Post by Drake on Jun 30, 2014 23:14:06 GMT -5
#16: War Games Part 4
“Casualties of War”
By Drake
It didn’t take Arthur long to notice Jenna was shivering. His girlfriend shuddered nearly every few seconds as they skated across the East Coast towards Amnesty Bay, Maine. Arthur leaped out of the water, Jenna in his arms, and crashed into the side of a cliff, holding Jenna tight to shield her from rubble.
“You okay, babe?” Arthur asked.
Jenna shivered, “Yeah, just a little cold. You’re doing a good job taking all the hits though.”
Arthur had been leaping backwards, literally holding Jenna on his chest as he blasted over wave after wave on his back.
“The water doesn’t hurt me.”
“Right. Atlantean. Still getting used to that.”
“I can’t stop, Jenna…” Arthur said.
“I know. I’ll be fine. The hurricane’s just freezing me a little. I’ll get used to it,” Jenna assured Arthur.
“If you say so…” Arthur wasn’t so sure. Hurricane Robert was the worst storm the East Coast had seen in years. With a reluctant sigh, Arthur pulled Jenna closer to him and leaped into the water back-first. At the very least, they were close to Amnesty Bay.
Another ten minutes later and Arthur and Jenna found themselves sailing past a sandy, if a bit rocky, beach. Amnesty Bay, home of the Buccaneers. Home of Arthur Curry.
Arthur’s father’s lighthouse was in sight. With one final leap, Arthur landed atop the shore by the lighthouse and released Jenna from his arms. Almost instantly, the two were engulfed by light. Someone had turned the lighthouse on and aimed the light right at them.
It took Arthur a few seconds, but his eyes managed to adjust enough for him to glimpse two silhouettes atop the lighthouse. That wasn’t good at all.
“ATLANTEAN!” a deep, booming voice echoed from atop the lighthouse. That wasn’t his dad.
“Where’s my father?” Arthur interrupted.
The man above laughed. “The old man? He’s right up here with me.”
“Arthur, run! NOW!” Thomas cried out, but was quickly silenced by the mystery man.
“Oh no, we can’t have that…” Arthur could barely make out the muffled screams of his father as the man clasped his hand over his father’s mouth.
Arthur turned to Jenna. Whatever this was, he could tell it was way too serious for her to be around. He had a bad feeling looming in the back of his mind, as if everything was about to go wrong.
“Jen, baby, you need to leave right now.”
“But…”
“Find somewhere safe. Don’t bring anyone back. Go now.”
Jenna grumbled a few choice curse words, but she did run off. Arthur could barely make out her silhouette as she ran away, but he could follow her far enough to know she got away. Next, squinting, he turned back to the mystery man.
“Let my dad go!”
“It’s not that simple,” the man began, “I’m here to kill you. I figure that means we have a deal here…your father’s life for your own.”
Thomas’s muffled cries echoed to Arthur. The teen knew his father was yelling ‘no.’ But Arthur…he had no choice. No matter what he had to save his dad. He’d done nothing to deserve this, beyond taking care of a poor baby boy left alone by a mysterious man nearly twenty years ago. But still, Arthur knew the man couldn’t be trusted.
“How do I know I can trust you to let my father live?” Arthur demanded.
“Because I am not one of you, Arthur. You should be able to tell that by my speaking.” It was true. That hadn’t occurred to Arthur till now.
“I am human. I kill Atlanteans. My job is simple—terminate you. After that, your brother. His biggest mistake in life will be freeing me…” the man said.
Orm sent this man after Arthur? Of course that’s what he’d guessed, but still, to release a prisoner...a human prisoner…who the hell was this man?
“I’ve slaughtered dozens of your kind, including an entire battalion at once,” the man continued.
“I’m different.”
“I’ve heard, but all things must die.”
“Who are you?” Arthur wondered.
“As cliché as it sounds, I am your worst nightmare. I’m the one Atlantean parents mention to scare their children straight. I am Black Manta.” The assassin declared. “And you are dead.”
Suddenly, two new lights appeared above, each a red oval. As fast as they appeared, Arthur felt more than saw the lights tear into his chest. It burned horribly, even tearing off the remains of his red shirt, but it did no serious damage. Soon enough, the lasers stopped coming. Arthur still stood proud, now dressed only in his black leggings.
“Black Manta, you have no idea who you’re dealing with. I am stronger than any other Atlantean. I can move faster than you can imagine. Moreover, I am the prince of Atlantis, the greatest among my people!!”
