Gowonzu's Snippet Thread (Worm)

[Gowonzu]

Tattletale scanned through the documents on her computer. Various printouts, scans and reports filled her desk, and she leafed through the ones that had been placed face down to her left, checking for any details she might have missed. Even with powers like hers, information gathering meant long hours of pouring over data. The busy work that no one ever saw.

With the city still recovering from Leviathan, and the Undersiders firmly in control of various territories, most of the team knew not to disturb her when she was in this frame of mind, and Tattletale was able to focus on her work without distraction.

But, then again, most of the other Undersiders were kids.

"I have some new information you're gonna wanna see."

The words appeared from nowhere but didn't frighten the hyper-focused Tattletale. She was far too aware of Imp's shenanigans by now to be surprised by her sudden appearance. Tattletale ignored the interruption, reading through her screen and comparing what was written against a handwritten list she'd made earlier.

"I'm a little busy here, Imp," Tattletale mumbled into her computer. "Why don't you go play with Regent or something?"

Imp sauntered into the room and produced a camera from a small pouch on her back, placing it down on Tattletale's desk. She presented it with the confidence of a poker player holding a royal flush.

"Trust me, it's worth it," Imp said with a mischievous smile behind her mask.

Imp's power made her well-suited for information gathering. The Undersider's secret weapon and Tattletale's best recon tool. The information Imp had gathered was almost always valuable, and even if she couldn't understand the significance of her pictures, Tattletale could. However, her effectiveness was only as useful as the assignment she was given. And Tattletale hadn't given Imp an assignment today.

"Imp," Tattletale sighed again, wishing the distraction would go away. "The last time you said that, it was a picture of Bitch petting a cat…"

"And that wasn't mind-blowing for you?!" Imp baulked.

Imp had charged her two-hundred dollars for that photo, claiming it would be worth every cent and reveal Bitch's deepest, darkest secret. Since then, Tattletale swore only to pay Imp for work Tattletale herself assigned. She looked at the camera and back up to Imp, who was giving her best attempt at a puppy-dog look with her mask still on. Tattletale wasn't buying it.

"Whatever. Trust me. This is worth the price," Imp insisted. "I guarantee that you will be blown away by this. This is the scoop of a lifetime. I risked my life to get this to you. If they find out what I know... I could die."

Tattletale stared back at Imp's over-exaggerated story. Blinking a few times before looking back down at her pile of work. This distraction had gone on for too long.

"Yeah yeah," Tattletale dismissed, waving Imp away with her hand as she went back to work. "Now move along, I have a busy d-"

"I have Skitter singing!"

Imp yelled the confession out and Tattletale felt it echo through the room. Her hand stopped in place, hovering over her keyboard. Tattletale turned slowly to look at the camera and then back up at Imp. The impossible had been stated as fact.

"...Bullshit," Tattletale whispered.

"I am not," Imp replied, her tone deadly serious. "I swear to god," Tattletale looking Imp directly in her eyes, trying to read her. "Well, not singing singing... But humming a tune. And she whispers a few lyrics too!"

Excited, Nervous. Aware of how dangerous her intel is. Believes what she's saying. Telling the truth.

"You… you're serious?..." Tattletale asked, still struggling to believe it.

"As a heart attack," Imp responded, nodding confidently. "It's on there. Listen for yourself."

Tattletale's attention immediately went back to the camera. Her hand instinctively moved to reach for the camera but Imp pulled it towards her. Imp dropped her serious demeanour and returned to her usual playful self, grinning behind her mask. She wasn't planning on giving this intel away out of the goodness of her heart.

With a long sigh, Tattletale closed her laptop, giving her full attention to the girl in front of her. All her work was secondary now, there was nothing more important to Tattletale than getting to see what was on that camera.

"Alright, Tattletale said, putting on her professional tone and clearing her desk. She looked up to Imp, signature smirk forming on her face. "Now let's talk price…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skitter sat alone in her base.

There was no immediate emergency taking place in her territory and Charlotte had the children off to school. It made her place feel far too quiet.

The villain worked at her desk, looking over a map of her area, trying to figure out how best to disperse her limited resources. Her bugs searched every corner and every nook and cranny, looking for anything that could cause problems for her later. But, for the moment, all was clear.

It was mostly busy work, but it was work that needed to be done. She was just thankful that it gave her the opportunity to do it alone. The place had been buzzing with noise the other day. Charlotte and a few others had managed to find a new Aleph import of a popular children's movie and roped everyone into watching it. Even Skitter.

She didn't mind the odd distraction, it was good for the children.

Now the children were at school and Skitter could focus on the work that needed to be done. She could sit alone and think about the day's problems without anyone breathing down her neck. It was a welcome respite and allowed Skitter to relax in ways she wouldn't dare do in the presence of anyone else.

A movement behind her made Skitter turn with speed. All she could see though was her door, slightly ajar. Skitter sighed, shaking her head as she moved to close the distance. She often found herself too caught up in work to remember if she closed the door properly or not. Skitter chalked it up to not having Charlotte around and returned to her work as quickly as she was distracted from it.

As she conferred with her city map, relaying real-time information from her bugs and sticking post-it notes onto her wall, Skitter's mind drifted back to the movie she had forced herself to watch. Namely, that infuriating song that now played on repeat in her mind. Work and the stress of managing the area were forgotten and Skitter found herself tapping her fingers to the song, humming the tune under her breath.

"Let it go, let it go..." She whispered unconsciously while she worked.

 

[Gowonzu]

A/N: Hey look. This thread isn't dead, yet. Here's a silly lil idea I had to write down. There was another scene to it but Im too lazy to write it. So maybe it'll get a squeal bit later. Also, a shout out to Terramancer and Scapegrace from the Earth Vav server, who added lines to my original idea that I shamelessly stole added to this.

---

"Control, Everything is clear here," Clockblocker reported into his headset, standing at the edge of the boardwalk, looking down on the beach. "As usual…"

"Roger," Control responded, a grumpy female voice said back into Dennis' ear. "Boring fucking patrol route anyway."

Dennis chuckled at his vulgar patrol. As boring as patrolling the safe zone of the boardwalk, it's nothing compared to being stuck at base and being control for a boring patrol in the boardwalk. Sophia's mandatory punishment for back-talking Piggot.

"Cheer up, Stalker," Dennis chuckled. "You only have two more weeks, then you'll be able to have a taste of all this action."

"Shut the fuck up," Sophia growled before disconnecting the call.

Dennis could only smile at the reaction.

"Why do you always do that?"

Dennis turned back and looked to his patrol partner, Kid Win. Chris looked at him like he was the crazy one.

"What?" Dennis shrugged, still smiling smugly.

"Pissing Stalker off?" Chris asked. "You know she's only going to hit you back later, right?"

"I know," Dennis chuckled. "I like getting a rise out of her."

Chris could only roll his eyes at Dennis' response. Dennis often found himself prodding Sophia verbally, sometimes physically. She was fun to tease. Sophia would get mad and violent as expected, but something about her reaction to Dennis especially was cute. So Dennis kept his up his game.

