18043/It Came From the Lake

It Came From the Lake
Date of Scene:	23 May 2024
Location:	Breakstone Lake
Synopsis:	Morph lurks and attacks a victim on the shores of Breakstone, but he is thwarted by a unexpected visitor!
Cast of Characters:	Kevin Sydney, Betsy Braddock, Caleb Dykstra

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Kevin Sydney has posed:
Morph was on a vintage lake monster kick recently. Blame the terrible influence of late night television and then a fixation to getting the 'look' just right. Practicing breathing and moving underwater wasn't a terrible idea either. One might even consider it training!

Thus, in the depths of Breakstone, Morph in a form that is some bizarre hybrid of crocodile, squid, and algae creature. Slowly, -it- ascends toward the surface, its head emerging above the water. A large maw of teeth opens and clamps shut. Squid-like tentacles writhe upon the surface nearby as it makes it way toward the shore.

A clawed foot finding the soft lake bottom, it begins to shamble out of the lake, algae and other flora sliding off its green scaled body. It bellows and raises arm and tentacles alike toward the sky.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy Braddock had finally found a nice quiet place to meditate. In this case, on a rock formation overlooking part of the lake, not too far from the shore. Peaceful. Quiet. Away from the shenanigans of the Mansion.

She really should have known better.

She currently wears loose fitting yoga pants and a halter top, ideal for working out. Not so ideal for possibly dealing with the Creature from Xavier's Lagoon, but she doesn't seem to react. Still seated in a lotus position, eyes closed, meditating peacefully... though, with her telepathic talents, she probably knows what Morph is up too. Or at least has a good suspicion.

Kevin Sydney has posed:
Telepaths ruin all the best jokes. Unfortunately for Morph, he's not as familiar with Betsy as others might be. Thus, he selects her as a would be victim to test out the fright factor of his villainous form.

He absolutely plays up the 'camp' factor of the creature. His walk is a shambling gate. His eyes blink and dilate, head in a predatory scan from left to right. The teeth filled maw opens and clamps shut spraying a small quantity of saliva.

The squid tentacles shake with a profoundly unpleasant wet noise similar to stirring mac and cheese or poking jello. As he draws closer to Betsy, his shadow casting over her in her meditative pose. He raises all appendages and roars mightily.

However, given the lack of reaction, the creature quickly assumes a more comical look of confusion. The brow furrows, the maw opens. "I said 'Raaawr' damn it. Your line is to scream."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy quirks a bit of a grin, "Sorry, I suppose I've never been a good damsel in distress. Though I have looked rather stunning in a dress." She glances over her shoulder, and hrms, "You've been practicing." She sounds approving of that, before her voice rises in pitch, adopting a most-unBetsylike cry of terror...

"Aiiie! It's That Which Should Not Be Named! Run! Run for your lives!"

After all, it isn't like anyone else is going to hear that and misinterpret what's happening, right?

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Recent events have taken their toll on Caleb, with the recent incursion that's been going on in Gotham. Twice has he come this close - insert fingertips just about joining - to death at the hands of someone who wants to rule the world (of course!!), and he's come here to clear his head.

So, by the shore he's sitting, rubbing his face in recollection of the events.

And then, of course, there seems to be a prankster in the lake, playing the loch monster (it would be Ness if this were Scotland, but no, this is Upstate New York).

He blinks as he hears some roars, followed by screams, he gets up from his position, and looks about.

He's armed for the 'just in case' cases.

He's wondering when he'll catch a frickin' break.

Running towards the scene, not even realizing who's the 'damsel in distress', whom he met before, he runs, drawing a gun with an adapted blade to the handle and a katana. "Alright, you two-dime Cthulhu, you got till the count of one to leave the lady alone and get back where you came from!" And the gun click to the ready.

Kevin Sydney has posed:
At first, the creature slumps as it receives accolades for practicing. However, when Betsy gets into character with the cry of terror and a similarly campy movie line exclaimed, he's immediately drawn back into the bit.

He reaches down and snags the would be damsel, drawing a scale arm around her mid-drift and then slinging her over a shoulder. It then turns and bellows again before shambling back toward the water with its captured prey!

That's when the would be hero emerges wielding a gun and katana. The creature blinks at Caleb in confusion and surprise. Not quite sure how to react at the moment.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy gives another shriek, settling into being in character for Morph's benefit since, well, he /has/ been practicing. She does glance over her shoulder, noticing Caleb reacting quickly with a gun and katana, and blinks. Okay, that /wasn't/ what she was expecting.

