The alarm had blared through the Watchtower, cutting all conversation short. An American research submarine, the Sea Explorer, had been attacked by an unknown force in the depths of the Pacific. It now lay disabled on an abyssal plain, its communications jammed. The US government had officially requested the League's assistance.
This time, a solo mission was out of the question. Marcus, now fully integrated, stood with the others in the League's submersible transport, the Trident. The craft sliced through the dark waters, descending towards the abyss in an almost unreal silence.
The team was all around him. Superman, the immutable pillar; Batman, silent and calculating; Wonder Woman, the majestic warrior; The Flash, tapping his foot with contained energy; Green Lantern John Stewart, his willpower shaping a force field around the vessel; and Hawkgirl, exchanging a look with Marcus laden with their recent conversation. Their connection, now official, was a tangible, comforting presence in the cramped cockpit.
As the Trident dove deeper, the outside light faded to a bluish gloom, then near-total darkness, pierced only by the craft's spotlights. Then, a city appeared.
It emerged from the gloom like a dream, a hallucination of crystal and light. Organic structures, akin to coral but on a monumental scale, glowed with a bioluminescent radiance. Buildings with fluid forms, enormous domes, and transport arteries where marine creatures and unknown vehicles glided by. It was an underwater metropolis, breathtakingly beautiful.
"My God..." Wonder Woman murmured, awestruck despite herself.
Utopian, his face pressed to the viewport, couldn't suppress a gasp of wonder. The silent majesty of the city, its perfect isolation, reminded him both of the Watchtower and his own feeling of being a stranger in a new world.
"It's magnificent," he said quietly, almost to himself. "When you think we're at the bottom of the sea... It's an entire world hidden beneath ours."
"Atlantis," Batman declared, breaking the spell. His fingers flew over a terminal. "Energy readings match. And the attack on the submarine fits their tactical patterns. They see any intruder as a threat."
As if to confirm his words, shapes began to emerge from the city. Warriors mounted on large manta rays, armed with energy lances, converged on the Trident at an alarming speed.
"Alright, the guided tour is cancelled," Flash quipped. "Do we move to plan B?"
"Plan B is not starting a war," Superman reminded, his voice calm but firm. "John, lower the force field. Let's show them we're not hostile."
Green Lantern complied. The protective field vanished. The Atlantean warriors, led by a man with a powerful torso and long black hair—Orm, the Ocean Master—surrounded the vessel, their weapons aimed.
"Come out!" Orm's amplified voice ordered, resonating through the hull. "You violate the sacred territory of Atlantis! Your surface machine is a blight!"
The League exited the Trident, protected by Lantern's force fields, Diana's magic, or, in Utopian's case, by his sheer cellular density which allowed him to withstand the crushing pressure. They stood facing the Atlantean army, Superman at the forefront.
"We are not here to fight," Superman declared, his voice carrying perfectly through the water. "A vessel from our world is in distress. We are here to save it."
Orm sneered, his contempt obvious. "The surface sends you as rescue dogs? You are all the same. You sow chaos and expect others to clean up your mess."
It was then that another figure emerged from the crystal palace. His presence immediately commanded respect. Arthur Curry, Aquaman, the true King of Atlantis. He advanced, his trident in hand, his gaze sweeping over the scene.
"Orm," he said, his voice carrying the authority of the deep. "Stand down."
His eyes settled on the League, lingering for a moment on Utopian, this new face, before returning to Superman.
"Superman. Explain. Quickly."
The tension was palpable. The League hung on Aquaman's decision, at the heart of a hidden kingdom whose power could rival their own. Utopian felt the weight of history and ancestral conflicts, a new chapter of his hero's existence opening in the deepest, darkest depths of the planet.