This story was not easy to write, I have hit a lot of roadblocks on the way to finishing it. I hope you like it. This is my first story in over two months, so I may be rusty. Let me know what you think, there will be a casting at the end.
“The oceans cover three quarters of this world. They are the lifeblood of the Earth. Beneath these seemingly endless waves lies a world that the surface dwellers never dreamed of. This mighty world is ruled by one kingdom, the kingdom of Atlantis. Exiled to the depths of the oceans before time was time, Atlantis has thrived. Its long history is not without turmoil. Atlantis has had times of upheaval; this is the story of one of those times.”
“Many years ago, the great kingdom of Atlantis was in turmoil. Rebellion gripped this once great land. Its ruling class had been overthrown by a coalition of general’s intent on seizing the kingdom for themselves. In order to escape this peril, Queen Atlanna fled Atlantis to seek refuge among the surface dwellers. There she met a lonely lighthouse keeper named Arthur Curry, and found the one thing she was not seeking, love. Soon Atlanna gave birth to Arthur Curry Jr. Atlanna was sought out by her loyal subjects and returned to reclaim her kingdom. She left her family, promising to return to take her son home. Little did she know that on the horizon was a threat far greater than any could possibly imagine…”
On a beach on the eastern seaboard of the US, a young six year old African American child sits silently on the edge of the waves, smiling as the waves lap over him gently. He looks up as he feels a shadow over him. He looks up as his face falls when he sees two local bullies, who proceed to beat him. One of the bullies pins him to the ground while the other punches him in the face and stomach, they then hold his head under the water. The two bullies walk off laughing together as their victim sits in the water bleeding as the salt water stings his wounds, but he does not cry.
The boy walks down a back road to a rundown dilapidated shack.

Empty beer and whiskey bottles line the front porch. The front yard is a graveyard for derelict automobiles. He looks at the front door in despair; he swallows his courage and walks into the dark house. The kitchen has paint fading, and spoiled food on the counter. The boy can see the flickering of a television in the next room, he hears a crash and a swear come from the room, followed by a gruff voice “Dat you boy? Git your ass in here now, you better not forgot to get my paper.”
The boys eyes grew wide, he had forgotten. He walked into the room to see his uncle, unkempt and unshaven sitting there. The man looks at him as he takes a drink from a bottle of cheap whiskey “Where’s my paper? You forgot it, didn’t you? Don’t lie to me, you forgot it?”
The boy trembled as he nodded, before he could move his uncle lunged from the chair and struck the boy across the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. The uncle rubbed his hand “Spoiled brat. You’re parents die; an I take you in outta the goodness of my heart. Should’ve let you rot in that orphanage.” He stands over the boy crossing his arms “Well, you forgot my paper, an the TV’s busted again. So I’m gonna have to find another way to entertain myself.” He says kneeling beside the boy, who could smell the alcohol on his breath. Uncle pulled the boy to his feet and shoved him towards a darkened room “Git in the bedroom boy, an don’t give me no fuss.” The uncle said taking off his belt. The boy knew what was coming, he always knew, but he didn’t cry, he never cries.
Five years later:
A young five year old Arthur Curry Jr. stood next to his father, Arthur Curry Sr. where the rocky beach near the lighthouse met the surf of the sea. A red haired woman in a glimmering gown rose from the waves and walked onto the land near them, the boy grabbed his father’s leg uncertainly. His father knelt down and hugged his son “Arthur, do not worry, this is your mother, she has come to take you home.” The man said fighting back tears.
Atlanna looked at him with a bittersweet smile “I am sorry Arthur my dear, I would like nothing more than to stay here on the surface with you, but my kingdom needs me, I have responsibilities and a husband now.”
Arthur sr. looked at her with sorrow “you, married?’
She nodded “It was my duty, he helped me reclaim my kingdom, and by our law he was able to ask one request, he asked for my hand in marriage. We have a son of three years, but our son, Arthur, is still the rightful heir to the throne. Now it is time for him to learn of the land he is destined to rule.”
Arthur Sr. looked away to avoid tears “Will I see him again?”
Atlanna walked over and laid her hand against his face “Dear Arthur, a boy needs his father, you will see him often. I promise.” She smiled down at her son and took his hand “Come my child, it is time for us to return home.”
The young boy from five years earlier is now eleven and stands looking at the ocean on the same beach as before. He is pushed into the water from behind; he turns to see the same bullies from before. One of the bullies with sandy blonde hair laughs at him “You retard, you never even put up a fight, and this is almost boring, almost.” He says as he pushes the boy again, this time into water that is about waist deep. The young boy had been through a lot in his short lifetime, he was constantly pushed around for no reason, after all this time, something in him finally snapped.
He screamed in anger as he jumped onto his attacker, grabbing him by the throat, knocking him under the water. He held the bully under water as tightly as he could, the other bully to shocked to move. The boy held his tormenter under the water until his arms stopped flailing and he went limp. The boy released him and turned to the other bully, who looked at him in terror before turning and running.
The boy breathed deeply as his former tormentors lifeless body drifted towards shore, carried by the waves.
Meanwhile young Arthur has swam for his first time in Atlantis. His mother held his hand as they floated in the deep water high above the brightly illuminated city below them.

Arthur held her hand tightly and pointed towards the city; she smiled and nodded as they swam towards it. Arthur watched as the large Atlantean warship that brought them this far moved into deeper waters. Arthur saw that the city was covered by large domes of some kind; they looked like large bubbles to him. He and his mother neared the base of one that surrounded a large palace. A cloud of dust rose from around them as they touched the muddy bottom of the ocean. Atlanna smiled as she led him to the bubble and they walked through it, they emerged on the other side completely dry.
