Clint Barton (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
xp_hawkeye) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
xp_logs2023-12-06 12:45 pm
xp_hawkeye) wrote in xp_logs2023-12-06 12:45 pm
Laved by the Gulf and Ocean Grand | Trying to Reason with a Hurricane
The underwater team succeed in finding the outpost, however the situation’s not all’s well that ends well when Namor’s ideas don’t endear him to the local nymph.
For all of the promise of bosoms and legs and other metaphors, the ruins were exceedingly ruinous. Coated in centuries of swamp, corrosion, and the ever sprawling life that involved, Meggan and Alani were treated to nothing that they might not have seen in a thousand “where is Atlantis?” documentaries. It was an abundance of seaweed, broken pots, and the suggestion of structures that could have been a tribal village. The bones of history.
That is, until Namor graced the ruins with his presence.
As soon as the king passed from his conversation with the nymph and over some imperceptible boundary, power resonated through the entire tableau. It started as a prickling on the back of the neck, but each inch covered by the trident-wielding ruler intensified the feeling until the very water surrounding them resonated with a low hum.
Yet Namor’s gaze remained bored. Unimpressed.
Meggan was primarily disappointed for Namor’s sake that what they were now seeing now, what they had been brought to down here wasn’t teeming with life, perhaps behind some hidden doorway. It was sad that there were just broken piles of assorted pottery and small remnants littering the area to signify the end of what had sounded like a great civilization.
As she swam, she looked around, almost feeling like she shouldn’t touch anything. Like it wasn’t their place to do so, preserved just this much as it had been. As she neared something with seaweed clinging to it, she caught sight of something glowing beneath it. “Alani?” She called softly, directing her attention to where she was.
Alani followed Meggan's lead, curiosity getting the best of her, though she shot Namor one last look. The glow would take her breath away, were she breathing oxygen, instead bubbles flowed from her lips as she gasped, eyes brightening. “Oh wow.” Something about the runes were familiar, but the meanings were beyond her and short of asking Namor to translate everything, she could recognize that she was out of her depth. But she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Looking back to the other figures, she reigned her excitement back in and cocked her head at the nymph. "I don't suppose you come here often and might have any idea what we're looking for?"
Ibi took form again, features sharper in the ruins for all that she was mostly made of water and sand this far down. "I do not, youngling. Just that these ruins are of Atlantis, teeming with the creep of life and time." Her watery hands brushed through some of the sea growth, a gentle movement that had them swaying with the current the move created. "Unlike Ches, many of my problems are stopped by remaining closer to the surface."
Let's all take a moment to sit back and appreciate the tableau. A time displaced king, weapon in hand, poised over the first remnants of his domain. A somewhat shabby domain, brimming with forgotten power, that illuminated the murky darkness of a swamp with the promise of power, connection, revelation, and potential. That glow was intensifying — more runes appearing as the water was filled with the low rumble of a city brimming back to life. A literal rumble, it turns out, as several grime-encrusted doors were outlined with the blue hum of the self-same magic illuminating the suggestions of what might have been docks or temples. Similar runes were also beginning to alight on Namor's trident of office.
Then there were the king's two intrepid companions. Let's imagine that they were potentially marveling over ancient mysteries revealed. Closure for a coworker. The potential that maybe, once, said coworker would just go along with things and just keep his mouth shut.
They would be disappointed.
Namor turned an enraged gaze to the nature spirit, eyes shining with the vested remnant of power this place held. The spirit who was insulting the king's current paramour.
"We find you have forgotten fear, backwater."
With that pronouncement and a literal flash of murder in his eyes, Namor slammed down on all that building power and claimed it for his own ego. All of the runes and magic halted immediately, funneled into the Trident of Neptune, as Atlantis's avenging son drove the weapon into the silt and muck of the ruin in a violent rush. What had been steady rumbling and gentle unveiling now turned to cracking and shaking as all of the water was expelled dramatically from the surrounding area.
Meggan gave a small yelp at the sudden changes being cast into motion all around them. Oh, no, not again, was all that she could think in the first instant following Namor’s pronouncement. Mildly, she found herself hoping that somewhere unsuspecting in the region wasn’t flooding violently right about now, given how abrupt of an expulsion it all was.
“I don’t think anyone has forgotten it,” Meggan murmured as she inched closer to Alani. She didn’t dare to chide him for losing his temper if he was going all king of the ocean on them; it might make the situation worse. Although, really, she didn’t want to ever be one to speak for a being like Ibi. She would just be surprised if anyone didn’t find that display as startling as it was imposing.
Immediately the wonder vanished as Alani turned to Namor, brows furrowed and mouth opened to chide him. She couldn’t believe — well, yes part of her could, but that he would insult someone so close to what they were doing and who was helping them out of no obligation? "Namor, take it back" she hissed, fists clenching at her sides. At this point, she doubted platitudes would do anything to calm him, but looking to Ibi, she reeled herself back in to try and stop any disagreement that may be brewing. "He's spirited, and doesn't speak for our group as a whole."
