9

**Chapter 9: Phoenix Rising**

The night in Neo-Light carried the scent of acid rain and revolution. In the shadows of District 9, the resistance hideout was swarming like a hornet's nest. Screens flashed with city maps, evacuation routes, and codes for the Phoenix Protocol that Lia had stolen. The clock read **47 hours and 12 minutes** since the extermination plan had been discovered.

"The Protocol will be activated in the Plaza of Lights," Sofia explained, projecting a schematic of the square. "They used the drainage system to install thermogenic cannons under the pavement. When activated, they will char everything within a 500-meter radius." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "They'll pretend it was a power plant leak."

Artur twirled a holographic screwdriver between his fingers. "Then we'll make their Phoenix breathe fire at its own nest." His eyes gleamed. — If we hack the cannons to overheat BEFORE the time, the explosion will be in their faces.

Igor crossed his arms, skeptical. — And how do we get into the square? It will be surrounded by the Elite Guard.

Lia raised the flash drive with the stolen data. — With this. The security system recognizes authorized biosignatures. — She looked at Sofia. — Can you replicate the Captain's identity?

— For 10 minutes, maybe. — Sofia typed frantically. — But as soon as the alarm sounds…

— Ten minutes is enough. — Lia tied her hair, revealing the fresh scar on her shoulder. — I'll go in, reprogram the cannons and get out before the Captain notices.

Artur raised his hand. — *We* go in. Your holograms can confuse the sensors.

— No. — Lia's voice was sharp. — If anything goes wrong, I need you to summon the projections on the city screens. Show them the truth *while* their fire burns.

A heavy silence fell. Everyone knew what this meant: Lia was offering herself as bait.

***

**24 hours later.**

The Plaza of Lights was unrecognizable. Energy barriers cordoned off the perimeter, while surveillance drones buzzed like mechanical insects. In the center, a team of Hero League "technicians" adjusted cannons disguised as infrastructure works.

Lia, wearing a stolen uniform and a fake ID mask, walked among them. Her heart beat in time with the countdown: **15 minutes** to activation.

"Halt!" A guard blocked her path. "Credentials?"

She held up Sofia's device. Captain Virtue's hologram flashed green.

"Authorized." The guard stepped back.

Underneath the pavement, the thermogenic cannons were black metal monstrosities. Lia plugged in the reprogramming device, but a voice made her blood run cold:

"Interesting. I never imagined a sewer rat would be so *bold*."

Lady Vex emerged from the darkness, her silver dress reflecting the light like a blade.

"You…" Lia swallowed hard.

"Did you think I wouldn't monitor our *gift* to the city?" The villain smiled, touching her temple. "Your mind is so noisy, my dear. I could hear your little plans since yesterday."

A tightness in her chest. *They knew.* It was a trap.

Lady Vex snapped her fingers. Guards emerged from the shadows, guns drawn. "The Protocol will be brought forward. Now."

The square began to vibrate.

***

In her hiding place, Sofia shouted: "The cannons are activating!" They changed the schedule!

Artur stood up so fast that the chair fell over. — Lia is there!

— *Wait.* — Igor grabbed his arm. — If we run without a plan, we'll be killed.

— And if we stay, she'll die! — Artur shook his free arm. — Activate the projections. *Now.*

Sofia pressed *enter*.

Throughout the city, advertising screens flashed. Giant holograms of Captain Virtue and Lady Vex giving speeches about the Phoenix Protocol invaded the sky. The population stopped. Watched. *Understood.*

In the square, Lia fought. Her power ripped metal plates from the ground, transforming them into shields against the shots. Lady Vex, however, was relentless.

— You are weak, — the villain whispered, invading Lia's mind with visions of the night her parents died. — Just like them.

Lia screamed, falling to her knees. The metal around her shook.

That was when Arthur's holograms burst into the sky. Amplified voices echoed:

"**THEY'RE MURDERING YOU!"** It was Lia, in a leaked recording from the night before. "**The Phoenix is a hoax!**"

The crowd that had begun to form in the surrounding streets roared. Rocks, bottles, anything flew against the energy barriers.

Lady Vex lost her focus for a second. That was what Lia needed.

With a guttural roar, she channeled all her pain, all her rage, into a single command to the metal. The thermogenic cannons **warped** like paper, pointing skyward.

"*No!*" Lady Vex advanced, but it was too late.

The first shot incinerated three drones. The second hit the Hero League's transmission tower. The third…

"**Stop!**" Captain Virtue landed like a meteor, his hands wrapping around the last cannon. The metal melted beneath his touch.

Lia, bleeding and exhausted,sta, smiled. "Too late, hero. Look around." The square was surrounded. Citizens, rioters, even members of the Guard who had deserted. The screens showed Lady Vex admitting to the plan in a recording Sofia had hacked. "Your mask has cracked," Lia spat. "No one believes you anymore." Captain Virtue looked at the crowd, at his own allies retreating. For the first time, his face showed a crack: **fear.** "This will not end here," he growled, taking flight with Lady Vex. "You have only delayed the inevitable." Lia crumpled to the ground, but kept her head held high. As the rebels poured into the square, disabling the cannons, she whispered to the wind, "Their phoenix has burned. Now, our revolution is reborn." ***

**Dawn.**

In the ruins of the Plaza of Lights, the people of Neo-Light had erected a new statue: a flame made of twisted metal, taken from the cannons. Lia, standing beside Arthur and Sofia, watched.

"They fled, but they are not defeated," Sofia said.

"No," Lia agreed. "But today, the people saw that even heroes can bleed."

Arthur placed a hand on her wounded shoulder. "And you?"

She touched the scar, smiling. "Just one more mark to tell our story."

As the sun rose, stained by pollution but lingering, one word echoed through the streets, first in whispers, then in shouts:

— **Lia.**

— **Lia.**

— **LIA.**

The girl who will challenge the steel gods.