Ditto Ditto (11 page)

“LIZ!” she bellows, hanging from our foster mom’s neck, she’s hugging so tightly.  I’m not even surprised when she wraps her legs around Liz’s waist, clinging like a monkey.  What I AM surprised about is that she’s wearing a different outfit than she was a second ago.

Something seems... off.  “Ditto, do you really want me to not behave if--if it happens again?” Liz asks.

“What?” Ditto asks.  “When did I say that?” she asks, glancing at me.  “I’m just happy to see you’re not in the Cape Cells--don’t EVER ever leave us, got it?  You’re going to be our mom when we’re like, ninety years old and walking with walkers or whatever ancient capes do,” she declares.

“Mastermental’s older than that,” Liz says, her teasing a bit flat as she looks at me.  We both know that something’s off about this situation.  We just don’t know what it is--yet.  When I look as confused as she does, though, she wraps her arms around Ditto, hugging her tightly.  “Love you,” she says.

“Em, Em!! Did you hear that?” Ditto calls over to me.  “She said it to me, first!”

“Yeah, Ditto, I heard it--don’t let it go to your head!” I call back.  “You just had to die first!”

“Totally worth it,” Ditto says.  The look of shock on Liz’s face would be funny if it were any other situation, but I know Ditto can’t see it because she’s clinging again with her head against Liz’s chest.  Instead she reaches out one arm and I race over, hugging them both as tears threaten.  Somewhere along the way a batch of black suits have surrounded us as a mob, blocking he view of the norms--probably when Ditto started showing up.  They’re seeing all of this, I think.  I don’t care.

What does bother me, though, was that first time Ditto showed up.  Could it be--

No, I don’t think so.

“Hey, is that my girlfriend in there?” I hear someone say quietly from several feet away.  The black suits part, forming a path to my little family.  I look up as Trent walks through, grinning at him as he sees us.  “Ditto!” he says, his expression changing from worried to happy as he sees her.

“TRENT!” she bellows, jumping from Liz into Trent’s arms.  “Liz said she loves me!”

“She did, did she?”

“Yeah!  Then Em said I had to die to get it, but I don’t care because I’m back,” she says.  “It was sort of quick and I don’t remember much of it anyway, so it doesn’t matter, right?  Hey, let’s skip school and go on a date, whaddaya say?  Just the two of us.”

“Hey now!” I protest.  “No hogging the boyfriend!”

“He owes me a trip to Build-A-Bear,” Ditto tells me, “don’t think I’ve forgotten how you took Carla out--that’s cheating, you know!”

“It wasn’t cheating,” he says as she twists so she’s piggy-back.  “It was bribery to keep her from running off on me.  That girl is seriously fast.”  He hooks his arms under her legs and looks over at me.  I shrug and head to Liz’s side, since she was just abandoned.  Plus, I need to talk to her.

“Why don’t you two go on that date?” I say, much to both of their surprise.  “I want to spend some time with Liz.  She was a bit traumatized, I think.”  It says something when Liz just flushes slightly and looks away, stammering something incomprehensible.

“Yeah, okay,” Trent says.  “We’ll meet you back at the apartment in... two hours?” he offers.  “Wanna go to a movie, Dit?  We’ll go to the toy store when Em can come.”

“Sure!”

A tiny part of me feels jealous, I realize as they head off, but I shove it down, turning and looking at Liz.  “Want to get an ice cream?” I ask her.

“For breakfast?” she asks.

“Can we not?”

“I didn’t say that,” she says, “just let me call up Nico first and tell him what we’re doing.  He’s probably worried.”

“Call Taurus, too--and Andre,” I tell her, “and probably Jack--“ I stop as the norms start freaking out and look up to see Jack stepping through the front door.  “Forget about Jack, Aubrey must have told him already.”

He stops in front of us, looking at me strangely.  I hear someone start to protest, but Jack ignores them as he reaches up, poking me in the forehead.  “You alive?” he says.

“Yeah.”

“All of you?”

“Yep.”

“Good,” he says before walking past us to the door that leads to the ER.

“Next time come in from the back, dork,” I mutter, giving him a dirty look.  I hear him laughing as Liz hauls me off.  “He’s such a pain sometimes,” I say, shaking my head.  “Really, I still don’t see what Aub sees in him,” I tell her.  “Aubrey needs someone not such a bully!”