Backwater? This... deposed prince, a man completely out of time and out of anything or anyone to rule dared call her backwater? In her own domain, where she had shared information with him and his compatriots as a friend??? And to use the remaining, weak power of the ruins against her?
Ibi disappeared with the tolling of a low, ringing bell, Atlantean ward shivering visibly against the water. As the surge of the spirit's powerful anger faded, the magic charging Namor's ward dissipated with a soft rush into the slurry of silt and muck. Around the trio remnants transformed, pottery exploding into a watery mess, arches crumbling, pillars cracking further under the pressure of the water as the magic that had held them up for millenia - even with the slow corrosion and creep of the world - disappeared entirely. The runes Alani had been so curious about blinked out in a flash as water flooded back into the area.
What was left around the three was darkness, and the ruins of a once great civilization.
Namor, still proud and poised at the end of his strike, turned a much changed gaze upon the remnants of the ruins. What had been rage and disgust was now... was that satisfaction coloring his features? Pride? Both? His shark-like features were cutting in the dark, and any expression was overshadowed by the remaining ice blue glow in his eyes and the fact that his sclera were now pitch black. Inhuman eyes on an inhuman face.
The thing that was both Namor and not growled, a low rumble of grief and rage satisfied, as he surveyed the damage done. "Imperious rex. As it should be."
Standing amid the broken pottery, Meggan was bothered more by Namor’s actions than by his appearance. She was grateful Ibi hadn’t squashed them like bugs in retaliation; she was stunned by how he had just cast the remnants of a long lost civilization aside. Even as damaged as it was, it should have been a thing worth preserving. Shouldn’t it?
At his last comment, she shook off the stunned speechlessness that had briefly settled in. “You really thought what was previously worth finding, worth saving should be demolished?” It felt like an outrageously terrible outcome to her, to willingly desecrate what should have been precious to him.
"No." It was practically hissed with vehemence, as Alani fixed him with a steely gaze, body shifting to place Meggan firmly behind her as she raised a finger to point at Namor. Tears of anger formed in her eyes as she opened her mouth, but this time nothing came out. There was a moment of silence, where she simply stared at him, face stony, before her hand fell again, blinking back the tears and instead turning to look for the entrance to the base. "But we have a mission to finish. So if you're done having your temper tantrum, we've still got things to do, your majesty."
"The past cannot be saved," was delivered in a flat tone that brimmed on its very edges with anger. "Do you think you understand me? Someone who has lost everything? This," and Namor gestured broadly with his weapon, "Is not my home. It is a memory. It is," and the anger was simmering over into frustration now, "dust."
"I," and there was a final flash as the blue light in his eyes ignited before draining completely, "I am setting this haunted place to rest."
He slammed the trident down again, and the very last trickles of power that had been stored washed like a wave over broken slush and stone. A ghost of what has been sat suspended in the water; a projection of the past. The runes, previously extinguished, shone in faint fae-light, and the outlines of people crossed between grand pavilions and into temples. Meggan, Alan, and Namor stood at the center of what might have once been a bustling courtyard leading to a vast temple complex. A market.
There was another burst of light from the trident, and it all paused. Suspended.
The ghosts — possibly just less than a hundred men, women, children, all glowing with runic tattoos of their own — turned as one to where Namor stood. They spoke with one resonant voice. "We remember the ruler sent time beyond time."
Then it faded. As suddenly as the memory appeared, it was lost completely to darkness. That is, except for one glowing pulse under the debris and wreckage where the temple entrance had been.
Meggan was awed at the momentary presence of life within the destroyed ruins. It was beautiful, horrible, and sad that it should have been extinguished like that, even as the image of that phantasmal market faded away, even after the echoes were gone. She could understand all the sorrow and loss, but smashing the remains to make those remains literal and irrefutable dust still didn’t seem right.
At the sight of the glow, she moved a portion of debris out of its way so that it could be seen, but didn’t touch it further. “Alani’s right...we have a mission to do, but you can still cherish the past, even if you feel it’s deserving to be placed to rest, even if it is in this condition!”
Despite her attempts to stop herself, the ghosts filled Alani with distress, like a jar filled with bees, and she'd instinctively dropped her eyes. Taking deep breaths to recenter herself, methodically popping the joints of her fingers, until, there, better. There was no more urge to react and instead a calm had settled again. Ready to move forward. She looked at Namor, brows furrowing and obviously about to say something to the royal Atlantean, then she simply nodded. "Well that's the door sorted, I reckon. Thank you."
Whatever was still glowing underneath the rubble pulsed again with the Atlantean magic.
