I was leaving the train station, listening to a random song by a random German metal band. I walked by the "music corner", which was just a piano sitting in the middle of the station, begging people to play it. I hoped someone would be there and play it, although I knew the hour was too early and the station too small to see more than 10 people around, it's unlikely one of them can and wants to play the piano.

I always felt like someone playing a song okay-ish is better than good music in my headphones. There's just something personal about someone playing live for me.

A moment later I noticed something that isn't usually there – a violin, just laying there on the piano. Maybe the city wants us to form a commuter band.

I paused and thought about it. I knew the piano wasn't for me, but the violin? It's classy, it's elegant and it's light. It's just for me. I noticed earlier that no one was around, so there was no one to hear me play the violin equivalent of a scratched chalkboard if I tried playing.

I paused my song and put my earbuds neatly in my left pocket.

I googled "how to play the violin for beginners" and picked the violin and bow up. Holding both probably wrong, I started playing something.

It sounded bad but it felt so right. I immediately knew the violin is my calling. I'll practice a bit more in the next few weeks whenever I'm here and then buy one if it still feels right. I can't impulsively buy stuff, especially a good violin that probably costs a good few hundred or thousands of dollars.

I heard footsteps somewhere to my left and looked. This drunk middle-aged guy walked out of the bathroom. 3 PM is a little early to be drunk, but I told myself I would be less judgmental, so I ignored it. When he noticed me, he ran towards me and yelled "Get your fucking hands off my violin!"

I was scared shitless. I couldn't afford to get into a fight and be bruised.

I sprinted outside and didn't look back until I ran out of stamina, around 250 meters outside the station. I couldn't see him anymore. I noticed the violin and bow were still in my hands, I forgot to leave them when I took off. There's no way in hell I'm going back and risking it. I guess I have a new violin.

I started fast-walking home, just in case.

How am I going to explain a new violin to my parents? I don't do impulse buys, and it doesn't look like a new violin anyway. I don't buy second-hand stuff, I couldn't pass it off as that. They'll know I stole it.

They can't know I stole anything. They think I'm perfect. I worked so hard. I get straight As, I win 200m races in my age group, I'm green, I'm planning to go to medical school. All this hard work for nothing.

I'll have to hide it. My bed came with two drawers I don't use anyway, and now they're a blessing in disguise. But what if my parents open them? I know they won't, they never go in my room without permission, but they might. And that 'might' is too much. I have to hide them somehow.

Maybe I can hide it behind something in the drawer. A bunch of shirts would work but I like them in my closet. A bunch of towels would work better because I only need to grab a new towel every week or so and, unlike shirts, I can just pick the top one.

But if they're looking for something, they might look behind the towels.

I need to make a false back. I'll just need a plank, the right color, and a saw. There's probably a saw in school, and I can buy the plank and the color on my way there tomorrow. The towels will be good enough for today.

My parents come back home in 3 hours, I don't need to sneak back in with my contraband. But something might've happened at work and they're home. I have to be sure.

I called both, asking each if they're home, using the excuse that I'm near the supermarket and need to know if I need to buy anything.

They're not home.

10 minutes after leaving the train station, I returned home and hid my treasure.

Then I measured the drawer's dimensions for the plank tomorrow.

After being 100% sure it's hidden and I'm ready for tomorrow, I took it out and tried learning to play it again.

I hoped it would be fun again, I hoped time would run, but it wasn't like that again. I had to check the clock every minute or so, to know that I'm safe. There's no way I'm getting caught.

At 17:45 I stopped playing and hid the violin again. My parents will be home in 10 minutes and I can't leave anything to the last second. I started doing homework, to pretend I wasn't engaged in illegal activity. They can't suspect I have a new passion.

Every moment I was playing I was stressed over the time, and every moment I wasn't playing I longed to play it again.

My fantasizing was cut short by the sound of a key in the front door's lock. My parents came home. I came to greet them and asked how was work. I didn't hear the answer, but they looked like they didn't notice anything wrong.

I got away with it, for now.

