The S.S. Olympus -under refurbishment

Chapter XXVI: Sabotage

"Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within."

**Thor Ragnarok Official trailer song.***

They walked into the room. the only sound was the bubbling and churning of the liquid poison and Hydra's venom as it the substances combined and ate away at the floor. 

"Hades?" Cornelia whispered afraid of the answer to her wordless question. 

"I do not know," he breathed as his footsteps moved toward the ghastly corpse.

"He can't, can he?" Artemis walked with a slight limp, and with the dust settled her hand pressed into her chest. 

"Sis, I need to take a look at that."

"I am fine," she snapped.  Apollo moved toward her arms outstretched ready to examine her. "Get away from me you fiend!" 

"Artemis you know the resuscitation technique has--" Hades paused searching for the words.

"Side effects," Apollo finished for him. 

"So what did you find in the engine room?" her answer was an effective way to change the topic. Artemis rushed through the next part of her statement to continue its effect, "It is not as bad in here as I expected." She was right most of the consoles in this room were mostly intact. The damage seemed to be more from roaming beasts and weapons fire. "Most likely all this happened after the ship lost power and crashed." She said pensively examining a deep claw mark on the wall.

"The ship had was sabotaged," Hades spoke with a banal tone.

"The ship was what?" Apollo asked in reproach, "How?"

Cornelia kept one ear on their conversation but picked her way around the pools of ooze to get a closer look at the grey-green mass of the hydra's body. He has to be here somewhere.

"Guys!" She cried out with a squeak in her voice, "where is he?"No one would look at her, "Where is he?" She pivoted back to the carcass, "HERCULES!" Her voice echoed in the canyon that was the metallic bay of the S.S. Inferis. She ripped her respirator off, "HERCULES!" Again her voice carried into the abyss, chorused by the distant whine of Cerberus, who had been unable to get to them in time.

"Cornelia," Artemis soothed hand still on her chest she winced, "let it be."

"No," Cornelia pushed her away and screamed his name again.

The hydra moved. A gasp escaped her lips and they all turned. Fear coursed down her spine and she took a step back, still careful to avoid the ooze. Am I imagining it? The side of the beast moved again, but just the side."Hercules?"

In answer, a tearing sound reached her ears and she watched in shock and horror as the side of the hydra exploded revealing a half desecrated, but fully functional yellow-eyed android. He pushed through headfirst as if the monster had given birth to a grotesque and highly improbable pup.  

A light chuckle escaped Hades and Apollo as Hercules picked himself up off of the ground and strode toward them with all the pride an android could muster. 

"You are late," Hades clapped him on the back with pride. 

Hercules smiled, or at least Cornelia could have sworn it was a smile, "I like to make an entrance." 

"and they call me the dramatic one!" Apollo threw his hands up in the air and winked at Cornelia. 

"Ahem," Artemis grunted to bring them back dismissing the fanfare. "Hades what did you find in engineering?"