Every news channel from some parts of the world were talking about the attack on the surface. They said that it was a natural disaster, but a marine biologist named Dr. Stephen Shin believed that it was an attack from the people of Atlantis.
Stephen exclaimed, “No. This was no natural disaster. They threw out our garbage and our warships. This was our first contact with the people of Atlantis.”
No one believed in him.
“Open your eyes! We already have an Atlantean among us, and his name is Aquaman.”
Meanwhile, the Rainbooms, Ninja Turtles, and Allies were walking with Arthur and Mera through the forests.
“Pfft. Can you believe this guy? He thinks Atlantis is real.” Casey bluffed while watching the news on his phone.
“Meh. He’s just spittin’ out some nonsense while we go to Atlantis.” Applejack replied.
“So what do they call you these days, Arthur? Fishman? Ocean Dude? Aqualad?” Mikey asked.
“Fishman.”
Mikey surprising replied, “Really? That sounds... unusual for you, dude.”
“I don’t think that’s his name, Mikey. His codename is Aquaman. I’ve read his file and the rest of the members of the JL on the BatComputer months ago. He has his name on that list.”
“How did you know that? I bet Bruce told you that’s classified.”
Rainbow asked, “So where are we going Aquaman? How much longer do we have to walk?”
“We’ll get there, Skittles.”
After a long walk, they arrived on the cliffside. Arthur looked down, remembering something from his past.
Leo asked, “What is it?”
“This is the exact spot that Vulko gave me my first swimming lesson.”
Years ago, Vulko taught young Arthur how to swim.
“You have to forget all the teachings of the surface world. Go deeper to uncover your Atlantean instincts.”
“But I already know how to swim.” Young Arthur said.
“Not even close.” He grinned at him and looked back at the oceans.
“Just so we’re clear, I’ll help you stop this war. But then, I’m done.” Arthur informed Mera.
“Maybe that’s for the best.” Mera said.
“You guys go on ahead. We’ll catch up.” Donnie informed them.
Donnie used a growth ray to enlarged the Turtle Sub the same way he did it to the Shell Raiser and the Party Wagon earlier. As the ninjas were working to get the Turtle Sub ready, Arthur and Mera jumped off the big cliff and dived down into the ocean.
Back in the flashback, Vulko taught young Arthur how to swim under the ocean floor.
“The ocean is more than our life soul. It’s who we are.”
“Wait. You can talk underwater? Hey, I can talk underwater too! This is awesome!” Young Arthur said.
“No. We can do more than just talk.”
Vulko boosted his swimming speed to show him the ways of being an Atlantean. Young Arthur did the same to catch him up.
“Being an Atlantean means being more than just being able to breathe in water. Your body is equipped to survive the extreme cold, and pressure, and your eyes adjust to see in the dark.”
Arthur used his eyes to see in the dark and the landscape of the underwater was changed into something beautiful. Everything was glowing around them. Then, he launched up high in the air from the water and began to swim with the dolphins at an incredible speed.
“This is awesome! Wooooo!” He cheered as he continued to swim.
As for Vulko, he watched a school of manta rays swimming in the ocean floor. After a young Arthur took a ride on the dolphin, he sat right next to Vulko.
“So, Vulko, when can I meet my mother?”
“Soon, my young prince. When you’re ready, I’ll take you to Atlantis to meet the queen.” He answered to him, without letting him know what happened to his mother, Queen Atlanna.
After that, they both relaxed and watched a school of manta rays swimming together.
Mera opened the doors of the cargo crate, showing Arthur her ship. The Turtle Sub also arrived, waiting for them to follow.
“I hid my ship in here.” She said as her ship glowed and its engines started running.
“Listen. I’m not getting in that thing.” Arthur refused.
“Well to get where we’re going, you’re gonna have to.”
“Your ship has been marinating with chum butter. I’m gonna come out smelling like swamp butt.”
“That’d be an improvement.” She swam towards her ship to go inside.
Without her noticing, Arthur looked over his armpits and sniffed it. He coughed after taking the smell of his drenched armpits.
“Yup. Okay.”
He went inside and Mera drove her ship to get to their destination and the Turtle Sub followed them.
“Why is there a storm in underwater?” Sunset asked as she looked at the lightning in the clouds.
“Don’t know.” Leo said.
And so, they all journeyed deep into the ocean to find Atlantis. They went through the caverns and glowing reef fields.
“So pretty.” Fluttershy said, feeling amazed by its environment.
