-trajectory. agreement.-

[from_scratch]

"Hasn't everyone heard of Kithabel? I live in Africa, not under a rock," Cam tells Tattletale. "You, on the other hand, are new to me."

Comments

[from_scratch]

"Fine." Here's an early Crawler, disconnected.

[wormcan]

It looks like a perfectly ordinary guy named Ned, maybe a bit distorted where he recently regenerated from a mortal wound.

[from_scratch]

And if he receives a nonfatal amount of acid burn?

[wormcan]

The acid burns a normal amount. It's a bit of a macabre test.

[from_scratch]

Well, yes, but Cam wouldn't be doing this at all if he cared about the welfare of basement dwellers. "Looks like he's sans powers. So I can make four-dimensional objects, or - something."

[whole_new_can]

"Four would be understating it.
We still don't know if your creepy cape copies are connected to the original's passenger or if you've been making extra passengers left right and center. Can you try one of each, see if the powers come through?"

[from_scratch]

"Yeah." More Crawlers. More acid tests.

[wormcan]

Both Crawlers get burned, then regenerate. Further acid has no effect on either.

[from_scratch]

"So I don't know for sure how I've been doing it so far but it looks like I can do it either way."

[whole_new_can]

"Good to know. Shouldn't make much difference usually, but do it the second way when you copy anyone minus the power limits. One of the ways it can go wrong involves the passenger forcing its way through and taking over until the host dies. Maybe it needs to be smarter than a bug to do that and we don't have to take the risk."

[from_scratch]

"Forcing its way through? What does that do? Why does it do it?"

[whole_new_can]

"Well the host gradually loses their mind, but that's not a concern here. If the power involves physical changes those might get exaggerated. The end result is someone with a more dangerous than usual power attacking everyone, presumably with what's left of the person along for the ride. I couldn't tell you why, just that Cauldron stopped testing it because none of the subjects looked likely to last long enough to be useful against the Big Bad."

[from_scratch]

"Cauldron's records are consistent with what you've said, but you are random people who walked out of a portal in the middle of a rainforest to talk to me and know stuff that I certainly didn't tell you, so do you have any further reason for me to think that Kithabel wasn't a parahuman either or that she needs rescuing or that the entities are bad news in spite of how repulsive their principal opponent appears to have been? I assume if I go talk to ex-Cauldron people they'll be wiped of relevant memories. Which it looks like they had the technology for in-house, if not that precisely."

[whole_new_can]

"Being well informed is literally my superpower, give me some credit. Proof's easy. Make a scale model of the last planet they visited, then one of what it was like when they left."

[from_scratch]

"Huh, that's a really good idea." Little desktop size planet before and after picture...

[wormcan]

It's a planet. Rocky instead of gas, smaller oceans than Earth has. Nothing visible at this scale to mark it as obviously populated. But the after picture can't be created.

[from_scratch]

Cam tries the planet before that.

[wormcan]

Same story. A non-Earth planet, and there is no after picture.

[from_scratch]

"Okay. This is a problem. Do we have a better plan or avenue for creating a plan than the Butcher basement dweller loading me up on powers and hoping I'm really, really indestructible plan."

[wormcan]

"Not unless you've got some way to make copies that actively use their powers," Faultline answers. "Or get Glaistig Uaine on our side."

[from_scratch]

"I have no madwoman-recruitment skills. Do you have a backup plan of any kind if I am not that indestructible and something awful happens? Third non-parahuman or something?"

[whole_new_can]

"The backup plan is we use two six five on Labyrinth. And recruit someone else who can be destructive enough once there, unless you can supply a doomsday device of course."

[from_scratch]

"For plan A are we thinking I just drop a black hole on it?"

[wormcan]

"Yep. Can't be too sure. And Scion next, but he's the less dangerous of the two."

[from_scratch]

"Do you happen to know where the connection to the passengers is located, so I can try to kill it if I don't like the results but I'm still functional?"