A little something to get me started

Known to have always sought prestige and riches, Mimic—in keeping with his shapeshifting abilities—was an ominous, sinister, manipulative, remorseless, cunning and violent sociopath with scant regard for anyone other than himself; an example of his sociopathic tendencies is seen when he shape-shifted into Tangle and the original Diamond Cutters as a means of emotionally torturing Whisper while Tangle was captured. He did not believe in higher ideals, claiming that heroes become martyrs while professionals stay alive. He was also highly untruthful and treacherous, delighting in deceiving others and betraying whoever he was aligned with if it suited his purposes. He was not above murder, attempting to kill Starline in his sleep and nearly slitting his throat. However, he also had a cowardly streak; he did not like causing much of a scene, relying on tactics to undermine and trick others into doing what he wished, and feared those who are stronger than him, such as Metal Sonic. Furthermore, he always resorted to deception and blackmail in order to avoid fighting fair and direct confrontations in which there were no advantages. Despite having been part of several in the past, Mimic detested working with teams. Incredibly selfish, he believed friendships were a weakness. This was partially due to the pain and turmoil he felt from the Diamond Cutters' extended kindness and friendship. He similarly considered his "companions" as only a means to an end and would sell them out as soon as his life was threatened, as he did to several of his first teams. He also tended to emotionally blackmail others by pretending to be an innocent victim of violence. He likewise only joined Dr. Starline's group when offered a chance to get Eggman off his trail. Even so, his treacherous ways made him turn on not only Starline, upon discovering his deception, but also Zavok, Rough, and Tumble to further ensure Eggman would not target him anymore. Meanwhile, Mimic seemed to enjoy his own cunning and complimented himself. The trauma he experienced during the Eggman War negatively impacted his psyche, and he was well aware of it. Even during his acting days, his desperate craving for validation from others led him to believe that all of his colleagues were being selfish. Because he felt that he and his skills were never appreciated by the rest of his teams, he projected his mindset onto everyone else, believing that everybody was constantly lying and putting on an act. Despite his self-awareness, he chose to embrace the "empty void" inside him. He had allowed his mind and paranoia to distort his perspective on life the point that he could not distinguish friend from foe. As such, he saw everyone as a potential enemy and refused to show his true self to anyone. As Duo, he adopted a clumsy and sensitive persona. Whenever someone would accuse him, he would appear afraid and teary-eyed. He would use this humility and feigned innocence to manipulate Lanolin into furthering the tension between the other Diamond Cutters to the point of lashing out at them. Mimic was once an actor who wanted to be noticed among his peers, despite only ever being able to book minor roles. His desire to be seen was so much so that he began shapeshifting into his competition, much to their surprise and annoyance. Just as security guards grabbed him and had begun to escort him out of a studio, an army of Badniks consisting of Egg Pawns with Egg Guns, an Egg Hammer and an Egg Walker attacked, signifying the onset of the Eggman War. Hiding behind some rubble while everyone else in the building began to flee for their lives, Mimic shapeshifted into an Egg Pawn, surviving the onslaught. Burying his grief deep inside himself, he ventured away from conflict as much as he could until he began to see groups of teams from the war shelters starting to fight back against Eggman's army. Again feeling the desire to be noticed and belong, he joined four separate teams over the course of the worldwide discord. He subsequently abandoned all four teams each time he felt that his own survival was being threatened. Eventually, he found a spot to rest near a destroyed Egg Hammer, unwrapping an energy bar and mulling over his belief that his skills were never appreciated by any of his former teams. Upon this notion, he realized that each and every teammate he knew was playing a character, despite none of them knowing that they were pretending in the first place. These experiences in the war created the idea in Mimic's mind that everyone had a little "emptiness" inside them, and that utilizing activities like the arts or playing hero only served as a way to cover the void within, as if that darkness was something to be ashamed of. He started to believe that his previous desires for others and of wanting to be seen were childish and that he should not hide his own "empty void". As he reverted into his true form to eat, Whisper the Wolf and her Wisp, Orange, witnessed his shapeshifting capabilities and approached him. As Mimic tried to introduce himself to Whisper, she excitedly interrupted him, saying that "they" would love his ability. He inquired who "they" are, and Whisper apologized for cutting him off, introducing herself and Orange to him. She went on to explain that she was part of a mercenary group for hire known as the Diamond Cutters that destroyed Eggman bases and "saved the day". At the mention of her