Aquaman

The door closed swiftly behind him sealing off the room with a small barely audible hiss. Several hydraulic cylinders slid into place locking the door tight behind him. The man brushed a tiny fleck of dust from his immaculate black suit and adjusted his deep red tie for the tenth time as he stepped up to his chair at the head of the table.

“Gentlemen,” he said sitting down and skipping straight to business. “I trust we all know why we are here.”

There were murmurs of acknowledgement from all across the highly polished table. “The rogue nation,” one of the people stated plainly.

“Correct,” the chairman said, setting his briefcase down on the table. “As President of the United States it is my prerogative to call a meeting of G-8 nations whenever I so choose, given a reasonable circumstance. I am… pleased you all managed to attend on such short notice.” Lex Luthor pulled out a thick folder from the case.

“So what do you propose to do about the Atlantis situation?” the Soviet President inquired.

Luthor casually placed the folder on the table and pulled out a pen from the desk. He placed that in front of him before folding his hands on the table. He sat there quietly for a second and looked forwards plainly. He waited just long enough for the other seven people at the table to begin to squirm before he started to talk. “I for one have had enough of this single country blatantly breaking international law with its leader flaunting his disregard for procedure.”

“But what do you plan to do about it?” the British Prime Minister asked, pouring himself a glass of ice water. “He hasn’t directly invaded or infringed upon on another nation’s borders. And without some motivation the public will not support any action that could lead to war.”

“They’ve never needed a reason before,” the Canadian PM muttered under his breath. Luthor shot him a dirty look and the politician shrunk down into the chair an inch.

Luthor steepled his fingers and looked about the room at the people who were among the most powerful and influential in the world. He looked down on them all with disgust. Then he smiled, slowly and darkly. His eyes never changed. “America is the bastion of democracy. While Atlantis is a hereditary monarchy steeped in archaic tradition. I can undercut the faith of the world in its leadership by showing how corrupt or inept its leadership could be.”

The Russian President nodded. “Aquaman is a member of the Justice League. His credentials are… how do you say… impeccable.”

Luthor’s smile widened and he opened up the folder in front of him. “True. More or less. But the leadership of Atlantis will not rest with Aquaman forever.” He pushed the folder towards the Soviet. “If the people of the world have a reason to doubt King Orin’s successor, we might be able to push for a change.”

“The successor is known as ‘Aquaboy’. Do not any of your Western heroes have names that are not… dumb?”

“No, not really.”

“But how will you convince the public that this ‘Aquaboy’ is a danger?”

Luthor pointed back at the folder. “Aquaboy is a member of the Teen Titans.”

“Oh. This will be easier than I thought.”

Seren aka Aquaboy rubbed his temples vigorously in an attempt to massage the sudden pain in his head into submission or kill himself by melting his brain through friction. Whichever came first. He sighed. “And then what do I have to do?”

Vulko, the former head scientist of Poseidonis and current political adviser, brushed a white lock of hair from his elderly face and bent over the book again. “After the ritualistic recitation of the key passages of the Atlantis Chronicles the heir to the throne must walk through the city dressed in the royal garb while being judged by the people. If he meets their approval and does not get beaten down by rocks or produce he presents himself to be judged by the current king and queen. Prostrating himself…”

“Whoa, whoa! I’m only a kid! I don’t need to have that checked for years yet!” Seren protested stiffening in his chair.

Vulko sighed “It means bowing and humbling yourself before them.”

“Oh.”

Vulko rolled his eyes “Continuing onward, the heir submits himself for judgment and is either found worthy or lacking. If he is worthy he is handed the royal scepter, the symbol of the mandate of heaven, from the King. And then the Queen rises and places the crown of the prince on the head of the new crown prince.”

“That doesn’t sound too hard,” Seren said, doodling a picture of a pirate squid.

“That is the simplistic version,” Vulko said, snatching the pen from the youth’s hand. “The scepter must be accepted in the right hand and cradled in the elbow of the left arm. When the applicant pr… submits for approval he must kneel on his left knee while crouching down with the right. He stretches himself forward and extends his neck so if the monarch chooses he can instead ritually decapitate the applicant for having the impudence to beg the role as sire.”

“Huh?!” Seren said jerking awake. “No one said anything about ritual head-cutting offing!”

“It is a formality. No one has been decapitated in well over three hundred years. And even then it was just one aberrant king.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Something else to note, the rituals were often penned before the sinking and are carried out as such. When it calls for the applicant to walk through the city he must actually walk through the city.”

Seren sighed and began rubbing his temples again. “This is all just one big trick to give me a migraine, isn’t it?”

“No. You must also memorize the acceptance speech,” Vulko said, searching for the appropriate tome in the library stacks.

“How long could that be?” Seren shrugged, grabbing his pen back when the elderly scientist’s back was turned.