Arthur gasped in amazement “Mother, we’re dry!”
She smiled “Of course we are, we’re in a dry area.”
Arthur looked out the dome to see hundreds of Atlanteans swimming around going between domes that covered parts of the city “Mother,” he asked “Why do we have these bubbles if we can breath in water?”
She smiled at his question and knelt before him as several guards came towards them “Well Arthur, we can’t talk underwater can we?” he shook his head as she continued “So rather than carry around communicators, we use these domes so we can talk easily.”
He nodded, but a confused look crossed his face “But why don’t you live on land then?”
She shook her head with some sorrow “Because, Atlanteans still need to be near water at all times. You don’t because your father is human, but you still need water to survive, just not as much as us. We can be out of the water, but grow weak if we are too far from it.”
Arthur looked at her still confused “Are there other cities like Atlantis?”
She smiled down at her son “oh yes, countless, and the majority of them pay tribute to Atlantis. You will see them eventually.”
He scratched the shirt he was wearing, it was made of a shiny, scale like material “Mother, this itches, I want my old cloths.”
Atlanna laughed softly “You will grow used to the feel Arthur. We can’t weave fabric here, so we have other methods of clothing.”
He looked at her, confused but not replying.
The guards had reached them by this time and parted revealing a strong looking man and a young boy. Atlanna smiled at them as she spoke to Arthur “Arthur, this is my husband Marius, and our son, your little brother Orm.”
The boy was convicted for drowning the other child and sent to a juvenile correctional facility for the mentally ill. He was declared mentally ill, and selected to receive experimental treatment for his condition. The boy sat strapped to a chair, with electric diodes attached to him in several places. Several lab technicians darted about the room, their uniforms read
ARKHAM He looked over in terror as a young doctor, whose nametag identified him as “Hugo Strange”, inserted an IV in his arm. Dr. Strange smiled down at him as he adjusted his glasses “Now young man, you are about to help me make amazing breakthroughs in pharmapsychology. Now, what was your name again?” he said looking down at a clipboard before shrugging “Oh well, it’s of no consequence. Let’s begin.” With that, he flipped a switch and drugs were pumped into the boy’s body, followed by electric shocks. The boy screamed and tried to fight, but there was nothing he could do.
11 years later:
The young boy is now a strong man, in perfect mental health. He is now a proud member of the US Navy, holding the rank, or rate as it is called in the navy, of Petty Officer 1st class. He currently serves aboard a sophisticated nuclear submarine deep in the Atlantic.

He walked into the Captain’s cabin and snapped a salute, which the Captain returned “At ease.” The captain said as he motioned for the Petty Officer to take a seat.
The Captain smiled “I wanted to talk to you about your performance aboard my ship, as well as some observations I have made. I’ll hate to lose you when you go back to that classified project you were working on.”
The Petty Officer looked at the captain with obvious worries “Sir, have I been unsatisfactory in my duties sir?”
The captain laughed and shook his head “Of course not. You are probably the best hand on this vessel. And your computer and engineering skills are astounding. You are performing so admirably that, after this tour is over, I am submitting your name for officers training. What do you think of that?” the captain said with a smile.
The Petty Officer was in shock “Sir! I would be honored sir! Thank you for this opportunity sir.”
The captain rose and returned the Petty Officer’s salute before leading him to the door “You are one of the best recruits I’ve seen in decades, you were made for life on the sea. I want to make sure you get what you deserve.” He said closing the bulkhead behind them.
Young Arthur was now a teen of sixteen years, he had grown up to be quite strong, the perfect Atlantean, loved and adored by his people. He wore and orange and green, the Atlantean royal colors, outfit that resembled scales. His brother Orm had grown as well, at fourteen Orm had become jealous and competitive of his brother’s accomplishments and successes. A brother whom he felt was inferior being only half Atlantean. Arthur sat in the palace gardens, which were the ruins of the old city in the ocean outside of the domes, with a young redheaded girl, her hair flowing in the ocean current, she wore a skintight green bodysuit. She smiled at him as he brushed a stray strand from her face; they leaned close together and kissed.
A short distance away Orm stood behind a column watching them with hatred on his face. He swam over to them and announced his presence, they ignored him for a moment until he said, “I know you both have communicators with you, and you can hear me.”
Arthur broke the kiss and turned to his brother “Yes, Mera and I can hear you,” he said turning to her with a smile “We simply choose not to listen.”
She laughed and pushed him on his shoulder “Oh Arthur, you’re terrible. You promised to show Orm and me those ruins you found.”
“And were bragging endlessly about.” Orm said as he crossed his arms impatiently.
Arthur sighed “Alright, let’s go.” He held Mera’s hand and swam off, Orm followed behind.
He led them far from the garden ruins; they saw all manner of fish around them, and an amazing array of corral. Suddenly Orm cried out in pain, Arthur spun around to see a shark bite into Orm’s leg. Arthur saw several sharks coming from all sides; he swam over and punched the shark attacking Orm on its snout, causing it to release him. The sharks circled them; Mera pulled Orm to her tightly as Arthur swam out away from them and floated there, alone. The sharks moved towards him, and he turned to face them “Leave us!” he commanded as the sharks circled, then suddenly, they broke away and disappeared into the ocean.
Mera looked at him breathlessly “What did you do?”
Arthur held his head as if it was aching “If I concentrate, I can control them, all sea life.”
Mera released Orm and swam over to Arthur “How?”
Arthur looked away before replying “Atlan.”
