When the digital display on the oven rolled around to noon, the only people still around to see it were the two Chrises. Ever since Chris and Kristina became friends, the coincidence had given rise to a running joke among the group that they were two halves of the same whole, or at the very least, twins. Which one was the evil twin, however, depended on the day.

The council was no longer in session, and all members had been given their tasks. If they were going to be ready for what was to come, the Rogues had some serious preparation to do. It had been decided that since they each had their own skillset, and the main advantage of working in groups is specialization, they were planning on each fully committing to their role. As such, they had scattered into the wind, and were getting to work.

Sarah couldn’t have scripted it any better if she tried.

The two were currently locked in an elaborate dance, both literally and metaphorically, as they washed dishes and cleaned up the refuse of breakfast to the beat of Herbie Hancock. Tina had wrested control of the music, you see, and her playlists made sense. As the male half of the pair executed a particularly tight spin to get past in the cramped space afforded by a tiny kitchen, the other laughed and added speech to the din.

“Whoa there, killer. Are you trying for a dancing skill? I don’t think you’re quite there yet.”

He laughed, turned back, and swept her up in a dramatic dip that made no sense with the jazz issuing from the speaker. “Shows what you know. Dancing 1. I think it has something to do with body control?”

Status

Ongoing Effects: None

Shifts: Intelligent Design, Speeded Per. and React. (Focus Dependent) 9/X (60)

Skills: Running 6, Boxing 5, Self-Control 5(1), Endurance 4, Flexibility 3, Meditation 3, Cleaning 3(1), Multitasking 2(2), Pain Tolerance 2, Driving 2, Knife Fighting 1, Cooking 1(1), Dancing 1(1)

Unallocated: 10 points

She extricated herself from his grip with practiced ease and a good deal of squirming, and hopped up onto the now clean countertop. From her new perch, she scanned him up and down with a critical eye. She gave him a twirling gesture with one finger, and he complied with a spin and a bow. She seemed unimpressed.

“If you say so. What context do we have for these numbers, again?”

“I believe that she said that the cap for complete mastery of a skill is 1000, but the best any human expert could be rated at was around 150. Then she said something vaguely offensive about how it’s not our fault, our brains just aren’t good enough yet.”

“Mm.” She cocked an eyebrow, and her calculating exterior started to crack. “So, you’re at around 150 for pretension, then?”

He laughed, high and clear, and replied. “Not a skill, I checked. You’d probably be at 100 for napping, though.”

“Only 100?” she spurted, livid with faux outrage. “Who in the world is better than me?”

“No human being, but I know some cats that have you beat.”

“Oh.” She replied, deflating like a balloon in the freezer and sitting down on the counter. “That’s all right, then. Have you decided what you’re going to spend your points on?”

This was Chris’s task for the day. He had to spend his points, then he needed practice with his shifts, both to give Sarah data and increase his capability. Tina had stayed behind to watch him, and coach him on running afterwards. She had been playing soccer since she could walk, and had learned from more running coaches than were strictly necessary, though her parents didn’t share that opinion.

“I’m going to improve my grey matter somehow. Your job is to convince me to refund the points, in case I go HAL.”

It was possible to refund shifts, though it wasn’t recommended. The changes to your body would be undone, and you would regain half the number of points used in the original shift.

“How am I supposed to convince Chris 2.0 that its in his best interest to refund the points? What do I have to bargain with?”

He cocked an eyebrow, mirroring her expression from earlier, and spoke in a low, husky voice.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

She replied to the advance with a mischievous grin, and as she hopped down from the counter on her way to the living room, Chris got a light punch in the chest.

“Don’t tease a girl. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She took her spot in the middle of the couch, legs crossed underneath her. It didn’t matter that they were the only two in the house, or that there was all the space in the world to stretch. This spot was hers, and she could no more vary from it than a moon could stray from its orbit. “What specifically are you planning on changing? Are you going to alter your brain any?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied, as he sat down in his spot at her side. “Just going to shake out the dust, so to speak. I want to see if it makes any difference that I can feel. Here, I’ll read you off some options.”

