They both agreed that stashing a murder victim on an artificial reef ship was a brilliantly evil plan, awkwardly avoiding the obvious fact that in case they were the intended victims to be murdered. Pippa held on as Sabine followed her directions. Water was rising in the hallway, soaking her feet through her stockings. It was cold, and smelled like salt. Pippa bit her lips and stumbled on.

Finally, they made it onto the deck. There was darkness on one side, and lights on the other. Very, very distant lights.

>>”Any chance you used to be a swim team champion and left it off your resume?”

"Not even an Olympic swimmer could make that" Pippa breathed, pressing a free hand to her stomach. The dress felt like it was suffocating her, and they were not even in the water yet. Everything was cold and wet and dark, and it was about to get way worse on all of those fronts. She was losing the battle against panic, which was understandable, but not a pleasant reality. "Sabine what do we do?"

There was such a rush to get out of the claustrophobic interior of the ship, everything else was an afterthought. If they could not find their way out of the ship, why worry about what came next when they would just be dead. In a crisis, the easiest way to tackle tasks was by prioritizing the thing in front of you.

Now that they were in the fresh air, Sabine could free up some processing power for a new set of challenges. They could breathe, she could think, and their goal was visible, if not far, far in the distance. They were not safe by a long shot, but Sabine could take control of the situation.

Seeing their redemption so far out of reach was getting to Pippa, but that was fair. She was being confronted, not for the first time that night, with how likely it was she might die. Sabine was already opening doors and looking through drawers. Ignoring the pressing panic, she found her smile and did what she could to ease Pippa's nerves. "We find the way out. You've gotten us this far." Sabine found a silver survival blanket in a drawer and tossed it to the other woman, who looked soaked to the bone already. "I'll get us home. Trust me."

It was easy to make promises when failing to keep it would mean they were both dead anyway.

It took time to get to the front of the ship, but Sabine found the bridge. She was not going to delude herself into steering a sinking ship, but if she was lucky...

A radio. A radio! Maybe it was already out of commission, but it was worth a shot. "Mayday, mayday, is anyone reading? Mayday, mayday!"

There was a long pause as Sabine held her breath. Finally, static rose to life from the radio. "How did you get on this channel? Who is this?"

"This is Senior Agent of SUPER, Sabine Sang." She had to hope whoever was on the radio was not part of the plot, but if they were, why would they be asking who she was? "We were left on a battleship off the coast of New York City being sunk to create an artificial reef."

A pause. "...really?"

Sabine did her best to explain as quickly as she could how they got on the ship and where they were. The man was familiar with the ship being decommissioned and sank. Fortunately for her, he claimed to be part of the Coast Guard. Sabine ran back to Pippa, doing her best not to shiver in the cold of the sea air. She peaked over the side along the way, confirming that their time was dwindling. "Good news! The coast guard is sending a hellicoptor." Assuming the guy she spoke to was legit and not part of the trap. Once again, she could only hope, and either way, she needed a plan B.

"Bad news is I'm not confident they get here before the ship is under the waves. I checked the manifesto while I was on the bridge, and there should be a storage area with life boats near the stern." Sabine saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but she needed Pippa to see that, too. Without giving it much thought, she moved some of the hair plastered to Pippa's face away so she could meet her eyes. They were going to live. They had to believe that. "Let's get to the back of the ship and find ourselves a lifeline."

Pippa was frozen for a moment, but Sabine was already going through drawers and equipment. She had not given up just yet.

>>"We find the way out. You've gotten us this far. I'll get us home. Trust me."

Trust her. That was kind of beside the point now. Whatever Pippa's history with SUPER, Sabine was trained for stuff like this. If they were going to make it out alive, it was going to be thanks to her.

They found the bridge, and a radio. Pippa wrapped herself awkwardly into the silver blanket as Sabine sprang into action.

>>"Mayday, mayday, is anyone reading? Mayday, mayday!"

>>"How did you get on this channel? Who is this?"

>>"This is Senior Agent of SUPER, Sabine Sang. We were left on a battleship off the coast of New York City being sunk to create an artificial reef."

>>"...really?"

Someone answered. Someone was on the other end of the line, knowing they were here on the ship. Sabine explained, and Pippa stood by. The ship tilted lightly, another boom resonating through it somewhere deep down.

>>"Good news! The coast guard is sending a hellicoptor."

Pippa drew a relieved breath. Help was on the way. Sabine moved some of the wet hair out of her face, and Pippa looked up at her, seeing the same hope reflected in her eyes.

>>"Bad news is I'm not confident they get here before the ship is under the waves. I checked the manifesto while I was on the bridge, and there should be a storage area with life boats near the stern. Let's get to the back of the ship and find ourselves a lifeline."

Sabine was already moving, and Pippa followed along, silver blanket rustling on her shoulders. It was hard to keep her footing on deck as she ship moved. It really did feel like they were losing time. "Are you sure the people you talked to...?" she didn't finish the sentence, but she would know. If they were left here to die, maybe someone was keeping an eye to make sure they did?

