6217/Rescue from the Icy Fathoms

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Rescue from the Icy Fathoms
Date of Scene: 19 January 2019
Location: Sub Diego - Off the Coast
Synopsis: Fathom and Iceman come to the rescue of a floundering fishing boat.
Cast of Characters: Iceman, Fathom




Iceman has posed:
Ever since San Diego was sunk and sent under the ocean, there have been rumors of the riches untold that have been sent underneath the waves of the ocean that were not saved and become part of Sub Diego. And it has always brought out the bold - and the foolish. It is no wonder that tonight that off the Coronado coast that there is a boat bobbing in the sea.

A sea that is roiling and threatening this evening as a storm rolls in from the Pacific. The light rolling of thunder and lightning in the distance highlight the ship as it's tossed about the waters like a child's toy.

The crew on board is trying it's best to get the ship to batten down against the storm, but as a large wave comes rolling in and slams over the deck, they can only lash themselves down and pray against the storm for a rescue.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen knows better to be this near to land in a storm like this. But the call she'd received changed matters a bit. The ocean current study itself was a very interesting prospect for Aspen. Though as she plunged ahead through the stormy waves, her thoughts kept going to the fuel pump on her primary engine, and how badly in need of an overhaul it was. The stipend from the study would likely more than cover it. Even better, since her boat would be collecting the data for the study, at least part of the repairs would be considered as part of the research costs.

And so Aspen continues ahead, the ship's pointed into the waves. The sleek-hulled ship reaches the top of a wave, giving her that brief feeling of weightlessness as it starts to fall and then slides down the back side of the wave smoothly. "Just get me home girl," she says, patting the boat fondly. Her eyes go back and forth between radar, the windows, her instrumentation. The young woman barely even needs to see the waves to know where they are, how large they are. It has always been like that for her, she's never considered it unusual.

Iceman has posed:
"Hold steady, boys, we got another wave coming!" calls out the Captain of the striken vessel. Another massive wave hits the ship, and this time, it's not so lucky. The ship tips and rolls, going to it's side. Instead of being able to bobbing back up into view, the ship capsizes and bounces back up, breaking the surface completely inverted. There's cries of help as a few people bob to the surface, but who knows how many may be trapped within the commerical fishing festival.

The Coast Guard has already been alerted, and are on their way - but they have some distance to go. Skimming over the water is something else though. A figure of pure ice, the white of the ice covered skin standing out like a crsytaline statue as the figure arrives at the scene, circling around the boat. "Sorry I'm late, my name's Iceman, and I'll be help rescuing you tonight!"

With that, he sends out his hands, starting to make a large ice floe for the men to crawl up on. "How many souls, Capatin?" he calls out towards the men climbing on the ice to huddle together.

"Fifteen!" the Captain yells back. "We're missing seven!"

Fathom has posed:
The wind howls past the cabin of the Paradise Found, the ship's flag overhead seeming to stand nearly straight in the fierce wind, before finally flapping about again. Aspen starts to pour herself another cup of coffee when the radio crackles, and the words every ship's captain fears starts up.

"PAN-PAN. PAN-PAN," the voice says, issuing the international code for an urgent situation. Aspen's eyes are already going to the map to find her location, and to the radar to look for additional vessels in the area. The radio comes to life again, giving the location of the stricken vessel. Noting helicopters are enroute but requesting any ships in the area to render assistance as they are able.

Knowing she has one of the best all-weather boats on this section of the coast, Aspen turns the ship's bow. Traveling this direction across the path of the waves is neither safe nor pleasant, but she urges the Paradise Found's engines to speed the boat forward towards the other ship that is only a mile or two ahead according to the radio. With the sea aiding her trip, she should be there shortly.

Iceman has posed:
Careful of the ice! While Bobby can make a lot of ice, where it goes on the waves after he lets it go is anyone's guess. Approaching the capsized ship, Bobby settles on the overturned hull. "Yeah.. well, this make take a while." he rumbles to himself. Help would be appreciated, even late coming help.

