Big Apple, 3PM

[Jim Raynor]

The sun had risen. Ditto didn't know why he only realised it now, and how it could've happened so fast. Or perhaps he was so focused on his objective that he blocked it out.

Ditto's eyes darted back and forth. Cyborg held out his robotic arm cannon, steadying his aim with his other hand. There was no doubt that he was exceedingly good at his profession. Indeed, Cyborg knew to sponge information from Enigma in order to set a trap and eliminate his competition. Sure, Enigma had turned on him, but Ditto suspected that Cyborg preferred it that way. Something about his demeanour suggested he had turned a hobby into a career.

A smirk crawled up Cyborg's lips. Cocky bastard.

Enigma and Skaggs stared down the sights of their rifles, built like rounded, pale blue slabs of concrete fitted with a glowing, LED magazine. Their barrels aimed at Cyborg and the soldier respectively, but Tor had overcome his shyness and levelled his weapon at Ditto. Ditto narrowed his reptilian eyes at the mohawked hothead. How much more disobedience would he endure for his connection to Spook Eye? Perhaps Tor was becoming more trouble than he was worth. There was always more than one way to snare the attention of a crime boss.

Skaggs and Enigma, though, he had already decided. Neither of them would leave here unscathed. Perhaps even alive.

Ditto gazed at the soldier. If appearances were any indicator, he wasn't someone to underestimate. Powerfully built, weapon clad and capable of hiding from the Empire without being detected, the soldier would prove to be a difficult opponent. Part of him wanted to find out more about him; after all, no one steals from a dictatorship like the Empire for no reason, nor is able to camouflage in plain sight as well as he had. What would make him risk his life for an experimental chunk of tech?

"This standoff's gotta end sometime," the soldier said, shattering the pregnant silence that hung in the air. "Well? What are you all waiting for?"

Ditto quickly calculated. "Enigma, Skaggs, Tor. So good of you to provide backup. Focus your fire on Cyborg there, and I'll handle the soldier."

Tor laughed derisively and loudly. Too forced. He was scared. "Do you actually think we're here for you?! Enigma's looking out for us, so we're looking out for her!"

As he expected. Still, it never hurt to try. "Enigma, sweetheart. You wound me. What happened to our agreement?"

"Cut the bullshit," she growled, her eyes never leaving the rogue soldier. "You knew it was an alliance of opportunity and nothing more. Now I'm in the driver's seat, and the Skullbangers will have their rightful leader installed after you're dead."

"Words are cheap," Ditto growled. "Let's see which of us can stand the heat."

Ditto opened his maw and a stream of searing fire issued from his throat. He aimed at Tor, who obviously hadn't expected the attack. He stumbled backwards, accidentally discharging his weapon, loosing a bolt of plasma into the air. As the flames reached the betrayers' vehicle, Ditto swung his head to the left, sending a streak of curling fire towards Cyborg and the rogue soldier. The soldier had taken the initiative after Tor's rifle fired, already finding cover behind the car he initially cowered behind. Cyborg moved out of range of the stretching flame and released a plasma bolt at Ditto.

With a beat of his powerful wings, Ditto reached into the air, the projectile's heat warming the underside of his feet and tail uncomfortably. As the last of his Flamethrower attack petered out, Ditto soared into the air. Bullets whizzed by but he kept climbing, hoping to become a smaller target. He circled around, dodging the whizzing energy bolts, and witnessed his three ex-gang members crowded behind their car. Occasionally peeking over the chassis, they exchanged gunfire with the soldier and Cyborg, their attacks chipping away and breaking the surrounding buildings. Ditto heard the wheezing hiss of the air spewing free from a tire.

As Ditto was deciding how he would intervene, he confirmed his theory. Cyborg was firing on the former Team Rocket members, but never did he once attack the soldier. He didn't even glance at him, as if he trusted him not to shoot him in the back.

A plasma bolt hit Ditto's left wing, flash-searing his flesh. Ditto roared. The pain tingled through his skin. The smell of burned scale and skin wafted to his nostrils as he busily flapped the injured wing, but the plasma was numbing it. Ditto flapped harder, but the wing grew less responsive, moving in lazy and ultimately useless motions. Below, Ditto heard Tor's voice ring out triumphantly.

