Ditto Ditto (13 page)

“We’re not that little,” I point out.

“You know what I mean,” he says with a shrug, “and you’re barely five feet tall.”

“I want little sisters,” I say, boldly, “and maybe a brother, too.”

“That one’s totally not up to me,” he points out dryly.  “But there’s a chance for all of that thanks to you--well, that’s if we can convince Liz.  That’s why I’m thanking you,” he says, his leg bouncing slightly as if he’s uncomfortable.  “But,” he says slowly, “in order for us to be a real family, you’re going to have to learn to trust us--especially Liz.”

“I do trust Liz!” I say, shocked at the idea.

“You don’t,” he tells me in a gentle tone.  “If you did, you wouldn’t have been scared.”

I feel like he slapped me, even though the way he said it was compassionate.  I didn’t trust Liz when Skystep showed up?  I feel so freaking guilty right now that it’s hard to believe.  I look down at my hands, searching for something to say.  The door opens and Ditto barges in before I manage to.  “I’m hooo-ome!” she practically bellows before jumping over the back of the chair--and landing on Taurus.  “Hey, this is my chair--scoot over!” she tells him, leaning her back against the armrest and pressing against his leg with her feet.  He doesn’t even budge.  “It’s like pushing on a building,” she tells me, still pushing.

“I got the seat first,” Taurus says.  “You’re going to wake Liz up, you know.”

“She already has,” Liz mutters from the couch.  I wonder, though, if she really slept through that whole conversation.  Liz is sneaky enough to pretend to be asleep.  She sits up, shoving a hand through her hair and looking at anyone BUT Taurus.  “Is school over?”

“Yep,” Ditto says even as Taurus tugs her over his shoulder, threatening to drop her on her head.  She lets out a squeak of laughter like a little kid.  “I got to help Vinny cook lunch--he’s amazing.  It’s like being in one of those cooking shows,” she announces before flipping out of Taurus’s hold.  She looks at me, chewing on her bottom lip for a second before nodding slightly.

She poofs out of existence, sending a flood of memories into my mind.  For a moment I go perfectly still, processing everything that happened to her--especially the scene with the picnic table.  “Em?  Em, you okay?” Taurus asks, waving a huge hand in front of my face.  I shake my head, focusing on the present.

“Ditto thinks I’m getting stronger,” I say.  “She picked up a picnic table and Trent on their date.”

“Yeah?  I’m not surprised,” Taurus says even as Liz jumps up and hugs me.

“My little girl is growing up so quickly!” she says, kissing my temple.  I feel a blush cover my face at how proud she sounds.

“I’m not going to be an S class or anything,” I say, “Nico already wrote that off, so it’s not really that big of a deal.”

“It’s a huge deal,” she says.  “Getting stronger as a super is always a big deal, no matter how high on the scale you wind up at.  I think we should celebrate.”

“Not until Aubrey’s home,” I say.  She hasn’t called me back yet, I notice, but it’s only been a few minutes.  “What do we want to do, anyway?”

“I can go get pizza,” Taurus offers.

I jerk slightly as my phone rings, answering quickly.  “Hey, Aub--”

“Em, hi, um, we fixed the dog--Jack is already on the way over, do you want to come?” she asks.  She seems a little worried, which has me glancing over at Liz.

“Fixed, as in?” I ask.

“As in we stabilized his genetics--Nico says that Star Born can’t fix him without an entire lab since dog DNA is different from human.  She would have to do tests and have access to things she can’t,” she says.  “So... um... looks like Jack is getting his super dog, after all.”

“YEAH BABY!” I hear Jack bellow from the apartment next door.  I think that means his parents agreed to it.

“Wait, it’s going to live in the apartments?” I ask.

“Right next door,” she agrees dryly.

I look at Liz and then at Taurus.  “Taurus, can you take me to the Hall?” I ask.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea--” Liz starts out hesitantly.

“Do you trust me to protect her?” Taurus asks.

“I--yeah, of course I do,” Liz says.

“Plus, I’m sure every single Liberty is going to be going as well,” Taurus drawls as the door opens and Trent looks in. 

“Em, you want to come?” he asks.  “We’re getting a dog.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same thing as going to the pound and picking up a puppy!” I say, almost running across the room to reach him.  “It’s huge--like the size of a horse!”

“Well, yeah,” he says, frowning slightly.  “We’re going to need an extra strong leash, aren’t we?  Think we could get the tailor to make us one?” he asks over his shoulder.

“Of course!” I hear Jeanie say.  “And he’ll need a new name--have you boys thought of something yet?  Remember, you’ll both be walking him!”

