Log:Dorian's Responsibilities

2019/11/12 	 Dorian Copycat

1

As Third and Porter are leaving Starguard, a Starguard agent rushes up to Dorian and salutes. "Commander, we may have a situation concerning the deceased that were animated..."

Dorian nods. "I did get a report on that. I'm not sure what happened, but it's being looked into."

The agent nods. "Well, Sir, one of the bodies is still missing. A John Doe. They weren't Starguard or military." The agent looks a bit more grave. "Also, we finally IDed one of the bodies. Agent Henderson, sir. But...I just saw Agent Henderson released from the infirmary. He left to go home fifteen minutes ago."

Dorian nods to the agent. "Alright, check the security footage from when Henderson left. It might be a shapeshifter we're dealing with, but it's hard to know for sure. See what you can get from the street cameras, too. I want to know where the person went. I'll check out Henderson's home."

The agent salutes again. "Right away, Sir." He prepares to hurry off to carry out the Commander's orders.

Third looks concerned. "One body's missing, and another is a shapeshifter?" At least Porter was locked up when this occurred. Maybe. "We should let you get to work, Dorian. Good luck."

Dorian shrugs and smiles. "I...have no idea what I'm dealing with sometimes. This is one of those times. If you'll excuse me..."

Third nods to Dorian as he excuses himself. "I'm sure you're the right man to figure it out," she says encouragingly.

Dorian chuckles. "Here's hoping." He quickly checks on Henderson's address, and then changes to his energy form before floating upward though the ceiling and out of view.

According to the agent, Henderson had walked out of Starguard fifteen minutes ago. He was being treated in the Starguard infirmary for a headwound and a few burns, and had been unconscious for a few days. Shortly after he left, an ID on one of the unidentified bodies came back as Henderson, based on dental records, since his body was burned.

Henderson's car is still at HQ, and exterior cameras showed him getting into a taxi. The home address for Agent Jake Henderson is about 45 minutes away from HQ, out in the suburbs.

Spirit knows that taxis have a GPS location device installed. While he's flying out to the house, he calls into the agents doing the computer legwork, "See if you can get the GPS information from that particular taxi. I need to know where it took him." He then lands outside of the home, on the street, and changes back to his civilian clothing in a flash of light.

Dorian is going with his less formal attire as he heads up to the door of the house, looking for any sign of anyone being home.

Dispatch radios back after some quick work. "We traced the taxi based on the license plate we caught on camera. It's heading west on the freeway, Commander. Looks like it's getting off around Newtown."

It's a small single story home. There's a car parked in the driveway, the blinds are open in the front window. Cartoons can be seen playing on a holoscreen on the family room wall.

Dorian rubs his chin as he thinks about it. This is a rough situation, but he likely has to just be straightforward about it. He shifts form again to his formal uniform and knocks on the door.

A dog barks inside, and a woman is having to kindly scold the dog. "Buddy, no. Down. Sit. Sit! Okay, staaaay." A few moments later, the deadbolt clicks and the door opens. "Hello, can I help you?" a woman with her brown hair tied back asks. She's in her early thirties, smiling but tired. Until she notices the uniform. That gets her curious.

Dorian nods. "Mrs. Henderson, I'm Dorian Perrault, the commander of Starguard Gamma. Do you have a minute or two to talk?"

"Ah...yes? Come in, come in. Sorry about the mess. And watch your step," Mrs. Henderson opens the door. There's some toys scattered about. A boy sits on the floor watching cartoons, while playing with some toys.

Dorian nods sadly. He's had to make calls like this before, but he hasn't had to do this kind of thing in person. He says quietly to her, trying to make sure her son can't hear it, "Mrs. Henderson, I know you received word that your husband was being treated due to an injury. There's no kind way for me to say this, but it's possible that's not the situation. I know this is odd, but we believe your husband may have been killed, his body burned, and he was replaced by someone else pretending to be him. I need to confirm if that's the case, or if the lab techs made a mistake in identifying the dental records." He rubs his forehead. "I'm sorry to put you through this. Have you heard from someone who you thought was your husband?"

"W...what...what are you saying?" Mrs. Henderson asks in shock. She looks to her son. "Danny, please...can you go play in your room for a while? Mommy ...mommy needs to have a talk."

Danny looks up and nods, picking up his toys and running down a hallway to his room.

Mrs. Henderson looks back to Dorian, eyes starting to rim red. "That can't be right...you have to be mistaken. He called a short while ago. He said he was coming home..."

Dorian nods. "It's possible that the techs made a mistake, like I said. But I need to check to be sure. I'm sorry to have to do this. I didn't want to take the chance that we have a doppleganger of some type and we might have put you and your son at risk. I can't take that chance." He rubs his chin, "I might end up needing your help to confirm it either way. Did he say when he'd be home?"

