He was angry. Seething.

  His insides and outsides were completely at odds, a confusing jumble of differing impressions. A part of why I immediately didn’t trust him at a glance—his body wasn’t in synch with his face. Meaning, he was pretending.

  He was pretending on everything.

  Read his mind, I thought to Megan.

  You are drunk, Megan scoffed.

  Trust me, Megan. Please. He’s not right. I don’t trust him.

  No.

  Dammit! And the worst part was—Megan was right. I was drunk. Stealing that second gulp of liquor had been a bad idea. But I felt like I was on a roll just then. Like I was making some crazy moves, masterminding a complex chess game.

  But really, it was more brute force than that. I would say things, and then read his pulse and breathing—well, the flapping of his gills, but it pretty much worked the same way, with the same intervals and fluctuations.

  The obvious reading I got was that—he wasn’t a fan of the Abyssal Folk.

  That’s fine, Megan thought at me, I mean, it’s not fine, but certainly it doesn’t give us the right to intrude on his privacy, completely at odds with Earth’s usual customs, right?

  True. If only because he was a royal, I would further justify the act. As a public figure, he didn’t deserve that level of privacy enough to be two-faced. Such leaders did not deserve any position. Not that it was wrong to be two-faced outright—but to the extent that I expected Orm to be, yes, definitely yes.

  He called them Brine Dwellers. Even after I called it a slur, he said it again.

  I noticed, Megan said.

  So you admit my first impression was right.

  Megan sighed internally, Fine. It was. But I’m still not reading his mind.

  Fine. Don’t, even. He might have some kind of defense against it anyway. Villains always had to be prepared after all.

  Gojo, stop it.

  Ah, she was using the G word! Scary!

  “—Which brings me,” Aquaman said, his tone changing. The sudden easing of his booming voice made me pay special attention. “To a topic we have wanted to share. We have an announcement.” Aquaman stood up with his wife, both of them cupping her stomach. I snuck a glance at Orm, already half-aware of what this announcement could possibly entail.

  “I am with child,” Queen Mera said.

  Prince Orm’s heartrate doubled. Facial muscles tensed all over, almost imperceptibly. And when he looked around, noticing that no one was looking at him, he let his jaws clench and his fists tighten. Only for a moment.

  I looked over at him and he untensed, trying not to meet my eyes.

  You read my thoughts, Megan. That means you saw what I saw. He’s an asshole! Read his mind!

  I acknowledge that! Megan said. But I’m still not reading his mind. Besides, didn’t you just think that he might have countermeasures against that?

  “Oh, that is wonderful!” Tula said as she shot off to hug the queen.

  What the hell was anyone supposed to say to this? Great work, Aquaman, Aquawoman! You really went at it without an Aquacondom! Must have been hard! Get it, because he had to be hard—

  Just… think about the child! Megan screamed at my head, The child is what matters, not—the act!

  I stood up and grinned, “Good luck on raising a child, you two!”

  Terrible, Megan sighed.

  “Thank you,” King Orin said calmly, giving me a grin and a nod.

  “Congratulations,” Kaldur swam over to him, “An heir to the throne at last!”

  Orm now stood up, and Kaldur regarded him apologetically. “Apologies, my prince. I did not mean—”

  “Not at all,” Prince Orm looked outwardly happy as he swam towards Aquaman and grabbed him by both his arms, “No one could be more thrilled at this news than I.” Lies. All lies. He hated this.

  “Thank you, brother,” Aquaman smiled at him, “Thanks to you all!” Then he made out with his queen. I had to say, this man definitely had something I didn’t, for being able to forget an entire room filled with eight guards, seven servants, and five guests, all watching.

  Patch me through Aqualad, Megan.

  Don’t make me regret this, please, Megan said, Don’t call Orm a villain, Sa-chan. Please.

  But you’ll back me up, right? That Orm isn’t to be trusted?

  That much was obvious at this point. Telepathic link established.

  Kaldur! I felt an unexpected thrill at being in his head. Kaldur turned to me in surprise, Listen, buddy-boy, my best pal in the undersea world. What’s your read on Orm?

  Kaldur’s expression flattened, In all honesty, he creeps me out.

