His eyes narrowed to thin white lines broken in half by twin wedges of blue-green and a pupil as dark as an ocean trench. He surveyed his opponent without a break in concentration. His face could have been carved from stone. His opponent didn’t even twitch to breathe, let alone give any sign of what he was thinking. His body lay rigid waiting for the Atlantean to make the next move. Seconds ticked by. The tempo was set by the echoing drip of water from elsewhere in the cave, a stalactite in creation. They could take centuries to rise from the ground; the two combatants would be willing to wait longer than that if need be. At last the tension ended. The first of the two statues moved, a muscular arm reached across the table that separated the two and slapped down a pair of rectangular strips of paper.

“Give me two,” the voice said, exiting the beard-encrusted face.

The green figure nodded slightly and drew two replacement cards from the top of the deck and slid them over. The sea king took the playing cards from the Martian and added them to the three he held onto tightly with his other hand.

The Martian placed one of his own cards down and picked up another. “Bets?” he asked in a voice that snuck in through the ears and nestled into the spine with a cold chill, it was the sound of a dead planet, a forgotten language and a dying people, the accent of windswept crimson sand under a pink sky.

A golden metallic hand picked up a trio of cookies and tossed them into the middle of the table on top of a pile of matching treats. “Three,” he said.

The Martian picked up three cookies of his own and set the Oreos down on the pile, he then picked up two more and placed them on their comrades. “I see your three and raise you two.”

The blue-green eyes looked at the Martian’s; blood-red orbs reflected himself back revealing nothing. The blue-green eyes flicked down to his cards, then back to the red pupil-less eyes.

“I’ll see your five and raise you three more.” A quartet of cookies joined the increasingly large pile.

The Martian looked at his ‘stash’; he had only a handful left. His eyes strayed back to his cards then onto the Atlantean. “I’ll call,” he said evening up the pile.

The Atlantean’s frown increased and he idly tossed his cards on the table. “Ghaa, I was bluffing.”

The Martian smiled and swept his winnings eagerly towards him.

Aquaman raised an eyebrow, “How do I know you didn’t peak inside my head, J’onn?”

“As I tell you every month, Arthur, your own telepathic gifts would let you know if I was to ‘peak inside your head’.”

“Yes, yes. It just irks me that you always call my bluffs.”

“Don’t feel so bad. Want a cookie?”

Aquaman smiled for a brief second. “I wouldn’t beat you that way. Besides, I went to all the trouble of getting snacks so we wouldn’t eat the ‘poker chips’.”

“Yes, they’re quite good,” the Martian Manhunter said grabbing a handful of thin wafer-like chips from the bowl at the edge of the table, “What exactly are they?”

“Seaweed. It’s ground up and baked in the light of the sun in special ovens that float at the surface of the water.”

The Martian grunted appreciatively as he swallowed. “I imagine it would be hard to cook things underwater.”

“Not much harder than when everyone is horribly afraid of fire. It was hard on us when Atlantis first sank. We had to learn some of the basics all over again. But we had magic and advanced technology.”

The manhunter from mars swallowed another handful proceeded to shuffle the cards, “Seaweed. I have never spent much time in Atlantis, what else do you eat?”

“They eat seaweed, lichens, plants grown in hydroponics, and lots of fish dishes. Similar to sushi. I try to stay away from those. Hard to eat something, someone, you could have asked for help from earlier.”

“Does put you in an awkward situation. I may have to spend some time in Atlantis eventually.”

“Yes, you should. You come from another planet and start living a multitude of other lives across the globe, but are any of them underwater? You’re trying to understand humanity but overlooking ¾ of the globe!” Aquaman chided.

J’onn smiled, “True enough, but I am kept busy by my duties and looking after lives on just ¼ of the planet. Any more might kill me. And I am invulnerable.”

“There is your mistake, J’onn. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile but never found a time to bring it up before. You are trying to understand man, but through quantity not quality. What do you do in these other lives?”

“Their jobs, careers, and other such concerns.”

“Exactly. That’s not humanity. That’s not living. It’s just going through the motions, you live dozens of different lives but does one of them have a life? Do they have hobbies? Guilty pleasures? Quirks? What are their favorite foods? What kinds of music do they life?”

“Speaking of music what are those unusual sounds playing over the speakers?”

“Atlantean Opera. Sounds better underwater. Different sound vibrations. And don’t change the subject.”

