A/N: TW for assault!
… this chapter is mainly exposition, sorry about that lmao. Also sorry for the insane amount of time since the last update, I'm trying to get back into this fic!
"V… villains?!" Starlight shrieked. "Are you holding me hostage?" Her eyes glowed. "I'll kill you myself before Vought hunts you down."
The scarred man stepped forward. "There's no need for that, Starlight. We just want to talk."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Starlight demanded.
"We're going to tell you the truth about Vought," he said.
"The truth…?" Starlight asked.
"I think we'd better introduce ourselves first," the scarred man replied, spreading his hands. Despite the scowl on his lips, that wicked scar of his gave off a hidden smile. There was something familiar about it…
"Hii!" the girl with pigtails waved. "I'm Rachel Sinclair!"
The way she bounced around made her seem like a little kid - but there was something dangerous behind her grin, something that made Starlight shiver.
"I'm Vector," said the man in a gas mask, "and this is John Nash." He pointed to the huge man, who had a striking resemblance to Frankenstein's monster.
"And I'm Engen," the scarred man said. "We are the Nameless."
Starlight looked closer. His long cloak, his cold eyes, his curved scar across his face… the knowledge hit her like a truck.
"You're the Smiling Man," Starlight realised.
Engen nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't notice before."
"But…" Starlight swallowed. "I thought you were…"
"Hiding," Engen shrugged, "but not gone."
Starlight's eyes flickered. The villains tensed up.
"There's no need for that," Engen raised his hands. "We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk."
"But what about the test?" Rachel asked.
"We won't worry about that now," Engen replied. "It's best not to push it like this."
Starlight tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't worry about it," Engen replied. "I'm sure you have a lot more important questions in the meantime."
Well, he wasn't wrong about that. Starlight clenched her fists.
"What's this so called truth about Vought?" she asked, slowly.
Engen turned away. "The truth is… there isn't much difference between heroes and villains. Casualties and crimes on both sides. Good and evil. The only real difference is, ultimately, heroes have the common goal of taking down villains."
Starlight clenched her fists. Was it really true? She shook her head.
"But what about Vought?" she asked.
"Vought is one of the main organisations under the hero clan," Engen replied, "so they're the ones that order most of the massacres. Massacres that don't always kill just villains. Massacres that they cover up. They're the ones that provide guaranteed financial support and popularity for heroes, but that comes with horrible consequences."
Starlight swallowed, thickly. She felt like she should be more surprised, shocked, even… but her chest felt tight. And cold. Considering what had happened on her very first day at Vought…
"And that's not all," Engen continued. "Have you ever heard of Compund V?"
Starlight shook her head.
"Not everyone is born with a gift," Engen said. "Sometimes, a gift… is given. Created artificially."
Starlight narrowed her eyes. "Artificially?"
"That's what Compund V is," Vector jumped in. "It's a chemical that gives normies a gift."
"It was created by the founder of Vought," Engen said, "so most heroes that work under Vought got their gifts from Compund V. Heroes that get their contracts signed as babies."
Starlight went pale.
Her voice trembled. "W… wait, are you saying…"
"Yep!" Rachel jumped in. "You were born a normie! Your powers are fake!" She clapped her hands together. "All along, you were Vought's property. They were just waiting to take back what was theirs!"
Starlight backed up against the wall. "This isn't real. You guys are villains - you're tricking me! You… you think you can fucking-"
"Was Vought totally honest with you?" Engen asked.
Starlight stepped back.
"You're a thing to them," Engen said.
"How do I know you guys are any better than them?!" Starlight demanded.
"I suppose that's up to you to decide," Engen replied. "That's the main difference between us and the heroes. They lie, they smile for the cameras, they act like they can do no wrong. They've been fooling you from the very start. But we don't. We're giving you the choice to see what we really are. Villains have no shame."
"You kill people," Starlight stammered.
"So do heroes," Engen replied. "Not every hero is a detestable asshole, but they're a good apple in a rotten orchard. We kill for our own survival. They kill for fun."
