From the Abyss of the Heart

AN: I must apologize for the delay of this chapter, It's been Five Years since I last updated anything on this site. So Surprise folks! I'm not dead! I've just had a few things tweaked tis all. Hormones are a wonderful thing that can really make you a new person. That said, my muse is back and so is the Abyssal with a heart of gold. 'Ere we goooo!

Chapter 6: Revelations

The Night After The Battle With The Yorktown...

Laura P.O.V

I was running through what was left of Times Square as artillery shells landed around me. Explosions ripped through the buildings on either side of me, killing hundreds of people with each blast. The heat from each blast was intense enough to cause my skin to glow red. What was going on? I wondered. My eyes widend, as I came to a stop in the middle of the famous intersection, my path blocked by a pale haired woman with a horn sticking out of her forehead and two massive white claws for hands. She was standing in the middle of the burning square, seemingly unfazed by the chaos around her. Somehow deep inside I knew I was screwed, as the woman lifted her left hand and pointed at me, and with a soft yet somehow earth shattering voice spoke. "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE ABYSS! YOU CANNOT GO BACK! EMBRACE THE DEEP AND THE DARKNESS WITHIN! THIS WILL COME TO PASS NO MATTER WHAT IS UNDONE. THE ABYSS IS FREE! FREE TO RULE. FREE TO KILL! NOW SINK!" With those final words, the world around me exploded into fire.

I awoke in my bed with a gasp and covered with sweat, rousing my husband from his slumber. "Laura? Babe? Is everything okay?" He asked.

I looked at the clock on the table stand next to me. 2:30 am. Rolling over and trying to get comfortable once more, I sighed. "Just a nightmare Honey. Go back to sleep."

Feeling him wrap his arms around my nude waist, I wiggled my body closer to his, and desperately tried to sleep. But my mind focused on the woman's words 'No matter what is undone. The Abyss is free.' Was that a warning that despite whatever plan the Avengers had come up with, that they would have to deal with Abyssals from here on out? That the Abyssals wouldn't go away with the undoing of the Decimation? I shook my head, those were debates for later, when everyone was awake and I wasn't as tired. I closed my eyes once more and let the embrace of Morpheus take me.

The Next Morning...

It was still early when I got up and threw on my morning gown. Entering the kitchen/common room, I slowly made my way over to the Keurge machine, and placed a coffee cup that said "Property of Nick Fury" under the tap. I then grabbed a Green Mountain coffee pod and loaded it into the machine and pressed 'start'. As soon as the machine was done filling my cup, I picked it up and tossed the used pod before taking a sip of the black elixer. Despite being an Abyssal, coffee still worked it's magic on my Boilers. Closing my eyes, I hummed in contentment as the caffeinated beverage gave me that extra boost to get me going. "Well, I see someone is starting the day on the right foot. Mind if I squeeze by?" Asked Tony.

Realizing I was still standing by the Keurge, I blushed slightly. "Sure. Sorry about that." I said slightly embarrassed.

"So, sleep well?" He asked as he grabbed a pod and placed it in the machine.

"Not quite. I think we might have a problem." I admitted.

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he . "Oh? What sort of problem?"

"An Abyssal problem involving undoing the snap." I told him.

He froze in mid grab. "Forgive me, but did you just say we have another problem undoing what Thanos did?"

Sitting down at one of the tables "I had a vision Mr. Stark. A vision of fire and death, with the promise of the Abyss rising no matter what."

A frown crossed his face and his mood darkened. "So we need a contingency plan to deal with the Abyss. Right?"

I nodded, and grinned "Not so much a contingency plan, than acknowledging that those who have come back already need to be allowed to choose whether they wish to remain Abyssals or return to the lives the once had."

Tony cocked an eyebrow at that. "I take it you've already made your decision."

"For me yes, but I think this discussion would be best finished during the meeting."

Tony nodded in agreement. "Fair enough."

Laura gave him a slight smile, "Parenthood really has changed you Tony. For the better if you ask me."

10:00 am Conference room...

After a briefing of the prior days events Steve asked Laura to bring up what she saw in her vision. Laura did her best to describe in detail what she saw, and Thor scowled. "Damn to Hela it has returned."

Tony looked at the god and asked. "You've encountered this thing before?"

The Aesier nodded his head. "Yes. Many ages ago, when I was still young my Father faced this being in combat, and in doing so cemented Asgard's legacy across the realms." He paused, and studied the Barton women with his good eye making sure to take in each inhuman feature that he could see. A hardened look fell across his face and he continued his tale. "At the time of this great conflict, The Abyss had gained much power, as it able to harness the souls that inhabited ships and other craft."

"Time out." Tony said interrupting Thor. "You mean to tell me that the old wives' tale that ships have souls is true?"

