AN: Oh look at that they landed on the big scary Gould.

...who will survive? Who won't?!

Part III: Ghost Ship

It was not in his coding to feel fear, which was why androids were such efficient battle machines and on-ship companions. Really, they were built for dealing with high-risk situations. However, Harry's companions were obviously not wired in the same way as he. As he surveyed the dropship he noted that each face was overcome in a silent dread, clear nausea or cold anticipation, and each and every one of them was laced with fear. All them were still in their seats, save for the shaking of the ship, and their knuckles and faces were pale. Perhaps missions never got easier for them…?

Turning his head, he caught the eye of Peter, who immediately flushed and returned his gaze to the grated floor. Harry glared; Peter's actions were foolish.

Though his irritation was quickly forgotten as a dread began to overcome him as they got closer and closer to the Gould. But not fear. He could not fear. But he could dread what was coming, for they were all of them heading directly into the gaping maw of the unknown.

Finally, they landed, albeit shakily, inside the vast hangar bay of the U.S.S. Gould. The first thing the group registered, as they emerged from the shuttle, was that all the lights were out save for the awfully dim emergency lighting that was flickering madly. True to its recorded inventory, the Gould had a mere four drop-ships stationed within its bowels.

The second thing that grabbed their attention was that the darkened hangar appeared to be abandoned.

"No signs of movement." Flash called mechanically as he pointed the equipment around the room.

"No signs of movement in the northern corridor either." Hill barked.

Rogers nodded at Bucky, and then said loudly, "Alright, let's bring out the spectagraphs."

The small marine Felicia brought forward a small black case and opened it, revealing a number of metal orbs. A thin strip of red ran along the hemisphere of each.

"Alright, Private, show us what these little guys can do."

Immediately, a number of the orbs rose up into the air and each took off in different directions towards the doors exiting the hangar bay, swinging beams of red light across every surface as they flew.

"So what do those things do anyway?" Peter asked.

"Those spectagraphs are going to map out each and every corner of this starship." Harry murmured back at him, noting with amusement that Peter's ears had turned pink at their interaction; "They will let us know if there are any organic life-forms - alive ones - still aboard this ship."

The engineer, Sam Wilson, who was standing beside him, looked bemused, "You've really done your homework, huh?"

Harry returned the smile, "I'm the heir of Oscorp, remember?"

They both chuckled slightly, but were broken from their revelry by Peggy's update over their earpieces.

"Lieutenant, Captain, this is Peggy. The mapping is in-progress... it's strange, but judging from the feedback, there seems to be a large concentration of organic life within the bowels of the ship. This number is greater than that of the crew of the Gould."

"That is strange," Rogers mused, "Keep us updated, Peg."

"Will do."

The captain then turned to face the marine leader, "Bucky, we should probably divide up our groups now. I think there might be a third party on board, probably scavengers of some sort. Maybe even pirates."

The lieutenant nodded and waved his prosthetic arm high in the air to capture the group's attention.

"Alright, everyone listen up! We're going to split up into our groups now. Group III will stay here, whilst Group II and I will head to the engine room."

With that, they began the dark descent into the bowels of the ship.

The hallways were even darker than the hangar, with less emergency lighting to interrupt the sweeping darkness that surrounded them.

Fortunately for Harry, he was equipped with night-vision, and was having much more ease walking than the marines, with their inferior goggles.

Crash.

Heads turned, only to see that Private Flash Thompson had slipped over. The marines laughed at the sight of the burly young man sprawled across the floor. Flash looked disgusted.

"Awww hell, what is this shit?"

He pulled his hand away from the floor, only it a thin meniscus fluid had come away with it. It was a pale, greenish slime that was half-translucent.

To Harry's right, Peter covered his mouth and gagged.

The android merely raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued by the find if nothing else.

Bucky prodded the slime with his boot thoughtfully, "This looks unlike anything I've seen before. Banner, Conners, what do you make of this?"

The two Oscorp scientists shuffled forward to examine the strange fluids.

"…it's definitely organic." Banner mused, prodding the substance with a gloved finger.

