Night hung over Gotham's shoreline as five figures stood quietly on the beach. Li Jie, Bruce Wayne, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Dr. Banner stared out at the dark ocean while waves rolled against the rocks with steady thunder.
The wind was cold, and the sea stretched endlessly into the night.
"Jack, are you sure Arthur will come here?" Bruce Wayne finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes," Li Jie answered without hesitation. "I arranged it with Vulko. He said he'd bring Aquaman here."
Bruce frowned and glanced at the empty horizon.
"Then why hasn't he shown up yet?"
Li Jie looked at him calmly.
"Wayne, Arthur is currently a zombie with no mind of his own. The fact that Vulko managed to lure him here at all is impressive. Do you really expect him to arrive on schedule?"
"That's not what I meant," Bruce replied awkwardly before stopping himself mid-sentence.
Wonder Woman turned toward him with a puzzled expression.
"Wayne, what exactly are you worried about?"
Dr. Banner adjusted his glasses before answering for him.
"I think Wayne's wondering why we had to bring Arthur all the way to Gotham," he explained slowly. "Or more specifically, he's worried that even if all of us fight together, we might not be able to stop him."
"Banner, I never said that!" Bruce snapped immediately.
He straightened his posture and spoke loudly.
"What I mean is that none of you need to interfere later. I can handle Arthur by myself!"
Superman tilted his head slightly, clearly unconvinced.
"Are you sure about that?"
Bruce looked offended by the doubt.
"No matter how strong Arthur is, he's still just a zombie now," Bruce insisted. "All I need is one anti-toxin fog grenade and he's done."
He paused briefly before turning to Li Jie.
"Jack, can you do me a favor later?"
"What favor?"
"When Arthur arrives, teleport both of us into the Mirror Dimension," Bruce said seriously. "I'd rather not destroy half the city during our fight."
Superman said nothing.
Wonder Woman said nothing.
Dr. Banner also remained silent.
"Alright," Li Jie agreed.
Just then, Superman suddenly squinted toward the ocean.
"Guys… something's wrong."
"Oh my god," Li Jie muttered a second later. "Is that a tsunami?"
Bruce's helmet instantly began transmitting analysis data. Sensors displayed an enormous wall of water rising far out at sea.
Two hundred meters high.
Maybe even three hundred.
The massive wave was racing directly toward Gotham.
"Is that thing about to drown the entire city?" Bruce whispered.
A splash suddenly erupted near the shore.
A soaked middle-aged man jumped out of the water and staggered onto the beach. His clothes were torn and his breathing ragged.
It was Vulko.
The Atlantean collapsed onto the sand as soon as he reached land.
"I'm sorry," he said weakly. "Something went wrong."
"Arthur's energy is completely out of control. You need to stop him now!"
Superman slowly turned his head.
Wonder Woman turned her head.
Dr. Banner turned his head.
Li Jie turned his head.
All four of them looked directly at Bruce Wayne.
Bruce stared back at them in disbelief.
"Why are you all looking at me?" he shouted.
"I said I could beat Arthur. I never said I could stop a tsunami!"
He pointed at the monstrous wave approaching the city.
"Even if I could stop it, I'd need time to prepare!"
He turned toward the others urgently.
"Stop standing there and think of something!"
Li Jie spoke calmly.
"I'll pull Aquaman into the Mirror Dimension."
He looked at Superman and Wonder Woman.
"Clark, Diana. The tsunami is yours."
Bruce immediately shouted again.
"Jack! Send me to the Mirror Dimension too. I'm going to knock Arthur's lights out!"
Dr. Banner pumped his fist nervously.
"Good luck, everyone."
The tsunami was far too large for Li Jie to drag the entire area into the Mirror Dimension. Because of that, he had no choice but to deal with Arthur first.
Out on the ocean, Arthur Curry stood at the crest of the giant wave.
In his hand was Poseidon's Trident.
The powerful artifact allowed him to command the sea itself, and it was the source of the terrifying wall of water rushing toward Gotham.
Li Jie teleported directly in front of him.
Before Arthur could react, Li Jie activated the spell and dragged him into the Mirror Dimension.
Meanwhile, the battle against the tsunami began.
