Pfft, Real smooth. Will Lucas catch the intent? Will he accept the clearly offered move or respect the guy’s position/job more? Tune in next time to find out! (PS: Darn cliffhangers!)
It wasn’t subtle. But it can wreck his relationship.
In the country I live in, when an officer seeks info from our national police information system, the query is tagged by a unique identifier thatbties to the officer. They are also strongly admonished to leave the purpose. I saw a lawyer go after the national police and they went to the detachment and there was no reason. That got a sh””storm of epic proportion.
So even if Lucas’ paramour is willing, if he uses that, he could wreck the officer’s career.
Yeah, but this is set in the states, where the cops regularly commit murder and get away with it. If Ben is caught, he’d get a minor slap on wrist at worst.
Lazlowi
6 days ago
I actually laughed out loud at the face Lucas is making – this gem of a man! It’s awesome to see their relationship unfold.
Lol, that was an invitation. It’s how sometimes people share information in business that is actually confidential. The file is “accidentally” on the table while the other person goes to the bathroom / gets a coffee / goes to make a copy.
Well, obviously in movies for dramatic effect. In reality you likely have to log into some server to view things. If you give your password that is even worse, if you log into the server and leave then you are leaving someone unattended to search anything
In theory the person would lock the PC. But I’ve consistently been left in an empty room with an unlocked PC with complete access to very sensitive medical data. Suggesting to lock it was considered to be rude.
What way? He asked Ben to do it, and Ben told him that policy prevents *him* from doing it. Lucas is not subject to said policy–he’d just be doing the thing he hoped his boyfriend would be able to do.
Tim
6 days ago
And the title of this occurence makes a lot more sense !
Crossroads
6 days ago
Classic move right there.
Aeg
6 days ago
I guess he figured Lucas actually had a really good reason. That being said, what bugs me about this is that IRL, any IT department has the ability to track searches done on that database via the credentials used to access them. Ben would know that, and “oops, someone must have accessed it when I wasn’t looking” isn’t an excuse in any environment that actually cares about enforcing that policy and actually makes the situation worse. That being said, the real world has also shown that police use this kind of access all the time and get away with it,… Read more »
you can get in as much if not more trouble if you have left sensitive data exposed. Heck more than few politicians have goten flak for their handling of confidental/secret documwnts. Now imagine it would have been just a regular grunt and not influential politician.
It’s pretty far beyond the boundaries of typical security requirements to claim that he “left sensitive data exposed” when it was accessed by an unregistered vigilante who came in through his window in the middle of the night.
Now, if anyone can prove he let the unregistered vigilante in the window, that’s another story.
I agree with Aeg. Ben is kinda being “I cannot do it morally, but I can let you – if you can take that moral responsibility”. If he cared about not doing it and not being caught doing it – it wouldn’t matter if it’s him or Lucas using the laptop, all that matters is which account performed the action. And “physically it wasn’t me” just moves the misdeed from “misuse of (restricted access thing)” to “carelessness in usage of (restricted access thing)”, it doesn’t absolve from the misdeed. There’s a responsibility in not letting someone else use your account.… Read more »
For context, I think Ben will also be fine with whatever Lucas chooses to do. The “test” here is just a mental note of whether or not Lucas Does A Legally Bad here. I shouldn’t even call it a test. Happywyvern below is right, the social cues are there.
Given how emphatic Ben tends to be, he might just be doing the whole song and dance routine to let Lucas feel better about it, because Lucas would probably happily take the fall for ‘taking the advantage’ of Ben’s trust if an issue ever comes up and it would, in a world of espers and psychics, be strictly and technically true.
Quite sure this is more about Bens own moral system than any legal questions. He can’t justify with himself doing it but he can giving Lucas the means to do it himself.
If these guys knew how much of the world’s critical infrastructure is kept functioning by jury rigged parts running legacy code, they would freak the absolute f out.