SIX MONTHS LATER

It was 7 PM. I was wearing a black undershirt, black combat boots, and my costume bottom – black pants with armor panels on my ankles, knees, and thighs. The pants had tissues and zip-ties in the pockets.

My parents had a date night, so I could play my violin.

My violin. This blessed item was also my most cursed possession. On the one hand, I got my powers shortly after getting it. On the other hand, I couldn't be proud of it. On the one hand, I feel the most myself when playing it. On the other hand, I can't play it without being stressed about being caught.

At least my "thinker" power makes me better at concentrating on both the time and playing.

I read the statistics, crime in this city is most likely to happen after 16:30, probably because almost no one is here during work hours. The "most likely" is really carrying the statement. There aren't more than like two violent crimes every year.

But I still need to be ready. Always give my 100%

I got a notice on the phone I got on the Wards Smaller Cities Program. A small jewelry store near my house was being robbed.

I put on my costume top and mask. A long black top with armor panels on my stomach, chest, and arms, and a tiny mirror over my heart, both as a symbol and a just-in-case, and a black cat mask covering the top half of my face. I could consistently do it in a little over 20 seconds.

I hid my violin and grabbed my weapon – a staff with a knuckle duster coming out of it. Well, more like a knuckle-duster with a staff coming out the part I hold. I was no longer a civilian, now I'm Copycat.

I never understood heroes who broadcast their powers. It's much easier to have tricks up your sleeve if no-one knows what you can do exactly. Everything about my hero persona, from the costume to the name, is designed to look like I only have the mirroring power.

I put a wireless earbud in my left ear, under the mask. Probably should've done it before putting on my mask, but that's what happens when I have almost zero experience.

I went to the balcony and felt with my power. The street's empty, there's no one in any of the windows. I jumped down and rolled. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't live on the first floor.

I got on my Ward-issued electric bike and pushed the turn-from-normal-bike-to-hero-bike button. It changed colors and got the words "Wards – Copycat" on it. Quite the change.

While pedaling to the store, I listened to the info about the assailants. They were a pair of villains, Bullet and Sword, who do small enough jobs that major heroes don't come after them and leave quickly enough that cops and heroes nearby don't catch them.

Bullet wears a Mike Myers mask and has a crowbar, that he uses mostly to open stuff. He can turn small and move extremely fast in a straight line, like a bullet. Apparently, he's a "breaker".

Sword wears a black gi and a black ski mask, and has a katana that can cut through anything, although as a weapon he uses it sheathed, like a bat.

I arrived in 90 seconds and ditched my bike. Even from outside the store I could hear the old store owner begging, saying stuff about insurance not actually paying and whatnot.

When I reached the entrance, I could see why they weren't in the wind yet – the owner was still emptying the huge ass safe into Bullet's backpack.

Bullet was standing behind the counter, wearing his mask, a white tank top, and jeans, holding said backpack in his left hand and his crowbar in his right.

Sword was standing in the middle of the store, watching his partner and the vic.

I quickly scanned the store for escape routes, and other than the display windows to my sides and the unusually wide entrance, the was no other way out.

They noticed me. Probably through one of the reflective surfaces in the store or they just heard me.

I used my power, felt the three of them, and used it on Bullet. I could see through his eyes, feel his sweat under the mask, and hear "Don't Stop Me Now" through his ears. I noticed the earbuds' wire going from his mask under his top and felt it through his chest. He can hardly hear me, maybe I could use it.

I felt his pockets, the right one had the phone and the left a fairly empty wallet. No hidden weapon.

He quickly pulled the half-open backpack over his shoulder and used his power. I could feel it concentrating in his stomach and pointing in my general direction, and then time slowed. I could no longer hear through his ears or see through his eyes, but I was aware of everything around him, or more specifically, around where his stomach used to be. The point of reference moved towards me. No, not towards me, slightly to my right. He couldn't afford to take the heat of killing a hero.

I could feel his "body" changing position, turning 180 degrees, right hand going forward and down, left hand doing a "stop" gesture near his chest.