Meggan’s attention was drawn back to it; she tilted her head, cautiously getting closer so as to get a better look at it. Just as her eyes had noted the evident gleam coming off whatever was under there, her empathy began picking up a myriad of emotions coming off of it in waves. There was no way for her to do the heavy lifting necessary to uncover whatever it was, see if it was something that needed to be saved or not.
Not by herself, at any rate. Meggan touched the debris that concealed the mystery with great care, and then looked to the others. “There’s something big under here,” she pointed out at last, once she had the words to describe whatever this was. She was finally close enough to receive whatever was going on. “It...just feels like some big burst of emotional resonance was waiting for someone to find it. Just itching to reach out and touch someone. It’s all tangled up, but it’s real, and almost wanting to be uncovered.”
She looked over at Namor, motioning him to come over.
This didn't even get a retort. Namor managed to not say anything through the utilitarian removal of a giant pillar, several boulders, lots of side debris, and the full recovery of what, for all purposes, looked like a very fancy log buried in what must have once been the foundation of the temple base. His expression sat in that same hollow void of anger, eyes gazing at nothing in particular. Soon the three were left staring at what appeared to be a log shaped relic that sat about the size of a linen chest. There were no hinges or any indication of what it was for or how it might work.
Namor narrowed his eyes at the log before stating, flatly, "Well."
Alani stuck her tongue out at the back of his head, before realizing how childish the motion was and turning instead to the… thing. Even having seen Atlantean technology in its glory, it was lost on her. Peaking over his shoulder she squinted at it skeptically. “Is it on?”
Namor chose to answer by employing the most ages-honored troubleshooting shooting method available: he kicked it. The log responded by flickering slightly along its runes, but then nothing. His glare intensified.
Meggan shook her head, guessing that violence likely wasn’t going to be the answer, then. She found herself almost yearning for a way to call technical support on the thing, even if that wasn’t a thing that could be happening under these sad circumstances. “Maybe it almost was when it threw me that burst of feeling, but it’s just….fallen into sleep mode now,” she replied to Alani with a small shrug.
It just felt a bit more subtle than it had been before. Anything it gave off would be so easy to miss now, if she wasn’t paying attention to it. “Not sure what could make it wake up the rest of the way, or if that’s all we’re getting,” she mused as she knelt down closer, but not too close to it. She glanced over to Namor. “Do you think that you...gently stroking the runes that were previously lit up, or feeling for a button could help encourage something to get going?”
It sounded weird when she said it like that, but she had the germ of an idea. Maybe it simply powered down the rest of the way in the face of brute force. Maybe the reverse could happen if care was applied by an Atlantean.
Namor's glare had been softening since that therapeutic kick had started to bleed the anger out of him, but his face now morphed into complete deadpan as his eyes rolled toward Meggan and then continued upward. "I suppose," he conceded flatly, "Anything is possible."
He looked at the log. He touched it, gently. Stroooooke.
Then a short, frustrated sigh.
"Let us retire from this awful place and give this thing to our engineers. The Archer is good for about seven different things, so We might as well give him a treat."
At the lack of any response from the log, Alani deflated a little, brows furrowing as she looked to Namor, raising a hand to console him before she let it drop. Best to not add insult to injury, maybe. "Can do, your majesty." The words were almost singsong as she stepped past him, movement fluid.
The material felt strange, it was really only reminiscent of things she'd used her powers on before which seemed befitting on something from Atlantis. The pink light that began to flare into existence followed the tips of her fingers tracing around the log to remove it from its perch, tongue peaking out as brows furrowed in concentration.
While Meggan took a step forward, she didn’t want to get too close and cause her efforts to be botched. The whole process was fascinating, and she just didn’t dare do anything that would break her friend’s concentration.
It didn't take long for the obstructing debris to flake away, filling the water around them with a fine haze that muddied the scene almost as much as any lingering feelings or things that would have to be touched on in more seriousness later. The king at the center of both of those things didn't move until Alani was finished with her dirty work.
"I wish to be done with this place."
And with just a little bit of super-strong lifting, what was now only the memory of an ancient outpost was left to rot.
Above the waves, the land team finds themselves surrounded by much more reptiles than the suggested amount of none and beat a hasty retreat.
Clint was just sketching out the best grid pattern he could come up with on short notice for the surrounding forest, making sure Matt understood what he'd be doing as well as where Molly and America would be and how best to utilize their skills, when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He didn't have any sort of superior skill sets when it came to sensing people or creatures, but his peripheral eyesight was exceptional, along with everything else that had anything to do with his eyes, and after he focused for a moment, he realized that's what'd caught his subconscious' attention.