I’m not sure what they would nail him for though. Pulling up files on a popularly known super criminal isn’t exactly criminal. He said himself he had looked into Lucas to ensure he wasn’t dating Deathblood. There are probably quite a few people who access such files routinely given the predominant amount of damage Troll does. It’s not like those case files just disappear because he’s in jail, even ‘potential’ crimes have to be checked to verifiy was it Troll who did it or one of his copycats? This isn’t like medical records where only your specific doctor probably has… Read more »
There is a lot of coincidence happening – a famous singer has a big show and their name gets searched in the databases – not by the crew trying to protect them. Even if the news report about that, everybody will eagerly look the other way.
Some people are more equal.
Benjamin
6 days ago
Lucas! NO!
Marseyais13
6 days ago
very smooth Ben !
Reminds me of Malcolm in the Middle, when Lois is asking the sergent for info to track down Reese, and he tells her he has all the info in the drawer of his desk but can’t reveal it, and it pisses him off so much he’ll stand and face the window for a few minutes ^^
AustynSN
6 days ago
From the back and with his mask hanging off, Lucas looks a bit like Captain Marvel. (Original, AKA Billy Batson, AKA The boy with the power of SHAZAM)
If that’s the case, should I downvote your comment to get you back to “0” again? “Balance” and what-not.
Nah. That’s just silly.
Jedi
6 days ago
Either he wants to give him a choice or its another test, hard to tell … but i tend to it being the first one … and then, hard choice for Lucas …
Tim Braatz
6 days ago
Btw, not entirely sure about Ethans Respawn rules (where is the point of death?), but couldn’t they just stop his heart, look if he respawns and if not, reanimate him?
They’d need to know the details of the rules. It can be a positive test, it can be a false negative, it can create a clone
Snark
6 days ago
ooof… on the one hand “no means no”.. and old “personal is not the same as important”. And if it is a test from Ben’s side, I’d say it is kind of a sucker… on the other – what IS more important? And being a vigilante-ish super (at the very least not registered) Lucas is probably Neutral Good or Chaotic Good in heart. As in “essence over procedure”, “law for the people, not people for the law” mentality and all that stuff. And in that light Ben’s “opening” is a gift of confidence and a sign of trust in Lucas’… Read more »
Happywyvern
6 days ago
Reading the comments here I feel im missing something,
He gives the speech about not being allowed to do it…
Opens his laptop, clearly pointing out that this laptop can easily find out what’s needed. Then he says he is going for a pee and pointing out its for 10 minutes. Im middle aged it doesn’t take me that long.
But a lot of people are saying its a test and he shouldn’t do it?
Am I just dense at reading social cues on comic books?
I’m confused about what confuses you. Yes, Ben clearly presents the opportunity to Lucas to look for the records. Ben also states that it is, in fact, prohibited. If Ben is not allowed to do it, Lucas is even more not allowed to do it. The real question is how “Lawful” Ben is. Is it the test of Lucas’ ability to refuse a temptation – “I want to, but I will not do it because it is prohibited”? Or is it just a way to circumvent the rules and give Lucas the information. We don’t know what Ben sees as… Read more »
It’s more like that Ben is a good guy following the rules while also breaking them at the same time for Lucas (aka not using police data to tell Lucas directly, but “accidentally” leaving his personal laptop open for anyone to access), but that if Lucas were to go through with this proposal and anyone from the police notice that Ben’s account logged in to check on the Troll’s whereabouts and “something” happened with the Troll a couple days later after said login… there could be questions. And danger to Ben’s job due his integrity as a cop if people… Read more »
I think you are absolutely correct in your interpretation of what Ben is trying to do here. This reminds me of a story. I used to know a guy who was a school teacher, this is the story he told me. He was very careful about building and maintaining his reputation among the kids he was teaching (knowing that ruining said reputation would likely result in him failing to teach them anything afterwards). One day he gives the kids a written test and sits there watching them filling in the papers. Suddenly one of the kids drops a small note… Read more »
It’s a classic test to see where Lucas’s loyalties are and how willing he is to go against his morals and ideals. If he uses the laptop it will hurt Ben and open the door to Lucas forsaking himself and falling to evil. As the next step would be Lucas breaking into what ever facility is housing the troll to try and extract info from him in a way that most likely involves violence. Breaking countless laws in the process and since he used Ben’s laptop to get the info it means Ben will have to shoulder the blame and… Read more »
You don’t say “the data is right here, wink wink nudge nudge, I’m going to leave for TEN MINUTES”
And then claim it’s some kind of bullshit test. He’s saying “hey, I’d love to help you but I can’t cross this line, oh look, it’s all right here and I’m leaving the room for a while, it’d be a shame if the stuff just happened to get opened where you could look at it. You know, while I’m out of the room for TEN MINUTES.”