“But he’s supposed to be my dog lackey, Mom,” Jack complains as I step out of the apartment.  “If people see Kid Liberty walking my dog they’ll think he’s a good guy--dog!”

“Of course he’ll be a good dog, you’re going to train him up right,” Ken says.  Trent drapes an arm over my shoulders and Taurus joins us.  We start down the stairs, heading for the foyer and out the door.  “Emily?  How are you feeling, hon?” Ken asks me.

“I... um, I’ll be okay,” I say, wrapping an arm around Trent’s waist as we walk.  “I’m more worried about Liz.  I don’t know how well she’s going to handle being under house arrest.”  And as I’m saying that, we step out into the world, stopping at the panel that will let us out--out to where Skystep is, somewhere.

If I step out there and she’s already recovered, will we run into her?  Will yet another one of my new family find themselves face to face with her--will--

“Emily,” Trent whispers, his arm tightening slightly on my shoulder, pulling me closer into his side.  “Breathe.”

Oh, I must have forgotten to.  I force myself to take a deep breath, letting it out too quickly.  For a second I almost feel light headed.  “I’m fine,” I say, more to myself than to him.  Taking out Mega while he’s alone is one thing--trying to take out the entire Liberty family AND Taurus?  That’s a totally different thing.  I’m safe here.  I’m totally safe.

I step in line, moving behind Jack, who’s still focused on the dog.  “I ain’t naming him Glory Hound,” he announces.  “No matter how much you think it’ll fit,” he says, looking straight at his dad as he places his hand on the panel.  Jeanie was the first one to go out.

I keep picturing Skystep stepping out in front of her, making that same cocky announcement that she’d made to Liz--I don’t want Jeanie hurt!  Jeanie is--is--

“Breathe, Em,” Trent says again.

“But Jeanie--” I start out.

“Nothing’s going to happen to Mom,” he says softly, right next to my ear.  “She’s a tank, remember?”

I nod, still watching her as Jack joins her on the other side of the field, casually shoving his hands into his pockets as if we’re just going for a walk.  Doesn’t he realize that--

Do I trust them?  The question pops into my mind and I’m almost sure it’s from Ditto.  She’s reminding me of Taurus’s comments from earlier.  How can I not trust them?  Not just because they’re the family that saved me, or even because they’re some of the biggest names in super heroes.  I trust them because they’re the epitome of trustworthiness.  Well, most of them.

I turn my attention to the glowing footprints, following them through the security field.  Jeanie smiles at me, holding out a hand.  I grab it, feeling almost like it’s a lifeline.  Look, logically I KNOW I’m surrounded by S and A class supers, especially as Ken and Taurus come out, but a tiny part of my mind keeps replaying that scene between Liz and Skystep over and over again.  Maybe it’s more dangerous than safe to be surrounded by them.  

“What do you think, Em?” Trent asks, making me almost jump.

“About what?” I ask.

“What should we name our dog?”

“Oh... um... how about...”  I let it trail off because frankly, I’ve got no idea.  “George?” I offer.

“We’re not naming him George,” Jack yells over his shoulder.  “Hey, can I go ahead?” he asks, looking eager.

“No, but you can get your board,” Ken says.   “We’ll run–unless you want to ride with Jack, Em?” he asks me.

“YES!” I say, forgetting my fear problem entirely.  What?  You’ve got no idea how long I’ve wanted to try air surfing!  I slip out of Trent’s hold and race over to Jack, jumping on his back.  “Bring out the board!” I demand as he grunts.

“Have you gotten heavier?” he asks, looking over his shoulder.  He can’t exactly see me from this distance, but I can see a slightly confused look on his face.  “I almost lost my balance at that.”

“I’m getting stronger,” I brag.  “Soon I’ll be able to beat you!”

“Yeah, right,” he drawls as his surfboard pulls to a stop in front of us.  He steps on.  “Now stand on the board and hold on,” he tells me.  I guess he doesn’t care that I’m hitching a ride.  I drop to my feet, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and we take off.

Air surfing is AWESOME.  “I’m going to have to learn to surf,” I decide.  “Maybe I can send Ditto back down to Texas or something for a week, you know?  She could get a tan and learn to surf and when she gets back I’ll know how!”

“So what, you could spend all your time sending Ditto on vacation to learn stupid things?  How would you fight, though?” he asks.

“Good question,” Trent says from below.  I glance down, seeing him running alongside the surfboard.  “You’re not going to toss me over for a surfboard, are you?” he asks me.

