6796/Stranger Tides: Unidentified Sunken Object

Stranger Tides: Unidentified Sunken Object
Date of Scene:	07 March 2019
Location:	South Pacific Ocean
Synopsis:	In the plot finale, Bruce Banner and Aspen enter the underwater alien ship. Trusting one of the dying aliens to close the interdimensional rift, Aspen unknowingly triggers the self-destruct.
Cast of Characters:	Fathom, Hulk, June Connor
Tinyplot:	Stranger Tides

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Fathom has posed:
The marine research vessel Paradise Found bobs in the mostly placid waters of the South Pacific Ocean. It is a bright, sunny day with light winds and small waves. Perfect for the kind of operations that are underway. The crew narrowed down the source of the ocean current anomalies to a small patch of ocean, and then found a sonar contact below the waves in that area.

And now, a small, remotely operated submersible vehicle has descended four hundred feet already to investigate. A cable snakes back to the surface, providing a route for the humans on board the ship to send control signals back down.

Aspen Matthews notes the depth gauge on one of the computer monitors showing camera views in all six major directions from the ROV. "Alright, we should be getting close," she says. A mouse click turns on the lights. "June, do you have those submarine silhouettes ready to help us identify it?" she asks, referring to a database she pulled up with outlines of the various known types of submarines.

Suddenly on the screen, out of the gloom of the ocean depths, the source of the sonar contact is revealed. While cylindrical, it also has what look like large engines like a plane or rocket would have, around the back end. There is a distinct spaceship feel to it, rather than a submarine shape. Aspen's mouth falls open.

Hulk has posed:
    Standing back as the crew performs their duties, Bruce Banner watches the displays and monitors, in case his expertise is needed. So far he hadn't been doing to much, as he was a bit incommunicado. It was hard to get a job when people are frightened of the big green guy. Although his identity was semi-secret, if people try hard enough, they can usually figure out who he was.

    When the image of the ship came into view, Bruce breaks his silence and says, with an edge of scientific curiousity to his voice, "Now that isn't from this planet...it looks extra-planetary in design."

June Connor has posed:
    "Yeah," June says, "I have the silhouettes and plugged them in. I think the 3D imaging should be able to figure out if it's anything in the database. But if it's like some secret government project or something..." she gives a shrug, and puts her hands on her hips. "I mean, sneaky governments gonna do what they do, y'know?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen stares at the screen, nodding in mute astonishment. "This is so not what I was expecting when we took on this research," Aspen murmurs. "Bruce, want to take over the controls of the ROV, give it a good look over? See if there are any markings or anything on it?" she asks. She moves over to another computer as she says, "Making sure all of this is recording. Want to make sure we have a record of this for... I don't even know who," she comments.

Aspen scratches at her head as she looks at the monitor. Spaceship. Do they call in someone? If they do is there any risk that her crew gets disappeared? You hear of that kind of stuff happening but do you ever really believe your own government would do that to its citizens? Her thoughts are lost in turmoil for the moment.

Hulk has posed:
    Bruce nods to June, and adds, "Yeah, possibly, but it is engineering I have never seen before." Bruce pauses, and shrugs at the looks he was getting. "What? I read. Magazines. With pictures." Bruce crosses his arms across his chest and sighs.

    That was when Aspen asks him to take over the ROV. "Um. Sure, I can do that. Seems easy enough." Bruce sits down at the console, and after a few seconds, gets the hang of the craft. "Let's see..." Bruce maneuvers the craft closer, making note of anything out of the ordinary in the "skin" of the craft.

    Moving past an area, Bruce suddenly stops, and says, "Wait. Go back..." Talking to the monitor and himself, he maneuvers the craft back to where he had seen it. "...there." Bruce points at the monitor, at what looks like a faint outline. "That has to be an external hatch or airlock. It is right where I would put one." Looking up at June and Aspen, he he smiles. "Fascinating."

