Disclaimer: I do not own the Tomb Raider franchise, nor am I affiliated with Eidos/Square Enix or Crystal Dynamics in any way. I do own the original characters featured in this story and they aren't to be used or mentioned elsewhere without my permission, minor or otherwise.
Author's Note: Here's chapter two, as promised. This was a bit of a turning point in the story and wasn't as interesting as the previous one, but I'm sure you'll find the next one much better.
2/ Reunion
Lara staggered away from her clone, frightened. "You're supposed to be dead," she breathed.
The doppelganger stopped and smiled. "Hope you aren't disappointed."
Lara's eyes widened with surprise. "You can talk?" She backed away, her eyes still focused on the woman.
"Well of course I can," she laughed. "That's what Natla wanted."
"Natla? She's still alive?"
"Enough questions," the doppelganger snarled. She reached behind her back and pulled out the dual golden M1911 handguns, aiming them at Lara. "Jacqueline Natla sends her regards."
That precise moment, time seemed to slow down for Lara, the effects of adrenaline coming in rather useful. She looked to her left and saw the door to the stairwell. Kicking it down, she ran through the door, nearly avoiding being shot. Skipping steps down the stairs, she reached the underground garage and sprinted to her car. Vaulting over the hood, she crouched behind it, hoping to lure the doppelganger away giving her time to inconspicuously get in her car.
The deadly facsimile reached the garage and stopped, her eyes scanning the room for her target. She took slow, careful steps toward her motorcycle in an attempt to lure Lara out. Holstering one of the guns, she turned the engine over and revved it. Lara's popped her head out but ducked back when several bullets flew her way. "Damn it!"
"Not that clever now, eh Lara?" she laughed.
Walking over to the car, Lara heard the footsteps and thought of something quickly. Sneaking round the rear of her car, she snuck behind the clone and connected her fist with her head. Lara quickly disarmed her and threw the gun to the side. The doppelganger elbowed Lara in the face and pulled out the second gun. Quickly, Lara jumped back and kicked her legs up, kicking the gun out of her hand. Rolling backward, she grabbed the gun and aimed it at her clone. As expected, the clone was fast, and she disarmed Lara, the gun sliding across the floor.
Lara jumped on the hood of her car and jumped in the air, kicking her opponent in the face. Elbowing her, she swept her leg under her, knocking her to the ground. Grabbing the guns, Lara shot out the tires of her motorcycle before aiming at her. "Don't move!" The doppelganger remained still, kneeling on the ground a safe five feet away from Lara. "Put your hands behind your head, now!" Doing as she was told, the doppelganger grinned to herself.
"Where's Natla?"
"Under Helheim last I checked," she remarked.
"What do you mean? You told me she was alive."
"No," she snarled, "I told you she wanted me to talk. She's dead - you killed her with Mjolnir, Thor's Hammer."
"Then who are you working for?" Lara felt her grip on the guns tightening, ready to pull the triggers if she wasn't given the information she well craved.
The doppelganger didn't answer for a moment. She exhaled and turned her head. "Natla cloned herself. Before you met her on the Andaman Sea, before you freed her for her assistance to open the doors to Helheim. I'm working for her clone."
Lara nodded. "That would explain why Natla Technologies is still up and running. I thought her associates were just keeping it intact."
Suddenly, the doppelganger leapt in the air, flipping behind Lara. Grabbing the guns, she knocked Lara to the ground and stood before her. "We'll meet again Miss Croft." Before Lara could react, the doppelganger knocked her out and headed to her motorcycle.
When Lara came to, she looked around to see she was alone in the parking lot. She got to her feet and rubbed her temples, a massive headache coming over her. She staggered to her car and turned the engine over, driving home.
--
"I don't understand," Zip said, "Why didn't she kill you?"
Lara paced the foyer of her manor, her arms folded in a thinking position. "I don't know, Zip. I don't think she was there to kill me."
"Well what would she have been there for? I doubt she was getting her yearly check up - which reminds me, don't you have to change doctors now?"
Lara stopped in her tracks and glared at him. "This is no time for jokes Zip. Not only was Dr. Bright a good friend of mine, but that doppelganger gave me information I wasn't prepared for."
"What did she say?"
Sitting on the couch, Lara pulled the elastic out of her hair, relaxing it. She ran her hands through it, untangling any knots she might have from the encounter. "Natla cloned herself. The real Natla is dead under Helheim, but her clone is still running Natla Technologies in New York and the doppelganger's working for her. I don't know why, nor do I know why she spared my life. I don't think Natla's keeping me alive to offer me a business deal either."
"Looks like you're bound for a trip to New York then," Winston smiled, setting a cup of tea down for the lady and Zip. "Shall I arrange transport?"
"Please do, Winston, as soon as possible."
He nodded once before leaving to do her bidding. She took a sip of the tea and exhaled in happiness. "That's delicious," she smiled. Setting the cup down, she stood up and began pacing again. "I can only hope that my trip to Natla Technologies will shed some light on this."
"Well whatever you find out…it can't be worse than anything you've already been through."
"You never know, Zip."
