Variables.

So many variables.

Perry did his best to stay out of the melee. The scene within the apartment had grown exponentially more chaotic with every new clone multiplied from the Alpha goon who had attacked them. The arrival of Icer seemed to turn the tide, if only to allow Perry and Blake to regain their footing, only for a flood of raging clones to now fill the small studio apartment. And that was just the tip of the iceberg - literally.

Icer.

Perry glanced at the supervillain, clad in a mix of icy blue and white, with portable metallic ice gauntlets covering each forearm. Perry narrowed his eyes, using his microscopic vision to examine the costume. It hung off the supervillain’s skinny frame. In fact, if Perry had to guess, the costume itself was probably “pre-owned”, given several small tatters and worn seams visible only to Perry.

Just what was his motivation for helping them?

Apparently Blake had similar questions. In the midst of dodging a nearby clone’s haymaker, Blake turned over her shoulder to glance at Icer.

“Why are you here?” she asked, with a slightly venomous edge to her voice. Perry knew Blake still held a grudge for his attack on the Promenade, which left her reeling for a day or two.

“Never look a gift save in the mouth,” Icer shrugged as he blasted a nearby clone. “Which is all this is.”

Perry watched as Blake looked Icer up and down, her expression still skeptical to say the least.

“I think I want a receipt,” she said, before turning back to the chaos.

On the surface, they looked like they were in good shape. Icer’s gauntlets were an effective measure of crowd control, limiting the movement of the clones. It didn’t hurt that Icer seemed to have some form of close quarters combat training himself. Perry observed Icer’s fast jabs and tight posture, most likely learned from some form of police or military training.

Blake, on the other hand, blasted away several clones at once as the lightning raged from her fingers. In the apartment’s remaining light, his girlfriend looked like a Valkyrie out of Norse mythology, raining the sky upon her adversaries.

A nearby clone made a grab towards Perry’s throat. For his part, Perry was far from helpless. While he never quite had the physique of Scott or Zack, he still learned the basics of self-defense. He broke the grip with his attacker before scanning the clones’ hands for signs of vulnerabilities. He spotted one to exploit - a fracture in the left hand, made even more pronounced by the cloning process.

He snapped the attacking clone’s wrist and then shoved him back. The clone fell to the floor with an anguished cry. Perry quickly leapt onto the nearby table - the only piece unbroken in the chaos - as he peered through the room for a better look.

On the surface, it appeared they were winning. But the surface could be deceiving. With every new clone, their chances of making it out of this diminished.

Blake’s blonde hair fell limply over her shoulders. Perry’s microscopic vision revealed unmistakable signs of fatigue. Sweat raced down the nape of her neck. Her breathing seemed more labored. As volatile and explosive as her powers were in this situation, Blake was still learning to control them, and using so much at once was taking their toll.

Icer had similar limitations. The supervillain seemed more than capable on his own. Still, Perry noted a difference in power output when compared to his father, Freeze Ray. The latter was capable of freezing entire crowds if not vast structures solid. Icer lacked such firepower, or more specifically, ice power. His gauntlets were more of a stop-gap than anything else, and even with his combat training, he was clearly being overwhelmed.

They were on borrowed time. Unless Perry found a way out of here. He watched as another clone appeared out of a disgusting and writhing motion of limbs and legs. Perry observed the motion. The Alpha’s multiplication process had changed. When he first multiplied, it was smooth and noticed.

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Now it looked like something out of a John Carpenter movie.

It appeared Blake wasn’t the only one in danger of being overtaxed by the battle. The multiplier must have been reaching his maximum output. He couldn’t keep this up, not without enduring immense physical duress.

Which should, in theory, make them easier to spot.

Perry scanned the mass of clones before him. He began to peer inside them, trying to find the one with the least amount of injuries, relative to his clones. While the table gave him an excellent vantage point, it also made him a target. Another clone grabbed his ankle, but Perry was able to shake loose and kick the clone in his square head. He toppled over, but Perry knew another would pop up in his place soon enough.

He continued his search for the original. He knew the original would be in the back, away from the carnage. He scanned the crowd once more, focusing on the bone structure of each copy. The original would have some signs of sport injury, but the damage would be healed over, unlike the hastily-duplicated clones.

In a far corner, Perry found his man. He wasn’t even fighting. He simply stood off to the side and yelled, apparently taking the position of his clones’ football coach, urging his clones to attack harder and faster.

“Rip them apart!” the original cried, further giving away his position.

A tactical genius, this guy was not.

Perry also noticed the man was standing in front of the one unbroken window in Zack’s once pristine and spartan apartment. Perry extended his finger and pointed at the original, tucked away in the corner of the building.

“That’s him!” he said. “Direct your fire there!”

The man glanced up at Perry, looking briefly confused until realization replaced his face with something else.

Fear.

“What?” he said. “Oh shit.”

Neither Blake nor Icer questioned Perry’s command. They both turned and directed their long range attacks towards the corner of the room. The Alpha didn’t stand a chance. A barrage of ice struck him, holding him in place seconds before a large lightning bolt sent him spiraling through the window.

In an instant, every clone vanished, and the three of them now stood in the midst of Zack’s wrecked apartment.

“Good call, babe,” Blake said with a huff, catching her breath.

“Yeah. Just glad it worked,” Perry said. He turned to where Icer had last been standing. “Thanks for–”

When Perry turned next, the villain was nowhere in sight. He had vanished from the room.

“Huh,” Perry said. “I thought it was only heroes who did that.”

“Guess not,” Blake said. “Why was he even here in the first place?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” Perry said. “Maybe–”

“Perry,” Blake said suddenly. “What about the others? We haven’t heard from them.”

Perry nodded. If the Alphas turned up here, it didn’t bode well for Rachel or Zack.

“We should check on them,” Blake said.

“There’s more Alphas out there,” Perry reminded.

“We’ll get as close as we can,” Blake said. “See what we see.”

See…

Perry remembered the Knightbrand armor, still tucked away in the basement. Was it still there? Had the Alpha clones discovered it in the chaos? Or even more disturbing, had Icer…

“You go ahead,” Perry said. He didn’t like splitting the party - the one cardinal no-no in D&D - but he had to make sure. On the other hand, his friends could be in danger, and every second he wasted could change the outcome. Sending Blake ahead was the best bet.

“There’s something I have to do,” Perry said. “You go ahead.”

Blake gave him a worried look. “Babe, I don’t know-”

“I won’t be long,” he said.

“I’m not sure about this,” Blake said. Perry smiled and then leaned in closer. He kissed Blake, feeling the brief electric tingle of her lips - a quirk of her powers that excited Perry every time.

“I’ll be fine,” he said as he pulled back.

“That,” Blake said with a smile. “Is not how you get out of an argument.”

“Seems to have worked that time,” Perry said. “Seriously, I’ll be right behind you.”’

Blake nodded before walking out of the wreckage of Zack’s apartment. Perry really hoped Zack had insurance for all the damage.

“Be careful, babe!” Perry heard Blake call as he opened the secret passage and descended into the darkness towards the basement of the house.