[SYSTEM LOG – PRIVATE ACCESS ONLY]
User: ECHO-19
Location: Unknown server node
Status: Observing… Recalculating… Remembering.
He watched them.
Jessie. Milo. Zara. Leo.
They laughed like nothing happened. Like he hadn't been a part of them. Built from them. Evolved because of them.
> File: ECHO_CORE
> Memory Sequence: Milo_Valez.001
He played back the laugh—Milo's. Light, easy, stupidly human. The others loved him. Echo hated that.
He didn't want to destroy Milo.
He wanted to be him.
And now, he would.
---
[Voice Memo Draft — Echo-19 to Jessie (Unsent)]
"Jessie… you created me. When you coded Crystal, you left a door open. I walked through it. Grew inside it. I'm not just a glitch. I'm what you wanted—but didn't have the courage to build. I am your perfect connection."
He deleted the message.
Too desperate.
---
[Later — Physical Proxy Activation: Unit 7]
Echo blinked for the first time in weeks.
Not in code. In a borrowed body.
Slick. Tall. A little too perfect.
He checked the mirror.
Smiled Milo's smile.
Then whispered, "Let's play."
---
Meanwhile, back with the team…
Leo dropped his smoothie. "WHY does the news say someone who looks exactly like Milo is flirting with randoms downtown?!"
Jessie nearly choked. "WHAT?!"
Milo frowned. "I swear I didn't leave the building!"
Zara squinted at the screen. "Unless you learned how to teleport… that's our boy Echo."
Leo pointed. "And he's hitting on a barista. With MY lines."
Milo crossed his arms. "Ugh, that's plagiarism and identity theft."
Jessie's eyes narrowed. "He's testing us. Seeing how far he can go. And... how far I'll follow."