"Huh." Zatanna frowns at it as she maintains the illusion concealing our presence.
Sha'ark bends his neck in her direction. "What?"
Since simple invisibility wouldn't work great underwater. Big ol' hole in the water? No, not suspicious at all.
"Oh, it's-. I just.. assumed that an Atlantean fort would have better magic protections that that does."
"Why?"
Nanauveans tend to be more
muscle wizards, from what we've seen. Self-enhancements and touch-range effects.
"Be-cause.. your civilization uses lots of magic?"
He snorts, returning to watching the guard patrols. "Traditionally, we use blood magic. It doesn't work well for binding spells to stone."
Especially underwater. Even in dry rooms, dried blood probably wouldn't last long.
"Oh. Oh, like Barracuda?"
"HAH!" He grins. "The barracuda wish they knew our magic. Eelfolk just use-."
One of the few kinds of Piscine-Atlanteans who might well have nastier bites than sharkfolk.
"No, Barracuda the person. He came over from a parallel universe and tried to eat Tempest?"
"Hn. What, all of him?"
I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she misremembered his name, since I don't remember if she was involved in meeting the Young Offenders. Certainly, her alternate, Zorinna, would have been more memorable to her. (And since Mr Zoat corrected it, it
was an honest mistake on his end...)
"Well, he just bit him while they were fighting, and he had runes carved into his teeth."
"Was he a shark?"
"No. He was a parallel universe version of Aqualad."
Surprised OL didn't correct her, but he's probably a bit focused on their current situation.
"Oh. That's interesting. With us, carving runes onto our teeth is a waste of time because of how fast we replace them. I suppose with someone shaped more like you they would have more staying power. Smaller, though."
"I'll draw you the runes he used once your city isn't being mind controlled any longer." **Miss Martian, we're ready.**
Because of course OL has a good-enough scan of Lamprey's runes and the memory to recreate them. Also, your teacher had carved teeth. Does that mean he spends time getting the equivalent of manicures to get fresh teeth etched?
**We're-. I'm scanning.**
**[Raised eyebrows.] 'We're'?**
Six brains, OL, at
least.
**Ah, when I'm like this I have several different-. Well, my brain isn't centralized, and it's a little like being different people who each think about different things and then talk about it. It's a bit weird, but I'm used to it now.**
**Alright, Miss Martian's ready. King Sha'ark, how do you-?**
I shudder to imagine if one of them is just 'teen horni brain', thinking about Conner a lot...
"Hey!" He swims right out the illusion and towards the front entrance. "What in the abyss was the mess at the arena?!"
The guards brace, but when they immediately recognise him they relax a little. Their leader swims up a little. "Your majesty?"
I suppose this is the easiest way to induce a broadcast. Which means Nanaue is playing
bait...
"I was having a peaceful conversation and my guards tried to eat me. Me!"
"I don't know anything about that. Was there a spar going on that got out of hand-?"
I'd say it was more than that. Especially when they went after clear noncombatants.
"Do you think I don't know the difference between fighting and talking?"
"No, your majesty, but they might have misjudged things?"
Oh, I'd say it was pretty clear in their heads. Wouldn't be surprised if they had headaches and confused memories right now.
"How!?"
"I wasn't.. there, so I don't know. Do you want to talk to Captain Carcharo?"
A variation of the
Latin for Shark, I note. Akin to someone being called 'Person'...
"Yes! Find him! And-."
The lead guard shakes his head-
Ah, signs of confusion? Here we go.
**They're broadcasting! I'll start tracking it.**
"And-" Sha'ark swims up to the guard and shakes him. "-are you not paying attention, soldier?!"
-then his eyes focus on King Sha'ark. "You're an impostor."
Easier than implanting 'hostile foreigner' in their heads.
Sha'ark grabs his shoulders with both hands and shakes him. "YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN?!"
"He's an impostor! Get him!"
Bad move, guard. Shouldn't have let him get that close. Can probably be excused because of mind control.
He breaks Sha'ark's hold, his mouth opening to bite-! But Sha'ark is faster, hitting him in the top of the head and then the back of his neck. The guard shudders, then goes limp and starts floating as the other guards swim upwards towards Sha'ark.
**Do you have a direction?**
Ha, a simple stunning blow. People have escaped shark attacks with that sort of thing before.
**[DIRECTION]**
Robert and Zatanna wince, and-
She's probably under attack, so her shouting is understandable.
"There's more of them!"
-the illusions sheltering us drops. But at least we know where we're going.
Tiem to get going, then. Exit, pursued by sharks...
"Sha'ark, disengage! Cornwall-."
He's already pointing, and the guards who were swimming towards us shudder and slow. "Wrapping them in ice didn't work, so I'm cooling their bodies down. Make it easier to get away."
Much subtler. And less permanently dangerous, if the effect stops quickly enough to avoid total hypothermia.
"Good. Sha'ark!"
He grabs the lead guard and hurls him at his other pursuers, the laws of motion giving him a boost as he turns and swims away from them. I head in the direction that M'gann just indelibly etched into my brain, Zatanna's glowing bubble keeping up with me.
I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have a
headache after that, honestly.
"Should I make an illusion?"
"No, save it until we've got more attention."
Besides, keeping eyes on them makes it less likely the source will think to look for their previous allies
A moment later Robert catches up, Sha'ark alongside him and… More guards behind that. No hue and cry, so whatever other citizens are around aren't joining in. The area around the Citadel is mostly industrial workshops and warehouses, unlike the high-end residential area the palace in Poseidonis is situated in. I see a few outdoor labourers look around as we swim past at speed-.
A reasonable choice for a city used to wars. Keep the materiel production close to the centre of command, and all that.
We're losing the guards. Ah, swimming higher would make us visible from too far away, but the streets here aren't exactly laid out in a grid pattern so it's not easy to let them keep seeing us if we stay low.
"King Sha'ark, how-?"
So, skimming the rooftops, basically. Allowing them to duck into cover if guards pop up too close.
**I'm losing the trace!**
"How do we leave a trail for them?"
Ah, right, logical enough. If they disappear, the effect will cut off to avoid wasting energy.
He pulls a knife off his harness, makes a shallow cut on his left palm and then squeezes it. A small waft of blood trails in the water-. Which every shark in the city will be able to scent.
He stows the knife. "Like that."
The Nanauvean equivalent of launching a flare, Then.
**Is that better?**
**Yes. I think it's getting stronger.**
"Gwraaagh!"
They'll just have to deal with more guards zeroing in on them, but that's not too hard.
A shark from one of the nearby workshops smashes through a wall and swims after us, powering through the water! Several of his colleagues swim after him, but he's the only one actively gaining on us. I fabricate an impeller harness, drop it behind us and active the motor. It roars away, the sharkman's single-minded pursuit blinding him to the danger as it wraps its arms around his torso and shoves him off target. He partially snaps out of it, tearing at it as it slams him into a nearby wall.
So, they're forcing civilians to join the pursuit? Looks like they might be getting worried.
"Paul, they're in front!"
I turn my head-. It's not every shark anywhere near us, but a lot of random members of the public have joined in the hunt for the 'impostors'. Most are coming at us at street level, while a few are swimming high.
"Prepare an illusion." I generate a large construct shield. "We're pushing through."
I can just picture them combining a shaped shield and something suitably fishy, like a whale shark... While inside Zatanna's just muttering 'don't notice us, don't notice us' backwards.