Orm floated there clutching his wounded leg “Atlan! Mother warned us to stay away from him. He is an insane sorcerer, who can’t be trusted.”
“Now honestly, do I seem that bad young prince?” a voice from behind them said. They turned to see Atlan the wizard. He had blonde hair, like Arthur’s, and wore simple armor and carried a trident.
Arthur bowed his head towards Atlan “Atlan, how did you find us?”
Atlan smiled “I sensed you using the powers I taught you of. I was worried you may be in peril, so I came to your aid.”
Orm looked at him with narrow eyes “Thank you, but we don’t want the help of your kind.”
Atlan chuckled “I’m sure you will have no trouble swimming back to Atlantis with a wounded leg. I suppose your mother still holds a grudge. Exile wasn’t enough for her, she has sot slander me to the rest of the world. Lovely creature, strong. It’s pity that she is being so petty about this. It is not my fault if her father was wrong in relying on technology over Atlantis’s try heritage.”
Orm looked at him contemptuously “And what, oh great sorcerer, would that be?”
Atlan smiled “Magic. Magic saved Atlantis when it sank to depths of the sea. Magic created the domes that once surrounded the city, the domes that shielded us from prying surface dwellers.”
Orm smiled with contempt at the older wizard “And yet, our grandfather saw fit to replace all of your outdated beliefs with technology that works much better.”
Atlan shook his head “Impertinent youth. Your grandfather was a fool to turn his back on the mystic arts, and your mother is a fool for following his lead. Their decisions led to a civil war among our people. They turned their backs on the ways of our ancestors and resorted to technological devices to protect us.”
Arthur interrupted him softly “But, those with the technology won.”
Atlan shrugged “Doesn’t, matter, your mother is still wrong.”
Orm shook with anger “Our mother is a great leader. If my father heard you speak of her like this, he’d-“
“Kill me” Atlan said cutting him off “I highly doubt that. I am the last true master of the ancient arts; it will take more than noble Marius to vanquish me. I only left Atlantis out of affection for your mother.”
Mera looked at them incredulously “How can you two be arguing? Orm is wounded, we must get him treatment.”
Atlan chuckled and looked at Arthur, “I like this one, she is strong.” He looked at Orm “My home is not far, we will get him treatment there.”
Orm was growing irritated “Why can’t you just use your sorcery and heal me?”
Atlan shrugged as he swam away “If I did that, then I would not have company.”
Atlan led the three young Atlanteans further from the city out into waters over a large series of ridges and undersea mountains. Mera and Orm looked at them breathlessly. Atlan chuckled “Your families have ruled over the ocean for generations, and yet you, the airs to their kingdoms have never truly experienced the wonders of the ocean.” He quieted as a shadow passed above them. It was a submarine. “This is not going to end well…” he muttered as he motioned for the kids to dive deeper towards the ridge.
The Petty Officer sat at his station on the submarine as they cruised over a series of ridges. One of the crewmen on the bridge called out “Captain. We are picking up un identified life forms on our scanners.”
The crew turned as the captain walked to the station. Before he could investigate, a warning klaxon began to wail. The captain spun around “Status report!”
Another petty officer called from his station “Sir! All the electrical systems are failing across the ship. At this rate we will lose all engine power in less than a minute.”
As he said that the massive engines powering the sub failed, and the power dimmed to red emergency lights.
Arthur looked on in horror as the massive submarine started sinking deeper into the water. It impacted into a jagged ridge, tearing a large gash into the sub along its starboard side, flooding it. Arthur looked at the others “We have to do something!”
Atlan looked at him evenly “You could jeopardize the safety of the city if you are seen.”
Arthur looked at him “I’m not going to sacrifice their lives!” he said as he shot through the water at top speed towards the sinking submarine.
The hull breach was so extensive that it could not be sealed, and nearly all the decks were being flooded by the rushing torrent of seawater. The bridge had been completely flooded, and the only survivor was the unfortunate Petty Officer, who at that moment was trying to struggle into a breathing apparatus as water cascaded around him. He had sealed himself into a room filled with diving equipment, but the bulkhead was about to collapse in on him, as the pressure of the water pressed down upon it. Already the room was waist high with water. As he got his mask on, the door in the leaking bulkhead opened and he saw a soaking wet Arthur fighting the torrent of water. Before the Petty Officer could do anything, an oxygen tank fell from a rack and struck him in the head, causing him to collapse to the ground. Arthur grabbed him and a package labeled “Emergency Raft” and swam through the door.
The Petty Officer awoke some time later on the raft floating on the surface of the water under the sun. He looked around in confusion, unsure what happened.
Arthur, Mera, Orm and Atlan all floated above the city of Atlantis as the domes covering the city disappeared along with the city.
Arthur looked at Atlan with narrowed eyes “What happened?”
Atlan shook his head in sorrow “Atlantis is old, and has many secrets.” He looked Arthur in the face “Do you not wonder why no surface dwellers have discovered Atlantis by now?” he motioned to the now vanished city “Atlantis has killed countless surface dwellers to maintain their secrets. Centuries ago Atlantis instituted measures to destroy surface dwellers before they discover us. Once we relied on the mystic arts, but now we use advanced technologies to ensure our safety. You saw an example of that earlier. A device that drains the powers of nearby human technology.”
Arthur shook his head “How can we ever expect to live among them with if this is how we treat them.”
“Why would we want to?” Orm said with disgust “they are violent beings, primitive.”
Mera looked at him and shook her head as Arthur led them to the city.
