Chapter 3

My brand new bank account with The Number Man had $561,413. Only 70% of what the man paid me, but that was taxes for you. That was still a lot of money. I knew dad had made far more than that, but this was mine.

I still missed him though. If he was in normal prison I could break him out, but not from the Birdcage. I do have the advantage of knowing it's possible for people to get out. So all I have to do is convince Cauldron to let him out. Like that's going to happen. The most likely strategy would be to tell them I'm from the future and know how to defeat Scion, but that would probably just end up with me getting kidnapped and treated rather like the Yàngbǎn, so that was nixed.

Victoria was still within reach though. I was going to see her.

But, before that, I was going to buy something decent to eat.

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Private message from Aceso:

Aceso: Hi Amy. Sorry about what I said. I didn't intend for it to sound that way. I would still like to get to know you, just not in a romantic kind of way.

Panacea: Yeah, sorry I freaked out. I would be fine with getting coffee if you want.

Aceso: I'd love to. In costume or out? I'm good with either, you seem trustworthy. :)

Panacea: Really? Are you sure? That's kind of a big thing for someone you just met.

Aceso: I know your name and I doubt you of all people would attack me in my CI.

Panacea: Out of costume then if you're really okay with it.

Aceso: Yep. Verve? 4:30?

Panacea: See you there.

I sat back and sighed.

Meeting her in my civilian guise was a risk. I still looked like her. Granted, I had green hair and tattoos and was a bit older, but she would still notice instantly. There wasn't a lot I could do about it, but if I wanted to see Vicky much at all it would have to come up sooner or later. So I was just going to play it up as a cool coincidence. The only other likely possibilities are me being a stranger of some sort and as long as I don't make an attempt to impersonate my other self, it's a little quirky, not dangerous.

Actually, pretending to be her sounded pretty fun. I could walk in and announce that I dyed my hair and got a bunch of tattoos and watch Vicky freak out. That was totally a bad idea, but I'm gonna ask Amy to let me do it anyway. Just not while Carol is around.

Before I go on my not date with myself I need to get something to wear. The only clothes I have that I didn't make with my power are the ones I arrived with and those were not the best and I don't even have running water to wash them with so they're starting to smell.

I didn't have much style before the Birdcage and while I was in there, my options were limited mostly to the uniforms Dragon sent down. My new clothes weren't some amazing fashion statement and I didn't look as good as Victoria or any of her friends. I did take inspiration from suggestions Vicky used to make so I should at least look decent. More importantly I look different from who I'm going to meet.

I'm thinner too now, a bit more wiry and athletic. I picked up working out in prison. Dad did it and it fit with my then new habit of getting tattoos. Speaking of, sometime soon I want to get another. Time travel is a pretty big event in my life. Maybe a clock or watch?

Back to the point, I should look good enough now with my tighter-than-I-would-prefer jeans and green tank top to not embarrass myself talking with Other Amy. And there she was now, waiting for me in a booth in our favorite coffee shop. I slipped into the seat across from her. She looked up and her brow furrowed.

"So it's not just me? We do look basically identical, right?" I said.

"Yeah… Do you have a changer power?" she asked.

"Nope. Just good genes." She looked a bit conflicted at this, probably wanting to disagree, but not wanting to insult me. I don't really disagree, neither of us look good, even with my new clothes. "You see why I wanted to meet you out of costume."

"I guess so." We are horrible at social. What did I like to talk about before? I don't even know. I'm gonna talk about cool organisms.

"Have you ever seen water bears?" I know she has, I'd thought they were pretty cool.

"Yeah! I think they're super cool, especially their resistance to radiation."

"I love them too. I got a look at one and when it dried out my power stopped working on it. It was really weird to feel it kind of fluctuate, then disappear."

"Your power doesn't work on them?!" she squealed, looking like a five year old, "I really need to get one now."

"Find some moss and there will probably be a few in there," I mentioned.

