Kassandra was reeling back for another hard strike to the kraken when it happened. There was a deafening POOM! - a displacement of water that shoved her back, and suddenly the water was dark with blood and heat.

“What… what…” She murmured, stunned. The squid was dead. Very dead, very suddenly. None of them had that kind of power banked. Then she gathered her senses, trailing the displacement back to the sub. “…”

She swam out of the cloudy blood and took a deep inhale of cleaner water. Then she sighed and activated the comms. “...Good effort, team. Let’s return to the sub.” Her voice was level and calm. Too calm.

Waiting until everyone had gotten back onto the sub, she transformed midway and stepped in, soaking wet. There, her orange eyes took in everyone who could have made the shot. Talon, Alisa, Victor.

“Tell me what happened, please.” Still too calm.

Location: Atlantic Ocean
Interactions: Metamorph

---

There was a flash of heat and a rush of water very close to her. Daphne instinctively brought up her arms to protect herself, her vines responded like a fifth limb, cocooning around her. The blast of the impact pushed her away from the squid's beak and sent her tumbling away from the sea creature. She managed to get back into position and saw what had happened.

A trail of distorted water and bubbles lead from the submarine towards the squid. It was enveloped in a dark cloud which sadly wasn't ink. The blast of the submarine's weapon completely blew off the upper part of its body. It struggled in pain, twisting and desperately flailed its tentacles. She looked away. Daphne felt sick to her stomach.

After a while Daphne forced herself to look, feeling concerned about her team mates. Ja immediately caught her attention. He was huddled up in a ball, floating relatively close to the squid.
Ja....
Daphne knew about his deep connection to the animal kingdom, the Red. Her chest tightened almost painfully. She couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now. There wasn't much she could do but comfort him, so that's what she was going to do.

Daphne swam up to Ja. He was still in a fetal position and she hesitated. She couldn't speak so she touched his shoulder gently, to let him know she was there. He didn't move. Daphne moved in a bit closer and gently squeezed his shoulders. She didn't want him to have to see the squid anymore and blocked his view with her body. Her vines spread around them almost protectively.
Come on Ja look at me...

Location: Submarine
Interactions: Kass @Mistress Dizzy Alisa @canaryrose Talon

---

From the inside of the submarine, Viktor, Talon, and Alisa could not have predicted the cannon would be fired by Dr. Bingley of all people. Viktor, sure. Talon, maybe. Alisa, with a vast amount of pressure. Dr. Bingley had come out of the woodwork. There was a brief silence between the four of them before the scientist was grabbed by his collar. Viktor held a cold gaze that faced Dr. Bingley's shocked expression.

“I told you to sit!” Dr. Bingley had not realized how strong Viktor was until he felt his heels leave the floor and Viktor walking him to his seat. However, Dr. Bingley wouldn't go quietly and attempted to shrug Viktor off, which only worked because he was simply let go of.

“Don't get worked up because none of you had what it took to do what I did!” Dr. Bingley said as he readjusted his collar and took his seat. “You're welcome for saving everyone, by the way.”

“Have you gotten it all out, doctor? I ask because you did not push that button. I did.” Viktor turned his head back toward Alisa and Talon. “ Cybergirl, Talon. On the record, I fired the cannon. Not Dr. Bingley.”

“So you're just taking the credit? I guess that's something to consider when we share our research notes later..”

“Doctor. I could care less about getting credit for killing an animal with a weapon meant to blow holes through sea vessels. I'd give that to you for absolutely nothing, but it's the blame I'm concerned with. We're concerned with.” Viktor glanced at Talon and Alisa again to make sure they were on board. He could only hope they were. “We have been tasked to protect you, and that is not easy if the entire team sees you under a negative lense. I want this mission to succeed, and you should as well, given that it is your life on the line.” He turned to look out of one of the windows, watching as the team members outside started to swim towards the submarine. “Do you want it in the hands of someone who despises you for your divisive action today, or do you want it to be in the hands of someone who holds no bias towards you?” Viktor asked.

Dr. Bingley's eyes looked past Viktor and to the others in the water. Then he looked at Alisa and Talon. The numbers were against him if he told the truth.

“Just so you are aware, I am probably the only person that is fine with what you did.” Viktor raised an eyebrow, awaiting Dr. Bingley's answer.

“Okay! You can have it. I know who really did it, so what does matter? I got rid of the threat, and that's good enough for me.” Viktor could tell the doctor was coping a bit, but he was on board to keep things quiet.

“Good.” Viktor took a deep breath as he listened to the submarine begin to receive those re-entering.

A moment later…

Kass had entered the submarine asking what happened in a tone he found unfamiliar to her. It was too leveled. The uneasiness was gone, but so was that assertive flare. She wasn't uneasy, cold, or passionate. Lass was simply even. Like the calm before the storm.

Talon did not like the vibes he was picking up from Kass and was somewhat relieved he was not the one jumping belly first on the grenade. To him, in a way, Viktor deserved it. If not Dr. Bingley, it would have been him anyway.

Viktor stepped forward, square in front of Kass with his usual stone face that no one really liked.

“The debriefing goes as follows. I suggestes to Talon that he keep options open for firing the submarine's weapon system. He armed the weapon, but did not intend to fire unless you made the call… I insisted he fire the weapon when the squid pulled Ja towards its mouth. He refused. I then insisted he fire again when the squid was-”

“Just say you fired the weapon, Viktor!” Talon couldn't take the retelling of events anymore as this whole situation was eating at him now. How could he have let Viktor influence him to arm the weapon in the first place? And then there was Dr. Bingley who reached right past him… It didn't help that the part of him that agreed with Viktor burned him inside too. What if the weapon hadn't been fired, would the others still be out there right now? Physically, everyone appeared to be fine. Wasn't that a good thing?

“In short, yes. I fired the weapon at the target and eliminated the threat. And respectfully, I'd do it again, Mirage. With or without your call.” He said without an ounce of remorse.

Mirage stared at Rain and Talon both, looking back and forth between the two. Her voice was very level as she quietly dismissed one of them. “Talon, I’ll talk to you later. If you’ll excuse us.” Mirage twisted her hands, and with a careful illusion, made it so only Viktor could hear her next words. The others could see her lips moving, but that was all.

“What I want to know, is what made you think this was a good idea? For one thing, you gave us no warning. You could have killed me or Daphne at that proximity!” She was starting to shake now, her rage building up and pushing into her voice. Her volume lifted louder and louder, but did not break the illusory bubble. “Do you even understand what you’ve done? There are strict laws against killing and not making use of animals in Atlantis! We’ve broken kingdom law by murdering that squid! That’s why I said it had to be kept alive! It wasn’t a target, it was a protected species!”

“But you didn’t think about that, did you? No, all you want is glory for yourself.” There was an eerie edge entering her voice. Something cold and cruel. “You can’t even see past your own ego! You want to be a leader so damn badly, but you don’t even know the first thing about it! A real leader takes everyone strengths into account, builds others up, and makes them better! Not makes every single decision and treats everyone else like dirt! Did you ever consider that you haven’t been chosen to lead because you don’t have the capacity? You don’t deserve to be a leader! You don’t even deserve to be a team member!”

Something flashed in her eyes then. Something pitch dark and ugly. Kassy flinched and turned her back on Viktor, fists clenched and eyes shut. “You’re done here. Leave.” A clear and complete dismissal.

The sound righted itself as Kassy stopped the illusion, as if everyone’s ears had been unplugged. “Talon, get us out of here before the sharks show up, please. Everyone else, just… rest. You’ve done everything you could.” She exited the hatch, going back out into the water.

