endbringer, meet gun

[peterxy]

...Very unseasonable rains can be seen in the distance from the shores of Acapulco.

The Brockton Bay Protectorate starts organizing volunteers to be transported or teletransported in batches to it. Heroes, rogues, villains, anyone's assistance is appreciated. A rendez-vous point is set for non-Protectorate capes wishing to volunteer, and Protectorate capes are informed of the situation via communication devices.

Comments

[mxglam]

Rubber duck, I choose you!

[thinkering]

The robot attempts to give it an even wider sailing-past margin.

[peterxy]

The duck obeys the laws of physics.

[thinkering]

"Okay, I'd want to do that about ten more times to come to any really firm conclusions, but it seems like your power can calculate ballistics, it'd just... rather not have to?"

[mxglam]

"Why? What were the results?"

[thinkering]

"When the robot didn't try to catch it but it was near where a real object would have traveled, it juked into the robot to be caught anyway. Had to give it a wider berth to not catch it."

[mxglam]

"Huh." The various ducks disappear. "So it does break the laws of physics, but only a little. I wonder if I can make it break them more by adding more energy? More entropy and such."

And without waiting for an answer, they close their eye and throw a new duck directly up.

[thinkering]

The robots, not expecting such a thing, do not attempt to catch it.

[peterxy]

Unless the robot that tried to catch it the previous times dodges at the last second, the duck will fall on and bounce off its - head? Top?

[thinkering]

"Landed on the same robot that was playing catch before."

[mxglam]

They open their eyes. "I was meaning to have it catch the duck but I suppose I can't really force the robot to do it, so I guess the duck did its best."

[thinkering]

"Can't you? Could you not give one of the robots an extra arm?"

[mxglam]

They tilt their head. "Probably, I wasn't really thinking about that in specific. My power can be creative but I still need to be broadly expecting something to happen."

Eyes closed, chuck duck up-

new robot arm, not under robot's control until it has caught the duck.

[thinkering]

The robot attempts to move its new arm.

[peterxy]

It moves under the robot's control.

[thinkering]

"...You just gave my bot an arm. That my bot can move. That's. Really something. You don't know how the bot's trying to move it, I do but your power can't read my mind, and the bot - shouldn't qualify as having a mind..."

[mxglam]

They open their eyes again. "Is it that different from creating bullshit parts for a forcefield tinker's forcefield basketball or inventing a stun gun? Hell, the fact that my power doesn't care that you think this should be impossible is probably helping a lot, here."

[thinkering]

"I just don't understand where it's getting the information. If it can read my bots I can make you a pet bot that believes its little heart out that there are fairies and claps its hands, but separately I have an infosec problem."

[mxglam]

"...well, if you had made it seem that impossible earlier I may not have been able to believe hard enough. I can't actually get any information from this arm, though, I do not have the faintest clue how it works."

[thinkering]

"It might just be reading the bots. I haven't made a true AI, but I'm only sure of that because I ask the central software every couple of days and it always says no."

[mxglam]

"I think if the bots were actual intelligences this would probably not have worked. I'm pretty sure having a new limb counts as sufficient squinting."

[thinkering]

"So your power can read non-mind things about the environment. That's potentially huge. ...Oh god we've been standing here doing powers tests for way too long." Lorica takes a flying leap to the next roof.

[mxglam]

They follow, giggling. "Sorry."

[thinkering]

"Not your fault. Pros column: power testing is a legit pastime."

[mxglam]

"Right? I wonder if my power would be considered an exception to the Manton effect."