Cut to: Flashback – 11 years ago, Vancouver, BC.
Kodi was 17. Or 18. Honestly, no one really knew.
Back then he was riding high off trust fund cash, blowing it on crypto, coke, and dumb ideas like trying to "buy" the darknet with Monero and memes.
"Bro I just funded a guy who said he's building an encrypted TikTok for arms dealers," young Kodi slurred, slumped on a couch in a luxury condo he didn't remember renting.
His laptop sat open, scripts running autopilot attacks on banking systems while "Sandstorm" played on repeat.
That's when she showed up. Red hair, bubble jacket, and that sly smile like she already owned the place—and him.
Name unknown. Alias: L0V3b1tch.
He remembered flashes:
Her climbing over his laptop mid-script.
Her asking weird questions about Eden.
Her saying, "You're kind of cute when you're passed out."
Then blackness.
Next morning: empty condo. Laptop gone. Bank accounts drained. His custom USB drive melted into a beer can.
Only thing left?
A Polaroid photo on the counter.
Him asleep. With her posing beside him, flipping the bird.
On the back:
"See you in the kernel, sweetheart 💕 – L0V3b1tch"
Back to Present – Beach House in Spain
Evan, reading the digital scan of that Polaroid:
"Okay but... tell me you didn't love her a little."
Kodi, staring at it:
"I loved tequila more at the time."
He tossed the photo down.
Then paused.
The realization hit like a boot to the gut.
"Wait... Evan—what if NUKE isn't some clone or FBI AI?"
Evan blinked. "What are you saying?"
Kodi exhaled.
"I think I might've been robbed... and impregnated... at the same time."
Evan choked on his coffee.
"Are you saying NUKE... might be your kid?!"
"I mean... the math adds up. The memes. The code. The sarcasm."
Kodi pulled up the most recent NUKE drop. It was a gif of a hamster dancing on a motherboard with the caption:
"Hi Dad."
Evan:
"So what now?"
Kodi (grinning faintly):
"Now? Now I find out if I accidentally created the world's most dangerous cyber-anarchist... or if some woman really did rob me and leave me with the boss battle."