Destination Atlantis

This stank.

Both the situation and the air. Smoke was polluting it, and would for some time. Green Lantern found he could ignore it; it wasn't the first time he had been on a battlefield.

With Generals Lane and Vreeland pulling their fleet back and the Atlanteans withdrawing, hostilities were taken care of for the time being. Don't get him wrong, they could flare back up in a second, but when you didn't have two military forces occupying the same space, the odds of fighting decreased.

The League came together once more to share details and figure out their next move. Obviously, they were going to have to try and track down Black Manta and the newly stolen, top secret submarine. On a hunch, he had checked out the radar and wasn't surprised that it too was missing. The dead bodies were icing on this cake.

"We know where he's going. He's going to be trying to find Atlantis," Hawkgirl stated, arms crossed. She glanced to the rest of them. "Anyone have any idea where it could be?"

"Anywhere on the ocean floor, if it ended up anywhere. That's…two third's the planet's surface to check. It's going to take him time to do that, even with the latest in radar technology," Green Lantern answered.

"He'll need to return to land for supplies then. He won't be able to stay underwater forever," Wonder Woman pointed out.

"And how long is that going to take?" Hawkgirl asked. "We can't keep an eye on all ports and likely, this guy will use black market sources for that. We can't sit on our hands and hope to get lucky."

"How about Batman?" Superman suggested.

Green Lantern shook his head. "Still in radio silence. No telling where he is or how to reach him."

You would think a battle at Gotham's doorsteps would have had Batman coming out of the woodwork to handle the situation. What was he doing? He was starting to get a little concerned here.

"It may be best if we reached Atlantis first," J'onn suggested. "Likely as not, they would have an easier time scouring the oceans for Black Manta."

"Which leads us back to square one. We don't even know where to start first. The legends never said where exactly it was before it sank," the Lantern grumbled. "We're in the same boat as Black Manta. We're searching blindly for something that we all know exists."

That summed up everything. It was frustrating. No way to track the Atlantean ships either since no one had had the foresight to sneak a tracker on one. Yeah, that would have been in Batman's playbook, but Batman wasn't here.

Black Canary and her squad were, though. They had handled those Atlantean allies while the League had quelled the fighting. Those vigilantes had held their own until they had all learned about Black Manta's escape.

How had he pulled it off, though? Evidence of American ships being torpedo hinted that Black Manta had some allies outside of the city, somehow calling them in to hatch this escape plan. Obviously, they had taken back both the sub and the radar they had initially stolen. This was just bad.

"We may not have an idea of where to start looking, but I have five ideas on who might know," Hawkgirl said, turning her attention to those Atlantis supporters.

The odd-looking group had not gone far. That was mainly because of Black Canary, but for the most part, they did not appear to be antsy on leaving quickly. Not yet.

Nodding, Green Lantern followed after the others to try and see if they could get some answers out of this group. As they approached, the group of five faced them, obviously defensive but more than willing to go on the offensive.

"We have no desire to fight with you," Wonder Woman cautioned. "We merely wish to speak. We both have a common enemy, and we want nothing more than to resolve this."

"We had the situation under control until you interfered," a man whom he had learned called himself the Operative answered.

"Breaking into a jail so that you could break out one of the most wanted men in the world is having it under control?" Hawkgirl snarked.

"No," interrupted the woman who was concealed under at least one layer of cloth, only her eyes visible. Kahina, he had been told. "We are not here to cause conflict. Our intentions were only to end one."

Knowing what would come next, Green Lantern put a hand on Hawkgirl's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. The Thanagarian aimed a look at him, but the message was received. Now was not a good time to be picking another fight.

"Do you have a way to get to Atlantis?" he spoke, training his eyes on the group. When no one spoke, "You didn't come all the way out here and just happened to run into each other and share the same idea. This is important. We need to be working on the same side, especially since Black Manta has access to a nuclear reactor."

