Dear Diary: We have three decent leads on the super clone kid. Well, maybe! I’ve known all these kids for years now and they all seem perfectly normal to me. Yet, if one of them is a clone raised in a lab, wouldn’t he have some sort of behavior that didn’t seem right? I mean…how could a clone act so normal. Truthfully, the one who is the least normal is Brandon. When I think about it, being so perfect and nice really isn’t normal. Sadly, no human is perfect. Even my mom snores and really isn’t much of a cook. My dad is a super brain but the dude sometimes can’t even remember to comb his hair or when he last ate a meal. I love Jason (as a BFF), but the kid is just too trusting and he can be a little naïve. Even Tanya isn’t perfect; she has super stinky feet and kind of a short temper. Brandon, though, seems perfect. But then again, how well do I really know Brandon? Could it all be an act? If it is an act, he should win an academy award because it’s a really, really good act. Can clones act? Is that a clone ability? Well, I guess we’ll find out after we’ve checked out the other two guys. Both of them are good guys but they’re certainly not perfect!
The Challenge
Hana and I entered a private training dome. The floor and walls were covered with soft mats and the ceiling was made of a flexible material that let the light in.
Hana gazed at me and smiled. “I’ll take the far end,” she said. “We’ll have the room computer count down from three and keep score. First one to take two falls, loses.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
Hana walked across the room. “Computer…count to three,” she said.
“Check,” the computer said. “In which language?”
“English,” Hana said.
“One, two…”
Hana leaped towards me, grabbed my arm and flicked me over her shoulder to the floor. I hit the mat hard. It hurt. Dang, she was fast and strong. And she’d cheated.”
“You cheated,” I said from my spot on the matt.
“Nope, I did not. I simply said we will have the computer count down from three. I did not say we wouldn’t start until then. You just assumed and when in battle or when dealing with clones and the government, you should never assume,” Hana lectured.
“Point taken,” I said. “Thanks for the lesson.”
“The score is now Hana one, Lia nothing,” the computer said.
Hanna’s smile widened. She was clearly pleased with her progress so far.
I reached up my arm for Hana to help me up. She looked at my arm. “Do you think I was just built yesterday?” she asked. “I realize you want me to lean down and then you will use your superior muscle power to pull me over onto the matt!”
“Well, you can’t blame a girl for…” I never finished my sentence. Instead, I spun my legs forward locking them with Hana’s. I shifted my weight and power to the side, pulling Hana down to the ground in a leg lock.
“Score for Lia!” the computer aid. “The score is now one to one. This is so exciting. I actually don’t know whom to root for. I mean Hana is a fellow machine. But Lia has always been nice and I appreciate her super abilities. As well, her father did create me. So in a way, we are all sisters!”
“Gross!” Hana and I both said from the ground.
We exchanged smiles and pushed ourselves back to our feet.
“Good move, you are smart,” Hana said. “You distracted me and took me down.”
“I’ve been doing this for a while,” I said.
Hana grinned. “True. But general Sky has been at this for decades.”
“Your point?” I asked.
“I don’t trust her,” Hana said. “Not with the super clone who she calls Adam nor with you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked circling around Hana. I wasn’t sure if this was just another one of her tricks to throw me off guard.
“The general is a control freak. She hates the idea of not having control of Adam. I’m sure she hates even more that she never has control of you. Think about it Lia, all your power makes you a potentially powerful weapon. A weapon the general has no control over.”
I shook my head. “I’m not a weapon, I’m a girl. Sure, I am superpowered. Sure, I can sneeze and send tanks flying, but I am not a weapon. I am a force for good!”
Hana chuckled. “Many humans believe that weapons in the right hands are also a force for good.”
I thought about her words. This wasn’t some mind game Hana was playing with me. She seemed to be truly concerned about me and maybe even about Adam.
“Thanks for your concern,” I told her.
Hana shrugged. “It is only logical I would be concerned for you. You are a powerful being. I would not like to see you being controlled by the military.”