One year later:
Arthur and Orm kneeled beside their mother as she lay in bed, her time had come. As the machines monitoring her health beeped a tone, signaling her death, the guards in the room kneeled and faced Arthur. Marius kneeled beside him and said “All hail Arthur, king of Atlantis.”
As one life ended, another was being reborn…
The former Petty Officer had stood numbly as he was discharged from the Navy. The term they had used was medical discharge, but he knew the truth, they thought him insane. No one believed his story of being saved by a “merman” they thought the shock, coupled with his previous history of mental illness had caused him to lose his grip on reality. He knew that none of this was his fault, the merman had ruined his life, he was the one who destroyed the sub, and along with it all of the Petty Officer’s hopes and dreams.
He made his way to a naval yard and into a secure research wing. Before his tour he was a member of a team working on a top secret submersible that could not be tracked by any known system. He reached a checkpoint and nodded at the guard, he hoped that his top secret clearance had not been revoked; few knew he had this level of clearance to begin with. Even fewer knew of the project to begin with.
The guard smiled “So how did the trial go?”
The Petty Officer shrugged “Not bad, they are still deliberating. But, the Admiral wanted me to get over here ASAP to work on an engineering problem, so the trial was postponed.”
The guard laughed “The Admiral gets what he wants.” He waved the petty officer through.
The Petty Officer walked towards an elevator and rode it down several floors underground until he came to a cavernous hanger. The hangar was occupied by a large craft, suspended over a pit of water. It had an odd almost wing design, and looked like an aquatic creature from above. It was painted jet black.
He walked by a table with files on it beside a computer, he glanced down at a file which read “Project: Black Manta”
He nodded calmly at a passing technician as he walked to a corridor. He walked down the long bare walled corridor until he came to a room at the end. He opened the door to a laboratory filled with equipment and in the center inside of a glass cylinder hung a top secret experimental wetsuit. It was mat black and had a metallic dome helmet with two large red eyes in it. The suit had armored segments that could enhance the strength of a man so he could move about freely in the water. It also had offensive abilities, including wrist mounted devices that launched projectiles called stingers. He hit a button on the console and the glass receded from the suit.
A lab technician was doing work inside of the manta sub and was climbing the ladder to leave. He made it on top of the hull and turned to see a man rigging an explosive to the cables holding the ship aloft.

“Hey! What are you doing, and who are you?” the tech shouted.
The man wearing the wet suit and helmet turned, the eyes glowing. The Petty Officer thought for a moment “I really don’t have an answer…I am the Black Manta.” Manta said as he raised and arm and shot a stinger from his wrist, the stinger lodged into the man’s throat and he fell from the ship to the water below. Manta climbed the ladder into the sub and made his way into the cockpit. The ship was shaped like a manta and had a wingspan longer than a football field. He made his way to the cockpit and power up the experimental engine. He looked out the cockpit and saw guards rushing into the room. He needed a quick distraction; he activated the ship’s weapons and hit a button. This launched a rocket from the ship into the far wall. As he did this, Manta activated the explosives on the cables. The ship fell and crashed into the water below. He hit the engines and the ship sped to the launch exit, and open waters.
Four years later:
A navy officer stands at a board presenting facts to several other officers “The man, who goes by the name of the project Black Manta has struck roughly a hundred merchant ships as well as two British cruisers and one of our own carriers. He has become an expert pirate, and has sold his services to various governments and terrorist agencies. We have no way of knowing where he will be at anytime. Our intelligence indicates that he never keeps the same crew, he shows up in various pirate havens and picks up crews, returning them after whatever job he is on is done.”
An admiral asked “Do we have any indication of where his base is?”
The officer shook his head “No sir, we have no idea where he is at any time.”
Arthur sat on his throne deep in contemplation as he listened to one of his generals explaining recent troubles in his kingdom.
“My lord,” the man continued “we have no indication why we are experiencing these attacks. The sea life is sporadically targeting our people as they leave the safety of the domes and venture into the ocean. Even those who live outside of the city have moved into the domes for safety. We would have lost an entire platoon last week to those sharks had you not intervened with your power milord.”
Arthur nodded “What disturbs me most about that attack is the fact that it was over 30 Great Whites. They never congregate in such numbers in this area. We need to find the cause of why the marine life is attacking.”
Orm stood “I believe I know brother.”
Arthur nodded for him to continue “Over the last few decades the surface dweller have been increasing the amount of waste that they dump into our oceans. They must be stopped, or our entire world will be jeopardized!”
Arthur shook his head “There is no way we can find a connection between the humans and these attacks.”
Orm slammed a fist on the table “We must take action! With our technology, we could wipe them out!”
Arthur stood and narrowed his eyes as he spoke sternly “Gentlemen, please give my brother and I some privacy. Now!”
The generals and officials silently filed out of the room, leaving Arthur and Orm alone. Arthur looked at his brother sternly “You do not question me in front of others. We have been through this before; we gain nothing attacking the surface.”
Orm sighed in frustration “I know brother, I’m sorry.” He looked down “I’m just worried, about Atlantis and about you.”
Arthur looked at him with a raised brow “Me?”
Orm nodded “The people know of your powers, they are beginning to think that there may be a connection between them and the animal attacks.”
That night Arthur sat on the edge of his bed as Mera walked into the room and sat beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and gently kissed his cheek. She whispered quietly in his ear “Perhaps I can do something to relieve the tensions of ruling your kingdom, my husband.”
He embraced her and they lay back on the bed.
Meanwhile in the waters far from Atlantis, Orm stood on the ridge of an undersea mountain. He stood impatiently with his arms crossed as Black Manta walked towards him.
“Is all prepared?” Orm demanded.
