We soon found ourselves at our destination, a partitioned condo just big enough for a few people to stay in while still being small enough for a renter to not be completely broke every month.

The front-facing wall was painted a pink leaning towards purple while the rest was off-tan. The yard was filled with Flowers from daisies to lilies and anything else you could possibly think of.

Little statues of things like garden gnomes and bunny rabbits had been placed around the yard work, making the sight almost sickly sweet.

The building overall would have been very nice if it weren’t for the slightly over the top gothic décor. The windowsills were painted black and the door had been replaced with an opaque glass door whose frame of dark metal had been shaped to look like an eye. Someone had placed skulls at the edge of the doorstep and the mat there said ‘Unwelcome’. A part of myself wondered if it was Halloween but a quick check of my internal clock made me sure it was still march.

The place generally gave off the feeling that someone had hired two different decorators, gave them two different themes, and didn't tell them about one another.

It was weird enough that the look on Mary's face suggested that she might have wanted to turn back. When I didn't seem to care she just shrugged her shoulders and knocked.

The person who came to the door was a tall red-headed woman. She wasn't a meta based on my telepathic sensors, so she clearly wasn't who we were looking for.

{Hi, I’m Bac. I need to talk to Peggy and Sue baker, Do they live here?}

“Ah, yes they’re my roommates. But they're not home right now. One of them should be home from work in a little while then you can talk to her. Why don’t you come in and wait?”

Any normal sane person would have denied this offer. But I couldn't think of a scenario where either I or Mary would really be in any danger. Even if my drone was destroyed, I would be fine and when I had met Mary, she had been a pile of bits blown up by her own invention. She was obviously fine now. No danger at all. (In hindsight I really could have thought harder but that would come later. I digress.) The inside of the house was just as chaotic, containing both a “live laugh love” wallpaper and the chandelier made of dark chain And covered in black nylon webbing.

The woman beckoned us over to the couch. I was about to fly over when Mary reached out and stopped me.

She didn't quite look worried, but the look on her face was somewhat concerned.

“What kind of person lets random strangers into their house like this?”

{You did.}

“No, you and Mrs. Shelly broke in, also I’m a meta. A very hard to kill meta. This woman seems as normal as they come.”

{Well, your right that she’s your average biological but I don’t see how-}

“we could be murderers, or worse. You’re a sentient AI so we have a least one metabeing. and I’m a goblin. It's racist but we don't really have the best reputation. We just showed up. That should be something most are wary of.”

{and you bring all this up why?}

“It's suspici-“

“Excuse me, are you going to take a seat?”

We were jolted out of our private conversation by the voice of our host.

Reluctantly, Mary went and sat on the couch. I followed behind, landing on the arm of the chair

“Can I get you any refreshments, Mr. Drone?”

{What? I don’t eat… or drink…}

“Oh? That’s interesting but I can respect your health choices. What about you miss?”

“A drink would be fine; all that walking did make me thirsty.” (And it’s not like she could poison me)

“Okay, we have water, milk, tea, blood, coff-“

“Blood?”

“blood it is then!”

“wait, no I-“

But she had produced a pitcher from somewhere and was already pouring the goblin a brimming cup of crimson liquid.

Okay, that was a little weird…

Mary looked down at her drink in disgust. I personally didn’t understand the problem, How was this any different than the other stuff biologicals put in their bodies. Don’t a lot of you like meat and fruit juice This was pretty much just those two concepts fused together.

{I don’t think we’ve gotten your name yet?}

“Kel, but my friends call me Kell”

{what’s the difference?}

“isn’t that obvious…”

{uh…} Mary looked just as confused as I felt. I decided not to press.

“So when are the Bakers supposed to be home?” Mary asked instead

“Do you mead the people who work at the pastry shop or my roommates”

“what do you think…?”

“well the bakery down the street has pretty good hours, they open a bit earlier than most but that just means you can get home earlier and…”

“N-no… I was talking about your roommates”

“Well, why didn’t you say so? are you trying to be confusing?” Kel asked with a pout.

“I- What? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m Kel, I just told you that.”

Mary went silent, her face falling in an expression of complete resignation.

{So, do you know what time your roommates usually get off?} I asked, taking over.

“On Fridays? Usually about one o’clock. Sue will go out and bring back some guy to hel-“

“NOT THAT!” Mary shouted her face blushing dark-green “WHAT TIME DO PEGGY AND/OR SUE, YOUR ROOMMATES GET HOME FROM WORK!”

“Oooooooh! Now.”

And with that, the door opened, and in came a young woman. In truth, it would be apt to call her a girl really, she looked nineteen years old at the very most and that was only with my knowledge that she was an adult. Otherwise, I would have guessed much much younger. Her face was cute if not a bit plain, and her hair was a dark-brown highlighted at the tips with blond so pale it bordered on white. She was shorter than Mary, who was tall for a goblin but was about average when compared to a human woman, but only by an inch or two. The new arrival’s most eye-catching features were her limbs and left eye. They clearly were mechanical, maybe more biomechanical. They were a delicate combination of organic matter and machine; every movement was one pushing pulling or twisting the other. It reminded me of the world’s most Intricate clockwork. Skin interlocked with steel which interlocked with skin again in a dance of engineering skill rivaled only by the geniuses of their time. The technopath in me drooled.

