John

Well, the tour wasn't very long, but without a call back to Edgar's office, me and Starlight kind of just ended up sitting in one of the dining areas in the tower while we waited for someone to call us back.

At this point, we've mostly just been talking, getting to know each other, with a few questions here and there on both sides. And… maybe a funny story or two.

"Wait, wait, wait," Starlight waves her hands back and forth, coming down from a laughing fit with the biggest grin on her face. "She glued your hand to the controller?"

I can't help the chuckle that escapes me as she asks. "Oh yeah. She used Gorilla Glue too, so pretty much shattered the thing by taking it off my hand, and then I had to wait for it to dry so that it's easier to peel off."

One of the few stories I'm trading is one where my little sister, Shiela, put super glue all over one of my video game controllers as a prank.

Starlight falls into another fit of giggles, bringing a hand up to her mouth in an attempt to stifle them.

"I imagine you weren't too pleased?" She guessed with a grin.

I shrug my shoulders, a smile on my face as I speak. "Eh. Not at the time, but looking back on it, gotta give her credit for creativity." I remark as I take a sip of water. Yes, we grabbed some drinks, because neither of us have any clue how long it will take for them to write up my contract.

"That's true." Starlight agrees with a nod, a smile on her face. "So, you're from Ohio, right?"

I nod my head with a proud smile on my face. "Born and raised. Oh, and don't worry, it's not as weird as people make it out to be." I can't help but joke, since lately, Ohio seems to be turning into the new Florida.

Starlight snorts in amusement. "If you say so. I'm pretty sure Florida is still the weirdest place to be."

"Probably." I nod my head in agreement. "What about you? Where are you from?"

"I'm from Iowa." Starlight answers as she takes a sip of her water. "I was working in Des Moine with a police scanner I managed to snag. 'The Defender of Des Moine' they called me."

I nod my head. "Don't sound too bad. I would usually get a call from a buddy of mine, let me know if there's something I can do to help people." I explain to her, intentionally leaving out a few details. "Stopped a good few wackos in the process."

"What was the first crime you ever stopped?" Starlight asks me curiously as she sets her cup back down.

Two instances pop into my head. My first real mission was when me, Peter, and Rachel went after Jason, Tibe, and Jack in Ironton. My first official mission, however, was some chick over in Nebraska who could control plants… of any kind.

Yeah… I think I know which one I'll say.

"Took a trip to Nebraska once." I start as I recall the first official mission Alex sent me on with Rachel and Peter. "Got reports of a living tree. Turns out some woman in the woods was using massive fucking tree as a suit of armor, you could say, snatching people up, pulling them into the ground, that kind of shit."

"Wow." Starlight's eyes widen a little as I recount the story. "That's… kind of scary, actually."

"Eh, yeah, a little bit." I nod in agreement. Even with my powers, when a twenty foot tree literally comes sprinting at you, it can be a little off-putting. "But, she couldn't really do much to me, outside of pissing me off. I could rip apart anything she threw at me, and try to drag me into the ground… let's just say there's a nine foot hole in Nebraska somewhere."

"Sounds a bit more intense than mine." Starlight admits, with a smile. "All I did was stop a mugging."

"Hey, there ain't nothing wrong with that." I say with a smile of my own. "It might've been a simple mugging to you, but to the victim, that could've been the most terrifying moment of their life."

"That's true." Starlight nods her head in agreement. "I guess it's just… I didn't really have a rogue gallery, fighting supervillains, that whole thing. Every single person, every crime I've after stopped, it was all just normal people." She explains. "And it's not that I'd prefer something exciting, not at people's expense, but… well, I guess it can get a little repetitive sticking the same city."

"I used to think that way." I tell her as I let out a chuckle. "'I want to go to New York!' or 'I want to go to California!' or shit like that. Now, I wouldn't trade my home for the world." I admit with a fond smile as I look at her.

Starlight nods her head, a small smile of her own on her face. "I can't say I really miss my home." She admits with a sigh as she frowns. "I love my mom, but let's just say she's a little… pushy, about the whole superhero thing."

"Only thing my grandparents push me to do is finish high school." I chuckle in amusement as I shake my head. "Anything else comes second. Including this whole superhero business."

