"Sister Artoria, lately there's been a very hateful guy frequently attacking fishing boats in the sea. Although he tried to attack us, he was driven away by my Royal Brother. What a cunning villain."
As she spoke, Crystal's cute face puffed up. Artoria, holding the recovered Garfield, reached out a hand to smilingly soothe Crystal's rising temper and fed a Spicy strip to Garfield. This action made Susan's eyebrows twitch nearby. She remembered that Artoria was the one who arranged for her to set a weight loss plan for this pig-like cat... oh no, this cat that was about to become a pig. Was it appropriate to feed it such things? Wouldn't she be the one doing the hard work in the end? With a stomach full of complaints to vent, Susan eventually decided to forgive her dear Artoria's willful behavior.
"Don't worry! Such a fellow will be caught soon."
Artoria comforted Little Crystal but didn't take it to heart. This was Marvel, not DC; Atlantis here had long since ceased to exist. At most, it was just that Aquaman-like guy messing around in the sea. Artoria didn't even need to act; one of Thanos' subordinates could beat him to his knees.
"Mhm."
Listening to Artoria's comforting words, Crystal nodded obediently and enjoyed Artoria's stroking. At this moment, Garfield, lying in Artoria's arms, happily rubbed his head against the two soft spherical lumps, even wanting to stretch out his front paws to knead them a few times. However, the Beast's instinct told him that if he really did that, the consequences would definitely be very tragic. So, Garfield didn't move. Moreover, those several pairs of eyes hidden in the shadows made him feel a bit uneasy. Lazily, he followed his nature and lay motionless in Artoria's arms, just waiting for the poop scooper to feed him.
"No matter what you say, I still have to say it: I'm about to get married, yet you guys dragged me here. If there isn't anything important, I'll let you know the wrath of Iron Man."
Tony looked helplessly at the guy in front of him. There was Captain America, who was unsuccessfully pursuing his best friend, Dr. Banner, who was still in an adjustment state, and a new face. Most importantly, what was with this Bratty Spider-Man kid and The guy wearing the British flag? Good heavens! He was about to get married; was it really necessary to cause him so much trouble? He just wanted to quietly prepare for the wedding and be the brightest star of the ceremony.
"Tony, I'm sorry for calling you here. We really do need your help right now."
Regarding Tony's complaints, Captain America could only step forward to soothe him. They truly needed Tony's help now. Just as Artoria had speculated, with so many fishing boats being sunk and causing so much damage, not only were the interests of nations suffering, but even the superheroes had noticed the anomaly. It would be one thing if they had hit a reef, but this situation was clearly a manifestation of supernatural power. It was easy enough to investigate, but none of them had the ability to fight underwater, nor did they have technology superior to Tony's. Therefore, they needed Tony to make underwater suits for them to investigate this matter.
"Forget it. What exactly is going on? Speak quickly; I need to get back and hurry up with my wedding preparations."
Since Captain America had come out with a pleading attitude, Tony couldn't say much more. He was the kind of person who would risk his life for his friends, even though he tried his best to deny it. Tony, who had already begun listening to them, proved this with his actions. He listened carefully and started analyzing which materials could withstand the high pressure of the seabed and the oxygen issue. Unconsciously, Tony began designing underwater combat suits for them.
"Don't expect these things to let you fight to your heart's content underwater. Such suits can only let you stay underwater for a bit longer. There's no better way; such materials are hard to find. I can only make four or five sets at most; you guys choose for yourselves! I'm definitely not participating in this operation."
After quickly designing the gear through Jarvis, Tony had his company start purchasing materials for production. He spoke solemnly to the group, as this was no joke. To engage in individual combat on the seabed without enough oxygen, while contending with the immense pressure, having vision severely limited, and with seawater being extremely corrosive to materials—all of this was more difficult than fighting in Space. Thus, Tony warned them.
"Tony, thank you."
Knowing Tony was willing to help, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. The new face was actually Black Bolt. He had hidden his strength, intending to test this group of superheroes. He disguised himself as a newly debuted superhero and successfully befriended Spider-Woman and Captain Britain. Through them, he met Captain America and Dr. Banner. Now they were acquainted, and fighting together from time to time had caused their relationship to heat up rapidly. That was why he could participate in this conversation with Tony and get to know the man known as Iron Man.
"Generally speaking, this superhero team is decent, but it still lacks cohesion. Aside from the two core figures, Captain America and Iron Man, there isn't anyone suitable to be a leader. I need to observe more."
Watching the people begin to disperse, Black Bolt walked away silently. He had already grasped the situation of this group; it was currently like a heap of loose sand, with no one to organize them. Captain America's cohesion was okay, but he didn't believe Captain America was an excellent candidate for a leader. He needed to observe more.
"Bang~!"
While the superheroes were discussing, a huge hole was smashed into a cruise ship on the ocean. As people panicked and fled on lifeboats, a man watched the scene quietly. He was the king of the now-perished Atlantis. After waking from his slumber, he discovered the changes in the world. What made him even angrier was that the people on land were dumping trash, heavy metals, and other harmful substances into the ocean, making the current sea a foul mess. Following the principle of avenging every grievance, he began his retaliatory actions against humanity.
"This is the punishment for the excessive things you have done to the ocean."
A middle-aged-looking man holding a Trident stared at the people on the lifeboat, speaking with cold anger. He was the king of the sea, 'Namo McKenzie'. After carefully observing these fellows, he began to slowly dive back into the depths. As an Atlantean, he possessed the ability to live freely in the water.
"Is it this person? He looks so familiar~!"
This matter was soon known to the superheroes. This time, there were many people on the cruise ship, many of whom were taking photos of the beautiful seascape with their phones. Thus, some phones and cameras recorded his appearance. Through some advanced technology, Captain America and the others saw Namo. For some reason, Captain America felt like he had seen this person somewhere before.
"Any impression?"
Hearing the Captain's whisper, Captain Britain nearby asked curiously. If this person was truly an acquaintance of Captain America, then everything would be easy to handle. But then Captain America fell silent. He couldn't remember who this guy was, but he always felt like he had met him, though he didn't know why. This face indeed felt very familiar to him.
"Stop thinking about it. First, think about how to get into the water! I'm not very good at swimming."
Seeing the two in silence, Peter had to step in to smooth things over. But he was indeed telling the truth. If they didn't solve this problem now, it would be impossible to contact and talk to the person, especially regarding the ability to fight at sea. For Spider-Man, who was used to swinging around in the city, it was indeed a bit disadvantageous. After hearing Peter's words, everyone began to discuss how to fight underwater. Although no one wanted to start a war, they had to be prepared for the other party being irrational.
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