Poking around the ship...

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

Brainiac 5 was still uncertain what exactly was going on here (though rest assured that he intended to find out sooner rather than later), as what he had learned so far hadn't been particularly enlightening. But what he did know was that, according to his devices, there were two other Legionnaires somewhere close by. Obviously the most logical step now was to meet up with them and try to organise some sort of plan of action. Hopefully they would turn out to be someone competent and useful, such as Superman and Kell-El, though considering his circumstances so far, he wasn't terribly optimistic about that.

Following the signal brought him into a large hall, obviously designed for eating judging from the number of tables and chairs set around the place. As he entered, he passed by what appeared to be a large eye set into the wall. It must have initiated some kind of scan, as next a tray with some sort of substance he supposed was food was deposited nearby. Though he wasn't entirely hungry - his body was much more efficient at storing energy than those of non-Coluans - he took it anyway, deciding that he may require the extra energy sooner rather than later.

Now if only he could find the signal he'd been following...

Comments

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"--finish your meal later, Superboy! My scans indicate the other Legionnaire's signal is already right nearb--oof!"

Brainiac 5 is quite literally collided into by a flying green young man, who hadn't been watching where he was going as he chastised Superboy, who pretty much bounces off the other Brainiac 5 and crashes to the floor.

He has a matching Legion buckle on his belt, a matching Legion flight ring on his hand, and a matching green skintone.

"Watch where you're going, you buffo--"

Wait, the signal is right there; it's--

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

[so-pregnable.livejournal.com]

"So, who's our new guy--"

[supertshirt.livejournal.com]

[girl-of-steel.livejournal.com]

Kara stops dead in her tracks.

And she stares.

She looks at Brainy. Her Brainy.

And then she looks at the other Brainy.

And then she looks at her Brainy again.

"It's finally happened. The ship's drugging us. I'm seeing double. Of Brainiac 5."

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

Brainiac 5 yelped and dropped his tray as someone ploughed into him hard enough to force him back half a step. The laden tray, obeying various rules of nature and comedic circumstance, promptly flipped over and deposited its contents on the head of the person who'd run into him, making it difficult for him to realise at first what exactly the problem was.

But after a moment of staring in surprise, he realised exactly what he was seeing. "You're... This has to be a mistake..."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

It's a simple order. It must be done. As soon as he gets over the surprise, that's something he realizes.

He hadn't been lying when he told Lyta that if he saw another Brainiac, he'd try to restrain them.

Immediately, he's up in the air again, forcefield being raised (causing the slop to slide off him), and holding out a hand to shoot off a hand-shaped forcefield to try to pin the other Brainiac to the wall.

"Superboy, Supergirl, help me restrain him!"

[so-pregnable.livejournal.com]

"Wait, why are we restraining him?"

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"He's a Brainiac!"

That's reason enough. Only ONE Of the others was remotely like him, and he was still a jerk, and this one looks so much alike, and the chances of it not being evil/a probe/a Brainiac clone are infinitesimally small.

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

He hadn't been expecting the giant hand-shaped forcefield and it caught him by surprise, shoving him back against the wall and pinning him there firmly.

At least for now.

The danger was obvious, and it was second nature for him to shift into his heavier, stronger battle mode and shove the forcefield aside, reaching out a much larger hand to grab for the smaller... it had to be some sort of clone. That was the only logical explanation. But who would create such a thing? And why?

"I don't know who made you, but I will find out," he said, his voice less natural now. "Attempting to resist me won't work in your favour."

[girl-of-steel.livejournal.com]

"And attempting to resist us won't work in yours, spanky," Kara says, striding up to him. At least she knows she's not seeing double. "Who the sprock are you, and who sent you here?"

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

Brainy darts out of the way of the robot probe's hand, zipping up into the air.

"Kara, less articulating, more restraining!"

[cityship]

That's when the energy tentacles come out.

||Brainiac 5, violence against podmates is not permitted. you have received 1 Violation.||

Fleshy Brainy is slammed into the floor.

After a brief tour...

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"--and this is the laboratory, in the Special Weapons Division. We've had very little in materials to work with, but we have managed to create something serviceable, even if barely so," Brainy says, wrinkling his nose.

