4896/Ragnarok pt. 14: Recovery

Ragnarok pt. 14: Recovery
Date of Scene:	11 July 2018
Location:	Asgardian Ship on the Atlantic Ocean
Synopsis:	Thor is recovered and on the way back to the Asgardians
Cast of Characters:	Vintridr, Nuala Duvall, Thor, Psylocke
Tinyplot:	Ragnarok

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Vintridr has posed:
    Crises like a sinking ship - especially when the ship in question isn't meant to be in the water in the first place - are always hectic, with everyone scrambling for safety or at least to get those less hale than themselves to safety. As such, Vintridr has had her hands full for the past few hours searching the Frigga's every nook and cranny to ensure that everyone who can't make it on their own gets out safely... And only when the rescue efforts are all but finished does she have a chance to realize that the most important name isn't on the list of rescuees. She takes this news as phlegmatically as she takes everything else.

    "What do you mean, you lost sight of him!?" she demands angrily of the Asgardian she's currently holding about a foot off the deck by one hand. "When and where was the last time anyone saw him?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala took the trip through the atmosphere as well as can be expected when you have 223 people crammed onto a ship that is designed for ten. She took the children to Wakanda, knowing that several other members of the Asgardians were there as well. After dropping off the children and the few adults that ended up on the ship, she wasted little time in returning to the crash site. She stays low, zipping over the waves, leaving a wake behind as the ship speeds back to the crash.
    "That looks bad," she says to Timmy, now back in her slim suit, examining the wreckage. She lands on top of the ship, her own vessel cloaked to keep prying humans from witnessing it. She goes back to her quarters, finding her civilian clothes and changing into a pair of jeans and a navy polo. She replaces her psi blocker, the silver thin band across her forehead being the only thing not in place for a regular human. Her dirty blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she disembarks, jumping onto the deck, and begins toward Vintridr. She stops, seeing the scene. "I am sorry to interrupt," Nuala says, a professional but still polite tone. "I need to talk to Thor, and share with him where his people have been located to, and find a way they can be reunited."

Thor has posed:
    The youthful guard rails at the grip, his hands upon Vintridr's but he doesn't try to break the hold or defy her currently, as well... she does have rank. But he gulps heavily and replies with a quick stream of words offered even as side eyed glances from other Asgardians and some of the SHIELD relief workers are given. But most know to stay out of the valkyrie's way when she has her mad on. "The last word we had, Lady Vintridr was when he made the announcement on the ship's comm. After that he was seen moving to the engine room and after the crash..."
    The last few words falter and trail out like a twisted spigot, then he looks plaintively to the side for any help from the other guardsmen at hand.
    One of which advances, a young girl who only recently had taken the oath but a few weeks before Ragnarok. She clears her throat, "Milady, he..." She looks around as if for support for her words, "He is Thor...?" As if that was sufficient explanation.
    Of course this is the moment when Nuala's voice draws the eyes of those nearby. The young woman who had just been speaking to Vintridr gives the outworlder a sort of pained look as if in way of apology and then steps back and out of the way as if anticipating the next roar that might well come from Vintridr.

Vintridr has posed:
    The girl's voice reaches Vintridr, pulling out of her own near-panic. She breathes out slowly and gently lowers the man back to the ground before turning to the girl. "Our lord still lives," she reassures the girl, kneeling to look her in the eye. "Were it otherwise, I would /know/. I am Valkyriur, after all."

    She gives the girl a reassuring smile, then rises again and looks around. "That said, we do not know /where/ he is..."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala frowns, "You don't know?" she asks. "He was on the ship. If he's not here then," she glances around at the miles of ocean. "Then he's either trapped in the ship, or he's in the ocean." The vastness of such a search swims through her mind. "We have to start looking for him," she states, a slight alarm in her voice.

Psylocke has posed:
    Somewhere in the darkness of the ship, a shadow stirs. It pulses once, twice, then begins to expand upwards in a nebulous bubble of darkness. As it grows, it shifts into a humanoid female shape. A moment later, that shape solidifies into the costumed form of Psylocke. The Crimson Dawn tattoo fades as she turns and rushes up the stairs, heading for the outer surface where she senses the closest people to her location.
    She comes striding out toward the grouping of others, head on a swivel as she looks for the leader of the Asgardians.

