now that she’s proven her understanding of the situation. I hesitate, frowning as a thought occurs to me. “Hey, have you run into that villain that knocked Mega out yet?”
“No, actually, why?”
“They said she was from the south, right?” I say, something nudging my brain hard. “Do you know what powers she has?”
“Well, from the reports Central got from South, he has the ability to phase through objects,” she says. “She’s called Skystep.”
I go still, the blood rushing from my face as it all comes rushing back to me. “Why?” I whisper.
“Why what?”
“Why does it have to be her?”
“What? Emily, is there a problem with Skystep?” she asks. I stare at the ground, trying to get my bearings back before I shake my head.
“No... it’s fine,” I lie, faking a smile. “If we don’t start our training we’ll be out of time, right? Let’s get started,” I say as I head into the gym. I summon Ditto, who looks at me with a serious expression before striking a pose from Sailor Moon.
“Ditto, reporting for duty!”
Falconess walks around her, looking her over closely for a long moment, even touching certain parts. For a moment she twirls a piece of red hair between her fingers, a strangely fascinated expression on her face. She moves on, touching Ditto’s throat. “An actual pulse,” she says, “impressive.”
“Nico forced me to watch a million videos on human biology,” I admit, scratching the back of my head. “The girl part was fine, I sort of expected all that, but I’m still trying to wash the guy part out of my memory.”
“Is there a reason he made you study male physiology?” she asks me curiously.
“We want to try and shapeshift Ditto,” I say. “So I can make her look like someone else.”
“It’s an interesting concept,” Falconess says after looking at Ditto for a long moment, “but I think, instead, that you should consider trying to create more than one doppelganger at a time. The more of you there are, the more you can accomplish, right? And with this level of detail, I have a good feeling that you’ll have the strength.”
“More than Ditto?” I ask, looking at Ditto in shock. I was looking for something to distract me from Skystep being in town--she definitely accomplished that. “Like a third me?”
“Or more. Can you teleport?” Falconess asks.
“I can,” Ditto says.
“I wonder if you can’t, as well, Emily,” she says, looking at me. “There’s not many duplicators recorded in our history, but I just happen to have brought a file of one.”
“What? Nico said he couldn’t really find that much information.”
“That’s because Nico relies far too heavily on computer files,” she says, pulling out a manila folder from a simple bag. “He never thinks to look for hard copies.”
I stare at it, crossing over to her without thinking and bumping into Ditto as we try and get a look. “Who is it?” I ask.
“Duplicitous,” she says, “She was a super villain from the eighties.”
“A super villain?” Ditto asks.
“You don’t really think everyone with your abilities is going to be aboveboard, do you?” Falconess asks, looking amused. “You have a built in alibi, the ability to erase or not even leave evidence, and teleportation. Now sit, we’ve got a lot of news reports to read--and watch, if I can get a VHS player around here.”
“VHS?”
“It’s from the eighties,” she says simply. We sit and she opens the thick manila folder, handing out various newspaper clippings and white paper reports stapled at the corner. “The world thought she only had two duplicates at most,” she says as she spreads out more of the notes, “but Mastermental says she had to have had at least five to do all the things she did.”
“He knew her?” I ask eagerly.
“Of course,” Falconess says. “She wasn’t as big of a name as many of the male villains--back then they
“No, actually, why?”
“They said she was from the south, right?” I say, something nudging my brain hard. “Do you know what powers she has?”
“Well, from the reports Central got from South, he has the ability to phase through objects,” she says. “She’s called Skystep.”
I go still, the blood rushing from my face as it all comes rushing back to me. “Why?” I whisper.
“Why what?”
“Why does it have to be her?”
“What? Emily, is there a problem with Skystep?” she asks. I stare at the ground, trying to get my bearings back before I shake my head.
“No... it’s fine,” I lie, faking a smile. “If we don’t start our training we’ll be out of time, right? Let’s get started,” I say as I head into the gym. I summon Ditto, who looks at me with a serious expression before striking a pose from Sailor Moon.
“Ditto, reporting for duty!”
Falconess walks around her, looking her over closely for a long moment, even touching certain parts. For a moment she twirls a piece of red hair between her fingers, a strangely fascinated expression on her face. She moves on, touching Ditto’s throat. “An actual pulse,” she says, “impressive.”
“Nico forced me to watch a million videos on human biology,” I admit, scratching the back of my head. “The girl part was fine, I sort of expected all that, but I’m still trying to wash the guy part out of my memory.”
“Is there a reason he made you study male physiology?” she asks me curiously.
“We want to try and shapeshift Ditto,” I say. “So I can make her look like someone else.”
“It’s an interesting concept,” Falconess says after looking at Ditto for a long moment, “but I think, instead, that you should consider trying to create more than one doppelganger at a time. The more of you there are, the more you can accomplish, right? And with this level of detail, I have a good feeling that you’ll have the strength.”
“More than Ditto?” I ask, looking at Ditto in shock. I was looking for something to distract me from Skystep being in town--she definitely accomplished that. “Like a third me?”
“Or more. Can you teleport?” Falconess asks.
“I can,” Ditto says.
“I wonder if you can’t, as well, Emily,” she says, looking at me. “There’s not many duplicators recorded in our history, but I just happen to have brought a file of one.”
“What? Nico said he couldn’t really find that much information.”
“That’s because Nico relies far too heavily on computer files,” she says, pulling out a manila folder from a simple bag. “He never thinks to look for hard copies.”
I stare at it, crossing over to her without thinking and bumping into Ditto as we try and get a look. “Who is it?” I ask.
“Duplicitous,” she says, “She was a super villain from the eighties.”
“A super villain?” Ditto asks.
“You don’t really think everyone with your abilities is going to be aboveboard, do you?” Falconess asks, looking amused. “You have a built in alibi, the ability to erase or not even leave evidence, and teleportation. Now sit, we’ve got a lot of news reports to read--and watch, if I can get a VHS player around here.”
“VHS?”
“It’s from the eighties,” she says simply. We sit and she opens the thick manila folder, handing out various newspaper clippings and white paper reports stapled at the corner. “The world thought she only had two duplicates at most,” she says as she spreads out more of the notes, “but Mastermental says she had to have had at least five to do all the things she did.”
“He knew her?” I ask eagerly.
“Of course,” Falconess says. “She wasn’t as big of a name as many of the male villains--back then they
Similar Books
