บท 75: Dupe's Success and Failure

Ed checked on the soldiers and things were progressing as expected. The superhumans had pretty much mastered the use of their new limbs by now. The ordinary soldiers continued running drills, practicing shooting, and gathering in formations. They worked hard in hopes of being chosen for the next batch of superhumans. Other than that, there were also mech squads that practiced supporting the ordinary soldiers.

Seeing that things were going smoothly, Ed left the training field and headed for Dupe's office. Dupe was huddled over his desk, scribbling down notes on paper. Two other Dupes were sleeping in chairs, probably due to exhaustion.

"Hey." Ed said while knocking on Dupe's desk.

"Hmm?" Dupe looked up, his eyes red from lack of sleep. "Hey. What's up?" He questioned as he began writing again.

"How goes the plan to frame all the local mayors?" I'm not really sure how you can succeed at that without killing and replacing them."

"I can't kill them." Dupe sighed while shaking his head. "Maybe one or two, but the others would catch on quickly. Besides, the mayors aren't pushovers that'll die quietly. Best to just frame them from the shadows and let chaos unfold instead."

"And how's that going?" Ed asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Some of it's going well, some of it's not..." He replied.

"What about Miami?" Ed questioned.

"Miami..." Dupe began to explain his recent exploits in Miami.

...

A week earlier. Miami. Mayor Rodriguez's office. His chubby body trembled as he pushed down upon the woman beneath him. The woman was an attractive blond with an hourglass figure. She'd easily make it as a model in any magazine. The mayor grunted heavily as he got closer to finishing.

Suddenly, the blond woman screamed at the top of her lungs! "RAPE! HELP! I'M BEING RAPED!" Tears poured down her face as she tried shoving the mayor away.

A brief moment later, the door slammed open. Several government workers and guards rushed inside. They saw the mayor resting atop the pretty blond woman. Awkward looks appeared on their faces as they glanced at each other, unsure of what to do in this situation. Most of them were loyal to the mayor.

A short brown-haired woman frowned. "Disgusting. I'll make sure the people know about this."

"WAIT!" The mayor yelled. "This isn't what it looks like!" He glanced down at the crying blond woman and moved to get off of her. "I'm being framed! I swear!"

"Humph!" The brown-haired woman snorted. "Tell that to the press." She walked towards the blond and covered her with the bed comforter.

"Th-thanks." The blond cried, pulling the comforter tight around her body.

"Of course." She nodded as she rubbed the blond woman's back in an attempt to comfort her. She grabbed the blond woman's hand and led her out of the office.

A larger crowd gathered in the lobby. Whispers rang out as they stared at the blond woman and glanced towards the mayor's office. A tall skinny man stepped forward. He was wearing a brown suit while holding a clipboard and pen. "Excuse me." He interrupted. "I'm a reporter for the Daily Miami Paper. I had an interview with the mayor scheduled later. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"BACK OFF!" The brown-haired woman inserted herself between the blond and the reporter, holding her hands outwards in a defensive gesture.

"It's alright." The blond sniffled while placing a hand on the brown-haired woman's shoulder. She stared into the reporter's eyes. "The mayor promised me an interview for an intern position. Then he... he forced himself on me! He was too strong. I couldn't even move or scream until he eventually let go of me."

"I see." The reporter nodded enthusiastically. A gleam appeared in his eye as he grew excited about the new scoop he had gotten. "And your name, miss?"

"Angela." She replied in a low whisper.

"Mm." The reporter nodded. "I'll make sure this makes it into the paper. You have my guarantee!"

"Aren't you going to listen to my side of the story?!" The mayor yelled as he ran from the office. His shirt was still partially unbuttoned, as he had been in a hurry to get dressed. "This is all a fraud! A scam! It was completely consensual!" He glared at Angela. "Tell them the truth!"

"Hic!" Angela choked back a sob, trying to hold back her tears.

"You're a monster!" The brown-haired woman glared at him as she led the blond woman away.

"You!" The mayor glared at the reporter. "You need to do a proper investigation and report things fairly! I've always been good to the press and I expect the same respect in return. You work for the Miami Daily Paper? I'm personal friends with your boss!"

"Of course, sir!" The reporter nodded enthusiastically. "I'll naturally hear your side of the story as well." He winked. "I'll make sure I'm completely fair to both parties. I wouldn't want to hurt the relationship between our paper and the mayor's office."

