The public still wants answers. But the Zodiac can't give them, because the only words left on their lips… are "contain," "correct," and "collapse."
Scene: Hero Tower — Press Hall, 10:00 a.m.
The feed went live across the world.
A dozen networks. Thousands of cadet-linked screens. Tens of millions of viewers.
But the podium was empty.
The Zodiac crest hovered behind it, cycling slowly.
The crowd was restless. Murmurs. Reporters checking their signals.
Then a Concord officer stepped forward.
Not a hero. Not a Zodiac.
Just a suit.
He read from a tablet.
"Zodiac Leo has been placed under internal containment protocol pending further review. He will not be appearing today."
Gasps.
Anger.
Confusion.
And no follow-up.
The screen cut to the logo.
Just a phrase in gold letters:
"Trust is earned. Truth is Concord."
And it was already too late.
Scene: Rook Vale — Sector 4 Tunnel Base
Rook closed the feed.
"Containment," he said.
Aya nodded.
"Same word they used for Ava. And for your father, when he broke rank."
"They'll say it about me soon."
"You want them to."
"No," he said. "I want them to choke on it."
He turned to the map on the wall.
Pins glowed across the sector grid.
Each one tagged to a civillian name.
Supporters. Believers. Whistleblowers.
And potential soldiers.
"You're forming a faction," Aya said quietly.
Rook didn't look away.
"I'm forming a reality. Something that doesn't need to lie."
She exhaled.
Then smiled.
"Good. I'm in."
Scene: Ava Spire — Secure Location, Red Sector
Ava sat in a black room.
Alone.
The lights were off.
She'd disconnected her comm.
But her internal interface was still active.
Something had changed since the Leo broadcast.
A line of code had looped — an anomaly.
And now?
The voice in her core module whispered on repeat:
"Original identity breach detected."
She tried to override it.
Failed.
She tried to report it.
No uplink accepted.
The final error message blinked in red:
"You are not who we made you to be."
Her eyes opened.
And for the first time in her artificial life...
She felt unscripted.
Scene: Hero Tower — Conference Room
Zodiac Scorpio slammed a datapad onto the table.
"She's off leash."
"You mean Spire?" asked Gemini.
Scorpio nodded. "She's running legacy code. It's mutating. Her emotional thread's untethered."
"She was never meant to last this long," Libra muttered. "She was a puppet. Now she's got fingers."
"Pull her," Gemini said.
"She's not locatable."
"Then wipe her."
"I told you — she's off protocol. She's going feral."
The room went quiet.
Because they'd just lost two public faces...
...and now their clone weapon was thinking for herself.
Scene: Tessa's Dorm — Late Night
Tessa stared at the folder Rook left her.
It wasn't another leak.
It was a blueprint.
The structure of a new institution.
No lies. No ratings. No propaganda. A true hero corps. Run by the public. Powered by transparency.
But it ended with a question.
"You wanted to save people. Still do.So…Will you help me burn what's in the way?"
She closed the file.
Then opened her comm.
Typed one word.
"Yes."
Scene: Final Sequence — Public Broadcast Delay Loop
The official feed flickered.
Then a message appeared — simple, clear, centered on every screen in the city:
ZODIAC FILE SYSTEM BREACHLEVEL 7 CLASSIFIED MATERIAL LEAKEDESTABLISHING PUBLIC MIRROR CACHE
And beneath it:
"You've heard their version."
"Now it's our turn."