Freezing mid-sentence, Clint motioned for the girls to be quiet and tapped twice at Matt's wrist to indicate silence was necessary as he slowly turned his head to get a better look at whatever was going on that'd freaked his hindbrain out. The water off the beach was rippling, which -- ocean, basically, that wasn't odd. But what was odd were the patterns the ripples formed and --
"Ah, shit," Clint muttered. "So there are way more very large reptiles in the water than there were when we first got here," he said. "Like. A lot a lot. Probably not... a problem? Do any of you guys know things about large, carnivorous reptiles?"
Molly tilted her head thoughtfully. "I know about giant crabs and giant wolves," she said, unconsciously taking a step closer toward the water to get a better look at what he was talking about. "Does that count?"
America watched the ripples in the water. "That's probably not applicable to this situation. Do they look hungry to you?"
"Alligators in the sewers?" not helpful Matt. "I vote we don't stick around and find out."
"It's the beach...are you saying the entire water's a sewer, Matty?" Molly said with a smirk, glancing over at him.
Clint didn't even have it in him to snort at the byplay. The reptiles in the water were very large, which meant they were... very old, he thought. Which carried through to them being very smart. Florida meant alligators, he thought, but also maybe saltwater crocodiles? He wasn't into reptiles or animals when it came to science. Biology was not his specialty! "Let's... all... we should back away. Big reptiles can move in like, really fast bursts of speed, right? I think we're far back enough we can maybe get to the trees before they get out of the water? Probably." He didn't actually remember how fast these kinds of animals could be when they wanted.
Reaching out, Clint grabbed the few items closest to him and stood up, already gesturing for the others to start moving as well. "Matt, can you ping to find the best place a group of four can get to from here? Not like, a clearing obviously, but just... I don't remember if there are any trees with branches hanging low enough that we can climb them easily." He knew once the reptiles were out of the water, assuming they even came out, which they might not, Matt would be fine for keeping himself out of trouble. Molly was indestructible and America had a whole 'punch it in the face' mentality going for her that might work as long as she avoided the teeth... ugh, he hadn't planned for reptiles on this trip.
Matt's powers did not quite work that way, especially in a large open area like this. Really, his powers were much more suited for cities. Still, he turned, listening as far out as he could reasonably hear. "There's a grove of something tall-ish that way," he pointed to the left, "I can't tell if the branches are low enough, but I think we can make it work," teamwork makes the dream work or something like that.
"Alright, guys, we're retreating to the trees. Molly, you wanna cover our retreat, since you're unbiteable? Just uh... do a snoot boop if something comes too close as we're going? They can go pretty fast in short bursts on land, but I think we've got enough time," Clint said, already herding Matt and America behind him. Ultimately, the stuff he was carrying didn't matter. Making sure nobody got bitten by a giant reptile, on the other hand - that was his fucking job.
Saluting, Molly put her hat on. "You got it, Arrow Master," she said. As the others started to leave, Molly brought up the rear. But a faint rustling drew her attention.
Basil... was curious. And a little hungry, although he'd been informed a particular set of humans wasn't for eating. Still, he was watching them cautiously, water rippling teasingly around his existence when the harsh, blinding anger of the swamp nymph flooded his mind and overrode any earlier commands.
It was unfortunate for Molly that she was in the rear, but it was a boon for the rest of the team. He lunged forward, chomping down on Molly's leg with satisfaction, and started dragging her backwards.
Fortunately Molly's leg would not get holes in it. That was not to say the same for her pants. "Ack!" Molly said, trying to dig her hands into the mud to find purchase but the sucker was really strong. With her free leg she tried to kick. "Get. Off!"
Mm, feisty snacks. The best kind. Basil let her go for a brief second, coming back in for a more decisive chomp around her middle. His snack was still wiggling, struggling, but he knew how to handle feisty snacks. He moved backwards with as much haste as possible considering the decidedly tasty treat in his jaws, dragging Molly through the mud and towards the murky depths.
"Fuck!" Clint abruptly reversed course. "One of them got Molly!"
Fuck, fuck, fuck, rebounded through Clint's brain over and over as he raced toward Molly's quickly disappearing form. Crocodiles - were these crocodiles? What were the differences between crocodiles and alligators? - were massive in general and Molly was tiny. The creature couldn't actually hurt her with bites and he was pretty sure actual acid wouldn't bother her so stomach acid would be fine, but also suffocation. Molly could 100% drown.
Matt's powers and his Billy clubs weren't much use, but he pushed America forward, "Keep going," he instructed, "And don't look back," he added, fully intending to have his brother's back. If his arrows didn't do the job, well... he was the man without fear, but the man with brilliant plans.
Drawing his bow, Clint readied a net arrow -
"Fuck! I don't wanna kill you, but I swear to everything holy, if you swallow her -- "
Watching the shoreline start to quickly disappear, Molly scrambled to grab onto something, anything, and managed to get ahold of a few tree roots. But just as she started to pull herself they snapped.