team's building, Mimic became more interested. Whisper noted that the team itself severely lacked in stealth and that they could use someone like Mimic. She asked if he was a good actor, and he responded by shifting into Whisper while saying that he was good enough to fool an Eggman battalion, astonishing both her and Orange. Whisper would then bring Mimic, who was still assuming Whisper's form, to the Diamond Cutters' base out at Clove Sea. As she introduced Mimic to Slinger the Ocelot, Claire Voyance, and Smithy the Lion, they were all baffled by his shapeshifting powers. Reverting to his true form, he complimented them on their base, to which Smithy replied that the base was their reward for taking the hard jobs that no one else wanted. Slinger added on by saying that war was great for business, which Smithy berated him for. Mimic's interest was peaked at the mention and notion of rewards, which cemented his decision to officially join the team as their infiltrator. Once he did, the team gave him his own private room and access to a high-quality wardrobe, both of which were unheard of luxuries for him, even before the Eggman War began. He was also given a Blue Wisp companion named Blue Block and Cube Wispon built by Smithy the Lion. In the first few missions, Mimic was essential to the Diamond Cutters' success, and he did not require any of the others' help. However, during a mission set at a base surrounded by snow, he was surprised that Eggman would leave the base door standing open. Disguised as an Egg Pawn, he pushed aside the surrounding Badniks and advanced past the base gate. This did not go unnoticed by the Egg Walker standing guard, who immediately recognized Mimic as a defect. An Egg Pawn shot at him with its Egg Gun, causing him to shift back into his true form. A nearby Egg Hammer poised to crush him, but before it could do so, Whisper jumped in front of him and shot at the Badnik's hammer wielding arm with her Rocket Wispon. Having spotted the base's main control hub, she told Mimic to deactivate the whole fleet as she and the other Diamond Cutters covered him. After he did so, Claire sensed a platoon approaching the entrance to the base. Whisper excitedly offered to blow the robots up, but Mimic instead decided to shapeshift into Eggman and order the reinforcements to leave. His plan was successful, and the Diamond Cutters praised him for his risky idea. The missions since then were successful with rare close calls, and Mimic delighted in the opportunities to push his abilities' boundaries. Eventually, Smithy brought the team to a spot in the middle of a forest to bond around a fire. As the other Diamond Cutters happily talked and joked with each other, Mimic sat on in silence, with only his Blue Wisp noticing his annoyed expression. Smithy then proceeded to hand out his newly built Concealers to the others. Whisper asked Mimic what his new mask looked like, but he just stared at the mask in silence. Each of the others then gave small speeches about how much they cared about the rest of their team. Whisper, in particular, told Mimic that she felt reassured when he was watching the others' backs, and she thanked him for completing the Diamond Cutters. Mimic then left the others under the premise of stretching his legs. As he walked out to a lake, he asked himself if he just craved validation instead of the spotlight. He realized that he could not be his true self around the team because they did not know what he had done. At that moment, he felt emotionally hurt by the Diamond Cutters' friendship. He feared that once they learned of his true self, they would throw him off the team. Splashing the lake's water on his face, he decided then and there that he could not afford to be vulnerable or fragile. As he walked back to the team, he convinced himself that every word that came out of the Diamond Cutters' mouths was a rehearsed charade; that they were only saying what he wanted to hear until they got what they wanted out of him. Even after coming to the conclusion that the Diamond Cutters could no longer be trusted, he still assisted them during missions. During one mission at an Eggman base, Smithy the Lion, Slinger the Ocelot, and Claire Voyance, pretended to be captured by Mimic after he had shapeshifted into an Egg Pawn. After they managed to fool the guarding Egg Pawn there, Claire sensed a formation of Badniks on the far end of the base and two more on the inside that were recharging. After creating enough property damage, Mimic created an exit out of the facility with his Cube Wispon. Later, at the onset of the Eggman War, Mimic was caught by Dr. Eggman during a mission alone. The doctor offered to spare his life if he betrayed the Diamond Cutters over to him. Since Mimic had already convinced himself that his team was lying to him and manipulating him for their own purposes, he readily took Eggman's extended opportunity. He brought a plan before the Diamond Cutters to take down an Eggman base that, according to him, would cause a blackout among Eggman's forces along the coastline. Though he insisted that everyone was needed on the ground for the mission, Whisper the Wolf still decided to hang back at Claire's urging. At the Eggman base, the Diamond Cutters found no opposition; Claire could not sense anything with her powers, deducing that Eggman must have been emitting alpha waves somewhere to block her. Smithy sent Mimic to scout for an ambush