A Watery Web

Chapter 30

Peter and Mera had a blast going to Italy the last couple of weeks. They visited many different places and took lots of pictures. But now that the fun was over in Italy, now came the next best thing.

Peter and Mera were now swimming through the ocean with their bags in water proof suitcases to go to Atlantis for the rest of the week. They had thanked Paul for his hospitality and he had congratulated them on their engagement. And now they were going to tell Nereus and Arthur about their new engagement.

Peter was holding hands with Mera with an air bubble around his head, which Mera was providing him. She also was using her powers to carry the luggage behind her. But as she swam, she contemplated telling Peter about what she had seen in the crystal, and what her nightmare had composed of the day after their engagement.

'Will he think I'm crazy or over exaggerating? Will he believe me? Do I believe myself with all of this?' she thought to herself.

Peter noticed that they were starting to slow down, a little bit before the lights of Xebel even came into their eyesight. He looked at Mera to see through his bubble that her mind was focused on other things at the moment. Knowing something is bugging her, he squeezed her hand to get her attention.

Mera looked at him and knew that he wanted to say something to her. So she stopped swimming and created an air pocket around them for him to speak. "What's wrong Mera?" Peter asked, stepping towards his now fiance. "And do not tell me nothing is wrong. I know you too well to see if something is wrong with you or not." he added on.

Mera grinned at him, and ran a hand through her wet hair. "Oh, it's.........I'm just thinking about something that has been occurring recently." she said.

"Are you nervous to tell your dad that we're engaged?" Peter asked, worryingly.

"No." Mera immediately said, grabbing both of Peter's hands. "No, no, no. I'm not worried about that. It's something else."

Peter gauged her for a moment or two before opening his mouth. "Does it have something to do with that crystal at Strange's place?" he asked. Mera's eyes widened at his question. She clearly did not expect him to read her so precisely. "I know that something about that crystal bugged you Mera. You asked about it and then you put on an uncomfortable look when Strange told you what it was."

Mera blinked a couple of times before looking down with her eyes closed. She let out a deep breath and looked back up at Peter. "Okay. Yes you're right. The crystal was part of what I am thinking about." she said.

"Part?" Peter asked. "What happened with the crystal?" he asked, gripping her hands a little tighter.

"Well.....I saw visions. Of the future." Mera said. "Or maybe they were just hallucinations. But I saw the world completely destroyed. Have you heard of a being named Darkseid?" she asked.

"Darkseid?" Peter asked. "No. Never heard of him. Who is he?"

"He's basically a god. An evil god at that, whose name is cursed and feared throughout all life in the universe." Mera explained.

"Ah. Sounds like Thanos." Peter commented.

"Thanos?" Mera asked.

"I'll explain later. But tell me more about Darkseid and how he is involved in this." Peter said.

"Well....Darkseid is all about controlling all live. He came to Earth thousands of years ago. But the armies of Atlantis, Themiscyra, the tribes of men and some of the old gods teamed up together to defeat him." Mera explained. "But I have seen him return to Earth and finish what he started. He killed so many people. Including heroes."