//------------------------------// // Mewtwo Gaiden: Ten's a Crowd // Story: A Matter of Genetics // by Guardsman_Sparky //------------------------------// My day started as most do. I woke up, flopping out of my hammock as I stretched languidly. Catching myself before I hit the ground, I rotated upright, smacking my lips as I suppressed a yawn. Scratching my ear, I pulled an apple from the table into my paw and took a bite. Ooh, yeah. Let me tell you, when it comes to growing apples, the Apple family is second to none. Hmm’ing my pleasure at the taste, I finished the apple, core and all (I’m pretty sure I wasn’t able to do that Before, but darn me if it ain’t good). Several other apples joined the first, along with a smoked fish, before my appetite was satisfied. With my, admittedly short, morning wake-up routine finished, I made my way over to the hole down and lowered myself down the shaft. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh: I still hadn’t quite figured out how to make a ramp there, or how to make it retractable. I did have an idea on how to do it, but without the appropriate materials, I wasn’t able to work it out for sure. Dropping from the bottom of the tower into my throne room, I floated over to my rock and settled into my customary modified lotus position (how a rock can be so comfortable is beyond me, but I’m not complaining). Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and began the next portion of my morning routine. With my first breath, the sand began to ripple, forming intricate and flowing patterns. In the past, I had only made spirals and the like, but today I was going to try my paw at mandalas (unfortunately, taking a peek revealed less than stellar results. ...We’ll work on that). Another breath had my various river rocks and stones levitate into the air and begin orbiting around me. I kept each rock in precisely the same position relative to the others in orbit (No, no round rock number two, get back in your spot). Finally one last breath pulled a ring of water from the pool to coil and swirl around and through the rings of rocks, along with the solitary fish that called my pool home (yes, hello Mr. Fish. Why are you in the flying water again?). I sat there, calmly practising my control. All was right with the world. The sand was rippling in pleasing patterns, the rocks were following their orbits with barely any wobble, Mr. Fish was floating languidly through a ring of water suspended in air, and the shiney cylinder was falling towards my head. … Wait, what? Bonk Ow. I would like to say that being suddenly brained by an unexpected falling object had no effect on my psychic control, but that would be a lie. As it was, Mr. Fish was lucky enough to land on the dividing wall next to the pool, quickly flopping into the water. Groaning, I opened my eyes and took in the mess before me. Well, that’s going to be a pain to clean up. I looked around. What hit me anyways? It didn’t take long to find. It was right next to the Poke Ball, which I’m pretty sure was somehow the universe having a laugh at my expense. Grabbing it with my telekinesis, I brought it before me. It was...well, I’m not sure what it was precisely, but it was a cylinder of some sort.It was black, and it was green, and that was pretty much it, though it did have an interesting decal on one end that looked like an hourglass. Wait, that’s a button. What’s it do? Having nothing better to do, I pushed the button. With a blinding flash, the cylinder was gone, and in its place were...are those humans? Those are humans, why are they, where did they…?! Questions for later. The two beings I tentatively identified as human appeared to be in the middle of a fight, with the taller human, an older man with ridiculously long hair, fending off punches from a smaller female. There was a calm air to the man, a sort of cool detachment from the fight, while the girl was absolutely radiating frustration. It was an impressive fight, kicking up sand and snapping the air from the force of their blows, with the old guy easily deflecting everything that the girl could throw at him, to her mounting frustration. And they were completely ignoring me! Excuse me. The man ducked under the girl’s leg as she performed a spinning midair kick. Excuse me! Landing deftly on her feet, the girl was forced to dodge to the side as the man brought a foot down in a crushing axe-kick, sending up a plume of sand from the small crater his foot made. OI! The man caught the girl’s fist in the palm of his hand, the sharp smack of flesh meeting flesh echoing through the throne room. Outwardly, it wouldn’t appear that the man was paying me any attention, but then there was a shift in his mental focus and I promptly fell off the back of my rock as at least half a dozen voices suddenly began talking, yelling, or just generally making noise all at once in a cacophonous assault on my mind. As I lay upside down at the bottom of my hill from going ass-over-teakettle, I could only think