Broker

Chapter 130

Sonya tossed a piece of popcorn into the air from her spot as the show played on the screen above them. She watched the piece fall towards her only for a flash of brown hair to move in her way. Marta snatched it up with a quick bite before leaning back, licking her lips as she looked back up at the screen. Sonya gave her a petulant look before glancing back at the show. A pair of men were standing on the deck of a speedboat, one of them with a megaphone. They were saying something to the crew of another ship. One of the members of the other crew was a woman who burst into flowery cursing as she grabbed her guns.

Sonya laughed, “Wow she has a mouth on her,” Sonya snickered from Marta’s lap.

Her best friend looked down at her, “What do you think so far?”

“It’s pretty good, if a bit wild,” Sonya said, rolling over a bit to get a better look at the screen, “This is set mostly in South China right?”

Marta nodded, “Yes, I love this show.”

Sonya glanced at her, “You know, I’ve noticed you have a thing for action shows.”

Marta pursed her lips, “I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie in high school,” She admitted, “Anything to get a thrill, discovered anime while at a hotel before base jumping.”

Sonya tilted her head, “You’re serious? You never told me about that!”

“You never asked!” Marta laughed before looking up at a beautiful shot of the water, “I wonder how Barry’s doing,” She murmured as her lips curled up into a gentle smile.

–

The feed flickered and hissed for a moment before it came to life. For a moment there was nothing on the screen but the vast sea and a little bit of the deck of a ship. The waves crashed and somewhere in the distance a bird called. The feed rustled a little as someone adjusted the position of the camera before a face leaned down to peer into the lens. Jaw as solid as steel, big dark eyes, and a mess of short hair, Barry Logan grinned with his signature sharp teeth at the lens before stepping back, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest.

“Barry here! Sup, babe!” He said brightly, waving at the camera. “Another video diary for ya to see when I get back!”

He glanced over his shoulder, “We’re just about done with the frame!” He said and scratched the back of his head, he pursed his lips, “The boss is one hell of a slave driver, y’know? You tell her that next time you see her, got it?” He complained before chuckling and scratching at his chest, “Construction’s going well but we’re starting to get attention from the other navies around here. Not as bad as the US Navy, they sent friggin subs after me, can you believe that?” He barked out a laugh, “Not that it was a problem!”

“Anyway,” He said, “The radar jammers are all set up as well and we’re pretty much done with that funky thing that Amos said we needed to put in. Something about satellites or whatever,” He scratched his head, “Uh… what else,” He mumbled a little to himself before brightening. “Oh! Oh! Yeah I saw pirates! A speed boat came by the ship yesterday, haven’t seen ‘em since. I-”

He was just about to continue speaking when another man walked into view wearing a t-shirt, “Are you still doin’ these things boss?” Wake asked, “Trigger’s lookin’ for ya.”

The boat rocked and the camera fell over, the feed cutting out. Barry turned and gave his subordinate a dangerous grin, he reached over and grabbed him by the head, “You’re interrupting!” He growled, giving the guy’s head a little squeeze. “I was recording a message for Marta, you got a problem?”

Wake disappeared and reappeared just out of Barry’s immediate reach, “You can do your little love notes later, man! Come on!” He laughed, stepping back a few paces as Barry reached out again to try to grab him. Wake burst into little clouds of gray smoke before vanishing again and again as Barry kept trying. “Boss, you’re not fast enough to catch me! Not on your feet!” Wake laughed, his hands in his pockets as he darted away again and again. 

“Cmere you little shit!” Barry barked, throwing himself towards Wake only to land face first on the deck. He scrambled to his feet and spun, Wake was gone. He huffed and scratched his head, “He’s gettin’ faster. No smoke trails anymore either, no idea where he went,” He smirked and looked out towards the water, “My boys are gettin’ stronger too,” He thought ruefully before walking towards the edge of the deck. He’d go see what Trigger wanted in a moment. He leaned against the rail and looked down into the depths. Beneath him, the Mariana Trench stretched down into the vastness of the sea. He hummed to himself and waited patiently until the water shifted a little, then a lot. Then an enormous shadow passed under the vessel.

