Meeting Magik Knight, and the veteran vigilante Nightingale

(image, used with owner tiang tam's permission)

Some metallic black vanes on a headband are poking out from her long, straight platinum-blonde hair. She has icy blue eyes with heavy eyeshadow, and very pale skin, which makes her bright red lips really stand out. She's a few inches shorter than you, but her figure is, if anything, even more alluring. Two impressive F-cup breasts, nearly as hefty as yours, protrude from underneath a tight black pleather top. The top portion of her outfit extends to cover her hands and arms completely, but cuts off less than an inch beneath her eye-catching bustline, exposing the expanse of pale, delicate skin that is her lithe, sensuously curved midsection. A couple of spikey, bulky black shoulderpads emphasize the curviness of her slender yet well-toned body even more. The excessively short, tight black hot pants she's wearing conceal almost none of her butt, nor the enticing cleft between her legs. The thigh-high boots with high heels covering her legs combine with the rest to give the impression of a costume that was 0% designed for practicality, unless the practical purpose in question was blending in at a strip club.

She looks a bit surprised. It isn't clear if she is noticing that you're staring goggle-eyed at her skimpy costume, or if she's noticing that your own outfit isn't exactly chaste and modest, either. "Hello... I don't think we've met yet." her voice is a soft, sensual purr with a hint of a slavic accent. "I am called Magik Knyght. I didn't know we had a pair of sisters in the new 100..."

Then, her eyes flicking back and forth makes you realize that it's actually the fact that there are TWO short-haired girls in swimsuits and cowboy boots staring at her goods, and you share an uncomfortable glance and laugh with your copy. "Oh! Yeah, this ain't my twin sister or anything," the clone says, and you interrupt to continue. "It's my superpower in action! Pleased to meet ya, miss! You can call me 'Lickety-Split Lynn'! It makes sense, on account of I can run real fast, an' split myself into two! Here, let me get back together..." You reach out as if to give your clone duplicate a hug, intuiting that this is the way to re-merge.

"STOOOOOOOOOOOP! MON DIEUUUUUUUUUUUU!" La Petite Mort shrieks at the top of her lungs, shrinking down and running right between Nightingale's legs, then putting herself between the 'two of you' and resizing. "You stupid, stupid girl! Are you not considering the implications of this? Are you just going to casually commit what may be suicide?!"

You, Magik Knight, and your clone all glance back and forth. "What the heck are you talking about, Mort-y?" you ask.

"Auuuugh!" the much-put-upon scientist massages her temples. "There was one of you before, and now there is two! Each has its own perspective and self-awareness! If you undo that, either one or both of you could potentially be destroyed! Think for one fucking second! You have heard of the multiverse theory, no?"

Nightingale clears her throat. "Can we still call it a 'theory', PM? I may be a lowly B-rank heroine but I saw that portal you were working on a few months back..."

Petite Mort ignores her and continues. "So, there is another Lickety-Split Lynn in another parallel universe, running around and jiggling her oversized tits in people's faces. Now imagine that you, yourself..."

"Who, me?" The clone next to you asks. "No, stupid, she meant me!" you elbow her in the ribs.

"...walk in front of a semi-truck and get turned into, as you would say back home, 'roadkill'. Does that mean that you're still alive and doing fine, because there's still one or more 'Lickety-Split Lynns' running around somewhere? NO! You're still DEAD! I need to run some tests on your psyche, and get a telepath involved before-"

"I guess that kinda makes sense, although science was never my strong suit." you say. "Maybe we should..."

"Oh heck naw!" the clone of you says. "I got so tuckered out trying to run to headquarters that I had to hail a god damn taxi! I've only got half the strength and speed that I'm used to, and I'm plum tired of it! C'mere, copy!" She lunges for you, arms outstretched into a bear hug.

"I ain't-" you start to protest in between noticing that your breasts feel really, really nice to be squeezed up against. But just as you're finished saying 'You ain't', all of a sudden... you is. The copy is gone. And... the other copy is gone. Wait, what?

You sink to your knees as a sudden vertigo overtakes you. Compared to splitting apart, merging back together is painless, physically. But suddenly you feel a weird sense of de-personalization. You have two (albeit brief) sets of memories, including parts where you were in the same room with yourself, and a strange sort of internal dialogue. It's all very confusing, but the existential element is less compelling than the embarrassment. "What?! I let that snooty little Frenchie touch my... no, I sat on the lap of a cabbie...?" You shake your head. No, no, when you think about it, doing those things made perfect sense at the time. It's what you did, and you have to own up to it, right? Suddenly the vertigo feeling disappears and you stand.

