Chapter II: The S.S. RYAN

Sometimes he wished that he never had taken this job, escorting these city folks who had no freaking idea what they were doing out into the vast ocean for a 'vacation'. But someone had to do it, might as well be someone who knew what they were doing. Ever since that faithful night he was brain washed into hijacking that plane and crashing it into the middle of the Atlantic, Jack Ryan had come to hold a great respect for the sea. Although Rapture was hidden beneath it's depths, there was so much more to it than just that.

How many undiscovered organisms lay beneath it's dark waves? Were there other organisms out there that had the ability to grant humans terrible power, just like the ADAM Slugs that were indigenous to the waters around Rapture? Jack has never really considered himself an expert scientist or marine biologist but after he escaped Rapture he couldn't help but be fascinated by the ocean. His fascination however didn't lead him to do anything stupid, he was not studying anything near Rapture. He did not want to relive the past experience of getting a hole drilled through his hand and or abdomen by a Bouncer, or have piping hot rivets pierce his flesh and a Rivet Gun smashed into his skull by a Rosie. He was content with exploring other oceanic regions, hoping to find new and undiscovered species…

Hopefully none that secreted an addicting substance that could drive a perfectly sane human into insanity.

Jack reached into the pocket of his jacket and took out a cigarette. He then began to search his other pockets for a lighter but to his frustration he couldn't find one. The brown eyed man looked to his left and right to make sure none of the crew was looking at him. Jack raised his left hand and began to summon a small amount of his ADAM. Severe burns began to grow and spread on his left hand and ethereal blue flames began to dance on his finger tips. Jack put the end of his cigarette into the blue flame emitting from his index finger, puffed a couple of times, and then let his hand ease back into it's normal state. The severe lava like burn marks began to heal, they were replaced with tan unblemished flesh. Jack had to admit, Plasmids did make his life easier at times.

"You know, I saw that." Jack jumped a little in surprise and turned to face his 'partner in crime.' Masha Lutz was one of the Little Sisters that Jack saved during his first faithful night in Rapture. When Jack had escaped Rapture with Tenenbaum, he swore to himself that he would help her take care of the malnourished little girls anyway he could. But Jack could only do so much, he wasn't experienced enough to take care of five children all on his own, he was only twenty three at the time. Most of the Little Sisters were between the ages of eight and twelve, he was to young to be a father figure to them. He was more of a big brother, but his relationship with Masha transcended that.

When she was little she had always acted a little weird around him. He hadn't really paid much attention to it at the time, he thought that it was just a little crush that would fade eventually. But oh was he wrong, when the girl had turned sixteen she began to flirt with him more openly. He thought that she was just joking around but then one night he realized that she was actually serious. On the night of Masha's twentieth birthday she appeared beside him in his bed…

Naked.

Before he could protest or do anything, her lips locked onto his and her tongue snaked it's ways down his throat. It felt…so good to be in the arms of a woman. Jack hadn't really made any conscious efforts to talk to women. They always asked to many questions. Like, where was he from? Did he have any parents, what did they do for a living? It brought back memories that he wished would just stay buried.

When Jack had returned to the surface, after his journey through Rapture, Tenenbaum had told him that he had shown signs of post traumatic stress disorder. Some of the girls also showed signs of PTSD as well. Expecting someone to survive Rapture and come out of it mentally unscathed was expecting WAY to much. The girls constantly had flashbacks, nightmares, and migraines during their first few months on the surface, he also suffered from these symptoms as well. They would also wake up screaming, attacking anything that they deemed a threat…or moved.

It didn't help that they had developed their own unique Plasmid powers as a result from gathering ADAM as children either. Jack has lost count the amount of times they had to rebuild a section of their house, good thing it was situated on a remote island.

Tenenbaum, as well as Masha, had helped heal his mental scaring. That night when Masha had snuck into his bed she urged him…no, she FORCED him to take her. After that, they were inspirable. They went everywhere together, they even earned the same major so that they could work together.

Jack shook his head from his thoughts of the past when Masha stared at him questioningly, her hands on her hips. Jack had always thought that she looked beautiful. Her long midnight colored hair came down to the small of her back and her pitch black eyes pierced his very soul whenever they looked in his direction. She wore a dark red dress with black high heeled boots, a black corset, and a black choker. She wore a black jacket with the dress and he wasn't surprised to see her wearing the sapphire necklace that he had given her for her birthday this year. He found it strange that she liked the color black so much, she even wore black eye liner.

Masha raised a delicate eyebrow when she saw him do nothing but stare at her.

"Jacky…are you okay?" Masha asked a little worried, her voice was laced with a heavy Italian accent. Jack shook himself from his daze and gave her a friendly glare.

"You know I hate it when you call me that…" Jack mumbled. Masha just rolled her eyes, put her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Why is that you hate the nickname I give to you?" Masha asked, giving him the dreaded puppy dog pout. This time it was Jack's turn to roll his eyes.

"It just sounds like a girl's name."

"That is not true! There are lots of men that have this name."

"Really? Name one."

"Hmmm…Jackie…Robinson?"

Jack stared at Masha for a moment. "…Who?"

One of his crew members call out to get his attention from the look out post of the ship.

"Captain, I've spotted something!" The man called out.

"Well, Tommy, what is it?" Jack called back at the black haired man. Tommy squinted his eyes through his binoculars.

"It looks like some kind of vessel. It's circular…I think it's a bathysphere. I didn't think anyone used those things anymore!" Tommy shouted back. Jack frowned and looked to Masha to find that she was frowning as well.

"You don't think that…" Masha started, but Jack already knew what the end of her statement was: 'You don't think that the bathysphere is from Rapture, do you?' Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Possibly, at any rate we have to check it out, there might be people on the vessel that need our help. But if it IS from Rapture we have to take it with us to make sure no one else get's their hands on it." Jack stated. Masha nodded her head.

Jack immediately began preparations to search the vessel.