Manta nodded “Yes, I’m ready to do my part in your plan, just make sure that you hold your end of the bargain.”
Orm smiled “Of course my friend. You’re device is helping save my kingdom, you will be justly rewarded.”
On the bridge of an Atlantean scout ship, that is roughly fifty feet long; two Atlantean soldiers are on monitor duty. An alarm begins to sound; one of the soldiers investigates it “Look at this. Something is coming up from deep water. It’s right on us!” he cried out as the ship began to groan. The ship began to depressurize with water filling it, then it was ripped in half. The crew swam into the water from the wreckage, only to see an enormous giant squid below them. It opened its massive maw and they were drawn in to their deaths.
Hundreds of Atlanteans fled the open waters to the safety of the city domes, knowing the creature could not follow them. The squid destroyed countless buildings on the outskirts of the city. It paused there, but only for a moment before thrusting tentacles that were hundreds of feet long through the dome and into the city. The tentacles crashed through buildings and crushed Atlanteans as they flailed about. Arthur rushed through crowds of terrified people, holding a trident in his grip, planning to use his abilities to calm the creature. He stood before the onslaught of the tentacles, attempting to control it, he looked up as it raised a giant tentacle above him, and his powers were not working on it! The tentacle slammed into a building nearby, demolishing it. Arthur stood stunned as he was tackled from behind by a man in a black costume. He looked to see Black Manta standing over him. Manta typed in a command on a keypad clipped to his arm. He looked through the dome as several torpedoes fired from his ship slammed into the massive creature outside the dome. The tentacles flailed about, damaging the city as the creature writhed with agony. Manta hit another button and an earsplitting sound spread through the water and the city. Arthur clutched his head in pain, and fell to the ground, dropping the trident.
The squid withdrew its tentacles and moved off into deeper waters once again.
Black Manta stood in the center of the devastated city over an unconscious Arthur as crowds of shocked Atlanteans gathered around. Several of them murmured things like “He attacked our king!” or “Who is he?”
Orm broke through the crowd “My people! Do not harm this surface dweller. He has come to our aid. He is a soldier from the surface, as well as a scientist. He discovered that our king, my brother, is the cause of this!” the crowd was stunned t this revelation.
Orm looked at the crowd. “I love, my brother as much as you do… but his being here is a threat to our very existence. He must be banished, or face execution!” he leaned over and picked up the trident.
The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves as Mera rushed to her unconscious husband.
Some time later Orm and Manta stand in a dark room looking out of a balcony over the city, Manta still ahs his helmet on.
Manta speaks with a gravelly voice from the helmet “what will you do now?”
Orm smiled and clasped his hands behind his back “Do? I won’t do anything. My brother loves his people; he will leave because he fears that his presence will bring them harm. I suspect he is spending one last night with his wife. In the morning, he will announce his departure from Atlantis.” He turned to Manta with a smile as he quickly added “leaving me as his successor. And I will generously reward the hero of our nation. I will make you… general. You will have access to the finest technology in order to build weapons to better serve Atlantis.”
Manta stood silent and nodded slowly, what little light there was reflecting from his silver helmet.
Arthur sat in bed, hugging Mera tightly “I’m so sorry.” he said softly as he lay his head on her shoulder “The kingdom will depend on you and Orm now. You will rule at his side.”
Mera kissed him, “I will rule with him, but love only you.”
Several years later:
Arthur Curry Sr. watched as his son left the lighthouse in which they lived and walked to the harbor nearby.
Arthur Jr. walks up to a large charter boat and climbs on board. He sees a woman with long black hair talking on a phone. He listened to what she was saying “I know Smallville. I can’t wait to get back to Metropolis; I’m tired of chasing wild fish stories for Perry.”
Arthur got the attention of one of the crew members “Who’s she?”
The crew member looked the woman up and down “My next future ex wife.” He said with a laugh before replying “She’s some reporter with the Daily Planet, came with a ginger kid photographer. She’s here about all of the reports of some superhero saving a bunch of people around here. You know the stories about the fish guy who can ‘command the seas’.” The man said overly dramatically as he walked off with a laugh.
Arthur laughed as went about helping the ship get prepped for launch.

Beneath the waves of the ocean Orm stands looking out a balcony at the city of Atlantis.
Mera storms into his room. She speaks to him accusingly, “Orm, our people are starving and you build weapons of war, weapons that are polluting our oceans just as the surface dwellers do.”
Orm looks at her angrily “Starving, we are in the ocean!” he makes a sweeping gesture indicating the ocean “the majority of the entire planet’s food comes from here! They should learn to take care of themselves.”
Mera insults him “Arthur may have been dangerous, as you claim, but at least he cared for his people.”
Orm shook his head “My brother lacked vision. I am taking steps to prepare our kingdom for the future.”
Mera clenches her fists in rage “You and your human advisor, the Black Manta, are leading us to war with a world that is unaware of our existence. You rely on him too much; you’ve even made him the head of our army!”
Orm looked back at her coolly “Do not question my decisions Mera. Manta has more knowledge of the surface than any of us. He knows its horrors, which is why he has taken a home here.”
Manta meanwhile is standing in a war room with the other Atlantean generals. He looks at them with his emotionless mask “You know why you are here. Orm is mad with power. He is wasting the resources of your nation, preparing for a war that he will never wage. He is a coward; he fears the surface that is slowly poisoning your home.”
Marius shook his head “No, war should not be our first option, we can’t win a war with the surface.”
Manta turned to him “We have no other choice.”
One of the generals nods quickly “Manta is correct, Orm is leading us to ruin. We can no longer rely on him to protect us; it is time for us to seize control of Atlantis. We must strike at the surface now!”
