"Dr. Shin."

The voice snapped Dr. Stephen Shin out of his scribbling. He spun around in his chair, startled and alert, clutching his pen defensively. His hand instinctively tightened around it as he adjusted his glasses, squinting into the dimly lit corners of his laboratory.

"Who are you?" Dr. Shin demanded, his tone a mix of fear and authority. He took a cautious step back, lifting the pen like it was a weapon. "How did you get in here?"

David Hyde, better known as Black Manta, stepped forward, his face expressionless but his posture calculated. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, smirking slightly as he stepped into the light.

"Don't worry, Doctor. I come in peace," he said calmly.

Shin's eyes scanned David's face, unsure of the threat he presented but unwilling to back down. "What do you want?"

David moved closer, his eyes wandering over the cluttered notes and images scattered across Dr. Shin's workstation. He picked up a photograph—a young, blond-haired boy swimming effortlessly in a pool, seemingly at home in the water. Instinct told David this was the boy he was looking for.

"Is this kid the Atlantean?" he asked, cutting to the point, his voice low but unyielding.

Dr. Shin's expression shifted. He gripped his pen tighter, though now more from anxiety than defense. "You… you know about Atlantis?" His voice carried a faint glimmer of hope, tempered by curiosity and fear.

David pocketed the photo, turning to the doctor with a calculated smile. "Let's just say I have extensive knowledge, Doctor."

Dr. Shin's demeanor changed at that, his fear momentarily replaced with excitement. He clasped his hands together, a small smile breaking through. "This is amazing, absolutely amazing. Please, tell me what you know! Atlantis… it's real, isn't it?"

David watched Shin's enthusiasm with mild amusement, taking a step closer to gauge his reaction. "Maybe, Doctor, but it's a two-way street. You help me, and I'll help you."

Dr. Shin hesitated, curiosity warring with caution. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"Tell me about the Atlantean you worked with," David said, his tone cryptic yet insistent.

Dr. Shin's face fell slightly, and he took a cautious step back. "Arthur? What do you want with him?"

David's expression hardened, though his voice remained casual. "Let's just say I'm here on business."

Dr. Shin's mind raced as he looked at David, piecing together the intent behind his words. David Hyde was here for Arthur, of that much he was certain. But something darker lingered beneath the surface. Dr. Shin could see it in the cold gleam of David's eyes.

After a beat, Dr. Shin lowered his pen, his eyes darting between David and the photo in his pocket. "And what do I get out of this… business?"

David's smirk grew colder, a hint of amusement in his gaze. "Help me bring the fish out of water, Doctor, and you'll have all the answers you're looking for."

Dr. Shin didn't know it yet, but the information he'd divulged would become the catalyst for chaos. David left the doctor's lab with a secure file tucked under his arm, a twisted sense of satisfaction fueling his next moves.

That night, David sat in the darkness of an abandoned dockside warehouse, watching the screen of his tablet flicker to life. The stolen file's title read Project: Atlantis, and in bold letters, in it was the data Dr. Shin had collected about Arthur Curry, the half-human and half-Atlantean—the link that David intended to exploit.

With the data in hand, he drafted a plan to make Atlantis collide with his own in ways that neither Atlantis nor humanity could ignore.

It started with a single, well-crafted leak.

Across the internet, conspiracy forums, and underground news outlets, images and excerpts from Dr. Shin's research began to appear, suggesting that a powerful Atlantean hybrid lived among the surface dwellers. The messages were shrouded in sensationalized language, hinting at a hidden race preparing to rise from the ocean's depths.

.

.

.

The lighthouse, once a peaceful beacon on the coast of Amnesty Bay, became a symbol of what the online whispers called The Atlantean Invasion.

Days passed, and whispers turned to roars. Crowds started to gather near the lighthouse, brandishing signs and demanding answers. There had already seen aliens and monsters, they did not another mystery among them.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

News outlets covered the escalating tensions, splashing images of the peaceful coastal town alongside headlines that read, "Is This the Home of a Hidden Atlantean?"

Arthur's father, Thomas Curry, stood his ground, trying to protect his home from curious onlookers and protesters alike. But the crowds only grew, their voices louder, fueled by misinformation and suspicion.

Miles away, in the shadow of his hideout, David watched it all unfold. But this was only the first step. He intended to not only expose Arthur but to ignite a full-scale war between Atlantis and humanity. David's plan would be simple yet devastating: to create attacks that would make both sides believe they were under siege from the other.

In which, Atlantis would pay the price for his capture.

...

That night, David infiltrated a coastal military base just outside Amnesty Bay. He wore an Atlantean disguise, armor and weapons provided by Orm himself, and moved with practiced stealth, bypassing security and slipping through the compound undetected. Inside, he wreaked havoc, using advanced technology to disable critical systems and lay waste to infrastructure. Explosions shook the base, and David scrawled the mark of Atlantis onto the wreckage, ensuring that anyone who found the remains would see it as an Atlantean strike.