The Martian’s head changed shape slightly with a somewhat wet squelching sound, “Hmm, it does sound better.” He then stopped and thought a second, “You do raise an interesting point. Maybe I should…. Wait a second.”

Aquaman tensed, he heard the change in J’onn’s tone of voice. “What is it?”

“Explosions. I can hear them in the distance now. I’m opening my mind… I can feel people dying.”

“Where? Never mind, let’s go!” Aquaman threw off the robe he was wearing and hauled on his armor. His mind reached outward, farther than the Martians could, reaching out to different places. He felt the Clear, the elemental group-mind of all marine life, that connected his thoughts across the globe. There was trouble not far from here. Fish were running scared, and despite the blood in the water even the sharks stayed away. He dove into the exit pool.

He swam forward, feet thrashing smoothly and his hand shooting through the liquid. His webbed right hand, his real hand, caught the water and pulled forward. J’onn flew effortlessly beside him, matching his speed.

The League honed telepathic connection slipped easily in place between them. “I hear torpedo fire. Who is it?” J’onn asked. He didn’t want to blunder into a war.

“Three metal whales. Subs. Two small ones, probably personal subs, and one large. The large one is using torpedoes,” Aquaman replied.

It didn’t take them long to reach the scene. Two small subs shot through the water like hummingbirds through the air. Aquaman stalled for a second. He didn’t recognize the design. The larger submersible was easily recognizable, it was a heavily armed US Navy nuclear sub, and it was sinking. Several large holes and scorch marks covered the heavily dented exterior.

Aquaman scanned about, “J’onn! The US sub is sinking fast! If it hits the sea bed in the state it is in the nuclear reactor may go off like a bomb!!”

“On it,” J’onn replied shooting forward to the sub, “What bout the other two?”

Aquaman was already speeding towards them, “They’re mine.”

The small submersibles were fast, and their pilots were good. If I didn’t know any better I would swear they’re Atlantean in design, Aquaman thought to himself as he dove down and closed in on the nearest sub.

It swung round and pointed itself right at the sea king. Aquaman sped up and closed in then suddenly shot up just in the nick of time. The sub let loose a barrage of energy blast from its twin gun turrets, the water boiled below Aquaman as he ducked away from the continued blasts. Guess I know what caused those scorch marks on the sub’s hull, Aquaman thought to himself.

He sped forward, grabbing onto the top of the mini-sub. The ship twisted and shook, trying to shake him off. Aquaman pulled himself to the front of the sub on top of the thick glass window. He could see the two pilots cramped inside the tight vehicle. One of them smirked and flipped him the bird. They were separated by six inches of shatterproof glass to keep the water out. Aquaman smirked back. The window gave on the third punch.

The pair franticly turned on their O2 tanks as the glass cracked, then a wave hit them with the force of a truck knocking them across the cabin and into the far wall. They floated there limply as the sub began to sink deeper with no one at the helm. Aquaman quickly examined them; their breathing was shallow but still there. They bore no identifying symbols on their matching uniforms - no flags, icons or logos.

Aquaman pushed off and spun about. The second sub shouldn’t be too hard to find. He swam around quickly, eyes darting from side to side; an underwater vehicle the size of a large van couldn’t just vanish even in something as big as the ocean. Then he heard it.

It came from behind, using the disabled sub as cover. A mechanical arm unfolded from the lower side and plowed through the water at dizzying speeds. Aquaman swiveled to the side but was too slow, powerful steel pincers caught him tight around the waist.

He struggled, the vise-grip squeezed tightly trying to pop him like a grape, and the robotic arm dragged him closer to its sub torso within point-blank range of the laser cannons.

The deadly energy blaster glowed slightly as it charged the killshot, power flowed and the cannon surged with life. A crimson halo of energy blossomed around the cannon and there was a sudden blast of energy. Not from the cannon but from the sub toting Martian several dozen yards away. Reeling from damage from the blast of Martian Vision, the cannon shook violently then exploded.

The Manhunter from Mars adjusted his grip on the Navy sub, it was heavy, but he could handle it. “Are you alright, Arthur?”

“Fine. Nice timing as always, J’onn.” Aquaman managed to get a grip and slowly pushed the metal grip apart; it struggled vainly against him then gave way in a crack of breaking metal. The Sea King pulled himself out of the crippled grip and shot towards the mini-sub.

“I have spotted an island a few miles away. I will put the sub down there and return. Will you be alright until then?”

Aquaman grunted to himself, “Just look after the sailors.” He sped after the second mini-sub, twisting and turning behind it. The sub’s pilot was good, always swerving at the last second.

