My Past, My Present, My Future-Mia Smoak

xv. a zebra can't change their stripes

"John, Lyla." Julia nervously greeted them at the door.

"Hi Julia." Lyla responded with a hug.

"So, where is she? I'm dying to meet her" John said to his daughter sternly, not changing the even sterner expression on his face.

"Well, here's the thing-you already know her." Julia gestured to Mia, who was approaching the three.

"You're dating your brother's ex-fiance?" John asked, cringing slightly.

Mia nodded uncomfortably. "Yeah, we don't like to talk about that."

"I never thought that you would stoop that low." John murmured underneath his breath.

"Excuse me?" Julia retorted.

"Jules-" Mia didn't even get to finish that singular word before Julia spoke again.

"No, if he wants to judge me he can do it to my face." John stayed silent.

"That's what I thought. Now, either you can stay here and respect me and my girlfriend. Or, you could get the fuck out of her apartment." John kept intense eye contact with Julia for a few moments before deciding to walk out.

"Johnny." Lyla called after him before following behind.

"And to think I actually thought they changed." Julia muttered, trying to restrain the tears threatening to fall.

"I'm sorry." Mia rubbed her hand on her girlfriend's back.

"It's not your fault." I finally turned my head towards her. "Should've known they would choose JJ over me like always."

XXX

Feeling more alone than ever, Julia went back to the building. The building that almost caused her death. She started absentmindedly searching through the rubble, not knowing what she was looking for. That's when an idea crossed her mind. She dug and dug until she found the mannequin. The mannequin where her suit was at the time of the explosion. Only the mannequin was bare. The suit was gone.

XXX

After finding the empty mannequin, Julia continued to look for any clues that would lead to her finding her imposter. Eventually, she found an ID badge for Stagg Industries. The name of the copycat was Isabella Thomas. Julia was set on catching her imposter.

XXX

"Excuse me Ms. Thomas?" Julia called after the woman, chasing her down a Stagg Industries hallway.

"Yes?"

"Quick question."

"Of course." She smiled.

"Do you enjoy impersonating people?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

And without any explanation, Julia hit her over the head, knocking the copycat unconscious on the floor.

XXX

"You went after the copycat?" Mia questioned her girlfriend, clearly enraged. Mia had only found out about the capture from William, and not from Julia, adding insult to injury.

"And I caught her." Julia finished the sentence.

"Not the point. You could've gotten hurt." Mia scolded her.

"But I didn't." Julia pointed out.

"Is this because of John and Lyla?" Mia finally realized.

"What does she mean?" Connor questioned, paying more attention after hearing his parents' names thrown into the mix.

"Hey," William peered his head in from another room. "Can we have the lovers quarrel later? Our copycat is waking up."

XXX

"Why?" Julia asked her. She already had an idea of who she was, but Connor, Mia, and Zoe were concealed by their vigilante outfits. "Why are you impersonating black ghost?"

"Because I'm a fan." The woman grinned from behind bars.

"Black ghost only killed and stole because she was working for a dangerous man who's now dead." Julia scolded.

The imposter's eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know all of this?"

"I'm a friend." Julia forged a smile.

"Hey, I'm just keeping these three in a job." She retorted.

"There's enough problems without a copycat." Mia commented.

"Like Deathstroke." Isabella grinned.

"What do you know about deathstroke?" Mia asked, more intrigued now than ever.

"Who the hell is Deathstroke?" Julia chimed in, having had a lack of knowledge about this particular topic.

"He's caused everything. Every robbery, murder, explosion. They're all because of him. I am loyal to deathstroke." A small white capsule came out of her mouth.

"Guys, that's cyanide. She's going to kill herself."

"I am loyal to my master. I shall die for the cause." Before anyone could react at all, the capsule was in her mouth and her body had just about hit the floor.

"Shit."