June Connor has posed:
    "Yeah, if its government shit," June considers, squinting a little at the screen, "then you know we gotta take it to the press first, cuz fuck'em if they are screwing up the ocean. Gotta get that public before they know you have it or they come and lock you away and make you their next test subject. Then you end up like whoever that poor shit is that turns into the Hulk." She makes a crude motion indicating her thumb at her rear. "Right? Or you end up like Steve Rogers, so, I mean, it's rollin' the dice from there."

    She wasn't focusing well on the screen until Bruce's self comment. "Damn, see, it can't be aliens, Bruce," she says, slapping him on the back. "Aliens have like liquid doors and shit." She has seen enough sci-fi that she knows these things.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen moves back over to note the entry point that Bruce has found. "Looks kind of similar to what we use. The collar on the bottom of our diving bell would probably even work with it," she muses.

Aspen looks at the screen for a moment and says, "Bruce, stabilize the ROV, it's drifting, use the auto-control..." she starts to say, then notices the instrumention. "No, it's not the ROV, you do have it motionless. Look the ship it's kind of... in a really really slow spin." She takes a piece of paper, holding it up against the monitor along an edge of the ship's image. After about 15 seconds, it's apparent the ship is slowly turning as if adrift.

"Why wouldn't they-" Aspen manages to say, before things get REALLY weird then.

Crackles of magenta energy seem to ripple along the ship's hull in the monitor. They travel towards the front. Aspen punches a key to turn the ROV, showing the front of the spacecraft. The energy doesn't so much shoot out as arcs uncontrollably like lightning. A good distance from the ship, it outlines what looks like a jagged gash in the water. Some of the electronics on board flicker before coming back fully.

As they watch the monitor, they can see a school of groupers that were near that jagged fissure of energy when it formed. They are pulled towards it, faster and faster though they try to swim away, before finally they reach it and disappear from sight.

"Holy shit!"

It wasn't June who cursed that time.

Hulk has posed:
    Bruce looks up at the mention of the Hulk, blinks, and keeps his head down lower in front of his monitor. That hit close to home, and hopefully no one notices his wince at the mention of the Big Green Guy. "Steve Rogers? Right. Captain America. I don't want to be stuck in the ocean for 50 years that's for sure."

    The slap on his back makes him wince again, and he says, "Ouch. Perhaps. Some probably do have liquid doors. Who's to say those doors aren't liquid and are made to appear like the ship?" Bruce looks up at June and smiles.

    Turning his attention back at the screen, Bruce adds, "Huh. True. The ship is moving, a slow spin...about 0.05 mph. Slow. You are probably right." Bruce points to the lower edge of the "ship". "We could probably edge it there, and attach to it. Perhaps with a little jury-rigging pressure the area so we can get a seal."

    That was when things DID get weird. "What the...?" Bruce watches as Aspen "punches the key" and looks around when everything flickers. "Now that was an extraordinary electro-magnetic pulse...and those fish...pulled into something. Perhaps a side effect of their drive, whatever it is. Either trans-spatial or a trans-dimensional portal." Bruce looks at June. "Now that technology isn't Terrestrial."

June Connor has posed:
    June goes a little slackjawed, staring at the screen. "No...um, no," she agrees with Bruce. "Never seen something like that." She walks back over to the monitoring equipment. "Was that...surely that's not what is shifting the ocean currents, its it?" She brings up the live monitor to look. "That's nuts. Like, purple lightning, since when is lightning purple!?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen stands staring at the screens. "That... I mean think about it, it makes sense," Aspen says as her mind tries to work out the physics on a high level. "If the water is disappearing in there... a large enough volume and rate? It's like pulling a plug in a bathtub. We've been seeing currents shift to fill the void. And if it's not on all the time, that explains why it's faster and then slows and disappears. But then it comes back on and it starts up again. That explains the weirdness in the data," Aspen says.

She goes over to check other equipment on the ship. "The ship... the spaceship... it's drifting toward the spot. But it's pretty far away still. Miles. Any sign of the ship trying to stabilize itself? You'd think someone on board would at least keep it steady," she asks.

And just as suddenly as it started, the phenomena ends. The dimensional rift maintains itself for a little bit once the energy stops flowing to it, and then seems to compress and disappear.

