With the Mother Box secured in his possession, Ben took Mera's hand and guided her back toward their waiting submarine. The ancient artifact and the obsidian trident were carefully stowed in the vessel's rear storage compartment, their combined energy signatures creating subtle interference patterns that made the Omnitrix hum with appreciation.
"Now that we have the Mother Box, what's our next move?" Mera asked, settling into the navigator's seat while her eyes lingered on Ben's transformed features with obvious admiration.
"Time to find that legendary harpoon," Ben replied without hesitation, his voice carrying the electronic distortion characteristic of his aquatic form.
Originally, he had dismissed the Trident of Poseidon as little more than an oversized fishing spear with a fancy reputation. But when he'd hurled that improvised trident and watched it pierce through multiple enemies in a single throw, something had awakened in him, a primal satisfaction that reminded him of childhood games, knocking flower heads off dandelions with a perfectly aimed stick.
The crude obsidian weapon he'd salvaged was truly unworthy of Ripjaws' "handsome and elegant" temperament. It was barely suitable for combat and would be better suited for agricultural work. He needed the genuine Trident of Poseidon to complement his newfound abilities.
Mera's expression immediately brightened with excitement. This aligned perfectly with her original plan. Only if Ben truly claimed the Trident of Poseidon and became Lord of the Seven Seas could her violations, breaking her engagement, fleeing Atlantis, and attacking the Mother Box's guardians, be properly justified in the eyes of the underwater kingdoms.
"But do you actually know where to find the trident?" Mera inquired, her tactical mind already working through the logistics. "Ever since the sinking of Atlantis, King Atlan disappeared along with the weapon. There have been countless expeditions searching for it over the millennia."
Ben's knowledge of the Aquaman films was quite comprehensive, especially the memorable scene where Mera first visited a human city and naively attempted to eat a decorative rose as if it were exotic cuisine. He had always appreciated women with red hair, though this particular redhead's behavior in reality was proving somewhat more eccentric than he'd anticipated.
"The trident's location is in the Dark Sea," he stated matter-of-factly.
"The Dark Sea... the Trench Realm?!" Mera's reaction was explosive. She leaped up so suddenly that her head struck the submarine's ceiling with a resounding clang. Covering the impact site with both hands and tears forming in her eyes, she stared at him in disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking."
Even when it came to stealing the Mother Box, an act that constituted betrayal of both Orm and the Kingdom of Xebel, Mera had followed Ben without a second thought. But the mere mention of the Trench Realm caused genuine terror to appear on her features.
After the Great Cataclysm that sank Atlantis, the empire had fractured into seven distinct aquatic civilizations. Among the five major kingdoms that remained viable today, the Trench Tribe was the only one that existed in name alone, their civilization had effectively ceased to exist.
The former inhabitants of the Trench were technically still alive, but their nation had been destroyed and the flame of their culture had been extinguished in the perpetual darkness of the deepest ocean trenches.
Now, all that remained in those abyssal depths were countless monsters.
"That's the Land of Exile!" Mera emphasized urgently, as if worried that Ben didn't fully comprehend the magnitude of what he was proposing. "Throughout history, all our kingdoms have banished traitors and criminals to the Trench Realm, leaving them to be torn apart by the creatures that have devolved into savage beasts. Exile there has only one possible outcome, death!"
Her voice took on a melancholy tone as she continued, "You might not know about Queen Atlanna, the former ruler of Atlantis. She was exiled to the Trench many years ago, and her fate remains unknown. She's probably been devoured completely by those monsters and reduced to... well, organic waste."
At this point, Mera's mood became noticeably depressed, her shoulders sagging as if she were accepting an inevitable doom. "If Orm captures me, I'm afraid my fate won't be any different."
"Which is exactly why you should come with me to retrieve the trident," Ben replied, not giving her any opportunity to refuse his proposal.
Although both Arthur and Orm were legitimate heirs to Atlantis's throne, Ben considered neither of them particularly reliable leaders.
Arthur was a classic example of brawn over brains, he might possess the courage necessary for a warrior, but he was clearly unqualified to rule a nation. For Poseidon's Trident to recognize him as worthy was like space favoritism toward the intellectually challenged.
Orm, meanwhile, was too extreme and arrogant in his current state. If this were the version of Orm who had lived among surface dwellers by the end of Aquaman 2, he might have developed into a qualified monarch. But the present Orm would only bring warfare and destruction.
Ben shook his head in exasperation, concluding that Orm had suffered from calcium deficiency as a child and desperately needed some sense beaten into him as an adult. When the time came, Clark could slap him around like caviar until he learned proper behavior.
BOOM!
Inside the Kingdom of Atlantis, Orm's fist crashed into the ornate table before him, shattering the fragments of Mera's broken engagement bracelet into even smaller pieces.
