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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:24:06 GMT -5
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:37:37 GMT -5
Aquaman
Issue #10: “The Return”, Part 1: Dreams and Darkness
Written by: Masoud House
Cover by: Micron
Edited by: Krstaledragon |
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:42:41 GMT -5
For the first time in my entire life…
I’m drowning…
Water rushes in from all sides and it burns me like fire. Seconds later it freezes and turns my soul to ice. Soon after, in my frailest moment, the water actually starts to crush my bones.
I use all of my pain and agony to will myself from screaming…
For a king must be strong…
But sometimes royal blood is exactly the reason some fall…
A siren pierces my ears and all of a sudden I’m weightless, drifting off into a mist…
And then a shadow forms…A song resonates in my ears but I can’t place the source of the tune…And then the forming shadow takes shape before me…“Are you an Oceanic?” I ask.A man steps through…but he is not entirely a man. His face is pale and elastic, and where hair would usually be were long, moving, squid-like tendrils coming down to his chest and lower back. His clothes are made of rags-sewn-with-rags; long tattered robes bound together through cheap craftsmanship. Most unusual is that his left arm is entirely made of water.
His voice is eerily deep, as if the voice was coming from a hollow crevice. “I can see how you’d confuse me with those monstrous cretins; those half-man, half-marine behemoths. But I am not an Oceanic,” it says with a nasally lisp. “I am merely a dweller…a dweller-in-the-depths.” “Dweller? A Dweller-in-the-depths of what?” “Your soul.” Silence. Silence for what seems to be a lifetime. Finally, I shake my head. “I don’t understand.” “You can’t understand. Not until I explain further.” The Dweller smiles, and walks up to me. My brows fall, arching inward. “I don’t pretend to comprehend any of this, but what’s going on? Why are we talking?” “Because, Scion of Atlantis, you must be prepared to fight great evil.” “Evil? From where? From whom?” “The new Dark Kings will bring back the Wrath of the Gods once again. The Black Days of the dreaded past will return anew…And the Obsidian Age will begin again.” “The Black Days? No, that can’t be right…I’ve been a good king, I’ve prepared for bad days, I, I—“ I try to speak clearly but I find myself frantically stuttering and shaking my head, my eyes staring deeply into the Dweller’s. “I’d do anything to prevent it! What can I do?” “Fail.” I reach out, grasping at thin air. “Wait! Please!” It’s too late though…The mist grows stronger. I try to run, but the water returns. It rushes in, getting stronger and stronger, and heavier and heavier. The Dweller stands in the middle of it all, but it just travels around him and falls toward me. The tide pours and pours from all around until I cannot move, and I’m still just gasping and gasping for air…
=A= The King of the Seven Seas woke up with a start, breathing in the water around him while feeling his heart beating like a jackhammer. Though he couldn’t feel it, he knew a cold sweat came from his face and was mingling with the sea water around him. His body began to straighten as if he was standing, brushing by his wife, Mera, who floated beside him. She stirred, her eyes slowly opening to find her husband’s body warm, yet he was shivering. “My love is anything the matter?” Orin’s nostrils flared, and his eyes opened wide—and then he began to relax, steeling himself and bringing himself back to being calm. He reached out for his wife, turning and placing a kiss on her forehead. She smiled and closed her eyes affectionately as his lips touched hers. “No my queen,” he said, staring off into a fading dream. “Everything is alright.”
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:43:32 GMT -5
A Hidden Location
Within a dark room sat a lone man upon a lonely throne, surrounded by monitor screens that gave off a low gray glow. Nothing stirred inside but the drops of perpetual rainfall that magically came from the ceiling. The lone man, motionless, whispered forgotten incantations to himself. A cold breeze came through the room, ruffling the man’s indigo robes. Shadows had obscured most of his face, all but his grim eyes and intense stare, but now it was as if darkness had spread over the entire room. And though he was the only man in the room, soon his hushed whispers were answered.
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere: the man wasn’t sure whether the words came from around him or inside his head. But soon a vision overtook him. A mist gathered around the room, forming around him like a pillar of power. His chest heaved in and out rapidly and his breath was ragged; his arms began to tremble and his bottom lip began to quiver. Then, with one deep breath, he drew the mist into himself, clearing the room of everything but the perpetual rainfall.
From beneath his hood his eyes glowed green; his fists had tightened on the throne’s armrest.
