- Authorities are baffled by a string of unidentified Supe activity
- Vought released a statement claiming no ownership of this mysterious Supe
- 'Might for right' has been chanted at each sighting
- Citizens have taken to calling this Supe 'Knight Light'
- Knight Light protects the Constellations from a group of Prouder Boys
- Brought them all to safety
- Left no one behind
- Wherever Knight Light is, I just want to say thank you.
- Is Knight Light Annie January?
- Political pressure has been put on Vought for the actions of Homelander
- What does this mean for Vought?
"What does this mean for Vought?" Homelander repeats in front of the cameras. "I'll tell you what it means for Vought; absolutely FUCKING nothing. This 'Knight Light' is no hero. She's just a clown in a mask and even that's giving Annie too much credit. More like just a scarf and a hood. And yeah, we all know you're Knight Light, Annie. You think you've done a good job sticking to the shadows, but there's no mistaking the aura of self righteousness in the air at the scene of your 'heroics'. I've seen you for what you are. A coward that thinks a few good deeds will make up for countless atrocities and believe me when I say there's nothing I hate more than a coward. I don't know where you're hiding out at, but I WILL find you, and when I do, you WILL remember that I can do WHATEVER the fuck I want."
Annie turns off the television at that declaration and buries her face in her hands.
"I fucking hate that man," she hears Hughie from in their 'kitchen'.
"That makes two of us," Annie sighs as she finishes stitching up her arm. Hughie sits down beside her and offers her a bottle of water. "Thanks," she says and gives him a kiss.
"You're welcome. How's your arm?"
"Its ego is bruised, but it'll get better," she half jokes.
"Maybe you should take some time off from this, Annie. At least until we find out who's supplying the Prouder Boys with their new heavy artillery."
"Hughie, I can't." That's a lie. Of course Annie can stop, but she won't.
This all started when Homelander killed a man on live television and people cheered. That gave birth to a group calling themselves The Prouder Boys; people that did whatever they want whenever they wanted. Butcher told the group to ignore the dumb ass cunts as they had bigger fish to fry like Victoria Newman.
But one night, Annie found herself walking home and she saw two of them. There was no missing their signature marks on their arms. And they were assaulting a woman. Something stirred inside Annie and she found herself flashing back to her first days on the Seven. Back when she couldn't just save people without Vought's approval because of the chances of bad PR. And just like then, she found the same words emerging from her lips.
"The girl said 'no'," she said. Hands already balling up.
"Hey, I know you," one of them said. "Star Bitch."
Annie ignored the dicks and simply glanced at their victim. "Ms.," Annie begins as the streetlights around them flicker on and off; the tranquil fury unmistakable in her voice. "Do me a favor and shut your eyes."
The woman obeyed and Annie let out a furious blast of light. The men grabbed their faces in pain as the attack temporarily blinded them and Annie swiftly went on the attack, taking them both down in seconds. The woman hugged Annie in thanks, but Annie told her not to let the police know she was the one that saved her as the name Annie January was as good as mud in the eyes of law enforcement these day.
But the sensation of getting to help someone again for a change over just fighting back against Vought felt good; too good in fact and Annie found herself starting to patrol the city streets again. Stopping muggers, fightings rapists, saving people from fires, robbers, anything she could find. She tried to keep as low a profile as she could, operating at night and in a simple hood and scarf to conceal her face, but light powers are a hard thing to hide. It wasn't long before her heroics earned her the new name Knight Light and Annie had to confess, she found the name flattering. Sure it was corny to high Heaven, but it also felt noble. Heroic. Good. The type of name no one at Vought would ever use.
Hughie at first insisted she stop going out to fight crime since her having a new Supe identity would only piss Homelander off if he figured out it was her, but Annie realized this was exactly what they needed. As of now, Homelander hadn't gone on any killing sprees, but it was only a matter of time before he got pissed enough with her followers to do so. This way, she could at least draw away his attention by giving him someone to publicly hate and to hunt.
With the choice made, she and The Boys got to work with Kimiko providing back up, M.M. helping with any injured parties, Frenchie designing a way to keep Annie consistently powered up, Butcher begrudgingly using his connections to keep track of The Prouder Boys and Stormchasers' activities, and Hughie making and monitoring Knight Light's instagram account to live stream her rescues, so the public at large would know exactly what Homelander's followers were up to.
Most of all though, Annie made sure to spread an important message whenever she saved someone. 'Might for right'. The exact antithesis to Homelander's belief that his power means he can do whatever he wants.
"I know you can't take a break, or at least won't," Hughie says bringing Annie out of her flashback. "That's one of the reasons I love you so much. You, you give people hope. Sincere, genuine hope. Like an angel descended from the Heavens."
"I love you too, but don't hype me up like that. I'm just someone that wants to do the right thing and has the power to do it. Might for right, remember?" Annie says with a cheeky smile.
"Yeah."
The two of them lean forward and share a gentle kiss before heading to bed in their hideout. It was a dangerous game they were playing, but if it could delay Homelander's homicidal urges until they could figure out how to take care of him (and prevent new people from following him) then Annie January, The Knight Light, was willing to play it as long as she could.