As the starts to concentrate on icing part of the whole to try to make the metal brittle before he notices the prow of the approaching Paradise Found, Bobby waves a hand, trying to get the attention of the shop. "Over here! Need something that can cut through metal! We have people trapped belowdecks!"

From the hull, frantic banging can be heard against the metal from those that have tried to find the rapidly depleteing air pockets in the stricken vessel.

Fathom has posed:
The lights of the Paradise Found are no doubt visible to the ice-armored X-man, long before anyone on the ship can see him atop the ship whose lights died with the generators and engine. Aspen plows on ahead, breaking overtop of a wave and plunging down into the trough. Those watching can see the boat nearing a corner of the ice flow.

Aspen eyes the next wave up ahead. Something feels wrong about it, the way that it moves. Without understanding what she's feeling, she throws her rudder over hard and reverses an engine. The Paradise Found turns just in time that when it strikes the ice flow, it's a glancing blow rather than straight on. A loud clang sounds even over the sound of the storm.

"An iceberg? Down here!?" Aspen exclaims to herself, quickly working the boat's controls. She pats the ship's dashboard in front of her, confident her ice-rated double steel hull survived the impact. Though she'll need to add dent removal and a paint job to the repairs to come.

The boat swings around, lights illuminating the capsized ship. Aspen brings the Paradise Found alongside, opening a window on the side as she sees her lights reflecting off the ice covering Bobby. "What!? People trapped below!?" Aspen repeats to make sure she heard. "I have blow torches!" she yells back through the storm, the blowing rain stinging her face and drenching her dark hair as she sticks her head out the window to yell.

Iceman has posed:
"Well hurry up with what you got!" Bobby yells back. He's no expert on water rescue. He's just trying to keep people alive and rescue who he can. "Any help you can give, they're in trouble down there!" Those on the ice floe are jostled by the hit of the Paradise Found against it. The people on the small berg slip about but none, thankfully, slip back into the water.

The water impacting against Bobby messes with his usual smooth appearance, causing small rises and icecicles about his frame. OfF in the distance, the first thump thump thump of the Coast Guard helicopter can be heard in the distance as it's lights appear as small specks on the horizon.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen leans out of her window again. "Ice pontoons! On each side!" she yells, pointing towards the capsized vessel that Bobby is on. Then the window swings shut and the Paradise Found turns, pulling away from the other boat, creating a little space before going still and the anchor dropping. The boat will eventually swing around facing the direction the waves come from on its own, the extra distance keeping it from risking collision with the capsized ship.

A figure runs out onto the deck space at the back of the Paradise Found. Wet, dark hair blown about by the wind, Aspen is lugging two... somethings behind her. Some kind of gear, obviously. She drags them to the rail, quickly strapping fins to her feet and then pulling on a SCUBA buoyancy vest, with a small air tank on her bank. Another rig goes over her shoulders then, obviously made to fit over top the SCUBA gear, though it looks like a lot for her to carry. The young woman dons a mask and flips on a light at the top, then falls over backwards into the water.

The light soon bobs to the surface and then she's swimming through the churning sea, covering the distance more quickly than one might have expected.

Iceman has posed:
"Ice pontoons.. right!" Bobby yells back towards the woman as he moves to start to try to secure the ship, even as Aspen appears on the deck, the men watching her as she disappears over the side and starts to knife through the water.

As for Iceman? He doesn't have the time to pay attention to the woman, his whole focus on trying to keep the ship from disappearing beneath the roiling waters. There's frantic banging coming from the hull, unaware that help is on the way. Bobby knows he can't freeze the hull enough to split it open, which was his plan. But that's going to take time, and he's not sure how much he may have.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen swims over to the nearest section of hull to her. She floats on the surface and yells, "Going to have to cut below the water line!" she shouts to the ice-covered hero. "Or else the trapped air will just rush out and it'll lose buoyancy!" With that she pulls what looks like a metal rod from the gear she's wearing and sinks below the water's surface. The waves coming in make it tougher to see her each time they hit the shit. Bright light starts up underwater, apparently whatever she brought, it works in water.

