Episode 20
Iris had never felt so awake.
The memories surged through her—like electricity pulsing through wires long dead but now revived. Her past wasn't just trauma—it was a carefully constructed prison. And now, with the lock broken, she stood in the ashes of what they made her.
"You good?" Red Widow asked, tossing Iris a towel.
Iris wiped the sweat from her brow and nodded.
"I'm ready."
"Good," Red said. "Because your training begins now."
They were inside an abandoned subway terminal. Red Widow's base of operations had been retrofitted with high-tech surveillance scramblers, weapon storage, and underground escape tunnels. It was a place built for ghosts.
Dorian approached with a black case.
Inside were weapons—Iris recognized them all.
"Standard Glock. Modified Beretta. Tactical knives. Smoke vials. Flashbangs. And that—" he pointed at a metallic disc, "—is a micro-drone. Controlled by your neural frequency."
"I've used these before," Iris murmured, fingers gliding over the gear. "Haven't I?"
Red Widow raised a brow. "Memories might fade, instincts don't. That's why Alec molded you. You're not just smart—you're efficient. Calculated. Dangerous."
"Then let's use it," Iris said. "I want to bring him down."
---
Phase One: Rebirth
Over the next several days, Iris trained like a woman possessed.
Red Widow pushed her to the brink. Every session was brutal. Tactical simulations. Hacking drills. Escape routines. Neural recalibration exercises.
And every night, Iris replayed her unlocked memories. Her time at Black Rose. Her conversations with Elara. Her manipulations by Alec.
> "You were my perfect creation," Alec's voice echoed in her head. "But you made the mistake of dreaming."
She wouldn't make that mistake again.
---
Meanwhile: Draven Tower
Alec sat across from a new figure in the room—a young woman with platinum-blonde hair and violet eyes. She wore a lab-grown smile and a collar-like neural node glowing faintly at her throat.
"Subject Theta is fully operational," Dr. Kira Langston said. "Her responses match Iris's original brainwave patterns. But she's cleaner. Emotionless. Loyal."
Alec walked around the girl.
She didn't blink.
"What's her name?"
"Zero," Kira said. "No past. No name. No memories. Just programming."
Alec smiled. "Perfect. Then it's time for her first mission."
Kira hesitated. "Against Iris?"
"No," Alec said, turning to the giant digital board behind him, which displayed CCTV footage of Red Widow's base. "Against everyone around her."
---
Phase Two: Shadows and Smokescreens
Iris crouched behind a dumpster, eyes scanning the alleyway.
Tonight's mission: infiltrate a hidden government records lab beneath a law firm downtown. Red Widow had intel that Alec used the lab to store backups of memory blueprint files. Files that could prove Iris's manipulation—and expose the web of corruption supporting Alec's empire.
"Infrared shows two guards," Dorian's voice came through her earpiece. "Both armed. One near the elevator, other in the hallway."
"I got this," Iris said.
She moved like water—silent, efficient. She slipped past the first guard, disabling him with a chokehold in seconds. The second she stunned with a flash-vial and dart.
Inside the lab, the air felt sterile, artificial.
She hacked the system using a bypass Red Widow had provided. The screen lit up with folders: Belladonna Trial Logs, Project Black Rose, Theta Construction, Elara.VID.
Iris clicked on the last file, heart pounding.
Elara appeared on the screen.
> "If you're seeing this, it means you broke the loop. Iris, you were never supposed to live like this. You were supposed to be free. But I failed you. Alec… he wanted you compliant. I gave my life to stop him. Now it's your turn."
Tears welled in Iris's eyes.
Before she could download the files, alarms blared.
"Someone's triggered the outer gate!" Dorian shouted. "Get out now!"
Iris yanked the drive from the port and ran.
As she reached the alley, a figure blocked her path.
Female.
Same height. Same build.
She stepped forward.
Iris froze.
It was… her.
Same face. Same eyes. But colder. Unfeeling.
"Who the hell—?"
"I am Zero," the clone said. "And you are obsolete."
---
The Clash of Mirrors
Zero lunged forward with unnatural speed.
Iris dodged but not fast enough—the clone's punch clipped her shoulder and sent her reeling into a wall.
"She's enhanced," Dorian muttered, watching through street cams. "Biotech implants. She's not human anymore."
Iris fought back, landing a blow to Zero's ribs—but the clone didn't flinch. She was a weapon. Controlled. Unrelenting.
Zero grabbed Iris's throat and slammed her against a metal container.
"You are a failed experiment," she said robotically. "Alec has no use for you anymore."
Iris spat blood. "Tell Alec… I'm done being his puppet."
With a sudden twist, she reached into her belt and activated a neural disruptor.
The device sparked.
Zero's body jolted violently.
The clone screamed—a metallic, static-choked cry—and collapsed.
---
Back at the Hideout
Red Widow paced.
"A clone? Are you sure?"
"She looked like me," Iris said, holding an ice pack to her jaw. "But her eyes were dead. Like all the emotion was wiped."
"That's Alec's work," Dorian said. "He's replicating you. Making a better version. One he can control from day one."
Red Widow frowned. "If he has one, he has more."
Iris clenched her fists. "Then I need to move faster."
"You sure?" Red asked. "Because once you go to war with him, there's no coming back."
Iris stood.
"I was made in his playground. But now, I'm going to burn it to the ground."
---
Meanwhile: Alec's Private Suite
Zero knelt before Alec, bleeding from her nose. Her systems buzzed with errors.
"I failed," she said.
Alec lifted her chin.
"No, Zero. You did exactly what I needed."
He turned to Dr. Langston.
"She's stable in combat, just needs refinement. Increase her aggression inhibitors by 10%. Deploy the next one."
"The next one?" Langston asked.
Alec smiled darkly.
"Beta. The one based on Elara's neural map."
Langston paled. "But Elara was unstable—"
"Exactly," Alec whispered. "It's time Iris faces a ghost she can't kill."