The skies around Washington DC had darkened under ferocious storm clouds, reflecting the atmosphere, especially around Arthur and Orm as they engaged in the battle to determine who would rule Atlantis and which side would win the war.

"I suppose I should've expected this. The fact that you have that trident is proof that you've been planning this for years. Seeking to take what's rightfully mine." Orm said.

"Are you kidding? Up until you started this war, I had no idea that you or Atlantis even existed. But you seriously need to consider therapy for what's clearly some kind of inferiority complex you have. But let's do this." Arthur said as they charged at each other, since it was clear that Orm's paranoia and delusions had made it impossible for him to see any kind of reason and Arthur knew that if Orm wouldn't listen to words, then hopefully he'd respond to actions.

Energy clashed as the two tridents were locked in combat.

"That trident doesn't belong to you. As the rightful heir to the throne, it's mine by right." Orm insisted as he and Arthur fought and Orm had to admit, he was impressed with his opponent's skill with the trident.

"You have no right to either one and you know it." Arthur said as he sent Orm flying back with a swing of his trident, and then, as if on instinct, he tossed it at him and while Orm was able to block the attack with the trident he'd inherited from his father, the force of the attack was enough to knock him back a few feet as Arthur's trident returned to his hand.

"Nice, what else can this thing do?" Arthur said in awe as he looked at his weapon in awe, realizing that he'd only just managed to scratch the surface of what it could do.

As he raised the trident, almost like it knew what he was asking, the three tips glowed as it actually called down lightning from the storm above.

"Damn, I've got my own Mjolnir." Arthur said with a grin as he unleashed the lightning against Orm, who barely managed to deflect it

"I'll admit, you've got some skills, but let's see if you can beat me without all the fancy powers of that trident. Just you and me, no light shows, just our tridents and our fists." Orm said.

"Fine by me." Arthur said, since he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to use too much of this trident's power until he had better control of it. He considered it a miracle that the lightning he'd summoned had only hit Orm and nothing else. He didn't want to risk hurting any of his allies or even the enemy, since Orm was the only real threat. Though he had noticed that a bit of ceasefire seemed to be happening as all troops on both sides seemed to be gathered around them.

"What's going on?" Supergirl was the one to ask, since while she was happy that the fighting seemed to have stopped for the moment, she wanted to know why as she and the other fliers landed to be prepared for the Atlanteans to launch some kind of sneak attack as Mera walked up to her.

"I reminded my father of Atlantis's most sacred law. The wielder of Atlan's trident is the rightful king of Atlantis, not to mention Arthur officially challenged Orm for the throne. Right now the armies of Atlantis have no loyalty to either side until a victor is declared. Which is why they've all stopped to watch this battle, since if Orm wins, trident be damned, he'll be the rightful king and the war will continue. If Arthur wins, he earns the respect of Atlantis and its throne, at which point he can call off the war while Orm loses everything he's worked towards in his life." Mera said.

"And you really think we can trust the Atlanteans to not intervene?" Green Arrow asked.

"No. Orm would never allow it, since receiving any aid would be considered cheating and it would immediately be considered a forfeit with Orm losing and Arthur becoming the king." Mera said, since while she knew that Orm didn't really have honor to keep him cheating, she also knew he loved his throne too much to risk losing it on a technicality. Besides, he'd want to prove his superiority over Arthur to prevent anyone else from challenging him for the throne in the future.

"It's like when I challenged my mother for the throne of Themyscira. No one can interfere until it's over." Diana said and Mera nodded as they watched the battle unfold.

"It looks like we have a crowd." Arthur said to his brother as they continued fighting.

"Atlantis is eager to watch their one true king officially take his throne and claim what's his. That trident belongs to me." Orm said.

"Keep telling yourself that little brother." Arthur said with a grin as the two continued fighting as he hooked his brother's trident with his own and pushed him up against the Washington Monument.

"Yield the throne Orm. Yield it." Arthur snarled at his brother, who responded by using water from the reflecting pool, which they'd both been standing in during their fight to force him back.

"You're nothing compared to me. I've spent years training for this moment. Preparing for it." Orm said, but to his surprise, Arthur grinned.

"Yeah, underwater. Not up here. You fought me on my turf, not yours." Arthur told him as he used his own trident to use a polearm move Vulko had taught him, starting by raising his trident up high before spinning it and as he did, the water of the pool began to gather around it until Arthur had a cyclone of water at his command.

However, Orm was not deterred as he attempted to charge at his brother, only for Arthur to hurl his trident at Orm, sending him flying backwards before the trident returned to him, the water having been released being used to attack Orm as Arthur then lunged into the heir and as Orm held up his trident to defend himself, with one solid strike across the shaft by Arthur's trident, both Orm's trident and his claim to the throne shattered in front of all of Atlantis and Orm fell to his knees at the realization that he'd lost.

"It's over. You've lost everything little brother." Arthur said as he landed and then held the trident at Orm's throat.

"Go ahead, do it. Kill me. That is our way." Orm said, only for Arthur to steady his trident.

"That might be your way Orm, but it's not mine. Killing you now serves no purpose, not when you've lost." Arthur said, since Orm had never said the words, between Arthur holding the sacred trident and his obvious victory against Orm in combat, it was clear that now he was king.

But Orm would not take his defeat lightly as Arthur turned to face the people, Orm grabbed a shard of his trident and tried to rush Arthur to stab him, only to be stopped by a water attack and they all turned to see Mera responsible.

"You will not harm the king traitor." Mera said, taking more joy in this than she should've, but she was thrilled to be free of Orm. Especially since she couldn't deny her growing attraction to Arthur. He was someone she would not mind becoming queen to someday.

Before Atlantis could do anything, Arthur nodded at the Justice League as Superman and Martian Manhunter moved to take Orm in.

"What's going on?" Nereus asked.

"The now former King Orm is a wanted war criminal and he needs to answer for them to the surface, the rest of Atlantis, that can be excused as just following their king's orders for now, but Orm needs to face trial and since it's the surface world he attacked." Supergirl said.

"He's all yours. The further he is from Atlantis, the better." Nereus said, knowing that the cause was lost and that if he ever wanted to salvage his relationship with his daughter and hopefully avoid charges himself, he needed to go along with this, since he couldn't deny that his daughter had made some good points.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that, since weren't you one of Orm's strongest supporters?" Mera asked her father.

"I allowed old prejudices to cloud my judgment. You were right Mera. War with the surface was not the answer and perhaps now with our new king, we can find a better way. Can you forgive me?" Nereus asked his daughter.

"I'll think about it." Mera said with a smile, which is how Nereus knew that it was at least a start to recovery.

"So, is the war over?" Supergirl asked, looking at Arthur.

"I'm not sure if I have the authority to speak for all of Atlantis yet, but as far as I'm concerned, yes, the war is over. We can discuss the terms of Atlantis's surrender and a peace treaty once I'm officially made king." Arthur said.

"Agreed. We'll inform the world leaders. I guess that just leaves a few things left to figure out. Starting with cleaning up." Supergirl said, though she had some ideas.