Issue #20: “Wealth and Value”

Money makes the world go round.

That’s what they say, right? I’d have to agree with that. Wealth is power and power…well, it’s power. See without money, where would we be? Still trading animal fur for salt? The problem with that is that there is no common value. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my many years of this business it’s that…

It’s all about value.

I’ve been called many things in my day. Pirate for one. Completely hate that term. I’ve been called mercenary by others. Find that word misleading and overused. I’ve even heard bounty hunter. Give me a break; I’d never go after a fellow criminal. And of course, I’ve been called a thief. Don’t even get me started on how petty that makes me seem.

The only thing any of those words have in common is that they have to do with money. Sure, I like money whether it’s cash, pennies, or, hell, I’ll even take doubloons. So you can call me a lot of things but truth is there’s only one thing I can say to that.

I’m Black Manta and if there’s one thing I’m not…

It’s cheap.



Aquaman, the king of the city-state of Poseidonis swam at lightning speed through the ocean’s depths, the salty water rushing through his golden locks as he darted across the seas. He hadn’t realized how much he would be affected by Orm’s betrayal but it had struck a major chord in his very being.

All he wanted to do was just…clear his head.

Orin’s vision shifted upward toward the surface of the water until he saw a lighthouse peeking out from the shallows into view. The king of the seas felt the area become more shallow, the top of his head now able to peek out of the water. A few seconds later, he stood, his ankles still underwater looking at the lighthouse that had once belonged to Tom Curry, his father.



On a small island off the coast of South Korea stood an enormous mansion, a pearl in the miles of water in the surrounding area. The mansion was filled with dozens of rooms; multiple bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, even multiple kitchens. Not even prestigious billionaires such as Lex Luthor or the late Bruce Wayne could afford such a marvelous home.

But one man could…a man whose wallet was equivalent to an entire nation’s wealth.

“Black Manta I presume?”

Sitting comfortably in a retractable chair on the main balcony of the mansion, shirt off and a cold martini at his side, a dark-skinned man looked up from where he was tanning. From beneath his sunglasses, the man saw a figure with brown scaly skin standing at the foot of his chair, soaked.

“Who’s asking?” the man sitting asked, just giving a yawn and laying back calmly in his chair.

“General Gorgon, supreme commander of the Oceanics and general to the Ocean Master,” the scaly creature said arrogantly.

“Ah yes…the Ocean Master. He still playing dress up these days?” Black Manta said, a smug grin stretched across his face.

“I warn you to watch your tongue, surface dweller, or I may have the urge to tear it out,” Gorgon growled.

Black Manta just took a sip of his martini, unimpressed by the Oceanic’s ‘menacing’ behavior. The criminal stepped over to the sliding door and went inside the beautiful house, closely followed by Gorgon. They entered the building through a hallway and then went into a large living room area.

“I’d offer you a chair but I have this little pet peeve of getting the furniture wet.” Black Manta snickered, taking a seat at a desk. “Now why’d you show up at my doorstep, gills? You could have at least called so I would have time to clean up the place a bit.”

“I was sent here by my master because we have need of your services,” Gorgon responded, ignoring Black Manta’s previous sarcasm.

“You need my services? Well before we go any further into this conversation, you should know that my services don’t come cheap.”

“Trust me, surface dweller, payment will not be a problem.”

“Okay then…” Black Manta sat up in his chair a bit. “I’m all ears.”

“We have an assassination for you to carry out. A very important one.”

“Yeah? And who’s the target?”

“Queen Mera of Poseidonis.”

Black Manta’s brow raised and he stared up at the Oceanic anxiously. Gorgon looked back at him coldly.

“Are you up to the task, surface dweller?”

“Are you kidding?” A large twisted grin emerged on Manta’s face. “It’ll be a pleasure.”



The shadow of a lighthouse loomed over Aquaman.

It was the same lighthouse that had been keeping watch over him his entire life. Orin stood on the wall of rocks that bordered the beach, looking out toward the seas. There was no better place in the world for him to screw his head back on straight after all of the things that had happened with Orm recently.

“Never thought I’d see you around here again, boy.”

Aquaman swung around with a start to find a chubby elderly man with graying hair and glasses standing a few feet away from him, a thin smile on his face. Orin couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Uncle Rick?”



