Big Apple, 3PM

[Jim Raynor]

Ditto walked outside, wearing Cyborg's skin in order to get past the security guard again. He remembered the stupid communicator, showing it to the dreadlocked doorman on his way out to make sure his story held together. As soon as he left the building, Ditto threw it in the gutter and crushed it with the heel of his boot.

Cyborg would be here soon. He knew where the rogue soldier was. He had to find out where he was hiding, but he doubted the mercenary would just turn over the information, even if Ditto beat it out of him. Besides, their motives for harbouring the fugitive was unclear at best. Ditto could only guess at their true goal. That left him without a bargaining chip, and he didn't like that one bit. His best chance, he mused, was to return to Herman's form, hope Cyborg couldn't tell him apart from the real deal, and then be escorted back into the Dataverse and directly to the rogue soldier. Then it was just a matter of robbing them and getting out quickly.

Easy. Right?

Ditto slinked back into the alleyway beside Spook Eye's halfway house and stepped out again in Herman's body. He dropped his back into a nearby lamppost, hands in pockets. Staring at his feet, he occasionally looked up and down the dark, quiet streets, eager for Cyborg's arrival. He spat on the grimy sidewalk. He hated not being in control.

The sky lightened as he waited. More than half an hour, it seemed.

Footsteps. Ditto glanced up. A large, well built figure stared at him from across the road. Another silhouetted man stood beside him slouched, hood drawn over his face, hands in pockets. Ditto squinted against the dirty light that hung over him. Surely the big man was Cyborg, but who was with him?

A stone dropped in his gut. Tor. He'd sold him out already. Ditto jetted air out of his nose in surprise. He didn't expect the thug to have the guts to face the music himself. When the day came, he pictured Mohawk sequestered in the deepest, darkest corner he could find until it all blew over. Instead Tor stands defiantly against him. On the side of a cannon-armed mercenary, perhaps, but still exhibiting more backbone than expected.

The two comrades crossed the street and stopped halfway. The streetlamp's light illuminated Cyborg's body and his face up to his top lip, though the rising sun provided the rest of the image. Ditto saw Cyborg's lips move and Tor leaned in closer. The hood apparently got in his eyes, since a hand pinched the loose cloth at the back and he pulled it away. The face that greeted Ditto was not Tor's.

He frowned round brown eyes at Ditto, his hair a sandy, unkempt mess. His face was hard and prickly but a certain warmth shone from him. Still staring at Ditto, he shook his head slowly. Cyborg cursed softly.

"Nice trick," Ray called out, walking closer. The sandy haired man stayed put. "I guess I should've figured you'd pull something like this."

Ditto knew his cover was blown, but how? He decided to play dumb, at least for a moment longer. He needed more time to put the pieces together. "What are you talking about? I've been waiting for you. Let's get out of here!"

Cyborg shook his head and in a flash, he bounded the remaining distance between them and seized Ditto by the throat with his cold, steel fingers. Ditto's feet dangled as he was lifted off the concrete. "I should've hunted you down after I disconnected you from the Dataverse. It would've been much less trouble than this. Now I have to make a mess out in public."

Ditto's hands curled around Cyborg's rigid steel digits. His airway shrunk, forcing his breaths into wheezing, laboured spurts. Adrenaline pumped through his blood as his body fought to stay conscious. And he still didn't know what was going on.

"So how about I try breaking open your head in the real world and see what happens?"

A powerful jolt knocked Ditto to the ground and free of Cyborg's death hold. Smashing the pavement, Ditto coughed and hacked, sucking in deep gulps of oxygen again. He spun onto his back and hopped to his feet. What just happened?

Cyborg was on hands and knees, smoke lilting from his side. Ditto scanned the neighbourhood. The sandy haired accomplice had ducked behind a car parked on the other side of the road. Why was he hiding? Craning his neck, Ditto spotted the reason. Further down the street, another car had screeched into a stop. Enigma, Tor and Skaggs stood outside the opened doors, wielding rifles the likes of which Ditto had never seen before. Thinning steam left Enigma's barrel.

"I knew you couldn't stay mad at me for long, sweetheart," Ditto said with mock affection, the true message beneath delivered by his sharp tone.

Enigma ignored Ditto and trained the futuristic weapon on Cyborg. Her voice was strained and aggressive. "Where is he, huh? Tell me where he is before we blow your brains all over the ground!" Skaggs and Tor followed suit. Skaggs stared ahead angrily. Tor gave Ditto a shy, furtive glance, then focused again on his objective.

Cyborg frowned. He climbed to his feet and brushed at his charred side. His entire forearm collapsed and rotated until the hand vanished and a cannon took its place. He aimed it squarely at Enigma. "None of your business. Our transaction's done, so you better piss off quick smart!"

"Oh no, it's definitely not over yet," Enigma said back. "Not till I leave with what I came for."

It hit him. The sandy haired guy. He was the rogue soldier. It must have been. He correctly identified Ditto as an imposter, being able to pick out his squad mate from a short inspection. Cyborg must have had his suspicions about Ditto's video call and could only prove them one way, as risky as it had to be. Perhaps taking a fake Herman to the rogue soldier's hideout was an even greater hazard.

Then what was Enigma doing here? Was she vying for the mobile Dataverse device as well? Or did she just want to throw another spanner into the works, like she'd already done several times before?

The sandy haired man stood up suddenly. Ditto hadn't noticed, but the doors and boot of the car he had hidden behind were open.

Cyborg glanced at the man. "Get back down."

Ray cared about the safety of this man. Knowing what his objective was, it could only be the rogue soldier.

Enigma's eyes widened and she redirected her rifle at the man. "No! Don't move!"

This was getting Ditto nowhere. "Enough! You morons have served your purpose. Now I have what I want and you will step down, or things will get heated." Ditto shone with white light and his body recomposed itself. When the hue faded, Ditto sported scaly orange skin, thick legs, a fire tipped tail, wide leathery wings and a savage, teeth lined maw.

The sandy haired man stepped out from the car. Body armour covered his torso and lined his arms and legs. Two assault rifles curled up in his arms, and a row of grenades hung from his belt. The hoodie and other black clothing had been discarded. Had he been hiding all of that hardware underneath all that time?

He pointed a rifle at Ditto, now Charizard, and in the general direction of Enigma and her new cronies. "So it's come to this."

Ditto growled, a deep and rumbling noise. Flames licked the back of his throat in anticipation of battle. "We all knew it would, eventually."