"You might want to see this," Conners said, awestruck, as he pulled what appeared to be a leathery rag away from the goo.

Bucky looked dumbstruck, "What on earth is that? I-it looks like skin…"

"It is." Harry concluded, also enraptured by the find; "But I can't find a suitable match in my database. It's probably a new species."

The two scientists exchanged pointed looks, before taking samples and getting back to their feet. The marines looked thoroughly disgusted, Flash more so than the others.

Shaking his head, Bucky began marching onwards, "Alright, let's keep moving people. This is not a research assignment."

After Flash's fall, the atmosphere seemed less tense. It was amazing what a little laughing could do to lift the spirits of those around him.

Even so, Bucky's serious demeanor did not waver. They had not been walking for very long, but things were already strange. They had not seen one crew member, or even a hostile force, and they had quite literally stumbled across an alien substance the likes of which had not been seen before. Harry could very well understand Bucky's cold manner. The very ship oozed danger.

Eventually they came to a stop, just outside the top level of the engine room.

Bucky turned to the group, "Alright everyone, we're looking for survivors, but we're also looking to find out what happened to the ship and why it's been stranded out here. The Company was particularly adamant about that so I want to see video files, security tapes, anything. If you find something, wire it over to the Reed and they'll keep us updated. Alright, let's keep moving!"

The doors were open, and the control panel broken, so the group advanced easily.

Pointing their flash-lights, the first room was quickly illuminated.

In-between the rows of computers, most of them broken, were toppled chairs. The room was in disarray. But what covered the walls, was what really caught their attention.

It was a nightmare.

Solidified columns of the alien goo hung about the room, and strewn around the floor were leathery orbs, around a third of a meter high. They were neatly arranged, with a comfortable space around each, as if they had been set down purposely.

"What the hell…" Bucky breathed, running the beam of his flashlight back and forth across the room.

Stepping towards the closest column, Harry observed it closely.

He would never have approached such a strange object if not for his…disposition. What he did next was even more so unnatural.

Harry prodded the column gently with his finger, and flakes of the cemented structure immediately fell away and crashed to the floor. A shot of surprise ran through him as he saw what lay within.

Beside him, Peter yelped and stumbled back.

"My god. There are people in these things."

There was indeed a person trapped within the foul column. Their mouth was agog, with both of their arms held fast beside their thrown back head. Their contorted position seemed to epitomise pain.

What was most surprising, however, was the gaping hole in the centre of their chest which was only lightly coated in the strangling cement.

"Let me," Natasha pushed past them to observe the corpse.

Brushing away any loose bits of organic cement with one hand, Natasha reached through any gaps and studied what was left of the corpse.

She pulled her hand back to reveal the filthy remains of a badge.

"These aren't the uniforms of any Oscorp employee or marine…"

Recognising the badge, Bucky shook his head in disgust, "No, these are scavengers."

"How on earth did scavengers get onto this ship?" Steve exclaimed to no one in particular; "These starships have some of the tightest security I've ever seen…"

"I'm more concerned with what did this to them." Bucky mused, staring at the corpse.

He then turned to the others, "Check the other columns…there may be more clues."

The group spread out about the room and began to clear away any filth in order to better identify the many different corpses.

"I found an Oscorp employee!" Clint called.

"There's a marine over here!" Flash shouted.

Already, Bucky was relaying all the information to Peggy over his comm-link. Likewise, Harry was processing all the new data in front of him. It was so strange. Who or what had done this to these people?

"All of these people are dead." Natasha said, her tone disturbingly neutral. Of course, she could not help that.

"All right, back to the doorway, marines. I don't want you disturbing these things anymore until we get a scientific opinion." Bucky barked.

The marines quickly assembled by the doorway, all of them happy to put distance between themselves and the corpses.

They all turned to face the two Oscorp scientists, eager for an explanation. The two looked thoughtful as they surveyed the mess.

Bucky gestured to the columns, "Well, what can you tell me, Connors? Banner?"

Harry leaned in; he was just as curious as the lieutenant to hear the two scientists' conjecture.

