“So you just took it for granted that I’d show up,” I remarked. “What if I’d had something else to do?”
She giggled. “Yeah, right. I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve turned down an invitation to come over.”
She then stepped in close and slipped her arms around my waist. Giving me a flirtatious look, she said, “Of course, if you’ve got something more pressing, I totally understand.”
“Uh, no,” I responded, putting my arms around her. “I’m good.”
Laughing, she stepped back, then took my hand, saying, “Come on,” as she dragged me to the kitchen.
Once there, she guided me to a nearby breakfast table. On it was a half-full bowl of chips she’d presumably been eating when I showed up. Taking a seat, she popped a chip into her mouth as I sat down next to her. Delicately picking up another one, she then extended her hand towards my lips with the chip held between her thumb and forefinger. Taking the hint, I opened my mouth and took it.
“Mmmm,” I mumbled as I chewed and then swallowed. “That’s good.”
“You think so?” she uttered with a hint of excitement. “They’re homemade.”
“Well, tell Esper she did a great job.”
Laughing, she kicked me lightly under the table. “You jerk!”
I chuckled, enjoying the moment. I completely relished spending time with my girlfriend. Whether we were by ourselves or with friends, we always seemed to have fun. Seeing this side of her, it was almost hard to believe that just a few hours before she was trying to send a billion jigawatts of energy through somebody. And with that, my thoughts turned to Jack and I sobered immediately.
“Do you think we’re taking this too lightly?” I asked.
She frowned. “What – the situation with your doppelganger?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “It just seems like I should be out doing something instead of hanging out with you.”
“Doing something like what?” she practically demanded. “You’ve still got to live. You’ve still got to eat, still got to sleep. No one’s suggesting you stop doing those things just because a bad guy is out there. And there are always bad guys out there.”
“I know, but…being here with you, like this… To someone on the outside looking in, it probably doesn’t look like I’m taking it seriously.”
She leaned over and took both of my hands in hers, then looked me in the eye. “Look, if all goes according to plan, you and I are going to have very dangerous jobs in a few years – as will a lot of our friends. That being the case, we’re bound to lose people at some point. People close to us. People we care about. Knowing that, and having been around the League my entire life, I’ve learned that you have to take the little joys where and when you can.”
“You really believe that?”
“Absolutely,” she said with conviction, then kissed the back of my hand. “Remember our last little adventure, when we needed Vestibule’s help to save the planet?”
“Yeah,” I said with an uncertain nod, not sure where this was going.
“Just before she left for her part of the mission, she kissed you,” Electra stated, now looking a bit stern. “I didn’t like it, but she had the right idea. There was no guarantee that any of us were coming back or that the planet would survive, so – even though I wish she hadn’t focused on my boyfriend – I don’t fault her for trying to snatch what little joy the situation offered.”
“Well, in that case, why didn’t you kiss me then as well?” I asked.
“Ha!” she snorted derisively. “I’m supposed to kiss you after you’ve been swapping spit with Vestibule?”
“There was no spit,” I countered fiercely. “Just a little tongue…”
“Shut up!” Electra screeched as she reached out with a grin and grabbed a handful of chips, then shoved them at my mouth. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
Chuckling heartily, I reached for her hand as she – laughing as well – pressed the chips around my mouth, grinding most of them into crumbs that went showering down onto the table and my lap.
“On second thought,” I said, making an exaggerated chewing motion, “your chips are a little bland. They could use some salt.”
There was a set of salt and pepper shakers on the table; I reached for the former – and then froze. Almost of its own volition, my head suddenly spun around – towards the kitchen’s rear door, which led out to a patio. The door was mostly glass, covered with a set of blinds that were currently open. It was dark out, but after telescoping my vision (as well as cycling it through the light spectrum until I could see almost as well as in daytime), I caught sight of what I expected.
“What is it?” Electra asked anxiously, following my gaze to the door.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to keep my voice emotionless. “But I have to go. I just remembered something I need to do.”
“Huh?” she murmured incredulously. “You just got here.”
“I know, and I apologize. I’ll make it up to you.”
“You’d better,” she huffed.
“You have my word,” I declared as I came to my feet. I then gave her a quick smooch and teleported.
I reappeared about a block away, with a clear line of sight to the back door of Electra’s house.
Waiting there for me was Jack.
Chapter 73
Wearing a pair of khakis and a light jacket, Jack really wasn’t dressed for the weather. However, if he could tweak his bodily systems like I could, he could make himself comfortable in any clime.
“I see you got my message,” Jack said with a smile.
“Stop,” I interjected heatedly. “We’re not doing this here.”
Jack suddenly looked confused. “Doing what?”
“Whatever you call this. Meeting, chatting, congregating… We’re not doing it within shouting distance of my girlfriend’s house.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m fine with finding another spot to powwow. I can teleport us some place, but I don’t think you’d let me. And needless to say, I’m not keen on you teleporting me.”