Hulk has posed:
    "Nope." Bruce agrees with June. "As for the currents, possibly. The power required would be massive. 10 to the 15th power joules, I would think." Bruce hrms. "Just spitballing off the top of my head. Still, massive. And the lightning looks purple because of salination of the water and the depth, plus the camera interpreted it as purple." As though that was enough explanation. Questions raises more questions.

    Bruce's eyes regard Aspen thoughtfully for a second, as she explains what he was thinking, but a lot better than he could have. "Exactly. The data is skewed one way though. Unless we could get closer, we would have no way of knowing what that is exactly." Bruce motions towards the screen.

    "It doesn't look like it. No one must be home, and she is staying pretty steady in her rotation. No attempt to stabilize itself. Perhaps that is just the way it should be? Wait...it's gone. Huh." Bruce stares at the screen, and the scrolling data.

June Connor has posed:
    "So..." June seems to hesitate, turning back around from the sensors. "We aren't really serious when we say 'Spaceship' are we?" She looks a little uncomfortable with the concept of aliens. "Like, we're just bein' coy and all. Right?" She glances to Aspen, then to Bruce, then back to Aspen again.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen gives Bruce a considering look as he pulls out the answer of the magenta color. One that Aspen wasn't herself able to come up with, but that once he explained it, completely made sense to the woman and got a nod of agreement.

Aspen is distracted from her thoughts by June's question. "I don't know. I mean, it could be an airplane, but most have wings to help give them lift. This looks more like a rocket. And the shape, you wouldn't pick that for a craft primarily intended to operate underwater, and powered by engines that big," Aspen notes as she looks at the monitor.

"So, possibly no one home. And that... thing... rift, what'd you call it? Trans-spatial or trans-dimensional, there's evidence it keeps opening and closing. And the ship is drifting nearer to it. In time it'll get sucked in, at the rate it was being drawn nearer," Aspen says. She gives a deep frown.

"What happens if it's sucked through while it's open? I'd hope it would close without the ship, but what if it stayed open? It could drawn 400-500 feet of water from every ocean around the world. It could be catastrophic. We need to do something," she says, looking around to see if they agree. "We can send off footage of what we've found. But... oh God. I think we need to go down there ourselves, there may not be time to wait for anyone else to arrive."

Hulk has posed:
    "No June, more like "Space-Water" craft." Bruce smiles. "Actually, I am not sure. It could be either/or. One does not preclude the other. Both environments require the ship to be able to withstand pressures and hostile exteriors." Bruce shrugs, and returns to the data.

    Looking over at Aspen, Bruce nods, and considers her words for a moment. "You are right. Based on speed of the ship and location of the rift, I'd give it approximately 17 minutes? Give or take a second?" Bruce shrugs as Aspen continues. "Now that is very true. I don't think we have time to call in the Avengers, JL, or SHIELD. You are right...I think we send off the footage, but we have to get down there ourselves and see if we can fix this." A pause. "I can stay up here and monitor?"

June Connor has posed:
    June looks back at the screen. "S'no fuckin' rocket, Aspen," she disagrees. She seems a little too taken back by this idea to find the humor in Bruce's joke. "Go down there like... in the water? We'll get sucked in that thing and be fucked. Are you kidding me?" she asks. She only learned to swim properly during the training. She's hardly as expert a swimmer as Aspen, and this is out in the deep ocean.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen frowns at Bruce's estimate. "So that rift thing was open for..." Aspen says, going over and playing back the video. "Nine minutes. So, it might survive two of them. If they stay open that long. We have no idea though if that was normal, short or long. Or even why they are opening. Nor, how long it will be until another one opens."

Aspen goes over and opens up a closet where a gun safe is at. She unlocks it and pulls out a couple of shot guns. "Well, I'm going down. If either of you would rather not, it's fine to stay here and monitor matters. We may not even know, inside the ship, if the rift is back open."

She goes over to a computer, typing fast. "I'll zip up the data and start transmitting it, to make sure there's a record. And sending a separate alert to SHIELD," she says, doing that while Bruce and June decide if either of them is coming.

