Hearing her tone was a bit unfriendly, Thea was unhappy. "Greek? Greeks once fought side-by-side with Atlanteans. You wouldn't look down on your former allies, would you? Moreover, I don't think you are Atlantean. You are Xebelian, right? The exiled people of Atlantis..."
"Huh?"
Aquaman was bewildered. He turned to look at his wife. Mera avoided Aquaman's gaze, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
Thea continued to drop bombshells. "Dead King?! Is that what you call him? Don't you know his real name is Atlan? He is the creator and founder of Atlantis, the First King! Yet to you, his own descendants, he's become nothing more than the 'Dead King'... Too ridiculous!"
Diana also delivered a divine assist. "I know of Atlan. Mother's books mentioned him. He was a great former king; his achievements can rival the sages in human history."
"This..." Aquaman, Arthur Curry, was completely speechless.
Half a year ago, he was still guarding a lighthouse in Maine. How would he know these secrets from tens of thousands of years ago? Others called him the Dead King, so he just followed along. Now he realized it was inappropriate; this seemed to be his old ancestor!
"Atlan—the man you now call the Dead King—established Atlantis on land. That was a civilization before the current Earth civilization. King Atlan was broad-minded. He abandoned prejudice and accepted all races. As long as they agreed with his philosophy, he treated them as part of Atlantis."
Thea slipped into lecture mode. Of course, these things came from her memories. Diana knew she had read all kinds of obscure texts, so she wasn't surprised. The remaining Aquaman couple listened with relish. Promoting harmony between surface dwellers and sea dwellers had always been Aquaman's goal. Now hearing that his ancient ancestor had done the same, a strong sense of identification welled up in his heart.
Unexpectedly, Thea made a 180-degree turn. Her next words dealt him a heavy blow!
"The Dead King's inclusive policy caused strong dissatisfaction among the conservatives. His brother launched a coup, seizing the Trident of Neptune which symbolized authority. The kingdom's founder and pioneer was expelled from his home by his own kin."
"You... you mean..." Aquaman held up the Trident in his hand, his face full of disbelief. "My ancestor was a traitor?"
Thea shook her head slightly. "Whether he was a traitor or not, the truth has long been lost to history. However, I know that your statement about the Seventh Artifact just now was incorrect."
Pointing at the Trident in Aquaman's hand, she continued, "This trident was cast by the Dead King in his early days. After being expelled from the country, he forged six new artifacts, and you have obtained five of them. As for the remaining one..."
"What about the remaining one...?" Several people hurriedly asked. Even the two jaguars lying on the ground, who couldn't understand human speech, pricked up their ears pretending to listen.
Thea hesitated a bit. "Records say the Dead King finally forged a Scepter. In his hands, this scepter's power was nearly infinite; he sank the entire continent of Atlantis with a single strike... I think that's a bit of an exaggeration."
"Artifacts don't have that much power," Diana explained calmly.
Thea didn't say anything. Either the scepter could only exert full power in the Dead King's hands, or he found some magic node—like the Purgatory Island (Lian Yu) where Oliver stayed for several years. Otherwise, sinking a continent with one hit... that level of power is downright insane.
"We can help you fight Black Manta, but the Dead King's Scepter is too dangerous. It cannot remain in Atlantean hands..." Thea finally stated her purpose, then immediately threw another big bomb at them.
"The Dead King disappeared from sight after sinking Atlantis. Many believe he crossed the boundary of life and death and still slumbers somewhere. Human scholars, Greek gods, and your records calling him the 'Dead King' also stem from this belief."
None of them were fools; they roughly understood Thea's meaning. If they kept it in their own hands, they'd have to face the Dead King alone. If they gave it to Thea, at least there'd be someone to share the target on their backs. Maybe when the Dead King revived, he would go directly to kill on land.
Mera thought this was a good idea and signaled Aquaman with her eyes to agree.
"People on land?" Aquaman was still a bit hesitant. Was it better for this Dead King time bomb to go off on land or on Atlantean heads?
"Without the artifact, he can't exert his strength. With so many people on land, he'll be spotted as soon as he shows up." Thea felt that ancient lich wouldn't survive two punches from Superman. Taking his equipment came with zero psychological burden.
"Alright. As the King of Atlantis, I agree to your request. The Dead King's Scepter will remain on the surface!"
Aquaman didn't care about artifacts. The five artifacts found that day were all distributed to his teammates. Originally, inheriting the throne came with a set of cool armor, but he didn't want it either; he only wore a belt symbolizing royal power and held a trident.
The two sides happily finalized the details. Ya'Wara, possessing the Globe of Transportation, went to pick up their remaining partners.
Several people gathered quickly.
There was Prisoner of War, wearing the Dead King's Golden Manacles capable of creating force fields.
There was The Operative, holding the Golden Key that could open any lock.
Finally arriving was Vostok-X, wearing a Golden Helmet that allowed him to survive without food, water, or air. Vostok was an astronaut who grew up in a claustrophobic environment.
Seeing that her husband's other three companions were all men, Mera finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Before they could formally discuss, Amanda Waller also arrived.
"So many people? The Operative? Why are you here... When will you send me the file I asked for last time?"
Waller got off the plane and saw The Operative at a glance—dressed in high-tech gear, not exposing a shred of skin.
Then she looked at Prisoner of War. "Soldier, which unit are you from? I should have seen your designation number..."
Thea hurriedly pulled her aside. Waller was almost obsessed with rebuilding her Suicide Squad. Her purpose for needing Cheetah shouldn't be too obvious, but Thea had to warn her: Cheetah's strength wasn't something easily controlled like Harley Quinn.
On the other side, Aquaman also called The Operative aside to ask what Waller did.
The Operative maintained close contact with many organizations around the world. He naturally had many dealings with the famous Waller. He was a bit puzzled about how Aquaman had gotten involved with Waller, but he didn't hide anything from his good friend and told him what he knew.
"Government personnel, A.R.G.U.S.?" Aquaman had lived on the surface for many years, but he'd always been out of the loop; he knew nothing about high-level intel.
"That young woman—how do you know her?" The Operative pointed his chin at Thea, who was talking to Waller.
Aquaman could only recount how the two groups wound up fighting by mistake.