"At least they care for you." Starlight replied with a small smile, which I return.

"That they do…" I nod my head in agreement. Even with my powers… Papaw wouldn't hesitate to throw himself into danger before I ever got a chance if he could help it.

"By the way, I'm Annie." Starlight suddenly tells me, causing me to look at her in confusion. "Annie January, that's my name."

"Oh." I say as I get what she's telling me. "Not one for the whole secret identity thing?"

"Well, I stopped a couple of creeps from raping a girl in an alley a day or two ago." Starli- Annie… Annie explains to me with a sigh. "A security camera caught me using my powers in plain clothes, and a few people recognized me from school."

"Ouch." I can't help but say with a visible wince. "I suppose it could've been worse though. Better to have stepped in when you did instead of leaving it alone."

"I don't think I could live with myself if I hadn't stepped in." Annie admits. "I mean, I'm not happy that my identity is public, but…"

"But you'd rather that than someone's life get ruined." I finish the thought, getting a nod of agreement.

"Exactly." She says with a smile. "What about you? Have you ever had an incident like that?"

This one, I can answer. "Everybody at my school knows I have powers, though whether they know I'm the Juggernaut or not… I don't really know on that front. This guy with electric powers turned up trying to pick a fight with me, and… well, school needed some repairs and we practically destroyed a section of the woods nearby." I recall, leaving out certain details of when I found out Jason had been using Maddie and Levi.

"At least it wasn't completely public." Annie remarks, causing me to shrug my shoulders in response.

"Eh, that's probably about to change. One of my conditions to this contract is that I ain't wearing no flashy costume." I explain to the woman. "So even when I'm out saving lives, I'm still probably gonna be wearing plain old clothes."

"But wouldn't that cost money?" Annie can't help but to question with a raised eyebrow.

I shake my head. "You'd be surprised. When I got my strength, I did learn the hard way that my clothes weren't exactly… Well, let's just say I tested out how high I could jump and the sudden take off literally destroyed my clothes."

Annie just so happened to be taking a sip of her water at the time, and she nearly spit it all over me as a smile made its way onto her face, trying not to spit anymore water anywhere from laughter.

"Does that mean you landed completely naked?"

"Bare ass, naked as the day I was born." I nod my head in amusement. I've never been one to be ashamed of my body, even before I got my powers, and while I have enough to not walk naked the street and definitely feel comfortable in clothes, it's not like I'm gonna be sitting there embarrassed because someone saw me naked. "Although, the dust cloud did give me a bit of modesty."

"How high did you jump?"

"I… don't know." I admit as my face scrunches in thought. I've never been good with exact estimates, and we didn't exactly test my jumping range when I agreed to join the militia. "Any higher and I would've touched the clouds, I know that."

Annie's eyes widen in disbelief. "Jesus…" She mutters.

"Oh yeah." I can't help but to say with a nod. "I don't do it much because my sense of direction is complete shit, but I do know I can jump for miles without much problem."

"Wow." Annie says, a look of amazement on her face. "I wonder if you're as strong as Homelander?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. I've been told that we're about equal in strength, but whether that's true or not, I don't really care. I'm not here to have dick measuring contest." I can't help but to say with a chuckle. "I'm here to help people, and if I get paid for it… what's it gonna hurt?"

Suddenly, Annie's face takes on a look of worry. "Well… just be careful." She warns me, and I furrow my brow in confusion.

"Okay…" What's that supposed to mean?

Any further conversation is interrupted by the sound of heels hitting the ground below us, and we turn our eyes towards the source to find a woman with ginger colored hair and a white business suit walking towards us quickly.

"You're John right?" The woman asks quickly, pointing at me. I don't even get to answer before she continues speaking. "Mr. Edgar said he's ready for you to sign your contract."

Well, okay then.

"Uh, alright, thanks." I say with a nod before turning to look at Annie. "Thanks for the tour, and I look forward to working with you."

Annie gives me a nod as she smiles. "You too."

"Starlight, Mr. Edgar has summoned the Seven to the meeting room." The woman says quickly as she turns towards the blonde for a moment, before looking at me once more. "I'll take you back to Mr. Edgar's office."

"Lead the way." I say with a forced smile. Something about this woman is grating my nerves, and I have a feeling that I am not going to like her that much.

