Chapter 15: The More Things Stay the Same

The cool autumn moonlight felt good against Mewtwos back. It had a kind of sacred touch that one didn't quite get from the sunlight, like a silent yet understanding lover, there to witness the joys and trials of the dark. Three shadows raced along the tops of fluffy silver clouds. One was Mewtwo himself, his dark form teardrop-shaped against the night. The other two were slightly smaller. A Pidgeot with pink stripes along its wings, and a mewtwo kitten, keeping up with the haste of his father quite admirably. This wasn't their first endurance flight together, but it was the first one to take place over such a long distance.

Are you doing okay Little Two? Mewtwo sent telepathically.

I'm fine Dad!

Let me know if you need to rest.

Kay Dad!

As if to prove his worth, Little Two sped up even more, drawing slightly ahead of Mewtwo and Copycat. Mewtwo watched his sons blue tail waver a little as he flew, using it like a rudder to negotiate the air currents. Up ahead the cloud cover broke and they could see the mountain range that divided Johto from Kanto. Almost there, almost home.

Ah, wait for a moment! Copycat suddenly spoke up, slowing a little as he glanced down at the satchel he carried in his talons. Mewtwo called for Little Two to hold up, and the kitten returned to his fathers side with a quick loop back. Mewtwo slowed along with Copycat until they were hovering in mid-air. Mewtwo chuckled then offered his arm to the smaller mewtwo-turned-Pokémon to rest on while he and Little Two remained stationary. Copycat zipped open the satchel with his beak, then plucked out a cell phone and gave it to Mewtwo. Mewtwo studied the device. It had just beeped to indicate it had full signal again. He read the screen and saw "Five missed calls from Bill" written across it. Almost forgot to call Bill.. Copycat weakly chuckled, then pecked at the screen, and the phone started to make a return call. Mewtwo held the phone to the side of his head and listened.

There was a dial tone, then a moment later a familiar voice answered. "Copycat? Is everything okay? Did you find him?"

Mewtwo felt both relief and elation at the sound of Bills voice. He hadn't heard it in two years. He spoke into the phone. "Not Copycat, me."

"Two! Oh its good to hear you again! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and so is Little Two. Speaking of, Copycat told me everything about what is going on. I'm on my way, but I'm not going to bring Little Two into this."

"Awww, Daaaad!"

"No. And that's final." Mewtwo said sternly. "Bill, is Sabrina at home?"

"No, she's in the field with me. But Jamie is at home, along with my cousin who is babysitting until we return."

Mewtwo felt a low growl form in his throat. He had wanted to leave Little Two with someone he trusted. He had yet to meet most of Bills extended family. No one knew he was returning, so Little Two should be safe enough. "Alright. I'll leave Little Two at the house with Jamie and your cousin, then head your way."

"We look forward to seeing you again," Bill responded. "See you soon."

Mewtwo said his goodbyes, then used one big knobby finger to end the call. He put the phone back in Copycats satchel, then looped it across his own shoulder as they started flying again. Cell phones huh?

Like I said, we're not all psychics like you 'Two..

As they flew the rest of the way to Saffron, Little Two finally gave out somewhere over Viridian, Mewtwo catching his son and carried him on his back while the kitten rested. Old familiar roads and trees became visible below him in the moonlight. Mewtwo followed them to Sabrina's Gym, then home. Home, what a strange word. He landed in the backyard, Copycat gratefully transforming back into his mewtwo form just behind him, before collapsing on the grass panting after such a long flight. Mewtwo opened the door to the greenhouse and instantly familiar smells hit him. The roses in the greenhouse, the incense that Sabrina favored, an under-lying aroma of coffee. Sabrina's Bulbasaur greeted him happily, and Mewtwo gave him a loving pat on his head. He carried Little Two through the house to his old room, then set the kitten down in his hammock. He had gotten much bigger since the last time he had slept in it, and it would be time for a new one soon. Mewtwo pulled the covers up over his son, gave him a loving nudge on his cheek, then slipped out of the darkened house as quietly as he had come.

Outside in the garden, Copycat was on the phone with someone and Mewtwo waited until he finished. "Who was that?"

"Oh? Cherry. Another 'two. I told her to keep an eye on the Mewtant. Just gave her the go-ahead to approach Bill and Sabrina, and that we're on our way."

"Cherry? Your mate?"

Copycat's jaw dropped. "Er—uh. No. No no no. She's uh...not quite my type. Although.. Now that I think about it she is one of the older ones. Her number is something really low like M9 or something. But that's beside the point. Are you ready?"

Mewtwo nodded. "Lead the way."


Jamie lay awake in bed, yet stayed very still when she heard the doors leading to the greenhouse open. Her Aunt was sleeping on the couch in the living room, snoring lightly. She could sense a presence travel up the hall, but it was like a ghost, there and not there at the same time. She almost jumped out of bed when she heard the door to Little Two's room open, but held her pillow tight and close as the presence left the way it had came. For good measure she remained in bed terrified and wide-eyed in the dark. She wished her mom or dad were here, but there was only her Aunt snoring away on the couch.

Jamie gathered her courage and slowly sat up in bed. She swung her legs off the side and into a pair of slippers, then began searching her room for a weapon. There were plenty of dolls, small toys, her guitar in the corner. No, she wouldn't use her guitar, her mom would be really angry then. She settled on a folded up umbrella. Thus armed, she carefully opened her bedroom door and looked across the hall at the closed door of what had been Little Two's room, but now was used off and on for storage. His things were still inside, in much the way they had been left, save for her mother having done some tidying up. Jamie reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly, one hand on the knob, the other holding the umbrella ready to deliver a hurting on whomever was waiting in the room.

The room was dark, with just a bit of moonlight slipping through the curtains. There were a few boxes piled up in the corner, and a new dark lump in Little Twos hammock. She approached the hammock, and the lump moved. Two large blue glowing eyes pierced the darkness, then a scream sounded. Jamie screamed in return and brought the umbrella down on the lump in the hammock. She screamed louder as a psychic chill went through her body and her feet left the floor, she winced and the umbrella opened. She heard a loud thump on the floor and the lights in the room came on.

"What's going on in here?" her Aunt called out. "Jamie why aren't you in bed? And why-"

Little Two picked up the umbrella and tossed it aside in the room. "Jamie! Are you okay?"

"Little Two!" Jamie jumped up and hugged him. "You scared me!"

"You scared me too!" Little Two hugged her back. "And that umbrella hurt!"

Jamies Aunt stood in the doorway with hands on hips as the pair were reunited and caught up with each other. "You two can talk more in the morning, for now, Jamie get back to bed, and Little Two is it? From what Bill was telling me over the phone, you've come quite a ways. Get some sleep."

"Can I sleep in Jamies room?" Little Two asked.

