JLU/Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
Moderator: LadyTevar
-
Shroom Man 777
- FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
- Posts: 21222
- Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
- Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
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Actually, if you had three or four consecutive chapters filled with Batman wanking, I wouldn't mind
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
You never give up, do you? 
As I said, it's coming. Everyone from Bats to Diana to Nemo to even Electra will be kicking ass as we move further onwards (I know because a). I've planned it that way, b). I've already written a nice little chunk of the final chapters; I had the idea in my mind and had to write it down lest I forgot).
Either way, I think you're going to have a good summer/fall if I can get them out by then...
As I said, it's coming. Everyone from Bats to Diana to Nemo to even Electra will be kicking ass as we move further onwards (I know because a). I've planned it that way, b). I've already written a nice little chunk of the final chapters; I had the idea in my mind and had to write it down lest I forgot).
Either way, I think you're going to have a good summer/fall if I can get them out by then...
-
Shroom Man 777
- FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
- Posts: 21222
- Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
- Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
- Contact:
The thing is...the first half of my two-month long summer vacation is almost over...which means...GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND WORK YOURSELF TO DEATH, YOU JACKASS!!!11 
j/k
j/k
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
-
Shroom Man 777
- FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
- Posts: 21222
- Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
- Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
- Contact:
Anyway, getting back on the Bat wanking...I retract that statement about the four chapters thing. Wouldn't want my loins to grow sore and calloused now, would I?
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
-
Shroom Man 777
- FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
- Posts: 21222
- Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
- Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
- Contact:
Now that you're no longer busy, I'll just remind you of this little work that you might've forgotten. You were about to post a chapter where Batman, and those other guys who aren't important, starts kicking obscene amounts of ass while getting some ass in the process. And he ends up brutalizing some poor schmuck just because the kid closed a window. And yeah!
Oh, and I've written a few short fics and am working on a masterpiece titled 'The Runaway Apexai'. Quid pro quo, so you might wanna check them out. [/shameless plugging]
Oh, and I've written a few short fics and am working on a masterpiece titled 'The Runaway Apexai'. Quid pro quo, so you might wanna check them out. [/shameless plugging]
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
As always, Enjoy!
***
Chapter XIV – Double or Nothing, Part 1
***
“Wow, it worked!
“I can’t believe it either!”
“You know what means, don’t you Jean?”
“Yep. We’re geniuses!”
“Whatever,” Sanson murmured.
With all the excitement of the last few weeks, Hanson had been unable to fully devote his attention towards the restoration of the Gratan. The damage from the minefield was still visible and so he sought to rectify that, while at the same time upgrading what he could with the Nautilus' advanced technology. Jean was involved of course, at Hanson’s invitation.
As the technical boys got their hands dirty and congratulated themselves on their modifications to the Gratan, Sanson sat back and watched with a bored expression upon his face. No one wanted to view another of his shows of strength or marksmanship or fashion since he dared not go to help Senoirta Grandis in the kitchen, he just loafed around.
“Congratulations, Jean.”
The voice came from the other side of the strange craft and belonged to Ensign Fait. One of the Nautilus engineers, Fait had assisted in the restoration of the Gratan. He had met Jean three days earlier when, as they had been attempting to begin the modifications, Jean had accidentally broken his glasses. On duty in the hanger at the time, Fait had offered to patch them up and had done so in no time.
As a result, Fait, had taken a liking to the young French boy and vice-versa. Like Jean, he had a passion for tomorrow and the good that science could bring to mankind.
“We couldn’t have done it without you, Mr. Fait,” Hanson stated proudly as Fair descended down the Gratan.” The ensign laughed.
“Hey, I’m always glad to be of help.”
“As are we,” came another voice from the far end of the hanger. Everyone turned to see Diana and Nadia approach the work in progress.
While her companion remained controversial amongst the crew members, Diana had continued to impress the men of the Nautilus with her mean-right hook to the Dinicthys – Nemo had afterwards stated there was no bout as to the creature’s species – and so had finished with the morning’s fitness regimen; the ancient Amazonian training exercises truly made things…interesting.
“Grandis sent us; lunch is ready.”
“Hanson?”
“You guys go on; I’ll catch up.”
“I’ll go,” Sanson volunteered. “At least one of us has to show up so she doesn’t go nuts again after what happened with the minefield.”
“Mr. Fait, you’re welcome to join us,” Jean said. Fait just smiled.
“I’ve got to get back on duty. But I’ll stop by later.”
“I see your friendship with the Ensign is blossoming,” Diana couldn’t help but note – as well as the fact that Nadia’s facial expression suddenly turned sour. Jean sighed audibly.
“Nadia, you’re still not mad about the flowers, are you?”
Jean had been the first to tell Fait of the crush he had on Nadia and rather than ask Sanson – which given his success, or lack thereof in the field -- had asked Fait on how to win a girl’s heart. Fait had suggested flowers and had used the Nautilus’ facilities to cultivate artificial flowers.
Nadia, however, had reacted less than delighted.
“I told you before; technology has no place in my life if it re-creates life. It’s artificial and fake.”
“But it was a gift, an act of kindness. Can’t you appreciate that?”
“No it’s not, it’s meant to distract me from the scientific atrocities that people like Nemo and Gargoyle use to their own ends.”
“Here we go again. Look, Nadia, I-- ”
Jean stopped suddenly as he blinked, wondering perhaps if he had hailed any fumes from the Gratan’s fuel supply.
But he hadn’t.
Ahead of them, bent over and holding any matter of scientific instruments over one of the corridors, was the Dark Knight Detective.
“Beautiful day to be inspecting the paint job of the corridors, isn’t it,” Sanson offered.
“What are you looking at,” Jean asked.
“I’m examining that,” said Batman, pointing to a black square of obsidian mounted into the corridor of the engineering section of the mighty.
“A plaque?”
“A dedication plaque.”
“Of the Nautilus’? May I read it?”
Before the Batman could protest, Jean had maneuvered himself into position and had proceeded to read off the stylized, gold letter emblazoned onto the plaque.
“The Nautilus, launched 21, 1888,” Jean read aloud. “But I can’t make out that.”
Jean was pointing to a slab of silver metal that had been nailed in beneath the English lettering. Emblazoned on this slab were two rows of strange symbols that Jean did not recognize. Batman, however, was trying.
“It appears to be based on early Mediterranean symbols, predating the birth of Christ and the height of Roman power. If I had full access to my databanks, it would be a simple matter of -- ”
“The Eritium, launched into the heavens sidereal calendar year 7962.”
Everyone just starred at Nadia, particularly Batman who, for perhaps the first time since entering this reality, was at a loss for words. That or he was experiencing déjà vu over his translation of Gargoyle’s message two weeks earlier.
“You can understand that? How,” Jean asked, his eyes brimming with curiosity at this seeming untapped talent of the ex-circus performer. Nadia, on the other hand, was awash in confusion.
“I…I don’ t know.”
Batman’s eyes narrowed. It seemed that the girl was telling the truth. But before he could question her further, Electra’s voice boomed over the ship-wide communications.
“General Quarters has been sounded. All personnel go to Level One Battle Stations. I repeat, all personnel go to Level One Battle Stations.”
“Time to kill people again,” Nadia murmured; despite his role in securing the treatment for her tropical fever, Nadia was still unwilling to budge on the opinion of Nemo she had formed from his shooting of the Neo-Atlantean soldier. Jean decided to intercede once again.
“Nadia, why don’t we go up to the bridge.”
And before Nadia could protest, Jean had grabbed her hand, dragging her through the corridors.
“Kids,” Diana said, shaking her head, yet smiling. Sanson shared that grin.
“I’d better get over to the kitchen, see if Senorita Grandis needs to be calmed.”
As Sanson left, Diana then turned to face her companion as they followed the two kids through the labyrinth of corridors that lined the ship.
“You never can ignore even the tiniest of details, can you,” she asked, making reference to the plaque
“I’m a Detective; in my field, attention to the tiniest of details always gets results.”
“Hmm. Speaking of results, how did you-know-what go?”
Diana was still slightly reluctant to speak of the autopsy. Suffice it to say, he had somehow managed to dispose of the evidence before she had returned from the underwater mission. How he had done this she did not know, nor did she possess any desire to know.
“Not entirely productive,” Batman sighed. "Without access to either Batcave or Watchtower equipment, the results are not exactly to my standards.”
“But what did you find?”
“If this single soldier is a representation of your typical Neo-Atlantean, then all Neo-Atlanteans are as human as they come.
Diana considered this as they rounded one of the corridors.
“So, does this mean that this entire movement is similar in make-up and delusions to the Aryan movements or even Aresia?”
Aresia had been a rogue Amazon who had been consumed by the Amazonian homophobia and hatred for men. She had attempted to wipe out all men on the planet with a biological virus and had come frighteningly close to succeeding if not for the Justice League. The irony of Aresia’s desire to destroy man had been that a man had saved her and sacrificed himself so that Areia could live.
“I honestly don’t know Diana. And now with this girl’s mysterious deciphering of those symbols, the mystery of this whole conflict and its origins is deepening even further.”
***
The bridge of the Nautilus was quiet, the mood tensed and ready. Minutes before, the Nautilus’ sensor package had picked up the faint electro-magnetic signature that matched the engine output of the Garfish-class. A closer investigation thus found that the reading was genuine and so, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Nautilus prepared to do battle once again.
“Distance?”
“Four thousand meters. They’re holding their position,” Echo reported. From his chair of command, Nemo stroked his chin and considered this.
“Hmm. They’re well within weapons range, are they not?”
“Yes sir.”
“So why haven’t they fired,” responded Electra.
“Maybe they’ve decided to surrender,” Echo wondered aloud, prompting everyone to look at him like he had lost his mind. Not once in this entire conflict had Gargoyle’s forces ever surrendered to the Nautilus in battle.
“Despite past experiences, Echo may have a point,” the Chief said. “The Garfish’s weapons have always proven ineffective in comparison to ours. And this is one of the older submarine models; we effectively outgun her.”
Before anyone could debate this any further, the main bridge hatch swished, permitting Jean and Nadia entry into the nerve center of the mighty submarine.
“Hello!”
“Jean, Nadia, what are you doing here? General Quarters has been sounded,” Electra said in an exasperated tone.
“But we just wanted to see the ship in action,” Jean protested. Electrra sighed and looked on him as a mother did when she scolded her children.
“Jean, I’ve told you before that civilians are not allowed on the bridge during combat situations – especially you,” she said with a look of extreme disapproval directed towards the Leaguers who had finally arrived on the bridge. The socking of Captain Nemo had not left her mind and would likely not anytime soon. Diana sighed; while she had won the support of the crew, her companion still had a long ways to go?
“Come on, we’ll head back down. Batman?”
But the Dark Knight did not respond. His head was cocked to the side, an uncertain expression on his face, but one of growing anger upon Electra’s face.
“Are you deaf? I called --”
“Quiet,” he snapped, “Listen.”