Thor glared at Tony at first then smiled slightly. "That 'Old Wives' tale as you put it is indeed true. It is what made the Abyss so dangerous. For every craft lost, whether it be in the void of deep space or the depths of some ocean was at it's disposal." He pulled a holographic emitter out of a satchel. It was old and ancient, and had seen better days. "Some of my people have spent the last few years searching the debris of Asgard for anything that might of survived. It is only by chance that this record survived at all, so we are fortunate to have it at all." He pressed a few buttons on the device and a map of the universe came to life. It started out with various colored stars and galaxies which represented the various powers of the time, taking up their own parts of space. Then like a disease various spots of it became a dark black which spread through the map like tentacles. Thor explained that the map was a representation of the universe as the Abyss made its march through it. Then the bright gold of Asgard began to push back against the dark tide. At first just a little, then it made great inroads into the lines of the Abyss. Before finally it completely crushed the darkness. He waved at the map. "At the peak of it's power it ruled over a quarter of the universe with an iron fist, only to be brought low by my Father. It took several campaigns and hundreds of thousands of warriors to defeat the Abyss but in the end my Father sealed it inside of the... By the Ravens!" He suddenly cried out as a horrifying realization came to him. "The Soul Stone! Thanos that fool, he's doomed us all!"

"Uh huh. Mind filling us in on exactly how we are doomed?" Tony asked.

Thor looked at his fellow Avengers with cold eyes. "The Abyss is a being that delighted in causing chaos everywhere it could reach. It delights in the act of corrupting souls to add to it's army. Which made it all but impossible to stop. That is why it took my Father using the Soul Stone as a prison to stop it. Souls could enter the stone but never leave, as the runes my father placed on it would have prevented escape through anything less the power of the Gauntlet." He scowled, "And as we have seen it can also turn the souls of normal beings into Abyssals." He glanced at the three Abyssals before continuing. "Five years ago Thanos gave the Abyss half a universe to choose from before destroying the stone's physical form and erasing the stones presence from reality."

Lila frowned and gave the map a poke causing it to spin a bit. "This may be true. But we didn't imagine the torture of the last five years. So in some manner the stone still exist. So how does the destruction of it's physical form effect the seal?" Lila asked.

Giving the young abyssal a genuine smile, Thor answered her. "Ah. You are a smart one. By destroying the Stone, Thanos destroyed the physical seal my Father placed upon it. You see, despite all of his might and power, altering an Infinity stone to it's core is something that is impossible to do, even for my a being such as my Father. So he did the second best thing and etched a series of sealing runes onto the stone's surface. Those runes were most certainly destroyed when Thanos destroyed the stones."

"And in the process of destroying the stones he unleashed a being that gave Odin a challenge, while at the same time offered the souls of his victims an escape. How intriguing." Laura said thoughtfully.

There was a collective realization around the room as each Avenger came to the same horrifying conclusion. That Laura Barton and her daughters were likely the first Abyssals of what could potentially become many.

Bruce groaned. "If that's the case we need to figure out how the Abyss is choosing the souls for it's "Army" and what set them apart from the others. Tony and I ran the numbers to try and figure out how many souls might be left in that dimension." He gestured at Tony, who slightly caught off guard by being but on the spot sat a little straighter in his chair.

"Well, despite the fact that we are missing large quantities of data, we did come up with a number. Going from what we know, we can easily say that the soul stone initially contained over 3.5 billion souls from Earth alone, that isn't even counting the trillions of souls from other worlds. So going by what little the Abyss revealed to the Bartons, the Big Guy and I figured that with the rate of consumption taken into account, there are potentially anywhere between 500 million to a full one billion souls remaining that the Abyss could convert and release upon the planet." Stated Tony. He coughed, "But without any other Known Abyssals to interview, those numbers really mean nothing. Uh, Nat? Why are you looking like the cat that ate the Canary?"

Now it was widely known that Natasha had one hell of a poker face, so to see a shit eating grin cross her face like the one she had at the moment was a cause for alarm. And so was the bomb she chose to drop. "Because earlier this morning I got a phone call that fifty new Abyssals showed up in formation at Norfolk. All of them were escapees from the Soul Stone."

The room went silent for a moment before Steve spoke up. "Natasha. Remember what we agreed on when we reformed S.H.E.I.L.D.?"

"No more big secrets? That was kind of why I was waiting for an appropriate moment to mention it." She started wry-lie.

Tony made a coughing noise that sounded vaguely like something that rhymed with 'Pull Ditch'. Natasha shot Tony a questioning look. "I caught that Tony. I had no intention of hiding this information from anyone. In fact I was one of the last to know."

That sparked interest from Steve. "Why?" he asked.

"Because when they showed up they made a show of it. On Camera. During a Live News Broadcast. By the time any Government Officials had a chance to react, it had gone from Local news to International News." She gave a slight chuckle. "Hell. The only reason the Navy didn't loose it's mind is because of the intel we managed to gather from the Bartons. Intel which, I might add, S.H.E.I.L.D. readily shared with them. No one wants a repeat of Lila's tour of Tokyo Bay." She explained, before giving aforementioned girl a soft smile. "No offense Lila."