A five thousand page volume landed on the table with a leathery thud. Seren blinked in disbelief. “Keep in mind,” Vulko said brushing some sediment off the cover, “not all of this is the speech. There are many footnotes and commentaries that should also be read through that discus pronunciation and body language.”

Seren slowly pulled the book closer and opened it up randomly. “Blink rate!! I have to have a particular blink rate?!”

“Too many blinks signals a nervousness that is inappropriate for a monarch. Too few could signal a vision problem.”

“That’s insane!”

“That’s tradition.”

Seren groaned loudly, then snapped up to attention. “I have to go. My Teen Titans signal alarm just went off,” he lied.

“Really? I didn’t hear anything.”

“It’s below the audio threshold for humans.”

“I hear as well as you do.”

“Yeah… but I felt the vibrations in the water.”

“I felt nothing.”

“The table blocked it.”

Vulko sighed and sat down. “All right, go. Be back as soon as you can.”

Aquaboy leapt up eagerly and swam out the window.

“He’s a pretty bad liar,” a voice commented from behind Vulko. The advisor swung around and looked for the speaker.

“Ah, your majesty,” he said as Mera walked into the room and sat in Aquaboy’s vacant seat. “He is no worse than his father at the same age.”

Mera flipped through the Tome of the Speech. “But Orin never had to go through these rituals.”

“He had to go through the rituals of the Lineage, to prove his royal blood,” Vulko said, gesturing to a six thousand page book on an extremely bent shelf.

Mera smiled. “What was my ex’s excuse?”

“ ‘I have to go. Somewhere a fish needs me.’ ”

“You’re joking!” Mera said, suppressing giggles.

Vulko smiled and placed his hand to his breast. “It is a crime to lie to the Queen.”

Mera laughed softly. “What is your honest opinion of our young king-to-be?”

Vulko shrugged. “He has a long way to go. But Orin never even had a chance to be the crown prince. His learning experience for kingship was on the throne.”

Mera looked out the window up towards the far away surface. “I hope you’re right. This is a lot of pressure to place on someone, and it is all so sudden. Sometimes I wonder what Orin is thinking.”

“That Seren is his son,” Vulko said “Kingship is his birthright.”

Mera nodded. He was the son of the king, but he was not her son.

Seren loved swimming. It was only natural really. But there was just something about letting his tail thrash and beat sending him flying through the water. He was swimming peacefully after being cooped up in the stuffy library for hours, it was unbelievably relaxing to be free. If only for a few hours. The coronation was only days away. It was such a huge deal.

He was pretty sure he could be ready with all the studying he had been doing with Vulko and Cissie. It was still a lot of pressure for someone whose largest previous concern dealt with finding out who his dad was while hanging out with old friends. He hadn’t even seen some of his older friends in months, what with the Titans and everything with his father.

Just then a sudden roar ripped through the water. Seren clasped his hands to his ears in sudden pain as an explosion above him shook the area. He looked up and saw a large yacht lurching through the water. It was leaking flaming oil over the surface of the water and quickly sinking beneath the waves.

Aquaboy quickly shot up through the water towards the sinking vessel. He slammed into the bottom and pushed up as hard as he could. The metal bottom bent inward from the force as the young hero fought to keep the boat afloat lifting it and all the water that had leaked in. His muscles stained and he focused his power to push the boat upward while attempting to force the water in the hull out.

The yacht righted itself slowly and stopped sinking. Aquaboy quickly swam to the side and hopped onto the deck to look for any survivors. There were none on the deck. Without warning the flames leapt higher and the fuel tack of the boat exploded in a huge fireball. Seren was sent flailing backwards as fire singed his hair and costume. He landed hard in the water and sank down limply.

He floated for a few moments before the world slowly returned with a loud ringing in his ears and blurred vision. He righted himself and looked for the yacht which was now a blackened shape sinking deep into the darkness below.

Groaning, he swam for the surface while rubbing his partially blinded eyes.

Aquaboy keyed in his access code to the entrance of the Teen Titan’s warehouse headquarters. He painfully rubbed his mildly burned skin. He had been given an instant sunburn in three seconds. He was still amazed he hadn’t been turned into a blackened husk like the yacht.

“You look like you have had a hard day. Some herbal tea?”

Seren smiled. “Thanks, that would be nice…” He snapped to alertness. The voice had not come from a Titan! He looked up and saw Lex Luthor sitting peacefully at the Meeting Table sipping on a chamomile. “Luthor! What are you doing here?!” Seren demanded.

“Can the President not check up on some people he once unintentionally wronged to once again ask forgiveness for prosecution?” Luthor said with a faint smirk. “I also have Earl Grey.”

Aquaboy stormed forward and slapped the cup out of Luthor’s hand. “What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” the youth demanded.

“I see you have your father’s manners,” Luthor said, picking up a second cup. “You look a little… warm. Hot outside?”

Seren took a step back and frowned. “The yacht.”