  HAH! Same! He’s seething, by the way!

  Kaldur turned away from me and, for a lack of better options, smiled at his king and queen making out, Megan, are you certain? Kaldur thought, his tone all mission.

  Absolutely. Gojo might be compromised by the alcohol, but I noticed it, too.

  I bet he hates the Abyssal Folk, too, I said. I can already see it—him going door to door, beating up on everyone with slightly fishy features except for gills. But anyway, Kal-chan, what’s up with Tula, man? Did you confess yet?

  I felt a stab of stress through the link, No. Not yet. I was planning to do so after this dinner. I’m a little… unsure, however. She has been quite distant. I fear I may be barking up the wrong tree, as they say in the surface.

  Neptune’s Beard! I felt positively saddened at this development, Listen, man. Take care of business. And we’ll be here in case of anything, okay? And it’s probably just nerves, man! Who’d say no to an absolute hunk like you? I know I wouldn’t.

  Kaldur’s eyebrows furrowed, Why do I get this sense that you’re not joking.

  The room became alert with something—something I couldn’t sense, somehow. What—?

  “-perman to Aquaman,” Megan patched me through to what I was reasonably certain was Aquaman’s communication device. She was probably letting me in on what the others were hearing. “League emergency in Tokyo Bay. Rendezvous at the Watchtower.”

  “Acknowledged,” Aquaman said, clicking on the horseshoe sign on his belt buckle. He turned to Queen Mera, who looked saddened by the development, “It seems I must take my leave.” Then he turned to Aqualad, “Swim with me.”

  Keep us apprised, I said.

  No, Kaldur immediately replied, setting off.

  “Then there were five!” I said, “Anyone in the mood of teaching a surface-worlder some fun Atlantean dinner games?”

  The Queen smiled indulgently, though I couldn’t cut through her disappointment at Aquaman leaving at such an inopportune moment.

  “I’m afraid I must pass,” Orm chuckled.

  He was leaving?

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit! Think of something! Anything!

  Gojo, no!

  “I know who you are,” I said instead, looking at him with the utmost seriousness, my eyes wide.

  His heart started beating hard now as I kept the look on. One second turned into three, and then five, long, agonizing seconds of quiet and staring.

  Then I grinned. “You’re most definitely a dinner game champion! I wouldn’t stand a chance if you stayed behind. I hope wherever you go, it’s more entertaining than beating an amateur like me in a game you’ve probably perfected by now, am I right?”

  Orm’s grin was crooked. Wrong, “I could never keep up with a wit like yours, Gojo. Don’t sell yourself short.”

  I never have.

  I used my Reverse Cursed Technique to bathe my body in positive energy, healing everywhere I could sense for damage wrought by intoxication. It was everywhere. In my blood, in my organs, in my brain. It took me a moment, but when I was done, all that slowness left me behind, and I was sharp as an arrow once more.

  I’m keeping an eye on him, I thought, This would have been so much easier if Superboy was here. Then again, all this damn water’s getting in my way. But I’m certain now—Megan, don’t read his mind. This guy is bad news. He might actually be Aquaman’s arch-nemesis.

  In any other situation, that sentence would have been laughable.

  But it wasn’t—not here, at least. That fact was maddening.

  Who was Aquaman’s guy again? Sea Lord? Something—something along the lines of a ‘master’ of the ‘ocean’. Ocean Master? No, that felt a little too Japanese. The Westerners would have given him a lamer name, no doubt.

  “Would you please stay, Orm?” Mera asked, “Now that your brother has departed. I would prefer to share the table with another adult—ah, no offense at all to you three young people!” Mera said, quick to apologize.

  “Of course not, my queen,” Tula said with a slight chuckle.

  “Understandable,” I said with a shrug. Everyone sat down as we started playing some strange game. I barely followed the rules as I only focused on Orm, who had become my object of fixation, and a source of unknowable ire for me.

  Why?

  …It was the projection that the shaman had shown me. Against my wishes, the images had gotten to me. The history of Atlantis was a sordid one, no better than humanity’s own, but… if Orm truly was a source of some of their suffering, then I felt unaccountably tempted to take him out of the picture. To nip the entire issue with a single clean cut.

