"No!" I had to cry out. Yet Namor sprung for Johnny, who managed to dodge his long spear.

"Flame on!" Johnny tried snatching the weapon without success. No doubt, Namor had superhuman strength; at great speed he charged forward & upward to hurl Johnny into a pillar.

"Ugh, we're so terrible at negotiating!" I complained.

Reed said, "Well, to be fair, I only just started to."

Ha ha ha. I threw him a funny look before using my powers. Atlantean minions surrounded us, but were too slow for my pulse attacks. I knocked them down as quickly as I could.

Johnny looked dizzy, rubbing his head. Namor loomed over him to seize the chance to attack, when Azula put herself between them both. "You'd better have a good reason for cooping up my dad," she said to Namor. Both her fists were ignited in brilliant shades; her golden eyes gazed intensely into his. Maybe she was feeling almost the same as I, except if she was even angrier, she might have bore a hole through anyone she stared at!

She had been calm about Ozai's 'abduction' earlier, but I supposed it was far easier let go of emotions when you're engaged in battle.

Ben tapped Namor on the shoulder, then threw him a surprise punch to buy Johnny some time. Namor, who fell so hard he made a round crack in the stone floor, had almost cornered my brother.

"If anyone's gonna beat up Flame Brain, it's gonna be me!" snapped Ben. I liked the truth in what he said.

Azula joined him, "& if anyone's going to discipline Hotstuff, it'd be me!" She hadn't forgotten what was missing, "Or Sue." She glanced at me in a cheeky manner.

We could tell Namor was at the peak of being enraged: when he decided to lift a giant pillar out of its place! He screamed out angrily, bearing the pillar's weight with mighty hands.

"Hey, I do NOT need any beating or any disciplining!" Johnny yelled from where he was lying.

Ben was too slow to budge; perhaps he was shocked seeing how strong his opponent was for real. In a split second Namor's new weapon pulverized him. It'd take him a while to be back on his feet, we others thought.

Reed caught hold of Namor in his tangled grip before Azula, Johnny or I would be his latest target. "Release me at once!" snapped Namor.

Reed said back, "Not until you – whoa!" He was thrown far upward, back smashing against a coral wall. As he fell to the floor, I encased him in a force field 'coating', slowing his fall to minimize impact.

I grew really tense, "Okay! This has to stop!"

"I could not agree more!" responded Namor from behind me. He slinked further back – nearer to his throne; I could see him extending a hand to press something. A secret booby trap no one but him knew about, maybe? I heard a deep clicking sound as he tapped the unseen button.

At a scary speed water was gushing inward through the many doors leading to the room. Johnny would go crazy. He darted away in time as water covered every inch of the ground. Near the ceiling, I saw him hovering momentarily – right before he seemed to have discovered an opening. He fired hot streams through the hole I could not see, & flew through it. What if it wasn't too late for Ozai's hopes to be dashed? In a twist of really really good luck, Johnny might just find him & bust him out of his cell.

"Put these on!" said Reed with all his breath. Immediately he tossed a helmet to me.

Ben came up from underwater, looking about urgently. "Yo, Stretch! We got company!" he barked. Something, most likely a lithely swimming guard, pulled Reed under the surface. I could only gasp in anxiety; I admit I wasn't at all the best swimmer in the room, let alone in my team.

"You'll find I'm much stronger under the water!" muttered Namor while he circled us in smooth flight.

Ben stayed tough, "Yeah? Prove it!"

I thought I caught sight of Namor's sinister smile as he dived straight into Ben. They both disappeared into the water.

Ben could handle it for sure. I didn't want to take a risk so I floated up on a platform at a safe height from the water level. Below me, a few guards resurfaced to watch me go higher. Phew.

Moments passed without a single problem in the room being resolved, much to my annoyance. All this time, Namor had refused to buy any of my ideas at all. I had gathered enough energy to let out in the form of a very big ball of force. "I…SAID…STOP!" I howled.

A few of those around me were overwhelmed. Cowardly, even. Guards fled to far corners of the area as my field expanded at a great rate. I pinned them to the wall to make them immobile. Namor wasn't feeling too comfortable, either. In the middle of the room stood Reed, Ben & Azula who were now safe from harm.

