A Superhero Origin Story

"So what are we going to do about tge other three? Zoe asked.

"Can you... reassimilate... resorb them?" Cameron asked at a loss for words.

"I don't know, but I kind of doubt it," Zoe said, "When I, when we merged back at the lab we felt a connection, like a hive mind. I don't feel the others right now."

"Well we'll just have to find out when we get home," Cameron said, "I think I can finally rest easy tonight knowing we've fixed this."

"I know what you mean," Zoe said, "Plus I gained six inches in height and three bra sizes. I've had a very good day!"

"How good of a day," Cameron asked as they pulled into the garage. Zoe noticed his shit eating grin and kissed him.

"Good enough to share," she said, "Especially now that I'm allowed to get laid again."

"Let's get settled in first and put on some Netflix, then we can chill," he said.

Zoe beamed at her husband and slid out of the car. But she noticed several things in the garage were out of place. She rolled her eyes at her clones not having the sense to put stuff back and told Cameron she would join him in a minute.

When she finished, she walked inside and said, "Hey Cameron, babe? Do you want to invite the others of me? I don't want them to-"

Inside the house looked like a tornado swept through. She cursed her clones out loud. At first she thought they must have thrown a party, but she sensed something was off. For one someone left the indent of a fist in the dry wall, and there were burns all over the carpet and furniture. Worst was the trail of blood leading down the hall. Someone had broken in and harmed one of her duplicates.

She raced to the bedroom where her husband was sitting on his knees with his hand behind his head. One of her clones seemed like she had been shot and was lying face down at the foot of the bed.

"I didn't actually think you could do it, Mr. Menny," somebody said. Zoe put her back against the wall out of sight.

"Cameron, who the hell-" another Zoe said before a slap in the face cut her off.

"Quiet bitch, the adults are talking," a second stranger said.

"I... borrowed some money to build the replicator," Cameron explained.

"And now we're here to collect," the first stranger said.

"Cameron, you... you borrowed money... FROM THE MOB?" Zoe asked before she was punched in the stomach.

"I didn't know the loan came from the mob!" Cameron insisted then he screamed and Zoe smelled ozone. A third stranger, a woman this time, laughed sadistically.

Zoe clenched her fist and formed a plan to march on there. She could replicate herself at will now, maybe. So what if she overwhelmed the intruders with numbers. No Cameron and her clone might get hurt. Then she had a second idea. Her clothing always duplicated with her, maybe something she was holding would too.

So regretfully, Zoe tiptoed down the hall to the safe. She made sure nobody heard her then slipped through the door.

"Don't come any closer, I'm armed" The third Zoe said, the handgun shaking in her hands, "Oh it's you. Wait what happened to you? You look... hot."

"No time, gimme the gun," Zoe said.

"Yeah, sure," the other Zoe said. Zoe took it from her and focused on trying to replicate without sneezing. She successfully split in two and duplicated the gun, but she felt her nose bleeding afterward.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The other one asked.

"Not at all," the two new Zoes said in unison.

"What do these guys want?" Zoe asked.

"I think Cameron borrowed money from them and couldn't pay them back," the others said. Zoe went back to the safe and pulled out all the money they had in there.

"Maybe we don't have to get violent," she said and handed the big wad of money to one of the clones, "Let's hope it's enough."

"Listen," the Zoes told her, "Take the car and get out of here."

"No!" Zoe said, "Absolutely not. I'm going to help our husband too!" The two Zoe's duplicated again along with the money and the guns.

"You can help by getting yourself to safety," the four other Zoes said.

"You're right," Zoe said. Before she knew what she was doing, she stood on her toes and gave one of them a deep but brief kiss.

"Go!" She said to them.

The four Zoes entered the hallway which appeared to yawn at them like a mouth. They gulped down their fear and looked at each other nervously.

"We have four guns between us," they assured themselves, "It'll be ok."

"-and the first thing you did was clone your pretty wife," one of the strangers said, "You're a wierd perv, you know that. Are there any more of them."

"No," Cameron said, "Just her now. Come on let her go. She never borrowed money from you, I did."

"True, but methinks you two have something even better for me," the stranger said.

"You want me to build you a replicator don't you," Cameron said, "Well you only need me. The whole thing was my idea, so you can just let my wife go."

"Let's see here, Mrs. Zoe Menny. It says here you graduated top of your class from MIT. Much, much higher than him in fact."

The othe four Zoes had enough and barged into the room.

"Let them go now!" They said and pointed four guns at the gangsters.