The pontoons are likely helping, and should keep the boat from rolling over further. Another wave rolls in and the underwater cutting torch waves about erratically. It isn't happening on every wave, but as the ship bobs up just as a new wave crashes into it, the woman is getting pounded against the metal hull despite trying to brace herself with her feet. Still, she's making progress, and after about 10 minutes the cutting torch doesn't so much go out, as it is dropped to fall away to the sea floor. She comes back. "I'll go in and get them! Ready for them as they come out!?"

Iceman has posed:
"You're the expert, lady!" Bobby calls out to the woman in the water, stopping his work to try to keep the ship afloat with his ice. As she disappears beneath the surface again, he watches for several minutes. Finally, the Coast Guard helicopter has arrived on the scene during one of the times that Aspen was beneath the surface. No divers hit the water yet, instead, with Bobby's ice floe, they have a nice wide surface to put the rescue basket down upon.

When she pops back up, there's a swift nod from Bobby as he calls down to her. "You bring them up, I'll scoop them out!" he promises her as he tries to give her a smile, even against the stinging rain.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen gives Bobby a thumbs up signal and then sinks below the water again. The light disappears as she goes inside the hull. It takes about a minute and then a man suddenly pops to the surface, wearing a life vest. There is some time for Iceman to deal with him, for it's another 30 seconds before a second man will appear. Next are two men together, one of them conscious and the other not, trying to keep the other man's head fully out of the water. Finally all seven men have emerged from the ship. The last one appears to be wearing the woman's flotation device and SCUBA tank. He's looking pretty banged up. Perhaps they ran out of life jackets where they were trapped. No sign of the woman again yet.

Iceman has posed:
As the men start to pop up, Bobby is quick to make ice scoops to lift them from the water and place them on the ice floe for the Coast Guard to pick up. That is until the last one comes up in gear that he recognizes as belonging to the mystery woman that went down into the ship. "Where did you see her last?" he asks in demand, not getting an answer.

Bobby watches the water worriedly, before finally using his ice powers, wrenching the hull open in the center and sending up a spout of water that freezes in place under the mutant's powers as he moves to try to get below. "Miss?!" he cries out into the dark bowels of the ship, where bilge and water float just beneath the ice. "Where are you!"

Fathom has posed:
It's dark inside, the light of the Coast Guard helicopter overhead only giving fitful flashes through the gap that Bobby made in the hull. The darkness ends up playing in Bobby's favor as he sees some light from the hallway that leads out of the crew mess area. The water is rising quickly, but, there. There she is! Part of the stairs up to the bridge has collapsed on her leg, trapping her there. Her head is just managing to get above the water for a few seconds every now and then, enough to grab a breath of air before the water sloshing through the ship covers her again. Meanwhile, a horn begins sounding. Coming the chopper perhaps? It gives quick, urgent sounding blasts.

Iceman has posed:
"Hold on, I'm almost there!" Bobby calls out as he sloshes on the water covered cieling as he makes his way over to where the woman in trapped. "Hold stead, I'll hand you free in a moment." he promises her. As the water splashes over the pair, it takes a conscious effort from the mutant not to get weighed down with the ice that forms against his body.

Instead, he uses it as a leverage, wrench it against the stairs to force them up and to push them away so that Aspen can free herself. "Don't know how much longer this tub's going to stay afloat, miss." he admits, as he gets a faceful of water. Ice mutant, yes. Immune to water? Not so much as he ends up coughing and sputtering as he tries to pull the stairs back to free her.

Fathom has posed:
The woman's mask is still on, and the light attached to the top. So Bobby is able to tell when he's freed her, the woman standing up, the light illuminating the hallway they are standing in. "Thank you," she tells him, drawing in deep breath. Her face isn't very visible behind the SCUBA mask, just the long dark hair. And around her neck, a necklace with a round silver medallion hanging from it. A sinuous line crosses it, not the yin-yang symbol but not far off. A pair of smaller circles can be seen, one above and one below the center of the line.