"Know any other cool animals?" Yes! I have enticed her.

"I don't know about animals, but power interactions are almost always interesting. Find someone with a power that works on biology in some way and see what you can do together." A lot of the most interesting stuff was brain related, but there was no way I was getting her to do that anytime soon, so I suggested something she would be willing to try.

"I don't have a lot of options for that. No one else in New Wave does anything bio related. I guess I could talk to Aegis. I could give him a third arm and see if he adapts to it really well." I blinked. That was a great idea! How had I never thought of that?

"If you want, we could also do something together? Make a giant robot made of plants?" I suggested. "If your power would work on that," I added. I didn't want to seem too knowledgeable about my counterpart.

"What are you gonna do with plant robots?" she asked.

"I hadn't really thought that far ahead. I could use it as a guard or something. You could keep it if you want."

"I don't know what to do with a plant robot either."

"We could sell it?" I suggested. "To the Protectorate or whoever?" I didn't think she would go for that, but she did seem to be considering it. I figured that made sense. It wasn't like I was against doing things in a more rogue-like way. I was just hamstrung by dumb child labor laws and afraid of breaking my rules and hurting people or Carol flipping out on me. She probably saw working with me as something of a safety net. I wouldn't let her unleash some sort of plague and become a second Nilbog.

"I guess we could sell it to the Protectorate. Or maybe the Guild. Dragon could probably do something with it," she decided.

"I'm totally down to sell Dragon a giant robot," I agreed. "Do you want to build it now or later?"

"Now's fine. I don't have much else to do." She shrugged.

"The best place to get a lot of material would probably be the forest, which, not entirely coincidentally, is where I'm living for the moment."

"You're living in the forest," she said, nonplussed.

"I get to make my own tree house. It's great, I can redesign things whenever I want with no hassle, I don't have any neighbors, and I have plenty of plants to work with whenever I, say, want to build a giant robot. Also I was broke until like two hours ago."

"Ah, there we go," she nodded knowingly. "Sure, I would love to go over to your— forest." She smiled. Ha ha. You're hilarious, but I could do better. I swept out of my seat and offered my hand with a flourish.

"Then let us depart mademoiselle and escape to my humble abode." Her lips quirked, betraying her attempt not to smile.

"Lead on my friend." She took my hand and we started back towards the forest.

"So I was thinking we would start out with the basics: making artificial muscles that don't require a whole animal-like circulatory system so we have something to build the robot out of."

"That works for me. But we are going to need some sort of circulatory system, right? Because we have to get the ATP to the muscles, since it would be pretty difficult to produce it there."

"Definitely," I agreed. "We're probably also gonna need to make some other source of energy, because photosynthesis isn't nearly fast enough to provide the energy for a robot to walk around and do stuff." As we walk, I realize we're starting to get into ABB territory, just at the edge of the city, not near the border with the Empire's where I would expect members to be flashing their colors everywhere, so not something to be worried about.

"The two most obvious ways of doing that that I see are making a digestive system and feeding it or manually taking resources from a nearby organism. The second would definitely be easier short term, but not a lot of people can do that. I can and I would think you could too, but Dragon would probably have trouble."

"That's a good point," I admitted, "Maybe it would be more accurate to say we're building an artificial organism with the capability for movement, but with no brain?"

"That would be, but it also sounds gross so let's stick with plant robot. Actually give me a minute, I need to call Victoria before she starts thinking I've been kidnapped." She pulled out her phone and dialed. "Hi Vicky… I'm with that new cape, Aceso." I'd never given her my name. Damn. I couldn't just give her my real name for obvious reasons, or even 'Amelia.' What should I call myself? Jade? "Help," she said sarcastically and rolled her eyes good naturedly. I wasn't really sure what was up with that. Hopefully Vicky wasn't coming to break my legs. "I'm gonna be with her a while… I doubt you'd be interested, but you can if you want… Ugh. Fine. We're at Lexington and Fifth." She hung up. Strange, I wouldn't expect her to be upset that Victoria's coming.