"Please!" Jamie seconded.

There wasn't going to be much sleep getting done in the house either way, the least she could do was mitigate the damage to only one room. "Alright, but you two keep it down."

"Yay!" Jamie took Little Twos paw and practically dragged him across the hall. Little Two giggled and stepped into her room and looked around. "Look, this is my new backpack, I go to a different school now and-"

"Does that guitar work?"

Jamie nodded and ran to the corner where her blue, child-sized electric guitar was perched on a stand. "Yeah. I take lessons. I told Mom I didn't want to be a Pokémon trainer so we found something I do like."

Little Two ran his knobby fingers over the strings. "Do you think I can learn too?"

"I don't see why not." Jamie looked up and saw a sad expression in his big blue eyes.

"I'm really sorry about everything."

"It was a while ago. Things are better now." Jamie gave him a hug. "I'll play a bit for you in the morning. You can still sing right?"

Little Two brightened up. "Yep, gotten even better now too."

"Awesome! Maybe we can start a band!"


Sabrina pulled her coat tighter over her shoulders. It had been years since she had been on her last early morning stakeout and had forgotten how much the autumn chill could bite just before dawn. They had followed Copycats instructions to a remote forest to the north, they still had a way to go before reaching the last known location of this "Mewtant." She had brought her Pokémon with her, leaving Bulbasaur at home to take care of Jamie and the house. They walked through the forest in the dark, with only thin patches of moonlight to guide them. Up ahead through the trees, they could see the glowing remains of a small fire. Bill rested his hand on his wife's shoulder, bringing her to a stop.

"There wasn't supposed to be anyone else out here." he whispered.

"Maybe it's a trainer?" Sabrina answered back. "I can get a little closer, see what's up."

Bill slowly let go and Sabrina approached the fire. She stepped into a small camp with a pair of large packs hanging from a tree. Over the fire hung a kettle and sitting beside the circle of stones protecting the embers were a few balls of yarn. That in itself was a little curious, but then she heard sounds in the trees in the opposite direction of where Bill had been. Sabrina held still as a cloaked figure came out of the brush and approached the fire. "Sabrina, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah, and you are?" Sabrina kept one hand close to her Pokéballs.

The figure pulled its hood back to reveal something that wasn't human. It was a mewtwo with lighter features, pink fur, and large pink eyes. "I'm Cherry. Copycat told me you two would be coming. Are you hungry? Would you like some coffee or tea?"

"Um...actually yeah." Sabrina glanced over her shoulder and saw Bill enter the camp.

Cherry grinned, then hopped over to the fire and shifted the kettle, then put a few more sticks in the embers to stoke the flames again. "I was so excited to finally meet you two. I know this is kinda random and usually I would have my own fire going in the cabin but...uh, coffee should be ready soon."

Sabrina found a stump to sit down on and watched in wide-eyed amazement as this mewtwo fem tended the fire, filled the kettle with more water, then readied a small glass french press and three cups. Cherry then sat down herself and picked up a ball of yarn, pulled a crochet hook from the interior and started to work the yarn between her knobby fingers. Bill had already taken out a sketch pad and was jotting down notes. This was the first either of them had met a female mewtwo, aside from the distant horrible memory of another unfortunate in the back of a van at the League games many years ago. Cherry began a starting chain and put on a pleasant smile. Sabrina finally broke the silence. "So, you're called Cherry?"

"Yep. Picked the name myself."

"And you crochet."

"It's a hobby." She chirped.

Bill then asked. "Copycat said you were keeping an eye on this Mewtant?"

Cherry nodded. "Yeah, it's just over the hill there, sleeping off another attack on a group of Oddish and Vileplume. It ate its fill and now it's out again. I'm glad you two got here, there's a group of campers about half a mile away, I don't think they would have the ability to run or defend themselves if the Mewtant decided to attack. I'm hoping they move on before it wakes up and notices they are there."

"Why didn't you notify the campers?" Sabrina asked.

Cherry set the yarn down. "Yeah, sure. That will go over well. Someone like me, stepping into a group of humans, telling them about a dangerous Pokémon in the area and how as trainers, it is in their best interest to turn tail and run."

Bill chuckled. "You're right. First they would try to catch you, then try to prove their worth with the Mewtant."

Cherry pulled the kettle from the fire as it started to simmer, then poured the water into the french press, and after a moment, served the coffee to her guests. "I'll take you up there in a minute. Waiting for the moon to come back out from the clouds. Trust me, you don't want to encounter this thing in dead dark."

Sabrina sipped her coffee, a worry beginning to creep into the back of her mind, one that came raging to the fore with every word Cherry spoke. Here she was, in the middle of the woods, drinking coffee and having conversation with a Pokémon. A Pokémon that could crochet, a Pokémon with the capabilities for intelligent thought, able to use technology, and potentially have the ability to turn into an autonomous death machine. As a Pokémon Gym Leader and researcher, Cherry, Copycat and 'Two were fascinating creatures. As a Human, they terrified her by the threat they posed to the human race. Even the more powerful Legendaries were rendered less frightening by their ability to be tamed by humans who understood their place in the world. The three elemental birds were dangerous and powerful creatures that only became partners with the trainers that knew their needs and used their power responsibly. Mewtwos were an entire breed apart, straddling that line between People and Pokémon. As Cherry began a second row on her crochet project, Sabrina could see that in many ways they desired to be People. The question was, would humans accept them?

Bill sipped his coffee, if he thought the same, he wasn't showing any of it. He smiled and then said, "If 'Two is coming, then I'm sure he would like some coffee as well."

Cherry brightened up at this. "Of course! I have a flask that I could put it in. How does he take it?"

"Cream and sugar." Sabrina answered from memory. "Although at this point I think he would just take coffee in any form."

With a task to perform, Cherry set the kettle back on and hummed a tune to herself as she did so. As she worked, Bill and Sabrina finished their mugs, then waited for Cherry. She made a quick batch and filled a silver flask, then tucked it into a bag at her side. She then stirred the embers until they were just a dull low glow. It was dangerous to leave the fire, but Cherry promised that she would be able to keep an eye on it from where they were going. They followed her up the hill and through the trees. They emerged near a collection of large boulders and Cherry pulled her hood back over her head. They slipped between a gap in the boulders, and climbed up a pile of deadfall before Cherry raised a hand to bring them to stop.

She had set up a little blind here, created from fallen sticks and branches, then covered with leaves and grasses. Looking back it did give the perfect view of the campsite, and an even more commanding view of the marshy meadow at the bottom of the hill. In the center of the marsh was a large rock, like a boulder had been thrown amidst the grasses. The clouds over the moon cleared and Sabrina and Bill shared a gasp as the silver light revealed that it wasn't a boulder, but a large form, curled up and sleeping. It had the shape of a mewtwo, but even that was all wrong. Bone and rock-like plating covered its body or jutted from rotted and torn skin in cancerous ways. Even though it slept, one milky white eye remained half open and stared at a point in space accusingly. Cherry whispered, "It's been healing. It's gotten bigger since the last time that CC fought it. I don't have a hope of even slowing it down."