“Who is there?” he asked firmly.
A trio approached the throne, visibly shaken by what they saw. One was a man, dressed in a blue and black wet suit; another was a woman, dressed in a red and black variant. In front of both of them was a taller man with a burgundy cloak that covered a violet and black variant of the other’s wetsuits. “Master,” they all said in unison.
“Krako, why do you disturb me?”
“We apologize for the interruption, Supreme One,” the cloaked man Krako said. “Huntress* and Typhoon just came with news that I felt needed your attention.”
<NOTE: This Huntress is not the heroine of the same name based out of Vegas>
“What does it concern?”
“The financial status of our organization.” Krako said.
The Supreme One sat silently for a moment, and then nodded ever so slightly. “Continue.”
“Master, we have word from our most giving sponsor.”
“Luthor.”
Krako nodded. “Luthor is willing to continue his support of Krell’s expenses and Manta’s experiments.
The Supreme One sat in silence, again unmoving. Typhoon and Huntress nervously glanced at each other, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible as they stood silently behind Krako. They were fine with letting their squad leader do all the talking. “Is this all you had to tell me? This is hardly worth my time. Luthor is one of many sources for our finances. I hope you haven’t forgotten the last captain who wasted my time. The iron maiden hasn’t been used in a long while…”
“That is not all, master." Krako said hastily. "Luthor also wants more participation, particularly information, on our plans and goals. I gave him a reply to hold him off, one involving financial domination of the world and such, but I felt you should know he may want to… pry. And Luthor is not one to be trusted,” Krako said.
The Supreme One nodded. “Luthor is a flea. But it is good that you bring me this news. I’ll know to execute our plans a little more hastily. And speaking of Manta’s experiments, how do they go? How is the lab work?”
“He is about to complete Phase Six, the last stage of the testing. So far the men have…undergone interesting developments.”
The Supreme One’s brows arched. “Am I to understand that our men may be a bit more…brutish than usual?”
Krako nodded.
The Supreme One smiled under his cloak. “It seems the Black Days will soon be upon us.”
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:47:24 GMT -5
Atlas Point, FloridaIt was a quiet, boring day for two security guards at the Avalon Cay Science Facility. The sky was cloudless. The beaches were empty and the waters were placid. No one was out, no birds were chirping, and it seemed like the day was just going to be about as exciting as a toilet seat. Thank god for television. “Jimbo, put the news on man.” “The news? Why watch that boring stuff when we can watch Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon? Didn’t I ever tell you how they named that boy after—“ “After you, right? It’s not just a big coincidence. I heard they really wanted to name the show ‘Jimbo Newton, Man Genius’, but they didn’t want to get sued.” “Thank you for remembering’ the details this time around, Manny.” Jimbo said proudly. Manny’s brows furrowed. “C’mon man! First of all, Jimmy Neutron is a 3D rip off of Dexter’s Laboratory, alright? Secondly, don’t you wanna hear the news man? Aquaman’s been on the news a lot lately; I want to hear what he’s been up to.” Jimbo pushed his lip up, upset, and mumbling. “Ain’t like he’s ever going to come around here. But,” Jimbo said with a little more attitude, “ol’ Jimmy N. is around everyday, at the same time, sometimes twice in one day!” Manny frowned at Jimbo, sending him a steely glance. Jimbo’s resolve faded. “Fine. I’ll change the blasted channel if you’re going to catch a fit.” Jimbo picked up the remote, grumbling, and soon the screen blinked white for a split second before the two guards found WGTV News on channel 6. The two saw a woman in a business suit, which soon switched to blurry recordings of a man. ================================ >>”—man seen battling sea monsters. As of late, the King of the Seas has been seen occasionally sporting a blue camouflage costume, which he seems to wear at night. Some speculate that since he was declared a criminal so many months ago he has been even more withdrawn than before; but rest assured that he has not withdrawn from his war on crime.”<< Mug shots and black and white pictures of various places began to come across the screen. >>“Aquaman has been seen busting various crime rings and organizations. Adding to his long list of accomplishments was the defeat of Shark Norton and the Norton Mob, the exposing of Gustave the Great and Jane Stone as frauds, and even stopping the so-called ‘Admiral’ Duko and his collapsing his militaristic mafia. Duko’s most recent crimes include the repeated bullying of the Ocean Going Resource Exchange. The Exchange, said to be the leading research organization around the world due to the free and controlled exchange of international ideas, have made no charges of their own but they have reportedly been gracious to Aquaman for his efforts to tirelessly remove crime from the seas and the coasts of all nations.”