---

Drifting in the water, feeling the subtle currents propel him along in the cycling churn of warm and cold water. His eyes were closed, still stuck in the moment. He was trying to piece together what had happened moments ago…it was a blur before the blackness. There was a second, just before he opened his eyes. The Squid was trying to protect him…he felt it, through the Red. Putting those clues together, it must have been combatting his teammates…

They couldn’t have known, Ja couldn’t tell them. The squid was scared, yet still trying to help him. He had gotten a glimpse of the underwater ship…must have misunderstood the vehicle to be a whale. Its fight or flight response decided to fight, as the predator had gotten too close for him to flee in time…

Ja racked his brain, trying to figure out what was doing in that time. He could assume that the suit somehow prevented his gills from forming. He was suffocating so the squid was compelled to keep him alive. His Amai said that his connection to animals was strong, perhaps even stronger than hers…It led to his friends fighting over him; lost to misunderstanding each other…It was his fault…If only Ja could wake up just a few seconds earlier. Maybe he could have stopped the fighting. Maybe he could have calmed the young squid down. Maybe…

The whiskers in his mane caught a shift in the water’s pattern of flow. Something was approaching…but it wasn’t a fish. Opening his eyes, he caught the figure of Nymph approaching from below in his peripheral. Two orbs of an amber glow peeked out at her between the mesh of his hair around his face. His eyes locked with the body of the squid as it started to reach towards the brightness above. Though, that’s when Daphne pulled closer, obscuring his view of the dead.

It was in the brief second with the hand on his shoulder, that he looked up to her face. His eyes tingled with some pain at the warmth hers carried, his pupils shook. His lip quivered with an apologetic smile to his friend of the green, leaning his head onto her hand. Looking down again, back toward the submarine, he took notice of Kassy exiting the top hatch…

He supposed there was some explaining to do...Though, how would he explain to his mission leader that he doesn't remember how he got here?

Location: The submarine
Interactions: The Team

---

Daphne brought up her hands to Ja's face and softly brushed away his tears. Tears that might have been there if they weren't floating in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. There was pain in his eyes, but also strength. Ja really had two sides to him. She followed his gaze to the submarine. A flash of orange excited from the top. Kassy. Daphne knew Kassy was probably just as upset as Ja. Her eyes followed Kassy's trail through the water. She was swimming fast, really fast, creating a good distance between the Team and the squid.

Daphne wondered why. She looked at Ja again and pointed at the both of them and to Kassy, indicating she wanted to go check on her. Daphne let go of Ja and steadied herself in the water. The adrenaline of the fight died down. Instead she started to feel tired and lightheaded. She ignored the feeling and swam into the direction of Kassy. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up in her head. A kind of pain she wasn't used to anymore. This headache wasn't dulled at all, it was as painful as a headache in her human form, maybe even worse.

Daphne stopped swimming to hold her head. She closed her eyes and tried to ride out the waves of pain. The tiredness was starting to overwhelm her and her heart was pounding in her ears. Some areas of her body were starting to show signs of distress, the surface of her skin shriveled and some vines grew limp and fell off her head.

She realized something was definitely wrong. It could be the sea water affecting her body. Daphne opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry. She managed to spot Ja and signaled to him she had to go back to the submarine.

A couple of minutes later

With considerable effort on her part Daphne managed to drag herself back to the submarine. The teen girl sat in a pool of water inside the escape trunk, gathering up the strength to go inside. She didn't want to cause a scene.
Just breathe.....breathe.....

Daphne composed herself just enough to partially dry herself off with a towel and slip into a black t-shirt and track pants, one of the spare sets of unisex clothing on board of the submarine. Her mouth was dry and she was too tired to really do much about it. She sat down on a backseat and drew up her legs to her chest, her hair was still dripping wet. She shivered and surveyed the Team with tired eyes.

Location: Submarine
Interactions: Kassandra @Mistress Dizzy, Daphne @dreamingflowers, Talon

---

When Kass had first let loose, what she said was what he'd expect. He was just satisfied she believed him. He'd take the ass-chewing and continue on with the mission, but there was a sudden shift in Kass' tone.

If Talon's words from before stung, Kass' were like a deep stab of a serrated knife. It wasn't just about what she said or even how she said it. It was who it was coming from. For a brief moment he almost found the situation unreal.

“Did you ever consider that you haven’t been chosen to lead because you don’t have the capacity? You don’t deserve to be a leader! You don’t even deserve to be a team member!”

Viktor's eyes shifted to the right, away from Kass' in that moment. To his surprise, he noticed no one in the submarine reacting the way he might have expected. He didn’t even react the way he expected. Viktor was actually speechless. Normally he might have retorted or made a quick comment back, but there was nothing. He and Kass had never had a confrontation like this, so hearing the things she said about his place here weighed heavy on him. He wondered who else felt the same.

“You’re done here. Leave.”

With that, he followed with a slower pace to his step and took a seat towards the back, sitting alone with his eyes affixed toward the empty seat across from him. She’s wrong. I'll show her, and everyone else too.

Meanwhile Talon started to set the course of the submarine. The young man’s face lacked comfort as he remained uneasy about the events that unfolded. He felt disgruntled, but only because he felt confused. Was it restraint, hesitation, or ignorance? He checked the vessel’s sensors and noticed everyone hadn’t made it on board yet. He’d wait a few minutes for everyone to get set, and then he’d proceed to Atlantis.

When Daphne arrived in the seating area, Viktor couldn’t help but look up at her. She had been sitting beside the seat he had been staring at, but it was something else that drew his attention. He was staring at her stoically, watching the water drip from the ends of her hair onto her black t-shirt.

Daphne sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. The atmosphere inside the submarine was weighted. The tension was palpable. It was quiet, no one was saying anything. She felt like she walked in at the tail end of a huge argument. Whenever she argued with her family back home, this was exactly how they acted. Silent displeasure, each retreating to a corner of the room. Daphne noticed it was only Viktor who was sitting at the back. Alisa and Dr Bingley were standing together at the front of the sub with Talon.

She looked back at Viktor who was already staring at her. A tingle ran down her spine. She couldn’t tell if it was the cold of her damp clothes or the way he was looking at her. Daphne averted her eyes and looked down at her lap.

“Nymph. I need to speak with you… privately.” Viktor requested, but sounded as if he was going to deliver a reprimand of his own.

The teen girl took a deep breath and got up, taking the seat beside him. If this was going to be another lecture she would just sit through it. There wasn’t a lot that could make her feel worse right now.

“What is it…?” Her voice trembled slightly due to exhaustion.

“Look at me.” As usual he was comfortable telling someone what to do. “How are you feeling?” Daphne frowned. She was confused for a second. The question wasn’t strange, but the fact it was Viktor who was asking it was. She tried to hide her surprise before looking at him. It was difficult to admit she wasn’t feeling that great, especially to Viktor. He was going to see right through her if she lied, so there wasn’t much use to come up with one. Besides, she wasn’t exactly looking fine either.

“I’m….lightheaded and also very tired…” She studied his unreadable face, brown eyes searching for any clue about how he was feeling. It was set in a hard expression, his jaw was tight and his mouth seemed more turned down than usual. Maybe he would tell her if she asked. Daphne cleared her dry throat. “How about you?”

“You're dehydrated.” There was almost no break between their words. He had deduced the saltwater would affect her in such a way, but had no idea the degree of it. He got up from his seat to go to the supply box setup a few seats away. He grabbed up four bottles of water and returned to his seat beside Daphne. And as for her question. “I'm fine, but you need to stop neglecting yourself.” Viktor offered one of the bottles to Daphne. “Sip it.” He instructed.

Dehydrated….
It made sense, given how she was feeling. It felt similar to the heatstroke she suffered last summer. She started to realize her adaptability was more limited than she thought. What was she even thinking? Every weakness plants had she shared. That was about the first discovery her dad and she made. Of course extreme cold wouldn’t leave her unaffected and there was a reason you couldn’t water plants with sea water. It killed them.

