Doomsday Clock Strikes to 10
Part 1
BWROUUUUSHHH!
His body broke through a dozen or so walls as the impact despite neutered still reverberated across his nearly invulnerable and impenetrable skin. The sensation of pain did not come from being catapulted across multiple walls, however, rather it was from something that Translucent was in still complete shock about.
"F-Fuck." Groaning as he tried sitting up, the Vought hero placed a hand on his chest. The metamaterial, being as hard as diamond and completely made him invulnerable to any sort of harm had a visible scratch or 'bruise' on it when he reverted it back to normal skin. The area slowly became darker in terms of color as his breath was still recovering from being knocked back that far.
His mind was unable to perceive or even understand how this all happened.
Given that-
CRACK!
His eyes widened as a red glow emanated before him. The hole where he was blown out of cast an eerie sheen of smoke that the silhouette emerging from the shadows gave off a very… sinister appearance. It looked bigger than it actually was as Translucent heard the faint sound of muted radio chatter muffled by a helmet.
Each step was relatively light but the looming presence made it feel as if he could hear his own heartbeat. Translucent stared as the darkness parted a bit. The shadow that was covering the invisible hero made his world dip into fear as the fully armored figure was now just a step away.
"You are trespassing on the premises of Olympia and have destroyed private property." An electronic-warbled voice said, coming from the helmet as Translucent frowned. Some of his bravado returned as he pushed himself up and raised his fist as he roared in defiance.
BWANG!
His fist was stopped dead-on by a gauntleted hand as he looked on in shock. The material holding firm despite his experience in regularly bending steel. Translucent looked up and before he could even gulp in fear a fist met his cheek.
THOOM!
A small mini-shockwave cracked in the air as even through his metamaterial skin, a cut was opened and he became dizzy.
"ACK!" the gauntleted arm then grabbed him by the neck and lifted him a good height into the air before he was slammed down into the ground. The cement cracked horribly in a loud heavy crash.
THRUM!
Spider-webbed cracks that remained after such a powerful impact crisscrossed around his body as the hero felt some bones break under his hardened skin. The figure, clad in a militarized but ornate Greco-Roman armor, complete with an emotionless faceplate that only deepened the sinister image it created as the eyepieces glowed red.
Translucent started to question why he even took this job in the first place. Given the tensions, escalations, and frankly the sudden loss of a majority of public goodwill, he never anticipated that he of all people was forced to undergo a stealth mission. The kind that had him on the heels of the most dangerous group in the world.
"You will be taken in." the warbled electronic voice said as he was picked up by the neck.
Translucent, in his panic, placed both his hands on the gauntleted arm and tried to pry it off. The amount of firm strength shocked him given that nobody had that amount of punch to damage him in any fashion except Homelander or any of Olympia's known super-powerful Supes. This person on the other hand?
It terrified him to a certain extent because-
TRZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
A device sparked with arcs of electricity as another similarly armored figure stepped out of the hole he was blasted out of earlier. The electronic warble of distorted voices hidden inside their helmets continued as Translucent quickly realized that they were conversing with each other in a disclosed, hidden channel.
The other armored figure closed in with its baton and shifted into its electric staff mode until adrenaline coursed through Translucent's system. He firmly held the gauntleted arm holding him up as he screamed.
"ARRRRRGHHHH!" he folded both his legs and delivered a powerful kick that forced the armored figure back, but not by much.
BWANG!
The armor, slightly dented where the Vought hero kicked still held as Translucent landed back on his feet and slammed his body into the armored figure, forcing him back to also hit the one holding the baton behind him, only for that person to swerve with such insane precision to the side that the hero was then hit into the face with the baton.
BRACKZSHHH!
Spit and blood were ejected from his lips as he began to turn lightheaded. Yet Translucent persisted, even in his dazed state, he instinctively reached out for the baton even as energy and electricity coursed through his body.