Starlight didn't know how to feel about all this. Perhaps these villains were telling the truth. And Vought hadn't given her a great start, nor had all their actions been great moves…
On the other hand, she wasn't sure she could totally trust the villains either.
"Vought's main concern is making money," Engen admitted. "With more money, the more weapons they can build, the more heroes they can hire, the closer they get to winning the war. But if we win the war instead, we can put a stop to them. If the Nameless comes out on top, it might be our best shot at world peace." He paused. "One way or another, the devastation will finally be over. It just depends whether it's a good ending or not."
"No way," Starlight breathed, more out of disbelief than anything. "How do I know you're not lying?"
"We have proof," Engen replied, "but as I said, it's still your decision to make. You can stay with Vought, if that's what you really want."
Starlight cursed. She stared over all the members once more. Rachel was still smiling at her. John Nash was staring back, although he was sweating nervously. Vector gave her an awkward wave.
"All I've ever wanted to do is help people," Starlight admitted. "I don't want to get involved in a fucking war."
"Me neither," Vector admitted, "but we don't have a lot of choice."
"Are you all here to stop this war, then?" Starlight asked.
"Not all of us," Engen replied. "We all have our own reasons."
Starlight swallowed, thickly. She paced around, her eyes glowing, dangerously.
"Don't waste your EST," Engen advised.
He was close to her now. Not enough to be in her personal space, but enough that she felt her skin crawling. She'd had enough of men getting way too close to her. Her eyes glowed, brighter.
"If it comes to defending myself," she warned, "that's no waste."
Engen smirked, just a bit. "I guess not."
He backed off.
"So, what do you want to do, Starlight?" he asked. "Vought will be tracking you. You can return to them if you wish, or… you can join us."
Starlight sighed. She checked her phone. She was getting distress calls from the dock, the damn place she was supposed to be visiting with The Deep. That damn manager of hers was would not leave her alone.
"What will you do if I tell Vought about you?" she asked.
"Those funny guys?" Rachel giggled. "Oh, we're not worried about them!"
Her cheerfulness was making Starlight more and more uncomfortable.
"We can deal with Vought," Vector agreed, whereas Josh Nash simply grunted.
"Think about what we said," Engen told Starlight. "You'll know how to find us."
Starlight blinked. "Wait, how-"
"YAHHH!" Rachel yelled, flying towards her.
And everything was dark again.
Starlight was half-convinced she'd been dreaming. She was back by the dock. The Deep was still there, although he looked pretty out of it. The sky was lighter, but it was barely dawn.
What the hell had just happened? Were those people real? Her head was swimming, the thoughts of the war, the trauma, the hero clan vs the Nameless…
"Starlight?" the Deep asked.
Not every hero is a detestable asshole, but they're a good apple in a rotten orchard.
Starlight ignored him. She perked up, hearing the screams of a girl. She was near the warehouse, her screams echoing. Starlight ran, her cape flowing in the wind.
No… stop it… let me go…
The men were circling the girl, holding her, pulling at her.
Starlight saw red. She would not let this happen again. She made eye contact with the girl; the poor thing's eyes were so wide, wide with fear.
"Close your eyes!" she told the girl.
Then all hell broke loose; a roar of deadly light. The men screamed, covering their faces. Their eyes were burned to nothing.
"Are you okay?" Starlight ran over to the girl.
The girl swallowed, nodding. She was looking ahead. Starlight caught her glance.
Shit. One of the guys was filming her. Well, that wasn't a big deal, right? Heroes got filmed all the time. They basically owned social media.
Surely, she would not get in trouble for this…
Surprise surprise, she got in trouble. Vought was not so impressed.
"Starlight…" an executive muttered, watching the video. "What have you done."
She would not be getting a kind phone call.
Plus, they weren't the only ones paying attention…
The Nameless gathered around the phone. Engen tilted his head, smiling.
"Just as I said," he declared, "she's perfect."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Hopefully next chapter won't take so long lol!