"What the fuck is that!?"
The costume was nothing like her current costume, it revealed her entire legs and even her stomach, almost like it was something she'd only wear to the beach.
"It's your new costume Chloe, isn't it breath taking? The costume department really outdid themselves this time around."
"You're not suggesting I wear this out in public?" She refused to believe it, what did he take her for to be wearing basically panties and bra top to be fighting crime? And that wasn't enough the worst part. It was transparent enough to be see-through.
"Yes I am, with the hot sales of Kinetic Overdrive II, this costume would triple our profits by a great margin. Think of it as fan service, you give the fans what they want, you'll climb the ranks in no time."
His tone was as casual as ever, as if they were discussing her next mission.
"Are you crazy?" She shot up from her seat, unable to believe that he said that with a straight face, especially since he was telling her to fulfill the wants of her fans.
"You want me to fight crime in underwear!?"
"Underwear?" He drew his head back dramatically and glanced at the mannequin.
"I don't see any underwear, what are you talking about?"
"That's too fucking revealing! There's no way I'm wearing something like that to fight crime, I might not even wear it to the beach!"
"You signed a contract with Titan Industries Chloe, since when does your opinion matters? It's what the people want, it's what your fans want, and they want you. You said it yourself, you want to become the top hero don't you? In this business that what it takes to stay at the top, if we don't give the people what they wan-"
"I want to become the top hero by saving lives, not becoming a tool to boost Titan's sales. I'm not wearing that."
Her voice went cold as she glanced at him, it was an insult to her pride and dream of becoming the top hero in the city. Not to mention that the words of the vigilante had seeped so deep into her that she couldn't stop thinking about it.
If she followed through, she was just proving him right, she was no hero. Just a corporate toy.
Shawn sighed, looking at her as though she was the one being irrational in this situation.
"Chloe, this isn't about your dignity, it's your career! You think the top hero you aim to be got to where they were by just saving people? They are deep in this game, they know what it takes to become the number one hero in the globe, they're ready to do whatever it takes."
"Today you tell me to wear this, the next who knows? You tell me to strip for the people, I'm a hero Shawn, that's why I signed the contract with Titan, I want to do a real hero's work, not become a toy for corporate marketing, we are done here."
She pushed open the doors as Shawn's desperate voice reached out to her.
"Chloe! Chloe!! You'll regret walking out on me! Come back her-"
THUD!
With a loud thud, she slammed the door in his face.
She couldn't believe what he proposed.
"That bastard..." It became clear to her that he had no intentions on actually saving people, her encounter with the vigilante made her realize that. And now that she thought about it, every mission she ever went on always had a hidden agenda behind it.
Be it to boost the sales of the comics made in her name, or to promote the live action movie she filmed a couple of months back, there was always an agenda.
She rushed back to the ICT department, and immediately Williams caught a glance of her, he froze. She looked pissed, and he knew any requests he denied would mean trouble for him.
"L-Lady Impulse, what brings you here this fine day?" He chuckled nervously, and he could almost feel his temperature rising in an instant.
"Wow... It's Lady Impulse again!"
"This is the second time she's coming to see that chubby guy."
"What business does he have with her?"
"Damn, he's so lucky."
While his colleagues and coworkers all thought he was lucky having the opportunity to speak directly to Lady Impulse, it was the opposite for him. She caught him at his lowest point, watching porn that was almost too unrealistic.
"I need to know if there's any crime in progress." She felt the need to prove herself to the vigilante and she wasn't just some corporate marketing toy.
"There isn't, now right now at least." His response left her more angry than shocked. "What do you mean there isn't? It's Nova Ciity for God sake, and there's not even one crime?"
"Crime rates during the day dropped due to heroes influence at day, but now it seems even at night it's not as frequent as it used to be after what happened with Night Hunter.
"Wait wait, Night Hunter? Who the hell is that?" She was shocked, first of all it sounded a little bit too cliche. Second, why hasn't she heard from it from her manager. "Is that a new hero?"
"No, that's what they're calling the vigilante because of how and when he fights crime. The Shadow Vigilante — Night Hunter."
He pulled up a photo of the news article and there it was, the same photo of him captured by the police drone days ago, but this time, branded with a clear white font [Shadow Vigilante].
She couldn't take her eyes off it, there was something about him that she couldn't quite grasp. His stance, the way he swinged through the air. He wasn't posing or taking styles to gain fame.
Each movement captured in the article was genuine, almost like he moved on instincts rather than thinking to save the couple like he did the other night.
"Lady Impulse." Williams called her back to her senses ss she already lost herself to her thoughts.
"Nothing, just dial the hotline number I gave you if any crime comes up."
She left.
Williams stared at the screen, before staring back at Lady Impulse. "Is she planning on taking him down?" With all the knowledge he had, he came to that conclusion.