Welcome to Gaia! ::

Profile
Penelope shot around the house like a woman possessed; straightening pictures, dusting surfaces, and trying to make the house look like it wasn't falling apart around her. It was a futile crusade, of course, but she had to try. As she turned her attack on the cobwebs, a monotonous voice lazily rolled in from the doorway.

"Company coming?" The speaker was a girl of thirteen who was dressed in typical Greenhill attire. Which is to say, all black. She had long, raven-black hair, which obscured most of her face and perfectly matched the girlish dress she was wearing. Penelope gave her younger sister an exasperated look and had a snappy comeback all lined up when her mother beat her to the punch.

"Oh, but of course, Elizabeth." Mrs. Greenhill had long been accused as being the town's witch. To be perfectly fair, she certainly looked the part. Once you got past the wrinkles and moles, however, she was a vibrant woman, full of life and humor. That humor is punctuated with a laugh which may or may not be a cackle, but that's beside the point. "Why, I haven't Penelope so spun up since-"

"Since the last time Josh was here?" Despite her lack of emotion, Elizabeth Greenhill had a tongue as sharp as the rapier Penelope had just nicked herself on while cleaning the bookcase. Sucking her finger, she glared furiously at the other Greenhills.

"You just wait to you get a boyfriend, Elizabeth."

"I have no interest in one. What's your excuse?" Mrs. Greenhill chided Elizabeth for that last remark as Penelope stormed out of the room. Elizabeth shrugged as Penelope suddenly screamed from the kitchen.

"You're making COOKIES!?!"

"Why not? Josh loves my cookies and so do you."

"Well, yeah...” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, which prompted a new shriek from Penelope. "Oh God, that's probably him!"

<<
As Josh waited for someone to open the door, he became aware of how tense he still was from the fight with Cait. His back felt like it was full of cannon balls. The door creaked open and the girl on the other side looked at him through midnight bangs.

"Bad hair cut?"

"You have no idea, Elizabeth. How are things?"

"Dull and boring, as usual." Elizabeth came as close as she ever did to smiling, which was barely a twitch. "I suppose you should come in. Penelope's off fighting with the cobwebs, but I'm sure she'll be with you momentarily."

Josh stopped, mid cookie, and stared at the news. "Commander Bronzed? Who the heck is he?" He quickly began to gather his things, "Sorry, Penelope, I think I need to look into this..."

"It's okay, I understand." Josh hugged her and left. With a deep sigh, Penelope collapsed onto the couch.

"You know, I kind of like him," Penelope jumped and saw Elizabeth sitting in a chair in the corner.

"How long have you been there?" She demanded.

"Long enough to see your pathetic attempts at flirting." Elizabeth looked beyond Penelope and out the window as the red bug pulled out of the driveway. "Anyway, I don't suppose you noticed how much Bronzed looked like-"

"He could rip Josh in half? Yeah." Penelope turned to look out the window, worriedly and Elizabeth decided to keep her true observations to herself.

"He said he's your what?" Josh had just been telling Penelope all the events that had happened since his last visit. He had only gotten as far as the confrontation at the theatre before she interrupted him.

"He said he was some kind of reverse clone. Don't worry about it too much, though, I really don't think it's even possible."

"Oh, it's possible," Both Penelope and Josh jumped as Elizabeth spoke.

"How long have you been back there?" Penelope demanded, but Elizabeth dismissed the question as she dragged a huge tome off one of the bookshelves in the living room and flopped onto the couch between Penelope and Josh.

"As soon as I saw that guy on the TV, I knew something was up. So, I did a little research-"

"This is one of mom's books, isn't it? You stole one of mom's books!"

"Of course I didn't. I asked mom and she let me borrow it. You'd be surprised what a polite voice can get you." This remark earned Elizabeth a dirty look from her sister and a grudging silence. "Anyway, it's called an Anti-Clone. It's a duplication that turns the subject weaknesses into strengths. Perfectly crafted ones can even keep the strengths of their template person."

"Sure, but that's magic, right?" Josh smiled slightly, "This guy is working for The Politician. I somehow doubt that guy's a sorcerer."

"Anything that magic can do, science can duplicate." It was Penelope who spoke this time. Elizabeth nodded and continued.

"Exactly. All you'd really need are the key components, one of which happens to be a lock of hair from the subject to be cloned. Josh, I heard you telling Penelope what happened last time you were here. You said yourself it was The Politician's goons that stole part of your hair."

"Well, yeah," Josh scanned the page that Elizabeth had open to, "But it says you also need a root from The Tree of All Evil. How the hell would he get a hold of-"

"You would be amazed by what you can find on EBay."

"Alright, so Bronzed is my Anti-Clone. How do I stop him?"

"Good question. The book doesn't give any advice, though-” Suddenly, a brick can crashing through the window.

"Not again," Penelope muttered as she picked it up. She froze when she saw a note attached. "Uh, Josh? You've got a message."

Josh was up in a flash and ripped open the envelope. Penelope and Elizabeth crowded around him while he read.

Dear Captain Pasty,
I've got Cait. If you ever want to see her alive again, you'll meet me on the roof of the Channel Q Broadcasting Building.
Your Loving Clone,
Commander Bronzed

"Why'd he bother using magazine cutouts if he signed it with his own name?" Elizabeth wondered aloud.

"You can't go, it's a trap!" Penelope grabbed Josh and pleaded with him.

"Of course it's a trap. It's not even a particularly good one..." Josh shook his head and gently removed Penelope's hand. "But if Cait might be in danger, I have to go."

"Why? She hates you!"

"Maybe..." Josh made his way to the door, stopping to smile back at her, "But I love her." With that, he made his way out to the Pastymobile and drove off. Penelope stood in shocked silence until the sound of the car faded. Then, she ran up to her room and slammed the door.

Afterwards>>>

Penelope moped all through dinner, making the meal unbearable silent. When the last bits of food were gone, Mrs. Greenhill looked straight across the table at her sullen daughter and spoke with a kind, but firm voice.

"Penelope, I want you to go upstairs, clean yourself up, and get dressed. Elizabeth, would you mind taking your sister's night for cleaning the dishes?"

"But mom-" Elizabeth started.

"She'll take over for you tomorrow night. I want both of you to meet me out back in a half hour." She left the room with Penelope close behind, leaving Elizabeth alone with the dishes. She gathered them up, her normally emotionless facade betraying the tiniest bit of annoyance.

The morning began when Mrs. Greenhill woke the girls for breakfast. The meal was eaten in silence, as their mother instructed them to clear their minds and prepare for what was coming. Penelope was still reeling and expected to wake up any moment.

"Alright, girls," Mrs. Greenhill stood, gathering up the dishes, "Get your shoes on."

"Where are we going?" Penelope asked.

"The first step in your training is to pick out your familiar. We're headed to the animal shelter."

Afterwards>>>

Penelope closed Magic and You: The Basics with just a touch of triumph. Morgan looked up from cleaning herself with the usual feline disdain.

"Did you read it all carefully?" Penelope nodded as the cat sauntered over to her desk. "Grab that crystal ball from your dresser and bring it to your desk."

"Do you really think I can do this?" Penelope asked as she grabbed the crystal and set it on the desk between her and Morgan. "The book said scrying would take weeks of practice."

"Don't worry, I'll help you. It'll be easier if we start by looking for someone who's already on your mind. So, just close your eyes and focus on Josh-” As soon as she said the name, Penelope's eyes shot up from the crystal in surprise. "What? If you want to keep things from me, you'll have to do a lot more work with shielding your thoughts. Now, back to the crystal."

Penelope turned her attention back to the glass orb in front of her. She stared deeply at it, and was rewarded with her own reflection staring back.

"Focus, Penelope, focus!" The cat also stared into the ball, contributing some of her energy to the spell. Penelope saw her reflection begin to blur like an out of focus television and disappear. It was replaced by an image of Josh at a kitchen table.

"Hey, it worked!" Penelope's short-lived grin melted off when she saw whom he was with. "I don't believe it, he's with Cait!" She felt anger surge through her body and the image began to flicker.

"Do you see how your anger is clouding your focus and destroying your progress? That is an important lesson to learn. Calm yourself and regain your focus." Penelope did so, with great difficulty, and the image stabilized. "Always remember, child; witches cannot let themselves get angry. They can, however, get even. Listen carefully; I'm going to teach you a spell that will plague your target with rotten luck when you get stronger. Where you’re at now, however, you should consider it quite an accomplishment if it makes him misplace his keys. Now, do as I say exactly...” Penelope listened to her familiar carefully, feeling an unhealthy glee at what she was doing.