Vulko, standing nearby, kept his head lowered and remained silent, his thoughts unreadable behind his stoic expression.
"How dare you allow my fiancée to escape!" Orm snarled, his mood having deteriorated beyond salvaging.
His war plans required support from at least four kingdoms before he could launch his assault on the surface world. However, the cowards in the Fishermen Kingdom were too afraid of conflict and preferred maintaining the status quo. He had expected the Brine Kingdom to support him, but reality had delivered a stinging rebuke.
Those barbarians in the Brine Kingdom didn't care whether war was declared against the surface, but they absolutely refused to accept Atlantis, especially that young upstart Orm, as their supreme commander.
We can form an alliance, but WE'LL be in charge!
The Brine Kingdom was unwilling to accept subordinate status, and it was certainly impossible for Orm to bow down to a collection of primitive tribes he considered beneath him.
To initiate warfare, consent from at least four kingdoms was required, but two of the remaining candidates had already refused. The only potential ally remaining was the Kingdom of Xebel, but now Mera had vanished!
His gaze fell upon the shattered bracelet fragments scattered across the table's surface.
"The tracking device was destroyed. Did she discover it?"
Vulko remained silent for an extended moment, as if remembering that as a chief advisor, he shouldn't maintain complete silence during such crises. He stepped forward carefully. "King Orm, Princess Mera's disappearance is a grave matter. Should we report this incident to King Nereus?"
As he spoke, his eyes lingered on the broken bracelet pieces.
Vulko recognized the surveillance technology concealed within the jewelry, and his heart began racing with apprehension.
Did Princess Mera flee because she discovered this violation of her privacy?
Moreover, if Orm was willing to place tracking devices on Mera, perhaps he's also...
Has my secret departure from Atlantis to train Arthur been exposed?
Orm's expression shifted as he regained his composure.
If Mera had indeed fled because she was disgusted by the surveillance device hidden in the bracelet he'd given her, then King Nereus must never learn about this breach of trust.
He had already experienced unpleasant tensions with two kingdoms. If this scandal were exposed, the Kingdom of Xebel would likely develop an equally negative opinion of Atlantis.
"Mobilize our forces to locate Mera as quickly as possible," Orm commanded decisively, "and ensure that no information about this situation leaks to anyone!"
He had already prepared for the worst-case scenario in his mind. If they could find Mera, he might be able to negotiate with her. But if she remained missing, or if she insisted on informing King Nereus about the bracelet, then Orm would have to take preemptive action, imprisoning Mera or even fabricating evidence that she had betrayed him, thereby forcing the Kingdom of Xebel to support his war efforts out of damaged honor.
After all, his purpose in marrying Mera had always been securing Xebel's military support. There was nothing inherently wrong with employing underhanded tactics to achieve that goal.
Soon, all of Atlantis began operating in secrecy. Although they were an underwater civilization, the palace maintained sophisticated current-monitoring systems similar to security cameras. They quickly discovered footage of Mera departing the palace alone, moving with distinctly unusual gait that suggested some form of physical discomfort, as well as her exit records from the kingdom's borders.
However, once they had left Atlantis proper, locating individuals in the vast ocean became exponentially more difficult.
Just as Orm was struggling with how to fabricate convincing evidence against the missing princess, an emergency communication arrived from the Mother Box's guardians.
"Princess Mera and a fishfolk from the Fishermen Kingdom stole the Mother Box?!"
Orm's initial shock transformed rapidly into an expression of delighted surprise.
It really requires no effort at all! Although the identity of this supposed Fishermen Kingdom warrior and how he had formed an alliance with Mera remained mysterious, this presented Orm with an unprecedented opportunity, a chance to force both the Fishermen Kingdom and the Kingdom of Xebel to agree to his war plans.
He impatiently donned his battle armor, located his mount, and issued commands to his forces: "Deploy an elite squadron to capture Mera and the criminal from the Fishermen Kingdom! The rest of you follow me to the Fishermen Kingdom! This time I will extract a full explanation from their leadership!"
"Forward, my faithful steed!" he declared dramatically, pulling the reins of his armored sea-dragon. The creature surged forward with predatory aggression, its powerful movements creating impressive water displacement.
The white-capped waves crashed against black volcanic rocks, the foam resembling scattered fragments of precious jade in the lighthouse's illumination.
"Standing here again?" Arthur Curry approached from the distance, carrying a case of beer in one massive hand. Through his wild, unkempt hair and thick beard, he observed a figure of average height wearing a wool cap, his adoptive father, patiently waiting as he had for so many years.
Arthur knew exactly what his father was waiting for.
He was hoping for the return of Atlanna, expecting that beautiful figure to emerge from the deep sea with the grace of a flying fish breaking the surface.
But such hopes were no longer realistic.
