Two Sides of the Same Coin

Chapter 2: Disaster

"Are you sure you heard them right? I mean, that's crazy, even for the Doc!" Chloe exclaimed after I told her what I heard in the locker room.

"I'm telling you, he's somehow figured it out. It's not that crazy, is it? I mean, I'm pretty much the same person all the time. I just switch genders. Honestly, I'm surprised nobody's speculated about this yet."

Chloe just gave me a look that said, "Really?".

"What? I don't find it that hard to believe. The only reason why I mentioned it was because it scares me a little."

"Girl, how many shapeshifters do you know besides yourself?"

"...None."

"Exactly! Think of it this way. If you knew nothing about shapeshifters, would you really wonder if two different people, and I mean completely different, were the same person?"

"Well... no, I guess. But-"

"There are no buts! You just proved my point and that's all there is to it. You're just overthinking it. Soon, all of this will blow over and you won't have to worry about what that old coot thinks."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I'm right! Anyway, I'll catch you later!"

"Ok. See ya!" I said half heartedly as Chloe walked away.

Eventually, I made it home and crashed on the couch.

"Was it a rough day at school, Alex?" Dad asked from the other couch.

"Yeah. Apparently, Yzarc thinks the Masculine Militant and the Feminine Fighter are the same person and people at school somehow found out."

"I would say all of this is surprising, but it was bound to get out eventually. Don't worry too much about it though. It's not like anybody can track those two to you. I mean, you look like an adult when you take on those personas, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just worried something big is about to happen. Something bad."

"You worry too much. You've beat Yzarc many times before so why should the next time be any different?"

Suddenly, the villain alarm went off so I jumped up and rushed down to the basement, aka my secret hideout. Not that it matters, but I couldn't come up with a creative name for it so everyone just calls it the Hideout. Pretty lame, right? The Hideout itself is anything but lame though. Thanks to my mom's job as a software engineer at a big tech company, I have access to a boat load of cool gadgets and gizmos, as well as a cool alert system that tells me when a villain is actively causing mischief.

Once I was in the Hideout, I checked the Villain Monitor and discovered that Yzarc was up to no good. It figures that he's the one to act out tonight. With uncertainty and fear clouding my mind, I changed into the Feminine Fighter and headed out. I know what you're thinking. You probably think I have some cool ride like the Batmobile or something. You'd be wrong, of course. I rely solely on my own two feet to get around so I can't be tracked by my vehicle. Though it sounds lame, it's actually pretty awesome to run to the scene of some crime. Of course, I can run faster than pretty much anything because of my powers so I got to my destination in a minute or so.

"It took you long enough to show up. I was beginning to wonder if you had lost your edge," Dr. Yzarc said from across the room.

"Yeah, you wish. What's with the device? I thought you specialized in robots, not ray guns," I replied, not taking my eyes off him or his device.

Something about the big gun-like machine gave me the chills.

"Do you like it? It will be the device that finally destroys you, once and for all!" he cackled maniacally.

"Oh really? Haven't I heard that line a dozen times before?" I asked sarcastically, trying to hide the fear I felt.

"This time is different! Instead of trying to destroy you, I'm going to split you in half, effectively weakening you so I can destroy you with my robot army!"

I was right! This device is bad news. If I get split into two, there will be no way to hide that I'm both of the heroes Yzarc thinks I am.

"Oh yeah?" I started, putting on airs. "What if I destroy it before you can zap me?"

"That's not going to happen because you're already trapped with no escape! Take a look at your feet!"

I looked down to see that the Doc was right. Somehow, my feet had been covered in an extremely hard substance while I wasn't looking.

"You're in top form today, Doc. I'm surprised you trapped me without my noticing. Too bad it's not enough."

"Let's see if you can escape before my device hits you with its ray."

Yzarc pressed a button on his remote, causing the device to whirr ominously.

"Firing in three..."

While the device counted down, I quickly changed my feet into that of an elephant's, breaking myself free.

"Two..."

Then, I ran toward Yzarc with all of my speed.

"One..."

I tackled the old man, causing him to drop his remote. After the remote shattered, the machine started to beep faster and faster until it overloaded and blew up. Fortunately, the blast wasn't very big or damaging. However, something wasn't quite right. After the smoke cleared, I saw myself standing in front of me. No. Scratch that. The Feminine Fighter was standing in front of me. I looked down to see that I somehow became the Masculine Militant without realizing.

"Y-you're... me!" the two of us exclaimed, looking at each other in astonishment.

It looks like I was right about a storm coming. Who knew things would turn out like this? Just what am I going to do?