The machine's roar filled the cavern, a deep vibration threatening to collapse the very foundations of Atlantis. At the center of the energy storm, Ocean Master laughed, his trident channeling overwhelming power.
Utopian stepped forward, his pristine white costume a stark contrast to the machine's metallic darkness. "Orm, you're going to kill millions of people! Innocents!" His voice, though calm, carried the weight of horror.
Orm turned a contemptuous gaze toward him, his eyes blazing with fanatical conviction. "It's a necessary evil to protect my people!" he screamed over the din. "The surface declared war on us by attacking our king! I'm repaying them a hundredfold!"
Wonder Woman slammed her lasso on the ground, a golden flash in the gloom. "You're not doing this for your people, Orm. You're doing it out of pride. Out of a thirst for power. Look at yourself! You've become the very tyrant you claim to fight."
Hawkgirl, without another word, tightened her grip on her mace. Her wings snapped open. "Enough talk," she spat. She launched into the air and dove toward the central generator, her mace spinning to strike with all her might.
BOOM!
The impact was deafening, but the weapon never touched the machine. A dome of translucent, bluish energy shimmered into existence, absorbing the blow in a shower of sparks. The machine's vibration didn't falter.
Orm sneered, a sinister sound that chilled the blood. "Did I forget to mention? It has a protective shield. Your efforts are pathetic."
He raised his trident, and articulated plates of metal and coral shot from the cavern walls. They flew toward him, assembling around his body in a metallic clatter to form a massive exoskeleton armor, bristling with spikes and coursing with veins of blue energy. The armor enlarged him, making him appear half again his size, a true incarnation of oceanic might.
"But don't worry," his voice boomed, now amplified and metallic. "I won't let you be crushed by my masterpiece. I'll kill you with my own hands!"
He aimed his trident, now integrated into the armor. A beam of concentrated energy, capable of shearing steel, shot toward Hawkgirl, still in flight.
The fight was no longer just for the machine. It was for their survival. Faced with an Orm transformed into a war giant and protected by his weapon's shield, the mission had just become infinitely more difficult. They had to find a way to break that protection, and fast, before the wave of death was unleashed.