Daphne took the first bottle of water and put the remaining three on the floor next to her. She took a sip, swallowing the cold water.

“How did you know what was wrong with me?” She asked in between sips. Viktor briefly raised an eyebrow but dropped it when he realized she was asking a serious question.

“I have always made it my business to know as much as I can about everyone's capabilities. You in particular since you are so new to your abilities. I noticed most of your mishaps are not a lack in ability, but a lack of knowledge in your abilities. To be honest…” Viktor paused as he knew what he wanted to say, but identified how problematic it could be if said out loud. Him saying “We could run some tests” or “I want to study you” might have panicked her.

“I think I can help you, but you'd have to work with me. Maybe once a day.”

She let his words sink in and finished her first water bottle. Daphne glanced to her side, looking at Viktor and looking away again. He wanted to try to help her. She shifted in her seat, not sure how to answer. If he made it his business to know the most reliable source to go to was her dad. Her dad the scientist, or was he a scientist who just happened to be her dad?
He used to say the same. He wanted to help her too. Where did that get her really?

Viktor didn’t have to publish a scientific paper, did he genuinely want to help?
She needed to know more before accepting his help. He mentioned her dad earlier when he got Dr Bingley off of her back. She grabbed a second water bottle and took a small sip.

“When you were doing your research about me, did you…..talk to my dad?”

“I emailed him after our first mission.” He stated honestly before he grabbed the wrist of her hand holding the water bottle. “Slow down… Now, unfortunately, it was only recently that he replied back allowing us to communicate back and forth. I assume it's out of desperation.”

Daphne flinched lightly when Viktor grabbed her wrist. She stopped drinking despite being thirsty. She looked at the empty seats facing Viktor and her. He was right about her dad becoming desperate. He allowed her to be on the initiative only because he knew saying no was not an option. Cain would pick her side and the Martian Manhunter promised to get her away from home. With her leaving and him rushing through all the available data his paper was slipping from his hands.

“When I first discovered my powers I was held at knife point by some robbers in Gotham Park. That same day my dad began talking about the possibility of studying my powers.” Daphne let that bit of information speak for itself, saying volumes about the situational nature of her dad's parenting skills. “I joined the Team to….take a break from living at home” She worded it delicately. “Take a break from being a research subject” Daphne added quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear them. “If you helping me means what I think it does, I won’t have anywhere to go. The team’s all I have right now.” Viktor's right eyebrow raised once more as he readied himself to challenge her words.

“I'm not your father and I'm not a scientist. We'd just be… I would be helping you understand your powers. If you'd been out there any longer, what do you think would have happened? Or perhaps I should bring up La Hoya. What if you manned your own position, alone? You won't always be so lucky. If you don't make the effort in understanding those powers, they'll be the end of you and then… you won't ever have to worry about having anywhere to go.”

Viktor released Daphne's hand and finally faced forward, back to the position he had taken before Daphne sat beside him. He didn't understand her. In his eyes, her grasp on her abilities were her responsibility to the team. Viktor felt she needed to be the expert on what she was capable of, but her apprehension made him feel like she didn't want to take the reins and would rather fly by the seat of her pants until things went horribly wrong.

The harshness of his words stung. The truth was painful. Daphne took back her hand and placed it in her lap. She felt a lump form in her throat and swallowed hard, the dryness of her throat made it hurt more. Viktor didn’t understand and that wasn’t his fault. The horror of being locked into your own body, it was terrifying.

“If you change your mind, you can always find me right around noon with the carved trees. The ones you've frequented.” He kept his eyes on the window across from him. His thoughts a mystery to all but himself.

---

Aleen'a breathed onto her fists. She's already changed into a newer, drier set of clothes after coming back from the sea outside. She could still feel the impact from when the submarine decided to fire against the squid, ending its life in a snap. The blue waters seeped with red blood and black ink as its destroyed body slowly floated up to the surface. She was still in shock about what happened and she was more appalled that anyone would be capable of outright murdering a living creature.

She looked at her open palms. She would've reacted in time. Why did she hesitate? Was it because of the uncertainty of battling on a planet that's still alien to her finally catching up to her? Was it because of the growing frustration of not being understood, of missing her home at Tamaran? What would her parents say to her right now?

What would Koriand'r say to her right now?

She felt disbelief at Victor as he had claimed he was the one who fired at the squid without an ounce of heart in his voice. Perhaps that was him all along and his true personality was gradually coming up to the light, but Aleen'a didn't care for him. She looked over in Ja's direction and then at her team as one or the other shouted, she didn't know who. She could feel all their shock, grief, and anger, crashing down on her like the sea during a storm. Amongst the emotions of the team, she could feel Ja's the strongest, her heart ached along with his. She knew words would not be enough to console him but in her own way and she didn't think she could do anything.

"I need to go-" Aleen'a said to herself as she stood up and tried to fly, realizing that she's within the submarine and they're probably hundreds of feet away from the surface now. She looked out the window and saw only blue, the sunlight getting fader the deeper they go. She felt her heart race and tighten and she took faster, deeper breaths, slumping back down on her seat. Her team's emotions, not to mention the fact that she couldn't fly out and get as much sunlight as she could anymore, was overwhelming Aleen'a.

"Vresna o-tathra X'hal sumda. Vresna o-tathra X'hal sumda. Vresna o-tathra X'hal..." She repeated to herself in raspy breaths, sweat dripping down her forehead as the collective pain of those surrounding her filled up her heart. She tried to focus on the happy memories that she had on Tamaran and the selective ones she had with the others and Kori here on Earth, but she found it harder and harder to do so as her consciousness slowly faded away into darkness.

T H E W H I T E I S L A N D

---

The Team was standing inside a conference room, attending Dr Bingley's lecture with his Atlantean colleagues. The room was modified with both magic and science to allow for non-Atlanteans to breathe and move around normally.
"Welcome esteemed colleagues of the genetics field. I trust that you've all thoroughly analyzed the reports I've sent. I stand here today to present the most recent findings on a cure to counteract a controversial gene. This gene gives some Atlanteans dangerous magical powers"

He stepped away from the desk and went to stand in front of a projector screen. Different slides came into view, detailing the characteristics of said gene. The gene was ancient, as old as Atlantis itself. Over time systematic expungement destroyed most of it, while some got diluted and mixed into many different regular Atlantean strains. A very small percentage remained. It was a dormant trait, but when the right factors came together the trait became active.

"I have identified a specific designator of family lines belonging to a specific DNA strain" Dr Bingley pulled up the image of an eye shaped mark. A mark supposedly worn somewhere on the body by carriers of the gene.
"So far this is the only identifiable mark I've been able to find"

He cleared his throat and switched the images again. This part of his research he’d keep under wraps for now. Dr Bingley continued sharing the details of a proto type cure.
“As the gene and its carriers are incredibly difficult to track down, I have come up with the next best thing. A cure.”

Dr Bingley opened up one of his briefcases and pulled out some samples.
“I have developed a gene therapy which can be administered during all stages of prenatal care.” “It effectively gets rid of the gene, while leaving the remaining DNA intact”

A pair of Atlantean guards rushed into the conference room, interrupting the Professor mid sentence.
"Poseidonis is being attacked by Deluge forces" One of them stated, trying his best the stay calm. The guard looked at everyone present in the room, reinforcements were needed. The other guard addressed Mirage.
"The king has requested the assistance of you and your Team.
We need reinforcements at three separate locations. The Aquarium, The Salt processing plant and at AHARD 1."
He seemed to be the more level headed between the two, issuing out the commands given to him by Aquaman.
"I'm going to the Aquarium, Aalto is taking his team to the Salt processing plant."

"We have to retaliate and figure out what they want."