one thing. Ow. I could almost hear a door being shut, and the voices went quiet. “Not a fan of being interrupted,” The man spoke. I assume he had just tossed the girl, given the splash and subsequent cursing off to one side. He came into view around the hill, crossing his arms. Yes, well, I’m not all that fond of strange people showing up and fighting in my throne room out of nowhere either, but we don’t always get what we want, now do we, I replied snarkily. Picking myself up, I reoriented myself upright and faced him. So...who are you and why are you in my castle? He sighed, brushing some hair out of his face. “You’re the one who summoned us. Did you have a reason, or are you a first timer?” I blinked. I beg your pardon? “You summoned us,” he repeated, giving me an annoyed look. I stared at the man blankly before letting out an explosive sigh. Apologies. I am somewhat out of my depths here. I usually can get a read on a situation by skimming what comes off another being’s surface thoughts, but I’m not getting anything off of you or the girl. Thankfully. I’m not sure what was going on with those voices in his head, but I know for a fact I don’t want to experience that again. You have me at a disadvantage, Mr. …? “Hughes, Jason Hughes. That's my daughter, Rita.” I see. I glanced over to the girl as she climbed out of the pool, grimacing at the way her clothes were clinging to her. Of all the things I remembered from Before, it was that wet clothes really chafed. Here, I said, extending a paw towards the soaking wet and rather irritated girl, covering her with a skintight field of telekinetic energy. Let me get that for you. I slowly expanded the field, essentially wringing Rita out, but before I could proceed to the actual wringing out, she glowed a deep purple, unleashing a blast of dark energy that knocked me on my ass. I lay there on the ground, staring at my ceiling stupidly. That was...that was a Pokemon move. Dark Pulse, something deep in my core told me. Immediately I was upright and across the room, staring Rita in the eyes with a calculating and discerning eye. You are...not human. Not fully, at least. What are you? “Names Rita.” She cracked her knuckles. “And you, are the creep that tried to cop a psychic feel.” I blinked. Pardon? The next thing I knew, I was in the courtyard at the end of a shallow trench, nursing a sore jaw. Sitting up, I saw a hole in the wall leading to the throneroom. “Perv!” Rita called from the hole in the wall. A cold rage came over me. That bitch! She Sucker Punched me! I sprung to my feet. Right! I’ll do ya fer that! Rita jumped out into the courtyard, putting her hands in the pockets of her shorts. “Think you can, fetus-cat?” Fetus-cat? Seriously? That was the best she could do? Rising into the air, I unleashed my hold on my Pressure, letting the ungodly force of my psychic might saturate the air. My vision turned blue as I flexed my telekinesis, and though I couldn’t see it, I knew that the air behind me had been tinged an actinic blue as I picked up the boulders and dead tree trunks that had been piled along the back wall. Tell me, girl, I said as I idly spun a few of the boulders in place. Have you ever played Dodgeball? I thrust my arm forward, heralding a barrage of hurtling rock and wood. A smirk grew across Rita’s face as she deftly dodged the flying debris. “Bring it.” Leaping into the air, she opened her mouth wide, unleashing an icy blue laser. Ice Beam, I realized. Holding out my paw, I summoned up a shield of psychic energy, stopping the Ice Beam dead in its tracks. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reflect it back into Rita’s mouth like in the movies, and the sudden cold left my paw feeling numb. Impassively, I reached out to grab the girl, only for her to slip through my telekinetic grasp like a slippery fish. My mind raced. Shit. She’s a Dark type. That’s going to make things rather harder. Then again, dark-types are weak against Fighting type moves. I deflected another Ice Beam. Hmm, looks like she’s also the ice type. That might make this a little easier. Of course, that’s assuming I can get close to her. “What? Can’t back up the talk?” Rita grinned, throwing her hands out and unleashing a beam of multicolored lights. Ah, Aurora Beam. I corkscrewed around the coruscating laser, the supercooled air making my fur stand on end. I closed my paw into a fist, causing several boulders to slam together around Rita in a makeshift Rock Tomb. A Dark Pulse shattered Rita’s prison and knocked me back, the dark energy painfully crackling across my skin. Hardening her gaze, Rita proceeded to do a strange dance. She finally struck a pose, a gem around her neck glowing. “Black Hole Eclipse!” What is she…? Why is she dancing? Is she trying to...My eyes bulged as a massive black hole of Dark-type energy materialized in front of Kira and shot up into the sky above me. To my horror, it suddenly expanded, its overwhelming vacuum sucking in all the debris on the battlefield, and me. If I