“I’d like to help you. But I can’t. I’d like to tell you to take a copy of your policy to Norma Wilcox on — Norma. Wilcox. W-I-L-C-O-X. On the third floor, but I can’t. I also do not advise you to fill out and file a WS2475 form with our legal department on the second floor. I would not expect someone to get back to you quickly to resolve the matter. I’d like to help. But there’s nothing I can do. SORRY, MA’AM! I KNOW YOU’RE UPSET!“
The debate is because we don’t know Ben’s motivation here. It could be, “I think what the Troll is doing is awful, and I want Lucas to get the info he needs to potentially save a life” or “I can’t believe my new boyfriend asked me to do something criminal! Lets see if he has the morals I hope he does.”
yeah same, I see no world where this is a test, to me this is the classic :
“I can’t help you…HOWEVER, here is everything you need, and how long you have to take it, then let’s pretend nothing happened”.
Classic good guy who wants to obey the rules but still try to help as much as reasonably possible in the circumstances.
I say every single cop who has seen too many criminals get off scot free because they don’t have to play by the rules while police has to, considered bending the rules a bit themselves.
Austin Mills
6 days ago
Okay, I didn’t like the mustache, but I’ve changed my mind. Lucas, marry this man.
Steve
6 days ago
With our heroes’ luck, Lucas will go digging illegally (ex: unauthorized use of a computer system) while Ethan slips on a bunch of gummy bears and impales himself on an eggbeater, or something.
That would be HILARIOUS.
And also deeply deeply sad for a bunch of reasons.
Blue Griffin
6 days ago
I really think some people are over thinking this. I don’t think this is a test at all. Just a way to set up plausible deniability. Lucas gets the information. Ben stays unaware if he did or not. End of story.
Yes, that’s what’s going on here. Kind of surprising how many other people are unable to identify such obvious cues.
Zeqs
6 days ago
It’s not a cop show without this “I got the info you need right here, but I can’t give it to you. Now, I’m stepping out for a quick coffee, back in ten, don’t you take a peek on this info, ok?” bit.
Truly classic.
Last edited 6 days ago by zequeins
naustghoul
6 days ago
Not only does he love him, he trusts him. Yup, Lucas my man, you are done. There is no way that you can deny this guy anything anymore.
Ocramot
6 days ago
This is very nice of Ben, but I guess Lucas still would have to log in with Ben’s credentials, so any improper use would trace back to Ben anyway
Damion
6 days ago
It’s unreal how blown away I am by the strength of the writing paired with the simplicity of the art in this comic.
Just incredibly great.
Damion
6 days ago
To all the comments saying this is some kind of “test”, given that Ben has been verrrrrry carefully taking baby steps to let Lucas know he knows, and to let Lucas know he is pro-cape AND pro-law, it would mean that he is either 1: sincerely offering Lucas info in the best way he knows how to do without directly breaking a law (which I hope is the case). Thereby showing Lucas he really does love and trust him, and is willing to take risks for good reasons. Or 2: This is all an INSANELY long con with a ridiculously… Read more »
Sorry, but this part I don’t agree with. Being negligent who can use your laptop with NCIC access on it is as much a violation as using the access for personal reasons yourself. The only “not Doing A Bad” thing here on Ben’s side is in the moral space
Are you saying you lock your computer/laptop every time you walk away from it when you’re the only person who would reasonably have access to it (i.e. you live alone and are currently at home)?
Say they weren’t in a relationship/Ben didn’t even know Lucas. Lucas (a vigilante) decided to follow Ben (or any other officer) in an attempt to get the information and Ben walked away from the laptop while working at home, is Ben still “breaking the law”/being negligent?
Pete
6 days ago
Back in TEN. Should it take TEN minutes? Hmmm…
ThatGuy
6 days ago
No, I mean it.
