The Man:
Aquaman looks at his skin first. His arms and upper chest are still covered in patches of rashes. The same can be said about his guards. Looking at them, I do a quick examination of them and Aquaman.
"You," I say, pointing at one of the guards. The guard, looking at me, then points at himself.
"Me?" He asks.
"Yes. Your limbs are going stiff, aren't they? I can tell, even from all the way over here. The same goes for you and you."
I point at two other guards. Despite their best attempts to stand still, like they are still on guard, their legs and arms are shaking. I turn and look at Aquaman himself. Even he is starting to show some symptoms. Besides the shaky arms and legs, I can see bumps growing bigger, no doubt filling up with pus. A few seconds later, Aquaman begins panting, almost fighting to breathe.
"The adrenaline I injected you with is wearing off. You and your men need to get back to your cots while you can still walk. You already have rashes. Based on what I know, the next stage of smallpox is severe pain and inabilities to move."
A few of the guards stumble toward Aquaman. They try to grab him, but Aquaman pushes them back.
"No," Aquaman yells. "I--I can't---Not yet. I need to---need to---find a cure---"
"There is no cure for smallpox," I say, "And besides, this isn't just smallpox. It's infused with orichalcum. There are different kinds of medicine to help with the disease. Vaccines that could be used and that are inside the Junker sub, but I don't have anything to fight the orichalcum."
Kara steps forward and grabs my shoulder.
"Is there anything you can do to counteract the oricalcum?" She asks.
"Hmm," I start, "To fight the oricalcum, I would need a sample of it to study."
"You don't already have any of that orichalcum stuff?" Selina asks. "I know you have a whole room filled with nothing but kryptonite."
"Wait," Kara says, "What?"
I move fast and place Kara's soft hand between my two hands.
"Relax. You don't have to worry about it. The walls are made of lead, the door is made of a specially-made steel alloy, and if anyone does want to access that room, they would need my hair, my spits, and how many pancakes I ate during a pancake festival."
"A pancake festival," Flash repeats. "You went to a pancake festival?"
"Yes, dork. I went to a pancake festival. I ate a lot of pancakes, sausages, eggs, and drank a lot of orange juice. That was a fun day."
"Hello," Aquaman shouts, waving his hand left and right. I turn and look at Aquaman as he falls back onto his throne. "My citizens---need help---I---I need---I need your help---You---"
Aquaman raises his shaking hand and points a finger right at me.
"Please---," Aquaman begs, "Help---them---"
Aquaman's hand drops like a rock in water. His guards rush to his sides, but they scream, gripping their arms or legs before falling onto the floor. Flash, Oliver, and Harleen rush to help them up.
"The next stage," I say, looking at the guards as they're carried back into the medical bay. "Severe pain and inabilities to move."
"I'll admit," the Professor says, "I do not know much about smallpox, or other diseases, but it shouldn't be moving this fast. Right?"
"You're right, Professor. Normally, this would take a week, five days at the earliest, to move to the next stage. The orichalcum must somehow be speeding up the process. That means if we want to save the fish people before it's too late, we'll need to move fast."
"Where would we even start?" Cheetah asks.
"With the sample," Jamie says, "El hombre--"
I lean over to Kara.
"El hombre is Spanish for 'The Man'," I whisper. "I think Jamie is referring to me."
"El hombre said that the containers with the remaining orichalcum were buried, si? Well, you must know where those burial sites are. You can go and get a sample, study it, then save Aquaman and his people. Could you?"
"Of course," I answer, "And funny enough, all the burial sites are underwater."
"So you're taking the Junker?" Kara asks.
"No."
"No?"
"No. The Junker needs to stay here. Doc and Iris need the medical supplies in her infirmary. I'll have to take the Seahorse, instead."
"The Seahorse?"
I nudge his head and lead everyone back out of the throne room and through the medical bay. Approaching the Junker, I pull out my phone and press the release button. We all start hearing something: gears turning, metals sliding against metals, and then a loud splash. Now hearing bubbling, something emerges from beneath the ocean water.
"I present to all of you, the Seahorse."
A bright-orange mini-sub with one large pod in the middle and two small pods on its sides, the Seahorse also has two sail planes at the ends of the side pods, three fans at the ends, and one rudder on top.
Tapping my phone again, the large, clear window in the central pod flips open. I jump and flip through the air before landing in the pilot's seat.
"Okay, everyone," I start, pushing a series of buttons and pulling down some levers. As I do this, the Seahorse's lights turn on. The guidance and sonar systems turn on, already mapping out the area. "Here's the plan for now. Oliver and I will go to the burial site to get orichalcum samples. Meanwhile, the rest of you will stay here. Guard Atlantis and help the Doc and Iris."
"Me?" Oliver asks, pointing at himself. "Why me?"
"Because there are only so few people in this group that I can stand being in a tight space with. And in case Superman attacks again, Kara will be needed here. Now, shut up and get in, Robin Hood."
"Hold on, Jacques Cousteau," Harleen says, grabbing Oliver's shoulder to stop him. "Prepare you and Robin Hood go deep-sea exploring, aren't you forgetting something? A certain island? Filled with women? Occupied by Superman and his One Earth Government? Does any of this sound familiar to you?"
"I haven't forgotten about Themyscira," I answer, reaching into one of my jacket pockets and pulling out the written message. "But we have our hands a little full at the moment, and only one Junker submarine."
"What about that Shadow spaceship?" Harleen asks.
"The Rouge Shadow, and uhh, no!"
"The Rouge Shadow," Selina repeats. "Wait, spaceship? You have another spaceship? Besides the Rusted?"
"Yay," Harleen answers, "And this is an actual spaceship. Not a giant, flying pirate ship. The spaceship even has its own AI pilot."
"Proxy-2," I add, "And again, no! Proxy-2 already drove the Rouge Shadow back to the base. You can't use it. Not that I would let any of you use it."
"That's a little hurtful," Harleen cries, crossing her arms. "Are you saying we're all bad drivers?"
"Yes. Those two cars I loaned to patrol Hub City and Star City? Did I ever get them back?"
"That was not our fault," Jason Rusch yells. "That was Black Mask's men and that Lady whatever her name is."
"Shiva," I correct. "Her name was Lady Shiva. Anyway, I don't want to lose any more of my stuff. So for now, stay here! And keep an eye out for any trouble. The Doc has my phone number. If anything happened, call me. Now come on, Queenie! We have a long swim ahead of us."
"I'm sorry, Harleen," Oliver says, grabbing her hand and pulling it off.
Oliver jumps into the seat behind me. We turn and look at the Insurgency.
"Everyone," I start, "Take care of them."
I nudge my head toward the Atlanteans.
"They may not want us here, but they do need us. Help the Doc and Iris with whatever they need. Keep a watch out for any more One Earth subs and regimes."
Pushing a button on the control, the Seahorse's window lowers, closing and sealing itself. Pushing another button, the Seahorse slowly starts descending into the water. About halfway in, Dinah taps on the window.
"Stay safe," Dinah says with a smile.
"I always am," Oliver replies, smiling back.
"Don't worry," I say, "I've got Queenie's back."
I shoot a wave at everyone just as the Seahorse fully descends.