Taking her tea with her, Lara climbed the stairs to her bedroom and sat on the couch, setting the cup on the coffee table. Turning the television on, it automatically set on the news channel where coverage was done on the incident at the doctor's office. The doppelganger was unidentified, to Lara's good fortune - the last thing she needed was the authorities pinning her for the crime - however would she explain she had an evil clone who's boss is a clone of a woman bent on world destruction?
Changing the channel several times, Lara finally set on the Discovery Channel and picked her feet up on the table, crossing them at the ankle, and sipped her tea. A moment later, Winston's voice came over the PA system. "Lady Croft, I'm happy to inform you that your flight leaves for New York tonight at quarter past seven."
Lara walked over to the wall device and smiled. "Marvelous news, Winston. Thank you."
"Best of luck, Lara."
--
Preparing for her flight, Lara packed her bags filled with equipment she knew she'd need and set out to catch her flight. Arriving in New York around 2am the next day, Lara caught a taxi to Natla Technologies and set out on her mission. She changed into a black leather catsuit and equipped her leg holsters, holding her trusty dual Heckler and Koch USP Match handguns. She pulled her backpack on and connected the strap across her chest before putting her Bluetooth headset in her ear, connecting her with Zip. "Lara to Zip, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear Lara. Gotta love this technology of ours!"
"Indeed Zip," she laughed. "I'm here now. I plan to infiltrate the building from the roof, working my way down into the building. I'll ring you if there's any complications."
"Sounds good. Good luck, Lara."
Going to radio silence, Lara took the window cleaner to the roof and snuck around to the roof door. "They've done some renovations since I've last been here," she told herself. Natla's office was no longer on the top floor, it was moved somewhere deeper inside the building, probably for security measures. Lara cursed that her mission was a bit harder, but where was the fun in easy things?
Leaving the room, she peered out into the hallway and ducked back when she nearly avoided being spotted by a passing guard. Lara snuck behind him and knocked him out, heading down the hallway. She hugged the wall and peered around the corner, spotting two more guards. She counted mentally and ran up to them, disarming them of their submachine guns. She delivered a good kick to the chest to one of them and an elbow to the other's face, knocking them both down.
Proceeding to the stairwell, Lara noticed map of the building. She scanned it for anything that may be of assistance - computer database, employee lounge, testing facility, offices, Natla's office. "Aha," she smiled. She opened the door and proceeded down three levels before reaching the floor of Natla's office. The floor was seemingly empty, she noted. Heading to Natla's office, she opened the door and peered inside. Pulling out her handguns, she crept inside the office, closing the door behind her.
She stopped when she saw the doppelganger staring out the window. Lara prepared herself for what she was about to do. She slowly moved toward her clone and then started running, sprinting actually. As she neared her, Lara prepared to elbow her, sending her flying through the window. The moment she was about to touch her, the doppelganger turned around and grabbed Lara by the throat, halting her movement. "You're not nearly as stealthy as you think you are," she laughed.
"Good work," a voice congratulated from behind Lara. The doppelganger threw her aside and cracked her knuckles, crossing the room to stand beside her boss. "Good morning, Miss Croft."
Lara coughed violently, trying to get as much air into her lungs as quickly as possible. Coming to her senses, she stood up and holstered her guns, keeping her hands by her side should she need them in the near future. "I don't know how to address you."
Natla smiled. "As you always have done. The real Natla might be dead, but everything about her you'll find in me."
The Englishwoman tilted her head slightly and returned it upright. The woman before her was indeed Natla's clone, this one was wearing a black blazer jacket, a light blue dress shirt underneath. She sported tight fitting black pants over black and light blue high heels, as if the woman needed to be any taller than she already was. Lara guessed she was 6' 2". Brushing her loose strands of hair behind her left ear, Lara inconspicuously turned radio silence off, including Zip in on the conversation, video and audio.
"Why didn't you kill me at the doctor's office?" Lara asked the clone.
She looked up at Natla who crossed the room to sit at her desk. "The reason for your doppelganger having spared your life will be revealed in due time, Lara. What I will tell you is that you might not leave this building as easily as you left the office yesterday."
"What do you mean?"
The doppelganger snarled. "Aren't we full of questions?"
"Shut up!" Lara turned back to Natla. "What's your endgame, Natla? Why did the other one clone herself? What was she after?"
Natla folded her hands on the desk and cleared her throat. "While pursuing Thor's Hammer, she was also working on uncovering another ancient artifact that might've helped her bring about the Seventh Age, should she fail with you, like she did."
"Leave it to her to think ahead. What was this device?"
"She believed that it would give her the power to recreate the army of Atlantis - it has the same power as the Scion you destroyed over a decade ago."
Lara raised her eyebrows, letting her guard down a bit. "What does this have to do with me?"
"Like I said, in due time." Natla made a movement with her head, signaling for the doppelganger to make her move. She turned toward Lara and tackled her to the ground. Lara struggled and managed to kick her clone off of her. She jumped to her feet and pulled out her guns, aiming one at Natla, one at the clone.
"You're not getting away with this, Natla."
"It's too late Miss Croft. We've already begun."
Before she could react, the doppelganger was standing up and disarming Lara in a split second. She grinned maliciously before slamming one of Lara's handguns against her neck, knocking her out. "Sleep tight, Lara." As everything went black, Lara still heard her clone's dark laughter echoing throughout the room.
Chapter Three is coming soon. Leave me a review!