. Now the nukes are in the hands of a madman who refuses to see reason" Stewart said in an aggravated tone. He was in agreement with the Admiral's concern.

"Aquaman is not mad. He is a king of the sovereign nation of Atlantis. He has to keep up the highest tradition of having his people safe" Diana argued.

"Yeah? And who's gonna keep us safe from him, princess?" he chided back as he walked past her.

"What are your thoughts on this Captain?" Diana asked turning to look at Miranda.

"I don't know, Diana. On one end, I agree with Stewart's concern. Leaving WMDs in the hostile territory is asking for plain trouble. Imagine, if they used it against us. From what I observed, they seem to possess advanced technology. It will be humanity's end. Nukes are mostly used for dissuasion, not to declare war. But I also agree with your point of view" she replied in a perplexed manner.

"I do not understand" Diana said folding her hands.

"As a king, it is his duty to keep his people safe like you said. Being a leader is not an easy thing and anyone who says otherwise is a fool" Miranda replied as she went down the memory lane. Her father Jacob Keyes had to make sure the flood never learned of Earth's location at the cost of his life. She too had to make tough and insane decisions when prophet of truth was about to slip off from their grip in New Mombasa as she decided to follow him in his slipspace jump without a destination solution. Another instance was when she and John decided to follow Truth to the ARK at the risk of losing Earth to the flood. Though, both worked, it was still like walking on a wire.

"Trust me, I know how it feels to be a leader and making tough decisions for survival and maintain peace. And the commander? he and his fellow Spartan IIs carrying that weight for 30,000 years" she said with a sigh. Diana can now understand as she too had watched her mother struggling a lot everyday to maintain peace in the island since the last great war.

"I agree with you, captain" Diana nodded in agreement.

"Hope Stewart sees reason like you" She said. That's when they watched the hanger door opening.

John teleported over the hanger as the sensors picked up his presence and the door opened. He walked in and retracted his helmet back.

"We were waiting for you commander" Captain Keyes who watched his arrival walked towards him.

"So, how was your mission underwater?" he asked.

"Well, it was good. But not all went according to plan" she said as John prepared to hear the bad news. Miranda then briefed him about the mission. John was similarly torn like Miranda. On one end, the Atlanteans possess a dangerous weapon, but on the other hand doing something rash would bring a war that will still be a problem for humanity as whole.

"*SIGH* We have to carefully tread on this one" he said feeling conflicted about the situation.

"What about the mother box?" Cortana asked.

"We have placed it in a natal void container and Batman has taken to a safe location to hide it" he said.

"Phew! That's one less thing to worry about!" Miranda said.

"No, There are still other powerful artifacts out there. We need to find them before the prometheans does" he said to which Keyes nodded.

...

In Atlantis...

Meanwhile, the Atlanteans and their king, Aquaman were having a heated debate on the recent activity regarding the surface dwellers. Lord Orm, Aquaman's brother was also present beside him. Aquaman was seated in his throne hearing the barks from his general.

"My King, we need to prepare the counter-offensive for this transgression. The surface-dwellers should answer for their crimes" General Brak said.

"General Brak, I decide policies in Atlantis. Not you!" Aquaman said in authoritative tone.

"But how long, my king? How long we let them come to our place and throw their garbage into our lands?" he argued.

"Is he planning for war?" he thought.

"What do you propose, General?" he asked intent to learn his motives. That's when his wife, A beautiful woman, queen Mera walked in, quite worried about the growing situation. Aquaman turned halfway to look at her to see her troubled face.

"I know what she's thinking right now. I am not mad to do something rash!" he thought. He is well aware of his duties to protect his people, but doesn't mean he has to go to a full on war that would not only destroy his kingdom but his own family as well. He is responsible enough not to let the ugliness and brutality of conflicts upon his people and his son when the said conflict could have been avoided. He don't want his progeny to inspire a bloodthirsty monster of a father.

"We have the technology to wipe the surface dwellers from the face of this planet. We shouldn't wait for them to strike first" Brak to which Aquaman belived he had heard enough.

"That's a rash decision, Brak" he said.

"But, My king-..."

"Enough! General Brak, You already disrespected our king twice. He has spoken!" Orm castigated him for his indiscipline.

"Apologies, Lord Orm. I was merely concerned about our safety" He said bowing his head.

Aquaman once again glanced at his wife who was still worried. He then decided to speak.

"General Brak, I will consider your suggestions. But it can't be decided right away. We need some time. Now leave me to my thoughts" he ordered as he got up from his throne.

"As you wish, my king" Orm said as both left the place. Aquaman too left for the royal chambers.

In the Royal chambers...

Aquaman was holding his one year old son in his arm admiring him, as the baby kindly held his hair and then when he offered his index finger, he held it tight.

"Hmm, he has quite a grip" he said.

"Just like his father" Mera said to which he smiled. Though his face dulled as he placed his son back into the cradle and turned to look at his city. This didn't go un-noticed by Mera.

"Something troubling you, Arthur?" she asked.

"I don't know, Mera. I am not sure if I am capable of doing the right thing for our people-...for us"

"The surface dwellers have done evil things, I know. But there are those who I respect there. To wage war against them-...?" he said.

"It does make you feel dejected" She replied.

"I once willed to go for war. But ever since I got a beautiful family, War is not something our people or our family needs. I need my son in a safer environment. He don't want to admire his father as a tyrant" he said.

"Arthur" Mera said as she embraced his arms, "I can understand. Your arms are strong enough and I will gladly rest my life and future on them. You always did the right thing. You always knew what to do" she said, cheering him up.

"Do I? But she's right. There must be a way to solve this peacefully" he thought privately.

...

Green lantern decided to take things up in his hands as he dived under ocean to get back to the submarine's last position.

"Hope the vessel stays intact" he thought worried about the armed WMDs.

He swam towards the subs position only to find it was guarded by Atlantean soldiers.

"Why is this vessel guarded by them? Did they tamper with it?" he thought with tense as he waited for them to leave the sub to a good distance. When they moved aay, Stewart swam to the sub and searched for the launchers.

He wide opened the silo doors, only to find there were no missiles.

"WHAT?" he thought wide-eyed.

He then immediately went inside to search the reactor chamber only to find it was cracked opened and the plutonium inside was gone.

"No!" he gritted his teeth in anger as he decided to leave the place.

...

Aquaman made his way to the surface from underwater that made many on the beach side to give puzzled look wondering who he was.

Soon as he made his way into the city, unmindful of the traffic, Both the civilians and vehicles began to disorganize and there was an uproar in his presence. When one man in his car yelled at him for ignoring the traffic signal, he angrily smashed the car with his fist.

That's when a police car stopped with its loud siren. As one officer got out and yelled at him.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?" he asked holding his hand to which Aquaman glared at him. He then lifted him with his uniform shirt which made the officer terrified.

"Where is the World Council?" He grunted.

Back aboard the watch tower...

J'onn, Hawkgirl, Diana and the Spartan and Miranda were discussing about something and that's when Green Lantern barged in angrily.

"I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST THAT FISHMAN! He said angrily.

"Explain yourself, Sergeant!" Keyes asked at the display of his aggression.

"The plutonium, it's gone!" He said as it surprised everyone there.

"And you think Aquaman's responsible?" Diana asked.

"Could I be wrong about him?" she thought.

"Who else Princess? We must go back to Atlantis and get some straight answers out of him" he said.