And for the first time in a while Molly felt fear.
"AIEEE--!" Within milliseconds she had disappeared, an outreached hand swallowed into the maw of the massive crocodile.
For all of the promise of bosoms and legs and other metaphors, the ruins were exceedingly ruinous. Coated in centuries of swamp, corrosion, and the ever sprawling life that involved, Meggan and Alani were treated to nothing that they might not have seen in a thousand “where is Atlantis?” documentaries. It was an abundance of seaweed, broken pots, and the suggestion of structures that could have been a tribal village. The bones of history.
That is, until Namor graced the ruins with his presence.
As soon as the king passed from his conversation with the nymph and over some imperceptible boundary, power resonated through the entire tableau. It started as a prickling on the back of the neck, but each inch covered by the trident-wielding ruler intensified the feeling until the very water surrounding them resonated with a low hum.
Yet Namor’s gaze remained bored. Unimpressed.
Meggan was primarily disappointed for Namor’s sake that what they were now seeing now, what they had been brought to down here wasn’t teeming with life, perhaps behind some hidden doorway. It was sad that there were just broken piles of assorted pottery and small remnants littering the area to signify the end of what had sounded like a great civilization.
As she swam, she looked around, almost feeling like she shouldn’t touch anything. Like it wasn’t their place to do so, preserved just this much as it had been. As she neared something with seaweed clinging to it, she caught sight of something glowing beneath it. “Alani?” She called softly, directing her attention to where she was.
Alani followed Meggan's lead, curiosity getting the best of her, though she shot Namor one last look. The glow would take her breath away, were she breathing oxygen, instead bubbles flowed from her lips as she gasped, eyes brightening. “Oh wow.” Something about the runes were familiar, but the meanings were beyond her and short of asking Namor to translate everything, she could recognize that she was out of her depth. But she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Looking back to the other figures, she reigned her excitement back in and cocked her head at the nymph. "I don't suppose you come here often and might have any idea what we're looking for?"
Ibi took form again, features sharper in the ruins for all that she was mostly made of water and sand this far down. "I do not, youngling. Just that these ruins are of Atlantis, teeming with the creep of life and time." Her watery hands brushed through some of the sea growth, a gentle movement that had them swaying with the current the move created. "Unlike Ches, many of my problems are stopped by remaining closer to the surface."
Let's all take a moment to sit back and appreciate the tableau. A time displaced king, weapon in hand, poised over the first remnants of his domain. A somewhat shabby domain, brimming with forgotten power, that illuminated the murky darkness of a swamp with the promise of power, connection, revelation, and potential. That glow was intensifying — more runes appearing as the water was filled with the low rumble of a city brimming back to life. A literal rumble, it turns out, as several grime-encrusted doors were outlined with the blue hum of the self-same magic illuminating the suggestions of what might have been docks or temples. Similar runes were also beginning to alight on Namor's trident of office.
Then there were the king's two intrepid companions. Let's imagine that they were potentially marveling over ancient mysteries revealed. Closure for a coworker. The potential that maybe, once, said coworker would just go along with things and just keep his mouth shut.
They would be disappointed.
Namor turned an enraged gaze to the nature spirit, eyes shining with the vested remnant of power this place held. The spirit who was insulting the king's current paramour.
"We find you have forgotten fear, backwater."
With that pronouncement and a literal flash of murder in his eyes, Namor slammed down on all that building power and claimed it for his own ego. All of the runes and magic halted immediately, funneled into the Trident of Neptune, as Atlantis's avenging son drove the weapon into the silt and muck of the ruin in a violent rush. What had been steady rumbling and gentle unveiling now turned to cracking and shaking as all of the water was expelled dramatically from the surrounding area.
Meggan gave a small yelp at the sudden changes being cast into motion all around them. Oh, no, not again, was all that she could think in the first instant following Namor’s pronouncement. Mildly, she found herself hoping that somewhere unsuspecting in the region wasn’t flooding violently right about now, given how abrupt of an expulsion it all was.
“I don’t think anyone has forgotten it,” Meggan murmured as she inched closer to Alani. She didn’t dare to chide him for losing his temper if he was going all king of the ocean on them; it might make the situation worse. Although, really, she didn’t want to ever be one to speak for a being like Ibi. She would just be surprised if anyone didn’t find that display as startling as it was imposing.
Immediately the wonder vanished as Alani turned to Namor, brows furrowed and mouth opened to chide him. She couldn’t believe — well, yes part of her could, but that he would insult someone so close to what they were doing and who was helping them out of no obligation? "Namor, take it back" she hissed, fists clenching at her sides. At this point, she doubted platitudes would do anything to calm him, but looking to Ibi, she reeled herself back in to try and stop any disagreement that may be brewing. "He's spirited, and doesn't speak for our group as a whole."
