blogombal Chapter 257 We're Going to Give Aquaman to Black Manta
Chapter 257 We're Going to Give Aquaman to Black Manta
Chapter 257 We're Going to Give Aquaman to Black Manta to Kill (5000-word long chapter)
So... this is the beginning of the story.
The origin of that long-standing grudge that led Aquaman and Black Manta to fight each other for a lifetime:
A man's tragic death.
Black Manta closed his eyes, the young Aquaman's roar still seemed to echo in his ears.
"Black manta ray!"
The voice was filled with rage and deep-seated hatred.
The sound came from the lighthouse in Cien Harbor and traveled with the ocean currents all the way to Black Manta and his father's ship. They were a father and son treasure hunters, a group of illegal criminals roaming the seas.
"I know—you're here!!!"
Even after all these years, Black Manta could still recall the trembling he felt when he heard that roar.
He was hired by Dr. Stephen Shen to steal the blood of Aquaman Arthur Curry so that Dr. Shen could announce his discovery of Atlantis to the world.
When Black Manta broke into Arthur Curry's house to steal, he happened to witness Arthur's father, Tom Curry, dying of a heart attack. Aquaman, unaware of this, believed Black Manta was responsible for his father's death.
(Note: Actually, Black Manta came in to steal something, which caused Aquaman's father to have a heart attack and die. Black Manta wasn't as innocent as he thought.)
The young Aquaman Arthur Curry, consumed by rage, is determined to bring his father to justice. He will bring the killer to a fair trial in honor of his father…
death.
However, blinded by his father's death, he made a wrong decision—to vent his anger on his father, whom he believed to be the murderer, Black Manta.
Arthur searched the seas for Black Manta and found his ship near a shipwreck. Black Manta was searching for treasure underwater at the time. Arthur assumed Black Manta was alone, but he was not.
Black Manta is a diver, and his father... is a captain.
Aquaman Arthur Curry strangled the wrong person... He strangled Black Manta's father to death.
Black Manta survived, but he and Arthur were forever trapped in a cycle of revenge.
This happened a long time ago.
But once the flames of revenge are ignited, they will never be extinguished, no matter what damned mistake set them on fire.
They burned, they spread...
They burned everyone they touched to ashes. Every single person, and all their hopes and dreams.
At this moment, right now.
NEMO Council Hall.
The leaders who were here before had all left, and even the second-in-command, Black Jack, had disappeared without a trace. Only Black Manta sat alone in the center of the hall.
"You can come out now," he said.
There was no reaction; the surroundings were quiet.
Black Manta sighed. He opened his palm, and a dazzling golden light spread from it, forming a golden vortex-shaped spatial portal.
The next second, a figure fell from it in a disheveled state, but before hitting the ground, he suddenly scooted sideways and landed lightly on the ground.
"Since you're here, I hope you won't pretend you're not," Black Manta said to the figure. "And... I'll only say it once, Atositas."
"What happened to the aid that [Meditating Mite] promised me?"
Indeed, the person standing before Black Manta at this moment was none other than the future leader of the Red Lantern Corps, the blood mage Atositas, a prophet from another planet, and the target of the pursuit of Green Lantern Sinestro and Green Lantern Hal.
He came to Earth because he foresaw the great crisis of the future universe falling into death, the "Darkest Night," but was deceived by the magical worm "Meditating Mite" and joined their ranks.
"Your aid will arrive soon." Athocitas's red-faced, fanged face remained expressionless. "The Chemical Scrap Monster is ready, and so am I. Our mission is to distract Batman as much as possible, waste his time, and give Mite more time to absorb magic."
Since the Mite used Billy's father, C.C. Batson, to steal the power of Shazam, he successfully released many monsters, except for Superman Supreme, through the Eternal Vault. At the same time, he also connected the seven magical continents, causing the magic that had been sealed to other magical continents by the ancient wizarding alliance, the Wizarding Council, to flow back to Earth and be gradually absorbed by it.
While absorbing this magic, Mite naturally hoped that Batman's plan wouldn't be launched too quickly, allowing him to prepare more thoroughly.
Therefore, through an alliance with another villain, the Outsider, Mite used the Outsider's name to provide the leaders of the NEMO organization, Fisherman and Black Manta respectively, with two low-intelligence but powerful monsters: Hairy Man and Chemical Scrap Monster.
But with the NEMO organization changing hands and the Fisherman's death, command of both monsters is now in Black Manta's hands.
The hairy man has an empty head, is incredibly strong, but lacks intelligence; he is only capable of destruction and is a failed genetically engineered monster.
The Chemical Waste Monster is a container for storing chemicals. Because it is a monster born from the mixing of chemical substances, it is also intellectually deficient.
"Our mission." Black Manta chuckled, but didn't continue.
Atositas knew that the other side didn't consider Mistman and his group as allies at all, and Mistman probably didn't either.
He sighed.
He knew that as an alien, he had become too involved in the planet's conflicts, but in order to find William Hand, the instigator of the prophesied Darkest Night, he had no choice but to obey the Mite of Meditation. Only the Mite of Meditation could find William Hand, a fact he had verified through blood magic prophecy.
