Ditto Ditto (10 page)

“Oh, right.  But we’ve never seen that.”

“Wrong,” Andre says.  “She did it once when she was sixteen.  I’ve got a video of it--it cuts out halfway through, of course, but you can see what’s starting to happen.  That’s why we mostly use drones to follow her when she’s working.”

“When you were SIXTEEN?” Ken asks, looking shocked.

“She’s gotten a lot stronger since then,” Andre tells him.

“And when did you plan on telling me you owned HTV?” Nico asks him.

“Is that really an issue to discuss right now?” Andre asks.

“How’d you get the cash when you were living in that group house and doing construction work on the side?”

“I stole the clone,” Andre admits, “it made me millions.  I also had a ready-made crew living in the house, so it wasn’t too much work.”

Nico lets out a snort, grinning for all of a second before turning serious as a nurse walks in.  “How is she?” he asks as Liz turns.

“She’s stable--the child, that is.  Skystep is a bit more affected,” the nurse admits.  “Does she have any representatives here?”

“No,” Nico says even as the door opens and Flame walks in.

“How is Skystep?” he asks, only to look at Liz.  “Did you really have to go that far?” he demands.

Liz stares at him for a long moment and the lights flash overhead.  Nico grabs her before she lunges, hauling her back.  “Skystep was threatening Emily,” Nico says coldly.  “You should thank Emily when she wakes up, otherwise Skystep would be dead right now--or wishing she was.”

“She threatened Emily?” Flame asks, looking shocked.  “I’m... really pretty confused right now,” he admits, looking at the group of capes that surround him.  “Can someone tell me exactly what happened?  In fact, start out with telling me how you put a woman that can phase through matter into a hospital?”

“She’s the daughter of Superior,” Nico says simply, placing a hand on Liz’s shoulder.  The look of shock on Flame’s face says that he didn’t know that fact.

“Excuse me, but Emily is awake,” a new nurse says as she steps into the room.  “She’s asking for a ‘Liz’?”

“I’m coming,” Liz says, following her out of the room. 

The door opens almost the second she’s gone and Taurus walks in, looking almost frantic.  He’s still in his cape uniform and has a bit of rubble on his shoulders and in his hair.  “Is Liz okay?”

“You have really lousy timing, son,” Andre points out.

Taurus groans.

***

It’s repeating over and over in my mind--the view from Ditto’s eyes.  Liz had looked so scary from Ditto’s eyes.  She’d been like an avenging angel, about to kill--for me.  I don’t know what I’ve ever done to deserve something like that.  I...

“Emily?  I’ve brought Firefly,” a nurse says, peeking in.  I’m almost scared to see her, I realize abruptly.  What if she looks like she had when facing Skystep?  I don’t think I could handle it--

“Em?  Sweetie?” Liz asks, peeking in shyly.  “Can I come in?”

She looks like Liz, I think with relief.  Tears escape me, pouring down my cheeks as I hold out my arms.  She crosses the room, pulling me into a hug so tight that I let out a little squeak of my own.  “How is Ditto?” she asks as she finally pulls back.  “Is she okay?”

“I... think?” I admit.  “I haven’t tried summoning her yet.”

“Please try,” she says, looking serious as she pulls back.  I nod, looking to the right of her--

Nothing happens.  A tiny frown of worry pulls at my lips and I close my eyes, picturing Ditto.  Still nothing happens.  I open my eyes, but just as I thought, Ditto isn’t there.  “I--I think I’m just stressed,” I say, looking down.  I feel sick to my gut.  Did she die?  Can a doppelganger die?  I’m starting to get scared.  “I just need to calm down--I mean, it’ll be fine, right?”

“Yeah,” she says, but there’s a strained, worried look in her eye.  “It’ll be fine in a day or two.  You had quite a scare, right?  It’s probably messing up your concentration.”

“Yeah,” I say, unable to keep looking her in the eye.  I feel a shiver race through me, then another, until suddenly I’m bawling like a baby, loud and obnoxious.  The door opens but I don’t even realize it until both Trent and Liz are hugging me from either side of the bed.  Liz is sobbing, too, though.