Chris smiled at him behind her mask.

"What?" Dennis asked, smiling back.

"You like her," Chris said, realising the situation.

"What?" Dennis said, trying to deny it but his smile betrayed him. "Okay, fine. Maybe I think she's hot. And maybe I find it funny when she growls and acts tough." Chris nodded his head along. "Don't tell anyone. Especially not her. She'd probably kill me."

"I won't," Chris said, raising his hands defensively. "I think I get it."

"What? You like her too?" Dennis asked.

"God, no," Chris chuckled, shaking his head. "Stalker is a little too... loud, for me." Dennis nodded, Sophia did have a knack for yelling when she got pissed. "But women like her."

"Oh yeah?"

"You know... Okay, this is gonna sound weird." Chris began, a slight blush forming under his mask.

"Lay it on me, man," Dennis said. "You'll get no judgement from me."

"So, you know, the Undersiders," Chris admitted, his face going red.

"Ah, I see." Dennis chuckled. A team of villains wouldn't be his first choice for a crush, but hey, to each their own. "So which girl? Tattletale's kinda cute I suppose. Unless? Oh, you don't mean Bitch do you?"

"No, no," Chris defended. "I was actually thinking about that new girl they have. The one from the bank…"

"Skitter?" Dennis asked, blinking in surprise. The bank job had been months ago and the Wards had tangled with the Undersiders a handful of times since then. Skitter's reputation seemed to only grow since that day.

"Y-yeah. Skitter," Chris admitted. "She's just... It's like... when she moves, or talks. She had this grace about her. This... sex appeal, I guess. She just oozes confidence and charisma, even in dire situations," He said, his face going even redder. "Like, yeah. She's scary. But have you ever considered how... in a certain way. Skitter's kinda... hot?"

There was a long pause. Dennis could only think back on the multiple times he confronted Skitter. The myriad of spiders and bugs that crawled around her, used as a weapon. The way her swarm could talk, threatening death and agony. Her body language was always guarded, always cautious. And those terrifying yellow eyes that haunted his nightmares.

"No..." Dennis finally said, disgust in his voice. "No, I don't."

"Never mind, forget I said anything," Chris said, turning away in embarrassment.

"Look," Dennis sighed, rubbing his chin. "There's confidence, and there's stone-cold killer. Skitter is the latter."

"I know..." Chris admitted, shaking his head. "And I just find that... hot.

"She would probably tie you up in her silk ropes," Dennis argued. "Have roaches crawl all over you. Disgusting."

To his complete shock, Chris blushed even harder at that comment.

"Really?" Dennis asked.

"Look, just shut up, okay," Chris begged, covering his face with his hands.

Dennis sighed, patting Chris' shoulder. "Kid. She's crazy, she's a cold-hearted ice maiden who doesn't want anything but to destroy you."

"…"

Chris' blush only deepened.

"Are you serious?" Dennis balked. "Oh my god. Okay. I thought I was stupid for liking a girl who occasionally punches me. But you. You're a whole goddamn imbecile."

Kid Win could do nothing but shrug with a smile. "I guess I'm an idiot."

"You're both idiots," Sophia growled over the comms, surprising both of them. "And you're shit outta luck Kid, she's obviously gay."

"Stalker!" Dennis cried. "H-how long have you been listening in?"

"Control can't be muted," Sophia huffed. "Idiot."

 

[Gowonzu]

A/N: So instead of working on the myriad of projects I already have. I let the plot bunnies win and spent the last two days working on this. This is chapter 1. I already got 4.5K words of chapter 2 written up which Ill either post later today or whenever. After that, I guess we'll see.

---

This was not my city.

Brockton Bay looked like a tidal wave had broken over it. Every building looked borderline condemned. The streets were choked with debris, the windows were boarded up, and the roads themselves were cracked, broken, and crumbling away. There were entire blocks on the Docks that were flooded from the aftermath of whatever tragedy had passed through here.

I watched as people on the street picked through rubble and trash for things they could salvage. I wanted to help them, though I wasn't sure how. There were too many people, too much pain on the streets, and not a single emergency service in sight. The damage to the city didn't even look that recent. Whatever had hit this city, happened weeks, or maybe even months ago. Yet no one had come, no one had helped, no one had made the smallest attempt to get the place on the road to recovery.

I told myself that it wasn't my problem. That I couldn't help everyone. My duty of care was to myself, and myself alone. I didn't know how I would get home from here, but I knew I would. My team wouldn't leave me here forever. All I had to do was sit tight and wait for them. With nothing else to do but sit and wait for backup, I continued to observe the city.

Even beyond my narrow view of the street, through the use of my myriad of bugs, it didn't look much better. One buried street moved into the next, as even the sections of the city that hadn't been directly hit had succumbed to looting. Even the most stable-looking buildings had their windows shattered.

The city's infrastructure had failed, and there wasn't a single sign that anyone had tried to fix it.
At the edge of my radius, I took notice of a man who had spent several long minutes digging at a pile of bricks from a fallen building, someone was trapped under the rubble. Waiting was no longer an option.

My bugs could do much beyond biting and surveying, but I tried my best to help. Running in that direction, hoping to lend a hand. It took forever to reach him. My swarm had eyes on the man the entire time, pulling the legs of whoever was trapped.

I wanted to call out to him and let him know that pulling them with that much rubble still on top of them would only cause them more pain, but I couldn't

It didn't matter in the end. The man wasn't pulling on their legs to get them out. With another hard tug, he removed their shoes. Inspecting them against the soles of his feet before putting them on.

By the time I reached the rubble, the man had left. Whoever was trapped under the rubble had been long dead. No ID, no identifying marks, no one to give them a proper burial. Just a body for someone to loot. A thing people could salvage.

My stomach churned as I pulled myself away.

This was not my city.

-------------------------------------------------

The more I saw of this city, the more I found myself falling into despair. I could just sit still and wait for my team.

I'd watched a group of people almost stab each other to death over a can of dog food. At the same time, a few streets over, a gang was strong-arming people into their territory with the promise of food and shelter. Half my swarm was already moving to intercept the group fighting over food when a woman from the second group made a rash attempt to take a bag from the gang members.

That's when the fighting started.

I was already dealing with one group of people trying to cut each other, I didn't have enough time to think before people pulled out guns. I sent a swarm in both directions, fighting two different groups in two different streets.

It didn't take long to subdue them, most of the combatants were scared civilians, not hardened killers. It was the gang members who put up the most fight, falling back to wherever they came from. If anything, the people were mostly confused and scared of the sudden appearance of my swarm. I didn't like how they feared away from me, but I could hardly blame them given the circumstances.

The group fighting over the can of food quickly abandoned the food. In the end, no one got to eat, and I couldn't say if I had really helped much. They avoided potentially killing each other today, that's all I could focus on. If I was there in person, I would've told them to share.

How bad had this city gotten that people were willing to kill each other over a can of dog food?

