Butcher's hideout was exactly what I expected—a dingy basement with surveillance equipment, weapons, and three very suspicious people.
"This is Hughie," Butcher said, pointing to a nervous young guy. "His girlfriend got splattered by A-Train. That's why he's here."
"I'm sorry," I said genuinely. Hughie just nodded, eyes red.
"That's Mother's Milk—MM. Former soldier, keeps us sane."
MM crossed his arms. "You really a Supe?"
"Yeah."
"And you want to fight Vought?"
"They threatened me. I don't respond well to threats."
"That's Frenchie," Butcher continued. "Explosives expert, general chaos coordinator."
Frenchie lit a cigarette. "So you can control minds? Prove it."
I looked at a fly buzzing near the ceiling. I focused, pushing my hypnotic power at its tiny consciousness.
The fly immediately flew down and landed on my outstretched finger, docile.
"Party trick," MM said skeptically.
I looked at him. "What's your real name?"
"Mother's Milk."
I pushed gently, not enough to fully control him, just enough to compel truth. "What's your real name?"
His eyes glazed slightly. "Marvin. Marvin Milk."
I released him immediately. He blinked, confused. "What the hell—"
"I can make people tell me anything. Make them forget things. Make them follow commands. And that's just one of my abilities."
"What else can you do?" Hughie asked nervously.
I smiled. "Let me show you."
I whispered "Mazahs," and black lightning crashed down, transforming me. My costume materialized, power radiating from every pore.
I floated off the ground, lifted a heavy table with one hand, and generated electricity that crackled between my fingers.
"Super strength, speed, flight, magic, electrokinesis, and hypnosis," I explained. "And one more thing—when I kill a Supe with my powers, I absorb their abilities permanently."
The room went silent.
"Bloody hell," Butcher whispered, grinning like a lunatic. "You're a walking Supe killer. You're perfect."
Chapter 8: The Plan
We spent hours discussing strategy.
"Your hypnosis is the key," Butcher said, pointing at a map of Vought Tower. "You can walk right in, make people forget they saw you, steal information."
"Or plant suggestions," I added. "Make employees leak documents, sabotage operations from the inside."
"What about The Seven?" Hughie asked. "Can you control them?"
"I don't know. Stronger minds are harder to control. Someone like Homelander..." I shook my head. "I'd need to be much more powerful."
"Which is where the power absorption comes in," MM said. "Every Supe you kill makes you stronger."
"Exactly. We target the worst ones first—proven killers, rapists, psychopaths. People the world is better off without. I kill them, take their powers, and use those powers to fight Vought."
"That's a slippery slope," Frenchie warned. "Today you kill monsters. Tomorrow, maybe you start seeing everyone as a power source."
He wasn't wrong. The temptation was already there—that whisper in my mind showing me how much more powerful I could become.
"That's why I need you guys," I said honestly. "Keep me honest. If I start going too far, stop me. Kill me if you have to."
Butcher laughed. "I like you, mate. You're properly mental but you know it. Alright, here's the plan: you infiltrate Vought using your powers, we build a target list of Supes who need killing, and we systematically destroy them from the inside."
"And when Homelander notices?" Hughie asked.
"By then," I said, meeting his eyes, "I'll have absorbed enough powers to actually fight him."
Chapter 9: First Infiltration
My first real mission was simple: infiltrate Vought Tower, access their servers, and plant monitoring software.
I walked in through the front door.
"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.
I locked eyes with her and pushed. "You're going to give me a visitor's badge and forget I was here."
Her eyes glazed. "I'm going to give you a visitor's badge and forget you were here."
She handed me the badge robotically, and I walked past her toward the elevators.
Two security guards were stationed there. I caught both their eyes simultaneously—harder, requiring more focus—and planted the same suggestion.
"We didn't see anyone. It's a normal day."
"We didn't see anyone. It's a normal day," they droned in unison.
I rode the elevator to the 45th floor—IT department. Found a technician alone in a server room.
"Hey, I'm new in IT," I said, catching his eyes. "Can you show me where we keep the backup servers?"
Push.
His resistance crumbled instantly. "Sure, they're right over here..."
He walked me through the entire system, completely hypnotized, explaining security protocols, access codes, everything. I planted Frenchie's monitoring software while he stood there, docile.
"You're going to forget I was here," I commanded. "You came in, checked the servers, everything was normal. Understand?"
"I came in, checked the servers, everything was normal."
"Good."
I left the same way I came in—hypnotizing anyone who saw me, leaving a trail of edited memories and forgotten encounters.
By the time Vought realized their systems were compromised, we'd have weeks of data.
Chapter 10: Starlight's Struggle
I encountered Annie—Starlight—by accident outside a coffee shop near Vought Tower. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes.
"Rough day?" I asked.
She looked up, startled. "Do I know you?"
"We met briefly a couple weeks ago. I'm Alex. You look like you could use someone to talk to."
She laughed bitterly. "Is it that obvious?"
"Only to someone paying attention. Coffee? My treat."
She hesitated, then nodded. "Sure. Why not."
At the coffee shop, she opened up more than I expected. The pressure to maintain her image, the compromises she was being forced to make, the realization that her heroes weren't heroic.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning," she admitted quietly. "Like I made a terrible mistake and now I can't get out."
I could read her surface thoughts—she was close to breaking. One more push and she'd either leave The Seven or shatter completely.
"You're stronger than you think," I said. "And when the time comes to make a choice, trust yourself. Not Vought. Not The Seven. You."
"Who are you really?" she asked, studying me. "You're not just some random guy, are you?"
I could hypnotize her right now. Make her trust me, tell me everything about The Seven, become an asset.
But something stopped me. She deserved better than mind control.
"I'm someone who sees what Vought really is," I said honestly. "And when you're ready to see it too, I'll be here."