Chapter 98: Chapter 98 Orm
Black flames engulfed his body and this medieval sorcerer that had lived for a thousand plus years was erased from existence, in both body and soul.
"Arghhhhhhhh".
The heart-wrenching scream was all that could be heard in the swamp as Wotan let out a shrill roar.
A second later, his voice ceased as the dark sorcerer was wiped off existence.
"That's better...". Seeing Wotan destroyed, Amari's mold brightened up slightly.
Turning his body around, his gaze landed on the next target.
Count Vertigo.
"Now for the next one.....".
Before he could finish, Clark flashed at Super speed, appearing in front of Count Vertigo.
"I don't think so". Superman said while watching Amari intently.
Wotan was dead. He couldn't allow Amari to kill Count Vertigo as well.
As for the Frozen Count Vertigo.... If Werner's body wasn't stuck like this, cold sweat would have soaked his costume already.
This bastard wanted to kill him. Why?
Seeing this, Amari stopped his actions.
Then, he moved his gaze to the next villain available.
However, Ultra Humanite might be an animal, but he was no fool. Seeing Amari looking in his direction, the giant gorilla immediately felt the breath of death. Without hesitation, he immediately threw away his weapon, rushed towards Superman's side, knelt down a few inches behind the man of steel and raised his monkey hands in the air.
Silence.
Seeing this.....
"You've got to be kidding me".
"You've got to be kidding me".
"You've got to be kidding me".
Three voices called out simultaneously.
Amari, Flash (-1) and Hal Jordan.
Amari felt incredulous, seeing the giant monkey abandoned his dignity and kneel in surrender.
He wasn't the only one. The Proteges watching the scene felt like their outlook on catching villains had changed.
"Hey Rob, have we been catching criminals the wrong way?" Kidflash couldn't help but poke the Boy Wonder beside him and ask.
"....".
Wally's voice fell into Superman's ears. The Man Of Steel frowned and made a note to cleanse such unhealthy thoughts away from these kid's minds at a later date.
Little did he know, Hal Jordan was having similar thoughts as well.
"They've surrendered Amari". Bruce looked at Amari with a dark face.
"Let them go".
Amari didn't reply. His gaze lingered on both villains for a few seconds.
"Fair enough".
Then, he turned his attention to the last. Poison Ivy.
However, she was firmly held by her plants beside Amari.
She didn't have the chance to run, even if she wanted to.
Noticing his gaze, Bruce's face was a bit ugly.
"Amari....". Bruce wanted to speak. If Amari decided to kill Poison Ivy, similar to Wotan, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Relax". Bruce was cut short before he could say anything.
"The others, I have no scruples about killing". Amari tilted his head slightly, examining Poison Ivy wrapped in her plants.
"But she's different". His words brought about the due confusion.
"Oh.... And why's that?" The quiet Queen of vines suddenly asked in curiosity.
Her earlier intent to attack Amari had long faded away. Especially when she witnessed the sudden death of Black Adam and the gruesome death of Wotan.
Those scenes could haunt someone for weeks.
".... Unless... Don't Tell me you're interested in me".
Looking at the well sculpted face below her, a mild smile bloomed on hers.
It gave off lustful promises.
"Although, if we get to know each other, I might be willing to consider it".
"Are they.... Flirting?" Robin's eyes couldn't help but widen in shock and suspicion.
".... I..... Think so". Aqualad was similarly confused.
"Man! This is Game". Wally muttered silently under his breath.
The weird interaction made the available Leaguers raise eyebrows.
Amari's eyebrows, however, couldn't get any higher.
"Pass". His eyes peered into the color of her soul as he spoke.
For someone who created the plant that served as the antenna for the destruction caused by other plant creatures all over the world, you would think that Poison Ivy would have a soul color on par with Black Adams.
But this was far from the case.
On the other hand, her soul was strangely layered.
The outer layer was gray. Darker than the average human being, black-hearted businessman but far from what you would expect from a treacherous villain.