"That's the automated unit that's creating Legion-standard flight rings--minus the degravitized Valorium, obviously, as none is available, but they'll be invaluable for their communication function--and omnicoms for the crew. Those are the sensor-probes being assembled for exploration through the vents, and if you're as smart as you seem to think, you can likely deduce the functions of the rest of the equipment."

The digs at each other's intellects have not stopped for a second.

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

"Barely so seems to sum it up nicely," he says, glancing around the area. "But I suppose you can hardly be held responsible for that, considering your... physical state."

Another dismissive look at the tools around the area, then he shifts his hand into a range of basic tools. "Fortunately I'm always capable of creating whatever devices I require for the job, so I'm certain I'll be able to bring productivity up to acceptable standards."

Get the feeling you're inferior yet?

[girl-of-steel.livejournal.com]

"I didn't know that robo-muppets were so intelligent," Kara adds, quirking up an eyebrow at the newer Brainy. No one messes with her man her friend.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

More bristling.

"My 'physical state' lends me certain advantages yours doesn't, but I suppose I don't have to tell you that," Brainy says, lingering near Kara, and turning to one of his projects, because it's easier to be less pissed off when he's focusing something else. "I would imagine it's difficult to forget that one's emotions are entirely simulated--unless you program yourself to."

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

His eyes narrowing was the only sign that the other Brainy had struck a particularly sensitive topic. "I suppose, though it also enables me to control my emotional reactions, unlike others here."

He turned his attention on the project his counterpart was working on, his eyes lighting up purple as he scanned it briefly. "...hmm, it would appear that your alignment is off by a small yet significant margin. You should consider using a modulated frequency to correct that... Unless you're not bothered by flaws."

[girl-of-steel.livejournal.com]

Her eyes are faintly growing red and she steps between Brainy and B5. "There's nothing wrong with letting yourself run free with your emotions. Some people draw power from their emotions. They can help them in the right situations." She looks B5 up and down distastefully. "So, tell me, how does your body react to X-Ray vision?" she asks conversationally.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"It is not off--"

Damn. It is off.



Turned away from Kara and the other Brainiac, Querl frowns to himself, and then the looks fades to something less annoyed and more...

More...something. He certainly doesn't know what it is, but if he could put a name to it, he'd say that he's feeling inadequate, especially compared to his place with the Legion, where he feels valued.

First, Zuko beats him up, then despite all he's done so far and saving Sam's life, the Master calls him out in front of the whole crew like that and he gets removed as leader of the Engineering Crew despite his genius.

And now this.

He's the smartest. He's always the smartest. And while he's longed to meet someone remotely on par with his intellectual level (that wouldn't try to kill him), he certainly hadn't been hoping for this.

It's...frustrating, to say the least.

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

"I didn't say that there was nothing inherently wrong with allowing emotional freedom," Brainiac 5 says reluctantly. "Superman and the Legion have been more the helpful in demonstrating that, and the fact that I chose to create my own emotions..." He stops and glances away, not wanting to admit that he's perhaps more than a little jealous of his counterpart having natural emotions as well.

"Why would X-ray vision affect me?" he asks instead. His eyes flicker to the other Brainy, but he doesn't say anything about the mistake in the project. Not with a Kryptonian watching him with glowing red eyes. Instead he moves away to look around the laboratory further, eventually pausing in front of a small holoboard covered in lines of complex equations.

"Hmm... Interesting, but..." And he suddenly erases half of it.

[girl-of-steel.livejournal.com]

Kara watches the two Brainys. Part of her wants to ask B5 what he's doing, but realizing that he's probably as smart as her Brainy, she decides not to. "Just curious. Sometimes it has this effect on machines and stuff." She squeezes her Brainy's shoulder encouragingly, wanting to comfort him. She knows its not easy having another one of him here. She wonders if this is what Power Girl had gone through.

And if that was the case...

Oh man.

That put B5 in her shoes.

Dammit.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

... whut.

"What--what--what did you--you mechanized moron! I've been working on that for days!"

[brainy-bot.livejournal.com]

"Days?" Brainy asks, looking genuinely surprised. "But if you simply alter the equation like this..."

Several numbers are added to the remains of the equation.

"...factor in a margin for error here..."

The equation begins to grow a little, but not in the same sprawling way of the original.

"...and adjust this... Then it becomes much simpler."

He steps back from the result with a pleased look on his face. "Don't you agree?"