"Beautiful." Syd's clone's voice whispered upon the sight before her. Syd Lipsky's life was rapidly unraveling before everyone's eyes. The clone had been beaten by Syd too many times to count, and finally, finally, the brainless git was getting what she deserved. Turning around, the clone picked up a handgun. Not just any handgun, mind you, the handgun that would destroy Syd Lipsky. Of course, there would have to be an incident on a mission to disable the healing factor that the buffoon possessed. Disarming that power would be no easy task, yet it was easier than convincing Middleton High School that Syd and her sister Des were evil.
The clone examined the handgun. When she had purchased the gun from another villain, it seemed a godsend. Getting her revenge, the clone mused, would be killing two birds with one stone. Well, literally killing one, figuratively killing Jessie as well as Syd. The S-Clone hypothesized that if anything lethal were to happen to either Syd or Des, Jessie would have gone mad with grief and committed suicide. Of course, this was only a guess, but a rather probable guess.
Two days following the window-shattering, Jessie had organized an assembly. The auditorium was crowded beyond belief, and hostility in the air only seemed to worsen the current situation. "I know one of you attacked my niece," Jessie's voice boomed through the microphone, "...and I want to know which one of you." Everyone in the auditorium was dead quiet, especially Syd, Des, Sam, and Kim.
The group of friends left the assembly after it had been adjourned, Syd's spirits less bright by the second. "This is only going to cause more attacks, until I'm dead." She whispered, having barely any ability to speak loudly or clearly since the vandalization.
"Don't talk like that, Syd." Sam replied.
"I can't help it, Sam," Syd muttered. "Just because I was born differently than they were doesn't mean I'm evil, or inhuman, or anything else they're saying about me. I save the world, for God's sake, that's a far cry from evil if you ask me!"
"We know that, Syd..." Ron had followed them as well, and spoke up for the first time. "But they don't. They don't know what kind of friend you are."
"I'm sure they'll come around, Syd..." Des tried comforting her sister, but Syd didn't seem to want it right then.
"I need to be alone, guys, I'll see you later."
The clone was still preparing for Syd's demise, carefully plotting each and every little detail. It would be a trap, and Syd, the great idiot, would likely fall for it. The clone typed furiously, her fingers hitting each key like lightning. A list of Syd Lipsky's greatest weaknesses had been compiled over the span of a year, the S-Clone glanced at the first-listed: 'family'. All the S-Clone needed to do was abduct Syd's family and then the git would surrender, as long as her family was safe. "But," the S-Clone realized aloud, "which one?" The answer hit her like the brick that had shattered through her enemy's window: the little Barkin boy, Syd's cousin Drew.
The S-Clone knew, of course, Syd loved her five-year-old cousin, and would surely cave in if she thought he was in danger. She would just need the right opportunity to kidnap the boy......but how? 'Perhaps,' the clone thought, 'I can take him while Syd's babysitting him...that'll make her feel even more guilty.' The plan was all set. Syd would regret all those missions she had defeated the clones. However, regret would not last terribly long, for she would be dead soon after.
Day by day, things got a bit better for everyone, but the nightmares still haunted Syd. The dream of death hung over Syd like a dark, dark cloud, and only darkened, lightened only during daylight. The nightmares were always recurring, she was being tortured or murdered, or watching the very same thing happen to her family and friends, always at the hands of the MHS student body, or the clones. Usually, they were chanting 'Synth! Synth!' if they were torturing Syd. To Syd, calling her a synth would be the same as a racial epithet.
The nightmare got worse the night before Drew was taken. She had the unfortunate experience of watching her cousin being buried. She watched the scene, ashamed she had let this happen. Nothing was more horrible than watching her aunt and uncle, both usually very wooden in their emotions, fall apart, crying. Syd woke up. Waking up was a gift at that moment in time. Until she saw the bullet hole through the repaired window, permeating through the windowpane, and lodge in the closet door.
She had to know who was plotting to kill her.
And she had to know immediately, before it was too late.