Aquaman watched J’onn fly away out of the corner of his eye. Strange that the person on land that was his closest friend wasn’t even human. The pair had connected during the early days of the League where they had both been the outsiders. Strangers on a strange land. J’onn had been raised on Mars where he had upheld Martian law; Aquaman had been raised by dolphins and a friendly lighthouse keeper. They didn’t fit in with the rest, but they had each other. J’onn was one of the reasons he didn’t quit the League and give up on the surface entirely. That and Diana…

Aquaman changed tactics. The sub was doing a good job of avoiding him. Whoever had designed it had done an excellent job. He raised his left hand and aimed carefully, the harpoon sped through the water and connected with the rear rudder. He was yanked forward with the sub, his arm nearly being pulled from the socket. Fighting against the water rushing against him he pulled himself forward and grabbed a hold of the ship.

“I have dropped off the sub. Will be back in moments,” a familiar ‘voice’ cracked through his head. Aquaman didn’t respond as he was currently punching his way through the rear hull of the sub.

“Something you said earlier got me thinking, Arthur,” J’onn said in his brain. “About how living a life is different from having one. That there is more to humanity than your occupation.”

“I still stand by that.” The armored outer hull had been peeled back and water was flooding the engine compartment. The advanced machinery sparked and groaned as the water soaked vital components.

“But what do you do for your life? Do you have any hobbies? Guilty pleasures?”

Aquaman’s arms strained, he was pulling the dead sub to the surface; he wanted a word with the pilot. “I’m responsible for protecting seventy percent of the world. I rule an entire submerged continent plus the protectorate island nation of Cerdia. And I’m a current and founding member of the Justice League where I save the universe monthly. My guilty pleasure is a bi-weekly poker game for Oreos. Other than that…”

The sub burst out of the water and floated there like a log, bobbing slightly in the waves. Aquaman swam over, yanked the hatch off the roof, and slid inside. One of the crew raised a handgun and pointed it threateningly. Aquaman grabbed the gun with his prosthetic hand and backhanded his assailant with the other. He reeled from the blow and fell backwards over one of the chairs. Crushing the gun the sea king squeezed forward and grabbed the other pilot by his shirt, yanking him across the cramped bridge.

The golden harpoon formed and raised inches from the terrified pilot’s face. “I want to know who you are and who sent you? Why did you attack that sub?”

The pilot sweated, his eyes focused on the tip pointed a fraction of an inch from him. “I’ll tell you nothing!” he spat.

“Aquaman! Put him down,” J’onn’s commanding voice echoed through the tiny sub.

Aquaman snarled, “He invades my territory and starts trouble. Endangers every living thing for miles including my people. He deserves whatever he gets.”

“Leaguers don’t kill! I know you’re on the edge, but don’t cross over.”

“As I said earlier, the League is just one of my responsibilities. If I get ‘fired’ I’ll just have more free time. Talk!”

“I’m a proud member of O.G.R.E. That’s all you’ll get from me.” He stared defiantly at the two heroes.

Aquaman morphed his harpoon back into a hand and knocked the defiant pilot out. “O.G.R.E., huh?”

J’onn looked at the prone body. “His mind had been tampered with. Psychic blocks deliberately placed to prevent telepathy. I got less than you did.”

Aquaman walked past the Martian Manhunter and slipped into the water. He wanted to catch the other sub before it got too deep and its crew got crushed. J’onn followed.

“J’onn. Just so you know I never planned on killing him. It was an empty threat.”

“I was aware that you were bluffing. I was trying for good cop/bad cop. I was a detective in Denver after all. I was never very good at it.”

Aquaman reached the small sub and began pulling it up, “How exactly did you know I wasn’t going to harm him anyway? I thought I was convincing.”

“I have spent years studying and watching humans. I am quite good at observing body language. I need to be fluent in that for perfect imitation. When you bluff your heart rate increases slightly, your pupils dilate, all the muscles in your left arm and neck tense slightly and you curl your toes slightly.”

“Damn,” Aquaman muttered mentally, “So that’s why you always win at cards.”

“That and my x-ray vision.”

Aquaman spun around and started at J’onn.

“Just kidding, Arthur. Just kidding.” A wide smile appeared on J’onn’s face.

Aquaman couldn’t help but grin too.

But the back of his mind he was still troubled. What was O.G.R.E.? And why would they attack a US nuclear sub?

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To Be Continued...

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