You can silence a scream. You can delete a message. But when the truth is played in every city, every country, every living room at once—then the lie dies loud.
Scene: Deep Space Relay Node — ECHO-9 Satellite, 12:03 a.m.
Rook stood in the center of the relay dome.
The ceiling was a glass hemisphere. Above it, the stars didn't shimmer — they stared back. Cold, distant, unmoved.
Beneath that sky, the final node waited.
Ava floated beside him, physically present now, no wires. Just a small data prism glowing in her palm.
Tessa and Aya stood behind him, watching. Silent.
Across the world, protestors had filled the streets.
Zodiac's reputation was bleeding out.
And tonight?
The artery would be severed.
Scene: Activation — Mirror Protocol: Phase Three
"Global tether is stable," Aya confirmed."Thirty-six nations linked. Civil feeds unlocked.""News networks already trying to intercept," Tessa said.
Ava turned to Rook.
Her voice was quiet.
"It's time."
He held the spike.Solaris's voice — his father's — waited inside.
He looked up.
Then slotted it into the core terminal.
"Broadcasting now."
Scene: The Message Begins – All Screens, All Cities
First: silence.
Then — a face.
Solaris.
Not in his costume. Not the hero.
Just the man.
Tired. Eyes bloodshot. No stage lights. No makeup.
His voice shook only once.
"My name is Solaris. If you're seeing this… then they killed me. And my son is still alive."
People froze.
Across continents, drones beeped.
Screens blinked into the image.
"I was part of the Zodiac for fifteen years. I watched heroes be made, unmade, rewritten."
"You don't understand what that means. Let me explain."
"Villains were created in labs. Just enough of them. Just enough crimes.We let cities fall — just far enough.And then we filmed ourselves saving the survivors."
"For ratings. For control. For Concord."
The camera zoomed closer.
"You trusted us. And that trust killed children."
He paused.
"Including mine."
"Because when I told them to stop, when I said I wouldn't lie anymore—"
He lifted his hand.
Blood on the cuff.
"They sent my team to kill me. Not the villains. Me."
The screen cut to black.
Then…
Video.
Real. Unedited. From inside the attack on Rook's childhood home.
Zodiac operatives entering.
His mother's scream.
His father's final stand.
His blood on the floor.
His body collapsing.
"And they said we were the heroes."
Scene: Street Level Reaction – Real Time
People screamed.
Others dropped to their knees.
Some vomited.
A few — the ones who always knew something was wrong — just stared at the screen and whispered:
"I knew it. I knew it."
Scene: Rook's Voice — Overlay to Solaris
Then the message shifted.
Rook's voice now, quiet.
Measured.
"This is not a call for war.It's a call to remember."
"Solaris was my father.The Zodiac killed him.And then they tried to shape me into their next poster boy."
"I refused."
He stepped into the frame.
Live now.
Raw.
Face bruised. Quiet. Real.
"I'm not a hero. I'm not a villain.I'm just the son of a man they erased.And I'm telling you: the story they sold you—"
He paused.
"It's over."
Scene: Worldwide Reactions
In Sector 2, a Concord officer removes her badge on livestream.
In New Jakarta, a crowd tears down a ten-story Zodiac mural.
In Outer London, three cadets burn their uniforms in silence.
In twelve cities, spontaneous marches form. No chants. Just the phrase:
"We remember."
Scene: Final Transmission Line
The screen went black again.
Text appeared.
"Solaris died remembering who he was."
"Don't let them make you forget who you are."
Then one last line blinked:
THIS FEED CANNOT BE ERASED.MEMORY CANNOT BE KILLED.
Final Scene: Rook Turns Away
He unplugged the drive.
Looked at the stars.
Tessa stepped beside him.
He didn't say anything.
Because now?
He didn't have to.
The world was watching.
And for the first time—
They saw him clearly.