“Tragic, wasn’t it?” Luthor said picking up a remote on the table. He activated the monitor of the Titan’s computer and turned to CNN.

Aquaboy watched in horror as he saw himself on the yacht as it exploded into a fireball.

“Fascinating viewing,” Luthor commented. “The inept young hero fails to save the life of a congressman. And is almost killed himself.”

Aquaboy growled and grabbed Luthor but the lapels. “You did this!”

Luthor shrugged. “I cannot be held accountable for every member of congress who decides to sail unescorted into the ocean with his family.”

Aquaboy scowled. “Family,” he muttered and raised his fist. “I ought to GHAAAA!!!” he cried as an energy bolt struck him in the side and sent him skittering across the floor.

Luthor stood up and adjusted his designer suit. “May I introduce my associate in Atlantean affair. Kimon the Demon’s Gate.”

Aquaboy groaned and rolled over. He saw a tall, skinny individual dressed in what looked like gold armour. Wires and cords poked out from various places in the suit. Seren looked closer and realized it wasn’t a suit but a cybernetic body. He heard to whir of the mechanical limbs as Demon’s Gate moved forward. The ‘diplomat’ raised his long staff which was topped by an overly large spear point that crackled with energy.

“My father mentioned you,” Aquaboy said standing up slowly and rubbing his wounded side. “You were a poacher who was hunting dolphins. You were tossed into the water and attacked by sharks.”

“Your father left me there to die,” Kimon snarled, stepping forward menacingly. “I had to be rebuilt as a freak!”

“My heart bleeds for you,” Seren muttered, preparing to dive forward and attack.

Luthor raised his hand. He had not moved from the chair and sipped again from the steaming tea cup. “I wouldn’t. Kimon has been outfitted with the best in cybernetics that the US government has to offer.”

“What do you want, Luthor?” Seren asked.

“Atlantis is an unpredictable rogue nation. It has no respect for international law and procedure.”

“You mean it won’t do what you want and you can’t control or predict it,” Seren said with a grin.

Luthor frowned. “The citizens of the world need stable nations. Your father is proving troublesome. But you…”

“What about me?”

“If you work with me together we will bring peace between the United States and Atlantis and stability to the world. Atlantis will no longer be the forgotten nation it is.”

“If I refuse?” Seren asked.

“Then your name will become synonymous with disaster and death. Everything you touch will end with pain. When you become king you will be feared and distrusted by the world. Thought of as inept and clumsy and a poor leader.” Luthor smiled and poured himself another cup of tea.

Seren blinked. He leapt forward angrily at Luthor. If he could beat on him enough maybe the bald bastard would change his mind. Kimon moved in a blur of motion and caught the youth in midair. The Cyborg slammed the youth hard into the cement floor cracking it beneath the Atlantean.

Aquaboy pulled out his trident and swung it hard at Demon Gate’s face. The villain’s staff deflected blow easily and Kimon slammed his fist into Seren’s face with a loud crack.

Luthor rose and placed the cup down on the table. “Just so you know hitting me would not have helped. Instead of just being the young hero who was there when a congressman blew up you would be the hero who assaulted the president and potentially blew up the congressman.” The billionaire wiped the tea off his lips with a napkin and walked out the door.

Demon’s Gate punched Aquaboy a few more times then hurled the youth through the far wall. He then turned and followed his boss out.

Aquaboy wiped the tears and drywall from his face and ran from the building. If he joined with Luthor he would be betraying his father and his people. But if he refused he would also be betraying his people. Everything was all mixed up and wrong.

Back at the Titan’s Lair, Chill Out awoke and looked about his room. There was drywall dust all over the place and a large gaping hole in the wall leading to the meeting room. “What that?” he muttered to himself.

Vulko turned as someone entered the library. Aquaboy stood there shakily. Vulko blinked. The youth’s uniform was ripped and burnt with a few blood stains and the teenager was sunburned and scared looking.

“What’s wrong?” the advisor asked walking towards Seren.

“Where’s my father?” Seren asked.

“He’s out helping S.T.A.R. Labs with an experiment,” Vulko said. “Helping them get a core of the seabed to check the layers of sediment or something. He’ll be back in a few hours. What’s wrong?”

Aquaboy frowned sadly. “I can’t… I just can’t…” the youth muttered.

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t be what you want me to be!” Seren exploded. “I can’t be a good king. I can’t make decisions! This is all wrong and… and…” the youth stared at his shaking hands. “This is all just going to end badly,” he said quietly.

“What is? You’re not making any sense,” Vulko said stepping forward and placing his hand on the youth’s shoulder.

Seren knocked the elderly man’s hand away. “I can’t be king! I won’t! As of this moment I am quitting! I abdicate my position as prince of Atlantis. You can just find someone else.”

Vulko blinked in disbelief as Aquaboy turned and fled from the room.

The End...

Previous Issue | Next Issue