Episode 62: "The Phoenix Protocol"
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The storm hadn't passed—it had merely shifted direction.
Lightning carved across the heavens like divine fury, painting the broken sky in ghostlight. Within the battered motel walls, tension thickened. No one spoke, but everyone felt it: something was coming. And this time, it wouldn't wait for them to be ready.
Kara stood alone in the corridor, fingers clenched around the data chip. The image of Mother Lazarus haunted her — that calm, cold voice, those calculating eyes. The kind of woman who didn't create life… she twisted it.
Adrian approached quietly, his voice low. "You okay?"
She turned, and for a moment, her eyes looked older than they should.
"No," she said. "But I don't need to be."
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Inside the Lab Van
Tessa hunched over the decrypted files, eyes wide as lines of code scrolled by.
"This is insane," she muttered. "The Omega Phase wasn't just about Kara. There were others—test subjects from all over the world. Spliced DNA, artificial memories, even neural override failsafes."
Calen leaned over her shoulder. "Wait… these subjects—are they active?"
Tessa hesitated, then clicked a tab.
A list appeared.
Status: ACTIVE — Protocol K-0
Status: DORMANT — Protocol I-7
Status: MISSING — Protocol S-3
Status: UNKNOWN — Protocol R-0
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "They didn't just create Kara… They built an army."
"And if Protocol K-0's the one she wakes first," Tessa said grimly, "we'll need more than just resolve to survive it."
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Elsewhere: Deep in the Snow Mountains
Steam hissed.
Metal clanked.
Protocol K-0's cryo chamber fully disengaged.
Inside, the figure's eyes burst open — glowing crimson.
Not human. Not machine. A hybrid.
A weapon.
Mother Lazarus stood calmly before the emerging giant, flanked by masked guards in black coats.
"You were her mirror once," she said softly. "Now you'll be her executioner."
The hybrid knelt before her.
"I live to serve," it replied, voice like gravel and steel.
Mother Lazarus touched its face with something eerily close to affection.
"She has a spark. But you… you are the flame."
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Back at the Hideout
Kara stared at her reflection in a broken mirror.
Her face looked the same. But something inside her had cracked.
"You're scared," said X7, standing in the doorway behind her.
She didn't deny it.
"I have to be," she said. "If I'm not scared of what I am… then I've lost what's left of me."
X7 stepped into the room, his mechanical limbs clicking softly.
"You're more than what they made you."
Kara turned toward him.
"And what if they made me to end everything?"
X7 looked into her eyes. "Then end them first."
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Underground: Reignition
They moved out under cover of night. A hidden tunnel system beneath the city—rumored to connect to one of the original Lazarus Project labs.
Tessa scanned the entry console. "Encrypted. But old school."
She pressed a few keys, then stopped.
"It's not just a door. It's a decision. Once we go through here… there's no coming back."
Kara stepped forward, pressing her palm to the pad.
"I burned the past. I'm ready for what's next."
The console flashed green.
The tunnel door creaked open.
Darkness spilled out.
So did the smell of death.
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Inside the Tunnel
They advanced cautiously. Walls etched with faded numbers. Old blood stains. Scraps of lab notes. Whispers in the dark.
A recording began to auto-play.
"This is Dr. Emory Kell. Date: March 12th. Subject K-0 has shown signs of divergence. Hostility rising. We were told it would obey, but… God help us. It thinks."
The recording ended with a scream.
Calen turned pale.
"What the hell were they making down here?"
Adrian answered, jaw clenched. "Something that was never supposed to wake up."
A distant clank echoed through the corridor.
They weren't alone.
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Ambush
The lights above sparked—then blacked out.
Red emergency lighting buzzed on.
From the shadows, figures moved.
Tall, armored, masked.
"Contact!" Tessa shouted, drawing her pulse-blade.
Adrian opened fire. Sparks flew. X7 lunged into hand-to-hand combat, disarming one enemy with a vicious twist.
Kara moved like a storm—silent, lethal. Her fists ignited with burning plasma as she struck, disabling one attacker with a single blow.
But it wasn't enough.
From behind them, the air shifted.
A new figure emerged.
Colossal. Heavy steps. Glowing crimson eyes.
Protocol K-0.
The team froze.
"Hello, sister," the hybrid said to Kara.
"You look… incomplete."
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Kara vs. K-0
Kara rushed forward.
They clashed with thunder — plasma against steel.
K-0's strength was monstrous. He flung her across the room, crashing her through a lab tank.
"You were a test," he growled. "I was the result."
Kara rose, bleeding, but smiling.
"Then why do I scare them more than you?"
She surged forward, fists blazing.
They fought with fury and grace, the lab collapsing around them.
Adrian tried to help—but Kara shouted, "No! This is mine!"
And then, with a roar, she exploded in a burst of white fire, her true form — unrestrained — shining through.
Protocol Kara… had awakened.
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Far Away
Mother Lazarus watched the battle from her screen.
Behind her, hundreds of pods began to open, one by one.
She whispered like a prayer.
"She thinks she's rising. But every phoenix must burn first."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Let the world see what the flame truly devours."
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To be continued…
🔥 Kara's awakening has begun — but h
er greatest enemy wears her reflection. As Lazarus unleashes its true army, the question remains: will Kara be salvation… or destruction?
Vote, comment, and follow Ashes of Our Flame by RapwizzyDebaron — the inferno is rising.