Oh! I wanted to prank her!

"Hey Amy." She looked over to me,

"Hm?"

"Wanna prank her?" She looked skeptical. "You go around the corner or something and when I see her I say how I dyed my hair and got a bunch of tattoos." She snorted and glanced away.

"Sure. I guess I could stand just inside that shop over there." She gestured to a little chinese grocery store.

"This is gonna be great." She did look amused.

"Remember she's gonna be flying here, so don't look surprised," she said, walking toward the store. I nodded.

I stood on the corner, exactly where Amy said she would be and waited for our sister to show up.

It didn't take long before I saw her. Geez. She was excited and happy and bold. She hadn't looked like this in years. I wondered who's fault that was. She flew down toward me and I felt her aura's positive side for the first time in years. It was a rush. I felt my lips curving into a smile and I knew in my heart all I had to do was stay with Vicky and everything would be alright.

No. That was dangerous. That sort of thinking lead to disaster and I was determined to learn from my mistake. Was I really that weak? I saw my sister for one second and I wanted to go right back to how I was before. I felt like a drug addict craving another hit and willing to do anything for one more second of bliss. Revelations could come later. Right now I needed to sell that I was really her 15 year old sister.

"Hey Vicky! Guess what! I dyed my hair and got a bunch of tattoos!" I showed off my arms. She stopped before she came all the way down.

"What?" Then she dropped fast and flew down to me. "How!? It's been like two hours!"

"YouTube tutorials are amazing." Her expression was glorious.

"First of all, no. Second, tutorials on how to give yourself tattoos? Third, are you wearing makeup?!" I saw Amy walking up behind Victoria, trying not to laugh and give herself away.

"Yep, also I have one last surprise for you."

"I cloned myself!" Amy shouted, right behind Victoria. She spun around mid-air and flew out from between us and looked back and forth, mouth gaping.

"Actually we're long lost identical twins," I corrected. That might have been a bit close to the truth. If we ever got a DNA test done it would be pretty awkward. The clone thing presented the same problem though, so whatever.

"I'm so confused," Victoria stated.

"We just look really similar," I lied.

"And we decided to mess with you," added Amy.

Victoria hesitated then looked at me. "What's your power again?" she asked.

"I'm a florakinetic, I manipulate the biology of plants and as a secondary power I can manipulate animal biology a bit. Just with chemicals and stuff," I explained, downplaying my similarities to Panacea. Victoria gave me a considering look. Oh! I should've included that I couldn't use my power on myself. "I also can't affect myself, if you were thinking I changed my appearance to match."

"Sorry, it's just a pretty big coincidence, y'know."

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised when I first saw her, but we don't look totally identical, even ignoring acquired traits. I just told you they were due to makeup."

"Yeah, that did confuse me a bit. I thought you were contouring, but not wearing foundation or concealer. Contouring well too, so I had no idea what was up with you."

"Yep, me and Amy make a good team." I offered my hand to her. "My name is Jade by the way." She took my hand and gave it a strong shake and gave a bright smile that didn't look entirely genuine.

"You can't do that thing Amy can where she knows everything about you from a touch—can you?" my idiot of a sister asked after we finished shaking hands. I wasn't quite sure how to say yes without making it sound creepy or even if I should, but Vicky took that to be confirmation.

"Well then count yourself lucky, not many people get to see that much of me," she said with a wink. Wow. Okay. I didn't know how to respond to that. Was she flirting with me? Wasn't she still dating Dean? Were they broken up now? Should I flirt back? No. That was a bad idea, even without me knowing that she was super straight. Maybe she assumed I wouldn't be interested and from how red my face was, it was now dawning on her with horror that a lesbian just got a highly detailed blueprint of her body?