And just like that, the squid was dead, and the whole thing was over. He had made that giant squid illusion for nothing. What a waste! Viktor admitted to shooting the thing down. That wasn’t a surprise. Quite frankly, he didn’t understand why that wasn’t an option to begin with. Was that squid somebody’s pet? They could have shot it down, and Daphne wouldn’t have needed to put herself at risk like that, Ja… Kila… Whatever he was calling himself now… Wouldn’t have nearly drowned, and they would be in Atlantis by now. But, the last thing he wanted was to be agreeing with Viktor again, and Kassy was clearly upset by situation. Zach thought it best to keep his mouth shut this time.

The next thing on the agenda was attending Dr. Bingely’s lecture. At first, the doctor seemed like he was a cool dude… After hearing his presentation, Zach’s opinion quickly changed. ”Is anybody else besides me bothered by this?” Zach whispered to whatever teammate was nearby. “Magic is not some disease that needs to be cured. Spells don’t cast themselves, and magic is only as dangerous as the person wielding it.”

And then a guard busted in, and said they were needed at three different locations. Good thing, because Zach was sure he would have made a scene in front of the Atlanteans if this presentation had gone on longer. “So wise team leader, where do you want us to go?”

Kassy sat and watched the presentation, her stomach twisting more and more with each sentence. She began to rub the back of her neck. Of all the things for this man to be studying… she wondered just what was involved in such a cure, and what it would lead to.

She heard Zach murmuring to another team mate, but didn’t catch what was said. Before she could ask, the presentation was interrupted. More trouble? As the team all turned to her, and waited for her decision, she shut her eyes. There was already enough on her plate, and for a moment all she wanted to do was dive and never come back up.

“Alright. Rain, Brightheart, take the salt processing plant. Nymph, Cybergirl, Zatara, the aquarium. Ja, I know you're not feeling well, but I need you at AHARD 1 with me. Talon, guard Dr. Bingley with everything you've got. Sounds good? Any objections?”

---

---

In the following minutes after the squid attack, shock turned to anger turned to bright-red fury. As Alisa sat in her seat once again, her lips pursed to a fine line, she wondered how some people were just so stupid. Dr. Bingley- stupid. Viktor, her maybe-best-friend- stupid and stubborn and unfeeling. How could he be more steel than her, the girl made of it? She found herself getting angrier as she watched him walk back to his seat, utterly unperturbed by Kassy’s silent haranguing. It hadn’t been him who had fired the shot, she knew- but he would have, and was only taking the blame for it in pursuit of the mission goal. The mission. Alisa could have strangled Dr. Bingley right then and there, if she hadn’t been on a mission. She hated people like him- curious without thought of harm, weak and simpering until they had a chance to do something awful and took it.

He reminded her a bit of her mother and the people who had helped make her, she realized. That hit her harder than she expected.

Viktor’s overheard conversation with Daphne made her even angrier. Alisa sat and listened silently, not acknowledging that she was hearing a thing. Daphne and she had spoken about their similar origins a bit ago, and she knew what it felt like to be an object of fascination. Of study. He had contacted her father? Without even asking Daphne first? If he had done that to her… if she were less competent, he might have.

---

Listening to Dr. Bingley’s speech just made her hate him more. Although Alisa didn’t entirely get magic, she understood enough to know that that was eugenics, and definitely not okay. Zach leaned in to say something to her, and she found herself nodding. “It bothers me too,” she whispered back. “This guy is such a prick.”

Then, the next disaster happened. Alisa wasn’t entirely sure what the Deluge was, but they needed to go reinforce the aquarium. Ugh. Underwater fighting wasn’t Alisa’s expertise. She was with Daphne and Zach- a good group. She swam over to Daphne with Zach. “Looks like we need to get going to the aquarium. We’re gonna do great.” She wasn’t sure if she meant it or not, but her voice didn’t betray much insecurity. She smiled from beneath her helmet.

Location: ATL
Interactions: Aleen'a @baraquiel

---

Seeing Atlantis and it's remarkable architecture drew Viktor's attention. He'd never say its but he found the city he looked upon to be rather beautiful, enchanting even. As the submarine got ready to dock, Viktor got up from his seat and visually inspected his equipment before placing on his visored helmet. He understood he'd have to move and possibly fight differently here, but nevertheless he was ready.

When Dr. Bingley presented his work, curiosity struck Viktor. It was as if Dr. Bingley was slowly unraveling the truth of what his research was. In a different capacity, Viktor might have interrogated the scientist. Still, he wanted to know how his "cure" worked, especially with no side effects listed. Unfortunately for Viktor and anyone else desiring to know more, the presentation was interrupted by news of an attack by the Deluge. I just hope a squid's not involved for this team's sake.

Kassy sprung into action once more, directing the team on their delegated tasks. His eyes landed on Aleen'a who he was paired up with and gave her a single nod of acknowledgment. Power and strength was on their side, but he was well aware of the Tamaranian using the device meant to assist in maintaining her power on Daphne.

“Brightheart, I'll take the lead. You conserve your energy for when we truly need it.” He wanted to announce this up front just in case the pair didn't get another chance to assign their roles. Of all the members of his team, Viktor was most comfortable being paired with her.

He wasn't really on speaking terms with Zach.

He's never gotten along with Talon.

Alisa was likely upset with what had said before the squid was killed by Dr. Bingley.

Daphne was uncomfortable from their recent discussion… Even more so than she normally was.

Ja was in a grievous state over the squid, a creature he had taken responsibility for killing.

Kass… he knew how Kass currently thought of him.

…..

…..

…..

Oh, and Dr. Bingley. Viktor never enjoyed being in the presence of that man.

Location: the Aquarium
Interactions: Cybergirl, Zatara

---

Daphne quietly listened to Dr Bingley's presentation. The way he so casually mentioned destroying the particular gene. Even if it was unwanted by humans, nature probably had its reason for creating it. She couldn't delve into it more because they were interrupted by a pair of Atlantean guards. Daphne got up from her seat, ready to get into action. Kassy was quick to issue clear commands, instructing them to go to the Aquarium.

She exited the conference room with Alisa, Zach and one of the guards. She nodded at Alisa, appreciating her encouragement and confidence. Before they were out of view Daphne looked over her shoulder at the rest of the Team. She was worried about them, Ja and Viktor especially. Ja was still processing the death of the squid, he took that really hard, understandably. Knowing he was paired up with Kassy was a relief, she knew Kassy could empathize with his needs.
"Viktor...." he was acting different than usual. It was barely noticeable, but Daphne was able to pick up on it during their conversation.

"I'll tal..."
"Watch out!" The guard pushed her out of the way against the side of the tunnel. The water around them buzzed with an electric current produced by a giant eel which likely escaped from the Aquarium. It was whipping its tail around, not fully realizing it was free. The guard's tattoos started to glow with a dim turquoise light. The magic allowed him to touch the eel without being harmed by the incredibly powerful shocks.
"I will attempt to subdue this one, you three continue onwards to the Aquarium, make sure no more animals get away"

The three of them reached the Aquarium and were faced with six Deluge members. They were trying to free some of the other endangered animals. Those animals were kept here for preservation, to prevent them from going extinct. Why would they want to destroy that?
The group paired themselves up into two's. Each pair was attempting to break open the terrariums holding different types of underwater creatures. They spotted the Team coming towards them and sent out one agent, so the other could continue to break out the animals.

"Guys we have to stop them quick!" Daphne said through the comms. She quickly transformed, this time allowing the bark to spread over her entire body and face. The pieces of her suit were easily discarded. Two of the agents coming towards them stopped swimming, surprised by Daphne's actions. They quickly readied their weapons, a flail and a strange looking rifle and rushed at the heroes. Daphne singled out one of them, launching her vines at him.