<< Next, pictures and short videos of Aquaman with others appeared. >>“Aquaman has also been seen teaming up with various terrestrial heroes, though surprisingly none of whom belong to or involve any major teams like the Justice League. Instead, Aquaman has been seen working with various local heroes, such as Lt. Jason Peter of the Coast Guard and Phineas Pike, the so-called Sea Sleuth.”<< The screen returned to the reporter. >>“Lately, things have been quiet on the coastlines, but there have been numerous reports of incidents in the seas. Authorities are unsure of why there has been an increase of criminal activities in the seas and how many tiers of possibilities that may involve, but we have been assured by Aquaman himself that he’ll be wherever wicked men work.”<< ================================ Manny smiled. “See man, who needs cartoons when we live in a sci-fi-crazy world?” Jimbo shrugged. He sat up in his chair. “Whatever man, that kind of stuff don’t happen in Atlas Poi—“ A sudden crash shook their small outdoor office. The entire wall collapsed around them like straw, and glass shattered everywhere. “Holy crap!” Jimbo yelled. He looked around him. Manny lay beside him, unconscious; lacerations horribly decorated his arms and his face with deep gashes. His breathing was weak; Jimbo put his fingers to Manny’s neck and found a weak pulse that was beginning to slow. “Darn…Manny, stay strong man, stay strong!” Something began to shuffle a few feet behind him. Jimbo turned quickly, protectively covering his co-worker with his own body. “St—stay back!” Some rubble moved, first lightly, then harder. With a sudden burst the rubble went flying, and out of the debris Aquaman arose, former JLA chairperson and worldwide king of the seas. His orange, chain mail shirt, made from the scales of the hardest hides of the deepest leviathan creatures, was covered in dirt, but easily dusted off. His steely green pants, made by the best technology Atlantis could offer, allowed extreme versatility and strength while not being restricting; and it was left unscathed. His bands were shiny and gleamed brightly even with the cloud-filled sky blocking the sunlight. His body was strong and firm; he stood with a prestige unseen by anyone on the surface and he looked practically indestructible. A trident was in his hands that was at least a few inches taller than him, made of gold and laced with gems Jimbo had never seen before. The man was impressive. But the next thing Jimbo saw was far different from impressive—it was frightening. A seven and a half foot tall creature, resembling a man and a shark, stepped through the crumbling wall. It was full of muscles, making it at least five and a half feet wide. The right side of its body was covered in Samoan tattoos; it also wore customized shorts over its legs. When it spoke, its voice was raspy; three rows of teeth could be seen in its wide mouth. Jimbo had never seen anything like that before… nor did he ever want to. “King of the Seven Seas…prepare to take on the King of all Sharks!”
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:49:21 GMT -5
Somewhere else…
Cold metallic steps could be heard limping down a long steel corridor into a chilled, sterilized room. Inside, forty beds laid side by side in an eight by five grid. Thirty-nine of them were occupied by the writhing bodies of people who were more dead than alive, covered with sheets. In the rear section of the room was a lone tank, full of water, with one person inside.
The metallic steps came upon the lone man in the tank, who opened his eyes to find a man with armor and a wide helmet on. The headgear was large, with two giant, crimson eye-slots that pulsed dimly into the tank’s reflective glass.
The man inside stirred. His skin was normally brown, but being inside the water-filled tank had turned his skin pale and prune-like. His mouth and nose were covered with a breathing apparatus; his hair was in a cap. As he shook off his initial confusion, he peered right into the eyes of his commander.
“Black Manta.”
The voice that came out was deep and distorted thanks to the helmet he wore, and deep enough to be easily heard through the glass. “My most loyal lieutenant... how are you, Cal Durham?”
“I think…I think I’m okay. Is the process almost over, sir?”
“For you, almost. For your fellow men, not quite. You should be quite proud my friend.”
“For what? For surviving a mass suicide? Because it feels like we had a death wish here.”