The Abyssal gave her a strained smile. "None taken." Lila responded. Yeah, no one had really forgotten her little tantrum. Or what the human cost had been. The only reason the Japenese had forgiven her was because she had been considered a Kami of sorts. Granted the word Onryo had also been tossed around. Vengeful Spirit indeed.

But she had also brought hope. Hope of loved ones coming home from the beyond. But now there where more like her. Oh, joy.

Natasha, oblivious to Lila's inner turmoil continued on. "At any rate, even though they can be considered ships the Navy is of the opinion that any and all Abyssals fall under S.H.E.I.L.D.'s jurisdiction. And Steve before you ask, I did try to argue otherwise." She said cutting off Steve who definitely thought otherwise. "Their response was and I quote. 'You already have three of these Abyssals, and have successfully deployed them. Thus any further arrivals fall under your purview. This is not up to discussion. The Navy has enough problems with steel hulled ships we are not equipped to deal with the supernatural. S.H.E.I.L.D. on the other hand is.' End quote." She finished.

"Great. So I take it that this place is about to get very busy isn't it?" Banner asked, dreading the answer.

Natasha gave him a wry smile, "You could say that." She turned to open concourse behind her, and gestured below, "Besides, I'm tired of seeing this place look so empty."

Steve nodded in agreement. For too long the Avengers facility had sat practically vacant. Perhaps this was the fresh start they needed. But was frustrated about the fact that the Navy and by proxy, United States Government, had just dumped fifty transformed souls on them. Not that he could blame their reasoning. God help them all.

"So newbies huh? Meadow asked, "This ought to be interesting." The massive head that was Kendra nodded her head eagerly. "Not to mention fun."

Norfolk Va, Abyssal Fleet...

The Returnee

On the end of pier 14 stood a woman with red and black ankle length hair. She wore a rather ragged pair of bell-bottoms and black crop top. Her arms were covered in steel colored wraps that ran up and down her forearms. A warm humid breeze ruffled the ragged captain's coat she wore, as her neon purple eyes gazed out across the water toward Hampton. Behind her a man in dress whites approached with a grim look on his face. "Ms. Rebecca Lanes I assume?" He asked.

She turned to face him, a look of sadness on her face. "I already know. I'm all that's left."

The Admiral grimaced, "I wish I had better news for you ma'am, but these have been very trying times for all." He stated as he handed the woman a folded American flag. "Your father was a good man, and a good sailor. It's just a damn shame what happened."

She took the folded flag in hand. "Arlington? Right?" She asked.

The Admiral nodded. "They're both buried there. Side by side as stated in their wills."

Rebecca clenched the flag in her hands as her eyes began to tear up with black oil. "Thank you Admiral." Tucking the flag into her state room she turned to face the river again. "I take it that's not the only news you've brought me though."

"As of 16:00 hours you and your fleet mates are now S.H.E.I.L.D's problem. You are to make best possible speed to their H.Q. located in New York city." He stated.

"Well in that case I guess we better get going then." she stated as she saluted the Admiral.

"Permission to Depart Port sir." She asked.

"Permission Granted. Good luck." He said returning the salute.

With that simple exchange completed Rebecca leapt from the dock and her form shimmered in mid air before being replaced by the form of a Midway class aircraft carrier.

Several other girls around the port also began to leave adjacent piers, till fifty vessels were sailing out into the Bay. Among them were roughly a dozen destroyers ranging from the flush decks of the Clemson class to Fletchers. Cruisers of varying nationalities, from Deutchland class pocket battleships, to the light Kuma class, and the heavy Alaska class. The real stars of the show were the capital ships, for aside from the Midway class aircraft carrier, there was also the IJN Shinnaio, the legendary battleship IJN Yamato, The Italian Battleship Roma, and a behemoth that many were almost certain was a H-Class BB. But the true stars of the fleet three very familiar sister ships CV-5 CV-8, and CV-6, the USS YORKTOWN, USS HORNET, and the USS ENTERPRISE, the three legendary carriers of the Pacific. The motly fleet was massive and bizzare and though their forms were rather twisted mockeries of their original forms, there was a sense of hope that emanated from the fleet of black and steel ships.

The old Admiral stood watching as each ship traversed the narrow channel to the sea, each one making the run through the Three Sisters Shallows. The Midway blew her horn as she passed Fort Story and fired off a salute to the old lighthouses there. In doing so she brought a smile to the old Admiral's face. Abyssal or not the woman was military through and through.

"Godspeed ladies, may you have calm winds and following seas." He said as the last ship cleared the Bay Bridge tunnel.

Well that took forever to write. Current world events have me rattled and I'm just trying to hang in there. Some of you may be wondering who Rebecca is, well to answer your question, she is my shameless self insert. I based my SI's appearance off of various characters that have inspired me as of late. No that is not my real name but it works for now.
As for the fleet. My knowledge of various ship types is vague and fuzzy these days compared to when I first started writing this story, so forgive me if they're a bit on the nose as far as who and what showed up. My muse for this story is running on fumes and with my current mental state. Well, let's just say me turning into an Abyssal would actually be an improvement on my current state.
This is RainyQueen signing off.