The Next Step

[Jim Raynor]

Ditto flung the door open, smacking it against the wall. He stumbled into the warehouse and looked about in the dim light. The beginnings of Team Rocket turned their heads at the racket, sitting together by their beds on the adjacent wall of the massive building. Ditto patted his blazer pocket, making sure the device that he went to a great deal of trouble to procure was still there. He felt the bulge and stood shakily on his feet.

His gang stood and hurried over to their leader. Ditto blinked rapidly, staving off the effects of his last battle. Diesel was at the forefront, hard concern in his eyes. Shingles came up beside him, his myriad piercings glistening in the light that trickled in through the open door. Vinny was in the back, his trademark apprehension scrawled over his face. Ricky crouched beside Diesel, grabbing the toes of his boots, rocking back and forward while staring wide eyed at Ditto.

No Skaggs. Just as he thought.

"What happened?" Diesel asked.

"I closed my business transaction," Ditto said, puffing. "Now find me a place to sit down."

Vinny dragged a wooden chair across the concrete floor and Ditto collapsed onto it. Shingles closed the door and set the locks that lined the wall like a buttoned shirt. Ditto breathed in deep, doing his best to ignore the stuffy scent of mothballs and dust. He slouched into the chair. His entire body thrummed with aches and fatigue. The battle for the device had escalated far faster than he would have expected, and it almost cost him his life. If not for the rogue soldier's seemingly benevolent act, it most certainly would have.

"Are you OK, boss?" Vinny said, rubbing his moustache with an index finger.

"I will be," Ditto said.

Diesel gazed at the door. "Skaggs and Tor took off a while ago. They said they had some stuff they had to take care of, but their stupid grins gave away their secret. I tried to talk some sense into them-"

Ditto raised his hand. "It's fine, Diesel. Those two miscreants would have rebelled sooner or later." He grimaced as a sudden sting awoke in his shoulder. "Now, at least, we need not concern ourselves with them."

Shingles frowned. "You killed them?"

"No," Ditto said, leaning over his knees. "Actually, I misspoke. Tor is dead. I electrocuted that fickle moron until his skin was as black as my well polished shoes. I've no idea where Skaggs ran off to, nor Enigma, who was the mastermind behind the plan to betray me. They escaped in the ruckus." Ditto furrowed his brow. "But if I know them, they'll emerge from the woodwork eventually."

Team Rocket went silent for a time. Ditto wondered if they were contemplating their former member's deceit or death, or maybe realising the gravity of their situation, that their new leader did not mince words. Though they probably already knew that after Ditto had ousted Diesel as the leader of the gang.

"Get me some water," Ditto said to Vinny. The portly gang member nodded and walked off into Ditto's office, where the only tap was located in the warehouse. Ditto had to make some renovations to this place one day.

"So, what's the plan now?" Diesel asked. "You've got your device."

Ditto ran fingers through his jet black hair. "I've sent out a message into the Dataverse advertising Team Rocket's many ... talents. If luck smiles on us, we'll get some work through it. In the meantime, we must begin recruitment in earnest, while building Team Rocket's image to the greater audience of Coruscant, perhaps even the Omniverse."

Now that he was down two members, Ditto wanted to prioritise the burgeoning of his ranks. Four gang members, one of which was certifiably insane, was far too small-time for his liking. No, in order to one day bring the great Omni to his knees, Team Rocket had to span hundreds, maybe thousands of members across the Omniverse. Coruscant was the first step, but Ditto had a feeling it would be the hardest. While he hadn't investigated the other verses with much scrutiny, he didn't think such police states existed elsewhere. If he could crack Coruscant, then the rest should be relatively easy.

"But you're gonna use your device, right?" Shingles asked. "I mean, you went to a lot of trouble to get it."

"Oh yes," Ditto said with a smirk. "I've got big plans for the Dataverse."