He easily got around them, being much faster underwater. The agent grabbed a handful of vines and pulled on them, drawing Daphne closer towards him. Once she was in the range of his flail he rammed it into her side. The impact made Daphne crash into one of the terrariums. It caused the second agent to fumble with her tools.
"Idiot!!" She called out to the agent carrying the flail.

Daphne quickly recovered and swam back to the enemy. He was ready for her, grabbing her easily reachable plant hair. The agent hauled her in a second time, but Daphne was ready now. She grabbed the arm holding the flail with both her hands and tried to pry the weapon from his grip. To her surprise it worked. The agent let go of his weapon and it dropped down next to his ally. Daphne wasn't able to see the signal he gave her. Suddenly both his hands were at her neck, he was trying to choke her out.

He soon figured out his plan was doomed from the start. Not only was the bark covering her incredibly difficult to crack, it was like it didn't faze her at all. The same tactic was now being used against him, when Daphne put her hands over the gills at the side of his neck. He was forced to release her neck and pry her hands away from his. Two vines bound his hands behind his back, putting him completely at the Nymph's mercy.

His partner rushed up behind Daphne and was immediately assaulted by the remaining vines, disarming her and leaving her suspended in the water, unable to free her limbs. After a couple of minutes of struggling the first agent fell limp to the floor of the Aquarium. Daphne turned around at the agent caught in her hair, who trashed about wildly when she realized she was next.

---

Ja was quiet for rest of the journey, opposed to his more boisterous nature. When he brought Daphne back to the submarine seemed to be the only real burst of energy he had. He also didn’t ride in the sub the rest of the way either, lingering only until he was sure Daphne was okay by peeking through windows. It felt wrong to sit in the murder machine, even if it was the people inside that caused it to do so…which was something else that he’d have unpack later.

Instead, he opted to swim up along with Mirage. When they eventually passed through Atlantis, he found himself marveling at the water kingdom. He had wanted to say something to her, or maybe even ask questions but ultimately found himself speechless. She seemed still rather sour, and Ja could understand as the loss was still heavy. It felt like that was just time for silence.

As of currently, Ja had managed to shift his focus to the mission at hand. He at least remembered right before they left; their objective to protect Dr. Bingley. So, when it came time to escort him through the Atlantic White Island space, Metamorph was attentive, senses on high alert. Every so often, he’d feel the Professor’s eyes on him, but when Ja looked at him, the man would look elsewhere. Fear of some sort…? Ja thought to himself that maybe he was radiating aggression and tension inadvertently through his sharp focus, so he tried to relax some.

When it came time for the man’s lecture, Ja was clung to the nearest vertical surface nearby, listening with some confusion. The young prince of the wild didn’t quite understand the description of those with the gene of magic. A disease, was the word that was used. The discrepancy between what he said, and those on his team made him look at them. Zachy and Kassy— they didn’t seem to reek sickness. Moreover, if it was a gene that was the cause, did that not mean it was natural at some level?

The boy could understand diseases that killed the body that were caused by outside factors. Which is why he thought humans came up with the idea of medicines. Diseases that were passed from parent to child though, he understood to be an element of the circle of life. Whether these differences led to the species growth or death was part of that circle, and in turn, part of that species progression.

However to Ja, this cure would be the outside factor, a foreign agent disrupting the body’s natural processes. What this man proposed, would disturb that circle. The idea of which bothered the son of the Red, but Aquaman allowed the man to present these ideas and Atlantean colleagues attended this meeting, which meant they must have some ground…

A tingling in his back told him of dangers of the deep approaching the area. His eyes narrowed and he hopped down from where he was perched, crouched on all fours near Dr. Bingly. Looking to Kassy as their mission leader, he paid attention to the assignments and lineups she gave to each of them. When asked if he was up to the task, a look of conviction sat on Ja’s face.

While he deeply appreciated her compassion for him, Metamorph understood that the situation earlier shouldn’t have a bearing on his mission. There would be time to properly grieve later. For now, if stopping these ‘Deluge Forces’ would protect the Doctor, that was what he would do. Her strength and confidence radiated to him, even prompting a little closed lip smile.

”I am ready. Lead the way.”

---

Upon arriving on Atlantis, Aleen'a managed to let out a sigh of relief even for a little bit. The architecture here kind of reminded her of home, especially with the Atlanteans and other marine animals swimming over them. Everyone was happy and swam around so freely. Children laughed as they played catch with an animal Ale didn't recognize while Atlantean vehicles of all sorts traveled all over. Ale saw some Atlanteans staring at their group but mostly at her, probably because it was rare for them to see an alien in this part of the ocean, but they were more curious in a good-hearted way with her than the kind of stares she would get from humans most of the time.

Atlantean buildings and infrastructure were also very different than what she saw back at the top. She did understand there were many factors that made life above-ground become vastly different than living in the bottom of the ocean but still. For her, human architecture was boring and predictable. Rectangle buildings? So primitive. Despite that, Earth has become to grow on her. She formed some kind of weird love-hate relationship with it in the past months that she stayed here. Humans themselves were a weird bunch and she's slowly getting used to all their antics. Still, Ale knew she barely scratched the surface when it came to knowing Earth. She's pretty sure she'll get to know more about Kori's beloved second home, sooner than later.

Presently, the team and other Atlanteans were listening to Dr. Bingley's presentation. Ale wasn't going to lie when she'll say that majority of what the scientist said swam over her head. The sciences were more of her mother's expertise and may X'hal bless her heart, Ale's mom really tried her best to get their daughter interested in it. Ale would have to ask Alisa later if she managed to have a recording of the presentation so Ale could have something to show to her mother if she got the chance. She could also feel some dislike from her friends towards what Dr. Bingley was saying so whatever they dislike, Ale would perhaps dislike as well.

Just when Ale was about to doze off, two Atlantean soldiers came barging into the conference room and said Poseidonis was being attacked by the Deluge forces, whoever they were. Like the others, she turned her attention towards their leader who was Kassy. "You got it, leader!" Aleen'a said as Kassy gave the orders and she gave a small smile when Rain nodded at her. Before they could join Aalto and his team towards the plant, Rain said that Aleen'a should conserve her energy as backup.

She nodded. "Understood. Let us go save the plant that could process salt!"

Even Alisa agreed that Dr. Bingley was sus, and she didn’t have magic.

After a pep talk from Alisa, and Zach turning himself into a merman again, Daphne, Alisa, and himself were tasked to deal with the situation at the aquarium. When they got there, they found some criminals trying to release the animals in the aquarium. They had already run into an electric eel on the way over here. Zach couldn’t imagine what reason they could possibly have for doing that… Whatever, it seemed like an easy enough mission. Daphne had already ensnared two of the agents in her plant hair.

Zach uttered a spell. “Rebbur otni sloot” Immediately, the tools they were using to break the animals free turned rubbery and useless.

Of course, they were not happy that Zach had interrupted their work. “You’re going to pay for that you twerp!” They discarded their tools, and two of the agents came at Zach with what looked like a pair of rifles.

Zach was not impressed. “Really? I just turned your stuff into dog toys, and you’re going to come at me with a gun? Whatever. Snug pu taeh!” Immediately the rifles became burning hot forcing the criminals to drop the guns. Not even Zach knew how that spell even worked under water.

Zach smirked, and flourished. “Now, for my final illusion… Sdrac fo esuoh!” Immediately, a bunch of glowing purple playing cards appeared around the agents, and formed themselves into a house of cards, trapping them inside. “Cybergirl, I hope you have those last two covered…” Zach said while focusing on keeping the house of cards intact.

---

Once the assignments were handed out, Kassy headed off with the small Atlantean retinue, toward AHARD 1,. It was the Atlantis Health and Rehabilitation Department, this particular area servicing mental health patients. The two guards tried to give the young heroes a mental layout of the place as they made their way toward it.