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHH!" he screamed as he kept himself standing. He roared in anger and even though he was considered to be one of the most pompous and 'weakest' of the Seven, one thing nobody knew was that he was their most dura-
"Increasing Voltage." The electronically warbled voice of the figure holding the baton said as more electricity forced Translucent to let go of the device but the feedback exploded on his face.
BRWOOM!
His head was fried, and his nerves at least those near its endings were mostly damaged at this point, yet his metamaterial still held despite all the dents. The spirit of Translucent remained, however. His anger, his arrogance channeled in a way that allowed his adrenaline to still flow but he was at his wit's end.
A cornered animal that was desperate to fight back.
Especially when he knew what would come should he fail.
Heaving his breath, Translucent heard the surprisingly light but audible footsteps of the two armored men walking toward him. If he was cognizant he would be asking how these men were giving him a horribly difficult fight.
Was it their armor?
Was it their actual strength?
If it was, then what was Olympia planning? Why were these men, faceless guards as strong as a powerful enough Supe? What was this new facility supposed to be? Given that it was a recently constructed site, not something that anybody would expect to have formidable guards with.
Regardless, Translucent had to escape. Not because of the fear of what would happen should he be captured, but to let Vought know of what was happening. He raises his head, a trickle of blood breaking his already blurry shifting form as he grits his teeth.
The two armored figures stepped over him. Electric batons were ready as they crackled in electricity. Their faceless helmets looked down at him as if he was insignificant…
As if he did not matter at all.
He stomped his fist into the ground, cracking it slightly.
He was Translucent damn it! One of the Seven… One of the-
BRACCKKSSHHH!
A powerful, almost splittingly fast strike into the side of his face hit him without any chance of him to react. It was nowhere near A-Train's speed or that of Hoemlander's but it was fast enough that his mind blanked out, not being able to instinctively react to the attack.
Then before he could raise his arms again, weakly…
BRACKSHHHHHH!
The other baton struck him below his jaw. Locking his skull in a powerful fashion as his entire brain shook inside its prison. Most of his teeth were forced out and before he could be forced away by the force of said attacks, one of the armored men grabbed his hair, and their knee met Translucent's face.
BRWYKSHHH!
His nose was now lost as the two armored figures let him fall to the ground.
Most of his strength sapped from his bad as his consciousness slowly lost all its focus. His breathing became strained with his mouth and his damaged nose produced wheezing sounds. The kind close to that of a dying man but due to his superhuman nature, that transition to death would be a lot slower… and painful.
"Subject has been subdued." The warbled voice said.
Translucent found his vision darken…
His will to continue sapping away.
"Preparing for transport." The warbled voice said as they were about to grab him.
The last thing he remembered was the faint sound of a woman entering the room, with an authoritative voice.
…
Translucent heaves a heavy breath. It was as if he was resuscitated after briefly drowning. Oxygen quickly returned to his veins and lungs as he became confused and wholly stricken to the point that his heart was wildly in panic. Discord was present in his head as light, sensation, and the suddenness of it all overwhelmed him.
It was like having a small seizure.
Only for it to stop all at once as if being hit by a freight train.
His body suddenly went stiff and cognizant though returned to Translucent.
"W-What… what the hell was that?!"
His voice was rigid and shocked as he looked at the room, he was in. Everything was white. Sterile. Immaculately stylized in a way that was so, so blank that it garnered a feeling of unease in Translucent. Not even the worst of Vought's laboratories looked this unnerving, more so when his memories returned to him as to how he was knocked out and two statue-like armored beings stood at both ends of the room. Blankly staring at him with their faceplates like disturbing, analog quality that reminded him of statues in Churches in the dark.
He then started to realize that his entire body was bound.
An invisible barrier or something was keeping him from moving as Translucent heaved, trying to break the bond, only to come up with nothing.
The stillness, the absolute sterile and blank state of the room made him slowly panic.
