ic Defenders of the Deep

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

That was satisfying...gloriously satisfying! And here was the conflict in the Sergeants brain. The military man, disciplined and professional, and the mutated part of his brain, deep in the limbic system, that abided no such hypocracy. It was this primitive area, linked to his olfactory system, then came alive with the pleasure of blood. The taste!

 

He gorged himself on the smell, for it was joyous, and distracted him from what he thought was the hideous allure of the Sea Devils scent. What a disgusting creature...but the smell! THE SMELL!

 

It must be pheromones, said his cortex. But the pleasure centres of his primitive brain lit up like a christmas tree. 

 

He did not trust himself to speak. Something odd might come out. Instead, he clamped his jaw tight and swam down, trying not to get too close to the pleasure incarnate that was Sea Devil. 

[TheAbsurdist]

Fortunately the comm was purposed to talk underwater, otherwise...  Well he didn't didn't speak sealife.  Which, fortunately was taken up by his slack.  He had no reservations about them, sure AEGIS make him askance, but generally whoever they paired him with were fine.  "Good job everyone."  The crackling corona was till around him, and he moved in close to the other two, flanking them slightly to provide protection from behind, as needed.

Fortunately Sea Devil was an easy lead to follow.  Loud, glows.  Though he was steeling himself to jump in front of some big alien energy cannon.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

They were getting closer, now. They could all see it, and Sea Devil and Sgt. Shark could feel it. Like a drum at the back of their heads. They could see it up ahead. The remains of the drill that had breached the ocean floor to find the spaceship beneath. It was broken, in small pieces now, and from the hole came the most beautiful colors. They shifted, they changed. Blending from blue to purple to red to orange to yellow to green and back, and everything in between. 

 

The crack in the ocean floor was wide. The light seemed to seep out, flowing out of the water, upwards. The ocean life around the crack seemed unnaturally still, unmoving. 

 

And only Asad did not feel like, the drum at the back of the head.

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

Sgt. Shark felt the thrum at the back of his head. He felt it light up his primitive brain. His teeth itched ferociously, his claws twitched doubly so. All he could think about was blood, blood...BLOOD!

 

I must have BLOOD!

 

Something, almost beyond his awareness was directing him, guiding him. Telling him that they must not reach the lights. But he could barely register such complex thoughts when he had succumbed totally to his primitive mutated self. All he could do was rend, bite, and feed. And mixed up in this strange and powerful fury was his olfactory centre, which had been alight ever since he smelled the Sea Devil. Ah, lust is a strange and mercurial thing. For now all he wanted to do was feast on her!

 

And feast I shall!

 

He swam towards her, maw open wide, ready to clamp down on the delicious and disgusting flesh!

[TheAbsurdist]

Asad would have cussed, loudly, but he was a little bit occupied, as things went weird.  Watching Shark lunge at Sea Devil, he threw himself at him, though not in time.  But he could get his arms around the mutated soldier, and then he could bring his strength to bear against him.  Trying to restrain him from attacking Sea Devil, rather not wanting Shark to tear into her like she was tuna in a can.  Which she clearly wasn't.  "So... is this normal for you buddy?  Or do I need to express a measure of genre savvy and assume the aliens can control normal sharks and you too?  Listen, I've been there, though last time it was a vampire so..."  He grunted a bit, as wrasslin' a super strong sharkman underwater was trickier than he thought.  Or precisely as tricky as it was going to be.

He could talk to him, even if he might not be listening to Asad at the moment.  Still, improvement over dealing with straight up sharks.  Right?

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

It certainly was not normal. Sgt Shark was hardly aware of himself. He was consumed by blood lost and erotic smells. 

 

This was his environment, where he was fast and slippery. Perhaps though, he was not paying attention to the finer details of wrestling, where cunning and planning came into play. And as strong as he was, Asad was stronger. Perhaps, if his brain and ego were still intact, he might have been vexed at Asad getting a hand on him. 

 

"LET GO OF ME! DO NOT APPROACH THE LIGHTS!" he bellowed into the waters. 

 

Where that came from he did not know. 

 

"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!" he bellowed again. 

 

That, he did. From the inflamed centre of his brain which had taken over the steering wheel. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Yes, Aquaria had been thinking, drive the Surface-Men from your waters and - her hand tightened around her trident with a sudden convulsion of muscular energy, hard enough that she'd have cracked a Surface-Man's bones if she'd been gripping him ...no! No! She shook inside her armor and closed her eyes, opening her senses to the waters around her. Did they think to handicap her by taking her eyes? She could see much with them but she was of the blood of Dagon and Hydra and her eyes were one of many ways she could see.