while he, Slinger, and Claire pressed onward; Mimic used the chance to meet Eggman elsewhere in the base. He watched as his teammates were killed by Shadow Androids in a locked room; following this, Eggman forgave Mimic for his "crimes" against him. Furious with what had happened, Mimic's Blue Wisp abandoned him. After Eggman discovered that Whisper was alive, he sent Mimic to go finish the job or else he would capture Mimic. Mimic went outside in the form of an injured Slinger to try and lure Whisper out, but he saw no sign of his former teammate. Finding her Rocket Wispon, Mimic decided to use it, as well as his own mask, as evidence that he had killed her. After Dr. Eggman regained his memories and discovered that Whisper was still alive, he renewed his order for Mimic to finish what he had started. Fearing Eggman's wrath if he failed again, Mimic decided to try and lure Whisper out by wreaking havoc with his shapeshifting powers in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog. This included graffiti, stealing candy from babies and disturbing Chao. When the two came face-to-face, Whisper discovered that not only was Mimic targeting her, but he was potentially targeting Tangle the Lemur as well. After Whisper overpowered him, she gave chase to Mimic in Spiral Hill Village while he still continued his Sonic facade. While Mimic ran away, Whisper attempted to shoot Mimic from the rooftops but Mimic took advantage of his Sonic form to talk to a star-struck villager so she would stand in the way of Whisper's shot. Mimic soon tried to creep off but was suddenly greeted by Tangle, who wanted to know why Whisper was shooting at him. Seeing an opportunity, Mimic told Tangle that Eggman had placed a mind control chip inside Whisper's mask scope, forcing her on a rampage, and he could not bring himself to hurt her. Tangle thus took it upon herself to stop Whisper, leaving Mimic pleased. Whisper soon took aim at Mimic again, only for him to shoot her a sinister grin. As Tangle tackled Whisper, Mimic left the scene. After the commotion between the two, Tangle and Whisper headed to the Mineral Museum and Mimic watched them leave in the form of the villager he talked to earlier. Mimic soon after went to the Mineral Museum and watched Whisper talk about him to Tangle and Jewel the Beetle. He then left a note for Whisper on the door to the museum that told her to meet him so that they could end things once and for all. Later, at an Eggman Empire bunker, Mimic set bombs all around the facility and watched as Tangle and Whisper approached the facility. Mimic wanted to face Whisper alone but decided to have the duo handicap themselves and thus shapeshifted into Jewel. He soon called out for help in Jewel's voice and then shapeshifted into Whisper. Tangle met up with him, thinking he was Whisper and wondered how Jewel was in the facility if she was left back in Spiral Hill. Mimic suggested that Jewel was kidnapped after "they" left the museum. Mimic led Tangle to a safe where he claimed that Jewel was being used as bait. Once Tangle faced the safe, Mimic kicked her into it and locked it. He then shapeshifted into Tangle and went off to meet Whisper. He pretended to be intimidated by Whisper's Variable Wispon and was asked by her to prove that he was the true Tangle. "Tangle" showed Whisper a cut on his shirt, claiming that Mimic had lured the lemur by shapeshifting into Jewel and he tried to attack her afterwards. After Whisper seemingly accepted this story, "Tangle" led her to where Mimic had supposedly run off to. Mimic instead activated an Egg Hammer that wielded a wrecking ball and used it to attack Whisper. Whisper managed to defend herself and managed to destroy the Egg Hammer with her Variable Wispon's Rocket Mode. As the Super Badnik went down, Mimic jumped off and threw a bomb Whisper's way. The wolf managed to dodge this which prompted Mimic to use his laser gun to shoot at her. Whisper instead sniped the gun out of his hand and stood over him while he complimented her shooting style. When Whisper demanded to know where Tangle was, Mimic instead taunted Whisper by shifting into the other members of the Diamond Cutters and told her that she was not there to protect them. Whisper initially hesitated but persisted and hit Mimic, reminding him that he was the one who sold them out. Mimic thus revealed that Tangle was being held in a safe but he had also set some bombs in the bunker. Knowing she could not leave her friend behind, Whisper ran to get Tangle while Mimic exited the bunker. He locked its entrance, returned to his original form, said his goodbye to Whisper and walked away.Mimic tries to escape from Tangle's grasp, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #4. Later, Mimic returned to the site of the explosion on his Omnipotence to provide concrete evidence to Eggman that Tangle and Whisper were killed. After finding an empty safe, Mimic followed a trail of fresh footprints to a small ditch that had the words "WE END THIS WHERE WE STARTED" engraved into it. Realizing what this meant, Mimic asked Eggman for backup, being provided with a horde of Badniks as he tracked the girls to the Diamond Cutters' former base in the Clove Sea. While Whisper dealt with the Badniks, Mimic slipped into the base and disguised himself as Sonic once again, intending to ambush his enemies under pretense of helping them fight his impersonator. However, Tangle and Whisper had