“He doesn’t bully her,” Liz says.  “Trust me, I watched him like a hawk that first month.”

“Yeah, but he bullies me!” I protest.

“When did he bully you?”

“He just poked me in the forehead!  That’s bullying!” I lie cheerfully.  “I’m going to have to get him back for that one.”

“Yeah?  How?”

“I’m thinking magnets,” I decide, “but I’m open to suggestions!”

“Nah,” Liz says, draping an arm over my shoulders and tugging me into her side.  “He was worried about you, right?”

“Yeah, but... so am I,” I admit as we reach the street.  “That first time Ditto showed up--I don’t know what happened.  I didn’t summon her, Liz,” I say seriously, looking her in the eyes.  “I had no idea she was even there--and she wasn’t...”

“Yeah,” Liz says, “I noticed.”

“Was it Ditto?” I ask.  “Ditto didn’t seem to remember saying something like that--and she was wearing a different outfit.  What if--what if it WASN’T Ditto?”

“So you think it’s another doppelganger?” she asks.  “How did Ditto show up the first time?”

“I was looking in the mirror,” I say, “and all of a sudden she popped up behind me.  I almost had a heart attack, I swear.  It didn’t help that she disappeared right before I turned around.  It was like living in a horror movie for a little bit.”

“Then we know what we have to look forward to,” Liz says.  “The only problem is...”

“Her personality,” I finish for her.  “It was... off.”

“Why don’t we go see Mastermental?” she asks.

“Yeah.”  She looks at me, I look at her, and we reluctantly turn and go back inside, heading up the stairs that lead to Mastermental’s office.  Looks like it’s time to get my brain scanned.

Somehow I’m really not looking forward to it.

“So,” Trent says as Ditto slips off of his back and moves to his side.  She takes his hand, slipping her fingers through his.  “What’s going on, Ditto?”

“Um...”  There’s hesitation in her voice, which makes him glance over at her.  “Well... I think... that Emily’s going through a growth period.”

He looks at her, raising an eyebrow as he puts his hand on her head.  “Doesn’t seem like it to me--unless it’s something else?”

“You’re making fun of our chest size, aren’t you?” she says, giving him a dirty look before peeking down her shirt.  “Well, guess you’ve got good reason,” she admits after a second.

“Don’t do that in public!” he says, starting to laugh.  “It doesn’t look right.”

“No, what wouldn’t look right is if YOU looked,” she says, “me looking is no big deal.  But like I was saying, I think Emily is going through a growth period--her abilities,” she finishes on a whisper.

“What are you talking about?” he asks.  “How can you tell?”

“I don’t know, but I feel stronger.  Hey, Trent, instead of going to the movies, will you go with me somewhere else?”

“Where to?” he asks.

“The park,” she says, tugging his hand and changing course.  He follows along, letting her lead them to an ancient, graffiti covered playground in a park where there’s no one to be seen.  “Look, I haven’t mentioned this to Emily, in fact I didn’t even realize it until this morning, but something’s happening,” she says as she heads for a picnic table.

“Yeah?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she says as she reaches down and picks the picnic table--and its connected benches--off the ground with no effort.  “I’m getting stronger.  I think Emily is, too.  You know how Falconess suggested we make a new doppelganger?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I didn’t really think it would work--but it will,” she says, putting the table down.  “I’m just wondering what will happen to me if she does.”  She grabs his hand, tugging him over to the table.  “Sit on top,” she orders him.

“You sure?  I weigh a lot more than I look.”

“I know, I was there at the water slide, remember?” she says.  “Get on, I want to try it.”

He climbs on top of the table, sitting there as she moves to the side.  He sees her grit her teeth slightly, but he feels the table lift slowly.  She moves underneath, lifting it straight up with a grunt.  “I was right,” she says a bit breathlessly.  “It’s getting easier.”

“So what does it mean?” he asks as she puts the table down and climbs out from underneath.

“It means that Emily’s probably twice as strong when I’m not out,” she says, climbing onto the table next to him.  “And at this rate, she’ll be really strong when she’s full grown, right?”

“I meant for you,” he says.  “You said you were worried about what it would mean for you.”

“Oh,” she says, looking down.  “Well, I’ll be one of who knows how many?” she says finally.  “She’ll realize what I really am--a part of her already has.”

“What do you think you really are?” he asks, reaching up and touching her cheek.