With each tick of the seconds passing by, his anxiety was building up.
His patience while longer compared to his comrades, was quickly being used up.
Fear relevant than ever…
SHHHIUP…
Until the door of the blank and sterile room slid open and the atmosphere in the room changed.
Steps began to echo as the figure that entered walked to him with a gait and presence that made his entire body freeze and an unmitigated chill rose up his spine. Even his heart slowed down as if feeling that tension and atmosphere seep into his mortal form.
The steps stopped just barely even a meter away from him.
The figure towered over him slightly, yet their shadow loomed with such intensity and intimidation that Translucent felt horrifically small. Like a rat against a large predatory Felidae.
He felt himself gulp as those searing, completely red eyes seemingly burned his soul just from sharing a gaze.
It was… haunting in the worst kind of way.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…" the man moaned as if exhaling audibly.
Even his voice, heavy, thick with sheer intent made his heart congest in pain.
It was like his very voice reverberated and echoed hard into his inner organs.
"Pretender… foolish spy of the damned." He iterated with such venom that Translucent felt the heat. As if the intensity and rage in that simple, boiled sentence seemingly gripped his soul.
It did not help that with the tattered cape, the aged golden Roman Curiass that spoke authority and terror. The muscled form implied underneath what armor the man wore gave the visage of a man who held the world on their shoulders.
With dark tan skin and those fearsome eyes, Translucent was in the presence…
"AAaaaaaargghhhh…"
…of a monster.
If Homelander was a predatory bird of prey facing down mice in his wake, then this man was a Tiger facing down an entire ecosystem under its claws.
"Thy kind are all of a piece. Wretches, scum below that of court jesters, even…"
The monster leaned in as Trasnlucent felt his head press against the surface that he was chained to.
"Thou are not men. For thine mettle was naught but lies."
Strangely, as soon as he said those intense words, the monstrous man pulled back and started walking away from him. His tattered cape draped behind him like a cursed flag while Translucent suddenly heard a series of clicks.
KLK…
The invisible barriers keeping him from moving, ultimately chaining him on the spot were no longer felt. He freely found himself sitting up from his position as he looked at the futuristic-looking slab that was his prison earlier.
Looking confused, his answers were given to him eventually when the monstrous-looking man grunted. His back faced him as Translucent heard him breathe in a manner that sent chills down his wake.
"Do you understand… boy... what comes for you? The future of your very soul?"
"I… I don't know-
Before he could even finish the sentence, the man turned to him. Eyes filled with judgment, with pity as well as avid disgust. Such raw emotions were clear to the naked eye as Translucent felt the madness radiating out of him as if he were an avatar of wrath.
"Prove to me that thou are a man, and… perhaps salvation awaits." He succinctly expressed with his crimson eyes as Translucent shivered.
"What the fuck do you mean?" he asked, both in a confused but questioning manner. Most of his pride may be gone, but despite all the fear, he was still the same person deep inside.
"I need not repeat myself. Lest I show you the way to Tartarus."
The archaic way in which he spoke made him blink but he understood what the man was saying after thinking about it for a few seconds. However, the uncertainty of it all made him pause…
"Move, or I shall." The monstrous man threatened.
It was not arrogance nor humiliation that motivated him to move.
BRWOF!
It was desperation and fear.
The monstrous man did not so much as move an inch from his punch as he stood like an impregnable wall against a pitiful attack. Translucent was shaking. Sweat started to pour out of his pores as frustration started to build up.
BRWOF!
Frustration grew.
BRWOF! BRWOF! BRWOF!
The wall barely moved. He felt angry. Horribly incessant as the entire ordeal awakened a psychological realization that his mind always tried to banish away.
BRWOF! BRWUSH! BRWUSH!
His fists hit harder. The wall still did not move as he felt pain gripping his fists.
All his life he was compensating for his flaws.
BRWUSH! BRWUSH! BRWUSH! BRWUSH!