Ditto was going down.

Stretching out his good wing, Ditto manoeuvred his injured wing into a semi-straight position with his clawed hands. It wasn't perfect, but it gave him limited control over his descent. Ditto curved to the left, his right wing open and catching the wind like a parachute. He steered himself away from the battlezone, unable to keep his mind on both the fight and his descent. Bullets screamed past regardless, but the further he travelled out, the less consistent the projectiles were.

The pavement rushed up to meet him. Throwing out his thick legs, Ditto glided a few feet off the ground shakily. People quickly parted for the orange behemoth's presence, and Ditto breathed fire at those who underestimated the danger he posed. Clenching his fangs, Ditto slammed his heels down, tearing and burning his scales, but ultimately slowing.

Ditto looked up. An intersection. A truck waited patiently at the traffic lights. He misjudged.

He ploughed into the side of the vehicle, metal and glass twisting around his body. Screams and horns blared as Ditto slammed the truck onto its side, sending it sliding across the road on a carpet of sparks. Ditto closed his eyes and tightened his muscles.

The overturned truck finally came to a stop. Ditto let out a pained breath. Blood leaked from his chest, arms and thighs from various cuts. His entire body ached from the force of the impact, and both of his wings drooped from his back like a cloak. Summoning his strength, Ditto pushed off the crumpled door frame, spotting the driver unconscious, rivulets of blood snaking down his face. He bounced off the truck and landed on his feet, bending into a crouch. His legs shook at his weight, but he stayed upright.

A line of cars backed up behind the overturned truck, horns signalling in a confusing cacophony. People nearby rushed to the driver's aid, but all kept a wide berth of the flame orange dragon that stumbled from the wreck, stained with its own blood.

Ditto tried flaring his wings again but they ignored him, dragging on the bitumen. Damn it! He was in no condition to fight now. Brute strength was out of the question. But he couldn't give up. His prize was a block away, cornered. He had to think of a way to get in there and win.

Stumbling forward, he rose his eyes to the sky. Buildings towered over them on either side of the road, but nothing stood out. Glass windows reflected the sunlight, satellite dishes sent and received signals, a giant water tower supplied the area with -

Water tower. That's it!

But Ditto couldn't get that high. His wings were disabled, and any climbing form would put too much stress on his injuries.

But ... there's someone else who could help me out here, Ditto thought. He looked around. The surrounding area buzzed with people, some gawking at the accident scene, others paramedics rushing to the injured driver's aid.

To hell with it! There was no time to duck behind a corner. What did he care if someone saw him?

Charizard's form bathed in white light and shrunk. The luminosity gave out and revealed Giovanni, though his normally immaculate suit was covered with lacerations, and blood had stained the material. Transforming, unfortunately, didn't heal any injuries Ditto had, but at least Giovanni's body required less concentration to maintain than a burly, fire breathing dragon.

Ditto crouched and put out his hand. From his palm a small, jiggling cyst grew. It expanded until it pushed against the back of Ditto's fingers, quivered a few times, then slipped off his palm like a blob of jelly. It thudded wetly on the pavement, shuddering, expanding.

"Get a move on," Ditto moaned, slumping against the building.

The blob stilled, then climbed upwards upon itself. The flesh coloured pole filled out, and limbs shaped from the shapeless mass. The pale colour around the 'torso' drowned in a sea of black, as did the 'legs' and 'arms.' The blurred features sharpened, the thick and blubbering growths shrinking and solidifying into identifiable traits.

Ditto looked up at an unblemished replica of himself.

"Ditto Junior," Ditto said. "Father is tired and can't get on top of that building. Be a dear and smash that water tower down, would you?"

The Giovanni that stared back had little in the way of intelligence in his eyes, his face blank. Ditto's ability to temporarily clone himself was a wonderful side effect of the work done by the Team Rocket scientists, although he never believed it was an intentional gift. The first time he had ever done it, he was quite surprised. The other Dittos reproduced this way, but his children never lived long. However as he experimented with the ability, he learned that the Ditto Jrs had a life span that he could dictate when it was created. He could also choose how smart they were, and what sort of personality traits they would receive. That was something the other failed clones of Mew could not do.

