"So, does anyone know what the deal is with this little Prince of the Deep?"
Tony, fully geared up, set off immediately. Peter attached a strand of spider silk to the Iron Man armor and was carried by Tony toward the waters off the coast of New York. Meanwhile, Tony established a communication link with Captain America.
After all, Tony didn't know anyone named Namor and had absolutely no information on him. Facing this question, the Captain found it a bit difficult to answer.
"Namor is a hybrid of a human and an Atlantean; you should all know that much." The Captain, who had just captured Abomination once again, spoke with Tony while delivering the brute to the Cube prison. "But he almost never considers himself human. He views himself solely as an Atlantean."
Namor was born in 1921 and lived in New York before the outbreak of World War II. At that time, he had been exploring his sense of identity. However, unlike the superheroes most people are familiar with, he didn't conclude that he was both human and Atlantean; instead, he chose to become a thorough Atlantean.
Yet, he wasn't just a simple hybrid. His father had passed down the X-Gene to him, granting Namor mutant abilities. Thus, he was not only the Lord of the Seven Seas but also a powerful mutant, ranking among the Alpha-level mutants alongside Professor X and Magneto.
Furthermore, because he stood entirely on the side of Atlantis, even before World War II had ended, he would attack the Allies simply because their frequent sinking of German U-boats caused undersea pollution. It was very... abstract.
"Not only that, Namor is incredibly powerful. Unlike average Atlanteans, he possesses not only a formidable physique but also the superpower to control the ocean."
"And here I thought his only great power was talking to fish."
Tony quipped as he flew, while simultaneously spotting a fireball rapidly plunging toward the surface of the sea—it was the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four, who had rushed toward Namor a step ahead of them.
In the 1930s and 40s, Namor had fought two battles with the original Human Torch, Jim Hammond. The first was a classic "no hard feelings" encounter between two heroes. The second, however, was an act of retaliation by Namor against the Allies for sinking too many German submarines and warships.
"Looks like we're about to have the third Great War of Fire and Water... Oh, wait, it looks like it's already started."
In the distance, erupting flames and towering floods clashed violently. However, the conflict was brief and swift; by the time Tony and Peter arrived, it was already over.
Well, Johnny had been turned into a drowned rat and was being fished out of the water by Reed, while Susan was using her force fields to try and hold back the surging flood. There was also the Thing, who didn't have much to do and was just driving the vehicle.
As for Namor, he stood gallantly upon the water's surface, seemingly unscathed, and even offered a nonchalant critique of the Human Torch.
"You are far inferior to Jim Hammond. Though you burn hotter than that fellow, you aren't nearly enough to keep me entertained."
Perched on a nearby skyscraper, Peter observed Namor and noticed that while the man didn't seem particularly interested in the conversation, his eyes frequently darted toward Susan.
"They're old acquaintances. Years ago, Namor was ambushed and lost his memory; it was the Fantastic Four who found him, helped him recover his memories, and aided him in reclaiming his throne."
Tony, who was quite familiar with the Fantastic Four, introduced their history with Namor before quipping again: "But clearly, that bit of networking and history isn't enough to cause this little Prince of the Deep any hesitation."
Seeing Tony's arrival, Namor finally seemed a bit more interested. He spoke to the primary head of the Avengers: "Tony Stark, you should know that yesterday, the surface people carried out a fierce bombardment right within the vast waters under my rule."
Peter was the first to interrupt Namor: "Were there any casualties?"
Namor had intended to say more, but after being cut off by Peter, he showed slight dissatisfaction before answering: "There were no casualties, which is fortunate."
The next question was an expansion on Peter's point by Tony: "Then, did Atlantis suffer any serious economic losses?"
"No."
Namor's answer left Tony feeling bewildered. If there were no deaths and no economic losses, why did you bring hundreds of people and a tsunami to New York?
If you were dissatisfied, couldn't you have just sent a diplomatic ambassador to protest?
Unsure of what Namor intended to do, Tony asked: "Then what exactly does Atlantis plan to do now...?"
"I am here to display the might of Atlantis to you, to tell the entire world that no one can threaten Atlantis!"
After Namor finished speaking, both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four fell into a collective silence. That was it? That's all?
Still uncertain, Tony continued: "Uh... and then what?"
"What do you mean 'and then'?"
"You've officially announced the existence of Atlantis to the world. You've done that. And then?"
However, beyond Tony's expectations, Namor's reply truly was:
"That is all. It is over. Remember, everything you do upon the surface of the sea, the Lord of the Seven Seas is watching you!"
Watching the departing Atlanteans and the receding tide, Johnny, who was soaked to the bone, managed to squeeze out one sentence after a long pause.
"Is this guy insane?"
"Hard to say. He might actually be crazy. My old man held most of his WWII comrades in the highest regard, but regarding this guy, even my old man didn't know what his problem was."
Tony finished his quip with a sigh of his own.
Peter was also wearing a look of total confusion. He couldn't understand Namor's logic at all; it felt like Namor was some kind of deep-sea senior citizen who would hiss at the slightest touch.
The group quickly determined that nothing else was going to happen, so they went back to their own business. Peter was the same; since he had been live-streaming the whole time, the Daily Bugle had run a special report.
The result was that as soon as Peter finished explaining things on his end, he received messages from Gwen and Cindy. After quickly reassuring both of them that he was safe, Peter took the opportunity to start patrolling New York.
At the same time, he was still thinking about what had just occurred. Even if Namor himself acted like a madman, could it be that the entire nation of Atlantis had no dissenting opinions?
Because of this, Peter felt that Namor's little stunt wasn't entirely over. There was something else waiting to happen.
However, that is a story for next month, one that won't be detailed just yet.
A withered Namor, Lord of the Seven Seas, was teleported into Avengers Tower by a beam of light. He reached out his hand toward the Avengers present.
"I... Atlantis needs your help... Avengers."