Superman shot across the ocean's surface and began spinning at incredible speed. His movement generated a massive tornado that raced toward the incoming wave.
At the same moment, Wonder Woman stepped forward.
She struck her guardian gong with both hands.
A deep metallic vibration exploded into the air.
The sound waves spread outward like an invisible blade, slicing the giant tsunami directly down the middle.
Seconds later, Superman's tornado collided with the shattered wave.
The two forces crashed together and completely broke the tsunami apart.
"Nice!" Dr. Banner shouted excitedly.
Bruce folded his arms.
"Big deal," he muttered. "Those two are basically aliens."
Then he looked around suddenly.
"Where did Arthur go?"
Vulko's eyes widened in alarm.
"Aquaman disappeared!"
"He's inside the Mirror Dimension," Bruce explained quickly. "Jack pulled him in."
He then shouted toward the sky.
"Jack! Arthur's mine! Let me in there too!"
A portal suddenly opened above them.
Bruce crouched and prepared to jump.
Before he could move, a body flew out of the portal.
Bruce frowned.
Then he realized who it was.
Arthur Curry.
Bruce immediately threw a punch.
"Arthur!"
Vulko reacted faster.
He rushed forward and caught Arthur's body before it hit the ground.
"Arthur!" Vulko shouted anxiously. "Wake up!"
Bruce glanced down and shrugged.
"The anti-toxin neutralized the zombie virus," he said casually. "Unfortunately, it killed him too."
Li Jie stepped out of the Mirror Dimension portal behind them.
Bruce turned toward him immediately.
"Jack! I thought we agreed Arthur was mine."
Li Jie didn't answer directly.
Instead, he silently absorbed the newly acquired abilities.
Moments earlier inside the Mirror Dimension, he had used the anti-toxin on Aquaman and gained Arthur's entire set of abilities.
Now Li Jie possessed Aquaman's underwater mobility.
He could swim freely without equipment.
He also gained Arthur's incredible endurance, strength, senses, reflexes, speed, amphibious breathing, magical potential, life-force connection, and even telepathic abilities.
With Poseidon's Trident in hand, Li Jie could even summon tsunamis like the one they had just seen.
"Arthur is dead?" Vulko whispered weakly.
Even though Li Jie had explained earlier that Aquaman would need to die before being revived, Vulko still couldn't hide the sadness on his face.
Li Jie looked toward Bruce.
"You'll get your chance when I resurrect him."
Bruce stared at Arthur's body for a moment.
Then he remembered the terrifying tsunami.
"…Let's forget it," Bruce said finally. "Arthur isn't our enemy."
Soon afterward, Li Jie placed Arthur's body inside Kryptonian restoration fluid.
Superman activated the Mother Box by channeling an electric current through it.
After the final procedure was completed, Aquaman's body began regenerating.
Moments later, Arthur Curry opened his eyes.
Another batch of hero resurrection reward coins quietly appeared in Li Jie's account.
"Arthur!"
Vulko immediately hugged him.
He quickly began explaining everything that had happened while Arthur had been a zombie.
Dr. Banner inspected the restoration fluid afterward.
His expression gradually became serious.
"The repair solution has completely lost its effectiveness," he said with regret.
"To resurrect the other superheroes, we'll need to find another method."
He paused thoughtfully.
"If I had time, I might be able to develop a substitute fluid and convert the Mother Box's energy into a new resurrection system."
Li Jie asked calmly.
"How long would that take?"
Banner hesitated.
"If everything goes perfectly, maybe three to five years."
He sighed.
"If complications arise… ten years or longer."
Li Jie nodded slowly.
"Great."
Aquaman approached him shortly afterward.
"Hi, Jack."
"You saved me," Arthur said sincerely. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Li Jie replied. "I did it to save the world."
Arthur nodded firmly.
"You're right. We have to stop Steppenwolf and the Parademons, or Earth is finished."
He hesitated before continuing.
"But before that… could you return Poseidon's Trident to me?"
"Poseidon's Trident?" Li Jie replied calmly. "What's that?"
Arthur blinked in disbelief.
"Jack… you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Li Jie shook his head.
"Never heard of it."
