Kuriba Ryouko (Doppelganger)

A doppelganger (ドッペルゲンガー) of Kuriba Ryouko (操歯涼子 (くりばりょうこ)), whose soul was created during an experiment where the original Kuriba Ryouko was split into two cyborgs for a year before being recombined. Residing within the combined mechanical components and initially believing she was the real one, the doppelganger eventually realized what she was and escaped the laboratory to seek her original out.

Appearance
The doppelganger's face is mostly identical to the original Kuriba Ryouko, with vertically striped hair, alternating between light and dark from a dark stripe at the middle of her frontal fringe. There is a slight shade difference across her face, likely acquired during separation. Below her neck, her body's mechanical nature is more apparent with exposed joints and a set of panels opening onto a hole on her back.

After her escape, the doppelganger acquired a black and pink patient gown and artificial skin to cover up her mechanical parts.

Personality
It isn't yet known how much of the original Kuriba Ryouko's personality is shared by the doppelganger. After learning her true nature, the doppelganger displays a tendency for speculative talk regarding her nature as a fake compared to normal people, the body and the soul, particularly when harming others. She also shows no compunctions about severely harming anyone in her way.

Background
In the past, Kuriba Ryouko was involved in an experiment in which her body was split in two and the missing parts replaced with machines to create two separate cyborgs. After a year living apart, the two Ryoukos were recombined into one, with no split personalities or rejection, and retaining the memories of the time split apart. While Ryouko wished to test the compatibility between the cyborg technology and the human body, the institution she was working with also hoped to observe a possible side-effect - the creation of a "soul". As they hoped, a new soul was created and came to reside in the cyborg parts which were assembled into a complete mechanical body. The doppelganger believed and perceived herself to be the original Kuriba Ryouko, unaware of her nature at first.

Dream Ranker Arc
Following the experiment, the doppelganger remained in the lab, supposedly to monitor after-effects, still believing herself to be the original human Kuriba Ryouko. Eventually she noticed gaps in her memory and realized what she was. She then proceeded to wreck the lab and escape by jumping out of the building, bypassing the precautions the scientists had set up on the lower floors. While falling, she passed Misaka Mikoto, who was following Kuriba Ryouko's trail. Mikoto attempted to break her fall with a banner, only to be caught out by the doppelganger's weight. The doppelganger escaped before Mikoto could reach it.

After her escape, the doppelganger visited the dilapidated Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory, dealing with a group of thugs before acquiring some artificial skin to disguise her mechanical parts. She then accessed a pharmaceutical database and tracked down her original through her Miahilin prescription.

The doppelganger briefly cornered the original Ryouko, but she managed to escape using a countermeasure she had prepared. The doppelganger was then attacked by Scavenger, who had been sent by the lab to capture her. Following a brief skirmish, the doppelganger was restrained by Naru's telekinetically-controlled paper. However after Scavenger's leader taunted her for trying to be human, the doppelganger broke through the paper, grabbed her arm before snapping her bones, holding even while being hit by Naru's enhanced punches. She then moved to pluck out the leader's eye, but before she could, her head was smashed open by Naru's desperate attack.

Believing that the doppelganger was defeated, Scavenger moved towards tending Leader, but were then surprised as the doppelganger sprang upright. Naru moved in to attack again in her paper armor but the doppelganger stopped her punch and seized control of her paper, ripping it away to form a replacement arm and cover her head wound. The doppelganger then remarked on how she'd only just made the skin. A little later, after leaving Naru defeated and naked on the ground, the doppelganger turned towards Leader and Yakumaru. In response, Yakumaru pretended to flee to lure the doppelganger after her, using her chemicals to form a wall to cover her escape. As the doppelganger moved to break it, Yakumaru snuck behind her and used freezing chemicals to bind her. She then attacked the doppelganger, but it was revealed to be a paper clone. As the real doppelganger reached for Yakumaru's head, Naru managed to stop her temporarily, giving Yakumaru a chance to set off an explosion and escape with the others. Having shielded herself with her arm, the doppelganger remarked that she'd intended to let them escape alive to inform the lab, but decided she needed to investigate further.

Abilities
The doppelganger's body is comprised of medical cyborg parts, heavier and sturdier than normal body parts. The cyborg parts include artificial muscles which expand and contract through chemical reactions, and suppressants to prevent rejection when in contact with physical bodies, some of the technologies having been developed by the original Kuriba Ryouko. Her body also has a number of safety mechanisms, designed to prevent it from performing actions which would inflict damage to itself beyond a certain level. She is capable of withstanding falls, such as from the top floors of a multi-story building, and hits enhanced through Telekinesis to a certain degree. She can also scale walls and easily snap a person's bones. During her battle with Scavenger, the doppelganger also appeared to display some means of interfering with her opponents' abilities and discrepancies from its provided specifications. After her body was damaged, she seized control of Naru's paper and used it to form a replacement arm.

One potentially dangerous aspect of the doppelganger is the nature of its artificial soul. According to the original Ryouko, the soul is merely being stored within the mechanical body rather than being linked to it in the same way as a normal person. If the body was destroyed, the abnormal free soul (自由な魂) would be released into its surroundings, possibly being able to possess other things or maybe even engulf the city.

Trivia

 * Prior to realizing what she was, the doppelganger perceived certain machines and related objects as more human equivalents, such as a cleaning robot as a maid and a repair kit as a first-aid kit.