“Good morning Commodore,” He chortled as the Sperm Whale darted out from beneath the ship and towards the trench, breaching for a moment before going back down beneath the water. Shortly after a series of black and white shapes darted down to follow it in formation. “And there’s your crew,” He said with a toothy grin before glancing around, “But where is-” He paused when he saw a shape, smaller than the orcas that were obediently following their assigned leader, but just as terrifying to an ordinary person. He pushed off the rail and hopped onto the water, landing on the surface and crouching down. “There you are, big guy.”

He reached out as a white and gray snout poked out of the water. He reached down and placed his hand on the slick surface of the Great White’s nose, “Have anything tasty to eat, Red?” He asked, tilting his head to look into the ruby red eyes of the natural marvel. He felt the vibration between them, the momentary connection, and visualized a successful hunt of a tuna. He raised his eyebrows, “Oho, big meal!” He laughed and stroked its nose again before letting out a low breath and closing his eyes, “Wanna try again?” He murmured and concentrated, feeling the creature beneath him, every portion of its biology laid bare. He could feel its cells, its dna, everything that it was. 

I am the Lord of the Depths, he thought to himself. He let his wild nature wash out into his instincts, his moments of stillness and his explosive anger, he felt the vastness and depths of his own soul for a moment as his head rolled back a bit and he bore his teeth to the sky. He could already feel the growing power of his new ability having an influence on his core power, how it touched his mind, made him see things differently. He knew that if Sonya hadn’t used those sanctions on him to keep the powers separate until he was ready, he would have lost his gourd.

He cleared his throat and looked back down at the shark, concentrating, teasing out the genetic history of the beast. He felt a tingle between them, a shift, a change, a monstrous welling up from within the shark that bubbled higher and higher until he pushed it back down. He guided it, directed it, spreading it through every cell. He was so close this time. This time he would do it, this time he would unlock-

BANG!

A gunshot rang out and he opened his eyes. Red retreated into the depths and he scowled, slowly turning his head towards the yacht where he and the boys were staying. He still felt the tingle, he wasn’t even sure if it had worked or if it was another failure. At least Red didn’t get hurt by the interruption from the looks of it, the small shadow of the shark diving down into the trench below. Barry rose to his feet and glanced past the yacht to the cargo ship trailing behind it where they kept the materials for their work. He frowned, “Who the fuck-” He grumbled, marching across the water, “-Is shootin guns at my ship?” He bellowed.

He heard someone running across the deck of the yacht and glanced up to see Wake looking down at him, “Who is it?” He barked.

“It’s those pirates boss! They came back!” Wake shouted, “They’re firing warning shots at the cargo!”

Kingshark rubbed his neck as his lip twitched, “I was considering scaring them off, but they interrupted somethin’ important,” He grumbled and started to walk on the water towards the cargo ship, “Radio the ship, I’ll handle it,” He said as the waves crashed around him. The sea began to stir, the ocean itself roiling in his presence. “Trigger wanted to see me anyway,” He muttered, stalking forward with murder in his eyes. His sensitive ears heard the audible gulp from Wake before the young man teleported away to the radio station inside the yacht.

His walk turned into a small jog, then a run directly at a wave that crested in front of him. He slammed into it and the gills on his neck opened. His skin turned a dark gray, his eyes grew wide and his pupils large. Extra lenses closed over them to protect them from the water. He felt his body growing larger and larger, the elastic water-proof cloth stretching with his increasing size as he turned into a torpedo in the ocean. He spun, pushing himself faster and faster, rocketing through the water and beneath the cargo ship. He spotted light and shapes and stopped in the water, opening his mouth and releasing a pulse of sound, he closed his eyes and let the return pulse hit him.

