xenamorph | Morph #3: The Struggle. [Action/Video]

[As weird as it was staying in Spock's guest bedroom, they were polite enough. Still, she really didn't spend much time there.

At first, she'd spent a lot of time just flying around, but it didn't really ease the tension. Something was missing. She was having trouble sleeping. She had so many nightmares, she lost track of which ones were which, and she'd wake up in the middle of the night, screaming into her pillow.

And then she'd fly again.

It wasn't enough.

Something is missing.]

[Video]

"So, um. Can anybody show me how to program that... battledome thing? And what else do you people do to entertain yourself around here."

[She stops for a moment, staring blankly at the camera as visions of violence and blood fill her head, before she blinks and snaps out of it.]

"Uh. So, if anybody could help me out on either end, I'd appreciate it."

[Action]

[She's going to be at the battledome today, trying to figure out how to make it work. She needs to...

Something. She's looking for something. She's not sure what.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[His hands still on the controls for a moment as he thinks that over. Is it really that weird, Barton? ...well, yes, but not really in comparison.]

Well, I can't say it's a situation I've had to plan for before, but I imagine plenty of space will be needed. I'll take out the air vents.

"Well, I could probably go for something a little smaller if you're worried about it. Bear isn't the only thing I can do."

[But what? A wolf? Wolves were dangerous in a group, as a pack, but just one wasn't much worse than a particularly aggressive and powerful dog. Eagle wouldn't be much good in an enclosed space. Same with a cheetah.

... Oh, but there was a morph that would do the trick. A little larger than a human, but not by much, and certainly a lot more lithe and graceful. Yeah. Yeah, that would do nicely.]

"So, let me know when you're ready to start."

I'm not worried. Just want to give you the best training area for your needs. You don't put a swordsman in the middle of a firefight.

[Usually.]

Sure, give me a minute.

[He finishes the program, making sure there's a decent bit of space, a few different areas to keep it interesting.]

I'm ready.

[Rachel, meanwhile, already has her backup plan in mind.]

"This next part looks pretty gross. Just going to warn you now."

[She slips out of the outer layer of clothing, revealing a leotard and tights. And then she starts to focus on the morph.

Don't mind her if her skin turns green.]

[He raises an eyebrow at her but leans back to watch the proceedings.

Okay... that is pretty gross. He's seen mangled corpses and broken bodies and some pretty weird stuff but this is still really weird. It looked like it should be hellishly painful because damn, bones are not supposed to bend that way.]

...you weren't kidding.

[Oh, it definitely should have been. Fortunately, she doesn't seem too bothered by it. My, but those blades that erupted from her skin looked painful, didn't they? And there were just. So many of them.

Finally, he finds himself face-to-face with- well. Face to beak with a seven-foot-tall blade-covered monstrosity.]

-Told you it was gross.-

Edited (Ahahaha disregard I fail at everything) 2013-02-13 17:40 (UTC)

[That is no creature from Earth. An alien then, though not Chitauri or Asgardian. Yeah, rationalising isn't gonna work. He's gonna chalk it up to crazy otherworld things and that will do.

He does tense up when he hears that voice inside his head.]

Okay, one thing to clear up. Can you read my thoughts or just speak to me? 'cause I'm not a huge fan of people getting inside my head.

-Don't worry, it's one way only. It's just a way for us to communicate when we're in morph. It's how the people that invented it normally talks.-

[He#s silent for a moment but then nods.]

Alright. If it's just talking, that's fair enough.

-Don't worry, I don't like having things in my head either. It's kinda the whole reason I fight, back home. So, we ready?-

That I can definitely sympathise with.

Yeah, let's go.

[He headed into the room, waiting for her to follow after him.]

[Rachel follows pretty soon after- as unwieldy as this body seems, she always forgets that the natural instincts are a lot more graceful and delicate than most of her favorite morphs. She winds up ducking her head unnecessarily as she enters the room. arms pulled awkwardly tight to avoid walls she wouldn't have struck in the first place. There's a hint of amusement in her tone when she thought-speaks again.]

-Got a lot of experience with mind-controlling aliens?-

[As casual as he seems, he's still watching her, the way she moves in that alien body, calculating what he would need to take it out if he ever had to.

At the question, his smile becomes bitter.]

More than enough for one lifetime.

-That sounds like a story.-

[She doesn't actually press for details. She's just going to wait for the challenge to start as she tries to get used to a body that she doesn't use much. Let him decide if he wants to share.]

Edited 2013-02-17 05:57 (UTC)

Yeah. Yeah, it kinda is.

[He shakes his head, lost in thought for a moment before turning back to her.]

It's over now. Got it knocked out of me.

-Glad to hear it. Unfortunately, ours are a little more tenacious than that. The only way we can get them out is by starving them to death.-

[Hers was such a charming life.]

Wow, I think I actually would take getting my head smashed into railings over that.

[Something actually inside your brain? Nope.]

-I would too. And... have, a couple times. Not into railings, necessarily, but, y'know, buildings, ships, controllers, the ground...-

Yeah, I know how that feels. Occupational hazard and all. Falling off buildings. That's happened a few times.

[It had even stopped being strange by now.]

Morph #3: The Struggle. [Action/Video]

[Action] No worries!

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]