Hulk has posed:
    "She has a good point, Aspen." Bruce says with a smile. "It would be dangerous and crazy to go down there. However, I can't come up with a better solution, honestly. The math says you are right, and this could get ugly, fast." Bruce looks at the clock. "In like 16 minutes or so." A gentle reminder of the time. "How long would it take to get down there and do all this?"

    Watching as Aspen goes about her business, Bruce sighs, and shakes his head. "I knew this mission wasn't going to be cut and dry." A wet joke. Nice. "I can't let you go alone, Aspen. I will come with you. It is at least a two person job, and you will need someone to watch your back, especially considering we have no idea who or what is in that ship." Bruce stands, packs a few things quickly, and moves to stand with Aspen.

June Connor has posed:
    June looks between Bruce and Aspen, folding her arms. "Well, fuck," she says, shaking her head in annoyance. "I'm not gonna be the pussy. "I guess we better hurry up then," she comments, So it doesn't blow up the ocean or whatever the hell we're scared of." Math. Science, bah.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen passes out weapons. After the attempted theft and sabotage before they left shore, she picked up a few extra shotguns for the boat, so each person has one. The diving bell is pretty basic. An enclosed sphere that can be lowered from the ship, and has a collar on the bottom where it can be sealed to another ship underwater for entry. Designed for submarines, it looks from the video like what they have may work with the craft's airlock.

Aspen handles most of the controls, this not being something they were expecting to need on this survey mission, so she hadn't gone over it in anything but the briefest detail. However as they start their descent, Aspen is giving them a tutorial, explaining everything as she does it.

"And so on the way back up, this is what we'll use to make sure we're rising slowly enough our bodies de-gas. That whole 'bends' thing," she says. Aspen looks over to Bruce. "So... you showed some real science knowledge up there. More than most deckhands I've encountered," Aspen comments to him curiously. He recognized the cause of the coloring of the alien energy had to do with the ocean salinity before she did, amongst other things.

Hulk has posed:
    Bruce Banner was doing something that he didn't think was a good idea. Adding stress to his life when he has been so good with dealing with it. After all, stress-rage-green. Looking around, Bruce appreciates the speed with which this was all put together, and after a bit of moving here and there to set everything as best he could, Bruce straps himself in.

    "Under the deep, blue sea. Perfect." Waving "no" for the weapon offered, Bruce hums to himself. Frowning Bruce tries not to think about what was going to happen next, deciding to take some deep breaths, and let them out softly as Aspen explains "the bends".

    Realising Aspen was talking to him, Bruce says, "Yes. I have a bit of training. Mostly in Physics, but in a few other areas. I must have gotten lucky at guessing that." A weak smile reveals he was not that great at "telling stories".

Fathom has posed:
Aspen view Bruce's explanation with an openly specious eye. "Well. If you see any other opportunities where you might get lucky? Your help is more than welcome," the young woman tells him, flashing a smile over to the physicist-turned-deckhand.

Aspen has switched into a wetsuit, and offered one to Bruce as well. Explaining the water will be colder down there, should things go horribly wrong and they end up in the water. She also reminds him about air expanding as you rise, so exhale slowly so your lungs don't burst if they do end up swimming for the surface. It won't be tough to detect in her voice that she doesn't think they'd make it anyway, should that happen.

Eventually they reach the submerged vessel. Aspen turns on the lights and moves along it. "Why don't you take the spot at the window there, see if you can make out any new, or helpful details?" she asks. Aspen's eyes are on the monitor, which includes the cameras and a display showing the range based on quiet sonar pings. She's moving the diving bell along the vessel, bringing it over towards the air lock.

Hulk has posed:
    "I will keep that under advisment as we descend into a Jules Verne novel..." Taking another deep breath, Bruce swallows, and looks around the cramped space, and tries to keep his pulse and heart rate under control. When offered the wetsuit, Bruce hesitates, and then relents, putting it on with no shame at all.