All his life he was insecure, afraid of being irrelevant again. Of being… nobody. His arrogance, his ego, his ultimate personality that he exuded with such fervor upon the masses was a façade. A strong, dutiful mask to alleviate the feelings of inadequacy that riddled his mind since childhood.
Echoes of people laughed as he stood in the grass, wetting himself nude as a boy at the age of ten. A much larger man, ridiculing his pathetic waste of ability, even calling him homosexual due to his inadequacy in terms of his "size".
Horrible things, blending together across time…
Even after he became Translucent.
Homelander's ironic laugh at his 'fame'.
Some very vocal talk show hosts, asking his 'relevancy'.
It all ate at him severely to the very end.
BRWUSH!
"AAAAAAAAAAGGHHH" he screamed. The anger that was coursing through his veins receded back by a quantity. Yet the wall still remained. That shame, that unresolved inadequacy…
The literal mental and physical block held.
The man before him being the amalgamation of all his insecurities and flaws.
Translucent slowly tilted his head up, tears in his eyes.
"Feeble." The man simply said.
Broken tears.
The world figuratively slowed down in his perspective as the monstrous man raised his fist, before delivering a powerful punch into his gut.
BRWOOOOUUUUUUSHHHLLL!
The metamaterial that consolidated his skin shattered. The integrity of such biological armor broke apart as the fist went through muscle, bone, and organ. The power behind the attack was heard and it echoed across the sterile room.
TLP… TLIP…
"Eugghhckkkh…" Blood, bile, and saliva climbed up into his mouth as they dripped from its confines. His innards spilled slowly before gravity gave way for it to fall as the man receded their fist. Crimson eyes peering down at him in disdain and disappointment.
Much like everybody else in his life when he was… powerless.
His body slowly became cold as he felt his legs lose all their strength and eventually he was draped on the white floor, pooling in his own blood. Powerless and inadequate as he always felt.
Yet even as the darkness grew around his vision, Translucent understood that they were never going to let him die. Even if he closed his eyes, he would wake again.
…And perhaps he would be forced to endure this humiliation…
"Caligula dear, I think you went overboard…" a female voice echoed.
…Until what made Translucent the man he was, disappeared much like his own pride.
"Though yes, the master has need of him and we will be sure to get the information we need."
Translucent closed his eyes as the blurry image of a young girl with violet hair and eyes looked at him with some level of concern or pity…
…but not the kind that made him feel at ease…
"Ugh." Annie groaned as she heard the sound of her phone's alarm blaring.
Shifting in her bed, she slowly turned the ringing off as she reached for her phone and sighed. Her eyes were still a tad bit blurry while she looked at the white, sterile ceiling. Her hair, spread across the pillow as she lifted her blanket off and sat up.
The only light in the darkened room was the lamp close to her bed.
Placing her foot on the floor, she reached for the button on the nightstand, and instantly all the lights in the room, or those programmed by her personally lit up. Slowly, the blinds on her windows were peeled back, and she was now privy to seeing the gorgeous sight of the green fields of the Olympia special facility that she was in.
The sudden deluge of overwhelming high-tech facilities was still something Annie was not used to but given how she was basically given free reign into a state-of-the-art apartment that was leaps and bounds better than everything she had ever seen before. This freedom allowed her to design the room as she saw fit as well, to the point that she was able to move most of her personal stuff from home into this place, knowing that after she came out of the honorary program Olympia started, it might be a place she would call home for a good amount of time.
Best of all, she would come out of it under Olympia's blessing and banner and she was never prouder than anything in her life, knowing the good they made.
Of course, she had complex thoughts on the subject given the actions that she knew of in Olympia's roster, but none of them so far had shown her that they were more than what their actions spoke of for themselves. They were honest. Brutally honest.
The kind that did not waste themselves on telling lies but instead did what their intentions were and those intentions, whether through sheer force or care were to be heroes.