You kill him off, I’m gonna riot. For him to pull this classic move to his vigilante boyfriend is the best thing ever. Best character addition in a LONG time!
pookysgirl
6 days ago
“Well, you have ten minutes to figure out how to find sensitive information in our database. Good luck!”
“But doesn’t it usually take you guys a week of training to-”
Do it, and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete.
MusicManD
6 days ago
If this IS a test, it’s the kind that would make me end a relationship.
He’s going out of his way to say, “I have to follow the rules, but you don’t. Let me turn my back real quick.” He even interrupts Lucas saying that it’s fine and he doesn’t need to help.
Truthfully, though, in a world with superheroes and supervillains, any IT department that doesn’t use constant security to prevent bad actors from accessing their database- say with fingerprint scanners in every key or periodic facial recognition during every query- is woefully incompetent.
Well, he already entered the credentials and opened the database for him, before suddenly realising he needs to pee FOR TEN MINUTES!
Sir Guestalot
6 days ago
I’m…honestly not sure where the figurative dice should fall on this. Narratively, I expect Lucas will take the opportunity, because that moves the plot point of “Schrodinger’s Nine Lives” forward. But setting aside narrative expectation for a minute: On the one hand, Ben just gave him a gift and made it quite clear that he was fully aware of what he was doing (and after making it clear that it would be a non-starter if he wasn’t convinced it was for a good cause). Lucas not accepting that gift would arguably be insulting Ben’s own resolve to do what he… Read more »
Andhaka
6 days ago
You have to do right by this amazing man, Lucas!! Don’t let him get away!!
RLight
6 days ago
Grab the laptop, break the window on the way out. Give Ben some plausible deniability.
foducool
6 days ago
very smooth ahaha
Drew
6 days ago
Lucas: “Hey, uh, before you go, how do you do a search on this thing?”
Lily
6 days ago
People in the comment are so doubtful. This isn’t a test, he straight up wants Lucas to look at his computer. He agreed and just wants plausible deniability.
teddy
6 days ago
love this
ChibiAcer
6 days ago
Lucas really needs to work on picking up social cues, lol 🤣
sasparillafizz
6 days ago
“It makes me so angry that I cannot assist you I think I’m going to just stare outside this window without looking around for the next fifteen minutes or so”
Mahmoud
6 days ago
What a shame a vigilante broke into Ben’s house and accessed his laptop while he was away. What a dastardly fiend.
Extreme
5 days ago
“Wait a second… I can delete parking tickets”
Hawk
5 days ago
Has it been made clear what Lucas is hoping to find?
If he’s looking for where they’re keeping the Troll, what would knowing that do?
Will he try to question the maniac with a proven history of manipulation and falsehood? What does Lucas think he can glean that trained interrogators couldn’t?
Robert 'CockRoach' Archer
5 days ago
Ten minutes? Hey when you gotta go you gotta go! 😛
Tawnis
5 days ago
So, back when this whole re-boot started, I wasn’t all that sure about Lucas’ change from the original; so many series lately are just throwing LQBTQ+ characters in there for the sake of wanting to seem inclusive or trying to reach a broader demographic and I guess it’s left me a little more cynical than I realized. They don’t get to be their own character and are just the token inclusivity one. All that being said, I’m so happy that is not the case here; I freaking love their characters and relationship. Lucas and Ben are so damn good together… Read more »
Last edited 5 days ago by Tawnis
SylntSyco
5 days ago
Green Flag af.
DerGrimmigeZwerg
5 days ago
Guess the Oathbreaker Paladin build isn’t that far off after all… Not that I’m complaining.
ZombieM0nk3y
5 days ago
He’s a keeper.
Victor
5 days ago
“I totally understand.”
Do you though? He’s dropping hits left and right and you only got the last one.
Derfman
4 days ago
Well, I sure hope he does not do it. Because he could be putting Ben into a really bad situation regardless of who does the accessing. For all we know, Ben may be testing him to see how far he can trust him.
Derfman
4 days ago
Tim, your pages coding seems to be wonky. Can’t navigate with the arrow keys while typing in a comment. It keeps trying to go to the previous or next page.
