Coffee Talk

The pneumatic hiss of the decontamination chamber welcomed Henchperson Echo back to the office after a few weeks of paid vacation. The sound that normally brought dreadful thoughts about the upcoming work day instead delivered a wave of comfort and familiarity through her synapses. She'd showed up early hoping to catch up with her colleagues on the comings and goings during her absence. Cubicles sat empty, only half the lights on and no muzak playing. Echo made her way to the break room to brew some morning coffee for everyone.

"Hey Echo! You're back!" Her colleague Henchperson Lima greeted her with a smile.

Echo went in for a friendly hug. Lima didn't return the gesture. Echo was taken aback. "Do I smell?" She sniffed her armpit to double check.

Lima shrugged and rolled up the sleeve of his company issued lab coat. A tangle of cables and wiring pulsed beneath translucent skin. "Boss has me trying out new prototype prosthetic arms, meant for deep sea exploration. I haven't really gotten the hang of them yet."

"When do you get your real arms back?" Echo asked without missing a beat.

"Couple weeks, boss says that should give him enough data to work with." Lima groaned. "How was vacation?"

"Awesome. Boss had his personal travel agent set it all up. First class all the way. How are the kids?" She asked.

Lima looked longingly at the coffee pot. "Can you pour me a cup please? I tend to crush anything I try to grab now." He said sadly. Echo poured him a mug and held it to his lips for him. "Kids are good. Katie got accepted to the college of her dreams, courtesy of the boss putting in a good word for her, and the company awarded her a generous scholarship."

"That was nice of...holy shit what happened to you!?" Echo asked as a six foot tall bipedal chameleon with a humanoid face sauntered into the break room. A long tail propping up the back of its lab coat. It resembled Henchperson Golf. "That is you, isn't it G?" She asked.

Golf rolled his eyes. "Nice to see you too E." He grumbled as he pushed past her to the coffee maker. Golf adjusted quickly to his new sticky appendages, able to pour himself a cup of coffee while adding cream and sugar with his tail. "Boss wanted to test out a new method of camouflage by manipulating human skin to mimic the color changing properties of a chameleon. It uh...didn't work." G said with a grumble.

"Are you stuck like that?" Echo asked curiously.

"Boss says he can reverse it after he re-sequences my genomic structure. Hopefully before my vacation coming up. Gonna be the best one yet." G declared.

"You say that every year. Looks like things were busy around here while I was gone.."

"Oh my god E, you're back! I missed you!" Squealed Henchperson Foxtrot, an excitable young woman, her hands flailed in the air as she squealed with delight. Foxtrot looked as she always did, her curly red hair popped against her white lab coat and pale complexion. No robotic limbs visible or scaly skin. Echo gave her a friendly hug.

"Good to see you.."

"Oh my god E, you're back! I missed you!" Squealed another Henchperson Foxtrot, identical to the first down to the exact motions of her flailing hands, only this version phased through Echo like a fine mist.

Foxtrot chuckled. "Never mind that. Residual after image due to quantum tunneling. How was vacation? Tell me all about it." She said excitedly.

Echo smiled, three rows of razor sharp teeth hidden behind her lips. For as dysfunctional as they were, she had missed her work family.

Thank you!

“It’s like he doesn’t even care.”

“I hear ya.”

“Amen, brother.”

“Like, I put in all this blood, sweat, and tears, and I feel like boss doesn’t even notice me.” Logan went on.

Another chorus of assent rose from his buddies.

“Like, just the other week, I pulled off that kidnapping without a hitch! No one saw me, in and out like a horndog. I brought the dame to boss, still tied up and ready, and he sent me away with the flick of his hand, not even looking at me!”

“Oh, man.” Clyde said. “I’m sorry, Logan. I know it’s hard, sometimes, when he won’t just acknowledge your work.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Logan exclaimed. “How hard would it be to say ‘gee, thanks, Logan. She’s hot. Big titties on her.’? You know? Like is that that big of an ask?”

“I hear you, brother.” Clyde said. “I assassinated that politician and boss wouldn’t even hear my report. He sent Gerald again. I had to give my report to that dope.”

“Oof.”

“Ouch.”

“Damn, brother.” Logan said, spitting on the ground. “Fuck Gerald.”

“What?!”

The boys spun on their heels to see boss’ number two man, Gerald, his hands firmly planted on his hips.

“What did you say, Logan?”

“He said ‘fuck you, Gerald.’” Clyde sounded scared. You don’t lie to Gerald.

“I wasn’t talking to you, boy.” Gerald said, approaching with slow, weighty steps, stopping a few inches from Logan’s face. “I’m talking to you.”

Logan, knowing his fate was sealed, made the first move, landing a glancing blow on Gerald as he drew his weapon with his other hand.

Clyde was faster, landing a bullet in Logan’s head as he whipped around.

Clyde helped up Gerald and offered him his kerchief to wipe the blood splatter.

“Thanks, comrade.” Gerald said, cleaning himself.

“You’d have done the same for me, brother.” Clyde said. “I’m glad you intervened, saved me having to report the situation to you later.”

Gerald nodded, continuing his patrol.

“Fucking Gerald.” Clyde whispered once Gerald had cleared the area.

