Faced with the threat of Mysterious Beings and Saiyans, humanity was desperate to seize hold of any power it could.
The civilization of Atlantis naturally counted as one such power.
"They're on the verge of being wiped out by the Mysterious Beings. There's no value or meaning in saving them. Besides, we'd have to watch out in case we end up saving a white-eyed wolf."
Zod shook his head.
In this world, the Atlantean civilization probably didn't have Namor. After all, Namor was a mutant. Though they still possessed the sacred relic, the "Divine Trident of Neptune," the symbol of Atlantean royal authority.
It could command the oceans, stir gales and billows, create tsunamis, and unleash electric currents.
It could well be considered a divine-level weapon.
Along with the "Horn of Proteus," which summoned sea creatures.
It looked powerful enough, but Zod could send a single superhero over there and wipe out the whole species. He simply didn't regard that level of combat strength with any value.
Civilizations like Wakanda and Atlantis, which normally shut their borders tight and only wanted to share hardships when disaster struck at their own doorstep, were ones Zod paid no attention to whatsoever.
"You seem to know them quite well."
Nick Fury was sharp as a razor, a man grown cunning with age. He could naturally pick up on a few things from Zod's tone and attitude.
"Of course."
Zod nodded.
"Atlantis is an ancient civilization. It existed on Earth alongside the Lemurian civilization over ten thousand years ago, only for both to sink beneath the world-destroying flood, one after the other."
"Perhaps because the Atlanteans saw themselves as children of the sea god and held the ocean in deep reverence, they didn't die out. Instead, they miraculously preserved a single ember of civilization and began to carry on their legacy in the depths of the Atlantic."
"Over the past century, many archaeologists have found traces left by prehistoric civilizations near the Atlantic."
Everything Zod said was information he'd memorized from the encyclopedia back then.
Maybe this universe was different, but with Atlantis on the brink of annihilation, whether it was different or not hardly mattered anymore.
As for the true history of Atlantis, one had to start with the Celestials.
That group of cosmic heavyweights made their second descent to Earth. The first had been four billion years ago, when they had modified some primitive humans, from whom modern mutants eventually evolved.
Those primitive humans modified by the Celestials split into three major factions: the Eternals, the Deviants, and humans.
The Eternals were new gods. They studied the absorption and conversion of cosmic energy. Their lifespans were immensely long, nearly without aging or death.
They once built three cities on Earth: the Arctic City in Siberia, the Undersea City in the Pacific, and Olympia in Greece, where they were once worshipped as gods by the Greeks.
This group migrated several times. A conflict erupted during one of those migrations, and Zuras, the leader of the Eternals, exiled his brother A'lars into space.
The latter was the director of the cosmic family planning office, the father of the Mad Titan, Thanos.
Relying on his natural gifts and vigorous vitality, he rebuilt a home on Titan, forming the "Eternal race."
If you traced the origins and carefully investigated the family lineage, the humans on Earth and Thanos shared a faint blood connection, distant as it was.
Opposing the Eternals were the Deviants.
They built cities on land, developed genetic engineering, and made Lemuria their capital, attempting to dominate the entire planet. They formed the Lemurian civilization, which existed alongside Atlantis in that era.
The Deviants had an extremely high rate of genetic mutation; offspring bore no resemblance to their parents.
Their sole commonality was that none of them were alike.
The Deviants harbored intense hostility toward all species, which also made the Lemurian civilization aggressively invasive and won them many enemies.
Their destruction came in 16,000 BC.
The Celestials descended to Earth a second time, wiping out the Deviants' capital, Lemuria.
This also triggered tectonic plate movements, affecting Atlantis and sinking it into the Atlantic Ocean.
This piece of exceedingly ancient history probably only survived in fragmented records within Kamar-Taj.
"Nick Fury, you need to understand this clearly. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Sword Division exists to ensure the safety of humanity. A civilization like Atlantis can no longer be counted as part of humanity. When times were good, they didn't share their blessings. When trouble came, they didn't share the burden. Now that trouble's at their door, they want to come to us. Where in the world do such easy breaks exist?"
Zod was effectively stamping a final verdict on this matter. However, to prevent the Atlantean civilization from fighting to the death in desperation, he still ordered the American navy and those of other nations to stay on high alert.
Atlantis, Poseidonia.
This was the center of the four oceans, the highest holy land in the minds of all sea creatures.
The magnificent city stood upon the seabed, preserving the mysterious aura of an ancient civilization.
Immense stone pillars, towering high, supported resplendent square domes in glorious gold and jade hues.
Many blue-skinned Atlanteans, riding seahorses or shuttle-shaped vessels, formed brilliant ribbons of light that circled their capital.
The deep sea was not, as people imagined, pitch-black and cold.
Those multicolored algae plants and gigantic jellyfish emitted a bewitching glow, casting dreamlike colors.
All of this was a sight humanity was fated never to behold.
Passing through the enormous water membrane that enveloped Poseidonia, one entered the city center.
There, one could see an exceedingly magnificent palace and castles. Numerous armed guards patrolled back and forth.
At various posts, powerful high-pressure water cannons were mounted.
Should any outsider trespass, they would be met with the most ferocious firepower barrage.
But right now, the place was under savage assault by the Deep Sea Tribe.
The powerful Deep Sea Tribe, even when struck by the Atlantean civilization's advanced weaponry, would only suffer severe injuries. Then their potent regenerative abilities would let them recover in a short time and continue their attack.
"What about the land dwellers?"
The current old king of Atlantean civilization furrowed his brow deeply.
"...Your Majesty, they have refused our request for aid."
One of the council of elders paused.
When the decision had been made to seek help from the land dwellers, many had assumed the land dwellers would agree. They had not expected the land dwellers to refuse.
The reason given was that the land belonged to the land, the sea to the sea. Land dwellers and Atlanteans were not the same species, and they refused to extend a helping hand.
"Why did they refuse? Was the emissary too arrogant?"
The old king immediately suspected that the emissary sent for help had been too arrogant and had angered the land dwellers. After all, people like them all felt that Atlanteans were superior. Some even thought land dwellers should bow and submit to them. Arrogance in an emissary was perfectly normal.
"That was not the case, Your Majesty. The land dwellers merely said that since we usually chose to hide and have no dealings with the land world, then when disaster strikes, we shouldn't think we can expect help from the land world..."
"I recall the land dwellers have many nations. What did the other nations say?"
The old king realized the land dwellers were not as easily fooled as he had imagined. But fortunately, the land dwellers had many kings. If this one refused to send aid, there were still others.
/-\
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