Thor has posed:
    The guards give a single sharp nod in understanding at Vintridr's words, though that answer seems to puzzle some of the SHIELD operatives who look between each other. Yet it's enough, seemingly so, to put the Asgardians at ease whens he pronounces the truth of his having not yet passed. For such is her role. Yet one of the older Asgardians steps forwards to speak to Nuala.
    "No, milady. Thor was lost during the fall. We know not where he lies," He looks back over towards Vintridr and cocks an eyebrow, then looks back towards the spacefarer. "But we know he has not been taken to Valhalla." That should serve to at least offer some idea as to what has passed.
    At the doorway as Psylocke emerges some of the SHIELD agents give her a brisk nod as they step quickly out of her way.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr nods at Nuala, moving away from the crowds to keep the conversation from being casually overheard. "I'd already searched the ship's interior for anyone trapped or unable to move under their own power while we were evacuating. If he's fallen overboard..." She trails off, unwilling to consider the possibilities out loud.

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala glances at the Asgardian, and back to Vintridr. "His hammer," she states. "He can surely fly with it, yes? Did he lose his hammer? Has anyone found it onboard?" Of course, she doesn't know that he can call it to himself at will.

Psylocke has posed:
    As the others moved away, Psylocke approached one of the guards who happened to be someone she recognized. She had helped him the day before the crash, removing the Dark Elf taint from his mind so that he could function normally. It was from him that she learned the dilemma.
    Thor was missing. He had not been seen since the crash. According to a valkyrie, he was not dead.
    Immediately, she had scanned the area for his mind but thus far, she had found nothing. She stretched her powers as far as she could go and still, there was no sign.
    Word was relayed to SHIELD personnel and the search began in earnest. Only, there was a person who was not SHIELD personnel on one of the small submersible. Being a telepath came in handy at times since the agent in charge of that vessel somehow was positive that Psylocke was part of his crew. She had the uniform and everything. At least, to his perception.
    Once aboard the sub, she continued to quest with her mind as they began a standard grid pattern search in the immediate area of the fallen Asgardian craft. It would expand outwards as they worked since, in truth, he could be anywhere.

Thor has posed:
    The SHIELD operatives with the small deployable sub were accepting of this new transfer whom they had not met before. Assuredly they had called it in and it had checked out, even though the data log would not show any such transmission coming from the Pushkin I. Yet the men operated as if they knew this strange person even as she guided them, giving them orders as if she was in command though their perception clearly was alright with it.
    The task before her, however, was no easier. The ocean was a gigantic place and the path Frigga's Mercy took in her descent was several hundred miles long. Starting at the ship, however, she was able to branch out and start the sweep towards the rear of the ship, heading back towards the South and away from the naval cordon that stopped most other ships from drawing near.
    There was the occasional ping of sonar off their hull, and the distant rumble of Navy ships and their screws churning the water. But save for occasional status updates the submarine itself was very quiet. Even when she expanded her senses she could feel the smaller minds around her, the fish, the crustaceans. But no God of Thunder, though distantly she might feel a draw... towards the starboard side and some ways off.

Psylocke has posed:
    This was going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Psylocke wasn't one to be daunted though. If this didn't pan work, she would return to the mansion and pull out some of the bigger telepathic guns with the augmentation of Cerebro.
    It had already been so many hours. Yet, they were positive he was alive thanks to the valkyrie. How? She wasn't aware Asgardians could survive without air. Although Thor wasn't a typical Asgardian.
    She sat cross legged on the floor of the craft, the others working around her. To them, she was standing over near the controls, directing, giving orders. It was only a slight distraction from her task as she let her mind drift through the waters in search of life.
    It wasn't a mental touch but there was something. "Starboard. Now." The agent at the controls obeyed. He shouldn't have without a heading but he did. She waited until they were at the right point. "Full speed forward."

Thor has posed:
    There was the thrum from the motors as the ship engaged full forward, the rotor cavitating the water and likely allowing the ship to show up on the sonars of all the nearby vessels. But that was not the current concern, though she might register some confusion from one of the men... weren't they never supposed to go at full speed unless it was an emergency? But then his mind provides its own explanation that clearly it must be and the ease of her telepathic grip allows them to continue.
    Yet what drew her attention were the echoes. The distant echoes of thoughts that might feel strange to her. Oh she had touched the minds of gods before, had felt Thor's thoughts and they seemed so normal in some ways. But this... this slumbering being beneath the ocean feels almost like something else entire.
    Or two somethings.

Psylocke has posed:
    She wasn't fond of manipulating others this way but Psylocke was sure it was necessary. There was an urgency that was driving her, making her choose this path. She wasn't above such things but she didn't like to usurp the free will of others and that is what she was doing at the moment.
    There was a reason. She simply didn't know why herself, just that she had to pursue this.
    As her mind touched on the strange entity, she carefully shored up her mental shields as a safety measure. Tentatively, she sent out a a pair of mental tendrils, seeking to find that which was so strange.