    Taking the proferred spot, Bruce moves and looks out the window. "Not sure what I can do, but I will try." His eyes adjust to the gloom, as they get closer and closer. "I don't see anything that would be a defensive system, but beware, just in case..."

Fathom has posed:
The air lock comes into view. With the ship's current slight roll so it isn't horizontal, it's sort of askew in orientation. "Ok, there's handles all over in here. I'm going to turn us to match up with their hull and try to get a lock on. If you see anything bad, just call out," Aspen says.

She motions to a handle. "When the light here turns green, go ahead and pull that and it'll initiate the seal," she says.

Aspen wipes sweat from her forehead. The tension is starting to mount for her at least. Hopefully not for Bruce, though she has no idea the consequences if it should. She begins guiding the diving bell in. Turning it so the floor ends up at about a 15 degree angle to match the ship. And gradually bringing it closer.

Hulk has posed:
    Bruce listens and nods, as Aspen does a helluva job being in charge. "Ready when you are." Bruce grabs the handle, and says, "Okay. Once more unto the breech..." A weak smile escapes Bruce's visage. "Seems like I can't avoid these little stressful encounters, even when taking an "easy" job." A soft chuckle is followed by a firm grip.

    The ship makes contact, with a touch of turbulence. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then, the light goes green, a slight bump, and a hiss, as Bruce pulls the switch. "Done!" Now all was left was to board.

Fathom has posed:
"If anything about this encounter is reminiscent of past ones for you..." Aspen comments, "then a) I'm glad you're along, and b) I think I need to buy you a beer after this and hear some stories." The young woman double checks everything. She goes over the most pertinent controls one last time with Bruce. Because if she gets some alien face-sucker on her that kills her, she doesn't want him stuck down here.

Or that's probably her reasoning. She's seen Alien too many times.

"Ok," she says, getting her shotgun and checking that it's loaded. Checks a fanny pack about her waist for extra shells. "This would be a really great time to have some SHIELD or Stark tech scanners for air quality. But we're just going to have to... take a breath and see," she says. She moves over to spin the wheel sealing off the exit, and opens it up. "Good seal," she says. "See if you can figure out how to open it from this side?" she asks, having the feeling he might somehow be more suited for it than she.

Hulk has posed:
    "I would be all for that Aspen." Bruce says with a smile as he releases the handle. "I am sure we both have some stories to tell." His eyes are on the prize though, as he doesn't let the banter distract him. Adjusting his suit slightly so it wasn't "riding up" Bruce prepares himself for the next steps.

    "It would be, yeah." Bruce agrees. "But Stark and SHIELD aren't here, so guess it's a hope for the best scenario." Looking at what she was doing, Bruce says. "Copy that. Ready?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen nods her head. Then says, "Oh wait! Jesus I forgot," she says. She digs in one of the bags she brought along, some technical equipment, food, medical supplies, just in case. "Here, communications," she says, passing over a headset to him. It's so not up to Avenger's standards. Looking more like something a telemarketer would be given to use. But far higher quality at least even if it doesn't look sexy. "Designed for communications down here. Hopefully it makes it through their hull too, if so June can hear us," she says.

Once that is taken care of, Aspen nods. "Ok, ready now," she says. Gun on safety. Deep breath. That's what they probably teach at SHIELD before entering alien craft. Or would that be SWORD? Whichever. "Ready."

Hulk has posed:
    Putting on the headset, Bruce taps it, and tests it. "Testing, one two. Sounds good to me." Bruce steps behind Aspen, and says, "After you! Ready!" Bruce's eyes adjust to the gloom as the lights dim. It was interesting being under the water. Maybe he should have given Namor a hollar?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen looks around the outside of the airlock. "Well, there's a handle. Which at least means... they have something handlike. As opposed to a tiny hole they slide tentacle inside to manipulate... ok I'm going to freak myself out if I keep thinking about different alien anatomical options," Aspen says.

"Handle," she repeats. And squints and leans back away from it like being another few inches away would be any help should something go wrong, as she works the handle. Turning it causes a section of the hull to retract and slide sideways. There's a puff of air from inside, the pressurization different. Aspen sniffs. "Well, nothing making us pass out at least. Though it smells a little like... ah, a vodka tonic?" she says. "What would that be, ethyl formate maybe?" she says.