  But it’s not that easy, Sa-chan. The idea is not any single person’s invention. And a single person’s removal from the equation won’t lead to the invention being destroyed.

  He’s a cancer. And I want to excise him, I said, unhesitatingly. And, he’s close to Aquaman, who’s close to Kaldur. And I want to protect Kaldur. Wait what? What the hell was I going on about? Forget that part, it’s not relevant. At the end of the day, Megan, what can I say? I just don’t like his face, and that has always been enough for me.

  We need evidence, Megan said.

  Fuck evidence, I wanted to kill him!

  Megan elbowed me slightly.

  …But yeah, we needed evidence. After all, the law was gonna sort this guy out! He’d actually go to court for this. Crazy to think about, honestly. Superpowered evil-man standing trial for crimes against fish-humanity.

  If you want to live in a world where suspicion and fear dictates whether or not someone is guilty, Gojo, then I would leave you behind in that world, because I have no interest in living there as well.

  GOSH!

  I’m serious.

  I didn’t doubt that at all. I wasn’t even drunk, and I was still giving her a hard time.

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  I’m sorry, Megan. That was just an inside thought. I wouldn’t have acted on it.

  …I know. Sorry for getting angry.

  It felt wrong to have her apologize for that, but—in the end, was there anything to apologize for? She’d gotten mad at something I had been thinking of, in the sanctuary of my mind.

  Sorry for riling you up, I said, I’ll try to, uh, think better thoughts. It’s hard, though… I’m just so… angry.

  Kaldur came back soon after, joining us in our dinner revelry. I didn’t have anything more to drink, and tried my best to participate while also keeping most of my attention on him. Either he was just a racist weirdo prince with nasty skeletons in his closet—classic rich people shenanigans—and a seething jealousy for his brother, and that was all that it was.

  Or there was something more.

  I used Six Eyes on him—reading everything I could about his energy. Skin icons conducting his magic for Atlantean Sorcery—powerful stuff, far stronger than Kaldur at the very least. Power. But Mera had that power, too, if not more. Just having power didn’t immediately make you a superhero or villain.

  I used Six Eyes Reversal next to find anything material. Other than the clothes on his back, there was a… curious little object inside his pocket—an oblong machine with a button, black metal with red glowing seams, and a circular glowing red button. The thing looked villainous and I had no idea what it was.

  I projected the mental image to Megan and Kaldur.

  Any ideas on what this is?

  That’s… no, Kaldur hesitated, Nevermind, the idea is stupid. And… we need to stop following this line of logic, we might begin to draw conclusions that may seem convincing in the moment, but are in fact inaccurate.

  Tell me what you just thought, Kaldur, I thought intently. You have to.

  I cannot speak to what sort of device it is, but it looks like it follows the design sensibilities of the Black Manta and his tech—a supervillain of the seas, notorious for his thievery.

  That sounds… too obvious, I said, Why would he just be carrying that around deep in his pockets?

  Who would search a prince of the royal blood? Kaldur asked. But it cannot be him—the Black Manta must be a surface-dweller. Why else does he only hire normal humans, and wears a diving suit?

  To throw people off, I guess, I thought.

  I looked around Poseidonis, eyes wide with Six Eyes Reversal, searching for any more Black Manta stuff.

  Up, up and away, far above the city of Poseidonis, a fleet of submarines circled above. They swam beyond sight, beyond where the light of Poseidonis could reach, in the dark night waters near the surface.

  I had to stop myself from lunging over the table and choking the life out of this guy.

  Wow. Supervillains just got on my damn nerves.

  Megan poked through my air aura and put a hand over mine. Sa-chan, be calm. Please.

  Calm? What was there to be calm about?

  Bust up a drug-smuggling operation and arrest five villains in one day—three of the biggest ones break out to cause chaos again. Get in trouble for not entertaining the nonsensical expectation that super-powered individuals—yes, even that goddamned Sportsmaster, because humans should not be able to do what he does—should be held to different standards, standards that made sense given how difficult they were to hold.

  And then get killed by a big-shot demon and having all of your power stolen and perverted for daring to be in the vicinity.