“We already have.” Manta says coolly as he clasped his hands behind his back and turned towards a large screen showing a map of the eastern seaboard of North America.
Arthur stood on the deck of the charter boat as the tourists throw fishing lines over the side. Arthur saw a young boy, who was frustrated by the fact that he had not caught anything. Arthur smiled and leaned down near him and pointed to an area off the bow. “Why don’t you try over there kid.” Arthur walked away as a fish tugged on the kid’s line, eliciting a cheer from the boy.
The boat was rocked by a large impact, all aboard are thrown to the ground. Arthur looks over the side to see several large metal torpedoes rushing through the water, one of which was heading directly for their boat!
It struck the starboard side of the ship, tearing a huge hole in the hull as it passed through not detonating, launching the reporter over the side. Arthur leapt over the side of the boat to save her. She was sinking into the sea; he swam quickly to her and pulled her to the surface. When they broke the surface he saw the quickly sinking boat was filling with water from the massive holes in its hull.
He handed the reporter to the people on the deck, the photographer rushed over to her “Lois!”
Arthur dived back into the water, using his powers he called for aid from the marine life. A school of nearby Right Whale answered his call. One of the massive beasts swam under the boat, and raised it to the surface. Arthur then directed to the rest to the torpedoes ahead. The whales used their massive weight to force the torpedoes into deeper water where they exploded harmlessly into a coral reef. Two torpedoes made it past them however.
These two torpedoes slammed into the docks at the harbor, destroying dozens of docked ships. Arthur sped through the water, pulling dead and unconscious bodies from the water.
The next day the Daily Planet’s headline was “Aquaman Saves Hundreds in Mercy Reef Harbor Attack” the article went on to say that many major ports were attacked by an unknown ocean based enemy.
Arthur shook his head as he paced around the living room of his father’s home.

He spoke his thoughts out loud “Why would they attack mercy Reef? It is a small fishing community. There is nothing here!”
Arthur Sr. puts the paper down, stands and walks over to Arthur and puts his hand on his son’s shoulder. He smiles at Arthur sadly saying “You’re here son. This was a message meant for you. Orm wants you to know that he is starting his war. Your kingdom is in turmoil son, it needs you.”
Arthur looked at him inquisitively “how do you know all of this?”
Arthur sr. sighed, took a step back, spread his arms and said “Son, I have something to tell you…It pains me to do so. I am not just Arthur Curry.” He said as he began to glow and was absorbed by bright light “I am truly Atlan, Sorcerer of Atlantis.” He said as the light disappeared revealing him to be Atlan.
Orm broke through the doors into the war room and stormed over to Manta, who stood coordinating military efforts that were displayed on the screens surrounding the room.
“MANTA!” Orm bellowed as he looked Manta into the eye pieces of the silver helmet.
“Orm.” Manta replies calmly with a short nod “What can I do for you?”
Orm clenched his fists in anger “You can tell me why you launched an attack on the surface world without my permission!”
Manta motioned to the screens “You wanted a war, that’s why you brought me to Atlantis. Well, I’m giving you a war.” Manta turned away from Orm.
Orm trembled with rage “How dare you turn your back on the king!” he said as he swung his fist at the helmet. The blow glanced off of the metal dome, only serving to hurt Orm’s hand.
In an instance, the guards and generals around the room snapped their weapons up and aimed them, not at Manta, but at Orm. Manta turned, grabbed Orm by the throat and slammed him into one of the screens, cracking it. Manta held him off of the floor as he spoke calmly “Listen to me now Orm. You are only king because I made you king. Look around this room, all of your generals are loyal to me. They know you are weak. They know that you only rule because I removed your brother from the throne with my machines.”
“They know?” Orm croaked as he struggled for air “They know that we set him up?”
Manta nodded as he motioned for the generals to leave, they complied. Manta set Orm down after the generals left, “They were thrilled. Arthur was weak. However, in their eyes, you are weaker. They want their war, and we are going to give it to them, it is as simple as that.”
Orm rubbed his throat as Manta let go of it. He coughed as he replied “But, we can’t win, both the humans and Atlanteans will die!”
Manta laughed “I have no love for the surface. My home is down here, I’ve known it all my life. It may as well be my grave.”
Arthur stood in shock at the revelation that his father, Arthur Curry, was also Atlan. Atlan smiled softly “I am sorry for the deception my son, but it was necessary to protect you, and your mother.”
Arthur shook his head “Why wait until now to tell me?”
Atlan closed his eyes and sighed “Because, now you are ready.”
Arthur folded his arms “Ready for what?”
Atlan smiled “To return home, my son.”
Arthur walked over to a window and looked out at the ocean “I can’t I am more dangerous than this war my brother seems eager to start.”
Atlan walked over and put his hand on Arthur’s shoulder “Son, you did not endanger your people. Orm and the Black Manta did. They have a machine that uses sound waves to harm marine life, driving them insane.”
Arthur spun around in surprise “How do you know this, and why tell you have waited until now to tell me.”
Atlan smiled cryptically “We needed to make certain you were ready. As to how I knew, there is little in the ocean that we don’t know.”
Arthur sighed in frustration “Who is we?”
Atlan shook his head “Inconsequential. For now, we must get you home before Manta destroys your kingdom. You must go alone, I cannot help you.”
A group of United States military officials sit in a darkened meeting room looking at projections on a board.
A spectacled scientist is pointing out images on the screen “We believe that the torpedoes came from this region of the sea. This morning we took some thermal images and got this.” He said showing a thermal outline of Atlantis “We have mapped this area of the ocean before; it has never shown up on a survey before. We may be looking at an advanced civilization that has been living in the Bermuda Triangle for centuries.”