<No, my lord, you are much more than that! And that is why I would gladly die for you…>
<What?> Arthur swiveled around, expecting an Atlantean to leap from the waters. What he found flipped his world upside down and confirmed a suspicion he’d had since the rebel invasion.
A blue whale leaped through the air and into the lighthouse. How had it found him? Blue whales didn’t live anywhere near Amnesty Bay!
<I followed you, my lord. I would follow you anywhere.>
The enormous whale crashed into the ground, shaking the lighthouse even further. The silhouetted Black Manta slipped away from his father. Arthur had no time to dwell on the whale’s health. He leaped through the air and tackled Black Manta through glass and into the light, breaking it.
Arthur could finally clearly see the assassin. He was dressed in an entirely black skintight diving suit, and wore a silver helmet on his head with two oval red lenses. The assassin swung his one blade, a simple short sword with no hilt, at Arthur. The blade shattered upon contact.
“You think you can come into my house and threaten my father??”Arthur roared before throwing Manta out the hole he’d created and into the ground more than half a dozen stories below.
“That traitor to mankind is not your father!” Manta growled, recovering from the fall.
“How are you even alive?” Arthur demanded, leaping atop Black Manta.
“This suit was built for war with your kind thousands of feet below sea level. It can take a simple drop,” Manta growled.
“ARTHUR!”
The young prince turned his attention from Manta to his father, who now found himself falling over the rails of the lighthouse because of the harsh winds. Arthur jumped and caught his father, digging his hand into the wall of the lighthouse to stop their fall.
“Dad…” Arthur began, before Manta’s red lasers ripped into his back, “Agh!”
“Son!”
“No, I’m fine!” Arthur said, “You…how’re you?”
“Scared but otherwise okay,” Thomas admitted, “You…you’re from Atlantis? You grew a beard?”
Arthur couldn’t help but laugh as he leaped through the air to land atop the lighthouse. He led his father inside.
“Why does everyone make a big deal out of the beard?” Arthur wondered, “Anyway, Dad, I did go to Atlantis. I found my mother.”
“You…did…?” Thomas clearly looked a little hurt.
“Oh, come on, Dad. Sure I care about her, but you are my father!” Arthur grinned, “And I promise I won’t let any of these crazy Atlantean guys hurt you.”
Just then, the building shuddered again.
“What the hell is…”
Red energy burst from the ground by Arthur.
“It’s Manta! He’s burning through the building with his lasers!” Arthur cursed, before continuing, “Dad, we have to…”
One last glance. That’s all Arthur got before the floor beneath his father caved in, leaving his father to fall down who knows how many floors. Half a second later and Arthur himself was falling to the ground. Rubble covered Arthur as he crashed into the ground, wherever that was. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. All the claustrophobia Arthur had never once felt throughout his life hit him as if he’d never stopped fearing cramped spaces.
Within seconds Arthur couldn’t see anything. A few more and real darkness took over Arthur’s vision.
All Arthur could think of as he lost consciousness was his father and how couldn’t save him. All the powers in the world, a throne in a country deemed a myth, and he couldn’t do a damn thing.
Darkness engulfed him.
Black Manta grinned as he looked over his handywork. He’d brought the entire lighthouse to the ground with the Currys alongside it. It turned out the boy could be killed. Figures. Everything died.
Manta began to walk off. Surely townspeople would be running to check on the famous lighthouse-keeper soon. They would blame the collapse and his death on the freak hurricane. Despite the frantic claims of that girl Arthur had brought, Manta was sure he would leave the job scott free.
One brother down, another to go.
He was coming for Orm, and he was going to make him pay.
Deep beneath and dozens of miles away from Amnesty Bay, Orm sat in his throne, frustrated by the news left for him. Arthur had defeated the Triad. The King of Atlantis knew he couldn’t trust Manta either, so that left him with one choice.
He had to go to the surface.
Birds danced past Arthur as he sat alongside the Amnesty Bay cove with his father, mother, Jenna and Brian. They’d been sitting there for hours, just watching the ocean. He still couldn’t believe his birth mother, Atlanna, and Thomas were married. They’d hit it off so quickly. Now, at long last, he was surrounded by two parents. He had no regrets, no desire for anything other than to be there with them now.
Thomas wrapped his arm around Arthur. “Remember, Arthur, as a kid how you kept bugging me about selling the lighthouse, saying we needed the money? Bet you’re glad I stuck my ground now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, who cares about money? I’ve got all I need here with you guys,” Arthur agreed dreamily.