Black Manta laughed. “Very dark opinions, Cal. You’re not looking at the big picture. You’ve just shown your undying loyalty to me. Your peers haven’t died…but they’re undergoing a few changes…you could say they’re undergoing a different, and eventually more violent metamorphosis. But you,” Black Manta said, beginning to pace around the cylindrical tank step by menacing step, “are the only lieutenant to survive all of the tests I have given you, and you are unscathed and actually stronger than before. Emotionally, you are in control of yourself in the most hectic times. Psychologically you are a man of logic and intelligence and you can take any hurdles I can throw at you. Scientifically,” he said coming back in front of Cal and then continuing to make another revolution around the tank, “you have proved to be at the peak of the human condition. Your body has been adapted to the marine environment and now you have enhancements that will improve both your underwater and surface abilities. You might as well call yourself a six million dollar man, Cal Durham. Well, more like a sixty million dollar man.”
Black Manta stopped in front of the cage. Cal’s eyes had remained locked on some point beyond his glass tank, thinking deeply. “All this…is supposed to change the world?”
"Everything we do will change the world. Every step and every process and every battle and every death,” he said with a grim resolve, “will lead us to accomplish our goals.”
“And what are our goals?”
Black Manta laughed heartily. “Order through any means necessary. And what better way to control what happens in the world than to control two-thirds of it?” He walked away slowly, glancing over the beds in the room. The men under the sheets were beginning to moan loudly and shake on their beds. “The other so-called villains think I’m laughable—that I must be a joke to fight for a territory that no longer has much value, or a population to control. They thought I was crazy when I learned of an undersea race. But that was before they knew that Atlantis was real; that some of the most advanced technology on the planet, lost for ages, were waiting to be found again by ambitious people like me.” He turned back to Cal.
“But I am not really a ‘villain’, Cal, at least not anymore. I am a man who was discriminated against as a youth for the color of my skin and for the money I did not have—an outcast not for my choices, but for what I could not help. So when I got older I looked for a place to hide, to be myself, to feel normal for once—and by chance I learned about a lost civilization. I lost people dear to me in the process, yes…but I found something to drive me. And where I once looked for a way to make myself safe and accepted, I now know that I must touch the entire world so that everyone can live in harmony—under my guidance.”
He put a hand on the glass of Cal’s tank. “And you will help me show them all. With Atlantis’ technology we can show the world that we can live in a Utopian society. We can prove to them that we don’t need to travel to space to find places to live—that we can use the other seventy percent of our planet to survive when our population grows. We can do this together. Do you think you can handle that responsibility, Cal Durham, my highest lieutenant?”
Cal’s eyes looked down, looking over his new self. Besides floating in the tank for hours, he almost felt the same. But he was something more now, he knew. He could feel his muscles changing, growing stronger; he could feel his eyes and other senses changing for deep see conditions; his body had already begun to change, and soon he knew that he’d be the first human—besides Aquaman—to breathe underwater.
“Well, Cal? Will you stand by my side?”
Cal looked up. “For the betterment of the world? All the way.”
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:49:46 GMT -5
“Nanaue, this has to stop.” Aquaman said.
“I TOLD YOU DON’T CALL ME THAT! THAT’S NOT MY NAME ANYMORE!” King Shark barked. “DAD SAID I COULD TAKE ON HIS NAME!”
Aquaman shook his head. “How can you expect me to call you ‘King Shark’ when you act more like a ‘Kid Shark’?”
King Shark came towards Aquaman, his whole body trembling with rage. Jimbo’s lip began to quiver out of fear—it was bad enough he had to avoid sharks in the water. Now he had to worry about them on land? “You take that back right now, Orin!”
Aquaman stepped up to the behemoth before him. He looked upwards at his foe fearlessly. A little smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he chuckled. He tiptoed; whispering as close to what Jimbo assumed was the Shark’s ear as possible. “You know,” he started, “you better go back to the sea where you belong. There’s a Red Lobster not too far from here—I’m sure I can get a good buck for you.”
All of a sudden King Shark lashed out; Aquaman jumped backwards with split-second reflexes. The shark-man began screaming a bloody howl. “DAMN YOU FISH MAN!”
Aquaman smiled slyly; he looked unfazed by the charging mass of five hundred pound shark-man coming his way. As King Shark drew close, Aquaman moved so quickly that Jimbo hadn’t realized what happened; a moment later Aquaman had sidestepped King Shark, turned, and delivered a powerful haymaker into the shark-man’s side. A ripple came from where the Sea King’s fist landed and all of a sudden King Shark was thrown across the room by the blow. The large creature smashed into another wall, wood splinters and plaster falling all around him. Aquaman rushed up on the rising man-shark in a split-second and placed a faster-than-the-eye-could-catch punch across his face, sending the creature outside of the wall beyond where Jimbo could see.