"If you are looking for Aquaman, here is your answer" Superman said as everyone gathered near him to watch the news footage in the big screen.

"Interesting events have unfolded early on as the witnesses claim that Aquaman has forced his way in to the world council building past the security to speak with the leaders. Though there is no further updates-...This is Snapper Carr, Stay tuned!"

"Well well, This is just getting better and better" Cortana said loud.

"Time to get some answers then!" Stewart said. Others except John, Miranda and Cortana agreed to go to the UN building before things escalate out of control.

"I will go to the surface, hide and observe. Something tells me there is going to be trouble" He said as he had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

"Acknowledged"

"If things go south, call us big guy!" Cortana said to which he nodded as he prepared to leave the station.

At the world council...

Things were going hectic in the council chamber as the leaders of the world nations jeered in unison as his terms of making peace were costly and preposterous.

One of the leaders, a German chancellor made it clear as he voiced his frustration.

"You sank our submarine and then you order us to make peace with your people? Who gave you this right?" he asked.

"I am Aquaman, king of Atlantis!" he replied though disgusted by their nature.

"I knew they would never submit to peace. I am wasting my breath" he thought.

"A nation unrecognized by the world! What you suggest is farcical!" Japanese President replied.

"These are my final terms. Accept or reject it at your own risk!" He finalized.

That's when the league members flew in.

"Aquaman!" Superman called out as they stood besides him and the council was quite relieved to see their arrival.

"You see, I offered my hand for peace and they spit on it!" he accused.

"Please! These things take time" Superman pleaded.

"I have wasted enough time already" He said as he prepared to leave the building.

"Wait" Diana tried stopping him only to be pushed aside towards Lantern much to her annoyance.

"Huh, A real prince charmer" he said rolling his eyes in exasperation.

When he came out, the press surrounded and flooded him with question to which he simply stated that their talk over, quickly avoiding them.

But unknown to others, the Spartan was atop a building nearby looking at the happenings. His visor scanned thoroughly the surroundings. Then he observed two police cars stopped near Aquaman's position.

"Something's not right" he thought as this didn't sit well with him. He watched as two officers slowly got him near the car's position. His visor zoomed in and scanned the car only to find it was rigged with explosives.

"Damn!" he thought as he jumped from the building top to prevent an incident, but was too late.

**BOOOM**

The explosives went off destroying the cars and the explosion threw both the officers and Aquaman. The officers died, but Aquaman was struggling to breath as his vision blurred and fell unconscious. John landed with a heavy thud that cracked the floor as he ran towards the Atlantean king.

Soon the whole place was filled with chaos as people ran screaming in terror.

The league members rushed outside to find Aquaman was hurt.

"No!" Superman gasped at the sight as they rushed to his aid. They also saw the Spartan already beat them there.

"Spartan! Good to see you here" Diana said surprised to see him.

"Take him for medical aid. I have something to investigate here" John said.

"Do you suspect anything?" Stewart asked as Superman already helped Aquaman get in an ambulance.

"Yes. Now go, I will join you later" he said to which she nodded as they all left the place.

"John! John! You hear me?" Cortana spoke from the comm, worried of the situation.

"Loud and clear!"

"Gosh! What the hell was that? Is Aquaman dead?" she asked feeling tensed at the sudden escalation..

"No, his physiology is tougher than humans. He's only unconscious" John replied having scanned him through his visor.

"I noticed that too. So someone wanted him, very much dead" she said.

"So it seems" he replied as he caught his eyes on something intriguing from the dead officers. He saw as their uniform were missing a badge in the front. The explosion while it killed them, didn't do enough damage to the front as it exploded to their backs. His visor scanned their faces.

"Cortana, check these faces if it matches the current police database" he said.

"On it-...Negative. Their faces don't match any of the police database. I don't think they are legit officers" Cortana said stunned at the realization.

"Yes, they are suicide bombers. Sent by someone to finish Aquaman. I will go to the hospital to meet with the other league members"

"Acknowledged. Myself and Captain Keyes will keep an eye on things, good luck!" she replied as the channel was closed. He then moved away from the place as the cops surrounded the crime scene.

Back at Atlantis...

Orm and General Brak looked at the footage of Aquaman being attacked by an exploding vehicle.

"This is no accident. Someone intentionally made the vehicles explode to kill my brother" Orm said accusingly. He already took Aquaman's trident and was wearing the royal armor.

"This surface dwellers must be punished for this" he said.

"But Lord Orm, you can't possible give the orders. The king-..."

"The king may very well be dead" Orm cut Brak halfway.

"Even then, we must not forget the law of succession" Brak tried to reason with him.

"The prince is still an infant. He will inherit the throne once he comes to age. Until then, I am your leader! We must respond to this outrage!" Orm stated firmly that left no room for further argument.

"Orm! Did you hear?" Mera came rushing in hearing the news of her husband.

"Dear Mera-...All of Atlantis mourn deeply for your loss!" Orm said embracing her.

"You speak as if he will never return!" She replied wondering what he truly implied.

"I pray nothing happens to him. But who knows what horrors the surface dwellers might unleash upon him" Orm said trying to console the distraught queen.

...

Meanwhile at the hospital...

The other league members watched as the doctors tried to revive the Atlantean king.

"Did we get a line in yet?" One of the doctor asked as he placed the oxygen mask upon his face.

"No sir, his skin is tougher than a Rhinos" another doctor replied as she showed him the broken needle.

"His vitals are failing...This is hopeless"

Outside the ICU, the league members observed the doctor treating the Aquaman. Then they came out to speak about is conditions.

"Is he alright?" Wonder Woman voiced the others thoughts.

"No, We don't know. His physiology is different from ours. Its unlike anything we've seen before" the doctor replied.

"But can you help him?" Superman asked worried about Arthur's state.

"I am not sure" his response was bleak.

"He needs water, a lot. That's his first aid" a voice came from nowhere. The league members turned behind to see none other than the spartan. There was already the media outside the hospital waiting for further news.

"Spartan! Glad you are here" Superman said smiling.

"Yeah, always right on time" Diana replied with a smirk.

"It will take some time to prepare a tank for him" the doctor.

"Don't worry about that. Just get him out" another voice came out as they all turned to find the Batman coming out of the shadows.

Without wasting time, Superman and others rushed to the place where batman already prepared a tank for him. As Arthur was carried in a table, Batman attached the ECG sensors in his chest and Superman carried him and dropped him in the tank.

Just in 10 seconds, the heart monitor beeped and displayed green.

"His vitals are stabilizing!" The doctor said relieved.

"Maintain saline at 3.5 percent" Batman said handing the doctor's medical pad.

"How could you possibly know?" the doctor asked.

"He's a fish out of water, doctor. Salt water!" the Spartan answered this time analyzing his underwater origins. The doctor looked at the spartan in awe as his huge stature didn't go un-noticed.

"He's coming up good" Superman said smiling.

"Good, then let's get some answers from him" Stewart said as he beat the glass hard enough to wake him. John was a little annoyed by his antics.

"Where are the plutonium? Answer me!" Stewart yelled. Arthur woke up as he looked at the league. He leapt above the tank and got out.

"What Plutonium? My orders were to leave that sub where it stayed" Aquaman replied.

"You want us to believe that?" he yelled back.

"Believe what you want. Someone tried to kill me and I want to know who" he said as he walked past them.

"You are not leaving this place without answering-..." Stewart once again raised his hands towards him.

"You believe you can stop me, surface dweller?" Aquaman glared at him once again.