I shot forward at super speed. Hana threw a punch at me. I ducked under it. I sprang up and knocked her in the jaw. Hana went flying upwards. She bounced off the roof and crashed to the ground.
“Score Lia! Lia wins!” the computer shouted.
“Nobody controls me!” I said to Hana.
Hana stood up. Her head was now twisted backward. She grabbed her head with both hands and straightened it. “Very well played,” Hana said. She held out an open hand for me. “Just be careful around Adam. I get the feeling they know far more about his powers than they are letting on. He can utilize the energies of his body very efficiently to create very powerful blasts of energy.”
“Wait! You get all that from a feeling?” I asked, thinking that I wasn’t being given the entire story from Hana.
“Yes,” was all she said. She then quickly added, “But if I tell you, you won’t tell your father, my creator, and boyfriend, will you?”
“No, I’m a teenage girl, there is very little I tell my father. Especially since he walked out on my mom and me and only appeared in my life when my powers showed up.”
Yes, I still had some issues about that. Plus, hearing the words ‘your father, my creator and boyfriend’ come from Hana also freaked me out.
Hana paused for a moment and then continued. “Doctor Keys said he wanted to talk to me because I was such a fascinating creation.” She explained. “I was sure he wanted something more from me so I hypnotized him and made him talk. He revealed that Adam could channel the energies from his body and his nano-bots to create powerful energy and magnetic blasts from his eyes, mouth, hands, feet, and butt. Plus, he can channel that energy into his body to give himself super strength. Not only that, while his cloned mind and body might be human, the nano-bots reinforce his skin making him super tough. He truly could be a match for you.”
I held out a hand for Hana. “I appreciate your concern and thank you for the information. My goal isn't to fight Adam. It’s to find him and find the best place for him to be. It could be with the government, with us, or somewhere else. I just want him to have a good life.”
Hana looked at me with a tilted head. “He is a being that was created to combat you. Yet, all you want to do is help him?”
“He might have been created for that, but it doesn’t mean that’s what he wants to be or what he is. He’s been here for years and hasn’t made a single move against my family or me. I choose to believe he has control over who he is and what he will do with his life!”
“I hope you are right, Lia Strong.”
“I hope so too!” I said.
Dear Diary: I actually enjoyed beating down Hana. Although, I feel a little bad about it now especially since she’s trying to help with Adam. But the way she talks about my dad still bugs me.
As for the super clone, Adam, I really have no idea what to expect. My gut tells me he isn’t an enemy because if he was, he would have already struck when I least expected it. He could have done that when I didn’t know he existed. Chances are pretty good I’ve seen Adam. I might even know him and have talked to him. If he’s Brandon, I’ve made goggle eyes at him (hopefully he didn’t notice that). But I know he can’t be Brandon. Right? Brandon seems so cool and composed! He’s just too normal. But then again, maybe too normal isn’t normal?
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Search for the Clone
Jason and I decided to visit Randy Boss first. Not really sure why we chose him but he was the one who we’d had the least exposure to.
Walking up the sidewalk to Randy’s old colonial home, I asked Jason, “So how do we tell if he’s a clone?”
Jason pulled a green baseball cap out of his back pocket. “We talk to him and hope if he is the clone that he confides in us. If he doesn’t tell us, we get him to touch this baseball cap. If it turns red he is the clone.”
“Sounds easy enough,” I said.
“Of course, the trick will be deciding what to do if he is the clone,” Jason said.
“We’ll tackle that issue when we come to it,” I said.
I knocked on Randy’s door. Randy opened the door. He was a short, stocky kid with brown hair that was cut really short at the sides. He had a sandwich in his hand. “Lia! What are you doing at my house?” he asked.
I pointed to Jason. “Jason is here too,” I noted.
Randy briefly turned to Jason, “Hey dude.” He turned back to me. He offered me his sandwich. “You hungry?”
A short round-faced woman appeared behind Randy. “Randy, invite your friends in,” she said.
Randy bubbled over with excitement. He was a good guy but kind of boring so I guess he didn’t get a lot of visitors. “This is Lia, she’s one of the prettiest girls in the school!” he beamed. He pointed at Jason. “Oh, Jason is here too.”
“Yes, I see that,” his mother said. “Hello, Jason. I know Jason from your robotics club.” She eyed me. She looked at Randy. She eyed me again. “Is this some sort of mean girls’ game? If so…”
“No, Ma’am I assure you, it’s not,” I said.
Randy’s mom leaned towards me. “Then why are you here for the first time ever?”
“Mom, you’re embarrassing me in front of Lia!”
I showed her the baseball cap. “We were just walking down the street and we found this baseball cap. Jason wondered if it might belong to his pal, Randy.”
“We’re pals?” Randy said to Jason.
Jason smiled. “Yes, of course, we both love robotics and video games and baseball.”
“Well, I like baseball stats,” Randy corrected.
“Baseball is all about stats,” Jason said.
Randy nodded. “Yeah I am pretty darn cool.” He pointed to me. “See Mom, a pretty girl like Lia talks to me and knows where I live. Man! I am so cool!” he said.
Then he got the hiccups. Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup, “Oh,
I put my hand on Randy’s shoulder. His hiccups came more rapidly…hiccup>
Randy exhaled, his breath smelled of peanut butter. He smiled. He waited a few seconds in silence. Then shouted, “I’m healed!”
Randy might have been a bit of nerd but he seemed to be a nice, decent, shy kid. And I wasn’t just saying that because he thought I was one of the prettiest girls in school. (Take that Wendi). I felt pretty certain he wasn’t the super clone. But just to make sure, I showed him the cap.
“You sure this isn’t yours?” I asked.
“I don’t remember it,” he said.
I handed him the hat. He took it out of reflex. He held it in his hand. It didn’t change color. Phew. My suspicions or lack of them was confirmed. Randy happened to be a nice, mostly normal kid. Well, at least he wasn’t a clone.
I opened my hand. Randy put the cap back in my hand. He smiled. He turned to his mom. “I touched Lia’s hand! It was so soft!”
I couldn’t help but smile. It felt good having somebody think so much of me. It was a nice ego boost.
“Thanks, Randy,” I said. “We’ll see you around school!” I told him, slowly backing off the porch.
He waved goodbye to us, well mostly to me.
Jason and I walked away from his house. “That must have been good for your ego,” Jason said.
I smiled. “I admit I liked it. It’s nice to hear compliments like that now and then.”
Yeah, that might have been a little shallow of me. But when you spend so much time hanging around perfect looking girls like Wendy and Tanya, it’s nice to hear that boys still find you pretty. I didn’t appreciate Randy’s mom thinking that I might be a mean girl. But I guess that’s one of the downsides of somebody thinking you’re pretty, they think you must be mean. I guess. Man! Life is strange sometimes. But there was no time to think about that. It was now on to Henry Singer’s home.
We found the curly haired, Henry Singer standing on his front porch holding a microphone and singing to his cats. His parents were sitting on a porch swing clapping away as he sang. Okay, now that may not have been totally normal but it still didn’t mean he was a clone.
Henry saw us coming and increased his volume. He actually wasn’t that bad. We kept walking, he kept singing. I think he enjoyed having an audience aside from his cats and his parents.
“Hey hey hey….
I’m singing away….
Hey hey hey….
I sing every day….
Hey hey hey….
I never say neh….”
He put down his microphone when we got to his porch. His parents clapped loudly and stood up. His cats seemed unimpressed. He leaned over the porch railing. He smiled at us. “What did you guys think of my original song? I’m going to perform it on talent night.”
“It was good,” I said.
“So what brings you two to my end of town?” Henry said. “You want singing lessons?”
“He’s a really good teacher,” his mom said eagerly.
I had to think fast. I needed a to come up with a good reason to explain why Jason and I would be visiting a kid we had never visited before, and especially not at 7 o’clock at night. Man! We probably should have thought out these things before we started.
I needed to come up with something fast. I went with the old standby…the hat. I showed Henry the hat. “We found this hat!” I said.
“Ah, okay,” Henry said.
“Jason and I looked at the hat and said, Boy this is a cool hat, do you know who would look extra cool in this hat? Henry Singer!” I told him.
Henry grinned. “I do look pretty good in hats.”
“Oh honey,” Henry’s mom said. “Why would you cover your beautiful naturally curly hair? Girls love the curls!” She looked right at me, “Right honey?”
Man! Moms can be such a pain sometimes when it comes to their sons. They always think their boy is the best looking and the most perfect boy in the world. Well, maybe I’ll be like that someday, but for now. I just shook my head. “Mrs. Singer, I believe this cap will compliment Henry’s look. Michael Jackson had the glove, Henry can have the baseball cap!”
Henry’s mom held her heart. “My heart is fluttering. I never thought of that.” She grabbed the cap from me. She plopped it on Henry’s head. She adjusted it. She adjusted it again. She stepped aside so I could see it. The good news was the cap didn’t change color. Henry wasn’t a clone, just a nice normal kid with a pushy mom.
I looked up at Henry and frowned. “Nope, it doesn’t work for me.” Turning to Jason I said, “What do you think, Jase?”
Jason crossed his arms and frowned. “Oh no, doesn’t work at all, it covers way too much of that naturally curly hair. I think it might even flatten it.”
“I kind of like it,” Henry said, looking at his reflection on the screen of his phone. “It makes me look cool.”
Henry’s mom looked at him. She looked at his dad. “What do you think, Stephen?”
“I think whatever you think, honey,” he said, proving he was a smart man.
Henry’s mom adjusted the cap on her son’s head a couple more times. Each time, Jason and I would go, “Oh no.”
Finally, Henry’s mom pulled the cap off of his head. She tossed it to me. “Nope, no cap
s for my boy,” she said. She kissed him on top of his head.
Henry’s face turned red. “Mom!” he said to her. Turning to us, he said, “Thanks for trying guys. Glad you thought of me.”
“No problems,” I said.
Jason and I started walking away.
Once we were far enough from the house, Jason said, “You know what this means!”
“Henry’s mom is quite pushy,” I said.
“I’m talking big picture. It’s looking more and more like Brandon Gold could be our clone.”
I knew Jason’s words made sense. But the idea of Brandon, the best looking boy in the school being a clone raised in a lab seemed absurd. That was until we reached his address…1 Park Road.
“This is the city’s dog park!” I said.
“Correct,” Jason said.
We walked into the tree-covered park.
“You sure this is his address?” I asked.
“Yep,” Jason said.
“Jason is correct,” MAC said.
I saw a shimmer. That meant MAC had activated my costume. “Since we are in a public place I thought you should have your costume.”
“Good point,” Jason said. He pushed a button on his belt. His body became covered in a light blue flexible armor.
We kept walking into the park. The park was surprisingly quiet for such a nice warm evening.
“Say he is somehow here in the park,” I said slowly. “How do we find him? This place is all trees and grass!”
Jason pointed to my nose. Your super sniffer. Do you know Brandon’s scent?” he asked, pretty certain that I did.
I thought about it for a minute, trying to convince Jason I didn’t have Brandon’s scent etched into my mind. (Brandon smelled like chocolate muffins). “Yes, I do,” I admitted.
Jason pointed to the trees. “Then let’s get sniffing.”
I sniffed the air. Sure enough, when looking for it, I picked up the scent of chocolate muffin tinted with a touch of sweat. It should have smelled horrible but it didn’t. I walked towards the scent. It grew stronger with each step. Step by step I headed towards a big maple tree. The scent grew so strong that I looked up in the branches of the tree. I spotted a tree house. Brandon Gold waved to us from the tree house. “I figured you guys were coming!” Brandon said with a smile. “Do you want to come up or should I come down?” he asked.
Boyfriends and Best Friends Forever! Page 5