And then Diana, who lacked the sophisticated sound detection system Bruce had built into his cowl, but still had her warrior’s skills, heard it too. Sounds of persistent banging on the hull filled the bridge, an ominous feeling spreading quickly into everyone present. It seemed to come from everywhere.
“Stay al-- ,” Nemo stared to order, but he was too late. The ship suddenly rocked as though she had been struck by a torpedo. The lights and consoles began to flicker on and off, some refusing to return to their previous state.
“Report!”
The Chief Engineer strained to read the readouts from his half-disabled console as best he could.
“Some kind of field of magnetized devices. They’re disrupting the engines’ electro-magnetic field.”
As if to validate the Chief’s diagnoses, the constant thrumming of the Nautilus’ turbines ceased. That ominous feeling of dread began to surface in everyone again.
“All engines have failed!””
“Power to the scanning systems is also down,” reported Echo.
“Fire control sensors have been disabled,” Electra finished.
Captain Nemo grimaced. Gargoyle had once again resorted towards the use of a minefield, one like its brothers at the Le Merr Straits had taken the Nautilus’ fantastic abilities and rendered them all but useless in the present situation.
“The Nautilus has been crippled.”
Suddenly, Nadia’s Blue Water jewel began flashing. Having seen the jewel in action since first meeting Nadia in the City of Lights, Jean was well aware of its precognitive properties and had passed this information along to Batman, Diana, and the crew of the Nautilus. None of these outsiders could know that Nemo knew the truth behind the jewel all too well, but now was not the time.
“Report!”
Echo had already grabbed a pair of binoculars out of one of the bridge’s forward storage compartments and peered through the nearest porthole.
“I count four torpedoes! Distance is four thousand meters and closing!”
“Deploy the baffles,” Electra ordered.
“System not responding,” came the voice of the munitions crew’s team leader.
“Captain?”
Nemo glanced at Batman.
“What do you think,” he said and quickly. If Batman was thrilled at being back in the game, he didn’t show it.
“When their range is eight hundred meters, flood all ballast tanks and put us into a crash-dive,” said the Dark Knight. The crew rushed to prepare the system as Echo began counting down.
“Twelve hundred meters…a thousand…eight hundred!”
“Flood them now!”
Though the engines had been disabled by the magnetized mines, the ballast tanks were still fully operational and immediately went to work. But would it be enough?
“They’re right on top of us!”
The seconds ticked by, all attention on Echo and his viewfinder.
“Two passed over us, one directly below us. The fourth is heading straight on!”
No one dared breathed for the next few seconds, knowing that either Echo would report again for they would dead. Echo finally responded.
“It passed just shy of the conning tower, sir.”
Everyone breathed a momentous sigh of relief. If that torpedoes had come just another meter or two closer…
But this would be only a temporary relief, Nemo knew. The hunted had now become the hunter and was in far better shape than its prey.
“Where is the Garfish now?”
Echo scanned the underwater battlefield as best as he could with the viewing lenses.
“I think it’s at seven – correction, nine o’clock. Garfish approaching dead on from the port side. They’re increasing their speed to maximum.”
“They’re going to ramm us Captain,” the Engineer yelled.
“Commence evasive action!”
“Sir, the rudder is not responding,” the helmsman reported. Cursing under his breath, Nemo switched the ship-wide intercom on.
“All port-side personnel evacuate to the starboard side and seal all bulkheads. All hands brace for impact!”
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, it was if lightning had been called down from the heavens to reap judgment upon the mighty vessel. The ship rocked violently, more than it ever had before as the Garfish’s dagger-like bow plunged into the port armor platings Jean expected the all-purpose submarine to break apart
But it didn’t. If anything, the Garfish crumpled against the hull like a foot crushes a can of soda pop.
“We repulsed them?”
One final explosion rocked the submarine as the Garfish’s remaining armaments exploded, consuming the wreckage in a spectacular underwater pyrotechnics. As such, the bridge continue to shake for the next few moments as everyone held on for dear life.
“Damage report,” Nemo ordered when all had calmed down and, save for frayed nerves and upset stomachs, everyone reported to be in good conditions.
The Chief accessed his panel, hitting it before it became fully operational again.
“Number 7 Ballast Tank has been hit, the depth indicator has been fried, the breaches have been contained, and all engine systems are inoperable. We’ll need to surface in order to make external repairs, Captain.”
“Do it.”
“They couldn’t be more ruthless,” Echo noted aloud as the crew set to raising the mighty behemoth from the underwater battlefield..
“Only a madman like Gargoyle would condemn his followers on a suicide mission,” replied the Chief, garnering a nod from Nadia and Diana. However, Batman was deep in thought.
Call him overly paranoid – which almost all who knew him did– but something didn’t feel right here. As the island incident had shown, the Neo-Atlanteans were more than aware of the hull strength of the Nautilus; it had cut through the Garfish prototype like a knife through butter and the only thing that had sent it scurrying was an attempted blast from the Tower of Babel.
So why had the captain of this Garfish rammed the Nautilus if he knew that he could cripple, but not destroy it? Had it been an act of revenge, a final blaze of glory against his adversary? Or was something else afoot here, something that he wasn’t seeing?
Perhaps he was, against all odds, being too paranoid; he almost had been when the Riddler had apparently gone straight, though proven correct in the end. In any case, the Nautilus was rising to the surface, broken but not…
…
…rising to the surface…
…
“Abort the surfacing sequence. Flood all ballast tanks and dive, quickly” he said abruptly and without any warning. Everyone on the bridge just looked at him.
“What? Why?”
Before Batman could repeat the order, Nadia’s Blue Water began flashing again. Jean’s eyes widened, disbelief spreading across his young features.
“I thought we were out of danger!”
And that was when the first shells hit the Nautilus.
***
To be Continued…
***
Annotations and Author’s Notes
* Once again, I’m sorry about the two month delay guys. As such, I hope this chapter has been worth the wait.
* Aresia’s first (and onlu) appearance was in JL’s first season with the two-part “Fury”.
* Batman’s paranoia over the Riddler’s apparent reformation can be found in BTAS’ “Riddler’s Reform”.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
As always, Enjoy!
***
Chapter XIV – Double or Nothing, Part 1
***
“Wow, it worked!
“I can’t believe it either!”
“You know what means, don’t you Jean?”
“Yep. We’re geniuses!”
“Whatever,” Sanson murmured.
With all the excitement of the last few weeks, Hanson had been unable to fully devote his attention towards the restoration of the Gratan. The damage from the minefield was still visible and so he sought to rectify that, while at the same time upgrading what he could with the Nautilus' advanced technology. Jean was involved of course, at Hanson’s invitation.
As the technical boys got their hands dirty and congratulated themselves on their modifications to the Gratan, Sanson sat back and watched with a bored expression upon his face. No one wanted to view another of his shows of strength or marksmanship or fashion since he dared not go to help Senoirta Grandis in the kitchen, he just loafed around.
“Congratulations, Jean.”
The voice came from the other side of the strange craft and belonged to Ensign Fait. One of the Nautilus engineers, Fait had assisted in the restoration of the Gratan. He had met Jean three days earlier when, as they had been attempting to begin the modifications, Jean had accidentally broken his glasses. On duty in the hanger at the time, Fait had offered to patch them up and had done so in no time.
As a result, Fait, had taken a liking to the young French boy and vice-versa. Like Jean, he had a passion for tomorrow and the good that science could bring to mankind.
“We couldn’t have done it without you, Mr. Fait,” Hanson stated proudly as Fair descended down the Gratan.” The ensign laughed.
“Hey, I’m always glad to be of help.”
“As are we,” came another voice from the far end of the hanger. Everyone turned to see Diana and Nadia approach the work in progress.
While her companion remained controversial amongst the crew members, Diana had continued to impress the men of the Nautilus with her mean-right hook to the Dinicthys – Nemo had afterwards stated there was no bout as to the creature’s species – and so had finished with the morning’s fitness regimen; the ancient Amazonian training exercises truly made things…interesting.
“Grandis sent us; lunch is ready.”
“Hanson?”
“You guys go on; I’ll catch up.”
“I’ll go,” Sanson volunteered. “At least one of us has to show up so she doesn’t go nuts again after what happened with the minefield.”
“Mr. Fait, you’re welcome to join us,” Jean said. Fait just smiled.
“I’ve got to get back on duty. But I’ll stop by later.”
“I see your friendship with the Ensign is blossoming,” Diana couldn’t help but note – as well as the fact that Nadia’s facial expression suddenly turned sour. Jean sighed audibly.
“Nadia, you’re still not mad about the flowers, are you?”
Jean had been the first to tell Fait of the crush he had on Nadia and rather than ask Sanson – which given his success, or lack thereof in the field -- had asked Fait on how to win a girl’s heart. Fait had suggested flowers and had used the Nautilus’ facilities to cultivate artificial flowers.
Nadia, however, had reacted less than delighted.
“I told you before; technology has no place in my life if it re-creates life. It’s artificial and fake.”
“But it was a gift, an act of kindness. Can’t you appreciate that?”
“No it’s not, it’s meant to distract me from the scientific atrocities that people like Nemo and Gargoyle use to their own ends.”
“Here we go again. Look, Nadia, I-- ”
Jean stopped suddenly as he blinked, wondering perhaps if he had hailed any fumes from the Gratan’s fuel supply.
But he hadn’t.
Ahead of them, bent over and holding any matter of scientific instruments over one of the corridors, was the Dark Knight Detective.
“Beautiful day to be inspecting the paint job of the corridors, isn’t it,” Sanson offered.
“What are you looking at,” Jean asked.
“I’m examining that,” said Batman, pointing to a black square of obsidian mounted into the corridor of the engineering section of the mighty.
“A plaque?”
“A dedication plaque.”
“Of the Nautilus’? May I read it?”
Before the Batman could protest, Jean had maneuvered himself into position and had proceeded to read off the stylized, gold letter emblazoned onto the plaque.
“The Nautilus, launched 21, 1888,” Jean read aloud. “But I can’t make out that.”
Jean was pointing to a slab of silver metal that had been nailed in beneath the English lettering. Emblazoned on this slab were two rows of strange symbols that Jean did not recognize. Batman, however, was trying.
“It appears to be based on early Mediterranean symbols, predating the birth of Christ and the height of Roman power. If I had full access to my databanks, it would be a simple matter of -- ”
“The Eritium, launched into the heavens sidereal calendar year 7962.”
Everyone just starred at Nadia, particularly Batman who, for perhaps the first time since entering this reality, was at a loss for words. That or he was experiencing déjà vu over his translation of Gargoyle’s message two weeks earlier.
“You can understand that? How,” Jean asked, his eyes brimming with curiosity at this seeming untapped talent of the ex-circus performer. Nadia, on the other hand, was awash in confusion.
“I…I don’ t know.”
Batman’s eyes narrowed. It seemed that the girl was telling the truth. But before he could question her further, Electra’s voice boomed over the ship-wide communications.
“General Quarters has been sounded. All personnel go to Level One Battle Stations. I repeat, all personnel go to Level One Battle Stations.”
