Victor Stone had resigned himself to the fact that he was completely alone in the world. He had comrades, but they were completely organic. He had people he'd consider calling 'friend', but they were organic as well. They had secret identities. They...
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Harper had intended to explore the newly improved Hall of Justice before venturing out to meet the future versions of her teammates, but apparently Victor had other plans. The next day he had been waiting outside of her temporary quarters, and now more than ever she could see the years wearing on his face. Somehow he looked both younger and older than he actually was simultaneously.
"We're not supposed to be speaking to each other, you know?" Harper leaned back in her wheelchair with a sigh, but there was the slightest hint of a smile hovering over her lips.
"Yeah. I know." Victor replied in a voice strumming with a sense of maturity that had come with his age. He was in his late forties, after all. He no longer had the breathy, light tone of a young adult. "But we were never very good at following orders."
"Speak for yourself, Megatron. I did it all the time in the military." Harper teased in a way that made Victor's eye light up. "You must be a bad influence on me."
"It was the other way around, actually." Victor looked like he might smile, but it was trapped behind his facade. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. It's...difficult seeing you again after so long."
"It must be. I'm a pretty pathetic sight compared to this new and improved Harper."
"No. You're worth more than she ever could be." Victor bit back sourly. It was clear that she was joking, but he didn't find this situation amusing at all.
"You really aren't fond of her, are you? I mean, she's a bit of a bitch but she probably gets that from me. Why are you so hostile towards her?"
"She wants something from me that I can never give her." Victor didn't need to explain any further than that. Immediately, Harper knew exactly what he was referring to. Despite their own relationship, he didn't feel the same way for this new clone. "Before you died, you tried to convince me that the next clone would be exactly the same as you were. For a while, she was fairly similar, but I had no interest in a copy of the woman that I loved. I only wanted you. Not her. Not anyone else."
"You're aware that I'm a copy too, right?"
"Weren't you the one that used to say that each clone was different from one another? Life experience made you into the woman I loved, and it also made the clone after you completely psychotic. After two years she started diverging into a completely different person. She became obsessed with the acceptance of others; the general public, the Justice League, Lara...and myself. She made dangerous decisions in the pursuit of that acceptance. She made clone 2904 with that goal in mind. She altered her DNA into something else...something stronger, faster, and more intelligent than any 'Harper' that came before her. She thought this strength would gain the admiration of the people around her, and that the artificially flawless appearance might seduce me."
Harper scoffed, digging into her pocket and procuring a packet of cigarettes that she had snagged from one of the teen 'heroes' pacing around the building. She lit it and took a deep draw. "Well, I never thought I'd be attracted to myself, but she is pretty hot."
