1965-01-26 - Something Fishy
Summary: Johnny and Mike run into something Fishy down at the docks.
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
mike-matthews johnny-storm 


"So," Mike says as they stroll along the waterfront, "That's the bar.." he says, point up toward a bar called "Crystal" that has a patio that overlooks the water. It's cold out but neither of them really worries too much about that as they patrol around, looking for trouble, per usual. "Where those crystal things came back, ironically enough, on New Year's Eve while I was tending an event there, some party. They flew around and people went nuts. Nothing like the last time where folks tried to feed them and stuff. One guy was trying to hit them with a fire extinguisher."

That's about when there seems to come a splashing out in the water, the ripples and faint outlines of something approaching the docks ahead of them can be seen against the evening lights that reflect off the water. "What's that?" When it comes up onto the dock, it looks vaguely fish-like but seems bipedal. It creeps down the dock and onto one of the moored boats. Shortly after, there's the sound of a scream.


"So this is a recurring issue." remarks Johnny, as he wanders along the waterfront with Mike, but makes a point of putting the prince between him and the water. He doesn't want to have to nova-evaporate away the ocean, after all, because that'd likely be bad for the fish. Also, property values. He blinks, and looks at the fish-man-thing, and voices his initial thoughts, "A fish-man-thing." in a wise tone of the elder monster honter that he is, then he sighs slightly, "Scratch that, apparently a piranna-man-thing, apparently."


"Well, I mean, issue… I guess? They don't seem to really do any damage or bother anyone too much other than that they just drink and eat and party and then leave. I think they're kind of neat though it was weird that they showed up right then and there. But then, I guess if they like booze it's not as weird for them to show up where bartenders are…" he muses. Then there is a fish-man-thing and he squints, "Huh." But he doesn't think too much of it until the fish-man-thing suddenly jumps onto one of the boats and there's a scream. "Hm. Yeah, that.. doesn't sound good," he says even as he's taking off toward the dock and the boat.


This time, at least, Johnny is wearing his jeans-and-t-shirt suit, which isn't a real suit but has suit-like properties of not burning and leaving him nearly naked. Poor world: you will not get a show. So he jogs off after Mike, "Granted, if I was a weird crystal thing and wanted a good time, I'd show up whereever it is you're tending bar, too." But his voice is only a little light, with the sounds and such.


The boat is decently sized — large enough to sleep a captain and four guests. It's not the sort of boat one normally lives on at the marina, but from the lights that are on inside, someone was certainly there when the fish man thing went in. The door is nearly broken off its hinges, and a set of steps descend into the vessel. Mike grins a little over at Johnny but then there is business to attend to, fishy business. And so he hops down into the boat with a thud at the bottom.


"I hate boats." Johnny, therefore, becomes engulfed in flame and rises up, moving up along the side of the boat, to track along with Mike but for the moment keep himself over the water— which steams beneath him, as the torrent of fire holding him up… hits the water. But he then zooms forward a bit, looking around for the fish-man-thing, "See anything?" He calls over to Mon-El.


There's some banging and crashing around in the boat, another shriek or two, before Mike appears once more beneath the hatch and says, "Yes! One… " and then he disappears again. There's some more banging and crashing, and then suddenly the fish man comes clambering back out of the boat and taking off down the dock once more, ".. second.. get him!"


"… Right!" Like a rocket, Johnny thrusts up to the sky, burning and leaving a trail behind him even as he spins around in an athletic sommersault to correct his momentum, and send him surging towards— and then past— the fish-man. He spin sabout again and comes to a stop in front of the creature, letting his flames extinguish, "Look, man, no eating people, or I'll deep fry you and feed you to a shark. Trust me, even if the sharks are usually your friends, but no one can resist anything deep fried, be it meat, butter, or dirty socks— and I don't know what is more gross, the idea of deep fried butter or deep fried dirty socks. What I do know is I'd eat either, maybe the latter needs a bit of hot sauce."


The fish guy, with blood on his clawed and webbed hands and all over the rows of sharp pointed teeth comes to a skidding halt in front of Johnny and makes a vague gurgling hissing noise, though when Johnny starts talking.. and talking.. and… the longer he goes on the more confused the fish man looks, hands dropping to his sides and head tilting a little to the side, as though trying to figure out just what this guy is on about.

Inside the boat, Mike helps the owner up and out onto the dock. They don't seem too worse for wear, a few bite and claw marks but beyond that, whole with all the right parts in the right place.


Johnny sighs, the tone of that sigh long-suffering, "Me." He points at his chest, "Johnny. You." He points at fish-man's chest, "Burnt fish if you don't have a good reason…" He glances over, seeing there are injuries, even if a lack of missing limbs or any such. And so, to better demonstrate his desired message, he bursts into cool, red flame. He calls out to Mike, "Okay, I got him, now what? I don't know what to do with piranha-man-things, actually. It was never in our planning sessions with the Foundation."


Mike looks at him and then laughs, "Like I know? I'm not even from around here," he points out. "Don't you have a.. tank.. or something, for .. testing.. underwater things?" Yeah, the alien is a little bit at a loss, himself. The fishman doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but at the same time, he has no idea where they'd put him. "Surely you know someone who can detain a fish man, right?"

The owner of the boat begins to look a little uncertain of the capabilities of their fearless rescuers and begins to head back toward the boat. Mike makes sure they get safely back on board then heads down the pier toward Johnny and Fishy.


"The Four aren't exactly regulars at the whole detaining things thing, we don't — actually — have detaining rights, though we have been known to detain from time to time." Johnny pauses, "Granted, as a general matter as far as the law is concerned, if you don't look more or less human— or exactly human— you and 'civil rights' aren't exactly a whole lot of a thing either." He eyes the fish-man, and waves a burning hand, "You. Who are you." He points at his chest again, "Johnny." Then points at fish-man.


Mike Matthews comes to stand on the other side of the fish guy. He studies him curiously but lets Johnny do the talking.

Fishy mostly stares at Johnny. When he talks, there is no discernable language that comes out of his mouth, just a garbled mess of burbles and gurgles and a few high pitched screeches and hisses that reveal those rows of sharp teeth once more.


It occurs to Johnny, suddenly: "You know, fish-people might have absolutely no idea what fire is, and so this guy might not be appropriately afraid of you know, flaming doom." So he reaches a hand out, and stream of fire so strong it sends a quake through the air slams into the sea, a storm of steam rising up from that, the water boiling briefly before his hand falls away, and he points firmly at fish-man, then at the ocean, "Look, you go back to your shark friends and don't come back and I won't burn you, okay?"


When Johnny starts boiling the sea, Fishy's eyes get very large and he begins to cower and back away from Johnny as fast as he possibly can. Mike glances at Johnny and then the fish guy with a questioning look like: do you want me to catch him? But Fishy seems to be doing whatever he can to put as much distance between he and Johnny as possible, seeming to get the point.


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