Bill nodded and put a hand around Sabrina's waist. "We'll address it the same way we do every other exotic. Assess it's risk factor, contain and train if possible, and if not...remove the threat to the best of our abilities."

Sabrina nodded, unable to take her eyes off the creature. Who could have created such a thing? And for what purpose?

Cherry suddenly turned around and looked back to the camp. Two new figures had joined them, one was standing boldly in the firelight, the other barely seen in the trees. Sabrina recognized Copycat and then suppressed a happy cry when Two stepped out from the treeline. She caught a brief flicker of thought travel between the mewtwos and Copycat began climbing up the hill, followed by Mewtwo. As they slipped into the blind Sabrina couldn't help but give Mewtwo a hug. "I missed you!" she whispered.

"Missed you too." Mewtwo gently returned the hug, then gave her a light nudge across her cheek. He stopped himself halfway through. He had given Little Two nudges off and on for the past two years, but this was the first time instinct had just taken over and allowed him the small bit of affection with Sabrina. Bill leaned in and shook his hand. For a moment he hesitated as he beheld Cherry. She was the first fem of his species that he had stood this close to, and while he felt no attraction to her, he was fascinated nonetheless. After a moment he pushed those thoughts away, leaving them to process for another time. He then knelt beside Cherry and peered out over the marsh. "So that's it?"

"Yeah." Cherry paused as she looked Mewtwo over. Copycat knelt on Mewtwo's other side, leaving the humans to navigate three massive tails resting just above the dirt. Bill noted curiously that Mewtwo held his tail slightly higher than the other two, a trait he had seen in other species to indicate social ranking. Cherry leaned back a little and gave Mewtwo a good once-over with her gaze, then flicked her tail to tap Copycats. Copycat leaned over as Cherry gave him a big grin and sent He's really cute! with her limited telepathic power.

And so far out of your league that you can't even comprehend it.

Cherry leaned back in to watch the Mewtant sleep. Do...do you think he would like a blanket?

Copycat gave an audible groan. If Mewtwo had heard either of them, he was doing a fantastic job of ignoring them. For a moment he remained quiet, observing the landscape and the remaining bodies of the few Oddish and Vileplume that had been slain but not eaten. All the other Pokémon in the area had left, leaving the marsh filled with decay and blood. There were times that Pokémon would hunt each other, but it was never an all-out slaughter like this. Copycat was right, this Mewtant needed to be stopped, but did it deserve death?

"Sabrina, I'll need your help." Mewtwo whispered. "While it's sleeping, its mind will be unguarded. If I am to ascertain its true intentions, then this would be the best way to do it."

Sabrina rested her hand on Mewtwos shoulder, then managed to wedge herself between him and Cherry. "Good idea, what's the plan?"

"I'm going to fly over, get a closer look, I need you to keep a watch and let me know if it starts to move or if we have other company. If I'm too deep in a mind reading, my awareness of my physical surroundings is lessened. Copycat, help Bill and Sabrina out. Cherry, I'll need you to charge a Psybeam just in case-"

"Uh...I can't use Psybeam," she admitted sheepishly.

"What attacks can you use?"

"Um..." she began nervously playing with a strand of yarn on the hem of her cloak. "Uh...Defense Curl...Tail Whip...Um...Tackle...I think."

Mewtwo sighed. "Then make sure nothing happens to Bill and Sabrina."

Cherry nodded. "Okay!"

Mewtwo stood from his spot. Sabrina and Bill got comfy between the other mewtwos and watched as Mewtwo lifted from the ground and flew down to the Mewtant. Sabrina nodded. "Wow, I barely felt that, he's gotten better. Much better."

Copycat decided to save the story of his encounter with one hundred or so Shadow Balls for another time.

Mewtwo felt the cool air of the marsh part his fur and brush against his skin and senses. This place would be a breeding ground for Ghost-types in the years to come, the scent of death and decay dominated the air, yet for all of the bodies of the slain, the worst of it was coming from the Mewtant. It still slept, no, sleeping was the wrong word. It had simply stopped and crashed where it stood. Its breath was shallow, part of an autonomous chemical relay in what little of its brain still functioned. He hovered in the air before it, then lifted a hand and expanded his mind.

It was like pushing into a corpse, cold and filled with decay. His mind brushed against redundancies of the body. Breathing, blood flow, and a healing factor in overdrive. This was curious. He put his disgust aside and reached deeper. The soul had left this form. It was like a train left to careen down a hill with no one to control it. It hungered, so it ate. It felt threatened, so it fought. It was injured, so it healed. It was a perfect portrayal of a machine given flesh. There was nothing to reason with in here. The Mewtant was an empty shell on automatic. Even though the soul within had departed, the flesh still tried to compensate for damages that threatened metabolic processes. And to that end it developed resistances to attacks that threatened it. It would never be satisfied, it would keep running and consuming until something brought it down, and the longer they waited, the harder it would be to do just that.

With quiet caution Copycat had watched as Mewtwo approached the Mewtant, a soft breath falling from his lips as the First raised his hand, but did not unleash the devastation Copycat'd been expecting upon the resting Mewtant. "What is he doing?" Fell in almost a hiss from Copycat, his ears flicking lightly as his limited senses felt some psychic activity, but nothing like an attack. His tail flexed nervously, his gaze sharp on Mewtwo and the Mewtant.

Mewtwo withdrew his mind and lowered his arm. He felt sorrow that such a fate had fallen one those he had fought to free, and even guilt that he had not predicted that such a thing could even happen. Mewtwo condensed his aura and focused his psychic power into a ring that would close around the Mewtants neck and part its head from its shoulders. Mewtwo tightened down on the ring, but instead of a sick crunch, he felt something else. Resistance. The mewtant had sensed the attack, it was aware, and already adapting at a rapid rate. Mewtwo exerted even more of his power, and cursed as the Mewtant pushed against, then began to repel his efforts. Mewtwo expanded his psychic grip to further restrain the Mewtant, but it was already adapting, and to Mewtwo's growing anxiety, countering his psychic ability. Both of those poisoned eyes were open now, glaring at him not with intelligence, but pure malice and primitive will to survive. Right before his eyes it switched types, its body shifting to accommodate.