She steps down into the airlock. There's a second door inside, and more controls beside it. No sign of little green men though.

Hulk has posed:
    Looking at what Aspen was referring to, Bruce can do nothing but nod, smile, and say, "True. Bipedal then. Should be easy to get around then." When the door was released, Bruce sniffs, and says, "AN accurate assessment I think. I wouldn't have thought of vodka tonic, but I am good to go with describiing that in any logs we write."

    Stepping into the next area, Bruce follows Aspen and adds, "It is a heavy naCl level to the air though. It could be a different atmosphere, but it seems to be similar. Maybe they aren't entirely oxygen-nitrogen breathers?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen nods her head and bites her lip. "I'm wondering if there would be something besides carbon-based life that that would make sense for. They could still be carbon-based as well, though, and also use other elements."

She glances at the door they came through and sighs. "Alright, well, we'll find out about their atmosphere in a moment. If we can't breathe, we seal the inside and reopen the outside. Though, here's a small spare-air. Will last for a good minute," she says, pulling one out of her pouch and passing it over to him. Just a little tube with a fitting on it like scuba mouthgear.

"Ok, here we go." She works the inside controls and the outside door closes. More of the sweet, fruity smell fills the airlock as the alien atmosphere fills it. Aspen draws a breath. "Not asphyxiating," she says encouragingly.

The inside door opens up once the atmosphere is equalized. Inside a hallway runs off to the right and left. Right towards the front of the ship and what looked like a command deck, left towards the back and the engines. The ship's tilt makes the hallways a little awkward to walk, but doable. Aspen peeks around a corner. "No signs of anyone. Some lights are flickering," she says, pointing towards the front. There is illumination in the ceiling, but some of them are indeed going on and off.

Hulk has posed:
    "Water breathers perhaps?" Bruce suggests, when that line of reasoning was traveling at full speed into the realm of possibility. The atmosphere in the other ship was...almost normal. "Huh." Bruce says, and moves inside. Looking left and right, he takes in what he can see, and immediately begins to consider the engineering layout of the ship.

    "So." A pause, as he absorbs what Aspen was also thinking. "Flickering lights...we need to do this quick. I would guess that left would be the most likely place for "engineering"." Air quotes trademarked. "As for the right, that would be the way to the bridge? I am guessing here of course. Who knows?"

Fathom has posed:
The young woman gives a quick nod. "I guess the bridge would probably be the place to start? Whether to make contact, or to try to make sure the... thing... is shut down. Or move the ship?" Aspen suggests.

She looks down the hallway that direction. "So... right. To the right?" If Bruce seems to think so she starts walking carefully that direction. The shotgun braced against her shoulder, but kept pointed down at the floor. Up ahead there are doorways on both sides of the hall. One is completely open. The other has a door which looks like it slides into the wall, and is only half open.

Hulk has posed:
    Bruce hesitates for a few seconds, before nodding in agreement. "Okay. Engineering, best place to sabotauge. However, the bridge is the best way to gain control and do what we need to do. As long as we can understand the language of what we would find there. I'm willing to toss the dice, Captain." Bruce says to Aspen.

    "Bridge it is?" Bruce waves towards that direction, and smiles. "Ladies before gentlemen." Bruce stands straight, but behind the woman with the weapons. "STrange we haven't encountered anyone. Perhaps they are all dead...or gone?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen gives a quick nod at the mention of lack of crew. "The fact it is drifting, you'd think they'd at least want the floor level. Not to mention drifting towards the rift when it opens. So either... no ability to do so, or no one to run the controls?" Aspen opines.

"Though you'd think they have power if the rift is opening from here. Assuming... that runs off the same power as the ship. Which I have -no- clue on. This is so beyond me," the marine biologist says. She goes up to the open doorway, standing beside it. "By the way.... should I die down here, I just wanted to say... I didn't blood dope at the Olympics," she tells Bruce.