As soon as she could, Kassy swam beside Ja to talk to him. “Thank you for coming with me, Metamorph. I appreciate you.” Even though he could have refused, he was still willing to fight. It was commendable. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, to help you get your focus back, long enough for us to get done with this mission.”

”Just keep doing what you are. It helps to keep my mind moving forward.” Was Ja’s response. His eyes still held a reddish tinge to their usual brown. He couldn’t quite ease himself, despite his attempts from earlier, and this attack wasn’t much help. However, his disposition while swimming was calm enough, as this wasn’t the first time he went into a mission somewhat frazzled.

As they spoke, she wondered briefly about his eyes. Had they always been that way? She could have sworn… Maybe it was the water. “Alright, if you insist.” She flashed him a little smile, then got the attention of the two guards. “I think our best bet is going to be stealth. If you can keep the Deluge’s attention, Metamorph and I can move to rescue the hostages. Does that sound like a plan?”

The guard who had initially requested their help nodded. “It does sound simple enough. Now I understand why the King requested your team’s assistance. You seem quite capable. If working for humans ever gets boring, I would put in a good word with our Captain for you.”

Kassy went a little red in the face. “Oh! Uh, thank you! That’s very nice of you to say. I’ll keep that in mind.” She had no intention of being a guard, but it was nice that someone outside the team saw that she was competent.

Metamorph swam along carefully, keeping in mind Mirage’s suggested approach to the situation. Although a lot of this felt new to him, a familiar instinct of the red came to him. So, he closed his eyes and slacked his jaw. With his tongue rapidly hitting the roof of his mouth, and the red’s field as an amplifier, a dolphin’s click echoed out from him towards AHARD1. Despite his closed eyes, he was given a sort of brief snapshot of the room.

”There are six human or atlantean silhouettes in the room. Each are one to one, probably all holding to a single person. There are other small fish but they seem to have no connection to the situation…wait-.” Ja stopped abruptly, opening his eyes and turning to Mirage for guidance.

”They have a Dolphin under their influence. I am not sure how…it waits as if hunting…If I echo too much more, it will be able to detect my signal. I am not sure how well the captors would be able to communicate with it, so I will have to only use it in spurts.”

“Oh, great.” Kassy murmured. Dolphins were real jerks. “Well, at least it won’t be a surprise. Good work, Metamorph.”

They arrived far too soon. The building was a stark white stone, very rigid and clinical. Definitely a hospital. The guards explained that they would take point, and distract them while Mirage and Metamorph snuck in from a side entrance.

“Good luck, young heroes.” The guards vanished into the front door. Kassy swam around to the side entrance, gently testing it. It was open - it seemed like the Deluge had not realized it was there.

“Let’s go.” She vanished on the spot and slipped into the door. Ja marveled for just a moment at her ease to disappear from his vision. If it weren’t for his other senses indicating her location, he’d have thought she completely dissipated. Magic was an interesting thing, as Kassy and Zachy showed so often to Ja…Distracted. No. Pay attention.

The dolphin in the room inside would likely be counter echoing to potentially alert the captors. However, it had poor eyesight as the trade off, in which case, Ja decided camouflage would be a good option. He closed his eyes for a brief second, clinging to the wall of the side entrance.

With Mirage’s staff in mind, his inspiration and intent phased his power to the ever illustratively elusive octopus. The red channeled its energy around his form, wrapping even his armor to take the pattern of the atlantean architecture. His hands and feet were as suction cups to aid in sticking to the surrounding surfaces. His hair came together as several strands, bundling up in small groups to look like sea anemone tentacles.

Ja went inside, traversing the room and occasionally stopping in place to give the illusion of being part of the scenery as the dolphin subtly prowled. Surveying the situation, Ja took note of the position of the hostages and captors. They sat, two in front of one in a triangle formation, sharp weapons aimed at the throats of the mental patients.

They were all facing the main entrance where the guards would enter. There were two female hostages and one male. One of the women, specifically the one in the back, had to be held still with a bit more effort. That one seemed more unstable, mumbling in an illegible tongue. Something to potentially take advantage of; they just needed to get over to her so that she could create a disturbance.

Mirage slipped through the hallways, invisible, taking stock of the situation at hand. Most of the patients were still safely behind locked doors. There were a few unconscious, tied up workers on the floor. She checked each. They just seemed to be knocked out, but they’d have to get medical help as soon as possible.

The front doors opened and the two guards swam in, making the situation much tenser.

“Please, let these people go.” The guard that had complimented Kassy seemed to be taking point. “They haven’t done anything to deserve this.”

The one Deluge member that seemed to be in charge spoke up. “These people will be freed.”

“This isn’t a jail. These people are ill.” The guard spoke back as calmly as possible, keeping his eyes on the Deluge members.

“Is this what your so-called Advanced society does to it’s ill? Lock them away where they can’t be seen?”

The terse conversation drifted through the water as Kassy got closer and closer, going slow so her currents wouldn’t be caught. She slowed her breathing, stretched her fingers forth and summoned a sight illusion, handily bathing the Deluge’s member’s eyes in darkness.

“Hey, what the- I can’t see!” Quite reflexively, one of his hands went to his eyes, as if trying to clear them. The murmuring woman lashed out then, flailing at the man’s weapon to knock it aside. Then she fled, back toward the rooms. Taken as an attack on its masters, the dolphin boomed after the woman.

Metamorph, having managed to get above, watched with bated breath. There wasn’t enough time to free the dolphin from compulsion in the way that he wanted. Thus, despite his camouflaged state, his eyes took on a bright red hue, locked onto the dolphin. As he fought for mental dominance of the dolphin, a rhythmic chanting echoed within his mind.

There was an eerie nature to it…yet familiar…a form of conditioning. This one wasn’t raised in a kind environment by these deluge forces…a gladiator, forced to the front lines as the strongest of its family. It was groomed to be a killer for their cause. There was no love in this one.

Despite the rapidly increasing pain in his head from the strain of the dolphin’s will, Ja had managed to stop it just before it caught the escaping patient. It twisted and turned in the water trying to resist, in turn taking the attention of all of those visible in the room.

“What is going on with Ceta?!” The deluge leader demanded, dragging their hostage back from the flailing creature.

“Even the creatures you’ve subjugated do not follow your madness!” The other of the atlantean guards spat.

Metamorph in the meanwhile was trying his best to keep still. Although able to maintain his control, the emotion of the dolphin was starting to seep into him. Brewing within was a storm, as his fury from the death of the squid had not yet dissipated. Hopefully Mirage could free at least one of the others…Ja wasn’t sure how long he could keep himself back.

It seemed one of the patients was a fighter. While everyone’s attention was on the dolphin, the other female hostage slugged the second Deluge member right in the jaw. It wasn’t a perfect punch, but it was a perfect distraction. Mirage swam in, using her staff to catch the Deluge member under the chin and cut off his air supply. He flailed - the woman swam for the guards and was safe. Mirage and Deluge struggled, Mirage taking a wild blow to the nose. She flickered into sight then, blood streaming from one of her nostrils. But she managed to hold on just long enough for the Deluge member to drop out of consciousness.

The sudden appearance of Mirage amidst the chaos caught the attention of the remaining two Deluge agents in the proximity. The leader clutched the blade tighter to the throat of the last hostage, clearly losing control of the situation.

“Forget Ceta! Get that treacherous witch!”

Metamorph watched the situation escalate, and slowly came to the realization that stealth was going out the window. Though, just as it seemed that he was going to completely take over the dolphin, blood drifted to his nostrils. Mirage— Kassy’s blood was in the water. He lost track of the dolphin as instinct took over. As if from nowhere, a swordfish-like blur came from above, crashing into the second deluge grunt going for Mirage, pinning them to the sea floor.