This was the first layer. But what laid underneath that layer was what Ari was drawn to.
It was green. A bright, glowing, dazzling green.
The two colors seemed to be separated by a barrier that kept them apart from each other. This discovery intrigued him.
"I told Superman before, that I'm not a murderous maniac. I can handle things in more.... humane ways. Like Ultra Humanite over there. I wasn't going to kill him, just reduce his intelligence back to the level of the rest of his kind".
Ultra Humanite felt a thick wave of malice wash over him. He secretly applauded his wise decision to kneel behind Superman without hesitation, if not, he would have been reduced to nothing but a retarded monkey.
Batman's lips twitched slightly.
Could that be considered more humane?
Amari had barely finished his words when his eyes glowed.
As soon as it did, an obvious change took place in Poison Ivy immediately.
Her slightly green skin tone receded rapidly, as if meeting a natural enemy. Her plant streaks on the sides of her face also withered away rapidly, as did the vegetation that covered her body.
"...". Poison Ivy was shocked.
What the hell was happening.
The plants that wrapped around her immediately loosened, causing her to fall to the ground.
Falling into the swamp, Ivy folded in half.
"What..... What have you done to me?"
All men in the vicinity immediately moved their eyes away from the sight before them.
Doctor Fate and Amari excluded.
"Sheesh! We have kids here". Hal complained out loud.
For her nude body being exposed to everyone present, Poison Ivy didn't give a damn. Instead, she looked at her hands and her skin with a touch of horror on her face.
Her whole body froze.
"No.....".
She stretched out her hand, but nothing responded.
The plants that usually adhered to her orders were uncharacteristically silent.
"No".
Then, she rushed towards the nearest tree and put her hand on it.
"No..... No..... Don't leave…. Talk to me".
Ivy dropped to her knees with a shout of horror. She dug at the soil, pulling it together and breathing on it. Fresh salty tears dropped on the muddy floor.
"Arghhhhhh". Her cry turned into a bloodcurdling scream.
Ivy felt it. Her lack of power, her disconnection to the natural force..... The only thing that had always accompanied her.... The only thing that she could truly trust.... The only thing she truly loved.
Her face lost all colors, and she curled up like a broken woman.
"I told you before, Superman". Amari replied in a cheerful tone.
"There are things much worse than death".
Amari uttered, watched on for a few seconds before turning around and walking away.
"You can keep the villains, and the Joker's. I'll be back for them anyway. Currently, I have somewhere else to be".
Those were the last words he uttered as Batman watched his body disappear into thin air.
... ...
North Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantis, Poseidonis...
Oct 2, 18:05 EST
.....
Located in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, not far off the west coast of Africa The Posiedonis, the capital of the legendary lost city, home of the Atlanteans.
Within this marvelous underwater capital, inside Prince Orm's bedchamber.
"L-0, report". The usually kind looking, well-beloved prince of the Atlanteans called out with a flat face and a bland tone.
Right beside his bed was a holographic projector.
As his words fell, the projector lit up and the hologram of a white dressed teenager appeared before him.
"L-5, may I ask what are your orders?"
"Inform me on the surface situation of the Injustice League". Orm commanded indifferently.
"As you wish".
Her hologram disappeared and the pictures and videos of the plants attacking different cities around the world played before him.
Followed by the arrival of the Justice League engaging the plant creatures in a prolonged battle while trying to save as many people as they could.
The damage and death toll, however, weren't something they could control.
Seeing the chaos being unleashed, Orm's lips curled up slightly although hardly noticeable.
He watched as they cut apart, uprooted, destroyed vine after vine time and time again, but it just kept on growing.
Then, the video of Count Vertigo announcing their identity to the world as well as blackmailing the United Nations was played as well.
"When was this?"
"About Two hours ago".
"And what is their present status?"
The holograms changed to what was happening now.
All the plants around the world were destroyed. Giant cracks and cut off plant pieces were all that remained of the creatures.