With sudden fury, the Mewtant went on the offensive, pulling one of its massive arms out from under its body and making a wide swipe in the air before it. Glowing purple-red slash marks formed in midair and flew at Mewtwo. The Night Slash ripped through Mewtwos psychic senses and subsequent barrier and impacted directly against his body. Large bruise-like welts formed from his left hip to right chest. For the briefest moment he lost control of his flight and was sent tumbling through the marsh. He came to rest on his stomach, face full of mud and torso stinging from the hit.

This was not good.

"Arceus," Copycat cursed. With half a thought he pulled his satchel off his shoulders and dropped it into Cherry's almost waiting hands. I'm coming in to help!

Cherry grumbled as yet another bag was dropped in her lap for safekeeping. As Copycat rose to join the battle, Bill kissed Sabrina on the cheek then stood as well. "Do you trust me to act as your trainer Copycat?"

Copycat paused his approach for a moment at Bills question, taking a deep breath to shake off bad memories with a flex of his tail as he looked back and met the Pokémon Expert's eyes. "Unless you know my whole repertoire of Transformations, I don't think it'd work Bill. I know you brought your own team, we might need them too."

Bill nodded in understanding and continued running down the side of the hill, removing Pokéballs from his pockets one by one until he had his entire team of Eeveelutions running alongside and behind him. Mid-stride Copycat went to all fours, glowing brightly as he changed into something much smaller. Hang on 'Two. Copycat broadcast, the psychic voice of his Espeon form a great deal clearer as he resumed his progress through the marsh.

Mewtwo began picking himself up from the mud, already on the defensive as the Mewtant came charging at him. He instinctively created a fusillade of Shadow Balls. Even if they didn't have an strong effect, he hoped the knockback would buy him some time. Copycat sensed the Mewtant's growing resistance to the attack Mewtwo was attempting on it, drawing a flex from his tail as adrenaline pumped through his veins. It regenerates, and grows stronger.. And learns to resist, he came to realise, a shudder passing through his Espeon form as he thought back to the attack that had saved everything but his tail back then. A massive Psychic blast, and it shrugged off a Thunderbolt.. Because it had passed through Teravolts territory. Mewtwo! It adapts, so we adapt! We need to pressure it, and I'm calling in backup! Cherry! Call Teravolt, and Tombstone should be around here too, my phone's lockcode is a big C! With that shout Copycat leapt the remaining distance between Mewtwo and the Mewtant, glowing twice as he went from Espeon to mewtwo to Rhydon, landing on his feet with a dull slam.

Cherry grumbled next to Sabrina and pulled out Copycats cell phone, then tapped the screen and entered the lockcode. "Real original CC."

Sabrina leaned over her shoulder. "Who are you calling?"

"A couple of others."

"Wait? MORE mewtwos? How many of you are there?"

"Not sure quite yet. We keep popping up."

Sabrina turned her attention back to the battle. The Mewtant began to bat away Mewtwo's Shadow Balls, sending them into the surrounding hills and blowing up chunks of the marshland. Mewtwo had no choice but to cease his attack and retreat back behind Copycats larger form. If Two was having trouble with the creature, than her husband... "Bill! Wait for me!" Sabrina called then left her backpack with Cherry and ran down the hill to join her husband and the mewtwos in battle, tossing her Pokéballs along the way. She issued orders to Kadabra and Alakazam. "Secure a perimeter! Keep damage down a minimal! Don't let anyone in and try to keep this thing from going anywhere, Abra, teleport out anyone that gets injured or if we have trainers that come too close!"

Cherry set Sabrinas bag down with the others then listened as a voice at the other end of the phone line picked up. "Hey Teravolt...it's Cherry...no, I did not steal CC's phone just to get your number..."

"Why are you calling me then Cherry? I'm close to shorting out my own phone." Teravolt huffed shortly at the fem's defensive tone, a slight crackle of static audible across the line. Cherry made a summary as short she could. "The big beast that clipped my territory must've been the Mewtant down there. And Copycat got you to call me for help?" A scoff, another crackle across the line. "And the First?" A sigh, a huff. "They should be glad I'm up to capacity then. Fine Cherry, I'll follow the noise. Mind the sparks." With that Teravolt hung up, leaving Cherry to stare at a silent phone. Teravolt always was a prickly one, both in physical appearance but mostly in temper.

Cherry adjusted her position and pulled her cloak around her ankles to warm herself, then began scrolling through the phones directory. "I wonder who else CC has in here..."

With the threat of the Shadow Balls now dealt with, the Mewtant then suddenly reared up and brought both massive fists down with the intent of crushing Mewtwo and Copycat. Copycat eyed up the rising Mewtant, biting down fear as Mewtwo gained his feet at his side. "Here goes nothing.." With a growl Copycat stamped his feet and started a lesser Earthquake in the marshy soil, intent on unbalancing the Mewtant while widening his stance to catch the Mewtant's incoming Slam in his claws. The Earthquake did serve to unbalance the beast, and Copycat along with it as the wet marshland settled even further. Mewtwo was able to float just above it, but Copycats Rhydon form was heavy and sank in the wet soil. By chance the Earthquake was enough to knock the Mewtant's aim off. The Slam went wide, the blow impacting the wet sands of the marsh, sending up waves of murky water and mud. Once again the mewtant began to type shift, taking on a Grass aspect to deal with the dirt and water.

Whatever triumph Copycat felt as the Mewtant failed in its attack fell away just as he noticed his own feet slipping in the marshland. He hissed and Transformed back into his mewtwo form, using his tail and reduced weight to take his distance. "That only made it mad... are you okay?" Copycat sighed softly, glancing at Mewtwo before eying up the minute shifts of the Mewtant as it stabilized itself against the marsh, or almost. "It's adapted again, now's our chance." He began to glow again, and wings sprouted from Copycat's back as he took to the sky himself and opened his Charizard maw wide, and released a Fireblast at the Mewtant. For all of his adaptability, Mewtwo could already see that such rapid and frequent transformations took a heavy energy toll on Copycat, especially when paired with such powerful attacks.

By this time, Bill had reached the marshlands with his team of Eeveelutions, and Mewtwo held a hand up to stop him from coming any closer. The Mewtant was already adapting to a Water typing to counter Copycat. Bill remained on relatively solid ground and called out, "Two! Stay ready with Psybeam!" Mewtwo didn't question. He had worked alongside Bill for years and trusted him completely. Copycats Fireblast began to weaken as the Mewtant gained a full Water aspect to counter the Fire attack. Bill called his Jolteon forward just as the Mewtant finished changing and gave the order to attack with Thunderbolt. Before Jolteon could act however, the Mewtant fired a Hydro Pump, knocking Copycat from the sky, the intense water attack extinguished his tail flame. Copycat grunted and slammed into the marsh, changing back into his mewtwo form as he landed next to Mewtwo, breathing heavily and trying to recover his energy. Sabrina gave the call and her Abra teleported Copycat away from the battle.