Dealing with the second group was as heartbreaking as the first. While the gang members had run away, it still left three hungry people standing in the cold of the street. I couldn't give them any consolation, they also ran off long before I could reach them. If they were less afraid of my swarm, I might've led them to the can of dog food. Not that it would help much, most everywhere had been looted and what little food I did find already belonged to other people just trying to survive.

Both fighting groups had fled without anyone so much as to get a scratch, however I didn't feel my duty of care was done. That gang, whoever they were, appeared to have plenty of food to spare if they were willing to hand out samples on the street, yet they chose not to share with everyone.

I followed them, my swarm blending in with the dark city night as I trailed behind. It didn't take long for them to lead me back to their stockpile. An entire building filled with food and supplies, most of which appeared to have been collected in neatly stacked boxes with labels. Completely with delivery trucks.

One could've assumed this was a government-operated relief station with the amount of supplies they had set out and organised. But there wasn't a hint of legal authority here. No government stamps, police officers, or military guards were to be seen. Just a bunch of gangsters hiding in plain sight. The building had been made to look as ratty and destroyed on the outside as the rest of the city, while the inside was locked down tight and patrolled by a handful of armed men, wearing the same colours as those who had attempted to recruit the group.

I'd seen this kind of operation before, on a smaller scale. Questions of where they were getting the supplies, and why the government wasn't already distributing them to the population at large filled my mind, but I couldn't get distracted by the bigger picture. All I could do right now was help those who were in need.

--------------------------------------------------------
Recovering the food didn't prove to be that difficult. Most of the gang members surrendered pretty quickly once they caught eyes on my swarm. I was actually a little confused that it was so easy. I had expected them to try and put up more of a fight.

They were mostly scared and unsure, none of them even tried shooting at the swarm itself. The moment I attacked one of them, the rest laid down their guns and fled. I briefly considered interrogating the man I caught to find out who their supplier and boss was, but I had no plans on taking on an entire gang without any form of support. I was here to help a handful of people, nothing more.

Loading up one of the trucks with as much food, water and medicine as I could fit, I set out to find the people I'd seen before, along with anyone else who needed these supplies. I wasn't sure how I was going to distribute everything, but I had to try.

I parked the truck on the same street where I had originally seen the group fight over dog food. A feat that proved more difficult than it should have been, considering how much of the city's streets had fallen into disrepair. Add to that my lack of driver's license, and it was a miracle that I even drove the truck as far as I did.

Several groups of people had taken notice of the truck as I got myself situated, turning off the engine and opening the back of the truck. I couldn't simply just yell out 'Come and get it,' knowing the cautious and violent state of the city. Many of the bystanders who watched inside broken buildings, did so with improvised knives and clubs clutched in their hand.

I'd hope that my costume would've alleviated some of the residual fear. People would be more trusting of a cape handing out free supplies rather than some random person who might be trying to con them.

It didn't take long before the first wave of people came out of hiding, cautiously approaching the back of the truck. I kept an eye out for trouble with my bugs but hid the swarm from everyone. I didn't want to risk scaring anyone like I had done before. They looked at me, their eyes filled with hunger, suspicion and fear.

I counted the approaching people, reaching in the truck for a handful of ration packs. They had neatly been packed, ready for use. Each pack had a bottle of water and some kind of vacuum-packed meal.

"Here, grab a couple and share around," I said, placing the rations down between us. "There's enough to go around."

One man stepped forward, his head tilted as if he couldn't quite understand the words that were coming out of my mouth. I gestured to the food and watched as he cautiously walked up and snatched a handful, rushing back to his group with haste. The moment everyone realised that there was no immediate trap, the rest of them moved in, hands extended for a share.

It was the most human contact I'd seen in this city. A part of me had worried that everyone would rush me at once and I'd be overrun. Instead, the people grabbed a share and returned to their groups, talking amongst themselves, their faces lit up with what I could only describe as gratitude.

I made sure everyone present got at least one ration pack before handing out any doubles. Admittedly, I watched some individuals glaring at those who managed to score extra rations, but no one was willing to start a fight over it. The presence of a masked cape usually dissuaded people from acting too brashly.

"T-thank you,"

A woman approached me a short time after all the rations had been handed out. Most everyone had left back to whatever building they were taking shelter in. Her face was slightly bruised, but her eyes were filled with kindness.

"It's okay," I said, trying my best to smile even with how depressing this city made me feel. "Did you get enough food?"

"We did, yes," She nodded, loitering about the truck. "Are you one of the Wards? I'm afraid I don't recognise you."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that question.

"Yes," I lied. Understanding the question behind her question. She wanted to know if I was a hero. It didn't matter that I wasn't a Ward or whatever.

The woman smiled a little wider at my response.

"Do you have anywhere safe to go?" I asked, "Is there anyone you can go to?"

"Not anymore," she replied, her expression becoming sad. "My apartment was flooded when Leviathan hit. It was a miracle that I was visiting a friend uptown that day. However, she's not around anymore... I'm camping out in an office building up past 6th Avenue."

"Why aren't the emergency services helping anyone?" I asked, stupidly.

The lady chuckled bitterly.

"Maybe in the green zone, the boardwalk and such," The woman sighed. "But all the way out here, our options are slum it alone or risk joining Undersider territory. Besides, the PRT can be as bad as the gangs from what I've heard," She looked up at me apologetically. "Uh, sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it," I said. Trying to understand the situation from what little she said. I had spotted the green zone on the edge of my radius. It looked as torn up as the rest of the city, but it did have an air of life to it. Namely in that it had working lights and uniformed security around it.

I told myself that it wasn't my problem. That I couldn't help everyone. I'd already done far more than what was expected of me. My team would find me soon enough. But looking at the woman before me, I couldn't bring myself to abandon her.

"Hey, listen," I said, my voice soft. "My team is coming to pick me up in..." I checked my watch. "Two? Maybe three hours," The lady looked up at me, confused. "I don't know... Maybe they might take you with them, or they'll be able to get more supplies or something for you. I need to find a place to sit tight and wait for them anyway, so?... Would you mind?"

I closed up the back of the truck and threw the keys by the door, leaving it for anyone who wanted to take it. The woman didn't give me an answer but motioned for me to follow behind her.

"What's a Ward doing so far out this part of the city anyway?" The woman asked. "Don't tell me that the PRT is sending children into gang territory?"

"Just... got a little lost, is all," I said back. Technically the truth.

"Hmm," The woman hummed in response, turning to give me a once-over look. I wasn't sure if I had said the wrong thing but she kept walking. "Well, you be careful. I'd hate to see one of the good ones get into trouble around here, especially so close to Skitter's territory."

I nodded, opening my mouth to ask a question but choosing not to say it aloud.

'Who the hell is Skitter?'

-------------------------------------

I shifted and groaned in my bed. Reestablishing control with my bugs as I slowly returned to consciousness. A phone sat on my bedside table, buzzing away as it rang out.

While I couldn't see the clock on my wall, the flies I had tagged on it let me know it was still early in the morning. 3:41am to be exact. I suppressed my frustration as the phone continued to ring.