After Amari destroyed the central control, the attacks all over the world came to an end as all the plants withered away.
What remained was uprooted, burned or thrown into the sun by Superman and his team.
The worldwide attack had come to an end.
"They failed".
The Light Queen uttered unemotionally.
"It was expected".
Orm wasn't surprised.
The Injustice League would never be able to succeed anyway.
If Superman and his band of Merry Do gooders were that easy to upstage, The Light would have done it before he was even included.
Besides, they never expected these rogues to win. Their failure, on the other hand, had a greater purpose to serve.
One Orm was very keen on making sure was completed.
"And? Did he arrive?"
"Affirmative". The holographic teenager reappeared while another video appeared.
This video... Was recorded within the Injustice League headquarters in the Louisiana Bayou.
"Hey! I know you....".
The sound of the Mad clown could be heard, but his face could not be seen. What could be seen however was the prime object of Orm's nightmares for the past three weeks.
Amari!
Just seeing his face alone made the handsome face of the elegant prince contort slightly.
"..... Don't worry, you'll join him soon enough".
The recording played on and Orm didn't say a word. Although the camera wasn't always straightforward and tumbled now and then, especially the part where Joker was thrown through the glass, he watched intently in silence.
"Looks like Savage's idea was successful". A cunning smirk made its way onto his face as he saw success.
"It is too early to conclude... But it does seem that way". L-0 replied to him.
The creation of the Injustice League was an idea hatched by The Light all along.
They already knew that Batman was on their tail so they devised a brilliant move to throw him off it.
Since Batman was searching for a secret society, then they would give him a secret society.
And so, the Injustice League was founded.
The plant creatures had proven their usefulness as potential weapons. More importantly, now the so-called heroes believe that their secret society had been revealed.... And crushed.
With the Injustice League serving as their proxies, they were now free to continue acting in impunity.
Of course, this was all initially planned for the JL. And while it still was, this performance was staged particularly for a new audience member.
Amari!
Orm still remembered that day three weeks ago. The day when Amari promised to hunt each one of them down and kill them.
He taunted them, made mockery of them, told them to take their time and do their worst.
This made the Atlantean prince feel utterly humiliated. However, he was even more worried.
Worried that he might wake up one night and see that person standing beside his bed, looking at him with smile.
"I told you I'd come for you".
Uttering those lines and cleanly ending his life.
These thoughts had given him sleepless nights.
Orm for the first time in a long time, felt genuine fear. Not wariness... Fear. The thought of someone capable of crushing Superman after your life wasn't good for your mental health.
And that was what was happening to him.
Orm knew the rest of the Light felt the same way. Well.... Some of them. Klarion was particularly cheery, and The Brain didn't seem all that affected.
Point being, they had to come up with a way to fix this problem. And so, they did.
Savage proposed this idea they initially prepared to throw off The bloodhound on their trail that was Batman.
In order to guarantee success, Luthor made additions.
With a sample of Joker's DNA, he cloned the Mad Clown of Gotham, making sure there was something to draw Amari's attention.
If Joker was there, then the chances of Amari coming back to finish him off were high. As long as the Justice League informed Amari that the Injustice League was responsible for the series of events planned against them, then Amari would think that these seven were the ones working behind the scenes, and most likely, leave them alone.
The same plane to lure away a Bloodhound and a Sabertooth Tiger away from their backs.
Now from the looks of it.... The plan had succeeded.
As long as The Light didn't make any big moves for the time being and avoided the calamity that was The Deviant... At least until they found a way to deal with him, then their lives wouldn't be in danger.
At that moment, Orm received an incoming call.
"I have seen all I need to see, you are dismissed".
The AI didn't say anything and disappeared.
Orm however, was still deep in thought.
The fact that Amari didn't kill all of the Injustice League members left him particularly uneasy.
He said he would hunt them down and kill them each, but he only killed two. Why is that?
Seeing the Holo projector was still flashing, Orm frowned and answered.