“Shhh,” Trent says, pulling both of us into a hug.  “It’ll be okay.  Ditto is going to come back, you’ve just had a bit of a traumatic moment,” he says, rubbing my back.  “When Aubrey gets back she’ll help, okay?”

“Ye--yeah,” I say, sniffling.  It’s pathetic.  This is the second time today that I’ve cried like a baby in front of him.  He’s probably getting sick of me. 

No, I’ve got enough stress with Ditto being gone as it is.  I’ll worry about the pathetic girlfriend problem later.

***

Flint steps into the room, hesitating as a nurse walks past him with a chart in her hands.  “Please keep quiet,” she says, “she’s still recovering.”

“She’s got S-class healing, though,” Flint says, frowning as he looks over at the still form on the hospital bed.

“She does, which is the only reason I’m even allowing you to come in,” she says, “it’s also the only reason she’s still alive.”

He nods, heading in as she leaves and stopping next to the bed.  He can literally see the healing happening, he thinks as he watches Skystep.  “I won’t say I’m happy with all the crap you’ve been doing lately,” he tells the unconscious woman as he sits down in the chair next to her bed.  “You hurt a lot of the crew back home.  Then you chase me all the way back here, and then you go after Firefly.  Why in the world did you pick her to attack?”

“She...” he looks up, realizing Skye is awake, “seemed... like fun.”

“Well you learned better, didn’t you?”

“Why is a mini...” she takes a deep breath and he almost feels guilty, “Melody... here?” she asks, turning shining, tear-filled eyes on him.

“She’s her daughter.  She’s going to my nephew’s school for capes,” he says.

“She... had a... daughter?”

“Yeah.  They had a daughter.”

The tears start to fall silently and he reaches out, patting her hand.  There are no words, they would just bring up things that can’t be changed.

***

“I have to thank you,” Aubrey says to the man carrying her.  They’d flown over half the country in the middle of the night after working almost constantly for who knows how long--and it’s all thanks to this man, she thinks.

“Si,” Voltdrain says, glancing down with a slight smile, “you have, several times.”

“But it’s my sister--I just--I’m sorry about the rest of your group,” she says, looking guilty, “but it’s nothing that their natural healing abilities won’t fix with a few days--make sure they take the time off, understand?  I don’t want them aggravating their wounds.”

“Si,” he says again, a hint of amusement in his tone, “I will make sure they remember.”

Aubrey has the grace to look sheepish--after all, she was just barking orders at one of the most powerful supers in the world.  It’s just hard to remember, she admits as she watches him for a second.  He’s got such a gentle atmosphere, and the way he’s carrying her says he’s as careful about his strength as any of the Liberty family is.  “You would like the Liberty family,” she says abruptly, only to blush again.

He looks down with a grin.  “I already do,” he says.  “I went to a party with them not that long ago.  They are very nice people.”

“Yeah,” she admits, smiling a bit too happily, “they are.  Oh--we’re here.” she says, a bit startled by how quickly they got there.

“This is an emergency,” Voltdrain say simply as he lands on the roof.  He doesn’t look too surprised when a handful of black suits with large weapons surround them.

“You’re not cleared for this building, sir,” one of the men says.

“He brought me back,” Aubrey says, sliding out of Voltdrain’s arms and pulling out her tag.  “I was in the South Branch helping out,” she adds as the man scans her tag and watches the information come up on his handheld device.

“And he is?” the man asks, looking at Voltdrain.  Voltdrain obligingly pulls out his Hall card, holding it out to be scanned.  For a moment the man stares at the information blankly.  “I see.  Thank you, Voltdrain,” he says finally, motioning for the others to lower their guns.

“Ms. Life Light--“

“Aubrey,” Aubrey corrects him.

“Welcome home,” he says, smiling at her.  “I know our staff will be excited to know you’re back so quickly.”

“Thank you,” she says, giving him a smile in return before turning back to Voltdrain.  “You’re welcome to stay for the night--it’s a pretty long flight, after all.  I’m sure Jimmi will want to see you before you leave, too, right?”

“I would like that,” Voltdrain says, “but it is late, will they let me into the campus at this time?”