Soldiers scrambled as the destruction spread, their voices laced with panic. David left the base in ruins, watching the fires burn before retreating into the shadows, a malicious smile curling his lips.

The next morning, headlines blared with news of the "Atlantean Attack on U.S. Soil." The military, already on edge, interpreted the event as an act of war, and their response was swift. They prepared a fleet of submarines, each armed with nuclear warheads, and sent them toward the presumed location of the underwater kingdom.

David watched with satisfaction as the humans took the bait. In a single night, he had set the stage for war—a war that would not end until Atlantis had paid the price for their ignorance.

.

.

.

The roar of the ocean was all Thomas Curry could hear from his lighthouse window, its steady crash against the rocks usually bringing peace, but tonight it held a foreboding weight.

Inside, Thomas and his son Arthur shared a quiet dinner, both tense from the last few weeks. The rumors about Atlantis, the unsettling whispers of Arthur's supposed origin, and the mysterious protesters and journalists who had begun gathering near their home had made life in Amnesty Bay increasingly fraught.

As Arthur gathered the plates, the noise of helicopters suddenly tore through the night sky, floodlights from multiple choppers blasting through the windows and illuminating every corner of their modest home.

"Arthur, get down!" Thomas shouted, grabbing his son's arm and pulling him to the floor as rounds of gunfire shattered the peaceful haven. Bullets ripped through the walls, glass exploded into shards, and the calm of the evening dissolved into chaos.

Outside, a small army of armed soldiers advanced, outfitted in tactical gear and armed with high-powered rifles, moving with calculated precision and intent. They fanned out, surrounding the lighthouse, as a voice boomed from a loudspeaker.

"Thomas Curry! Surrender immediately and hand over the Atlantean!"

Arthur's gaze shot to his father, his eyes filled with confusion and fear. "Dad, what's going on? Who are they?"

Thomas's face was etched with regret. "Arthur, I never wanted it to come to this. But there are things about you—about your mother—that I've kept hidden for too long."

Before Thomas could say more, the soldiers began their approach, rifles raised, ready to storm the lighthouse. Thomas grabbed Arthur's shoulder, his voice intense. "You're stronger than you know, Arthur. You have to get out of here. Find your mother, find Atlantis."

"But Dad, I can't just leave you here—"

"No arguments. Go!" Thomas shoved Arthur toward the back door, but just as they attempted to escape, a bullet tore through the air, striking Thomas in the shoulder. He stumbled, gasping as blood soaked his shirt.

"Dad!" Arthur tried to hold him steady, the realization of his father's injury sending a surge of panic through him.

Before he could process what was happening, a new figure emerged from the darkness—a man clad in advanced armor, his eyes cold and calculating, his posture exuding lethal intent. Black Manta had arrived, his armor glinting under the floodlights. Without hesitation, he raised his weapon and fired, cutting through the soldiers with ruthless efficiency, moving with the precision of a man who had no qualms about taking lives.

As the soldiers fell back, scrambling to regroup, David closed the distance between himself and Arthur. He grabbed Arthur's arm, his grip ironclad, his voice low and commanding. "Arthur Curry, I'm here to take you home."

Arthur recoiled, trying to break free. "Who are you? What do you mean, 'home'?"

"Your family in Atlantis sent me. They want you safe," David replied, his voice void of emotion as he spared a glance at Thomas, who lay bleeding on the ground, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

"Arthur…" Thomas's voice was barely a whisper, his face pale with pain. "Go… find where you belong."

Arthur hesitated, torn between the man who raised him and the stranger claiming to know his true origin. But David's grip tightened, and he began dragging Arthur toward the shore. Arthur looked back, his heart heavy, as he saw his father slump to the floor, his eyes closing. The image seared itself into his mind, anger and sorrow intertwining within him.

David, relentless, pulled Arthur toward the ocean's edge. With one final look back at the life he was leaving behind, Arthur felt a rush of emotion but followed. David leaped into the water, Arthur in tow, and within moments they reached the sleek submarine hidden beneath the waves, disappearing into the deep blue, leaving the lighthouse, and Thomas Curry, behind.

---

The news of the attack on the Curry residence spread like wildfire.

Reporters flocked to Amnesty Bay, documenting the wreckage of the lighthouse and the remnants of the skirmish that had taken place. The world watched with bated breath as the story unfolded, whispers of "Atlantean interference" mingling with anger and fear.

"They really going at it," Zion commented as he watched the News.

He was, of course, keeping an eye on the situation. He was not interfering himself due to 'not wanting trouble'. He as a king can't focus on some small event in the corner of the planet.

"What's happening, Zion?" Mark questioned as he sat on the couch, placing the popcorn he made on the table.

Zion just shrugged, "Just another hidden kingdom revealing itself. Nothing much to be concerned."

"Okay," Mark didn't question further.

He had seen all the things Zion did and was not interested in any of them. All of them looked way to dangerous and he very much like his life here. And Zion needed a place to crash when he gets bored of ruling an all.

"Okay, lets watch the movie already."