“A tool,” she says with a bittersweet smile, “one that can be tossed into the fire without dying, just like what happened last night.  I chose to do it this time, but sooner or later she’ll realize she can make me do it.  A part of her knows that’s what I’m for--that’s why she left me with that family.  I’m here to take the abuse that she can’t handle.”

“That’s not--“

“Which of us knows Emily better, Trent?” she asks.  “I AM her--or a part of her, at least.  My biggest job is to do what she needs me to do.  I just...”

He pulls her into a hug, cuddling her close as she starts to cry.  “You ARE her,” he says quietly.  “It’s confusing, and difficult, but she wouldn’t have put so much of her heart into you if she saw you as just a tool.  She wouldn’t bring you out just so you can go swimming, or eat pizza, or watch stupid movies with Liz and Aubrey.  She wouldn’t let you run off with her boyfriend to see a movie if she didn’t see you as an important part of her.”

“Yeah,” she whispers, hugging him tightly.  “You realize, though, that all of the doppelgangers she comes up with will love you, right?” she asks, looking up at him with a grin.

“All of them?” Trent asks, looking a bit pale.

“Probably!” she says, cheering up with how worried he looks.  “Well, I might be wrong,” she goes on, frowning slightly.  “Maybe if she comes up with them when she’s irritated with you they might not.”

“When has Emily ever been irritated with me?” Trent asks.  “I’m a great boyfriend!”

“HAH!” she says.  “You can be a pain!”

“Never!”

“Breakfast time, lunch time, dinner time, afternoon snack time, morning snack time--“ she lists, counting them off on her fingers, “or when you’re always trying to make peace, even when she’s CLEARLY right.”

“She’s not CLEARLY right,” he says, “you’re just biased.”

“You should be, too!”

He starts laughing, giving up on the argument easily.  “Ready to go back?” he asks with a grin.

“Nope--I want a smoothie!”

***

I feel a bit jealous of Ditto right now, I’m not going to lie.  Mastermental is sitting on his desk in front of me, searching my brain.  He’s not hiding it.  I can see various memories popping up and then being pushed aside as he goes deeper into my head.  “Calm,” he says gently, “I know you want to put up your walls, but you’re doing good.”

“Nico says I’ve got some telepathic abilities,” I say, “is it true?”

“Very true,” he says.  “You’ve noticed them, yourself, haven’t you?”

“I blocked Max from trying to read my mind,” I brag, “but it wasn’t very hard.”

“No, I’m sure it wasn’t,” he says with a slight smile.  “It’s been driving him a bit crazy, trying to get his telepathic abilities to work properly.”

“Is he really having that much trouble?” I ask, a bit shocked at the image of Max having trouble with ANYTHING.  “He always seems to be good at everything,” I say with a hint of complaint.  “That’s just not right, you know?”

“Oh, he’s not good at everything in the least,” Double M says with amusement.

“Yeah?” I ask eagerly.  Blackmail material, whoot!

“I heard that thought, you know,” he says, “but Max is a lousy artist--he has trouble drawing stick figures, much less something better.  He’s also a bit too quick to decide what others should be doing--and promptly tell them what that is.”

“Oh, I KNEW that,” I say, waving it off.  “He’s bossy.”

“Exactly,” Mastermental says.  “I don’t know where that comes from, of course.”

It startles a laugh out of me, seeing the guy in charge of the entire Hall--all of the branches, if you go deep enough--saying that with such an innocent face.

“Here,” he says.  I stop abruptly as a series of memories flash through my mind.  “It starts here--you consciously decided that you were going to have a second doppelganger, right?”

The scene with Falconess pauses in my mind and I look closely at the shadow that appears.  “So it IS a second one,” I say.  “But why was she so angry?”

“Because you are,” he says, looking me in the eyes.  “You’ve buried a lot of pain and anger, Emily, even past your conscious level.  Watch what happened with Liz.”

I see through my own eyes as Liz pushes me behind her--and I feel it.  “You see, the moment you saw Skystep you unconsciously projected your fear and rage,” Double M says as the emotions turn into colors I can see and the scene pauses.  It’s like I’m here again, I think as I look around. 

“So--“ I say, my eyes falling on the yellow and sickly green colors that swirl around me.

“They hit Liz hardest,” Mastermental says, pointing as the colors move slowly, wrapping around my foster mom.  “Because Liz loves you so much, she felt it stronger than most--you unconsciously influenced her,” he says as I see a white light flare up over Liz’s body.  “She reacted to the fear you were projecting without thinking.”

