15446/The Tide is a Comin' In

The Tide is a Comin' In
Date of Scene:	24 July 2023
Location:	Waterfront -- Metropolis
Synopsis:	Namor visits Metropolis to make a rather pointed statement. The Flash interrupts. A warning for surfacers to stop polluting the Ocean King's realm is delivered.
Cast of Characters:	Namor, Barry Allen

---

Namor has posed:
It seems like a fairly typical summer evening in Metropolis, the warm, humid weather making the evenings offer little more respite then the days. Tonight is no different in that respect and though it might not be the absolute best time to be out and about, a fair number of people have gathered on the waterfront boardwalk that lines the Atlantic Ocean, playing games, eating food or riding some of the simple carnival rides that are clustered as a sort of minor attraction to the inhabitants of the city.

But it is not just any other night out there, at least not in the dark waters of the Atlantic. A figure hovers in mid-air about a mile out from shore, little wings fluttering around his ankles as Namor, King of Atlantis peers down at those moonlit waters with a look of disgust on his face. Clumps of garbage and other waste have gathered in clumps while a slick sheen of oil and gas marks those ocean swells even in the dark.

Surprise, surprise. The Lord of the Oceans is not very happy about that fact.

Those eyes lift, for just a moment, peering towards those distant shores before he abruptly raises swiftly, straight into the air before plunging back down, diving beneath that waves, disappearing from view. But somewhere beneath the surface of those waters something begins to thrum, stirring up those ocean waves until a fairly sizable one starts rolling towards the nearby Metropolis -- carrying that collection of surface waste and contaminants back towards where they came from.

Barry Allen has posed:
As is so often the case, Barry is putting in extra hours at the Metropolis Police Department's crime lab, staying well past his shift has actually ended to try and complete a few extra tests and move out some of the always backed up case load.

He probably needs to get himself a life. But that's not likely to happen tonight so here he is.

At least he is until the first reports start to roll in. Generally any sort of rogue wave situation is identified with a fair amount of warning. There are usually indicators that can be picked up by those that know what to look for. But as Barry listens to the reports coming in over the police band it is clear that this case is the exception.

Getting up from his desk, he stretches and nods to the other collegue also working late. "I need to stretch the ol' legs," he says with a smile and a nod. "I should be back in a bit," he promises before trotting for the door.

As soon as he is out of sight, that trot speeds rapidly, leaving him little more then a blur as his suit suddenly shoots from that ring he wears, expanding as he gets changed at superspeed, little more then a red and yellow blur.

Then he is off. Destination? The Metropolis Water Front.

Namor has posed:
It of course stands to reason that none of the customary warning signs were present to give the various institutions that track such things more of a head's up that a dangerous wave was heading in towards Metropolis and landfall there. Afterall, the source of that wave is clearly anything but natural phenomena.

A message has to be sent. That the continued use of his Kingdom as a dumping ground for the surface world's garbage, or their pollutants is entirely unacceptable. Is his choice of response unreasonable? Well Namor certainly doesn't think so. Unless people are extremely careless no one should be badly hurt. Oh, there will liekly be plenty of property damage, but it is no more then they deserve given the toxins that are being dumped into his waters.

So Namor follows after that wave now sent into motion, measuring his pace so as to not outstrip that wave, simply insuring that it has an uninterrupted path to it's destination.

Barry Allen has posed:
It takes BArry pretty much no time at all to reach the waterfront, the shoreline of Metropolis only minutes away from the Metropolis Police Department headquarters. Which means that it is only seconds for the Flash -- at least when he is taking a little bit of time. That red and gold blur extends throughout the streets of the city as he races down to the water, coming to an abrupt stop only a dozen or so feet from the boardwalk and those sandy beaches that line this part of the shore.

It does not appear if most people have noticed the approaching danger, but then it is not a literal wall of water or anything, the swell not likely to wash over the boardwalk. But it is high enough, strong enough that it will likely crest the storm surge barriers that keep the city from flooding. And while no one is likely to die unless they are unlucky and the rip currents generated are particularly severe, it is pretty likely that there will be millions of dollars in damage done.

So Barry doesn't hesitate to spring into action, racing down towards the shoreline and beginning to whip back and forth along the edge of that beach, right where it meets the water. A spray goes up each time he passes -- which is several times eeach second -- and that draws more then a few lines as he builds up speed.

