Aquaman

The Heroic Ideal

by Libbylawrence

A graying plump man reclined on a sofa as a pretty blonde woman with glasses sat nearby taking notes. She listened intently and made certain encouraging replies as her patient talked; however, there was an air about the brilliant woman that suggested she had more of an agenda than merely leading her patient to greater emotional well-being. She wore a short purple dress with hosiery and heels of the same color. She smiled and leaned forward as her patient concluded what had been a lengthy tirade.

“Stavos, you are a very wealthy man. You are in good physical health. Your fortune has not suffered while you were….away. Why, should you be anything but positive about your future prospects? You are too pragmatic a man to waste time on petty regrets for time lost or deeds undone!” she said.

The Greek tycoon sat up abruptly and said, “I know! I know! Still, there is something eating at me like a coiled up serpent waiting to strike. I feel as if I can’t know peace or rest satisfactorily until I rid myself of that venom. The bile of hate fills me and drives me onward like the Furies of old tormented my ancestors in the old myths!”

The woman nodded and crossed her legs for effect. “Then, you need to take action. You are a self-made man. You can’t rest upon past successes while one bitter defeat still taints your perspective. After all, you never knew defeat. You never allowed a rival to best you in love or commerce until he came along!” she said slowly but with a deliberate preciseness.

Stavros ran a thick hand through his hair and said, “Yes! I know it all! You are right. I can’t find peace even now that I’m out of prison until I break the man that put me there. What good is my wealth and power if I can’t enjoy it without seeing his stern and unyielding face? Why, the man acted like he was some kind of king!” He jumped to his feet and began to pace with nervous energy as the doctor watched in interest and with secret pleasure.

“In point of fact, he was a king once. I suppose he still carries something regal in his manner. How could he not do so?” said the woman.

Stavros Markos said, “Curse him to the depths of his ocean home! I will find peace by breaking him. Aquaman must learn his place. No one, be he hero or knave, crosses Stavros Markos with impunity!” He said, “You’ll be paid well for this session. I believe I’m on my way to becoming a cured man. Thank you, Professor Wye. Thank you very much!” He stormed out of the office and Professor Andrea Wye smiled as she glanced down at her notepad.

“The Heroic Ideal – An Examination of the Nature of Heroism in Contemporary Society!” she read out loud. “Chapter One: Aquaman!” There was satisfaction in her every expression.
***

 

New Venice was a curious place. It was a modern city built upon the basic lines of Venice, Italy. Businesses and homes lined water filled canals and were connected by second story bridges or walkways. All traffic consisted of boats and the tourism industry was thriving. Any location that attracts new people on holiday with money to spend and lowered inhibitions to govern said spending also brings in a criminal element. This was also the case in the watery city and as was often the case in places like Gotham City or Central City, some times the criminals were decidedly strange!

Thus, one afternoon found a unique cop pursuing a rather odd criminal. The policeman was a rugged black man who wore a typical uniform with one added feature that made him a sight worth seeing for the curious. He wore a breathing helmet that contained water instead of air! His name was Cal Durham and he had known a restless life as a criminal and as a victim of a greater rogue’s experiments. Black Manta had turned him into a water-breather and with one casually cruel gesture he had ruined Cal’s life until Aquaman had come long to befriend him and offer him a chance for reformation and redirection. Cal became a policeman in New Venice in spite of his past record. Aquaman was the city’s champion and his influence was great enough to sway Mayor Lyndon to agree to the suggestion that Cal could be an effective lawman in a community so vested in the water.

Now, Cal wondered just how effective he truly was as he raced across a bridge and aimed his gun at a colorful glider that soared across the city he had sworn to protect. The sunlight reflected off of the green and gold glider and he imagined that he could see a look of supreme contempt and amusement on the features of the green clad man who hung suspended from the glider.

“Shoot! I can’t hit him. He’s too high and he moves too fast on that thing. I guess I’m going to have to tell the Mayor that I blew it. I let that costumed creep sail in and rob the bank all then fly away without doing one thing to stop him!” thought Cal.

“Callie will think her Uncle Cal is a chump!” he thought as he pictured the adoring little girl who waited on him at the apartment he shared with her mother who was his sister.