That perked up more than one head. "A nuclear reactor?" Operative repeated. The tone was clear in that he was requesting confirmation on that.

"Batman speculated that a reactor could be tampered with and made into a bomb. Black Manta has already made clear he wants to destroy Atlantis," Green Lantern told them. "We know he already tampered with the reactor, removed one of the rods from it. He has something bigger planned. That's why we need a way to Atlantis, and we need it now. It doesn't matter what happened up here, it's what's coming next we're worried about."

That much was true. All of them in the League shared that belief. It was more than just protecting a single city, or taking the side of a country. They were all in this together, and that included Atlantis. Maybe they failed at moderating this whole situation, but they weren't about to let innocent people get hurt because of their mistakes.

There were people hurt in that battle earlier. That kind of chaos, he had to be thinking that more than one person had lost their lives. Lane and Vreeland would be finding that out, and the relations between the United States and Atlantis were going to get much worse. That was a problem for tomorrow; Black Manta's threat was now.

These people had a connection to Atlantis, somehow. If not a way to get there, then maybe a way to contact it. Now was not the time to let hurt feelings get in the way of what they needed to be doing.

He never thought that saving Atlantis would be such a thing he needed to do.

"We have a way," Kahina spoke after a moment. That moment included this small group of like-minded people to gather closer together. What they spoke about, they were trying to keep quiet, but good luck with that with Superman standing right there. "With the situation as it is, I don't think it would be a good idea for all of you—"

"We can't play these games right now!" Hawkgirl interrupted.

"I don't think Arthur would be happy to see all of you so soon," the man with a bag over his head stated. Green Lantern hadn't gotten his name yet.

The question of who was Arthur was about to slip through his lips, but the Lantern held his tongue. Superman, however, spoke for them, "We understand. It would be asking a lot for all of us to go. How about one of us? Every minute we spend here is more one more minute we lose."

That ragtag group shared a look. "One would be…acceptable," Kahina said cautiously.

"I'll do it," Green Lantern volunteered immediately.

"Are you sure?" Wonder Woman asked.

Diplomacy may not be his strong suit, but this was as close to war as they got. As a former marine, he could appreciate being told straight up what was heading his way. This was not the time to sugarcoat the impending threat. Maybe King Orin might not like it, but if he was a king worth his salt, he'd appreciate the heads up all the same.

"I'd rather have heavy hitters like you on the outside, ready to come to save my butt if things go sideways. I'm willing to bet that Atlantis has some kind of defense in case Black Manta shows up. You can take him from behind and pin him that way," Green Lantern stated. "If there's anything you have up here that lets you survive at the bottom of the ocean, I'd get busy getting that ready." Turning back to the others. "So how are we doing this? What do we need to do?"

Kahina looked to the only other woman, the one that was tribal in her wear. "Ya'Wara." That skin was dark, but mostly from being outdoors. There was a certain shade that he had learned to recognize that gave such a lifestyle away. Kahina continued,"She has the means to take you to Atlantis. Stand close and she will handle the rest."

That easy, huh? He had his doubts but there was nothing else for it. Moving ahead of the League, this Ya'Wara did the same, walking up until she was right in front of him.

"Remain calm," she said as one of her hands gripped this amulet she wore.

Remain calm. That's what they always said. Then again, when the very air around the two of them began to brighten with an intense light, he found that those words possessed sage wisdom in them.

Everything became white.

The King of Atlantis was full of righteous anger. Batman couldn't blame the man, not one bit. He knew what it was like to be desperate to save one's child, only to hold their corpse in failure.

Black Manta knew where to strike and how for maximum damage. There was an obsession there, one he also knew all too well. However, instead of channeling it into something constructive, the man wanted to destroy everything Aquaman held dear. He was like a sane Joker with no regard or respect for life. He just didn't have insanity to fall back on as a reason for his madness.