“Time to kill people again,” Nadia murmured; despite his role in securing the treatment for her tropical fever, Nadia was still unwilling to budge on the opinion of Nemo she had formed from his shooting of the Neo-Atlantean soldier. Jean decided to intercede once again.
“Nadia, why don’t we go up to the bridge.”
And before Nadia could protest, Jean had grabbed her hand, dragging her through the corridors.
“Kids,” Diana said, shaking her head, yet smiling. Sanson shared that grin.
“I’d better get over to the kitchen, see if Senorita Grandis needs to be calmed.”
As Sanson left, Diana then turned to face her companion as they followed the two kids through the labyrinth of corridors that lined the ship.
“You never can ignore even the tiniest of details, can you,” she asked, making reference to the plaque
“I’m a Detective; in my field, attention to the tiniest of details always gets results.”
“Hmm. Speaking of results, how did you-know-what go?”
Diana was still slightly reluctant to speak of the autopsy. Suffice it to say, he had somehow managed to dispose of the evidence before she had returned from the underwater mission. How he had done this she did not know, nor did she possess any desire to know.
“Not entirely productive,” Batman sighed. "Without access to either Batcave or Watchtower equipment, the results are not exactly to my standards.”
“But what did you find?”
“If this single soldier is a representation of your typical Neo-Atlantean, then all Neo-Atlanteans are as human as they come.
Diana considered this as they rounded one of the corridors.
“So, does this mean that this entire movement is similar in make-up and delusions to the Aryan movements or even Aresia?”
Aresia had been a rogue Amazon who had been consumed by the Amazonian homophobia and hatred for men. She had attempted to wipe out all men on the planet with a biological virus and had come frighteningly close to succeeding if not for the Justice League. The irony of Aresia’s desire to destroy man had been that a man had saved her and sacrificed himself so that Areia could live.
“I honestly don’t know Diana. And now with this girl’s mysterious deciphering of those symbols, the mystery of this whole conflict and its origins is deepening even further.”
***
The bridge of the Nautilus was quiet, the mood tensed and ready. Minutes before, the Nautilus’ sensor package had picked up the faint electro-magnetic signature that matched the engine output of the Garfish-class. A closer investigation thus found that the reading was genuine and so, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Nautilus prepared to do battle once again.
“Distance?”
“Four thousand meters. They’re holding their position,” Echo reported. From his chair of command, Nemo stroked his chin and considered this.
“Hmm. They’re well within weapons range, are they not?”
“Yes sir.”
“So why haven’t they fired,” responded Electra.
“Maybe they’ve decided to surrender,” Echo wondered aloud, prompting everyone to look at him like he had lost his mind. Not once in this entire conflict had Gargoyle’s forces ever surrendered to the Nautilus in battle.
“Despite past experiences, Echo may have a point,” the Chief said. “The Garfish’s weapons have always proven ineffective in comparison to ours. And this is one of the older submarine models; we effectively outgun her.”
Before anyone could debate this any further, the main bridge hatch swished, permitting Jean and Nadia entry into the nerve center of the mighty submarine.
“Hello!”
“Jean, Nadia, what are you doing here? General Quarters has been sounded,” Electra said in an exasperated tone.
“But we just wanted to see the ship in action,” Jean protested. Electrra sighed and looked on him as a mother did when she scolded her children.
“Jean, I’ve told you before that civilians are not allowed on the bridge during combat situations – especially you,” she said with a look of extreme disapproval directed towards the Leaguers who had finally arrived on the bridge. The socking of Captain Nemo had not left her mind and would likely not anytime soon. Diana sighed; while she had won the support of the crew, her companion still had a long ways to go?
“Come on, we’ll head back down. Batman?”
But the Dark Knight did not respond. His head was cocked to the side, an uncertain expression on his face, but one of growing anger upon Electra’s face.
“Are you deaf? I called --”
“Quiet,” he snapped, “Listen.”
And then Diana, who lacked the sophisticated sound detection system Bruce had built into his cowl, but still had her warrior’s skills, heard it too. Sounds of persistent banging on the hull filled the bridge, an ominous feeling spreading quickly into everyone present. It seemed to come from everywhere.
“Stay al-- ,” Nemo stared to order, but he was too late. The ship suddenly rocked as though she had been struck by a torpedo. The lights and consoles began to flicker on and off, some refusing to return to their previous state.
“Report!”
The Chief Engineer strained to read the readouts from his half-disabled console as best he could.
“Some kind of field of magnetized devices. They’re disrupting the engines’ electro-magnetic field.”
As if to validate the Chief’s diagnoses, the constant thrumming of the Nautilus’ turbines ceased. That ominous feeling of dread began to surface in everyone again.
“All engines have failed!””
“Power to the scanning systems is also down,” reported Echo.
“Fire control sensors have been disabled,” Electra finished.
Captain Nemo grimaced. Gargoyle had once again resorted towards the use of a minefield, one like its brothers at the Le Merr Straits had taken the Nautilus’ fantastic abilities and rendered them all but useless in the present situation.
“The Nautilus has been crippled.”
Suddenly, Nadia’s Blue Water jewel began flashing. Having seen the jewel in action since first meeting Nadia in the City of Lights, Jean was well aware of its precognitive properties and had passed this information along to Batman, Diana, and the crew of the Nautilus. None of these outsiders could know that Nemo knew the truth behind the jewel all too well, but now was not the time.
“Report!”
Echo had already grabbed a pair of binoculars out of one of the bridge’s forward storage compartments and peered through the nearest porthole.
“I count four torpedoes! Distance is four thousand meters and closing!”
“Deploy the baffles,” Electra ordered.
“System not responding,” came the voice of the munitions crew’s team leader.
“Captain?”
Nemo glanced at Batman.
“What do you think,” he said and quickly. If Batman was thrilled at being back in the game, he didn’t show it.
“When their range is eight hundred meters, flood all ballast tanks and put us into a crash-dive,” said the Dark Knight. The crew rushed to prepare the system as Echo began counting down.
“Twelve hundred meters…a thousand…eight hundred!”
“Flood them now!”
Though the engines had been disabled by the magnetized mines, the ballast tanks were still fully operational and immediately went to work. But would it be enough?
“They’re right on top of us!”
The seconds ticked by, all attention on Echo and his viewfinder.
“Two passed over us, one directly below us. The fourth is heading straight on!”
No one dared breathed for the next few seconds, knowing that either Echo would report again for they would dead. Echo finally responded.
“It passed just shy of the conning tower, sir.”
Everyone breathed a momentous sigh of relief. If that torpedoes had come just another meter or two closer…
But this would be only a temporary relief, Nemo knew. The hunted had now become the hunter and was in far better shape than its prey.
“Where is the Garfish now?”
Echo scanned the underwater battlefield as best as he could with the viewing lenses.
“I think it’s at seven – correction, nine o’clock. Garfish approaching dead on from the port side. They’re increasing their speed to maximum.”
“They’re going to ramm us Captain,” the Engineer yelled.
“Commence evasive action!”
“Sir, the rudder is not responding,” the helmsman reported. Cursing under his breath, Nemo switched the ship-wide intercom on.
“All port-side personnel evacuate to the starboard side and seal all bulkheads. All hands brace for impact!”
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, it was if lightning had been called down from the heavens to reap judgment upon the mighty vessel. The ship rocked violently, more than it ever had before as the Garfish’s dagger-like bow plunged into the port armor platings Jean expected the all-purpose submarine to break apart
But it didn’t. If anything, the Garfish crumpled against the hull like a foot crushes a can of soda pop.
“We repulsed them?”
One final explosion rocked the submarine as the Garfish’s remaining armaments exploded, consuming the wreckage in a spectacular underwater pyrotechnics. As such, the bridge continue to shake for the next few moments as everyone held on for dear life.
“Damage report,” Nemo ordered when all had calmed down and, save for frayed nerves and upset stomachs, everyone reported to be in good conditions.
The Chief accessed his panel, hitting it before it became fully operational again.
“Number 7 Ballast Tank has been hit, the depth indicator has been fried, the breaches have been contained, and all engine systems are inoperable. We’ll need to surface in order to make external repairs, Captain.”
“Do it.”
“They couldn’t be more ruthless,” Echo noted aloud as the crew set to raising the mighty behemoth from the underwater battlefield..
“Only a madman like Gargoyle would condemn his followers on a suicide mission,” replied the Chief, garnering a nod from Nadia and Diana. However, Batman was deep in thought.
Call him overly paranoid – which almost all who knew him did– but something didn’t feel right here. As the island incident had shown, the Neo-Atlanteans were more than aware of the hull strength of the Nautilus; it had cut through the Garfish prototype like a knife through butter and the only thing that had sent it scurrying was an attempted blast from the Tower of Babel.
So why had the captain of this Garfish rammed the Nautilus if he knew that he could cripple, but not destroy it? Had it been an act of revenge, a final blaze of glory against his adversary? Or was something else afoot here, something that he wasn’t seeing?
Perhaps he was, against all odds, being too paranoid; he almost had been when the Riddler had apparently gone straight, though proven correct in the end. In any case, the Nautilus was rising to the surface, broken but not…
…
…rising to the surface…
…
“Abort the surfacing sequence. Flood all ballast tanks and dive, quickly” he said abruptly and without any warning. Everyone on the bridge just looked at him.
“What? Why?”
Before Batman could repeat the order, Nadia’s Blue Water began flashing again. Jean’s eyes widened, disbelief spreading across his young features.
“I thought we were out of danger!”
And that was when the first shells hit the Nautilus.
***
To be Continued…
***
Annotations and Author’s Notes
* Once again, I’m sorry about the two month delay guys. As such, I hope this chapter has been worth the wait.
* Aresia’s first (and onlu) appearance was in JL’s first season with the two-part “Fury”.
* Batman’s paranoia over the Riddler’s apparent reformation can be found in BTAS’ “Riddler’s Reform”.
-
Shroom Man 777
- FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
- Posts: 21222
- Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
- Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
- Contact:
Nice. And damn man, Batman performing autopsies! That's really creepy!
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Cool. Nadia gets crazier every time she freaks out about something, though.
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Even so, if I were Jean I think I'd be ripping my hair out. He gives her flowers and she gets pissed at him. The worst a guy can usually expect from giving flowers to a girl is indifference.
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Bah, he is French. He is like Napoleon; he will strike when it is right and divide and conquer...Trogdor wrote:Even so, if I were Jean I think I'd be ripping my hair out. He gives her flowers and she gets pissed at him. The worst a guy can usually expect from giving flowers to a girl is indifference.
(I kid, I kid!)
-
Shroom Man 777
- FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
- Posts: 21222
- Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
- Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
- Contact:
The guy has a point though, soon you'll have to make Nadia better, else she'll come off as a constantly crazy koo-koo cunt kind of person.
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Bump
WHen's the next chapter, hon?