Copycat appeared suddenly next to Sabrina. "What are you doing?!" he shouted.

Sabrina folded her arms. "I don't know how you were trained, but I know what an exhausted Pokémon looks like. Your desire to fight is admirable, but out here, away from Team Rocket, we handle our battles a little differently." She tossed him a Hyper Potion. "Use that and sit down for a moment. Bill knows what he is doing."

Bill's Jolteon unleashed its Thunderbolt and struck the Mewtant. As the creature reeled, the attack suddenly seemed amplified. The Jolteons short crack of lightning was followed by the roar and flash of a direct hit of Thunder, as if the bolt clear from the heavens was but a prelude to a storm. Bill and Sabrina raised their hands to shield their eyes from a world suddenly washed in white light. Once the flash faded, and their eyes adjusted to the darkness once more, they lowered their hands. As the roar of Thunder silenced, it revealed a single lean, pale yellow mewtwo with a long white tail, standing atop the struck Mewtant, It had soulful brown eyes and diamond shaped ears, looking very much like a perfect cross between a mewtwo and Jolteon. He crossed his arms and raised an eyeridge. "That was easier then I thought."

Mewtant was stunned momentarily, but it was already beginning to type-shift again, this time taking on aspects of Ground.

"Get off it you idiot!" Copycat shouted as he noticed the Mewtant was already shifting, even faster than before this time.

"Some thanks would be-" Teravolts rebuttal was cut short as the Mewtant reached up and closed his fist around the newcomer mewtwo. It spun around quickly, slamming Teravolt to the ground, then raised a foot to stomp down on the electric mewtwo.

"Teravolt!" Copycat shouted.

Once he noted the shift, Bill called for Mewtwo to release his pent-up Psybeam. Mewtwo let the beam fly, along with a few dozen more Shadow Balls for good measure, knocking the Mewtant off balance and away from the stunned Teravolt. Teravolt gained his feet again, then used his power to float away from the Mewtants range. Bill watched, calmly calculating his next move. Copycat turned into a Pidgeot and left Sabrina's side to join the battle once more. "Copycat!" Bill shouted. "I'll ready my Flareon! The Mewtant will shift types again! If we are to defeat it, we need to hit it with a succession of strong countering attacks and not allow it a moment to breathe! Two! After Psybeam, use Psychic!"

Teravolt suddenly turned as Bill called out, drawing the Thunder-'twos eye and ire. "Who died and made you leader!?"

"We will if you don't shut up and listen Teravolt!" Copycat shouted down at Teravolt, shifting out of his Pidgeot form to fall to the ground, landing on mewtwo feet and allowing himself a moment to rest while Mewtwo finished his Psybeam attack. Trainer or not, listening to and obeying Bill was second nature almost, and he hated that he fell into it so easily. Teravolt wasn't so easy to convince.

"I don't take orders." Teravolt crackled, sparks grounding itself around him as he narrowed his eyes warningly.

Bill instructed his Flareon to use Fire Spin in conjunction with Mewtwos follow-up Psychic attack. The mewtant stumbled backward, falling into the rapidly evaporating waters of the marsh. It roared, then countered with a Defense Curl. As the psychic blast left Mewtwo's aura, he cast a hard glance at Teravolt. He wanted nothing more than that teach the sparking hothead a lesson, but there was a time and a place for that, and this was neither. The Mewtant began to shift Dark again, but under the onslaught of Flareons follow-up attack, it began to take real damage. They would need to predict its next move and act accordingly. It shifted to Rock, making it strong against both Fire and Electric.

With the Fire Spin keeping the Mewtant occupied for a moment, Copycat noted the glare the First cast at Teravolt, taking a breath as he prepared for another Transformation. I apologize for Teravolt, I know he's... difficult. Copycat broadcast weakly across the battlefield, drawing said Electric-type mewtwo's attention back to him, another spark and growl falling from Teravolt.

A new voice thrummed across their senses. Not the first word I'd use Copycat. The thought was shortly followed by the ground rising up around the Mewtant, a Dig attack suddenly striking the beast from below.

Tombstone! Copycat answered excitedly.

"Tor if you'd please CC," was the lightly conversational reply combined with a slight jab. Mewtwo watched as a stocky, black-grey mewtwo lifted himself from the marshy ground. He had a thick build, with large powerful hands meant for digging, almost like a Sandslash. His face had features that vaguely resembled an Onix. He cast a light grin at the shapeshifter. "Cherry says 'hi'. How did that crazy fem get my number?"

"I asked her to call you."

For the barest moment Mewtwo was taken aback. There were so many of his kind here now, so many powerful members each with their own elemental alignment. While the others were chatting, Mewtwo noted that the heavily injured Mewtant was now shifting again, not into the expected counter of Ground such as Grass or Water, but something else. Bill was the first to recognize it and shouted a warning. "It's gone Dragon!"

"That would be your cue CC," was Tor's remarkably calm response at Bill's shout, drawing a roll from Teravolt's eyes.

"You'd better have something CC..." The Thunder-two drawled in echo of Tor, realigning his magnetic field to take some more distance from the Mewtant, the spark rolling down his tail betraying a charging attack of his own.

"Alright.. Dragon. Countered by Ice or Dragon," fell softly from Copycat's lips, reciting from memory a lesson that had been literally beat into him at Woodland Labs. Glowing as he shifted, he elongated into a Dragonair, a deep breath falling from his maw as the pearl at his neck glistened.

"They had a Dragonair at Woodland?" Tor asked, his tone almost jolly.

"I met one by chance. Now stand back." Copycat raised himself up, drawing in a deep breath before exhaling a bright flare of Dragons Breath. Mewtwo wondered if he knew any Dragon attacks that he could join in with. He was disappointed in himself. He should have caught all of this, he should have known a Dragon attack, he should have been the one leading on this group of his kind and not Bill. He was back up to full power, but his level of skill and knowledge had grown stale in the years since his retreat. That would not do.

Copycats Dragon Breath was suddenly joined by three others, turning the marshland into smoky steaming clay. Tor quickly rose up a pillar of stone as the single flare turned into an inferno, Teravolt rising higher on his magnetic levitation to escape the conflagration in turn. The Mewtant, finally at the end of its strength, collapsed to the ground, its decaying body burning away to ash. Copycat maintained his own attack until he saw the Mewtant burn away as Mewtwo raised a barrier to protect Bill and Sabrina from the worst of the combined blasts. Yet before the smoke and steam could clear, they heard the beating of wings overhead as three Dragonites came into land. Riding atop the one leading the pack was Lance of the Elite Four.

