The shockwave from the bus impact still echoed down the ruined street, dust swirling like sea mist as Kaius stood at the epicenter, trident leveled, wings flexing with predatory grace.
From behind a flipped car, Rex Splode peeked over the edge.
"Did he just yeet public transportation…?"
"At a guy made of rock," Dupli-Kate confirmed, as three of her duplicates nodded in unison.
Atom Eve hovered down beside them, pink energy crackling at her fingertips.
"We might actually win this now."
The molten-skinned meta screamed and spewed a column of fire directly at Kaius.
Kaius twirled his trident with practiced ease, summoning a circular barrier of pressurized water that steamed against the flame. He darted forward, wings slicing through the smoke, and jabbed his trident into the ground.
From it, a hydraulic pulse burst up beneath the fire-user, erupting in a geyser of superheated water and pressure that launched the villain skyward.
CRACK!
Atom Eve manipulated debris into a mid-air net that captured the falling villain before he could crash into civilians.
On the other side of the battlefield, Dupli-Kate's clones swarmed the telekinetic, distracting her long enough for Rex to fling a disc behind her shield.
BOOM!
She dropped, unconscious.
A blur zipped between the chaos — the speedster meta. He aimed a punch at Atom Eve, then veered toward Rex.
"Too slow!" the villain taunted as he zipped past.
"Not for long," Kaius muttered.
He crouched, flexed the fish-winged ankles once, and shot forward with a burst of compressed aqua-pressure, reading the current shift and anticipating the villain's next step.
In an instant, he intercepted him mid-dash and delivered a trident strike across his chest that sent the speedster tumbling in a blur of sparks and blood.
"Tidebreaker's like our own flying torpedo," Rex said, impressed.
Eve grinned.
"Told you he wasn't just the ocean guy."
Only the last of the non-meta terrorists remained, scrambling to regroup.
"Fall back! FALL BACK—"
But Kaius raised his trident, slammed it into the ground, and released a riptide of condensed kinetic water that washed over the battlefield in a tight, controlled arc, sweeping weapons from hands and disarming the last of the opposition.
Robot's voice came through Kaius's communicator.
"Threat neutralized. Civilian casualties: zero. Excellent work, Tidebreaker."
Kaius hovered above the street, wings outstretched, his shadow cast across the battlefield.
He landed beside the others as law enforcement moved in to clean up the chaos.
Rex elbowed him playfully.
"Have you ever considered joining full-time?"
Kaius smirked.
"I already have a kingdom. But I'm happy to help when you surface-dwellers start setting your own cities on fire."
Eve smiled, brushing dust from her sleeve.
"We're glad you showed up when you did."
As Kaius turned to leave, another pulse blinked on his communicator — this one from Atlantis.
He frowned.
"Guess it's time to go home."
Absolutely. Here's the next chapter, highlighting the gravity of leadership, duty, and war in Atlantis — and solidifying Kaius's role as a true prince of the sea.
The throne room of Atlantis was carved from living coral, its pale blue and gold bioluminescent veins pulsing softly with energy. The air inside was thick with tension, heavier than the currents outside. Silent guards lined the sides, all warriors—waiting, watching.
Kaius knelt before the dais, where Queen Aquiria sat with regal stillness. Her long fins curled behind her like a living mantle, and her eyes, sharp and regal, flicked toward the large projected map above them—an organic construct of glowing plankton and psychic water currents.
"They've breached the perimeter of the Trench Ridges," she said, her voice measured but tight with fury. Fort Myralis was overrun. Civilians, soldiers... lost."
The projection shimmered, showing clusters of Deep Dwellers—hulking, bioluminescent predators with jagged armor-like carapaces—emerging from the abyssal dark. Their attack patterns were erratic but ferocious, pressing deeper into Atlantean borders than they had in years.
Kaius rose, eyes narrowing as he analyzed the visuals.
"They're not hunting. This is coordinated. They're moving in waves. Someone's leading them."
He clenched his fists.
"I'll gather the vanguard."
Queen Aquiria stood, descending from her throne with a swish of her sleek, sharklike tail.
"It should be him leading this charge."
Her voice, though calm, held steel.
"The king is gallivanting with the Guardians, saving surface towers while our people are buried beneath the sea."
Kaius looked at her—half empathy, half resolve.
"He fights a war above… But I'm here. And as long as I remain, Atlantis will never stand alone."
The queen's expression softened, though a storm still swirled behind her gaze.
"Your father would have said the same."
She embraced him—fins folding over him like wings, the scent of brine and ceremonial oil clinging to her.
"Be swift. Be strong. Be the tide."
Kaius pulled back, eyes glinting with purpose.
"And let them drown in it."
---
Moments Later…
Outside the palace, Kaius soared above the army—his fish-winged ankles slicing the water like jets, his trident in hand. Hundreds of warriors, armed in bio-armored plating, awaited his command.
"The Deep Dwellers think us weakened," he shouted, voice projecting through the watery medium with the authority of royalty. "They believe Atlantis has grown soft. That we've forgotten the dark…"
He twirled the trident once, its edge gleaming with charged aqua-energy.
"Let's remind them why the sea belongs to us."
With that, he surged ahead—a streak of fury and leadership—followed by the army of Atlantis, blades gleaming as they plunged into the shadowy depths where the Deep Dwellers waited.