"How about a little demonstration, fishman!" Stewart said as he glowed with ring's energy.

"That's Enough! Both of you!" John yelled that silenced the entire hall. Even the league members were stunned to see him shutting them loud, even without minding that one of the two is a royalty. The Spartan was a man who never loses his cool. But seeing them arguing like petulant children was the last straw to his patience, especially when the world's safety is at stake.

"Listen up Sergeant, keep your piss poor attitude in check coz it's not helping anyone here! And you-..." John said that made Lantern to turning his attention to the king.

"Stop being arrogant and think about what your actions would bring upon not only us, but to your own people. Innocents who will suffer because of your biased views!" he said that made Aquaman widen his eyes in shock.

"Who is this man? Does he think he can get away after taking that tone with me?" Aquaman thought.

"You would dare raise your voice against me!? You'd-..." he raised his head to glare at his face.

"Shut up and listen...Sir! We are offering help to you that could prevent an unnecessary bloodshed. But we need-...your cooperation!" John said firmly not giving a crap to his royalty. He may be a king, but the Spartan in general don't bite on nonsense, even from his superiors.

Aquaman stared at him and then decided to calm down, though not because of weakness, but the words that made sense though he didn't like the way he spoke.

"Hmm, He's even more resolute than that armored woman I met before!" he thought

The others were silent on his display of condemnation, a never before seen thing from him, but their respect for the supersoldier was more then ever as he had a clear state of mind.

"Wow! Its been a long time since you dressed down anyone like that, I absolutely loved it!" Cortana said to which he was silent.

"What do you suggest?"

"The car that exploded outside the council building was rigged with explosives. The officers inside were never real. They were suicide bombers in disguise" John said to a shocking revelation.

"It means, the one who wanted you dead had prior knowledge of your arrival, also keeping in mind of your unique physiology" Batman said.

"Aquaman, did you inform anyone about your visit here?" Superman asked.

"I only told my wife about this peace talk" Arthur replied.

"Is he trying to accuse one of us for this transgression?" he thought as he could feel the hidden meaning behind the question.

"That's your point of view. Someone could have eavesdropped on you" the Spartan said.

"Are you implying there's a traitor in my kingdom?" he asked accusingly.

"Its logical. Or how else would the killers know to get you at that right time? My hunch would be that the killer would try again if he learned he failed to finish his job" Batman said which made Arthur to think from that angle.

"That would be foolish! Anyone who try to kill me would meet instant death as punishment" Aquaman said still in disbelief.

"I think I know a way to get that information. But I need you to cooperate" Batman said to the king.

Soon Aquaman was carried outside in a stretcher only for the media to surround them. They were told that Aquaman would be taken to a better facility for treatment.

John and Diana were on one roof. John used his visors to scan everything. Batman and Superman on another opposite building.

Soon John's visor picked up a human coming out of a manhole as he took an M79 grenade launcher.

"Diana?" He called out though she had already spotted him.

"Batman! There he is!" Diana yelled.

"I see him" Batman replied as he threw a batrang at pinpoint accuracy towards his gun that made the killer to miss the shot as the grenade exploded elsewhere as once again the people were paranoid and ran away from the place.

"Quick! Before he slip away again!" Superman said as he and everyone watched him jump down the manhole to escape. John's visor was able to scan pass the road as he watched him board a strange motorcycle. He wanted to take a shot but he needed him alive for questioning.

Before pursuing the killer, Batman checked on Aquaman as he got up from the stretcher.

"You alright?" he asked as the Martian morphed back to his original form.

"I am good" he replied to everyone's surprise.

The killer started the engine as the turbo thrusters in the exhaust roared like a rocket engine. He dashed away at supersonic speed much to the Spartan's surprise, wondering who could even provide such efficient technology. After getting a lock on his visor, a small map appeared in the HUD's right corner giving his real time movement. John and Diana maintained their movement in the air and the roof top.

"He's moving beneath the 7th street"

"I got him!" Superman said as he flew fast to the 7th street and broke the street with a two handed punch to the ground that opened the path to sewage. But the killer was fast enough to evade the debris as Superman watched him blitz past him.

"Whoa! Where did he get a bike like that!?" Superman asked widening his eyes.

J'onn by that time became intangible and moved down only for the rider to pass through him.

"Diana, Spartan! He's headed your way" J'onn said to which the spartan acknowledged.

"Let's split up. According to his current path, he's got two ways to turn-...One below the street near that building. I will take care of the other" Spartan said as he pointed a building for her to cover.

"Good luck Spartan, See you on the far side!" she said with a nod as they split. Diana landed where John pointed her where she bash opened a manhole and entered down only to see a flash light of a motorcycle brightening towards her.

Finally the killer stopped at full brake as he saw the wonder woman.

"End of the line!" she said.

"Hah, I will take a detour!" he said as he shot a grenade from his launcher that brought down the entire road upon her, she couldn't do anything as she defended herself from the falling weight. Then she got out of the debris to see him escaped.

Batman had already reached the place and place mines under the sewage water and grappled above to hide. The killer rode at high speed over the mines only to explode and throw him out of the motorcycle as he fell to a far off distance.

Meanwhile...

"Why is this taking so much time? I need to go" Aquaman said as he lost his patience.

"Hold on, your majesty. We will tell you when its safe!" Stewart stopped him. Arthur simply turned back and all of a sudden punched him. Stewart fell down unconscious.

"You presume too much" he said he left the place.

"Now time to find out if what Batman and that armored human said was true" he thought.

With the league and the Spartan...

The killer after getting back to his feat after quite a struggle, he stood as he turned to face the dark knight. Batman was quite shocked to see him.

"Ethan? I never thought, you could be behind this" Batman said stunned to see an ex-soldier.

"First time for everything Batman. Now I gotta go!" he said as he turned and hit himself against a huge object as he lifted his head above clearing his sight to see an armored man, tall and bulky and deadly looking. Besides him was none other than Martian, wonder woman and Superman.

The Spartan grabbed him by his arm

"Who sent you?" Diana asked.

"Sorry babe, professional ethics!...Hmm, unless you make it worth my while" he said with a smirk with a dirty mind that didn't go unnoticed by both the Spartan and Diana. He then turned to look at the armored figure holding him.

"Spartan? I heard you are a super soldier. You look like the giant from wizard of Oz!...Ever thought-...Grrr-..." John pressed his arm tight to make him feel the pain for insulting her.

"I have no time for this" he said as he touched his head for telepathic intrusion only to find that not even he knew the face of his employer.

"Even he doesn't know the face of his employer" he said

"What? then how are we gonna find out!?" Superman asked immediately followed by a maniacal laugh that caught everyone's attention.

"Hmm HA HA HA HA HAAAA...Now your time is up!" he said as his eyes glowed red and his body began to transform much to their shock.

"John, He's got some kind of enhancement serum in him!" Cortana yelled and the next instant, he was a huge hulking being with a monstrous appearance.

"Stop him!" Batman yelled.

**BAAAMMMM** the being rammed into the spartan with a spear that also knocked all the other members standing behind by great force.

**BOOOM...WHAAAMMM** the being tried to punch the spartan's face but he evaded by moving his head left and right. When he tried to punch one more time, John blocked it with his left palm and delivered a thunderous punch to his face.

**THAAAMMM** and it sent him breaking through the road and fall over the street.

"His reaction speed is close to mine!" he said privately .