 

She heard the song of the sea, smelled and tasted it - and realized abruptly she was under attack! Oh no! They have him! She heard and felt Sgt. Shark's teeth slide off her armor and bellowed inside hers. "I already have gods!" She raised her trident, glowing with an unwholesome darkness, and aimed it at the crack in the ocean floor. "Let me show you their power!" She wasn't put off by Sgt. Shark's display - males at times lost control of themselves during the mating season. But a wise female knew how to show a male her true power.

 

At the top of her gigantic lungs, she sang, "Ia! Ia! THIS IS THE FATHER'S OCEAN!" And something remarkable happened - Asad had the impression of something erupting past him and bursting towards the crack in the ocean floor, a sudden rumbling torrent of cold, high-pressure water from the very depths of an abyssal trench firing out of the trident's head and blasting its way downward. 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The shark in the sergeant continued its struggle. It wanted blood, and it wanted to protect the light from the crack. There was something down there, something that the surface dwellers should not reach. He was not sure what, and he didn't particularly care, but he would continue to defend it.

 

The high pressure water had an affect, albeit brief. The light flickered for a moment. And perhaps, that moment would be what Sgt. Shark needed to break free. Obviously, the Sea Devil's torrent of high pressure water had hit something! But what exactly, remained to be seen.

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

The Sergeant snapped his jaws in frustration, as if trying to chomp down on the ocean itself. He could still taste and smell the blood of the shark he had ripped apart. It was driving him bezerk.

 

"ILL TASTE YOUR FLESH! ILL DEVOUR YOUR GUSSETS! ILL LICK YOUR GIBBONS!" he snarled at the universe. He had no idea what gussets or gibbons were, but he wasn't thinking clearly. He could vaguely imagine some bubbling pulsating vital organs fully of juicy nutrients. But he had never studied anatomy bar basic life support required in the military. 

 

He put his ferocious strength towards breaking free of Asad's grip, squirming and struggling with his slippery body...

 

 

[TheAbsurdist]

Normally the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, financier hero might be crowing about how he was taking BJJ, as taught by famous guys, who taught famous MMA guys.  But, it looked like mind control, or inner sharkness kinda jumped out.  Which, if that was the case, why the hell did AEGIS nab up this guy?  Do they not understand cost-benefit statements and analysis?  Seriously!  Staffed by idiots!

Still it was no simple thing, as Shark knew how to fight.  So it was a struggle, but Asad had greater strength, so he just leaned into that to stop from breaking his grasp.  Especially considering that he seemed intent on eating the other person.  So he waited as the guy thrashed about and snarled, and basically was an animal until he was in a good position, because all of his self-guided training didn't account for fighting underwater.  So he snapped up his arms, and trapped Shark's, putting him into a full nelson.  "Listen, I know this doesn't necessarily help, but calm down!"

[Avenger Assembled]

When attacking those Below didn't work, Sea Devil changed strategy. She fastened her trident to the back of her armor and swam in a few powerful strokes to where Asad and Sgt. Shark were wrestling. She studied the blood madness in the latter's eyes and came to a decision. "Do not be afraid!" she croaked firmly to Asad before focusing her attention again on Sgt. Shark. Snapping open her helmet, she met his gaze with great eyes to black ones and then bared her teeth - great serrated and pointed things that if they weren't quite as impressive as Sgt. Shark's were certainly impressive in their own right. She growled deep in her massive throat, a bass rumble that resonated through the water, then opened her mouth wide in a noise that was once bellow and roar!  

 

Then she snapped her head forward to bite the tip of Sgt. Shark's snout, just enough to draw blood and leave a mark, and grabbed him by the side of the head, careful of a shark's rough skin - and positioned her face so it was the only thing Sgt. Shark could see. 

 

And then she ROARED again, a near subsonic rumble that probably carried for miles.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The Sea Devil knew what she was doing, and Sgt. Shark would slowly start coming to his senses once again. It was not all at once, but he would stop struggling against Asad and Sea Devil, and come to accept it, before finally letting go. Even as he and Aquaria looked at the light, it would no longer have an effect on them, for now at least. But still, he could feel it. The bloodlust was still in the back of his mind, the need to protect the source of the light, to keep all comers at bay. It was a notion now, not a push. Not something that he could not fight. It took no effort at all, actually. And there was something else: A quick glimpse, a machine, bathed in the strange changing lights. It was under water, seemingly grown as much as it had been built. Great, powerful, organic cables ran from it to the surroundings. And that was all he saw.