“Have you ever been to Poseidonis before?”

“Only once. But boy did I love it here. Made quite a bit of profit on my last visit.”

“Are you a merchant?”

“Something like that.”

Black Manta had only been within the domes of Poseidonis for a half an hour and already an annoying Atlantean tour guide woman had interrupted his task. How he even got into the city in the first place…was his secret.

“Do you think you could point me in the direction of the palace?” Manta asked.

“Oh, we’ll get there but first I just must show you the rest of our beautiful establishment. Come now.”

The woman began to walk off and Black Manta suddenly felt a nagging urge to pull out the laser pistol he had hidden beneath his Atlantean robes. He fought the instinct though and bitterly followed behind the woman.

“Over here we have the…”

The tour guide’s words faded from Manta’s attention as he surveyed the people walking through the streets. He knew he wouldn’t be lucky enough to find Mera strolling by but he couldn’t be too sure.

“Who’s this, Victoria?” A voice broke through Black Manta’s thoughts.

Manta turned back to the tour guide to find a young man with dark hair and lavender eyes standing in front of them. Aqualad. His gaze was fixed on Black Manta’s face but the criminal tried his best to remain inconspicuous.

“Hello, Garth, this is…what did you say your name was again?” Victoria asked Manta.

“Cardyus. I’m from a small colony in the Mediterranean.”

“Really? I was unaware that there was a colony in that sea,” Garth said.

“Oh yes, it’s no wonder you’ve never heard of it. We don’t pride ourselves on our population. That’s one of the reasons I came here. Never was a fan of quiet places, I was always more one for excitement,” Black Manta replied, staring coldly at Aqualad.

“And you hope to find it here?”

“Yes. I have a gut feeling that this city’s full of excitement.”



“I saw you on the news a while back.” Uncle Rick said, his voice just as deep as Orin remembered from when he was young. “Something about the government being very upset with you?”

“I ran into a little trouble with the military, yes. I have to ask though, Uncle Rick, how much do you know…about me?” Orin asked.

“Oh, the stuff I saw on the news. You’re king of Atlantis and a superhero. Ha! Leave it to Tom to have adopted a mermaid!” Rick coughed, trying to let out a laugh.

Aquaman didn’t see what was so funny about it but didn’t make an issue of it. After all, Rick was his adoptive father’s best friend and just about as close to family on the surface as Orin had right now.

“Look, boy, I always knew you’d somehow end up in the ocean, whether it was as a fisherman, a jet-skier or whatever. You always seemed to have such a…such a bond with it! I mean whenever your father…you still consider Tom your father, right? Even though you’re really from well down there?” Rick asked.

“Yes. He’ll always be my father.”

“Good! Do you remember when your father and I would take you fishing. It seemed like every time we pulled a salmon out of the water with a hook in its mouth, you’d be really pale and get sick,” Rick said.

Aquaman thought about those memories for a moment. Being out on the ocean in Tom Curry’s small fishing boat with Uncle Rick. Rick was right though that even back then Orin felt he could feel what the fish were feeling, hear their thoughts.

“Yeah. That feels so long ago…” Orin said.

“Time flies, boy. And if you can’t keep up with it, it may just flash right by you. Just remember, even though you have bigger fish to fry these d-. Sorry, bad expression. Well even though you have bigger things on your mind in the seas nowadays, remember one thing.”

Aquaman listened to his old friend closely.

“You still have friends up here too.”



After hours of following Victoria around the undersea city, Black Manta had been anxiously awaiting the visit to the palace.

“Here we are,” Victoria said, pointing to the grand citadel looming near the top of the dome.

“As amazing as I remember. Do you think we could visit the king or queen?” Black Manta asked innocently.

“The king is off on an errand but Queen Mera will be in her favorite spot on the balcony overlooking the square. I’m sure she’ll still be there. We won’t be able to go too close though. Royalty and all that,” Victoria said happily, guiding Manta through a crowd of Atlanteans towards the palace.

They made their way through the hordes of people into the courtyard. Black Manta glared upward to see Mera, red hair hanging down her shoulders, staring out over the balcony at the city. Beside her was an elderly man and Aqualad.

Manta’s target, his gateway into making oh so much money was right there. It was time to go to work.

