Sitting on the floor whilst Siren Alley was being drained gave Stanley plenty of time to think. He was still holding onto the side of the airlock, the currents still far too strong to move in. The water levels were just reaching the top of his head, and were slowly lowering further.
His lips were pursed in frustration.
Though he hadn't allowed her to disrupt his thoughts earlier, Kate O'Malley had muscled her way in whilst his mind wasn't occupied with thoughts of staying alive.
How had she known where he was? He could have been anywhere in Rapture, and since it was several years since he'd flooded Dionysus Park, he could have been dead for all she knew. He'd hidden for so long and hidden well it was nearly inconceivable that she could have known he'd returned. Anything could have happened in that time, yet she'd persisted to kill him, despite the fact that "time heals all wounds".
Everyone had done something unspeakable in Rapture, why did he deserve death any more than they? And why now, just as he was doing something right for a change?
He watched as the water level reached the top of his porthole and began to descend further.
Why had Kate even made it her personal goal to pursue Stanley for his sins? He barely spoke to her, except for the occasional conversations at parties she'd attended either as maintenance staff or as a member of The Family. Maybe she felt it necessary to avenge her fellow Family members, when Lamb had refused to punish him. Or maybe she had another reason to punish him that he wasn't aware of.
Stanley frowned. He should have made sure that she'd been there when he'd sealed everyone in. That could have avoided this situation if he'd been attentive.
"Stanley Poole?"
Stanley nearly jumped out of his suit. Jeez, I'm way too jumpy today.
"What do you want, Thinker?" Stanly gasped, clutching his heart.
"Drainage of Siren Alley is complete."
Stanley looked about him. He was no longer submerged, but the water level rested at the top of the stairs, still submerging everything underneath, roughly mid-thigh high at the bottom of the steps
"Uh, Thinker? No it isn't. I think you need to recalibrate your sensors or summit…"
"Due to the fact that the airlock it situated at a higher level than the ground level of Siren Alley, the airlock cannot drain off any more water."
"Can't the drains do the rest?"
"There is a leak in the pumping station. Water drained off will just be replaced."
"Wait, there's a leak? I thought someone just left the doors open!" Stanley groaned, glancing exasperatedly down at the staircase to Siren Alley. The water was shallow enough not to cause a problem, but enough to irritate him in his current emotional state.
"If there wasn't a leak, then the Siren Alley drains would have been able to drain off the water without the auxiliary pumps," Thinker replied. If Stanley didn't know any better, he would have thought that Thinker was being condescending, "It appears the pumping mechanisms have been overloaded, causing some pipes to rupture as well as the airlock being opened. This would have been done deliberately, as it would have flooded Siren Alley twice as fast. Fortunately, the pipes can be easily repaired with the application of heat to weld the pipes back together. As the pumps were only necessary to drain Dionysus Park, these pumps can be turned off. The leak would need to be repaired in Dionysus Park before this is possible, else we risk flooding again. I will have to run a diagnostic to locate the main leak…"
Stanley guiltily wrung his hands but said nothing, knowing full well that he could make this guy's job easier by just telling him where the leak was.
"After the pipes have been repaired, the Siren Alley drains will be able to drain off any more water. The airlock will siphon off water generated in the mean time. Unfortunately, the pumping station will still be either mostly or entirely submerged."
Stanley sighed exasperatedly, but got up and began to wade into the water.
"You're gonna have to help me Thinker; I don't know where everything is…wait! Application of heat? What am I gonna use to do that? Some sorta welder that can be used underwater?"
"I have no record of any registered underwater welders in the Maintenance area."
Stanley waited for the Thinker to continue, but he didn't.
"You gonna suggest how I'm meant to carry out your plan then?" Stanley snapped. He'd walked into the Little Eden Plaza, halting waist deep before continuing.
"I was under the impression that Rapture's citizens were "spliced up" with plasmids, one of which is named Incinerate! Apparently I was mistaken. I must amend my data…"
"Wait, your pissed 'cus I ain't spliced up? Jeez, who created you? That's something to be proud of. It means I could keep my head, that I didn't join the rest of those crazies that go around killing anything that moves."
Oh no, you kept your head alright. It's not like killing off an entire district just to keep a secret isn't a sane thing to do.
"The name of my creator was Charles Milton Porter, who was aided by Reed Wahl. I apologize, as offence was not intended. I must advise though that you introduce the plasmid Incinerate! 3 to your body, as repairing the pipes is impossible without it."
"I already have Incinerate!..."
"…Question. Why did you complain then?"
"It was the fact that you assumed I had it. You shouldn't do that. Believe it or not, some people would be repulsed if you asked them the splice up. Anyways, I have Incinerate!, not Incinerate! 3. Why can't I just use mine?"
"Incinerate! was only intended to create fires, rather than for the use of heat. If you tried to use Incinerate! underwater, the fire would dissipate. Incinerate! 3 enables the user to create a continuous jet of flame. This could be used to weld, as though the flames will still dissipate, at a close distance to the desired area, enough heat could be generated to fix the leaks. There are gloves available that workers use to concentrate the flames even further so the effect is enhanced."
