Erin did not like visitors at the best of times. Her phone told her now that it was… ten PM. She’d gone to bed only thirty minutes ago.

Erin pulled on a long shirt and a pair of sweatpants she’d bought, having anticipated that her apartment, all concrete and steel, would get cold in the winter. She already had socks on and it was only the start of autumn.

Whoever it was knocked again, this time a little more timidly, as if they realized that ten PM may not be the most convenient time to visit.

Erin stumbled a bit through her apartment, still getting used to the layout, in the dim light of the lamp her mom had given her. Erin looked through the peephole to see a woman she’d never seen before. Pale skin, black hair, wearing what looked like clothing suited for clubbing. They smiled when Erin looked, apparently noticing the peephole light change.

Erin undid the main deadbolt, but not the two chain locks. She didn’t have those installed; they came with the apartment. This really wasn’t a good part of town. Erin probably ought not even open the door for a visitor at ten PM.

The chains rattled as she opened the door the scant three inches to peer out with one eye.

The woman was wearing relatively nice but grungy clothing, with a jacket covering a loose tank top and some luridly fluorescent green bra and jean shorts. With bright pink lipstick, she looked like she would need to use a fake ID to get into a club in any other part of town. Erin was certain she’d never met her before. Erin asked, “Yes?” The woman didn’t have a maroon stripe on, which was what Erin was expecting.

The girl’s smile brightened, and she sounded familiar as she said, “Hey, you wanna, like, come to see the Rave down at the Blue Warehouse? I got a spare ticket and everything, and I’m hyped to see them for reals and in person.” She was shorter and waifish, like how some girls in college managed while being in no sports.  Still bright-eyed and unburdened by the world.

Erin didn’t hesitate to glare and answer, “You’ve got the wrong address,” and began to close the door.

“Wait, Erin, wait, hell’s bells. You are, like, super suspicious.” Erin didn’t quite close the door all the way, once she heard her name. The voice was higher still, but that intonation, the valley girl accent- “I mean, like I guess I should have been expecting that, but seriously, we are practically next door neighbors now.” The smile did turn a little chagrined. “I- ah, promise I didn’t plan that.” She motioned abortively, as if a thought came to her. “And I had nothing to do with your apartment! Your last one, I mean. Promise!”

Erin really didn’t believe in higher powers. If there were deities, or if the Plot represented one, they did not operate on human ethics. If they had, then Erin shouldn’t be subject to the kind of torture that far exceeds any sins she could have committed, to have Doppelganger on her doorstep.

“Which apartment is yours?” Erin growled, realizing that her voice was angrier than she expected. Today’s events catching up to her.

Doppelganger blinked, answering quickly, “I’m down at the opposite end of the hallway, at apartment 302.” She sounded almost placating, as if she was afraid of Erin doing something rash, like slamming the door closed, or calling the Cavalry. “Seriously, I had no hand in it. I wouldn’t. And I only found out where you lived here because I followed you in after you paid off that Scarlet Street bozo. I swear I am not, like, stalking you.”

Erin had cracked the door just a little again, to watch Doppelganger gesticulate, pointing towards where her apartment was. “Fine, we live near each other. What do you want.”

“What-” Doppelganger seemed a little deflated, “What do I want? I mean, I assumed you would be the one who-” She blinked and refocused. “Don’t you have questions? I mean, I didn’t misjudge you, did I?”

“About my so-called Cognizance?” Erin noticed the Plot buzzing against her skin, slow as ever in these situations. She spat the word like a curse, and meant it as one.

“Exactly, yes, that’s what I mean. I mean, I know I’d have a billion in your place.” Doppelganger looked like she was frustrated. Good. It put her and Erin on the same page.

“Sure, I have questions.”

Doppelganger nodded, coaxing Erin, “Yes! And so do I. I mean, seriously, what are the chances that this early I found-” She looked a little choked for a moment, like she couldn’t find the words.

“Yeah, what’s your name?” Erin figured the Plot had the Protagonist’s tongue, so interjected herself in the silence.

“What?” she blurted out, getting her verbal controls back.

“Your name. I can’t very well shout the one I know right now.”