An admiral shakes his head “several years ago, we had a nuclear sub disappear in that region; the only survivor claimed that an undersea city destroyed it. We thought he was crazy, I guess we were wrong. He was right, they are there, and they are hostile.”
The Secretary of Defense stood “The president wants us to be on full alert and prepared for a counter attack at a moments notice.”
The admiral nodded “We have a fleet standing by as we speak, prepared to move out.”
The Secretary of Defense nodded “The president also wants us to have Task Force X officials on hand as well.”
Black Manta stood in the shadows looking out at Orm, who stood on a podium addressing hundreds of Atlantean soldiers. “Now is the time to strike!” Orm shouts as he holds the royal trident over his head, “We have stood by and watched as the surface dwellers have ruined our home, they must be held accountable! We will make them change their ways!”
Manta chuckles and says quietly “They engineer their own destruction, almost too easy.” Manta says with slight regret evident in his voice.
He saw a passing soldier and pulled him over “Find the Queen, have her moved to my ship for her protection, I will join her there and coordinate the battle from there.”
The soldier rushes off as Manta turns back to Orm who has the crowd cheering.
“Madness.” A voice says. Manta looks up to see Marius standing over him. Marius is mumbling silently “You will ruin us all,” he looks down at Manta “You and my son.”
A fleet of aircraft carriers and submarines cruised through the Atlantic towards Atlantis as the sun began to rise, signaling a new day, possibly the last Atlantis would ever see.

Not far away, beneath the waters of the Atlantic, the massive Atlantean fleet moved out from its moorings near the city.
In the city the people milled around in the city streets, looking out through the domes as their fleet left home. They do not fear attack, confident their domes would protect them.
Beneath the city lay a power plant that controlled the domes around the city. The halls of the facility were lined with dead Atlanteans as a device on one of the consoles began to blink.
Manta and Orm stand in a large command room high atop a tower in the royal palace. They are overlooking dozens of technicians who are busily overseeing movements of the Atlantean fleets.
One of the techs spoke up “My lords, we have scanner anomalies approaching.”
Orm nodded slowly “The humans.” He stated.
The tech nodded “Yes sir, and something else. I’m not sure but it seems to be an impossibly large amount of marine life. Headed this way at near impossible speeds.”
Orm paled at this as Manta chuckled “he returns.” Manta said softly.
Aboard a US Aircraft carrier the sonar worker informed the Admiral on deck of a large number of unknown warships headed their way. He also comments on a large number of marine animals approaching.
Aquaman, once again in his orange and green outfit speeds through the water, he is leading thousands of fish and marine mammals. He orders them to halt the warships; the animals break off into two groups, one which created a screen around the Atlantean ships, another around the US’s. Aquaman himself sped through the waters towards Atlantis, towards his home.
The crewmen of the US carriers on the surface hear a thunderous noise; they all look up in surprise as a large cloud of seagulls fly overhead.
Aboard the bridge of one of the ships a crewman reports “Admiral, visibility is at zero, the birds are circling around the fleet.”
The Admiral looked over to a middle aged African American woman “This your doing Waller?”
Amanda Waller, head of Task Force X smiled cryptically, “Not necessarily, but it wasn’t unexpected.”
Orm looks at Manta in panic “Arthur has returned! What are you going to do?”
Manta stood silent for a moment before he hit a button on his wrist “What I must Orm, what I must.” He said as he grabbed Orm’s trident and walked out of the room, the door sealing behind him.
With the press of a button, Manta unleashed destruction to the mighty city of Atlantis. Deep beneath the city the generator for the domes exploded, sending shockwaves through the city.
In an instance the domes fell, causing tons of water to crash into the city, demolishing buildings that had stood for centuries, and crushing the citizens by the sheer weight of the water.
Orm looked in terror as a wave of water approached, crushing the tower in which he stood, bringing a long over due end to his reign as king of Atlantis.
Arthur looked in shock at the destruction that leveled his city. From the churning waters he saw a single large black craft emerge, Manta’s ship!

Aquaman sped through the water towards the ship.
As he neared the ship, an antenna rose from an opening in the back. Aquaman swam through the opening and into the ship.
Manta hit on control on a console in his ship, activating the antenna.
Aboard the Atlantean flagship, one of Marius’s crewmembers called out “We’ve lost all contact with Atlantis! The humans must have attacked!”
Marius clenches his fists in rage “Open me a channel to all ships.” He composed himself for a moment before addressing the Atlantean fleet “Brothers, as you are now realizing, we have lost contact with our home. This was not the human fleet, but I believe it to be human. My son’s advisor Black Manta must be behind it.”
A general called out “The humans must be dealt with!”
“NO!” Marius shouted in anger “I am the highest ranking official, I am seizing control of the fleet. We wait here; I won’t have blood spilt today!”
Suddenly all of the fish in the water and birds in the sky went crazy; they began attacking both the Atlantean and human ships.
The Admiral and Amanda Waller looked on in surprise as birds began dive bombing the decks and a whale rammed the stern of the ship.
The Admiral swore and looked at Waller as a bird crashed through the glass on the bridge “Is this unexpected? Or were you planning on this turning into “The Birds”?”
Manta’s hands danced across the controls of his ship as he increased the frequency that caused the animal life to attack. Manta glanced over to see Mera bound and gagged in the chair behind him “Don’t worry your highness; your husband will be joining us soon.” He said as he slipped the gag off of her mouth.
