The cold evening air, the refreshing smell of the sea. Annie wished she could walk around here, relaxing after work, all the interviews and photo shoots. Except right now she was on assignment, for the first time in her superhero career and it couldn't help but make her excited. And to be performing it alongside one of the members of the Seven, whose fan base she had been as a teenager, gave her a tingle of excitement for what was to come.
Of course it wasn't Homelander, since that one was busy right now. And she had been put in the place of Mrety, who had suddenly disappeared somewhere. But she couldn't complain about that, as this was the first serious case of her career and essentially her major league debut.
And so, Starlight saw Deepness emerge from the water, in his usual guise. Except that she could tell from the look of the guy that he didn't smell particularly enthusiastic. He finally reached her and stood beside her with a sigh, not even bothering to nod.
- Oh, what a water crime! They're fucked up! - Deep exclaimed, as the awkward silence fell. - They only put them on missions on the wharf... or on a river... lake... dam.
Starlight smiled crookedly at him, not knowing what to say. This was something she hadn't expected.
- Narrow-minded fuckers, I have so much potential! And all they want to do is dive for the camera and show off their biceps on Instagram," said Deep. - How humiliating... What about you?
- I?
- Yeah, you. What's up with you and Homelander?
- Nothing. - Annie answered perplexed. She couldn't understand why Deep was interested in this.
- Come on, spit it out. There's a reason you got a patronage from Homelander," Deepening grinned, and she didn't like that grin. - You didn't get it for a pretty face.
- He saw potential in me. - The girl frowned, and the lights began to flicker with tension.
In stressful situations, she automatically stored energy, gathering it from the nearest electrical appliances. So at times like this, it was the various lamps that suffered most often, falling into disrepair.
- Hey, come on! I'm not serious," Deep raised his hands, stepping back a few steps. - It's just atypical for a Homelander.
- What do you mean? - Starlight calmed down, staring intently at the boy.
- Well, he never wastes his time with newcomers, ask Train-A," explained Deep. - And here's a girl, and a pretty one at that. So I wanted to know what your relationship was like. Just out of curiosity!
- I'm not in a relationship with him," the blonde frowned, not understanding how he could think of such a thing. - He was just training me to use my powers.
- Okay, now everything is clear, - grinned the sea super, but the girl did not notice any understanding in his eyes. - Will you show me what he taught you?
- I'd love to. - Starlight replied with anticipation, noticing the jeep that had pulled up to the hangar.
- Huh, I hear you," the boy smiled and stepped to the edge. - I'll take the rear, you take the head. That's it, let's go!
Saying this last, Deepness dived into the water, making a backflip. Annie rolled her eyes at this posturing and headed for the stairs. Not every super had the ability to fly, and she didn't need it. Although it would be effective for travelling fast, but what she didn't have, she didn't have. So it took her two minutes to reach the hangar, but she still made it in time for the start of the mess.
Depth was already beating up two men, though it looked more spectacular than effective. However, two more men were already pulling out guns, and it was these two that Starlight had targeted. Her eyes lit up with a bright yellow light, building in brightness very quickly. Much faster than if it had been a volley from her hands.
A precise hit of the golden beam in the chest threw one of them a couple of metres away, leaving them unconscious, the other one was similar. Finished with that she looked at Deep, who had just finished taunting her opponents.
- This way, quick! - Ashley suddenly appeared, along with the film crew. - You did good, very impressive!
- W-what? - Starlight was confused, looking at it all.
- Smiling for the camera.
Annie didn't understand what they were doing and looked at Deep, who was saying something to the cameraman with a smile. As if sensing her gaze, he turned to the girl and winked, giving her a thumbs-up. And she realised that everything was originally planned that way.
- Smile, Starlight. Come on!
Sighing quietly, Annie smiled, looking at the camera. The skills from the pageants as a child and teenager were still there, so she easily did what was required. Except she thought that after joining the Seven, all of that was behind her. Apparently that wasn't the case.
***
Arthur Robinson, tall black man in an expensive suit. He may not look it, but he was a big shot in the military industry. The head man at Lockheed, the American military-industrial corporation that made ballistic missiles and combat supplies and other trinkets.
Talking to him or people like him was a pleasure, equal to swimming in a pool of shit. Everything about this place annoyed me. From the guests at this reception to having to give them a whole speech about patriotism and other nonsense.
One consolation was that I wasn't the only one who had to suffer trying to placate powerful gentlemen. Maeve and Noir were also involved, though they weren't exactly thrilled about it either. The only one absent was Blink, who was apparently either drinking or following someone again. Fucking exhibitionist with a stalker's attitude.
- All right, let's drop all this verbiage," Robinson interrupted me half-heartedly, drawing the attention of his associates back to himself. - Why do we need you? Why should the government pay for you and your cronies to fly around and make our soldiers nervous?
The condescending tone with which he addressed me was irritating. What does he know about what he is talking about? What does he know about the products his corporation makes? This nigger don't know shit about it. The only difference between him and Madeline is he advertises guns, not supers. And I'll be honest with you, Stillwell's job is a lot tougher. So I took the liberty of putting that prick face down in front of my colleagues.
- You want honesty, Arthur? - I gave him a friendly smile.
- That's exactly what I want. - Robinson grinned, waiting for my words.
I glanced at Madeline, who was standing at the bar with another general. Our eyes met, and I saw the worry on her face, and her perpetual smile slowly faded. One look was enough for the woman to realise that one blond man was up to something. Except there's nothing she can do to stop me.