With the Mewtant now genuinely dead, a deep breath fell from Copycats lips as he reverted to his mewtwo form, standing his ground amidst the smoke before it scattered to the flap of Lance's Dragonites. He resisted the urge to collapse as the rumble of crumbling stone heralded Tor's landing at the shapeshifting mewtwo's side. A crackle of electricity sounded at his other side. "How many high-rank humans did you call in CC?"

"I don't have the number of the Elite Four Tor." Copycat sighed out softly, raising an eyebrow at said 'twos questioning gaze.

"Oh come on! Of all the humans to notice my discharges, it's a group called the Elite Four!?"

"I don't think they're here for you Teravolt."

"They'd still shoot me down if I'd left though."

Lance stepped off his Dragonite and tossed his riding cape back over his shoulder, then knelt and collected some ash from the now hard clay at his feet. "What was this thing?"

Bill, Sabrina, and Mewtwo all joined Lance, leaving the other three mewtwos to themselves. Bill was the first to speak up. "We were notified of this threat and came to investigate, it wasn't supposed to end like this."

"We couldn't have saved it." Mewtwo said softly. "It was just a mass of flesh on autopilot. There was no soul, no sentience within."

Lance folded his arms under his cape. "I had sincerely hoped that there would be no more Pokémon experimentation. It breaks my heart to watch anything suffer as this creature had. And yet, there is another concern on my mind. I see there are more of your kind here Mewtwo. What is your take on this? Where do you think they came from? Did someone pick up where Team Rocket left off?"

Mewtwo took a deep breath, his tail thrashed low for a moment before he spoke. "Team Rocket kept experimenting with my genome. When I found what they had done, I put a stop to it and freed the other experiments. We wish to live our lives undisturbed and in seclusion if possible. This 'Mewtant' is one such soul, whose genetic structure mutated out of control because of a failsafe that Team Rocket had encoded into their DNA. Bill is working with a few other scientists to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen."

Lance nodded. "So, the ones you freed that you know about are getting treatment, but because of your nature, some of you just might never receive treatment because you stay hidden." He removed a cloth from his pocket and cleaned his hand of the ash. "I'll keep this episode under wraps for as long as I can, but in the meantime Mewtwo, I expect that you do your best to track down and treat every last one of your kind that you think might be affected. The last thing we need are more of these cropping up."

Mewtwo nodded. "I understand. Thank you Lance."

Lance went back to his Dragonites and with a beating of wings, flew back into the sky. Mewtwo, Bill and Sabrina watched him go, then turned and headed back to the other small gathering of mewtwos. Cherry had joined them on the now hardened ground of the marsh. She opened her arms and hugged Copycat tightly. "Yay! I knew you could do it!" she then turned around and greeted Teravolt and Tor. "And you two are looking so good too!"

"I didn't expect it to go so well Cherry.." Copycat weakly chuckled at the fems hug, Teravolt in turn raising an eyebrow at the exchange.

"I'm wondering why you even called us up. That thing didn't seem so tough." Teravolt spoke up. He seemed to conveniently forget that he nearly ended up a pancake under the Mewtants foot.

Tor noted the defensive flex of Copycat's tail and draw of breath as the transforming mewtwo spoke. "It looks a lot tougher when it shrugs off your attacks and almost bites off your tail Teravolt. I was lucky to survive that first encounter."

"No wonder the call.. CC call you two in too?" Tor lightly cast to Sabrina and Bill, glancing their way as they approached along with Mewtwo.

"To find the First I'd recon..."

"Teravolt.." Copycat spoke warningly at the tone the Thunder-'two was taking.

Cherry stepped between them and pulled a scarf from her pack. "Oh come now you 'twos. No need to start fighting," she looped the scarf around Teravolts shoulders and made sure he noted how it well it held a static charge. "The only reason it seemed so easy to fight this time is because there are four of us here. All of us fully charged and ready to go!" she said cheerfully.

Sabrina stepped up between the mewtwos. "Copycat made us aware of your plight, yes."

Mewtwo also floated over to join them. He bravely traveled half the world to find me. That is more than I can say for you. He cast the remark at Teravolt.

To the combined attention of Cherry, Sabrina and the First a spark ran all the way from between Teravolts ears to the tip of his tail, his expression somewhere between indignant and overwhelmed. "Copycat's always been the one to pull our tails from the fire. He fought off Candy at Woodland, he made sure we'd survive in the wild. Zapdos' feathers, he was the one with the smart idea of the cellphones. We're not all part Ditto, we can't all be saviors. We don't all want to be saviors." Teravolt crackled lightly, sparks playing across his fur and scarf, tail flexing roughly as he half turned away.

"CC is a lot more responsible then most of us." Tor sheepishly admitted. "All the same, pleased to meet you First. Tormaline, formerly Tombstone. Tor for short."

"Busybody." Teravolt sneered.

"Lightning in a bottle." Copycat lightly parried back, releasing a sigh as if this wasn't the first time he'd had this exchange. "Some can't settle down. Others can."

Mewtwo gave Tor a slight nod, acknowledging him but not quite singling him out.

Sabrina spoke up, taking in their conversation with a curious grin. "Copycat has been working with both myself and Bill to learn more about who is out here. But now that Two is back with Little Two, looks like things will get easier." At the mention of his kitten Mewtwo stiffened for just a moment, warily taking in the reactions from the other mewtwo.

"Little Two?" Cherry asked. "We didn't know you had a kitten! Who's the lucky mom? I gotta know!"

Mewtwo folded his arms, almost defensively. He doesn't have a mother. I found him...in Woodland Labs.

Cherrys good humor faded and her tail fell slightly. "There was only one kitten in Woodland..."

"There were plenty of kittens in Woodland-"

"Kittens when Woodland went up Teravolt.." Copycat interrupted Teravolt's growl, a blink wiping away the snarl from the Thunder-'two's muzzle and leaving only a short spark grounding itself in his new scarf.

"Are we four thinking of the same kitten CC?"

"Yes."

"Arceus." Teravolt cursed whole-heartedly, another spark falling from his tail.

"He's a good kitten. No need to worry." Copycat calmly spoke up, gently resting a hand on Cherry's shoulder while Tor half-thinkingly raised up a few earthen spikes around Teravolt to catch any stray sparks.

"I'll take your word for it CC, you've seen Little White more then we ever had."

"Little Two, not White."

"It's better off without that name. No one likes to think about its sperm donor."

"Teravolt..." Copycat sighed.

At this exchange, Mewtwo's expression darkened. Little Two is MY son. And I will protect him with every last ounce of energy I possess and then some. He is a wonderful and intelligent kitten, very kind and with more empathy than this entire group can muster! His tail began to sway back and forth in an almost threatening manner, its owner casting his baleful gaze across both Teravolt and Tormaline. Copycat stood his ground, thankful to the fact he had his hand on Cherry's shoulder.

