[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ZfvPPwT.png[/img][/center] [b]Landing Deck, Pegasus Helicarrier[/b] [color=#ffffff]It had all started six years ago. Back then Guy Gardner was serving as Dum Dum Dugan’s aide. Dugan had taken Gardner under his wing – and shadowing him around all day had allowed Guy to enjoy experiences he could never have even dreamt of when he was busting his ass as a social worker back in Baltimore.[/color] [color=#ffffff]But Guy being Guy meant that he started to take his position for granted. The rest of his class from the SHIELD academy were out in the field kicking ass and taking names. Clay-[i]freaking[/i]-Quartermain had turned into a super-spy. It was ridiculous. Guy was better than Quartermain. He was better than all of them.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Maybe that was why he did it.[/color] [color=#ffffff]On the first SHIELD diplomatic mission to Atlantis in years, Guy made a decision that would come to shape the next six years of his life – and land him in deep water with SHIELD high brass.[/color] [color=#ffffff]The Atlantean warrior-king Namor had laid on a feast to mark the occasion. It was an uncharacteristically convivial gesture from a king renowned for his unparalleled austerity. Nick Fury was named the guest of honour and Gardner had even been given the privilege of sitting at the top table with him alongside Dugan.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Dining alongside an Atlantean king might have been enough to sate some people’s need for conquest but Guy wasn’t most people. He had his eyes set on another prize. Namely, the leggy blonde built like an Amazonian that was sat by Namor’s side.[/color] [color=#ffffff]After half of the court had retired and Gardner had put down dozens of flaggons of the finest Atlantean ale, he made his approach. To his surprise, he had found the blonde to be receptive to his charm. They retired to a nearby bedchamber and made sweet, hasty, disappointing subterranean love.[/color] [color=#ffffff]That night, some 20,000 leagues under the sea, Agent Gardner slept as soundly as he had ever slept before.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Little did he know that all of Atlantis would be in open revolt by the morning. The blonde was none other than Namor’s cousin – and heir – Namora. To make matters worse their “union” had been her first. Atlantean customs dictated that the heir to the throne remain chaste until paired off with a suitable mate.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Needless to say Guy didn’t [i]quite[/i] meet the criteria.[/color] [color=#ffffff]The entire SHIELD delegation had been hauled from their beds at trident-point. Court was assembled and Agent Gardner was made to recount his “crimes” in front of Fury and Duggan. With each word, the pair’s decade-long attempt to broker a lasting peace between the surface world and Atlantis died a brutal death.[/color] [color=#ffffff]So to would Gardner for his actions – or so proclaimed King Namor before all of his subjects. Only some quick-thinking from a SHIELD boffin named Rachna Koul provided Gardner with a lifeline. Those sentenced to death by royal decree were entitled to a trial by combat.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Namor’s most trusted general Argos offered himself as the crown’s champion. He stood all of seven feet tall and weighed as much as a school bus. To face Argos was to face certain death. But Guy had always had something of a knack for defying impossible odds. After surviving an onslaught of hammer blows from Argos, Guy had driven his trident through the general’s throat and killed him on the spot.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Bound by custom to grant Gardner his life, Namor vowed to exact unholy revenge upon the SHIELD agent if ever their paths crossed again. The SHIELD delegation left in disgrace, with Fury and Dugan's decade-long peace deal in tatters, and Guy spent the best part of the next three years stuck in administrative hell.[/color] [color=#ea9999]“I don’t see what the big deal is, if you ask me,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Johnny Storm said as he reflected on Guy’s tale. [/color][color=#ea9999]“The guy slept with Namor’s cousin, so what? I’ve slept with lots of people’s cousins.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Sue let out a sigh that was half-exasperation and half-disgust. [/color][color=#9fc5e8]“You're impossible sometimes, Jonathan.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]The Fantastic Four had accepted Agent Gardner’s proposition. They hadn’t had much choice. Guy had theorised that the Pegasus had unwittingly crossed Atlantean “airspace” while flying low on their way back from Latveria. And Namor had sensed that now was his moment to strike.