Placing glasses on my face, I read the number and woke myself up further as I realised it was Lisa. Lisa didn't call this early without good reason.

"What the hell Skitter!?" Lisa barked out the second I accepted the call.

"Good morning to you too," I groaned back tiredly, pushing off the covers of my bed and sitting up. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Lisa asked back with a hint of annoyance. "What's up, is that I've had several reports of Skitter attacking her own men in the last few hours. What the hell have you been doing all night?"

That woke me up from whatever groggy state I was in. I shot up and moved to my wardrobe. My Skitter outfit hung neatly amongst my clothes.

"Sleeping," I answered honestly. "Went to bed just before midnight. Who's saying I attacked them?"

"Shit..." Lisa muttered. "I hoped you'd have an easy explanation for this."

"What did they say, exactly?" I asked, already halfway into my costume. I wasn't getting back to bed anytime soon.

I ran through all the possible scenarios in my head. Most likely, they were either completely stupid and ran into a wild hornet's nest or the like, or someone was out there impersonating me.

"Let's see..." Lisa began, sounding like she was reading off a message. "Altercation between some of our men and some scavengers down on 4th. Would've been just another minor scuffle over food rations but it was broken up by, a swarm of bugs," Lisa paused to give me time to respond, hoping that she'd know what it was about, but I stayed silent. "The swarm attacked both sides until weapons were dropped. Then bugs tailed the men back to a supply house and attacked the rest of them there. Lost two weeks' worth of food rations for the area. Also, the men are confused and calling my people for answers."

"Are you sure it was a swarm?" I asked, needing to get the full picture. "They used those exact words?"

"Tay, I have video footage from the storehouse," Lisa replied. "It's a swarm. Your swarm. I've only ever seen bugs move this precisely with you."

That was not good.

"You don't think..." I began. This wasn't the first time I'd had to deal with an imposter. Coil had once managed to recreate my powers and have someone betray the Undersiders on my behalf, and then there was Echidna and her clones.

"A remaining Echidna clone?" Lisa finished my thought. "Possible?"

It was bad enough that someone was running around with my abilities causing trouble for the Undersiders, but if they had my face too…

"Alright, I'll take care of it."

Lisa paused, I could feel her worried concern over the phone.

"Are you sure?" Lisa asked. "If it is an Echidna clone, you're going to have to-"

"I know, Lisa," I said, cutting her off. "I'll take care of it."

"Want me to send someone?" Lisa asked. "Grue, Bitch? Imp?"

"No," I said, hesitantly. "Grue needs rest," He still wasn't himself since Bonesaw, I couldn't ask him to do something like that for me. "And we both know Bitch won't be awake at this hour. I'm heading over, send me the exact address of both attacks and I'll go from there."

 

[Gowonzu]

A/N: Damn this got long. I ended up writing a major part of this. Anyway, I know I have several different fics/stories up in the air, but let me know if peeps are interesting in seeing where this one would go.

---

I left my territory without a word.

Charlotte and the children were still asleep, and I saw no point in waking her. The sooner I dealt with this imposter business, the better. I needed more detail

I took Atlas with me and flew towards the edges of Tattletale's territory, following Lisa's text address. From the skies, I could see the ruined city streets below, filled with the homeless and refugees who'd managed to survive.

This city had gone to shit.

Again and again, the people of Brockton Bay had been screwed over, and now there was nothing left.

Leviathan had torn through the docks, sinking a quarter of the city with him and killing a significant chunk of the cape population. Before the city even had time to pick up the pieces, the Slaughterhouse Nine carved their way in and murdered even more. People were still stepping over the shards of glass Shatterbird had left.

The Teeth returned to stake their claim, bringing their own flavour of death and destruction with them. Coil had tried multiple times to kill me and my team, only to fail spectacularly and end up with a bullet in his head. Then his pet monster broke loose and turned this shithole into yet another warzone.

As far as my swarm could see, I saw the hopelessness in everyone's eyes. The look of people who were so far down on their luck, it was a wonder that they hadn't simply given up right there and then.

It was impossible to help everyone, only a fool would try. But I at least made sure that everyone in my territory was taken care of.

I reached the first location Lisa had given me, finding a truck parked out in the street. The keys had been left on the floor by the driver's side door. I couldn't imagine anyone leaving a vehicle like this unattended.

My bugs spread out, searching the vehicle for any kind of trace. Any hint that might explain why it had been abandoned. It was empty, whatever supplies it had carried were already handed out.

Through my swarm, I spied several people hiding from me, some clutching ration packs that were no doubt stolen from Tattletale's storage. I briefly considered if I should make an example of one of them, theft couldn't be tolerated and these people had every chance to enter my territory if they needed food that badly.

However, I knew that none of these people were to blame. My imposter had obviously handed out supplies here. They were simply hungry. Confronting them would only confuse them at best and result in violence at worst.

My phone buzzed again in my pocket. I answered it immediately, putting the phone to my ear as I continued to survey the area.

"Hey," I said, not bothering with a greeting. "Just hit the ground. Food rations have been handed out to the locals. Truck is left unlocked with the keys still inside. Looking to see which way they might've gone. Got any more info for me?"

"Possibly," Lisa said back, the sound of keyboard strokes in the background of the call. "We have an image of our mystery imposter but it's shit quality. Trying to find a better angle."

"She loaded the truck all by herself," I grumbled. "Why don't we have security footage of that to use?"

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea," Lisa said sarcastically. "Why don't we film the inside of all our illicit warehouses?"

"Yeah, yeah. I realised it the moment I said it."

"I'll keep you posted if I find anything noteworthy, and send some men to pick up the truck," Lisa continued. "From what I can see, it's a woman with long dark hair. Seems to have her own outfit, wearing a mask but no lower face cover."

I let out a small sigh of relief. At least this clone had the decency to cover her face. The last one didn't.

"Alright, thanks. I'll be in touch."

"Hey, Taylor?" Lisa stopped me before I hung up. "Be careful."

I ended the call and placed my phone back into my pocket. I'd already taken far too much time here. I sent my swarm outwards, covering a three-block radius with ease. My bugs crawled and flew across the ruined streets, checking each building.'

I noticed two things in particular, the first was the local bug population in this section of the city was significantly reduced. It told me that my imposter had gathered a swarm and had it at her disposal. The second thing, and far more glaring, was when I briefly lost contact with every bug I had in the east of me.

Like a light flickering, control was reestablished almost immediately, but it was enough for me to notice. Something or someone had tried to call my bugs further east, outside of my radius.

I had to act fast. If I could sense the brief flicker of control loss, then they would surely feel when I took it back. They were probably already aware that I was hunting them, they had chosen to attack my territory and the last Echidna clones had a drive to harm me personally.

I climbed onto Atlas and took to the skies again, letting the bugs in the east go and act as a compass for me. I didn't relinquish control of all of them though, making sure to keep eyes on where the swarm was forming and who was around. It was a risk, as I could sense every individual bug that was pulled away from me.

