When Attuma took hold of the Trident of Pontus, the ocean changed in a way Namor had never experienced. The usual power of the sea—its currents, rhythms, and tides—disappeared. Instead, a heavier presence emerged that seemed older than any rules guiding how water moved.
The surrounding water grew darker as their structure loosened, with currents stretching and folding into something huge and unclear, as if the planet's oceans were remembering a time before nature had shaped them. Pressure spread outward in widening rings, bending light and collapsing structures easily, just like waves wiped away sand.
Namor gripped the Trident of Neptune tightly and immediately felt its power change. His weapon responded as it always did, aligning tides and currents to his command.
"Put it down," Namor said, his voice steady despite the pressure building in the water. "You do not understand what you are holding."
Attuma charged forward silently, thrusting his ancient trident through the water as the ocean reacted as if it was hurt. The sea split open along an unseen crack, releasing a powerful force. Namor faced the attack directly, his trident shining as their clash created a shockwave that shook Atlantis, flattening neighborhoods and turning coral structures into glowing rubble.
This disturbance spread far beyond the ruined city. All over the planet, the oceans shook as tsunamis rose unexpectedly along distant shores, reaching heights taller than cities. Sea floors broke apart, creating ripples of quakes that traveled outward. Meanwhile, above the waters, hurricanes formed quickly, their centers stabilizing within seconds as wind speeds far exceeded natural limits.
Namor forced himself forward through the crushing pressure, muscles burning as he poured Neptune's power into the clash. Storm clouds churned across the surface world, lightning driving downward into the seas and feeding his trident with planetary fury.
Attuma laughed loudly as the Trident of Pontus glowed with bright light. The water around it warped, bending inward as if gravity changed. Large shapes moved in the darkness, unbound by known oceans, while ancient currents wrapped around Attuma's arms and strengthened his every strike.
"You command tides," Attuma said, his voice carrying effortlessly through the crushing depths. "I command what existed before tides were born."
Namor felt the impact as Attuma drove his trident forward, sending him crashing through the ruins and slamming him into the seabed hard enough to fracture vibranium-lined stone. Attuma continued to attack relentlessly, each strike warping the water and breaking Namor's control.
Namor roared and surged upward, creating space between them. He lifted Neptune's trident and shot a beam of destructive energy at Attuma. However, Attuma charged through the beam without harm and aimed for Namor's head. Namor raised his trident just in time to block the attack.
But the force was too strong, and his trident cracked along its core, glowing lines appearing on its surface. Namor watched in disbelief as power drained from his hands. Ultimately, his trident shattered into pieces that faded into harmless light, unable to withstand an attack from a weapon infused with Primordial's law and energy.
Attuma grabbed Namor by the throat and drove him downward, slamming him into the seabed with catastrophic force. The impact triggered a global seaquake. Entire underwater mountain ranges shifted. Fault lines ruptured. Coastal cities felt the ground tremble beneath them.
Above the planet, space folded.
Tony Stark appeared everywhere at once.
He stood over flooded cities, above collapsing coastlines, within hurricane eyes, and over rupturing seas simultaneously. Omnipresence bent around him as the Space Gem anchored his existence across the globe. His eyes glowed red as the Reality Gem flared.
"Those motherfuckers!" Tony looked pissed off.
Reality obeyed.
Tsunamis lost their momentum and settled into controlled tides. Hurricanes unraveled into manageable storm systems before dispersing entirely. Floodwaters paused mid-surge and receded gently back into their basins. Seaquakes softened into harmless tremors, pressure redistributing itself without devastation.
Across the world, disaster stopped.
Back in Atlantis, Attuma felt it.
He turned his head slowly, sensing the suppression settle over the oceans like an iron law. The Trident of Pontus pulsed angrily, its eldritch glow flaring in protest before dimming under the imposed reality wrap.
Namor lay broken but conscious, blood drifting into the water as he struggled to rise.
Attuma released him and straightened, trident resting at his side.
"Your era ends here," Attuma said, his voice echoing through the ruined city.
Namor forced himself upright, pain burning through every nerve as the pressure of the deep pressed against his shattered armor. Blood drifted from his mouth and dissipated into the water like red smoke. Even broken, his gaze never left the trident in Attuma's hand.
"That weapon ends every ruler who thinks they own it," Namor said, his voice strained but unwavering. "The Trident of Pontus does not serve kings or conquerors. It belongs to a Primordial Elder God who ruled before Olympus had a name. Mortals who wield it do not ascend. They rot. The longer you use it, the faster it will drain your life."
