Chapter 16: The Shadow of What Was Made
The world outside the warehouse was quiet, but inside Elira's heart raged like a storm.
Ares briefed the team. "Crane's moved operations to Blackthorn—a remote military outpost now privately owned. Satellite scans show heat signatures underground, and one… isn't human."
Elira glanced at Vira, who stood silent near the table.
"That's the hybrid," Vira said. "He's faster than you, Elira. Stronger. But not smarter."
Luka winced as he pulled on his tactical vest. "If he was built from her DNA, he'll think like her."
"He won't hesitate," Elira said. "I will."
Ares looked at her. "Not tonight."
She nodded.
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The Infiltration
Blackthorn's gates were shielded by electromagnetic fences, patrolled by drones and armed guards. But Ares, Elira, Luka, and a new tech operative named Soren approached from below—through the old irrigation tunnels that hadn't been mapped in decades.
Soren cracked the terminal, bypassing motion triggers and rerouting the guards.
Inside, the compound reeked of antiseptic and secrets.
"This place gives me the creeps," Luka muttered.
"That's because it's a graveyard," Vira said from behind them. "Only the failures ever made it to the surface."
As they crept deeper into the labyrinth of steel corridors, they passed empty cells… and one room filled with glass tubes. Inside floated bodies. Discarded clones. Half-formed, some twitching, some lifeless.
Noah's voice buzzed in over comms. "Security's light. That's not good."
"It means they want us here," Elira said.
And then the lights cut out.
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The Hybrid
The emergency red lights kicked on, casting blood-colored shadows across the floor.
A door at the end of the corridor hissed open—and out stepped the hybrid.
He was tall. His eyes glowed faint gold, his skin pale and veined with something that shimmered beneath—like metal infused with flesh.
And his face…
He looked like Elira.
Or rather, like what she would have become if Crane had succeeded fully.
"Hello, sister," he said, voice smooth as ice.
Elira raised her weapon. "You're not my brother."
"No. I'm your shadow," he said, tilting his head. "The version they wanted. No weakness. No hesitation. No fear."
"Then why are you hiding behind Crane's lies?"
"I'm not hiding," he said, taking a step forward. "I'm evolving."
And he attacked.
---
Battle in the Dark
Ares moved fast, firing three rounds at the hybrid—none hit. The hybrid blurred, appearing behind him, slamming him into a wall.
Elira lunged, blade out, catching the hybrid's cheek—but he didn't bleed. His skin healed instantly.
"You're slower than I expected," he whispered into her ear before hurling her across the corridor.
Luka grabbed a pulse rifle and fired at the ceiling, causing sparks and collapsing beams between them and the hybrid.
"We need to separate him!" Luka yelled.
Elira struggled to her feet. "No. We finish it. Here."
Vira pulled something from her coat—a black disk.
"What's that?" Ares grunted, limping.
"A kill switch. Designed only for him."
"Why didn't you say that before?" Luka shouted.
"Because it requires a proximity link and biometric match. Only Elira can get close enough."
Elira nodded. "I'll do it."
Ares grabbed her arm. "You go in, you might not come back."
She looked him in the eye. "I wasn't built to run."
---
One-on-One
The others split off, buying her time.
Elira stepped into the central chamber. The hybrid waited, smiling like death itself.
"You can't win," he said. "You are me."
"No," Elira said, gripping the disk. "I'm what survived you."
He lunged.
She dodged, spun, slashed—he mirrored her moves. Like a reflection. Every attack matched. Every strike deflected.
She remembered Vira's words. "He's stronger. Not smarter."
Then she changed her rhythm—fought unpredictably, like Luka had taught her during rooftop sparring. Kicks from odd angles, feints, blind strikes. Her movements grew wild, furious, instinctive.
She got close. Closer. Pressed the disk to his chest.
He froze.
"Goodbye, reflection," she whispered.
She hit the switch.
His body jerked, lights blinking in his eyes, his face contorting—until he collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
The hybrid was dead.
---
The Loss
Elira fell to her knees, chest heaving. But the moment of victory shattered when Noah's voice came through, panicked.
"Elira! Luka's down! Ares is hit! Vira's gone!"
"What?!"
Elira sprinted through the corridor. She found Luka on the ground, bleeding from the abdomen, Ares holding pressure on the wound, blood seeping between his fingers.
"Where's Vira?!" she screamed.
"She ran when the fight started," Ares growled. "She used us."
Luka looked up at her, his hand shaking. "Don't let… her win."
"No, no, stay with me," Elira begged, tears streaming. "Luka, you're going to be okay."
He smiled, weakly. "You were always more than a weapon…"
And then he went still.
Elira screamed.
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Aftermath
The compound burned behind them. The hybrid was dead. But Luka was gone.
Back at the base, silence filled the air like smoke.
Ares stood at the door, fists clenched. "We trusted her."
"She used me again," Elira said, staring at Luka's blood on her shirt. "She always knew we'd sacrifice someone."
Noah handed her Luka's old notebook. "He left this behind. Notes on Crane's next target."
Elira opened it. Coordinates. Names. A facility hidden in the Arctic. Something called Project Obsidian.
"She's going there," Elira said, eyes burning. "She has Crane's files. She'll finish what he started."
"Then we stop her," Ares said.
Elira stared out the window at the night.
"No," she whispered. "We end her."
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