Sea Star - Orm Marius

The Curry Lighthouse - 2022

This wasn't looking good - not at all.  The lighthouse was in flames, set ablaze, and there was no sign of Tom or Junior. 

"DAD!" yelled Arthur.

"TOM!" screamed Atlanna. 

A figure was emerging from the lighthouse through the smoke - Tom, clutching his bloody chest.

"WHERE'S JUNIOR?!" wailed Mera. 

"Tom, stop moving, you're hurt!" cried Claudia. "Oh my God-"

Tom collapsed, surrounded by Atlanna and Arthur. "I'm sorry, Son. Manta took Junior." 

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Day was breaking. They had managed to put out the fire, but the damage was already done. Their home and family were in pieces. 

Atlanna was using some sort of Atlantean tech to heal Tom, who was now unconscious. Claudia sat on the ground nearby, watching. 

"Claudia?"

"Hmm?" Orm had appeared at her side. 

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah." She nodded distantly.  "I'm just pretty shaken up."

"You are worried about my mother's husband."

"Yeah - I'm not just friends with Arthur, but with the family too."

"The medics have stabilized his condition. He will live."

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh thank God!" Junior was already gone - if Tom died, she would march in there and take Manta down herself, his new powers be damned. 

She looked up at him.  "You're an uncle."

"I didn't even know it."

"Yeah, Arthur Jr."

"Why am I not surprised."

"Hey, I thought the same thing!"

"We just picked up a signal," Mera's father announced. "It's faint, but it's broadcasting an old Atlantean sonar frequency, headed to Antarctica." 

Antarctica? Melting ice caps indeed. 

"Bring our little one back," cried Atlanna. 

"I will," Arthur promised.  

Now Atlanna approached her sons. "I've dreamed of this, the two of you standing and fighting together as brothers. Promise me you'll protect each other."

Arthur nodded, while Orm just stared back at his mother.

"Promise me, Orm."

Finally, he nodded. Then mother wrapped her sons up in a tight embrace, the three holding each other. Claudia's heart swelled with a longing to hug her own mother. 

"Go." Atlanna released them. 

Arthur turned to Claudia.  "There's no point in asking you to stay behind, is there?"

"Nope. You're stuck with me."

"Good." They started heading back towards the water.

"Claudia." Atlanna's voice from behind stopped her. "Look after my boys, please."

She gave a firm nod in response. "Yes Ma'am."

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Aboard Mera's father ship, he and the Brine King - Claudia still couldn't get over that guy - were arguing over the best plan of attack and rescue. She and Orm exchanged an unimpressed glance. Huh, seems they finally agreed on something, at long last. 

"Great waves, Nereus. Your warship is powerful but it's slower than a sea cow! I say we ditch all this deadweight and travel light." 

"And what are you gonna do when he turns on that sonic cannon? Our only chance is to hit him with total overwhelming force from all directions."

"Not with Junior in the crossfire," cried Mera. 

"Yeah isn't this your grandson we're talking about?" Claudia put in. 

"What choice do we have?" countered Mera's father. "We have no defense against that cannon."

"Wait a minute," Arthur said.  "So this cannon, it sends out soundwaves that messes with our nervous system, right?"

"That's right," Mera said.  "Ultrasonic echoes."

"Well, what if we disrupt those echoes with another soundwave at the same frequency just much, much louder?"

"You want to disrupt theri disruption?" Orm translated.

"Sounds about right," Claudia agreed. 

"Yeah, but that's gonna be the easy part." 

"What are you thinking?" Claudia asked him.

"Whales." 

"Ooo, good one!"

Everyone was ordered to suit up and ready themselves for battle. Mera's father was handing out weapons to his troops, mostly blasters, except for Orm, who got an axe instead.

"Hey, can I get one of those?" Claudia asked, nodding towards the blasters. 

She was eyed  skeptically. "You know how to use Atlantean weapons?"

"Well no, but it's a gun right? Pull the trigger and shoot?"

He didn't seem convinced, but she was handed a gun - which she immediately passed to Orm, taking the axe for herself.  "Here you go, and I'll take this - trade ya! I'm much more of a hand-to-hand combat gal myself." She tapped the axe against the palm of the opposite hand from which she was holding it with.  "All ready?  Let's go!"

Now Mera's father really did not look impressed. Orm appeared pleasantly surprised, and she grinned widely at him.

"He really doesn't like you, does he," cackled the Brine King as his fellow king swam away. 

"And what are you?" Claudia asked him.  "A crusty crab?"

This made Orm laugh. The king in question gave a 'humph' and swam off. 

"I know, I'm hilarious! Roasted!"

"They are Kings," Orm reminded her.  "They demand respect."

"Yeah, but you've done more to help us in this than they have. Besides, kings or not, they don't scare me. Besides, I showed you how I felt about you, didn't I?"

He remembered the slap vividly. "You did indeed." He nodded to Mera's father. "He was nearly my father in law."

"Ooo, awkward!"

"Get your weapons, and ready your mounts!" the red-haired king ordered. 

Turned out, they would be riding giant sea horses into battle, led by Arthur's own friend Storm - talk about badass!

"This is too cool!" Claudia commented. She had ridden a horse before, but never a sea horse.

"Blup," Topo said from her side. He always seemed to be right there at her side, and honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way. 

"Let's ride - whoa!" Her horse took off, she grasping the reins, very nearly slipping from the saddle. "This is harder than it looks!"

Orm passed her on his own sea horse. "Hang on."

"Yup - AH!" Her horse took off with such speed this time she really did slide right out of the saddle. The horse kept going, leaving her behind. Topo 'bluped' in concern.

Orm turned his horse around, having seen hers go by minus its rider. He held out his gloved hand to her. She took it and slid into the saddle behind him.

"Hang on," he reminded  her, and cracked the reins, and off they went. 

(Off to battle -and the Lost Kingdom - we go! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))