"Well that's all well and good, but you're forgetting something. Plasmids cost ADAM, and unfortunately, I don't have any on me-"
Stanley's hand suddenly flew to his pocket. The ADAM slug was still there, curled into a ball and moving slightly.
"Well, I don't have enough on me. What am I supposed to do now?"
The Thinker paused, momentarily stumped.
"I have an idea which may or may not be appropriate."
"And that is…?"
"You could go outside and retrieve the sea slugs which secrete ADAM."
Stanly laughed.
"Seriously? You think I can go outside and gather ADAM slugs? Each ADAM slug has about ten ADAM in it, not nearly enough to get what I need, bearing in mind in need to get Incinerate! 2 as well as 3. I'd have to gather at least 30 slugs. I'm not even sure you can even get Incinerate! 3 here-"
"Check the Pneumo."
Stanley straightened, suddenly wary of whatever the Thinker had sent him as a Pneumo nearby pinged. He'd provided enough valid argument's against him having to repair the pumps, right? He'd probably just sent him an underwater welder or something along those lines. Come to think of it, why hadn't he done that before?
Stupid robot…
Stanley waded through the water towards the Pneumo outside of a building called "The Pink Pearl" to his left, the light above flashing to indicate that it had received post.
Bodies and debris floated in the water, forcing Stanley to push them out of the way as he progressed towards his goal. The water bubbled above drains as they tried to remove the water which was being replaced at a rapid rate, though Stanley knew that the pumps in the airlock would remove the water as it got too high.
Being as quick as he could, Stanley flicked open the door of the Pneumo tube and removed the canvas bag which had appeared inside before too much water flooded the air dependant Pneumo system. A giant air bubble erupted around the closing door, signifying that a sizeable amount of water had eluded the Alley, speeding off down the tubes to flood even more of Rapture.
Looking around him, Stanley located a flight of stairs and sprinted up them, relishing in the absence of the ever present pressure water presented when immersed.
He set himself down on the top stair and stretched his legs out, pulling the canvas bag onto his lap. He heard glass clink with the motion.
Stanley slowly opened the bag, grimacing slightly as a red glow escaped.
Red equals ADAM. Or Plasmids.
He retrieved the two items from the bag before tossing it over the rail and into the water. He stared at them. In his left hand, he held a syringe labeled Incinerate! 3. In the other, a vial of glowing ADAM. The measuring scale on the side of the vial indicated that it contained 120 ADAM, which just so happened to be the correct amount for Incinerate! 2.
"And you didn't think of this before because…?" Stanley asked, staring into the syringe of Incinerate! 3, mesmerized by the swirling liquid inside.
"It didn't occur to me," Thinker replied simply.
Stanley muttered under his breath as he got to his feet. He walked across the walkways, straining his ears as he tried to listen for the obnoxious singing the Gatherers' Garden booth usually emitted. When he heard nothing, he descended the nearest stairs and slogged though the water, finally locating the vending machine right next to a Gene Bank. Both machines chimed as he neared, circus like music playing from the Gene Bank whilst a little girl sang "In the garden we are growin'!", both sounding off key. The sea water had probably damaged the speaker systems.
Stanley uncorked the vial of ADAM and poured it into the Gatherer's Garden receptacle, watching as the red liquid drained down and into the machine. Using the buttons, Stanley keyed in his selection. With a series of clunks and whirrs, Incinerate! 2 was deposited into the deposit compartment.
"I hate this part," Stanley groaned. Reaching for the Plasmid, he retrieved the syringe provided by the machine and held it in his right hand. Plasmid in the other, he sunk the needle into the lid of the bottle, pulling up the plunger upwards and filling the syringe with the Incinerate! 2. Plasmids were always sold in a bottle that catered for more than one person. This was a marketing ploy by Fontaine Futuristics and later copied by all other Plasmid companies as it appealed to the people who perhaps didn't have enough ADAM to purchase plasmids by themselves. They could band together and buy a bottle to share. It was also useful when t came to gifts, as someone could buy the full bottle of Plasmids and give them to their friends.
He pulled the syringe out of the bottle and dropped it, allowing the rest to spill across the floor. There was no one else here he could give it to, and in a populated area it would just make him a target.
He detached the glove on his left hand with a twist from the right, pulling it off with his teeth. This way he had something to bite on.
He yanked the sleeve of the suit up, exposing his forearm. With a strong thrust, the needle punctured the skin in his arm. He pushed the plunger down and felt acid spread though his system, burning as it re-wrote his genetic code, updating his previous Plasmid and forcing him to his knees with pain. His bit the glove so hard he could feel his teeth ramming into his skull, blood leaking from his gums whilst his vision blurred.
The pain receded before he could scream, retreating as the Plasmid became stable in the body. Stanley slumped on his knees, breathing hard. Before he could think about it, he grabbed the other plasmid and sank it into the same arm.
His back arced with agony, and he was unable to repress the scream which escaped from his lips. Unable to hold his body anymore, Stanley keeled over sideways, his helmet slamming against the floor as his vision completely blacked out.
A/N: I think I've hit that stage when the detail kinda goes down the toilet. I promise I have a story plan…well, a basic one, but I'm afraid it may take a few chapters. I'll try to get better, promise!