River Monster (IC) (GM)

[Electra]

"Hello, Caradoc!" Fleur greeted him warmly, for all her smile was a bit subdued. "We had a strange incursion just a few minutes ago, hundreds of juvenile Deep Ones poured out of the ocean and over the pier, trying to eat everything edible they could find. There were no civilian casualties beyond a couple of bruises and twisted ankles. And if Devil Ray hadn't showed up, there wouldn't have been Deep One casualties either."

She sighed, looking over at the small bagged corpses, then refocused. "In any case, I was very lucky that Pyre was here to help get things under control. Pyre, this is Caradoc, a friend of mine and an excellent hero. Caradoc, Pyre. I've released Devil Ray into the care of the Star Squad, but I still have over a hundred Deep Ones in a drugged sleep between dimensions. I need to find something to do with them, hopefully before they wake up and are hungry again." She blew out a breath. "Devil Ray intimated that there were more of them, maybe a whole lot more, down in the bay."

[Cube]

Pyre waved at Caradoc, despite the rather somber mood. "It's nice to meet you, Caradoc. I... uh... I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances though." He sighed. "Apparently Devil Ray wanted to show up Orion. ...By hunting children, apparently." He imperceptibly gritted his teeth as a brief wave of outrage washed over him, before regaining his composure.

"I dunno how many deep ones are still down there, but we need to do something. I mean, they're just kids. Can't we find homes for them or something, Fleur?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Caradoc walked out into the middle of the small square by the pier, his face hidden by the metal that surrounded his body. His metal shoulders tense, he bent down to study the place where a body had lain, now being circled in chalk. After several long seconds, he rose to walk back to the others. Quietly, so only the two heroes could hear, and heedless of the strange face (who, after all, had Fleur's backing), he said in a flat, pained voice "...I am not surprised to hear of Devil Ray's deeds. The piscine humanoids are not recognized as sentients by many on the surface, much less murderous criminals...that is why I released them into the bay during the invasion. I had hoped they would swim deeper into the ocean to reunite with their kin, but that seems to not have happened. This is my fault."

[Electra]

Fleur thought hard for a moment, then shook her head, looking defeated. "I just don't know," she admitted to Pyre. "If there weren't so many of them, if they weren't feral Deep Ones... I can't keep then on Sanctuary," she reasoned aloud. "I haven't even touched the pollution in the ocean, so it's still totally toxic. And I just don't have the resources to build a giant saltwater creche! Maybe the Freedom City Aquarium can help us out for the moment, at least with the ones I've captured. It's better than letting them wake up hungry and dry and with nowhere to put them."

[Cube]

Pyre nodded. "My wife would kill me if I brought a Deep One home... but... Fleur is right. Maybe the aquarium can help us until we can find a better place for them? Or some other person with a saltwater tank? I mean, we can't just leave them here. They're just kids."

He placed a hand on Caradoc's shoulder. "And... this isn't your fault. You had no idea this would happen."

[Avenger Assembled]

Fleur de Joie's call to Siren got the Atlantean-allied Leaguer out to help with the Deep One infants, the long-time heroine's influence more than enough to get them into the Freedom City Aquarium with the children, gawkers being kept away by security as they headed into the building. "It'll be just like the old Coney Island nursery," speculated the scholarly hero as she helped Fleur deposit the toddlers into a huge tank full of salt water, where some hastily-gathered feeder fish and plants were waiting for them. "We'll take care of them, and let people see Deep Ones aren't all monsters either. I'll take charge of this," she told Fleur, Pyre, and Caradoc, giving the armored knight a suspicious look for a moment. "You three have done enough today."

[Electra]

Placing the young Deep Ones was easy enough, a plant at the bottom of the tank suddenly began to grow to massive proportions, then bloomed strange purple flowers that swayed in the gentle current of the water. From the flowers belched bubbles of air, each one containing one or two or a handful of the little creatures, who settled to the bottom as the air rushed away to the top of the tank. Their gills began to flutter as they coughed up the remaining gaseous air in their lungs, then they set about exploring their new environment. It was a bit cozy with so many in there, but these were just temporary quarters. It was certainly warmer and nicer than the bay in December!

"I think they'll do fine here for the time being," Fleur decided, "until provisions can be made for their permanent placement. Hopefully they're still young enough to be socialized." She looked over at Caradoc. "We understand why you did it," she told him. "They're just children, even if they aren't human children. It would've been nice if you'd given us a heads-up so we could've handled it months ago," she added with a hint of reproof.

[Cube]

Pyre smiled as the children explored their new tank.

"You know... when they aren't chasing people around, they're kind of cute." he said, as one of the babies grabbed a feeder fish and started munching on it. "I'd love to come visit them when you get set up. It's sad that Devil Ray attacked them like that, but at least they'll have a chance at a better life now, right?"

"...Well, better than living in a submarine and worshiping elder evils, anyway."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I have seen abandoned children before," replied Caradoc, his armored hand on the tank as he watched the fish-babies swim around, happy enough in their new home despite the emergency measures that had been used to put them there. "I could not see them here. Not even these." He took his hand away and turned back to Fleur. "I am sorry I told no one, Fleur de Joie. I had thought that freeing them would be taken poorly by the League. But the deed is done, and they have lived. And they will go on living, safe in the protection of this place. The deed was worth doing." He nodded at that, looking as satisfied as anyone behind an opaque faceplate could be. "I should return to my duties in, uh, Avalon now," he added, shaking the hand of the man he hadn't met before. "I am glad you both were there today."

[Cube]

Pyre smiled as he shook the knight's hand. "It was no trouble, really. You did the right thing, Caradoc."

"These are just kids, after all. They don't deserve to get caught up in..." Pyre wrinkled his brow. "...Whatever it is Deep Ones do, exactly. No one deserves to get shoved into something against their will. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, right?"

Pyre paused for a moment. "...Someone in a comic said that once, I think. I'm not the best at making poignant remarks."