Even if everyone knew perfectly well that Li Jie had taken the weapon inside the Mirror Dimension, none of them had proof.
And without proof, the accusation meant nothing.
Putting the trident issue aside, the group began discussing their next step—going to Atlantis to stop Loki from stealing the Mother Box.
Compared to the Amazons, Aquaman was far more open-minded.
"I don't mind taking you to Atlantis," Arthur said.
He shrugged slightly.
"But Atlantis is deep underwater. Ordinary people can't survive the pressure down there."
Bruce immediately responded.
"That's easy."
"Give me some time and I can build specialized deep-sea suits—"
"Wayne," Arthur interrupted. "Do you think Loki will wait for you?"
Li Jie stepped forward and opened a storage container.
Inside were several sleek combat suits.
"All we need are these."
Arthur stared at them in shock.
"Black Manta's equipment?"
Li Jie nodded.
"I took them while rescuing Vulko."
Bruce picked one up and inspected it carefully.
"Perfect," he said with excitement. "With these suits, we can operate underwater."
He looked toward Arthur.
"What do you think?"
Arthur sighed.
"What choice do I have?"
Not long after, their aircraft reached the skies above the Atlantic waters where Atlantis lay hidden.
Arthur stood near the hatch.
"Listen carefully," he said seriously. "Things down there are complicated. Stay close to me so you don't get lost."
Then he dove into the ocean with a flawless dive.
"I'll be waiting below," Vulko said before jumping in after him.
"Let's go," Li Jie said to the others.
Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman were all wearing Black Manta combat suits.
Li Jie technically didn't need the equipment, but it served two useful purposes.
First, it concealed his real abilities.
Second, it worked as a disguise.
If enemies appeared, they would never expect the surprise attack.
The ocean revealed an entirely different world.
Under Arthur and Vulko's guidance, the group passed through the magical barrier protecting Atlantis and entered the legendary underwater kingdom.
Despite being underwater, Atlantis possessed technology far beyond anything on land.
In fact, Black Manta's gear was based on Atlantean technology.
After passing the barrier, Arthur used telepathy to communicate with a nearby sea turtle.
A moment later he returned with troubling news.
"The situation is worse than we thought."
"Loki, the mutated superheroes, and Black Manta attacked Atlantis."
Arthur's expression darkened.
"The city is already under their control."
Li Jie asked immediately.
"What about the Mother Box?"
Arthur shook his head.
"We don't know yet. We'll need to investigate further."
Suddenly Superman spoke.
"Someone's coming."
Ahead of them, a red-haired woman ran toward them with a trident in her hand.
A group of soldiers chased closely behind her.
"Mera!"
Arthur immediately rushed forward.
"Arthur!" Mera shouted in surprise before running into his arms.
The two embraced tightly.
Li Jie watched silently.
"…Is this really the time for that?"
He stepped forward first.
"Move."
The battle ended quickly.
Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Vulko joined forces and eliminated the pursuing soldiers within seconds.
When Mera saw the Black Manta armor on them, she instantly raised her weapon.
"Black Manta soldiers!"
Arthur hurriedly stepped in front of her.
"Mera, relax. They're allies."
"Allies?" she asked in confusion.
Li Jie's eyes drifted toward the trident in her hands.
"Arthur," he asked casually, "is that Neptune's Trident?"
Arthur instantly stepped in front of the weapon.
"Jack, don't even think about it."
Li Jie rolled his eyes.
"Relax. I've just never seen it before."
Arthur snorted.
"Keep dreaming."
The Trident of Neptune was one of Atlantis's most sacred relics.
Forged by the first Atlantean king from enchanted N-metal, it had five blades and could only be wielded by Atlantis's ruler.
The weapon symbolized royal authority.
It allowed the king to command all Atlanteans and control immense energy.
The blade itself was sharp enough to pierce a New God's skin.
It could also fire energy blasts or generate powerful shields capable of resisting magic.
Mera's expression turned sad.
"Arthur… I'm sorry. I only managed to steal this."
Arthur gently wiped away her tears.
"You did great," he said softly.
Mera handed the trident to him and spoke firmly.
"Arthur, you're the only one who can save Atlantis now."
Li Jie crossed his arms.
"…So we're just here for decoration?"
....
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