The Daughter of the Sea

Watching the mischief in Hippolyta's eyes and listening to her mother's curious words, Diana's fair face showed a hint of helplessness, and she gently shook her head.

"You don't know them. They're some of Earth's heroes, heroes from recent years!"

With that, Diana took her mother's hand.

"Mother, don't joke with me like this. I want to talk to you about something serious now.

I want to bring them to Themyscira. Can I?"

"Of course you can!"

Hippolyta nodded decisively.

"You're Diana, my daughter. You have the right to bring a few people into our land, as long as you trust them enough!

And besides, there's even a god among them!"

"Even if that god is on the side of the Aesir?"

"The Aesir?!"

Hippolyta was taken aback.

"How do you know he's one of the Aesir?"

"He wields Gungnir, the spear he obtained after killing Odin. He's had more contact with the Aesir!"

"Hmm, that's truly a miracle. Weren't the Aesir already lost in Ragnarok?

Well, let them come. I'm even more eager to meet this Sun God."

"Alright, Mother!"

Seeing her goal achieved, Diana smiled happily, then continued chatting with Hippolyta about Darkseid's various matters.

...

Meanwhile...

At the Metropolis harbor, beneath the towering Statue of Liberty,

a woman with fiery red hair and clad in sea-blue scaled armor quietly emerged.

She rose from the water, glancing at the colossal statue.

Moments later, she turned her head.

"Hmm, I've lived so long, yet I've never heard of such a god."

With that, the woman dove back into the water, swimming toward the nearby harbor.

As she neared the harbor, she quietly climbed ashore from a corner. As she walked, the water on her body gradually left under her control.

Moments later, even her hair was refreshingly dry, showing no sign of her having come from the water.

Simultaneously, her scaled armor slowly faded, revealing a light green bodysuit beneath.

Such a radiant woman naturally drew countless gazes, though sailors dared not provoke someone with such an imposing aura.

But when the crowd noticed no car had come to pick her up, many began to act.

First, a full dozen taxis pulled up.

For those drivers, if it meant earning money, who wouldn't want to ferry such a pleasing young woman?

However, before the taxis could approach, a stretched Maybach blocked their way.

The Maybach pulled up beside the woman, and the window gently rolled down.

The woman frowned, and a smiling face poked out of the window.

"Miss, care to tell me where you're headed? I think I'm going your way!"

Hearing this, the woman was slightly surprised, then smiled contentedly.

"You people on land are truly warm-hearted. That's wonderful!"

As she spoke, the woman directly got into the Maybach.

Watching her disappear into the car, countless sailors and drivers around showed disappointed expressions.

Many more spat in frustration.

"Such a fine cabbage ends up with a pig! Fk!"

Unfortunately, their voices couldn't reach the luxury car, which vanished in an instant.

Inside the stretched Maybach, the woman sat gracefully, her mere presence making the man opposite her fidget uncomfortably.

Her noble aura was too overwhelming. Just getting into the car had already left the man struggling to contain himself!

The man handed her a drink and asked,

"I'm Edward Vincent. May I know your name?"

"Mera. You can call me Mera!"

Mera nodded, introducing herself softly.

"Thank you for your help. I'm going to see the Sun God. Please take me near his divine realm!

I landed in Venice, and they said the Sun God is in New York. I've followed the map all the way here, just to meet him!"

"Ah ha!"

The man opposite her, Edward, suddenly laughed.

"I guessed you're just like me. I'm here specifically for that Sun God too.

Who knows what's become of the world now? I don't even know if I should keep believing in God.

Because I've never seen an angel, yet I've seen the Sun God Heisenberg!"

At this, Edward looked expectantly at Mera, hoping to gauge her identity through her faith.

Mera showed no reaction, completely unbothered by Edward's blasphemy against God.

Edward nodded knowingly. This woman didn't believe in God, so he continued,

"But after meeting you, I've become even more steadfast in my faith in God, because you make me feel like I've seen an angel, miss!"

As his words fell, Edward awaited Mera's reaction, but she remained expressionless, leaving him slightly disheartened.

He straightened his expression and continued,

"You want to see the Sun God. I have a way. I'm meeting with the Mayor of Metropolis tonight, so I can ask him to provide us a closer position to that spaceship.

Believe me, it's very difficult, because there are just too many people nearby.

Devotees and zealots have it completely surrounded, and countless others like you and me have come from afar to pay homage. Without my help, it'll be hard for you to get closer, miss.

You wouldn't want to force your way through a sea of people, would you? That's too uncouth!"

Hearing this, Mera finally reacted.

She slightly tilted her head, gracefully thanking Edward while declining his offer.

"No need. Just take me near there."

