Love in Peril

The rain had started again tapping on the metal roof like it was counting down to war I didn't have for fear... not when my career was at the brink of extinction.

Axel had questions. I had plans and somewhere out there, a version of me was rewriting the rules of the game.

The safehouse wasn't much to look at.

Half the walls were cracked concrete, and the flickering lights overhead buzzed like angry insects. But to me, it was the closest thing to sanctuary i could get. At least for now.

Axel dropped the duffel bag on the floor and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

"This place smells like dust and trauma," he muttered.

"Good. It means no one's been here since I last used it." i typed in a six-digit code on an old console near the door. A hidden panel slid open, revealing a small weapons cache and two ancient-looking comm devices.

He raised an eyebrow. "You really had this set up? For what? In case your evil twin came after you one day?"

I didn't answer. Truth was, i had always expected betrayal from others. Just not... from myself?

I sat on a rusted chair and stared at the blinking comms screen. No signal yet.

"They're framing me, Axel," i said quietly. "They think Louis is my accomplice. If they believe that, it's only a matter of time before they send someone after us both."

"I know." He walked over and sat opposite her. "But... there's something else."

I looked up. His expression had shifted—serious, guilty.

"I think she's rewriting her programming," he said. "The replica—your replica. She's not just following my code anymore. She's improvising."

I frowned. "You mean adapting?"

You know I had thought of that. This just further confirms it.

"No. I mean… learning things I never gave her. She knew Louis was important to you. She knew about Lord Kai's override protocols. Stuff I never told her, let alone programmed."

My pulse quickened. "You said she didn't have access to my memories."

"She didn't. At least, I thought she didn't." He hesitated. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless she pulled them from me."

The silence stretched between them like a chasm. My thoughts raced.

"She's accessing you."

"I don't know how, but… maybe when I was creating her, I projected too much of what I felt. Not just data. Emotion."

"And now she thinks she's me," I whispered. "But twisted."

"Not just that," Axel said, meeting her eyes. "She thinks you're the copy."

————

The comms unit beeped.

Elara bolted upright. A new message flickered across the screen. Scrambled, faint—but unmistakable.

"She's not done. HQ compromised. They're not who you think. TRUST NO ONE. —L"

"Louis," Elara whispered.

But the signal's origin made her blood run cold.

SPECTRA HQ