“Oh. Well, I guess. Yeah, it’s Ashlynn Fetch.”

Erin didn’t think Ashlynn could see her scowl, but her voice carried the same question, “‘Fetch’, really?”

The chirpy, cheerful, impossibly villainous Protagonist looked a little defensive. “What? Is it not good enough?”

“Oh, it’s on the nose enough to fit in with the rest of your kind just fine.”

Doppelganger - or rather, Ashlynn Fetch - looked a little put out. “Come on, it's not that obvious.”

“The second most wanted villain in the North American States is a super power stealing and appearance copying villain named ‘Fetch.’”

“Oh.” Definitely downcast, Ashlynn was already pretty young, but the pouting made her look like a sulking high school student, rather than early college age.

“Good night, Ashlynn. Have fun at The Rave’s show.”

Whispering urgently, she responded. “Wait! Erin, damnit. Why are you being so difficult?” She looked like she was about to try to hold the door open, but Erin wasn’t super concerned about making a scene yet. Both of them had been speaking in a relatively low murmur this entire time.

“Erin, come on. Give me something real, tell me how much you-” Ashlynn choked again. Erin had been ignoring the press of the Plot against her skin, but it made its presence known, even if it remained relatively muted.

Apparently Ashlynn hadn’t yet discovered the boundaries that she could and couldn’t work within. Eventually she spat out, “Gods damn it that is so frustrating.” Erin only nodded in agreement, though it had to be hard to see through the door. “Erin, just come out with me tonight. We can maybe find a way to talk around this.”

“You know, actually. Sure, I do have something to give you.” Erin felt her voice go flat, affected like she was suddenly dealing with an annoyed customer looking for magical code solutions.

Ashlynn looked suddenly wary through the gap in my door. “What’s that?” 

“You don’t trust me? After all, I’m just a local.” Nothing buzzed with Plot, but Erin could see the smoke pouring from her old apartment building. She could see the haze hissing from the bomb she’d wrecked. Erin could Tyson’s shadow over her old desk, two months ago.

“I mean, I guess I do. I wasn’t expecting you to, you know, change tack suddenly.”

“One second.” Erin didn’t care the cost. She didn’t care anymore. She closed the door long enough to undo the chain and opened it. 

Ashlynn didn’t expect Erin to step out suddenly. Erin barely expected it of herself. She turned her whole body as she thrust her fist up into Ashlynn’s sternum, as hard as she could manage. 

Ashlynn left out a small yelp of suddenly compressed air leaving her lungs, and collapsed onto the ground. 

“Fuck you. That’s for fucking drugging me. That’s for all the people you killed on your little heist spree. That’s for all the other people you are going to kill to continue your games.”

 The Plot seemed only now to realize Erin was abusing one of its wards, and started at her feet, locking her into place. Was it because Doppelganger ‘wasn’t supposed to be here’, like she’d said a month ago at the water treatment plant? Erin didn’t know, but apparently she wasn’t going to be able to keep assaulting Ashlynn for her intrusion on the world. 

Ashlynn had gotten enough breath back to said, “Yeah… that’s… that’s fair.”

Erin wanted to kick Ashlynn, but she couldn’t. “I’ve been assaulted by two of your kind, while the rest of them treat me like a cute local pet. Don’t talk to me again unless you plan to kill me, or you plan to treat me like an equal.” Erin backed into her apartment and slammed the door. 

“Ugh.” Erin couldn’t tell if Ashlynn was frustrated or just recovering through the snick of the deadbolt. She didn’t care.

Erin would deal with Ashlynn--with Doppelganger tomorrow. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t interested in what the villain Protagonist had to say, but it was the kind of ‘interested’ one has in seeing an autopsy of a family member, or in watching a documentary about how a nasty organization worked to suppress how they abused kidnapped children for years and how many of the people involved were still in power, unprosecuted.

Right now, Erin wasn’t sure she wanted to know the details of what evils inflicted the Plot and Protagonists on the world, creating Pawns and Puppets of ordinary people. It was too personal, and she couldn’t tell anyone anyway. No one would risk listening to her even if she could share.