Scar? My scar is on the right side? What is she talking about?
As Spike exclaims his agreement with Fred's assessment, I reach up and run my hand over the left side of my neck. There's no feeling of the roughened, slightly puckered skin I've had there since I recovered from being attacked by Holtz's psychotic follower. Slowly, I run my fingers over to the right side of my neck.
The scar is there. On the wrong side. And I suddenly realize that I'm using my left hand, not my right hand as I normally would.
My mind races back to the accident in the lab earlier, getting caught in the middle of the mirrors and that bright light. Was I split? Or did something else happen?
"Perhaps you, me, and our guest should go to the lab. Maybe, we can figure out what's going on from there."
The other Wesley's voice punctures my thoughts, and I realize that he's reached the same conclusion I have. But to hear him refer to me as "our guest"... I know that I am Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. I remember everything.
Angel doesn't seem to want to leave us alone but finally agrees, casting a look at me before he disappears. I suddenly feel like the impersonator I'm accused of being. Not to mention a freak on display, given Harmony's reaction.
Finally, the other - first? original? - Wesley gets rid of her and asks Fred if we should head to the lab. I suddenly don't know if I want to go. What if I am a demon?
I nod, knowing that this must have something to do with the accident Knox caused in the lab with the Quantum mirrors, and then look over at the second Wesley, who suddenly has a look of uncertainty in his eyes. Is he scared because he knows we'll find something out or because he's as unsure about what's going on as the rest of us?
"We have to figure this out," I tell him. He regards me for a minute with those blue eyes that are so very Wesley and then nods in agreement.
Together, the three of us head upstairs to the lab. Wesley - the one I know is Wesley - stays close to me, his hand hovering at the small of my back. The other Wesley...Good lord, this is going to get confusing, especially if we don't figure out what the heck is going on...the other Wesley keeps a noticeable distance. I want to say something to him, to both of them, but I don't know what to say, and knowing me, it'll come out as a ramble, which is definitely not something I want to do at the moment!
When we reach the lab, the lights are back on, so obviously Knox restored the power while we were gone. The mirror set-up is still where we left it.
And there's a strange stone coffin-thing sitting under my office observation window.
"Oh, hey, you're back," Knox says, appearing from other side of the lab. "Some guys delivered that sarco--." Suddenly, he stops when he sees us, his eyes opening wide as he counts softly, "One...two...there's two of you?! I thought one was bad enough!"
When the three of us step into the lab, the power has been restored, and I sigh in relief that for once, Knox did something right. And, speaking of the Annoying One, he mentions something to Fred about a delivery, but gets distracted by our 'new arrival'.
"One...two...there's two of you?! I thought one was bad enough!"
I fight to keep from bursting out laughing, but when I see Knox's reaction, I lose the battle and start giggling. Both Wes and Wes look at me, which just causes me to giggle harder.
"I'm sorry," I finally gasp out, putting my hand on my chest. "We should really see what's going on here. Knox, go ahead and head home. I've got this taken care of."
He gives me a hurt look. "Uh, what about the sarcophagus? Looks important."
"Put it in quarantine storage."
"But--."
"Knox, I don't have time to deal with it now, and I have no idea where it came from, so put it in quarantine, and then go home."
He stares at me for a minute like he really doesn't want to do what I've asked him. Finally, though, he goes over to the sarcophagus, which is still sitting on the flat-bed used to wheel it in and pushes it out of the lab towards quarantine.
"All right." I look at the guys and can't help but let out one last snort of laughter at their expressions. "Where were we?"
I look over at him as he says the same thing. It's odd to hear one's voice coming out of another's mouth. Especially, when that other person is, literally, mirroring every move or gesture you make. How very disconcerting.
Fred burst out in a peal of laughter, and I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face at the sound.
She gets rid of Knox, finally, and I steal a glance in my twin's direction. Good lord, is that scowl always on my face? And, am I doing that now, as well? That's too bizarre to contemplate, and I can already feel a headache brewing. What a day...
"All right. Where were we?"
"We need to figure out how all this happened. Fred, tell me...er...us more about this project you are working on."
Is it too much to hope that we can reverse it, in order to put things back the way they were? In our line of business? That's highly doubtful, but if anyone can figure out a way, it'll be my Fred.
"We need to figure out how all this happened. Fred, tell me...er...us more about this project you are working on."
Right. Start with the obvious - what I was planning to do with the experiment.
"I was working on Quantum Mirror set-up, basically I was going to use it to study the reflective properties of atoms and...umm..." I glance from him to the second Wesley and back again. "How to duplicate them at that level instead of the idea of cloning at a cellular level. The idea in the long run was to see if atomic replication was more stable for cloning purposes."
The more I explain what I was doing, the more I know that whatever Knox did to the generator is responsible for this. This wasn't supposed to happen so soon, though. And it wasn't supposed to happen to Wesley!
"If the mirrors are responsible for this, I don't know if there's a way to fix this. But before we even go there, I should run a few tests on you guys, see if you are duplicates. And we should check the lab's closed-circuit television disks...you know, see if there's anything on there that can show us exactly what happened."
We both know that these tests are necessary. If nothing else, they'll tell us whether I'm actually a twin of the other man standing next to Fred or whether I'm...something else.
"I take you want a blood sample," I say. "I'll go first."
Fred looks at the other Wesley then pulls out her supplies and gets two needles ready. Sitting down in the clinical area of the lab, I hold my arm out so she can draw a sample. The blood looks like normal human blood, which is somewhat of a relief though I know that it won't mean a jot until she actually runs her DNA tests.
When she's finished, I stand up, holding the piece of cotton she's handed me over the small puncture wound. I glance over at the mirror experiment again and suddenly have a need to get out of there.