“If you’d excuse me!”

In a flash, Black Manta whipped out his laser pistol from within the Atlantean robes he had been wearing. He ignored the gasps and screams ringing through the dome and shoved past the mob of people trying to run away.

Manta didn’t have any time to waste though, drawing his attention up to the balcony and taking aim. Laser blasts filled the area and collided against the balcony’s edge, sending sparks flailing through the air. Manta sprinted past the fleeing crowd, continuing to fire upward to the balcony.

Mera let out a scream as one of the shots struck her in the shoulder.

“Get her out of here!” Aqualad shouted to Vulko.

Aqualad leapt from the balcony and descended down in front of Black Manta, landing with a thud. Lavender eyes blazing with contempt, Aqualad rushed Manta, running straight at him. Pulling the trigger a few more times in defense, Black Manta began to step back. Aqualad flipped around, evading the attacks with incredible agility. With a primal roar, the young Atlantean collided into Black Manta tackling him to the ground.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Aqualad yelled, wrapping his hand around his enemy’s wrist, holding the pistol at bay.

“Just doing my job, kid!” Black Manta said, smashing his skull against Garth’s forehead.

Manta kicked Aqualad off him and then got to his feet, running in retreat. Guards rushed past Aqualad in pursuit. Black Manta fired over his shoulder hitting one of the guards in the chest and dropping him onto his stomach.

Garth crawled back onto his feet and watched the assassin vanish into the crowded streets in the distance.

“This is not good.”



“Gentlemen! I’ve brought all of you here today for one reason.” Peter Mortimer stood in front of a group of weary-looking admirals. “To witness the next step, the revolution, in submergible technology.”

A man wearing the Scavenger prototype suit that Mortimer had been working on for over two years stepped up in front of a large tank in the floor. The suit was skin-tight, seemingly just a wet suit, and it was outfitted with a hood that once thrown over the wearer’s head would form a solid barrier over your face that could withstand incredible amounts of pressure. Perfect for being at the bottom of the ocean.

“The Scavenger suits are designed for multiple purposes. Deep sea diving, studying sea life, and of course your favorite and mine…combat.”

The admirals’ interest seemed to peak while the soldier wearing the Scavenger suit dove into the enormous tank of water.

“The Scavenger suits can handle the pressure at the bottom of the ocean without even a minor glitch. While wearing the suit, your strength and speed in the water are also greatly increased, making you, well…excuse the analogy…an aqua man.”

“Are you saying that any one of our troops wearing one of these suits would be as strong and fast as the Aquaman?”

“Yes, Admiral, that is precisely what I am saying. Who would you trust more with the protection of the oceans, one man from a foreign nation or a whole army of people just as tough as him and under your control?” Mortimer said.

Peter spent the next twenty minutes demonstrating what the Scavenger suit could do firsthand using the soldier and the tank. He felt like he was making quite an impression with the spectators judging by them all looking either happy or indifferent…which Mortimer knew, in military terms, meant they were happy.

After the presentation, Admiral Jacobs stepped forward and shook Peter’s hand.

“Very impressive, Mortimer. The Scavenger suits could give us quite the edge in our naval actions and I look forward to seeing them out in the field.”

“So is that a green light, Admiral?”

“Yes. I want to have those Scavengers mass-produced ASAP. Are we clear, Mortimer?”

A long smile crept across Peter’s face.

“Crystal, Admiral.”



-CLICK-

Black Manta stood in the labyrinth of machinery and turbines underneath the ground of Poseidonis. He had never seen the inner workings of the domes and he had to admit that it was quite the sight to behold. All of the advanced technology astonished him, never having seen anything even somewhat resembling it.

-CLICK-

Black Manta locked another C4 into place. Since escaping the guards not too long ago, he had been busying himself with placing C4’s throughout the turbines of the sub-level of the domes.

You’ll be in for quite the surprise when you get back, Arthur. Sorry it had to be like this but, hey, that’s business…with a bit of revenge mixed in, I guess. Oh well, never really was a fan of that whole bygone philosophy. And there’s no reason for that pompous brother of yours to be upset, I mean, I did get the job done after all. The queen will be dead. Along with all of the other goldfish.

