Flaring Tempers II

In a dark room filled with innumerable gears, a blood-red light reveals a man with a half copper mask resting on a clockwork throne. Cinderblock emerges into the light carrying the sleeping man in the glass tube.

"Cinderblock, I see your mission was a success. Good, we will proceed with phase two... Wake him." The man in the mask commands.

Cinderblock pries open the tube causing the man to awaken.

"I'm... Awake? I can never be awake?! I'm only human when I'm sleeping!" The man shouts as he begins to panic.

"But for what I have in mind... Your human form is useless... I need Plasmis." The masked man replies, standing from his thrown as the tubed man begins to grow and deform into a purplish muck monster with toxic green eyes as it bursts forth from the tube.

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Ring... Ring... "This is Cyborg, I'm either in the gym, playing game station, or kickin' bad guy butt. Leave a message." Beep...

"Hello? Cy! Pick up! Come'on Cy, pick up! I know you're there the phone's built into your arm!" Click. The green boy finishes leaving a message to Cyborg after pacing around the common space of their headquarters.

"Taste!" The burgundy-haired girl tells the green boy as she puts a strange mashed potato-esque substance into his mouth with a wooden spoon. Causing the green boy to immediately wretch it up as she giggles.

"What is that?! Cream of toenails?!" The green boy shouts as he furiously rubs his tongue clean.

"Pudding of sadness. It is what the people of my planet eat when bad things happen." She replies as she takes a large spoonful for herself, forcing it to stay down as she made her way over to the purple hooded girl. "Try. The displeasing taste will ease your troubled mind." She offers the concoction to the purple-cloaked girl.

"My mind is never troubled. People come, people go. It's pointless to be upset about Cyborg." The purple cloaked girl claims, though as she says the name Cyborg her hair flairs outwards, and the screens beside her shatter. "What?" She asks emotionlessly.

With that, the burgundy-haired girl floats to the bay window, where the black-haired boy is standing alone, staring out into the bay, "Here, Robin. You must need this most of all... Since... Well..." She petters off.

"I'm fine... Who knows? Maybe we're better off without him." Robin says, turning as he walks away, leaving the girl alone to go and blow off steam in the gym.

"Yo! Whose turn to do dishes?" The green boy asks while hauling a pile of dishes onto the already overflowing counter before Robin appears from behind to start doing dishes.

"Cyborg..." Robin says. Afterward, he plays games for a while until he accidentally beats Cyborg's high score on the game station. Causing him to sigh melancholily before walking the tower and ending up outside Cyborg's room. Peering in, he stares at a photo of them hanging out before saying, "I'm sorry..." Just then an alarm begins to blare sending Robin rushing to the command room.

"Cinderblock strikes, again?" Robin asks, bursting into the command room.

"We wish..." The green boy laments.

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Ring... Ring... The name BB flashes across Cyborg's forearm as he clicks decline once more. "Can't you take a hint? I'm mad BB, now leave me alone!" Cyborg grumbles as he walks around town trying to find some way to let off some of his pent-up anger.

"Hey, you! Give me all ya got and you don't have to get hurt!" A young and woefully unlucky thug shouts in an alley not that far off from where Cyborg is moping.

"Finally, some action!" Cyborg says, finally cheering up as he makes his way to the scene only to find a young girl no taller than BB standing over the wanna-be mugger, lecturing him on why what he's doing and why it is wrong.

"Is this what your mother would have wanted for you? For you to go threatening and robbing people! Next time- Huh?" The girl turns to Cyborg, before asking, "Aren't you Cyborg? What're you doing here?" She says as she tilts her head.

"Apparently failing to rescue the damsel in distress. Need me to call the police or something?" Cyborg asks with mild confusion.

"Nah, I've already done it. Aren't you normally with the Titans? Why're you in this part of the city, alone? There're muggers about you know." A look of concern crosses the little girl's face as police sirens are heard off in the distance as she stops standing on the wannabe mugger and approaches Cyborg.

An angry grimace crosses Cyborg's face as he then sighs, "Yeah... I'm just getting a little fresh air. Need to blow off some steam."

A smile appears across her face as she suggests, "We could spar if you like?"

Making Cyborg laugh, "Ha, sorry little lady, but I don't like picking on little kids."