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Groth bolted upright and scrambled back until a rough, stone wall pressed coldly against his shoulder blades. Eyes wide, he stared at the man he once called enemy, more youthful now but still the same.

Athastar's golden brows furrowed comically over his brown eyes as he laughed, "What, were you expecting Norilei?"

Groth let his breath out all at once, unaware that he had been holding it. His muscles were taut with nervousness--no soreness from battle, no aches from age, and even that persistent tremor from his enemy's failed assassination attempt through poison was gone. Groth was but a youthful man, hale and hearty as he once had been.

"Can't imagine why, though," Athastar went on with a snort. "Everyone knows I'm the pretty one."

Groth met his gaze with a frown. "Huh?"

"I mean, Nori's not not pretty, and you're a handsome lad yourself, but I come with looks and charm. And quite a bounty of wit, if I do say so myself..."

Groth just stared at him, unable to shake from his mind the notion that Athastar should be holding a sword to his throat.

Athastar's smile finally began to dim, and concern twinkled in his dark eyes. "Are you alright?" He reached out a gloved hand towards Groth's face, and Groth flinched back. Athastar froze, his smile vanishing completely as his brows bowed upwards with worry. "What's gotten into you, man?"

Groth blinked hard, and then he blinked again. What had gotten into him? He scrubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes, unable to fathom why he was so tense around his old friend. Or... enemy...? Groth lowered his hands again and squinted at Athastar. His broad arms, swordsman's arms; wavy hair, inherited from his mother; embroidered tunic, a nobleman garb--all of it was familiar to Groth, but not in the way it should have been. Although at that moment, he could not say exactly how it should have been.

Swallowing once, Groth said in a soft voice, "I... I think I just had the strangest dream..."

He glanced briefly at his surroundings, the shadowed interior of what clearly was a Nogastian church. The stone walls were ribbed with pillars of wood, studded with rich jewels, and the altar near which they had slept was fashioned out of the skull of a mammotaur. An inexplicable "memory" of eradicating the half-man giants flashed through his mind, but just as suddenly, it began to fade, as does a dream when one tries to focus on it.

"Such a strange dream," Groth whispered to himself, and he rubbed his eyes again. Blinking the blurriness away, he met Athastar's gaze once more. His old friend--yes, he knew this man as his friend, inseparable from boyhood--frowned at him in concern. After a moment, however, the side of his mouth pinched into a smirk, and the wrinkles in his forehead slackened into his usual mirth.

"Well, you're back with us in this world, so shake it off, eh? We've got a terrible dragon to slay."

Groth looked up sharply, but Athastar was already turning to sort their gear into their packs. Sighing, Groth shook the last vestige of the dream from his mind and clambered to his feet to help his friend.

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I literaly thought "Soooo..... Homelander."

Cure Lovely from Happiness Charge Precure.

Granted, it's child-friendly violence, but she definitely enjoys hurting the forces of evil.

Ghost-Maker, sorta lol

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So the boys?

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Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

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Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* No AI-generated reponses 🤖 >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [RF] and [SP] for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

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Datos que recuerdo de los humanos. Prefieren experimentar dolor a pasar 10 minutos de aburrimiento. Enseñan sus mandíbulas cuando están felices y cuando estás enojados cierran sus bocas por completo. Pueden sentir si algo o alguien los está observando, y cuentan con una reacción en el sistema respiratorio de corta duración cuando se menciona el nombre del humano en específico. Es un misterio entre la alianza que aún está siendo investigado. Pueden darle una personalidad y tomarle afecto a cualquier cosa desde otras especies hasta objetos animado e inanimados. Con un regreso de ese afecto en más del 80% de los casos. Un hecho aterrador de alto secreto es una aparente habilidad para saber lo que pasó, pasa y sucederá en todo el universo o universos. Aún se investiga está habilidad recopilando todo el material hecho por los humanos y manteniendo en secreto para evitar la fuga de tecnología y como hacerla. Es una de las únicas razas conocidas que aún convivan con sus ancestros de millones de años después con distintas variantes. Es la única raza que a pasado por cada una de las ideologías, culturas, etapas y culturas con ligeras diferencias de cada raza conocida. "Si hay una nueva raza descubierta es seguro que hubo un tiempo y cierta población humana con sus mismas formas de pensar y actuar". Son completamente contradictorios, son amables, crueles, inteligentes, estúpidos, aventureros, temeroso. Cada ser humano puede tomar cualquier pensamiento sin problema y son fáciles de integrarse en cada cultura.

Baje la tableta con los ojos confundido acerca de esta información. "Es real esto?" No podía imaginar algo así o que una raza prefiera sufrir dolor a aburrimiento. La puerta de deslizó con un humano entrando mirando a su alrededor y fijando su vista donde estoy. "Hey amigo" "Amigo, ni siquiera te conozco"

You can still write your thing! Who cares if I wrote the same idea. Great minds think alike!

Best way to sum it up

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions"

Jolly good job lad

Alas

This was almost the same as my idea, almost to a tee.

I think... I need to rethink my story now....

Have a wonderful day!

Oh I like this one. Very poetic in a way.

Yeah

Well its not wrong :)