Aquaman turned to Jimbo and Manny, his face becoming one of concern. He approached them slowly. “Is your friend okay?”
Jimbo stayed still for a moment, mostly out of shock; then he answered shyly. “Y-yes—I t-think he’s okay…his b-b-breathing’s okay.”
Aquaman’s lip tightened as his eyes looked over the injured man. Then he looked up at Jimbo and nodded lightly. “I think he’ll be okay, too. Just keep looking after him while I take care of Jaws.”
Jimbo nodded over and over. “Yes sir—“Jimbo replied. “I mean, your royalty,” he added.
Aquaman shook his head lightly and smiled. “Don’t worry about that ‘King’ stuff. You can call me Orin—or Arthur if you prefer.”
Jimbo nodded. “Y-yes sir King Arthur,” he said.
Orin was about to correct him, and decided to leave it alone. He stood and walked to the splintered wall. He stepped through, walking outside and cracking his knuckles. Jimbo scrambled to the wall and peered outside.
The building they were in—in fact the entire Avalon Cay Center—was next to a small beach and a small cliff that led to a little waterfall that fed into a river. King Shark had gotten up out of the sand already and began to furiously make his way towards Aquaman. “That—that hurt…You broke several of my teeth!”
“You still have a few hundred left right? Walk it off. That pain means you should back down.”
“Back down? I am the new King of Sharks, son of the Shark God, and I should bow down before you?”
“I said ‘back down’, not bow down. Nanaue, please, this is getting—“
“MY NAME IS KING SHARK!”
King Shark roared as he lunged at Aquaman, blood dripping from his mouth from his missing teeth. Aquaman swiftly dived out of the way, rolling to the side and moving like something Jimbo had never seen before. As he came out of the roll he was upside down; then he pushed himself up with his arms and sprang into the air. His body righted, came down, and then sprang off the balls of his feet, himself lunging at the still falling King Shark. Aquaman drove his elbow into King Shark’s back and then sprang back up onto his feet. Jimbo couldn’t say anything but “Wow”.
Aquaman crossed his arms and chuckled. “You’re too slow, Nanaue.”
King Shark got up and roared fury at his foe. He charged at Aquaman one last time—and regretted it. As he took his first few steps, Aquaman stepped up, releasing a flurry of blows on the man-shark’s chest—then spun to deliver another haymaker into the shark’s stomach, sending King Shark flying more than a dozen meters off of the cliff.
Aquaman dusted his hands off and looked over the cliff. “Good riddance,” he said. He pulled out some kind of phone; though Jimbo had never seen one quite like that before— and began to dial in a number. Soon he got an answer. “Yeah, Makoa? Got our friend back to the seas. Yeah, sure. Don’t call me again, alright? This was just a favor. I have things to attend to.” Aquaman hung up the phone.
Aquaman turned to Jimbo and Manny and made his way over. “You alright?” he said, chuckling. “I know it’s a bit frightening to see a giant shark walking—“ Aquaman stopped. The special communicator began to ring again. He picked up. “Makoa, I thought I said—“
He paused. His face changed from slightly agitated to concerned. “Mera? Atlantis is under attack? Be there soon, love! Get little Tom to safety!”
And with that, Aquaman ran off at full speed. Jimbo just watched as the hero ran off, and then looked at his ruined post, his hurt friend, and the imprint of where the Shark-King-Creature had been.
“That sure as hell beats Jimmy Neutron,” Jimbo said.
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:50:11 GMT -5
In the lonely room where the rain always fell, the Supreme One slowly paced around. Suddenly he stopped, taking in a deep breath. His eyes rolled backed momentarily, and then they rolled back to the front, glowing green. He took a seat as the voices came upon him again. “Where are we now? The thirty-nine failures have begun to undergo startling—yet advantageous— transformations. The one success has been freed of his tank; he has not completed his metamorphosis yet, but his increased attributes are formidable enough to assist Black Manta in the next set of plans.”
The Supreme One remained silent for a few moments. Then he nodded to no one in particular. “We are preparing to bring you to us: we are dangerously close to completion.”