Aquaman's demand of if the vigilante's own father would seek vengeance, just like he was, rattled around in the dark-clad man's head. It had been a long time since he had seen his father alive, but his fading memories told him that no, his father wouldn't have wanted that sort of justice. At least, that's what Batman liked to think. He had never seen his father in a physical altercation, not until that fateful night. He had put himself between the gunman and his family seconds before the gun had gone off.

Strange. He could remember the sound of the gunshots as if they had happened moments ago. He could remember the pearls raining down on the ground. Yet, his parents' voices, he had a hard time recalling what they sounded like. He had a good idea, but it was as if their voices had faded, dull drones that sounded like them, but at the same time did not.

The passage of time had to do with that, he was certain. Still, he didn't like the fact he remembered the sound of objects more than the caring, loving voices of his parents.

The Dark Knight shook his head. Now wasn't the time to get lost in such thoughts. He was stuck in this cell, even though he could escape it. The moment he did, the entire cell block would be flooded and he'd be tossed right back in here. It was frustrating. There had to be another way out of here, there just had to be. The vents weren't an option since they were the source of the water. There was always charging right through that odd doorway, but then he'd be accosted by the guards. That just meant he needed to be ready when he reached that point.

In fact, maybe he could use the water and doorway to his advantage…

Movement caught his eye then. Tilting his head to the doorway, he was honestly surprised to see Batgirl standing there, staring at him expectantly. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I came for you," his daughter told him succinctly. Straight to the point as ever. "Are you having trouble with the restraints?"

Batman stared at her before he said, "Release." His gauntlets immediately loosened around his arms and he pulled his arms out. He then fiddled with the restraints until they released his gauntlets, allowing him to put them back on. "Does that answer your question?" he asked her.

The dark-clad girl nodded. "Why were you still here if you do that?"

"Because the last time I tried, they flooded the entire cell block." Which reminded him, he needed to put his rebreather back on, assuming the Atlanteans hadn't taken it away after his last escape attempt. "And we need to be going right now before they do it again," he added urgently.

"The guards would be the ones to do that, yes?" she inquired, still not moving from where she stood, even as the Dark Knight was marching over towards her.

"Yes, they would," he confirmed. "Now let's go."

"Then it is a good thing I took care of all of the guards."

Batman stopped, ending up right next to the girl. "You took them all out?" he repeated.

She nodded, signs of a smile forming beneath her mask. "I did."

A smirk appeared on his own face. "Good girl."

What did it say about him that he was proud his own child was able to take out an entire unit of guards on her own? That was definitely not a normal family dynamic, not that they were a "normal" family to begin with. He started moving again, this time positioning himself on one side of the cell door, peering out into the corridor just to be safe. "Is it just you, or did you bring others?" he questioned her.

"It is just me," she confirmed, assuming a position on the opposite side of the doorway. "Redbird wanted to come, but I convinced him otherwise."

Really? He had his doubts about his daughter convincing his stubborn son of anything. "Really," he stated more than asked, his dubiousness obvious.

"Perhaps convince is a strong word. More like left behind."

Alright, that he could believe. "How did you get here?" he then asked before he moved out into the corridor, staring down one end before turning and facing the other direction. Just because Batgirl had said she incapacitated the guards didn't mean she had gotten them all. And even if she did, it was always a good idea to remain on guard.

Batgirl joined him in the hallway, doing the same as he had only in the opposite direction. "We found your other boat. I programmed it with your last search coordinates and it brought me here."

Hmph, that should have been obvious. It also meant they had a ride out of here, assuming it wasn't destroyed like his ship was. "Then we need to head back to it and fast. Where did you leave it?"

Batgirl turned and began hurrying down the hallway, hopefully in the direction she had come from. Batman followed after her. There was no need for her to tell him to follow her, that was a given.

Faintly, he wondered how the Atlantean King would handle finding out he had escaped again.

The intensity of the white dimmed, and when Green Lantern could finally see, he could safely say he wasn't in Gotham anymore.