"Uh, Sue? Force field squishing – owwwww…," I heard my brother's voice from my left. He was back already?

"Where'd you go?" I asked.

He found it hard to answer verbally, so he pointed at an upward angle. My eyes followed the direction & on a high coral ledge was Leopard X. I saw Reed signalling to Ozai to keep his distance. Johnny had made himself useful today, causing me to warmly smile.

"This ends NOW, Namor," I said with increasing confidence. Ozai was back in action without us having to fight hard for his freedom. Plus I was NOT going to be held captive in this fabled place. I reached full use of my power to trap the prince in a thick bubble within my much larger one spanning the whole area. I directed the thick shield downwards & made it disappear when it touched the ground.

My tactic? Bringing an excessively proud ruler to his knees.

"You DARE?!" said an appalled Namor. He picked himself up slowly.

I shaped my speech to make it hard as iron, "Yes, I do. & now you will listen to me."

His expression hadn't changed as he felt the force field I had wrapped around myself. In a rage he began delivering swift punches to the field. Luckily I maintained my power with the help of controlled thinking.

"I can't stay in Atlantis, but I do want peace," I told him.

No answer. The punches felt much harder now. An idea entered my mind: I would deal him a final blow if he persisted in his arrogance. For me to do that, I retracted my larger outer shield to build up more strength within.

I carried on, "The Fantastic Four, Leopard X & Blue Dragon will help you. We will listen & work with the surface world to stop the destruction of your kingdom." In a long time, I hadn't said something in such a serious fashion.

"Strong words…but as I recall the last time you matched your strength against mine, YOU LOST. IMPERIOUS REX!" he lashed out at me violently.

That does it…, I was thinking. With one shout & eyes shut tight, I unleashed it all upon my adversary. I opened my eyes again to see Namor slammed against a pillar. He hit the structure with a sharp thud. He writhed as a result of the force that sent him hurtling backward. Boy, I was pretty amazed at my new technique!

The pillar had broken into large rock chunks, all falling fast. I was struggling to keep them afloat to spare anyone a bad experience, yet I had lost a big amount of strength. & I wasn't being quick enough to sustain the rocks.

"No!!!" yelled Namor, seeing his guards in grave danger.

I'd be blamed for the damages; I could see it coming, & the outlook wasn't good.

Not until a sudden bright green flash got my attention. & a loud animal noise. I heard clearly the same falling rocks hit the floor, except the sounds were lighter than I'd expected. No one groaned in pain or panicked wildly.

I could breathe out without a worry, for Ozai stood in the centre of attention now. He stood over a guard sprawled on the ground, as if shielding him. He had somehow blasted every rock in one go to save us.

With one more sentence I solved the 'Namor problem', "Those are our terms, but if you want to fight, I'll fight you with everything I have." Sacrifice was a beautiful thing in my mind at that moment; something special that'd prove my worth.

Namor's anger had died down. So had his overall tone, "Very well. You & your team may pass. Ozai is hereby freed of my penalty. & I will re-evaluate my plans on the surface world, provided you stay true to your promise." Of course we'd keep our word, I wanted to tell it to his face.

Not bad for going solo for a while today, I told myself. Namor then mentioned something that flattered me, "You are an impressive human, Susan Storm." I couldn't quite think up any appropriate answer, so I laughed a little, now that it was all over.

I was pleased I had made at least some of his arrogance evaporate away. A person vain in his imaginations had his foolish heart darkened. His judgment would be pretty much impaired by his pride. Not in Namor's case now, I hoped.

"Namor," Leopard X turned to him. Namor simply looked at him in anticipation. "Thank you for releasing me."

"Dad!" said Azula, rushing over to give her father a lovely hug.

Namor sighed & said with the slightest smile, "Anytime."

"Thank Jonathan. I wouldn't have made it out alone!" Ozai let go of Azula gently, struggling with her tight strong grip. He was incredibly right. You could say my brother & I, besides Leopard X, played the bigger roles in saving the day.

Johnny probably didn't realize he was amusing us all - by pretending to be oblivious to what was happening. He was looking away & scratching his head, yet I clearly noticed how shy he looked. Azula walked up to him, & he wasn't prepared for a sweet killer hug either!