Is it bad to want to cut off a new employee’s arms? Yes? Okay…

The cyborg, because I could only assume that was what she was, looked confused at our intrusion, then scared before seeming to notice we were with Kel and breaking into a friendly smile.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Before Mary or I had a chance to introduce ourselves a voice like a puppy hopped up on sugar burst from her mouth “Guests!!! Hiya, I’m Peggy. It’s soooo nice to meet you!” her smile turned into a full-on grin “friends of Kellie?”

{No, actually. We’re here to talk to you and your sister, Sue.}

“Oh… uh did Sue do something wrong… Again?” her grin faltered a bit “I don’t want to go back to jail…”

{No… We actually are here because we think you’d be a good fit for our program.} I tried to sound professional.

“Oh! well just let me sit on down. but before I do that, let me get you a proper drink miss.” She stated glancing pointedly at the cup of red fluid that Mary had placed untouched on the table. “We keep trying to explain that the blood we keep in the fridge isn’t for guests, …or Kell, to drink and that literally, no one would want to, but Kellie… well she has a hard time keeping up”

The person in question was currently staring enraptured by a piece of dust on the coffee table, was she… drooling?

“Anyway, what can I get you? Tea? You look like a tea gal”

“Do you read minds?”

“Nah, I just have a sense for this kind of thing” Peggy replied already moving into their kitchen to pour a cup from a pre-prepared pot of tea. She returned handing the cup to Mary who thanked her and took a sip without any worries over the temperature.

I wanted to ask WHY they had blood bottled in their fridge but It was probably something personal and things were already strange enough

Finally, the cyborg took a seat of her own, “Okay so what do you need to talk about?”

{We have a job offer for you} I explained {It comes with some benefits and-}

“I’ve drawn up some papers with pertinent information, I’m basing this strictly off of my own recruitment so it’s a bit lackluster, feel free to ask any questions about anything that’s unclear.” Mary interrupted taking a small pack of notebook papers and handing them to Peggy.

W-when had she had time to do all that? The cyborg took the sheets without fuss, skimming over them while I flew over to read over her shoulder.

It was indeed all the information I had given Mary when I had introduced myself, including the answers to every question she had asked and some things I hadn’t even mentioned, still completely correct, all arranged neatly in a clear explanation of the job and benefits of the program we would be running when we got back to the facility.

As Peggy read you could tell when she got to the benefits and salary because her persistent smile went from cheerful to beaming “This is great! Especially since Sue kinda just got us fired from our last job!”

“Today?” Mary asked.

“Yep, I was worried about rent but now it looks like I don’t have to, Don’t worry though Kell, I’ll still be sending you my part it shouldn’t even be a problem now!”

{So… I take it your in?}

Her face fell a bit “Oh, I’m in but you’ll have to convince my sister.”

“your sister?”

{We did come here for two people, remember? Wait, if you both got fired, where is she?}

Peppy looked down at the document “It says here you have some sort of scanning ability that lets you see other people statuses.”

{Yes.}

She held out her arms in a ‘T’ turning her head and squeezing her eyes shut radiating a feeling of shyness “Well, do it!”

{What?}

“Scan me! Do you know how embarrassing it is to know that someone will be looking at your personal information, the stats that make you who you are as a meta? It’s like asking to be seen naked. Please hurry up.”

I didn’t quite get the need for clothing in general, but I did know most humanoids didn’t like being seen nude for whatever reason. I guess I had some apologizing to do.

obliging her I scanned Peggy.

[ Name: Peggy Baker

Species: Cyborg (base: human)

Powers: Death-force- {Boosted}, Duel-soul- {Greater}

Abilities: Summon undead, pain conduit

Agony pool: 200/200

Traits: Duality, Alter-ego

Personal strengths: friendly nature, optimism

Personal weaknesses: Undead are gross, sister problems

STR: 1045

Power ranking: E-1(major combatant)]

I stopped reading before I got to her path. It obviously wasn’t what she was talking about since only I could see it; the question now was what was it that was the problem.

{is it this Agony pool thing?} it was the first unique stat I had ever seen on another person’s status.

“No” Peggy replied “It may just be easier to show than just let you read about it” she sighed. “But before I do that” she reached into her bag and took out a pack of cigarettes. I hadn’t pegged her for a smoker but rather than lighting one she tossed the entire package to Mary “Would you mind hiding those somewhere, they’re awful for us but she just won't quit” she waited for the goblin to properly stash the drugs in her clothes before picking up the cup Kel had given Mary earlier. “See you guys later.”

I was just about to ask what she was going to do with a cup full of blood when she took just the barest sip. From there I didn't have time to ask anything else as she changed.

It started out as a glow that started from her center and expanded to encase her entire body until her body seemed to become part of the light itself. Expanding and reshaping itself into a new silhouette, which hardened and filled, leaving where it had been a woman, but not Peggy. Truthfully, this woman seemed to be her opposite in every way. While Peggy was slightly short this girl was notably tall. While Peggy was cute this woman held a fierceness in her eyes that made you think she was going to tell you about her punk-metal band or some shit. Her hair was cut much shorter than Peggy’s and the brown and blonde highlights were reversed with blond being the main color. While Peggy had been petite and slim the new girl was filled out in every place it mattered to a (coming from an AI with no capacity for physical attraction) objectively impressive extent, combined with her height it made the modest clothes Peggy had been wearing look tight and revealing, and she wore them like it was how they always had been intended. The only thing they had in common was the cybernetic limbs and even those had changed, If Peggy’s had reminded me of clockwork the woman’s limbs were like a sports car. No skin was visible, instead, the surface was only shiny segmented metal that still somehow seemed to flex and contort as if it was soft flesh.

The woman who used to be Peggy looked around taking in her environment with first confusion then annoyance.

“Okay, what the fuck did she drop me into?” she paused, her eyes unfocusing as if she was reading or watching something only she could see, “Okay… I’m caught up now.” She stated with an irritated growl.

{umm..hi… hello, I’m Bac… first question, where did Peggy go?} her status had just disappeared as if she didn’t exist and I was a bit concerned.

“No shit, I know who you are, moron. I just said I’m caught up. As for Peggs, she’s inside, asleep.”

{Inside?}

“Didn’t you read her status dipshit? Do I have to spell everything out for you? I’m Sue.”

{Wha-}

“I think they share a body Bac” Mary explained to me “Like a Jekyll and Hyde situation.”

{Oh.}

“At least someone here has brains. In fairness, I’d need them too if I looked like you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I'm just thinking that maybe you should layoff the cookies, greenie”

“You’re one to talk with all that excess fat you have.”

“I’m not sure if you're aware, but there’s a difference between having ‘excess fat’ as you call it on your boobs and butt and having it on your gut. One is called a nice figure the other is… well, it’s you.”

“Maybe I got confused because you were so busy showing it off”

“If I’ve got something good why not”

“It’s called self-respect and not dressing like a w-“

{Hey!} This was quickly getting out of hand {we’re all friends here right}

Mary hmphed and Sue just seemed pleased to have got reactions, she was preening like a cat given the cream, I’d have to watch out for that one.

{So, what did you mean by you’re caught up}

“Sigh, I went through Peggy’s memories. And speaking of which” She put her hand out towards Mary doing a gimme gesture “hand ‘em over”

The goblin just glared and crossed her arms over her chest, sue looking clearly annoyed

{Oh, so if you're aware of everything we told Peggy, what are your thoughts?}

“The whole idea sounds stupid…but the pay is good, and thanks to Little Miss ‘I'm so nice’ we need a new job anyway. Plus, I doubt I have any real choice in the matter. Next time she gets control she'll just call you guys and I'll wake up wherever you guys are doing this anyway so, whatever.”

With her agreement I decided to scan her as I did everyone else, if she and Peggy were really different people they may have differences in their powers, boy was I right.

[ Name: Sue Baker

Species: Cyborg (base: human)

Powers: life-force- {Boosted}, Duel-soul- {Greater}

Abilities: Nature control, life conduit

health pool: 200/200

Traits: Duality, Alter-ego

Personal strengths: Badass

Personal weaknesses: Healer, sister is an idiot

STR: 1045

Power ranking: E-1(sub-combatant)

Path to power:

Two is a crowd

The Baker sisters share a body, this in of itself is not a problem. What is an issue is the lack of privacy and lack of control they both experience because of the other, this has caused resentment between the two and has led to near-constant fighting and trifling with each other's plans and lives. What makes this worse is the sister’s jealousy of each other’s power-sets. Both would prefer to be able to do what the other does, amplifying the negative emotions they have for each other. to reach their full strength the Baker sisters must learn to get along. This is their path to power]

So, their powers weren’t completely different, huh. I'd have to learn more about the conduit abilities that they both have and figure out exactly what the agony and health pools were.

Their path on the other hand seemed to be the most straightforward out of all the ones I have found so far, and since it applied to both sisters, I felt no need to scan Peggy again right now. Getting siblings to come together and be affectionate towards each other seems to be a common human problem, I had seen it done a million times in all the shows I had watched, how hard could it be to do in real life?

Sue explained the bit about how she and her sister worked, the reason why they had blood in their fridge was because that was how she and Peggy transformed back and forth at will, their own blood specifically. Otherwise, the only way for them to exchange control what's the go to sleep, and the other one would wake up. Mary insisted Sue demonstrate but the cyborg just ignored her and began the process of packing for herself and her sister. Apparently, Peggy had left the mental list of everything she thought she needed So it wouldn't take long.

About 20 minutes later we were heading out again. Having nothing better to do Sue had decided to tag along with us to our last stop much to Mary’s disdain, with one last wave to Kel we opened the door and stepped out.