The Atlantean robes that he had been wearing while undercover were discarded onto the floor where a duffle bag he had brought the C4s in lay. Manta now wore his signature sea-diving suit, sans the helmet which he had placed on the ground for when he was ready to leave.

“…it’s way too quiet down here…”

Black Manta’s eyebrow raised as he snuck into the shadows of the running gears, eyeing the arrivals out of the corner of his eye.

“Shh, Victoria. Remember that the only reason I even allowed you to come along was because you spent the most time with the mercenary,” Aqualad said.

I’m not a damn mercenary…

“Like I said, he didn’t tell me much. He didn’t even say much. I was doing most of the talking.”

No kidding.

Black Manta lightly shifted his position, getting a better look at what was happening. Aqualad and Victoria carefully crept through the maze of machinery, being careful that they could not be ambushed.

If only they knew that Black Manta lurked nearby.

“Wait…what’s this?” Victoria said.

Black Manta watched the tour guide pick up his own helmet from the floor. Aqualad walked over to her and took the helmet, examining it. A surprised expression twisted onto the young man’s face while he looked over the helmet.

“I’ve seen this. But it can’t be…this helmet belongs to…”

“Me.”

A laser blast flew through the air and pierced Victoria through the chest, throwing her onto her back like a rock. In a mixture of horror and shock, Aqualad watched Victoria’s body become motionless, just a shell of the life that had once been there.

“’Bout time someone shut you up.”

Black Manta spun his laser pistol around his finger arrogantly while flashing a brilliant smile at Garth.

“Black Manta,” Aqualad said, recognition setting in.

“So you’ve heard of me? Seems I made quite an impression last time I stopped by for a visit.”

“I was here when you first showed up. You nearly killed a good friend of mine.”

“Nearly killed? Man, that must have been an off day…then again, there’s all that money I stole to consider, so maybe not…”

“You’re hilarious,” Aqualad said coldly.

“I’m aware. Now, you mind giving my helmet back? I’d hate to have to take it by force.”

Aqualad glanced down at the metallic object he held tightly in his hand and then his lavender eyes fell back onto his opponent’s face. Black Manta held out his hand insistently, his pistol raised with the other.

“This? Sure…have it!”

With great power, the young Atlantean whipped the helmet at Black Manta. The helmet collided with Black Manta’s hand, knocking the laser pistol from his grasp.

“Damn it!” Black Manta snapped.

A twirling kick from Aqualad collided into Manta’s chest, knocking him onto the floor. Black Manta slid across his chest and then rolled back onto his feet.

“Impressive, Aquaboy.”

“Aqualad.”

“Wha-?” Black Manta felt a fist smash against his jaw and he dropped back a few steps, holding his chin in pain. “Now was that really necess-“

Aqualad threw another punch but this time Black Manta intercepted it mid-way with his own hand.

“Sorry, kid, I don’t fall for the same old trick twice. Too bad…”

Black Manta, using his incredible strength from his suit, pulled Aqualad’s arm over his shoulder and tossed him spiraling through the air. Aqualad crashed onto his stomach and by the time he sat up and turned around, he was staring down the barrel of the laser pistol.

“Bang.”



“Have you seen Garth lately?”

“Last I saw him, he was going after that assassin, going down to the sub-level to see if he was there. Why do you as-

“Tula!” Javen chased after his sister when she went into a full on sprint.

“Tula, wait! It could be dangerous! I’ll come with you!”



Aqualad kept his dark eyes tightly shut, waiting for the end when…

Nothing happened.

“Had you there for a second,” Black Manta said, laughing, his pistol still locked on the young Atlantean’s forehead.

Black Manta lowered his weapon and put it in his holster. Garth watched as Black Manta completely ignored that he was there and picked up his helmet from the ground.

“Why didn’t you do it?”

“Honestly,” Black Manta lowered the helmet over his skull, shifting it into place. His voice now filtered and synthesized by the helmet, sounding more cold and emotionless, “it would have taken away a whole lot of the fun.”

“Fun? Is this all this is to you?”

“Damn right, kid. Along with making a nice paycheck with it.” Black Manta let out a chilling echoing laugh from beneath the helmet.

Aqualad glared up at his opponent bitterly.

“Now, without further adieu, I should be hitting that old dusty, murky trail. But next time, kid, try not to be such a pain in my ass.”