Where he was was a very large and opulent room. The ceiling could barely be seen. The floor was smooth, incredibly so, and…was that tile? It didn't look like it. There was a sheen to it too. The walls, those were something else, and his inner architect wanted nothing more than to get a closer look at it.

His inner Marine was registering that he wasn't alone. The woman, Ya'Wara, was right next to him, exactly as she had been before the light had enveloped everything. That wasn't what had him on alert. It was the fact that this room had a lot of people in it, a lot of activity, and a lot of them were turning to face him.

They were also clearly Atlantean.

"Intruder!" one of them yelled, and Green Lantern recognized the man as being part of the small party back in Gotham, when the Atlantean king had made his demands. Orm. "How'd he get this far?! Capture him immediately!"

His ring lit up for a fight he did not want. This was not how he had wanted to arrive in Atlantis—then again, he had never pictured ever setting foot in the place. Regardless, as his body lit up in a green aura, he tried to think of constructs he could use to defend himself without causing harm to these people.

Next to him Ya'Wara held her arms out in a surrender pose, but her voice practically boomed as she called out, "Arthur!"

Some of the Atlantean guards hesitated, but then they continued drawing out their weapons, circling around the two of them. Tridents, spears, even swords were being drawn out. To think they used swords here…

"Ya'Wara?"

A single commanding voice spoke, and that was enough for the Atlanteans to come to a halt. The Lantern too found his attention directed to the source of the voice, and only now did he recognize why there was so much activity here.

Right there was King Orin. King Orin was sitting on a massive throne. This was the throne room.

Of all the places to bring him, why here?

"What is the meaning of this?" Orin demanded as he stood up. His golden trident held a glow, one that hinted it was this close away from being used. Green eyes focused on the amulet Ya'Wara wore. "I did not give you that to use for whims."

"He wishes to speak with you," Ya'Wara stated as she lowered her arms. "Much has happened above and you need to know."

Orin turned his attention onto him now. "The Justice League," he stated, and the Lantern could hear the skepticism in the king's voice.

This was perhaps the best opening he was going to get. He needed to speak before anyone else could. Judging by how all these guards regarded him, they were close to wanting to turn him into a pincushion.

"I'm not here for a fight. I'm here to help," he explained. "Black Manta managed to escape—"

"I'm already aware of this," Orin stated. Not even a flicker of the eyes to give away who had told him this. The spy network Atlantis had on the surface must have been extensive.

"So you know he's coming here, right?" Green Lantern pressed. "When he was being interrogated, he blatantly stated his intention to destroy this city."

"He will never find it," Orin stated. From the corner of his eye, Green Lantern noted how proud Orm seemed. "He has been trying to find Atlantis for years, and even with the best submarines the surface can allow, he will spend years futilely trying to find it. We'll find him first before he finds Atlantis."

That had been pointed out earlier, but as the Lantern had been learning, you couldn't underestimate Black Manta. The man used a war as cover to break out of jail. What else was he capable of?

"You know he used a submarine to escape Gotham, right?" He folded his arms over his chest, not taking his eyes off the king.

"And it means nothing other than he has a fancy new toy," Orin dismissed.

"It's a top secret, nuclear-powered submarine, the only one of its kind and newly developed." If Strom could hear him now. "It's designed for the lowest depths of the ocean. On top of that, it has the latest in radar technology, one that can map out the ocean floor. Not only will it present the clearest picture ever, its range goes beyond that of its predecessor. The Navy wanted to put these subs close to enemy countries but just outside their range. If I recall correctly, your fleet abandoned Gotham after the battle Black Manta caused."

"Wait." A single hand from the king raised. "What do you mean Black Manta caused the battle?"

It was still a theory, but he had some evidence to back it up. Right now, he definitely had Orin's attention.

"I noticed one of the American ships had a hole in it, one you'd expect came from being hit by a torpedo," he explained. "I got to see your ships in action. All energy-based attacks. I didn't see one pierce a hull. If they had, I'd imagined that the hole those would have made would have been smoother, like the ship's hull was cut rather than blasted. Am I wrong?"

