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

[mrglam]

"Anyway," both say as they look at Lorica. "Any other ideas? I'll keep thinking about this after we're done power testing anyway so if you think power testing is a better idea for now then we can go do that instead."

[thinkering]

"I never did catch you with a bag of unconjured golf balls on hand, did I?"

[mrglam]

"Nope! And we never tested my effective conjuration range and what counts as 'paying attention.'"

[thinkering]

"So there's a few different ranges that could be good to know," says Lorica, pulling out a golf ball. She hands it to a robot. "Bots are gonna play catch while trying to do a few different things. Till further notice your job is to make sure they catch the balls whether they want to or not and not watch 'em. Anyway. There's range at which you can conjure a thing - if you have a good view of something a mile away can you put stuff there, does it matter if the stuff is big enough to see at that distance, etcetera. There's range you can get away from your stuff - or send it away from you, which might be different - once it's already made, within half an hour, before it poofs. There's range at which the opinions of others matter, which unfortunately there's no discreet way to test that I can think of. And it is possible although not overwhelmingly likely that your stuff can't have any effects at all from far enough away - can't be seen through a telescope, say."

[mrglam]

"Okay, bots should be pretty easy, I think. Though it might help if I start out with my eyes closed?" says original.

Copy elaborates: "Yeah, like I said, our power works on the subverbal, I'm not quite sure-"

"Don't think that."

"Sorry. I meant intuitive expectations about how the balls ought to behave might be a problem."

"Better."

[thinkering]

"That's why you're not looking, you won't know how the bots are throwing them in the first place."

[mrglam]

"Right. Okay. ...does he count?" He looks at copy. "Can you see things I can't?"

Copy looks at stuff behind original. "Kinda? It looks weird." Original looks over his shoulder. "Now it doesn't look weird anymore," copy says.

[thinkering]

"...Okay, I want to test that, too, your ability to get sensory feedback from constructs could be kind of important. Face opposite directions again."

[mrglam]

They do.

[thinkering]

Lorica trots around to where only the duplicate can see her. "How many fingers am I holding up?" (It's three.)

[mrglam]

"...I have no idea," copy says.

[thinkering]

"How about now?" (It's still three, but bullshit worked before.)

[mrglam]

"I don't know. You look weird, I want to say blurry but that's not right, except you're not HD either."

Original very pointedly does not look over his shoulder.

[thinkering]

Lorica holds up all ten fingers. "Does this help?"

[mrglam]

"No?"

[thinkering]

Lorica throws a golf ball at duplicate's face.

[mrglam]

Copy does not react-

until the golf ball hits him on the forehead, at which point he goes "Ow!"

"What?"

Copy's looking at the ball. "...she threw a golf ball at me." He blinks some more and looks at Lorica again. "I can see you now!"

[thinkering]

Lorica laughs. She holds up two fingers.

[mrglam]

"Two," copy says.

"Huh," original says, but doesn't look.

[thinkering]

"You're not sapient, just capable of vision now, right?"

[mrglam]

"I am very much not sapient, just capable of vision now."

[thinkering]

"Cool. C'mere, let's see if you can hear on your own too, same principle."

[mrglam]

"Okay." He comes.

[thinkering]

She whispers: "Seven."

[mrglam]

"Seven," he repeats proudly. Original laughs.