Flying with Aquaman

Under the seaside cliffs on the outskirts of Metropolis.

The silver escape pod was firmly lodged in a crevice between two rocks.

Shane sat by the open hatch, organizing a bundle of fishing gear and several bottles of crude homemade sauce.

These were all items he'd salvaged from Tom's abandoned cabin.

"Taking this stuff is completely unnecessary."

Rachel sat on a wave-washed rock, her fair feet, bare of boots, soaking in the seawater.

Her deadpan eyes looked up at Shane's busy figure, her tone full of complaint.

"You've been catching fish yourself every day for the past two days. These nets and rods are useless, they'll just take up space."

Shane didn't reply immediately. He diligently worked on what he was doing until everything was sorted into categories before putting down the fishing gear.

He reached out and gathered the pile of firewood he'd collected yesterday. Although the air by the sea was damp and the firewood was soaked with moisture, Shane carefully arranged it in a "well" shape.

He pinched it between his thumb and middle finger, pointing his index finger towards the firewood, and pondered for a moment with a frown.

Then, a few indistinct whispers came from his mouth.

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, an almost invisible spark landed on the firewood. Then, the wood, which was clearly soaked with moisture, inexplicably began to emit a wisp of smoke.

"Ha! I really do have a talent for magic."

Watching the firewood pile go from a wisp of smoke to a small flame, Shane happily clapped his hands.

Then, a gust of wind blew out the anemic little flame.

Rachel's mouth hung open in a daze for a long time before she helplessly closed it.

In reality, Shane had absolutely no talent for magic.

Although that day, thanks to the Viltrumite's unquantifiable physique and the resonance of emotional spectrums, Shane had absorbed the magic from the Golden Apple.

But in Rachel's eyes, Shane's body was like a solid block of iron. She couldn't find where that magic and Divine Power had been absorbed.

Shane, however, excitedly asked Rachel for guidance, believing that since he had magic in his body, he should be able to learn a spell or two.

Then, unable to resist Shane's pleas, Rachel taught him a few incantations.

They were the kind of extremely low-difficulty, playful spells meant for a wizard's child.

Shane mastered the incantations quickly.

But unable to communicate with magic, he couldn't cast them at all.

That little spark just now was purely due to Shane's strength.

With a snap of his fingers, the air between his fingertips generated a certain amount of heat. Coupled with a bit of wood dust adhering to Shane's hand, it managed to ignite a spark with extremely weak magical properties under the influence of the incantation.

It was barely enough to light the damp wood and was extinguished by a gust of wind.

Rachel raised her hand and pointed. Without even bothering to chant, the recently extinguished firewood pile suddenly erupted into flames with a roar. The firelight illuminated Shane's suddenly absent smile.

A moment later, the two of them were by the fire, shaking fish out of the fishing net.

"It's nice to change things up occasionally. We can't just rely on brute force to catch fish all the time, and these seasonings are great. The roasted fish tastes even better."

Shane gave a belated answer to Rachel's earlier question.

Of course, the fishing net here was purely a container; the fish were all caught by Shane with his bare hands after he jumped into the sea and then thrown into it.

Rachel sat cross-legged by the campfire, her mouth twitching as she looked at the colorful sea fish Shane pulled out.

"No matter how good it tastes, it's still fish. I'm so sick of fish these days."

She rolled her eyes, her tone helpless.

"Your lifestyle is so primitive, I'm starting to miss stealing bread. At least I didn't have to stare at fish every day."

Shane pulled out a fish scaler from Tom's collection, scaling the fish while laughing.

"I don't plan on staying like this forever. When I dived to the seabed yesterday, I found some ruins. It looked like a lost outpost of Atlantis, and there were quite a few jewels inside."

"Where did the jewels go?"

Rachel's deadpan eyes regained some sparkle.

Jewels could be exchanged for money, and money could be used to eat a proper meal at a restaurant in the city.

Shane threaded the cleaned fish onto skewers and placed them over the fire, then spread his hands.

"Uh, for some reason, those jewels decayed as soon as they came into contact with air. They were completely unusable."

He said, shaking his head regretfully.

The jewels had been resplendent in the deep sea. He thought he could get a huge sum from Bruce Wayne, but they turned out to be so fragile.

The sparkle in Rachel's eyes dimmed again, and her deadpan gaze returned to the dead fish roasting over the fire.

Just as Shane picked up a bottle of sauce of unknown flavor, preparing to sprinkle it on the fish.

The communicator, which had been under his backside, suddenly emitted a series of urgent beeps. The screen lit up, displaying the emergency communication icon of the Justice League.

Shane and the other person exchanged a glance. Shane quickly pulled out his communicator and pressed the answer button.

A deep, grave voice from Batman came through the communicator, clearly reaching both their ears through the static.

"Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira has sent a distress signal to the Justice League. Wonder Woman may have been kidnapped and has been out of contact for two days."

The communication cut off, and silence fell by the campfire.

"Your teacher, kidnapped?"

Rachel asked casually, lowering her head to continue staring at the grilled fish.

Shane, on the other hand, stood up, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Wonder Woman could be kidnapped?

How long had he been on Earth? A month? And he was already running into an event of this magnitude?

The communicator suddenly beeped twice. Batman connected to an encrypted channel that only Shane's communicator could hear.

"Shane, this matter likely involves the two of you. Queen Hippolyta said the kidnapper is from the Divine Realm. They left a parchment stating that the sinner who stole the Golden Apple must personally go to the Divine Realm to atone."

At this, Shane's confusion vanished.

So it wasn't some major event, just a group of old ruffians who called themselves gods wanting to fight him.

He replied to the communicator.

"Understood. I'll come over. Is it the Hall of Justice in New York?"

"No, it's the Watchtower. Bring Aquaman along too when you come; he can't fly."

What?

The communicator was hung up directly. Before Shane could even question it, Rachel, who had stood up at some point, patted his shoulder and gestured towards the distant sea horizon.

A white wave appeared from the sky and then approached the cliff where Shane and the others were at an extremely high speed.

A dozen seconds later, a man shimmering with golden light, accompanied by a spray of water, leaped directly out of the sea.

Aquaman landed on the rock Rachel had been sitting on with a thud. He rested his Golden Trident to the side, looked up at Shane, and smiled mischievously.

"Did you visit some underwater ruins yesterday?"

"Oh, didn't get the money, and the owner's come looking for you."

Rachel read the taunting words with a monotone voice, silently taking two steps back and shielding Shane.

Before Shane could answer, Aquaman waved his hand cheerfully.

"Those jewels are enchanted by Atlantis. They can only circulate underwater. They'll decay upon contact with oxygen—seeing your living conditions, it must be tough."

Two sparkling objects were casually tossed over by Aquaman. Shane caught them and looked.

They were a black and a pink pearl, both about the size of a thumb.

"This is for the travel expenses. Please fly steadily when you go up later; I might be afraid of heights."