Or at all.

I follow the woman back through the tower, and Jesus Christ she never shuts up! The fakest fucking smile on her face, yammering on and on about how much how I'll like it here, and how I'll have so good in rural areas, shit like that.

Yeah…

We don't make it to Edgar's office soon enough, and by the time we arrive, I'm moments away from blowing up on the woman, but she thankfully shuts her trap once we reach the office.

Edgar and Stillwell are inside, and Edgar gives me a pleased smile while Stillwell gives me an unreadable look. Something tells me she didn't get her way.

The contract is sitting on the desk now, a few pieces of paper stapled together, and Edgar has a pen in his hand as I take a seat.

"Thank you, Ashley. You can go wait with the Seven." The CEO says, dismissing the woman who had retrieved me as he turns to look at me. "I hope you enjoyed the tour?"

I nod my head as Ashley leaves the room, thank god. "Not bad. I like Starlight already, thought that other one…" I trail off, but Edgar gets the gist.

"Mr. Barret is good at her job as a booking agent, but she does have a tendency to ramble." Edgar says with a slight chuckle. "However, I feel focus on the more important matters."

"So, I'll be required to attend gatherings, public events, shit of that nature, right?" I ask, recalling Edgar and Stillwell's earlier words when they arrived back home as I pick up the contract and begin to skim through it.

"Indeed." Edgar says with a nod. "As per your request, both conditions have been taken into account, so you will not be required to wear a premade outfit, and you will have the authority to call upon anyone you deem worthy if you believe the situation calls for it."

"Alright." I say with a nod as I skim through the contract. It's mostly just legal jargon, Vought will not be held accountable for my own actions, I have my own opinions, blah blah blah…

Though, I stop when one thing catches my attention.

"I'll have to make movies?" I can't help but to ask as I look up with a raised eyebrow.

"Movies, Video games, and merchandise of that source is one of the ways we make our revenue." Stillwell explains, looking at me as if I just ask the dumbest question in the world. "It's how we pay you."

Could've done without the attitude, you uppity bitch.

"Don't worry, you won't have to jump into stuff like that all the time." Edgar reassures me with a smile. "As a matter of fact, your first movie will be the upcoming Dawn of the Seven, and production on that is still about six months away."

"Alright…" I can agree to that quietly, but I'm not how I feel about being a movie star.

Still, thirteen grand a week? Yes please.

I continue to look through the contract, and Edgar waits patiently while Stillwell begins rapping her fingers on the desk, very clearly annoyed that I'm actually reading the damn thing.

Most of it is basically licensing authorization and shit of that nature, but one thing does raise a bit of a red flag towards the end.

"The contractee will be required to maintain their carefully crafted persona in the public for their appearances, or when being observed by the general public." I read aloud, before looking up at both Edgar and Stillwell with a less than pleased look. "Is this saying that I'll have to be some sort of actor at all times?"

"We craft personas for our heroes in order to match the brand they represent." Edgar explains to me, smile never leaving his face. "Though, we don't necessarily intend for you to simply act out a part at all times, more… support the brand you will represent."

I eye him warily. Even though the paycheck was the main reason for agreeing, I came to help people. Media and merchandise are one thing… but I'm not here to be a corporate puppet.

"I'm not gonna go against my own beliefs." I tell them sternly. "This brand thing you're talking about, I'll support it. But I will not let somebody decide my personality." I make sure my voice leaves no room for debate.

Of course, Stillwell has to jump in anyway. "You will be representing Vought, and as such, you will need an authorized persona-"

"My 'persona' will be authorized by me, and me alone." I interrupt, making it absolutely clear that this isn't up for negotiation as I set the contract back down on Edgar's desk. "I appreciate the offer, Mr. Edgar, but I'm signing that thing if it means I got to be a puppet."

Edgar cups his hands together on his desk as he eyes me, smile gone as he stares intently at me, scrutinizing me.

I don't break under his gaze, and I return it with equal force.

"That's acceptable." Edgar finally says with a nod, causing me to give a nod of content while Stillwell balks.