“Maybe that’s an indication that there’s nothing for us to talk about.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” he countered. “Plus, I think I can find us an alternate venue. Follow me.”
With that, he went floating straight up into the air. I was momentarily caught off guard – I’d forgotten he could purportedly fly – but then I quickly followed suit, rising up after him.
We moved up to a height of about fifty feet, and then Jack zipped away laterally. As before, I followed close on his heels, noting that he had impressive flight speed.
“This should be good,” Jack declared after about half a mile. “High enough to avoid notice from anyone on the ground, but low enough that we don’t have to worry about bumping our heads on any planes. And, of course, out of shouting distance of Electra’s house. Any complaints?”
“It’ll do,” I grumbled.
“Now, I was asking if you got my message.”
“If you mean the salt shaker, then yes, I got it. Would I be here otherwise?”
Jack smiled. “You have to admit it was pretty clever, though.”
I grunted, but didn’t immediately say anything. When I had reached for the salt shaker on Electra’s table, I had seen it floating – just as I’d seen happen earlier in the day at the grill. I’d immediately known that it was Jack’s doing – that he was around and probably had a direct line of sight to us. Once I looked out the glass door, it hadn’t taken me long to peg him.
I gave him a frank stare. “Look, I’m going to make this perfectly clear: stay away from Electra. Stay away from my family. Stay away from my friends.”
He smiled. “Why would I do that? They’re my friends and family, too. So what’s the issue – you’re afraid they’ll prefer the upgrade over the original?”
“The issue is that you’re dangerous and unpredictable. I don’t know what you’re going to do, like what happened in the tee
n lounge today.”
“Oh, that,” he scoffed. “That was nothing – basically just horseplay.”
“So you’re not looking to get even with anybody about that little scuffle in the lounge?”
“No,” he stated solemnly, shaking his head. “Electra’s peers saw one of their own in distress and came to her aid. It’s what I would expect, and I don’t hold it against them. Plus, I’d never hurt anyone close to us. I mean, I tossed some people around telekinetically, but just to keep them off me, and I made sure nobody got more than a minor boo-boo.”
“You shouldn’t have been there in the first place,” I noted. “I don’t like having my friends in harm’s way.”
“Well, as I keep stressing, I’m not a danger to them. Even if I were, it’s pretty evident that they can take care of themselves.” He chuckled, apparently reminiscing, then added, “Our girl actually packs quite a wallop – that other one, too.”
“She’s not our girl!” I hissed. “And you’re lucky Atalanta didn’t tear your head off. Just stay away from us.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, then cast his eyes down.
“Don’t you think I would if I could?” he asked somberly, and I sensed an odd sadness and longing in him. “But being you is all I know. All I was ever taught. All that was ever drilled into me.”
“But that’s not your path anymore,” I stressed. “The people who molded you for that purpose are gone now. You need to own up to the things you’ve done, but you’re free to be your own person.”
“Why would I want to be anyone else?” he demanded. “Why would I–”
Jack was cut off as a colony of bats abruptly swooped towards us, squeaking loudly. I instinctively phased, allowing them to pass harmlessly through me. I glanced at Jack, expecting him to do the same, and was caught completely by surprise by what I saw.
Rather than phase, my evil twin still appeared to be solid. Moreover, I saw a hazy blue glow forming around his eyes, and – knowing what was about to happen – I was immediately filled with dread.
“Jack!” I bellowed. “No!”
My shout came too late, however, as azure light shot out from Jack’s eyes in several short bursts. Each beam hit one of the bats, which then seemed to simply vanish.
Inwardly, I cringed as the meaning of what I had witnessed became clear.
Jack had the Bolt Blast.
Chapter 74
My father, Alpha Prime, was the most powerful superhero on the planet, and the deadliest weapon in his arsenal was his Bolt Blast – powerful beams of energy he could shoot from his eyes, and which would instantly vaporize, disintegrate, and obliterate anything they made contact with. My brother Paramount had inherited this incredible ability, and now Jack had somehow developed it as well.
Shock and fury welled up in me at what my doppelganger had just done. As the remaining bats scattered, chirping madly, I dashed towards him.
Gripping him by the collar of his jacket, I screamed, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“What’s your problem?” he shot back, shoving me away. “They’re just bats – flying rats, to be honest.”
“And you just casually killed them, when all you had to do was phase or get out of the way!”
“Everybody wants me out of the way,” he retorted. “My handlers. You. Bats… Well, maybe I’m tired of getting out of the way. Maybe it’s time for the rest of the world to get out of my way.”
“Or what?” I asked. “You’ll blast them?”
“Maybe,” he said hotly.
“And that’s exactly what I meant earlier. You’re dangerous, Jack. You’d rather kill an innocent creature than step two paces to the side. What does that say about you? About your character?”
“No,” Jack contended, shaking his head. “You’re wrong.”
“On the contrary, I’m absolutely right – and you proved it by what you did to those bats,” I insisted. “You’re a menace. You need to step away – get help – before someone gets hurt.”
