Ripjaws

In most every way, this form of a Piscciss Volann resembled the Trench, minus the tale and the coloration. Well, there is the glowing bobber on it's head also. So, when Logan transformed into a green version of one it caused some concern in the crowd. Worst off the poor dog got scared of him and ran off.

Arthur and Mera were the most curious, J'onn didn't seem to find it strange no matter what Logan turned into. Of course, he could probably turn into a Mackerel and still kick Logan's ass all across the seven seas. Being stared at and visually dissected was not comfortable at all so Logan jumped into the water to get the group moving.

Once everyone was in the water, Logan found it surprisingly comfortable to tuck his legs into the pouches on his tail to make it look like his lower half was all tail now. The hardest thing for Logan to get used to when changing shapes was the different spectrums of sight and hearing. The closest thing he could relate his current vision to was infrared with more than just two colors. Or maybe with Ripjaws eyes, he could see more shades of red, it was all very confusing at first.

The Ocean had many different shades also, it was now super easy to see the currents, tides, and streams inside the mass of water. Within 5 feet you could be in 3-4 different currents all pushing in different directions and at different paces. This must be why the Atlanteans don't swim in straight lines all the time. To do so would quickly tire you out.

Logan could see Mera react to these things with grace and ease which spoke of a natural balance with the sea itself. Arthur was a pale imitation too this, using more stamina by crashing through it all. J'onn in the form of a Merman did the same but his body had the strength to spare. Logan swam circles around them all just getting used to his form.

J'onn connected them all with a surface thought channel so they could communicate as they swam. Logan bombarded Mera and Arthur with questions about the things he was seeing and eventually, he realized that he may have embarrassed Arthur a little, as Arthur didn't even notice much of the stuff Logan was asking about. Mera would gently chide him for his lack of what she called common sense for a 5-year-old. Never being disrespectful but defiantly letting him know she wanted him to learn more about this world.

After a long time of swimming, Mera brought up something Logan was trying to not think about.

Mera, {I know we plan on seeing if anyone they took is still alive. But then what? If we take their food away, they will just come back looking for more.} Knowing Arthur's heart was far more tender than his looks would suggest, she asked the hard questions.

{They are monsters Arthur, filled with nothing but hunger.} Mera pressed.

Arthur replied, {We don't know what they are yet Mera, maybe we can find a clue to communicate with them.} Even his thoughts didn't sound hopeful though.

{If they are so desperate for food that they are willing to turn to cannibalism, they must be on the verge of extinction or just awakened after a long time asleep.}

{Then they are just trying to survive. Just like us.}

{If they feed on sentient beings with no remorse, then they can't be left alone.} Mera pointed out, not willing to let Arthur evade the issue.

{Maybe.} his thought tone was hinting that he had talked enough and now he wanted to think.

As they went deeper, Arthur called in some Angler fish from a ways out, and as the group waited for them they tried to plan for what they could be facing. Once they arrived, the group went farther down into the darkness.

Finding a trench on the ocean floor that was covered with many overhangs, the group slowly entered.

J'onn was oddly silent, but I figured he was just following Aquaman's lead as they were in his area of expertise.

After swimming through the trenches for a while Arthur said, {Normally I can see at the bottom of the ocean just fine..}

Mera followed his thought, {My eyes are having a hard time dealing with the toxins in the water as well, how are you, Logan?}

{My eyes are good, but my gills seem….. gritty I would guess, like I want to cough to clear out my lungs. I don't know if it's normal or not after swimming so long. This is my first time in this form.}

J'onn pointed out another issue, {It is also getting hotter, it is uncomfortable.}

{We must be close to a volcanic vent. How can anything survive down here?} Mera was starting to get concerned.

{Ask the fish that are lighting the way. Or the humanoids that brought the townspeople down here.}

{You're wrong about them Arthur, they aren't like us. They're primitive, unintelligent. And worst of all, hungry.}

Logan cut in, {If they aren't intelligent then someone else must have built that.} Logan could now see the bottom of the trench and there was what looked like the hull of a spaceship or submarine of some sort. Not the type humans build though, the color was different if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. It also seemed as though it was wedged into the ground. Like it impacted hard. The group could easily see 200 yards of a golden-colored hull that wasn't covered over.

Surrounding it were vents that were spewing out red-hot smoke, it was blinding to Logan's eyes. The farther the cloud got from the vents the darker it got until it was eventually clouding out the colors of the sea entirely. Just looked like a dark blob forming above them.

Arthur, {It looks like some kind of fortress or… wait. See how it's angled into the trench wall near the vent?}

Mera, {Like it crashed into it. Those creatures couldn't have built this Arthur. It's some kind of underwater craft. Is it extraterrestrial?}

The last question from Mera was directed a J'onn. Its funny how people always looked to him for answers about space because he is from Mars. People didn't look to Superman near as quickly as J'onn and he was from much farther away.

J'onn responded, {I do not know, but it has been here for tens of thousands of years judging by the erosion of the walls that are covering portions of it. No way it was part of Darkseid's forces.}

{That would place it here before even the fall of Atlantis.}

Mera stopped and used her hand to clear a spot near what could be a hatch. {This looks like ancient Atlantean writing. Very archaic. Look, there is a breach in the hull. Maybe the creatures have taken refuge in it?} Pointing to a spot 30 or so yards from where they were.

As the group swam towards the hole in the ship's hull, Logan noticed something and said, {I don't speak Angler fish or anything but from the looks of the ones you brought Arthur, I would guess "Peace out Bitches!" is what we would be hearing about now as they run away from the dark scary hole.}

Mera and Arthur looked back.

Arthur sounding frustrated, {Their survival instincts are overriding my telepathy.}

Mera, looking on in concern asked, {Has this ever happened before?}

Arthur, {Never}.

Logan, {Guess I am the only bright point in this group now.} He swam to the middle of the group to help everyone see as much as possible. Though he was betting that J'onn's Martian vision was doing just fine.

Arthur, {At least we know we are headed in the right direction. I would hate for this trip to have had nothing to do with our purpose in coming down here."}

Mera, {I know we're hoping to find those people alive and we're hoping to bring them back to the surface, but what then? If we are right, these creatures came to land because they wiped out their own food supply. They have now tasted red meat and seen how easy it is to get.}

Arthur, {What are you thinking Mera?}

Mera, {That we need to seal up this trench, so they don't come back and attack the surface again.}

Arthur, {We do that, and we could kill off an entire species.}

Mera, {They're mindless creatures. They'll do nothing but harm the world we seek to protect.}

Arthur, {Isn't that what many of those in Atlantis say about the surface world and humans?}

Mera, {Don't pull that card on me, Arthur Curry. These things eat humans, and they eat a lot.}

Arthur, {I'm sorry love, but why bring their 'food' back? Why not stay where it is plentiful?}

J'onn, {I see something approaching, it's small.}

Mera, {A fish maybe?}

Arthur, {No.. It looks like a child or dwarf of the attackers.}

As Logan swam farther into the cave, {I see many of these things, and they are all dying.}

Mera, {They look sick, maybe mutated?}

J'onn, {Look at them all, they look inbred. They look to be a dying race.}

As we all come to the end of the tunnel, we see a bright blue source of light. And it reveals a creature that looks the same as the others overall but it's 50 times the size of the largest one that came to the surface.