Both scientists were quiet for a moment, their eyes closed and brows furrowed.

Eventually, after clearing his throat, Connors offered his own theories:

"Well, this stuff appears to be the same organic matter that Private Thompson slid on earlier… its being used, by we know not who, to trap victims in here. We still have to determine for what reason that is… but something's killed all these people. Their rib cages have been torn right through. Maybe the scavengers used them as hostages…?"

Banner shook his head, "No, I don't think so. There are scavengers strapped to these walls as well."

Fuelled by an insatiable curiosity, Harry too went to examine the corpse that Natasha had prodded at. Slowly, he ran his finger along the ruptured bones of the scavenger's rib-cage, and then took a step back, taking in the entire picture.

The exaggerated throes of death, the structure of the wound…

Then it hit him.

"Lieutenant," he said slowly, "Whatever killed these people, it erupted from inside their chests. Not the other way around."

"He's right." Natasha said, staring coolly at the dead man.

Bucky tilted his head questioningly, but nodded anyway.

"You guys are the experts… but what do you make of these leathery things…?"

The group turned their attention away from the cement graveyard, to the ugly, wrinkly pods that laced the floor. Noticeably, the ones nearest the dead bodies looked more shrunken in comparison to their taut counterparts, which lay further from the walls.

They were disturbingly well arranged; at least that's what Harry thought. Whatever had placed them down had done so intentionally, with care.

The marines stepped forwards expectantly, but Bucky called them back.

"We'd better let the actual scientists in the room take a look before we mess around with these things."

Wringing his hands nervously, Connors took a step backwards, surprising the group.

The man had been enthusiastic enough with the alien material when Flash had stumbled across it, and again when they'd uncovered the cocoons, only for him to bow out now.

Of course, Harry did not blame the man.

The discovery of an alien substance aboard the ship had not been part of the plan. The very discovery must have daunted him. Nothing larger than plants and small animal life had been found on the colonies, so the very prospect of aliens was…intimidating.

"Fine, I'll take a look," Banner muttered, rolling his eyes at Connors behaviour.

He crouched down beside the nearest sac and opened his small tool case. Taking out a metal swab, he ran it along the side of the pod.

Harry blinked; he could have sworn that the pod shivered in that moment.

"It's organic, alright." Banner called, reading out the results from his analyser, "I'm not sure what it is exactly…oh, hold the phone…"

The group gaped in astonishment; the sac was becoming clearer and clearer before their very eyes until it was nearly translucent. Fumbling in excitement, Banner illuminated the surface of the egg with his torch and very nearly dropped it as the contents was revealed.

Inside, amidst a sea of fluid, they could just make out a long-legged creature furling and unfurling what appeared to be its tail.

They had uncovered alien life. They had uncovered an egg, of all things!

Whilst the sight greatly interested Harry, as it was his nature as an android to learn, the marines packed in beside him looked pale. Even Peter, who couldn't hide the curiosity bursting from within, looked positively frightened.

By now, the pod was positively quivering, and startled yelps ran out as the creature inside began to writhe. Almost immediately, the marines cocked their guns, sights set on the egg whilst Banner stumbled back in surprise, clearly surprised by the strange movements of the alien.

"Dr. Banner…" Bucky called warningly, restraining Flash Thompson who was practically dry-heaving.

Then, with a strange hissing, the top of the egg began to unfurl slightly, like petals.

"Oh, I think it's going to hatch!" Banner said in astonishment, picking up his swab in preparation.

Alarmed, Bucky tried again, "Dr. Banner, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Quite suddenly, the egg burst with a hideous squelch.

Like slow motion, the creature flew through the air with its legs outstretched and its tail waving like a crooked pendulum. Almost immediately, a volley of bullets shot through the air at the creature, smoke rising from the gun nozzles.

But it was too late.

The creature landed on Banner, who barely had time to scream, before its legs latched mechanically around his head whilst its tail curled like a whip around his neck.

The scientist fell backwards with a crash and the gunfire stopped.

Time seemed to stand still as the smoke cleared.