"If you don't mind, I need to...I have a feeling that I'll simply be a third wheel in your research. I won't be able to add anything he won't think of, so I think...I'm going to go to my--your--our office." I can tell this isn't setting well, so I assure them that I have no intention of disappearing on them. Not really anywhere I can go at the moment anyway.
Leaving them to get on with it, I head out of the lab.
As Spike exclaims his agreement with Fred's assessment, I reach up and run my hand over the left side of my neck. There's no feeling of the roughened, slightly puckered skin I've had there since I recovered from being attacked by Holtz's psychotic follower. Slowly, I run my fingers over to the right side of my neck.
The scar is there. On the wrong side. And I suddenly realize that I'm using my left hand, not my right hand as I normally would.
My mind races back to the accident in the lab earlier, getting caught in the middle of the mirrors and that bright light. Was I split? Or did something else happen?
"Perhaps you, me, and our guest should go to the lab. Maybe, we can figure out what's going on from there."
The other Wesley's voice punctures my thoughts, and I realize that he's reached the same conclusion I have. But to hear him refer to me as "our guest"... I know that I am Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. I remember everything.
Angel doesn't seem to want to leave us alone but finally agrees, casting a look at me before he disappears. I suddenly feel like the impersonator I'm accused of being. Not to mention a freak on display, given Harmony's reaction.
Finally, the other - first? original? - Wesley gets rid of her and asks Fred if we should head to the lab. I suddenly don't know if I want to go. What if I am a demon?
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I nod, knowing that this must have something to do with the accident Knox caused in the lab with the Quantum mirrors, and then look over at the second Wesley, who suddenly has a look of uncertainty in his eyes. Is he scared because he knows we'll find something out or because he's as unsure about what's going on as the rest of us?
"We have to figure this out," I tell him. He regards me for a minute with those blue eyes that are so very Wesley and then nods in agreement.
Together, the three of us head upstairs to the lab. Wesley - the one I know is Wesley - stays close to me, his hand hovering at the small of my back. The other Wesley...Good lord, this is going to get confusing, especially if we don't figure out what the heck is going on...the other Wesley keeps a noticeable distance. I want to say something to him, to both of them, but I don't know what to say, and knowing me, it'll come out as a ramble, which is definitely not something I want to do at the moment!
When we reach the lab, the lights are back on, so obviously Knox restored the power while we were gone. The mirror set-up is still where we left it.
And there's a strange stone coffin-thing sitting under my office observation window.
"Oh, hey, you're back," Knox says, appearing from other side of the lab. "Some guys delivered that sarco--." Suddenly, he stops when he sees us, his eyes opening wide as he counts softly, "One...two...there's two of you?! I thought one was bad enough!"
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"One...two...there's two of you?! I thought one was bad enough!"
"Shut up, Knox!"
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I fight to keep from bursting out laughing, but when I see Knox's reaction, I lose the battle and start giggling. Both Wes and Wes look at me, which just causes me to giggle harder.
"I'm sorry," I finally gasp out, putting my hand on my chest. "We should really see what's going on here. Knox, go ahead and head home. I've got this taken care of."
He gives me a hurt look. "Uh, what about the sarcophagus? Looks important."
"Put it in quarantine storage."
"But--."
"Knox, I don't have time to deal with it now, and I have no idea where it came from, so put it in quarantine, and then go home."
He stares at me for a minute like he really doesn't want to do what I've asked him. Finally, though, he goes over to the sarcophagus, which is still sitting on the flat-bed used to wheel it in and pushes it out of the lab towards quarantine.
"All right." I look at the guys and can't help but let out one last snort of laughter at their expressions. "Where were we?"
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Fred burst out in a peal of laughter, and I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face at the sound.
She gets rid of Knox, finally, and I steal a glance in my twin's direction. Good lord, is that scowl always on my face? And, am I doing that now, as well? That's too bizarre to contemplate, and I can already feel a headache brewing. What a day...
"All right. Where were we?"
"We need to figure out how all this happened. Fred, tell me...er...us more about this project you are working on."
Is it too much to hope that we can reverse it, in order to put things back the way they were? In our line of business? That's highly doubtful, but if anyone can figure out a way, it'll be my Fred.
Reply
Right. Start with the obvious - what I was planning to do with the experiment.
"I was working on Quantum Mirror set-up, basically I was going to use it to study the reflective properties of atoms and...umm..." I glance from him to the second Wesley and back again. "How to duplicate them at that level instead of the idea of cloning at a cellular level. The idea in the long run was to see if atomic replication was more stable for cloning purposes."
The more I explain what I was doing, the more I know that whatever Knox did to the generator is responsible for this. This wasn't supposed to happen so soon, though. And it wasn't supposed to happen to Wesley!
"If the mirrors are responsible for this, I don't know if there's a way to fix this. But before we even go there, I should run a few tests on you guys, see if you are duplicates. And we should check the lab's closed-circuit television disks...you know, see if there's anything on there that can show us exactly what happened."
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"I take you want a blood sample," I say. "I'll go first."
Fred looks at the other Wesley then pulls out her supplies and gets two needles ready. Sitting down in the clinical area of the lab, I hold my arm out so she can draw a sample. The blood looks like normal human blood, which is somewhat of a relief though I know that it won't mean a jot until she actually runs her DNA tests.
When she's finished, I stand up, holding the piece of cotton she's handed me over the small puncture wound. I glance over at the mirror experiment again and suddenly have a need to get out of there.
"If you don't mind, I need to...I have a feeling that I'll simply be a third wheel in your research. I won't be able to add anything he won't think of, so I think...I'm going to go to my--your--our office." I can tell this isn't setting well, so I assure them that I have no intention of disappearing on them. Not really anywhere I can go at the moment anyway.
Leaving them to get on with it, I head out of the lab.
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