Suddenly, as various people stopped at pointed skyward in disbelief or curiosity, a commanding voice rang out and a muscular and noble figure stepped out of the crowd. Whispers and cheers echoed as the city’s champion Aquaman appeared on the scene.

“Don’t worry, Cal. I think I know how to ground Kite Man!” he said in his normal confident tone. He stood there on the bridge as water glistened on the orange-scaled shirt and green leotard that comprised his famous costume. His blond hair was slightly tousled and he had the robust glow of vibrant good health about him.

He stared skyward with a keen look in his dark eyes and Cal gasped in surprise as a flock of gulls swooped into view and landed on top of the glider! One after another the sea birds clustered on the huge “kite” until their weight shifted the delicate balance needed to steer the craft. The Kite Man screamed as he dropped like a rock to the waters below.

Cal said, “Man! That was something!”

Aquaman smiled and said, “I thought you might like it. Now, that my winged friends have obeyed my request to bring down Kite Man, I’ll just have some other allies bring him and his loot back to us!”

He looked out over the waters and his powerful telepathy urged a large octopus to drag Kite Man and his broken glider over. “Good job, Topo! He didn’t give you any trouble did he? I rather expected a felon who battled Batman himself to put up more of a fight but then I guess he just wasn’t in his element!” announced Aquaman as cheers rang out from the crowd and he pulled the dripping and defeated Kite Man on to the bridge!

Mayor Lyndon rushed out of the crowd and gripped Aquaman’s glove hand. “Well done! You did it again! I know I’ve said it before but I’m not too proud a man to eat a second or third helping of crow when circumstances dictate it. I gave you nothing but grief during the period in which I blamed you for not being able to free my brother from that other dimensional limbo in which he had been trapped but not only did you eventually free him and all of New Venice from the Sargasso Sea, you even manage to continue to protect our city time and again!” said the slightly flushed politician.

Aquaman smiled and said, “It’s what I do. Helping people is my purpose. I meant it when I told you that I was going to make New Venice my home above the waters. Every citizen should be willing to protect and promote what is best for his community.”

“Ya kin say that again and repeat it once more! I may be nothing more than an old salt but I still likes to add flavor to me home!” said a gruff but powerful looking man with a pipe hanging out of one side of his mouth. He stood next to a rail thin woman who wore her dark hair in a tight bun. She gazed at him with obvious admiration as the toddler in her arms squirmed and reached out for his father.

“The Captain speaks for us all! We appreciate how you’ve made this city such a welcoming place!” said Olivia.

Captain Strong smiled and said, “Aye! Aquaman, as I’ve said before, you’re a real right Joe!”

Aquaman slapped the sailor on the back and said, “I could not ask for a better endorsement. I see your boy is as active as ever! Does he want to be a sailing man like his Pa?”

Strong gave a chortling laugh and said, “Blow me down, if he doesn’t make Captain one of these days!”

Aquaman reached over to lift the smiling child into the air and spoke to him in soft tones. As he handed the child back to the Strongs, he thought of his own deceased son and of his little daughter. “I suppose I better head back to my own home. Mera will be waiting with dinner and I want to play with Nautica a bit before her bedtime!” He jumped off the bridge and swam rapidly down a canal until he reached a small home near the center of the residential section of the city.

He enjoyed having a sense of home. As a lonely boy who had lived for many years with just his father in a lighthouse on a solitary shore, he had read a lot and he had made a sense of security for himself out of his own imagination and out of the care and pride his father had shown for him. That feeling had never faded away and he had been determined to give his own children such a sensation of care and warmth. His duties as a hero and formerly as a king, had taken him away from his wife and son too often. He had come close to losing Mera after Black Manta’s hatred had led to the murder of young Arthur Jr. Time had healed some of those old wounds and now he could recall the good moments he had spent with the bright child. He could recall them and they motivated him to work harder than ever to be a real family man to their daughter Nautica and to his flame-haired spouse Mera.

I’m glad we’ve had such a peaceful time since Nautica’s birth. Even the Invasion didn’t really touch us directly although we prepared for possible attacks both here and in Poseidonis. I’ve been feeling really happy of late. It seems like I have truly found my niche. Being a hero is what I do best. I’m not meant to be a king or even a team leader. I just prefer to protect and serve in my own way! he thought.

