The LairJet cautiously descended through the hot steam welling from the bottom of the crater.

“Pretty hot outside,” Trickshot observed, studying the sensor board. “We should’a brought a couple of lobsters ta boil.”

“This is difficult piloting,” Hatman pointed out, trying to concentrate on blind navigation. The electromagnetic effects were even more pronounced here, making even his nav-readouts unreliable.

Trickshot made a sound to indicate that he could do the job with his eyes shut.

“I think there’s something down there!” Uhuna said suddenly. “Something alive!”

“You can sense life forces?” CrazySugarFreakBoy1 asked her, “That’s so cool.”

“Not usually from this far away,” the Abhuman princess admitted. “This must be a very powerful life force or… I don’t know. I’ve never sensed anything quite like it.”

Yo took the flight controls while Hatman pulled on his Steelers cap and was strapped in to a drop-harness. The Shoggoth clustered his biomass around the LairJet’s bottom hatch to insulate it from any steam incursion.

“Be careful down there, buddy,” CSFB! told the capped crusader. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

Hatman choked back any number of replies and nodded for Trickshot to winch him down through the Shoggoth and into the steam.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” asked Uhuna nervously.

• Lower Hatman into the steam
• Head back to report on what they’ve found so far