I wasn't sure how a direct, open confrontation would go with someone who had my powers, my first plan was to act weaker, give up control of my bugs and lull the clone into a false sense of security. The issue was that she could be doing the exact same thing to me. There were too many variables.

I reached the edge of my clone's radius of control. My power fluctuated around three to four city blocks most of the time, with the rare exception. I could feel with my bugs the cut-off point where my imposter could take control of them. It would've been possible for them to see me coming, but so far none of the bugs had turned back to look at me.

Worst still, I couldn't see where my clone was hiding either. The swarms were being gathered in three places, but so far I only had eyes on one of them. I guessed that the other two locations were somewhere outside of my current range, but it made me question if they had a larger radius of control than I did.

"Stop," I told Atlas. Landing him on the very edge of the radius. I couldn't risk flying him in when my clone could at any point wrestle control from me and send me plummeting to my death. "Follow me," I added, commanding him to follow behind me.

I knew I didn't have to speak to him. It felt wrong, however, ordering him around with just power alone. I'd been anthropomorphizing him for a while now. Naming him, feeding him, speaking to him. Calling him a He in the first place. He had become more than a means of transportation. A pet, if I was honest. The idea of leaving him behind to get attacked discomforted me. As long as I kept a wide enough berth from him, any slip of control could be fought before Atlas could be made to attack me.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into my clone's range of control. One way or another, this was going to be over.

-------------------------------------

The lady was kind enough to let me stay with her at her makeshift camp. It was the fourth floor of an office building, all the levels below it had been flooded at one point.

The lady, Olivia, explained that she actually used to work in this building and chose this spot in particular because she knew her coworker kept a stash of snacks under his desk.

"Unfortunately, the snacks ran out after a week or so," Olivia explained as she finished telling her story.

"Can I ask, why you haven't tried to leave the city?"

A part of me already knew the answer, but I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"Where would I go?" Olivia shrugged, looking around. "I'm old, I got nothing and no one. I've lived in Brockton Bay all my life. Might as well die here like I planned to anyway."

I looked at her with worry. She didn't even look that old, early to mid-thirties if I'd guessed. However, she had this look about her, eyes sunken into her soul. I'd rarely been confronted with such an utter lack of hope from anyone before. I tried to think of what I could say to her, let her know that help was coming and that when it did, I could possibly take her away from this place to somewhere safe. But I already knew my offer would be rejected, on both sides.

She offered me some of her food, the ration that I had handed out to her earlier. I shook my head in decline, even if I was a little hungry at this point. My team wouldn't be too much longer, I was sure of it. In a few hours, I'd be having a bath and a hot meal.

Even in the relative safety of Olivia's camp, I didn't dare relax too much. I kept three swarms bunched up in buildings across from me. Making sure to hide them from sight, I didn't want to draw any attention from any potential threats or scare those who were trying to sleep. Olivia hadn't asked me for my name, cape or otherwise, nor had she even questioned what I could do.

I wasn't used to such apathy towards superheroes, especially considering she was the one to ask me if I was a... what did she say again? A Ward?

Olivia mumbled something else, before turning in for the night. She sealed up the rest of her food and climbed into a sleeping bag she had prepared on the floor. It didn't take long before she fell asleep, I'd like to think the idea of having a hero watch over her was comforting enough to sleep easily. She looked like she needed it.

I stayed up, listening to the sounds of the city. The creaking of old buildings, the sound of the waves hitting the shore, and the distant sound of gunfire, which worried me. It was too far out of my radius to do anything about it, and again it wasn't my problem. I couldn't help everyone. I had done enough and needed to focus solely on surviving the next hour or so.

The longer I stayed in this bleak, ruined perversion of a city, the more helpless I began to feel.

"They're going to find me. They're going to find me."

I recited the words like a mantra. Willing them to be true. Checking my watch for the hundredth time tonight. The minutes dragged by. The night seemed to drag on for aeons. I'd only been here for a few hours, but it felt like a lifetime.

In the pocket of my belt was my beacon. My lifeline to my friends and my only way home. I could feel the hum of its battery between my gloved fingers. I tried to remember the calculations in my head. See if I could predict to the minute when my team would arrive.

At one point I was told, but it all blurred together into Tinker nonsense in the end. Either I had an hour, or two. Unless I was completely misremembering everything and was going to be stuck here for far longer.

I shook my head at that thought. Nothing good came from it.

"They're going to find me," I said again. Choosing to keep hope for now. I'd re-evaluate if they didn't show by morning. "They're going to find me. They're going to-"

Something caught my attention. My swarm to the west, all... died?

----------------------------------

They weren't dead. The bugs tried to disperse, but I called them back immediately. Moving the swarm out to spot whatever, or whoever had done that. For a good three seconds, I lost control of them completely. Like being caught in a damping field, but only for that swarm in particular.

It happened again.

Complete radio silence from my swarm. I didn't even see it this time, but I could feel it. The swarm was splitting into several smaller swarms when I pulled back control again. I couldn't keep them split so small, so I ordered the swarm to regroup further away.

My first assumption was some kind of Tinkertech. Maybe a grenade or a sonic... gun thing. Something that would force swarms apart until they were too small for me to manage. But those would make sound and need to be fired. My swarm could see a full 360-degree view around itself and I couldn't spot a single thing hitting it.

The swarm ripped apart again. I managed to hold half of my bugs, forcing them to witness whatever was happening to them. To my complete and utter shock, the other half split into four smaller groups and stayed that way. Moving off in four different directions.

They split again and again. Four, eight, sixteen, and so on until I couldn't even call them a swarm anymore. I couldn't call them back anymore. Not as fast they they dispersed. At best I could briefly tell them to stop moving before they scattered again.

Panicking, I pulled my other two swarms closer to me. Watching as they moved in to flank my first swarm and hopefully show me another angle.

In the dark of the night, I spotted a lone figure moving down the main road. They wore all black, a cape costume. Long, dark hair flowed in the wind behind them. The mask had intimidating yellow eyes, with two mandible-like sections protruding from the bottom. It reminded me a little bit of my old costume before I gave it some colour. Worse still, was the large creature that followed somewhat behind the cape. A giant beetle.

My second swarm blinked in and out of control as the cape turned to look at it. I wrestled control back only to see the cape in question looking at me. Not my swarm, but me. Their head locked in my direction as if they could see me as clearly as I saw them.

"What's wrong?" Mumbled Olivia, waking from her brief nap. She obviously noted my stressed body language and sat up on alert.

"Unknown Cape," I answered. Feeling as my third swarm also began to blink out of control. "Might be hostile, unsure. They're messing with my power." I didn't know enough yet, to call it an attack. The outfit and creature made it obvious that it was a bug-themed cape, there was every chance our powers just didn't mesh well. I tried not to jump to conclusions about what those powers might be. I needed more information. "Female, long hair, kind of like mine. All black suit. Yellow eyes and bug mandibles on the face has a giant-"

I didn't need to finish my description to see the fear in Olivia's eyes.

"Skitter!" She gasped in a hushed tone. Looking about the room like she was being watched. "Oh god... What's she doing here?"