As he entered the house he smelled an appetizing aroma and he swept Mera into his arms as he turned to greet him. He kissed her and gently brushed a lock of hair off of her face. “Excuse me, Miss, but while your husband is out, I’d like to have my way with you!” he said.

Mera laughed a throaty laugh and said, “Would you really? You’ll have to get in line. There are several others ahead of you!”

Aquaman laughed and drew her closer into his arms. “Really? Then, I’ll just have to prove to you that I’m entitled to special treatment!” They kissed once more and he released her as she gestured to the stove.

“I prepared the stew your father used to make you. I had to add a spice or two of my own out of sheer female pride but I think you’ll recognize the taste all the same!” she said.

Aquaman said, “Wonderful! Is Nautica still up?”

Mera said, “Try to get that girl to sleep until her Daddy is home! She has a real Princess attitude already!”

Aquaman said, “Well, she could get that from her mother the former Queen!” He went to see the baby and he sighed with pleasure. He was home and he was very happy.
***

 

Aquaman’s peace ended abruptly one morning when he heard a loud pounding on his door. He patted Mera’s bottom and said, “Stay put. I’ll see what’s wrong.” She murmured sleepily as her husband rolled out of bed and grabbed another one of his orange shirts.

Aquaman slipped on his shirt and hurried to open the door. He was not the kind of man who required much time to wake up. A childhood spent in a lighthouse tower had made abrupt awakenings an almost routine matter. He was alert and ready as he swung open the door to expose the worried features of a beautiful and elegant woman in a flowing green gown.

“Aunt Atlena? What brings you out so early? I figured your noblewoman’s habit of sleeping late would have precluded such an early visit. Is something wrong with Arion?” he asked as he brought the Atlantean aristocrat inside.

Atlena gazed at her nephew with eyes that reminded him of those of her sister. His late mother Atlanna had possessed similar green eyes and he felt an old pang of regret as he remembered her loss. “Arion is well but I have come to you for reasons that you may dismiss as ancient folly but I could not rest without trying to warn you of my vision!” she said.

Aquaman said, “Let me put on a pot of coffee. I acquired my father’s taste for black coffee.”

Atlenna said, “Arthur, you must hear me out! I am far more than just your aunt. I am or was a priestess of the Delphic Oracle in ancient Atlantis. My vision that the realm was going to sink led me to try to save it with my scientific experiments that only resulted in trapping me and countless other mariners over the eons within the other dimensional limbo called the Sargasso Sea. The experiment failed but the vision was true. Atlantis did sink. I saw it all from that void place. Now, I have had another vision. I have seen you in terrible peril.”

Aquaman frowned. He knew that his aunt was precious to him since she was a relation he had little dreamt of ever meeting. Since he rescued her and the other captives of that dimensional void, she had become close to him and closer to Arion the High Mage. He cared for her but he placed little stock in her visions. She brought back memories of his late mother and that was reason enough for him to treat her with care and affection.

Aquaman’s real name was Arthur Curry. His father Tom had been a lighthouse keeper and his mother Atlanna had been an Atlantean. He had inherited his ability to live under the sea, withstand its pressures and control its life forms from her. She had died when he was six and thus, he had never learned to know her in any capacity other than that of mother. Her death had robbed him of any chance to truly embrace his heritage at an early age. Time had brought him to a greater understanding of the gifts he had developed as he matured and his heroic career had led him to the lost cities of Atlantis as well. However, even his epic career failed to prepare him for the revelation that Atlanna had not truly died all those years before. She had survived and had gone mad. Her madness led her to oppose him and that in turn led to her real death.

Having that type of bitter reunion with his mother naturally made Aquaman appreciative of the opportunity to get to know her sister after he rescued her and others from their ageless imprisonment in a dimension known as the Sargasso Sea. Now, as he prepared coffee he looked at the lovely blonde woman and began to question her. “Atlenna, tell me what you saw, ” he said.

She brushed her long blonde hair back and stared at him with wide and piercing eyes. “Arthur! I tell you again that I saw terrible dangers all around you. You are going to be attacked soon by enemies with great powers and strong malice.”

Aquaman handed her a cup of coffee and said, “Atlenna, I’ve always had enemies. They come with the suit. Think how often folks like Black Manta or the Fisherman have tried to kill me. I am more than capable of stopping them. I always have before!”

