Ten minutes earlier.
"Who is that?" Ellis asked, staring at the footage of Deadshot wreaking havoc.
Ross, having already checked the files, replied immediately, "Floyd Lawton. He has an extensive criminal record."
Ellis waved that off. "That doesn't matter. Who supplied his armor and weapons?"
Considering that even the Suicide Squad consisted largely of lifers and death-row inmates, a criminal record was the least of his concerns.
"So far we've only uncovered fragments," Ross answered, "but all signs point to LexCorp."
Ellis trusted America's intelligence agencies. When they said "suspected," it usually meant there was already an eighty-percent certainty.
"Contact LexCorp immediately," Ellis ordered. "Tell them we intend to purchase that armor technology."
"If Tony Stark won't cooperate," he continued coldly, "then we'll work with LexCorp instead."
"Yes, Mr. President." Ross nodded.
At that moment, Deadshot appeared on-screen again, single-handedly destroying Atlantis war vehicles, jellyfish turrets, and Sea Bat flyers.
Ellis's eyes widened. He turned sharply to Ross.
"No matter the cost, secure cooperation with LexCorp. Even if we can't obtain the technology itself, we must be able to buy the equipment."
"I'll handle the call personally," Ross said, standing up at once.
Then came Deadshot's final, spectacular energy beam.
Ellis clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
The brilliant sphere of light forced everyone watching the screen to raise their arms and shield their eyes.
Every heart in the command room hung suspended, waiting—hoping—that Deadshot's attack would finally annihilate the ruler of the deep.
---
On the battlefield
The concrete ground had melted into a perfectly circular crater, its edges smooth as if carved by a blade.
White steam drifted away with the wind, revealing Orm standing at the center.
The chest of his golden fish-scale armor was still superheated, vaporizing the moisture in the air into hissing clouds of steam.
Metal plates met water vapor, producing sharp crackling sounds.
Orm lifted his head, his piercing gaze locking onto the direction Deadshot had fled.
With a casual motion, he yanked the Sea God's Trident out of the ground. His knees bent slightly—and he leapt out of the crater, landing heavily on solid ground.
Deadshot, the instant he had fired his final shot, had already forced his aching body to keep moving, widening the distance at top speed.
It wasn't that he knew his attack couldn't kill Orm.
It was instinct—raw and absolute—screaming at him to run.
"Surface Dweller."
Orm surged forward, accelerating even faster than before.
Even with the armor's assistance, Deadshot had barely managed to put two kilometers between them, slowed by detours through rubble and desperate leaps over collapsed structures.
Orm, by contrast, simply swung his trident—splitting ruins in half as he ran straight through them.
In moments, he caught up.
A cruel smile twisted across Orm's face. With a powerful leap, he launched himself into the air, sailed over Deadshot, and landed more than ten meters ahead—blocking his escape.
Deadshot skidded to a stop. He knew he couldn't run anymore.
"Assault mode," he muttered.
Susie split down the middle, transforming into two oversized short guns.
"You have insulted the King of Atlantis," Orm said coldly, murderous intent flooding his eyes.
"Even if you kneel and beg now, it is already too late."
"I don't need to," Deadshot replied calmly. "And I never planned to surrender."
He raised both guns and pulled the triggers.
A torrent of energy rounds—denser than machine-gun fire—erupted toward Orm.
Orm didn't even bother to block.
He charged straight through the barrage.
The energy bolts struck his body and dissipated like water splashing against stone.
"Melee mode!" Deadshot commanded instantly.
The guns reshaped into two silver, single-edged blades etched with deep grooves.
As Orm closed in, the blades slashed down toward him.
"Pathetic."
Trained since childhood, Orm was a master of close combat and bladed weapons.
With a single sweep of his trident, he struck after Deadshot—but landed first, knocking both blades cleanly aside.
Then came a storm of attacks.
Orm's strikes fell like a raging tempest, forcing Deadshot into pure defense.
Without the armor, Orm would have crushed him in every aspect—strength, speed, reflexes.
Even with it, Orm still dominated the fight completely, allowing Deadshot no room to breathe.
"Come," Orm sneered as he attacked.
"Brave surface dweller. Show me your strongest resolve. This is the last mercy I grant you."
Despite the deadly pressure, Deadshot showed no fear.
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Orm decided to end it.
"Very well. You face death without trembling—you have my respect. I will make it quick."
He raised the trident for the killing blow—
BOOM!
A barrage of micro-missiles slammed into Orm's back.
The sudden force shattered his balance, sending the trident slicing through empty air.
Deadshot didn't question who had intervened.
He seized the opening and detonated his armor's boosters, vanishing from the battlefield in a flash.
Before Orm could recover, more micro-missiles detonated across his body.
Then a high-density pulse energy blast struck him head-on, launching him more than ten meters through the air.
"Bastard—try this!"
From within the Mark IV armor perched among the ruins, Tony Stark growled.
Panels on the sides of the armor's thighs snapped open, firing two missiles.
Orm had just regained his footing when he spun with terrifying speed.
His trident flashed like a streak of gold—splitting both missiles cleanly in half.
But as they detonated, clouds of fine white powder burst into the air.
Tony's specially engineered super liquid nitrogen reacted instantly.
In a fraction of a second, the temperature around Orm plunged to nearly –200°C.
Moisture in the air crystallized violently.
Within 0.2 seconds, Orm was completely encased—frozen solid like an ice sculpture.
Tony exhaled, tension finally easing from his shoulders.
And in front of the live feeds, the command staff—who moments earlier had sunk into despair after Deadshot's attack failed—felt hope surge back into their chests once more.
...
🎉 Big Shoutout to 1337!🎉
A heartfelt thank you to 1337 for joining my Patreon and supporting this journey! 🙏✨
Your generosity truly makes a difference and helps bring chapters out faster for everyone. 🚀
Welcome to the VIP family, 1337—you're awesome! 💎🙌