Mental Health: 0/50

Improves the health and resilience of your Neurons, Glia, and underlying brain structures. This shift will result in a minor increase in brain function on its own, and drastically decrease the impact of negative effects on the brain.

Mental Restructuring: 0/50

Changes the architecture of the brain to better facilitate thought, both conscious and subconscious. This shift will result in a minor increase in the brain’s resilience on its own, and drastically increase the speed of making mental connections. This shift will be easily detectable to any effects that can view the brain.

Brain Composition: 0/X (80)

Changes the molecular makeup of the brain to vastly increase mental potential. Easily detectable to any effect that can perceive the brain’s makeup. Minor increases in resilience and speed.

“Sarah, why are the first two capped?”

All shifts are capped at their maximum efficacy. In the case of these two, there is a limited amount of improvement that can be made through each of those methods. Your brain can only be so healthy, after all. Of course, there are other shifts that will increase mental performance on top of and in concert with these two, and if you end up purchasing a shift that renders them irrelevant, such as replacing your brain with an android core, all irrelevant points will be refunded in full.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass on the android core, thanks." He focused his gaze on Tina. "What do you think?"

The girl wore an expression which looked equal parts concerned and disappointed, which meant she was thinking.

“Well… I honestly think you should get all of them, eventually. Maybe start with the one that won’t show up on an MRI?”

“Sounds good to me. Start with two?”

“Sure.” She then put a hand on his arm and turned so that she was completely facing him, looking directly into his hazel eyes. “Don’t die. Being the immortal guardians of the world with the rest of the Rogues Gallery wouldn’t be as fun without you.”

He gave her a soft smile. “Yes, dear” he said, and patted her twice on the cheek before assigning the points, and the last thing he saw before being rendered insensate was her brow furrowing as she swatted for his arm.

****

“Whoa.” One of the five most powerful people on earth came to his senses slowly. It felt like his nerves were waking up one by one, feeding him information a little at a time. He could smell the remains of breakfast, the fresh air from an open window, and a faint reminder of the old house smell. His mouth still tasted faintly of coffee, as he had woken up not hungry and hadn’t eaten anything today. He could hear the hum of various appliances resting, pumping out vibrations, and two sources of breath. And finally, he could feel his evil twin pressed to his side, her fingers on his throat. He opened his eyes slowly.

A pair of concerned brown eyes bore down on him sharp enough to break glass as she withdrew her hand. “Are you alright? Your pulse got down to 45.”

He took a deep breath and coughed. Nothing seemed to be injured or out of place. “I think so. God, it felt like my brain was getting pressure washed with cold water. How long was I out?”

“Eight… and a half minutes. How do you feel?”

He blinked, slowly. “Really weird. You know how it feels when you’ve been drinking, but you go into the bathroom and splash water on your face, and it sobers you up just a bit?”

She nodded, but still looked concerned. She seemed to be searching his eyes for anything out of place, looking for a flaw in his soul.

“It feels like I just sobered up a bit, but I wasn’t drunk. What’s that Terry Pratchett word for more sober than sober?”

“Knurd? Are you saying you feel knurd?” She said, and a smile tugged at the side of her lips, causing some of the concern to drain from her expression.

“Yeah, that. Is it going to be harder for me to get drunk now? Damn, I should have thought of that.”

“Alright, Sam Vimes.” She said, as she again extricated herself and walked to the kitchen. “If you’re going to pass out again, I’m going to need a coffee. How many more points do you have?”

“Eight. Can you grab me one?”

“Eight.” She sighed, and she affected annoyance, but there was a slight undercurrent of worry in her voice. “No you can’t have one, it’ll get cold. I’ll put a fresh pot on for when you wake up.”

He smiled, and thought for a second. “I’m going to do the rest in one go, alright?”

“Okay, just wait a second.” She moved to the doorway, coffee mug cradled in two hands, and leaned up against the doorframe. “Alright, go.”

And for the second time today, our hero passed out.