I could also perceive other things about him. For instance, I would have known without being told that he was a super. In some way I can’t explain, I could sense that – like me – he had a wide slate of powers, although I couldn’t immediately tell what they all were. (I did note, however, that he wasn’t a telepath.)
I spent a moment trying to figure out what to do. In a perfect world, I’d just teleport him – whisk him off to a nullifier or someplace that could neutralize his powers, or hand him over to the proper authorities. But he was a teleporter, so that wouldn’t work. A world-class telepath could go inside someone’s head and incapacitate them, but I had limitations in that regard. (Plus, despite his lack of telepathy, I could tell that this guy had first-rate mental shields – even a preeminent telepath would have trouble boring into his mind.)
Without many options, I decided to grab the low-hanging fruit and simply try to get as much info out of my doppelganger as possible. Shockingly, he actually offered to help in that arena.
“I suppose you have questions,” he said unexpectedly, after sizing me up the same way I’d done him.
“That would be an understatement,” I replied, although it felt bizarre to hear someone else speaking with my voice. “Who are you?”
“I would think that was obvious,” he replied nonchalantly. “I’m you, of course.”
“No, you’re not me,” I insisted. “But you’ve been doing a good job of convincing others that you are and framing me for things I didn’t do.”
“Is that what you think I’ve been doing?” he asked, eyebrows raised. Plainly amused, he let out a short bark of laughter that was cut off almost immediately as he winced and laid a hand gingerly on his midsection.
“Stomach issues?” I queried dryly, suddenly remembering that he had taken a laser shot to the gut earlier in the day.
He gave me a knowing look, one which telegraphed the fact that he knew that I knew the source of his discomfort.
“I’m on the mend,” he declared. “Anyway, as to framing you – that’s the last thing I had in mind.”
I was incredulous. “Really? You run around with my face, doing everything from attacking people to dating, all while trying to convince them that you’re me, and you don’t think that’s the same as setting me up?”
“First of all, it’s not just your face,” my double stressed. “And second, with respect to the dating thing, I thought I was doing you a favor. You’ve got your hands full these days in the romance department, so I was just trying to take some things off your plate.”
“And help yourself to some off-menu items while you were at it,” I added angrily. “Did you ever consider how Vestibule would feel after she discovered that it wasn’t me who she went out with? That I wasn’t the guy holding her hand or kissing her?”
“Will you relax?” the fake Jim said, brushing off my concerns with an indifferent wave of his hand. “She’s a big girl, and can take care of herself. Besides, it’s not like we did anything R-rated. It was PG-13, max.”
“I know,” I practically hissed. “I saw it in her head. But that still doesn’t erase the fact that you humiliated her.”
“Okay,” my lookalike conceded, “you want to defend Vestibule’s honor out of a sense of chivalry? I get that. But the same can’t be said of the others.”
“The others?” I repeated. “You mean the ones you attacked when they were helpless in their cells?”
“They needed to be punished,” he responded.
“They were being punished,” I said. “That was the whole point of them being locked away.”
He shook his head, like a parent having a tough time explaining a simple concept to a child. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand that my brother Paramount was probably on your hit list,” I retorted. “So what happened? You got there and found out that he wasn’t in a nullifier – that with his power set it would be almost impossible to hurt him?”
“No,” my evil twin stressed emphatically. “I got there and figured he wasn’t worth the trouble.”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that someone else got there first. Whoever blasted away his brain saved me the trouble, because at his current mental stage, doing anything to him would have been like harming a child. I mean, he’s just a hair above being the village idiot. What a re–”
My double’s words were cut off as he suddenly found me standing over him, with one fist holding a handful of his shirt and the other cocked back, ready to punch him in the face.
“Say it,” I hissed. “Say it. I dare you…”
His statements about Paramount had completely infuriated me. I was so enraged that I actually didn’t recall exactly how I came to be looming over him. I didn’t know if I had teleported, shifted into super speed, or just jumped up and grabbed him. I just knew that if he finished labeling my brother with the word he’d been about to say, I was going to beat the stuffing out of him.
My doppelganger smiled and held up his hands defensively. “Okay, okay. I was going to say what a recovery he’s made, despite any current limitations. Nevertheless, I can see now that maybe I crossed a line, so I’m going to go while we’re still friends.”
A moment later, I was holding nothing but empty air in my fist. I lowered my arm, and began reflecting on the conversation I had just had. However, before I could figure out whether I had truly learned anything, my phone rang. I glanced at