Once again Cherry was the one to soften the tension. "That's awesome to hear. And it's incredible that you were the one to find and adopt him. We were worried that he would turn out like...but he has the best father he could hope for now," she returned to Copycats side, then looked back at the remains of the Mewtant. "Looks like we all gotta scatter for now, go back home...except my cabin's gone, and winter is coming."

Only as the lone femtwo spoke up and broke the dark mood, did Tor and Teravolt allow themselves to breathe. Tor nodded weakly in apology while Teravolt raised his hands in surrender. At the mention of home, both Tor and Copycat exchanged a glance, both of them wanderers by nature while Teravolt only crossed his arms.

Bill thought for a moment. "If you don't mind...I could let you stay in the lighthouse. It's on the oceanfront and can get cold, but it's a place to stay."

"A lighthouse? That would be awesome!"

"The light is automated, but-"

"That still sounds great!" Cherry squealed as she turned and beamed up at Copycat. "CC, can you help me move in?"

"Sounds like something you'd do, right CC?" Teravolt grinned lightly at Cherry's request, earning a sigh in turn.

"And maybe you can come with, it'd save Bill and Sabrina on electricity bills Teravolt." Copycat parried, casting the Thunder-two a half-grin of his own.

"She needs a home, I still have my territory."

"Must be nice to have a place to rest your head. Still haven't found mine." Tor lightly interrupted the two of them, drawing a breath from Copycat while Teravolt simply clicked his tongue and released a short spark.

Copycat conceded. "Can't stand still for long.. But I'll be glad to help Cherry. Maybe see if you can still save something from your cabin. Your lighthouse was along the Vermillion coast right Bill?"

Bill nodded. "Keep in touch, and I'll give you a call if we are heading up that way. Ready to go home Two?"

Mewtwo looked the others over, then the crater where the Mewtant had been. Indeed. Well met everyone, Copycat, I'll see you again soon.

Cherry waved them goodbye, then looped her arm around Copycats arm. "This is so exciting! New place! New stuff! New views!" she grinned and looked up at Copycat. She then ventured to touch her tail to his. Just a light brush, but still with enough of a suggestion behind it.

With a soft breath Copycat watched Mewtwo, Bill and Sabrina walk away. His tail flexed lightly as Cherry suddenly looped her arm through his, blinking at Cherry's glance and the brush to his tail. "Best not have too much excitement in one day." Copycat slightly sheepishly hummed, looking away lightly. "We'll need somewhere to rest before we can go our ways again."

Cherry's disgruntled growl at having the wind taken from her sails was nearly audible. She let go and began heading back to camp. "I'll be back at camp..."

"Not a bad idea, will you join us Teravolt?" Tor lightly spoke up, a flex in his own tail as he raised his hand and literally dug up his pack from the earth below.

"Like I said, I still have my territory. Best get back to it. See you Copycat, Tor," and with that Teravolt simply manipulated his magnetic field again and flew off.

"Is he always like that?" Tor asked, following Cherry to the campsite.

"The First almost scared some manners into him. Almost."


The light of early dawn began to break over the horizon, spreading purifying light over the grisly remains of the Mewtant. Even now the ash poisoned the marshland and sent a stench of decay through the air. From a safe place at the opposite side of the marsh, Butch of Team Rocket waited for his agent to return. He and a small cadre had witnessed the battle in the early morning hours, and seen their escaped units engaged in combat, and more importantly, noted just how powerful the Mewtant had become. It took four of the most powerful creatures on the planet to bring the abomination down, in addition to two Gym Leaders and their teams of Pokémon. Even after their victory, the outlook was promising.

Butch remained seated as his agent returned, bearing a flask filled with formaldehyde to preserve a tissue sample. Even suspended in the liquid the flesh was trying to rot. Yet Butch still watched with a grin. This unexpected development would herald the new age of Team Rocket. No longer would they cower in the dark shadow cast by the League, squabbling with other teams and organizations like children. This would bring them into the light, and no one would be able to stop them. As the last of the Mewtant became syrup within the flask, Butch snapped his fingers and gave his second in command the order.

"Storm, begin Operation Red Skies. Effective immediately."

"Yes Boss," Storm gave a short nod, then went to relay the message.

Butch watched his most trusted agent go, then took a deep breath. It was unfortunate, but Cassidy's desire to see the old man dead before making a move in Team Rocket was crippling the organization. Butch knew Giovanni, knew the old mans heart better than she did. And if there was one lesson he had learned from the codger, it was to take full advantage of a situation when it was presented. Opportunity was knocking, and Butch intended to be as hospitable as he could when he opened that door.


Cassidy was awoken in the early hours of the morning by her cell phone ringing. That was strange, as only a few people had her number, and they never contacted her outside of the odd text with a silly picture. She freed an arm from the covers and grabbed her phone off the stand and tapped the answer key. "Hello?"

"It's James. Morning Cassidy, sorry to bother you but this is something you need to look at and I need instructions on what you want me to do." the voice at the other end sounded both concerned and exhausted.

"What is it?"

"Early this morning, I got a message from a few of my assistants wanting to know why Team Rockets assets were being transferred to offshore accounts. I did a little snooping, and so far roughly three-quarters of both the liquid and stock-backed assets of Team Rocket have been funneled away before I put a stop on it. They all bear Butch's authorization code."

Cassidy went from half-asleep to fully awake. "What? How?"

"So you don't know about this?"

"He never..." Cassidy rubbed her temple as a headache started to form. "Put a freeze on whatever you can, get back back whatever you're able to save, I'll deal with it on this end and give you a call back in a few hours."

"Do you need me to come over there?"

"No, this a personal matter. Talk to you soon James." Cassidy hung up her phone, then jumped out of bed and quickly dressed, then as a precaution, grabbed her firearm. She had been living in the underground facility below Viridian Gym for the past month, and had the majority of Team Rockets Pokémon collection moved there, including the mewtwos. Blackwell wasn't happy with the primitive labs, but at least it was something to work with. Cassidy opened the door to her room and into a dark hall to find Gayle and Candy running up the hall to her.

"Cassidy! They're taking our-"

"I know. Use whatever force you can to stop them, I don't know what kind of crap Butch is pulling, but its going to stop right now." Cassidy loaded a clip into her gun. "Candy, I give you authorization to use the full extent of your powers, do not let them take the mewtwos!" Candy gave a short nod, then turned and ran up the hall at full speed. Cassidy then called out orders to Gayle. "Round up who we have that are still with me, defend the Gym at all costs, if we lose the Gym, we lose everything."

Gayle saluted and began heading in another direction. Cassidy pulled her cell phone back out again and dialed a number. When she heard the other end pick up, she greeted them as cheerfully as she could. "Good morning Butch. What the hell are you doing?"