  And I was supposed to be calm.

  Look, Megan—either I stop caring, or I care too much. I made sure to transmit these thoughts only to Megan, via a private channel she had created for this purpose, Neither work, and I can’t find a middle ground. I don’t know how that works. But I do know that I am going to drive the fear of God into any villain that tries to hurt you the way Klarion almost did. And it starts with him.

  We need evidence, Megan said, trying to redirect my thoughts along better and more productive tacks.

  Submarines, up. Black Manta design sensibilities, I guess. Kaldur, you reading this?

  …Copy, came Kaldur’s cold mental voice. Be on the lookout, Infinity.

  My eyes widened slightly in awkwardness. Man, you should worry more about Tula—I’m really sorry I turned this into a mission. I don’t even know how I did it. I step out of the Cave for ten seconds, and suddenly we’re neck deep in a conspiracy involving the king’s own brother.

  It wasn’t your fault, Megan said.

  My very presence seemed to invite challenge.

  I will speak with Tula, Gojo. Do not worry.

  I should be telling you not to worry.

  I poured more energy into the Six Eyes Reversal in order to make out if there were any radio signals or whatever coming out of that thing. Radio signals couldn’t traverse water, though, right? Ah, underwater communications used sound or sonar. The disturbance of water would be even easier to observe that way.

  Too easy, in fact. That amount of sound would have a physical impact on our bodies. No, this was Atlanean techno-sorcery for sure.

  Orm may be coordinating the submarines, working with Black Manta, Kaldur concluded.

  So when do we blow open this plot? I asked, I’m all for frogwalking Orm into a Zeta Tube and throwing him into a hole. He’s clearly a traitor.

  He is suspect, indeed, Kaldur said, And I do not expect complete innocence from him. But I want more in order to be certain.

  What would it have to take for everyone to be satisfied? Should I just raid his bedroom or something?

  No, Gojo, Megan said seriously, her voice heavy, And before you ask why, and whether or not I trust you, it’s because I don’t want this to be normalized. One day, you will be wrong, and then you will have infringed on someone’s privacy and made a joke of their rights. All because you were sure. And I don’t want a future like that for you, so no, Gojo. Do not do that.

  I do love a well-reasoned argument, I said with a shrug. Of course, Megan. We’ll leave no room for doubt when we strike.

  “Not that these games aren’t riveting,” Orm grinned in clearly faked delight, “But I must visit the bathroom. I will be back soon.”

  Kaldur, you’re up, I suggested.

  “Alright, Orm,” Mera gave a grin and refocused on our smiling faces. I slightly felt bad for her that Tula was the only one who was in on these games fully. Bad for Aqualad too, for that matter.

  Once Orm left the room, Kaldur made a similar excuse and left quickly.

  Where did he go? Kaldur asked.

  Orm swam through the hallways, looking for a dead spot between all the patrolling guards. I fed Kaldur info and helped lead him towards the slimy Prince. Once he believed he was out of sight, he pulled out the communication device that then transmitted towards the fleet of submarines.

  He’s speaking with Black Manta! Kaldur cried mentally, Telling them to… pull back! Prince Orm is… Ocean Master!

  “That was his name!” I laughed, snapping my finger as I grinned in delight. Queen Mera and Tula were completely flatfooted by my exclamation.

  Rather than waste time explaining myself, I teleported Kaldur and Orm back into the banquet room, above the dining table.

  “—the mission,” Orm said, speaking into his communication device, standing above the table.

  Tula and Mera gasped in surprise.

  I held the man in place with Blue, making also sure that his communication device floated a little away from his hand, so he couldn’t hide it.

  “What is the meaning of this?!” Mera cried, standing tall and looking down at me in rage.

  “My queen, I can explain,” Kaldur said, getting in between her and me, “With the help of my teammates, I have just discovered that Orm is in contact with Black Manta. Their fleet is overhead.”

  “Pulling back,” I frowned at the ceiling, “Because Orm just told them to.”

  “My queen!” Orm cried, “It is the work of the Martian telepath that Kaldur has been swayed to believe such lies!”

  Mera’s eyes locked in on the device, “What is that? And what did you say about a ‘mission’? Who have you been in contact with?”