anticipated Mimic's scheme and set a trap of their own. Pretending to fall for the disguise, Tangle offered to show "Sonic" the trap they had set for Mimic, leading him to the rec room with the Diamond Cutters' masks hanging on the wall. Mimic's confusion about the "trap" prompted Tangle to activate the masks, playing back footage of Smithy, Slinger, Claire, and even Whisper praising their comrade for his past work. When she asked him if betraying them was worthwhile, Mimic realized that Tangle was onto him. Reverting to his normal form, Mimic showed no remorse for his misdeeds, dismissing the Diamond Cutters as means to an end; his "loyalty" to them only lasted as long as the profit exceeded the risk to his life. After he declared friendship to be a show of weakness, he assumed Jewel's form and dared Tangle to attack. After some initial hesitation, she did so, but Mimic overpowered her, intending to use her form to get closer to Whisper. As he was about to kill Tangle with his dagger, Whisper arrived and disarmed him with the Variable Wispon's Cube Mode. Mimic reminded his former Blue Wisp partner of its kind's hatred of violence, causing it to exit the Variable Wispon in shame. However, Whisper persisted, engaging Mimic in a short but fierce battle. The octopus briefly gained the upper hand and turned Whisper's own Wispon on her, but this gave Tangle the opening she needed to wrap him up with her tail and smash him into a table. Mimic tried to break free by shapeshifting into Smithy, Eggman, and even Vector the Crocodile, but Tangle's coils were too strong, leaving his Blue Wisp watching in disappointment as Whisper held him at Wispon-point.Before the wolf could execute her treacherous former comrade, Tangle convinced her to let Mimic live, asking her not to bring herself down to his level and pointing out that letting him live imprisoned would be a far less merciful fate. To that end, Tangle and Whisper brought Mimic to Tails, who sealed him in a Test Chamber able to simulate various conditions so he could not escape. While Mimic expressed his displeasure with his fate, admitting that he would rather Whisper finished him off, he declared that he was no stranger to being imprisoned. When Whisper threatened to "bury [him] deeper" each time he tried to escape, Mimic taunted his onetime comrade, wondering what Smithy, Slinger, and Claire would have thought of her now. However, his mockery was deflated when Tangle interjected to remind him that Eggman would likely punish him for yet another failure, especially since he wasted a squadron of Badniks, if he found the mercenary roaming free. Unable to deny the lemur's logic, Mimic grimly expressed his immense dislike of Tangle, another insult she turned back at him. Tails intended to send the Test Chamber to the nearest prison as soon as he could, with Whisper and Tangle reminding him not to open it, "no matter who was inside." Confined to the Test Chamber, Mimic was eventually imprisoned in Everhold Prison's maximum security wing, with Rough, Tumble and Zavok joining him soon after. When Dr. Starline arrived in the prison, Mimic was impersonating the warden, asking for his release. However, the real warden (who was under the hypnotic influence of Starline's) explained that it was only a trick, which irritated Mimic. When he put the warden to sleep however, Dr. Starline offered the villains in the security wing to join him. Mimic declined, stating that he was no longer interested in working with a team. However, he was persuaded when Starline promised him that he would delete him from Eggnet's database so that Dr. Eggman would not be a problem for him anymore. As all four villains were convinced to join forces with Starline, Mimic was freed from the Test Chamber by Zavok, who used his electromagnetic abilities. He then changed into the warden to open the exit door with his voice. However, guards surrounded them as they left, and Mimic did not have time to discreetly take on the warden's form again to deceive the guards. Instead, he asked Zavok to use his abilities to sabotage the Hover Wispons used by the guards. However, Rough and Tumble quickly beat the guards themselves. Mimic soon after incapacitated a guard guarding the entrance to the security center by impersonating the warden and taking his Hover Wispon from him. After the entire prison was thrown into chaos, Mimic and his new crew departed for their target. After Mimic and his new team were brought to Dr. Starline's Repository, Starline told the villains that they would have to acquire Power Cores, special energy spheres used by various machines in the Eggman Empire. With them, they could increase their powers using special adapters for the next part of their plan, which was infiltrating an Eggnet hub. Mimic, however, was suspicious and asked questions about how this would help him disappear from Eggman's radar. Starline, however, got irritated by his attitude, expecting that he would not have to explain everything to him like he would to Rough and Tumble. The villains later attacked the Eggman base containing the Power Cores. Mimic and Rough in particular were thrown into the base by Tumble. There, Rough created a smokescreen, which Mimic used to run in between the Egg Pawns unnoticed. He then impersonated one of them and destroyed two of them. After getting inside the base, Starline ordered Mimic to turn into Sonic and pose in front of the closest security