"You don't say. But a good thing about that serum is, its composition wears of in a short time" Cortana said which was a good news to him as he won't be like that for a long time. He assumed he took on that serum merely to escape.

"Everyone, on him!" Wonder woman yelled as she flew above to see the monster.

"RRRAAHH" the once human soldier yelled as it charged towards her and delivered two right and left hooks which she ducked under and delivered an uppercut and a right cross. But he blocked the cross and swung his left arm for a cross that sent her flying back.

"AAHH" she grunted.

That's when superman came flying towards him and shoulder tackled him that sent the monster crashing back to the ground as he re-oriented himself.

Then he leapt towards him at blinding speed sending him flying and crashing towards an oil truck that exploded with dense flames. Then he came out from the fire grinning at the remaining heroes.

"What is that?" Diana asked getting ready for the fight.

"Ethan Avery, former soldier of the Marine corps" Batman replied.

"NOT ETHAN ANYMORE...ITS 'DAMAGE'!" he said as he ran at full speed towards him and leapt above and pounded the ground with full force that shattered everything as the heroes flew back. Batman attacked him with explosive batrangs, but no effects.

Diana then threw her lasso to tie and pull him with great force, but he resisted much to her surprise. The spartan helped her by holding the lasso and pull with his extra force. Then they both glanced at each other and nodded. Then John stomped his right leg that created a tremor and cause Damage to lose balance and they both pulled him towards them. He was flying uncontrollably towards them as they together delivered a punch that sent him reeling far away.

That's when Superman came and blasted him with heat vision.

"AAAHHH!" he roared in pain. But looks like it only pissed him off.

"RRROOOOAAAHHHH" Damage roared in anger as he punched the ground that made others to lose the balance.

Diana didn't waste time as she lashed at him and swung her arm for a couple of crosses which he blocked and gave a powerful kick to her which she defended with her crossed arms. Superman delivered powerful punches that sent shockwaves that seemed to hurt him. Then he picked an empty car and bashed it through him, though it didn't do anything. Instead Damage managed to jab Superman to his chest that sent himto a wall. J'onn moved through him using intangibility and delivered a punch, but he next punch was blocked and Damage hit him with a left hook

"GRRR" Martian grunted in pain. John decided it was enough. Batman grappled towards his position and did a mid-air roll and used his cape to stun him.

John leapt above and used his armor to stomp the ground and send a tremor that made him lose his balance and fall backward. But John used telekinesis to make him stand straight back again and quickly delivered a couple of hook and cross and finally a round house kick to his face that drew blood from his mouth. Damage curled and fell down. The kick was so powerful that it shook his senses. He then lifted him with his mind and then pinned him to a near by wall and mentally summoned the metal cables from underground and tied him up so tight that even his hulked up body felt discomfort. He then pressed his head and entered his consciousness and forced his transformation back to human. The other league members watched him terror as he appeared as if he was gonna kill him. But only batman realized that he was doing just enough to incapacitate him. John for his part knew use of pulse fusion or ion particle rifle would vaporize him and his GMX pistol will have no effect due to extremely resilient skin.

"AARRRR-...aaaahhh...Alright-...Alright-...I will talk! I will talk!-...just get this freak outta my face!"

"Talk!" Spartan said.

"I will tell you everything you need to know-...I have never seen him, but he paid me with tons of gold to kill a high value target. That's all I know! I swear!" Ethan begged for mercy.

The other league members were simply shocked the way the Spartan crippled Damage and intimidated him with raw fear, a feat only batman achieved in his career. J'onn was surprised as despite the way the spartan man handled Damage, there was no psychic depression in the atmosphere. It's like he was so calm when he did that. He wasn't sure, how dangerous could he be, if he felt anger.

"Gold?" Superman asked in confusion.

"Yeah...he was weird...See this" Ethan said as he took a gold coin from his pant pocket. Batman took it and analyzed.

"Spanish Doubloons" he said.

"Where could have he got that?" Diana asked to which the martian replied.

"Atlantis"

"Now apologize to her" the Spartan said which confused both Diana and Ethan.

"What the fu-...AAARRR!" John pressed his arm near enough to break it.

"Okay Okay!...Sorry! I'm Sorry!" he yelled as he set him free. Diana looked at him raising her eyebrow.

"I don't like insulting my friends. Let's go" he said neutrally.

"J-...Spartan, wait. You alright?" Diana asked wondering what his state of mind was.

"I'm good. We have the intel we need, let's go and find Aquaman" He replied calmly that proved otherwise. But that's when another familiar voice came in.

"Too late! That royal pain in the neck has gone already to Atlantis. I couldn't stop him" Stewart said still feeling Arthur's punch in his cheek.

"Great! Someone has to teach the meaning of patience!" Cortana said through the speakers.

"Hera, help him" Diana prayed for the Atlantean.

...

Back at Atlantis...

Arthur reached his kingdom as he walked towards the throne room. Along the hallway he saw everyone's face in surprise to see him. He was confused to their expression.

"Could that armored man be right? Are my own people plotting against me?" he thought.

Finally he reached the entrance to the throne room.

"Hear me warriors! Finally its time for atlantis to rise and crush our enemies, strike terror in their hearts!" Orm was rallying his army as they all cheered him.

*DOOR OPENS*

"ORM! What kind of treason is this!?" Arthur shouted at his brother after hearing his battle cry to his soldiers.

"Oh Brother, I thought you were-..."

"DEAD?"

"Perhaps he was right. I have a traitor in my kingdom! But my brother? What about Brak?" he thought wondering about the circumstances that conspires against hm.

"My orders specifically were to leave them be. You would dare plunge Atlantis into a foolish war?-..."

"I'm only doing what you never had the courage to do, Arthur!" Orm said darkly to his brother that made Aquaman wide eyed and confirm his doubts.

"Enough! Arrest the traitor! That's an order!" Arthur yelled only to be confused by his soldiers stale expression.

"Didn't you hear, soldiers? Arrest the traitor!" Orm said as the soldiers pointed their weapons towards him.

"WHAT?" he thought in horror.

"For years I watched you turn Atlantis weaker and now you have made it a joke by negotiating peace with the surface dwellers" Orm said accusingly.

"Atlantis needs a strong king. You are not it. I won't tolerate your pathetic methods of ruling nor will your generals" he said as Brak came front.

"I thought you would be a savior of our people, but instead you betrayed us by making peace with the surface people" Brak said.

Aquaman had it enough as he beat the soldiers near him and jumped over Orm only to be blasted by his own Trident.

*ZZAATT*

"AAHHH" Arthur flew back to the ground as he fell unconscious from the attack.

"Take him away" Orm said in disgust as the soldiers carried him from the place.

"Prepare our men. Await further orders"

"Yes, My Lord!" Brak said with a bow as he left the room.

"Now time to show what it takes to rule a powerful nation. The time of Atlantean domination is nigh!" he thought and that's when Mera came rushing.

"Orm? I heard my husband has returned"

"I wish he did, Mera-...But it was only an unfounded rumor" he said hiding his treachery in his face. Mera sombered at the news. Slowly she too started losing hope covering her face with her arms.

"I tried to be strong, but without him-.."

"Don't worry Mera...I will take care of you and your son" he said comforting her.

"My son?"

"Yes, I already took precautions to have you and your son under my protection" he said to which Mera was taken aback as she rushed to her chambers to remove the cradle cloth to find her son was not there.

*GASP*

Orm walked unnervingly into the chambers.

"These are dangerous times Mera. One can't be too careful" he said.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked started feel a little suspicious of his motives.

