The Campbell Chronicles Part Two

Chapter 3

A blue oval-shaped portal opened level with the ocean floor, and Mai and Namor stepped through. Namor shifted, grunting at the sudden change in pressure. His movement sent silt drifting through the water.

"Are you alright?" Mai asked, looking away from a yellow fish with blue stripes.

Namor straightened as the gills behind his ears flared, taking in fresh seawater. "I'm fine; I just had to adjust to the change in pressure."

Mai slipped her webbed dark blue hand into his, "I'm sorry about that; that's something I should've considered. If we come here again, we'll come here from the ocean instead of on land."

Namor kissed the back of her hand; "It's fine. I spent most of my life in the sea, and I didn't think about it. Now," he looked around him. Despite being at the bottom of the ocean, he could see as if it was dusk on land. Everything was bathed in a dim light. "Do you want to collect those rockets first or go to the Ninth Tride."

Mai's red irises flared. Her mind expanded, and the ocean water acted as an extension of her. Her lips formed a thin line: " The rockets can wait; the People of the Ninth Tride need our help." Water exploded around them, and as they shot forward, bubbles obscured their vision as they twisted through the air with a dancer's grace.

"What do you see?"

"They live in squalor, forced to tunnel beneath the earth, and use scraps of wreckageto build their homes. It's a lawless area ofcrime."

Namor's lips pursed, "That could be a problem. If it's anything like my old world, crime has become the law, and those who run it aren't going to want to give up their subjects."

"If they want to leave," Mai's free hand curled into a fist, and her eyes glowed, "we will make sure they can."

Namor removed the gold and Trident from his back, the last remnant of his home. "Yes, we will." He had tried to rule with an iron fist before and lost everything. Though he wanted these people to have the freedoms he could offer them on Oceana, he would not force them.

–XX –

As they approached the Ninth Tride, vegetation, and colored coral began to sprout from the ocean depths. As they passed a wall of pink coral, Mai threw out her arm, "We're getting close."

Namor closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, touching the minds of a nearby school of tuna; he sent them swarming forward in a flash of blue tinge to silver scales and used their eyes as his own to get his first good look at the lowest end of Atlantean society.

Buildings formed from overturned ships decorated the land outside of the dome city filled with high towers and light.

Tunnels led into the earth, and the entrances were shorn up with broken pieces of wood, making them look like themouths of giant monsters.

People with various mutations moved around the settlement, their heads down, their shoulders slumped.

Children stared at the dome city in the distance with hope, envisioning one day rising above their squalorto live in what they viewed as paradise.

Withdrawing his mind from the fish, Namor allowed them to disperse as he turned to Mai. "They live in tunnels beneath the earth. The lucky ones have been able to find ships to turn into homes," he stared into the distance. "How much harder did we make it on these people by taking the ships they haven't yet discovered?"

"The seas are divided; most of the ships I claimed were not in Atlantean territory. Besides, without someone with Nicholas's power set, the wood would've been too deteriorated for them to use."

Namor nodded.

For most of his life, he resented being a mutant, different from his people. Still, that very thing allowed him to save at least a few of his people. The society they were building on Cradle revolved around using mutant abilities to create advanced technology to develop a cleaner planet and would allow his people to live in peace.

"Let's go offer these people a chance at a better future," together they moved forward.

A man emerged from the weeds about a mile from the Ninth Tride, his left arm nothing but a mass of tentacles. A pupilless yellow eye stared at them from beneath the well-worn cloak, which was more rags than clothing.

"Well, what do we have here," he asked, his words revealing the sharp teeth hidden within his mouth.

Namor floated forward. "I am Namor," he gestured to Mai. "And this is my beloved Naiad. We are the governing body of the town of Oceana on Cradle. We have come to offer the people of the Ninth Tride a Place in our lands."

The man snarled, electricity dancing down his tentacled appendage, "We do not need your charity!"

"It's not charity, for we will not give you everything on a silver platter. We will allow you to earn what you have, regardless of your." He gestured at the man's arm, "eccentricities;" he glanced up in thought before looking back at the man. "As a matter of fact, we offer you a chance on thecradle because of your differences."

The man took a step back, suspicion in his eyes, "Why?"

"Because the people of Cradle all have unique features and abilities like yourself, the sea dwellers, in particular, are, shall we say, cousins, and we believe your presence there could be a boon for the planet."

Mai moved beside Namor, "Please, just let us make our offer to your people. If they refuse, we will leave."