What they saw, shook them all.

There on the floor, was Banner with the creature latched determinately to his face. They all rushed forwards, panic running through their systems, in order to help the poor scientist.

Distracted by the attack, the group failed to notice as yet another egg burst and another creature of nightmares sailed determinately through the air, intent on finding a host.

But Harry did.

Systems working like wild-fire, Harry instantly measured the creature's trajectory. Not wasting any more time, Harry leapt across the room and grabbed the beast by its tail before it could latch onto Peter Parker's terrified face.

The marine fell back onto the floor, his chest heaving in panic.

Before his eyes, the creature writhed madly, clawing at the air tirelessly and desperately trying to escape Harry's iron-like grip.

Surprised by its tenacity and strength, Harry began to swing the demon around by its tail.

After several strong swings, he panicked, and immediately slammed the creature against the nearest wall, with as much strength as he could muster. It hit the wall with a sickening crunch, and grew still, obviously stunned. Not taking any risks, he repeatedly beat it against the wall with an astonishing amount of ferocity until there was nothing left but a mangled pile of limbs, burning through the wall. Flecks flew through the air, landing on Harry's arm, burning through the artificial skin and onto the floor.

He threw the tail across the room in disgust, before examining his own arm for any damage to his inner circuits. Luckily, little damage.

"Watch out, the blood is acidic!" Harry yelled, as even more of the eggs began to open and the creatures inside began to squirm.

"That's it!" the lieutenant roared, "We're sending these things back to hell!"

Wildness in his eyes, Bucky immediately swung around and began to fire madly at the remaining eggs, and the other marines quickly followed suit.

In a sight that made their stomachs wrench, many of the eggs exploded, splattering slime and gunk into the air and drenching every surface nearby. A foul smell arose from the fetid remains, intermingling with the acrid smoke of the creature Harry had killed prior.

"Felicia! Natasha!" Bucky roared amidst the gunfire; "Burn these damned things!"

Nodding, both women cocked their flame-throwers and let fly. Great jets of flame issued from the weapons, engulfing what was left of the leathery orbs.

Any remains immediately went up in fire and smoke.

A collective sigh ran through the room.

"Is that all of them?" Flash called miserably.

Bucky did not answer, and instead began speaking hurriedly into his comm-link:

"Peggy? Do you copy? The ship is overrun with hostile creatures."

A strange howling, ear-splitting sounded.

It was a muffled sound, but close enough for panic to run through the group. It seemed to close in around them.

"What the hell was that?"

The question was ignored and cocking his gun, Bucky headed towards the door.

"Brace yourselves." He said.

If Harry had been of flesh and blood, the following moments would have surely been forgotten in a blur of metallic teeth, ribbed tails, rampant gunfire, and screaming. As it was, he was doomed register each and every movement as the creatures burst through the door and fell upon them.

Each scream, bullet, searing splash of acid, each torrent of blood, and brutal impact of alien upon man.

It was chaos.

It was hell.

Cocking his gun, Harry concentrated upon hitting each creature that came too close to the marines, and the occasional one that came his way. They seemed less interested in him, as they were in the younger marines like Peter or Felicia.

"Retreat!"

Already, they were overwhelmed. Bucky was a smart commander. These colossal beasts were too much. The perfect weapon.

Norman would like them…

Still firing their guns, screaming, the group hurriedly made their way to the corridor, a teeming wall of flesh and thrashing tails closing in on them.

Harry's coding overtook the faint part of him feeling a sense of panic. Instead, he pushed the marines forcibly through the door, making sure they went in before him. Group II was nowhere to be seen, probably separated from them by the hoard of demons.

They continued with this pattern, Harry pushing the marines back, and a wall of fire erupting around him to push back the aliens.

A flash of movement caught his eye, Peter had tripped.

Already, he had crossed that space and thrown Peter back towards the door, putting himself in his place. Peter's screaming filled his ears.

Already, flamethrowers were poised, but one beast broke through the wall of flame.