"Sir, with all due respect-"

"Miss Stillwell, regardless of your opinions on the matter, you and I both know Mr. Gallagher is more than capable." Edgar shuts her down before she can even begin any sort of objection as he gives her a hard look. "And if he'd rather handle his public image himself, that's fine. It's not as if it will hurt to have one superhero not under your thumb completely."

Stillwell gives Edgar an unsatisfied look, but she drops the topic, sitting down in her chair and crossing her arms, frowning as she eyes me.

Edgar turns back to me as the smile reappears on his face, and he holds the pen out towards me. "So, do we have a deal?"

"I guess so." I say with a smile. I'm not overly eager with some of the conditions, but I'm satisfied enough. I take the pen from his hand and proceed to sign my name on the paper. Admittedly, the cursive writing of my name is sloppy, but nonetheless, Edgar accepts it with a smile.

"With that over, what say we take you to meet the rest of your teammates?" Edgar proposes as he puts the contract in a drawer in his desk.

So that's why he called the team to the meeting room.

"Sure." I say with a shrug. "Better to go ahead and get to know them." I remark as we all stand to our feet.

Edgar and Stillwell lead me through the tower once more, towards the meeting room of the Seven.

The room has a large table in the shape of what looks like a mash of the letter V and the number 7, and there are various monitors on the walls to the sides and a large window reaching from the ceiling to the floor behind the table.

But that's not what I'm paying attention to.

Unlike when Annie brought me here for the tour, the room is now occupied. Five of the seven seats are taken, with that Ashley girl standing off to the side.

The most recognizable one is Homelander, in his star-spangled outfit, a pleasant smile on his face and as his gaze comes up to see us.

It's pretty easy to see which one is Black Noir, considering the dude's outfit is entirely black, with different weapons and mostly military-esque in design.

A-Train's pretty easy figure out as well since he's the last guy in the room, wearing a pair of blue designer classes in his outfit, and he's got his head propped on his hand with a look of boredom on her face.

Queen Maeve and Starlight are the only female superheroes in the room, and Meave looks to be a much older woman, red hair, with an outfit that honestly looks like someone made a Wonder Woman cosplay piece and painted it gray.

"I'm glad to see you all are present." Edgar as we step into the room, addressing the present team members.

"Care to tell us what this is about, Edgar?" Maeve got straight to the point as she shot a glance towards the CEO, before turning to look at me. "Who's the kid?"

"This is John Gallagher." Edgar introduced me, and I give a short wave when hearing my name. "While not publicly known, he is the elusive superhero known as the Juggernaut, and he's to be your new member." He explained to the assembled heroes.

"Really?" Homelander gives me a pleasant smile upon hearing that, and leans back in his chair as he eyes me with interest. "So what can you do?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Superhuman strength and accelerated healing." I answer bluntly. "As a byproduct, I can also run at close to three hundred miles an hour and I'm extremely durable."

Homelander nodded his head. "Impressive." He says as he turns to look at Edgar. "When's he making his debut?"

"If things go well, he should be making his debut at the Believe Expo." Edgar answered with a smile as he turned to look at me. "If that's alright with you."

"I ain't got no complaints." I say with another shrug. "Gives me time to get to know everyone, familiarize myself with the place."

Honestly, I'm not too excited about this whole public debut thing, especially considering it's probably gonna be some flashy spectacle if I had to guess, but I suppose it could be a lot worse. If Stillwell had her way, I'd be walking talking puppet.

"So, why a kid?" Maeve popped in, sparing me a glance before giving Edgar a raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't it make more sense to replace Translucent or the Deep with someone more experienced?" There was a note of thinly veiled anger in her tone, and her jaw was tense even as she asked the question.

Did she not like me? I can't imagine why… although, to be fair, she has a point. It would make more sense to have someone who's more experienced in this gig. I mean, he can't seriously think I'm that qualified when he has to know that my 'experience' doesn't go past five months.

Then again… most superhero 'rescues' look more like flashy blockbuster displays.

"Because John here knows how to focus when the time calls for it, instead of showboating." Edgar answered without a second thought, fixing a gaze on just about all of the superheroes there. "And despite his age, he could probably teach some of you a little bit more discipline."

I didn't miss how his eyes trained themselves on A-Train, and I found myself confused as to why. Like I said, I don't keep up with news on public superheroes, so maybe I just haven't heard about it.