What Athositas didn't know was that William Hand was the one the Mite of Meditation had hidden, so naturally only he could find him. In a way, the prophecy wasn't wrong.
"Very good." Black Manta stood up: "Once we've finished disguising ourselves as Atlanteans and launching a nuclear attack on the United States, the first wave of American self-defense will begin..."
He said, "We'll follow the US and turn America's first counterattack against Atlantis into Atlantis's doom!"
……
……
……
They were now following behind Aquaman Arthur, appearing on the seabed.
For two Kryptonians, they can survive in space, let alone a little seawater. Chen Tao has turned his head into a lump of iron, so he doesn't need a diving bottle or anything like that. Their equipment is naturally waterproof.
They were currently using Atlantis's defensive measures: an energy shield built underwater, or more precisely, a magical shield network.
These shields, like city walls, have firmly guarded Atlantis, and for thousands of years they have been hidden in the deep sea. Since its birth, they have been reinforced and enchanted by countless generations of Atlanteans, and their complexity is truly astounding.
However, with King Arthur's authority, these shields and magic circles made way for the four of them.
"The palace of Atlantis is just ahead, and it is also my residence," said Aquaman Arthur.
But before he could finish speaking, Superboy Connor interrupted him: "You really live in a palace? That's so cool, man!"
"..." Arthur paused. He was old enough to be Connor's father, but this guy had only been out of the petri dish for less than a year.
Arthur took a deep breath, deciding to ignore the other person, and continued, "Later, Regent Tula will..."
Regent Tura, also known as the "Water Maiden," is an important figure in Atlantis. Her relationship with Aquaman Arthur is complex. Simply put, Aquaman Arthur has a half-brother, Lord Orm, who has left Atlantis and is now traveling in other seas. Regent Tura is Lord Orm's half-sister.
"...Let's go see those rebels from the [Flood Beast Organization] first, and then—"
Aquaman Arthur was halfway through his sentence when he looked at Chen Tao with a strange expression. Although Chen Tao's head still resembled a weight, a bat symbol and a red sun symbol had appeared on his chest.
"What's going on?"
He asked Chen Tao.
Chen Tao, who was in sync with the Bat Mage frantically recording the paths of the magic arrays and shields entering and exiting Atlantis, smiled shyly: "No, no, I was just changing the color of my clothes. You can continue."
Aquaman Arthur scratched his head. "Okay." He continued his incessant introduction, eliciting gasps from the two Kryptonians.
They passed through the magic circle and entered the city, attracting a large and imposing crowd of Atlanteans along the way. They whispered among themselves, sharing the groundbreaking news that they had discovered that people on land could breathe and talk even underwater.
"I've already contacted Regent Tura remotely. He'll prepare the route for us to see the Mother Box beforehand. We'll interrogate the people from the [Flood Beast Organization] first, and then..."
"Batman. There's a situation here."
Chen Tao pressed two fingers against the headset and suddenly heard Amanda Waller's voice in his ear.
"Batman, Batman? Are you listening to me? Something's happened, a very, very serious situation."
"explain."
"Thirty-two minutes ago, the USS Pontchartrain Causeway and all its crew disappeared into the South Atlantic. Atlantis claims responsibility for this. They hijacked the nuclear weapons on board and are about to attack the U.S. mainland."
"This is impossible." Chen Tao suddenly stopped in his tracks. This unexpected event completely disrupted his previous plans.
"And that's the truth, at least the truth that some people in the United States are willing to believe. Atlantis attacked the United States."
"Utterly absurd."
"I agree. But they're using this as an excuse, and in fact, they have every reason to. The nuclear weapons on that aircraft carrier are enough to turn a city into a desert where no one will live for the next 50 years. In other words, they really have the capability to turn the threat into a reality, and that's enough."
Chen Tao knew that Amanda Waller's statement about some people taking advantage of the situation was just his version of events. Now, most people were probably already gripped by panic.
"Listen to me, Batman. This is very strange, but the automatic self-defense system of the American political system has been activated..."
Amanda Waller's voice was steady and her enunciation was clear; the plump Black woman knew very well how dangerous the situation was.
"A dozen minutes ago, the U.S. Strategic Command quickly reported the situation to the president, but the president did not respond at all, and no one could be reached."
Chen Tao immediately understood what Amanda Waller meant: "Someone swiftly and decisively severed the communication between the president and various levels of government."
"That's right, so naturally, the crisis specialist next to the president read out his identification code, was then activated, and began to exercise the powers that the president should have exercised."
Amanda Waller warned: "After verifying the commissioner's identity and password, the crisis commissioner bypassed me and Steve Trevor and convened a five-person National Security Council meeting in the name of the president. This is the only way in the entire American political system to exercise power and mobilize the American war machine directly, bypassing the two of us and several other generals."
"The crisis commissioner is problematic; he indirectly stripped both of us of our rights in a short period of time, directly through the National Security Council."
"After the crisis was confirmed, the Night Watch Program was activated immediately. All government personnel on leave were recalled at the first opportunity, and the crisis specialist who gave the order had already boarded a helicopter to take refuge in the Doomsday Fortress."