- Arthur, you stand in front of me and speak so confidently, as if everything is in place. But you don't take into account that you're sitting in the mud with your bare arse in your hands, holding a crooked stick. - I grinned openly, looking at the black man surprised by my words.
- You better apologise...
- For being honest? I wouldn't think of it," I answered the black man, giving him a dismissive look. - Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on your weapons, but for some reason they don't fire lasers.
- Our army is the best in the world largely because of technology and...?
- How's that? Is your equipment helping in Afghanistan? - He grinned condescendingly, glancing around the room. - You have already lost. Your tactics don't work and everyone has already realised that.
- And then what will people like you change?
- Everything, Arthur. And we all know it," he grinned, winking at Stillwell, who was watching our conversation from afar. - A military contract is simply inevitable.
- That's not going to happen. - Robinson frowned, looming over me, which was easy with his basketball height.
- Oh, yeah? You know America's oldest lie, Arthur? - I smiled and looked around at the people gathered around me again. - That power is never criminal.
With the same smile on my lips, I headed for the exit at a leisurely pace, leaving the disgruntled "Rulers of the World" behind me. What a good feeling it was.
- What did you do in there? - Madeline asked me as she caught up with me in the corridor.
- Something I should have done a long time ago.
- Homelander, do you realise what this means for us? We won't see that military contract for ten years because of what you said! - The woman hissed through her teeth.
- Really? That's fine," I smiled at her, not feeling the least bit worried about it. - Let Black Noir speak to them next time. He likes to keep his mouth shut. I refuse to do that.
- Is this your way of getting back at me? - Madeline sighed, massaging her temples.
- It's how you look at it," the woman replied, staring intently into her eyes. - Sometimes you have to settle for little when you're trying to take what doesn't belong to you.
- Homelander...
- Tell Stan that if he even thinks about touching my son. this unpleasant incident will seem to him the most harmless thing that ever happened to the Vought Company," he approached the woman who froze in fear. - Do I make myself clear?
- I... understood.
- Good. Have fun, Madeline. - I smiled at her and hurried away from the event.
My actions might seem rash, but I'd shown them how much my offence would cost them. I should also remind them that I am no longer their errand boy. They need to remember that once and for all so they don't do anything stupid again.
***
It was uncomfortable and scary. Huey breathed deeply and often, trying to calm himself down a little. He looked at the iron door, behind which was the main reason for his restless state. What else could one expect from a handyman like him! That was going to get the attention of number four in the entire Seven!
Huey nervously combed his hair as hard as he could to keep the itch at bay. Why the fuck had he only agreed to Butcher's offer? Why had he even bothered to put a goddamn wire in Vaught Tower in the first place? Huey knew the answer, of course, but he couldn't help thinking about it. The situation was lousy as hell.
The whole of Mrevoy in a live iron cage. And yet the super saw them by sight and also knows his name. So that's not enough for the last two days, as it turns out Butcher isn't even a fed, just some kind of psychopath. And then there's this Frenchman who can make a damn rifle bullet in a couple of hours and is most likely selling illegal weapons. And then there was Huey Campbell, who could only hysterical at the hopelessness of the situation.
One thing was clear: nobody was going to let Mr Blink live. And if they were, they had to find out something about Train-A and the day he'd killed Robin. It was the only thing the guy had the skills to do. Even if it didn't work out, he could at least try.
And
Pouring water into a glass, he opened the iron door, seeing an empty iron cage in front of him. He put the glass in front of the cage and stepped back, looking at the empty cage.
- 'So you don't want it, then. - Mumbled Huey and was about to pick up the glass.
- Wait. I'm thirsty. - Huey still made contact and he could see the invisible man drinking the water.
- Listen, um. I need to ask you about Train-A," Huey began. - When it. flew over the girl. recently. Robin Ward. I want to know why? Where was he running to? What was he doing?
- What is she, your sister? A friend? - Asked the voice of the man in the cage.
- A friend.
- That's what you want!
- Please listen to me. These guys. they want to kill you. Tell me anything, and I'll--
- What? You're gonna stop them? They're catching every word you're saying! You're the big boss around here," said Blink sarcastically.
- All right. You don't want to? Fine. I tried! - Huey turned round to leave, clearly realising that he wouldn't get anything from the super.
- Kid, I read people perfectly well, - a naked man appeared in front of him, with no visible difference from any other naked man. - You're terrified and you're well aware that you've swum in this sea of shit beyond the buoys. And you better run before you sink to the bottom.
- We'll kill you first. - Huey frowned, looking him straight in the eye.
He might be a coward, he might be terrified right now, but he wasn't going to run away in this situation. If he had started this, he would see it through. And if that meant killing the Blinker, Huey wouldn't hesitate to do it. If it leads him to the A-Train.
- I'm invulnerable. I have impenetrable skin, I'm a fucking superhero. Have you forgotten? - Smirking. - We take down gangs, terrorists. Save the world every day! What are you? A rag doll stuffed with guts and meat. The Homeylander will find me and he'll cut you open from cradle to balls. And I'm gonna go home and have a cocktail. Because I'm me and you're you.
- Good luck, I tried. - Huey smiled and still walked out the door, slamming it shut.
- Run for your life, Huey. - Smirking, he looked up at the ceiling. He was quite sure that they were already looking for him. He'd be out of here soon, and afterwards he'd tear those faggots to pieces with his own hands.
***
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