Thor has posed:
    The spotlights on the surface of the sub sweep the ocean floor as multi-limbed creatures skitter and scuttle out of the way while the vessel hugs the contours of the surface. The submarine continues on, occasionally issuing a single pulse of sonar while the infrared cameras are deployed, tracking... seeking... but not finding.
    However Psylocke's senses are able to reach outwards, further into the dark and void, to feel for the man she seeks. At first she will sense the man himself, the distracted and distanced eerie sensation of a mind without awareness, a mind floating along as if on the current of the ocean...
    And then a voice breaks the silence in the submarine, "Ma'am, you're going to want to se this."
    Should she bring herself around to the here and now, she will see what the SHIELD operative spoke of as the pilot plays the light over the void... to catch the shine of the Uru metal of Mjolnir, the hammer resting head down and the grip pointing upwards even as a large crab climbs off of it and skitters away from the light.

Psylocke has posed:
    There. She could feel him. The valkyrie had been right. He wasn't dead but he wasn't awake either, thus the difficulty in finding him. Usually when someone was unconscious, Psylocke couldn't sense them at all. Unless there was some sort of brain activity such as dreaming. Then the neurons were actively firing and it gave something for her to find with her telepathy.
    "What is it?" she asks, a bit grumpy as she is forced to open her eyes and rise to her feet to see what they are showing her. There in the light, the famed Mjolnir. She felt her breath catch in her throat. They needed to recover it, get it aboard. But the inability to lift it unless worthy was legendary. She was quite sure the sub would not be able to do a thing. "Mark these coordinates. When we find him, he can recover it." When. Not if.
    She pointed in the direction they had been traveling, focusing on that faint echo she was feeling. "Continue. We are on the right track if we found his hammer." She hopes.
    She closed her eyes, focusing all of her concentration on her tracking once more. Without opening them, she sat where she had been, tailor style, resting her hands atop her knees.

Thor has posed:
    The submarine slowly hovers past the weapon in its place upon the ocean floor. They can see the impact circles around where it struck with such force, and can see the way some of the ocean silt creeps up as if trying to lay claim to the hammer itself. But then the lights slip off and the halo drifts past Mjolnir, casting it once again in darkness. The hum of the motor returns and she's able to slip back into that trance as she focuses in her search, her mind expanding outwards.
    It takes some time, a handful of minutes, an hour? Difficult to tell in the queer etherealness of the mindscape. But there is that feeling, as if she had but to reach out to find the echoes of what likely is the unconscious mind of the Asgardian. Like a small sphere of reality held in the hand, it takes but a caress of one of those mental tendrils to make it unfurl around her...
    And suddenly she is no longer in her own imagining, no longer in the submarine itself. She is upon a cliff overlooking the ocean and a pebbled beach so far below. She is there standing upon the soft grass, the sun setting distantly off to the West. She is there seeing an old man seated upon a long ago felled log.
    And there is Thor, as he sees himself inside his mind whole and young and with his hair tied back from his eyes. He speaks, "Father, I have failed you."

Psylocke has posed:
    In the submersible, there is no change. Psylocke remains resting on the floor, eyes closed, body relaxed. The men continue about their task with no change since the have accepted their current reality.
    In her mind, she is no longer questing as the mental image opens to her. A dream? A memory? She can't tell at this point but the strong mind of the Thunder God has drawn her inward, to share this moment even though she is a trespasser.
    The location is beautiful. She can feel the sea breeze, taste the salt in the air from the spray of the ocean below. Her hair lifts and shifts with the gusts as she moves on silent feet closer. If this is a dream, she will be able to interact with it. A memory? She will only be able to observe.
    It is a private moment between father and son. It would be right to turn away but the circumstances are dire. Thor needs to be found so she must approach, must see if she can draw their attention or will she simply bear witness to what passes.

Thor has posed:
    They do not seem to see her not yet at the least. The old man turns and smiles, one of his eyes covered with a tan patch and his smile is warm and benevolent. He looks to Thor, but seems to almost look past him, as if on some level... he might see Elizabeth as well. "You could never fail me, my son."
    "All is lost." Thor says softly as he goes to his knees before him, "Asgard has fallen. Malekith will destroy the nine realms... there is nothing we can do." The utter surrender in his voice is strong, something she and so few have ever heard from the man.
    But then the elder is standing, his hand upon the shoulder of his son. "Asgard is eternal, Thor." He slowly helps him up. "Think you Asgard is but a place?" He looks past Thor again, as if seeing something so far off."
    Odin shakes his head gently, "No. Asgard is in you. Asgard is in its people." He turns slowly and looks out across the ocean, he smiles a little over his shoulder to Thor and says quietly. "Asgard is here. This could be Asgard."
    Then Thor's voice lifts softly, "But we have lost so much..."
    And then Odin says with that same smile, "We have not lost ourselves."
    Then suddenly she is there once again, in the submarine, as if cast free of the moment. Cast far away from what was happening. But then she'll hear the words from the SHIELD agents, "Ma'am, I think we found him..." And that's when the light will pass over and settle upon the prone form of Thor on the ocean bed.