Chen Tao's expression was somewhat grim: "I understand, and then..."
"...The state will soon defend itself in accordance with the law, and the crisis commissioner exercised his rights under the premise of a state of national crisis, under which his rights are almost absolute."
"I have to find a way to prove to them that the Atlanteans did not attack the United States, and that someone is interfering."
“That’s right,” Amanda Waller said. “We need to hurry, because legally speaking, the country is now at war, and under such circumstances, launching a counterattack against Atlantis is legal. This no longer applies to any international law.”
"In other words, if I cannot quickly prove all of this and end the state of war in the country..."
"Then the country might preemptively attack Atlantis to prevent further attacks on itself."
Amanda Waller said, "Whoever this instigator is, he must be very familiar with the U.S. military government system."
"Navies, nuclear submarines, powerful national air forces, and army units stationed in other countries around the world..."
"They will be granted unlimited defense rights, for every nuclear submarine possessing nuclear weapons..."
"The US government doesn't know the exact location of Atlantis; it's deep in the ocean, and they don't even..."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
"I'm sorry, Batman, the US government knows the location of Atlantis."
"What did you say?"
"We've found the place, but Atlantis has its own defense system. They've built an energy field shield underwater that no one can penetrate, and we haven't tried to destroy it with a nuclear weapon. But for now, we do know the location of Atlantis."
Chen Tao's heart sank:
"In other words..."
"That third-party conspiracy organization absolutely cannot manipulate that hijacked aircraft carrier to launch a nuclear missile at the United States. Otherwise, the United States' suicide mission will be activated immediately, dragging Atlantis down with it regardless of the consequences. But even now, Atlantis, having attacked the aircraft carrier, is already considered to have declared war, and conventional means of attack, in addition to nuclear missiles, will be used."
"I'm pretty sure some powerful militants have already started sending soldiers toward Atlantis," Amanda Waller said. "It's completely out of control now."
Chen Tao touched his chin.
That's ruthless. This is practically sending the entire Atlantis to hell. What kind of person harbors such deep hatred for Aquaman?
A name immediately came to Chen Tao's mind, and he could almost guess the ending.
The goal of that behind-the-scenes third party could not possibly be to destroy the United States, because the United States has the Justice League. Even if Atlantis launched that ocean plan, which was personally crafted by Aquaman Arthur, to directly destroy the United States, it might cause several continents of the United States to fall or cause a large number of deaths. However, with the absolute power of the Justice League, Atlantis alone could never destroy the United States.
However, Atlantis is not that fragile either. Even if the enemy's location is known, do you think a few nuclear bombs can destroy Atlantis? Yes, nuclear bombs are powerful, but they only work if they can hit people.
The United States never realized that they were facing a magical civilization, and magic... teleporting away attacks that others couldn't withstand was already a basic operation.
Therefore, if the enemy's goal is to destroy Atlantis, then at this moment, he should be...
The entrance to Atlantis.
Chen Tao thought of the black manta ray, so he closed his eyes and tried to locate it.
Back when he first met Black Manta during his battle with Brainiac, he had left nanobots on the creature. If he truly sensed that Black Manta was indeed outside Atlantis, then his deduction was entirely correct, and the creature did indeed intend to take this opportunity to attack and destroy Atlantis.
Sure enough, he soon received the same answer he had expected.
"Batman, you have to find the mastermind behind the war between the Atlanteans and the Americans, and stop the fighting that has already started. Please, otherwise a lot of people will die..." Amanda Ward was interrupted by Chen Tao before he could finish speaking.
"Wait, Amanda Waller, if that Black Bat... if the third-party conspirator's goal is ultimately just to destroy Atlantis, plus killing Aquaman, then why don't I just hand Aquaman over to him to kill?"
"Bat, you have to... huh?"
"what?"
Amanda Waller was caught off guard by what the other person said before he could finish his sentence.
She sat up abruptly on the other end of the phone.
"Are you kidding me? You're not serious, are you?"
"Of course I'm not joking."
Chen Tao didn't say these words to Aquaman's face. He simply used the car's computer to type what he wanted to say directly into his mind towards Amanda Waller.
"If their goal remains solely Aquaman Arthur Curry, I can simply bring Aquaman to him... Does he want the people of Atlantis to die? Does he want the people of America to die? No! He wants Aquaman to suffer."
Chen Tao said, "Then let's make things difficult for the Sea King, I'll take the blame."
"Killing Aquaman would cause chaos in Atlantis and America? That's too much trouble. Why don't I just deliver the goods to his door?"
"...Stop for a moment, let me think about it." Amanda Waller felt her mind was in a mess, but she quickly pulled herself out of the confusion.
"What a joke, Batman, I don't believe you actually killed Aquaman."
"What exactly are you up to?"
"I, Uchiha Yu, Am Single-Minded in Cultivation" by Bai Zhan Yang
My dream, Uchiha Yuu, is to eat well, drink well, spend time with my cat, and peacefully cultivate immortality.
I haven't bothered you, so why are you making my life so unbearable?
(End of this chapter)