More importantly however he builds up pressure. Air pressure. Fundamentally, he creates a wall of air pressure. Where a solid barrier might crack, might break under that onslaught of water, the sheer volumn of it, air should be much more resilient.

So Barry races back and forth along that beach as people begin to point, finally spotting that garbage-laden wave rolling towards them.

Namor has posed:
From his place behind that swell of garbage-infested water, Namor watches with a certain satisfaction as his pointed message rolls in towards the shroe, ready to wash over those laughable coastal defenses and give them a rather unpleasant reminder of why it does not pay to treat the oceans of the world as their personal dumping ground, their personal toliet.

At least he does until that streaking blur appears, whipping back and forth in the path of his artfully constructed wave. That swell of water moves in, finally provoking a reaction from the people gathered nearby. But it does not seem to be fear. It seems to be certainty that their hero will come through for them, that they will be sheltered under the benevolent efforts of one of their chosen protectors.

Then that wave reaches that blurring barrier -- and that wall of air pressure holds, breaking the wave on it. The water does not even reach the barriers, brushed aside and that trash, those toxic pollutants in the water wash back, driven back into the harbor instead of flooding the streets of one of the great city's of the surface.

Scowling, Namor takes to the air once more, fluttering closer to the shore and glaring down at the streak of red and yellow. "Speedster! Do not think that you have settled anything on this day. Atlantis shall no longer tolerate you surfacers polluting the seas and oceans. You can't be everywhere. Sooner or later we shall return your wastes, your poisons right back where they belong," the King of Atlantis barks, glaring down towards the Flash and the citizens gathered nearby.

Barry Allen has posed:
Back and forth the Flash continues to whip along the shoreline, keeping that wall of pressure intact, keeping it stable as those cresting waters first meet and then finally break over that invisible wall of air, the wave threatening to overwhelm the city's flood defenses instead settling back into the normal course of time and tide.

That is also the point when it becomes clear just how much garbage infests these waters, how many oil slicks from boat engines and other pollutants fill this particular wave, so Barry only gradually slows his pace, that blur of red and gold resolving itself into something more clearly the shape of a man.

Which is also when he is finally addressed, that back and forth racing coming to a stop along the shoreline nearby as he stares up at Namor who hovers above the results of his aborted handiwork. "There isn't really any need for threats, you highness," the red-suited speedster offers up diplomatically. "It's pretty obvious that you have a legitimate grievence here," he conceeds, waving a hand towards the scummy waters that lap back and froth, so very close to the shoreline.

"But whatever this was, it isn't the way to go about things. You could have damaged a lot of property. Maybe even endangered lives. That's not how we handle things up here," he says levelling, trying to keep any sort of accusation -- or worse -- from his voice.

Namor has posed:
So presumptuous. So arrogant.

While that might be a fitting description of Namor himself, that cold, imperious stare makes it pretty clear just what he thinks about being lectured by the Scarlet Speedster down below.

Surprise, surprise. It hasn't engendered any warm, fuzzy feelings. At the best of times the King of Atlantis can be a little touchy. And these are far from the best of times.

"You poison my realm, treat it with disdain and contempt as you dump your garbage and toxins into the seas. And you lecture me because some of your pathetic structures might have been damaged?" he says, surprisingly quiet really. Though the tone is distinctly dangerous as well.

"I am the ruler of seventy percent of this planet and my patience and tolerance," -- you know, those traits that Namor is well known for -- "is just about exhausted. Bear your people a warning. They shall cease to pollute my oceans. Or there will come a reckoning," he pronounces, continuing to glower down towards the Flash.

Then, abruptly, whe whirls and dives down beneath those waves. disappearing from view. Chances are that they have not heard the last of the Sub-Mariner's threats however.

If the surface world is lucky, they will just stay threats.

Barry Allen has posed:
Well, that doesn't bode real well, now does it?

There really isn't any sort of opportunity to interject or try to find any measured words to try and calm down the situation. Honestly, Barry doesn't really get the impression that the King of Atlantis is all that interested in hearing them regardless. He seems to be worked up into a pretty good state. So the speedster really just tries to look as if he is giving the rant the attention that it's due. It's not really that hard.

In the end as Namor simply just whirls and dives back under the less then clean waters of Metropolis harbor, the Flash just shakes his head. "Okay, wow. I don't know how I got elected messenger here but okay," he mutters to himself, gaze lingering on the waters for a moment, just making sure that the Sea King doesn't intend to make another appearance or wreck any more havoc tonight before finally turning away, speeding back towards the city proper.