Psylocke has posed:
    A memory perhaps. The feeling she is intruding grows stronger although, for a moment, she thought Odin had actually seen her. Before she could try to speak, she was cast away, her mind spiraling back to the place where her body rests.
    The voice interrupted before she could reach out again. She rose, walking to look out the window to the body outside. He looks much as he did the last she saw him although he could be asleep. He doesn't have the pallor of the dead though it is difficult to tell in this light.
    "Bring him aboard." The mechanical arms will have to be utilized to grasp him and bring him back into the ship since at this depth, they would not be able to swim out for a recovery. There is an airlock in the back to allow for samples to be taken or divers to get back on board when in shallower areas. Then something occurs to her.
    What if he awakens? If it was a gentle awakening, it would be fine. But if he awoke violently, he had the power to rip the ship apart around them. While he would obviously survive, she and the crew would not. "Turn off all unnecessary lights in this area," she suddenly adds. Once it is in shadow, perhaps she will be able to get them out should the worst case scenario occur.
    She watches to be sure they are able to recover him then heads for the airlock, peeking through the small window in the heavy door to be sure he is secure. Then the water will be pumped out of the area and she can enter.

Thor has posed:
    It takes some time, the manipulator arms reaching and extending outwards to slide under the heavy form of the prone Asgardian. They are able to twist and slide him along the ocean floor, a furrowed trail sliding along behind his feet and a cloud drifting up into the haze of the water. But then he's drawn along to the side airlock and shifted inside with the engines of the arms whirring in consternation. After several minutes he's finally secured, finally pushed in fully. The door closes behind him.
    Inside, the dark interior, gets a crimson haze as the airlock alarm warns of cycling. The water is pumped out, filling the lock with the oxygen mix until finally the light on the airlock flips over to green and the locks on the interior door are undone.

Psylocke has posed:
    Psylocke quickly begins to spin the circular wheel that will disengage the seals. One of the SHIELD agents who is a trained medic is with her, unable to stop himself from coming to try and render aid. Nevermind the man has been underwater for days so first aid, by human standards, is unlikely to help.
    It seems to take forever but finally she is able to pull open the heavy metal door, stepping over the upraised lip at the threshold and rushing inside to the fallen Asgardian.
    She drops to her knees on one side, the medic on the other. "If this goes badly, kill the lights first," she tells the agent.
    The man looks at her oddly but nods as he reaches down to check Thor's pulse. Habits.
    Psylocke reaches out with her mind again, gentle fingers brushing against Thor's mind and trying to stimulate him to wake.

Thor has posed:
    She can feel the mind that's there in the man, can feel the confusion and distance of whatever has him unconscious. But as he begins to breathe air again, as he begins to no longer feel the pressure of the ocean upon him and perhaps his own senses find the realization that others are around him... he begins to come back to the here and now. It's like a day dawning as she senses his mind's return. And with that curious duality of being in another's thoughts she'll see the way he perceives the world.
    She'll see the harshness of even that dim light as his eye opens slightly barely to slits. See the way he can perceive the world in this moment. How she and the SHIELD operative are but shadows, silhouettes with a light behind them. How he focuses upon her and her hair seems so dark, and her features so angellic... can sense the words even as he murmurs them with a rough and gravelly voice.
    "Jane?" His voice is a rasp, ragged as he reaches up with fingertips towards Betsy's cheek and she can /feel/ the unfurling of such a purity of love and warmth.

Psylocke has posed:
    She is monitoring closely, prepared to move if necessary. It allows her that double vision, to perceive the world through her own eyes and through his.
    It is a unique thing that telepaths must deal with from time to time. Thankfully, she has experience as she rests a hand atop his shoulder, giving him that physical anchor as he returns to the world of the living.
    Jane? Her brow furrows as his fingers touch her cheek gently. Then she remembers. The doctor who he had been in a relationship with. It had even been in the news some back when the Avengers formed. She had no idea what happened to his love with his absence from this world on and off. It was just one of those things that she never wondered.
    The emotion, the love and affection, it overwhelmed her and Psylocke found herself tearing up a bit. She reached up to take that hand from her cheek, drawing it downwards as she felt her heart break when she had to answer.
    "No, it's Elizabeth Braddock," she answers in her British accent, very different from his beloved's American one. "You have been on the ocean floor for hours. We just found you."
    She doesn't bother with a verbal command and instead sends a mental one to the crew up front. Get them to the surface as quickly as they safely can with the need for decompression at various levels as they ascend.