After they passed through the fields, they all arrived at the bridge to Atlantis. There were so many ships around them.
“What’s the point of having a bridge underwater?” Arthur asked.
“The Gateway Bridge is a remnant of the Old World. It’s also the only way in or out of the capital.”
“Why can’t they just go over the walls?”
“Security is impenetrable. Even if they did manage to evade the guards, they’d never get past the hydro-cannons.”
“People try to sneak in all the time.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Whoa. Check it out! People riding on sharks!” Mikey cheered.
“I know, right?” Casey told Mikey.
“I know! That is so awesome!” Rainbow added and they both gave each other a high five.
“I’m guessing that’s border control.” Raph predicted.
“Yep. Plus they got hydro-cannons on the walls. But don’t worry, we’ll sneak in by using a new cloaking device I installed.” Donnie informed.
Let’s hope this works, Donnie.” Leo said, hoping that it would work.
The Turtle Sub activated its cloaking device and became invisible.
Arthur looked at the station where the Atlantean guards are working, “What is this?”
“Customs and border control. Don’t worry. I have diplomatic clearance.”
Once they got passed through border control, they all entered the Kingdom of Atlantis.
“Welcome home.”
The scenery of the underwater utopia was magnificent unlike any other city. The sea creatures and its people lived together in harmony. It was like the surface world’s city, except it’s underwater, it has advanced technology, and so many sea creatures that are yet to be discovered.
“Whoa.” Everyone in the Turtle Sub reacted, already astonished by the beauty of its city.
“Wow. This is incredible.” Twilight said.
“It’s like where living in a whole new world down here.” Donnie added.
Back in Mera’s ship, Arthur was fascinated and shocked how the Kingdom of Atlantis turned out to be after he left. It felt like he had a second home calling to him.
“Wow. Time's changed since I left Atlantis,” Arthur said.
“There’s a safe house down in the Old City. The Highborns never venture to the sea floor.” Mera informed Arthur, “We’re here.”
They all arrived outside of the safe house where no one in the city is watching.
In the Turtle Sub, Leo asked Twilight, “Okay, Twi. You ready to go?”
Twilight replied, “I sure am.”
“Hold on darlings. Before you go, you gotta wear these suits that Donnie and I made.”
Donnie opens a closet full of swimming/diving gear and suit. Each one represents their color. Leo picked out the blue diving swimsuit while Twilight picked out the violet one.
“Now these suits are very flexible and suitable for combat. Completely advanced with some hi-tech gear that I made. So be careful out there.” Donnie warned them.
“Thank you Rarity and Donnie.” Leo thanked them.
“You’re the best.” Twilight added.
“Aww, you’re welcome darlings.”
“No problem guys. It’s what I do for a living.”
Mera, Leo, Twilight, and Arthur dived down and entered the safe house. Leo and Twilight took off their helmets from their diving gear. Also, Donnie was operating a drone he created and followed them to hide and listen to their conversations.
“Wow. This is my first time swimming underwater.” Twilight cheered.
“What is this?” Leo asked.
Meta explained, “We use this air pocket as an extra layer of precaution. Only the Highborns can breathe water as well as air.”
“Plus, it keeps the animals out.” Vulko picks up the fish that keeps gasping for air. “They get kind of messy.” He threw the fish back into the ocean.
Arthur put down his mother’s trident and confronted his mentor, “Vulko. Here I am, old man. After all these years, you finally get what you wanted.”
He smiled at him and puts his hand on Vulko’s shoulder, “Arthur, I wish it was under better circumstances.”
Vulko looked at Twilight and Leo, “And who or what are you suppose to be? You’re not supposed to be here.”
Leo and Twilight introduced themselves, “My name’s Leo. Leader of the Ninja Turtles.”
“And I’m Twilight Sparkle. Co-leader of the Rainbooms. We’re from the surface and we want to help our friend, Arthur.”
“I’m not so sure if I can trust you surface-dwellers. But if you want to help, that’s fine.”
They both smiled.
“I can’t believe Orm attacked.” Mera informed Vulko, feeling frustrated.
They followed Vulko to his table, “It wasn’t an attack. Legally, he’s not allowed to yet. What he did to your warships was merely a warning.”
“What provoked it?” Mera asked.
“King Orm and your father were ambushed by the surface.” Vulko informed Mera.
“By the surface? I don’t think so. They still think Atlantis is a fairytale.” Arthur said.