Backwater? This... deposed prince, a man completely out of time and out of anything or anyone to rule dared call her backwater? In her own domain, where she had shared information with him and his compatriots as a friend??? And to use the remaining, weak power of the ruins against her?
Ibi disappeared with the tolling of a low, ringing bell, Atlantean ward shivering visibly against the water. As the surge of the spirit's powerful anger faded, the magic charging Namor's ward dissipated with a soft rush into the slurry of silt and muck. Around the trio remnants transformed, pottery exploding into a watery mess, arches crumbling, pillars cracking further under the pressure of the water as the magic that had held them up for millenia - even with the slow corrosion and creep of the world - disappeared entirely. The runes Alani had been so curious about blinked out in a flash as water flooded back into the area.
What was left around the three was darkness, and the ruins of a once great civilization.
Namor, still proud and poised at the end of his strike, turned a much changed gaze upon the remnants of the ruins. What had been rage and disgust was now... was that satisfaction coloring his features? Pride? Both? His shark-like features were cutting in the dark, and any expression was overshadowed by the remaining ice blue glow in his eyes and the fact that his sclera were now pitch black. Inhuman eyes on an inhuman face.
The thing that was both Namor and not growled, a low rumble of grief and rage satisfied, as he surveyed the damage done. "Imperious rex. As it should be."
Standing amid the broken pottery, Meggan was bothered more by Namor’s actions than by his appearance. She was grateful Ibi hadn’t squashed them like bugs in retaliation; she was stunned by how he had just cast the remnants of a long lost civilization aside. Even as damaged as it was, it should have been a thing worth preserving. Shouldn’t it?
At his last comment, she shook off the stunned speechlessness that had briefly settled in. “You really thought what was previously worth finding, worth saving should be demolished?” It felt like an outrageously terrible outcome to her, to willingly desecrate what should have been precious to him.
"No." It was practically hissed with vehemence, as Alani fixed him with a steely gaze, body shifting to place Meggan firmly behind her as she raised a finger to point at Namor. Tears of anger formed in her eyes as she opened her mouth, but this time nothing came out. There was a moment of silence, where she simply stared at him, face stony, before her hand fell again, blinking back the tears and instead turning to look for the entrance to the base. "But we have a mission to finish. So if you're done having your temper tantrum, we've still got things to do, your majesty."
"The past cannot be saved," was delivered in a flat tone that brimmed on its very edges with anger. "Do you think you understand me? Someone who has lost everything? This," and Namor gestured broadly with his weapon, "Is not my home. It is a memory. It is," and the anger was simmering over into frustration now, "dust."
"I," and there was a final flash as the blue light in his eyes ignited before draining completely, "I am setting this haunted place to rest."
He slammed the trident down again, and the very last trickles of power that had been stored washed like a wave over broken slush and stone. A ghost of what has been sat suspended in the water; a projection of the past. The runes, previously extinguished, shone in faint fae-light, and the outlines of people crossed between grand pavilions and into temples. Meggan, Alan, and Namor stood at the center of what might have once been a bustling courtyard leading to a vast temple complex. A market.
There was another burst of light from the trident, and it all paused. Suspended.
The ghosts — possibly just less than a hundred men, women, children, all glowing with runic tattoos of their own — turned as one to where Namor stood. They spoke with one resonant voice. "We remember the ruler sent time beyond time."
Then it faded. As suddenly as the memory appeared, it was lost completely to darkness. That is, except for one glowing pulse under the debris and wreckage where the temple entrance had been.
Meggan was awed at the momentary presence of life within the destroyed ruins. It was beautiful, horrible, and sad that it should have been extinguished like that, even as the image of that phantasmal market faded away, even after the echoes were gone. She could understand all the sorrow and loss, but smashing the remains to make those remains literal and irrefutable dust still didn’t seem right.
At the sight of the glow, she moved a portion of debris out of its way so that it could be seen, but didn’t touch it further. “Alani’s right...we have a mission to do, but you can still cherish the past, even if you feel it’s deserving to be placed to rest, even if it is in this condition!”
Despite her attempts to stop herself, the ghosts filled Alani with distress, like a jar filled with bees, and she'd instinctively dropped her eyes. Taking deep breaths to recenter herself, methodically popping the joints of her fingers, until, there, better. There was no more urge to react and instead a calm had settled again. Ready to move forward. She looked at Namor, brows furrowing and obviously about to say something to the royal Atlantean, then she simply nodded. "Well that's the door sorted, I reckon. Thank you."
Whatever was still glowing underneath the rubble pulsed again with the Atlantean magic.
Meggan’s attention was drawn back to it; she tilted her head, cautiously getting closer so as to get a better look at it. Just as her eyes had noted the evident gleam coming off whatever was under there, her empathy began picking up a myriad of emotions coming off of it in waves. There was no way for her to do the heavy lifting necessary to uncover whatever it was, see if it was something that needed to be saved or not.