The man took in Mai's features before glancing at the wings sprouting from Namor's feet. "Fine, but King Shark isn't known to kneel to others. He won't come under your rule," he stared into Namor's eyes, "as a matter of fact, he will try to take the throne from you."

A grin spread across Namor's face, and the gills behind his ears flared in excitement, "I would expect nothing less from aman of the sea."

As the group entered the Ninth Tride, Mai eyed the tunnels dug into the earth on either side of the well-worn path. Each had a square opening formed by loose wood, rocks, or coral pieces.

She could see eyes in many shapes, sizes, and colors peeking out of the shadows, watching them with curiosity, fear, and a smattering of hope. They stopped before three ships turned upside down in a straight line at the end of the path.

Namor tightened his grip on his Trident, his blue eyes locked on the vessels, "I should've asked this when we first met, but what is your name?"

Teeth flashed in a smirk beneath the hood, "Why do you want to know so you can blame me for your death?"

"We will not die. I just wanted to know who to thank."

The smirk vanished, and the single yellow eye beneath the hood focused on the two, which were obviously of the sea but somehow different: "Alaric."

Mai smiled at him, "Well, remember what we said, Alaric? There's a place for you in Oceana."

Alaric looked away, "I haven't exactly been the most upstanding citizen of the sea."

"What you had to do in the past doesn't matter; the people of the sea are survivors; as long as you follow the laws of Cradle and are willing to work for what you have, you have a place in our seas."

Turning away, Alaric eyed the rough-cut doorway in the center ship. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders. "King Shark!" he shouted, "We have visitors here with an offer."

The doors slammed open, banging on the side of the ship so hard that one of them slipped off the hinges and hung at an angle.

Alaric took a step back as the leader of the settlement emerged from the shadows; Namor moved past him, taking a stance in front of him as he stared at the mutant.

He was 7'2" tall and had the head of a great white. Grey skin stretched taut over scarred muscle, and fingers joined by a web membrane flexed as black eyes stared at the three of them.

Without taking his eyes off King Shark, Namor told Alaric, "You've done enough for us; why don't you return to your post?"

Nodding slowly, Alaric turned and sprinted back down the path.

"So, your King shark?"

"I am," his chest ballooned with pride, "Who the fuck areyou?" He pointed a clawed finger at the two of them.

"I am Namor," Namor gestured to Mai, "and this is Naiad. We have come from the planet Cradle to offer the people of the ninth tride a place there."

"So, a bunch of aliens want to offer us," he gestured at the caves around him, "a place in their oceans," his black eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"

"I could technically be considered an alien," but Namor gestured to Mai, "Naiad was born on earth."

King Shark's nostrils flared as he took in their scents. "Both of you have the scent of the sea on you," he pointed to Namor, "but yours is different. " His nostrils flared again as he focused on Naiad. "Yours is familiar."

Before King Shark could say more, a man covered in orange scales emerged from one of the underground tunnels, a woman with tiny green scales covering her body and fins where her ears were supposed to be grabbed at his arm to stop him, but he gently pulled free.

His solid red eyes focused on Namor, "How do we know you speak the truth, and what will we have to do to go there? We have been cast out of Atlantis because of our differences; why would you want us?"

Namor nodded, "All good questions in an about," he glanced at Naiad.

"A little over an hour."

Namor nodded and turned back to the man, "In a little over an hour, all metahumans on the planet will get the opportunity to come to Cradle. If they choose to do so, all they have to do is close their eyes and willit. If they mean the world no harm and are willing to work for what they will have, they will vanish."

"As for why we would want you, each of you has been blessed by the sea, making you unique from others," Namor gestured at his feet, drawing people's attention to the wings sprouting behind his ankles. We want to nurture those differences and honestly add them to the planet's gene pool."

Another man emerged from the tunnels, his entire body covered in a black beetle-like shell. "When you say we will have to work for what we have, what kind of opportunities are available?" He asked, his Brown eyes curious but wary.

"Oceana's main export is providing a sustainable number of fish to the rest of Cradle, but we need all kinds of people; right now, we must import many materials from the Earth, such as clothes, soap, and other amenities."

"If you don't want to provide an amenity or work on the farms, you can venture into space and mine asteroids," Namor glanced up in thought, "in a few months, wewill begin pulling useful elements from the gas of Jupiter, so you could also do that." He glanced around as more and more people emerged from the tunnels, "as long as you are willing to do something, Cradle will not turn you away and will even offer help to accomplish your goals."

