Dang Convergence Vol. 1

Chapter Eleven The Calm Before The Storm, Pt 1

Chapter Eleven

The Calm Before The Storm, Pt 1

"What are you doing again?" Dang asked his doppelganger as he stepped out of his room, patting down his unruly hair that he'd just oiled. He peers over Other-Dang as he walks past, getting a good look at what he's doing on the computer. "Anomaly tracker?" Dang said as he pursed his lips. "Don't we already have one of those?"

"I'm upgrading," Other-Dang answered. "I need a tracker that's picking up on things more relevant than a necklace. I want to find real anomalies, the kind that might lead me to answers, that might lead us to answers."

"What if the anomaly that leads us to answers is a necklace?" Dang asks. "Or maybe a ring. Or maybe some piece of cosmic jewelry like bracelets and whatnot...I mean, you never know, right?"

"I'll take my chances," Other-Dang said.

"Alright then," Dang shrugged. "I'm heading to school now; guess I'll see you later."

"Sure, whatever."

"And remember–,"

"If anything comes up, I call you first, yeah yeah, I know. What happened with the hero kids won't happen again," Other-Dang rolled his eyes. "Now get out of my hair, I'm trying to focus and get some good work done here so, you know, we can stop your world from being conquered or destroyed when Bellum inevitably gets here."

"Yeah," Dang responded and was about to head for the exit when he paused, a thought popping into his head. He turned and looked at his doppelganger. "Can you cloak yourself? You know, like make yourself appear less cyborg and a more simple, boring human and all of that?"

"With clothes or holographic projection, yes," Other-Dang answered, turning around to glare at Dang. "Why do you ask?"

"I think you could benefit from going to school with me," Dang said. "It'd be good for you to, you know, have some company and all of that. And of course, it goes without saying that it would also let me keep my eyes on you more efficiently."

"I'm far too smart for your mundane schooling," Other-Dang declared. "Especially in a primitive world like this. It would be an insult to my intellect if I did such a thing."

"Ouch," Dang feigned a hurt expression but then smiled. "I'm serious, man. Come with me today, see what it's like for yourself. If you absolutely hate it then sure, I'm not going to try to force it...but you should at least give it a shot. It'll be much better than remaining in this observatory all day long. Plus they've got computers too so you can work on your tracker there too, it won't really be taking a lot of time away from you."

Other-Dang's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "Fine," he said, rising to his feet. "But if I absolutely hate my first day at your school, I'm going to blow the damn place off and then I'll find you and pummel you."

"Fair enough," Dang grinned.

Other-Dang hurried to freshen up and groom himself so he looked appropriate enough for school. He put on Dang's clothes and then with his holographic projection, made any parts of him that stood out look mundane. On the way to school, a thought popped into Other-Dang's head.

"You know they're going to want to know my name, right?" Other-Dang asked, a frown creasing his face. "At the school, I mean. Won't it be weird if there's a new student enrolling who looks just like you and has your exact name?"

"Well, come up with a new name then," Dang suggested. "An alias or something. Like John Doe. John Smith. Lucas Storm."

"Lucas Storm?" Other-Dang arched one eyebrow over the other.