Orin was frowning, and he looked towards that Orm guy. Orm nodded his head slowly.

Looking back to him, Orin ordered, "Continue."

"If your people didn't make that hole, someone else did, and I haven't found any proof that the Americans did it to themselves. Not yet. That leaves Black Manta. He had people working under him when I caught up with him, but we couldn't find out if they were his or someone else's. His escape was timed to the battle, when everyone would be paying attention to it and not him. There's no other way he could have stolen that sub without the Navy noticing. He has to have someone else working with him, someone who was outside of Gotham and able to fire those torpedoes."

This was the conclusion that the League had come to. They didn't have a clue as to who was capable of this and working with Black Manta. Batman might have been able to help with that if he had been around. Still, with Hawkgirl and J'onn's experience with detective work, this is what they had been able to piece together.

That operation had been smooth, too smooth. Too many moving parts to have not been planned out.

"Assuming this is all correct, even with all of that advanced technology, how would he be able to reach this city? My city?" Orin asked.

As if on cue, two large doors that the Lantern had not seen opened. Naturally, it was because his back was facing it and his attention had been more on the armed guards and the king, but a familiar face was marching his way through them. Corum Rath, the ambassador left at the Gotham Harbor had returned.

Already, Green Lantern would see how he would answer Orin's question.

"Your Majesty," Corum Rath began to say before he came to a stop, noticing the Justice Leaguer. "What is he doing here?"

Ignoring the ambassador, Green Lantern remarked, "If I wanted to find a lost city, one lost for thousands of years, I'd follow after an ambassador who was returning back to it. So long as I kept out of the range of their radar, I could follow from a distance until I arrived. You think that might be a possibility?"

"What are you speaking about, surface dweller?" Corum Rath spat out.

Orin seemed to be taking the dark-skinned man's words to heart. Looking to Orm, "Reports from scouts, the city gates. I want them now."

Orm nodded his head. At least there were two men here who could be reasoned with.

In minutes, the first reports came in. So far, one after another, it was all "all clears." No disturbance whatsoever. He didn't like a calm like this. Too many of them to trust. You could see how the men in power here were starting to relax, though Corum Rath was still in the dark.

That is, until, one report came in. Several ships had been pinged, and they were moving. They were moving in the direction of the city itself.

Then Green Lantern had to think about that. Ships. Plural. More than one. How many ships were there? The answer was bigger than he had thought.

Maybe he hadn't stopped underestimating Black Manta. It sounded like that man had been building an army behind their backs.

This was bad, and while the Atlanteans were starting to grasp that the situation was worse than they thought, Green Lantern was already trying to call in reinforcements.

"J'onn? J'onn! Can you hear me?"

Even with a vast distance, it would sometimes take a few seconds for the Martian to reply. After a few moments and no reply, he had to see if there was something interfering. Hopefully it wasn't the planet itself; the pressure this deep was great, known for it even.

"Do you have anything that blocks psychic abilities?" he asked, turning back to Orin. The Atlantean king did not respond, not immediately, so he asked his question again, only louder.

The only thing that gave away any confusion was the wrinkling of the king's brow. "The dome offers much in protection. Only a select kind of telepathy is allowed through. Why do you ask?"

"Calling for reinforcement. We'll need them," he replied.

"And you expect to do that…with telepathy?" A near golden eyebrow raised in skepticism. "I wasn't aware you possessed such an ability."

"I don't," Green Lantern stated. Select kinds of telepathy, huh? It more than likely meant through the dome, meaning inside going outside. He was trying to communicate with someone outside who would in essence be picking up on his thoughts rather than the dark-skinned man projecting his thoughts. What were the odds he was being muffled?

Well, if muffled was the problem, then he would just have to think louder. Only enough for J'onn to pick up on him. How to do that? This wasn't something that he ever thought would need to be done.