The Ditto Junior that had watched Team Rocket when Ditto visited the other captured soldier on Tier 1.5 had intelligence comparable to Ditto, though his ambition had strategically been removed. However the more life and talents that he imbued in his clone, the more taxing it was. This Ditto Junior only had to do something simple, so Ditto parted with what little energy he had left.

Ditto Junior nodded and white light consumed him. Upon clearing, Scyther stood in front of Ditto, its sleek scythe arms glistening in the light. The giant mantis like Pokemon vibrated its insectoid wings until they vanished in a blur. Ditto Junior lifted off the pavement and buzzed to the top of the adjacent building to the battlezone. Ditto rose to his feet and looked up. He heard the scraping of steel against a solid and unbending surface. The water tower leaned over the lip of the building, a booming creak accompanying every small movement.

Ditto power walked, his bones pulsing with each step. "Push it over!"

Another clang and the dangling water tower teetered over the edge. A groaning snap heralded the water tower's structural support disengaging and the giant cylindrical tower fell.

Ditto moaned. His body protested and he knew this was going to be unpleasant, but he began the transformation anyway.

The water tower smashed into the road. A powerful wave of water exploded from the collapsing metal in all directions, engulfing the battlezone outside the halfway house. Now that he considered it, perhaps it wasn't smart to have a gang war on Spook Eye's territory.

Ditto made it back. The five combatants were dripping wet. The ex-Team Rocket members recovered first, using the car as a support to regain their footing. Cyborg had a hand to his skull, his back to the building's wall. The rogue soldier was dashing towards the building doors, perhaps for cover, since the car he hid behind was nowhere to be seen.

It wouldn't go down that way, though. Ditto whipped his long black tail, the lightning bolt at its tip slapping the ground. He rubbed his pudgy hands together and took a deep breath. Sparks leapt from the yellow pouches on his cheeks.

"Ditto Junior, in position!" he squeaked. Looking up, he spotted the Scyther hovering high above them. "Everyone stay still. This'll only tickle for a moment."

Raichu's body brimmed with electricity, centralising in his cheeks. It was the perfect choice. Ditto had been very careful not to get wet, but just to be safe, he dug the tip of his tail into a crack in the road.

A jagged bolt of lightning exploded from Ditto, filling the air with static crackling. The electricity splashed onto the slick ground and spread through the unbroken damp that surrounded the entire area. Enigma, Skaggs and Tor convulsed on their feet, dropping their rifles. Cyborg spasmed, slouched on the wall against the halfway house. The rogue soldier in mid step growled against the current jarring his body, but he did not fall. He stilled himself, focused his eyes on Ditto, and gritted his teeth. It was as if he were hardly affected by it, yet had to bow to its power, and was simply waiting for it to end. Incredible.

Ditto cut the stream and slouched. No matter the strength of his will, his body's beating was catching up to him. If that wasn't enough, there was little more he could do.

Then he saw Skaggs getting up, and anger burned anew.

"W-what the f-fuck was that, f-freak?!" Skaggs moaned as he stood unsteadily. "H-how about you f-fight me like a m-man?"

"Ditto Junior."

Scyther dropped from the sky and landed on the car, shaking the suspension. Skaggs took several unsteady steps backwards and fell on his arse. Ditto Junior lifted a single scythed forelimb.

"Don't be fooled. It might be a natural extension, but that scythe will slice through you better than any sword."

Ditto Junior hopped off the roof and stalked towards Skaggs.

Ditto hobbled closer, wanting to see the terror in the thug's eyes before it was snuffed out completely. Raichu's body was spry when it wasn't damaged, but every step burned with fatigue and ache.

"So," Ditto said in Raichu's high pitched voice, "do you want a quick death?"

"F-fuck you," Skaggs said.

"Slow it is. Ditto Junior. Take his left arm off at the elbow. Then we'll see where my fancy takes us."