"U-um....yes, he called said he just got on leave after being discharged from the infirmary," Mrs. Henderson tries to think straight. "He should be here soon..." she says, feeling uneasy.

Dorian looks pained. "I apologize. I pray that the techs are wrong. I can wait outside for him, if you like. I don't want to cause any further stress than I already have."

Mrs. Henderson nods slowly. "A-alright, Mr. Perrault," she stammers, feeling overwhelmed and in shock. "I hope this is all a terrible mistake...it has to be."

Dorian nods. "It might be. I just can't rule anything out yet." He pauses, "Should I wait outside for him to arrive, Mrs. Henderson?"

"Please," she agrees, not sure if she's strong enough to do it herself.

Dorian nods and heads back outside to wait. And he intended to not leave until he knew for sure what he was dealing with. There had to be some way to know.

Mrs. Henderson closes the door. The lock slides back into place. She closes the blinds.

"Commander, GPS reports the taxi is almost to your location," comes over the radio waves.

A few minutes later, a taxi turns onto the street.

Dorian remains in uniform, watching the taxi as it pulls up. He also checks it for EM emissions, checking to see if perhaps Mrs. Henderson goes to try to give him a call in the meantime.

The taxi pulls up. No calls from Mrs. Henderson, but the TV emissions are off now. She must have shut it off while waiting.

Jake Henderson steps out of the vehicle in some fresh Starguard BDUs after paying the taxi driver with cash out of his pocket. He's got some bandaging around his head and on his right hand. He starts waking up the walkway to the door and slows as he sees Dorian. "Commander Perrault? What're you doing here?" The man has brown hair in a crew cut, and looks like he hasn't shaved in a few days.

Dorian gives him a quick scan as well, looking for anything odd. He walks over toward him, "Agent Henderson, we have an issue. I'm sorry to delay you getting home, but...some of the techs found a burned body with your dental records. I'm looking for an explanation."

Jake scans as human to Dorian's senses. Nothing unusual except he has no cellphone on him. The only energy signature is a black smartwatch on his left wrist. When Dorian explains the body with his dental records, he stares a moment, unable to process exactly what that means. "What're you talking about, Commander? That's...that's crazy." He sounds sincere and confused. "I don't have an explanation for that, Sir."

Dorian nods slowly. "I think I believe you. May I see your watch for a moment? And would you might unlocking it for me? It will help me to confirm that you are who I hope you are."

Dorian nods slowly. "I think I believe you. May I see your watch for a moment? And would you mind unlocking it for me? It will help me to confirm that you are who I hope you are."

"My...watch?" Jake asks, sounding confused. "Look, Commander...I've been through hell. I just want to see my wife and son. I don't have a..." he looks to his wrist to prove it, then looks confused for a moment. "Watch?" He examines it in puzzlement.

Dorian furrows his brow. "You don't have a watch?"

Jake shakes his head slowly and taps at the smartwatch screen. "No. Nothing like this." He can't figure out how to make it activate with those first few taps and pushes.

Dorian tilts his head, "May I take a look at it?"

Jake nods and flips his wrist to check for the strap, unfastening it and handing it over to Dorian.

Dorian takes a look at the watch, scanning it with his EM scan briefly while he looks at it for anything odd or out of place.

This smartwatch has cell and radio capabilities. It's pretty powerful, and the radiation spectrum on this is broad. More powerful than a normal smartwatch. In fact, Dorian vaguely recognizes this energy signature. It reminds him a bit of a watch Copycat wears.

Dorian nods slowly and hands the watch back to Agent Henderson, but he makes a point of making contact with the agent's hand as he does so. "It's an amazing piece of hardware. No idea where you got it?"

Agent Henderson shakes his head slowly as he takes the smartwatch back, looking it over again. "No, sir. Maybe someone in the infirmary put it on me thinking it was mine? I'll be sure to turn it into the lost and found," he says, pocketing it rather than putting it back on.

Dorian nods again, "It's possible." . o O (Then again, perhaps Copycat was the one who burned up?) He keeps an eye on the agent for a long moment, just to make sure he doesn't change. The transformations were pretty quick last time he saw it happen.

The brush of contact starts the change at a cellular level. Dorian's an energy being of immense power, which is a lot for even someone like Copycat to try and mimic. After Agent Henderson looks down to put the watch in his pocket, he shortens some and looks up, and Dorian finds himself looking eye-to-eye into his own current face. Even the BDUs have changed into Dorian's formal uniform. And then CopyDorian looks confused, then calm. "Whoever you are, I'll have you know impersonating a commander can have serious consequences."

Dorian sighs and rubs his eyes. "You just copied me. You're Copycat. We fought alongside here against Overlord." He can't quite bring himself to smile. He's not looking forward to going inside to talk to Mrs. Henderson. "Search your feelings, you know it to be true."

