Synopsis
| - In the Batcave, Nightwing and Robin are training, with Richard just having taken Damian down. Dick asks Damian what he did wrong, to which Damian replies "The legs." Nightwing says that was correct, and that the opponent has "sticky-outy bits" that are easier to hit. He tells Damian to get up so they can try again as Damian throws one of his escrima at Richard's head. Just before it hits, Superman appears and catches it in mid-air. Damian becomes startled and confused, saying Superman shouldn't have snuck up on them like that. Superman asks Richard to take Damian so Clark and Bruce can have some privacy.
Superman immediately confronts Bruce, asking where he was when his parents were kidnapped, to which Bruce replies he was "doing what needed to be done." He tells Superman that he needs to stop policing the world, and that Superman is scaring everyone. Horrified, Clark rips Bruce's mask off and says that they "should be scared." Superman says that his killing The Joker was justified in order to save millions more lives.
Batman then explains how justification works as Aquaman is seen inspecting the harpooning of multiple whales for their meat. In a rage, Aquaman rips off their chains, flies off the side of the ship and nearly capsizes it. Cyborg alerts airborne Justice League members to the ship's predicament. Diana comments on how people don't understand what a ceasefire means, to which Victor replies "It's not a country," revealing a contingent of Atlantean soldiers and sea creatures.
As a crew member of one of the ships falls off the side, Aquaman catches him. The man begs for mercy and that he had a family; Aquaman says the whale had a family too, and that its children were slaughtered. Wonder Woman flies in before anything else can happen and asks Orin to stop the attack, citing the ceasefire that Superman called. Aquaman tells her that "the oceans do not answer your calls." The sea is his alone to protect. Diana discusses a peaceful solution to save the sailors and forget about what happened, but one of the Atlantean soldiers fires an energy blast at Diana's face. The soldier says he thought she was going to attack Orin, but he replies that if he had been thinking, he would have known it would have been a bad idea to "piss off an Amazon." Diana then pushes Orin and says she's "sick of words."
Aquaman is seen underwater being circled by three whales, who are asking him to protect them. Above the water, Wonder Woman is commanding Green Lantern to move the ships to safety and Hawkgirl to get the sailors to safety. Before she can talk to Shazam, Aquaman pulls her underneath the water.
Back in the Batcave, Superman says that Batman loved the game he played with the Joker, and that Bruce was angry at him for taking The Joker from him. Bruce says that isn't true, but Clark angrily asks Bruce why he allowed The Joker to kill his wife and destroy his city.
Underwater, Shazam rescues Diana and lifts Orin into the air. Billy asks Aquaman to call off his army, to which Aquaman replies "The sea is deep and full of secrets." The waves begin to rumble as Aquaman asks Billy if only the surface world can have weapons of mass destruction.
Superman says Bruce can never understand what The Joker took from him, and that Clark would finally have had another Kryptonian to make him feel "less alone." It's revealed that Nightwing and Robin have been hiding in the rafters above Batman's computer as Superman says that he is ignoring the two boys who also had many friends die in Metropolis. He asks Bruce what his excuse is for not being a father. Batman responds by punching Superman in his chest.
Shazam sees the Atlantean army retreating, with Aquaman saying that they are getting as far away as possible. Green Lantern sees a tsunami approaching, but Hawkgirl notices something past it. Billy asks Orin what is coming, to which he mocks Billy's wisdom of Solomon.
Superman forces Batman to show him his hand, revealing a hairline fracture. Batman receives an alert concerning the situation in the Pacific Ocean. Superman leaves and asks Batman to come with him. Before denying, Bruce says that Clark was always "a better man" than he was. As Superman leaves the Batcave, he passes Alfred who asks Clark if he is staying for tea, to which he says he is not. Additionally, he asks Alfred not to call him "Master." Alfred simply replies: "Good. Let's remember that."
The situation on the Pacific worsens as the waves impede Hal Jordan's efforts to get the whaling ships to safety. The Kraken appears and destroys Green Lantern's energy construct, sending the ships into the sea.
Batman patches into both the Justice League and Atlantean communication channels, asking Aquaman to stop the Kraken for fear of what Superman will do to Orin and the rest of Atlantis. Superman appears and confronts Orin head on, demanding Aquaman end his attack. Orin concedes, even though he says "they attacked first."
Superman tells Orin that he called for a worldwide ceasefire, but Aquaman says even Superman's voice does not pierce the depths of the ocean. Batman asks Aquaman not to provoke Superman, but Orin continues to assert his rule over the ocean and that Superman does not have the right to rule his kingdom.
Diana tells Clark to turn his communicator on, whereupon Clark hears that Atlantean armies are rising on shores across the rules. Orin calls it "a reminder" that the land masses of the human world exist within his domain and only exist as long as he lets them. Superman rallies Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Shazam to Atlantis, where they lift it from the depths of the ocean and place it in the Sahara Desert. Clark calls it a show of force to those who would threaten the Earth.
Batman tries to talk to Superman, but Clark reveals he had been listening to Bruce trying to talk to Aquaman over the Atlantean communication channels. He asks Cyborg to revoke Batman's communicator access, saying "He's not with us."
Wonder Woman says Orin is ready to talk to Superman, to which he asks Diana to be the diplomat, seeing as Clark has accomplished nothing by talking. Diana asks that Orin pull his armies back from the shores. Orin laments his decisions, never thinking that Superman would be capable of what he had done. Aquaman said he scared a lot of people, and that he is sorry for what happened to Lois.
When Wonder Woman reports back to Superman, she confirms that Aquaman will pull his armies back but omits Aquaman's apology over Lois.
|