"Wait." she grabbed for Sabine's hand as they were halfway down the ship. "Hold on".

She placed her free hand on the deck again. Trying to read an entire ship was going to burn through the rest of her reserves of energy, but time was running out, and they only had one shot to find something to hold them over. Literally. Pippa furrowed her brow, trying her best to focus as she sifted through the memories of the deck.

"The boats are gone" she said finally, coming up for air; she was not sure whether the ship was moving or her head was spinning. It only made sense their kidnappers did not want to make this easy "There should be... some inflatable ones... stashed on the deck below."

Having a rescue on the way was promising, but they could not just sit on their asses and wait now. They were still in danger, which meant staying proactive. Pippa was holding up better than Sabine gave her credit for. She was stronger than she first appeared, Sabine was finally willing to admit.

She was also justifiably suspicious. A woman after Sabine’s own heart. “”There’s no guarantee. What I got from them sounded legit, but it’s entirely possible it was another trap. Either way, we’re not going to depend on a rescue.” Not that they were in a position to turn one down if it arrived.

As they navigated the ship, Pippa used her powers again and Sabine furrowed her brow. The blonde was put off balance when she came back up, clearly feeling the cost of her mutation. ”Okay, inflatable boats stashed below. You’ve done great, but let’s hold off on you doing that again if possible.” If Pippa passed out, their lives became much harder, and Sabine did not want her accidentally hurting herself when they were close to escaping.

Asking for any details she could on where the boats were being stored, Sabine returned to the stairwell, grimacing when she saw the water already making it into the deck below them. She took a breath, accepting this was about to be cold as hell, and moved through the rising water to storage cabinets and chests, looking for a boat they could inflate. ”Hey, Pippa, you’re okay up there, right?” She called out. ”Can you talk to me while I search? Tell me things about you. I’d like to focus on something other than the cold.” And she wanted Pippa to keep talking to make sure she was staying conscious while out of Sabine’s sight.

>>“”There’s no guarantee. What I got from them sounded legit, but it’s entirely possible it was another trap. Either way, we’re not going to depend on a rescue.”

Right. There were no guarantees about anything at this point. Rescue might be coming, or it might not; they might be on time, or they might not. Or they might come with guns to finish the job. None of those options were very reassuring.

>>”Okay, inflatable boats stashed below. You’ve done great, but let’s hold off on you doing that again if possible.”

"Sounds like a plan" Pippa muttered, a bit slurred, as they moved to the entrance to the deck below. The water was rising now as the ship tilted, and Pippa steadied herself on the door frame. "Whooo, always hated that ship movie..."

Sabine took it upon herself to descent into the water to search for a boat. Pippa watched, leaning against the door frame. It suddenly dawned on her that if Sabine did not come back up, she would be all alone on a sinking ship. In a dress with undrskirts. Such a bougie way to die.

>>”Hey, Pippa, you’re okay up there, right? Can you talk to me while I search? Tell me things about you. I’d like to focus on something other than the cold.”

Yikes. The water was indeed cold. It had to suck, being waist deep in it. Pippa searched her foggy mind for something to say. "I think two sailors hooked up in the captain's office once. You'd be surprised, the things objects remember..."

Sabine got a bad reputation for her hesitance when it came to mutants. She did not hate mutants; her experience with her mother left her concerned about the consequences of unchecked mutations, but she did not assume mutants were bad. On the contrary, she was impressed by mutants who had full control over their special abilities. She also recognized the challenge of living with the consequences and costs of extreme genetics. Everything a person did had some cost, but how did a body find a cost for fireballs? Or, as it were today, psychometry.

Pippa was doing her part and more, so Sabine would press through as she felt the chill of the water creeping into her bones. Her request for a story pulled up a saucy sailor's tale, which made sense when that was what she was filling her head with. The choice did make Sabine laugh, at least. "Please share this ship's sexy details." Even an ace like her could appreciate the scandal, though if she were the captain, she would be throwing some horny subordinates overboard.

The storytime did its job, keeping them both mentally occupied until Sabine unlatched a big crate and found deflated plastic. "Hey, I think I found it!" She pulled the large amount of plastic out, carefully avoiding any chance of tearing it on something. "I'm coming back up, just hold on and we're almost out of here." Which was good, because as she waded back with the plastic trailing her, the water was up to her chest.

Sabine laughed. That was good. Pippa couldn't see her, so she closed her eyes to make the world spin a little less. The ship was already moving enough.

>>"Please share this ship's sexy details."

"You know, there is a reason why don't wear used clothes." Pippa noted. "Or go antiquing. People do a lot of freaky stuff in a lot of p-places..."

>>"Hey, I think I found it!... I'm coming back up, just hold on and we're almost out of here."

Sabine was wading back to her. The water was rising inside and out; the surface was not far from the edge of the deck now. Pippa opened her eyes and reached out to help with the boat. "Lord I hope we don't have to, like, manually inflate it... You know I hear two people can fit on a floating door..."

