The television in the small, dimly lit motel room flickered with the harsh glow of 24-hour news coverage.
The place was a run-down roadside stop just across the Nevada border.. cash only, no ID required, the kind of establishment that asked no questions as long as you paid upfront.
Marcus had chosen it deliberately after ditching the borrowed sedan and acquiring a different, equally unremarkable car from a quiet used lot.
Priya sat on the edge of the sagging double bed, wrapped in a blanket, her eyes fixed on the screen.
Marcus stood behind her, one hand resting lightly on her shoulder.
The room smelled of stale cigarette smoke and cheap cleaner, but it was quiet and off the main highway.
Every major channel was running the story.
WWN (live feed):
The anchor's voice was clipped and urgent. ".. extraordinary footage out of San Francisco tonight. A massive unidentified sea creature, estimated at sixty meters in length, attacked the waterfront. What happened next has left the world stunned. A lone individual, now being called 'Solaris' by eyewitnesses and online communities, engaged the creature directly. Watch this."
The clip played again: Marcus rising from the bay, catching the kaiju's tendrils, the clean heat-vision strike, the effortless throw into orbit. Comments scrolled rapidly at the bottom of the screen.
Dox News:
A stern commentator leaned forward. "This is not a hero. This is a potential threat. An unknown super-powered being capable of throwing a kaiju into space? We don't know his motives. We don't know where he came from. The government needs to find this 'Solaris' immediately and determine if he is friend or foe."
Independent viewTube-style channels (playing on the motel TV's secondary feed):
A young, excited host with glowing LED lights behind him practically vibrated in his chair. "Guys, guys this is real-life Superman! Look at him! No suit, no cape, just a black hoodie, and he yeeted that monster into orbit like it was a football! DC and Marvel fans are losing their minds right now. Twitter is calling him the real Man of Steel. Some are already making fan art. Others are terrified. But come on.. he saved the city!"
Priya muted the TV when the coverage looped back to the same helicopter footage for the fifth time. She rubbed her temples.
"They're calling you Solaris," she said quietly, a mix of disbelief and worry in her voice. "Half the internet thinks you're a superhero. The other half is scared you're going to turn into a villain. And the news… they're already talking about government response."
Marcus sat down beside her on the bed, his hand finding hers. "They'll speculate. That's what they do. Some will cheer. Some will fear. The military and people like SHIVA will do more than speculate... they'll hunt."
Priya leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "I saw the comments. People comparing you to Superman. Saying you're proof that the comics were right all along. Others are calling for you to be locked up or studied." She let out a shaky laugh. "My artist friends are probably drawing you in a cape right now."
Marcus smiled faintly, though it didn't reach his eyes. "This world already has its myths. Now they have a real one. It won't stay quiet for long."
He gently turned her face toward his. "We stay low. Keep moving if we have to. I won't let them take you or use you against me. But for tonight… we rest. We're safe here."
Priya nodded, though the worry lingered in her eyes.
She curled closer to him on the bed, her hand resting on his chest, feeling the steady, quiet pulse of the sol shard beneath his skin.
Outside, the desert night was vast and empty.
Inside the cheap motel room, the television continued to mutter about the flying man who had appeared from nowhere and changed everything in a single night.
Marcus held Priya a little tighter, listening to the distant hum of the highway and the occasional car passing by.
The singular king still slept far beneath the waves.
But the world above was wide awake now... shocked, scared, excited, and already beginning to turn its eyes toward the man they called Solaris.
And in this quiet room, a Kryptonian who had tried so hard to be ordinary held the woman who made him want to keep trying… at least for a little while longer.