"Erm… that's a crowd as dense as mountains and seas. Are you sure you don't need extra help?"

"No need!"

Sensing Mera's coldness, Edward helplessly shook his head.

This woman wasn't someone he could easily sway.

So, let her be.

For someone of Edward's caliber, even the best things require mutual willingness. He wasn't one to force others.

Thus, silence fell in the car.

Finally, the car stopped eight blocks away from the Kryptonian spaceship. Mera gracefully stepped out.

Listening to Edward's final farewell, Mera looked toward the dense crowd in the distance and took a deep breath.

Without needing to ask, she already knew the god's location!

She stepped into the crowd, using her far superior strength to push aside those blocking her path.

Even so, by the time she reached the center of the crowd, over an hour had passed.

She stood among the people, silently gazing at the spaceship enveloped in blue energy, blinking in confusion.

"It's not what I imagined. This god's dwelling looks more like an outsider's."

At this, Mera changed position, inconspicuously slipping into a nearby circle of women.

Here, Mera slowly probed the women, eventually piecing together everything that had happened last night.

She learned about Superman, Batman, Metropolis's Doomsday, and the Heisenberg who had appeared then.

She also heard what Heisenberg had told the people.

"He's an ancient god who's been asleep for so long, only awakening now?"

After figuring this out, Mera furrowed her brow. The situation was worse than she'd thought.

She'd assumed Heisenberg was a new god.

If he was an old god, most already had their own stances in ancient times. Mera didn't know how Heisenberg would view Atlantis.

As far as Mera knew, many ancient gods had hated Atlantis!

But Mera still found her way.

When she heard that Superman and Batman had both entered the spaceship, Mera made her decision.

Since she wasn't sure how the god viewed Atlantis, she'd go ask him herself.

If he could meet Superman and Batman, he could certainly meet her!

As for how to meet him...

Looking at the darkening sky, Mera smiled faintly.

She'd wait until those two emerged from the spaceship, then follow them!

...

Inside the spaceship, Bruce wiped the sweat from his face, then handed a tissue to Superman beside him.

Seeing the tissue, Clark was taken aback, helplessly shaking his head.

"Thanks, but I don't need it. I don't sweat!"

"Erm..."

Bruce nodded, pressing the tissue to his own forehead.

"Alright, my body really isn't as good as yours. My work for today has to end here.

Otherwise, I'll have no energy tonight to deal with those bastards recently resurfacing in Gotham!"

As Bruce's words fell, Heisenberg beside him turned to him, casually asking,

"Need help, buddy?"

"No need. That's my city. I can handle them.

But rest assured, if I encounter trouble I can't solve, I'll ask for your help.

Though I believe such situations will be rare, truly rare!"

At this, Bruce wiped his face clean, securing his bat helmet on his head.

"I'm off. Heisenberg, Clark, see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow. You should rest more. You're here to help during the day, and fighting crime at night.

I really don't know where you find the time!"

As Clark bid farewell, he sighed, his words making Bruce rarely show a slight smile.

Walking toward the spaceship's exit, Bruce replied,

"Just like you, squeezing it out. After all, for us, as long as there's evil to fight and justice to uphold, we'll always make time.

To some extent, we're all time management masters, right?"

"No, no, no. I'm not. I always feel short on time. I don't even have time to spend with Lois!

Anyway, see you tomorrow, Bruce."

Clark waved, bidding farewell to the departing Batman.

The spaceship was vast, and Bruce walked for a while before leaving its gates.

Heisenberg had given them full access this morning, so the defense systems wouldn't stop him now.

As soon as he stepped out, the distant sky roared as his plane approached.

Under countless gazes, Batman hooked his grapple onto his plane, directly disappearing into the crowd.

But he didn't notice that within the crowd, a beautiful woman was watching him!

Mera suddenly sprinted, her speed unbelievably fast. In just minutes, she followed the plane into the sea.

The countless people she overtook all showed astonished expressions.

Entering the sea, Mera controlled countless seawater, sending her toward Bruce's aircraft.

Ordinary people couldn't track Bruce, but Mera was different. The moment Bruce left the spaceship, she'd already placed a water droplet on his cape!

Following the droplet's scent, Mera was delighted to discover that Batman's path was near the water.

She simply surpassed the plane's speed, intercepting the giant bat!

Bruce, planning to return to the Batcave through a sea tunnel, had no idea a woman was blocking him underwater.

Half a minute later, as Bruce gradually descended...

A wave over twenty meters high surged up, swallowing his Batplane!

Watching himself suddenly go from sea level to the ocean floor, Bruce stared in stunned disbelief.

He'd just promised Heisenberg he'd handle things, yet he'd failed again!?