"Skitter?" I echoed. Olivia had mentioned that name earlier. Skitter's territory. As in Skitter's gang. As in... supervillain. "What does Skitter do?" I asked, turning to see Olivia already making a break for it. "Hey! Wait!"

I reached for her, but she had already made it out the door. Leaving me behind. I could hear her footsteps clattering down the stairwell.

"Shit!"

The cape, Skitter had somehow paralysed all three of my swarms and was making her way towards me on foot. I checked my watch again. There was a chance, my team would show up in the next ten to fifteen minutes. All I had to do was survive that long.

I waited for her to come to me. I didn't see the point in hiding, she could track me in much the same way I could see her. I didn't like the implications of her power though. If this Skitter could control bugs in the same manner as me, it would explain why my swarm was frozen in place. It would also explain why the gang members I fought earlier were so confused and scared of me. They thought I was her.

The giant beetle also threw me off. I couldn't for the life of me ever imagine creating that, much less controlling it. It was more rhino than beetle at this point and my power didn't read a thing of it.

"Stay!" Skitter called out to her beetle before walking inside my building.

The beetle stopped where it was, and I at least thought I understood one mystery. Skitter might control bugs through voice commands? A similar power, but limited. I tried to think of ways I could make use of that fact before our confrontation.

"I don't know where you've been hiding all this time," Skitter called out. "But if you wanted my attention, then you've got it."

The swarms converged on the building. No longer fighting me for control. I wasn't sure if that was because her power had a time limit, or because she spoke, or if it was all a trick. The swarm merged together and climbed up the side of the building. I'd lost sight of Skitter, but I knew she was coming up the stairs.

"Noelle is dead if you didn't know already," Skitter called out again. I fumbled at my belt for combat supplies, namely a collapsible baton and handcuffs. I didn't know who she was talking about, but gloating about someone's death was setting me on edge. "Whatever loyalty you had to her is pointless. If you can even understand me," At that, Skitter appeared, walking out into the ruin of Olivia's office camp. "Can you even understand me?"

She asked the question with a tilted head like she expected me to respond like a feral animal. Her voice was disconcerting, and not simply because it sounded irritatingly familiar. There was a creepy monotone to it. Completely drained of emotion and warmth.

"I don't understand," I said honestly. I didn't know who this Noelle was or what it had to do with me, or why she thought I'd been hiding for a long time.

Skitter looked at me, I couldn't read her expression of body language, but everything about her screamed villainous.

"Great, you're a comedian," Skitter sighed. My response had irritated her, I think. She paused her walk towards me, inspecting me over. "What's with the outfit?"

I tilted my head in confusion. I wasn't expecting a villain to question my costume choice. Though I supposed that being an insect-themed cape brought out a certain kind of curiosity.

"It was a gift," I responded, nervously. "From my mom."

Villain confrontation 101. Try to establish a rapport with the villain. Light jokes and casual conversation worked better than attacking straight away. Remind them that you're only human and to maybe think twice before trying to hurt you.

Skitter's hand clenched into a fist. I was having trouble getting a read on her but that, that was anger.

She took another step closer, reaching behind her back for something. I had a moment to panic, her costume looked similar to mine and I could already see the knife on her hip she was reaching for. There was a high chance Skitter was reaching for a gun too.

My swarm was still stuck with whatever stalemate Skitter's powers did, I had no choice but to rely on my other resources. I took a deep breath, readying my baton and rushing her. The move surprised her, as she fumbled with the gun just enough to miss her first shot. That was all I needed.

With practised movement, I pushed Skitter's wrist up and twisted the gun in her hand. Disarming the villain and sending the pistol skidding across the floor. She tried then to stab me with her knife, but my baton was already up and ready to block. With a simple twist and a flick of my wrist, the knife was out of her hand and in mine.

Skitter obviously had some hand-to-hand defence training, but was nowhere near as good as me. I could imagine that she relied on her power to do most of the heavy lifting for her. While I had her beat in upper body strength and combat skills, her legs could deliver quite the kick. A solid kick to my knee almost dropped me to the floor, but I recovered quickly and headbutted her in the face.

"I was hoping you'd be malnourished and sickly..." Skitter growled.

I didn't know what she was on about, but I pressed my advantage. Pulling out a spare set of handcuffs from my belt and trying to secure one of Skitter's wrists.

"Stop resisting," I growled in frustration. "You have the right to remain silent-"

She pulled her hands away after I locked in the first arm. Elbowing me in the gut before crawling away.

"Pretending to be a hero?" Skitter spat as she stood back up. "To what end? To mock me on my life choices?"

The swarm pulsed by the window. Still fighting me for control. I kept it in place like before, but not before watching as several spiders and hornets broke off and attacked me. That surprised me.

They didn't even move like my swarm. The hornet moved in quick to get right up in my face, while the spiders dodged every attempt of mine to step on it. Moving two or three swarms in separate directions was one thing, but the precise control needed to attack me like this was unheard of. At least to me.

"How the hell?" I gasped, ducking and weaving out of the hornet's way.

More spiders, wasps and hornets were pulling off my main swarm and acting as independent units. I'd miscalculated. Skitter didn't just have a similar power. Her power was stronger than mine.

I found that I could momentarily stun them by attempting to summon them back into the swarm, but Skitter could pull them off just as fast as I could. It was another kind of stalemate. One that was only getting harder to maintain as Skitter pulled more and more individual bugs away.

Her face was busy scanning the floor around us, and I knew what for. Her gun had fallen somewhere in the mess and she was looking for it. I couldn't brute force my power over hers, so I decided to rush the gun first.

We both spotted it at the same time and lunged across the room to grab at it. We collided on the ground and began wrestling for control of the weapon. I could tell I had the physical advantage but her individual bugs were getting dangerously close to us.

I didn't want to shoot her, keeping the gun on the floor as I pulled Skitter into a chokehold. In what was probably a fit of desperation, Skitter pulled at my costume, detaching my utility belt in the process. A worrying development, as I needed my beacon for my team to find me. Another panicked flail of Skitter's hands had her tearing the mask from my face.

Rudely, she threw it across the room along with my belt and tried pulling on my hair. Out of pure spite by this point, I decided to return the favour and unmask the villain, luchador style.

My smug smile was replaced with utter confusion when I caught sight of her face. My face. I was looking at a perfect mirror image of myself. Same hair, same nose, same everything. It had some minor battle scars and bore a scowl that I'd never even known I could make.

"W-what?" I asked, stupidly loosening my grip in shock. "What the fuck? "What the actually fu-"

Skitter landed a solid punch to my face and broke free from my grapple. Before I even had time to recover, her giant beetle smashed through the already shattered window and bulldozed me to the wall. While I could slow down and stop Skitter's individual bugs, I was completely powerless against whatever this thing was. It was a miracle it didn't crush me outright, but Skitter was too busy gasping for breath now that she was free from my chokehold.

The beetle had me pinned and Skitter, my evil doppelganger, had free reign to pick up her gun. The fight was over and I lost, utterly.

She pointed the gun at me, still rasping her breath.