"Yeah…"

That was not a good response. If she had doubted I was into her she didn't anymore. She turned to my doppelganger and asked what we were doing. I thought I saw a bit of red on Victoria's cheeks too, but I was probably just imagining it. Maybe. Amy didn't look too, but that was a problem I knew how to approach.

"I should probably work on making the robot," I said to Vicky, trying not to blush too much.

I turned to Amy and returned to our previous conversation. "To eat, our giant robot will need a stomach and ways to break down its sustenance. Stomach acid, digestive enzymes and maybe some bacteria."

"I'm not sure we'll need the bacteria. I'm pretty sure I can figure out how to make the robot produce cellulase without the bacteria so we can just do that." She still looked kind of annoyed, but now she was distracted.

"And we can probably also make similar things for other bacteria we might need so we won't have to go find them."

"Why are you two making a giant robot anyway? World domination?" interjected Vicky.

"We would need an army of giant robots for that," I refuted.

"We're going to sell it to Dragon," explained Amy.

"World domination via economics," I agree.

We were getting into the forest now and it wouldn't take long for them to spot the trees whose bases formed a giant rectangular prism.

"So, how far are we going?" Victoria asked.

"Not too far," I replied, "We should be able to see it any minute now."

"It wouldn't happen to be those trees that look like a box—would it?" asked Amy raising an eyebrow at me.

"Are you against tree houses?" I said.

"I'm against that tree house. It's just a big box."

"Agreed," Vicky added, taking her side.

"Well sorry, the house I built by hand doesn't look nice."

"Just add windows, it's not that hard to make it, like, five times better," my evil twin criticized.

"I don't want to let animals and stuff in," I protested.

"Can't you make something transparent to put there? If you're going to make a robot you should be able to make something clear," my evil twin's evil sister said.

"Fine, I'll make a window." I walked up to my perfectly nice house and started to replace a section of wall with what was essentially a very large square lens that couldn't stretch like a lens from your eye could. The majority of my window was made up of extremely long lens fibers that were occasionally separated by thin tubes to allow nutrients to reach them. I wrapped the entire thing in a lens capsule and took a look at my window. It was very nice. The surrounding wood seemed to flow over the lens leaving it to have a sort of rounded square shape. The actual window was slightly more rounded outward than normal windows were, but I think it looked more natural.

"Damn. That was pretty cool," Vicky complemented.

"Thank you." I smiled at her and tried to ignore my heart skipping a beat. "Though there isn't actually much in there, just a bed and what is essentially an indoor outhouse."

"You have an out house in your bedroom? That seems like a design flaw," Amy said.

"Yeah… I'll probably move my bed and make them into separate rooms. But you don't want to help me redesign my house. Unless you do. I'd be totally down for that."

Amy chuckled. "Maybe some other time. For now, robots!" She ran over to a tree that was not part of my house and made a little protrusion from the trunk. The bark seemed to melt into the wood underneath, which was steadily growing paler and seemed to be becoming more corded, like muscle. It disconnected from the tree and flopped into Amy's hand looking rather like a chicken breast. After a couple more seconds it kind of jumped up into the air, becoming much more round for a second, before falling down into Amy's hands and becoming flat again. "Artificial muscle complete!" she cried, grinning at me.

"That is really cool, let me see," I said, walking over and setting my hand on the blob. It was a bit firmer than I expected, probably a result of its origins. It was, in most ways, a perfectly normal muscle. It didn't have a circulatory system of any sort sort and the individual cells still had many traits associated with plant cells, including the cell wall, which was probably why it felt so much more firm than human muscle. I took my hand away from her creation and stepped back. "Wow! That's amazing."

She grinned at me hugely. "Thanks. It's really cool to make something like this. It isn't actually functional though. It doesn't have any way to drain the lactic acid or even keep the cells sustained. They're already dying," she said, deflating a little.

"I wasn't expecting an entire self sufficient organism in three seconds," I comforted her. "At this rate I expect we might even finish today."