Days of Chaos: A Marvel/DC Multiversal Crisis

Chapter One: How to Get Away with Warmongering (Part 2)

Arthur Curry threw his trident into the headpiece of his own throne, screaming with a rage he has hardly ever felt in his life. He wanted vengeance. Violence. Retribution. Mostly he wanted a drink.

"That betraying son of—"

He felt a hard metal hand on his shoulder and immediately started breathing exercises. Arthur didn't want to admit how badly he needed his sponsor right now.

"Aquaman, is any of this really that surprising?" Tony Stark asked.

Arthur turned around and looked into the glowing eyes of the Iron Man mask. In Atlantis Oceanus, non-Atlanteans had to wear some sort of breathing apparatus. Tony Stark wore an entire suit. But Arthur — like his nemesis Namor — was half Atlantean, giving him the ability to breathe on the surface too.

The War of the Two Kings, as it was called, started shortly after the Merging. Two versions of Atlantis appeared — but the cities were identical in every way. They were mirrors of each other. One was in the Atlantic Ocean, where Arthur placed his throne. The other, Atlantis Pacificus, held Namor's illegitimate (Arthur always reminded himself of this) throne.

One city, two oceans. One kingdom, two kings. Neither was willing to compromise or back down. The experience drove Arthur to the bottle until he found himself on a beach surrounded by hundreds of dead sharks and the Avengers League standing over him.

While drunk, he accidentally destroyed a small coastal town called Avalon. Apparently, he thought the sign said Atlantis and believed that Namor was somewhere in the small city. For a year afterward, he was locked in the cube, just a few paces from where his half-brother Orm lay in a coma.

His half-brother who was now on the news, free and cleared of charges — and throwing his support to Namor as the one true king of Atlantis. And, of course, alongside Namor was his Chief Defense Strategist, David Hyde, the Black Manta. The mercenary went from a known terrorist to a world-respected member of Namor's inner court. Most of Namor's advisors were a who's who of Arthur's enemies. Triton, Corum Rath, Bresh, Karshon, and more.

But Orm? After trying to proclaim himself the King of Atlantis for decades, he's going to toss that obsession aside for this false ruler from a different universe? This half-mutant who has more claim over Krakoa than Atlantis?

"You're letting Orm get under your skin," Tony's voice pierced through the rage. "Whatever they're doing, they want you to react."

Arthur looked back to the mask. "How can I not react. Atlantis — both cities — are expecting a response."

Tony nodded. "A response? It looks like you have something more on your mind. You know what Steve would say."

Aquaman pulled his trident free from his throne. "Yeah. Now is not the time for bold moves. It's the time for smart moves. But he's never had to rule a kingdom, has he?"

"Okay," Tony said, putting a hand up. "I'll give T'Challa a call. He's a good king. He'll know the best path forward. Just...don't do anything drastic in the meantime."

Instead of promising, Arthur nodded and slumped back into his throne. Tony took off, unsure about leaving his sponsee behind.

He should have trusted his instinct.