Ditto's clone swung his bladed limb down. Before it hit the target, Ditto Junior stopped mid-motion as if he had become paralysed, his eyes wide. Ditto yelled as he spotted the reason. Tor dug his knees into Scyther's back, a machete exploding out of the insect Pokemon's thorax, blood oozing around the blade.

Ditto saw red. No one killed Ditto Junior except for him! He roared in anger, but it came out in a comical, drawn out screech. The bolts of electricity that jutted from his cheeks, however, were anything but funny. Ditto drew on his rage, fed on his anger, and a terrifying beam of electricity issued from his orange mouse body. Stray forks zapped off mid-flight, striking the ground, shattering lamp posts and windows.

Tor pushed off Ditto Junior's upright corpse and scrambled onto the car roof. The electricity surge slammed into the vehicle and engulfed the screeching gangster. Ditto held the stream and felt a grand sense of satisfaction as he watched Tor's body writhe on the car roof, his skin blackening all over.

Exhaustion piped up and Ditto stopped the attack, falling to all fours. He looked up. Tor's charred arm hung over the side of the car, swaying, smoking. The stench of toasted flesh hung in the air.

"Bastard," Ditto said, crawling towards Skaggs. "You backstabbing, unfaithful, self-centered bastard!"

Ditto Junior's body was already melting, losing the green sheen of its transformation. It sat as a puddle of flesh coloured sludge for a moment before effervescently dissolving, leaving a bloodied machete as the only proof it was ever there.

Sure, Ditto Juniors were expendable. But Tor ... that filthy ingrate, he didn't earn the privilege of slaying what was essentially Ditto. At the least, his sizzling corpse was the retribution that he'd been owed for so, so long. His only connection to Spook Eye was gone, but Ditto didn't need a connection. He'd forge a new one himself.

"Skaggs ... " Ditto growled.

"G-get back!" Skaggs shouted. "The soldier ... he'll get away!"

The soldier! Ditto had forgotten all about it! He snapped his head in the direction of the halfway house. The square jawed soldier was sprawled out on the ground, fighting to sit up. A stray bolt must have hit him when Ditto fried Tor.

Ditto turned back to Skaggs. He was awkwardly jogging down the street, Tor's machete in hand. The tattooed thug didn't look back once. As much as he burned with desire to, Ditto couldn't muster the strength for another Thunderbolt. Skaggs would live for another day, it seemed.

The Pokemon quickly scoured the area with his gaze. Enigma was nowhere to be seen. Was she even still there when Ditto Junior died? That crafty bitch would be hard to put down.

That left Cyborg and the rogue soldier. Cyborg dragged himself across the pavement with his flesh arm, his robotic prosthetic hanging limply by his side. He reached the rogue soldier and put two fingers to his throat.

"Alive?" Ditto asked. He sighed loudly. The fatigue rushed at him like the waves of a storm tossed sea.

Cyborg nodded. "You ... you can't kill him."

Ditto dragged his short mouse body forward. "What's your deal? Why aren't you taking his device? I thought you were a bounty hunter."

Cyborg humphed. "Don't act dumb. You know what I'm doing."

Ditto shook his head. "I really don't. Why is a gang boss dabbling in the affairs of a fugitive? If you want what I want, why not kill the rogue and take it? Why are you protecting him?"

Cyborg stared at Ditto.

"Why?" he repeated in a screechy tone. "If the Empire discovered your involvement, Tier 5 would be awash in stormtroopers in an instant. Spook Eye would be hunted and killed. He's risking everything."

"You know the answer."

"No," Ditto shook his head, unconvinced. "No, I don't. What is it?"

Cyborg laughed, a strained and mangled sound. "There's more to this than you see. I thought you would've figured it out."

Ditto pushed himself back on his feet, swaying for a moment. He stuck his tail in the ground to help stabilise himself. There was so little left in the tank. "Then enlighten me, oh honourable bounty hunter."

Cyborg threw his arm cannon in front of him, and to Ditto's surprise, a whirring sound emanated from it. A blue light thrummed within the barrel. Ditto could see it, clear as day.

His body was spent. He wouldn't dodge this.

"Sorry. Gotta finish the job."