"Good." The mayor nodded. "I met the woman at..." The mayor slowly explained his side of the story, even going so far as to throw in some details that painted him as the victim.

"I see. I'll make sure we get the proper story out." The reporter placed a fist to his chest confidently. "You have my word. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Good." The mayor smiled in satisfaction, turning around to return to his office.

Several streets away from the mayor's office. The reporter glanced to his left and right before entering a dark alley. Two figures were waiting for him within the darkness. It was the brown-haired woman and blond-haired woman!

"Finally here?" Angela questioned.

"Took you long enough." The brown-haired woman agreed.

"I had to comfort the mayor." The reporter smiled. "Besides, I had the hard job. You two had it easy."

"LIKE HELL!" Angela complained, a deep frown on her face. "I'm the one that had to get rammed by that disgusting bastard! How do you have the hard job?!"

"Haha. Sorry, sorry." The reporter waved his hand dismissively. "You're right. You had the hard job."

"Anyways." The brown-haired woman interrupted. "We'll hold the protest tomorrow afternoon at city hall." She looked towards the reporter. "You'll publish the story in the paper and include the time of the protest, right?"

"Yup." He nodded. "I need to head back to work and get started on the story. Anything else we need to discuss before leaving?"

"No." She shook her head. "That should be all. Transform into somebody else before leaving. No need for us to get caught exiting the alley together."

"Right." He nodded as his body began to transform. It shrunk in size and grew fatter. The clothes changed to blue jeans and a sweat shirt. He no longer looked anything like he did before.

"See you guys later." The blond woman waved. Her skin wrinkled, and her hair turned grey. A gown appeared on her body. She now looked like an old grandmother as opposed to a supermodel.

The brown-haired woman transformed into Dupe and grinned. 'It's so easy pulling off these jobs when you're the perpetrator, accomplice, and reporter. Too bad I don't have enough time to become a judge as well. I suppose I could kill one though.' He rubbed his chin as he considered the idea and exited the alley. 'Well, either way. I'm just glad I'm not the clone that had to have sex with the guy.'

...

"I see." Ed nodded. "Sounds like it's going pretty well?"

"Miami is." Dupe agreed. "Protests are continuing even without my interference. The mayor is losing the support of the people. Meanwhile, the governor is completely silent on the issue, causing him to lose supporters as well. Right now, I've succeeded in nine out of the nineteen cities in Florida, excluding Reef city. The mayors are having a hard time controlling their own staff and security forces. If I can maintain the status quo in those cities, then it should be easy for us to steamroll them."

"And the other cities?" Ed questioned.

"Like I said before, not good." He shook his head. "I might be able to succeed in two or three more, but most of the mayors in the remaining cities are far more careful. Not to mention that some have powers that counter me well. Orlando was the worst of it. A complete failure that I stand no chance of infiltrating."

"Oh?" Ed frowned. "That's too bad. Orlando is the most important city. What happened?"

"Well..." Dupe began to explain the events once again.

...

Orlando.

Dupe traveled by train into the city. He was currently disguised as an ordinary salesman. He wore a black suit and carried a brown briefcase. The train whistle rang out as it came to a stop. He picked up his hat off the train seat and put it on, preparing to depart.

The moment he stepped off the train, he froze in place. A strong pressure engulfed his entire body, leaving him completely unable to move. 'What's happening?' He wondered as he struggled to look around, using only his eyes to do so.

"Who are you?!" A man questioned as he pointed a steam rifle at Dupe's head.

"Eh?" Dupe suddenly felt that his mouth could move again, though the rest of his body still felt the pressure. "I'm a traveling salesman here on some business. Can I help you officer?"

"All espers should be registered with the government!" He replied. "The mayor informed me as soon as you stepped into the city. It's in your best interest to be honest. The Hunter Association is already sending reinforcements."

'Damn!' Dupe frowned. 'Should I kill him? No. It'd be easy, but I don't stand a chance against the Hunter Association. Unfortunately, my powers don't increase my strength when I transform. Combat will never be advantageous for me.' His body began to glow, shrinking before the officer's eyes.

Suddenly, Dupe was completely gone. Only a small cockroach remained. The strange pressure vanished, allowing him to scurry away between the crowds' feet. 'I'll retreat for now. Heh, to think I'd get caught so quickly. This is a first for me. Things are really starting to get interesting.'