Metamorph’s arms bore down on the fighter, hands clasped and slamming in fashion similar to a polar bear through ice. Armor bent around his hands, red seeping up around where they impacted. Though in the midst of doing so, another blur tugged him away. Between the jaws of the now free attack dolphin, Metamorph didn’t waste much time. A hard palm clipped Ceta’s snout, and more red drifted around the boy, indicating the dolphin’s yield.

A roar echoed from his throat, sending a small bursting current through the water. For once the gentle and kind boy was gone, a beast taking his place. Grabbing hold of Ceta’s body, Metamorph boomed back into the room. The leader, in some shock, couldn’t prepare for their own attack dolphin being used as a blunt force instrument, slamming into both him and the hostage. Rather roughly jostled free, the remaining patient managed to duck away from the conflict.

The beast in Metamorph’s body held the last man by his throat with one hand. Eye to eye with the boy, he attempted to struggle trying to pry the fingers free with both hands, but there was little use trying to escape a coconut crab’s clutch.

Mirage was somewhat dazed from the lucky punch, but even she had realized how wrong things were going. She had never seen such a look on Ja’s face before. His rage made her want to crawl into a hole - but she couldn’t retreat.

“Metamorph, calm down, the hostages are free! We’ve got this.” Her hands were out in front of her in what she hoped was an unthreatening way.

For a moment, did the drifting bush of hair tip towards her direction. In that small moment though, the deluge leader went for a stab with a dagger. It scratched against Metamorph’s armor, and the beast took hold of the offending arm. The left side of his lip twitched with a growl, bending the man’s forearm against the natural curve of the elbow. As the man started to yowl with pain, the beast’s growl became another roar.

Mirage swam closer, very slowly, hands up. Her voice dropped into a gentle whisper. “Ja. Please. Please let him go. This isn’t the way we do things.”

Again his ear whipped in her direction, hearing her voice, but the man’s yelling was louder. In response, the beast slammed him to the ground below and squeezed tighter, the yelling switching to choking as clawed fingers pinched around arteries in the opponent’s throat. Metamorph’s eyes burned brightly, even as the leader’s grip to break free was weakening, ironically drowning the sea man.

This was awful, beyond reason. Ja was going to kill this man, and she couldn’t just stand and watch.

“...I’m sorry, Ja.” Kassy shut her eyes.

Slowly, she stretched a hand out toward him. For several tense moments, there was absolutely nothing but the sounds of Metamorph growling and the Deluge leader desperately choking.

“There is no one else here, but Kassy.”

“It’s just me and Kassy. I can relax.”

“Go to her.”

There was still silence in the room, but Ja would hear the inner voice of his mind, speaking to his very instincts. The thoughts repeated themselves, soft, insistent, on loop. Over and over they spoke in his mind, drowning out everything else. His growls slowed to heavy breaths. His eyes flickered in brightness, dulling more with each time he blinked. Looking around, it was clear that the battle was over, with even the Atlantean guards looking at him with some concern. Gaze shifting down to the man in his grip, Ja retracted his hand, watching the man take grateful breaths of life.
His bottom lip quivered and he backed away, though bumping into Kassy in the process. When he turned to her, his eyes had their familiar glow back, returning to their normal golden color. ”I have lost control…I…I failed…”

Mirage’s eyes opened, and she immediately held him in a tight hug. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You weren’t the only one who…” She stopped short, shaking her head. “Are you okay? That’s what I’m worried about.”

Ja seemed to have been caught off guard by her hug, but rested his face on her shoulder. “I am now…the fury has passed…You bled and I lost focus of the dolphin…are you okay? Did I hurt anyone else?”

Kassy shook her head. She wasn’t aware of it, but her muscles were taut and she was trembling faintly. “No, just him.” The Deluge leader was on the ground, the two guards having swooped in with cuffs to apprehend him. He was looking at Metamorph with some strange mixture of hatred and fear.

Kassy gave him a little squeeze and let him go. “How did you… calm down?”

“I…the voices in my head…from the red, from the dolphin…they quieted. They told me that you were here and I was okay. I think…I think it was right…” Ja was honest, not really caring how crazy he may have sounded.

“Oh, is that so?” Kassy chuckled very softly. “Well, I’m glad you got some control.” She turned to the two guards, who were now trying to calm the hostages and get them back safely to their rooms.

“There are some unconscious staff members around, so we should call a medical team.”

The guards looked at each other. “Is your teammate okay, now? I’ve never seen a teenager strangle a grown man before.”

“He’ll be fine. Won’t you, Metamorph?”

Finally turning his eyes away from Kassy, he looked around again, his eyes landing on the guards. “I will be fine.” Metamorph echoed in assurance, with a nod to double down. The anger seemed satiated for now, and since the events of earlier, only now did the young man feel like himself again. The realization of that made him gently smile and look back at Kassy.

“I’ll be okay.” He repeated, though his expression straightened. “We should find the others and help them.”

“Good idea. Are we cleared to go?” She addressed the guard, who nodded.

“Go help your team. We’ve got the rest of this.”

“Thank you. Come on.” Mirage swam off, not waiting for Metamorph. Once she was out of view of the others, she let out a shuddering breath, and stared at her shaking hands. The anger she felt was like a foreign bug, clinging to her mind. She just wanted to hit things. She rubbed at her forehead, feeling a headache brewing. Most of all, she was scared. If Ja knew - if anyone - no, that was too much to think about.

---

---

Alisa jumped away from the electric eel as its current rippled through the water. It was reflexive, but she ground her teeth anyways. Hopefully, there were no more of those in there. She followed Zach and Daphne into the expansive aquarium complex, where there were six soldiers trying to free the animals inside. They turned to the three young superheroes, shouting in alarm, before rushing at them.

Okay, Alisa, this is kind of what you’ve trained for… you’ve got this!

While Zach fought off two with flamboyant spells and Daphne used her plant abilities on another two, Alisa aimed her hand at the guy shooting at her with a pistol and fired her hand cannon. The recoil knocked her back a bit, but the actual bright blue blast knocked the Deluge soldier into the wall hard, taking him out of the count. Alisa then turned, shocked by the power of her own invention, only to see the sixth soldier within feet of her. Too close to use her cannon.

He closed in before Alisa could do much but scramble for purchase. He grabbed her leg from underneath her and pulled, taking her off balance. But he didn’t take into account how heavy she would be, and Alisa kicked him off and then kicked his head in as hard as she could. Then, as he reeled, she punched in the head and knocked him out cold.

“Yup, got it! I think we’re done- wait, Daphne, watch out!”

An Atlantean soldier hastily led the way, and the two young heroes trailed behind him. Viktor wasn't sure what he'd expect, but he was sure many of his normal arsenal of weapons would prove ineffective underwater.

“Brightheart, whatever happens. Maintain communication with me.”

Aleen’a was feeling a bit nervous. Not only was she fighting in unfamiliar territory, but she also had to limit her energy reserves or else jeopardize her health in the process. She wasn’t sure if Atlanteans had access to ultraviolet radiation given that they’re so deep down in the ocean but as for right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.

“Y-Yes. Of course.” She managed to say to Viktor. She still didn’t know how to properly talk with him after what he had just done to the squid a while ago. Granted that she was trained by one of the most skilled warrior races in the galaxy, that didn’t mean they would use it to kill anything that came their way.

It wasn't long until the three arrived at the salt processing plant where many civilians were seen fleeing as shots from Atlantean weaponry rang out from deeper within the plant. The Atlantean soldier swimming ahead was shot as he exited a corridor that led to where the Deluge agents were held up. The soldier recoiled back and away from the barrage of weapon fire.

“Damn it! We can't get through!”