The chopper's horn continues to sound. "That's not good, normally a warning," she says. Aspen is already moving towards the hole that Bobby made in the hull, the water is getting deeper, fast. As she makes it beneath the whole, the entire boat suddenly is jarred mightily as a thirty feet high rogue wave crashes into the ship.

So that's what the chopper was trying to warn them of.

Iceman has posed:
The water engulfs and fills the hole of the ship, flooding it instantly and sending it under. The ice pontoons creak and break under the pressure as the ship plunges downwards and the whole of the ship pops as metal rivlets give way to the press of the ocean. Bobby's caught off-guard, unable to breathe and there's a panic that sets into him as he flails in the water.

Without the thought to control of his powers, ice isn't coming quickly, the mutant's eyes wide and panicked as he tries to figure out what to do as everything is flipped and confused and he's lost in the water and stream of his own consciousness.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen is thrown against the wall, barely able to get her breath before the ship is full of water. She sees Iceman tumbling in the water too before the boat fills up. Aspen uses her head lamp to spot the hole in the hull and then reaches for Iceman's hand. She squeezes it as hard as she can, hoping he'll be able to feel it as she swims towards the rip in the metal.

Swimming. Moving through the water has always been easy for her. But never has Aspen had such need to move quickly, pulling Iceman with her. They cover the length of the stateroom faster than Aspen would have thought, and then they are out of the ship, in the black of the ocean, but still underwater.

Iceman has posed:
Grabbed by the hand, it's a good thing that Bobby doesn't even have time to yelp as she pulls him through the ship and out of it into the dark void beyond. Below them the ship tumbles, on it's way to a watery grave, while there's a burst of bubbles from Iceman's mouth as he finds his breath taken and a gulp of seawater in it's place.

He is pulled by the woman, on the verge of blacking out - he can't think or concentrate like this. He should have paid more attention in the lessons of water survival. He can so recall being in the class and Jean being all 'Water Safety is for everyone, Bobby'. And Bobby was all, 'I'm made up of frozen water, what's it ever going to do to me??'

Time to pay the piper, Drake.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen is just sitting there in the water, not trying to go anywhere else as they clear the sinking ship. Bobby, unintentionally beats Aspen to her next move. He lets go a burst of air, bubbles forming about him. Aspen watches, calm, until she sees which way they go, rising to the surface. The pair were upside down, the bubbles going down and to the right from their perspective. Aspen rights them but then sees the alarm on the icy visage.

The SCUBA mask is ripped off, and Bobby might catch a flash of violet-blue eyes as the woman takes his head in her hands and leans in. Her mouth covers his icy lips and air suddenly is being blown into his airways, the woman sharing her last gasps of air with him even as she begins to kick her legs. That, and his ice's natural buoyancy, sending them slowly towards the surface.

Iceman has posed:
Kissing? This isn't the time for kissing! We're drowning - oh, she's just sharing air. Bobby gulps in the air forced into his lungs back the woman and feels her starting to push. Finally he starts to think. Even if being made of ice makes him bouant, he starts to form more ice beneath them to push the pair faster to the surface, like a cork bobbing back up to the surface.

Once they break through, he's gasping for air like a fish, coughing and sputtering and expanding his ice desk to allow himself and the woman to stay afloat as the chopper hovers overhead. "Do either of you need rescue?!" comes the call over the megaphone to the pair on the ice.

Fathom has posed:
Who knows if they would have made it, had Iceman not used his ice to shoot them to the surface. The woman lies back on the ice flow, drawing a few deep breaths. Surprised she's not gasping harder, actually. She sits up and looks over to see how Iceman is doing. "I'm ok," she tells him, the woman's voice soft and perhaps a little pained. She looks around, spotting the lights of her ship, still holding place where she anchored it. "Can you get us back to the Paradise?" she asks him, motioning towards it, and letting him answer the helicopter.