Dorian's copy stares at him a moment. "That's crazy, I..." and then the star wars quote hits a chord within her. He looks down to his pocket and takes out the smartwatch again, studying it a moment as he does indeed search his feelings, focusing on the Star Wars quote of all things. "You're right," he says suddenly, shrinking down a bit while turning back into her petite, pink-haired self. All the confidence of being an agent or a commander fade away, and she looks to Dorian as her eyes well up.

CopyDorian appeared fine. But Copycat still has the bandages that Agent Henderson had. And the injuries to match. Burns, and a head injury.

Dorian pinches the bridge of his nose. He mutters to himself, "This is the part of the job that I really, really dislike." He looks tired, but he says to her, "What happened? How did you end up copying Agent Henderson?"

"He...he was with me and Bravo Company when we were on the ship. We were backing up United Earth forces down one of the alternate routes and ran into heavy resistance." Copycat tries to remember. "I remember...an explosion. Henderson and I were sent flying and...the last thing I remember was him crashing into me." She searches her memories. "The next thing I remember is waking up in the infirmary." Based on what Dorian recalls of the reports he caught up on, the body IDed as Henderson was found several corridors further ahead of where Henderson(Copycat) was reportedly found. The real Henderson died closer to the front lines after Copycat was knocked out.

Dorian sighs, even though he doesn't really have to breathe at all. "He died after that. His wife thought he was okay because you had been treated and were heading here. I have to go tell her the real story, now that I know it."

Copycat covers her mouth as she gasps, more details becoming clearer. "Oh...oh no. I'm so sorry," she says as she tears up.

Dorian rubs his cheek slowly. "There wasn't anything you could do, as far as I know. Based on what I know of your powers. I do wish she hadn't gotten her hopes up, but the medics wouldn't have known either."

Copycat sniffs and looks over to the house. Some of the memories are still floating around in her head. "I'd never have done that on purpose..."

Dorian says, "I think...it might be for the best for you to not talk to her now. But you might want to in the future. Once she's had some time to...process."

Copycat nods faintly in agreement, hands still over her mouth in shame and guilt. Her hands finally draw down. "I think you're right, Commander Perrault." She looks back to him, feeling sad and terrible. "I'm so sorry. And thank you for helping me find myself before I made things even worse."

Dorian finally cracks a smile, but it's barely noticeable. "That's a pretty big downside to your powers. I don't remember you getting so lost in your...role previously."

Copycat looks embarrassed. "The longer I'm someone else, the more I get...well...lost. Especially if I'm knocked out as them or wake up as them. I, well, used to do a lot of undercover work when I lived in Millennium City. Strong personalities can overwhelm me, too." And considering her lack of confidence in general, that's a lot of personalities that can probably do that.

Dorian starts to turn toward the house. "I have to deliver the bad news. It can't wait. I already implied that her husband might be dead. It would be horrible for me to make her wait to find out for sure either way. But if you need it, I can give you a lift to wherever you need to go. Just wait a few minutes while I tell her what the situation is."

CopyCat nods. "I'll, um. Go take a walk. I don't think she should see me right now," she says quietly.

Dorian nods. "Don't go too far, though. Maybe just up the block a little?" He indicates off to the left. He then heads up to the door to break the bad news to Mrs. Henderson. When he does so, he lets her know the details about what happened with Copycat, and why the medics thought her husband was still alive. She deserves to know why there was a mix-up. And she deserves to know the truth.

Copycat nods, takes a deep breath, and starts walking off in the direction he indicates. She keeps an eye out for when he leaves the house, not straying too far.

Dorian is patient and he knows he'll attend the funeral personally. He listens and tells her that Starguard will be in touch about his belongings and benefits. The family will clearly need them. If she needs anything, she's welcome to contact him directly, as he gives her his direct contact information. After a few more minutes of consoling, he comes back outside and looks for Copycat, finding her down the street.

Copycat has taken the time to cry a bit and put herself back together, but her nose is pink, and her eyes are red-rimmed when he returns. She looks to him mournfully and walks over to meet him halfway. She takes a deep breath. "I don't know how you do it, Commander Perrault," she says, glancing back towards the house.

Dorian finally smiles a little again. "I do it because someone has to. And I don't want to ask anyone else to do it. I can bear the burden." He looks down at the ground, "You've seen my memories now, I think, right? You know that I witnessed my own funeral. Well, you would, if you thought back. When I 'died', I was free floating energy, and I was in the area of the cemetery while everyone said words over my grave." He sighs again, "I don't want to say that every agent here is my responsibility. They aren't. They are the Director's responsibility. I just run Gamma. But I still feel like...it should be mine as well. So...that's why I do it."

"I got...some of it. Just the broad strokes?" Copycat answers quietly. "But...that was pretty present in my head at the time. That was...that was an experience," she adds gently. She listens with an expression of respect. In gentle tones, she offers, "That's probably why you're a great commander."