She does, however, mentally reach out to Caleb, << He's been practicing shapeshifting, and I'm not really a damsel in distress. You are, however, invited to play along for a bit if you like. >> She then glances over her shoulder from her perch on the creature's shoulder and tosses Caleb a wry wink.

Sensing that Caleb has had a time of it as of late, she does the nice thing and offer him a chance to be a little silly as well.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Oh... Well that changes things a bit, doesn't it?", Caleb replies, taking a deep breath. "Almost shot a kid..." Or so he assumes the 'creature' is a kid. "Sorry. Been a few long weeks."

He takes off the cartidge from the gun, still aiming at Morph. The sword, he keeps, but rotates it handle-wise to hit with the blunt side.

"Let go of the lady, /NOW/!!", he says, getting back into character. And he starts 'firing', aiming at what he feels would be key points where it would hurt the most. Bang! Bang!

Kevin Sydney has posed:
The creature makes a slightly disgruntled face. There really are fewer graver insults to someone in the early 20's then to be called 'kid'.

However, Caleb continuing with the performance provides a wonderful opportunity to show off his fabulous morphing abilities.

As Caleb fires, the imaginary bullets strike home. In very real fashion, holes appear on Morph. Black ichor drips from the wounds. The creature howls and takes a knee. It reaches out with a clawed hand and then hand then slumps to the ground releasing the telepathic damsel in the process.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Takes a dodge-roll to the side, and keeps on firing, paying attention to the 'creature's appendages, and tries to predict their movement, dodging their likeliest point of impact. This provides him with a 'doorway to go straight for the creature's center, 'slicing' with the blunt side of that sword of his.

"RUN, MISS!"

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy quickly rolls to the side once she's dropped, in a way that telegraphs that she's pretty far from a mere damsel in distress. She springs ot her feet and runs behind Caleb, making sure her hero is between her and the Monstrous Morph!

She gasps, putting a hand on her head melodramatically, "Oh my!"

Kevin Sydney has posed:
The appendages oddly erupt in sequence with the imaginary shots, each popping with more black ichor. The center of the creature actually partially splits at the slice of the blunt sword. The creature's body is mutilated.

Or is it?

Gradually, the ichor and dismembered appendages all coalesce back into a form. The scaled flesh turns the purest white and shrinks into a man-sized humanoid. The same flesh emits fibers that knit together into clothes, the chosen wardrobe that of yoga pants and tank-top, since that seems to be the pre-monster-invasion vibe.

He performs cat-and-cow, slides into child' pose, and then sits up cross-legged. He applauds. "Bravo."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Aaaaaaaannnnd, cut!

(Yeah, let's - we don't want to attract the attention of the likes of Mojo, now do we?)

Caleb holsters back his gun into his pocket and sheathes his katana. "My apologies for interrupting. I thought there was real danger about, and I reacted..." He evealuates, "...out of sheer instinct, really."
&rEither he's a hero by this point, or one of the dumbest people that runs into the face of danger. Which he's always considering.

"This took some load off my mind, so thank you for the opportunity." He presents himself, "I'm Caleb."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy nods, "Perfectly understandable. Admittedly I'm not prone to that sort of theatrics, but well... it was fun." She chuckles softly, having a very Proper British accent to her words. She nods over at Caleb, "Don't think I've seen you about the lake before. I'm Betsy." She gives him a friendly grin. "Not often I get a chance to, how do you say, ham it up?"

Kevin Sydney has posed:
A little trick internal trick involve bodily density and some other strange mutant alchemy allows Morph to slowly float into the air while in his peaceful pose. He intones "Namaste... and I'm Morph."

He maintains this saintly mysterious air for a moment as if to imply that maybe he is the serious one, and it is truly Betsy who is the 'hammed up mischievous maker'.

However the pearly white smile that forms on his otherwise mostly featureless face betrays this reality. "Well, you would make quite the starlet. That was an excellent damsel in distress scream. Inspiring."

"But yes.. This lake. Lots of weird things happen at it, almost all of them harmless. No need to sling the lead and spin the blade." Morph suggests with a nod.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Almost?", Caleb raises an eyebrow. "Well, as long as it's not some underground lair to vampires or ninjas, nor am I trespassing on private property, I guess it's fine."

Looking at Betsy, he nods, "Yeah, we've met before, while taking down that sort of deity, or whatever, we almost had to give up memories for, surely you remember?"