"Your son will come to no harm, as long as you cooperate"

"I assure you, I am only doing what's best for atlantis!" Orm finished as he left the chambers.

"Arthur, my love. Come back to me!" she thought desperately.

...

With the league...

Spartan, J'onn, Diana, Superman and Stewart flew in their javelin underwater towards Atlantis to warn Aquaman.

"Do you think we could beat him there?" Diana asked.

"I don't think so, Diana. The most obvious would be, he may very well be there already" Cortana replied.

"I agree. He left a long time back. He's faster in this territory too" Stewart added which only increased the tension in the air as they all prepared for the worst case scenario. John was quite disturbed at the situation.

"What's bugging you commander?" Cortana asked to which others looked at the spartan with their eyebrows shrunk.

"Was something troubling you, Spartan?" Superman asked shrinking his eyebrows.

"The killer was paid a tons of gold. I believe the one who wanted him dead could be a member of a royal family, that could complicate things" he said.

"Then whatever we try to do to help will be framed as an act of aggression, regardless" Diana said worried about the consequences.

"Everyone, look front. The Atlantean army is approaching us" the Martian said

"I already noticed" Spartan answered as they all watched a huge vessel escorted by multiple soldiers in their bikes flanking their vessel.

"Uh-Oh! Looks like they are well armed to deal with us" Cortana said.

"Huh, if it's war they want, they will get it" Stewart said angrily as he got up from his seat.

"No, wait! You know why we are here!" Diana stopped him.

Then they all went out to meet the Atlantean troop.

"Please, cease fire. We are here to meet the Aquaman! We have to warn him!" Superman said trying to make peace.

"What shall we do with them?" a soldier asked from inside the big ship. Brak looked on the monitor and gave his orders.

"Dispose of these pests" he said.

*BOOM* suddenly the ships weapons began firing at them.

"There's your answer! So much for diplomacy!" Stewart cursed as they all scattered to engage the hostiles. Stewart then created a barrier that blocked their fire. The DE rifles while powerful don't work under water, so summoned two GMX-100 pistols. The carbon nanotube reinforced tungsten bullets can pierce and damage any surface.

He dodged to his right as he fired upon the bike riders. The bullets were strong enough to damage the bikes as it exploded and threw the riders out.

The huge vessel was firing cannons upon them. Superman was strong enough to withstand the rounds as he picked a huge rock from under the vessel and charged it right through the vessel's hull as it tore through it like a wet paper. The vessel exploded and fell down. Diana used her bracers to deflect their weapon rounds. When two soldiers in their bikes rushed at her, she dodged by spining herself in a vertical circle like a shark as they both hit a rock.

J'onn used his intangibility to let a soldier pass through him which stunned the soldier as he turned to see the martian only to hit a rock as he was thrown back way and the bike exploded.

The Spartan used his guns to destroy their vehicles. There were 5 bikes charging towards him. Their weapons did nothing to his metaphysical armor. John used both his arms to clothsline two soldiers to his left and right as their bikes travelled alone to deep abyss. The remaining three soldiers rode his way firing upon him. John lifted a huge chunk of rock with his mind and brought it before him. The three riders couldn't maneuver quickly as they all hit the rock and fell down.

"That's all of 'em. Lets get to the city" Cortana said to everyone.

"I see it. C'mon!" Stewart said as everyone followed him. As everyone swam, they saw a huge city protected by a dome.

"Huh...Do you know how beautiful of a vacation spot this place could be?" Cortana said looking at the city.

"Someone gotta tell them that" he replied. But then John's visor blinked red as it detected multiple strange objects beneath them coming to their position. He knew what exactly they were.

"Everyone, spread out! DEPTH CHARGES!" John yelled as they became alerted. But it was too late as the spiked explosives reached them and exploded. The explosion caused cavitation with millions of bubbles compressed to 1000 bars and temperatures reaching to 4000 degrees. The bubbles then released all those energy that caused a certain compression sickness beyond even their superhuman threshold as they fell unconscious.

For the Spartan, the cavitation didn't do anything, but the force with which the bubbles released energy knocked him off balance as he was forced to the deep rock bed at 90 miles/hr speed. He hit the rock bed with a bash that cracked the rock, before he could get up, a huge rock debris fell on him at great speed that sent him even more deeper.

The Atlantean forces and Brak gathered around the fallen heroes.

"What shall we do with them, General?" a soldier asked.

"Let us bring them in. What about the armored one?" Brak asked as he noticed the missing Spartan.

"I saw him getting thrown into the deep chasm" he replied. Another soldier came near him after searching the place where they last saw the armored being.

"We only got this" he said handing him a strange alien like pistol to Brak.

"Good, one less to worry about" Brak said as the soldiers carried the league members.

...

Superman's vision blurred and slowly shook his head to see clearly. He then observed a device attached to his head and also his friend's head.

"Must be some kind of power dampener" he thought as he felt weak.

"Worthless surface scum!" Orm spewed his words with hate and disdain, as he held the trident's sharp end to their throats.

"*GRUNT* Where's Aquaman?" he asked.

"I thought you surface dwellers already took care of him" Orm said

"No, he came here!" Diana said.

"We were suppose to warn him of a plot against him, an Atlantean plot!" Superman said.

"Lies and deception!" *ZZAAAK* Orm shocked Superman with an energy bolt to which he yelled in pain. But un-beknown to them, Mera was observing this from the balcony.

"Something is not right! Could they be telling the truth? Is Arthur in danger!? I will find it!" she thought.

"Where is the Spartan!?" J'onn asked.

"Hah, that armored wimp is eating dirt under the ocean!" Orm said grinning at them.

"NO! YOU LIE!" Diana said shocked at the revelation. She didn't want to believe that since she knew the Spartan can't be killed easily.

"He has fought foes even the gods would fear to challenge. I won't believe him to be killed by some pity bombs!" she thought.

"I am sorry, but-..." Orm showed them the pistol the Spartan carried which made the league to gap them more in worry.

"We still won't believe it. He will come for us. And trust me, we will have a pretty good conversation!" Stewart said growling at him. Orm still grinned at the displeasure in their faces.

"Take these filth away" Orm ordered as the soldiers took them away.

...

"Wake up, sleeping beauty!" Cortana said with chuckle. Her image appeared at the corner of his visor display.

John used his strength to move the huge boulder and throw it to his right as it rumbled down further. He then got up as if nothing fazed him so far.

"So, where are they?" he asked as Cortana projected the image of the city courtyard and scanned further deep to reveal 4 of his league members tied to their back and knelt down as the Atlanteans surrounded them.

"Looks like it got worse. Wait-...No! It can't be!" Cortana said suddenly spoke with lot of tense

"What happened?" he asked.

"Uhhh-...How do I put it? I monitored the chatter in the Atlantean battle net. There's an order to gather the entire military force to begin attack on the surface" Cortana said which made the Spartan feel uncomfortable.

"We need to find Aquaman fast. Else, there will be a world war! We need to move" he said as he took his pistol and swam above. The Spartan felt being in a familiar situation, of curbing the civil war and stopping Insurrectionists. The Atlanteans may be a different people, but they belong to Earth and this is akin to a civil war.

"John, I am seeing two life signs moving in another direction. Oh god! That's Aquaman! And-...A baby? They ae being escorted by Atlantean soldiers" Cortana said as she brought a constructed 3D image of the place.

