Chapter 5

In the light of the bright fluorescent bulbs, Peter could see what the man holding him looped like. He was tall and musclebound, obviously keeping up a strict regiment of physical activity. He was more muscled than any man Peter had ever seen, even when Uncle Ben took Peter to the gym on occasion. More muscled than Matt, and he took his training very seriously.

The man stood very, very tall. His head was just a foot from the had dark, short hair. His hair was slightly longer in the front, what would be bangs laying back along his head along his hairline. Peter noticed he had a sharp widow's peak to match sharp, hooked eyebrows which coupled with the angular contours of the man's face to make a very sever expression. Peter couldn't bring himself to look into his intimidating blue eyes. Instead, he kept squirming, trying to get at his neck, which still burned!

Peter whimpered as he struggled, while the man continued walking down the hall, not affected by Peter's thrashing in the slightest. The stranger wore a leathery vest of some kind of fish scaled, though Peter didn't want to meet a fish with scales That big. Some of the scales were almost as big as his tiny fist. The vest lead into a belt and pants, so Peter- on the side, while trying to itch his blazing neck - supposed the vest was more of a shirt with no neckline. Aunt May would call it im-mod-is-t. He missed his Aunt.

Peter kept struggling and occasionally yelling, once going so far as to try and bite his captor, but realizing the strange fish vest-shirt was all he could reach- and it was thick and tasted like it looked, fishy. He didn't want the strange man to bring him to the lab room again. Peter didn't want anymore needles. He's surely had enough shots to last a lifetime.

However, instead of taking Peter down the normal route to the white room with the gurney, the strange, tall man strode confidently down a different hallway, one Peter had never been dragged like so many pounds of dead weight down before. This new hallway opened into a large white room, bigger than the lab room Peter had been in before.

In this new room, Peter was terrified further by the beings that were there. They were big, like the man carrying Peter now, but they were also blue with lighter blue markings wrapped upon their bodies. A water filled tube ran to their necks where it opened into a clear bubble, encasing what looked like blue-green gills on the side of their necks. The other end of the tube ran back to their waist, where a belt with water filled bubbles and filters ranged.

They all wore the same pants and despite their lack of shirt, Peter got the sense that these... Water men were all some kind of soldier. The only one who looked different was the person who held Peter.

Peter whimpered and hid his face in the shoulder of the man carrying him. Those water men were huge! And they had sharp teeth! Peter was even more terrified to see the same gills as those water men on the normal man who held him. Was this man really any safer?

It was so confusing and Peter had no idea what was going on and he wanted his Uncle Ben and his neck still burned!

Peter heard one of the water men approach by the sound of his footsteps. The water man's voice sounded normal enough, at least he spoke English anyways. "My King. Is that?"

Peter wondered who the water man was calling a king. He had never met a king.

"A Survivor. He needs medical attention," said the man carrying him. Peter could feel the rumble of his voice where his head rested against the man's shoulder.

The water man stepped closer and Peter tried to press his face further into the man's muscled shoulder. He heard the water man gasp and flinched, terrified of a negative reaction.

"My King," the water man sounded strangely concerned, "forgive me for asking, but are those?"

"Yes," said the man carrying Peter. And Peter realized that the water man was calling his holder 'my king.' "The child has their little project. And they'll be coming back with us."

Peter frowned against the king's shoulder. He didn't like being called a 'they', king or no king. Peter muttered, "M' not a they. M' a boy."

Peter wanted to take the words back when he sensed the king's attention return to his hidden face. He didn't want them to be angry and hurt him. Instead, the king asked, "You have a name, boy?"

Peter didn't want to answer at first, Aunt May told him not to tell his name to strange people, it was dangerous. But, really, Peter thought, he had already been kidnapped. Maybe this man would take him home, Peter had his address memorized, like his Uncle taught him. He pulled up the last dregs of his tired, forgotten courage and muttered, "Peter."

"Hello, Peter," and the king's voice was kind and warm. Like Uncle Ben's. "I am King Namor."

So he really was a king. Peter lifted his head just a little, so he could meet King Namor's eyes. Aunt May always said to look at someone if they were speaking to you. "Hello," said Peter, shyly trying to still keep his face hidden from the water man standing in close proximity.

The king smiled like he spoke. Kind and warm. "Hello," Namor returned.

Peter tried to smile, but he hadn't done it in so long that it was hard. "Are you here to rescue me?" Cause that's what warm, kind kings do.

Namor kept smiling as he answered, "Yes, I am, Little One."

AN: This is 10 mins late, apologies. I'm not feeling good today, so to be honest, I'm lucky I got this out at all.