"It was an accident." A-Train responded with an eye-roll.

"An accident this company can not have, or tolerate." Edgar responded, his expression hardening as he kept his gaze fixed on A-Train, while everyone else watched.

I let my gaze bounce between the two for a moment, the tension thick enough to feel, before opening my mouth.

"Am I missing something here?" I ask, causing everyone's attention to fall on me.

"You seriously haven't heard?" Maeve askes me in disbelief, a look which is matched by everyone else in the room with the exception of Edgar and possibly Black Noir.

"I never really had a reason to keep up with superheroes." I tell them bluntly. "I always preferred DC and Marvel comics. I ask again, what am I missing here?"

Edgar let out a sigh of annoyance, his eyes lingering on A-Train for a moment before he turned to me. "A-Train was in the process of pursuing a couple of bank robbers through the streets, and he accidentally ran into a woman in the middle of the road." He explained.

Um…

Is he serious?

"Are you fucking serious?" I turn my own gaze towards A-Train with a raised eyebrow. Considering I know what A-Train's powerset is thanks to Annie, I know very well that running into someone for him translates to turning them into a bloodstain.

A-Train actually had the gall to scoff. "I don't need to be hearing this from a kid."

"Considering this kid apparently has more sense than you do, you need to be hearing it from a lot of people." I snap right back in irritation. "Seriously, you have super-speed and I know that brain works fast enough for you to use it. If you still managed to smack into somebody, you're a fucking dumbass."

"A-Train has been reprimanded and he has publicly apologized for the incident." Edgar piped in, hoping to stem an argument from breaking out. "But perhaps you can teach him focus for future missions."

"We'll see."

"So, do any of you have any words for John to hear?" Edgar asks, addressing all of them.

Homelander is the first one to respond, standing to his feet and giving me a friendly smile as he moves around the table. "I'm glad to see a new face joining us, and I hope you enjoy your time here."

I give him a small smile. "Thanks." I say. I can hear a scoff escape from Maeve, for whatever reason, I don't know, but I ignore it as Homelander offers his hand.

"Good to have you."

"Glad to be here." I say as I shake his hand.

It doesn't seem so bad.

Maggie

A kid, a fucking kid, are you fucking kidding me?!

Starlight's one thing, but Edgar seriously has the gall to bring a kid into this shit?!

No kid deserves that kind of punishment! I don't care if he's supposed to be the fucking Juggernaut, this place is going to ruin him.

Meeting's been over for a while now, and I figured it best to blow of some steam with my sparring partners/fuck buddies.

I could've probably used a good dicking too, but as pissed as I am, it might end in one hell of a PR disaster. I already sent one of my partners to the infirmary earlier.

I could take it up to Stillwell, but it's clear that she's not the one who made the decision, and no matter what his position is, I've never been afraid Edgar.

So I don't exactly hesitate when I throw open the stupid glass door to his office and march inside.

"Ah, Maeve." He says as he looks up at me, that irritatingly calm and collected expression on his face. "What can I do for you?"

"Cut the shit." I snap as I march right up to his desk, nearly cracking the wood when I slam my hands down onto it. "I get that we need some new members, but why the fuck did you pick goddamn kid?!"

To my frustration, Edgar's face doesn't so much as twitch, and he responds in a cool tone. "We deemed him as one of the best candidates. He's strong, stronger than you, and unlike Homelander, he was raised normally."

"So you decided it would be a good idea to corrupt him?" There's a very clear amount of venom in my voice as I say it. "We don't need a Homelander Jr. running around! Not to mention that the kid has done nothing to deserve this!"

"Though young, John Gallagher is probably one of the best superheroes I've ever seen." Edgar responds without a second thought, level eyes fixed on me. "And I mean that. With him, it's not about fame, and though he says he only accepted because of the paycheck, he was just fine refusing our offer since, according to both him and his grandfather, he is getting nothing he didn't already have before."

"Oh no, he is." I sneer at him. "A team full of sick fucks who think they can do whatever they want."

Finally, Edgar's eyes narrow.

"You believe he'll become as disillusioned as you do." Of course he'd figure it out immediately. "Why? Because of Homelander?"

"No, because of fucking Black Noir. Of course Homelander!"