“No, probably not, but they’ll let you into the apartments,” she says, pulling out her phone and calling Nico.  A few moments later Voltdrain is flying away and she’s heading inside, intent on finding her sister--her sisters.

She’s not about to accept the fact that Ditto is dead.

***

I’m jerked awake by the feel of a hand on my shoulder.  I know that Liz is sleeping in the hospital bed next to mine, so I don’t automatically assume that I’m getting kidnapped or anything--it just wakes me up.

The room is lit up by that familiar white light coming from Aubrey’s eyes.  “Aub--“ I start out, stopping as I realize that she’s working.  I don’t want to interrupt her!  I can feel her working, which is strange and a bit unsettling.  I can feel a faint heat flowing through my body, feel tiny twinges and flutters of organs and muscles reacting without me telling them to.

The light fades and she looks down at me with her usual eyes, wrapping her arms around me as she realizes I’m awake.  “Hi,” she says--then promptly climbs into the bed with me.  “Scoot over, I’m exhausted,” she tells me, stealing half of the pillow as I scoot as far as I can.  She’s asleep before I am.

I feel a bit like complaining, but I don’t have the time.  I turn, instead, and focus on the empty area next to my bed.  It flickers, once, twice, then all of a sudden Ditto is standing there.  She gives me a wicked grin and waves.

“Thank God,” I whisper as she disappears again and I fall asleep.

***

“And we’re out,” Liz says, pushing me out of the Hall’s ER wing in a wheelchair the next morning.  We’re now in the main Hall--the area where norms come to visit.  “Want to walk now?” she asks me.

“Mmm,” I say, lounging with one arm over the armrest.  “Do I have to?” I ask, kicking my foot lazily.

“Are you going to make me carry you?” she asks, putting her hands on her hips.  She’s in civvies, and there’s norms wandering around, looking at all the Hall displays.  If the norms see her carrying me as easily as she does, we’ll definitely be caught.  Darn it.

“Nah, I’ll walk,” I say, hopping to my feet.  The biggest worry they’d had was that Ditto wouldn’t come back.  Now that she’s back, I’m good to go.  “I wish Aubrey could come, though,” I complain as Liz hands the wheelchair off to another black suit and we start through the building.

“She had to stay,” Liz says, sighing, “Skystep did a number on several of the black suits, too.”

I frown, hugging myself as I think about it.  “Yeah,” I say.  What else can I say?  Aubrey’s so adult.  I feel like such a kid compared to her, and she’s only two years older than me.  “And she even fixed me,” I say.  “Ditto’s back because of her.”

“Thank God,” Liz says for what’s probably the tenth time since she’d found out.  “I thought for sure... no.  Emily?” she asks, holding out a hand to me.  I grab it.  “I’m sorry,” she says.  “I just... lost it.  I never meant to--“

“I know,” I say.  “We had to stop you--but you DID stop, which is the important part.  I don’t want you to be a murderer,” I admit quietly.  “You being here is way more important than what might or might not have happened in the past.”

“You’re such a good girl, Emily,” she says, looking at me closely. 

“What?” I ask.  She just gives me a smile, ruffling my hair before draping an arm over my shoulders and tugging me into a half hug.  “Um... they say Skystep is almost completely healed,” I say quietly.  “What if she wants revenge?”

“I don’t think she’s that stupid,” Liz says, frowning thoughtfully.  “But if she is, I’ll be sure to behave myself.”

“Thank you.”

“Why?”

I jerk, looking around blankly before seeing Ditto standing behind Liz.  It wasn’t Liz that had asked that.  “Ditto?” I ask.  “When did you--“

“Why behave?” she asks.  “Don’t you know what she did?”  She hugs herself, rubbing her arms as if she’s cold, and then disappears.

“Ditto?” Liz asks, taking a step towards where my doppelganger had been standing.  She looks over at me, confused.  “Emily, can you bring her back?”

I frown, wondering why I feel a little nervous.  Just because, I lift my hand, holding it out in the direction where Ditto was standing and summon her.  For a second she looks around curiously, and then a brilliant smile crosses her face as she throws herself into Liz’s arms.