The Supreme One nodded. “Procedure Alpha will commence. Preparation for Procedures Beta through Omega will be beginning soon.”
The hooded man leaned forward, listening for a few minutes. “Yes, I understand. I have someone just for that occasion. And he’s coming right now.”
A few moments later, a large, bearded man walked through the door into the room where the Supreme One was seated. His hair was white and thick; his clothes were old-fashioned, made in the fashion of the nineteenth century. He wore a captain’s cap and a long, thick coat. A long scar ran up his cheek and split into three crooked lines toward his left eye. A cigar was in his mouth, smoke coming from the fiery, red tip. As he stepped into the room, the rain put his cigar out. He looked up at the ceiling and grunted. “Seems like you got a leak,” he said gruffly.
The Supreme One nodded to him. “Are you prepared to put our plans into motion?”
The man cleared his throat and laughed a grim laugh. His scarred eye was half opened but still intense as ever. “Prepared? I was born prepared.”
“And I can trust that your weapons will work against Atlantis? That you can challenge the Sea King and win?”
The man frowned deeply. Wrinkles on his face appeared, and while he was old already, he seemed to age another ten years. “Don’t doubt my abilities. I’m a straight-forward kind of person: and I got three sure-fire reasons why this ‘Aquaman’ is going to be in a can when we’re done. I don’t talk my enemies to death; I don’t explain my plans; I just do them. This ‘Sea King’ is a king, yes. Sure, he has powers and allies. But don’t forget, I’m a king too, in my own right.”
The Supreme One smiled slightly. “Yes, that’s right. ‘King of Pirates’, right?”
The man smiled a grim grin. “That’s right. And Captain Nemo never loses.”
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:50:40 GMT -5
Orin raced up a hill; his heart was pacing, but he kept himself under control: a king had to be strong. He had dived into the Avalon Cay River and took it to a small Atlantean-made island named Sentry Point, meant to be a watch-post, in case of emergency.
He wasn’t sure what was wrong: Mera sounded frantic over their Comm-Link and mentioned that Atlantis was being attacked. But this was not unusual: being that Orin had devoted much of his time to the surface; they had made many defenses years ago for Atlantis. And though the defenses failed to keep out attackers in the last few years, they had since improved upon them. But she began to mention something worse; something cataclysmic. Something she couldn’t put into words.
He was approaching the top. In the remaining seconds he wondered: why couldn’t things go right for him? His entire life had been one gigantic, heart-wrenching, dramatic story: he had been betrayed, hurt and challenged in so many ways. Now, when things had gotten to be nice and peaceful, he saw that even now it would only be temporary. What could it be now? A challenge to the throne? A monster from the Strange Waters? What?
And then he saw.
He looked from the top of the hundred foot structure and gasped: the waters leading to Atlantis had completely divided, and pushing more and more as time went on. He began to hear their voices; the people of his blood, his kingdom, crying in their suffering. Atlanteans were dying by the minute as their water supply was slowly draining away from selected areas. Spheres were opening in the water, evaporating or displacing the seawater in it, and dividing the water even more. He had never seen anything like it.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He said a silent prayer and then clenched his fists tight. “Stay strong my people—your King is coming.”
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 11:51:02 GMT -5
TO BE CONTINUED
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 12:43:41 GMT -5
Don't forget to check out our Secret Files update:
the Atlantean Companion!
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 12:50:34 GMT -5
Art coming soon
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 12:55:59 GMT -5
Aquaman
More art coming soon
Name: Orin the Second, Arthur Curry
Relatives: Mera (wife); Thomas the Second (son); Orm Marius (half-brother); Atlan (father); Atlanna (mother); Thomas Curry (adoptive father); King Trevis (step-father); Garth/Aqualad (ward); Koryak (ward); Kordax (descendent).
Occupation: Monarch of the City-State of Poseidonis, Atlantis; Chief of Royals of the Nation of Atlantis.
Base of Operations: Nation of Atlantis; Atlas Point, Florida; Generally the Coastlines of many nations.
Affiliations: City-State of Tritonis; Wonder Woman; JLA; local heroes of coastline cities.
Powers & Abilities: Orin’s physiology, the marriage of a strong Atlantean line and the magic strength of Homi Magi, is a unique one that has gifted him with various superhuman abilities exponentially greater than the normal mortal man and the normal mortal Atlantean.