They were extreme, in a very thoughtful but scary way but Annie trusted them.
Because they were believably genuine.
Standing up she heard some bones crack and move as she groaned in discomfort.
"Ugh." She said as she scratched her back, heading to her mini kitchen to prepare for the day and eventually take a shower a few moments later. Most of her stuff, those in her room at least back home with her mom, was shipped here rather quickly. Well, quick was an understatement given how Olympia hopped around the world at speeds that made people on the internet speculate so hard.
She was not privy to share that information of course as she read the contract, the terms, and many other conditions as she negotiated her stay there. Strangely enough, Olympia's lawyers while firm, were never overbearing, especially when she personally met their director in the conclusion of it. The end of such a deal surprised her so much when he congratulated her for being the first in their planned 'academy' of sorts and that day ended with them being on very good terms despite her initial impression of the man being aristocratic with his accent and demeanor.
No, he was very down to Earth, in the best kind.
This whole opportunity was truly a godsend to her, even better than getting on the Seven, who nowadays was not doing too well.
Well, anything Vought-related nowadays was not doing too well with how Olympia ramped up their projects and advances left and right. As well as their heroes being more relevant than ever across the Globe.
It just left the Superhero-borne, Pharmaceutical business very far behind.
It broke her perception of most of their heroes once she kept observing and comparing the two companies. It was night and day. Even Homelander did not look too promising on the surface especially even when he was the only one substantially making any effort for their part.
"Damn." She cursed as she felt her back ache again as she showered.
As good as this opportunity was, the effort and pain attached to it was considerable.
Olympia's trainer, Mr. Chiron… or one of the many Archers in Olympia's roster was a very nice man but he was immensely hard at being a teacher. Admittedly, the first task when she started in this place after her status was accepted, was horribly difficult to the point that she never felt so much pain in her life before and that was saying something given she was a Supe… or as Olympia called it, Enhanced.
The man was a genuine, good person but his tactics in 'teaching' were both very unusual and borderline impossible to first-timers and before he could even place you into any sort of serious training amongst the rest, he all gave them very specific assignments that were designed to test them to the very brink before he could lump them with the proper class designation.
Class designation, meaning the 'troop' or the 'echelon' that they would be stationed in.
Or in layman's terms, a specialized name with the training they would be given that would take full advantage of their strengths and minimize weaknesses to an extent.
"Ah."
Exiting the shower which was gorgeously in tune with her preferences (pre-programmed by the way), she found some comfort as some of the aches in her body and the visible bruises were at the very least a bit less painful compared to when she hit the hay the night before.
A bit of preparation later and she was now standing in front of the mirror. Wearing a pair of clothes that were functional for all the training she would undergo. She smiled to the reflection as even with all the effort she never felt so productive and excited in her life.
She was also, very comfortable in her own skin again.
Happy that she was no longer a PR tool that others with ranks used her as.
Happy that she was one step further into actually doing good after being lost in her way nearly three weeks ago. Which considering everything that happened… was a lot.
She exited her apartment with a click as the automated door opened. Eyes forward and with a smile, Annie hurried along the corridor where some of her co-trainees were getting up to head for breakfast.
It was a good day.
…
"Still haven't gotten your chance yet?" Marie asked as Annie looked at her.
"No… Chiron's 'test' for me is something I haven't gotten a crack at yet. I was… close I guess in one instance last week but I've never gotten back there again since."
"Damn… not that I'm judging of course, but I can't help but feel that your 'test' is a lot harder than mine. Though, I can't say I would want us to trade places in that department."
Annie smiled. The honorary Inaugural Class, unofficially termed, was a very small group of people that she was part of. Coming from different backgrounds and such, people close to her age or sometimes even younger were given the chance for this experiment, to see it as a better alternative than what Vought had with their own infamous University.