could, my ears would be flat against the back of my head right now. Mother. Desperately, I created a bubble of psychic energy in a last-ditch attempt to protect myself from the attack. I don’t think it worked, because I shortly found myself in the middle of a small crater, very much in pain. Ow… Slowly, painfully, I hauled myself to my feet. Swaying in place, I noticed that Rita was breathing heavily and covered in sweat, as if she had just run a marathon. Oh, good, the Pressure’s working: whatever crazy attack that was, it looks to have taken more out of her than it usually would have. “Truce?” She asked, holding her hand out. I stared at her for a moment, before knocking her feet out from under her with a swipe of my tail. Truce, I responded, holding out my hand to help her up. She snorted, grabbing it. I hauled her to her feet before lifting myself a few inches into the air. I’d help you inside, but I can’t pick you up with my telekinesis, apparently, I noted as I reigned in my Pressure. Floating inside, I promptly flopped over onto my rock. Ow. Jason walked over, placing his hand over me. He flicked his wrist, and a feeling of warmth flowed over me, my aches and bruises fading away. Ohh...oh, that feels good. Sitting up, I looked at the older man as Rita stumbled back in. Now that things had calmed down somewhat, I took the time to look the two over and take in their features. Jason stood at about six feet tall, in his mid twenties. He had brown hair that reached his waist, and a well trimmed beard. He was clad in scuffed-up jeans and a t-shirt, emblazoned with a skeleton drinking vodka. His eyes were...actually, let’s not go into those, they scare me. Rita, was much less menacing. She only reached about 5’4, and wore a pair of jean shorts, and a shirt that showed off her comparatively generous chest. She had red eyes and black hair. I just realized something, I exclaimed. I never introduced myself. I floated to my feet and made a grandiose sweeping motion with my arm. I welcome you, to the Castle Cerulean. I am Mewtwo. Jason shook his head. “No, you are a Mewtwo. I’m not going to call you that.” I tilted my head. He was being strangely insistent about that, but I just couldn't bring myself to give a damn. Call me what you will then. Mewtwo is the only name I care for, as I do not remember who I was Before. Jason pinched his nose. “Jesus, it’s like I’m meeting Medulla all over again.” I do not know this “Medulla” you speak of. “He’s another Mewtwo, didn’t remember his life before Equestria either.” Yes, well a millennium in stone will do that to one. Another Mewtwo? Intriguing. This other Mewtwo...where are they? I needed to know, if only to be sure they didn’t become the threat I once was. Jason sat down, pushing his hair over his shoulder. “Another universe. He’s been around longer than you have, comparatively.” Another universe? Surely that… Something clicked in my mind. You mentioned before that I summoned you in some manner. Am I to assume you too came from a different universe? Jason nodded in approval. “Yep. I’ve been to a lot. It’s how I met Rita’s mother.” I assume there are other Equestria’s with people who don’t belong out there, then? Jason nodded again. Huh, I muttered as I remembered my time locked away in stone. Well, that certainly explains some of the dreams I had during my imprisonment. I could not for the life of me figure out why I kept dreaming about a crazy samurai with a spear and his own soundtrack, amongst other things. Jason raised his eyebrow. “That would be Gilgamesh, my adopted father.” That… I paused. That actually raises more questions than answers, but I think I’ll go with: how the heck did that come about? I mean, how did you even meet in the first place if you are from different Equestrias like I am assuming? For that instance, how are you even here? “Oh, he found my token and decided to pick a fight with me.” Jason smiled, lost in nostalgia. “Kicked my ass hard.” I’m sorry. Token? “That little thing you picked up. I made it and sent copies throughout the multiverse.” I looked at Jason blankly before shaking my head. I still don’t follow. Jason took in a deep breath, shaking his head. “Alright so, Displaced are people like us. Eldritch abominations that live out in the void between universes get bored and like to send people from one universe to another, usually altering them into something else.” Okay? Well, that answered some questions, I think… But what are the tokens for? In fact, what even is a token? “Tokens are calling cards. Displaced use items that represent them and send it out for other Displaced to find. You can summon another Displaced through their token.” Oh~. Okay, that makes sense. That was...interesting. Are all of these...Displaced, as strong as she is, I asked, hiking a thumb over my shoulder at Rita. Jason laughed. “No, Rita’s not Displaced. Not... technically. Her mom and I are though.” Is that a yes? “Depends on who they turned into.” Hmm, now that was interesting. Perhaps