A miniature hologram of a man in a black metal suit with a Manta shaped head appeared.
With two large daunting red eyes, small tubes that connect from the back to the head, webbed hands and fins on the legs, the identity of the caller was rather obvious.
"Black Manta. What is the matter?"
Orm asked.
On the other end, Black Manta looked at the screen that displayed nothing but the blurry silhouette of white light and answered.
"The creatures have been retrieved. The Laboratory has been set. Awaiting your inspection".
"... Excellent. I'm on my way".
A look of realization appeared on the face of the Atlantean prince.
The hologram disappeared and Orm turned to leave the room for his due appointment.
.....
Atlantic Ocean, Far off from the Mid Atlantic Ridge...
The darkness in the depths of the ocean was unending.
Especially in this area, a considerable distance away from... The Trench.
At that moment, an underwater cruiser moved through the water depths with remarkable speed.
As a product of Atlantean technology, this transportation device was specifically created for long distance travels.
The dim glow given off by the cruiser served to give light to aid in navigation.
Not much of it was required as Atlanteans genetically had superior eyesight and the darkness of the ocean's depths was nothing to them.
The glowing plants made this even more so.
Soon, the transporter arrived at its destination.
In the distance, a large building gave of a bright blue glow, with architectural designs quite similar to the recently destroyed Atlantean Science Center in Poseidonis.
Black Manta Floated slightly above the floor, watching as the ship landed before him.
The ship hatch soon opened and a man stepped out of the driver's seat.
Ocean master appeared, fully donning his suit of armor. The cape moved slightly with the water and the red lenses on his mask that covered half his face made look imposing.
Coupled with Neptune's Trident in his possession, he gave off the air of a born leader.
After losing the Trident of Atlan in the battle against his brother, Ocean Master had been lucky enough to discover Neptune's Trident. A weapon he believed t be even more powerful the Atlan's Trident. With this one, he once again managed to overwhelm his brother, Aquaman.
Unfortunately, without the intervention of the Justice League, even that attempt ended in failure.
"Welcome".
Black Manta uttered. His voice distorted through the helmet he wore.
To his greeting, Orm gave a curt nod and swum over.
"How are the experiments progressing with the creatures?"
Now that The Light were once again in the shadows. Orm had decided to speed up advancements on his grand plan.
If he was ever going to rule over Atlantis, he needed an army. A multitude of Strong, powerful soldiers that would follow his every order and were completely unafraid of death.
This was the only way he could defeat his brother and successfully rule.
Fortunately for him, an army with all but one of those requirements, already existed.
And that Army, resided in the Trench quite far away from them.
The Trench.
This was both a geographical location and the name of a species.
Atlanteans who adapted to living in the Trench and evolved accordingly.
Now, they were nothing but Savage beasts who did nothing but hunt for food.
They were fast, powerful, numerous and unafraid of death.
The perfect army. Missing only one quality.
They wouldn't listen to Orm's orders and would most likely tear him apart the first chance they got.
This was also the reason why Orm disliked his Trident for his brother's.
The Trident Of Neptune couldn't control the trench monsters.
This was a problem Orm was determined to resolve.
"There have been... Complications midway. It is best to see for yourself. The scientists can explain it better than me". Black Manta said while giving way.
Orm nodded and swum towards the facility.
Manta swum after him.
Only....
Boom!
The facility suddenly exploded and the whole place went up in black flames.
Orm covered his face as the water current swept over both of them, pushing them back in the process.
When he saw what was before him, his eyes widened.
Underwater, in the depths of the ocean, Black flames engulfed the facility and consumed it regardless of the fact that there was water everywhere.
"Those flames....". A bad premonition swept over the Atlantean Prince.
At that moment, a figure walked out of the burning building.
His legs were firmly placed on the floor and he walks steadily as if he wasn't at the bottom of the ocean.
"Oh! There you are Orm".
Amari smiled brightly.
"I've been looking for you".
....
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