  “My queen, why should I answer these questions while I’m restrained like some common criminal?!”

  Mera turned around to her guards, “Guards—inquire about submarines above the waters of Poseidonis.”

  “Black Manta’s submarines have unmatched stealth tech,” Kaldur said. “They’ll never be detected. And they might get away!”

  “Hold on,” I said, “If it’s evidence that you want, I can make sure the submarines don’t go anywhere. I’ll keep them busy and prevent them from leaving while you get people up there, so they can lay eyes on Orm’s plot.”

  I warped out from the banquet hall, floating above the ascending fleet of submarines.

  I could kill hundreds in mere moments—the ones that weren’t inside pressure-resistant suits at least—but I didn’t need to. This was… an annoyingly roundabout way of going at this. Not that I ever had so much experience going after humans to begin with.

  But in the end, were these dregs really any different from just the average Cursed Spirit?

  “Cursed Technique Amplification: Maximum Output Blue!”

  I summoned the monstrous convergence of infinity overhead, a void that demanded to be filled, and I whirled it overhead, creating terrifying and tumultuous streams of water.

  When the submarines tried to scatter, I herded them in place with Blue as well.

  I even made it a game. Letting a precious few get free to ensure that the bulk remained behind. It turned out that the guy wearing the most elaborate get-up whom everyone else took orders from—possibly Black Manta himself—managed to get away at the cost of leaving the majority of his fleet behind. I would have gone after him—but wasting his entire fleet felt like enough for now. Besides, the real prize was Orm.

  It took another twenty minutes for the Atlanteans to get here and make their arrests.

  And to my utter joy, by the time I had returned to Poseidonis to see how the situation unfolded, great news awaited me. Mera had gone out on a limb, trusting Kaldur’s trust in me, and they had searched Orm’s private quarters, finding… a lot. Direct communication channels to Black Manta’s fleet and a costume that matched the description of ‘Ocean Master’.

  Queen Mera, Kaldur, Tula, Megan and I stood outside the palace as Orm was being frogwalked by some Atlantean guards.

  I shouted after him, “I’ll make sure to help the Abyssal Folk out! One day, they’ll rule the seas!”

  “I’ll kill you!” He screamed at me, “I will not forget this, Satoru Gojo!”

  I almost forgot. He knew my name.

  Who else could he reach through that name once I started going to school. Wally? Artemis?

  No. I wasn’t about to let that slide. Goddamn Aquaman, lugging around a traitor for a brother. Not on my watch. Whether or not the courts were against him, I would have my way.

  Sa-chan, no—

  I appeared before both Orm and both the guards. They widened their eyes at me. “One moment,” I said to them, “Orm,” I looked into his eyes. “On my cursed energy, I swear this binding vow that the moment you…” hmm, let’s make this a fun one, “The moment you use the knowledge of my name to strike a blow at me or mine, I will kill you. Wherever you are. Be it on the moon. In the bottom of the sea, the tallest mountain—I do not care.” I gave a chuckle, “I don’t even know why I hate you so much, but… I’m never letting you off the hook, Orm. Never!” I laughed, “So congratulations, Orm, you’ve become my little toy.”

  And I felt my energy respond to me in a way that it never had before.

  In the form of an idea.

  “Cursed Technique Amplification: Maximum Output Blue,” I summoned the orb in my hand, but forced its separation from the rest of the world via Infinity, so that the terrified guards wouldn’t get immediately killed by its overpowering gravitational force crushing their bodies. I compressed the Blue, until it was barely a tenth the size of a speck of dust. No less deadly, just… more portable. “I apply this binding vow to this technique, and I curse you, Orm.” I waved my hand and the orb flew into his chest.

  He looked at me in anger and terror mixed together to create the most delectable juice. And I drank it up with relish.

  “I’m a man of my words, Orm, so… do with that what you will.” I floated to the side, and the guards both let out a collective sigh of relief, walking past me.

  I had no idea I could use my technique in such a way, and yet… I knew this would work. The incantation, the gesture that I made, everything clicked together to form a… spell.

  Magic.