"Are you the last one? Or are there more of you out there?"

"I'm alone," I lied. My team was coming in either a matter of minutes or hours. But I wasn't about to sell them out to a supervillain version of myself.

"Good," Skitter panted, nodding her head with the first human-looking expression since the fight started. A fly landed on my chest as she raised the gun towards me. "I'm sorry," She sighed as if she meant it. "For what it's worth, I hate the idea of executing anyone, doubly so if they had my face. But I know what you are. And what you clones feel compelled to do. I can't have you hurting my friends or family."

A clone? This fucked up version of me had clones. She thinks I'm a clone. She's about to kill me!

"Wait, wait!" I cried out, Still heaving under the weight of the beetle. I pressed on my swarm again, hoping that I could overpower her control. "I can explain-"

Skitter fired off two shots.

-------------------------------------------------------

I didn't have much of a plan coming in.

I needed to confirm that it was a clone before deciding to take the lethal option.

The closer I got to the clone, the more she messed with my powers. Wrestling control of one swarm proved to be frustrating. I realised quickly my clone had trouble moving smaller groups around. I could shred swarms into smaller groups and hold tighter control over them, but decided to keep that ace up my sleeve for when I confronted her directly.

I'd kept Atlas at a distance, so far my control over him hadn't wavered but I wasn't willing to risk him during the confrontation. The conversation was brief, my clone had the nerve to not only play dumb but bring up my own mother.

I had hoped for a quick and easy kill. It was stupid getting into a physical altercation with a clone. Knowing Noelle, it had every chance to be stronger than me if made correctly. And this one certainly was. The clone was scared. No master to serve, no grand plan for survival. Just following its programming to ruin everything I built. I could almost pity it if I didn't already know what they were capable of.

I told Atlas to pull off and I took the moment of reprieve as the clone lay on the ground. The swarm reverted back to my total control, which was all the confirmation I needed.

I had no desire to inspect my own body.

I still was struggling to breathe properly after the chokehold she had me in. The idea of getting caught up in the similarities of my own face and coming to turn with my own mortality through the lens of a dead clone seemed to be a path of spewing my guts across the floor. So I put a pin in it.

Plus, I needed to find my mask before any witnesses caught sight of me. I couldn't find where my mask had been thrown, but I did stumble upon the clone's mask. She'd been wearing a strange version of my costume, it was green instead of black with an open-face mask. I wasn't sure who had made it for her, a mystery for Tattletale to solve at a later date.

Handcuffs dangle from my right wrist. The clone had her own belt full of gear. It stood to reason that she had the key to the cuffs. In one pocket I pulled out a small tinkertech device. It was cylindrical and looked a little like a communicator from those Star Wars movies. It pulsed quietly in my hand. Someone had supplied my clone with costume and tech, adding to the numerous questions I had. I pocketed it for later and found the key I was looking for.

The Tinker tech device reminded me to do the smart thing and check my phone. I dialled Lisa to give her an update on the situation. Stepping out onto the street and telling Atlas to follow along.

"It's done," I said the second Lisa picked up. "Though I have a body with my face on it waiting in an office building down on 6th Avenue."

"How are you feeling?" Lisa asked, not missing a beat.

"Fine," I answered. "She's... was wearing a costume, like mine but not. And has tinkertech in her pocket. I'll need someone to take a look at it."

Thankfully Lisa dropped the other question, "Alright. I'll get some people to recover the body. You good to wait around for me?"

"I've got nothing better to do," I shrugged. I could hear it in her voice, Lisa was trying to be gentle with me. She'd been the same after I executed Coil. "I'll see you soon,"

No sooner did the call end did the device I picked up started vibrating. My first thought was a bomb, so I immediately chucked it as far as I could throw. The device landed a little way down the street and rolled to a stop. Thankfully there was no explosion.

What there was, however, was a spherical wall of light that formed a few feet from the device. It appeared and then solidified into a portal to somewhere that was indoors. It looked like a science lab, very clean and white.

Three figures passed through and stepped out onto the street. Capes by the odd way they were dressed, the colour variation made me think of that Japanese hero team, Sentai Elite. I took up a readied stance as they emerged.

"Woah..." The first one said in awe. A boy, around my age. He wore an orange bodysuit, less detailed than mine, with some light padding on the chest and wielding goggles for a mask. "This place got messed up."

"What the hell happened here?" A girl asked. Taller than me, and far more muscular. She wore a blue bodysuit that left her arms exposed. The blue mask she wore matched the same one my clone was wearing.

The third cape was also a man, older than the other two by the short beard he spouted. A red bodysuit that looked to have tinker tech incorporated into it. It wasn't as heavily armoured as Armsmaster but with the beard and helmet, my first thought was a red Armsmaster. Another clone?

Not-Armsmaster held a device in his hand, a scanner of some kind, given by the way he waved it around. He zeroed in on the device I had looted from my clone and looked at it with confusion before taking notice of me.

"Ah, Entomogal!" Not-Armsmaster said, waving in my direction. The name caught me off guard. "I told you it would work," He spread his arms out wide in a grand gesture. "Hope you weren't too worried."

He moved closer towards me and stopped midway, taking notice of Atlas who stood a little ways behind me.

"What is that thing?" The girl in blue said, jogging up beside the red cape. "Is it friendly? Also, what happened to your suit?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. They seemed to assume that I was the clone. Or, Entomogal? Why'd they name her something so stupid?

"Entomogal?" The boy in orange asked once I didn't give a reply. "You alright? Wait, is this where we find out there's like some time dilatation nonsense going on and you've been here for seven years? Is this the future!?"

The blue girl slapped the orange one over the head.

"There's no time dilation, dumbass," The girl said. "That's not how portals work."

"Oh..." The boy sighed, rubbing his head. "Well still, several hours in this place would make anyone mad."

They were bantering with each other. I was at a complete loss on what to do. They didn't recognise me as not the clone, and by this point, I was beginning to question if that even was my clone. It had looked like me, sounded like me, had a variation of my power. But something felt off. And if that wasn't a clone, then I just...

I needed to know more.

"We should get out of here," Not-Armsmaster suggested. "This portal isn't exactly stable and who knows what else is lurking around this city." He motioned me to follow after him. "Let's go."

"What?" The orange boy whined. "But we only just got here. Can't we explore a little more of this post-apocalypse hellscape?" He looked around with wonder before turning to me. "What even happened here anyway? Oh, did the Cold War turn into World War Three?"

I weighed my options of following them and finding out more about where my clone had come from. How she came to be. I was looking at a portal, much the same as the one Tattletale had made downtown, albeit a much smaller variant. It could take me anywhere, and getting back to Brockton Bay was a gamble in itself.

The trio noticed my hesitation and were starting to get impatient.

"Hey," The blue girl said, pointing back at the portal. "It's safe, this time. Red worked out all the kinks. We can even take your new pet... beetle, thing. Right?"

She turned back to the man in red who was already waiting by the portal, playing with his scanner.

"What? Oh, yes. Sure," He said, distractedly. "I'm assuming it's house-trained, right?"