His body is adapted to the worst of marine conditions, giving him: untapped superhuman strength; almost limitless endurance; high density that allows him to survive and move freely in the strongest of pressures; durability that borders on invulnerability (susceptible to extremely sharp objects); superhuman resistance to extreme heat and cold temperatures; superhuman speed and agility within water and untapped superhuman speed and agility on land.
Orin also has enhanced reflexes; enhanced sense of vision to the point of seeing in near total darkness; enhanced sense of hearing; and a form of radar sense due to an evolved sense of echolocation.
Besides his stronger physical attributes, Orin exceeds his Atlantean brethren in the amount of time he can be without water since he can live on the surface indefinitely, although he'd need to be occasionally immersed, whereas most Atlanteans must either keep constant contact with water, or can be without water for less than an hour.
In addition, he has been born with the Cursed Mark of Kordax from his descendent of the same name; a Mark evident through his blonde hair. The Mark is a sign of a tie to the powerful magicks of the Homo magi line, magic which can scare superstitious Atlanteans into taking extreme actions like abandoning their infants on Mercy Reef.
This Mark manifests itself in various ways, and so far in Orin it has manifested in a specific use of telepathy that allows him to communicate with marine life and occasionally with humans, though in a much limited form.
His Mark also makes him the perfect wielder of the Trident of Atlantis, a highly magical weapon. Whether he has any other abilities remains to be seen, but seeing as how Atlan has been one of the most gifted mages since Kordax (who was himself one of the most gifted mages since Arion), there is a good chance more is in store for the King.
Weaknesses: If dehydrated for too long, Orin begins to weaken exponentially, which in turn decreases his physical abilities and mental facilities. Also, large amounts of electric force can temporarily stun him.
Paraphernalia: The Trident of Atlantis, or sometimes called the Trident of Neptune because it was forged by Neptune himself to combat the ancient evil of Xthuhlu, a Dark god. It has untapped potential.
History: Orin the Second was born during the end of the Fifth Age, a time, like many others of the Atlantic Ages, involving much conflict and civil strife. Born out of wedlock to Queen Atlanna and Atlan the Wanderer, he was born marked with the Cursed Mark of Kordax when he was seen with his blonde hair. This mark proved to King Trevis, Atlanna’s husband, that the child was not his own, and the Queen and her son were exiled from Atlantis.
Atlanna fled with her child to the surface world, taken in by a lighthouse keeper named Thomas Curry, who loved Atlanna and her child as if they were his own family. Atlanna came to love Thomas, but was left in a dilemma when her child became sick and needed Atlantean medicine to survive.
Returning to Atlantis, she was welcomed with open arms by Trevis, who had missed her terribly; and soon Orin was saved. Atlanna continued seeing her love, Thomas, albeit infrequently.
But after Atlanna’s first exile, many forces had joined together to take the throne of the King. Kalandro the dark priest, and his wife, the wicked witch Merganys, had a child of their own who could take the throne, and plotted to have Trevis killed. In time, Trevis was captured, and Atlanna was forced to flee once again. Vulko and others loyal to the Queen helped her escape, but unfortunately it was after she became mortally wounded by Merganys’ forces. Bringing their Queen back to her true love, she died in Thomas' arms on the shores of Atlas Point. After the events traumatized the young Orin, Vulko and his science department helped to erase the painful memories, leaving him in the care of the lighthouse keeper, a far better place to stay than in the sea.
He grew up a normal boy, renamed Arthur Curry, with an intense love of the sea. With Thomas being a retired coast guard official, college professor and sea man, Orin learned an incredible amount of knowledge from his father.
One day, he was attacked: weird sea monsters came from the ocean looking to kill a king. Orin took them on, and killed them accidentally, learning of his abilities. Thomas found it hard to explain the entirety of his son’s origins, deciding to delay telling him; but in a twist of events, Thomas soon died of a rare cancer that left young Orin alone and confused.
For a time he was forced to stay within an orphanage where he would meet his arch-nemesis to be, Black Manta, though briefly (brief enough for him not to remember manta's name): he was too sick, near death even, without sea life or the sea itself, and ran away to the ocean to be free. The experience brought his repressed memories back out, and in a short manner of painful days he had pieced together a rough idea of his origins.
