<div class="floatleft">(http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5499ff2ce4b0b85c868a2158/t/556fb05ae4b01eeb36c217a6/1433383003661/)</div><hr/><strong>Name:</strong>Arthur Curry/Orin (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=239229.msg11802466#msg11802466)<br/><strong>Affiliation:</strong>The Atlantean Empire.<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Saturday the 17th of October 2015, 21:46<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Gotham Clock Tower, Central Gotham<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>M'gann.<br/><strong>Theme Music:</strong>Starvation - Thomas Bergersen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGaCAHhGfo)<br/><br/><hr/><hr/><strong>Summary:</strong>Orin reflects briefly on Kori's visit, but then is distracted by M'gann's revelation. Fighting the urge to pump her for information for a crusade against Continuum, he remembers that such an attack would not be wise and simply asks if M'gann is ok and whether she remembers that she can always rely on his support.<br/><hr/><hr/><br/>Orin had to chuckle just a little at M'gann's slip-up; he could feel the irritation and exasperation directed at his Oracles radiating through the bond, and though he would never say it to their faces, he had to agree with at least some of the frustration; it wasn't entirely their fault, of course, given that they couldn't control what they saw and that oftentimes they only ever saw vague concepts rather than specific details - the nature of time meant that the future was never 100% certain, instead being vague and ever-changing, with only certain details staying constant....at least, that was what they told him - so the fact that they got a specific location was a miracle in and of itself...but it was still frustrating that they couldn't give him a time, date, location or even just a name as to who to keep an eye on; it just said "A Disaster In Gotham," which in an of itself was nebulous at best and didn't help him when it came to stopping it. Nine months...nine months of investigation, and he'd only just turned up a lead. But, as Kori herself had said not a month prior...at least now he could focus on The Rot, rather than it sneaking up behind him...if indeed the Rot was what he was sent to stop. He certainly hoped it was; he wanted to go home and help his people recover, and if The Rot wasn't what he was supposed to prevent, then he would be right back to square one and just that little bit closer to possibly losing his home and his people. And that was something that, after five years of fighting to keep them safe and alive, he was not entirely sure he could handle experiencing. How did you go from being the leader of your people to then failing to protect them and losing them all, becoming the last of your kind? He didn't think he'd be able to handle that. Though, speaking of Kori, he had to smile a little as M'gann mentioned that she was in town. "I know, Little One...she visited me last month, though things didn't quite go to the initial plan..." He remembered the visit well, but...well, it was not the time to think on that particular day, or the momentary dark turn it took. Especially not with what was said next.<br/><br/>His head snapped around as she told him of a group trying to capture her; his grip on her shoulders tightened a little, protectively, as he fought the urge to demand information from her. He knew the kinds of people that wanted life for their labs - as did M'gann, intimately so - and he didn't even want to consider what they might have wanted her for in regards to their sick experiments. He knew organisations like that, and he knew what they did to prisoners in pursuit of their own goals, and he would die before he let M'gann go back to one of them...they had broken her out of one research facility and there was no way in Tartarus that she was going back to any kind of group that wanted to study her...they would have to step over his cold, broken body and a thousand of their compatriots if they wanted to even lay a finger on her, and that was a vow that he made with no hesitation whatsoever. Oh, M'gann could handle herself brilliantly on her own and he would even go so far as to say that in many ways, she was his superior in terms of raw power, but...well, it was the principle. She was his niece, and nobody touched his family without answering to him and Atlantis. And honestly? If he gave the word, he didn't doubt for a moment that the people of Atlantis would rally to support M'gann. Atlantis was, historically speaking, rather xenophobic in its outlook but if they came to consider you Atlantean - as they had with M'gann, thanks to her efforts both during and after the Reclamation War - there was nothing that would shake their loyalty to you. They would happily go to war to protect one of their own against an outside threat. Protective fury radiated through the bond towards M'gann, such that he absently filed away the presence of another Superhero for future digestion; "Captain Atom" wasn't his concern at that moment. M'ganns safety, on the other hand,<em>was.</em><br/><br/>He looked at her seriously, the arm around her shoulder still tense, though he forced it to relax a little. His other hand came over to cover the hands in her lap, and gave them a soft squeeze. "Somebody came after you?" He asked seriously, "Are you ok? They didn't harm you, did they?" He forced himself to relax; he had to stay calm, and not get overly furious. It was all he could do not to grab his trident and set off on a blazing trail of destruction against this "Continuum...." he had more important things to see to than a obscure organisation, as much as it galled him to admit it, and if he spent his time attacking Continuum, he could just end up making things worse for her. Still...he had to make it clear that she wasn't alone if they ever came calling again. "If they ever appear in your life again, M'gann, know that you have mine and Garth's unfaltering support. And, if it comes to it, you have the Might of Atlantis at your disposal." An empty bravado, perhaps; his people would support M'gann, he knew that, but Atlantis was hardly in a position to be able to wage<em>another</em>war, and he would not be the King that fought three wars in less than two decades when he didn't have to. Another war, especially a foreign one against a well-equipped enemy? That could destroy Atlantis on its own, regardless of whatever Disaster was coming. Then, a fresh thought occurred to him and he frowned just a little. She said several months ago...well, they had connected before then, so...why hadn't she come to him for help, or at least to talk? He tilted his head a little. "M'gann...why didn't you tell me of this sooner? You know I wouldn't have hesitated to aid you, or at least listen to your worries...right?" He wasn't offended, of course, or angry - he had no right to demand inclusion in her life - but he was...concerned and curious as to why she didn't tell him sooner. Was she worried that he would go and try and tear the whole organisation down? Or was it something more? Concern echoed across the bond, replacing the fury. Concern not only for her, but also for her opinion of him...it could just be that she never had the chance to tell him, of course, but the worry that she didn't<em>want</em>to tell him until now for whatever reason was there. There had to be a reason she didn't tell him, right?