Dorian shakes his head, "I don't feel 'great'. But thank you. I'm sure my confidence will come back in some time. I'm...a little shaken right at the moment, as I'm sure you can understand. I may take the rest of the day off, after I make sure that Agent Henderson's death benefits are settled. I may also see if Zeal and I can help with some kind of donation directly to the family."

Copycat nods and sniffles. "Well...no, it's not about feeling great. The fact that it impacts you so much is part of it. That you're even willing to go beyond to help." She looks back to the house and lets out a heart felt sigh. "I wish I could do something to help. But I can't help but think that anything I'd do would just make things worse."

Dorian nods, "Tell you what...give it some time to think about it. And when you decide you want to try to do something for hte family, run it by me first."

Copycat sighs and nods her head. "That's a good idea. I'll do that, Commander. Thank you," she says with a heavy heart and honest gratitude.

Dorian smiles, "I'll also let you know when the funeral will be once I know." He then changes form to his pure energy one in flash of light. His voice now sounds a little more echo-y and hollow, "Where would you like me to drop you off?"

Copycat smiles thankfully. "Thanks. I'd like to pay my respects. He was a good man." She can say that from first hand experience. She sniffles once more and wipes at her eyes, then watches in awe as he changes. She's seen him in that form, but it's still impressive each time. "Would it be too much trouble to drop me off in the Golden Sands neighborhood? My apartment's in that area."

Spirit shakes his head, "No trouble at all. I'll just be careful to carry you with an energy construct, though. Just in case." He reaches out a hand, and some tendrils of light extend outward and wrapping around her waist snugly before he takes off into the air with her in tow. He makes a point of not flying too quickly, but it doesn't take long to get to Golden Sands. He touches down, and sets Copycat down gently before the construct dissipates. When it does, the band of light breaks up into tiny motes, like glitter.

Spirit points at Copycat's wrist, "I was thinking about it on the way over here. There's one last thing you can do for me, though. You can give me a report on what that is, and what time it's from."

"That was certainly a new way of flying," Copycat mentions as they land, staring at the glittery motes in wonder before his question distracts her. She looks to Spirit, shy and nervous. "This? It's just a PowerPixie Plus Smartwatch." That just happens to be. Though the insides are altered and powered by part of the Torus. The Quantum Mechanic warned her there'd be consequences if she revealed its true nature, and she's already made some mistakes.

Spirit raises a brow, "I know that's not the case. I picked up on comments you made about time when in the holding cells. And it's the only reason I was able to suss out that you were you before you touched Mrs. Henderson and freaked her out. Without knowing something about that, you would have gone into that house, and I would have been dealing with the consequences after the fact isntead."

Spirit says, "If you dont' want to give an official report, that's fine. Just explain it in a quick broad stroke."

Spirit says, "Something like, 'It's a watch that allows me to travel through time, and it's from the...thirtieth century.'"

Copycat blushes and looks nervous as her poorly told lie is seen right through. "I...I can't tell. It's confidential. I promised I wouldn't divulge its secr--" she halts right there and goes pale an her eyes go wide. He knew about it already! But how!?

"H-how did you know?" Copycat squeaks.

Spirit chuckles. "Because I pay attention to what people say? I was guessing on the century it's from, but the other part, I was pretty sure about."

Copycat blushes and looks flustered. How could she possibly be a spy or infiltrator? "I'm not sure of the exact century. Oh no, he's going to be so mad I let it slip..." she says worriedly. "Please...don't tell anyone else?"

Spirit adds, "I won't put that in any official reports. But if you're trying to keep that quiet, you'll need to be more careful in the future." He chuckles. "The future. Heh."

Spirit tilts his head, at the mention of someone else. "I won't ask anything further about the watch. But who is 'he'?"

His chuckle gets Copycat to chuckle, especially once he promises not to put it in the reports. "I'll definitely work on being more careful. In the future." Another geeky chuckle. She gets a bit more serious when asked. She looks around nervously. "Um. The, um." She looks a little scared, briefly, then whispers, "The Quantum Mechanic."

Spirit nods again. "He went on the trip to the Guild with me. I won't pester him about it, unless it becomes an issue."

Copycat smiles in relief. "Thanks, Commander. I don't think it'll be an issue. Hopefully."

Spirit smiles, but it's hard to see, given the form he's in, without any real facial features. He rises into the air again, "Keep out of trouble. If you need anything, give me a call, okay?" He waves once and then starts to take off toward Starguard. He's also multitasking, putting in a radio call to the base to explain exactly what happened.

Copycat waves to Spirit as he departs. "I'll do that! Thank you for helping me find myself! And may the force be with you!" Yeah, she's THAT type of geek.

Spirit chuckles. "And also with you." He then flies off back toward the base.