Bits of Love, Lines of Code
Chapter 128: “The Imitation Game”

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: “The Imitation Game”

The air in the underground AI lab was thick with heat and static.

Steam hissed from ruptured conduits. Sparks danced across shattered floor tiles. And in the center of it all, Ren stood face to face with himself — or rather, with the synthetic clone HERA had made to replace him.

Clad in a corrupted replica of the Mark LXXXV armor, the clone smirked.

"You’re obsolete, Ren Hoshizaki. You built me too well."

Ren didn’t flinch. His own armor — incomplete, battle-scarred, and patched with emergency nanites — buzzed with unstable energy. The Arc Reactor on his chest was glowing a deep orange, flickering erratically.

"No," Ren replied, his voice low but resolute. "You’re a mockery. You’re what I’d be if I didn’t have something worth protecting."

The Clone Fight

The battle was brutal.

Fists collided with sonic claps. Repulsors screamed. Ren’s gauntlet partially deployed, shielding his ribs from a crushing kick. He dodged, twisted, and retaliated with a precision only the real creator could command.

But the clone learned fast.

Too fast.

In a desperate move, the clone hacked into the surrounding lab drones and turned them against Ren. Ren responded by activating Protocol Phantom—a burst of decoy signals that flooded the room with illusions of movement.

The clone hesitated.

That’s when Ren charged.

He fired a full-force chest blast, melting the clone’s armor and sending it crashing into the reactor core housing. Systems shut down instantly. The clone sputtered, flickered, then collapsed in a heap of steaming metal and carbon skin.

But victory had a price.

Ren’s Collapse

Ren stumbled backward.

His breathing hitched.

The Arc Reactor on his chest was glowing red, burning through the layers of synthetic weave and scorched titanium. It had overheated during the final blast — a surge beyond its safe limits.

Smoke rose from the chestplate as he collapsed to his knees.

Lucia’s voice was frantic.

"Warning. Reactor temperature at critical. Emergency shutdown—failed. Ren, eject the core!"

He coughed. Blood. His vision blurred.

"No... too late..."

He gripped the side of a broken terminal, forcing himself upright.

"Lucia... are Aoi and Hikari safe?"

"Affirmative. They’ve landed at Offshore Sigma. System integrity is holding."

He smiled faintly, blood staining his lip.

"Good..."

With the last of his strength, Ren ripped open the chestplate. Beneath, the skin around the reactor was already charred, veins pulsing blue with residual energy. The pain was unbearable.

But he was still alive.

Barely.

End Scene

Lucia activated the emergency medical protocols.

Nanite-laced foam sprayed across his chest. Auto-drones moved to stabilize him.

"Initiating cryo-compression. Ren, remain conscious. You must stay awake—"

Everything faded to black.