Pfft, Real smooth. Will Lucas catch the intent? Will he accept the clearly offered move or respect the guy’s position/job more? Tune in next time to find out! (PS: Darn cliffhangers!)
Roughly half of the detective and similiar stories uses that trope, he probably will. 😉
If Lucas was dating a woman, the situation could be a bit vague, but men generally don’t take 10 minutes to pee.
Went to poo. Obviously meant 10 hours
It wasn’t subtle. But it can wreck his relationship.
In the country I live in, when an officer seeks info from our national police information system, the query is tagged by a unique identifier thatbties to the officer. They are also strongly admonished to leave the purpose. I saw a lawyer go after the national police and they went to the detachment and there was no reason. That got a sh””storm of epic proportion.
So even if Lucas’ paramour is willing, if he uses that, he could wreck the officer’s career.
But maybe the cops are clueless.
Yeah, but this is set in the states, where the cops regularly commit murder and get away with it. If Ben is caught, he’d get a minor slap on wrist at worst.
I actually laughed out loud at the face Lucas is making – this gem of a man! It’s awesome to see their relationship unfold.
Don’t do it Lucas, you don’t roll that way…
Don’t roll -what- way?
Coloring outside the lines a bit to potentially save his friends life?
I’d hope Lucas does roll that way but maybe I’ve overestimated him.
He’s an unregistered vigilante, so by definition that is the exact way he rolls.
He’s not even a licensed superhero, he’s literally a vigilante. He does roll that way. And he got tacit endorsement from Ben.
Ben is inviting him to do it. It’s fine.
Lol, that was an invitation. It’s how sometimes people share information in business that is actually confidential. The file is “accidentally” on the table while the other person goes to the bathroom / gets a coffee / goes to make a copy.
Well, obviously in movies for dramatic effect. In reality you likely have to log into some server to view things. If you give your password that is even worse, if you log into the server and leave then you are leaving someone unattended to search anything
In theory the person would lock the PC. But I’ve consistently been left in an empty room with an unlocked PC with complete access to very sensitive medical data. Suggesting to lock it was considered to be rude.
What way? He asked Ben to do it, and Ben told him that policy prevents *him* from doing it. Lucas is not subject to said policy–he’d just be doing the thing he hoped his boyfriend would be able to do.
And the title of this occurence makes a lot more sense !
Classic move right there.
I guess he figured Lucas actually had a really good reason. That being said, what bugs me about this is that IRL, any IT department has the ability to track searches done on that database via the credentials used to access them. Ben would know that, and “oops, someone must have accessed it when I wasn’t looking” isn’t an excuse in any environment that actually cares about enforcing that policy and actually makes the situation worse. That being said, the real world has also shown that police use this kind of access all the time and get away with it,… Read more »
“I didn’t do it”
Police lie detector AND super powered empath show he is telling the truth.
you can get in as much if not more trouble if you have left sensitive data exposed. Heck more than few politicians have goten flak for their handling of confidental/secret documwnts. Now imagine it would have been just a regular grunt and not influential politician.
It’s pretty far beyond the boundaries of typical security requirements to claim that he “left sensitive data exposed” when it was accessed by an unregistered vigilante who came in through his window in the middle of the night.
Now, if anyone can prove he let the unregistered vigilante in the window, that’s another story.
I agree with Aeg. Ben is kinda being “I cannot do it morally, but I can let you – if you can take that moral responsibility”. If he cared about not doing it and not being caught doing it – it wouldn’t matter if it’s him or Lucas using the laptop, all that matters is which account performed the action. And “physically it wasn’t me” just moves the misdeed from “misuse of (restricted access thing)” to “carelessness in usage of (restricted access thing)”, it doesn’t absolve from the misdeed. There’s a responsibility in not letting someone else use your account.… Read more »
For context, I think Ben will also be fine with whatever Lucas chooses to do. The “test” here is just a mental note of whether or not Lucas Does A Legally Bad here. I shouldn’t even call it a test. Happywyvern below is right, the social cues are there.
Given how emphatic Ben tends to be, he might just be doing the whole song and dance routine to let Lucas feel better about it, because Lucas would probably happily take the fall for ‘taking the advantage’ of Ben’s trust if an issue ever comes up and it would, in a world of espers and psychics, be strictly and technically true.
