Aquaman:
I stare at this man swimming in the ocean. Dressed in a jacket, shirt, long pants, the only other thing he is wearing is a pair of sunglasses.
"He's not wearing a diving suit, but he's not drowning. Is he holding his breath? No. No, he can't be holding his breath! It has been too long. If he were holding his breath, he would be drowning right now."
I look past the man in the sunglasses and at all the fish behind him. I see squids, octopus, whales, jellyfish, swordfish, dolphins, and dozens of other. They are swimming behind the man, almost supporting him, acting like his own personal army.
Raising my hand and shooting it out toward the man's army, I speak.
"As your king, I order you! Leave this surface dweller's side and come to me!"
"No," a voice, a human voice, answers. "They will not listen to you. They will not obey you. They chose to listen to me when I asked them to come."
I lower my hand and look right at the man.
"How are you doing this? Only I can command the sea, and I will prove it!"
Closing my eyes and focusing, I call upon one of the fiercest and legendary creatures of the sea. The whole ocean and the ocean floor shake as this creature swims out of the deep and toward us. Unleashing a mighty roar as it emerges out of the black, the Kraken swings its claws and many tentacles.
My guards scream, shake, and even swim away as the Kraken, with its almost indestructible, stone skin, swims up. It reveals its one million sharp teeth as it roars, the roar shaking the surface dweller's submarine. Pointing my golden trident at the strange man, I order.
"Attack!"
The Kraken wastes no time and swims toward the man. Reaching him in almost no time, the Kraken pulls back its claw. Throwing it forward, the Kraken is about to hit the man, but for some reason, it stops.
"Please stop. I do not want to fight. I know this is hard to believe, but please believe me when I say I am not your enemy."
The Kraken looks at the man. It pulls back its claws and tilts its head.
"You can hear me?"
"Yes, I can, and again, I ask you to please stop. We are not your enemy. We came to help you."
The Kraken, still looking at the man, lets out a quiet roar. Slowly moving to the side, I see the man looking right at me. Putting his fingers to his forehead, he speaks to me.
"We need to talk. Now."
My fingernails cutting into the palms of my hands, I turn to the guards.
"Let them into Atlantis."
Supergirl:
Opening the hatch, Oliver and I reach down. Together, we help The Man back into the Junker. Soaking wet and freezing cold, I look to Jason and Professor Stein.
"Can you two--"
"Fuse together and warm The Man?" Professor Stein asks. "Of course."
Placing their hands on the other person's shoulder, Jason and Professor Stein are about to shake hands and fuse, but The Man shoots out his hand.
"No," he shouts. "No fire in the Junker. Someone get me a towel."
Jason and Professor Stein pull apart before Jason leaves to get a towel. Meanwhile, the rest of us gather around The Man as he shivers and blows into his hands.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Fine."
"How are you not dead?" Jason, Jason Todd, asks.
"And a better question," Barry adds. "You were...talking to those fish, weren't you? And not just fish, but also all those other sea animals. How can you do that? I thought only Arthur could do that."
"Aquaman and I are related," The Man answers.
"What!"
We all shout as Jason runs back with a towel in his hand. Taking the towel and drying himself off, The Man looks at all of us.
"No. Lords of the Fishes and I aren't cousins. I'm not his uncle. He isn't my nephew. It's just that we share the same blood."
"What!"
Again, we all shout, and The Man looks at us.
"I'll explain later, but not right now. Everyone, out of my way!"
Pushing his way through Jaime and Harleen, he walks down the hallway before stopping and turning back to us.
"A little head-up. We're entering Atlantis."
"What!"
Somehow, for a third time, we all shout, but this time, The Man shakes his head and leaves.
"We're entering Atlantis?" Barry repeats as his head snaps left and right. "How? There is no way Aquaman is willingly letting us enter his kingdom."
"I don't know," Slade answers. "Maybe Aquaman and The Man really are related."
"They would have to be," Harleen says. "I mean, 'we share the same blood'. What does that even mean besides being related?"
The conversation or argument goes on, but honestly, I'm not really listening anymore. Looking down the hallway, I slowly stroll down it. Following an uncertain path, I stop at the door leading to the Junker's control room. Leaning forward, I peek through the small window in the door.
