The Pale Prince

Pacific

The blaring sun glared down upon the shaking waves of the Pacific Ocean, glancing across their surface as the white horses lapped against one of the many Indonesian's Island's coasts, dragging sand and other sediments back into the Ocean with them, where they would sink to the bottom and likely not see the light without the Ocean's shimmering shade looming over them. Leaning down and taking a handful of sand, Fortress rose up - the Asian sun shining into his face and reflecting off of his sweat-covered skin - before tipping his hand to the left, watching as the trail of yellow powder dropped out of his hand and flickered away with the wind, brushing across the water and the coast before being swallowed by the encroaching blue waves.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" A voice shouted from behind Fortress - the bullet-proof man refrained from turning around, instead focussing on the bright sun as it crested over-top the waves, watching over them as they engulfed the coast like an eternally hungry beast. "The Ocean, I mean." The voice approached and eventually lined up next to Fortress, a wetsuit clad to the woman's body as she prepared to embark in pursuit of the superhuman - the man most likely easily and quickly finding his way towards the location in question. "It's the only thing that seems to last on this little blue planet, well...except for you, right?"

"I guess." Fortress turned towards the woman. "But nothing lasts forever right? You must be Doctor Paravshek, right?" The bullet-proof man turned to the smaller woman and held out her hand, smiling towards her. The lady - her brown hair sweeping backwards with the wind and her bright green eyes glittering as the sun reflected itself through them - held out her arm and took up Fortress's large hand with her smaller one, her slender fingers wrapping neatly between the gaps in his fingers as she smiled warmly at him. "I'm not really used to working with, well - people like you." Paravshek smiled.

"What?" Fortress leaned backwards, legs levitating off of the ground. "Because I'm black or because I'm me?" Paravshek laughed as she turned away from him, walking towards the shore and grabbing at a large orange boat, its electric engine laying still as the boat was pushed around by the waves. "Doctor?" Fortress shouted out towards the woman - voice devoid of anger yet a hint of frustration laden within his words.

"Do not be so ridiculous, Fortress." Paravshek leaped over the side of the boat and landed within, looking up and behind Fortress towards the rest of her group - the men and women slowly walking down the beach towards the boat. "I spent ten years working in Chad because their Government thought that they'd discovered proof of extra-terrestrial life, and 5 more in Egypt for the same reason. If I had a problem with Africans or African-Americans you most definitely would not know about it."

Narrowing his eyes with thought before nodding with understanding, Fortress turned around and looked towards the men as one of them stepped past him - disregarding the superhuman as if he were nothing more than an innocent bystander and not the most powerful man in the world before stepping into the boat. "So that's it then?"

"Yes. That's it - do you know what you are doing?" The Xenologist asked, lifting her hand above her eyes to look over the horizon. "I was told that you were briefed at San Francisco HQ a day ago - so you should know what you're doing, right?"

"That's right ma'am." Fortress lifted himself up, flicking out his hands and slowly moving his arms as he manipulated the forces acting upon him - seamlessly dragging his feet further off the ground and above the woman. "I know what I'm doing - get in; clear the way; find a way to bring the anomaly out of the unreachable territory - if not, bring back samples."