  I appeared next to Megan, eyes wide. “What… what did you do?”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief, feeling my thoughts approach a calm finally. “Orm is going away. And I made sure he wouldn’t use his knowledge to hurt the team. With magic, sure, but… I can rest easier now.”

  Queen Mera floated forwards, and looked at Megan and I with a complicated expression. “Thank you, young heroes, for unearthing this plot. Though it pains me deeply, the knowledge of who was responsible, I am glad that you three managed to avert this catastrophe before it could claim any Atlantean lives.”

  “It was for Kaldur,” I said, meeting her eyes and shedding all levity. “For… whatever it’s worth, I’m… sorry it had to be tonight. And I wish you the best of luck with the… baby.”

  Mera snorted softly, smiling sadly at me. “You’ve rendered a great service towards Atlantis. King Orin will reward you appropriately.”

  I shook my head, “Use that reward to help out the Abyssal Folk. I don’t deserve the riches of Poseidonis when all I did was come here and do my job.”

  “An honor would not be inappropriate,” Mera insisted, “Allow us to honor you at the very least.”

  I sighed, and gave her a lax grin, “Sure. Sounds like fun. So, what, you’re gonna make us knights of the ocean?” I looked over at Megan and Kaldur, both of whom had been integral in this task.

  Mera just grinned.

  000

  Megan and I hugged, suspended in a cocoon of air, kissing, cuddling, floating through the city of Atlantis. No one minded our public display of affection—Atlantean culture was incredibly open about love, apparently, hence why Aquaman and Mera eating each other’s mouths in front of a captive audience was just normal.

  I broke off from our kiss as I looked out to see Tula and Kaldur hanging together in the far distance, about two hundred meters away.

  “Anytime now,” I grinned. Megan read my mind, seeing through my eyes—as much as she could at least.

  We watched patiently as Kaldur gathered the nerve, only for Tula to split away from him, maintaining a distance of ten meters, back turned to him while she hugged her body and looked down in sadness.

  Anger flashed through Kaldur’s expression, and then sadness. They talked for a little more before they separated completely, going their separate ways.

  “We need to go to him,” Megan said.

  “Let’s give him a minute first,” I said, just… unsure about how to approach this. I didn’t expect that I’d be so committed to Kaldur’s love life, but really, I almost felt rejected as well.

  “That’s called empathy,” Megan muttered, “And you have it. Just admit that you’re fond of Kaldur already. And know that Kaldur holds you in the same regard, too.”

  I mulled that over—really mulled the issue over—and came to the realization behind my mental block. “He thought I was gonna ditch the Titans for the Shadows.”

  “And that hurt?” she asked.

  “No…”

  I lied.

  “Yeah,” I shrugged, “I mean, I guess it did. A little. But he told me it was a mistake and sort of apologized already. I just never thought it was such a big deal.”

  “Because you never made the effort to feel your grievance, or forgive him,” Megan explained, “Therefore, you ended up holding that pain in. This is why feeling is better than bottling in, Sa-chan.”

  I nodded with a sigh. “Alright, I think it’s time we give our captain a group hug.”

  I teleported us behind him. The flash of blue light immediately alerted him to us and he turned around, battle-ready. But when he saw us, he just slumped over.

  I dragged him towards us with Blue and we both gave him a hug from both sides.

  “I was too late,” Kaldur said. “Tula loves another. My best friend Garth.”

  Damn! “Should we, uh, kill Garth or something?”

  Kaldur snorted and shook his head. He was completely boneless. “No. It doesn’t matter.”

  Though I couldn’t deny that it sucked seeing the dear leader so dejected, I was very happy that it likely meant he would be staying with us. The Titans.

  “They found each other a day after I left for the surface to join the Titans,” Kaldur continued.

  “Two months?” I asked, scandalized. “Wait—the next day?” How were these people his friends?

  Kaldur opened his mouth and wrestled for the words, before he just closed it and sighed heavily. “I wish to leave… Tula was my last true chain to Atlantis, and now that chain has been severed.”

  “We’re here for you, Kaldur, always,” Megan said.

  Kaldur finally raised his hands and hugged us, too.

  If he ended up shedding any tears, I didn’t notice.