She peeks around the corner then. "Looks like maybe a mess hall. And a couple of... bodies I think," she says, pulling back and motioning for Bruce to look.

Hulk has posed:
    Listening, and nodding, Bruce peeks around the corner, and then creeps closer to the bodies. Taking a moment to kneel, he quickly looks over the bodies, and frowns, as his PhD comes into effect. "Relatively humanoid. Perhaps some differences, but hard to tell without doing an autopsy." Pointing at a few indicators, like ears and was that gills? Bruce says, "Not human, but they could easily pass as being from Earth if they were walking beside you and me. Fascinating."

    Pale skin, nearly indentacle to pink skinned Atlanteans...distracted a bit, Bruce almost forgets the timeline they were working in. "I wonder what killed them." Standing, Bruce says, "We better get to the bridge, and stop this whole thing from becoming catastrophic!" Was the floor vibrating? Or was he seasick?

Fathom has posed:
Aspen follows Bruce in, the shotgun lifted just a little higher than it had hang towards the floor. Covering Bruce as he examines the bodies. She moves closer in then when they don't appear to be about reach up and grab him.

Aspen crouches down, looking at them, and feeling their skin. "Tiny ridges on their skin. Helps with turbulence underwater. Some marine species have them," she says. "Though the ship isn't filled with liquid, so maybe some kind of amphibious species then?"

She straightens up, looking at where their bodies are. "This one is slumped over the table. This one might have been sitting before... he.. she?.. fell. So more like they collapsed gradually, not a struggle or something," she comments.

She looks around the room and then heads back towards the hall. She peeks into the room with the half-open doorway. "I'm going to guess this might be a med bay of some sort. Another... six, seven... eight bodies in here," she says. "All of the beds filled, and two more on the floor."

Hulk has posed:
    Following behind, Bruce nods as Aspen speaks, agreeing with her assessment, and frowning at the loss of life. "Something happened here that caused all these deaths. Was it the affect of travel? This whole "wormhole" affect we are seeing outside? Or something more sinister. I don't know. Maybe they asphyxiated on the oxygen? Or something in our ocean/atmosphere? I don't think it was an Orson Wells thing, but who knows?"

    Finally reaching the bridge, Bruce looks around, and hopes they can undo this situation pronto or things may get a whole lot worse for them...and the planet. "Okay. ALl of this...do you makje heads or tails of all of this Captain?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen scratches her head as they reach the bridge and figure out how to get the door open. Within? More bodies, though these are mostly in chairs, as if the aliens died at their posts. View screens are mostly showing crazy patterns or static, though one looks like it might be showing a view of the water outside, as a school of fish can be seen swimming.

Various spots on their control panels are lit up. Aspen moves over to one and glances at it. "Well, unlike Star Trek, they label their buttons. But, doesn't look like any language I know," she says.

Along the walls in the front right and left on each side are three vertical tubes with white ovals in the front. As they stand looking at the bridge, something moves against one of the ovals, like the white part is a door that is partially see through, and something is moving inside.

Hulk has posed:
    Looking at all the bodies, Bruce gets a sad, but tired expression on his face. Moving to stand near Aspen, Bruce chuckles and says, "Star Trek...right." Peering at the language, Bruce shrugs, and says, "I don't have any clue as well. Not something I've ever seen."

    Digging deep within his friendship with Namor, and spotting the movement, Bruce randomly picks something he has heard before. In Atlantean, he loudly calls out a greeting, "Friend, well met, and calm seas be yours." Or what he hopes was a greeting.

    Whispering to Aspen, Bruce says, "I have no idea if that was right, but what the hell? Can't hurt..."

Fathom has posed:
Aspen tells Bruce, "I could try saying something in Spanish, but would probably be about where is the library, or do they have red shoes," she tells him. Because something about zapatos rojos just really stuck in her head from 9th grade Spanish.

There is a soft thumping, something knocking on the inside of the cylinder. "Oh I just know this is when the face-sucker comes out," Aspen says as she moves slowly over towards it. Almost creeping. Which makes no sense since they already called out to let it know they were there.