The girl's face turns gloomy as she growls, "I AM NOT A LITTLE KID!!! And I was going to go easy on you, but now... We're going to spar whether you like it or not!" Grabbing Cyborg's hand dragging him away as the police arrive to drag away the would-be mugger.

Despite Cyborg's initial resistance, he decided to entertain the kid as he had nothing better to do... A few hours of walking passed before the two find themselves in the wilderness outside the city making Cyborg asks, "Is there a reason we're so far outside the city? Also, I don't think I ever got your name?"

The little girl gives a knowing smile after releasing Cyborg's hand before saying, "Of course, how else are we going to be able to go all out and not worry about hurting civilians or damaging property? Oh... And you can call me... Ditto." Causing the little girl to giggle maniacally before her body morphs and transforms into that of Cyborg's, causing Cyborg to freeze in confusion before the Cyborg double's right hand turns into a sonic cannon and they say, "Booyah!" before firing toward Cyborg Prime.

Despite being caught off guard, Cyborg Prime is able to just barely dodge out of the way of the blast before getting close enough to throw a punch only to have the double's fist meet his own pushing them back, making Cyborg Prime cry out, "Who are you?! How're you me?!"

This makes the double laugh before charging forth to wrap their arm underneath Cyborg Prime's arm before tossing him, "I'm Ditto! And we can talk after our fists are through discussin'!"

After recovering from the throw, Cyborg Prime begins to smile from being fired up and begins to get into the thrill of fighting someone strong as he shouts, "Then let's debate!" Charging forward the two spend hours brawling through the forest. Only to stop at a draw when both of their power cells reach 50%. Cyborg Prime falls to the ground panting with a smile, "I think my fists are all talked out, how about you?"

Ditto Cyborg smiles as they too are panting on the ground, "Yeah, been a minute since I got such a good workout in. What about you?"

Cyborg Prime smiles, "That was just what I was needin'. Thanks, so mind telling me who you are now and how you're me?"

Sighing, Ditto Cyborg props themself up to look at Cyborg Prime, "Huff... I was wondering when this would come up. Just consider me a wandering hero. Righting the wrongs of the world. Ha..." They say with a sad laugh before looking away from him with an oddly familiar sad smile. "As for my power... I don't rightly know how it works myself, but I'd like to think of myself as a living copy machine. Anyone I touch I can become a perfect copy of, body, clothes, and powers... And I guess bionics too!" Ditto says with a cheeky smile after striking their tongue out.

Cyborg props himself up as well before asking, "Wait... You didn't know if you would get my bionics when you copied me?! What would you have done if that didn't happen?"

Ditto stops to think for a moment, "I don't know, probably ask you to run me to the nearest person I could copy from?" They say with a shrug, causing Cyborg to sigh with exasperation.

"Well, what do you plan to do now? And why don't you shift back to your little girl form from before?" Cyborg says, slowly standing up before offering them a hand up.

"I don't know, wander the streets, fight some crime, sleep on top of a skyscraper? As for the second thing... The 1st reason, I don't get to be this tall and strong all that often so it's a blast! And the 2nd... I kinda can't... Hehehe." Ditto says apprehensively.

"What do you mean you can't?" Cyborg says, giving Ditto a look of confusion.

"I mean I can't... It's no big deal, I become who I last copied until I copy someone new." Ditto says giving Cyborg a shrug before leaning against a shattered tree trunk.

"Don't you..." Cyborg begins to ask before thinking deeper about how to word his question right as the Titan's Tower Alert comes in on both the Cyborg's wrist communicators.

"What's a Plasmis?" Ditto asks as they look at the flashing screen on their forearm.

"Nothing good, sorry, I got to go help my team!" Cyborg says as he begins to run to the location of the break-in, only to realize that Ditto is keeping pace with him making him ask, "What are you doing?!"

"What do you think? I'm about to fight some crime!" Ditto shouts back as a second alert comes in to reveal a second attack.

"Darn, there's a second attack... Okay, think you can handle Cinderblock while I go to help my team?" Cyborg asks, turning away from Ditto to check the distances.

"Don't worry, got their file from the Tower Alert! See you when I'm done kickin' bad guy butt!" Ditto shouts already running away to the location on the wrist communicator.

"Huh... Kinda reminds me of BB." Cyborg says with a smile, before running to help deal with Plasmis.