She clutched his hand and said, “Please! Summon help. Bring young Garth and his lover Ulla here. Perhaps, even your Justice League friends could help you. Surely, Arion could preserve you if only he was here. He is away on some quest of his own devising.”

Aquaman smiled and said, “I appreciate your concern. I’ve missed that kind of family feeling since my folks died. You know in spite of her later return and her actions then, I’ve always preferred to think mother died when I was six. Pa died long ago too. That means I value you very much. Still, I have always been able to take care of myself and I’ll continue to do so. Don’t worry about me!” He took her hand in a slightly awkward gesture since such demonstrative affection was rather new to one who had been solitary for many years.

Atlenna nodded sadly and said, “Arthur, they failed to heed my warnings before Atlantis sank as well!”

Aquaman said, “Well, the thing about me is that when I go down I always manage to get back up again!”
***

 

Meanwhile, Stavros Markos sat aboard a large yacht and faced a group of colorful figures. He looked at them with an appraising eye as if the tycoon saw them as nothing more than commodities to be evaluated for commercial value. In truth, this was exactly how he did see them. “Professor Wye suggested I contact you. She insisted that your group could perform a task for me. She also told me what price you ask for your services. I can meet that sum and double it. I’ll gladly do so, if you accomplish what I require of you. ”

The woman who led the odd group stepped forward and smiled in a scornful manner. “We will do what you want for the money but don’t think you own us! Never assume we’re just your pawns, ” she said in a cold voice.

Markos nodded as he stared at her. She is clearly psychotic but she and her group might just be what I need. After all, Aquaman has proven his ability to beat Black Manta and Fisherman for example again and again. This new group might challenge him. If not, they will occupy him while my other operative does his job! he thought.

He smiled and said, “I won’t make that mistake. Kill Aquaman for me and you’ll be paid well.” They listened as he gave them details of the task at hand and then they filed out.

After they departed, Markos turned to signal another figure who was hiding behind a sliding door. This man wore a gleaming solid white costume with a fin on the crest of his helmet. He smiled and said, “I heard it all. Frankly, I can’t see the Sea King surviving a bout with that bunch!”

Markos said, “I don’t know. He is astoundingly resourceful. If they occupy him, will you be able to do your part? If he lives after they confront him, I want him to know the pain of loss and defeat that only your mission can ensure!”

The Protector, for such was his name, said, “Look, I owe my powers to the industrial pollution guys like you created with your big businesses. That’s why I call myself the Protector. I gladly give back to the men who made me. I’ll do what you want since Aquaman stands for everything I hate. Give me a chance and I’ll destroy all he holds dear!”
***

 

Aquaman yawned as he stepped out of the JLA teleporter unit that was located in New Venice. He smiled as he recalled an exchange he had had with Green Arrow aboard the satellite HQ. Ollie is still pretending to be shocked that I eat fish. It has become a running gag with us since I first told him that a while back. I’m rather glad since it gives me a chance to kid him about his love of chili! he thought.

He frowned as a wave of blistering heat swept over him as he crossed the bridge. “Suffering Shad! I may have a good imagination but I know I can’t conjure up piping hot chili just by thinking about it! Someone is trying to cook me!” he said. He dodged aside nimbly as a blast of flame cascaded downward and a shapely woman in a red and yellow costume with a fire motif came into view.

“I’ve located him! Come and get him!” she cried as she spoke into a wrist communication device.

Aquaman tried to place her but her general appearance didn’t register with his memories of past foes. Obviously, she could generate fire but that didn’t tell him more than her general look revealed. “Well, she’s refrained from making fish fry jokes. That says something for her!” he mused as he prepared to avoid her next attack.

She drew closer as her heat emissions intensified. “Darrell, I’ve got the target! He’s got to be as weak as a fish on the sand now that I’ve drained him of moisture with my fire balls!” she said.

A man with a white crew cut and a blue and white costume raced up and smiled affectionately at the woman. “Good work, Joanne! Now that you’ve weakened him, I’ll put him on ice!” he said.

“Not if I knock you cold first if you’ll excuse the expression!” said a defiant Aquaman. Aquaman jumped forward and connected with a stinging punch that left the man in white and blue reeling even as the Sea King hurled him bodily into the woman. She crashed to the bridge and Aquaman rolled them both off the edge into the canal below.