“That’s something to remember, Arthur. Stand your ground; don’t let anyone push you aside, no matter their reasoning. Trust yourself, Arthur. Trust your morals. They can’t lead you astray.”
“Yeah, I know, Dad. You always bugged me about this as a kid. The three virtues: be honest, help everyone you can no matter the cost, and trust your morals.” Something felt off to Arthur. “Dad, why…why are you bringing this up now?”
Thomas gave Arthur that full, toothy grin that had always calmed Arthur as a child on those restless stormy nights. “This is all a dream, Arthur. Don’t you remember…?”
Tom’s smile flipped into a nasty frown as he glared at his son, “You failed me, Arthur. You let me die.”
“What?” Arthur exclaimed, but it was all coming back to him now. Black Manta. The lighthouse. The storm. Arthur scrambled back as his dad began to come at him.
“Dad, I swear, I tried…I just got stupid, cocky. I forgot about Manta…I…I’m sorry!”
“That doesn’t matter now, Arthur. I’m dead because of you…because of who you are!” Thomas growled, approaching Arthur. Soon, he was followed by Atlanna, and then Brian, and lastly Jenna.
“You failed me too, Arthur. You left the throne of Atlantis to your tyrant brother,” Atlanna menaced, “And you wonder why your father and I left you in the hands of a surface dweller! You’re nothing but an idiot coward!”
“No!”
“Oh yeah, Arthur,” Brian leaped onto Arthur, holding him against the ground. Arthur’s strength was nowhere to be found. “Look at me, goofy, stupid, powerless Brian Collins and I’m the one who’s making a difference.” Brian’s simple clothes turned into a military uniform. Then, Brian faded into a skeleton. Arthur screamed.
Thomas and Atlanna followed suit by changing into skeletons and falling onto Arthur, “We died…will die because of you!”
Jenna, sweet, lovely Jenna, now stood alone in front of Arthur.
“You have failed us all. You will fail us all. I will die because of you!” Jenna straddled Arthur and began to strangle him. “Now wake up, Arthur Curry!”
”Wake up!”
Arthur gasped for air as a pale hand entered his sight, reached out to him.
“Jenna?” Arthur breathlessly wondered.
<No…it is me.>
Telepathy…what? Arthur looked up into the eyes of his savior—Mera!
He dived forward and tackled Mera into the ground. Instantaneously he began to choke her out.
“THIS IS YOUR FAULT! HE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! If I hadn’t been forced to leave…”
Arthur was knocked away from Mera by a burst of water. The aquatic witch stood up and massaged her throat.
<I do not know what it is you say, but I am on your side. Our skirmish earlier was a…misunderstanding. I know I am not your friend, Arthur Curry, but I am your ally. We share a common enemy,” Mera projected.
<Orm,> Arthur thought.
<Correct, and I know where he is. In fact, it is not too far from here. He is coming to the surface now,> Mera continued.
Arthur immediately shot up off the ground, murder in his eyes. He grabbed Mera by the shoulders, causing her to recoil.
<WHERE IS HE?>
<Relax, Arthur,> Mera pushed the prince away, <I will lead you.>
Arthur took a second to think over his options, but he just kept coming back to the same one. He had to kill Orm.
<When we find him, leave him to me.> Arthur demanded.
<Fine,> Mera agreed, <Let us go.>
Arthur began to follow Mera to the water, ignoring his aching body, but he was stopped as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was the body of his father laying atop the rubble, bloody and broken.
<Did you know the man?> Mera inquired, noticing Arthur’s pause.
<Yes.>
<Was he your surrogate father?>
<…Yes.>
Mera put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, <I am sorry for your loss.>
Arthur nodded. There wasn’t much he could do now. He had to leave his father’s body. At least this way Jenna would make sure he’d get a proper burial.
<C’mon,> Arthur began to lead Mera away, <Let’s go get my bastard brother and end this once and for all.>
Arthur knew he had failed his father. He knew he had failed his mother. He knew he had failed the world by not taking action until now. That time was over. Arthur would not fail again. He would not let anyone else die because of his failure to act. Tonight, one way or another, he and Orm would fight and only one of them would leave the battlefield alive.
NEXT: The final battle! Drake's run on Aquaman ends with a bang as Orm and Arthur finally collide, and both the surface and Atlantis will never be the same because of it!