Its massive tail connected forcefully with Harry's abdomen and he was sent flying backwards into the corridor wall. A volley of bullets sang through the air and struck the beast and Felicia let fly with her flame-thrower. Soon all that was left was a sad pile of ash and the acrid smell of the beast's blood burning through the walls.

"Harry!"

Peter's shriek rang through his system and though his gaze was fuzzy, he could just make out Peter's outline as he ran to his side. Harry coughed to clear his throat of the android fluid that had become displaced and it dribbled down his chin messily, making for a gruesome picture. He looked up to see Peter supporting him awkwardly, all whilst still struggling to make his way down the corridor.

"Osborn's son is an android…? That man is fucking sick."

That was Sam. He was right, in a way.

"Don't talk about him like that! He's still Harry!"

Harry managed a small smile of gratitude at Peter's comment, but brushed the young man away. He didn't need anyone to defend his questionable humanity, though when Peter did it, it made him feel warm somehow. Though that may have just been his circuits over-heating…

"Enough of this!" Bucky barked angrily, weary with fear for his team; "We need to keep moving and get some distance between us and those…things."

The inhumane shrieking, though muffled, seemed to sound from all directions – permeating the very walls of the narrow corridors.

"Keep moving." Bucky said mechanically; and Harry had lost count of how many times he'd said it, each time less reassuring than the last.

When they did come to a stop, it was on the main bridge where the primary on-board computers were located, and hopefully an explanation for the creatures.

"Let's work on barring these doors, marines! Harry, I need you to try accessing the on-board computers to manually shut this door, and for any information. Anything. Quickly."

Despite their trauma, the team sprung to life and began to work with an admirable amount of speed. Harry quickly made his way over to the computers, which appeared intact.

Meanwhile, he could overhear Bucky trying to page Group II, who had separated from them in the chaos. Harry had seen it all, but Bucky with his human limitations surely had not.

"Group II, do you copy? Steve? Natasha? Over."

"Roger that, this is Natasha, over."

"What is your status, over?"

"No casualties. Barton's been hit in the leg, but minor injuries overall. We have Dr. Banner and are headed towards the hangar bay, over."

"Roger that. Get back on the Reed and get Banner to safety, notify Group I to ready the dropship. No casualties on this side. We are trying to access the primary on-board computers and will join you soon, over."

Drawing the majority of his attention back to the computer, Harry soon found the door controls. Hands flying across the keys, he quickly fixed the door. It would take a while for the creatures to get through with the locks in place. The debris the marines were piling up against the door would help as well.

With the doors barred, the marines stood beside Harry and Bucky.

A buzz of static ran out from Bucky's comm-link, as Peggy hailed them.

Peggy's voice was laced with panic, but she remained cohesive, "Group I! Do you read me? The lifeforms are following the spectagraphs! I can't turn them off remotely, they're too far away. You need to turn them off immediately before they finish the loop and reach Group I!"

The lieutenant whirled around to face Felicia, his expression panicked.

"Turn them off, Felicia! For god's sake, turn them off!" He quickly touched his ear, "Yeah, we hear you Peggy! We're turning them off!"

"They're off! They're off!" Felicia said hurriedly.

The room was enveloped in a strangled silence.

Peggy's voice sounded unusually high and broken as she managed to whisper, "Group 3 has been completely wiped out."

"Shit."

Notes: CLIFF-HANGER!

Is Group III alive...?
Will everyone get out in time...?
Will Bruce get that freaking facehugger off of his beautiful face?!

Bruce Banner, the eternal victim. He's not stupid, but he got a bit excited by alien life so…and he isn't even a biologist (Connors you little bitch). Also, Sam's not trying to insult Harry (Sam Wilson is an absolute gift, I will fight you), but Norman. 'Cus Norman is a sick bastard.

Also, in the Alien novelisation, the creature gets distracted by a green light which allows the engineer Parker to attempt to dispel it via the airlock. Therefore, it seemed to make sense that the Xenomorphs would be just as distracted by the spectagraphs (which move, as well as flash red).

Dry-heaving Flash was my favourite thing to write. Makes me laugh every time.