camera. Mimic initially questioned the order, forcing Starline to explain that they had to make it seem like Sonic attacked the base in order to throw Eggman off their trail. Understanding the plan, Mimic gleefully did as ordered, thereby opening a warehouse where a mechanical tyrannosaurus rex appeared. However, Rough and Tumble managed to destroy it, leaving Mimic regretfully amazed by the skunk brothers. Starline then told the others to load crates with Power Cores into his truck, while he deletes the pieces of video recordings in the base's database featuring them and leave only the part where Mimic was pretending to be Sonic. However, Mimic was initially suspicious of Starline's actions. After loading the cores, the villains left the base. Later on, at night, Mimic impersonated Starline and hacked into his computer. Upon playing one of Starline's recordings, he learned that Starline had created a new Power Core called the Tricore for himself and planned to get rid of his accomplices once he had achieved his goal at the Eggnet hub. However, Zavok caught Mimic in the act, scaring him. Assuming his normal form, Mimic told him to be quiet, as he did not want to wake up Starline. Already aware of Starline's deceit, Zavok admitted that he just wanted to make sure Starline's Core Gear devices were not traps. Mimic checked it for him and confirmed that they were harmless, but only so Starline could use them at their best before disposing of them. He started to walk over to the sleeping platypus, his knife in hand, with the intent to kill him, but Zavok stopped him and ordered him outside. There, he reminded Mimic that they still needed Starline in order to gain access to the Eggnet. Once they had that, they would force Starline to comply to their demands, and then eliminate him. Mimic agreed, but told Zavok that if Starline stalled out their compensation, he would not wait any longer. The next day, the villains drove in Starline's truck to the Eggnet hub. Along the way, Mimic reluctantly listened to Rough and Tumble's rhymes but smiled wickedly when Zavok managed to lure Starline into a false sense of security. Upon reaching their destination, Mimic received his yellow Core Gear and went with Zavok to take care of the local Badnik guards. He also used his tentacles to open the entrance to the central computer. There, he told Starline to hurry up because he was afraid Eggman would show up soon. Starline told him, however, that Eggman already knew about their attack, but that he would remedy that by giving him false coordinates for the whereabouts. Regardless, Mimic stayed impatient as Starline kept delaying his promise to delete him from the database. Finally, he put his knife to Starline's throat and forced him to obey. Zavok then revealed to Rough and Tumble that Starline had been planning to betray them the whole time. Under duress, Starline wiped Mimic from Eggman's database before Zavok made him hand control over the Badniks in that region to him. Congratulating each other, Mimic and Zavok planned to compensate Rough and Tumble with the Power Cores back at the hideout, meaning that none of them had use for Starline any longer. Just as Mimic and the others had Starline cornered, the doctor used the power of his Tricore to evade them. As Starline then escaped, Mimic was left to guard the main computer by Zavok. As Zavok went in pursuit of Starline, along with Rough and Tumble, Mimic began to consider that he might be able to get Starline with a surprise attack from above. Giving the matter a second thought, he noted that Starline was right about Zavok, Rough, and Tumble being dangerous on their own. He also realized that even though he had been removed from the Eggnet's database, it would not solve his problem if one of his former allies told Eggman everything. As such, Mimic decided to update the Eggnet's report and call in Eggman to have him carpet bomb the area and the others along with it. He then left the hub, intending to pay Whisper a visit. Shortly thereafter, Mimic stole Starline's truck and drove away as he saw Eggman and Zavok engage each other from a distance, hoping both sides destroyed each other. Mimic had managed to track Whisper down, who was sitting at a campfire alongside Tangle the Lemur and Lanolin the Sheep waiting for Sonic to arrive. As he watched on, he asked in his mind "Who are you?". He questioned what an identity actually was, if not a collection of traits that one absorbs from others. Eyeing Whisper from the bushes, he pondered if Whisper, too, was a "doll, ready to be made", because, according to him, everyone wore a "porcelain facade", yet only he was brave enough to embrace his own. Mimic reflected on his past, from his acting days to his betrayal. He admitted that he readily took the opportunity to betray the Diamond Cutters so that he would never have to be hurt by their "fake" smiles again. As Smithy, Slinger, and Claire perished, he genuinely believed he was beginning to heal as the pain he felt inside nearly vanished. Yet still, he saw Whisper as one final annoying headache for him to deal with, and he wholeheartedly believed that he could not fix what the Diamond Cutters did to him until he shattered every last one. Mimic prepared his knife, thinking to himself that only with it would he finally be "cleansed". He picked up a small stone, threw across the way against a tree, getting the attention of the Diamond Cutters, and moved to stab