“Your sidearm. Give it to me.” Viktor immediately requested. He was handed the pistol-like weapon that appeared conventional enough for him to utilize. “We charge in. All three of us at once. We will be shot at, but we just need to get past that entrance. It's a choke point. Once we get through, move from the center to whatever cover is available. Ready?” Viktor looked at Aleen'a with confidence.

Aleen'a looked at the soldier and then at Viktor. She picked up a spear-like weapon nearby that was probably dropped by someone who once guarded the location. She then nodded at Viktor, waiting for him to make the signal so they could strike.

“Just a moment! I will be front and center. My armor is durable enough to take a few shots from their weapons. As you suggested, we'll split up upon entry. You two take the right.” Viktor gave a nod. “Well, let's not keep the filth waiting!” The soldier swam forward with the young heroes following behind. The soldier laid down suppressive fire as he entered with Viktor following suit by firing with his own weapon. It was enough to make most of the terrorists duck and move to cover.

As planned, Viktor and Aleen'a swam right until they reached a large support beam. It was thick enough to shield them from any more ranged attacks, but they would have to advance on the Deluge agents as soon as possible. At the moment the agents fired pop shots to startle their foes. Over on the left side of the room, the Atlantean soldier could be heard grunting.

“Gaagh!” The soldier was holding onto the torso section of his armor where he appeared to have been hit. I took a few too many. My communications equipment is busted too, so no calling in for backup now… I can't move, but I can still fight! He gripped his rifle and popped up for a quick look before ducking back down. Several shots were fired in his direction. Viktor took this as an opportunity to take a peek himself from his own position while the agents focused their fire towards the soldier.

“Explosives.”
“Explosives.”

There were three explosive charges placed on the main filtration system. The goal of the agents here was clear: destroy the filter and allow spillage that would drastically raise the salt levels in the city. Such an attack would poison thousands nearby. Shots fired in Viktor's direction caused him to return behind the beam.

“Hmm… They have planted explosives. If they're still here, they probably haven't armed them yet.” The sound of shots could be heard from where their ally was positioned. It meant the soldier was firing back.

“Are they trying to kill themselves as well? That’s preposterous!” Aleen'a reacted.

“Terrorist usually aim to inflict as much damage as possible, even at the cost of their own lives. Here's the plan. You swim high and fast towards them so you can engage them with that spear. You will overpower them in close quarters. I'll advance at this level and give you cover fire. I don't think they'll expect you to come out from the higher part of this beam.”

“Understood.” She said and nodded. While hiding behind the beam, she gave her spear an experimental twirl. She realized she would move much slower here due to being underwater and that meant she would need to give double her efforts in every move she made. Viktor did say to save her energy just in case but as the great Warlords have told her, a warrior should give everything she's got in every battle she’s in.

“Let's do this.”

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. As she exhaled, she swam up out of the beam and came charging at the enemy while screaming. Just as Viktor said, they didn’t anticipate where Aleen'a would leave cover, especially from so high up. Aleen’a's sudden charge gave her ample time to reach their foes. That and Viktor rounding the corner and firing on the briefly distracted Deluge agents with the sidearm. His first few shots were a bit off, but his goal was to cover Aleen'a enough that she could get in close and break apart the enemy defenses. The soldier took this same moment to fire well-placed shots with his more accurate firearm.

With the agents panicked, Aleen'a struck at some of them, swatting them away with her spear. Another one tried to shoot at her but she quickly evaded to the side and swam towards him, knocking him out with one upwards blow on the chin. She then grabbed the unconscious agent’s foot and threw him at two of his kin who were trying to shoot her, slamming them down to the ground. Upon seeing three agents swimming towards her to try and attack her at close range, she twirled her spear around to adjust her stance and struck at them all at once, knocking them out. Another Deluge agent tried to stop her from using her weapon by catching her in surprise and pinning her spear against her body with his own blaster. The two pushed against each other before Alee headbutted the agent and kicked him so hard, she sent him flying straight towards a cluster of the other agents. She continued to charge at the enemy, hoping Viktor had a plan for the explosives.

And on that very note, the young man had failed to mention what the endgame was for the explosive charges. Viktor would have shared such information with Aleen'a if he actually had it. There was little time to hash out a full plan once the means for the Deluge's attack was identified. The wounded soldier was quite impressed with the two, but he wasn't sure how they would deal with the explosive charges that could very well go off at any given second.

With faith in Aleen'a’s combat prowess, Viktor approached the filtration system. He noticed the charges did not appear to be activated.

“Lucky us. Brightheart the charges aren't act-” An agent pretending to be downed by their assault suddenly sprung up and uppercut Viktor. The force was enough to make him float up a few feet before the agent swam to the center explosive charge and quickly tapped on its display screen.

“We only really need one!” The Deluge agent stated confidently.

Quickly recovering, Viktor wrapped his arms around the Deluge agent and squeezed. The agent attempted to raise his legs to kick off of the filtration system, but Viktor pumped his own legs first to push their bodies upward and remain suspended and elevated in the water.

“Let go of me, surface-dweller!”The Deluge agent fought against his grip. Initially he was hopeful, but the pressure kept increasing as if the young hero was planning to crush him to death. He didn't believe he could utter a sound due to the compression until he felt multiple ribs breaking

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Viktor released the man from his death grip but the agent was not in the clear just yet. While clutching his own torso with both his arms, the agent felt Viktor grab him by the nape of his neck and swim him down to the front of the activated explosive charge. On the display screen was a flashing red pattern of blinking ticks that vanished every few flashes.

“Disarm it.” Viktor demanded. The agent just remained keeled over hugging his torso. Viktor stared blankly at the at the ominous blinking screen before his face formed into a slight scowl. “Death doesn't motivate everyone. I assess you lack fear of it.” Viktor turned his body and kneed the agent in the side.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“However, pain is different. Disarm it.” He repeated in his same monotone voice. The agent was whimpering but that mattered not while the explosive charge continued to flash. “Again?”

”Raah!” Aleen’a shouted in defiance as she struck at two agents and knocked them unconscious. Once she saw they managed to defeat the rest of them, that’s when she noticed Viktor with the one agent he took to deactivate the explosives. She wanted to swim to them but she grunted in pain. The adrenaline gradually died down from Aleen'a's system and she could now feel her body hurting from taking hits due to fighting so many enemies at once.

On Viktor's end, there was no reply from the Deluge agent as he attempted to hold out. This time Viktor punched the agent's side. The this stike was far more acute.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” The agent screamedd in pain as he lurched and let his legs give out. Unfortunately for him, Viktor easily supported his dead weight.

“I don't have time for pause. Again?” Viktor asked once more. Another pau-

“No… forget this! I don't want it anymore!” The Deluge agent was moved closer to the device where he used his trembling right hand to disarm the explosive.

Despite the pain Aleen'a felt, she fought through the pain and exhaustion to swim towards her teammate. Aleen'a breathed a sigh of relief. They'd done it. Defending the salt processing plant was a success on her and Viktor’s part, and Aleen'a could only hope the others were well and alright too.

Viktor met her gaze before visually scanning her form. Despite achieving success against several foes, Viktor could tell Aleen'a had pushed herself to the limit. The wounded soldier was clumsily swimming over to the pair while pressing a hand where he had received his armor had been compromised.

“Good work… from all of us.” The soldier watched as Viktor placed himself underneath one of Aleen'a's arms so she didn't have to expend any more energy on the swim back.

“Agreed.” Viktor nodded before looking toward Aleen'a to address her directly. “Good work.” He echoed to let his partner that despite the state she was in, she had done well in his eyes.

In minutes, additional Atlantean security forces entered the plant due to the loss of communication from the injured soldier. Once the Deluge agents were apprehended and the salt processing plant was secured by Atlantean forces, Viktor and Aleen'a took their leave to rendezvous back with the rest of the team.