Atlantis

The Motherbox was still pinging even after Aquaman had retrieved it from the vault and brought it out of Atlantis, The King had made sure his people were brought back into the city and ushered into the throne room, It was large enough to hold all the citizens. From there he had activated the large forcefield which had now covered the entire city from this moment on Atlantis was on full lockdown he didn't want the Parademons taking his people.

The Atlantean army stood behind the King and Queen, All of them just waiting for the box to activate it's boomtube.

Mera looked to her left and saw the nervous expression on the face of the Atlantean with (light blond hair, deep brown skin, pale green eyes, high cheek bones and had a lean build, He also possessed black eel-like tattoos that ran across his back & arms which would glow bright blue whenever he used his powers).

This was Kahldur'ahm a.k.a Aqualad he was the son of the Black Manta and at 21 years old he was a formidable fighter.

Flashback

5 years ago he had turned his back on his father after realising how insane he really was and when he tried to leave Manta attacked him, The boy had fought back to the best of his ability but it was futile his father was much more skilled than he was at the time. Kaldur had been able to escape the fight and had swam far away.

Mera by chance had found him lying unconscious in the sea bed due to the severity of his wounds from his fight with his Father she took him back to Atlantis and had his wounds treated which did baffle the Atlantean council because they believed that it was a foolish decision by the Queen to bring the son of one of their greatest enemies to Atlantis while she argued back that he was just a kid and refused to let him die.

Arthur understood the argument for both sides but if they wanted info on what happened to Kahldur'ahm, The best person to ask was the lad himself.

Aqualad had regained consciousness a few days later and was also given time for his strength to come back, Once that had happened he was taken to the (King, Queen & Council) and ran down his whole story of what had transpired between him and his father. After telling them what had happened he immediately offered them his surrender to be put in their prisons or if they wanted him to leave Atlantis he would do that as well, Arthur told him neither option would happen and that Kahldur'ahm would be his apprentice.

This decision shocked everyone in the room.

Kahldur'ahm questioned the King as to why he came to such a decision, Arthur replied saying that like him at the age of 16 he needed guidance and now at the age of 32 he had some wisdom to pass onto someone that was in need of it. In his eyes he didn't see the enemy standing in front of him instead he saw a boy whose path in life was now distorted and had nowhere to turn to and that unlike the Black Manta, There was good in him and under the right guidance this boy could reach his potential and be ushered into history as one of Atlantis greatest defender's.

Mera suggested that they give Aqualad a few days to think about it which Arthur agreed upon, Kahldur'ahm mind went back and forth in those next few days on whether to accept the King's offer but in the end he decided to stay which Arthur was quite delighted about, Aquaman told his guards to have a bedroom set up for the young lad, Kahldur'ahm injuries healed a month later and his lessons under Arthur began.

The King and Queen put him through an intense training regime that pushed him to his limit his various powers consisted of:

.Electricity generation which allowed him the power to generate electricity from the eel tattoos on his arms and gave him the ability of being able to channel it through water or use as a direct offense against opponents.

.Hydrokinesis this power allowed him to manipulate water to serve any number of uses e.g. water blasts, whips, waves, shields, or water spouts to lift him into the air.

.Hard-water constructs that derived from Atlantean Sorcery which was taught to him by Queen Mera she showed him how to channel his magic into a pair of water bearers that she had personally created for him which would allow him to create constructs from any fluid this unique ability also allowed him to solidify water into a myriad of different weapons for physical attacks he could create swords, maces, sledgehammers, a small shield, and a large eel. This ability like his hydrokinesis and electricity generation was powered by his eel tattoos.

The 5 years that had passed, A lot had happened, The Atlanteans went to war against predatory creatures called Trenchers, Arthur's past came back to haunt him in the form of a group called the Others that he was leader of when he was younger, With this happening Mera & the Atlanteans were finally told the truth of why Black Manta hated the King so much during his time with the Others.

The small group of heroes had been hunting Black Manta and one night they had finally tracked him down he was on his boat alone, The group were in the middle of forming a plan on how to attack him when they then noticed that Arthur was not with them, Instead he was swimming at top speed towards the boat with one thing on his mind revenge.

