Hi there. Recently found your Sonic Movie FFs and they are really good to read^^. I love Paige and how she fits into the story.
Also Prediction Time since the mention of Iris (or well, a bit of a brainrot because inspiration struck):
What if instead of Tom disguising himself as Walterz, the woman would meet Iris instead and would give her the second key, but little did she knew that it was actually Paige in disguise (She had met Iris on the way, but like last time, she beat her up, tied her up, and took her clothes away).
And she would meet Shadow. Paige/Iris put on a fight, but Shadow ultimatelly overpowers her, and struck her. Tom would arrive, just to see Iris/Paige get knocked out cold, looking almost lifeless as soon as the disguise dissapears. He would cry out her name and rush to her side. Sonic would arrive there too. And those three would recreate the same image that we had seen in the movie, With Gerald Robotnik holding onto Maria while Shadow called out to her.
