Drop-In Company

seaQuest DSV/Aquaman

by Susan M. M.

Standard Fanfic Disclaimer: This is an amateur work of fiction, based on characters and situations owned by Steven Spielberg, DC Comics, and Warner Bros. I make no claim to any legal right to these characters: I'm merely building sand castles on someone else's beach. All characters will be returned to their original owners unharmed, or at the very least, suitably bandaged.

Nathan Bridger felt the PAL on his belt buzz with an incoming call. He pulled the communicator off his belt and raised it to his lips. "Bridger here."

"Captain, Captain, something weird just happened."

"What is it, Mr. Wolenczak?" In deliberate contrast to Lucas, he kept his voice calm. The boy's voice wasn't exactly panicked, but he wasn't his usual laidback self.

"We've been boarded."

"What?"

"I just saw Aquaman in the aquatube, following Darwin."

"Aquaman?" the boat's XO, Cmdr. Ford repeated.

"I don't think he's a threat, kiddo," Captain Bridger told Lucas. "Most people consider him one of the good guys. Relax, kiddo, everything is copasetic."

"Copa-what?"

"Get a dictionary. Bridger out." The middle-aged captain replaced his PAL on its belthook. "Somebody get a towel, please. Aquaman may not be a threat, but that doesn't mean I want him dripping on my deck."

After waiting a minute for one of the men to do something, Lt. Cmdr. Katie Hitchcock, the submarine's Chief Engineer got up from her station and fetched two white towels from a nearby storage locker. With the Moon Pool on the bridge to allow Darwin easy access, the crew had found it practical to keep towels on the bridge.

A minute later, Darwin, a bottlenose dolphin, came up through the aquatube to the Moon Pool. Bridger rose from the captain's chair and walked over to the Moon Pool. He reached into the water to pet Darwin. "Hey, there, buddy, Lucas said you brought a visitor."

A man, or at least, a humanoid figure, followed the dolphin from the aquatube into the pool. He was muscular, swarthy, easily two meters tall and probably two hundred pounds or more, all of it muscle. He had long, dark hair with blond tips, and a short dark beard and mustache. He wore a golden shirt and green-blue pants or leggings.

"Permission to come aboard, Nathan," he requested

"Hello, Arthur. You're more than welcome aboard my boat any time," Bridger replied nonchalantly, as if he had superheroes and Atlantean royalty aboard seaQuest DSV on a regular basis.

Chief Petty Officer Miguel Ortiz, the best sonar tech in the UEO, tried not to gape as he eavesdropped on his captain chatting with Aquaman on a first name basis.

"Something we can do for you or is this a social call?" Bridger asked.

"I saw Darwin, so I thought I'd come say hi. It's been a while."

"That it has," Bridger agreed.

"Actually, I thought I might impose on you for a favor."

"If I can."

"A man gets tired of sushi. Any chance of pizza in your boat's messhall.?"

"An excellent chance. Cookie has pizza on the menu six days out of every seven. Mr. Ford, you have the conn. I'm going to escort our guest down to the messhall." Bridger gestured to the towels folded on the edge of the Moon Pool. Aquaman grabbed the towels and began drying off as he climbed out of the Moon Pool.

"How's that King of Atlantis thing working out for you?" Bridger asked.

"Politics, ugh," Aquaman replied. "I delegate as much as possible to my wife and my vizier."

"Just don't delegate your wife to your vizier."