Strife of Misfortune(Wattys2016)

Sinking

Previously on SOM: Creating a fake appointment, Hope was able to penetrate SHIELD. But her plan was foiled when she was caught in her lie. Now an even bigger problem faces the heroes. Will she pull herself out of this one?

Alarms bellowed through the facility. Flashes of red showered the halls with it's urgent warning. A loud spine-chilling creak drove through the noise, the place jerked violently to the left and felt like it was sinking. The floors shifted beneath the agents. It was then that the running agents stopped their hunt and looked around with alarm.

"What is happening?" Thor asked, shouting over the screaming horns.

The agents were silent, shuffling through their minds for the answer when one of them spoke. "The tesseract!" Clint answered. "Someone must've activated it." He added, taking note of the particular color of the alarm.

"Probably that woman we were chasing." Rebecca huffed exasperatedly. "We have to leave immediately."

"No we can not leave!" Thor objected. "The teleportation machine is nearing completion, we can not leave it here!" They couldn't leave it there, not when he was so close to returning home and finding the girl.

"We have to!" Clint argued when another violent jerk tore through the place, flinging the agents to the opposite wall.

"We're leaving!" Rebecca grunted, a stream of pain pierced the back of her skull.

On the other side of the submarine, Hope was racing through the walls. A storm of muddy waves spewed into the place and chasing her heels. She could hear the horrible roar of crashing waves as they threatened to swallow her whole. That's when a huge gust of water snatched her, splattering her onto the opposite wall. Pain bulldozed through her skull where she had collided with the wall. More water burst into the place and kept her pinned against the wall. She couldn't move. Hope was defenseless as those vile tides rose, climbing over her shoulders and coming dangerously near to her nose.

It was then that she heard a voice. The person's words cut through the chaotic rumble. Hope gasped when the waves climbed near her mouth. She strained to hear what the person was saying. It sounded like they were shouting. They were shouting in her direction. "...My hand..." Was all Hope could make out. "....hand!" Looking up Hope saw Maria hanging over a railing, her arm stretched towards Hope. "Take it!" She demanded and Hope looked at her hand long and hard before releasing what Maria was offering. Grabbing her hand, Maria hauled her up, grunting in pain as she did. With straining muscles she wrenched the girl over the balcony railing, away from the hungry waves.

Maria leaned against the wall, muscles burning and scarcely catching her breath. The moment their breaths tranquilized, Hope said, "thanks."

"I didn't do it for you." Maria snapped. She gave her a once over before adding, "you're wearing my suit."

"Good point." Hope nodded when she noticed that Maria wasn't paying attention to her anymore. She followed the agent's gaze to that enormous body of water that seemed to glare back at them.

"We gotta go!" The agent urged and they ran away from those monstrous tides. The water swished through the halls behind them, following their trail like tenacious hunters. Another violent jerk rippled through the place and sent the woman flying into the arms of the waves. Hope then grabbed a hold onto a doorknob and caught Maria with her other hand. They braced the cruel lashes of the chilling waves. They were swallowed whole. Releasing the knob, Hope and Maria floated to the top, gasping as they gulped in the air. They were dangerously close to the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" Maria asked.

"Yeah." Hope nodded.

"Follow me." Inhaling the girls dived back into the water. The once bright halls were now swamped in filthy sea water. Hope could scarcely see where she was going. She tried her best to follow that swimming frame. They swam into another hallway when they came across another door. Hope could see the tiny scanner flicker off and on. Maria turned towards the inventor and waved at her. It didn't take words for Hope to realize what she wanted. Digging into her pocket, she fished out an I.D card and handed it to Maria.