"Aren't you going to find the person you're looking for anymore?"
"No, what's most important now isn't finding her, but settling the Atlantis matter first."
Kevin wanted to find Supergirl because he was worried that if Zod invaded Earth while he was in the Trench searching for the trident, there would be no Superheroes to confront him.
Especially Supergirl.
Although in the TV show and movies, she was killed by Zod again and again, and another Flash in Flashpoint almost became Savitar, saving her countless times, she would still die at Zod's hands in the end.
From this perspective, she seemed quite weak.
But don't forget, she had just emerged from underground less than a day ago!
Within a day, just by basking in the sun, she could fight Zod back and forth. Putting everything else aside, her potential was at least not weak.
Kevin thought that perhaps if Supergirl basked in the sun for a few more days, even if she couldn't defeat Zod, she wouldn't die so easily.
As long as she could hold out until Kevin returned for support, that would be Supergirl's victory.
Originally, Kevin had a similar idea, which was why he wanted to save Supergirl.
But now that Atlantis had declared war on the surface world, Kevin was no longer in a hurry to find Supergirl.
After all, if Zod truly came to Earth, the first ones to face him would be the Atlanteans.
Zod wanted to transform Earth into Krypton, but he would have to ask if the Atlanteans agreed.
It's possible that Themyscira might even get dragged into it!
Themyscira plus Atlantis should be able to delay the Kryptonians for a few days without much issue.
Since Zod's problem was temporarily resolved, Kevin naturally had to turn his attention to his main quest.
Hearing Kevin say this, Mera became hesitant again.
She had thought Kevin was going to rescue someone first, which was why she decided to return to Atlantis and play along with Arthur.
But if Kevin was going to set off to find the trident now, Mera could wait a few more days.
Within a few days, Atlantis and the surface dwellers should not escalate to full-scale war.
"The Trench is far from here. Traveling underwater... we'll easily be discovered by Arthur's people. We need a boat."
"Or a plane."
Kevin added.
Even if they traveled by sea to the Trench, it wouldn't be particularly safe, especially since Atlantis had declared war on the surface world. Any vessel traveling at sea would be vulnerable to Atlantean attacks.
So, if they didn't want the Atlanteans to cause trouble, it would be best to hire a private jet.
But that would require a lot of money, and Kevin probably didn't have enough.
Unless someone sponsored him.
Just as Kevin thought of this, his phone on the table vibrated.
The caller ID was unknown, but Kevin already guessed who was calling.
"Bruce?"
Answering the call, Kevin asked the person on the other end.
Bruce's aged voice came through:
"...I imagine you've already seen the news."
"Yes, so you're going to help us?"
"If things are truly as you say, and helping you get the trident will calm this dispute, then I will help you... Alright, it's not convenient to talk on the phone. Come to my place to meet."
Bruce's tone was low, and he hung up after speaking.
Trusting Kevin was certainly not an easy thing for Bruce.
Kevin's origin was unknown, and from his conversation with Mera, Bruce could also tell that he and Mera were not entirely on the same side.
If Mera was the princess of Xebel, then what was Kevin's identity?
Batman, who was already suspicious, really didn't want to trust Kevin, which was why he hadn't called Kevin until now.
But the war declared between the sea and the land forced Batman to contact Kevin.
He was old, and with limited information, he couldn't stop the war between the oceanic kingdom and the human kingdom.
He could only rely on Kevin and Mera, these two 'Atlanteans' who seemed to be on humanity's side.
Kevin could probably guess some of Batman's thoughts, but he didn't care.
As long as Batman was willing to help him find the trident as quickly as possible, then no matter if the other party was wary of Kevin or had even devised a plan against Kevin and Mera, Kevin didn't mind.
Confirming Batman's help, Kevin then said to Mera:
"Bruce has decided to help me. We should be able to take his plane to the Trench. So now... do you still want to go back to Atlantis? Or do you want to continue with me?"
Mera took a deep breath, then turned to look at the news on the television, making her decision:
"...I don't seem to have any other choice now?"
"Then let's go. Don't make Bruce wait too long. Oh, and... put this on later."
Before leaving, Kevin picked up a hat he had bought casually by the roadside and tossed it to Mera.
Luckily, there weren't many people in the fast-food restaurant when they were eating, and their table was in a secluded spot, so no one noticed that the princess of Xebel mentioned on TV was right there.
But outside, they definitely wouldn't be so lucky.
So, they needed to at least put on some disguise to avoid attracting the human government.
... ...
After meeting with Batman, there was no more idle talk.
Having obtained the location of the Trench from Mera, Batman shaved his beard, changed into his old battle suit, and took Kevin and Mera, flying directly to the coordinates of the Trench in the Batplane.
On the plane, Mera, who was flying in the sky for the first time, looked out the window with eyes full of curiosity.
She gazed down at the land and ocean through the window, her eyes sparkling.
"So, this is what it feels like to look down at the sea from the sky... It's like... everything has become small."
Mera murmured.