Not by herself, at any rate. Meggan touched the debris that concealed the mystery with great care, and then looked to the others. “There’s something big under here,” she pointed out at last, once she had the words to describe whatever this was. She was finally close enough to receive whatever was going on. “It...just feels like some big burst of emotional resonance was waiting for someone to find it. Just itching to reach out and touch someone. It’s all tangled up, but it’s real, and almost wanting to be uncovered.”
She looked over at Namor, motioning him to come over.
This didn't even get a retort. Namor managed to not say anything through the utilitarian removal of a giant pillar, several boulders, lots of side debris, and the full recovery of what, for all purposes, looked like a very fancy log buried in what must have once been the foundation of the temple base. His expression sat in that same hollow void of anger, eyes gazing at nothing in particular. Soon the three were left staring at what appeared to be a log shaped relic that sat about the size of a linen chest. There were no hinges or any indication of what it was for or how it might work.
Namor narrowed his eyes at the log before stating, flatly, "Well."
Alani stuck her tongue out at the back of his head, before realizing how childish the motion was and turning instead to the… thing. Even having seen Atlantean technology in its glory, it was lost on her. Peaking over his shoulder she squinted at it skeptically. “Is it on?”
Namor chose to answer by employing the most ages-honored troubleshooting shooting method available: he kicked it. The log responded by flickering slightly along its runes, but then nothing. His glare intensified.
Meggan shook her head, guessing that violence likely wasn’t going to be the answer, then. She found herself almost yearning for a way to call technical support on the thing, even if that wasn’t a thing that could be happening under these sad circumstances. “Maybe it almost was when it threw me that burst of feeling, but it’s just….fallen into sleep mode now,” she replied to Alani with a small shrug.
It just felt a bit more subtle than it had been before. Anything it gave off would be so easy to miss now, if she wasn’t paying attention to it. “Not sure what could make it wake up the rest of the way, or if that’s all we’re getting,” she mused as she knelt down closer, but not too close to it. She glanced over to Namor. “Do you think that you...gently stroking the runes that were previously lit up, or feeling for a button could help encourage something to get going?”
It sounded weird when she said it like that, but she had the germ of an idea. Maybe it simply powered down the rest of the way in the face of brute force. Maybe the reverse could happen if care was applied by an Atlantean.
Namor's glare had been softening since that therapeutic kick had started to bleed the anger out of him, but his face now morphed into complete deadpan as his eyes rolled toward Meggan and then continued upward. "I suppose," he conceded flatly, "Anything is possible."
He looked at the log. He touched it, gently. Stroooooke.
Then a short, frustrated sigh.
"Let us retire from this awful place and give this thing to our engineers. The Archer is good for about seven different things, so We might as well give him a treat."
At the lack of any response from the log, Alani deflated a little, brows furrowing as she looked to Namor, raising a hand to console him before she let it drop. Best to not add insult to injury, maybe. "Can do, your majesty." The words were almost singsong as she stepped past him, movement fluid.
The material felt strange, it was really only reminiscent of things she'd used her powers on before which seemed befitting on something from Atlantis. The pink light that began to flare into existence followed the tips of her fingers tracing around the log to remove it from its perch, tongue peaking out as brows furrowed in concentration.
While Meggan took a step forward, she didn’t want to get too close and cause her efforts to be botched. The whole process was fascinating, and she just didn’t dare do anything that would break her friend’s concentration.
It didn't take long for the obstructing debris to flake away, filling the water around them with a fine haze that muddied the scene almost as much as any lingering feelings or things that would have to be touched on in more seriousness later. The king at the center of both of those things didn't move until Alani was finished with her dirty work.
"I wish to be done with this place."
And with just a little bit of super-strong lifting, what was now only the memory of an ancient outpost was left to rot.
Above the waves, the land team finds themselves surrounded by much more reptiles than the suggested amount of none and beat a hasty retreat.
Clint was just sketching out the best grid pattern he could come up with on short notice for the surrounding forest, making sure Matt understood what he'd be doing as well as where Molly and America would be and how best to utilize their skills, when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He didn't have any sort of superior skill sets when it came to sensing people or creatures, but his peripheral eyesight was exceptional, along with everything else that had anything to do with his eyes, and after he focused for a moment, he realized that's what'd caught his subconscious' attention.
Freezing mid-sentence, Clint motioned for the girls to be quiet and tapped twice at Matt's wrist to indicate silence was necessary as he slowly turned his head to get a better look at whatever was going on that'd freaked his hindbrain out. The water off the beach was rippling, which -- ocean, basically, that wasn't odd. But what was odd were the patterns the ripples formed and --
"Ah, shit," Clint muttered. "So there are way more very large reptiles in the water than there were when we first got here," he said. "Like. A lot a lot. Probably not... a problem? Do any of you guys know things about large, carnivorous reptiles?"