WHen's the next chapter, hon?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
It'll come when I have a moment; I'm working more this summer than I have done in previous summers and so not only my time has become more limited, but I'm also often too tired to write much when I get home.
Also on my plate is the next installment of The Best of Both Worldsas well as another JLU one-shot set after the conclusion of the Cadmus Arc -- not to mention an attempted entry into Strange New Worlds.
But rest assured I will get back to this eventually. In the meantime, I can give you the titles of the next couple chapters (the titles and number of chapters are subject to change, mind you):
Double or Nothing, Part 2
Double or Nothing, Part 3
Identity Crisis, Part 1
Identity Crisis, Part 2
Stone and Anvil, Part 1
Stone and Anvil, Part 2
The Road to Ruin I: Penumbra
The Road to Ruin II: Checkmate
The Road to Ruin III: Blaze of Glory
Also on my plate is the next installment of The Best of Both Worldsas well as another JLU one-shot set after the conclusion of the Cadmus Arc -- not to mention an attempted entry into Strange New Worlds.
But rest assured I will get back to this eventually. In the meantime, I can give you the titles of the next couple chapters (the titles and number of chapters are subject to change, mind you):
Double or Nothing, Part 2
Double or Nothing, Part 3
Identity Crisis, Part 1
Identity Crisis, Part 2
Stone and Anvil, Part 1
Stone and Anvil, Part 2
The Road to Ruin I: Penumbra
The Road to Ruin II: Checkmate
The Road to Ruin III: Blaze of Glory
Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
Author’s Notes: Nothing major, save an apology for the delays in getting the next chapter up. I suffered serious writing block on how to present the events of this chapter and you’ll see why shortly. Other than that, as always, enjoy.
***
Chapter XIV – Double or Nothing, Part 2
***
Captain Martin Mellville had always loved the sea; it came from growing up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Despite land-based occupations, his parents had encouraged it and as soon as he was of age, he had enrolled in the Naval Academy. He had only barely graduated when President Lincoln had sounded the call to arms against the Confederate States. Assigned to the Union sloop Oneida, he had served his country with distinction during that conflict and had in the twenty-four years since.
But there was one incident of that tour of duty that haunted him. On April 4, 1862, the Oneida had been part of the blockade of Alabama’s Mobile Bay. There, she had been humiliated as Captain John Maffitt of the raider Florida had fooled the Union ships and ran the blockade. Given the notoriety associated with that incident, Melville had worked hard to live it down and play to win, to never be humiliated like that again.
And for twenty-seven years, it had worked.
Then, he was given command of the newly-commissioned cruiser Abraham, his goal to locate and destroy the so-called sea monsters that were destroying Atlantic shipping at an alarming rate. A seemingly simple task, it had ended in utter disaster, the monster ramming his hull and sinking the cruiser, sending half of the Abraham’s crew to the bottom of French waters.
This time, however, it wasn’t just about the humiliation. He owed the boys on board the Abraham, to make sure that they did not die in vain. Thus, he had been somewhat reluctant when, while docked in port, his adjutant Commander Holland had brought in a masked man claiming to know the location of the monster. Melville had personally thought him to be a bit of a looney. Yet, for reasons that escaped him, he had heard him out and lo and behold, against all possibility, the man was right. The sea monster that had attacked the North Atlantic shipping and the Abraham was here now and even better was that the mighty beast was wounded.
“Initial salvo has reached its target,” Holland reported to his side. Melville nodded, his face an avatar of grim satisfaction. They were onboard the Yorktown, one of the Abraham’s sister ships. From here they would conduct this operation, an operation that had brought out half of American’s Atlantic fleet.
“Good. Order all ships to prepare their second volleys. Send it to hell!”
“With pleasure, sir.”
***
“Report!” Captain Nemo ordered as one of the bridge’s upper ports shattered, sending glass flying all over the bridge. Batman’s raised cape shielded Nadia and Jean from the worst of it.
“American naval fleet off the starboard side! I count at least ten warships firing heavy salvos at us,” Echo yelled back, still relying on his binoculars due to the Garfish’s damage to the sensor array.
“Leave it to the Americans to roll out a red carpet,” Electra muttered. Batman ignored her, concentrating with his own binoculars upon the image of the American fleet.
“Is it too much to hope this is a coincidence?” Diana asked him.
“Yes.”
Sighing, Diana replied, “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Before anyone else could say anything, another series of booms permeated the interior of the bridge.
“Captain, they’ve fired a secondary salvo. I estimate it will reach us in forty seconds,” Echo reported.
“All quarters prepare the defense,” ordered Nemo. “Commander, engage emergency porthole shutters.”
With a nod and cool head, Electra inputted a sequence into her control console. Within ten seconds, all of the bridge’s viewing portals, including the one hit earlier, were sealed off from the exterior of the hull..
“Sequence complete, Captain.”
“Emergency dive!”
“Captain, the entire diving system is offline,” cried the Chief. Cursing in a multitude of languages overtook the bridge, as did the sound of the approaching secondary salvo.
“Dammit. All hands brace for impact!”
It seemed like an eternity before the next salvo struck, the explosion resonating throughout the entire hull and throwing everyone who wasn‘t strapped down off balance.
“Are there any weapon systems still online?” the Dark Knight asked the Chief as he steadied himself.
“Negative.”
“What about radio?” Diana inquired to Echo.
“Absolutely not,” retorted Electra, seeing where the Amazing Amazon was going. “We will not reveal our existence to the outside world.”
“You cause is no good if you’re dead,” she replied.
Before the two women could continue their argument, Echo’s voice broke through.
“Third Salvo away. It will strike us in thirty seconds. They appear to be aimed directly at the bridge,”
“Captain, Engineering reports makeshift repairs to the diving system will be ready in forty seconds.”
Batman’s mind immediately began racing.
“Can this bridge survive that kind of bombardment for an additional ten seconds?”
“No.”
He nodded in satisfaction.
“Then we go to Plan B. Diana?”
***
From the observation deck of the Yorktown, Melville’s feelings of satisfaction began to darken as he saw his quarry begin its diving sequence.
“Holland, have every ship fire all their turrets now! Don’t let it get away.”
The final shells hit their target just as it began to vanish. As the smoke and fire cleared, the creature appeared to belly up for a moment and then plunge down into the waves like a dagger to the ground.
“Well done, eh Holland?”
When his adjutant didn’t reply, Melville looked back and saw his trusted aide with a somewhat vacant expression on his face. The Captain frowned.
“Holland?”
“Uh, forgive me, sir. It’s just…I could have sworn for a moment that I saw someone alongside the creature, almost as if they were pushing down.”
Captain Melville just starred at him, causing him to flush slightly.
“It must be the heat, sir.”
“Hmm. That wasn’t as tough as we thought it might be. Have the fleet continue to patrol these waters and drop a few charges; I don’t want to take any chances that the creature may have survived.
***
“Get that airlock open, now!”
The only operational starboard airlock hissed open, to reveal a soaking wet, flushed, and gasping, but was otherwise unharmed Amazon Princess.
“Next time I’m sticking to just pushing Javelin-class craft.”
With a quick movement of his hands, Batman removed his cape and draped it around her dripping form. She smiled softly.
“How gentlemanly of you.”
Batman didn’t respond. But when one considered the dark creature of the night her fellow Justice Leaguer was, the one-liners were more suited and prone to come from either Flash or one of his squires.
“What’s our next move?” she asked as they began moving through the corridors and past crewmen working frantically to patch leaks or remove hatches.
“Nemo purged the aft tank and oil reserves so as to make it appear as if we’ve gone to the bottom. Hopefully the deception is convincing enough”
“And if not, then what?”
Before Batman could response, a series of warning klaxons began blaring and suddenly, Nadia and Jean appeared, racing down the corridor with a look of determination and desperation upon their youthful faces.
“Where in the hell are they going?”
The answer was provided moments later when Electra, Sanson, Hanson, and Grandis emerged from the opposite end.
“Did Jean and Nadia come this way?” asked Hanson.
“Yes. Sanson, what’s going on?
“There’s a lethal gas leak in one of the auxiliary engine rooms, Ms. Diana. Three of the crew are trapped inside, include Jean‘s friend Fait!”
Batman and Wonder Woman took one look at each other and then began moving alongside the others, down the stretch of hallway that Jean had followed King down what seemed like a lifetime ago. They passed main engineering and emerged in what appeared to be a dead-end corridor.
At the end was a sealed bulkhead, its lights flashing a lockdown order and in front of it, Jean and Nadia. Jean appeared to be yelling into the air, but it was clear upon a closer look that he was speaking into one of the ship’s intercoms.
“This ship is full of advanced technology. Can’t you do something?!”
“The ship is full of advanced technology, yes Jean, but it can’t work miracles,” came the voice of the Chief. “If we surface, we can vent the gas. But we can’t now. I’m sorry Jean.”
Jean suddenly became aware of the presence of his friends and the Leaguers. He turned around, a look of desperate pleading etched across his young face.
“Then what about you?! Can’t you save them with your powers, Ms. Diana?!”
Despite her gifts from the Greek Gods, even she wasn’t resistant to the effects of radiation or lethal gas. And neither could the Dark Knight.
“We can’t do everything, Jean,” Batman said quietly at last.
“Then use your mind or your gadgets! You’ve said that there’s always another way. Have Diana sink the American ships so we can surface!”
Diana was silent, visibly hesitating and with good reason. It was Batman who provided the answer.
“Our presence here has already contaminated your timeline enough. There‘s no telling what the wide scale death of thousands of American sailors would bode for your world‘s future.”
“I don’t care about the future! I only care about Fait.”
“Listen to him, Jean.”
Fait’s voice came loud and clear, though haggard over the intercom, silencing the boy. Batman had seen the effect of poison gas all-too well and whatever type the ensign was being exposed to, he didn’t have long to live.
“Monsieur Fait!
“The…Americans were deceived by Gargoyle. You…can’t hold that against them . And Captain Nemo was right to seal off…the chamber. If…the Captain hadn’t ordered the chamber sealed…the entire engineering compartment would have been flooded. If we surface…everyone on this ship dies. If the Americans capture this submarine, then they have the potential to become just like Gargoyle.”
“I don’t care!
Nadia finally couldn’t take it anymore as he turned around and exploded in front of everyone.
“You’re all monsters! All of you! Justice League, Nautilius, Granva Gang -- it doesn’t matter. You’re just as bad as Gargo--”
That was all it took for Electra to lose it. She stepped forward, but Grandis beat her to it, slapping the girl across the cheek.
“You keep your mouth shut until you understand how much the Captain is suffering by sacrificing those men for all our sakes,” she said in a low and dangerous voice.
“Jean, she’s right. It’s a no-win scenario. Our lives are not as important as the lives of everyone else on this ship, including you. The needs…of the many outweigh the…the needs of the few. Never forget that, Jean. Take care my friend.”
The intercom clicked and went silent as the warning klaxon on the side indicated that the gas leak had now reached lethal levels.
“Monsieur Fait!”