"LYNN! YOU FOOL!" Mort groans. "Well, we're going to have to take you to the Gem of Judgement to make sure that you didn't just commit **** and/or suicide. Moral concerns aside, you may have just severely compromised your chances of advancement. The standards of whether or not a hero is guilty of taking a life are quite particular, empirical, and, unfortunately, not up for debate!"

"Gosh, Mort-y, you're worrying too much." you say. "I'm me. There's only ever been one of 'me'. If I'm standin' next to a mirror, does that mean there's two of me now? Don't be silly." Magik Knight seems more amused by the conversation than anything.

"Well, another thing for me to worry about later. As usual." Petite Mort huffs, straightening her pillbox hat. "Let me go ahead and tell you your first real mission. And, since you brought another of the new girls, it will be her first mission too." she nods to Magik Knight. "A dangerous supervillain has just escaped from federal prison and I have learned that he is setting up shop in the waterfront district, in one of the warehouses which the shipping company leaves empty and unguarded for criminals to use." She pauses a moment. "Yes, you heard right... the owner of that company is a villain groupie. There's nothing we can do about it for now. Anyway, the scum's title is 'Deathsmite'..."

Magik Knight giggles softly, and you crack a smile. Nightingale folds her arms. "MK, LSL, this is no laughing matter. You're talking about one of the deadliest freelance mercenaries in the world. He's killed dozens, probably hundreds of people. Don't assume he's a joke because you think his name is funny, or underestimate him because he doesn't have any flashy powers. More than a few gang lords have made that mistake about me, and it was always the last mistake they ever made as free men. The henchmen that he hires are a cut above the rest, too." She turns back to Mort. "PM, I know you're on the Big 7 and a genius besides, but don't you think this is wildly inappropriate for a first mission? No offense meant, but I think Magik Knight's brother would be a much better fit..."

The vivacious blonde bombshell (er, that is, the other one - not you) bristles at that. "Блин!" she shouts a word that sounds kinda like 'blend'. "I have no problem working with Steelman, but if this cree-minal doesn't have any significant powers, bringing him along would be a waste of his time! Even the human xerox here," she points at you, "is more than I'll actually need. Don't you remember when he said that I might be even more powerful than him? Let us handle this '**** Smite'!"

"You can complain all you want," Nightingale says. "Steelman is a very good friend of mine and I won't be party to sending his baby sister to deal with a throat-slitting killer unsupported."

"Unsupported? What am I? My supername ain't 'chopped liver', you know!" You say to Nightingale.

Petite Mort huffs. "It's not up to you, Nightingale. Frankly, I am having more and more doubts about whether you're a good fit for the League. At the risk of betraying their confidence, Maiden America and Raven-Woman are growing weary with your 'helpful' criticisms of their decisions, and of the costume choices of everyone who shows as much as a millimeter of skin. So - if you are going to start squawking about it, feel free to watch over these young ladies as their backup if needed. But do stay out of their way. Now... I am going back to the headquarters. I have gadgets to make - there are 20 superpower-less Millenium Girls that are going to need the best I can provide if they are going to survive 'til the end of their probationary period. Deathsmite is scheduled to arrive to begin his operations in 27 hours at the location I gave to Lynn. I suggest you spend that time training, preparing, and gathering intel on what his scheme might be." she brushes her hands and turns to leave. "Adieu."

That leaves you, Nightingale, and Magik Knight staring at each other. You wonder if the other two girls can smell sex in the room, or if Nightingale just always has a disapproving look on her face. Grinning awkwardly, you blink... and notice something odd. Magik Knight is standing in a different position than she was before you blinked. Not only that, but she's holding a posterboard and writing something on it.

"Are you feeling alright, Lickety-Split Lynn?" Nightingale asks in an almost motherly way. "I know that first use of a major power is often traumatizing. Since we've got over a day, maybe you ought to take a half-day to rest before going into harm's way."

Standing behind Nightingale, Magik Knight holds up the board, and you do your best not to stare at it, reading it with your peripheral vision. It says:

Nightingale has super hearing. No whispers. Follow my lead. Let's ditch this meddlesome old woman. Say you feel sick. Distract her with copy.

Perhaps having heard the marker squeaking, Nightingale turns around to look at the other heroine. But before she can even turn halfway around, Magik Knight's image flickers for a moment, disappearing between eye blinks, and then re-appearing standing on her other side. Magik Knight cocks her head to the side as if confused why Nightingale is staring at her.