Thor has posed:
    The haze in his mind and his thoughts start to clear and she can see him open that one good eye, even as a small crab scuttles out from a fold of his armor and skitters away while holding up its claws as if threatening all of them. Thor, however, shakes his head slowly and draws himself upright, apparently forgetting what he just said or thought or felt. As everything comes flooding back to him. His brow knits and he looks first to the SHIELD medic, the smiling man in that uniform. Then he looks back to Elizabeth.
    That blue eye is a touch bleary as he finally focuses fully upon Betsy and then he says while smacking his lips as if trying to stop his mouth from being so dry. "Have anything to eat?"

Psylocke has posed:
    That gets a slow blink from Psylocke as she moves her hand from his shoulder to behind his back, as though she might help support his weight should he waver. It's a thought at least, as unlikely as it would be to work. "Eat?" Echoing the word doesn't make it any less strange. She looks to the medic.
    "There may be a few MREs on board in the emergency supplies. In case a sub goes down and the people have to wait for rescue a few days." He moves off to try and find the mentioned pre-packaged meal.
    "Bring some water as well," Psylocke instructs before focusing back on Thor. "How're you feeling?"

Thor has posed:
    "Elizabeth," There, that got through to him, he recognizes her. "Again you have my thanks. Where am I?" The tall Asgardian sits up a little further, his boot scraping and squeaking upon the floor as more water drips from him. The stench of sea water is heavy and it's clear that he likely could use a bath.
    One heavy hand plants upon the floor, his gauntlet creaking a little as he frowns and looks to the side. "Where's Mjolnir?" He asks and then he shifts his hips as if he were about to reach out with his hand.

Psylocke has posed:
    Her hand is atop his immediately as she feels a shot of panic go through her. "No!" Psylocke's voice is a little too frantic and she forces it to sound a bit more calm. "We are in a submersible deep down near the ocean floor. If you summon it, you kill us all." Then she rethinks that. "Well, us. Not you obviously."

How did he live through this? It is miraculous and she wants to ask but feels now is not the right time. Keeping her hand atop his for a safety measure, she continues. "We found it on the ocean floor not far from here. The coordinates are marked. You can pick it up later or summon it once we are back on the surface."

Thor has posed:
    The tall man's eyebrows shoot upwards as she stops his hand and he looks at her, then he looks to the side, off in the direction of where he perhaps perceives Mjolnir to be. But then he looks back to her and gives a single solemn nod as he voices his understanding with an, "Ah." He nods again slowly as he presses his hands down upon the floor of the rising submersible and then gains his feet slowly, a little awkwardly as he supports himself with one heavy hand upon the control panel near him. "Then I shan't."
    "But really," He looks back to her and smiles then, an open thing as he seems a little embarrassed. "I'm famished, do we have anything to eat. Something to drink?" For a moment she might feel the mental ease with which he falls into that old pattern. But then his memory triggers and he frowns. "Wait, what of the ship? My people? Tell me what has transpired in my absence?" His voice grows stern and demanding as he steps towards her.

Psylocke has posed:
    As he rises, Psylocke does the same while she keeps a wary eye on him. Either she is afraid he'll forget again and summon his hammer, or she's afraid he's going to fall flat on his face any second now.
    "He'll be back in a second with something to eat," Psylocke offers before moving on to more pressing concerns. "Your ship is afloat in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. The United States Navy and SHIELD have come to assist, keeping others from trying to benefit from your situation and helping to shuttler your people to the Zetaport where they are being cared for. A few are on your ship as security. The ones I had taken to Braddock Manor have been reunited with the rest at the Zetaport in Canada."

Thor has posed:
    The water droplets continue to fall from Thor's armor leaving him standing in a puddle even as he lifts a boot and crosses it over his shin to wipe at some of the detritus left behind there. He scowls at his general state, but then shakes his head as he looks over towards her. In a strong tone of voice he declares, "Very well then, take me back to my people and I shall do what I must to insure their safety."
    With that said and with only the audience of Elizabeth and the SHIELD pilot looking at him, he realizes that his audience is rather... small. So he clears his throat by coughing into his hand and then tells her with a smile. "Please."
    But that is the moment the other SHIELD operative returns and with a smile offers Thor a freshly heated MRE. "Ah, thank you." He takes a step to the side and sits down on one of the nearby work stations and begins to eat.