The encased raft was easier to carry when she could float it atop the water, which was the only time she would be thankful for the rising water. The surprisingly heavy container was more of a hassle to get up the last few stairs, especially with her energy sapped from the chill. Sabine was running on adrenaline and expected she would collapse when they were finally out of a life or death situation.

Until then, she dragged the container to the edge of the ship. ”I think you’ve successfully ruined used clothes for me, Pippa. I already miss living in ignorance.” She looked over the edge. Another benefit of the ship sinking: the water was quickly moving closer to them, saving them some jump off the edge.

Sabine tossed the canister over and yanked on the rope attached. The container opened and immediately, the raft started inflating, changing from limp plastic to a floating refuge. ”I think I saw a ViewTube video about these things. Which is lucky, because I don’t want my life to depend on my lung capacity right now.”

The raft finished inflating and Sabine handed the rope to Pippa. She lowered herself from the ship’s wall down the few feet to their escape boat so she could help Pippa get down and they could watch the ship slowly finish its descent under the water’s surface.

Sabine finally let her body relax; they were not saved, but it was glorious being on something not progressively sinking. She grabbed a paddle the raft was likely wrapped around before inflating and sighed. ”You know, I’m usually thankful I didn’t inherit my mom’s X-Gene, but now would be a great time to find out I can control water.” She would start paddling in a moment, but for now she would catch her breath and shiver.

>>”I think you’ve successfully ruined used clothes for me, Pippa. I already miss living in ignorance.”

"There goes your PR campaign about SUPER going thrifting to save the environment" Pippa smirked. She could have ruined a lot worse than clothes if she wanted to. She could have ruined basically literally everything. People were disgusting.

The raft, however, inflated on its own. Small victories. Sabine helped Pippa down, and she unceremoniously plopped down in the middle, rather than trying to balance. They must have looked miserable, all disheveled in torn dresses, and soaked. Sabine more so than her.

"We look like the worst walk of shame in history."

>>”You know, I’m usually thankful I didn’t inherit my mom’s X-Gene, but now would be a great time to find out I can control water.”

"Your mother is a mutant?" Pippa blinked. That was new to her. It put a lot of things into perspective.

It was easy to lower your guard emotionally when you had to focus on staying alive. Sabine did not keep her mother a secret, at least not with SUPER. There were concerns over her due to the actions of her mother, so everything had to be disclosed, but typically that knowledge stayed with higher-ups in the organization.

Sabine probably expected Sveta to tell Pippa any dirty details, but Sabine's mutant mother was evidently news to her. "Yeah, my mother was a mutant. She's back on the other side. In prison," she admitted. "She got mad at my father one day, and she didn't mean to, but..." Sabine was struggling to focus with the extremes she had put her body through, but even still, she was unsure Pippa needed the gory details.

"It was an accident, but she should have learned to control her powers. That was why I worried; I didn't want to end up like her." Sabine grabbed the paddle and awkwardly, quietly, started paddling them toward land. "And if I did, I wanted to know SUPER would teach me not to lose control."

>>"Yeah, my mother was a mutant. She's back on the other side. In prison."

Pippa sat quietly, pulling her knees to her chin as the cold got through her dress. The ship behind them was sinking, barely above water, on its way to becoming a reef. And they were out in the open, on a raft. Now it was a matter of time and luck. Pippa poked at the bright plastic of the raft.
Sabine's mother was a mutant, and she was in prison. Her doppel was probably in prison by now too. Maybe they knew each other.

>>"She got mad at my father one day, and she didn't mean to, but... It was an accident, but she should have learned to control her powers. That was why I worried; I didn't want to end up like her. And if I did, I wanted to know SUPER would teach me not to lose control."

"No one can be in control all of the time. Case in point." Pippa noted, waving at the raft. She was too exhausted and scared to argue about Sabine's take on mutants. Poking some more around the raft, she found a small pocket. There was a folded sheet in it, one of those metallic heat blankets you saw on the news when crisis happened. "Hey. This would look great with your dress."

Sabine wondered if her comment would put Pippa on the defensive. She was clearly a mutant with some opinions on mutant rights, so it would be understandable if she took offense to Sabine's feelings about her mother. It was hard not to be emotional about the woman who disintegrated her father, but Sabine tried to keep her anger solely to her mother. Most mutants did no harm to others; SUPER was around to help or stop those who did.

No one could be in control all the time, and sometimes the consequences were terrible. Today was an example of that, she supposed, though she would plan for things like this more next time. Preparation was key.

The awkward silence was broken by Pippa offering another trauma blanket. The shiny silver in the moonlight was a godsend, and Sabine gladly accepted. "I trust your fashion sense," she teased, resuming her paddling.

Eventually, they did spot a rescue helicopter approaching. They were clearly paranoid, ready to leap out and into the water if necessary. The two kidnapped women finally caught a break, and the people who came to save them were, in fact, the coast guard. Despite everything against them, they were on their way back to New York City and warm clothes.