“That flame thrower will be too busy keeping her boyfriend afloat to trouble me for a while. That gives me time to prepare for her friends!” he said.

The woman grasped her partner and struggled to swim to the bridge as Aquaman watched them from above. “My heat should have weakened you! I know you need moisture to survive!” she whined.

He grinned slightly and thought, “I need contact with water once every hour. I don’t grow weaker if I run into heat. Water; be it steamed or frozen still doesn’t hurt me! I’ve been immune to basic temperature extremes for years.” Aquaman frowned as two more costumed figures came into view. The man was a hulking brute with a balding head and a green costume. The woman was clad in dark blue with a punk rock blue hairdo and a sneer to match.

“We’re the Master of Disaster and you’re toast!” she said.

“Get him, New Wave! I’ll help Heatstroke and Coldsnap!” said the big man.

New Wave smiled and changed into a wall of water that loomed over Aquaman and threatened to envelop him.

He laughed harshly and said, “Forgive me if I don’t take you seriously. In case you didn’t catch the first part of my name, it is Aqua as in water. See, water doesn’t scare me!”

New Wave scowled in rage and said, “I’m not going to attack you, I’m going to add the waters from your little village to my mass and sink the whole place!”

Aquaman stopped smiling and sent out a mental summons to some of his aquatic allies. He said, “Not while I can get by with a little help from my friends!” Topo the octopus loomed into view and his tentacles hurled eight odd fish into New Wave’s watery form.

“Puffer fish will absorb your mass and disperse at my command. That should occupy you while I tame your big buddy!” said Aquaman as the thrown fish splashed through the liquid woman and sailed back into the water to swim off at top speed!

He whirled around to see the big man pulling his partners to the bridge. “The average puffer fish can inflate to three feet and contain water to near that extent. That should slow down the woman.”

Heatstroke yelled to the huge man in green as Aquaman drew closer. “Shakedown! He’s coming up fast! Darrell is still out cold. That creep hits like Superman!” she said.

Shakedown stood up and turned to face Aquaman. “Bbbback off!” he said with a stammer.

Aquaman gasped as vibrations struck him from afar and he felt pressure building on his body. “My body can withstand the depths of the ocean so I’m not hurt yet but this bruiser is doing a real job on me!” he thought.

Shakedown grinned and walked closer to Aquaman as he increased the vibrations. “I cccan hurt you from afar! I don’t nnneed to touch you!” he said.

Aquaman concentrated and a flock of sea hawks swept down to blind the bigger man. As Shakedown lost his own concentration, Aquaman rolled forward and came up to ram both legs into the man’s stomach. He followed this up by punching him twice in the face. Got to keep him too busy to create those vibrations! he thought.

Shakedown reached for the agile hero but his huge hands only grasped two electric eels. The voltage failed to harm him and Aquaman struggled onward.

Tossing those eels into his hands was a weak effort but since they answered my summons, I figured I should give them a chance. That’s why I stock the aqua preserve with creatures like them! he thought. He gasped as Heatstroke ignited the bridge and fire blazed behind him. I can’t get more help from that side. I have to take the fight to them myself. Looks like Coldsnap is coming to as well so this might be more than I expected!

Coldsnap smiled and began to create a barrage of icy spears. I want to finish this job so Jo and I can take our share of the loot and get the same egghead, who separated us after we were merged together in that freak accident, to try to dilute our powers enough so that we can really be a couple! he thought.

Aquaman knocked the spears aside as he tried to keep the flaming barrier behind him from spreading.

He saw Shakedown and New Wave return to the area as well. Neither of them had been delayed for long. “Nice trick with those fish but I can use my powers even when my mass is separated. It just takes me longer and makes me madder!” shrieked New Wave.

A whizzing sound echoed in the air as a dart struck Heatstroke in the back. She gasped and collapsed as Cal Durham waved to Aquaman from across the bridge. “That tranquilizer dart should keep her out until we can lock her away!” he shouted.

Coldsnap turned and cursed at the black lawman. “You won’t get away with shooting her like she was some kind of animal!” he cried as he created a huge blast of freezing air.

Cal drew back even as Aquaman himself reached Coldsnap and punched him flat! “Cal! Thanks for the help but stay back! These misfits mean business!” he said.