Jean began pounding on the bulkhead, screaming out his friend’s name and collapsed on his knees, sobbing as Nadia kneeled to comfort him and everyone else looked on at the bulkheat in solemnity.
***
Four hours later, the sensor array finally came back online. No sign of any ships either on the surface or bottom was apparent. Nemo ordered the vessel to ascend so as to begin external repairs to the mighty-all purpose submarine. Everyone was lending their talents and help towards the repairs, from the Justice Leaguers to the Granva gang.
That left Jean and Nadia alone on the rear observation deck. Jean held Fait’s flowers in his hand, the same flowers that he had tried to give Nadia. She held that same flower in her hand. They simultaneously tossed their respective items into the sea.
“Good-bye, Monsieur Fait,” he said quietly as the flowers began to float away amidst the crashing waves. None of them spoke for a long moment, each consumed in their thoughts. Finally, Nadia broke the silence.
“Jean, I…”
Jean held up his hand and Nadia paused for a moment, deciding for once to hear Jean out.
“There’s nothing to say, Nadia. You were right and I was wrong. You were right about Nemo and you were right about Batman and Wonder Woman, too. They‘re not heroes to me. Not anymore.”
He turned away from her and looked out over the setting sun and sea and the increasingly distant flowers that Fait had created. The two stood there until the night fell, gazing out together the distant sunset and the repair crews, now uncertain more than ever about tomorrow and what it would bring.
***
To be continued…
***
Author’s Notations
* Quite a depressing way to resume the story, eh? But I told you it was going to get darker before it got brighter.
* For those not aware, Mellville and Holand appeared in the third episode of the series, rescuing Nadia and Jean from a crashed sea-plane. It was their mission to hunt the sea monsters (or rather the Garfish) destroying Atlantic shipping that brought them into contact with Nemo and the crew of the Nautilus (they also make an apperance of sorts in “Nadia”’s sister series, “Evangelion“, as the Captain and Commander of the UN flagship in the eighth episode).
* Mellville’s first name and backstory were never given in the series.
* The Confederate Raider Florida did indeed exist and was one of the most famous ships of the Confederate Navy after the C.S.S. Alabama. Scuttled by the Union in order to resolve an internation incident in 1864 (the Americans essentially attacked and captured the ship in a neutral Brazilian port, violating international laws), the wreck was finally found in 1982 by author Clive Cussler and NUM. Like I’ve said, I have a passion for maritime history and so it seemed fun to tie the Captain into already established historical events.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
Author’s Notes: Nothing major, save an apology for the delays in getting the next chapter up. I suffered serious writing block on how to present the events of this chapter and you’ll see why shortly. Other than that, as always, enjoy.
***
Chapter XIV – Double or Nothing, Part 2
***
Captain Martin Mellville had always loved the sea; it came from growing up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Despite land-based occupations, his parents had encouraged it and as soon as he was of age, he had enrolled in the Naval Academy. He had only barely graduated when President Lincoln had sounded the call to arms against the Confederate States. Assigned to the Union sloop Oneida, he had served his country with distinction during that conflict and had in the twenty-four years since.
But there was one incident of that tour of duty that haunted him. On April 4, 1862, the Oneida had been part of the blockade of Alabama’s Mobile Bay. There, she had been humiliated as Captain John Maffitt of the raider Florida had fooled the Union ships and ran the blockade. Given the notoriety associated with that incident, Melville had worked hard to live it down and play to win, to never be humiliated like that again.
And for twenty-seven years, it had worked.
Then, he was given command of the newly-commissioned cruiser Abraham, his goal to locate and destroy the so-called sea monsters that were destroying Atlantic shipping at an alarming rate. A seemingly simple task, it had ended in utter disaster, the monster ramming his hull and sinking the cruiser, sending half of the Abraham’s crew to the bottom of French waters.
This time, however, it wasn’t just about the humiliation. He owed the boys on board the Abraham, to make sure that they did not die in vain. Thus, he had been somewhat reluctant when, while docked in port, his adjutant Commander Holland had brought in a masked man claiming to know the location of the monster. Melville had personally thought him to be a bit of a looney. Yet, for reasons that escaped him, he had heard him out and lo and behold, against all possibility, the man was right. The sea monster that had attacked the North Atlantic shipping and the Abraham was here now and even better was that the mighty beast was wounded.
“Initial salvo has reached its target,” Holland reported to his side. Melville nodded, his face an avatar of grim satisfaction. They were onboard the Yorktown, one of the Abraham’s sister ships. From here they would conduct this operation, an operation that had brought out half of American’s Atlantic fleet.
“Good. Order all ships to prepare their second volleys. Send it to hell!”
“With pleasure, sir.”
***
“Report!” Captain Nemo ordered as one of the bridge’s upper ports shattered, sending glass flying all over the bridge. Batman’s raised cape shielded Nadia and Jean from the worst of it.
“American naval fleet off the starboard side! I count at least ten warships firing heavy salvos at us,” Echo yelled back, still relying on his binoculars due to the Garfish’s damage to the sensor array.
“Leave it to the Americans to roll out a red carpet,” Electra muttered. Batman ignored her, concentrating with his own binoculars upon the image of the American fleet.
“Is it too much to hope this is a coincidence?” Diana asked him.
“Yes.”
Sighing, Diana replied, “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Before anyone else could say anything, another series of booms permeated the interior of the bridge.
“Captain, they’ve fired a secondary salvo. I estimate it will reach us in forty seconds,” Echo reported.
“All quarters prepare the defense,” ordered Nemo. “Commander, engage emergency porthole shutters.”
With a nod and cool head, Electra inputted a sequence into her control console. Within ten seconds, all of the bridge’s viewing portals, including the one hit earlier, were sealed off from the exterior of the hull..
“Sequence complete, Captain.”
“Emergency dive!”
“Captain, the entire diving system is offline,” cried the Chief. Cursing in a multitude of languages overtook the bridge, as did the sound of the approaching secondary salvo.
“Dammit. All hands brace for impact!”
It seemed like an eternity before the next salvo struck, the explosion resonating throughout the entire hull and throwing everyone who wasn‘t strapped down off balance.
“Are there any weapon systems still online?” the Dark Knight asked the Chief as he steadied himself.
“Negative.”
“What about radio?” Diana inquired to Echo.
“Absolutely not,” retorted Electra, seeing where the Amazing Amazon was going. “We will not reveal our existence to the outside world.”
“You cause is no good if you’re dead,” she replied.
Before the two women could continue their argument, Echo’s voice broke through.
“Third Salvo away. It will strike us in thirty seconds. They appear to be aimed directly at the bridge,”
“Captain, Engineering reports makeshift repairs to the diving system will be ready in forty seconds.”
Batman’s mind immediately began racing.
“Can this bridge survive that kind of bombardment for an additional ten seconds?”
“No.”
He nodded in satisfaction.
“Then we go to Plan B. Diana?”
***
From the observation deck of the Yorktown, Melville’s feelings of satisfaction began to darken as he saw his quarry begin its diving sequence.
“Holland, have every ship fire all their turrets now! Don’t let it get away.”
The final shells hit their target just as it began to vanish. As the smoke and fire cleared, the creature appeared to belly up for a moment and then plunge down into the waves like a dagger to the ground.
“Well done, eh Holland?”
When his adjutant didn’t reply, Melville looked back and saw his trusted aide with a somewhat vacant expression on his face. The Captain frowned.
“Holland?”
“Uh, forgive me, sir. It’s just…I could have sworn for a moment that I saw someone alongside the creature, almost as if they were pushing down.”
Captain Melville just starred at him, causing him to flush slightly.
“It must be the heat, sir.”
“Hmm. That wasn’t as tough as we thought it might be. Have the fleet continue to patrol these waters and drop a few charges; I don’t want to take any chances that the creature may have survived.
***
“Get that airlock open, now!”
The only operational starboard airlock hissed open, to reveal a soaking wet, flushed, and gasping, but was otherwise unharmed Amazon Princess.
“Next time I’m sticking to just pushing Javelin-class craft.”
With a quick movement of his hands, Batman removed his cape and draped it around her dripping form. She smiled softly.
“How gentlemanly of you.”
Batman didn’t respond. But when one considered the dark creature of the night her fellow Justice Leaguer was, the one-liners were more suited and prone to come from either Flash or one of his squires.
“What’s our next move?” she asked as they began moving through the corridors and past crewmen working frantically to patch leaks or remove hatches.
“Nemo purged the aft tank and oil reserves so as to make it appear as if we’ve gone to the bottom. Hopefully the deception is convincing enough”
“And if not, then what?”
Before Batman could response, a series of warning klaxons began blaring and suddenly, Nadia and Jean appeared, racing down the corridor with a look of determination and desperation upon their youthful faces.
“Where in the hell are they going?”
The answer was provided moments later when Electra, Sanson, Hanson, and Grandis emerged from the opposite end.
“Did Jean and Nadia come this way?” asked Hanson.
“Yes. Sanson, what’s going on?
“There’s a lethal gas leak in one of the auxiliary engine rooms, Ms. Diana. Three of the crew are trapped inside, include Jean‘s friend Fait!”
Batman and Wonder Woman took one look at each other and then began moving alongside the others, down the stretch of hallway that Jean had followed King down what seemed like a lifetime ago. They passed main engineering and emerged in what appeared to be a dead-end corridor.
At the end was a sealed bulkhead, its lights flashing a lockdown order and in front of it, Jean and Nadia. Jean appeared to be yelling into the air, but it was clear upon a closer look that he was speaking into one of the ship’s intercoms.
“This ship is full of advanced technology. Can’t you do something?!”
“The ship is full of advanced technology, yes Jean, but it can’t work miracles,” came the voice of the Chief. “If we surface, we can vent the gas. But we can’t now. I’m sorry Jean.”
Jean suddenly became aware of the presence of his friends and the Leaguers. He turned around, a look of desperate pleading etched across his young face.
“Then what about you?! Can’t you save them with your powers, Ms. Diana?!”
Despite her gifts from the Greek Gods, even she wasn’t resistant to the effects of radiation or lethal gas. And neither could the Dark Knight.
“We can’t do everything, Jean,” Batman said quietly at last.
“Then use your mind or your gadgets! You’ve said that there’s always another way. Have Diana sink the American ships so we can surface!”
Diana was silent, visibly hesitating and with good reason. It was Batman who provided the answer.
“Our presence here has already contaminated your timeline enough. There‘s no telling what the wide scale death of thousands of American sailors would bode for your world‘s future.”
“I don’t care about the future! I only care about Fait.”
“Listen to him, Jean.”
Fait’s voice came loud and clear, though haggard over the intercom, silencing the boy. Batman had seen the effect of poison gas all-too well and whatever type the ensign was being exposed to, he didn’t have long to live.
“Monsieur Fait!
“The…Americans were deceived by Gargoyle. You…can’t hold that against them . And Captain Nemo was right to seal off…the chamber. If…the Captain hadn’t ordered the chamber sealed…the entire engineering compartment would have been flooded. If we surface…everyone on this ship dies. If the Americans capture this submarine, then they have the potential to become just like Gargoyle.”