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Why it fell to Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben to resolve the situation was anyone’s guess. But if someone didn’t stop Namor from tearing the Pegasus apart, a lot of lives were going to be lost.[/color] [color=#ffffff]The four of them stood in the elevator as it slid up through the Pegasus’ floors.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Sue looked to Reed for direction.[/color][color=#9fc5e8] “How are we doing this, Reed?”[/color] [color=#3d85c6]“The same way we [i]always[/i] do it. We’ll try to talk sense into Namor first. If that doesn’t work, we’ll need to find a way to restrain him and Namora. We do not want to fight them at sea. The air is our best bet. The more dehydrated they get the less powerful they’ll be, so bear that in mind while we’re out there.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Sue nodded in agreement. In the corner of the elevator a bashful grin appeared on Ben Grimm’s face.[/color] [color=#ea9999]“What?” [/color][color=#ffffff]Johnny eyed Ben suspiciously. [/color][color=#ea9999]“What are you grinning about, ugly?”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Ben shrugged.[/color] [color=#f6b26b]“Just feels good to get back to business, y’know? Good old-fashioned clobbering.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Hearing even a hint of Ben’s old catchphrase brought a smile to all of their faces. He was right. In their world, they had faced down countless attacks on the surface world by Namor and the Atlanteans. He wasn’t quite their oldest adversary – that moniker went to Moleman – but he was close to it.[/color] [color=#ffffff]It almost felt like old times.[/color] [color=#ffffff]As the doors to the elevator opened, Sue turned to Ben and Johnny with a concerned look. [/color][color=#9fc5e8]“Remember – this is about conflict resolution. We’re not looking to start a fight.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]There was a loud crash as Namor tore another piece of the Pegasus free and threw it angrily in the sea beneath them. He roared with anger while his cousin Namora stood on with a dejected scowl that seemed permanently carved into her face.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Reed walked towards them as slowly as he could. Sue, Johnny and Ben followed a few paces behind him. Once they had drew within ten metres of them, the Atlanteans turned to face them.[/color] [color=#3d85c6]“Namor, my name is Reed Richards, my friends and I are here to broker a peace between you and SHI-”[/color] [color=#a2c4c9]“Silence, whelp,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Namor commanded with a disdainful look.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Ben stole a playful look in Johnny’s direction. [/color][color=#f6b26b]“Looks like Namor’s the same as ever.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Namor strode towards the four of them. He made no attempt to hide the contempt contained in his steely grey eyes. To deny it would be to deny the divine right imbued in him by Poseidon himself. It was clear even by the way the Atlantean moved his limbs that he possessed the power to cleave nations apart with his hands.[/color] [color=#ffffff]It was a power he had used before and meant to use again if denied satisfaction.[/color] [color=#a2c4c9]“I have no interest in peace. I am here to claim the [i]debaser[/i] Gardner’s head. Until it is laid at my feet, the combined armies of Atlantis will wage unending war on the surface world. No man, woman or child will be safe from my rage.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Ben pinched the bridge of his rocky nose and sighed. [/color][color=#f6b26b]“Yeesh, c’mon tuna breath, you gotta at least try to be reasonable here.”[/color] [color=#d9d2e9]“You dare!”[/color] [color=#ffffff]The words had barely left Namora’s mouth by the time her fist collided with Ben Grimm’s face. The impact of the punch was so powerful that it sent the Thing flying from the roof of the Pegasus into the sea below them.[/color] [color=#ffffff]Johnny was caught between wincing and laughing as he saw Ben bouncing across the water like a skimming stone.[/color] [color=#ffffff]He glanced at Sue with a haughty smile. [/color][color=#ea9999]“Looks like conflict resolution’s out of the window, sis.”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Storm blasted both Namora and Namor with a wave of flames that sent them flying backwards and Reed and Sue joined the battle. Without Ben there to provide them with muscle they were hopelessly outmatched. But the Fantastic Four had built their careers on doing the impossible – and they had no intention of giving up now.[/color]