But…

His eyes trailed to his ring, the same one had been told many times was one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. Capable of creating whatever its wearer could imagine using sheer will alone. He had heard of other cases in which the might of the ring was used in…ways that weren't intended by its creator.

This is what happens when you can create with imagination alone. Sometimes, your imagination can run wild. It was ludicrous to even think he could, but he wasn't a member of the Green Lantern Corps for nothing.

As the ring reflected his will through its glow alone, Green Lantern did the one thing he felt was right and raised up his hand only to press the ring against his forehead. With the power of the ring, powered by his will alone, he was going to use it to increase the volume of his thoughts with that same will.

He ignored the many eyes on him, ignored the brilliance shining from his ring, concentrating as if he could feel its very power inside his head. Then he began to think.

Loudly.

"J'onn! Can you hear me?"

J'onn perked up. John was reaching out for him, and there was clear anxiety in his thoughts. "I hear you, Green Lantern," he answered, his orange eyes glowing brightly.

"We've got ourselves a situation," the Lantern responded. "Looks like Black Manta's found Atlantis, and he's launching an attack. Is there any way you can get a lock on my location?"

That was most troubling. The very situation they wished to prevent had happened before they could start. There was no point in responding, so J'onn reached out with his mind, following the telepathic link between himself and John. He felt resistance, but not from his friend; it was as if something were trying to interfere with his telepathy the closer he reached. The telepathic link, however, gave him something to get through.

"I have it," he told the Green Lantern. "Help is on the way." He kept the link open, but pushed it to the back of his mind. Physically, he turned to look out towards the Atlantic Ocean, trying to determine an approximate direction.

"J'onn, is that John?" Hawkgirl was quick to ask.

"It is," the Martain confirmed. "Unfortunately, Black Manta has managed to find Atlantis."

The Thanagarian swore in her native tongue. Though J'onn didn't understand it, he understood the meaning regardless. "Great, now what do we do?"

"I have an approximate area of the city's location. We should be able to go straight there," he answered her.

"But not at those depths," Superman interjected. "Atlantis is at the bottom of the ocean, so we're talking about some strong water pressure. Not all of us can withstand it, not safely at least."

"I can," J'onn replied. "I can assume a form that will allow me to adapt to such an environment."

"That's one," Hawkgirl counted. "How about the rest of us? I know I can't. Maybe you stand a chance, Superman, but what about Diana? Did her gods grant her the ability to not be crushed like a beer can underneath a mile's worth of water?"

"They did not," Wonder Woman confirmed. "It doesn't sit right with me to send only two of us to help John."

There was silence between them. J'onn honestly didn't have much of a solution for the others, which was frustrating. With all of their powers, even they weren't immune to environmental limitations.

Eventually, it was Superman that broke the silence. "There's a S.T.A.R. Labs not too far away. I know they helped me construct a suit for space; what are the chances it can help with an underwater mission?"

"It's worth a shot," Diana was quick to agree. "If they made more, like prototypes, perhaps I could wear one as well."

"I guess that leaves me the odd man out," Hawkgirl groused. "I highly doubt they have anything with Thanagarians in mind, not that I'd be much help underwater either. It's not like I could move down there like I can in the skies. Then there's also my mace. Can't use it to its full capabilities because water conducts electricity too well."

"Stay in communication regardless," Superman instructed the winged woman. "There may be something we'll need help with outside of Atlantis. In the meantime, I'll head to S.T.A.R. Labs as quickly as possible." Then without another word, the Kryptonian took off, a red-and-blue blur off to the north."

Which just left J'onn with the women. He paid them little mind as he continued to ensure he had Green Lantern's exact coordinates. When a battle inevitably started, John's thoughts would become erratic and he might lose his hold on him.

