"Arthur Curry! You're under arrest—no, you've been captured—damn it! Force of habit. We need you."
"Does the prison need me?"
Arthur sat on a barstool, savoring his first drink of the autumn morning as he watched the two intruders enter.
"Are they your friends? They've got a great sense of humor."
The old bartender teased with a faint smile, pouring Miao Mu a glass of pirate rum—the kind with a Skull on the bottle.
"Want a drink?"
Arthur turned and asked. He then downed his own glass, while Miao Mu walked over and looked at the "pirate rum."
He glanced at the old bartender, then reached behind the counter and took out the bottle of pirate rum.
"Arthur, let's go save the world."
"Huh? If you want an autograph, I can give you one."
"Let's make a bet!" Miao Mu said with a smile, gripping the bottle.
Arthur was interested. He folded his arms on the table, his muscular arms twitching. "What are we betting on?"
"I bet you can't beat him!"
Miao Mu gestured toward the doorway. Batman stood outside in full uniform and armor, his black cape sweeping the ground.
Arthur glanced over, then turned back with a cold snort. "What if I win?"
"I'll tell you a secret about your origins."
Arthur froze for a moment, his expression turning strange. Superheroes all got protagonist treatment—their parents were sacrificed to fate.
But Arthur was different...
As far as he remembered, his mother had abandoned him.
And he knew about Atlantis too. He simply chose not to care. He believed he was human, and could only ever be human.
And the son of a lighthouse keeper at that.
That was his pride. Atlantis had nothing to do with him.
It might have sounded like he was angry, but Arthur