Quite sure this is more about Bens own moral system than any legal questions. He can’t justify with himself doing it but he can giving Lucas the means to do it himself.
Although this is possibly true. Things you think would be more secure; are not. The world is held mostly together by duct tape and string.
If these guys knew how much of the world’s critical infrastructure is kept functioning by jury rigged parts running legacy code, they would freak the absolute f out.
But Ben gets to say in a court of law that he did not do that search.
This. I’d rather he protect Ben from himself. If it were anybody else he wouldn’t offer this, so…
Why?
Because nudge-nudge, wink-wink. That’s why 🙂
I’m not sure what they would nail him for though. Pulling up files on a popularly known super criminal isn’t exactly criminal. He said himself he had looked into Lucas to ensure he wasn’t dating Deathblood. There are probably quite a few people who access such files routinely given the predominant amount of damage Troll does. It’s not like those case files just disappear because he’s in jail, even ‘potential’ crimes have to be checked to verifiy was it Troll who did it or one of his copycats? This isn’t like medical records where only your specific doctor probably has… Read more »
There is a lot of coincidence happening – a famous singer has a big show and their name gets searched in the databases – not by the crew trying to protect them. Even if the news report about that, everybody will eagerly look the other way.
Some people are more equal.
Lucas! NO!
very smooth Ben !
Reminds me of Malcolm in the Middle, when Lois is asking the sergent for info to track down Reese, and he tells her he has all the info in the drawer of his desk but can’t reveal it, and it pisses him off so much he’ll stand and face the window for a few minutes ^^
From the back and with his mask hanging off, Lucas looks a bit like Captain Marvel. (Original, AKA Billy Batson, AKA The boy with the power of SHAZAM)
huh, your comment must have been disliked by a marvel comics fan with sore buttocks, allow me to bring it ro balance, as all rhings should be
If that’s the case, should I downvote your comment to get you back to “0” again? “Balance” and what-not.
Nah. That’s just silly.
Either he wants to give him a choice or its another test, hard to tell … but i tend to it being the first one … and then, hard choice for Lucas …
Btw, not entirely sure about Ethans Respawn rules (where is the point of death?), but couldn’t they just stop his heart, look if he respawns and if not, reanimate him?
They’d need to know the details of the rules. It can be a positive test, it can be a false negative, it can create a clone
ooof… on the one hand “no means no”.. and old “personal is not the same as important”. And if it is a test from Ben’s side, I’d say it is kind of a sucker… on the other – what IS more important? And being a vigilante-ish super (at the very least not registered) Lucas is probably Neutral Good or Chaotic Good in heart. As in “essence over procedure”, “law for the people, not people for the law” mentality and all that stuff. And in that light Ben’s “opening” is a gift of confidence and a sign of trust in Lucas’… Read more »
Reading the comments here I feel im missing something,
He gives the speech about not being allowed to do it…
Opens his laptop, clearly pointing out that this laptop can easily find out what’s needed. Then he says he is going for a pee and pointing out its for 10 minutes. Im middle aged it doesn’t take me that long.
But a lot of people are saying its a test and he shouldn’t do it?
Am I just dense at reading social cues on comic books?
