Five men stood together on the deck of the yacht, scratg their heads. They stared down into the water with perturbed looks on their faces. From left tht, Stitches scratched at his short beard and squinted into the water, tilting his head a little to the right. His dark hair soaked by the rain that had passed over just an hour before. Haus crossed his arms, the tan man sniffing ond turning his head slowly to look towards his right. His faintly glowing red eyes narrowed a bit. Wake scratched his neck, shifting a bit on his feet awkwardly and cleared his throat. Trigger exhaled through his lips, making a popping sound and bounced a bit on the balls of his feet.

  At the end of the lihe much taller Barry coughed into his fist and put his hands on his hips. “So uh, and that’s how it happened,” He said awkwardly. “I’d say a job well done, right?”

  The four others looked over at him incredulously before looking down into the water below. They looked back up at him and each made an exaggerated face of disgust, disbelief, and utter fusion. He pointedly ighem, rubbing at his as he squinted into the surf for a moment. “Hmm, I wonder what we should do with them now that I think of it.”

  Trigger threw his hands up into the air and walked away for a moment. Wake crouched down and ughed. Stitches rubbed his hands over his face while Haus pat his shoulder solingly. Barry kept ign them as he mulled it all over. “It’s not like any of us know how to drive one of these things. Or really hem with me and Bubs around,” He said thoughtfully. He didn’t even blink when Trigger nded on his shoulders and ed his hands around Barry’s impossibly thieck from behind, trying tle him. “Could always ask the boss for Amos.”

  On his shoulders, Trigger pulled a hammer out of his tool belt and it started to glow a bit. He reared back with it for a moment befetting a look from Wake aing out a sigh. The hammer stopped glowing a it back.

  Barry crossed his arms and tilted his head, “Maybe give ‘em a cool paint job.”

  Trigger whipped his head in Wake’s dire, gesturing frantically at Barry. Wake just shook his head and waved his hands pgly. Trigger threw his head ba a silent groan and hopped off of Barry’s back, walking over and crossing his arms before looking bato the water again, “You stole two nuclear submarines, and your first thought is to give them a snappy paint job?” He asked, gng up at his boss.

  “Fmes,” Barry said with a toothy grin.

  “They’re submarines!” Trigger shouted, throwing his hands up again.

  “Blue fmes,” Barry corrected, his expressihtening.

  Wake fell back, ughing and kicked his feet. Trigger turned around and started kig at him, “What’s so goddamn funny you walkih adviset back here!” He barked as Wake teleported away, reappearing on the bridge of the yacht and tinuing to ugh. Trigger turned and pulled a tennis ball out of a small sa his waist only for stitches to grab his arm. He gnced over at the guy who shook his head with a weary smile and sighed. “Don’t want to glue him back together, huh?” He said. Stitches nodded and shrugged, turning back to the view of the two nuclear submarines lined up o one another just a few meters beh the water o the yacht.

  “Guess the only thing we do is call for Amos,” Trigger said with a sigh.

  Barry nodded, “Ayep, that’s my thought,” He said and paused for a moment. He seemed to go a little pale for a few heartbeats before he cleared his throat, “Hey uh… Trigger, you do me a favor, my friend?”

  Trigger g him and squinted, “What is it… boss?”

  “Would you uh…” He trailed off, “Mind calling the boss and asking for Amos to visit, I gotta go che the odore and his fleet. Thanks bro! Later!” He said quickly before diving right into the water and vanishing into the depths.

  Stitches and Haus both stared into the water after him for a moment before looking up at Trigger. Somewhere in the background, Wake was howling with ughter, the faint ks of him pung a wall in his mirth carrying over them. Trigger stood stiffly, fists ched, his face red, his eyes squeezed shut as he wrestled with the urge to blow everything and everyone up around him. Maybe just the boat, that would vert nicely into a few million sticks of dynamite worth. He sighed when he remembered he’d have to be standio it when it went off.

  He paused and sidered it anyway then scratched his head, “Wake!” He shouted as he turned from the railing, “Where’s the damn Ishtar line?” He shouted as the ma ughing, “Quit yobblin’ or I’m gonna cut off your food for a week!” He barked.

  –

  Eight figures now stood on the side of the boat, all of them leaning over the railing and staring down into the water where the subs were sitting quietly, untouched. “Is there… anyone inside?” Marta asked, brushing her hair baervously.

  Amos rest his elbows on the rails a out a sigh, “Not deteg anybody with my drones, looks like they all abandoned ship at some point. You let them go Barry?” He asked, gng over at the big man who stood in the middle of their gathering with a very annoyed looking Sonya. He had a small red bump on his head.

  Barry looked sullenly down at his feet, “Didn’t see aa kill ‘em. Just figured I’d bring ‘em back. Y’know, maybe the boss could use ‘em.”

  Sonya had been standing in silence for a long while, ever sihey arrived. Barry, Amos, Marta, and the others had dohe most talking. She finally clicked her tongue and squi him, “And, ray tell, do you expect me to do with two Uates Navy Nuclear Submarines?” She started, rounding on him and putting her hands on her hips as she stared up at him. He was many times her size but he still shrank a little wheared.

  “Here it es,” Amos chuckled.

  “They’re Nuclear Submarines! Barry!” She rambled, “That doesn’t just mean they have nuclear reactors, they do! But that’s not the point! They’ve got rockets on ‘em, Barry! Nukes! Do I look like a nuclear power to you? Huh? What am I gonna do with nukes? I’m a supervilin, not a crotchety third world dictator!” She threw her hands up and scratched at her head before letting out a sigh and looking back at Amos. “Is there anything we do with the bombs? I hate those things.”

  “Could probably repurpose most of it, the materials could be used for a bunch of stuff,” He said thoughtfully, “You sure you don’t wanna keep orophy?”

  She leveled him with a deadpan stare, “With the Uates looking everywhere for their precious ships and nukes?” She growled then gnced over at the four men whhing at Barry’s euppance. She put her hands on her hips, “And what were you guys doing while he was off gavanting and pig a fight with the Navy? Haven’t you heard the Amer phrase ‘Don’t touch our boats?’” She demahey looked at one another and all looked away or in any dire other than directly at her. She rubbed her temples and looked back at Amos, “ we really repurpose the missiles?” She asked, “I want those things gone. If not through you, then find a dirty nuclear rep to pawn them off to and have them deissioned. I don’t want them ected to me, got it?”

  “Yeah, I ha, ” He said, “Gotta get my drones over here for a day or two and work my way through the ships. Disable the self-destrud everything,” He huffed, “Should be able to have them running in a week with my operating system rather than the shit ohey’ve got installed.”

  Sonya held up a hand, “You get them running?” She asked seriously.

  Amos scratched his neck, “Uh, sure? Why not?” He said with a shrug as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  Sonya brightened, “Oh! I figured we had a pair of explosive golf trophies on our hands!” She turo Barry and spped his arm, “Atta boy! Well done big guy! I’m still gon you have it foing off the reservation but good catch!” She said merrily, the small threat thrown in there making him pale a little as she wandered over to the rail and looked over at them. “Kinda ugly, don’t you think? I’ve never seen a sub up close. Guess that goes with the whole ‘stealthy’ thing.”

  Trigger and Wake looked at one another and then at Barry. They both shook their heads urgently but the big guy just squared his shoulders and walked over to leao her.

  “Yeah, I was thinkin’ a paint job! Some fmes maybe?” He said thoughtfully.

  Sonya pursed her lips, “Hum, gonna have to be blue fmes then,” She said and Trigger groaned.