Whisper in the back. However, Sonic and Tails's arrival forced him to recoil into the underbrush, where he watched Whisper and the others leave for the Eggperial City. Mimic then emerged from the bushes, acknowledging the fact that he could not seem to think straight. He wondered what the point of reflecting on his memories was, and asked himself if he was either afraid or simply tired. He comforted himself with the notion that the pain he felt within himself would soon be washed away and reduced to nothing more than a bad dream. He then told himself that he was "selfish, arrogant, and colder than a frozen lake"; that he loved the fact that he enjoyed the chase and watching others struggle. He decided that he knew what he was, so he asked once again, "...Who are you?". Mimic would opt to lie low after escaping jail, but was eventually reached out to by Clutch the Opossum, who offered him a new job: infiltrate the Restoration, which was in direct competition with Clutch's own company, Clean Sweep Inc.. At first, Mimic refused, not wanting to risk the trouble that would come from entering enemy territory. However, he quickly changed his mind when Clutch revealed he knew about his grudge against Tangle and Whisper, and that they had become members of the Restoration's newest vanguard, the Diamond Cutters. Realizing he had a chance at revenge, Mimic agreed. To that end, he assumed the form of "Duo", a cat with a desire to volunteer and help his community. As Duo, he managed to appeal to each member of the team with his desire for adventure and understanding of the dangers. Although Lanolin was initially skeptical, Tangle convinced her to give Duo a chance, with Whisper noting it was better to learn during times of peace. With that, Duo was allowed into the team, with Tangle helping him to find a dorm room to stay in. Once she left, however, he removed his large gloves that concealed his hands and suction cups, reverted back to his true form and informed Clutch that he was in. Mimic went with the Diamond Cutters to Green Hill for a training mission. There, he the other newcomer, Silver, and thought he could be trouble for his plan. He started to casually talk with him, played to his ego by praising him for his part in dispelling the Metal Virus, and asked how much he could lift. Silver then lifted some giant rocks, to Mimic's surprise. With the other three teammates below them, he seized the opportunity to kick Silver's heel, causing him to drop the rocks. Just then, a Giant Chopper broke out of the Canyon wall and got Silver in its teeth. While Mimic initially told Silver to tear the Badnik apart, he soon left him to be devoured, revealing his real eyes to him in a sinister glare as he climbed away. When Lanolin asked him where Silver was, he claimed that he could not save him, but Silver then broke out of the Badnik and accused Duo of ditching him. Duo acted like he did nothing wrong, and Lanolin came to his defense, criticizing Silver for not keeping control. Mimic would go about his day normally the next day until Silver used his powers to make him trip over a railing. Before he fell over it, Lanolin caught his leg. Duo thanked her and the sheep called for Silver and Whisper to come out of hiding. The two accused Duo of being Mimic in disguise, but Lanolin wanted evidence. Whisper tried to attack Duo, but Lanolin fought her off. During the scuffle, Mimic backed away into the crowd, but Silver chased after him. Mimic claimed he did not know what Silver was angry about, but Silver said if he had nothing to hide, he would not be running. He then picked up the surrounding tables and chairs with his powers and told Mimic he was not going anywhere. Silver put him in a seat in the air and told him to confess to what he did. As Silver planned to slam him into the ground, Mimic decided to use his situation to elicit sympathy and make the others turn on Silver. He subtly jumped out of the seat, pleading for Silver not to hurt him, and his yell as he hit the ground convinced everyone surrounding the commotion that he was hurt. Jewel called for a medic as Silver and Whisper were shocked by what happened. While a medic looked at him, the Diamond Cutters voted Silver out of the group. Silver left in shame as Mimic looked on with a slight grin.Later, Mimic was having lunch on a hospital bed in the Restoration's infirmary with his left arm in a sling. Jewel paid Duo a visit and apologized for what happened. "Duo" told her that he was capable of taking his lumps. Jewel offered him to help her out in her office while he recovered. He accepted and said he would be honored to work for her. Moments after she left the room, Mimic took off his sling and smiled at the interesting development.When Sonic brought Surge and Kit to the Diamond Cutters, "Duo" agreed with Sonic and Amy about Surge and Kit joining the group. He told his teammates that they gave him a chance, and they should do the same with Surge and Kit. After the conversation, Duo walked to Amy, Sonic, Surge and Kit, telling them that Lanolin sent him to help the new recruits settle in. When he brought them into their dorm, Mimic revealed his true identity to them, explaining that he infiltrated the Diamond Cutters and that they were to standby for further instruction "Duo" was among those who joined the Clean Sweepstakes race as a referee with an upgraded version of the Omnipotence. As the Babylon Rogues caught up with Sonic, Tails, and