Allison--the original Allison--was nothing short of speechless, and whether it was the inadequate morphine dosage or the shock all by itself was anyone's guess. She gritted her teeth, clenching her fists and digging her fingers into her palms, until the second shot began to kick in and she started to go slack.

She hadn't wanted to consider that this thing could talk. As nothing but a possibility, while the unformed mouth moved silently and lungs in any fashion were half a body away, it was okay. As something come to fruition, it was... Christ, she couldn't even think about it without feeling sick. Was this going to happen again? What was she going to do with it once the duplicate was gone from her body?

Meanwhile, the Allison that was currently pulling her way out of her torso was significantly less speechless and significantly more pissed off.

"Of course I can speak, Dr. Kinney," she replied, looking up at her with some irritation. "I have the same brain and the same vocal chords. I'm a clone. Not in the traditional sense, obviously, but... well. This isn't a picnic for me either, especially considering that somebody keeps trying to suck me back in. It's a goddamn cellular undertow."

"Am I still doing that?" Dr. Mann asked, her voice weak. "I didn't realize." She was apologizing to her clone. She was apologizing to her clone.

The duplicate shrugged.

"Given that I'm you," she said, her voice brisk and exactly like her own, "I think I can say I understand."