That also left J'onn with what form he needed to assume. It had been a long time since he had become an aquatic creature, but he did have one in mind from Mars. Back when water still resided on the planet's surface, there had been lifeforms that dwelled in their depths. He needed one that could travel fast and allow him offensive and defensive capabilities. The more he thought about it, the more he was honing in on one such creature.

Faintly, he wondered how the others were handling seeing a y'wath.

The ocean depths were dark, but the radar was keeping them on track. The Atlantean ships had been allowed some distance, though that was less by choice. Keeping the sub going at full speed just to keep up had been an undertaking, but the radar had managed to keep track of them.

When they had begun to catch up, that had been all Black Manta had needed to know they were almost there.

On a screen, next to the one displaying the radar's findings, an image of Scavenger was displayed. "They are reducing speed. They should be arriving soon," he told his collaborator.

"The forced march pace was starting to wear on the engines," Scavenger told him without outright stating his relief. "What's the estimated time of arrival?"

"Fifteen minutes if we continue with the current pace. Twenty if we chose to slow down," he answered.

"We should slow down, make a slow approach. That way we'll be able to apprehend any scouts in a timely fashion," Scavenger suggested.

Black Manta shook his head. "No. It's a risk we'll have to take. The weaponry we've designed for this assault should be enough to deal with their defenses. All you need to do is buy time and provide an opening, and I will handle the rest."

"Very well," Scavenger agreed. "Make sure you give yourself enough time to escape."

"As long as I deal the fatal blow, escape doesn't matter," he replied. "The riches of Atlantis will be yours irregardless. Spend it well."

Ending the communication, he kept his eyes on the screen, ordered the periscope to lower. There was no intention to raise it; they were far too deep for that. No, he wanted to make a visual confirmation himself. It had been too many years searching, and the mechanical aid of the radar would not be enough for this moment.

Removing his helmet, he peered into the periscope's visor. He kept the device turned to the submarine's bow, keeping steady and peering into the darkness. Somewhere, out there, the place that Aquaman called home was hidden. Not for much longer. Soon, very soon, he would at last find it.

Minutes ticked by, only darkness greeted his eyes. This was expected; the Atlanteans' faster ships had gained distance on them. It would take time to cross it, and so he would remain patient.

His patience would be rewarded. The first sign of anything was a distance glow, one that grew stronger the closer they became. His grip on the periscope's side handles tightened and his heart began to speed up. Gradually, that light became brighter and brighter, and then there it was.

A city at the bottom of the ocean, lost to time and history, alit in its brilliance that had not dimmed in thousands of years. Legend was finally coming to life. There it was, the home and stronghold of his greatest adversary. His enemy. His father's murderer.

Atlantis was right there but he did not feel any awe towards it. What he felt was satisfaction and hunger, hunger for a vengeance years in the making. Killing that little whelp all those years ago would be meaningless compared to this.

That night, that horrible night, all those years ago, holding the corpse of his father, not necessarily the best man he had ever known but one that had been willing to take him under his wing, that night had been the ending of his world. From its ashes had risen the man he was now, and that man was keen to repay the favor and destroy Aquaman's world.

The helmet was placed back on, sealing tightly. The moment would soon be at hand, and his wrath would finally be able to express itself in no uncertain terms. It wasn't going to be easy, never had been, but he figured the forces that Scavenger had been able to build up would help in this endeavor.

It was the reason he had sought out Scavenger in the first place. The man had built a small fleet of his own, and that meant a lot of firepower to level at Atlantis once it was found.

A fleet of nearly twenty ships, all submersible, the largest one dwarfing many of them and serving as Scavenger's primary vessel, made their way to add their names to Atlantis' legend. All were stocked and armed, prepared for the battle of a lifetime, and while Scavenger would believe wholeheartedly that this was all for profit, Black Manta had other ideas.

Then again, he wasn't lying. Anything that managed to survive once this was said and done would be Scavenger's to do with as he would. The profit, though, might be smaller than anticipated.

Yes, their names would be written into Atlantis' legend, specifically its final moments.