Molly tilted her head thoughtfully. "I know about giant crabs and giant wolves," she said, unconsciously taking a step closer toward the water to get a better look at what he was talking about. "Does that count?"
America watched the ripples in the water. "That's probably not applicable to this situation. Do they look hungry to you?"
"Alligators in the sewers?" not helpful Matt. "I vote we don't stick around and find out."
"It's the beach...are you saying the entire water's a sewer, Matty?" Molly said with a smirk, glancing over at him.
Clint didn't even have it in him to snort at the byplay. The reptiles in the water were very large, which meant they were... very old, he thought. Which carried through to them being very smart. Florida meant alligators, he thought, but also maybe saltwater crocodiles? He wasn't into reptiles or animals when it came to science. Biology was not his specialty! "Let's... all... we should back away. Big reptiles can move in like, really fast bursts of speed, right? I think we're far back enough we can maybe get to the trees before they get out of the water? Probably." He didn't actually remember how fast these kinds of animals could be when they wanted.
Reaching out, Clint grabbed the few items closest to him and stood up, already gesturing for the others to start moving as well. "Matt, can you ping to find the best place a group of four can get to from here? Not like, a clearing obviously, but just... I don't remember if there are any trees with branches hanging low enough that we can climb them easily." He knew once the reptiles were out of the water, assuming they even came out, which they might not, Matt would be fine for keeping himself out of trouble. Molly was indestructible and America had a whole 'punch it in the face' mentality going for her that might work as long as she avoided the teeth... ugh, he hadn't planned for reptiles on this trip.
Matt's powers did not quite work that way, especially in a large open area like this. Really, his powers were much more suited for cities. Still, he turned, listening as far out as he could reasonably hear. "There's a grove of something tall-ish that way," he pointed to the left, "I can't tell if the branches are low enough, but I think we can make it work," teamwork makes the dream work or something like that.
"Alright, guys, we're retreating to the trees. Molly, you wanna cover our retreat, since you're unbiteable? Just uh... do a snoot boop if something comes too close as we're going? They can go pretty fast in short bursts on land, but I think we've got enough time," Clint said, already herding Matt and America behind him. Ultimately, the stuff he was carrying didn't matter. Making sure nobody got bitten by a giant reptile, on the other hand - that was his fucking job.
Saluting, Molly put her hat on. "You got it, Arrow Master," she said. As the others started to leave, Molly brought up the rear. But a faint rustling drew her attention.
Basil... was curious. And a little hungry, although he'd been informed a particular set of humans wasn't for eating. Still, he was watching them cautiously, water rippling teasingly around his existence when the harsh, blinding anger of the swamp nymph flooded his mind and overrode any earlier commands.
It was unfortunate for Molly that she was in the rear, but it was a boon for the rest of the team. He lunged forward, chomping down on Molly's leg with satisfaction, and started dragging her backwards.
Fortunately Molly's leg would not get holes in it. That was not to say the same for her pants. "Ack!" Molly said, trying to dig her hands into the mud to find purchase but the sucker was really strong. With her free leg she tried to kick. "Get. Off!"
Mm, feisty snacks. The best kind. Basil let her go for a brief second, coming back in for a more decisive chomp around her middle. His snack was still wiggling, struggling, but he knew how to handle feisty snacks. He moved backwards with as much haste as possible considering the decidedly tasty treat in his jaws, dragging Molly through the mud and towards the murky depths.
"Fuck!" Clint abruptly reversed course. "One of them got Molly!"
Fuck, fuck, fuck, rebounded through Clint's brain over and over as he raced toward Molly's quickly disappearing form. Crocodiles - were these crocodiles? What were the differences between crocodiles and alligators? - were massive in general and Molly was tiny. The creature couldn't actually hurt her with bites and he was pretty sure actual acid wouldn't bother her so stomach acid would be fine, but also suffocation. Molly could 100% drown.
Matt's powers and his Billy clubs weren't much use, but he pushed America forward, "Keep going," he instructed, "And don't look back," he added, fully intending to have his brother's back. If his arrows didn't do the job, well... he was the man without fear, but the man with brilliant plans.
Drawing his bow, Clint readied a net arrow -
"Fuck! I don't wanna kill you, but I swear to everything holy, if you swallow her -- "
Watching the shoreline start to quickly disappear, Molly scrambled to grab onto something, anything, and managed to get ahold of a few tree roots. But just as she started to pull herself they snapped.
And for the first time in a while Molly felt fear.
"AIEEE--!" Within milliseconds she had disappeared, an outreached hand swallowed into the maw of the massive crocodile.