The rain pounded against the glass walls of the tower as if the sky itself was begging for mercy. The city below pulsed with light, orderly and thriving under the rule of the woman who now controlled it all. A better world, or so they called it. Safer. Stronger. But peace built on control was still a cage.

Iris crouched on the rooftop of an adjacent building, watching the glowing beacon of the central tower with an ache in her chest that never quite left. It had been ten years since the night she first met the CEO in her café — ten years since she’d realized that sweet smile and bruised knuckles belonged to the same masked woman who had stolen from the world’s most powerful companies. Ten years since she’d fallen in love with the villain who became a queen.

“You alright?” The voice crackled in her ear — a teammate, breathless and waiting. “We’re going in. Don’t freeze up.”

Iris exhaled shakily, eyes closing. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t. She hadn’t been since the night they stood on opposite sides of a war neither of them wanted to fight. Since the night Iris begged her to stop.

“Iris, I’m building something better,” she’d said back then. “You’ll see.”

Iris had seen. She’d seen order where there once was chaos. Power where there once was freedom. And now they were here, storming the heart of the empire to bring her down.

They reached the control room with little resistance — almost like she’d let them. Iris’s heart plummeted as the doors hissed open.

There she was. Dressed in black, calm as ever, hands resting neatly on the polished table. Those same dark eyes softened the moment they met Iris’s.

“I was wondering when you’d come,” the CEO said quietly. “I missed you.”

The others raised their weapons.

“Don’t,” Iris said quickly, stepping forward, voice trembling. “Don’t hurt her.”

One of the heroes stared at her. “What?”

“Iris,” the CEO murmured, “you’re not here to kill me.”

Iris’s hands shook. “No,” she whispered. “But I think I’m supposed to.”