And then time returned to normal. He was behind me. I felt him pulling his right hand and pushing with his left hand. His crowbar caught my right leg and his hand pushed my upper back, causing me to fall. I caught myself with the extra 0.1 of reaction time, knowing I'll be pushed.

Bullet finger-gunned up and away from my house with his left hand. He said "pew" and used in power on his left index finger, pointing it the way the finger was pointed. Time slowed again, I could feel the mostly empty street beneath him, and then he was out of range. Fucker beat me without using his ears.

I got up and looked at the direction he went, and sure enough, Sword was running there. I sprinted towards him and used my power on him. His eyes were aiming at the alley between this street and the next one over. I felt him running out of breath, he's probably not used to being chased. I felt him sweating way too much for a short sprint.

In his pockets, I only felt car keys and a phone.

In the alley, he probably realized he can't escape me and decided to put up a fight. He turned around and held his sheathed katana in both hands.

I stood still and relaxed, and let his muscles guide me. Every move he made, I copied exactly. We stood face to face, me with my knuckle-duster staff, him with his sheathed katana.

My staff was longer than his katana, so every time he hits me, he'll be hit a moment before or at the same time. My body was protected in strategic places, while I could feel his gi didn't offer protection at all. I knew who would win.

His eyes moved to my left for a brief moment and he swung, hitting my left bicep. My staff struck his left bicep at the same time. It hurt, but the hit was spread all over my upper arm and was absorbed a bit. I could feel him hurting tenfold.

He was mad. It was obvious even without my power.

I swung for my head. I didn't plan to get hit in the face, so I took back control and pulled my head back. His katana struck my mask, broke it and tore it off.

He could see my face. Okay. There are unwritten rules, he won't reveal my identity. And he can barely see my face anyway. He can't even tell what color my eyes are. He can only barely see I have freckles. He can't do anything with the knowledge of what I kind of look like.

Tears started filling his eyes. "You're the fuckhead who stole my wife's violin!"

Oh shit. He knows. No one can know. He started saying something about being alone and living with his sister. His monologue gave me time to think. No one must know. He took a deep breath, which gave me an extra second to formulate a plan, and I knew what had to be done.

I dropped my staff and let my body copy his, and then I took control. I pretended to unsheathe my pretend katana, and he did the same. I pointed my pretend katana at my heart, and he did the same. I could feel his power going through his fingertips into his weapon. We pulled our katanas in – mine imaginary and his made out of steel that can cut through anything. I still felt him, his heart was still beating, and his sword was bent like it was made of sponge.

I guess I have no other choice.

We dropped our katanas and I took a zip-tie out of my left pocket. I tied it around his neck, and then I pulled it tight. He used his power through his neck on the zip-tie and made it softer. Every breath we took made it expand.

I guess that's a no-go. Powers usually don't work on both inanimate objects and people, and he didn't use his powers on my neck when it briefly touched me, so his probably doesn't work on people. That's a risk I'm willing to take.

I dropped my control for a moment, turned 30 degrees right, and took control again. Now when I turned back to him, he was facing slightly to my left.

I put my hands on his neck, and he put his in the air in front of him. We squeezed. He had tears in his eyes from when I released control. I blinked them out. Nobody told me choking someone was pretty hard, and that it's very painful. No matter, I had to endure.

After way too long a time, my power stopped working on him and he fell on his stomach. I checked his pulse and found it weak. I had to work quickly before he woke up. I grabbed a second zip-tie from my pocket, tied it around his neck, and pulled it tight.

I don't think he can wake up without airflow, but I knelt on his back just in case.

Until he died, I had time to formulate a plan. I had to find a way to not be caught.

I knew there was no one around, but I felt with my power anyway. The area's empty. This means I can pretend he escaped. If they find the body a week or a month later, I can maybe get away with this.

I fished his car keys from his pocket. First, need to get the body into the trunk. And then I need to get rid of the only person who knows Sword didn't escape.

I need to kill Bullet.