The admission was not streamlined at first, given that Olympia had not yet publicly revealed the existence of such a facility and program, but the plans attached to such a project yielded that this would expand into something that would both champion the brightest 'Enhanced' individuals into the future with the proper guidance and thought with their abilities and mental states.
It was very obvious that the Inaugural Class was diverse in terms of the individuals involved both mentally and physically speaking. Many of them were what society would consider 'pathetic' or virtually unpopular given the abilities they had if they were forced into something that the general public would view just on the surface…
Mixed in were a few willing candidates like herself who were fairly popular in their own zones and states, but the majority were people that Olympia allegedly viewed as having 'potential'. Potential that went beyond just what became of marketing or acceptability for the modern audience in pop culture or media, but something that actually mattered in the grand scheme of things…
"Annie… do you still feel as if this was just a dream?" Marie asked.
…regardless of the many backgrounds that her comrades had. Marie in particular had a rather troubling past and she came in with a very cynical and defeatist attitude. She was friendly, sure, but their first interaction was wrought with so much baggage that Annie thought they would not get along. Yet, she began to subtly change as the days went by.
She became happier.
Sturdier…
And above all else, much more secure than her unbalanced self once was.
It was not fixed wholesale yet per se. A good degree of the baggage still lingered but Annie could see that she was improving. She smiled a lot more. She found hope in the best of sense with her stay to the point that the most unlikely person Annie thought she would be friends with became one of her most treasured friends.
Her stare when she asked her if she felt like this was still a dream said a lot. The bundle of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety not wishing for this place, a place that guided her out of her darkness to be something that was just a lie.
Annie placed a hand on top of hers. Marie recoiled but relaxed with the kind gesture.
"I do Marie… but I assure you it's real." She told her.
Marie tried holding back her tears as she opened her palm. A small device was attached in the center of it as she willed it to open. A controlled rush of blood came out, yet the process became smooth as Marie shaped it into a majestic-looking orb that resembled Earth with enough details that some might as well call it art.
It was a far cry from her control the moment she arrived at the place. It was erratic and dare Annie say it, chaotically abstract. Now, it was a magnificent, if morbid display of power that no longer forced her to cut her own skin or even display the same amount of finite control that she once had.
The applications of how she used said power was also amplified as Marie shifted the Globe into a flower. Her control of the compounds within the biological fluid went so far that she was able to somehow change the color of it into a lighter shade of red.
"Mom and Dad would have loved to see this. To see me. My s-sister too."
Annie placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I'm sure they're happy with you, Marie. Wherever they are. Your sister too, I'm sure she'll come around…"
Marie sniffed, wiping her wet eyes.
"I'd like to believe that Annie… I really do. I have… so much to thank for. You, our friends. Our teachers. Specifically, Mr. Chiron, and even Miss Medea for giving me this opportunity. I don't know where I would have gone to or changed into if I was somewhere else."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. With your drive, I believe you would have been a great hero, regardless." Annie said as she felt her friend smile.
"Thanks."
They continued their breakfast as they watched the cafeteria fill up. Their instructors outside of Chiron would usually join them, making the start of the day merry as usual but they were not present yet, much to her slight confusion. Perhaps they were busy today and were to join later.
A minute later a group of Hoplite trainees entered the cafeteria.
Men and women of professional backgrounds with training that Annie heard to be spectacularly difficult but also rewarding arrived. Marie and Annie saw them and their disciplined training regiments a lot of times during their stay…
"Morning Ma'am." They all said as they passed them both.
…and it was still strange that they held a rank above these people. When it should be the opposite. Yet, Chiron and Odysseus insisted that their rank and file was to be the bulk of the newly refurbished task force Olympia would field in the future and they, the Enhanced would lead them as an example amongst the other Olympia heroes in the roster.
Annie ruminated on those thoughts as she looked at those men and women talking amongst themselves like friends as Marie poked her arm.
"Hey… you never told me how you met Lancer, or… Caenis by the way? Seemed like an awesome story, I only heard rumors about it, but it must have been something right?"