“I don’t care!
Nadia finally couldn’t take it anymore as he turned around and exploded in front of everyone.
“You’re all monsters! All of you! Justice League, Nautilius, Granva Gang -- it doesn’t matter. You’re just as bad as Gargo--”
That was all it took for Electra to lose it. She stepped forward, but Grandis beat her to it, slapping the girl across the cheek.
“You keep your mouth shut until you understand how much the Captain is suffering by sacrificing those men for all our sakes,” she said in a low and dangerous voice.
“Jean, she’s right. It’s a no-win scenario. Our lives are not as important as the lives of everyone else on this ship, including you. The needs…of the many outweigh the…the needs of the few. Never forget that, Jean. Take care my friend.”
The intercom clicked and went silent as the warning klaxon on the side indicated that the gas leak had now reached lethal levels.
“Monsieur Fait!”
Jean began pounding on the bulkhead, screaming out his friend’s name and collapsed on his knees, sobbing as Nadia kneeled to comfort him and everyone else looked on at the bulkheat in solemnity.
***
Four hours later, the sensor array finally came back online. No sign of any ships either on the surface or bottom was apparent. Nemo ordered the vessel to ascend so as to begin external repairs to the mighty-all purpose submarine. Everyone was lending their talents and help towards the repairs, from the Justice Leaguers to the Granva gang.
That left Jean and Nadia alone on the rear observation deck. Jean held Fait’s flowers in his hand, the same flowers that he had tried to give Nadia. She held that same flower in her hand. They simultaneously tossed their respective items into the sea.
“Good-bye, Monsieur Fait,” he said quietly as the flowers began to float away amidst the crashing waves. None of them spoke for a long moment, each consumed in their thoughts. Finally, Nadia broke the silence.
“Jean, I…”
Jean held up his hand and Nadia paused for a moment, deciding for once to hear Jean out.
“There’s nothing to say, Nadia. You were right and I was wrong. You were right about Nemo and you were right about Batman and Wonder Woman, too. They‘re not heroes to me. Not anymore.”
He turned away from her and looked out over the setting sun and sea and the increasingly distant flowers that Fait had created. The two stood there until the night fell, gazing out together the distant sunset and the repair crews, now uncertain more than ever about tomorrow and what it would bring.
***
To be continued…
***
Author’s Notations
* Quite a depressing way to resume the story, eh? But I told you it was going to get darker before it got brighter.
* For those not aware, Mellville and Holand appeared in the third episode of the series, rescuing Nadia and Jean from a crashed sea-plane. It was their mission to hunt the sea monsters (or rather the Garfish) destroying Atlantic shipping that brought them into contact with Nemo and the crew of the Nautilus (they also make an apperance of sorts in “Nadia”’s sister series, “Evangelion“, as the Captain and Commander of the UN flagship in the eighth episode).
* Mellville’s first name and backstory were never given in the series.
* The Confederate Raider Florida did indeed exist and was one of the most famous ships of the Confederate Navy after the C.S.S. Alabama. Scuttled by the Union in order to resolve an internation incident in 1864 (the Americans essentially attacked and captured the ship in a neutral Brazilian port, violating international laws), the wreck was finally found in 1982 by author Clive Cussler and NUM. Like I’ve said, I have a passion for maritime history and so it seemed fun to tie the Captain into already established historical events.
Aw, so sad. As I've already said, I like the character of Jean a lot. Seeing him so grief stricken is, well, sad. 
Is it wrong that I was pleased that someone's finally given Nadia a good smack?
Is it wrong that I was pleased that someone's finally given Nadia a good smack?
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Trogdor wrote:Aw, so sad. As I've already said, I like the character of Jean a lot. Seeing him so grief stricken is, well, sad.
This is certainly one of the most heartfelt moments in the series. The reason it took so long to get this chapter up is because in the series, Fait says all of this and then as the gas goes into full swing, loses it, and we hear him in his death theroes. Believe me, it's not pretty. Thus, I spent a good deal of time thinking of how to apporach this, as well as the battle with the American fleet and how to have that play out (since, of course, we have an Amazon; it's times like this that I wish I'd brought Aquaman on board instead or hell, done it with Teen Ttitan characters since, after all, the two main protagonists of Nadia are teenagers).
In the coming two chapters, Identity Crisis (NO relation to the mini-sries) we'll have Jean coming to terms with his grief as both he and Nadia gain a better understanding of the man and woman behind the Dark Knight and the Amazing Amazon. Plus, I'll slowly be building up to the pivotal, three-parter I mentioned over the summer, The Road to Ruin. Like I said, things are going to get darker before they get brighter.
No.Trogdor wrote:Is it wrong that I was pleased that someone's finally given Nadia a good smack?
-
Shroom Man 777
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- Posts: 21222
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I was wanting Bats to punch her in the gut.
Aside from typos, this story is good. With uncharacteristic sadness, too.
By the way, I don't intend to wait for another two months for the next chapter.
Anyway, you should've included his un-pretty death throes. And yes, keep on making it darker, dude! DARKER!
Aside from typos, this story is good. With uncharacteristic sadness, too.
By the way, I don't intend to wait for another two months for the next chapter.
Anyway, you should've included his un-pretty death throes. And yes, keep on making it darker, dude! DARKER!
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people
- PeZookShroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Christ, it's been a busy night. But at least we can all sleep well now...
***
Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
Author’s Notes: For your musical enjoyment, I recommend that the Nautilus’s voyage into the Natal Sea Valley be read to “Descent into Mystery”, by Danny Elfman and featured on the score to the 1989 “Batman”.
Other than that, as always, enjoy.
***
Chapter XVI – Identity Crisis, Part 1
***
With the exception of the occasional passing ship and a creature breaking the surface, the ocean was almost always deserted, a blue, seemingly endless watery wasteland. But today was a different case. An ominous shadow hung over the peaceful waters, the product of a massive, man-made object that, to all appearances and engineering principles of 1889, shouldn’t exist or be flying.
But it was.
The ominous, three-pronged craft was known as the Kyuuchu Senkan. Produced by secret Japanese-based shipyards, the Senkan was meant to act as the first in a new line of aerial battleships for the Neo-Atlantean empire. Armed with the latest innovations in both Terran and Neo-Atlantean engineering, the ship was the greatest display of the secret society’s force, save for the destroyed Tower of Babel.
The central observation deck was located just aft of the main command center. Through the central viewing port, Lord Gargoyle stood at attention, his focus both on the rising sun -- in itself, an apt metaphor for the Empire, and on the entourage of Neo-Atlantean personnel behind the podium atop which he stood.
Not since the incident on the island had so many high-ranking Neo-Atlanteans been gathered in a single location. And given what had happened with the Tower of Babel, there were some who were secretly reluctant to be here, fearful for either their lives or the affect their loss would have on Neo Atlantis.
But they did not dare disobey Lord Gargoyle.
“I am ready. Begin.”
The first adjutant, the quintessential Secretary of the Treasury, bowed and prepared his report.
“Sir, I shall begin with the economic distribution report. Due to our commercial disruption operation, we have gained control of eighty percent of the world’s trade in wool and other key products. Armament exports are progressing smoothly. Anticipated profits will meet three percent of our budget. Our Neo-Atlantis operation has strengthened its foothold in the banking sector. We now control one and a half percent of the world’s currencies.
“Hmm. General?”
“In the military sector, rigging has been completed on our second Kyuuchu-class aerial battleship -- ahead of schedule, I may add. In addition, our fleet will be expanded by the addition of seven new Garfish-class submarines. Expansion to be completed within the week.”
“And what of the Nautilus?”
There was a long pause amongst the entourage before the General responded.
“Garfish 17-M has arrived at the coordinates of the engagement with the American fleet as provided by your agent. They are attempting to search the vicinity for either sign of wreckage or the Blue Water.”
“Essentially, there is no physical confirmation of the Nautilus’ destruction.”
The General was becoming worried. While not a sadist, Gargoyle had not qualms in killing disloyal or uncooperative underlings.
“Not yet, my Lord. 17-M was only just beginning its survey when we adjourned. “The Recovery teams have yet to locate the Nautilus or Nemo‘s Blue Water. I --:
“Say no more, General. We cannot draw any conclusions until the survey is complete, I understand, But I expect results nonetheless.”
“Yes, sir.”
The report continued, but Gargoyle only heard bits and pieces of it. Those in the know would likely chastise him, for while Emperor Neo was the true ruler of the Neo-Atlantean Empire, most of its day-to-day operations were carried out by Gargoyle. Thus, the health of the organization was dependent upon his attention to detail.
Yet, at the same time, the success of the organization also hinged largely on locating the Blue Waters, the jewels of the ancient Atlantean families and the keys to locating the fabled Red Noah. Thus, he would remain restrained and calm until the report came in on Nemo’s final fate.
***
It seemed that nature itself was determined to finish the job that the American navy had begun. the mighty all-purpose submarine was tossed up and down through the raging waters of the storm that the had become caught in. Even with the injuries she had sustained, the Nautilus was usually more than capable of handling such foul weather. Unfortunately, the stabilizers were still on the fritz and the pitching and yawing of the submarine seemed only further to add to the somber mood of the crew.
Neither Jean or the Chief hadn’t been seen in days. The latter was keeping a vigil over the bodies of the dead crewmembers, the former staying in his quarters. Not even the Leaguers had put in an appearance. The crew’s opinion of the two heroes, already divided over Batman socking Nemo, had intensified. Some felt that they should have been able to save Fait with their powers, others that there was nothing they could have done and that they had helped save the submarine.
And Nadia?
Despite this foul weather, Nadia spent most of the time at the base of the dorsal hatch, the Blue Water clutched tightly in her hand and glowing softly. Despite her time in the circus and exposure to large groups of people , she valued her solitude and with the deaths, she needed time by herself to reflect upon her life and the Blue Water.
She didn’t know if it was simply her already exhausted emotions or the mysterious powers of the jewel, but she kept seeing images Nemo in front of her, images that kept telling her that the Blue Water had to be kept out of the hands of people such as Gargoyle even at the cost of one‘s life.
Her life.
With determination in her eyes, the young circus girl tore open the hatch, exposing herself to the raging elements of the water and wind that bombarded the Nautilus.
How many people had died because she carried the Blue Water? How many lives on either side of this bloody conflict and in the middle had this jewel taken over the years? How many more people had to die before all of this ended?
Whatever the answer was, it no longer mattered to Nadia. She had made up her mind. She was going to rid all of them of this curse once and for all. And with a strong toss to the wind, it appeared that she would be successful.
But the power of the Blue Water was not so easily removed.
“No!” she cried, her feelings of elation and triumph vanishing as the jewel seemed to pause in mid-air above the outer railing. Without warning, it reversed course and floated before Nadia. The jewel was like a double bladed source, a thing of beauty that came with a curse and exacted a terrible price.
