Once they finished shopping for Barnaby's essentials, Tetsuko and Barnaby drove to the hospital for their turn under the microscope. He felt a little hesitant to separate from Tetsuko, into the clutches of researchers, but he said nothing, swallowed back his feelings, and followed the medical-scrub-clad assistants into the hospital for more thorough scans.

The simple tests from earlier matched Barnaby to Emily's blood type, and in a few days they'd have more complete DNA evidence. In the meantime, they put Barnaby through various brain scanners and drew even more blood, searching for inter-dimensional pathogens or other potential irregularities. The most they did was confirm Barnaby's terrible vision and chilly but healthy body temperature. He soon figured out that the doctors had the same tests ordered for Tetsuko as he passed the woman multiple times in the hallway, shipping the two of them back and forth between testing rooms. With each meeting, she vivaciously waved a hand and exclaimed, "Bunny-boy! Fancy meeting you here!" with a bright, cheesy smile. Barnaby's cheeks got a little warmer as he struggled to reply, settling for something along the lines of, "I hope you're not causing trouble for the doctors." With that, they passed, while Barnaby gave himself a mental wrist-slap for scolding Tetsuko, simply because he knew Kotetsu was a terrible hospital patient. But, even after three encounters, she seemed to think nothing of Barnaby's pointed advice.

When the doctors declared Barnaby fit for discharge, he found Agnes waiting for him with a manila envelope.

"Tomorrow, we're going to announce that Emily is out on an injury-related hiatus, since we didn't air the footage from when the heroes dug you up," Agnes explained. "This means Tigress is partner-less until we find out how to bring Emily back, but that's easier than trying to debut you and explain where we found another hero with Hundred Power who looks suspiciously like Emily Brooks Jr."

Barnaby just nodded, not in the mood for another argument over his validity as an individual distinct from Emily. Agnes passed him the envelope.

"So long as you're here, you'll spend workdays with Dr. Saito as an intern. He'll be responsible for you, and you'll help him to the best of your ability. For evenings and nights, you should either stay within five blocks of your assigned residence, or with a hero. The hotel booking information is in the envelope, but if you turn out to be a longer guest, we'll move you to an apartment."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Barnaby said.

"I thought you'd agree with me on that point. You have a provisional ID, as well as a charge card for basic living expenses. Please keep your situation in mind when you decide to spend money. If you use the card inappropriately, you'll find yourself treated less like a person and more like a lab rat. Understand?"

"Yes, Ms. Agnes," Barnaby answered. "If that's all, I'd like to wait for Tetsuko to finish her testing."

"Her tests are already done. She's left."

"I see," Barnaby said. Either Tigress followed his advice and was a model patient, or she had fewer tests than Barnaby thought. "Thank you anyway."

The hotel Agnes had booked for him was in the Bronze Stage, but definitely habitable, almost comfortable. Actually, it had just about everything Barnaby had in his own apartment, and even as lower-quality than his usual standard, he found no complaint in the bed, the shower, or the cleanliness and noise levels. However, he quickly realized that the room lacked a computer and connection to the Internet. He should start getting his bearings, and the first step in that process was research.

The hotel offered a complementary computer terminal in the lobby, but when Barnaby went to check it out, he found it in use, so he sat by for twenty minutes and pretended to read a newspaper, waiting for it to free up. Once it finally did, Barnaby discretely—but no less forcefully—leapt on the machine and opened a browser for the main Hero TV website.

The layout was identical, right down to the text font and size. The current leader board dominated the front page, with Sky High on top and Emily Brooks Jr close behind him. The others had the exact same point totals that Barnaby had left behind in his universe: Blue Rose on Emily's heels, then Dragon Kid, Fire Emblem, Wild Tigress in sixth, gaining on Fire Emblem just like the Tiger that Barnaby had left. Under her, Rock Bison and Origami Cyclone were close in points. No differences to be seen there.

He scrolled over to a sidebar and clicked on an "Our Heroes" tab. The link took him to another page, featuring three-quarter portraits of all eight heroes on a scrolling carousel. The images of the other six heroes were identical, but Tetsuko and Emily's poses caught his eye. Tetsuko had her fists raised, spread just wide enough to display the SoftBank logo, prepared for a fight. Barnaby knew the Agnes from his universe favored a different pose for Kotetsu: arms flexed back, elbows out, and thumbs in, directing attention to his logo. Then just after Wild Tigress, Emily stood, poised and definitely pretty, even in a full suit of armor. She had her hands folded on one hip, not very battle-ready, but Emily's helmet gave her face a downward-sloping glare, and with her chin low, her mask conveyed a formidable glare.

Barnaby clicked on Emily, loading the biography page, featuring more pictures and the short biography that appeared on all the hero trading cards.

Emily Brooks Jr: The new rookie hero, and the first to fight crime without a secret identity. Devoted to truth and justice, she uses her fresh new approach to heroism to protect the citizens of Sternbild. She has the ability to use Hundred Power for 5 minutes, and specializes in kicks. Affiliated with Apollon Media.

A rather standard biography, very similar to Barnaby's own, just with the pronouns changed. He scanned the other photos of Emily, showing off more action-based kicks and poses, including one photo of Emily without her helmet. She did have much more hair than Barnaby, cascading down to her shoulder blades in fluffy curls, but the shape of her face, the shade of blonde, and the green eyes were unmistakable. Barnaby was struck with the sensation of looking in a very old mirror: it didn't reflect anything that wasn't there, but the final image still wasn't quite right.