Over the years, Arthur had attempted multiple times to reach Atlantis and inquire about his mother's fate, but all he ever received was confirmation that Atlanna was dead, or at least, permanently missing, which amounted to the same thing.
"Just taking a walk," Thomas Curry replied, returning to the present and concealing the longing and sadness in his eyes. When he turned around, he was smiling warmly. "What brings you here? I wasn't suggesting you should emulate that Superman fellow. You could use your strengths to become a superhero like him and adopt an impressive name, something like AquaDude, or the The Wet Wonder, or even The Bored Merman."
"Are you being serious right now?" Arthur stared at his father in disbelief. "You want me to save the world under the name 'The Bored Merman'?"
"You're behaving like it anyway these days," Thomas replied with gentle humor, walking up to his powerfully built son and patting him on the shoulder. He glanced down at the beer case. "This amount won't be nearly enough for a proper conversation."
The two men returned to their coastal cabin. Thomas worked as a lighthouse keeper in Maine, but times had changed, and the world needed a different kind of lighthouse altogether.
How can we rely on this corrupt system? he thought.
"I think that Superman's concept has merit," Thomas said, taking a satisfying sip of foam from his beer. "An organization that isn't held hostage by any single nation's political agenda, these 'Plumbers' dedicated to maintaining world peace."
He continued thoughtfully, "I originally hoped you would become a bridge between humanity and Atlantis, but since you weren't interested in that role, joining that remarkable young man might be an excellent alternative."
"Come on," Arthur disagreed with his father's assessment. "You don't understand the magnitude of the problems he's created. He openly announced to the world his intention to establish a superhuman organization that operates above all national governments. Do you realize that every country now considers him a major threat?"
"What good are his incredible superpowers going to do him?"
"When push comes to shove, he'll learn obedience after being hit with a couple of atomic bombs."
Clark: Are you absolutely certain about that?
Arthur maintained a pessimistic view of Clark's prospects. The primary issue was that Clark's behavior seemed too naive and presumptuous. No nation would willingly accept an uncontrollable danger operating above their authority. His actions would inevitably transform him into everyone's enemy.
The conflicts hadn't erupted yet simply because they hadn't reached the point where warfare became necessary.
The American government was attracted to his superpowers and maintained hopes for cooperation, while numerous corporate interests had also set their sights on this unprecedented type of individual.
"If he's intelligent, he'll choose to cooperate with governmental authorities," Arthur said with dark complexity in his voice. "If he proves stubborn, I can only hope he's smart enough to flee to the ocean when the beatings start. At least then I might be able to save his life."
In truth, Arthur was already acquainted with Clark.
Not long ago, this man had rescued a group of people trapped at sea. Arthur had been the one to summon whales to prevent Clark from sinking to the ocean floor during that rescue operation.
He simply hadn't expected that just a few months later, the same individual would create such an enormous political crisis.
A pale flash of lightning erupted where the sea met the sky, revealing fang-like silhouettes of massive waves in the electrical discharge. Dark storm clouds poured downward like torn black silk, while salty, fishy winds carried hail-like raindrops across the turbulent waters.
The closer they approached the Trench Realm, the darker the seawater became, with violent undercurrents surging chaotically. Even their advanced submarine felt like fruit being tossed around inside a space blender.
"The water density in this region is significantly higher than other areas," Mera warned, her voice tight with apprehension. "We need to be extremely careful!"
"Also be aware of the pursuers behind us," Ben added, glancing at their rear displays where a long line of patrol vessels emitted blue propulsion glows as they cut through the ocean currents in pursuit.
"I clearly destroyed the bracelet, so how did they manage to track us?" Mera wondered aloud, then quickly began stripping off her clothing like someone peeling a banana, revealing pale skin beneath. "Could there be another tracking device somewhere on my person?"
"It's probably the submarine itself," Ben observed, asking Mera to get dressed quickly while averting his gaze diplomatically.
Since Mera's submarine was registered with Atlantis, tracking its movements would be relatively straightforward for their intelligence services.
"Don't worry about them, just punch it into the Dark Sea!" Ben commanded.
"Kill all the lights!" Mera didn't have time to fully redress. She threw herself partially across Ben's lap to reach the illumination controls, her movements urgent and graceful.
"The monsters of the Trench Tribe are extremely sensitive to light sources," she explained breathlessly. "They're afraid of intense illumination, but weak light sources will attract them like moths to a flame."
Ben found himself supporting Mera's smooth back with one hand while gripping the submarine's steering controls with the other. He pressed the acceleration system to maximum and plunged their vessel into the abyss of the Dark Sea.
Mera gasped with surprise and instinctively reached out to steady herself, her hand closing around what felt like an upright control lever.
Why is this lever so warm? she wondered with confusion. Wait, where would a submarine even have a gear shift lever?!