"Get me a good teleportation spot, To move undetectable. We need to free the league first, so they can stop the army. Then we'll go for Aquaman" he said. Cortana marked a coordinate for him to teleport.

"Alright! But please hurry" Cortana said. John teleported to the marked point.

He reached the place inside the city, a shadowy part in the courtyard. He knew he had to be careful. If they learn of his presence, it won't end well for his friends. He stayed hidden when he saw two guards in front of him.

"Did we know what happened to that armored man? He may be sunk, but we need to make sure he doesn't surprise us"

"He's dead already. But we shouldn't be here in patrol. We should join the others invading the surface with them!"

"I know, I too don't like it. But-...Hrrrr-..." "Whats happe-...Arrrr!"

Suddenly the guards were lifted in the air, losing their voice all of a sudden.

**POP** The guards were forced to dash at one another with great force as they both fell unconscious. It was the spartan who used telekinesis to do that.

That's when he noticed a woman in a wealthy royal robes moving from the other end of the courtyard carrying a mace. She was beautiful and at the same time had a majestic appeal that only made him surmise that she is a queen. But oddly, she walked as if sneaking past any security.

John decided to follow her as he had an idea. This could be his chance to save his friends as well as prevent the war.

Mera held a tight grip over the mace as she walked silently towards a sealed door that led to the buoyancy flushing chamber. But suddenly she felt a metallic arm to her right shoulder and left palm to her mouth before she could yell or scream.

"WAIT! Don't scream when I remove my hand. I'm not your enemy. I am here for the league members held captive. Do you understand?" John used telepathy to speak to her. Mera gave a nod as he slowly removed his hands. Mera turned to face a tall and bulky, dark silver armored being glaring at her through a glowing blue visor.

"Who are you?" he asked, though he already had a fair idea.

"I am queen Mera of Atlantis. Are you one of those surface dwellers that came to see my husband, Aquaman?" she asked.

"Yes. To warn him of a plot against him and to prevent the Atlantean army from invading the surface" he replied which made her shrink her eyebrows in confusion.

"Invade? What does that mean?" she asked with her eyes wide in terror. John gave a briefing on the situation which stunned her. To wage war would only spell doom upon her people.

"By the gods! What has Orm done?" she thought in worry.

"Not only that. Aquaman and a child are being escorted by your guards to another location" he said as he showed her a 3D hardlight projection of them.

"MY SON! NO!-...!?" Mera yelled in horror looking at the image, But a close look got even troublesome. She identified Orm. "What is Arthur's brother doing there?" she asked. John's suspicion slowly turned towards to his brother, maybe his own sibling could be behind all these conspiracies.

She was quite terrified with especially the way her husband and her son were being taken away. John now understood who the child was and also saw how traumatized Mera looked, tears starting to flow from her eyes. John though stoic, could understand a mother's fear.

"Listen, I will save Aquaman and your Son, Promise you no harm will come to them. But you need to help the league and stop this invasion!" he said firmly.

"I will help them. They are about to be executed for aggression. They don't have much time. But please-...help Arthur and my Son. I don't know what I would do if I lose them!" she said, her voice trembled.

"I made a promise, I will keep it" he said with a nod. John then teleported to the location where Aquaman and his son are held captive.

...

A few minutes before...

Orm's guards tied Arthur to a huge boulder with ultra strong metal chain. Beneath was a deep chasm where the underwater magma flows out of the fissure.

"RRRR...RRRR" Aquaman tried his best to get out but the metal is strong even for him. Then he watched Orm approaching him in a water bike.

"So pathetic brother!"

"ORM! You think getting rid of me will make the people to follow you?" he asked.

"Ha ha! Yeah, I agree that these lineage thing could always get messy. Fortunately, I have a solution" Orm said grinning as he took something of a small bundle from his bike covered in cloth. It was a baby crying.

"NO!" Aquaman yelled in anger as he was shocked to see his son's life at stake at the hands of this madman.

"Too sad, your son will also be a victim of the surface dwellers aggression" Orm said as he pulled a dagger and anchored to the rock near by Arthur and hung the child by its baby dress, so that both will drown.

"ORM! WHEN I GET YOU-...!" Arthur yelled as he gave everything he can to break away from the bonds, unsuccessfully. Orm got back to his bike.

"See you in the afterlife, Brother. I am off to avenge your deaths!" he said as she shot the rock beneath them. The boulder that was lost its support as it began to slip away from its position. The rock started to move and fall towards the underwater magma. Aquaman could do nothing but grit his teeth and gaining all hs strength to break free and save his son who was crying in fear.

John teleported to the location where he last saw Aquaman. He hoped Mera would save the league in time and stop the army. He used his visor to scan around him and caught sight of Aquaman, chained to a rock and his son, being hung from a knife. But things weren't smooth as he watched the huge boulder was infact slipping and making its way towards the magma.

"No time to waste!" he thought as he swam at great speed towards them.

"RRR...RRRRR...RRAHHH!" Aquaman struggled to break the chain as they were near death's grip and his son was crying due to heat he is feeling.

But then all of a sudden, the rock stopped moving as Arthur opened his eyes to look around.

"What's happening?"

Then the rock suddenly moved up as he looked down confusingly to see none other than the huge armored being he met at the hospital.

"You!?" he asked to which the Spartan didn't reply. He then lifted the rock and placed it in a safe location.

He then plucked the metal anchor from the rock with ease from both his hands and legs. Then he carried the baby in his arms as it still cried in fear. John touched its forehead and calmed it after which it stopped crying and looked in curiosity at the helmet of the spartan.

"Incredible! He has powers and strength way beyond what I presumed"

"You have my thanks, human. I never worried about myself. But my son-...My brother will beg for death's mercy when I get him!" he said angrily as John passed his son to Arthur's arms. John could understand a father's emotion as he held his son with so much affection and concern. He could see a soft side despite his arrogant nature.

"So your brother, Orm was behind everything?" he asked after what Arthur said.

"Yes, that traitor will pay for plunging Atlantis into chaos and trying to kill my family" Arthur said with much hate.

"We have bigger problem! Your army is being readied for Invasion" John said

"I know. First let us go into the city. I need to check on few things. Then we will stop this madness" Arthur said to which he nodded.

"What do they call you?"

"Spartan-117 would suffice"

...

In the flushing chamber...

J'onn, Superman, Diana, Stewart were pinned to the wall inside a huge glass chamber with the power inhibitor.

"Hrr...Arrr...Lantern, can you use your ring?" Diana asked hoping to find a way to get out.

"No, this inhibitor broke my connection to the ring" Stewart replied hopelessly.

Outside there were two soldiers standing. One of them turned on the water system as the whirlpool formed inside and the water level rose rapidly drowning them. Everyone struggled as the water passed over their heads and they held their breath to prevent water entering their lungs.

"Which one do you think will die first?"

"My bet is on the woman. Then-...*PAFT* AHHH!"

"My qu-...*PAFT* UGHH!" The two guards, before they could even turn to see their attacker fully, were bashed through their heads with a mace. Mera then rushed to the lever and pulled it back that flushed the water through the floor drain. As all the 4 finally took in lot of air with quite a relief.

Then they watched a red headed woman opening the chamber glass and freeing them from their cuffs.

"*COUGH*-..Who are you?" Diana asked, taking a deep breath due to prolonged lack of oxygen.

"I am queen Mera, wife of the one you call, Aquaman" she explained as she removed the cuffs from the wall to free the four league members.

"Thanks for helping us!" Superman said.