I’m confused about what confuses you. Yes, Ben clearly presents the opportunity to Lucas to look for the records. Ben also states that it is, in fact, prohibited. If Ben is not allowed to do it, Lucas is even more not allowed to do it. The real question is how “Lawful” Ben is. Is it the test of Lucas’ ability to refuse a temptation – “I want to, but I will not do it because it is prohibited”? Or is it just a way to circumvent the rules and give Lucas the information. We don’t know what Ben sees as… Read more »
It’s more like that Ben is a good guy following the rules while also breaking them at the same time for Lucas (aka not using police data to tell Lucas directly, but “accidentally” leaving his personal laptop open for anyone to access), but that if Lucas were to go through with this proposal and anyone from the police notice that Ben’s account logged in to check on the Troll’s whereabouts and “something” happened with the Troll a couple days later after said login… there could be questions. And danger to Ben’s job due his integrity as a cop if people… Read more »
I think you are absolutely correct in your interpretation of what Ben is trying to do here. This reminds me of a story. I used to know a guy who was a school teacher, this is the story he told me. He was very careful about building and maintaining his reputation among the kids he was teaching (knowing that ruining said reputation would likely result in him failing to teach them anything afterwards). One day he gives the kids a written test and sits there watching them filling in the papers. Suddenly one of the kids drops a small note… Read more »
It’s a classic test to see where Lucas’s loyalties are and how willing he is to go against his morals and ideals. If he uses the laptop it will hurt Ben and open the door to Lucas forsaking himself and falling to evil. As the next step would be Lucas breaking into what ever facility is housing the troll to try and extract info from him in a way that most likely involves violence. Breaking countless laws in the process and since he used Ben’s laptop to get the info it means Ben will have to shoulder the blame and… Read more »
You don’t say “the data is right here, wink wink nudge nudge, I’m going to leave for TEN MINUTES”
And then claim it’s some kind of bullshit test. He’s saying “hey, I’d love to help you but I can’t cross this line, oh look, it’s all right here and I’m leaving the room for a while, it’d be a shame if the stuff just happened to get opened where you could look at it. You know, while I’m out of the room for TEN MINUTES.”
“I’d like to help you. But I can’t. I’d like to tell you to take a copy of your policy to Norma Wilcox on — Norma. Wilcox. W-I-L-C-O-X. On the third floor, but I can’t. I also do not advise you to fill out and file a WS2475 form with our legal department on the second floor. I would not expect someone to get back to you quickly to resolve the matter. I’d like to help. But there’s nothing I can do. SORRY, MA’AM! I KNOW YOU’RE UPSET!“
The debate is because we don’t know Ben’s motivation here. It could be, “I think what the Troll is doing is awful, and I want Lucas to get the info he needs to potentially save a life” or “I can’t believe my new boyfriend asked me to do something criminal! Lets see if he has the morals I hope he does.”
yeah same, I see no world where this is a test, to me this is the classic :
“I can’t help you…HOWEVER, here is everything you need, and how long you have to take it, then let’s pretend nothing happened”.
Classic good guy who wants to obey the rules but still try to help as much as reasonably possible in the circumstances.
I say every single cop who has seen too many criminals get off scot free because they don’t have to play by the rules while police has to, considered bending the rules a bit themselves.
Okay, I didn’t like the mustache, but I’ve changed my mind. Lucas, marry this man.
With our heroes’ luck, Lucas will go digging illegally (ex: unauthorized use of a computer system) while Ethan slips on a bunch of gummy bears and impales himself on an eggbeater, or something.
That would be HILARIOUS.
And also deeply deeply sad for a bunch of reasons.
I really think some people are over thinking this. I don’t think this is a test at all. Just a way to set up plausible deniability. Lucas gets the information. Ben stays unaware if he did or not. End of story.
Yes, that’s what’s going on here. Kind of surprising how many other people are unable to identify such obvious cues.
It’s not a cop show without this “I got the info you need right here, but I can’t give it to you. Now, I’m stepping out for a quick coffee, back in ten, don’t you take a peek on this info, ok?” bit.
Truly classic.
Not only does he love him, he trusts him. Yup, Lucas my man, you are done. There is no way that you can deny this guy anything anymore.
This is very nice of Ben, but I guess Lucas still would have to log in with Ben’s credentials, so any improper use would trace back to Ben anyway
It’s unreal how blown away I am by the strength of the writing paired with the simplicity of the art in this comic.
Just incredibly great.
To all the comments saying this is some kind of “test”, given that Ben has been verrrrrry carefully taking baby steps to let Lucas know he knows, and to let Lucas know he is pro-cape AND pro-law, it would mean that he is either 1: sincerely offering Lucas info in the best way he knows how to do without directly breaking a law (which I hope is the case). Thereby showing Lucas he really does love and trust him, and is willing to take risks for good reasons. Or 2: This is all an INSANELY long con with a ridiculously… Read more »
Sorry, but this part I don’t agree with. Being negligent who can use your laptop with NCIC access on it is as much a violation as using the access for personal reasons yourself. The only “not Doing A Bad” thing here on Ben’s side is in the moral space
Are you saying you lock your computer/laptop every time you walk away from it when you’re the only person who would reasonably have access to it (i.e. you live alone and are currently at home)?