This was due to Arthur thinking that Manta had murdered his father see before Black Manta became the Black Manta he was a Mercenary & a Treasure hunter and one day he was hired by Dr Stephen Shin to collect the blood of Arthur Curry so that Shin could prove that the King was an Atlantean.

Arthur was defended by his father Thomas Curry and in the ensuing fight Thomas had a heart attack, Black Manta fled after that,

Three days later Thomas died in the hospital, Arthur blamed Manta for Thomas's death and swore that one day he would have his revenge and now with Manta on that boat alone he saw an opportunity to avenge his father, Once he had reached it he climbed aboard and searched carefully when all of a sudden he was attacked from behind by an unknown assailant.

Arthur immediately turned around & threw a vicious right punch which landed on the jaw of his attacker & followed up with a devastating left punch to the chest which broke the ribs of his attacker, Grabbing the man by the throat he lifted him up into the air and slammed him to the floor which ended up killing the assailant "Nice try Manta but this time I came out the victor", The king lifted his victim up by the throat and saw who it actually was which made the half Atlantean immediately drop the corpse.

He killed Manta's father believing him to be Manta himself, His legs gave way which caused him to sit down in complete shock and horror at his mistake "Oh god what have I done" said Arthur.

Black Manta had resurfaced from his dive in the sea and was now climbing back onto the boat "Hey Dad I'm back you're not going to believe what I ended up finding down there" he walked along the boat and saw his father laid out on the floor, Fear took hold of him as he rushed to his father's side "DAD, DAD WAKE UP!" he got no response from there he checked to see if his father was breathing which he was not.

Manta began to do CPR but it was futile and after 25 mins of trying to revive his father he gave up "No dad please" he held his father's corpse and cried, He looked up and saw Arthur looking at him from across the ocean "I'm so sorry" said Arthur he dived down into the ocean and swam away ashamed of himself.

Manta looked at his father's corpse and then back to where Arthur had been standing "Did he?" Manta stood up and walked deeper into the ship so he could check the camera's, He saw the footage of Arthur killing his father and stormed back out to where his father's corpse was and shouted at the ocean with rage "ATLANTEAN YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, WHERE YOU HIDE, ONE DAY I WILL FIND YOU & I WILL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" under the water Arthur heard what Manta shouted and from that moment forward he and Manta were forever locked in a circle of vengeance.

What also occurred during the five years was the return of Orm with the same objective as always, To take his brother's throne but this time he tried to take it from within Atlantis when a large group of loyalists to Orm believed Arthur was not fit to lead them due to him being half Atlantean & half Human, This large group took over Atlantis while the King was out with the Queen & Aqualad rescuing some Orca's and had came back to be greeted by the sight of Atlantis being put on lockdown.

Orm walked out of the main entrance to taunt his brother and told him that the only option he had right now was to surrender if he didn't then innocent Atlanteans would be executed one by one. Mera told Arthur to surrender he was taken aback that she agreed with Orm but little did he know that Mera had prepared a contingency plan if ever a situation like this occurred.

Aqualad knew what Mera's plan was because he was with her the day she had come up with it, Orm wasn't a fool when it came to Mera being the Queen he knew she had some sort of back up plan he just didn't know what the hell that plan was, So he told her to come along with Arthur she agreed but not before she attacked Kahldur'ahm to such a point that she had knocked him out.

The Queen picked him up and threw him as far away as possible.

Arthur was horrified by what she had done and raged at her but Mera knew that Arthur's reaction had to be genuine to fool him & Orm which ended up working, The three of them headed inside as Arthur surrendered his quindent to Orm.

All that was left now was for Aqualad to do his part.

Aqualad regained consciousness and stood up slowly "Damn Queen Mera hits hard" he shook his head to attention and got to work by swimming back towards Atlantis and then took a right & carried on swimming till he came to a large crevice and immediately dived down it, Until he came to the halfway point his hands began to feel along the rock face and eventually found what he was looking for, It was a door that led into Atlantis but it had been designed to look like it was part of the rock face this was the contingency plan that Mera had made.