Iceman has posed:
"We're okay, get the crew to shore!" Bobby calls out to the ship. Turning his attention to the woman's words, he nods, before lifting his arms and using them to make ice plumes that help propel the floe back over to where the Paradise is located at. Moving close to the woman, he points down, and makes an ice pillar to lift the pair to help them back to the surface, her close to his ice covered frame as he gets them back to the deck of the ship.

"Did you.. I mean, you totally do. Got a name?" he asks her. "I mean. Got to properly thank the woman that saved me."

Fathom has posed:
Aspen slides an arm around Iceman as he begins skipping them across the surface of the turbulent water. The vertical trip is surprisingly smooth, Aspen coming down gracefully despite having one flipper on and having lost one when she was trapped in the boat. She turns to face him, letting out a sigh as they are on the deck of the ship, though it is bouncing mightily in the waves. "Aspen. Aspen Matthews," she tells him.

"Thank you for coming in after me," she tells him. Aspen is swaying easily with the motion of the ship. "Come on, let's get inside, I want to get Paradise turned into the waves," she tells him. She'll lead the way, though he might notice that she's limping a little bit, and also reaches out for the wall a few times as if supporting herself a little. Inside, through a waterproofed area that has computer monitors, then through a galley with sleeping berths along one side. And then up some stairs to the pilot house. She'll settle into the chair with a wince and then start the engines back up before pulling up the anchor. "And you must be Iceman I guess?" she'll ask once she feels the boat is secure, turning back to him.

Iceman has posed:
Following after Aspen through the ship, he takes it in. Apparently she's a woman with means, or a trust fund. He hasn't figured out which one yet when they come down into the secure area and he starts to shake off the ice that comes him. "That's what it says on my nametag." he offers with a grin, an average looking brunette turning out to be underneath all of that ice.

"Thanks for the assist out there, I couldn't have gotten those others out without you." he offers to her quietly. "But I'm sure you have other things to do tonight other than keep me company." he offers with a small chuckle.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen adjusts the throttle, giving the boat power as it punches into a wave, then relaxing it as they drift down the back side. Again with the next wave. And the next. It doesn't take long for someone to find the pattern. "You have name tags?" the young woman asks, looking over to his chest. Her expression is light hearted enough to make a joke of it. She's currently wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts that are soaked. Also a t-shirt that says UC San Diego. Oops. Also soaked enough to reveal she's got either a bikini top or a bra beneath.

"You did really good," she tells him, looking over. "Dangerous work out here. It's a tight community. They won't forget what you did for them," Aspen tells him, her eyes showing the gratitude that she's feeling as well. "If you want to get back... I guess you can make it far quicker than me," she agrees. "Feel free to grab a bite or some coffee before you go. I still have a full pot here," she says, a coffee maker right by the wheel for nights just like tonight, when she doesn't want to take the time to go below. Aspen reaches for the full coffee pot. Wincing, and pressing a hand to her side.

Iceman has posed:
"You alright?" Bobby asks as he notices Aspen grabbing her side. Looking towards where she may be injured, there's a frown at her. "What happened? Was it on the stairs?" There's concern in his features as he nods. "Yeah, but if you're injured, may want to make sure you get looked at."

Fathom has posed:
Aspen has a little bit of a pained expression. "I think it was when the wave hit actually. Bounced off of... I'm not even sure. Busted rib maybe? Or bruised?" she says. The young woman pulls up her t-shirt on the side that seemed to bother her. A nasty looking bruise is starting up. That's not the only one. There are a number of light bruises already visible on her legs, a shoulder, and a small one on one cheek. It looks like she got beat up pretty good while cutting the whole through the hull in particular.

"I can go in once the storm passes and I can dock safely, get checked out," Aspen says. "Maybe just wrap it in the meantime." She looks over to Bobby for a moment, the violet-blue eyes studying him. She starts to ask something but then seems to change her mind. "Maybe a couple of Advil as well," she says with a rueful laugh.