The blue girl smiled at me and held out a hand. I was still wary of their intentions. They seemed oblivious, however, that could have just been an act. A trap. The safer option would be to flee and report this back to Lisa and the others.

But they also appeared to have portal technology at their fingertips. And even if I got away tonight, they could easily come back to Brockton Bay any time to wreak havoc on my life. I didn't like my options, but playing along as this, Entomogal, was the fastest way to find out what the hell was going on. Worst case scenario, I take the red one hostage and portal myself back here.

"Taylor?" The Blue girl asked, still waiting for me to take her hand. I didn't like how they knew my name.

"Let's go," I said, walking past the girl and making sure I kept Atlas close. I ignored her frown, I wasn't sure what relationship my clone had with these people, but I hoped keeping vague and aloof wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Stepping through the portal, I felt the change in air pressure. The cold Brockton streets were swapped out with room-temperature air conditioners. The first thing I noted was the machine that was next to the exit portal. My best guess would make it my ticket home once I had enough information.

"Home Sweet Home," The orange boy said as he stepped through behind Atlas. "Now that we're all back, I'm gonna hit the hay. Glad to have you back, Taylor. Try not to get yourself trapped in any other alternative dimensions next time."

I mentally groaned. I was only one foot in the door and already the risks of my gamble had doubled. I had hoped that the portal would lead me somewhere hidden on earth. But if what the orange kid said was correct, this was another earth.

"Where are?..." I began before stopping myself. "Where did I go?" I said instead, looking at the man in red.

The man walked over to the machine and pointed at a screen. "Same place, different Earth," He said, confirming my suspicion. "Brockton Bay of Earth Bet."

"Man, I'd heard stories of that place," The girl in blue said, walking up behind me as she reached out to pet Atlas. "Mostly just that it was a monster-infested hell hole that imported some alright flicks. Well... Assuming you have a Betamax to play any of their films." She chuckled at her joke.

They trade with Earth Bet. Which made this place, Earth Aleph.

"How did you even manage to build a portal to Earth Bet in this lab?" I asked. A stupid risk that my clone should already know.

The man in red sighed. "Alright, I'll explain it once more. But pay attention this time, Taylor." I relaxed as they accepted my ignorance. "This device doesn't create portals, per se. It can, however, detect and mimic the frequency of other portals and link up to them. It was all just a theoretical waste of money and power. Other, more stable portals exist and this can't even function without them. But, a week ago, I got a hit. A portal right here in Brockton Bay. Four days and thirteen hours ago to be exact."

I did some mental maths in my head. Five days ago, that was the same day we sent the remaining Travelers back home. This machine mimicked Lisa's portal frequency. Whatever that meant. It still didn't explain why a clone of me travelled through it. Or how they got to Earth Aleph, to begin with.

"You okay, Taylor?" The man in red asked. "You're looking a little pale? Or maybe that's just the black suit."

I tried to step back through the portal, but the girl in blue caught me.

"Woah, okay. I think someone had a rough few hours," She said, pulling me away with considerable strength. I was beginning to suspect a brute power. "It's late. And we all should be getting home."

"Good idea," The man said, closing the portal before I could say anything. "We'll debrief tomorrow. I'm sure your mother is worried sick."

I wasn't an expert on all things Aleph, but everyone knew that its timeline split from some thirty years ago. There were some similarities between our worlds. My dad was over thirty, there was a strong chance his alternative version lived here, somewhere. The same for my mother. But the chance that both of them would meet, have a daughter who looked just like me, call her Taylor and have her trigger with a similar type of power. That Taylor of Earth Aleph would wind up getting stuck in my world. That I would meet, fight and kill her.

The chances of that happening were astronomical.

But not zero.

--------------------------------

I woke up with blinding pain radiating through my left shoulder.

The room I was in was dirty and poorly lit, yet expensive and well cared for medical equipment littered the room around me. I appeared to be in some makeshift hospital bed.

I reached out for my swarm, but my head felt woozy. My entire body ached. Whatever they had shot me with was still affecting me.

"Oh, goody. You're awake," Said an overly chipper voice. I turned slowly to my right to see a blonde girl looking over me. Smiling down at me with a pretty freckled face.

"Where?..." I started, feeling the dryness in my throat.

"Don't try to move, or talk," The girl said, placing a finger over my mouth. "You lost a lot of blood. And do you have any idea how hard it is to find blood in this city?" I stared blankly at her. "You're safe. In a hospital, of sorts." She leaned over me and pointed towards my chest. "You had two bullets in you, there and there. I'm guessing Skitter tried aiming for your heart, but she always uses flies to assist her aim. And you," She tapped my nose with a soft flick. "Pushed that fly slightly to the left."

"You know Skitter?" I asked. Worried about the implications. She had my face, and if the woman before me knew her, then I might have been in a worse situation than I thought.

"Sure do," She smiled. "She's my bestie, and business partner, in a sense of the word. Any idea where she went? Because, I told her to wait for me, and all I found was you."

My team were minutes away from picking me up. If anyone would have found me, it should have been them. But if I'm still here, and now Skitter is missing...

"Oh, wait. I see it now," The blonde girl sighed. "Wow, another Earth? Aleph? We just dealt with some people from there last week. Hmm, Taylor Hebert has an Aleph variant, what are the chances? And then you met each other? What are the chances? And then you switched Earths! Wow, what are the chances?"

"Please don't kill me," I said. I didn't like begging, but at this point what else did I have to lose.

The blonde girl started laughing.

"I'm not gonna kill you, silly." She giggled, a smile never leaving her face. "Oh, sorry about my Taylor. We just had this whole S-class threat who made evil clones of us. It was this whole thing. I misread what had happened and sent Skitter on a warpath. But hey, you lived. So, water under the bridge."

"So, you'll let me go?" I asked. "Wait, you dealt with other people from my Earth? That means there's a portal nearby, right?"

The girl's smile dropped for a moment, before returning.

"Yeah, here's the thing," She said apologetically. "That portal is in use for another Earth, and it needs to stay that way. For business. Now, I do know people. So finding you another portal shouldn't be too hard. But, favours like that are expensive, and I don't do things for free."

"I don't have any money," I said, already suspecting what this woman was about to say next. "So I'm guessing you need me to do something?"

"Smart girl, that's the Taylor I know," The blonde smiled mischievously. "Funny story. The only people who know that my Taylor Hebert is on a different Earth are you and me. Everyone else thinks Taylor, or should I say, Skitter, is out on patrol. And I kinda need it to stay that way. At least until my Taylor comes home."

The blonde girl produced a mask from behind her back. The mask I had pulled off my psycho, murderous doppelganger. The terrifying mask of Skitter.

"But," I wavered, looking at the mask and the girl who continued to smile. "I can't do that... We're completely different people. I'm a hero. Skitter's. a..."

The blonde girl laughed, pushing the mask further into my hand.

"What's so funny," I asked

"Oh, nothing," She said, her charming grin turning into a devilish smirk. "Call it Déjà vu."