Yet, how was it possible of doing this? Nadia had never truly given thought to the sources of this remarkable jewel or why it was capable of doing what it did. She had always taken certain aspects of existence on faith, resulting in her clash with Jean and his world of science.
She needed answers.
***
“As you know, our last battle costs us the lives of three members of the engineering crew. Their remains will be put to rest in their homeland. We shall now proceed to the Sunken Cathedral in the Natal Sea Valley to perform their final journey.
Jean hadn’t barely slept on the last few days. But it wasn’t due to Nemo’s latest announcement over the intercom. No matter how he laid down or shifted the pillows, he could not excise the events of the past week out of his mind or his feelings of guilt over his role in this entire affair.
Yes, had Jean and company had not come along when they had, then the Nautilus would have been destroyed by Gargoyle at either the Tower of Babel or beneath the LeMerr Straits. They had proven their worth in the fight against the dreaded Neo-Atlanteans.
And yet, he hadn’t even been able to help save three crewmembers.
His reflections were interrupted by a knock on the doors to his quarters. If it were Batman or Wonder Woman…well, truth be told, as a man of science he didn’t know what he would do to two super-heroes.
“Come in.”
The aperture swished open, revealing the solemn form of --
“Nadia?”
“Jean, I need your help.”
***
Five minutes after her initial request had been made, Jean had his micro-scope and other equipment set up, his energies focused on trying to perform some good by helping his friend to understand the awesome power she wielded.
“Well?”
Jean was silent for a moment, his hands focusing the dials of his microscope and the magnified image of Nadia’s jewel beneath it.
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“When I increase the magnification on the microscope, the designs are still there. And they almost appear to be three-dimensional.”
“What does that mean?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I have no idea what these designs represent or what purpose they serve, though they’re clearly not ceremonial. Let me try something else.”
From his satchel, Jean removed an apparent nondescript piece of armor plating.
“What’s that?”
“A portion of the Nautilus’ hull. There’s no metal thicker than this. So, let me try this…”
Jean brought the pointed end of the jewel down atop the piece of armor plating and pulled downwards for several moments. When he pulled it up, both he and Nadia gasped. The Blue Water had left a deep gash through the armor, cutting through it like a heated knife through butter.
“How can a piece of crystal due that?” Jean murmured. He sighed, removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes before looking back at Nadia.
“I’m sorry Nadia, but this is beyond my abilities of comprehension. Maybe if we went to Ba--”
Jean broke off, feelings of anger and resentment cutting through his sense of excitement and scientific curiosity.
“Jean, I-I’m sor --”
“Nadia it’s alright. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”
Nadia nodded silently, seeing that despite the brave face he was putting on, his feelings of hurt and despair were bubbling beneath the surface. Someone like Jean, despite his occasional haughtiness and arrogance, did not deserve to have such emotional injuries thrown at him. And had Nadia been more alert, she would have seen a faint flash of black, nomex/kelvar weave trail around the corner or the still-open door.
***
Wonder Woman sighed, running her hands through her hair as Batman sat opposite to her, calmly sipping a cup of coffee. The makeshift ‘Batcave’ was in a disorganized condition, a result of the offline stabilizers -- though again, how he had managed to discard the body of the Neo-Atlantean soldier still remainder a mystery. Like Jean, Diana had also barely slept the last few nights.
“I keep thinking what would have happened if anyone else had been here, Bruce. J’onn could have phased through the bulkheads and shut down the leak without any harm. Lantern could have pulled them out with his ring, yet prevented the leaking of the reactor; the incident with Orm’s doomsday weapon two years ago proves that.”
Batman didn’t respond, at least not immediately.
“Maybe, Diana, maybe not. Either way, I think this ship needs to seriously reconsider the wisdom of putting such young children in danger.”
Wonder Woman just gave him an incredulous look.
“And what about your squires? Is that any different?”
“No, because they were familiar with it first hand. Tim grew up in the slums, Dick traveled the country and such areas up close, especially after his parents’ deaths when he tried to track down their murderer. And as the daughter and employee of the police commissioner, Barbara experienced it just as much as the other two.”
“So what do you want to do? Put both of them in capes and masks and make them fly off of rooftops?”
Batman glared at her.
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.” She sighed and paused for a long moment before continuing. “How do you do it, Bruce ?
“Do what?”
“Deal with your charges when they’re in emotional pain? Do you comfort them as best as you can? Or do you just sneak up on them like you did earlier and keep them at arm‘s length?”
“I’m surprised to hear you posing such a question.”
“I’m not good around children, Bruce.”
“Neither am I.”
“Humor me.”
Batman was silent for a long moment.
“I do what I can Diana,” he said at last. “Alfred does too, in fact even more. But overcoming the pain is something that while I can help guide them, is entirely their own path, Diana.”
Diana sat back in her chair, sighing.
“By the Gods, I hope you’re right.”
***
In the cold, still solitude of his quarters atop the observation pod, Nemo stood at attention, the ornate box that he kept safe in his hands. His gazed was focused outwards to the distance. At these depths, there was almost no light, save for the forward beams of the Nautilus. Yet, Nemo knew this area like the back of his hand. How could he not?
This was where it had all begun, where events had been sent in motion that had culminated thousands of miles away in Old Tartessos and had led to their presence here in this undersea valley that humanity was decades away from exploring on their own. But for a craft such as the Nautilus, reaching this depth, this location, was no such problem.
If the Nautilus continued on her present course, then they would strike not only the hard, rocky walls of this valley, but also something that by all accounts should not be possible: a statue of an ancient, almost mythological creature carved directly into the face of the rock.
But Nemo knew that the solution to such a fate lay in the ornate box he now carried in his hands. As he had been taught by his forbearers, he opened the container and placed his hand atop his Blue Water. He knew that decks below, Nadia’s Blue Water would also react to this place. He wondered if she truly realized the connection between them and if so, why he could not bring himself to reveal it to her, at least not yet. He began to speak aloud one such command to which the Blue Water would respond
Wanderer, do you seek adventure beyond the treacherous waterfalls?
Do you seek the mythical being that dwells in this unreachable place?
If you do, then you must first find me...
For a long moment out in thee black depths of the sea, nothing happened. Then, in the distance, a speck of blue light flashed through the viewing port of the Nautilus from what would pass for the eye of the creature. The valley began to shake as the rib cage of the statue slowly parted, revealing an entryway built into this ancient statue.
Without wasting a moment’s breath, or so to speak, the Nautilus pushed forward through the now open aperture, the rib cage reverting back along ancient, rusted tracks as soon as the submarine. The tunnel that the vessel now journeyed down was clearly, like the statue, not the result of natural formation. It was clearly manmade, but in ruins, the ages having taken their toll on this ancient labyrinth. Various articles of rubble and flotsam littered the floorway.
The temptation to join his crew on the main flight deck was tempting, but he knew that they were more than capable of handling this dive; they had alas been forced to perform it more than once. And he was needed here.
The Nautilus continued along for two kilometers before finally stopping above a large, seemingly bottomless crevice set in the middle of the tunnel. With a furious effort, the sub’s dorsal turbines were activated and propelled the ship down the crevice, faster and faster towards a well of bright purifying light --
-- which revealed itself to be an ornate chamber adorned in ancient hieroglyphics and symbols that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a symbol and one of the still remaining, undiluted examples of the culture that was responsible for so much of human history.
“All crewmen prepare to disembark. We have arrived in Atlantis.”
***
To be Continued…
***
Author’s Notes
* The chapter title is not, I repeat, NOT related in anyway to the controversial 2004 mini-series by Brad Metzler and Rags Morales.
* The Kyuuchu Senkan was never named on screen and was only referred to as Gargoyle's aerial ship. The designation comes from one of the Nadia fansites.
* The incident with Orm and the Doomsday Weapon occurred in Season 1’s “The Enemey Below”.
* Unlike the comics Tim Drake, who like Bruce comes from a wealthy background, his animated counterpart’s background was based off of that of the second Robin, Jason Todd.
***
Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows
Author’s Notes: For your musical enjoyment, I recommend that the Nautilus’s voyage into the Natal Sea Valley be read to “Descent into Mystery”, by Danny Elfman and featured on the score to the 1989 “Batman”.
Other than that, as always, enjoy.
***
Chapter XVI – Identity Crisis, Part 1
***
With the exception of the occasional passing ship and a creature breaking the surface, the ocean was almost always deserted, a blue, seemingly endless watery wasteland. But today was a different case. An ominous shadow hung over the peaceful waters, the product of a massive, man-made object that, to all appearances and engineering principles of 1889, shouldn’t exist or be flying.
But it was.
The ominous, three-pronged craft was known as the Kyuuchu Senkan. Produced by secret Japanese-based shipyards, the Senkan was meant to act as the first in a new line of aerial battleships for the Neo-Atlantean empire. Armed with the latest innovations in both Terran and Neo-Atlantean engineering, the ship was the greatest display of the secret society’s force, save for the destroyed Tower of Babel.
The central observation deck was located just aft of the main command center. Through the central viewing port, Lord Gargoyle stood at attention, his focus both on the rising sun -- in itself, an apt metaphor for the Empire, and on the entourage of Neo-Atlantean personnel behind the podium atop which he stood.
Not since the incident on the island had so many high-ranking Neo-Atlanteans been gathered in a single location. And given what had happened with the Tower of Babel, there were some who were secretly reluctant to be here, fearful for either their lives or the affect their loss would have on Neo Atlantis.
But they did not dare disobey Lord Gargoyle.
“I am ready. Begin.”
The first adjutant, the quintessential Secretary of the Treasury, bowed and prepared his report.
“Sir, I shall begin with the economic distribution report. Due to our commercial disruption operation, we have gained control of eighty percent of the world’s trade in wool and other key products. Armament exports are progressing smoothly. Anticipated profits will meet three percent of our budget. Our Neo-Atlantis operation has strengthened its foothold in the banking sector. We now control one and a half percent of the world’s currencies.
“Hmm. General?”
“In the military sector, rigging has been completed on our second Kyuuchu-class aerial battleship -- ahead of schedule, I may add. In addition, our fleet will be expanded by the addition of seven new Garfish-class submarines. Expansion to be completed within the week.”
“And what of the Nautilus?”
There was a long pause amongst the entourage before the General responded.
“Garfish 17-M has arrived at the coordinates of the engagement with the American fleet as provided by your agent. They are attempting to search the vicinity for either sign of wreckage or the Blue Water.”
“Essentially, there is no physical confirmation of the Nautilus’ destruction.”
The General was becoming worried. While not a sadist, Gargoyle had not qualms in killing disloyal or uncooperative underlings.
“Not yet, my Lord. 17-M was only just beginning its survey when we adjourned. “The Recovery teams have yet to locate the Nautilus or Nemo‘s Blue Water. I --:
“Say no more, General. We cannot draw any conclusions until the survey is complete, I understand, But I expect results nonetheless.”
“Yes, sir.”