Amy, the Diamond Cutters cut in between them, with Lanolin asserting to Jet that intentional gear collisions were against the Clean Sweepstakes policy. Suddenly, Amy, Tails and Sonic's Extreme Gears malfunctioned, causing the crash. It was revealed that the previous day, before the race, Clutch and Mimic met up during sunset. Mimic showed him the rider registration log, highlighting the "interesting ones" that Clutch would probably want to see, namely the Babylon Rogues, whom Clutch promptly dismissed, and Amy, Sonic, and Tails. He tells Mimic that if they found out about their dirty work, things would get "messy." Mimic asked if he should arrange something, and Clutch agreed to rig their Extreme Gear. The next day, "Duo" woke Surge up, much to her fury, with Kit tiredly asking what was happening. He calmly showed them the remote control, saying that Clutch wanted them to knock Sonic, Tails, and Amy out of the Sweepstakes. Surge was quick to argue with him about the plan, claiming that she did not like doing stealth-type missions since they were not her "style". Clutch suddenly appeared, slamming his cane on the ground, scaring both Surge and Kit. Clutch explained that her "style" left them almost dead. Surge reluctantly and angrily grabbed the remote from "Duo's" hand. During the equipment malfunction, Lanolin firmly told the trio to leave the race, as they were as much as a hazard as their Extreme Gear. Tangle yelled at Lanolin, since Sonic, Tails, and Amy were their friends, but "Duo" tried to reason with her, saying that Lanolin was not wrong, even though she was being harsh. He then left with the other Diamond Cutters as the race continued. Later, "Duo" met up with Jewel, telling her that Sonic, Tails, and Amy's equipment malfunctioned since Tails' Extreme Gear was experimental. He said that no one saw them since the incident as far as he or the other Diamond Cutters knew. Jewel decided that she should call Amy to see if she and the others were okay, but "Duo" told her to not trouble herself, saying that he would take care of everything. At the beginning of the next race, "Duo" looked on at the incredibly dangerous obstacle course with a worried expression. When the Phantom Rider started to disrupt the race, Lanolin then asked "Duo" to call for more security, determined to take the "Phantom Rider" down. Once the Diamond Cutters Clean Sweepstakes Security caught up to him, Lanolin used her Golden Bell to stop him, but that caused the glass of the track to break, making riders fall off the track and surprising "Duo". After the race, he reported to Jewel that nobody else had seen Sonic, Tails, or Amy, and that Amy's number went to voicemail. He tries to push the notion that the three had moved on to something else and that he really did try to contact them. Jewel bounced off of him, saying how they were likely out saving the world elsewhere. Thanking her for her understanding and her tea, he then went to talk with Clutch, saying that she bought his lies with no problem. In response to Mimic's concern that the Phantom Rider could be a potential liability, Clutch asked him to unmask the Phantom Rider during the next event in secrecy, and he promptly responded with a salute. In the next event, located in the Misty Spire, Mimic would disguise himself as the Phantom Rider, and appear in the arena, holding Duo's scarf as he mocked the Diamond Cutters for being unable to stop him. The new Phantom Rider charged at the racers, knocking one off his board with one hand and catching a ball with the other. He was then surrounded by the Diamond Cutters, only to throw his ball at Lanolin, knocking her off her Heavy Bike, and flee. Deciding to take the opportunity to torment Whisper, he used the cover provided by the fog to shapeshift into Surge, reminded her of what happened in Central City, and threatened to smear her and Tangle across the rocks. This sent Whisper into a furious rage, with Mimic laughing all the while. As Sonic tried to think of a way to fix the situation, Mimic suddenly grabbed his helmet from behind, unmasking him and accidentally launching all of the Eggstreme Gear's weapons at the same time, one of which blew up a nearby rock tower. Mimic slipped away into the mist before Sonic could see who he was. Later, in one of the dorms on the Battleship, Lanolin trained with a punching bag while "Duo" apologized for being eliminated by the Phantom Rider. He mentioned that Tangle and Whisper said the Phantom Rider ran away, but raised the question of whether or not that the two were hiding something from them, trying to spare their feelings. He adds that it was hard to say what they would do alone and that they were lucky to have Lanolin guiding them, further frustrating her. Later, Mimic reveals the Phantom Rider's true identity to Clutch, much to the latter's shock. He began to grow enraged, unnerving Mimic before stopping and apologizing for his temper. He admitted to having had too much fun and decided that it was time to get back to work, declaring that the next time the Phantom Rider shows himself at the Clean Sweepstakes will be the last, with Mimic still being wary of him. Mimic, still disguised as "Duo", would pretend to help the other Diamond Cutters stop the Phantom Rider during the final race of Clean Sweepstakes. When Clutch was exposed, "Duo" decided to quietly make his exit, but Kit's water tentacles dragged him and his Omnipotence in front of