Location: Onboard the Elara — Mediterranean Sea, 02:14 AM
The night was endless, the sea reflecting the scattered stars like broken glass. Alethea stood by the helm, her fingers tracing the edges of the medallion around her neck. The journal her mother left her was open beside her—filled with symbols, chemical codes, and war strategies that felt decades ahead of their time.
"What is the Phoenix Protocol?" she asked.
Marco's eyes narrowed as he joined her, the salty wind ruffling his dark coat.
"It was the endgame plan of Cassandra DeMarché… your mother. A genetic activation sequence. A power only passed through blood… dormant in you until now."
"Why me?"
"Because you survived what others couldn't."
He handed her a tablet. On screen: archived footage of failed test subjects—girls, ages 4–6, in isolated chambers. All gone.
Except one.
V-X1: Alethea Vione DeMarché-Walker. Status: UNKNOWN. Immunity: 100%.
Alethea's hands shook. The images burned into her memory.
"They used me."
Marco held her gaze. "And now they fear you."
---
Flashback — Geneva Research Facility, 20 years ago
Cassandra screamed as men in black suits ripped Alethea from her arms.
"She's just a child!"
"She's the child," said the man in white. "We finally found the Phoenix."
The doors shut. Silence followed.
And Cassandra was never seen again.
---
Present Day — The Lab Below Elara
The hidden lower deck housed a sleek lab powered by old-world tech and quantum energy. Omega stood at the console, running simulations.
"The Phoenix Protocol isn't just a key, Alethea. It's a curse. It was designed to rebuild or destroy civilization depending on whose hands it's in."
"And mine?"
"Yours were never meant to be controlled. That's why they erased you."
Suddenly, sirens wailed.
INCOMING MISSILE — 6 MINUTES — UNIDENTIFIED SOURCE
Marco barked into his comms, "Evasive protocol! Full barrier mode!"
But Alethea didn't flinch.
She stood in the center of the lab, closing her eyes. Her skin shimmered faintly, golden lines racing across her arms.
"Let them come."
Her voice was calm. Dangerous.
The medallion around her neck cracked open—releasing a pulsing light that spread like wings.
Omega whispered in awe, "Phoenix has awakened…"
---
Meanwhile — In the Shadows of Berlin
A council of ancient bloodlines watched the rising energy signatures from the ship Elara.
"She's alive," muttered one.
"And she's becoming more than Cassandra ever was."
"Then we'll need the Obsidian Codex. Activate Subject Zero."
A door opened.
Chains rattled.
Something not quite human stepped forward.
Eyes hollow. Smile inhuman.
"Let's go meet our little Phoenix."
---
Ending Scene — Explosion Over the Sea
As the missile approached, Alethea raised her hand. The light burst outward—engulfing the sky.
There was no impact.
No sound.
Just radiance.
And silence.
Marco stared at her, breathless.
"You just stopped a missile mid-air…"
"I didn't stop it," she whispered. "I unmade it."
The others on board looked at her as if they'd seen a goddess.
Because they had.
Location: Above the Elara — Airspace Over the North Sea
Subject Zero arrived like a storm.
No engines. No wings. Just an unnatural gravitational force spiraling the air around him, black tendrils trailing his body like living shadows. The ocean rippled violently beneath him as he descended—slow, deliberate, inevitable.
On the Elara's deck, Alethea stood waiting.
Her pulse was calm.
Her mind clear.
She had become more than a girl with secrets. She was now a beacon of power and memory.
"Target is 200 meters and closing," Omega said through the comms.
"Stand down," Alethea ordered. "He's mine."
Marco stepped toward her. "Alethea—"
"I have to face him alone."
Marco's jaw tightened. "I won't let you die."
She turned to him, her eyes burning softly with light. "You won't. Because I'm not going to."
Then, she leapt from the ship.
Straight into the sky.
---
Collision
Their powers clashed midair.
Alethea's body ignited in golden fire, wings of light bursting from her back like an angel forged from the sun. Subject Zero met her with a wave of black energy that devoured light itself.
The shockwave shattered the clouds. The Elara shook violently, alarms screaming.
Below, Omega activated the defensive dome, shielding the crew.
Above, war was written in the sky.
Alethea screamed as she launched into him—fist colliding with his ribcage. The strike sent them hurtling toward the sea, but Subject Zero recovered midair, spinning and slamming her with a telekinetic blast that would have torn apart a tank.
She fell—regained balance—rose again.
---
Mind to Mind
Then, his voice entered her thoughts.
"You don't belong here, sister."
"You're not my brother."
"No. I'm your purpose. I am the test you must fail."
She grit her teeth. "Watch me pass it."
---
Flashback: Cassandra's Lab — Memory Fragment
"You must understand, Alethea... Every phoenix needs a fire to rise from. But not all fires are kind. Some were made to consume."
"If you ever meet Subject Zero, don't just fight him. Understand him. His hatred is borrowed. His pain was manufactured."
---
Back in Battle
They slammed into the ocean's surface, vaporizing water for half a kilometer. Fish died instantly. Sea boiled. The sky turned red.
Underwater, they fought like gods from forgotten myths.
Alethea summoned light from her palms, forming blades of raw heat.
Subject Zero countered with tendrils of shadow, pulling her into the depths, choking her power, trying to smother her.
"You're just a glitch," he whispered. "A rebellion in the code."
She looked into his dead eyes. "Then I'll crash the system."
And with a scream that split the sea, she ignited completely.
---
Above Water — The Elara
Marco watched the explosion erupt from the sea, golden light ripping through the waves as a figure burst upward—Alethea, wings spread, her body smoking, her breath ragged.
Behind her, rising from the water, Subject Zero emerged—wounded, but grinning.
"You've improved," he said. "But not enough."
She narrowed her gaze. "Let's find out."
---
Final Clash
They met again midair—this time with a fury that bent reality. Storms formed around them. Thunder cracked unnaturally. Light and shadow danced like dueling gods.
Alethea pushed herself beyond her limits.
Every memory of her mother, her captivity, the people she couldn't save—she channeled it all.
Subject Zero screamed in rage, his body beginning to split under the pressure.
"YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO WINNN!"
"Then why am I still standing?"
With one final burst, she released all her power in a blinding wave of light. The ocean turned gold. The clouds split.
And Subject Zero… vanished into dust.
---
Aftermath
Alethea fell—gently, this time—into the ocean.
Marco dove in after her, pulling her back to the surface as flames died from her skin.
She opened her eyes, coughing, smiling faintly.
"It's done," she whispered.
He held her tight. "You did it."
She touched his cheek. "We did it."
TBC....