The Operative has enemies all over the world. Can any of them mutate creatures this way? 
- — Aquaman
Aquaman Annual (Volume 7) #1 is an issue of the series Aquaman Annual (Volume 7) with a cover date of December, 2013. It was published on October 30, 2013.
Synopsis for "A Choice of Evils"
In the East China Sea, Aquaman investigates and follows an army of deformed sea creatures driven by some foreign entity.
In his base on Sanctum Three, an atoll in the sea, the Operative searches for his grandson Aaron Cole to continue repairs on his flying headquarters The Living Room, only to find him with Sky Alchesay, a fellow member of the Others. The Operative's grandson and teammate have struck up a relationship in secret, fearing disapproval from their families. An argument breaks out only to be interrupted by the arrival and attack of the sea creatures, closely followed by Aquaman. As Cole is injured in battle, his grandfather realizes too late that the attackers are a diversion and arrives at the Living Room to watch as winged monkeys escape with an Atlantean Helmet with life-supporting properties.
Having served their purpose, the attacking creatures crumbled into ash, and Alchesay brought the Others to the Ghost Lands to petition treatment for Cole from the healing spirit Father Usan. Though they secured it and left Cole in his care, they were discovered through the Ghost Lands by a sorceress responsible for the attack and theft. The Others gathered the rest of their members; Ya'Wara, confronting foresters in the Amazon, and Prisoner-of-War, laying fallen soldiers to rest in New Orleans, traced the helmet to an individual known as Madame Xan, and teleported to her location in Hong Kong.
There, "Madame Xan" attempted to don the stolen helmet and use its power to escape the eventual death of the Earth. However, the artifact rejected her, motivating her to save the planet instead by any means, albeit at the expense of the humanity. Anticipating the Others' arrival, she diverted them into individual illusory traps to tempt them into surrendering to her will: to Prisoner-of-War, she offered freedom from the ghosts of his comrades, to Ya'Wara, the salvation of the Earth, to the Operative, the return of his youth, and to Aquaman, an end to oceanic pollution.
Revealing herself as the Arthurian sorceress Morgaine le Fey, she released the Others from the illusion and set out to destroy Hong Kong with a tsunami. Aquaman ordered his team into action to hold back the wave, Alchesay calling on the power of the Thunder Beings to strengthen the barrier generated by Prisoner-of-War's Manacles of Force. However, Ya'Wara had succumbed to le Fey influence; the Operative fought his would-be teammate to prevent her from interfering in the defense. As the barrier crumbled, Aquaman rose from the water and took le Fey by surprise, striking her with the Trident of Neptune and causing her to vanish.
Without le Fey, the waves abated, and Ya'Wara, ashamed at her betrayal of her allies, left the Others and teleported away. Alchesay brought the team back into the Ghost Lands, were she was reunited with the healed Aaron Cole and learned that to continue her relationship with him, an outsider, would mean giving up her connection to the Ghost Lands.
Appearing in "A Choice of Evils"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Aaron Cole
- The Others
- Sky Alchesay
- Operative
- Prisoner-of-War
- Ya'Wara (Quits team)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Victorio Alchesay (Mentioned only)
- Madame Xanadu (Mentioned only)
- Father Usan
- Vostok (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- East China Sea
- Sanctum Three
- Amazon Rainforest
- Ghost Lands
- New Orleans
- Hong Kong
- Xan Building
Items:
- Dead King's Atlantean Weapons
- Atlantean Helmet
- Atlantean Key (Mentioned only)
- Globe of Transportation
- Manacles of Force
- Seal of Clarity
- Trident of Neptune
Vehicles:
Trivia
- Marie Laveau, as impersonated by Morgaine Le Fay is a 19th-century historical figure from New Orleans.