[video][After her mission with Tadashi]

[ghost_bait]

[Miku has an uncharacteristic frown on her face, and she tugs lightly on a piece of her long fringe. Then, suddenly, she takes a deep breath and---]

IwouldreallyliketoknowifitmightbepossibletoshowwhatmypowersrevealwhenIlookbackinaportablewaythatwouldallowotherpeopletoseethingsbecausesometimesImissthingsandthatisn'tfairtothepeopleIwanttohelp,likeyou,okayI'mgoingtogoliedownnow,I'mverytired.

[She bows quickly and then adds,] Sorry, this was for Brainiac.

Comments

[thedreamisdead]

[There's a long pause.

And then, very suspiciously...]

Have you been drinking coffee?

[ghost_bait]

[Miku shakes her head.] I'mnervousandhemakesmemorenervous.

[the_civilian]

Slow down, Miku. It's fine, Brainiac 5 is actually pretty nice, he's not going to bite your head off.

[ghost_bait]

I hate bothering him, though, because it seems rude.

[the_civilian]

It's not like you're running up to his door and pounding on it while screaming at the top of your lungs.

[ That seems...specific. ]

He'll see it when he has the time to check his messages, I'm sure he's not going to think you're bothering him.

[ghost_bait]

I...[she blinks in confusion.]

do people do that?

[the_civilian]

[ There, see? Not freaking out anymore, are you? ]

I haven't seen anyone do that here, but the lab back at my school could get pretty chaotic.

[ghost_bait]

[Tadashi is magic.]

...Is that so?

[Miku has an expression on her face like she isn't sure if Tadashi is secretly a mad scientist or not.]

[the_civilian]

There was a cat with rocket boots at the Science Expo.

[ That's really all the answer that anyone could ever need, right? ]

I'm not actually sure what was up with that, my building is pretty focused on inorganic studies. Robots, lasers, bizarre chemical reactions, studies in momentum and friction...

[ghost_bait]

[Definitely a mad scientist.]

Poor cat!

[Little, small smile.] So, what were you working on then?

[the_civilian]

It seemed pretty chill about the whole situation. If anyone had been doing anything unethical, the supervisors would have come down on them like a ton of bricks. I'm just not sure why anyone looked at a cat and thought "you know what this small predator needs? The power of flight!" Mochi gets into enough trouble with only his natural cat abilities.

[ Tadashi grins. It is clear that this is one of his favorite questions. ]

My thesis project is a personal healthcare companion robot named Baymax. He can detect a person's vital stats, treat a variety of ailments, and assist with long-term care. He's programmed with a learning A.I. and ten-thousand medical procedures and activates automatically when someone produces a sound of physical distress -- 'ow' being the most common, but I only had the chance to program him in English, I was going to expand to other languages in the later stages, once I'd proven the concept.

[ Tadashi's face flickers confusingly between sadness and affection and exasperation. ]

So, naturally, my little brother taught him karate and made him into a super hero, too.

[ghost_bait]

Ruri is the same. She would get herself locked in a closet sometimes... somehow.

[Miku's expression changes just slightly, like she felt something odd. It only lasts half a heartbeat before she brightens]

That's amazing! How close were you?

[the_civilian]

'How did you get there and why are you eating that', the song of every cat owner.

[ The weird conflicting emotions are buried under another smile. ]

Pretty close! I was ready to get him out of the lab and test his functionality under less controlled circumstances.

[private]

[ghost_bait]

She's a good cat, but I was [Miku puts her fingers an infinitesimal amount apart] this close to putting a bell on her.

...Are you... are you okay? Your eyes keep looking kind of... sad.

[private]

[the_civilian]

Aunt Cass did put a bell on Mochi, he just learned how to walk around without jingling it.

[ The smile fades and Tadashi glances away, rubbing the back of his neck. ]

I'm fine. I'm just... [ he snorts. ] Well, sad. I don't know if I'm going to get to go back to all of that after this is all over.

[private]

[ghost_bait]

[Miku shakes her head.] We don't need to talk about it, then. I didn't intend to upset you.

[private]

[the_civilian]

Don't worry, you didn't upset me. The situation just kind of stinks, you know? There are ways around it, but they're all predicated on Time Trapper not snapping me back home before Brainy figures out how we can 'steer' our trip.

[isthisapidge]

Miku, breathe.

[At least she didn't ramble?]

[ghost_bait]

I did! At the beginning!

video

[googledox]

[He's trying to find a gentle way to explain he doesn't plan to eat her, but he has trouble with "gentle." It takes considerable thought.]

Such a device sounds like it might prove extremely useful, and it shouldn't be that difficult to design something that works using design principles that are similar to those of the telepathic earplugs. That said, I may need to take some neural scans, whenever you have a moment to visit the lab.

[A pause.]

In general, you needn't be concerned about bothering me. It's my job to attend to the team's technology needs, and anytime I'm not available, I'm not hesitant about simply not responding to my omnicom messages and locking you all out of my lab.

[No need to be scared, Miku.]

video

[ghost_bait]

[She looks relieved and a little sheepish. She can't help if it he scares her a bit - most people do.] Thank you, I'll come down as soon as I finish up some things here.

video;

[deafleppard]

... Um.

video;

[ghost_bait]

[Miku looks flustered.] He makes me very nervous.

video;

[deafleppard]

Pffft.

I bet underneath it all he's just a big teddy bear. A green, super-intelligent teddy bear.

video;

[ghost_bait]

[Miku's expression is the new version of doubt.jpg] I am not going to test that.

video;

[deafleppard]

What's the worst that could happen?

[whyarewehere]

...Wait, did you get superspeed too?

[ Because Grif understood that, but he had to step up his perception a little to do it. ]

video

[ghost_bait]

[Miku shakes her head quickly.] No, no, nothing like that. I was just nervous!

[whyarewehere]

[ Grif snorts. ]

It's Brainy, it's fine. He's a huge dork, you have nothing to worry about.