 

Another crisis averted, how would the trio continue their mission?

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

He might have been back in the driver's seat, but the engine was still running. His limbic system was in hyperdrive, his olfactory nerves alive. He twitched slightly. 

 

"I would not swim close" he said to Asad and Sea Devil, perhaps for different reasons. "I wish to bite your heads off" again, perhaps for different reasons. 

 

"It will pass" he explained from experience, his claws clenching and unclenching, his jaw clamped shut with pulsating muscles, his eyes beyond black. "But not quickly. For the next hour I will be more....violent...." he sad darkly. "Keep your eyes open, and vex me not!"

 

He looked down, more to focus his attention than anything else. 

 

"For now, this is what captures my...fury!" he said, quietly. "I do not like being manipulated...."

 

He swam down close, and it was all he could do to not bite into those cables...

[Avenger Assembled]

Sea Devil shuddered all over - then closed her helmet and swam down after Sgt. Shark, opening her eyes now that she was confident she too could resist the allure of the lights below. She didn't bandy words with Sgt. Shark; everything he'd said made sense and she could still taste his blood in her mouth. But the situation was serious, and they had a coast to save. So instead she opened her senses as they went, doing her best to hear the sounds and smells of the deep trench. She'd used the power of the gods here and perhaps done some damage - well good if they were enslaving passersby with their unholy science! 

[TheAbsurdist]

Released Sgt. Shark, rubbing at his wrists and turned away from Sea Devil and the other to look towards where presumably this had all come from.  His hand waving a bit dismissively, "They look to be able to influence certain orders of living things.  So I might be immune... or not."  It wasn't solid, but it was all he had.  He wasn't a scientist, or a great thinker outside of economic decisions.  But, thus far they'd mess with sharks, and he wasn't one, so... was there a better option?

"Just aim me, and grab onto me, and I can get us there fast."  He was trying to be careful, not really wanting to wrestle with the Sgt. and wasn't sure he could fend off both if whatever it was got into their heads, or... whatever bits of their heads it could influence.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

With Sgt. Shark leading the way into the trench through the crack in the ocean floor, he was the first to see it. A machine, but not the one he had seen in his vision. This appeared to be a tower of some kind, planted at the bottom of the trench. At the top was a wide disk, which seemed to be creating the ever shifting light, shining it up through the crack. The tower itself seemed to be pieced together from various bits of technology. Some seemed human. Parts of items salvaged from the crew that had woken up the aliens, perhaps? Other parts were clearly alien. Strange, coral-like structures, looking as much grown as built. On closer inspection, the disk at the top of the tower seemed to be made from the same coral-like material.

 

There was a long powerline running from the tower, leading further into the trench.

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

His brain still fizzing with fury, Sgt Shark tried to focus on the machinery. 

 

He didn't understand what he was seeing. Some Frankenstein mess of technology and life. 

 

He was too aroused to really think straight. He just kept clenching his jaw and clenching his fists. 

 

What was the mission again? Blood? Aliens? Blood? Aliens? BLOOD?

 

He waited for Asad and...her....hoping that they would be clearer headed than he was. Not a difficult task by any measure. He felt better than he had the minute before. But that wasn't good, considering how he had felt...

 

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Sea Devil considered for a moment, then decided that stealth was obviously out of the question now that they'd blasted the inside of the gorge. She decided to handle this as she would wild Atlanteans, tribespeople who could well be won to her side but could also be truly savage enemies. She took a deep inhalation of burning sea water and bellowed, "Behold! We have come among you!" She struck her trident against her armored palm, sending further noises echoing through the underwater space. She swam quickly for the top of the great tower, stopping by the side of the great disk at its top. "You bring war to the sea!" She struck the side of her trident against the great disk, then gestured to indicate her companions. "I am Hydra's champion, and this is a mighty son of the Reef, and this, a powerful Surface dweller!" She struck her trident now, point-first, right into the heart of the disk. "Turn back, or face our wrath!" 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Aquaria's declarion was bold, and though there were no response to her words as they echoed through the deep, the strike at the heart of the coral disk was another matter. The strike was strong, and the coral was weak. In a single strike, the disk shattered, and the strange light disappeared. Immediately, the entire trench was cast in darkness. The force of the blow sent, or maybe just the effect of the disk being shattered, sent shockwaves through the water, easily felt by all three heroes.