He wandered alone for a long time, meeting various people, taking on problems involving crime and the environment, and even allied with other heroes or heroes-to-be, like a pre-Superman Clark Kent. But after one particular event involving the deaths of an off-shoot Atlantean race, he made up his mind to bring together his home nation and stop the war that was tearing it all apart, worse than ever before. Along his journeys, he would meet Mera, his wife to be, who had become stranded in this dimension because of a journey that had led her out of the Stranger Waters (a dimensional rift where things enter into our world from various realms).
Weeks later, Orin had done it: he had ended the civil war of Atlantis, taking on and defeating the varying factions and the evil Priest Kalandro, who ended up dying from a backfired spell. He created a treaty that re-joined the twin city-states of Poseidonis and Tritonis into an alliance, and a treaty which allowed all other villages and city-states of Atlantis to come together one loose government, represented by various Lords and Royals who had proved themselves capable of ruling fairly. He was elected to become the new King of Poseidonis, Atlantis, and elected almost unanimously to be the Chief Royal of the single Atlantean Nation. This began the Sixth Age.
Since then, he has battled Captain Cornelius Krell; the Black Manta; the Sea Devils (who had been under contract as mercenaries); Lex Luthor; and even the galactic despot Darkseid, alongside the other heroes of Earth. He was even chairperson the JLA, a band of heroes, for a short time, before a problem arose between Atlantis and the United States Government (after Orin was set up to be framed).
Most recently he battled against a large band of villains brought together under Lex Luthor, which ultimately allowed Black Manta to overwhelm him and cut off his hand. Fortunately, not only was Black Manta caught and punished (though not stated how), Orin was able to gain back his hand, though at some dark magical cost, by Zatanna the magician.
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Post by Crow on Sept 17, 2007 15:57:24 GMT -5
The Youths of Atlantis:
Garth, Aqualad
Born in Shayeris, to a colony of Atlantean pacifists called Idyllists, Garth was marked with a curse just like Aquaman, evident through his gentle lavender eyes. So far he has been known as the Lost Son of the Idyllists, wandering from his home as the only inheritor of his people’s magicks. Since being taken in by Aquaman, he has devoted his time to protecting his new home, by Orin’s side, using his powers over water temperature to defeat his enemies. He has been an integral part of Orin’s Personal Guard and occasionally ventures above to the surface.
Tula & Javen
Two of Poseidonis’ long time loves, these adopted siblings have come to Orin’s aid in the past even when not assisted to, or in most cases, not needed. With their father, a Lord on the council who supported Orin when Atlantis was divided, they are wholly devoted to their city and their fellow citizens. Their ability to survive out of water longer than others will make them a valuable resource in the future.
Koryak
The youngest of the bunch, Koryak was the lone survivor of a deadly plague (created by dumped LexCorp chemicals) that poisoned his entire village. He was taken in by Orin as a ward, and has been lucky to find comfort in his peers, though many older Atlanteans believe he is a product of evil. What he is will be seen as he matures along his new father’s side.
Tramm, the Lagoon Boy:
A wandering boy, Tramm is the frequent companion of Garth, at least when Garth isn’t on business with King Orin. This greenish-gray boy finds himself often at odds with others simply because of his appearance: his scaly skin and amphibious nature closely resemble an Oceanic*, which he is not. The thing that gets this often silent teenager the most is that he doesn’t know his origins, and neither does he remember his childhood. But he has found acceptance from the other youths of Atlantis (though he gets irritated when called Lagoon Boy) and would gladly fight beside them if need be. His ability to use his body as a tool and as a weapon is an untapped resource that might just win him the respect he deserves.
<Note: The Oceanics are a race of beings whose ancestors were previously human Atlanteans until they followed a corrupt path to power. Now all of their descendents are generally born with half-animal features and a deep scorn, envy or jealousy of their cousins.
Lisa Morel[/b]
While not an Atlantean youth, she is a teenage girl who has a deep fascination with Aquaman. She has been helpful before not only as a friend and tie to the surface world, but as an ally, helping to aid Orin when he was hurt and helping him finding out that Mariana Krell had been dead for years. What remains for the chipper teenager remains to be seen, but hopefully it is a good fate: often, those who get weaved into Atlantean History find themselves involved with conflicts and problems that may be too hard to handle.
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Post by mockingbird on Jul 26, 2011 13:31:27 GMT -5
To let us know what you think of this issue, please visit the letters page here!
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