some of these Displaced would be able to help me get stronger. How would I go about making one of these...tokens? “Find an object that defines you and place a message inside it.” I sighed, before picking up my Poke Ball, which was, miraculously, untouched by all the recent hullabaloo, and making it hover in front of me. Unfortunately, the only thing I have that remotely fits that description is this. I bobbled the red and white sphere as emphasis. I’d have prefered a Master Ball, but that bastard of a Draconequus decided to be cute and stuff me in a measly Poke Ball. “Right.” He nodded, taking it from me. His eyes turned yellow, and it transformed into a Master Ball. “There.” He tossed it back, looking rather tired. I blinked at the formerly half-red sphere as I took it in my paws. White bottom, purple top with two shallow, reddish-purple bulges and a white ‘M’ above the release button. Yup, it was a Master Ball all right. I could feel the difference, like it had a certain weight that it had lacked as a Poke Ball. I looked at Jason owlishly. How do? “I can turn into a Draconequus. I didn’t feel like letting him out, so, I tapped into some of his power. Always a bit of a pain in the ass.” I blinked at Jason slowly. Oh..kay? You know what, I’m not even going to question it. I held the Master Ball up in one paw. So how do I do this? How do I make this a token? “Just put all your thought into it, and for the love of god, actually give yourself a name that isn’t Mewtwo.” But I am Mewtwo, I pointed out. Giving a Pokemon a name is a human thing. True, I am only a Mewtwo, but I am also Mewtwo. There’s a subtle nuance to it that I’m pretty sure non-Pokemon cannot comprehend. Turning away from Jason, I thought long and hard what to do. “Don’t give us that,” Rita spoke up. “Look, you know what. I’m just gonna call you Jung.” If you must call me anything, then call me Hellcat, I replied, still contemplating the Master Ball. It is what the ponies here called me, it shall suffice as a name to my...peers. What is Jung even supposed to mean, anyways? Rita smiled. “Carl Jung was a doctor who created Jung psychology. It’s a little complicated but, if you’ve ever played Persona, the series is actually based on that. The general idea is, humanity shares a sub conscious, and that people use masks, or personas, to interact with the world.” That’s...rather interesting, I allowed. But I don’t believe Jung quite fits my idiom. I think I shall stick with Hellcat for the time being. I returned my attention to the Master Ball. I think I... I found myself staring at the Master Ball, the purple and white orb drawing me in as the world seemed to fade away. Unbidden, words rose to the fore of my mind, and I spoke. I stand alone. But if you would seek to challenge your destiny, or just yourself, then I shall come. If your need is dire, then I shall aid you. However, if you seek to subjugate, you shall not live to regret it. Call upon me if you would behold my power. Blinking, I jerked back, the world coming back into focus. What just happened? “Congratulations,” Jason said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “You just made your token.” Huh. That was...rather easier than I expected. I held out the Master Ball before me. So...now what? Jason held his hand out. I blinked at him for a moment (good lord, I’m doing that a lot, aren’t I?) before handing him the Master Ball. His eyes turned yellow again, and he punched a hole in reality. I stared blankly at the tear in space, an uncomfortable twitch in my eye. Who? What? Why? Error 404: Universe not found. Please reboot Mewtwo.OS. The Master Ball was tossed into the void, where it shattered into innumerable copies before Jason sealed the rift shut. I blinked asynchronously as I tried and failed to comprehend what I had just seen before deciding I was better off forgetting about it. Of course, before I could say anything, a Poke Ball fell into my lap. My Poke Ball. The self-same one that had just been tossed into the void as a Master Ball. I stared emotionlessly at the innocuous red and white ball sitting in my lap. I am never going to be rid of you, am I? The little orb just sat there, mocking me with its existence. “Probably not...” Jason let himself fall back, breathing heavily. I… I sighed. Thank you for your help, and the fight, I said, turning to Rita. I had fun. Perhaps we could do it again sometime, when we’re both stronger. Rita laughed, a big grin on her face. “Actually, I was holding back. Anyway, why don’t we stick around. Dad could show you a thing or two about being a Mewtwo.” I turned to stare at Jason before turning back to Rita. Somehow, I don’t doubt that. I’ll have to decline, though. I feel that this is something I have to learn on my own. It’s...I have a lot to think about. “Really?” Jason pulled himself to his feet. “Omnitrix, Second Sight.” The large device on his arm flashed, and in his place stood... Another Mewtwo? For some reason, I couldn’t help but bury my face in my paws. Oh dear God.