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[standalonehuman]

Togusa

This is Togusa. Feel free to message me at any time.

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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9/10 misfire back at ya

[originallutece]

I never liked them anyway, they can burn for all I care.

/FLAILING

[standalonehuman]

I know this didn't mean to get sent here.

But I'll die of curiosity if I don't ask whether this is referring to a 'who' or a 'what' that can burn?

[originallutece]

Oh.

Hello, Togusa.

It's a "what", although I think I'd have to be very stupid indeed to answer "who" either way.

[standalonehuman]

Or you'd be one of the teenagers. Can't bring themselves to lie to me even when I would like them to.

But the curiosity remains: what are you setting on fire?

[originallutece]

Good grief, that's a bit pathetic.

My dishrags. I've discovered a new ability, one that I'm still learning to control.

[standalonehuman]

Hell. I'm sorry. It never ends, does it?

Are you all right?

[originallutece]

Perfectly. The only casualty was the dishrags; given an oven is built for fire, it was perfectly all right.

[That's likely not what he means, but it's sure what she's going to pretend he does.]

Though I dread to think what impression my neighbors might have of me now, shouting as I did.

[standalonehuman]

If we get a phone call, I'll pretend to take it. I did technically check to see that nothing is wrong.

Not burned, but I repeat, are you all right? For me, it was weird enough to only have an ability for a month. But the first few times it popped up it was a shock.

[originallutece]

[. . . ]

It was a bit of a shock, yes. But not the worst I've ever had.

What powers did you have to cope with?

[standalonehuman]

If suddenly shooting fire was NOT the worst shock of your life, I really don't want to know what was the top spot. Plus, that sounds like one of those questions my mother told me never to ask women.

Telekinesis and telepathy. I was moving objects with my mind, I could create barriers of force to shield people. And then if I focused really hard I could talk to people just using my mind.

[originallutece]

Good lord.

[That's far more interesting than her own powers (and frankly, she'd rather think about his than hers).]

Have you kept any of them?

[standalonehuman]

No, luckily. A month of that and I was getting a headache from overextending myself.

It was nice to be able to have conversations with my best friend in front of people that nobody could overhear, though.

[originallutece]

That's a positive way to look at it. And as much of a headache as those powers must have been, I'd almost be sorry to lose them myself.

But nothing that seems to have come from the other you?

[standalonehuman]

This guy I'm getting memories from? It's weird. He seemed to have a way of talking to people over a distance, without being right next to them. But it wasn't what I was doing.

Did you remember anything about what you just did? The fire, does it seem to come from the person Retrospec is showing you?

[originallutece]

[Ah. Well. This is where it gets a bit tricky.]

No. But that's not surprising; it came from a man-made product that was gifted to me.

[standalonehuman]

[PAUSE.]

They sent you a flamethrower?

[originallutece]

No, they

[Hrhg. There's a pause.]

They brought me a chemical concoction of my other self's creation, one that enables you to throw fire from your hands if you consume it.

[She doesn't know why she's telling him, except perhaps that it might be nice to tell someone who doesn't care very much about her, and so (hopefully) won't react with much concern.]

[standalonehuman]

[Error: 404.]

I think I'm supposed to be more worried, but. That is cool. How does it do it? How long does it last?

[originallutece]

It may be dying out. I drank only a little and that last spurt of flames was weaker than the first. As for how it does it-- that's a mystery I'm still unraveling, but the chemical compounds are a bit . . . messy.

[standalonehuman]

Messy, quite the scientific term there. Do you recognize what it's made of? Does it seem like it shouldn't work altogether?

[originallutece]

Don't get sassy. I can break it down for you if you like, but "messy" is really the best way to describe it. It's slapdash. It's sloppy. It works, but it works in the same way a tire with a patch works: it'll get you where you want, but it isn't going to last for long.

[standalonehuman]

Oh, it is a scientific term. Sorry for that, then.

Do you think there's a better way to make it, then?

[originallutece]

I believe so. It wouldn't be that hard, frankly; this is just sloppy work. All it needs is time and patience.

I'm a fair bit disappointed, honestly. I can imagine a few reasons why the other Rosalind might have done such sloppy work, but it's

[. . .]

Embarrassing, really.

[standalonehuman]

In addition to getting this concoction, have you gotten any memories that suggest she's also a scientist? Seems self-evident, but I'm still curious.

[originallutece]

Oh, she was more than just a scientist. She studied parallel universes intensively.