“Why in the world would they do that? This isn't right at all.” Leo added.
“I was there. A surface warship fired at us. Now, Xebel sides with Atlantis, giving Orm a fleet big enough to force the other two kingdoms to join him. If we’re going to prevent this war, you must dethrone him now.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t want to be king.”
“You don’t understand, once he is named Ocean Master, it’ll be too late. The power at his disposal will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen.” Mera told him.
“I’m from the surface. No one’s going to take me seriously. Heck, I’d don’t even know where to begin.” Arthur said.
“By winning the hearts and minds of the people. By proving to them that you’re worthy, and retrieving this.” Vulko showed them a scroll that features a trident.
Arthur looked at it and said, “I already got one of those.” He was referring to his mother’s trident.
“Not like this one you don’t. This is the lost Trident of Atlantis.” Vulko said.
“Oh, I know the story.”
“It’s more than a story. It’s real.“
“If it’s real, can you tell us a story about it? My friends and I have never heard of the lost Trident of Atlantis before?”
Vulko narrated the story.
Many centuries ago...
“It was forged by the greatest weapon masters in history. Crafted from Poseidon’s steel for King Atlan, the first ruler of Atlantis. Legend says, the Trident was build with the power to command the sea. Legend says the trident was imbued with the power to command the sea.”
Back to the present...
“So what happened to it?” Arthur asked Vulko.
“To know that, is to go back to the time before the Great Fall.”
“When King Atlan ruled over all that was, the Kingdoms of Atlantis were one. It was a time of great prosperity and technological advancement. We had unlocked the secret to unlimited energy at a time when the rest of the world still thought the earth was flat. But we became too ambitious, too hungry for power.”
Everything in the city was in chaos and everyone ran for their lives before the ocean swallowed them.
“The ocean swallowed us and Atlantis sank. But the very power that collapsed our civilization also paved the way to our future. It gave us ability to breathe underwater. And so, we evolved. Others regressed, became savage.”
Back in the present...
Everyone pictured and visualized how the story went down.
The flashback showed that King Atlan remained in exile as time passes by.
“And the king lived out the remainder of his days in self-imposed exile. Neither he, nor the trident were ever seen again.”
He showed them a device, “One of our archeological teams uncovered this a few months ago. It's an ancient recording dating back to the first dynasty. I believe it contains Atlan's final message to his people and the whereabouts of the Sacred Trident.”
“So what does it say?”
“We don’t know. The technology’s too old.”
“The cylinder bears the marking of the Deserter Kingdom. You must take it there and retrieve the message. The clue to Atlan’s final resting place is inside this.”
Before Arthur can receive the cylinder, an explosion blasted right through the walls. Everyone groaned and fell down and the cylinder was dropped. The Atlantean soldiers infiltrated the safe house and surrounded Arthur, Leo, and Twilight. As for Mera and Vulko, they hid themselves from the soldiers.
“Border defense. You are under arrest for illegal entry.” They carried them.
Mera wanted to help them, but Vulko restrained her from being seen, “No! You mustn’t be seen here!”
“That’s it! Let’s take them down!” Leo ordered.
They all stood up and fought back against the soldiers. While they do that, Mera grabbed the cylinder without getting caught and Vulko pulled her back to safety.
Then, a small group of Atlantean commandos entered the fray. They wore a strong and crimson armor, different from the other soldiers. So, the heroes fought them off, but they were tough.
“Wow, they’re tough.” Twilight said. She then sees Leo, feeling tired and bruised. “Are you alright?”
“I’m good, but they’re strong.” Leo replied to her.
Then, another one showed up targeting Arthur.
“You guys ago, I’ll handle this guy.”
“Okay. Let’s go Twilight.”
Twilight and Leo put their helmets back on and followed with Vulko and Mera as Arthur went toe-to-toe with the commando.
“I don’t suppose you want to talk about this, do you?”
The commando never answered to him.
“Neither do I.”
They both battled it out, the commando got the upper hand because of his strong armor, So, he punched him abd sent him crashing down to the floor.
Vulko, Leo, Twilight, and the drone retreated. Mera looked back at Arthur, wanting to helping him, but she cannot do that because of the commando So, she swam away and followed Vulko. As for Leo and Twilight, they swam back to the Turtle Sub. Back at the shipwreck, the commando jumped down and confronted Arthur.
“In the name of His Highness, King Orm, I place you under arrest.” And so, the commando knocked him out and arrested him.