Silence befalls the office as we stare at each other.

And then this son of a bitch has the gal to smirk.

"The Juggernaut wasn't picked purely because of his… let's say idealism. He's not a simply a monetary investment." He finally says, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Bullshit." I respond as he finally stand up, putting a hand on my hip. "That's the only reason anyone makes it into The Seven. Fucking Black Noir, A-Train… even Homelander was made just for money."

"Indeed." He doesn't even deny my claims. "However, we've never had superheroes come out quite like The Juggernaut."

I watch as he opens up a drawer and pulls out a tablet, swiping away at it as I watch him with apprehension.

What the hell does he mean by we've never had superheroes like The Juggernaut? The fucking kid's basically a stronger version of me! Only difference is his healing and… y'know, I'm a thirty-six year old woman.

What makes him so special?

"When John's powers first manifested, various tests were taken. Not only is stronger than you, but he's tougher and faster too." Edgar's basically listing off shit that we already knew. "And while my remark about discipline was correct, we chose him as more of a… failsafe, let's say."

Now I'm confused, and I don't exactly try to hide it. "Failsafe? What the fuck would he be a failsafe for? The only thing we need a fucking failsafe for is-"

I stop as my eyes go wide. Realization dawns on me.

"Watch this." Edgar says, suddenly turning the tablet towards me.

It doesn't take me long to realize what I'm watching. There's an old beaten up tank on the screen, and next to it is a figure, eying it up with a gaze I'm guessing is one of study, but the somewhat grainy quality makes it difficult to see the face.

The outfit is recognizable, though.

"So, I just have to pick up this thing?" The kid's voice comes through the video, warbled and distorted slightly, but it's him alright.

"Yes." Another voice comes through, though I don't recognize it. "This is about the only way to test the strength of our members is through tests like these."

He has to lift a tank? I mean, I guess that makes sense. There's not exactly shit like the movies that can be used to test a supe's strength.

John continues eyeing the thing for a moment, before he moves to test its weight with one hand.

And then he lifts the whole damn tank with one hand.

At first, I can't help but to raise an eyebrow. That's not that impressive. Homelander can do that if he strains himself, but what does that-?

"This isn't the final test, is it?" The kid's voice suddenly speaks up on the video. "Damn thing is light as a feather."

Now, I can't help but to widen my eyes.

I broke my arm catching a bus full of kids, and Homelander has to ever so slightly strain himself to lift anything a regular tank. This kid is holding a tank above his head like it's nothing.

"Just for reference, that's a Panzer VIII Maus, the heaviest tank ever built." Edgar speaks up as he pulls the tablet away and stops the video, putting it back into the drawer. "Homelander had to strain himself at that age to life an M1 Abrams, and this kid did something heavier with ease."

"So, what, this kid is supposed to be a Homelander countermeasure?" I say as I look at him with a raised eyebrow.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, we need a way to bring down Homelander, but on the other hand…

"Still, a kid?" I don't care how powerful the kid might be, he's still a kid, and I'm not comfortable using him as a weapon.

"Do you propose a better idea?" Edgar asks with a raised eyebrow.

As much as I hate to admit it, and fucking god do I hate to admit it, Edgar has me there. This is the first supe I've ever heard of who could possibly go toe to toe with Homelander.

And… I don't think I want a kid to be corrupted like everyone else was.

I will not stand for it.

"I'm going to be watching him." It's not a request, and Edgar knows it. I've been under Homelander's thumb long enough, but I don't care if this kid can go toe to toe with him, I will not let Homelander hurt him.

"That's fine." Edgar says with a nod. "He seems to have struck up a friendship with Starlight as well, so perhaps you two have something to bond over, now."

Starlight's too much like me when I first started, but if she cares for the kid…

Well, that we agree on.

A/N: And that's the chapter. A little shorter than the first one, but I can assure you the next chapter will make up for it. Hopefully.

I know Maeve is rather callous, especially at the start of the series, but John is only sixteen, and his youth is definitely going to show, whether he's a tall kid or not. And I do not see Maeve as the kind of person to ever let people take advantage of a kid, teenager or child.

Also, no surprise, John already doesn't like A-Train.

Anyway, that's all for this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one.