"Morning Cassidy. I was hoping all this nastiness would be done with before you woke up."

Cassidy looked down at her phone and opened the GPS tracker she had put on Butch's phone one night. He was in the facility at least, in the Gym, probably raiding the liqueur cabinet in the office. She lifted the phone to her ear again and began walking. "You couldn't just talk about this? Had to go through this disgusting break-up behind my back?"

"We are heading in two different directions Cassidy. You won't make a move until Giovanni is dead. Team Rocket and our legacy will die with him if we do not act."

"So this was the best thing you could think of?"

"Our relationship both personal and business went sour long ago. It's best for business and best for us. I was hoping I could cut you loose neatly, but craziness like you can't be reasoned with."

Cassidy rounded a corner that took her to a secret entrance on the Gym floor. She quietly pushed open the door just a crack and saw Butch standing up at the Boss' balcony, by the bar and pouring himself a glass of some kind of expensive brown fluid. "Crazy huh? Is that what you think?" She had to keep him talking.

"It's what I know."

Cassidy raised her gun and took aim. She squeezed the trigger and a bottle next to Butch's head exploded. She had never been the best shot in the past, and in the heat of the moment her aim hadn't gotten any better. Butch on the other hand had a near-fetish for firearms and spent much more time at the range. With a simple and fluid motion, he pulled his own handgun from its shoulder-holster and took aim. Cassidy felt what seemed to be a concrete block slam into her chest and stumbled back into the hidden hall. She vaguely remembered her body hitting the wall behind her, then dropping to the floor. Her white blouse began to rapidly stain in warm red.

Butch lifted the phone back to his lips, gun still raised in case she rose again. "As I said Cassidy; Crazy."


Candy ran through the darkened halls toward the holding cells for the mewtwos. The doors were open and she could sense panic in the air. Her anger built as she followed their scent into one of the subterranean loading bays. She burst through into the bay just in time to see Imani being loaded into the back of a covered truck. "No!" she yelled, then ran after the truck. The driver, to his credit, attempted to floor the accelerator, only to see a bouncing blue and very pissed two-ess come after him in the rear-view.

Candy shoulder-checked the side of the truck, then took another running hop and buried her claws in the side of it. She climbed along the side of the truck, cat-like and indiscriminate as to what she sank her claws into. She reached the cab of the truck and punched through the windshield, then grabbed the driver by the neck. He slammed on the brakes, and Candy rolled off the front of the truck directly in front of it. He floored the accelerator again and this time Candy was fully charged with her Aura. With a roar she reached out and slammed her fists into the front end of the truck, her powerful legs finding purchase on the asphalt as her claws dug in. The engine roared and tires squeeled, but the vehicle refused to move. Candy then raised a hand and an extra set of claws made of light formed around her palm, She brought her hand down and ripped through the grill of the car, tearing open the radiator and spraying the area with hot fluid. The engine sputtered and died.

With a growl, Candy crawled up over the hood and back into the broken windshield, then ripped the driver from the seat, throwing him to the pavement of the parking bay. He rolled with the fall, then stood to run.

Candy followed.

Humans, despite all of their inventions and social constructs, were very fragile creatures. And Candy relished in the rare treat of tearing the limbs off this one before stomping through his chest. With that task completed, she turned back to the truck and opened the rear doors, collected a terrified Imani from the rear, and five more Masterballs containing the others. She threw the balls, freeing them, then covered in the blood of her recent kill, picked up Imani and ushered the others back to their cells. She commanded them to stay put until either she or Gayle came for them, and to fight anyone else who dared approach.

Candy had just shut the last cell when she felt a small tickle at the back of her mind. Something was wrong with Gayle. Gayle wasn't a psychic, but Candy did have a kind of connection to her trainer. She began running, following the sound of combat in the halls. Team Rocket was fighting Team Rocket, the halls were washed in blood and the scent of spent bullets. Some halls were covered in ice, others were melted and burned. Corpses of Pokemon that had died fighting for their masters were left unceremoniously to the side or middle of the halls and rooms. But the bulk of the fighting was over. Butch and those loyal to him were already clearing out. Candy followed Gayles scent to the Gym Floor, and felt her own heart skip a beat.

Boss Cassidy had been shot through the chest and bled out on the floor. Gayle shouted for Candy to help her and Candy ran over. She was still warm, they still had a chance. Candy picked Cassidy up and rested her on her back. There was one person that could help her, but it was a long shot. Moments later, Candy lay Cassidy down on one of the operating tables in Blackwells lab.

At the first sound of fighting, Blackwell had locked the vault-door on her lab, then hunkered down to play solitaire on the computer until the whole mess blew over. This wasn't the first takeover she had lived through. Now that she had Candy, Gayle, and a near-dead Boss of Team Rocket in her midst, it was back to business as usual. Gayle was trying to best to remain calm even though tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "Can you help her?"

Blackwell touched Cassidy's rapidly cooling skin, then pulled over a tray of surgical instruments. "Yes, but I'm going to need something a little stronger than wine to pull it off."


Operation Red Skies went as well as Butch could have expected. He hadn't anticipated shooting his former partner, but the act had made it simpler to accomplish his goal. He would eventually go back and claim Viridian Gym, but for now he wanted those that were left to think long and hard about whose side they were going to take. James had put a hold on transferring Team Rockets finances, but that didn't matter. He already had all that he needed to get started, and line of donors willing to take a chance on him and his vision.

His limousine came to a halt outside of a new facility in the mountains just north of Indigo. It was remote, it was vast, and prime testing grounds for any experiments that he wanted to run. The biggest setback was loss of contact with the second truck that he had sent to collect the mewtwo specimens. They had only retrieved one unit, but one was all they needed.

Butch traveled through his new headquarters with Storm at his side, and thoughts of future projects at the fore of his mind. He stepped into a brightly lit lab with a circular glass-lined chamber dominating the middle. His head scientist came to greet him, but Butch only had eyes for the occupant of the chamber. "Sir, with the arrival of the specimen, we are now ready to being genetic experimentation. Just waiting for your approval."

"I think you'll find the M68 is very receptive to any external stimuli you can think of. Will you be able to duplicate the recent mutation samples I had brought?"

"Oh yes. And with the information we have taken from them, we will be able to fully control it as well. It's going to be a beautiful monster."

Butch chuckled. "Then you may proceed at your leisure Doctor Silverthorn."


Authors note: Thank you so much to the Tailed Madman for letting me use his OCs in this chapter, and for assistance in writing the Mewtant battle. Without him I never would have met Teravolt, Tor, and of course, Copycat.


Editor's note: No problem Chesh, I'm still glad my motley band of 'twos fit nicely into this. To all readers, you can call me Tailed for short. Hope yer enjoying Damaged as much as I do editing it.