The closer one gets to the sky, and the more one looks down at the ground from the sky, the more one feels their own insignificance.
Everything, whether humans or Atlanteans, looked like insignificant dust from the sky.
Even less than ants.
"If you could go to space, and look at Earth from orbit, what you see would become even smaller."
"...Space?"
"Beyond the planet. You should have a concept of planets, right?"
"Yes, but we have never left Earth."
Mera answered truthfully.
When Atlantis was still on land, perhaps they could have developed the ability to travel beyond the planet.
But once the Kingdom of Atlantis sank to the bottom of the sea and all its inhabitants became deep-sea dwellers, their gaze could no longer extend beyond the heavens.
The vast seabed was their everything.
So, even though Atlantis's underwater technology was extremely advanced, if they really had to fight people on the surface or in the sky, they would still think of using ancient water magic to erode the land.
Or perhaps to sink the continents into the sea.
But they would never think of striking from the sky.
Because that wasn't their area of expertise.
Of course, this doesn't mean they truly couldn't deal with enemies from the sky; being unskilled in aerial combat and being unable to shoot down enemies in the sky are two different things.
Mera and Kevin conversed, and Batman, acting as the pilot, heard their conversation and said to Kevin:
"Listening to you, have you been to space?"
"Yes, I've also been to other planets and interacted with people from other planets."
Kevin didn't hide this aspect.
Although the alien planets Kevin visited were in the Marvel World, unrelated to the DC Universe, Kevin had at least been to outer space and had a say in this matter.
"So you're not Atlantean."
"That's not important, Batman. What's important is that I will help you through this difficult time."
Batman didn't have many people he could rely on now. To solve the Atlantis problem, he could only rely on Kevin and Mera.
Or rather, he could only rely on Kevin alone.
After all, even if Mera were handed over now, Atlantis would not stop its war against humanity. To make Atlantis docile again, a stronger force was needed to suppress them.
And if the legendary trident Kevin spoke of truly had the power to command the entire ocean world, and Kevin could successfully obtain the trident...
Then, without a doubt, Kevin would be the 'powerful force' Batman needed.
The premise was that Kevin would truly help humanity after obtaining the trident, as he claimed.
Batman still didn't trust Kevin.
Mera, the princess of Xebel, was one thing, but Kevin was full of lies and truly not to be trusted.
But there was no other way; Batman had no other choice besides Kevin now.
"High-energy readings detected underwater—"
After an unknown period of flight, high above in the sky, Batman in the Batplane suddenly spoke.
On the way to the Trench, the Batplane's radar system detected high-energy readings present underwater.
This was undoubtedly Atlantean technology.
Because they needed to scan the underwater route below, the Batplane was basically flying close to the sea, not very far from the surface.
Due to this, the Atlanteans discovered the Batplane overhead, and as if confirming something, they launched an attack without even a warning!
High-powered water cannons burst through the sea surface and shot straight into the sky. Batman only had time to warn Mera and Kevin behind him before he had to maneuver the plane in the sky, dodging the attacks from the seabed.
"How far are we from the Trench now?"
Kevin turned to ask Mera. Mera looked at the underwater map on the plane, specially designed for her, and replied very quickly:
"Not far! But the problem is we can't go down once we reach the Trench!"
"Don't worry about that! We'll just jump down when we get there!"
"Jump down?!" Mera was greatly surprised: "Do you know what you're saying! Directly entering the heart of the Trench without sufficient preparation is suicide!"
"Do you have any other choice now?"
... ...
Mera immediately fell silent.
Batman heard their brief argument and understood that they had reached a 'consensus' to some extent, so he said to them:
"Since you've decided, then I'm speeding up!"
No sooner had he spoken than Batman slammed the throttle stick in the Batplane. Accompanied by a huge pushback force, the plane accelerated again, reaching a maximum speed of over Mach 2 in a short time!
The speed of Atlantis's underwater technology was indeed fast, but compared to the Batplane, which could fly in the air, their speed was still a bit slower.
In just a few seconds, the Batplane, having reached its extreme speed, had already shaken off the underwater vehicles below.
But although they had shaken off the high-tech Atlantean devices, Batman's expression showed no sign of relief.
Because just a few seconds after the Batplane accelerated, a black dot on the radar was gradually approaching the plane.
That black dot was very small, yet it could easily catch up to the Batplane, which was already at full speed, even underwater!
Seeing this, Batman immediately asked Mera:
"Does Atlantis have any other secret weapons?"
"What?"
"Something's catching up!"
"It's Aquaman Arthur!"
Kevin, who had observed the seabed with his Deep Sea Senses, also showed surprise:
"Is his speed in the water that fast?"
The person catching up underwater was actually Aquaman Arthur himself.
He held the five-pronged trident of the Kingdom of Atlantis, propelled by the seawater beneath his feet, and moved through the water at a speed no less than that of the Batplane!
The Batplane's speed was now a little over Mach 2. Since Arthur could catch up to the Batplane, it proved that his speed also reached Mach 2!
Arthur in the movies never demonstrated such high speed!