"No need. You came here to help my husband and my son" she replied.

"Your son?" Diana asked.

"Yes. I met a tall man in a strange armor said he will help find them. Is he one of yours?" Mera asked to which all had their eyes widened. They knew who she was referring to.

"No Way! Is he alive?" Stewart said

"I knew the spartan could not be killed!" Diana said abliss.

"Then lets stop the army from this invasion" J'onn said.

The league escorted the queen to a safer location. But now they are not sure, who are still loyal to Arthur and who had defected to Orm. Diana overlooked the city and truly admired the city.

"Your city is magnificent! No wonder why Aquaman protects it so fiercely!" She said.

"Sadly, this kingdom will collapse soon because of those with their own agendas and hunger for power!" Mera said.

"Incoming!" Stewart yelled as the soldiers loyal to Orm started firing at them, even without minding the Queen's presence. Diana covered her up by deflecting the fires with her bracers. Superman charged front to take the brunt of the attack still feeling the pain as he was weak from the previous bout.

"This hurts! I still have to recover!" he thought

"Hang on!" Stewart ordered as he charged his ring and fired an energy beam to the floor that blasted it off and broke the path in between. The soldiers lost balance as they all fell into the water pool.

The heroes remained in the air as Diana was carrying Mera in her arms.

"Everyone, there! We got more soldiers!" J'onn warned him as 10 soldiers still surrounded them. That's went

*ZZAAT ZZAAT* multiple blue energy rounds from a rifle took down three of them. They all watched at the entrance to see none other than Aquaman and the huge armored spartan.

"THEY ARE BACK!" Mera said loud in joy and happy for the Spartan keeping his word.

"He truly is a man of his words!" she thought.

"Concentrate fire at them!" one of the soldiers yelled. John walked front and covered Arthur as he fired his Ion-particle rifle as the energy rounds pierced the atlantean skin, making an instant kill. In 5 seconds, the soldiers were all taken care off. Arthur didn't regret them being killed as he believed it to be just for their treachery against the kingdom.

Everyone gathered around the Spartan and Aquaman.

"Beloved! You are alive!" Mera rushed to him holding his arm.

"So is our son!" he said as he showed the infant. It was calm and smiling in sleep.

"If not for the Spartan, we would have dwelled in darkness for eternity!" Arthur said.

"You have my thanks, as a mother of her child and as the Queen of this kingdom!" she said with a warm smile as he nodded.

"Welcome back Spartan!" Superman greeted him with a handshake.

"They said you were killed. But we never believed it, given the fact these are nothing compared to things you have seen!" Diana.

"Rumors of my death played its part well" he replied.

"This is the Batman to the Justice league!" Batman came over the comm channel as everyone heard his voice.

"Go ahead batman!" Stewart said.

"Looks like we have got a serious problem. Our satellites have detected a thermal spike in the north pole, near Greenland" he said.

"Batman's right. Also the Atantean army never invaded the surface. Our scans show they are all grouped at that location of heat signatures!" Cortana added.

"What's going on, Aquaman?" Superman asked troubled by the fact of this sudden turn of events.

"No! Could Orm have found it. I kept it well hidden" he thought loud in his head, that John managed to pick it up.

"What did Orm find out?" he asked turning to Arthur suddenly to everyone's confusion. Even Aquaman was stunned after the Spartan read his thoughts. But he decided shelve that for later discussion as the real world ending threat started to loom in.

"Orm? What is this about Spartan?" Mera asked confusingly.

"Orm is the one behind all these mishaps in your kingdom in recent times. He planned to kill Aquaman and your son to seize the throne and wage war against humans. Trust me-...he almost finished his job if not for the big lug here" Cortana said through the speakers. Mera though confused as to who the voice belonged to, the information provided was even more disturbing.

"WHAT? I never knew he could be capable of such evil!" Mera asked as the traitor wasunder their nose all these times.

"There could be a connection to this thermal spike" Arthur replied as others paid attention to him.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know what it is. Its a doomsday thermal reactor. Created to cause a total polar meltdown in case we were threatened by the surface dwellers. I think Orm is planning to bring it up" he said though expressed a little guilt in his voice.

"You did WHAT?" Cortana chimed in. Others were equally stupefied with this information.

"Were you aware of the ecological collapse it would cause if the ice caps were totalled? Global warming, destruction of corals. Not only the surface world, but even the aquatic lives would go extinct!" John said in a stoic tone, though pressing it hard in condemnation.

"I know. It was our weapon of last resort. That's why we never armed it" he said feeling ashamed of his carelessness.

"I think the Plutonium from the Sub. I believe Orm would use it to power it up!" Stewart said connecting the dots.

"Then we have to stop him before its too late!" Superman said

"We will!...Let's hurry, Orm would suffer for what he did!" Aquaman said determined to stop him.

...

Towards the North pole...

Aquaman managed to swim fast at supersonic speed towards the doomsday weapon location and burst out of the water and landed on the ice surface with grace. He then walked towards the hidden facility.

That's when the Spartan appeared beside him to his left and Batman to his right from the Javelin. The other league members flew above following them.

"So what's your plan?" the Spartan asked.

"Kill Orm, stop the device!" he responded.

"Simple as ever. I like it!" Cortana said.

*RUMBLING NOISE*

"What's that? Ice quake?" Batman asked as they all adjusted themselves to the tremor.

"No, INCOMING!" Spartan said as his visor picked up hostiles. John summoned the Ion-Particle rifle as he prepared to engage the hostile forces. He then summoned a Talon launcher in his other hand.

"Diana?" he called out to the nearest league member.

"Yes Spartan?" she said looking at him. John then threw the launcher to her which she grabbed with precision.

"Use it and target their weapons" he said to which she nodded. John having taught the basics of using guns in case of certain situations, She was not uncomfortable with it.

*BOOM* A laser from a huge vessel hit their position. The heroes spread out and John managed to cover Aquaman. They all watched General Brak standing in front of the army.

"Cortana, can one of the particle cannons in low power setting be used on them?" John asked.

"John, even in low power, the entire ice shelf would be obliterated. Sorry" she said. John understood, he knew he had to do this the hard way, still tried his luck not to waste time.

Soldiers of Atlantis-...ATTACK!" Brak ordered as the army charged at them.

Batman raced to the Javelin as he got to the pilot seat and launched to the air to provide aerial support.

J'onn and Superman took front point as Stewart used a green bubble to carry Aquaman. Batman watched as the ice peaks started to break and melt already.

"Superman, the glaciers have already started to melt" Batman said.

"I know! But we got our hands full already!" Superman replied as the soldiers open fired at them.

Aquaman jumped out of the bubble to stomp on one bike that threw the rider under water as he dived beneath.

"Here we go again!" Stewart blocking enemy fire with a barricade and morphed it into a ram and barged through the series of bike riders as it exploded and threw them out into the water.

Diana aimed at the huge vessels main cannons and fired the Talons at them. The missile warhead split into three as it targeted two cannons and one in the hull. The cannons were taken down in a huge dome of fusion plasma, as the third scorched away the hull with the flare. One vessel was down. She smiled in satisfaction.

John used his rifle to open fire on the riders. The rounds melted the bikes like butter and make it explode. He made sure not to kill the soldiers. His visor helped him with targeting.

Aquaman got to a soldier's bike from underwater and kicked the rider out and used to to move towards the other huge vessel. Superman flew at great speed as he evaded a cannon shot and dashed through the weapon with brute force, then crushed it with his arm and threw it out. But before he could realize he was blasted by another shot a cannon.