Aspen looks at the control panel beside it. "Well this symbol was near the lever at the airlock. I... think." She hits it, and the white panel retracts and one of the aliens that was leaning against it falls through the resulting opening. Eyes are open, but fluttering. Different looking pupils than ours, more angular than round.

Hulk has posed:
    "That works too. " Bruce says, and maneuvers closer to, waht he thinks are the engine controls. "Well, if they use colours like we do, these three red flashing lights must be a bad thing right?" Tapping one of the buttons beside the three lights made a fourth light flash, and the ship start to noticeably vibrate.

    "Um. That rift we were talking about...I think I might have just opened it." Using that big brain of his, Bruce tries to think, but he could feel it. The adrenalin, and his heart beating faster. Taking several deep breaths, Bruce says, "Okay. Stress is bad. We need to make a decision here quick, or I think we're going to be in a bad way..."

    Looking at the display Bruce takes a guess. "Okay. This blue button here...could be the button we want to push, or this green button here, is what makes it worse. Or vice versa. Your choice." Bruce looks at Aspen and adds, "50/50."

Fathom has posed:
Aspen leans down to the alien, who seems to be trying to say something, though it's like no language she's familiar with. The hand that points towards the console by Bruce is understood though.

And that one working display screen? Big purple rift showing on it now. The school of fish in the area get sucked through in no time flat. Aspen sets down the shotgun, picking up the sick alien. His skin shows spots on it. Almost like radiation sickness. Some of the others in the bridge have it too.

Aspen carries him, half-dragging him over to the console. She points at the screen, showing the rift. Then towards the control panel and looks at the alien.

"How... do... we... shut... it... down?" she asks. Speaking slowly. Because that helps aliens understand you better. The alien reaches out, hand wobbly as he points clearly to a different button than the four Banner was considering. This one is big and blue and beneath a plastic cover. The alien reaches to a flat, clear part of the console, resting his finger there, and the cover over the button slides back.

"This must be it?" Aspen says. She looks up at Bruce, the soft violet eyes shining at him warmly as they are about to save the world. Or the oceans at least. She reaches out and pushes the button.



Underwater explosions are tremendous to see. First blowing outwards, then the pressure crushing everything back together in a burst of lights, debris and bubbles.

Hulk has posed:
    Everything happens at once after Aspen's attempt to have the alien help them. The creature nods towards the button. Aspen presses it. The self destruct! Then, Bruce Banner feels the stress get to him. The oncoming tide, so to speak, as the ship begins to crawl inexoribly towards its end.

    Bruce Banner's eyes start to glow, a deep, emerald green. Looking at Aspen, his hand reaches out to her, but it slowly turns green, and gets bigger in leaps and bounds. A cry of anger and rage pierces the deck, as the self destruct begins its beat to the end.

    The last remnants of Bruce Banner sends a message to the Hulk, who appears in all his emerald power and rage! "Grrrraaarhhh." As the ship begins to end it's life around them, Hulk tries to find "Sea-Lady-Captain-Pretty", the picture of Aspen deep in his mind. "Must rescue..." As the explosion hits, the Hulk leaps surface-ward, his strength taking him towards the surface, away from the explosion. The bends have little effect on him, as he crests the surface, and looks around, sad for a brief moment that Aspen was gone. "Why Hulk here? Must go home..." As the Hulk swims towards the shore, one picture remains in his mind - Aspen.

Fathom has posed:
Far beneath the waves, the ocean returns to its normal quiet and peaceful state. The remains of the alien ship sink into the depths. The interdimensional rift closes when the energy fueling it is gone.

Gradually a dozen figures fade into view. Torsos very humanoid, but their lower bodies fade away, flesh making a gradual transition to bubbles and water. Two of them hold Aspen in their arms, her body in the same state.

One, larger than the rest, glides through the water with his hair flowing behind him, to look at the young woman who has lived amongst the humans for so many years. "Finally you have returned to us," Killian says. "And now my plans can proceed."

One by one the figures fade away again until there is only the dark waters of the ocean depths left behind.