The report continued, but Gargoyle only heard bits and pieces of it. Those in the know would likely chastise him, for while Emperor Neo was the true ruler of the Neo-Atlantean Empire, most of its day-to-day operations were carried out by Gargoyle. Thus, the health of the organization was dependent upon his attention to detail.
Yet, at the same time, the success of the organization also hinged largely on locating the Blue Waters, the jewels of the ancient Atlantean families and the keys to locating the fabled Red Noah. Thus, he would remain restrained and calm until the report came in on Nemo’s final fate.
***
It seemed that nature itself was determined to finish the job that the American navy had begun. the mighty all-purpose submarine was tossed up and down through the raging waters of the storm that the had become caught in. Even with the injuries she had sustained, the Nautilus was usually more than capable of handling such foul weather. Unfortunately, the stabilizers were still on the fritz and the pitching and yawing of the submarine seemed only further to add to the somber mood of the crew.
Neither Jean or the Chief hadn’t been seen in days. The latter was keeping a vigil over the bodies of the dead crewmembers, the former staying in his quarters. Not even the Leaguers had put in an appearance. The crew’s opinion of the two heroes, already divided over Batman socking Nemo, had intensified. Some felt that they should have been able to save Fait with their powers, others that there was nothing they could have done and that they had helped save the submarine.
And Nadia?
Despite this foul weather, Nadia spent most of the time at the base of the dorsal hatch, the Blue Water clutched tightly in her hand and glowing softly. Despite her time in the circus and exposure to large groups of people , she valued her solitude and with the deaths, she needed time by herself to reflect upon her life and the Blue Water.
She didn’t know if it was simply her already exhausted emotions or the mysterious powers of the jewel, but she kept seeing images Nemo in front of her, images that kept telling her that the Blue Water had to be kept out of the hands of people such as Gargoyle even at the cost of one‘s life.
Her life.
With determination in her eyes, the young circus girl tore open the hatch, exposing herself to the raging elements of the water and wind that bombarded the Nautilus.
How many people had died because she carried the Blue Water? How many lives on either side of this bloody conflict and in the middle had this jewel taken over the years? How many more people had to die before all of this ended?
Whatever the answer was, it no longer mattered to Nadia. She had made up her mind. She was going to rid all of them of this curse once and for all. And with a strong toss to the wind, it appeared that she would be successful.
But the power of the Blue Water was not so easily removed.
“No!” she cried, her feelings of elation and triumph vanishing as the jewel seemed to pause in mid-air above the outer railing. Without warning, it reversed course and floated before Nadia. The jewel was like a double bladed source, a thing of beauty that came with a curse and exacted a terrible price.
Yet, how was it possible of doing this? Nadia had never truly given thought to the sources of this remarkable jewel or why it was capable of doing what it did. She had always taken certain aspects of existence on faith, resulting in her clash with Jean and his world of science.
She needed answers.
***
“As you know, our last battle costs us the lives of three members of the engineering crew. Their remains will be put to rest in their homeland. We shall now proceed to the Sunken Cathedral in the Natal Sea Valley to perform their final journey.
Jean hadn’t barely slept on the last few days. But it wasn’t due to Nemo’s latest announcement over the intercom. No matter how he laid down or shifted the pillows, he could not excise the events of the past week out of his mind or his feelings of guilt over his role in this entire affair.
Yes, had Jean and company had not come along when they had, then the Nautilus would have been destroyed by Gargoyle at either the Tower of Babel or beneath the LeMerr Straits. They had proven their worth in the fight against the dreaded Neo-Atlanteans.
And yet, he hadn’t even been able to help save three crewmembers.
His reflections were interrupted by a knock on the doors to his quarters. If it were Batman or Wonder Woman…well, truth be told, as a man of science he didn’t know what he would do to two super-heroes.
“Come in.”
The aperture swished open, revealing the solemn form of --
“Nadia?”
“Jean, I need your help.”
***
Five minutes after her initial request had been made, Jean had his micro-scope and other equipment set up, his energies focused on trying to perform some good by helping his friend to understand the awesome power she wielded.
“Well?”
Jean was silent for a moment, his hands focusing the dials of his microscope and the magnified image of Nadia’s jewel beneath it.
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“When I increase the magnification on the microscope, the designs are still there. And they almost appear to be three-dimensional.”
“What does that mean?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I have no idea what these designs represent or what purpose they serve, though they’re clearly not ceremonial. Let me try something else.”
From his satchel, Jean removed an apparent nondescript piece of armor plating.
“What’s that?”
“A portion of the Nautilus’ hull. There’s no metal thicker than this. So, let me try this…”
Jean brought the pointed end of the jewel down atop the piece of armor plating and pulled downwards for several moments. When he pulled it up, both he and Nadia gasped. The Blue Water had left a deep gash through the armor, cutting through it like a heated knife through butter.
“How can a piece of crystal due that?” Jean murmured. He sighed, removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes before looking back at Nadia.
“I’m sorry Nadia, but this is beyond my abilities of comprehension. Maybe if we went to Ba--”
Jean broke off, feelings of anger and resentment cutting through his sense of excitement and scientific curiosity.
“Jean, I-I’m sor --”
“Nadia it’s alright. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”
Nadia nodded silently, seeing that despite the brave face he was putting on, his feelings of hurt and despair were bubbling beneath the surface. Someone like Jean, despite his occasional haughtiness and arrogance, did not deserve to have such emotional injuries thrown at him. And had Nadia been more alert, she would have seen a faint flash of black, nomex/kelvar weave trail around the corner or the still-open door.
***
Wonder Woman sighed, running her hands through her hair as Batman sat opposite to her, calmly sipping a cup of coffee. The makeshift ‘Batcave’ was in a disorganized condition, a result of the offline stabilizers -- though again, how he had managed to discard the body of the Neo-Atlantean soldier still remainder a mystery. Like Jean, Diana had also barely slept the last few nights.
“I keep thinking what would have happened if anyone else had been here, Bruce. J’onn could have phased through the bulkheads and shut down the leak without any harm. Lantern could have pulled them out with his ring, yet prevented the leaking of the reactor; the incident with Orm’s doomsday weapon two years ago proves that.”
Batman didn’t respond, at least not immediately.
“Maybe, Diana, maybe not. Either way, I think this ship needs to seriously reconsider the wisdom of putting such young children in danger.”
Wonder Woman just gave him an incredulous look.
“And what about your squires? Is that any different?”
“No, because they were familiar with it first hand. Tim grew up in the slums, Dick traveled the country and such areas up close, especially after his parents’ deaths when he tried to track down their murderer. And as the daughter and employee of the police commissioner, Barbara experienced it just as much as the other two.”
“So what do you want to do? Put both of them in capes and masks and make them fly off of rooftops?”
Batman glared at her.
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.” She sighed and paused for a long moment before continuing. “How do you do it, Bruce ?
“Do what?”
“Deal with your charges when they’re in emotional pain? Do you comfort them as best as you can? Or do you just sneak up on them like you did earlier and keep them at arm‘s length?”
“I’m surprised to hear you posing such a question.”
“I’m not good around children, Bruce.”
“Neither am I.”
“Humor me.”
Batman was silent for a long moment.
“I do what I can Diana,” he said at last. “Alfred does too, in fact even more. But overcoming the pain is something that while I can help guide them, is entirely their own path, Diana.”
Diana sat back in her chair, sighing.
“By the Gods, I hope you’re right.”
***
In the cold, still solitude of his quarters atop the observation pod, Nemo stood at attention, the ornate box that he kept safe in his hands. His gazed was focused outwards to the distance. At these depths, there was almost no light, save for the forward beams of the Nautilus. Yet, Nemo knew this area like the back of his hand. How could he not?
This was where it had all begun, where events had been sent in motion that had culminated thousands of miles away in Old Tartessos and had led to their presence here in this undersea valley that humanity was decades away from exploring on their own. But for a craft such as the Nautilus, reaching this depth, this location, was no such problem.
If the Nautilus continued on her present course, then they would strike not only the hard, rocky walls of this valley, but also something that by all accounts should not be possible: a statue of an ancient, almost mythological creature carved directly into the face of the rock.
But Nemo knew that the solution to such a fate lay in the ornate box he now carried in his hands. As he had been taught by his forbearers, he opened the container and placed his hand atop his Blue Water. He knew that decks below, Nadia’s Blue Water would also react to this place. He wondered if she truly realized the connection between them and if so, why he could not bring himself to reveal it to her, at least not yet. He began to speak aloud one such command to which the Blue Water would respond
Wanderer, do you seek adventure beyond the treacherous waterfalls?
Do you seek the mythical being that dwells in this unreachable place?
If you do, then you must first find me...
For a long moment out in thee black depths of the sea, nothing happened. Then, in the distance, a speck of blue light flashed through the viewing port of the Nautilus from what would pass for the eye of the creature. The valley began to shake as the rib cage of the statue slowly parted, revealing an entryway built into this ancient statue.
Without wasting a moment’s breath, or so to speak, the Nautilus pushed forward through the now open aperture, the rib cage reverting back along ancient, rusted tracks as soon as the submarine. The tunnel that the vessel now journeyed down was clearly, like the statue, not the result of natural formation. It was clearly manmade, but in ruins, the ages having taken their toll on this ancient labyrinth. Various articles of rubble and flotsam littered the floorway.
The temptation to join his crew on the main flight deck was tempting, but he knew that they were more than capable of handling this dive; they had alas been forced to perform it more than once. And he was needed here.
The Nautilus continued along for two kilometers before finally stopping above a large, seemingly bottomless crevice set in the middle of the tunnel. With a furious effort, the sub’s dorsal turbines were activated and propelled the ship down the crevice, faster and faster towards a well of bright purifying light --
-- which revealed itself to be an ornate chamber adorned in ancient hieroglyphics and symbols that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a symbol and one of the still remaining, undiluted examples of the culture that was responsible for so much of human history.
“All crewmen prepare to disembark. We have arrived in Atlantis.”
***
To be Continued…
***
Author’s Notes
* The chapter title is not, I repeat, NOT related in anyway to the controversial 2004 mini-series by Brad Metzler and Rags Morales.
* The Kyuuchu Senkan was never named on screen and was only referred to as Gargoyle's aerial ship. The designation comes from one of the Nadia fansites.
* The incident with Orm and the Doomsday Weapon occurred in Season 1’s “The Enemey Below”.
* Unlike the comics Tim Drake, who like Bruce comes from a wealthy background, his animated counterpart’s background was based off of that of the second Robin, Jason Todd.
Why the heck hasn't anyone commented on this yet?
I liked how WW referred to the Robins as Bat's squires. That just fit really well IMHO.
I must admit to being a bit confused as I have never seen the Nadia anime. The Nautilius going to Atlantis? Why aren't the Neo Atlantians in charge of the sunken city?
I liked how WW referred to the Robins as Bat's squires. That just fit really well IMHO.
I must admit to being a bit confused as I have never seen the Nadia anime. The Nautilius going to Atlantis? Why aren't the Neo Atlantians in charge of the sunken city?
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader