The next few days were uneventful. The girls of cabin 12 spent a few mornings on the archery range, though Nadia and Maria were the only ones who had the same enthusiasm for it Frankie did. Maria didn’t hassle Emilia about her gender, and Emilia didn’t confront her about it. There were quiet nights sitting around the firepit: making smores, telling stories, and watching the dancing flames.

Nadia and Alexandria, two of the more athletic girls at camp, organized impromptu soccer matches in the courtyard when the firepit was empty, and Emilia joined them. When Frankie told them to take it to the soccerfields, Nadia objected.

“Those senior boys shove everyone else around out there.”

Frankie frowned but nodded. “I’ll see if I can have a word with them. In the meantime, there are too many windows that could get broken over here, so keep it contained.”

Eddie seemed to be getting along better with the boys of his cabin, or at least it seemed they weren’t hassling him as much. His eyes were still occasionally red and puffy. Emilia asked once and he claimed it was allergies. He might have been telling the truth.

Emilia and Eddie didn’t spend every waking moment together, but they did spend most of them. Emilia had never felt lonely without friends at school, but it was nice to think she might be making her first friend.

Eddie was homebody who preferred to stay indoors. He liked reading in the library, playing pool in the game room, and taking crafting lessons with Mrs. Fir. Even so, he gamely went along with basketball, archery, fishing, and hiking when Emilia asked him to.

• • •

When the weekend came, Emilia gathered her dirty laundry into her backpack, hauled it with her to breakfast, and then down to the laundry room after. The laundry room at Camp Arrowhead sported five washing machines and five dryers. Usually, Emilia had it to herself, but on this day, Eddie joined her. After showing him how to sort and load laundry, they each loaded a pair of machines and sat on a rude bench to wait. Emilia couldn’t help but note the missing guitar pick from her back pocket. It’d been barely noticeable unless she thought about it, but now that it was gone she felt it missing.

“What’s your name going to be?” Eddie asked suddenly

Emilia looked at him sidelong. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll need a name. A superhero name.”

“What’s wrong with Emilia McIntyre?”

Eddie sighed and rolled his eyes. “Nothing. Your name is great. But you need a superhero name.”

“Why?”

Eddie nodded, expression turning thoughtful. “I have a theory. Of course, superhero names are cool, but also… I think it might be helpful for people who are different, and who are deliberately going to draw public attention, to have a label they can attach to it that isn’t the name they already have.”

Emilia shrugged. “I don’t get that. Everyone knows the Guitarist’s real name is Zenith Niall. Everyone knows the Dancer is Brooklyn James.”

“Brook Julius,” Eddie corrected. “And I don’t just mean to protect their private lives. That hasn’t been a thing for decades. I mean as a way to identify their difference. To own it. To not allow others to label them. It’s why I’m excited you helped me come up with a name other than Teddy. My Aunt Mary gave me that nickname, said I was cute like a teddy bear. I asked her not to, but it spread. Now everyone calls me Teddy and I hate it.”

“So I should decide my name before someone else does.”

“Precisely.”

“Well I don’t have any good ideas. Do you?”

Eddie sat up straight. “Really? You trust me to help pick your superhero name?”

“Why not? You let me help pick yours.”

“Wow. Well. That’s a big responsibility. Um...” He fell silent. Emilia waited for him to say something, but after a few minutes he still hadn’t spoken. Emilia was about to poke him when one of the washing machines buzzed, which meant all of them were about to.

Eddie got up and opened the washing machine lid, reaching in and coming up with an armload. Emilia selected a dryer and opened it before her own washers buzzed.

“Most superheroes choose a codename based upon what they can do: Fateshifter can manipulate luck, Pyrogenius manipulates fire, and so on. But some incorporate their real names with their codenames. Estella Goldmane just goes by Goldmane, for example. Then there’s…”

Eddie trailed off again.

They set their clothes to drying, Emilia had to show Eddie how to empty the lint filter, and went back to the bench.

“Copy seems like the obvious choice,” Eddie said.

“Like a copy machine?” Emilia couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. “It makes sense, I suppose. It could grow on me.”

“Hmm… On that theme, you could be Xerox.”

“Pretty sure that’s taken. Since we’re going old school, what about Mimeograph?”

Eddie snorted. “Ditto Machine?”

“Ditto’s not half bad. Let’s keep that one in mind.”

They fell silent as their clothes dried. The rhythmic sound and warm damp of the laundry room was hypnotic. When her driers buzzed, Emilia snorted awake. Shaking her head she unloaded her clothes and folded them on the table against one wall.

“What about Control-C?” Eddie said, joining her.

Emilia laughed and the two dissolved to giggles, prolonging the folding of clothes.

At lunch, Emilia kept an eye out for the four fiends, lest they try to grab at their lunch. They hadn’t seen much of the four since the incident at the amphitheater

“Maybe a play on your name. Emilia the Copier. EmCopy. Emmypoc.”

“Emmypoc?”

“Copy backward is ‘Ee-cop’.”

“Do superheroes do that, write their names backward to get their codename?”

“Not that I know of. Hmm. Got a nickname? Maybe we can do something with that.”

“Mom used to call me Mimi. I guess it’s short for Emilia.”

Eddie guffawed. “Mimi? I’m gonna start calling you that. Look out bad guys, here comes Mimi the Copier.”

Emilia shot him a look. “Don’t you dare.”

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Eddie snickered.

“Fine. If you call me Mimi, I’m going to call you Teddybear.”

Eddie flushed. “Nope. You’re right. Sorry.” He hid his face with a big drink of iced tea.

“No unauthorized nick names,” Emilia said. “Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Eddie stuck his hand out and Emilia shook it.

That afternoon, Emilia took Eddie fishing. She got their gear from a shed near the lake and they walked around to the east side to that large, flat rock she liked. The mossy stag antlers still poked from the water. She showed Eddie how to assemble the fishing pole, spool the line, attach bait and hook, and how to cast.

“Who taught you all this?” Eddie asked once their lines drifted in the lake.

“My great grandfather on my dad’s side. He was from a little coastal town way in the north. He loved fishing.”

“Do you think about him when you fish?”

Eddie’s tone was a little too casual. She glanced at him to find him studying her.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I’m looking for signs that you’re shapeshifting into your great grandfather.”

Emilia returned her attention to the lake. “Well?”

“Nothing so far.” He sighed. “Maybe I’ve got your powers all wrong.”

Emilia felt a tug on her line and pulled, but whatever it was left. “Maybe. Give me a second.” She focused on what it’d been like. There wasn’t any one memory in specific, but rather a set of intermingled memories suffused with sensations and impressions. She remembered driving out to the lakes near Parkdale with great grandpa. He’d already been old when she was old enough to go fishing. She remembered him teaching her to assemble her pole, just as she’d shown Eddie. She remembered him talking to her about wights and lures and bait. She remembered him teaching her patience and about the silence between moments.

“Wow,” said Eddie quietly, like he didn’t want to spook her. “It’s very gradual.”

Emilia kept her eyes on the lake. She felt faintly tingly, faintly warm, like waking from a particularly satisfying nap. She reeled her lure in slowly and flicked it back to the water, each motion smooth as glass.

Eventually, Eddie said, “I think it’s stopped. Do you, um, do you feel okay?”

She did. She felt different, but not bad. She closed her eyes and took a breath, and in her mind's eye, she could see an image of her great grandfather, sitting at a lake, fishing quietly. It was like a particularly realistic trading card. And next to her great grandfather's card was Zenith Niall’s, guitar in hand, bolero hat low; and next to her was Frankie Crabtree, kitted out in her archery gear, arrow knocked and bow drawn.

The image of the cards startled her from her peace and she felt her body snap back to itself like a rubber band.

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” She explained about the mental trading cards. “Seeing them so clearly like that was a bit startling.”

“Neat.”

“What did it look like?” Emilia asked.

“It was slow. According to what I’ve read, J. Smith looked like clay when he shifted between forms. But you just sort of looked a little different a little at a time until you were a dark-haired boy with thin lips. But I could still tell it was you. Something about the chin I think.”

“Not especially useful for a superhero, changing slowly.”

“It might be. And you’ll probably get better with practice. Just changing color could be useful for escaping bad guys trying to chase you in a crowd.” Eddie snapped his fingers. “We could call you chameleon. Chameleons change color.”

Emilia didn’t hate it, but neither did she love it. She shrugged.

Dinner was turkey gravy with mashed potatoes, corn, and cheddar cheese. Emilia got a large helping. She was hungrier than she’d expected. She got a big pile of lettuce with tomatoes and olives and a little balsamic dressing. She sat with the girls of cabin 12 and Eddie asked if he could sit with them.

“Sure,” said Frankie. The more the merrier.

Dinner was interspersed with chatter and laughter and general camaraderie. Terra seemed less lost in thought, her sister Cindy less protective. Nadia and Alexandria had a rousing competition of rock-paper-scissors. Maria was quiet. Emilia thought she seemed sullen, but tried not to think negatively of the girl.

As dinner wound down, Eddie excused himself and took his tray back to the kitchen.

“So, he’s cute,” Frankie said.

It took Emilia a while before she realized Frankie was talking to her.

“What? Who?”

“That boy who sat with us.”

“You have been spending a lot of time with him,” Rosa said.

Emilia had forgotten the small girl. She was so quiet she was easy to overlook. Emilia cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Well, we have a lot in common and we get along.” She hadn’t realized anyone noticed all the time she’d spent with Eddie. Not that it should have mattered, but now she was embarrassed. She hated being embarrassed.

“That’s really cute,” said Frankie.

Emilia shook her head. “Not like that. We’re just friends. He’s, uh, we’ve got a lot in common.” She bit her tongue as she realized she’d already said that.

“That’s great,” said Frankie. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything.”

They made their way back to cabin 12. It wasn’t lights out for a few more hours and as it was movie night. Emilia was supposed to meet Eddie in the library.

Emilia got changed into sweatpants with the others. Pajamas weren’t required for movie night, but most everyone agreed it was the best way to enjoy the event. She didn’t see Eddie when they entered the living room and joined the rest of cabin 12 spread between a pair of couches. She made sure to sit as far from Maria as she could and got the impression the other girl was doing the same.

The junior councilors commenced the ritual haggling over what movie to watch. Ghostbusters was ineligible as it’d been the feature of last movie night. Someone suggested Ghostbusters 2 but was quickly shouted down. She’d never seen the sequel but assumed it wasn’t as bad as most people said. Eventually they decided on Frozen to mixed cheers and groans.

As the opening credits rolled, a few stragglers entered, including Eddie with a few other boys. Eddie’s eyes were red and puffy and he didn’t look at Emilia as they came in. He didn’t even look up. He walked with the boys to one of the few remaining empty spots and sat amongst them.

The boys were obnoxious, talking over the first scene of the movie until Frankie turned around and told them to shut up. They made faces at her and giggled until one of the junior councilors sitting behind them, a lanky boy Emilia didn’t know, bopped one of them on the head.

“Knock it off or get out,” the junior councilor said.

“Hey, you can’t hit me,” said the boy until he turned around and froze.

“You want me to tell your mother what a little shit you’ve been at camp, Jim? I know aunt Lucy will come collect you.”

The boy, Jim, hunched his shoulders and grumbled.

“What was that?” said the junior councilor.

“I said, ‘sorry’.”

At the end of the movie, while the junior councilors haggled over the next, Emilia slipped from the living room to the stairs. She stretched her neck this way and that, trying to dispel the hint of a headache threatening her. She hurried up them quietly as she could to the library on the third floor, then sat at the top of the stairs, considering. When Eddie made his way up a few minutes later, his eyes were less puffy.

“I had a thought,” said Eddie.

“We’re not dating, right?” Emilia said.

Eddie stopped, mouth agape, and stared at her. “What?”

“It’s not that I don’t like you. I do. But I’m just now getting used to the idea of having a friend who isn’t a direct family member, and I just don’t think I’m ready for whatever it is people might be thinking…”

“Emilia?”

She bit her tongue and looked at him, realizing she’d been staring over his head at the wall of the stairwell.

“We’re not dating. We can be friends without… I’m not even interested in dating. I like being friends. Is that all right?”

Emilia nodded, tears of relief loosening her chest.

“Are you crying?”

Emilia wiped away the tears and stood. “Yeah, but not for any good reason.” She headed down the hall to the back left room. Eddie followed her. “You said you had a thought?”

“Oh. Yes. Right. About your superhero name.”

Emilia sat on the couch, but Eddie stood in the center of the room, put his hands behind his back, and took a breath. Emilia waited, but after a while he let the breath out slowly and began to pace. Emilia sat on the couch and waited some more.

“If you don’t like it, that’s okay, but I think this one is really good. It describes what you can do, at least so far as we know what it is you can do. Even better, it incorporates your name. Kind of. Those are my favorites.” He stopped and looked at her. “Do you ever play RPGs?”

Emilia laughed. She wanted him to get to the point, but didn’t want to rush him. “My dad likes these old video games. They’re fantasy adventures and you control characters who each have special abilities. Like that?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Well, okay. There’s a monster in D&D, uh, that’s Dungeons and Dragons…” He blushed.

“I know what D&D is, Eddie. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

“Right. Okay, well there’s a monster that can pretend to be just any regular item. It can change forms.”

“You want to name me after a fantasy monster?”

Eddie shook his head. “Well, kind of. Your mother calls you Mimi. And that reminded me of what you did on the bus, copying Mr. Northam’s voice. I called you the master mimicker. I think that should be your superhero name.”

“Master mimicker?”

“No, no. Mimic. It’s got your nickname in there, and it describes what you can do, changing shape to look like someone else and copying their skills. You mimic.” Eddie took a deep breath and looked at the floor. “What do you think?”

Emilia leaned back on the couch and considered. If she was really going to do this, to train with her parahuman powers, to try to open the stone box, then she didn’t want to choose a codename lightly. She didn’t want to be stuck with something she’d hate later. The word itself was fine. Two syllables, so it was easy to say in a hurry. It didn’t sound silly or demeaning. It also didn’t sound much like her nickname, but it incorporated it and added the ‘c’. She liked that. And, as Eddie had said, it did a good job describing what she could do.

Finally she sat up and nodded. “It’s fantastic. Thank you, Eddie.”