The woman with fins for ears emerged from the tunnels to stand behind the orange-scaled man. "When you say provide a sustainable number of fish to Cradle. Do you mean that there are land dwellers in your world?"

"There are land-dwelling meta-humans on the cradle, but everyone either has or is being taught to use the meta-human abilities in a useful way, making the processes here on earth that pollute the oceans obsolete."

King shark snorted, "How is that possible? There is no way every ability on your planet is useful."

"You're right; some abilities are tricky, but recently, the minds of the cradle have developed a way to alter a mutant ability as long as it stays within the same category as the original, allowing those who feel inadequate to others to contribute."

The orange-scaled man's red eyes narrowed. "So if we are not helpful, you would force us to change?"

Namor narrowed his eyes. "I did not say that. This process is available so those with less active powers don't become bitter about those who have them. The process is a choice and will always be a choice. However, you may not need to performthe procedure."

"Everyone in the cradle is given a serum called the Phoenixes Rebirth. The serum strengthens a mutant's abilities and extends their lifespan. It also ensures that their genes will pass on to their children so that no baseline Atlantean or human will be born."

Everyone's eyes widened, and Namor raised his hand; "We don't do this out of prejudice; we do this to lessen the chances of a child being born different from his peers and feeling inadequate for not having powers. We will not be able to crush those feelings entirely, but we will do what we can to minimize them by teaching every child that any power and every power is useful."

Namor stared off into the distance; "I have seen normal humans born from mutant parents and the hatred that grows because they do not share their parent's abilities. One such individual nearly wiped out our species in my old world."

The people of the Ninth Tride looked at one another, curiosity shining in their eyes.

King Shark walked forward, cracking his knuckles, "Your words have drawn the people in, but how do we know you have the strength to protect them."

Namor stepped forward and began spinning his Trident, "Do the people of the sea need protection?"

"You want to be their leader; the leader's job isto protect his people from domestic and foreign threats."

"Is that what you do?" Namor asked, slamming his Trident down in the sand, sending silt into the air.

King Shark shrugged, "Of a sort."

"How would you like me to prove my strength?"

A wide smile spread across King Shark's face, revealing his triangular-shaped teeth, "How else, trial by combat."

Namor nodded, having expected the challenge, "The terms?"

"If I win, I become the new ruler of Oceana."

"And if I win."

"There are more Sea-changed Atlanteans than just the ones here in the Tride. I will help you find those so that you can offer them a place in your little kingdom."

Namor looked around, and he could see it in the people's eyes; they respected and feared King Shark, even though he had done very little to improve their lives; if he wanted to help these people, he needed to prove he was just as strong.

Namor shook his head, causing the people around him to murmur. "It's not really up to me, Naiad," he gestured to the woman behind him. "She was the one whocreated our world's oceans. She is the guardian of the city of Oceana. I just govern the Atlanteansbrought over from my home world."

King Shark snorted, "So you have no real power or place to offer these people."

Naiad stepped forward and touched Namor's shoulder, "He has the backing of the sea."

"Until your whims change," King Shark sneered, "We all know how fickle you can be."

"That will not happen," naiad's free hand slid to her stomach, "for an heir has already been conceived between us, connecting Namor's blood to mine."

Namor's eyes widened as Naiad's gaze hardened as she glared at King Shark, her red irises glowing. "And by my decree for now and ever, Namor is the king of the seas of Cradle." A green glow flared around Naiad before flowing into Namor.

Namor spun to face Mai, "You're pregnant!"

Naiad's glare faded, and a soft smile spread across her features. "Yes, I was trying to think of the right time to tell you…" She trailed off.

"And you thought now was the right time. Why on earth did you come with me?"

"Because, like you, I have a connection to the sea." she glared at him. "And just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm an invalid."

"I know you're not an invalid, but still…." He was cut off when King Shark began speaking. "o, this is the king of cradle's oceans, a man who hides behind his lover's legs."

Namor narrowed his eyes. "I have to fight him. You are connected to the sea; you know its people have the survival of the fittest mentality."

Naiad glanced around, "I think the Atlanteans of this world are different, but I agree that you have to fight him; these people need to see your strength." Nodding, Namor started to turn back to King Shark, but Naiad grabbed him and pulled him into a deep kiss.

When they broke apart, they stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Namor nodded sharply and turned to face King Shark, "I will fight you, Shark, but if I win, you must serve the people of Oceana for 20 years as a combat instructor."

King Shark laughed, "Fine, now show me your strength."