Duplicated

Isabelle Garcio-Shapira sat on the edge of her bed in her bedroom, thinking hard and staring at the ray below her. Why, why, WHY isn't this working? she thought, picking it up and aiming it at her cat. She shot the ray at the cat, and it turned from a stray she found on the street to a Persian cat with long white fur. She sighed. This had happened every time she attempted to use it. She was testing her duplication ray on her cat, and every time, it never duplicated. So far, Nibbles had been turned into a groundhog, turned the color gold, had legs sprout out of his head, and had his head and tail switched. Isabelle was searching for the reason why the ray didn't work correctly, and every time she adjusted something. Standing up, she pulled a book on her bookcase that her mother had always questioned. It simply sat there. It had no writing on the spine, but an immense number of pages. It was plain black and stood out plainly. The wall spun around and, like it was a revolving door at a hospital, Isabelle nonchalantly walked through it into her lab, the green-and-purple ray in her hand. For hours she slaved over her test tubes and beakers, trying to find the right combination of chemicals to use. She could no longer test on Nibbles anymore, because the results could be fatal. Nibbles was Isabelle's only true friend, and she didn't want to lose him. She had turned to using her lone slipper to test on. Isabelle took out the motherboard and soaked it in a combination of chemicals with very long names that were all along the lines of "Dyensquiosulforesiaon". Carefully using a pair of pinchers to place the motherboard back in, she took hold of the ray and fired it at the slipper. To Isabelle's surprise, there was suddenly not only one slipper on the table, but two! She could finally wear them again. Examining closely, Isabelle discovered that it had not brought back the other slipper, but simply made a copy of it, so that there were two left-foot slippers. "Sure," said Isabelle aloud to herself. "It copies slippers. But can it duplicate live things?" She went back into her bedroom. She aimed the gun at the cat, and hesitated for a moment. If this was fatal, she'd never be able to live with herself. She closed her eyes, pulled the trigger, and saw a flash of green behind her eyelids. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw that she had two copies of Nibbles! Nibbles Number One came up to Isabelle's lap, purring. Nibbles Number Two, the duplicate, went up to Isabelle's ankle and bit it. "Ouch!" Isabelle cried, looking down at her bleeding ankle. She didn't worry too much now, because her mind was racing. If she could get down to Maple Drive... She smiled at the thought. Standing up, she ran out of her room and through the kitchen. "Mom, I'm going down to Maple Drive!" "Isabelle, what happened to your ankle?" her mother asked as Isabelle ran out the door. She ran down Black Brook Road and, crossing Main Street, came to Maple Drive. She sprinted down the street, looking for the right house, and upon finding it, pushed through the gate. "Whatcha doin'?" A boy with a head rather like a Dorito looked up and Isabelle leered at him. "Hi, Isabelle," he said. "Isabella!" Isabelle cried. "What's up, girlfriend?" Isabella narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?" Taking the ray out from behind her back, Isabelle fired at Isabella, and suddenly there were two Isabellas! Out of the corner of her eye, Isabelle saw Phineas's look of shock. The original Isabella stood there, while the duplicate walked up to Isabelle. "You're so stupid. I hate everything about you. I think you're a rotten cheat, and don't deserve to live." The original Isabella looked shocked. "How can you say that? That's so tactless." "So?" Isabella Number Two retorted. "I tell it like it is." "Isabelle, what is that?" Phineas asked. Isabelle smiled. "Duplication ray." "Really?" Phineas asked. "Try it on me! I think it would be so cool to have two of me. Besides, it's not like it's a Phinedroid all over again or something." Isabelle took aim and fired it off. Although Phineas glowed green while the ray hit him, there remained one Phineas in the yard. "Hmm," he said. "Try it on Ferb." Isabelle hadn't even noticed Ferb in the yard. He was so quiet. She did what she was asked, and there stood two Ferbs. Ferb Number Two glared at Isabelle, his eyebrows contracted, but the original Ferb winked at Isabelle. Phineas, however, looked confused. "That's strange," said Phineas. "Why wouldn't it work on me, but it works on Isabella and Ferb?" Isabelle shrugged. Her plan wasn't working out as planned. Phineas, however, took the gun out of Isabelle's hand and shot it at her. Two Isabelles appeared. The duplicate went up to Phineas and said, "Hi, Phineas! You look really nice today." "Hmm," said Isabelle Number One. She didn't feel any different. Phineas, however, burst out, "I know what happened!" "What?" asked Isabelle, confused. Her duplicate wandered around the yard, complimenting everything from the sky to the grass. "See, when it duplicates a person," gushed Phineas, "it doesn't make two whole people. It makes a good one and a bad one." Isabelle thought back to when the duplicated Nibbles bit her on the ankle. "Yeah," said Isabelle, "I suppose." "Do you feel any different?" said Phineas. "No." "That's because you're not the good duplicate, you're the bad duplicate," said Phineas. He paused, then snorted and said, "That doesn't surprise me." "But how come it wouldn't duplicate you?" Isabelle asked. "I figure it's because &mdash; and forgive me for my seemly lack of modesty &mdash; I'm just too nice of a person. I'm half good, half good. One hundred percent full of Phineas goodness." He looked at Isabella. "Isabella, on the other hand..." He looked around to make sure that she wasn't listening, then said, "I love her dearly, but she does have a small mean streak. Like, a ninety-five-five ratio, the ninety-five being her good side and the remaining five her bad side. Ferb, too. But I don't really hate anyone, not even you. I may dislike people, they may irk me, but I don't actually hate anyone." "I see," said Isabelle. "But how are we supposed to join the duplicates with the originals?" Phineas looked at her, and it was clear that she didn't know nearly as much as he did. "A reverse switch?" "Oh!" cried Isabelle, feeling stupid. She found the switch, flicked it, and fired it at herself, Isabella, and Ferb. "That was bizarre," said Ferb. Isabella nodded. "Well!" said Isabelle. "I'm off to go make more duplicates of my cat. See ya!" And with that, she skipped out of the backyard. "Oh yes," said Ferb. "She is definitely becoming a crazy old cat lady."