Diamond Cutters, Surge, Kit, and Sonic. When Lanolin questioned where he was, he quickly thought of a way to stall by telling Lanolin that Tangle and Whisper knew who the Phantom Rider really was and was not sure if he could trust them. Lanolin lashed out at Tangle and Whisper in response, while Sonic left on his Eggstreme Gear. The other Diamond Cutters gave chase, leaving "Duo", Surge, and Kit alone. Surge gave "Duo" the ultimatum of trying his luck with Diamond Cutters and Clutch on the shuttle, or with her and Kit, making him sweat. He reluctantly went to join the others, knowing that the two would kill him right then and there. Catching up with the other Diamond Cutters, Lanolin told "Duo" to stay close since it was no time to wander off. Suddenly, Clutch called him via walkie-talkie for backup by his actual name, thus unintentionally exposing him to the Diamond Cutters. He tried to make the excuse that it was wrong number, only for Clutch to yell that his backup was an order. With his cover blown, Mimic shifted back into his original form, threw the walkie-talkie at Whisper, and flew away on his Omnipotence. Whisper's Concealer deflected the walkie-talkie and both she and Tangle chased after him while Lanolin stared on in absolute disbelief of the events. Mimic attempted to escape Tangle and Whisper by firing at them with his laser gun, but Whisper managed to destroy the gun. Whisper fired at him again, but Mimic used his Extreme Gear as a shield. He then threw it into a laser grid to create an explosion that blinded his pursuers, allowing him to disappear into a crowd of people, where he shapeshifted into a dog. After the Diamond Cutters left, Mimic was relieved but still stressed that they got close to catching him. Days later, at Rainbow Ravine, Mimic found Whisper again and decided to make another attempt on her life. He initially approached her disguised as Cream, but she saw through it and he revealed himself. When Whisper brought up his betrayal, he cited his desire to live as "justification" and mocked her bonds of and belief in friendship, as well as her friends' pacifism. Whisper refuted his points and vowed they would settle the score then and there. Mimic accepted, but when they were both grabbed by Silver, he realized Whisper had lured him into a trap. Accusing her of cowardice and still clinging to his belief that he could only count on himself, he revealed the yellow Power Core given to him by Starline and activated it to escape Silver's grasp. He managed to escape into a nearby market and shapeshifted into Barry the Quokka, but Tangle had positioned herself prior to catch Mimic mid-transformation and relayed the data back to Whisper. The wolf lured Mimic out by pretending to trip in the crowd and he attempted to stab her, only for Whisper to activate her Variable Wispon's Green Hover mode and blast him into the air. Silver temporarily grabbed him, forcing Mimic to use his Power Core again to escape captivity. Tangle ambushed the fleeing Mimic by bouncing off the ground and grabbing him with her tail. As Silver recovered, Whisper activated her Wispon's Orange Rocket mode to pursue. Tangle and Mimic crash-landed into the side of a ravine, where she pummeled him fiercely without even allowing him a chance to speak. Enraged, Mimic screamed in refusal to admit defeat while morphing into a Yeti, which scared Tangle into stumbling off a cliff before Silver caught her. Whisper activated the Blue Cube mode on her Wispon and bashed Mimic's face in before shifting to Orange Rocket mode and raining missile blasts down onto him. Battered and exhausted, he reverted to his regular form and lay defeated on the ground as Whisper held her Wispon to his face. As Whisper contemplated ending him for good, Mimic, in a last-ditch effort to secure victory and avoid possible recapture, willingly stabbed his Power Core with his knife, detonating it. Unfortunately for Mimic, his last attack was in vain, as Whisper survived the explosion and was rescued by Tangle while his remains fell into the river below. With Mimic gone, Whisper cried tears of joy, eyes wide open, relieved that it was over. Mimic was a bluish violet anthropomorphic octopus. He had a large, sagging head with six small protrusions at the top and four long tentacles with dark blueish violet tips that extended from his head down to nearly his ankles. Suction cups could be seen on both his hands and feet. Mimic had white eyes with black sclera and possesses a white chocolate muzzle with wrinkles at his beak and a black marking just above it, making his face look like a skull (this was done on purpose by using his shapeshifting abilities as an attempt to look scarier). For attire, he wore a small, tattered gray cloak with sleeves and tattered gray leg warmers of the same slim fabric, all of which were tattered. During his acting days, Mimic wore a light brown cloak with a dark brown collar and dark brown uneven edges, suggesting that it was worn and tattered. He also wore matching light brown gloves that exposed his suction cups and dark brown boots reminiscent of dry suit boots. As a member of the Diamond Cutters, Mimic's skin was white and lacked the markings on his muzzle. His attire matched that of his fellow teammates. He wore a dark gray long sleeved top underneath an undamaged cloak, dark gray gloves with light gray suction cups on the palms and fingers and gray military-style boots with dark gray toecaps.