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]

"No new memories," says zero.

"I think it was the squint thing," supplies two.

"We never actually did try using an earpiece, did we?"

"...that could probably be what would have happened if we tried."

[thinkering]

"Why? Other accessories work, why not communicators? They're not even technically complicated if you go with a walkie-talkie."

[mrglam]

"Well, the squinting threshold seems to be 'much more detail than you'd get from looking from a reasonable distance,' so maybe that counts for sounds or... other kinds of information, too?"

[thinkering]

"Okay, we can fold that into the range tests, then."

She checks to see how the robots playing catch are doing.

[peterxy]

They seem to be pretty successful in their catching!

[thinkering]

Even when they're trying to miss?

[peterxy]

If they try really hard to miss, they'll miss, but things a regular human wouldn't notice to be odd will make them less likely to succeed at failing than they otherwise would.

[thinkering]

"Also, you seem to be successfully helping the robots catch things. Now try and make 'em miss."

[mrglam]

He does. Those robots are so clumsy anyway, of course things will slip.

[thinkering]

The robots pass each other the golf balls from short distances and work their way up, taking data.

"So the thing with range tests is that if your range requires visual contact but seems like it might be longer than the longest hallway in HQ, we have to go out, and you are not currently allowed out in costume. But we can postpone that until you've resolved your branding issue."

[mrglam]

It is really easy for them to miss unless they try to quickly counteract the ways in which they're missing, which are: a bit more momentum than expected causing it to slip out of each, small changes in expected trajectory, etc.

Zero nods, and two pipes up with "I wanna be just copy now."

[thinkering]

"Really? Because next I was gonna suggest flooding the workshop with more of you and seeing what happens."

[mrglam]

Original and copy do not look at each other.

The look on both of their faces might betray some of what they're thinking anyway.

[thinkering]

"Or you can try that on your own time if you can't keep your mind out of the gutter."

[mrglam]

"Controlling my thoughts was never part of the deal!" copy says, and original laughs.

[thinkering]

"With the way your power works I thought it would have to be implied."

[mrglam]

"I learned how to separate what I want from what I expect a long time ago."

[thinkering]

"That's good."

[mrglam]

"Sometimes I really don't know what you're thinking and it's frustrating," complains copy.

"I mean, ultimately you probably approve of this fact," says original.

"But it'd still be nice to know when I've crossed a line or when I should tone it down," explains copy.

[thinkering]

"I mean, is there something you'd like me to do about that?"

[mrglam]

"...probably tell me when one of those things has happened?"

"Or an explanation of more or less how uncomfortable you are with me-type behaviors in general."

[thinkering]

"You're basically okay. I think I sufficiently outlined the 'being weird' thing I didn't care for, occasional knowing eyebrow-raises are within tolerances, do not actually have a masturbatory orgy in my workshop but I think you knew that."

[mrglam]

"Right. We knew that," says copy, and original nods.

[thinkering]

"I'm so glad. So. How many of you can you make at once?"

[mrglam]

Pop!

...pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop...

They don't actually pop when they appear, and the overall effect is as if there had been a crowd of Saddes there all along but they had just neglected to notice them.

"...I could probably do more," original says.