Victor Stone had resigned himself to the fact that he was completely alone in the world. He had comrades, but they were completely organic. He had people he'd consider calling 'friend', but they were organic as well. They had secret identities. They...
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Atlantis' gates loomed over them like the shadow of a ravenous beast, and yet this far into the depths of the ocean, it was the only source of light for miles. Bioluminescence flittered in and out of existence in the distant darkness; on the scales of fish and tentacles of sea jellies. It would have been beautiful...if Harper wasn't so worried about the water pressure. Lara had done an admirable job on her suit, fixing it to her exact specifications and allowing her to journey this far without being crushed or drowning, but Harper still couldn't completely dismiss the possibility that these upgrades may not sync with the underwater environment.
Victor, who was anchored down by the weight of his body, stepped carefully towards the entrance. His face was completely covered by a helmet much too advanced for Harper to comprehend, and perhaps that was why the Atlanteans guarding the gates immediately pointed their weapons at them. Victor halted without a moment's hesitation and Harper, who hadn't even begun to move, watched with lingering dread.
"We're sorry for the suddenness of our visit, but we're here to see the King and Queen." Victor declared in a clear yet surprisingly diplomatic tone.
"They do not accept visits from Land-Dwellers anymore." One of them hissed, and Harper was suddenly grateful that Victor had installed a translator into her suit. Otherwise she was certain that their words would have sounded as foreign to her as Tarcis'.
"We're not just Land-Dwellers to them, we're friends." Victor insisted, but still the guards scowled at them with blatant refusal blazing in their irises. It looked, for those few seconds, as if entering Atlantis was a lost cause...but then the gates opened and from within emerged the familiar face of Prince Veran. He recognised the two visitors instantly, even beneath the bulk of their armour.
The young Atlantean pushed the guards aside and rested the end of his trident into the sand. "What is your business here, Victor Stone?"
"We're just here to see some old comrades." Victor answered vaguely. "Harper wanted to speak to everyone before she left."
Veran's eyes narrowed at the cyborg, who with his helmet, looked more like a full-fledged robot. "Do you take me for a fool? You are here to enquire about the reformation of the Justice League."
"If you know why we're here then you'll let us in."
"It is a pointless endeavour. My parents will never agree to partake in this charade..." Veran's grip tightened against the trident, which looked to be constructed out of a shimmering metal that Harper had never seen before. She supposed there were probably many more materials this far into the ocean's depths that no human had ever laid eyes on. This may have been a point of interest if she didn't have other priorities to attend to.
The young prince glanced around him, at the disapproving eyes of the guards, then stepped aside. The gate creaked open behind him as if by some invisible force and he gestured for them to enter.
