Atlantis.
The legendary city lay hidden in the deepest part of the ocean.
Fenric, astride the massive sea beast Karathen, arrived above the sprawling cityscape. Looking down at the brightly illuminated metropolis beneath the crushing depths, he couldn't help but let out a low whistle of surprise.
An entire world beneath the sea—thriving under immense pressure and total darkness. To sustain such a civilization in these conditions, Atlantis's technology had to be astonishingly advanced.
He recalled the truth of it. In the original timeline, Atlantis had already mastered powerful energy weapons. If not for Arthur's intervention, his younger brother might truly have led Atlantis to defeat humanity and claim the surface world.
A deep rumble rose from Karathen's throat.
It was a warning. Atlantis's patrols had already detected their presence. Soldiers approached swiftly, mounted on armored sharks.
With technology like theirs, they had probably noticed Karathen long before he drew near.
Fenric, however, had no interest in fighting patrols. He wasn't here to conquer Atlantis—not yet. His ambitions stretched far wider. With the right moves, he could bring all seven ocean kingdoms under his sway.
"Let's go," Fenric commanded calmly. "The first King of Atlantis and the human alliance defeated the alien invader long ago and took possession of a Mother Box. You know where it is. Take me there."
Karathen roared in reply and twisted its immense body, surging toward a distant part of the sea.
Moments later, the two Atlantis soldiers arrived where Fenric had just been.
"Didn't the sensors detect a massive object?" one muttered. "Where is it?"
"Could the system be wrong?"
"Impossible. Our detection grid is more advanced than any human radar."
"Then maybe it was a human submarine?"
"On the ocean floor? Moving that fast? Not a chance."
"That's strange…"
"Forget it. Let's report in."
—---
Karathen carried Fenric straight to a looming castle-like structure on the ocean floor.
This was the vault where Atlantis guarded its Mother Box.
Thousands of years ago, the combined forces of humans, Amazons, and Atlanteans had defeated Steppenwolf and seized the Mother Boxes from him. Each race took one for safekeeping. The one entrusted to Atlantis was sealed within these walls.
And that was exactly what Fenric had come for.
Before he could enter, however, the muffled sound of battle echoed through the water.
Fenric frowned, leaping down from Karathen's head. With the trident clenched tightly in hand, he advanced at speed.
Corpses of Atlantean soldiers floated past him, blood diffusing through the currents.
Inside the ruined hall, someone suddenly slammed into him.
A young woman.
Fenric steadied her effortlessly, one hand closing around her slim waist as she staggered. She gasped, clinging to his arm for balance.
Clearly, she had been struck hard.
Fenric's gaze swept over her face, and a smile touched his lips. He knew her well—from the story.
Princess Mera.
The future queen.
The wife of Aquaman.
"You seem to need some help," Fenric remarked casually.
"Who are you?" Mera's eyes widened as she took in his black hair and dark eyes. She had never seen a man like this in the seas—he was unmistakably human.
But a human surviving freely in the crushing depths? That was unthinkable.
Her gaze dropped to the trident in Fenric's hand. Shock flickered across her face.
"That trident… why is it in your hands?!"
The weapon radiated power—divine, ancient, absolute. The legendary weapon of Poseidon himself.
"Not important right now," Fenric replied, his eyes narrowing toward the ongoing battle ahead. "First, let me deal with your little alien problem."
Ahead, two figures clashed.
One was a rugged, tattooed man whose strength and ferocity marked him instantly—Arthur Curry, the future Aquaman.
The other towered over him: a hulking, horned warrior wielding a massive axe. His demonic presence was unmistakable.
Steppenwolf.
An Apokoliptian general, uncle to Darkseid, and one of the most feared commanders in the cosmos. For millennia, he had led campaigns of conquest, leaving entire worlds in ruin. In the comics, his power ranked just below Darkseid himself—terrifying even to Superman.
Though the movie version was weaker, he remained a formidable foe.
Mera's voice trembled as she warned, "Be careful! He came for the Mother Box!"
"I know," Fenric said evenly.
—---
Arthur fought valiantly, but Steppenwolf overwhelmed him with ease, battering him aside like a child.
Fenric's eyes glinted. If he'd arrived any later, the alien brute might have already claimed his prize.
Spotting Fenric's approach, Steppenwolf snarled. Not wanting to waste time, he kicked Arthur away and lunged for the Mother Box. His clawed hand brushed its surface—
Only for the relic to suddenly fly from its pedestal, circling through the water before landing neatly in Fenric's waiting palm.
Fenric smirked, spinning the cube in his hand. "Steppenwolf, you dare try and take my belongings?"
His voice dripped with mockery as he added, "Kneel and call me Daddy. Maybe I'll consider letting you live."
"!!!"
Rage consumed the alien's face. No one—no one—had ever dared humiliate him like this.
With a bellow, he raised his colossal axe and brought it down in a devastating arc. The ocean roared as the waters split apart, forming a vacuum in its path. The shockwave tore through the seabed, collapsing distant structures.
Arthur's eyes widened. "Careful!"
Fenric's expression remained calm. He knew well how deadly that weapon was. Steppenwolf's axe was no mere tool of war—it was an artifact, capable of shattering entire landscapes.
But Fenric had an advantage: speed.
As the axe descended, he moved.
In the blink of an eye, he stepped forward, vanishing from sight like a ghost. In the next instant, he reappeared directly before Steppenwolf, so close their faces nearly touched.
The alien's swing struck nothing but water.
The sea exploded, pressure collapsing into a violent vacuum, but Fenric was untouched.
"!!"
Steppenwolf's eyes widened, stunned to see the man before him—his prey standing just beyond the reach of his missed strike, trident gleaming with deadly intent.
Note: What Steppenwolf looks like in movie: