Prompt: X-Men -ish university (or some other place for awesome superpowered people) where Delphine keeps running into the clones, and having run into Cosima first, assumes that her power is multiple stasis when really her power is like Samson's - it lies in her hair - it is this which makes her the prettiest clone.

(Thanks to tumblr user speculation-is-my-middle-name for the prompt.)

Multiples

Delphine screwed her eyes shut and bit her lip with concentration. Learning to control her powers was proving to be far more difficult than she'd anticipated. She took a deep breath and focused all of her energy on implementing her ability. She opened her eyes and looked down.

All she saw was the floor. Her body was gone. "Yes!"

A surprised voice behind her caused her to jump. "Who said that?!"

As Delphine whipped around, her body faded back into view as her focus on invisibility halted. She was faced with a girl, hand over her chest, with dark hair styled into dreadlocks and thick-framed glasses.

Delphine knotted her eyebrows in apology. "Merde. Sorry. I didn't realize there was someone else here."

The girl sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. "No, no. You just startled me, is all. I didn't think there was anyone else here either. Obviously." She gestured to indicated Delphine's invisibility. "Have you been studying here long?"

Delphine nodded, pleased that she hadn't scared her off with her sudden appearance. "Yes, for several months now. You're new?"

"Yeah. I'm Cosima. There are a few of us who were just brought in."

"Delphine. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Delphine gave her a quick once-over. She had to admit, she liked what she saw. "You're lucky you know. The uniform suits you."

Cosima looked down at the skin-tight blue outfit she'd been rationed. She shrugged as she swept her eyes over Delphine as well. "You too."

Delphine sat in the cafeteria at a table by herself, practicing throwing forcefields near the table next to hers.

"Ow! Jesus! Watch your forcefields, yeah?" The voice behind her was deep, but clearly female.

Delphine closed her eyes. She was just not having any luck with her powers and other people today. She turned in her chair. "I am so sorr- hey!" She smiled at the familiar face.

Cosima furrowed her eyebrows. "Um... hey?"

Delphine twisted her mouth apologetically. "I clearly need to practice a bit more."

"Right. Good luck with that," Cosima said as she kept walking and took a seat at another table.

Delphine frowned. The Cosima she'd met that morning had seemed much less... tense. And less British. And she'd had dreads. And it was strange, but the Cosima she'd encountered before had seemed more attractive, despite having the same face.

"Oh!" she exclaimed to herself. "Multiple stasis." Delphine noticed the glasses-less, non-dreadlock-ed Cosima shoot her a strange look and blushed. She sighed and shrugged it off.

Still slightly embarrassed, she made herself invisible and got up to go to the library.

She sat at a table in the center of the library, hunched over a book detailing the history of people with abilities on earth.

She didn't notice that someone was standing over the table until they spoke. "Hi. Delphine, right?"

Delphine looked up to see another Cosima, this one with a pink headband and straight-across bangs.

Delphine still preferred her with her dreadlocks and glasses.

She grinned invitingly and gestured for her to sit. "Yes. How are you?"

Cosima seemed pleasantly surprised that she'd gotten such a warm response. Probably worried that her shortness in the cafeteria had marred Delphine's opinion of her. But Delphine more than understood hunger-grumpiness and was happy to sweep it under the rug.

"I'm well, thank you. I was hoping I might get you to show me around? Obviously I'm new to the university, and I heard that you've been here for a while."

Delphine smirked at the reference to their conversation that morning. "I think that could be arranged."

Delphine looked at the Cosima by her side out of the corner of her eye. They'd just passed one of Cosima's other selves in the hall, and Delphine's eyebrows raised when the two waved at each other and kept along their way.

"Isn't it strange seeing yourself around like that?"

Cosima shrugged. "It was at first. We've pretty much gotten used to it by now, though."

Delphine chewed on the inside of her cheek. We? "But you're practically all over the school. Isn't it hard to control them?"

Cosima rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, they're impossible. You wouldn't believe some of the trouble I've gotten into because of them."

Delphine nodded, and they continued on in silence for a bit.

"Hey, Delphine!"

She looked up, and there she was. Cosima with dreadlocks and glasses. Delphine felt her entire face brighten. "Hello, Cosima. It's good to see this version of you again."

The Cosima in front of her grinned and nodded to the one beside her. "Hey, Alison."

Wait.

"Alison?"

The girl with bangs turned to her. "Yes?"

"I... I thought you were Cosima."

"No, that's Cosima." She pointed to the girl opposite them. "She's the one with hippie hair and glasses."

Cosima made a face.

Delphine shook her head. "No, I mean, I thought you were both Cosima. Your power isn't that you can split into multiples of yourself?"

Cosima - the real Cosima - answered. "Um, well no. My power is gamma-boosted strength. It centers around my hair, oddly enough, but I'm told the dreads work for me, so it's whatever."

Delphine bit her lip. "I can only agree."

Alison, with raised eyebrows and lips twitching in amusement, started to back away. "Okay, I'm just going to leave you two now. Delphine, thank you for the tour. I'll see you both later, I'm sure."

They watched as she turned swiftly on her heel and made her way back the way they'd come.

Delphine turned back to Cosima. "So you're..."

"Clones. We all have different powers."

"I see." Delphine nodded. "I've been making a fool of myself in front of you and your clones all day."

Cosima chuckled. She cocked her head to the side, and with a wink and a shrug, she said, "Don't worry. I think it's kind of cute."