“Not me!  But Ditto might,” I tease him as Jack tilts the board, going around a corner.  I grab on tighter, leaning with him.  Before you ask, yes, I can run, but if you got the chance to ride on a floating surfboard, you would take it, too!  Well, unless you’re afraid of heights.                                                                     

The Hall looms ahead of us, large and lit up.  “We’re heading for the back,” Ken says, moving next to Trent.  “We don’t want to explain bringing out a massive dog through the front door.”

“Or me going through it,” Jack says.  “That’s still running on the norm news.”

“You love it, don’t lie,” Trent says as we head around the block, stopping at the back of the building and going through the secret entrance.  Several of the guards rush forward, guns raised as they see Jack.  Trent holds out his arms and I hop into them–because Jack can totally get shot up on his own, thank you very much. 

“Hey, now, it’s fine,” Ken says, lifting both hands and casually stepping between his adopted son and the guns.  “We’re here on unofficial business.  Really, shouldn’t you have been informed that Jack comes here often?” he asks as a woman makes her way through the guards.

“Forgive them, Liberty family, they’re in the middle of training,” she says, looking at a clipboard.  She doesn’t seem bothered at all by the situation, in fact she glances up with a smile.  “I hear you’ve come to see your new puppy.”

“Puppy?” I hear one of the guards whisper, shocked.  “Is she talking about–“

“SHH, don’t say a word–otherwise they might not take it,” a second guard whispers back.  The guns lower and the group steps back.  I’m pretty sure it’s because of that comment.

“We are!” Jeanie says with a brilliant smile.  Right now I’m pretty sure every single guard in the room thinks she’s a ditz–but she absolutely heard what was said.  She also was there when the dog showed up, she saw what he did to people.  It’s just that she’s an S-class tank.  A bit of rampaging from a horse sized dog is nothing compared to what she can do.  I mean, it’s pretty obvious that’s what she’s thinking when she walks through the group.  She stops at one of the guards, looking down at the rifle he’s holding in shaking hands.  “Your safety’s off,” she stage whispers, taking the rifle from him and fixing the problem.

“Th–thank you?” the man squeaks.

“You’re welcome!” then she strolls through the group, leaving the rest of us looking at each other.  Ken’s grinning so wide that my cheeks hurt.

“I love that woman,” he says, making us laugh as he follows after her.

We stop at the entrance to the ER, seeing Aubrey holding a massive chain attached to the slobbering mutant Rottweiler.  Every once in a while he leans over, licking her face.  She pushes him away, sighing loudly.  “Here he is,” she announces as the dog jumps to his feet, practically shivering in excitement, “your new dog.”

“Awesome,” Jack breathes out, hopping off of his board.  “He doesn’t look that angry anymore–and the glowing eyes are gone.”

“Jimmi’s boost only lasts for a little while,” Aubrey explains as Jack gets jumped on by the dog.  It almost knocks him over.  I see one foot go back to keep them from falling.  “What DID last is the DNA change–Mastermental had him registered as a super.  That means if you plan on visiting any of the other branches you need to fill out papers for both of you,” she tells him.

Jack is so busy trying to keep the dog from licking his face that I’m not sure he heard her.  Trent puts me down, giving me a grin before walking over to pull the dog off of his brother.  It doesn’t take much work–the Rottweiler happily starts slobbering on my boyfriend, just as he had Jack.  “It looks like he’s got a loving personality,” Ken says, walking over to scratch the massive dog behind the ear.

“While it seems loving to supers, it’s a bit more than the norms can handle,” the lady with the clipboard says from behind us.  “He weighs eight hundred pounds.  We tried walking him, but it took a dozen of our best guards just to keep him from wrecking the place.”

“Did you have trouble with him?” Jeanie asks, looking at Aubrey.  Aubrey gives her a smile before barely managing to cover her yawn with her hand.

“He’s a bit of a handful,” Aubrey admits.

“Aubrey does amazingly well with him,” the woman says.  “She had him walking on his leash within minutes.”

“She’s got a special talent with us bad boys,” Jack says, rubbing the dog’s ears roughly.  The dog looks like he’s in heaven, if the dangling tongue and thumping leg is any indicator.  Aubrey is bright red.  Jack looks over at her with a grin, even as she walks over to me, wrapping her arms around me and resting her head on my shoulder.

“So Falconess’s daughter?” she whispers silently against my ear, hugging me.

“Not a problem,” I whisper back.  “He didn’t even notice her most of the time.”

“Oh good.  I’m so exhausted,” she adds–and falls asleep standing up.  I brace myself, holding her tightly to keep her from falling over.  I didn’t realize she could do that, I think as Ken comes over, casually pulling her out of my arms.  She doesn’t weigh that much, really, but I don’t argue.