Ten ships, no, eleven. He glanced up at the ten shadows above him before looking out across the vastness towards a far distant shadow. They brought a mother ship. He thought and looked up at the surface. With a rush he controlled the water around him and turned himself into a missile that shot into the air, his gills closed and he pivoted, landing on the deck of the Cargo ship. A few of his men turned and aimed weapons up at him in surprise before turning back to aim at the pirates. His second-lids opened and he swept his gaze over them while someone approached him from behind, “They brought a goddamn frigate,” He grunted as Trigger fell into step next to him, “Keep these idiots here till I get back,” He said before turning to the guy, “Oh, did you want something?”

Trigger shrugged looking up at him, “Just wanted to let you know we were going to put the converters in tonight, might be a little delayed now.”

Kingshark’s eyes went wide, “You serious?” He spat on the ground, “I’m one step away from hangin’ out in an underwater fortress in the Mariana Trench, the friggin dream of any supervillain, and I gotta wait because of these bozos?” He demanded. “That fuckin’ tears it!” He barked and marched towards the edge of the seat, “Keep these guys busy! I’m handlin’ this personally now! The Commodore can play later!” He bellowed before hopping off the side of the ship and back into the water without another word.

The sea expanded around him as he re-entered the water and he glanced to the right to see the massive shadow of the Commodore drifting closer. With a mental command he sent the beast back below for now, he’d call on it if he needed. Instead, he turned his attention to the frigate that was just far enough away to be difficult to spot by the crew of the cargo ship. He called the water up around him and launched himself forward again, his skin darkening even more. His eyes turned a deep red, a faint glow beginning to blaze in them as he drew closer.

Fuckin morons, don’t know a bad idea when its right in front of them! He thought in a rage, the sea growing tumultuous above him. To anyone viewing from above the water, it looked like waves were forming of their own accord and spreading left and right along his path, forming a line of angry waves leading straight towards the large metal ship. In just a matter of moments he was on them, fingers outstretched and turning hard and bony. He slammed into the side of the vessel and dug his fingers into the hull, grabbing on as the ship shifted once with the impact.

Barnacles began to spread from the point of impact, growing large before mutating. They twisted and grew, extending into terrible tentacles that extended up and out of the water as he climbed up the side. It didn’t take long with his bulk, nearing twelve feet tall, he was large enough to cause the ship to tilt slightly as he broke the surface. Faces were looking down at him as he looked up, men in cloth masks staring down at him with wide eyes. He opened his mouth wide into a manic smile, “Y’all fucked up!” He bellowed as the tentacles breached the water and started grabbing screaming men.

He climbed the side as more tentacles rose up around the ship, slamming down on the surface, crushing men and equipment. He hopped onto the deck as well and a gunshot rang out, automatic fire followed, the bullets bounced against his rubbery skin as he waded into the chaos. One man leaped off a platform, his arms turning into chains. He whipped them out to try to grab hold of him only for Kingshark to raise his arm and let the chain wrap around it. He sneered at the guy and pulled, dragging him over. The man let out a cry of fright as the supervillain opened his mouth and bit down on shoulder and spine, crushing bone before whipping his head and sending the bloody corpse hurtling off the side of the ship.

He threw his arms out wide as more tentacles rose up, one man was grabbed by his torso and leg and torn in half. Another pirate was simply crushed when one slammed down on him. Another tentacle crashed through the hull in search of the engines. “Kingshark is here, fuckers!” He bellowed, stomping forward and sweeping a hand forward to grab one man by the torso before bringing him down against the deck, pulverizing his chest. As he did, another gunshot rang out and he felt a pinch of pain as a bullet grazed his neck. That one actually hurt. He reached up and touched the spot, where that aching wound from Firestorm remained.

His grin turned into a frown and he stood up straight, turning his head towards the bridge of the frigate. A man stood there with a rifle in hand, his eyes glowing. Kingshark tilted his head, the burning and chaotic deck of the ship a mad din around him. “You must be the captain,” He rumbled and started his approach, blood dripping from his hand.