The Suckling

D4 (Deep Depth Delving Discoveries)

The 'snow' audibly crunched beneath their shoes as Shiver and Tres wandered across the depths of Alterna, illuminated by the bright artificial sunlight of the many advanced liquid-crystal panels that formed the dome of the great underground arcology. They walked together side by side in comfortable silence underneath the false sky, still marred by the hole left behind by the rocket, their goal being the abandoned labs just within walking distance from their current location.

Tres was donned in his full hero gear; the bright yellow and blue trimmed jacket fit snugly over his build and the special ink tank on his back had been modified in such a way for Little Buddy to hang around in as he explored the underground.

Around his head were the newest model of long range two-way communicators, a pearlescent headset that was lighter, more compact and fresher looking than the ones that came before. Tying it all together was a pair of matching trainers and black khakis that, if he were being brutally honest, rode up his crotch a bit too much for his liking (Marie did say they were hand-me-downs from when Kuki wore them).

Normally he would be equipped with the standard issue hero shot but the captain had authorized him use of his own personal weapon: a refurbished splatana stamper retrofitted with the overcharged motor of a hydra splatling. It was an unsightly thing, with bolts and other scrap sticking out of it, either welded on or held together haphazardly with epoxy resin and wrapped in duct tape. It was equal parts a marvel and nightmare of mechanical engineering.

Beside him was Shiver, dressed in her sparse wardrobe as many had known her to wear. It was her signature look.

She wore a translucent blue shawl that matched her own blue coloration, a charm in the shape of an octopus dangled off of the neckline by an interwoven red rope. The shawl hung loosely off her shoulders and did little to hide her upper body from the world, though thankfully her naughty bits were tucked away underneath her sarashi.

A twisted hachimaki sat atop her head like a humble crown, in a way it matched her ripped black slacks, socks and red sandals. A trio of shark tooth earrings adorned her right ear to match Frye's own trio of eel teeth.

Casually resting over her shoulder was a well worn octobrush that had been meticulously maintained over the course of several generations. It was a magnificent piece. Painstakingly carved with intertwining octopus and shark motifs from lustrous petrified mahogany with a handle wrapped in shark skin.

"This is Agent 3 checking in with camp," Tres called on his comms, finger pressed on the headset. "Agent 3 checking in, come in camp. Please respond."

"...*BZZT!* This is Agent 2, we read you loud and clear 3," Marie's voice came on the other end. "What's your status?"

"Sapphire Shark and I are approaching the abandoned laboratories at site 6. It's as we thought, some of them are still powered. We should arrive in a few minut-" Tres replied but was cut off by Marie cutting in at the last second.

"Wait, what? Who the heck is Sapphire Shark?" said Marie bemusingly.

"Sapphire Shark? Oh, that's Shiver's alias." Tres glanced over to Shiver, he could see her hiding a mischievous smile behind her fan.

"What? How come she gets a unique codename and we get boring numbers!" Quattro's voice suddenly buzzed through the channel, along with several others.

"I like my number," said 8.

"We all got cool aliases. Mine's Topaz Eel," said Frye, sounding rather proud of it. "Big Man's Stone Manta."

"Ay! (Stone like my grooves!)" Big Man exclaimed. "Ay! (Check it!)"