Lastland AU: Dark and Rainy Night Over Neonex

Double Trouble

The dark, rainy, glowing city streets of Neonex, Sector 5, hummed with people and machinery. Iridia whizzed past on her hoverboard, the edges pulsing the same neon that filled the holographic screens above her head, illuminating her way home. Her eyes shined a purple saturated enough that they rivaled some of the neon light of the city itself. At long, long last, her mission to Sector 17 was finally over.

I've never had a mission extended so many times! They're lucky I was free! The young woman mused as she zipped along. Her dark, curly hair fluttered in the misty night wind as she zoomed down the road, tiny droplets of rain gently striking her dark skin. As many times as Viola could secretly extend Iridia's mission, Iridia was going to complete it eventually.

Luck was on her side again, and the remainder of Sector 17 eventually agreed to the terms of safe passage for traders from Sector 5. Now that even the most stubborn of minds were changed, Iridia had nothing else to do but go home. She was more than happy to oblige. As much as she loved working on the frontlines as a diplomat, she missed her partner. She missed Lightning!

It'll be so nice to see her again! Iridia thought, grinning as her apartment building came into view. The little golden circle that ever rotated above her head, just out of her line of sight, slipped down around her left eye, allowing her to scan into the building. At the same time, she slid her glowing hoverboard into one of the electromagnetic chambers for storage, which could also only be accessed by scanning her eye.

Creeping up the stairs and lifts, stifling laughter, Iridia didn't stop until her ear was pressed against her and Lightning's door...

Wait. Who is THAT?! She didn't need sharp, Gifted ears to hear a second voice that she didn't recognize. But Lightning NEVER invites people over! At least not without telling me first... I didn't even know she knew people!

Iridia tried to reason with herself. I mean, Lightning is free to have a life outside of me, I don't control her, but this...?

It was out-of-character, to say the least. Curious and confused, Iridia again used her digital monocle to scan her way inside.

"Iridia!"

"Lightning?! And...?!" An exact copy of Iridia herself. Talk about Double Trouble... Just what the heck did I miss while I was gone? And what the heck did I just get myself into?

ooo

Viola's heart took off in her chest at the same time. What the—?! How the—?! The imposter cursed her original in her head. You weren't supposed to be home yet! Did I somehow lose track of time?!

No, as Viola would later confirm, she was meticulous in keeping an eye on how much time she had with Lightning before she had to come up with another excuse to keep Iridia and her Sector 17 "employer" preoccupied with one another.

Iridia, as it would turn out, was just lucky again, running into a band of roving, roaming detectives in that part of the city that were willing to team up with her to help her along in her mission if she would help them along in theirs. One of them seemed familiar, like she'd worked with him in the past, but she couldn't remember where exactly...Now, she definitely didn't have a hope of remembering, too busy trying to process her doppelganger standing beside her partner in front of her.

Iridia... B-but... how could I have been fooled?! Lightning's bright blue eyes swept back and forth between the two identical clones of her partner. The metal plate that made up the lower part of the right half of her face shifted as her face twitched.

"You! The copycat from 17!" Viola pointed at Iridia suddenly, clutching Lightning fearfully.

Oh, no you didn't...! Iridia thought, disbelief turning into darkness as she scowled at her "twin".

"I'm the real Iridia! I didn't tell you sooner because I thought I was just being paranoid, but during my time in 17, I met a master of disguises. I thought that Sector was too quick to agree to our terms of alliance!" Viola continued, frowning, looking back and forth between Iridia and Lightning.

Iridia seethed, scowling at her imposter, hand clenching into a fist. The only reason she hadn't said anything sooner was because she was still trying to understand just what the heck was going on! She forced herself to stay silent, to gather information rather than immediately jumping into things and making demands. Unfortunately, that gave Viola the advantage. She was the quicker thinker with the sharper tongue.

"You know there are those new i-Llusion things, right?" Viola continued desperately. "They must've used my DNA to make a copy of me to transpose on... whoever this is!"

Iridia's other hand clenched into a fist as well.

Lightning's blue eyes swept between the two women. Her heart pounded as confusion, distrust, protectiveness, and anger surged within her.

Stay calm, stay calm! She commanded herself. She knew she would accomplish nothing by panicking or acting without thinking. Instead, she used the time the "two Iridias" took to argue back and forth to craft a plan to determine the truth. At last, she had something.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," she finally murmured, silencing the two Iridias. She narrowed her eyes, letting them again sweep back and forth between the "clones". "Whichever one of you is the real Iridia, prove it."

A wave of panic washed over Viola. Thinking fast would no longer be of any use to her. Depending on what Lightning asked, she either would or would not be able to bluff it. More or less time would mean nothing. The real Iridia, meanwhile, would know the answer instantaneously. But even so, Viola refused to go down without a fight. She would not take the easy out and quit while she was ahead, no matter what it cost her.

Come on, Iridia, all you've ever had was luck! Let's see if you can beat me! It was foolish to think this way, but Viola was blinded by pride and fear.

"Iridia," said Lightning suddenly, breaking the tense silence that crackled in the air all around them. "Do you remember the...?" She gestured to her back, tracing a long, jagged pattern up and down it. While Viola felt her stomach pitch in panic again, Iridia felt hers sink in relief. In order to prevent their answers from influencing each other, Lightning had them whisper in her ear. The woman standing in the doorway was Iridia.

"The scar?" she whispered knowingly in Lightning's ear.