When Skystep starts talking I see the white that surrounds Liz change into a crackling energy before it seems to solidify into a wall.  “That’s when her true nature started to show,” Double M tells me, pausing the scene.  “Do you know why we allow them to call themselves Superiors?” he asks.

“She did something to some field, right?” I say.  “Andre was shouting about it.”

“She manipulated the electric field,” he says.  “That means she can control the force that keeps atoms together in an object.  She controls a large area, much like her father does, in a slightly different way.  Your foster mother, the woman that adores you, is one of the most dangerous supers in the world.  She truly deserves the title of Superior.  Had she wanted to call herself something with that in the title, we wouldn’t have said a word.”

Suddenly we’re back in his office.  He’s got both of his hands on my shoulders and a deadly serious expression on his face.  “You need to learn to control your projecting, Emily,” he tells me.

“Love is... dangerous,” I whisper.

“No, love is beautiful,” he says, smiling gently at me.  “Fear, though, fear is extremely dangerous.”

I nod, staring at my hands rather than looking at him.  “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know you didn’t.  Liz knows you didn’t, either.  This was a very bad situation on all fronts.”

“Liz isn’t going to get in trouble, is she?” I ask.  “She went too far, but it was my fault, we already figured that out--is Skystep--is she--“

“She’s recovering quickly,” he says.  “Liz is under house arrest, though, as soon as you get back to the apartments.  Nico’s been informed.”

“Would she have gone to the Cape Cells?” I ask quietly.

“In that situation, had she killed her... it’s a very real possibility,” he says.  “There was no obvious threat, merely a rude greeting.  Even considering your influence, Liz is a well trained super hero--she should act with self control.  But because of what your doppelganger did, that crisis was averted.  In a way, you’re the hero of this situation,” he says.

“What about my second doppelganger?” I ask him.

“Well, she could become a problem,” he admits, “or she could become a great asset.  You are in control of your own thoughts and emotions, Emily, regardless of how it feels at the moment.  When you control your emotions you’ll control yourself--and your doppelgangers.”

He’s telling a fifteen year old girl to control her emotions.  I AM that fifteen year old girl, and even I realize how ridiculous it is.  I just don’t have a choice, I think as the image of the green and yellow fog tangling around Liz flashes through my mind.  I have to protect my new family.  I love them too much to lose them.

I need to learn to control my emotions--and my new doppelganger.

***

Mastermental sits down at his desk, watching the door that the girl had just walked out of with his fingertips meeting.  After a long moment he leans forward, pressing a call button on his phone.  “Call Flameblaster for me,” he orders.

He needs to get to the bottom of this.  The connection between Emily and Liz is so strong that if Skystep is rash enough to do something again, she WILL die.  The last thing he can allow is for Liz to be stuck in the Cape Cells.

“Flameblaster is on line one, sir,” his secretary says.

He picks up the phone, pressing it to his ear.  “I need to discuss something with you, Flint,” he says.  “Why don’t you come to my office now?”

“I’m in the middle of the mentor training, can it wait?”

“No, considering the speed Skystep recovers, I don’t think it can.”

***

“Mastermental says you’re under house arrest,” I say as we land in front of the apartment building.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Honestly?  It didn’t really even register,” she admits as we stop at the panel and head inside.  “I was so obsessed with what happened to Ditto that I didn’t even think about it.  Doesn’t matter,” she says with a shrug.  “I’d rather be a couch potato for a few weeks, anyway.  Maybe I’ll expand our place to the empty apartment next door, what do you think?”

“Yeah,” I say, watching the footprints closely as I make my way through the security field.  “Liz?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Em!”

“Yeah, I know,” I say quietly.  I know even better now than I did before talking with Mastermental.  I’m about to say something else as we get through the shield, only I stop as I realize that Ditto and Trent have returned.  I turn, watching them come in with a curious look.  I won’t know what happened between the two of them until Ditto disappears, not unless they tell me.  They’re smiling, walking hand in hand until they get to the panel.

A part of me is jealous.  Here I get my brain searched while she was out playing around with my boyfriend--I stop as they step through the shield, blinking stupidly as Ditto lets go of Trent and rushes forward, wrapping her arms around me tightly.  “I love you, Em!” she says.

“What?” I say, when it still doesn’t make sense a second later.