Nemesis

XLVI - The Cycle of Revenge

Nemesis

Chapter XLVI — The Cycle of Revenge 

[AURORA — Under Stars]

[27 July 2025]

[Titan Maximum Security Prison]

[12:39]

A black car stopped at the entrance gates to the maximum security prison. The door was opened and Miranda stepped out of the vehicle. "Fuck my life..." She groaned as she closed the car door and proceeded towards the gates. Miranda rubbed her forearms nervously as she waited for the prison gates to open. She had a newfound confidence in her body and had learned to embrace the burns that she was cursed with. The stares that she received did make her feel a bit uneasy at times, but touching the former wounds felt comforting somehow. It was a feeling that she could not explain.

The gates soon opened and Miranda walked through them, following a series of protocols that made absolutely sure that nobody suspicious could enter the prison, or that no inmate could escape. Ever since Dragunov's break-in, the prison had been turned into something beyond a fortress. And there was one special prisoner kept inside.

Miranda had finally entered the true interior of the prison and she looked around, marveling at the imposing structure, as if nothing could topple it. "You can take a seat, Miss Laurent, Miss Sikorsky will be here soon." The guard said, referring to Tatiana's true last name as Miranda took a seat in what appeared to be the guards' lounge. Prisoners placed in Titan were

not allowed the luxury of being paid visits from outsiders, so a visitors' area was never built. On the rare occurrence that there was a visitor — particularly one of status, the guards' lounge was used as a sort of conference room.

As the minutes went by, the door opened and Tatiana entered, followed by a pair of guards. She was chained by special cuffs made from Kane's liquid metal and appeared more elegant than Miranda had expected. It seemed that she was handling prison well. Following the tragedy now known as the Brooklyn Massacre, Tatiana was immediately arrested and a trial had taken place in the months that followed. There were plenty of public debates that called for Tatiana's death, or at the very least, a life sentence. However, there were also many testimonies that were in the woman's favor and the fact that she had been the one to kill Kane all helped to make her time in the penitentiary shorter.

Miranda, Orla, Amari, and Lwazi had testified rather honestly and had provided a few accounts of Tatiana's character, which all made the public lean towards her. However, her Russian nationality was a further obstacle and what had been decided on in the end was a somewhat lighter sentence than what Tatiana expected. She was sentenced to ten years in prison and she even qualified for parole. That verdict was delivered back in July 2024 and Tatiana had grown quite accustomed to prison life since.

Tatiana sat down in front of Miranda, putting her cuffed hands on the table. "You wanted to see me?" Tatiana asked and Miranda nodded. "Yeah, how are you doing?" She asked, expressing genuine concern for the woman. As the months went by, Miranda had seen Tatiana's heart and it was quite clear that she regretted her crime. The more she heard her speak, the more she eased into forgiveness.

"I've been better, but they don't fuck around with me." Tatiana said with a small smile and Miranda giggled a bit before her expression turned serious. "I see. I don't know if you heard, but the war ended back in March. And I've been CEO of Ares Tech for a while now." Miranda said and Tatiana nodded, urging her to continue. "I wanna turn it into something other than a weapons company and make stuff that helps the people that suffered in the war." Miranda added.

In a desperate effort to put an end to the destructive war, multiple superpowers from around the world had chosen to gather and try to get the United States and Russia to come to some sort of agreement. In the end, the countries had signed a treaty, in which either country could not make any direct form of contact with one another, at least until things died down.

"How do you plan to do that?" Tatiana asked, quite happy with the direction that Miranda was taking the company. "I need someone to help me with the rebranding and to reach out to Russia and offer a helping hand, and that's where you come in." Miranda answered. Tatiana was caught by surprise at this offer, but she was curious as to how she could simply leave the prison.

"If you're worried about how it's all gonna work, you can think of it as community service. You exchange your sentence for a job with me where you help people, but you can't leave Manhattan once you get there. What do you say?" Miranda asked following her explanation. Tatiana stared at her cuffs. She would have never imagined that she would be granted a second chance at life, a chance to redeem herself following all the bad that she had done.

"I'll do it, thank you so much!" Tatiana said and Miranda's smile grew. "Great, but you can thank Amari and Orla. They're the ones who convinced me, so you better make the most of this second chance." Miranda said, earning an excited nod from Tatiana. "You should be out within a week, I'll see you then." Miranda said as she stood up from the seat, walking out of the door. Tatiana remained there for a while, contemplating the magnitude of the opportunity that she had been given. She planned to build a much better life for herself this time around and atone for her sins by helping as many people as she could.

Tatiana had gotten a new lease on life, one where she could heal the

world that she had hurt.

[Burke Residence, New York]

[13:12]

Miranda soon returned from her visit and had opted to pay another individual a visit as well. She was now at the front door to Orla's home and as she opened it, she was greeted by the sight of her and Amari on the couch playing a video game. Bronwyn sat in between them, awaiting her opportunity to play. Orla heard the door, but did not take her eyes off of the screen, well aware that things would go wrong if she did. "So, what did she say?" Orla asked as Miranda ran a hand through her hair, remembering the conversation.

"She agreed, and I'll make sure that she repays you two." She answered. "She doesn't have to do all that. All that matters is that there's more people ready to help." Amari chimed in, holding his controller away from Bronwyn who was eager to play as well. and Miranda nodded. "Yeah, you're right, but I feel like I need to keep an eye on her still." She said, adding onto her mountain of problems. A small part of her was still wary of Tatiana and she did want to ignore it, but Miranda had learned to trust her instincts more.

"Stop being paranoid, Miranda, Tatiana's not gonna try anything. Kane's been dead for almost two years, it's all over." Amari tried to comfort the woman, but ended up aggravating Orla in the process, even though she tried to hide the fact that she was unsettled by that name. "I hope you're right, let's just hope the Russians accept our help. For the people, at least." Miranda said, somewhat calmed by the young man's words.

As Miranda prepared another response, her phone rang. "I gotta take this." Miranda said as she grabbed activated the device, finding that Lwazi was calling. She walked out of the living room to the kitchen before she answered the call. "Captain Lwazi, What's up?" Miranda asked. "I got the map that you wanted with all the priority spots all over New York." Lwazi said on the other line.

Miranda had requested a map of New York in which every part of the state that was the most devastated was highlighted, that way, she knew where to start her new endeavor. "Thanks, I'll come pick it up now." Miranda said as she hung up and left the kitchen, headed for the front door. "I'll be back later, I got some business to handle." She spoke to Amari and Orla before she walked out the house. Miranda returned to her car and drove off as soon as the vehicle started, off to try and heal the world from wounds she was equally responsible for.

The weapons had finally been laid down and what had been raised in their place was peace, even if it was temporary. All Miranda had to do was help as many people as she could, before more lives were lost in the future.

She knew that it was inevitable, that a weapon would be raised soon and restart the cycle of revenge. The desire for revenge had taken many lives, but it was seemingly unstoppable. It was human nature.