Say they weren’t in a relationship/Ben didn’t even know Lucas. Lucas (a vigilante) decided to follow Ben (or any other officer) in an attempt to get the information and Ben walked away from the laptop while working at home, is Ben still “breaking the law”/being negligent?
Back in TEN. Should it take TEN minutes? Hmmm…
No, I mean it.
You kill him off, I’m gonna riot. For him to pull this classic move to his vigilante boyfriend is the best thing ever. Best character addition in a LONG time!
“Well, you have ten minutes to figure out how to find sensitive information in our database. Good luck!”
“But doesn’t it usually take you guys a week of training to-”
“I SAID GOOD LUCK!!!”
Plausible deniability. Love it.
“These are not the droids you are looking for.”
I like Ben, but don’t do it Lucas.
Do it, and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete.
If this IS a test, it’s the kind that would make me end a relationship.
He’s going out of his way to say, “I have to follow the rules, but you don’t. Let me turn my back real quick.” He even interrupts Lucas saying that it’s fine and he doesn’t need to help.
Truthfully, though, in a world with superheroes and supervillains, any IT department that doesn’t use constant security to prevent bad actors from accessing their database- say with fingerprint scanners in every key or periodic facial recognition during every query- is woefully incompetent.
Well, he already entered the credentials and opened the database for him, before suddenly realising he needs to pee FOR TEN MINUTES!
I’m…honestly not sure where the figurative dice should fall on this. Narratively, I expect Lucas will take the opportunity, because that moves the plot point of “Schrodinger’s Nine Lives” forward. But setting aside narrative expectation for a minute: On the one hand, Ben just gave him a gift and made it quite clear that he was fully aware of what he was doing (and after making it clear that it would be a non-starter if he wasn’t convinced it was for a good cause). Lucas not accepting that gift would arguably be insulting Ben’s own resolve to do what he… Read more »
You have to do right by this amazing man, Lucas!! Don’t let him get away!!
Grab the laptop, break the window on the way out. Give Ben some plausible deniability.
very smooth ahaha
Lucas: “Hey, uh, before you go, how do you do a search on this thing?”
People in the comment are so doubtful. This isn’t a test, he straight up wants Lucas to look at his computer. He agreed and just wants plausible deniability.
love this
Lucas really needs to work on picking up social cues, lol 🤣
“It makes me so angry that I cannot assist you I think I’m going to just stare outside this window without looking around for the next fifteen minutes or so”
What a shame a vigilante broke into Ben’s house and accessed his laptop while he was away. What a dastardly fiend.
“Wait a second… I can delete parking tickets”
Has it been made clear what Lucas is hoping to find?
If he’s looking for where they’re keeping the Troll, what would knowing that do?
Will he try to question the maniac with a proven history of manipulation and falsehood? What does Lucas think he can glean that trained interrogators couldn’t?
Ten minutes? Hey when you gotta go you gotta go! 😛
So, back when this whole re-boot started, I wasn’t all that sure about Lucas’ change from the original; so many series lately are just throwing LQBTQ+ characters in there for the sake of wanting to seem inclusive or trying to reach a broader demographic and I guess it’s left me a little more cynical than I realized. They don’t get to be their own character and are just the token inclusivity one. All that being said, I’m so happy that is not the case here; I freaking love their characters and relationship. Lucas and Ben are so damn good together… Read more »
Green Flag af.
Guess the Oathbreaker Paladin build isn’t that far off after all… Not that I’m complaining.
He’s a keeper.
“I totally understand.”
Do you though? He’s dropping hits left and right and you only got the last one.
Well, I sure hope he does not do it. Because he could be putting Ben into a really bad situation regardless of who does the accessing. For all we know, Ben may be testing him to see how far he can trust him.
Tim, your pages coding seems to be wonky. Can’t navigate with the arrow keys while typing in a comment. It keeps trying to go to the previous or next page.
yeah, there seems to be a missing override of the regular navigation while the focus is on the comment box
It’s just a setup for Ben to ultimately get killed because not a single character in these comics can EVER have any real happiness.