“Is she okay?” Jack asks, looking worried.

“She’s just asleep,” Ken says, holding her in a princess hold.  “She’s had a very long week.”

“Thank you for the help, Virginia,” Jeanie says to the clipboard lady.  “I hope you don’t mind telling the ER that we’ll be taking Aubrey home now?”

“Of course not, she’s been working herself too hard,” Virginia says.  “And thank you for putting up with our new guards,” she adds with a pointed look at Jack.

“You can make it up to us by having the tailor build us a leash and collar,” Trent says before Jack can reply.  “We’re going to need one strong enough that we can get rid of that massive chain.”               

“I don’t know, I sort of like the chain,” Jack says, lifting the thick metal chain with a curious look.

“It’ll break too easily,” Trent says.  “We’ll compromise–you can cover it with steel after it’s made.”

“Deal,” Jack says.

“I’ll have Kim build you something as soon as possible,” Virginia agrees.  “Do you want to wait to take him home until it’s finished?”

“Nah, this will work until then,” Jack says, picking up the chain. 

It’s only then that I notice Taurus is being especially quiet.  I turn, looking for him, only to blink as I realize he’s nowhere in sight.  I can’t help myself, I start for the exit, seeing if he was left behind.

“Miss?” a guard asks me, making me glance over.  He’s a tall black man with a curious look on his face.

“Have you seen Taurus?” I ask him.

“No, did he come with you?” he asks, his eyes lighting up.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where he went,” I admit, looking around again with a slight frown.  “Hey, Ken?  I’m going to find Taurus,” I call over my shoulder.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Stay on the property,” Ken calls back.

“I’ll go with her, sir,” the guard says, lifting his gun slightly to show he has it.  I think he’s got an ulterior motive, though, because he looks more eager to find Taurus than I am.  We start for the entrance, and I look over at him.

“Taurus fan?” I ask.

“Biggest fan,” he admits.  “When I was a kid there weren’t any African-American heroes in Central Hall.  When Taurus showed up, it was a pretty big deal.”

“There are a few others,” I say, frowning slightly.  “What about Panther?” I ask.

“Super villain,” he says simply.  “I’d never even seen Prisma until I joined the black suits,” he goes on.  “She’s only on Hero TV.  It’s changing though, isn’t it?” he asks me.  “You should know–you go to Cape High, right?”

“Yeah, it’s changing,” I say, starting to grin.  “We’ve got all sorts in school, white, black, mixed, Native American, Hispanic.  But there WAS a black super hero when you were a kid,” I tell him.  “He just started up Hero TV instead of being on it.”

“What?” he asks, looking at me in shock.

“Taurus’s dad–he owns HTV,” I tell him with a grin.  “He’s even bigger than Taurus,” I add as we step outside.  I look around, frowning slightly as I don’t see him in the alley.  “Taurus?” I say, venturing out just a little further.  “Hey, where’d you go?”

“There you are,” a woman says, shimmering into view.  My eyes widen and the guard brings up his gun at the sight of Skystep.  She doesn’t look very good–I can see through her, even though I’m sure she’s supposed to be solid.  She stands over me, swaying slightly for a second.  “I was looking for you,” she says.

“Get back,” the guard says, starting to push me behind him.  He’s a norm, I think.

“No,” I say as Ditto pops into existence.  Beside her appears a second one, her hands clenched at her sides.  Before I get over my shock, the third races forward, jumping on Skystep and dragging her to the ground.  She starts punching the villain, slamming her fists into her as hard as she can.

“You KILLED MY PARENTS!” my doppelganger bellows.  She gets thrown off of Skystep, and disappears as she slams into the wall.  I start forward, only to stop as a bone-chilling roar shakes the ground and a massive Minotaur drops from the roof of the Hall.

I’ve never actually seen Taurus in his shifted form–at least not in person.

“I JUST WANT TO TALK TO HER!” Skystep bellows as he picks her up.

“You don’t touch my little girl,” Taurus snarls, bringing her up so she’s face to face with him.  She’s the one that looks like the little girl in his massive paws. 

“We need backup, I repeat, backup behind the Hall building,” I hear the guard say behind me.  I don’t even have to look at Ditto before we rush forward, wrapping our arms around his waist.

“DAD!” we shout.  A part of me feels guilty for using the word, but I’ll deal with that later, I decide as Taurus goes still.  “Dad–you’re going to be our dad, remember?” I say, holding on tightly.  “Don’t.  She’s not worth it.  We’ve got–we’ve got family vacations to go on, right?”