Attuma laughed and kicked Namor squarely in the chest, sending him crashing through broken stone and shattered coral until he skidded across the seabed. The water shuddered from the impact.
"That is where you are wrong," Attuma said as he surged forward. He slammed Namor down again, then planted his foot against Namor's face, pressing him into the cracked ocean floor. "The old gods are gone. Their time ended. Their thrones are empty for taking."
The Trident of Pontus pulsed in his grip, abyssal light crawling along its prongs as the surrounding water twisted tighter around him. His eyes glowed with a red hue.
"I am the new god."
The pressure spiked sharply, but it never reached its peak. He raised the trident and was about to end Namor when...
Attuma jerked forward as smacked on the back of his head with tremendous force. The impact sent him tumbling through the water, his grip loosening as he blacked out for a moment and spun end over end before crashing into a fractured spire.
The Trident of Pontus tore free from his hand and embedded itself in the seabed, its glow flaring violently.
Attuma regained his senses and quickly summoned the trident back.
A familiar figure hovered between Attuma and Namor. He was wearing a sweaty T-shirt, jogging shorts, and sneakers. It was Tony. He was jogging with Mystique and Yelena when this shit occurred.
"There I was, jogging with my girls and planning a nice date night and you just had to spoil it. Now, I'm gonna take that fork and shove it up your ass," Tony said, pointing his finger at Attuma. Then he pointed at Namor. "And you, Fish Sticks. How the hell did he manage to find that dangerous fork? Did you forget to lock your treasury or something? Do you have any idea what would happen if Pontus heard what your friend just said? That lunatic will drown the world for all we know."
Attuma roared and lunged in rage.
He aimed straight for Tony's chest, intent on skewering the surface god before him and proving the ocean bowed to no one.
Tony sighed and flicked his finger.
"Yeah, no."
Space twisted.
A circular portal snapped open directly in front of the trident's prongs, its edge shimmering with cold blue light. At the exact same moment, a second portal opened behind Attuma, perfectly aligned to his butt.
The trident vanished into the first portal and reappeared out of the second one.
Right behind Attuma.
The Trident of Pontus pierced Attuma squarely in the ass.
The impact was loud, wet, and humiliating. The ancient weapon pierced through armor, pride, and several very important life decisions before pinning him face-first into the seabed. Abyssal light flickered erratically along the trident's shaft as if even it were offended by where it ended up.
Tony closed the portals.
Right now, Attuma was screaming on the seabed with the trident stuck in his ass.
Tony blinked once, then winced. "Wow. Okay. I did not plan the angle that perfectly, but I am not apologizing."
The pressure around the Trident of Pontus destabilized immediately. The primordial currents twisted in confusion, ancient authority hiccupping as its wielder flailed uselessly, arms scraping against the seabed while his legs kicked helplessly.
Namor stared at the situation that somehow turned comedic.
"…You just stabbed him with his own god-weapon," Namor said slowly.
"Technically," Tony replied, rolling his shoulders, "he stabbed himself. I just provided the geometry."
Attuma howled and tried to pull the trident free using his hydrokinesis, but every movement only drove it deeper. The weapon pulsed angrily, its eldritch glow flickering as if reconsidering its life choices.
Tony floated closer, hovering casually a few feet away. His eyes burned with cosmic light now, no humor left in them.
"Let us get one thing straight," Tony said calmly. "You are not a god. You are a very loud idiot holding something that predates your entire species."
Attuma twisted his head just enough to glare at him, blood and bubbles spilling from his ass. "I will kill you," he snarled.
Tony smiled thinly. "Buddy, you got a godly weapon in your ass for now. And considering it's currently lodged in your rear, I'd say it's a bit of a reach."
He used his Space Gem again to store the Trident in an isolated space, then used the Reality Gem to restore Atlantis, bind Attuma and his minions, fix the Trident of Neptune, and bring back those who died during the conflict. He then turned toward Namor and threw the fixed weapon at him.
Namor caught it and noticed that it was better than before. All the damage it had suffered over time has been completely repaired.
"I guess it's time to stop hiding underwater and reveal yourself to the outside world. It'll avoid unnecessary future conflicts and we can help each other during troubles. And I'll be one step closer to bringing my vision of unity. So," Tony blinked before Namor and extended his hand toward him. "What do you say? Walk with me toward a new future, or just live as you always have, and I won't bother you."
Namor already knew the answer.
He shook Tony's hand with a polite nod. "A new future."
"A new future," Tony nodded.
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