She looked at him with rage “Why are you doing this? Atlantis took you in; we have done you no harm.”
Manta shook his head “Your husband stole everything from me, I’m simply returning the favor.” Manta said as he turned to the controls. Mera saw Arthur slip into the cockpit out of the corner of her eye. He quietly grabbed the trident, which was propped against the bulkhead; he raised it in the air, preparing to strike Manta from behind.
Manta rolled out of the way, and shot Arthur in the stomach with a dart from his wrist. Arthur swung the trident, slashing the navigational controls. The deck lurched as the sub shifted into a steep climb. Manta laughed as he flipped a switch labeled AERIAL.
On the surface the water began churning as the massive Manta ship rose from the sea and shot off into the sky.
Manta pulled a sword out and swung at Aquaman, who blocked with the trident. Aquaman kicked Manta in the stomach, sending him crashing to the deck. Aquaman clutched his stomach, where Manta shot him with the dart at earlier. Manta leaps to his feet and grabs a bulkhead and delivers a kick with both legs to Aquaman’s midsection. Aquaman loses his grip on the trident and falls to the deck. It is about this time that the ship reached the apex of its climb; it hung there for a moment before angling down and diving to the ocean.
Aquaman and Manta fumbled around as they experience freefall. They hit the deck with a jarring impact as the ship crashed into a nuclear submarine upon entering the water. The Manta ship survived mostly, save for the antenna controlling the animals, it snapped off on impact. The US sub splintered into dozens of pieces.
Manta glanced to the controls and began to laugh “Ironic, we’re on a collision course with your city. My ship’s power cells are enough to level it once and for all.”
Manta turned to see Aquaman thrusting the trident at him. The trident pierces Manta’s shoulder and pins him to the bulkhead of the ship.
“Arthur!” Mera cried in joy as Aquaman freed her “You have to stop the ship.”
Aquaman nodded and pulled Mera to an airlock, he opened it, flooding the ship, and he and Mera swam away into open waters. As he did, Aquaman used his powers to command three whales to intercept the ship.
The massive creatures rammed the ship and angled it away from the city. They moved away as Black manta’s ship impacted with an oceanic ridge, exploding brilliantly, only for the flames to be immediately extinguished.
Arthur held Mera tightly as they watched the remains of Black Manta’s ship settle to the sea floor. Arthur kissed Mera, ready to make up for the time they had spent apart, but before that could happen there was much to do.
Waller and the Admiral watched as the animals that had assaulted their fleet swam and flew away. A crewman rushed onto the bridge, snapping a hasty salute “Admiral, there is something you need to see sir.”
Waller and the Admiral walked out onto the deck and saw what appeared to be a man standing on top of two dolphins in the water near the ship. The dolphins swam away as the water beneath the man began to bubble. They looked on as a massive Atlantean warship raised from the water, the man atop it. He leapt off of hi ship onto the deck of the carrier.
He addressed Waller and the Admiral “I am Arthur, ruler of Atlantis. I have a declaration from my people.”
Sometime later Amanda Waller stood in the office of the president “that’s right Mr. President. Atlan was correct. The attacks were the result of the terrorist known as Black Manta. We were unable to recover a body from the wreckage of his ship.”
Deep beneath the Atlantic Atlantis was being rebuilt. New domes had been erected, this time combining both magic and science.
Arthur sat in his throne room with his head resting on his hand, deep in thought. Atlan walked towards him, followed by Mera.

Atlan gazed at Arthur cryptically “Do you think the humans will acknowledge our terms?”
Arthur sighed and closed his eyes. “I honestly don’t know. Waste is a fault even we share. But the humans are not my greatest concern.”
Mera looked at him with worry. “What is my love?”
Arthur gripped the arms of the chair slightly “Him. He’s still out there, somewhere. I can feel it. He will never rest, never stop. Not until one of us are dead. It isn’t over.”
In a dark cave a light comes on, revealing a large underground lake. What it in the lake is of interest, over a dozen Manta ships of various style and size.
“It isn’t over.”
Hoped you like it, please leave a comment below. And now onto casting!
Here is a complete list of my Fan Fictions that I have done here on Comicbookmovie.com:
Here is my list of Stories I have written on CBM
DC
Justice League of America Vs the Legion of Doom parts 1-3 (Never finished)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Batman:
Batman3: End of Days
Batman 4 Darkside of the Mind
Batman 5: Shadow of the Bat
Shadow of the Bat: Part 1
Shadow of the Bat Part 2
Batman 6: Knightfall
Batman Knightfall Part 1
Batman Knightfall Part 2
Superman:
Superman: The Man of Steel
Superman: The Last Kryptonian
Short Stories:
Lobo’s Blackest Night, or: Lobo’s Posthumous X-Mas Special
Ghosts of Yesterday (Featuring Zatanna and Question)
Batman Stranger Days
MARVEL:
Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD
Avengers
Spiderman1
X-MEN Story Universe
X Men 4: The X-Factor
X-Men 5: The Day of Futures Past
X-MEN: ROGUE’S GAMBIT
Deadpool and Domino’s Gratuitous Story
X-Men: The Adventure of Cyclops and Phoenix
Castings:
I have done numerous casting on this site as well, they are very enjoyable and I put a lot of thought into them.
330 X-Men Characters!
THEHAWK Casts the ENTIRE 108 Members of the Justice League
Casting the New Gods of Apokolips
Flash's Rouges
Batman's Rouges Gallery
Killer Instict
Wonder Woman's friends and foes
The Endless
The Marauders
Secret Six
Deadpool
X-Men 4 Cast
Superman
Thundercats
HAWK out