New Wave said, “I’ll show you how deadly I can be!” She turned into a huge wave and loomed overhead as she attempted to wash them all off the bridge. She stiffened suddenly in shock as her still human face expressed pure rage.

“I don’t like to see flashy tarts getting close to my husband!” said Mera as she swam into view. She had used her control over hard water to capture the still immobile New Wave. “I won’t let this terrible woman return to human or move an inch until you’re ready to lock her up!” announced Mera.

Aquaman smiled and turned to face Shakedown who charged forward and then stopped as Aquaman tackled him and brought him crashing down into the waters below. The pair wrestled beneath the waves but Shakedown could not deal with the strange conditions and his strength and powers availed him little against Aquaman’s greater fighting ability under water.

Aquaman threw the big man on the bridge and nodded approvingly as he saw Captain Strong and Cal leading the others to jail. “We’ll holds them tight for ya, mate. Those fancy handcuffs you brought back from the STAR labs for our local pokey will fix them right!” said the sailor.

Aquaman slipped an arm around Mera and said, “Thank you all. It’s great to have so many loyal friends!” Before he could continue speaking the entire bridge was shaken by an explosion.

Neptune’s Beard! What is it now? thought Aquaman as he swam down a canal toward the source of the blast.

Aquaman soon reached the source of the explosive blasts. He spotted a man clad all in white with a fin-decorated helmet. He was generating rapidly fired bursts of energy from his hands. The Protector! Superman told me all about him once since he figured this guy’s mania for pollution might bring him into my path one day! he thought.

The Protector smiled as he saw Aquaman and he stepped down to wait as the hero climbed on to the bridge. “Well, you actually survived the Masters of Disaster! That’s a surprise but that’s good fortune too since now I can destroy your little city on the sea and rub your sanctimonious face in it, ” he said.

Aquaman said nothing as he approached the villain. He was aware of the nature of his foe’s powers and he was determined to make use of that knowledge. This guy is a real arrogant cuss. I can make use of that! he thought. He swung at the Protector and frowned as his fist struck solid metal.

The Protector laughed and said, “I can turn my body into anything I choose. I don’t mind taking this slow. I think I’ll just stay solid metal and beat you to death!”

Aquaman glanced around and nodded in satisfaction. “Not until you catch me, you worm!” he said. He ran across the bridge as the Protector followed.

They drew closer to a warehouse area where mechanics worked on various boating implements. “What are you the Chicken of the Sea?” yelled the Protector as he tried to catch up to the fleet Aquaman.

Aquaman smiled and stood still as the villain came closer. Light gleamed off his metallic body and Aquaman silently ordered a gull to obey his precisely given telepathic order. The sea bird landed on a control panel near the garage and a humming sound indicated that a powerful magnetic wench had been activated.

The Protector gasped as he was pulled across the canal and pinned against the machine due to the metallic nature of his altered body.

“I’d say luring you here was a good plan. I know my city as well as Batman knows Gotham!” declared Aquaman as he drew back his fist.

The Protector said, “Don’t count your sea monkeys before they’re hatched! I can escape your trap by returning to human!” As he made the change, the Protector cried out in pain as Aquaman connected with a swinging punch that knocked the now human rogue cold.

Aquaman smiled down at the stunned villain and said, “Getting you to turn human again was always the purpose of my plan!” He dragged the beaten villain to jail and whistled in satisfaction as he went.
***

 

Elsewhere, two people reacted to the news of Aquaman’s latest victories in different ways.

Stavros Markos crumpled up the paper in disgust and said, “Aquaman wins again! Well, I’ll make him rue the day he humiliated me. At least the Protector’s loyalty means I won’t be implicated. I’ll pay him well for his silence.”

In a small office, Professor Andrea Wye looked at her notes. She had written the following: “Because of his very heroism, the Hero is a man apart from those around him.”

She ripped that up and began to write. “The Hero’s courage inspires the devotion and loyalty of many allies. His very nature as a champion brings out unseen levels of sacrifice and courage in those around him.”

She read that line and smiled. Very nice. Aquaman didn’t prove the theory I expected but he served to illustrate a fascinating new one. The next chapter in my study of the Heroic Ideal should be equally intriguing, she thought. She adjusted her glasses and glanced at an atlas that had the heading Ivy Town at the top.

But, that would be another story.