 

Ahead, in the direction that the that the cable had run, a series of lights began to approach, moving rapidly. The heroes would have mere moments to prepare.

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

The Sarge would have preferred a stealthy approach, but frankly, it was all he could do to contain himself right now. He clamped his jaws shut, feeling the powerful muscles tighten. 

 

Still, there was biting to be done, it seemed. 

 

"Take cover..." he hissed. 

 

He was sure they could take pretty much anything underwater. And certainly hand to hand. But over confidence was a flaw that had to be beaten out of every soldier. Besides, if these aliens could control minds, they might have any number of long range weapons that would give them an edge. 

 

"...they may start shooting!"

 

Oh how his brain was alive with smells and blood! He could barely think straight, let alone talking. He didn't know if he wanted to sniff the Sea Devil again, or if he really wanted to. Both options appealed and frightened. 

 

So he swam behind the nearest rock. For all the good it would do. 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

As the lights approached, it became easier to make out their number, and their origin. Six lights, moving on small robotic devices that seemed to be made out of the same mixture of corals and human technology. They were small and round, roughly the size of a soccer ball. They moved swiftly, leaving a stream of water behind, but they appeared to be alone. 

 

Their movement seemed far from random. They seemed to be actively exploring their surroundings, finally stopping when they cast their light on Asad and Sea Devil, all their attention drawn towards them, leaving Sgt. Shark free to act without being seen, for the moment at least.

[Avenger Assembled]

Sea Devil struck her trident against the floor a few times, sussing out whether or not these creatures were the masters of this place or mere servants. When they made no song the way living creatures would, she made her decision. "Asad, keep your distance," she croaked to him, voice sounding clear as a bell beneath the deep waters. When that was done, she focused on the robotic creatures bedeviling them. "Behold!" she declared again. "The might of our power!" 

 

She struck her trident against the ground and declared, "You have forgotten the embrace of your mother! Let me show you it!" And then something new happened - around Aquaria, the sea seemed to boil briefly and then out of nowhere there were tentacles, long suckered tentacles that erupted from everywhere around her and began grabbing onto everything they could reach. Walls, fish, robots, and dragging them somewhere else - someplace that had _teeth_. 

 

"You will sing at us!" Aquaria bellowed. "Pay attention!" 

 

 

[TheAbsurdist]

Asad started to move, before Sea Devil pushed forward, surging before him and then telling him to fall back.

Then came magic.  The kind that sent a shudder up his spine in the way that cold really couldn't.  The tentacles, and all of that, were not right.  Well... I could have gone through my life without seeing that.  This was spiraling out of control, and it was going to be a confrontation.  "Right... right."  And then he threw himself upwards, as he went from stillness to pushing harder than his full speed in the blink of the eye, as he just ignored the impact of the sudden increase of g's, and the pressure that was being generated at this depth, and he did a big arch over those tentacles, and the spheres and he headed right for that big cable.  If it was a power line, well he needed to introduce them to what he could do.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The remains of the tower, the spheres that had been sent to check on the destroyed disk, everything came tumbling down, pulled into the gaping maw of the other place. Really, the scene was quite horrific, as Aquaria had probably intended. With the tower being pulled in as well, the tentacles began pulling on the power line that Asad had begun to follow, until it finally snapped, not far from Asad's current location. It almost immediately began leaking rainbow colored lights into the water, which quickly seemed to be dissipating. If it was indeed a power line, it did not use any mundane power found on the Earth.

 

For a brief moment, there were no reaction to Sea Devil's boast, then, much further down the trench, in the direction of the thick cable, a warm light, shifting in hues from yellow to orange to red and back, began glowing. Warm colors. This light did not move, it seemed.

[Supercape]

Sgt Shark

 

The Sarge clenched his fists together so tightly he drew blood. Somehow, it helped him focus. 

 

Whatever tactical optimisation he had cobbled together seemed redundant. The Sea Devil...the delicious Sea Devil....seemed to have the matter more than under control. 

 

He swam back to the Sea Devil and Asad, fighting off the magnificent feelings that the smell of the Sea Devil evoked. 

 

"Robots...?" he queried. "What strange thing is this?" he said, swimming closer to them. They might not be flesh and bone, but ripping them apart would vent some of his rage. 

 

"I am an oceanologist and marine biologist. I don't understand this at all...."