I see The Man at the wheel, steering the sub.
"Staring again?"
Almost jumping and screaming, I slam my hands over my mouth and turn around. There, I see Selina leaning against a wall with crossed arms.
"Uhh, what are you talking about? I mean, what are you doing standing there like that! No, no, no. What do you mean by 'staring again'? I wasn't starting. I just--"
Selina lowers her head and shakes it.
"No. Kara. Please stop. It's obvious. I can see it. The others can see it. I'm sure The Man can see it too, and if he can, then just wow."
Lowering my hand, now putting it over my chest, I breathe as the fluttering feeling in my stomach slows. Inhaling through my nose, I open my mouth, and a sigh comes out.
"Selina. What are you talking about?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Selina also sighs as she pushes herself off the wall. She walks to my side and also looks through the window.
"You miss him, don't you?"
"Wh--I mean--Uhh---"
"If you miss him, then why don't you just go over to him? What happened? Before, you two were always together. You two were glued to each other's hips. Now, ever since Jump City, you two are barely in the same room. Also, The Man had been going out by himself while you're just staring at him or his room. What happened?"
Selina's words hit me hard. I feel my head go hot, but my mind goes empty. I try to say something to Selina, but because of my empty mind, all I can do is open my mouth.
"Well? What happened?"
I try to find the right words. I want to explain to Selina what happened, but when I think about what happened, about what happened in Jump City, all I can see is The Man snapping Phantom Stranger's neck.
The noises echo in my head. I can still hear the sound of Phantom Stranger's neck breaking. I remember listening to his lifeless body hitting the ground. It rings in my ears, and no matter what I do, I can't forget it.
"Fine then. Don't tell me. I hope you don't get caught staring at your crush."
With that, Selina turns and leaves. I watch Selina leave, the whole time wanting to shoot out my hand and stop her.
"Wait. Don't go! I want someone to talk to! I need someone to talk with, but my friend, my best friend, my 'crush'. I can't talk to him."
I play the conversation in my head, but it's pointless. As far as I know, Selina isn't a mind reader. Looking at the hallway Selina walks down, I lower my head and shake it. Taking another deep breath, I start walking, but stop almost immediately when I hear the speakers come on.
"Attention, Junker's crew. Please turn your head to the nearest computer. We have just entered the underwater city of Atlantis."
Looking around but seeing no computers, I walk around for a bit before finding one. By the time I arrive, Dinah, Oliver, and Cheetah are already crowding around it.
"Excuse me."
I push my way through and look at the screen. When I see it, the real Atlantis, my mouth drops open.
The city of Atlantis is even bigger and brighter than in the pictures The Man showed us. Millions of shining lights covered every part of the city, each a different color. There are massive buildings and beautiful houses, all made from simple, blue and black rocks. They're built into the surrounding coral, making everything fit well together. As I look at Atlantis, I can't help but think about Krypton. Everything seems so...peaceful.
"Wait," I say. "What's going on?"
For some reason, the Junker is going right past the city. Ignoring all the lights and buildings, the submarine keeps going forward.
"Where are we going?"
"And where is everyone?" Oliver asks.
"What?"
Taking another look, I realize Oliver is right. Despite all the lights and buildings, Atlantis is empty. Compared to the pictures, no people are swimming around with the sea life. The only Atlanteans swimming are the ones surrounding us.
Waiting a little bit longer, I see Aquaman and the Atlantean guards guiding us to a small, golden building with a glass dome. Diving underneath the golden building, we re-emerge in a pool in a small room.
"Come on," Dinah says. "Let's go."
Cheetah and Oliver nodding their heads, turn to leave, but before they can, the speakers turn on.
"Everyone stays inside!"
"Wait, what?" Cheetah asks.
"Hey, guys. Look!"
Looking up at the speakers first, I turn to the computer and see the Junker's ramp shooting out. Falling onto the golden's room's dock, The Man climbs out of the hatch and drops onto the ramp. As he walks down it, Aquaman and the Atlantean guards jump out of the water.
They quickly surround The Man, and before he can do anything, two armored guards grab and pin him down.