Queen Mera!?

“Hello?”

There was a long pause on the other end. “This is the pizza delivery men I met?”

“H-huh?”

“I am Mera. I am at the lighthouse. Bring me a pizza, please. Thank you.”

The phone hung up right then and there. It was easily among the strangest phone calls he had ever had. But...come on, he knew this was about.

‘R-right, the Queen of Atlantis. So she’s still there at the lighthouse, huh? I should still have the address on my GPS…’

“Wait, what kind of pizza should I make?”

Would literal royalty appreciate simple cheese pizza?

“What if she’s one of those pineapple pizza types…? Wait, aren’t Atlanteans pescatarians or something?”

He did a quick search on the internet. Apparently, the diet of Atlanteans did consist of fish. There were even pizza based on their diet. The pizza guy scratched his head.

“Better than nothing,” he murmured.

***

He made the pizza. He went to the lighthouse. He knocked on the door. He waited. He was slightly nervous. Last time, he didn’t expect the literal queen of a nation to come out. This time, well, he did. He knew she was behind the door.

He knew when he saw a flash of red, that he had to keep his wits about.

"Bring it inside.” Mera didn’t bother with a greeting upon opening the door. Her tone of voice was flat, almost bored, as if this were the most mundane request in the world.

The pizza guy clutched the warm box tighter in his hands. Right. He’d been here before and the same queenly redhead had answered the door. But this time, she was slightly different although still as hot and sex. There was this natural fuck-me look to Mera. Her brows furrowed and her eyes were sharp. It was…come on, it was erotic. It shouldn’t have been, really, she was just speaking coldly, but perhaps because of all his previous interaction with women, his mind was beginning to mix signals. Her gorgeous red hair clung to her neck in damp tendrils and the faint scent of saltwater and something floral lingered in the air.

‘Did she go swimming recently?’

Mera was no longer in her badass, skin-tight costume either. She wore a loose green robe that showed off her side-boobs.

Mera then left the door and turned. The robe gave her ass a tight look.

"T-thank you," he stammered, stepping inside the lighthouse. The place was sparse, almost clinical, with no sign of life beyond the faint hum of the ocean outside. He set the pizza down on a small table, glancing around nervously. "That’ll be $18.50."

Mera didn’t move to grab her wallet. Instead, she crossed her arms, her gaze steady. "I need something from you."

"Uh… what?"

"Your clothes," Mera said.

His brain short-circuited. "M-my clothes?"

"Yes." Her tone didn’t waver. "I need them."

He stared at her, trying to process the request. This wasn’t exactly how he imagined his night going. "Look, uh, ma’am—"

"Mera," she corrected, her voice sharp. "Queen Mera."

His mouth went dry. Queen Mera. As in, Aquaman’s wife. As in, Justice League royalty. Obviously, he’d seen her on the news, but up close, she was… well, stunning. And now she was standing in front of him, asking for his clothes.

“W-why do you—?”

“The other one’s clothes don’t fit me,” Mera explained briefly. Other one? The pizza guy had no idea who this was. By process of elimination, it had to be the original owner of the lighthouse. Whom she knocked out.

He just realized he probably shouldn’t keep her waiting.

"O-okay," he said slowly, dragging the word out like he was trying to buy time. He started to tug on his collar. “U-um, just the shirt or—”

“Pants and shirt. I will return them to you when I return. You will stay here.”

What was he supposed to do, fight her? Clearly, something was up and she needed clothes. The first buttons of his shirt were coming undone and he gulped to himself. “So, uh, what’s the mission? You don’t have to tell me the whole story, ma’am.”

Her expression softened slightly, though her eyes remained intense. "My sister, Hila—also known as Siren—has taken my place. She has manipulated Arthur into believing I committed terrorist acts within our oceans. I did not. I was set-up, and I suspect with aid with a crime lord from Gotham City. No one believes me. Not even the Justice League.”

“Is the evidence that damning?”

“It is…complicated, but yes,” Mera admitted bitterly. “To the point that my own husband is considering banishing me forever. Batman and Superman are the only ones who do believe me, and they told me to stay here, to observe. But I cannot stay hidden forever. I need to leave and investigate this villain. And to do that, I need your clothes."