His tiny body squeezed through a crack in a wall of the train station building. He crawled past dead insect bodies, mold, and other cockroaches. Just when he thought he was about to escape, a large fist slammed through the wall. It grabbed ahold of his body and pulled him outside.

"Thought you could escape?" A man with unusually large hands questioned.

Dupe's body began transforming again. This time, it turned into slime and dripped through the cracks between the man's fingers.

"No mana-core?!" The man's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, you won't escape me." His hands expanded even further and surrounded the slime. They formed into a sealed cage with no escape.

'Damn!' Dupe's body jiggled as the slime started to transform, growing larger in size. He aimed to become as large as a steam wagon. Unfortunately, his body stopped growing when it failed to force back the man's hands. 'My only weakness.' He sighed internally. He wouldn't be able to escape the cage. His body was only capable of transforming. All forms were only as strong as the original body.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in Dupe's mind. 'Thought you could escape? I know everything that happens within this city. You're a fool for trying to infiltrate it.'

'Who are you?!' Dupe questioned within his mind. 'The mayor?'

No voice responded back to him. It seemed that the voice either couldn't hear him or chose to ignore him. Dupe felt his surroundings rumble as the esper that caught him traversed the city. Nearly an hour later, he was moved into a transparent cage within a dark and gloomy dungeon.

A handsome man stepped out of the darkness. He wore a suit and had dark curly hair. His beard and sideburns were grown long, making him look rather old-fashioned. "Care to tell me who you are?" The man questioned.

Dupe had enough room within the new cage to transform. He turned back into the appearance of the salesman he had used on the train.

"Hmm." The handsome man stroked his beard. "I'm not familiar with any transformation espers in Florida. Are you from a different state? Unfortunately, it'll likely be a while before I can question Nexus about who you are. Why don't you save me the trouble and start talking? I might even spare your life."

"Your powers are far better than I expected." Dupe sighed while shaking his head. "The information from Nexus only mentioned your telepathy. To think you could even keep watch over the whole city with it. It's nice to meet you, Mayor Mick."

"You're well informed." The mayor nodded. "To have such information on me, you must be working for someone powerful. Or perhaps you're working directly for Nexus? Ah, you could also be working for Harmony. That would likely make the most sense."

"Deductive too." Dupe responded. "I'm surprised that Nexus didn't sell information on me to you or the governor."

"True." Mayor Mick agreed. "Our information might be outdated. Or they may not know you're in Florida yet. I'll need to inform the governor about this."

"I think I've given you enough information." Dupe replied. "I'm used to having the leg up on people, so it feels weird having information tricked out of me. Maybe we'll have a rematch someday."

"What do you mean?" The mayor questioned while raising an eyebrow.

Dupe lifted his arm high in the air. His hand transformed into a bone spike. He then slammed it straight into his neck. Blood sprayed against the glass cage, much to the horror and surprise of the mayor. The light faded from Dupe's eyes, and he fell to the ground with a thud. He successfully committed suicide within the glass cage.

...

"And that's what happened." Dupe finished explaining.

"Ah, come to think of it." Ed rubbed his chin. "You really weren't in the rankings book that Nexus sold me. We never really informed anyone you were in the state. You also went by your real name and kept a low profile. It's not that surprising you didn't show up on Nexus's radar. It's not like anyone would be looking for you or anything."

"Right." Dupe sighed. "I had assumed they were already aware of my existence. Had I known that they weren't, then I would have been more careful about what I said. I gave away a valuable secret and gained nothing as a result."

"Well. We all make mistakes." Ed patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Dupe made an awkward expression. "It feels weird being comforted by a mad scientist that previously experimented on me."

"Who's a mad scientist?!" Ed replied as his eyes widened in a mixture of shock and surprise.

Dupe was speechless for a moment before he managed to reply. "You, of course! Who else would be a mad scientist if not you?"

"Me?" He pointed at himself, as if to express his innocence. "I'm an engineer! What's with the false slander?!"

"Slander?" Dupe snickered. "Mad Scientist is literally your nickname amongst the soldiers. Can you even be called an engineer anymore? Last I heard, all you do is play with meat these days?"

Ed frowned. "You made that pun on purpose, didn't you?" He closed his eyes in thought for a moment and let out a sigh. "Perhaps you're right. I haven't been doing much with tech lately. It's about time I focus on that again. Fortunately, I have a project I want to work on before the war really begins."