Garth propelled himself off of the floor, reaching his arms out in front of him, but Black Manta had already jumped through the transparent dome wall leading outside of Poseidonis. He stared out of the dome, catching a glimpse of Black Manta disappearing into the shadows of the ocean floor.

“Garth? Garth!!” Tula said, calling from a short distance away with Javen closely behind her. “Oh my god!”

Tula and Javen stood above Victoria’s corpse fearfully.

“Is she…you know?” Javen gulped.

“Yes. It was Black Manta.”

“Black Manta?” Javen asked, rubbing his chest where he had been shot when Black Manta raided Poseidonis all that time ago.

“Yeah. He was the one who tried to assassinate Queen Mera. Is she alright? I haven’t even had a moment to check on her.”

“Vulko told me she’ll be fine. Just a minor wound,” Tula said.

“That’s good. Wouldn’t want Orin to come back and be too upset with me…more than he’ll probably already be over me allowing Black Manta to enter the city again,” Garth said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Speaking of the king…” Tula lowered her voice to a whisper, “rumor has it that you told him about your powers?”

Javen looked over at his sister and Garth. “Oh I get it. I’m not in the loop! Whatever! You two have your secrets!” he whined childishly despite being technically a teenager.

“Yes. He knows. Took it better than I thought he would.”

“That’s good.”

“Um, hey guys, what’s this?”

Garth and Tula turned their attention to Javen who held a duffle bag dangling in his hand. Aqualad gently took it from him, looking over it curiously.

“I honestly don’t know.”



It would be so easy…oh so easy…

Black Manta stood on a rocky edge near the ancient home of the mer-people, Tritonis, bordering Poseidonis. He stared out at the domes of his most hated enemy’s city with hatred etched into his masked face. He grasped a small detonator in his gloved fingers.

I could just remove all of you sickening fish from this world right now. But with Arthur not being in your fishbowl at the moment, should I?

At that moment, out of the corner of his eyes, Black Manta caught the sight of an orange and green blur launching through the darkness of the ocean en route to Poseidonis. For only a second, just one quick second that felt like minutes, he saw a glimpse of the bearded face of Aquaman, stern, strong, and proud. The sight of that abomination of a creature made Manta sick.

“Arthur…”

Black Manta slipped the detonator back into his belt carefully, staring at where Aquaman had just been, his deep breaths gasping through the helmet.

I’ll wait. But this isn’t even close to being over. I never let a few dollars slip out of my wallet. You will die, Mera and you too Arthur. And then…I’ll get my money.

“Interesting decision.”

Black Manta hastily turned around, grabbing the laser pistol from his belt. He was fully turned around with his weapon at the ready in a flash, staring up at the new arrival who gently floated a short distance above him in the water.

“Well if it isn’t old sibling rivalry himself,” Black Manta said with a snort, lowering his pistol.

Ocean Master stared down at him, his cape swaying in the shifting seas. Orm knew he had a way of manipulating people but Black Manta was a different case. A different breed altogether.

“So why the sudden visit? Come to check if I completed the job?” Manta asked, his emotions hard to decipher through the helmet.

“I knew you would fail. But you did get farther than most. To do that takes a lot of talent, talent that you showed when you raided Poseidonis. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t gotten rusty,” Ocean Master explained, snickering smugly.

“Is this supposed to be funny, Marius? What was the point of hiring me if you knew I was not going to get the job done?” Black Manta said, his inhuman metallic voice crackling.

“Like I said, a test. I need you to be at your best for the real ‘job’, as you’d call it.”

“Yeah? And what job would that be?”

“One that will change the entire ocean as we know it. It will go down in history as one of the most important events in the history of the world. How’s that sound?”

“Hmm…’how does that sound’…good at the moment but it all depends…” Black Manta said, crossing his arms.

“Depends on what?”

There was a moment of absolute silence and suspense between the two.

“What’s the pay?”

TO BE CONTINUED!!!

NEXT ISSUE: This is it, folks! The undersea epic event of the year will finally grace the world! King vs. Usurper, Brother vs. Brother, Atlanteans vs. Oceanics, and of course…more Black Manta!!

Who will reign?

Find out in AQUAMAN: KING’S REIGN, a five-part event that will turn 75% of the world upside down!


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