“I disagree,” Jack said. “You can’t take what I did to some pests and say I’d do the same thing to people.”
“Oh, I’ve seen what you do to people, and it’s worse. At least the bats didn’t suffer.”
“Any people that I’ve harmed had it coming,” he argued. “I’d never do that to anyone we cared about.”
“You mean anyone I cared about,” I corrected. “And there’s no telling what you’ll do, which is why I don’t want you around my family and friends. And if you actually cared about them as much as you say, you’d keep your distance.”
Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and empathically I felt ire and exasperation building in him.
“Why do you have to be so selfish?” he demanded. “It’s always your family, your friends, your this, your that… Why does it all have to belong solely to you?”
I shook my head. “I never said that it did.”
“That’s precisely how you make it sound – like when you say they’re your friends and not mine.”
“Because you want connections and relationships with people that are usually built up over time. Friendship and trust are things that have to be earned.”
“Earned?” he snapped. “What have you ever earned? Everything’s just been handed to you on a silver platter, and it’s still not enough.”
“Huh?” I muttered. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it,” he said. “You’ve got enough powers for two supers, you’re a prince in two different kingdoms, you’ve got a knockout girlfriend and a beautiful fiancée. Basically, your entire existence is a buy-one-get-one-free special.”
“Most of that stuff – my powers, being royalty – is an accident of birth. It’s not anything I had control over.”
“And yet somehow you end up doubly-blessed in every way imaginable,” he grumbled, “with enough for two people in almost every arena, and you still want it all for yourself. And to top it all off, you end up as king of an interstellar empire.”
I was slightly stunned by his statement, and then I remembered: he’d had a dossier on me, including the fact that – in the future – I allegedly end up sitting on the Caelesian throne.
“I’m not trying to keep anything to myself,” I professed. “The simple truth is that you’re a walking hazard, Jack, and that’s why I don’t want you around the people I care about. Sooner or later, you’re going to hurt somebody, just like you did those bats. As to me being king, the future isn’t set. That story about me ruling Caeles could be entirely wrong.”
As I finished speaking, an unexpected gleam appeared in Jack’s eye and an impish look settled on his face.
“Maybe the part about you being king is wrong, but not in the way you imagine,” he suggested. “Maybe it’s not you sitting on that throne.”
And then, looking crafty and exuding smug self-satisfaction, he vanished.
Chapter 75
I teleported home in a somewhat disturbed state. It hadn’t been direct or overt, but Jack had seemingly threatened me. (Or at least threatened to replace me, which didn’t seem to bode well either.)
I popped up in my room, immediately collapsing onto the bed. Telepathically, I picked up on the fact that everyone was safe at home now (which gave me a sense of relief), and they – at least my family – sensed me as well.
I spent a moment rubbing my temples as I stared at the ceiling. Dealing with Jack was incredibly frustrating and left me mentally drained. It wasn’t just that he was clearly a menace; it was also the fact that my options for dealing with him were absurdly limited.
As previously noted, I couldn’t just teleport him, as I could with most bad guys. His own teleportation power prevented that, so there was no taking him into custody, popping him into a nullifier cell, or anything like that.
A true telepath – someone like Esper or my grandparents – could probably incapacitate him, assuming they could get into his head. Jack, however, had incredibly robust mental shields; if he w
as anything like me (and, as much as I hated to admit it, he was), getting into his mind was highly unlikely. Moreover, anyone making the effort was apt to give themselves away, and if Jack somehow managed to pin down their location (which wasn’t entirely out of the question), all bets were off.
The option of taking him physically, in hand-to-hand combat, was also out of the question. Although I’d had years of martial arts training and didn’t doubt my own skill in that arena, there’s almost nothing you can do to a person who can phase.
At that moment, I suddenly grew pensive as an odd thought occurred to me. But before I could pursue it, I felt my grandfather reaching out mentally.
I broke the telepathic connection and closed my eyes, intending only to rest them for a moment. A few seconds later, I was fast asleep.
Chapter 76
I slept fitfully that night, continually tossing and turning, as well as waking up with a start half a dozen times. When I finally woke up for good, I found myself plagued by vague but disquieting images from half-remembered dreams that left me with a sense of alarm and dread – and at the center of them all was my evil twin, Jack.
It was early and still dark out, but I decided to go ahead and get my day started. After a quick shower, I got dressed and then spent a moment contemplating what to have for breakfast. In all honesty, however – despite missing dinner the night before – I wasn’t really hungry. It might have been the early morning hour, but I just didn’t have much of an appetite.
With the decision to forego breakfast made, I sat down on the edge of the bed and turned my thoughts back to the problem at hand: how to handle Jack. Within minutes, however, I was right back where I’d left off the night before: other than talking to him (which hadn’t paid any dividends that I could see), there didn’t seem to be a reasonable way to deal with him.
Replication: A Kid Sensation Novel (Kid Sensation #6) Page 31