Kahldur swam through and began to navigate the long tunnels that led directly to the council room.

Once he had reached his destination he pried the floor grill off, Swam up and stood in the council room, Placing the grill back in place he pulled out his water bearers and approached the doors carefully he opened it ever so slightly & looked through the opening and saw the King's brother sitting on the throne and was currently in the middle of a long speech "Always has to monologue, Just can't help himself" he then saw the King & Queen standing there and could tell even they were getting bored of Orm's speech, One of the Loyalists came to stand in front of the council doors but didn't notice that they were slightly open.

An idea came to Kahldur as he then put his water bearers away and began to channel electricity into his arms, Making his tattoos light up from him doing this, Kahldur opened the door he removed the loyalists helmet and put his arms around the head of his target in the form of a sleeper hold and pulled the individual inside utilizing his electric power he began to send large shocks to the head of the loyalist who was now trying to wrestle out of the sleeper hold, He launched himself backwards which made Kahldur back impact with the wall but the boy refused to let go.

The fight between Kahldur and the Loyalist could be heard from the throne room, Arthur & Orm had expressions of confusion as to what commotion was currently ensuing in the council room while a smile formed on Mera's face.

Orm sent two more loyalists to investigate, The duo approached the doors which slammed open sending them both to the ground due to Kahldur rugby tackling the loyalist he was fighting with the two of them hitting the floor hard "Mera" said Kahldur he threw a water bearer to her she caught it and used it to form a sword in order to break the cuffs that were on her and Arthur wrists.

The Queen freed herself and Arthur "You help Kahldur, I'll deal with Orm" said Arthur "NOOOO I WILL NOT BE DENIED THIS VICTORY!" Orm screamed in rage he leapt off the throne and brought the quindent down upon the King "DIE BROTHER!" he shouted, Arthur hands enclosed around the quindents handle utilizing his own strength, Aquaman flipped his brother's attack in the form of a judo throw with Orm now landing on his back as he then writhed in pain.

Mera and Kahldur took out the rest of the loyalists, The Queen was weakening them with her punches while Kahldur'ahm would use his water bearers to form two battle maces to knock them out, The duo finished off the last of them & admired their handiwork "I knew I could count on you Kahldur" said Mera "No problem Mera, What do you need me to do next?" he asked "Go to the prisons and free all of our people when you have done that get Urn, Tula and a few of the guards to come here in order to take Orm and his loyalists away, Once Arthur has dealt with him" Mera replied "It will be done your Majesty" he then bowed and left to free their people.

Aquaman was now holding the quindent as he stood above Orm "It would be so easy to kill you right now Orm but what I am about to do is going to make you wish you were dead now get up" said Arthur, Orm slowly stood to his feet "Well go on then arrest me Brother" said Orm "No I am not going to arrest you just yet, You want the throne fine but you going to have to beat me for it" said Arthur.

Orm looked at Mera who was confused at what Arthur was suggesting "You must be joking?" asked Orm "No we have waged war with each other many times over who should be the King of Atlantis, Now let's end this once and for all" said Arthur he handed his quindent to Mera "Arthur don't this is a stupid idea" said Mera "Whatever happens do not interfere Mera" said Arthur who now lifted his fists up.

Ocean Master chuckled "Fine but it is your funeral my Brother, Let the battle for the throne of Atlantis commence".

The two brothers ran at each other as Orm jumped up and kicked his brother in the chest which sent Arthur backwards he followed up with a right punch which Aquaman caught who immediately retaliated with a right punch of his own which landed on Orm's jaw, The King followed up with a left punch which Orm deflected away and took the opportunity to land two punches into the Kings stomach which allowed him to land a vicious uppercut which stunned the King.

Ocean Master jumped up and roundhoused kicked Aquaman across the jaw who impacted face first with the floor.