"AHHH" he was thrown towards an ice peak as he crashed it.

Diana and J'onn double teamed as Diana used her lasso to pull a soldier from his ride. It crashed into another rider unguided. The Martian picked up the soldier from his death and dropped him under water. Diana then watched the other ship's cannon targeting Superman.

"No!" she thought as she once again aimed at the cannon as fired the Talons. The micro fusion missile flared like a star as it incinerated the weapon along with the hull.

"Damn! That's a really serious fire power!" Stewart commended as he felt envious at the display of the weapon's power.

Aquaman rode the bike at top speed. At closing distance from the enemies bogeys, he summoned a giant killer whale that leapt out of the water which he tagged himself to its dorsal fin. The whale then dashed into the water throwing all the riders away.

"Huh, I just saw it. But can't believe it!" Stewart said at the atlantean's stunts.

"Stewart, Spartan, Follow him! We will take care of them!" Superman said to which they nodded. John used his armor's anti-gravity unit to fly along with Stewart. Batman joined them through the Javelin as he watched the Ice bergs melting.

"If we don't stop this, the entire planet is doomed!" Batman said.

Inside the glacier house...

Aquaman entered the chamber where there was a huge machine beneath which the computer controls and consoles were present.

He stood before the device that he built to end the world.

"Hope the deactivation sequences are same" he thought as he worked through the computer to shut it down.

*ZZAAT* "AAAHH" An energy bolt hit Arthur in his back. He turned to glare at his traitorous brother.

"Seems like I underestimated you, brother! A mistake I will correct now!...YARG!" Orm ran towards him with the trident raised. But Arthur evaded by ducking and delivering a kick to his face that sent him reeling back. Then both locked their hands in a test for arm strength as the trident was so close to Arthur's chest.

"It's Over!" Arthur said as he twisted to arms and delivered a left hook that sent Orm down..

"You are right!-...*ZZAATT* *BOOM*...hah ha...And you've lost" Orm said as he blasted the machine controls. Aquaman could only watch in horror as the hope for stopping the device is gone. The cave crumbled slowly as the ground shook in pressure.

"AAAHH!" Arthur yelled in pain as he was blasted away during the momentary distraction.

"This is the end. Time is against you. The reactor can't be shut down!" Orm said as he walked towards his fallen brother. But Arthur got up and the two began to ferociously fight one another. Arthur managed to evade the trident's sharp end and managed to punch hard to Orm's face.

Arthur then jumped above him to finish him off only to be blasted away by another energy bolt that threw the Aquaman to a ice bridge. It broke and he fell down, but he did a wall run over the falling ice and jumped to grab a protruded anchor point, resting his legs to the wall.

Spartan, Batman and Stewart reached the machine as John scanned with the visor and found Orm to be good and Aquaman clinging to the wall, making him believe Orm had the upper hand.

"You two take care of the reactor. I will handle Orm!" John said to which both nodded. John then summoned the adamantine hammer as it hummed with energy.

"Not good! The controls are gone. I have to go in there to shut it down manually!" Batman said looking at the trouble they are in.

"But the radiation would kill you!" Stewart objected.

"Your ring, Can it protect me?" Batman asked.

"One way to find out" Stewart replied as he encased Batman in a cocoon of ring's energy. Batman then went inside as Stewart maintained the energy.

"Now you will die, brother!" Orm said with a grin.

"I don't think so!" another grim voice came from behind.

"Wha-...*WHOOSH*...RRRH!" Orm blocked an energy stream with his trident though at the cost of his great strength.

"Just what in the blazes are you?" he asked glaring at a huge armored being that had more intimidating stature.

"One who will end your madness!" he replied.

"I am not mad, fool! I am the savior of Atlantis!" he yelled as he fired a continuous stream of energy unexpectedly as it hit the spartan. But Orm was shocked to see the spartan was intact as it didn't even faze him.

"No! Such inoculation is not possible" Orm said shocked.

"You'll find out!" John then charged his hammer and fired a continuous stream of bluish white energy which Orm blocked with his Trident but it pushed him slowly towards the edge and that's when,

"ORM!" Arthur yelled as he grabbed his leg and pulled him down as both fell to the next bottom bridge that already started to break slowly. The trident was struck to the ground. Arthur got up first as he tried to grab it but Orm jumped over him to stop him. But he delivered a kick to his chest and took the trident in his hand and approached Orm. But he suddenly used a knife to slash Arthur's chest to cut open. Arthur began to bleed mildly.

"You are a miserable, weak and sorry excuse for a ki-...WHAOAAA!" Orm said as he tried attacking his brother only for the platform to break and Orm fell down hanging at the slippery ice edge at that end of his life.

"*GASP* Help me! Brother!" Orm said in his final moments. Arthur knelt down to take the anchored trident in his hands.

"I believe this is mine" he said.

"NOOOOOOOO-..." Orm yelled in agony as he fell into the abyss as Aquaman watched the end of his brother.

"Batman hurry up!" Stewart yelled as he observed time was running out. Batman finally turned the lever with all his strength as the meter fell down from red to blue as the machine got powered off. The thermal wave stopped transmitting. Batman safely came out of the machine.

"The machine is shutdown! You did it!"

"No, we did it" he replied.

"Then the threat is over!" Aquaman replied.

"Orm?" Spartan asked.

"He's eating dirt beneath the ice!" Arthur replied as he nodded. "Let's move, there's still much to be done" Arthur said.

...

Back at Atlantis...

The team stood there nearby the throne where Aquaman was seated in a royal robe with the trident in his hand.

"You filths! If not for the Spartan who showed me the device could have ended all life on this planet, You would have destroyed everything! I must execute you for this. But I will be lenient by stripping you of your ranks!"

"My lord, It was your brother...ORM! He forced us into this. I-..If we hadn't complied-...He would have killed us!" Brak pleaded with the king who stood with his followers arrested by the king's loyal guard.

"Spineless cowards! They couldn't even accept their mistakes!" he thought with disgust.

"Get them out of my sight. The dungeons would be the better place for them" Arthur said glaring at them. His guards took them away. He then got up from his seat took some time in silence to process everything that happened so far.

"I shouldn't have let this happen in the first place. My fears over the surface dwellers blinded me to no end" Arthur said regretfully.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, your highness! We all made bad judgement call on this one!" Stewart said trying to ease the tension.

"All I ever wanted was peace for my kingdom" he said.

"With what happened so far, it won't be an easy road!" Superman spoke the reality of the situation.

"But then, Life is not easy either" the Spartan spoke as others turned to look at him. "We can learn from our mistakes, live by it and try to right ourselves" he finished.

"Wise words Spartan! Besides, your friends gave a glimpse of your origins. It-...was intriguing as well as terrifying. I understand, you have a grand duty of protecting your people, just like I wanted to. You are indeed a great leader" Aquaman said with an evasive smile as he was astonished with the accomplishments. He was even quite humbled.

"I agree with my husband. Though, how could you still keep doing this for a long time without wearing of?" Mera asked who was equally confounded.

"Let's say-...I got used to it" John replied.

"So friends?" Superman offered his hands which Arthur shook gladly.

"Yes, It is time we learned about our surface neighbors. I believe it will be worth our future!" he said as Mera stood by him with their child in her hand.

...

Now the Aquaman storyline is over. Some episodes won't be covered as they are not of that importance to John. See you in the next chapter.