After studying his female self for a minute, Barnaby clicked back and loaded the Wild Tigress biography.

A veteran hero who made her debut twelve years ago. She may be past her prime, but she is passionately obsessed with her duties. Often known as the "Crusher for Justice," she has the ability to use Hundred Power for only 5 minutes. Mainly, the punch is her specialty. Affiliated with Apollon Media.

Practically word-for-word a copy of Kotetsu's bio, but the years of duty made Barnaby pause. Tigress had a longer career than Tiger? That didn't seem right. Barnaby couldn't quantify one or the other as more devoted to heroism, so why was Tetsuko's debut so much earlier than Kotetsu's? Barnaby scrolled down to the highlights section and found his answer. Though she had debuted two years earlier, just a year into her career, Tetsuko vanished from the hero lineup for just shy of two years. Why would she take such an abrupt leave of absence?

But of course. Barnaby thought with a smile. You're a mother in this universe, Kotetsu, not a father.

Back when the mayor had left his son for babysitting, Kotetsu admitted that he had a nine-year-old daughter. If that same daughter—or really, any other child—existed in this world, then female Kotetsu would have taken maternity leave, and the listed absent years matched perfectly with the age of a pre-teen child. The leave was much longer than women in normal desk jobs, but that was to be expected, considering the danger of hero work. The instant she learned she was pregnant, Tetsuko dropped from Hero TV to protect the baby. But, just like his partner, Tetsuko returned the instant she had a clean bill of health and could heave her child in good confidence.

Barnaby stared at the biography photo of Wild Tigress. I wasn't paying attention earlier, but does Tetsuko wear the same wedding ring as Kotetsu? Does this mean Kotetsu's wife has a male counterpart here? He frowned suddenly, remembering another detail. Or maybe his wife had a male counterpart. He couldn't discount the possibility that Tetsuko's husband, living or dead, was a person completely distinct from Kotetsu's wife, and not another gender-swapped counterpart.

"Excuse me, mister," a voice interrupted him. Barnaby looked up at a buck-toothed girl about twelve years old. "Can I use the computer? I need to check my Facepage."

Barnaby wasn't finished. He had to look up Tetsuko and Emily's sponsors to see if they matched, he needed to check their arrest records, he needed to learn how this world functioned and decide how he was going to function in this world… but an obnoxious kid had no way of knowing Barnaby was a traveler from another dimension, so he sighed, closed out of his browser, and gave the computer to the young social media addict.

Even with no more Internet access, Barnaby's room still had a TV. He couldn't search for information directly, but he turned on the OBC network and hoped for something Hero TV-related to play while he settled in. His meager belongings lined the bottom of a single dresser drawer and left a huge hollow space. The alarm clock by his bed had two settings, 'on' and 'off,' so he set an alarm for the next morning. He paused a few times for advertisements featuring heroes: Blue Rose for Pepsi. Rock Bison for Gyu-Kaku. Dragon Kid for Calbee.

And Emily Brooks Jr for Neutrogena face cleanser.

Barnaby sat at attention and scrutinized the ad. First and foremost, the ad began with the 'hey there' that Tetsuko had demonstrated, but Barnaby found it far less effective when Emily used it, possibly out of an understanding that Emily was, in many ways, himself. The ad stayed tasteful and focused on Emily's face, but Barnaby got a quick glimpse of Emily's 'three sizes:' less busty than Tetsuko, but with curvier hips, toned to perfection from hours of leg exercises. A few choice words stuck out from the otherwise generic advertisement: 'natural,' 'pure,' and 'perfect.'

Even after just one ad, Barnaby was starting to form a sense of how the female heroes in this world were marketed. Blue Rose, ever the same, was a dominatrix, a beautiful woman pushing the man around and making him beg. Meanwhile, judging from Tetsuko's complaints about a rocky history with her 'image,' Wild Tigress had settled into a type beyond sexuality. She was a mother-figure by now, too rough-and-tumble to be attractive anyway, at least in the eyes of contemporary society. There would always be niche for older women, but it was too fringe for Apollon, and possibly TopMag before them, to consider billing Tetsuko as a sex icon.

And then, Emily Brooks Jr. She seemed to have hit the mark right on the head, a powerful hero according to the hero boards and her victory over Jake, but still advertised as elegant, polite, and gentle. In many ways, she represented an ideal wife: an independent woman who wouldn't cause drama with her own problems, but kind enough to support him in turn and accept his affections with perfect grace. In no way a pushover, in no way pushy, she occupied a happy medium with widespread appeal. The perfect 'real girl.' Barnaby had to smirk a little. If Emily's road to being a hero was anything like Barnaby's, there was almost nothing real about her real-girl character.

But then again, these three women created a character trifecta: a mother, a wife, and a seductress. Ms. Agnes must be in heaven.

The ads were too few and far between for Barnaby to glean much more beyond his initial evaluation. The normal news remained unhelpful, too. Wishing for a computer, he arranged the pillows behind him and sat on the bed, still watching the TV but gradually becoming less and less alert. Every so often a particular picture or sound sparked a thought, but they quickly faded as Barnaby drifted off.

It's a shame that Tigress is billed as a mother and nothing more. His eyes fluttered shut, and he lacked the will to open them again. Because she's actually kind of pretty… Probably, to someone… she's pretty…