The King went onto his hands & knees in an attempt to get up and was met with a kick to the ribs from Orm which sent him back down to the floor and made him begin to cough up blood "Stay down if you know what is good for you older Brother" said Orm "I will never surrender to you Orm" Arthur replied, Orm pulled him up to his feet by his collar "Fine instead I'll beat you to death" Orm replied.

Arthur headbutted him in the nose which made Orm cry out & grab his nose in pain, Blood flowed out of it which allowed Aquaman to capitalize on the opportunity by burying a left punch into his opponents stomach & grabbed Orm by the throat, Lifting him off his feet he turned around & slammed Ocean Master back directly down onto the steps that led to the two thrones.

Ocean Master tried to punch Arthur but the King caught his arm and didn't hesitate in breaking it, Orm screamed but Aquaman was far from done with him, The Kings fist made impact with Orm's face as he then proceeded to punch him repeatedly each hit was harder than the previous one, Blood flowed from Orm's wounded face as Arthur landed one more devastating punch.

Aquaman stopped & backed away slowly as let Orm fell down the stairs and onto the floor "I win Orm" said Arthur he took the opportunity to immobilize his opponent by breaking his brother's left leg, Orm screamed in pain "YOU BASTARD THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THAT!" said Orm "You had it coming" said Arthur who turned away from his brother & saw his people standing behind Mera and Kahldur.

"Mera" said Arthur he walked up to her and enclosed his arms around the Queen, His lips captured hers as he then kissed her passionately "I love you" said Arthur "I love you too, I knew you would win" said Mera, Arthur looked at Kahldur "I thought Mera had killed you, When did you come up with this plan?" said Arthur "About a year ago Mera came up with the idea actually to use as a contingency plan in case Atlantis was ever taken over by an enemy, If you swim halfway down that large crevice that is near the city, There is a door that hides a tunnel that was how I was able to get in it leads to the council room, We will show it you later" said Kahldur'ahm "Well good job Kahldur I am really impressed with how you handled the situation and you my Queen are a genius for coming up with such a brilliant idea" said Arthur.

The two of them smiled at each other while Kahldur'ahm began to co-ordinate with Urn who was in charge of the Atlantean army about the lock up of Orm and his loyalists.

An Atlantean woman who was 5 foot 5, 30 years old, blue eyed, red hair and was dressed in a purple & blue Atlantean armour approached Orm who was now sat against the stairs to the throne "Looks like we win Orm you fail again Brother" said Tula "How can you side with the half breed, I am your brother" Orm replied "And so is he and unlike you I accept him as our King because he is a great king, If you were our leader I believe that you would lead Atlantis to ruin" said Tula "Well when the half breed leads Atlantis to destruction, You will finally realize that I was always right about him" Orm replied she got up & walked away from him "One more thing if you think I am going to be put in your prisons, Well you're highly mistaken".

Orm showed Tula her knife she looked down and saw that it had been taken from the scabbard, Orm forced the knife into his heart "NOOOOOO!" Tula screamed as she then ran towards him, Orm took the knife out and forced it into his throat using his remaining strength he pulled the knife across so it fully slit his throat. In his eyes he may have lost the battle but he won the war he knew that Arthur & Tula would never be able to forgive themselves for this "DR RHODON I NEED YOUR HELP NOW" Tula shouted as she then sunk to her knees and tried to contain the bleeding.

Dr Rhodon was the chief healer of Atlantis she on more than one occasion had saved the King & Queen's life, Dr Rhodon and Arthur rushed to Orm with the Doctor now taking charge of the situation she tried her hardest to save Orm but in the end her efforts failed "I'm sorry you two but it is too late he has passed" said Dr Rhodon.

Arthur and Tula were distraught with the two of them starting to cry "Orm" Arthur whispered he then closed Orm's eyes and wrapped his arms around his sister as she cried into his chest, Mera approached Arthur from behind and enclosed her arms around his neck, She didn't have to say anything but Arthur knew that she would be there for him, No matter what "Kahldur get our people out of here and tell them to go to their homes, Also while you are at it, turn the lockdown off Atlantis" said Urn "It will be done" Kahldur replied he bowed respectfully.