"Oh… it was truly something, but I'm sure you'll get the chance to meet her."
"I hope so, not that I'm complaining, but having Ms. Medea oversee most of my training along with that Big Guy that I assume is her husband is kinda weird sometimes. The occasional presence of Hughie and Chiron makes it worth it though."
"Sounds like somebody's got a crush?" Annie teased.
Marie shook her head as Annie giggled. "Nah, but he's very cute. You two would go well together actually. Sadly, he's taken."
"I don't have time for that Marie, you know that."
"Heh, sure… but I know you and your stupid posters of Rid-
Annie clamped her friend's laughing lips as they both snickered.
"By the way, have you heard about what's happening outside?" Annie asked.
"Only through the shit I've read on the internet, why?"
"I hope it doesn't get too bad. I respected a lot of Vought's heroes, even if some of them were revealed to be… far from what we initially thought, but I never wanted it to escalate this bad."
Marie hummed with a frown. "Wanna know what I think?"
"Yeah?"
"Fuck em. They deserve it anyway and their stupid PR programs. Olympia is different and it's nigh time everybody realizes that."
"I know…" Annie said yet some uncertainty lingered in her head.
Particularly what was in store for the future…
Ever since the "Gehenna Incident" as the media named it, things were never the same. At least for Vought. Olympia's reputation was still miles better and was still growing, but the question of the nature of most popular heroes' actual lives was put into harsh questioning…
Amidst the crowds of angry survivors of that night who had lost everything.
Annie just hoped that the people who actively did good would never suffer from it.
Given that the rumors she heard of the situation both politically and publicly were tense.
…
"Is everybody busy, sir?" Annie asked as her trainer, her mentor looked at a tablet.
The valiant hero Chiron who was the kindest yet firm person she had ever met in her life stood right next to her as they were now in the training ground. A large room designed by Olympia's top-tier engineers for the specialized scenarios their Inaugural Class was put in.
"Quite, Annie. Not so much that it's something you should worry about, but given the circumstances of my dear pupil's actions, I'm afraid the foreseen storm started very early compared to our predictions." The kindly mentor said with a smile.
Annie quickly recalled that this man was basically the reason why Olympia had a lot of powerful and remarkable heroes on their roster. The progenitor of their biggest names. The man who made it all happen and was basically a father to most of the people of this facility.
To Annie, he was the closest actual and real father figure she would ever get.
A thing that she was most proud of.
"You mustn't let such thoughts beguile you, however. Right now… the only thing that matters is finishing this step of the journey and we will be closer yet to your dream." He said with a bit of humor as Annie smiled. The man patted her shoulder as Annie placed a hand on his arm.
"Thank you. Really." She said as he nodded.
"Don't celebrate yet. Your labor is still unfinished but I am sure that once you triumph, you'll be something far grander than you ever imagined."
Annie giggled as Chiron gave her one more supportive smile as he hovered his finger on the tablet. "Ready?"
Annie took a deep breath as her eyes shined brightly for a bit.
"Ready."
The lights around her dimmed the moment she spouted those words. The only light source was the one above her, shining down on her light a spotlight in a theater as the rest was placed in pitch-black darkness.
Annie felt her powers, limited as they were at that moment condense as she thought about new strategies to circumvent this obstacle. She had failed so many times before yet Chiron and the rest believed in her.
She would get that successful victory soon.
HRRRRRRRRR….
She just knew it.
A plethora of glowing eyes appeared around her as Annie smiled in determination.
Ready to fight the metaphorical darkness that clouded her mind and soul.
Ready to fight and be the hero she wanted to be.
"Attempt Fifty-Six. Hopefully, it'll be the last." She said as she raised her glowing fists.
Waiting for the call of danger to finally arrive.
The call was still unanswered.
Elena's face was starting to become a chore to look at as Margaret Shaw, or Queen Maeve as she was known to the public was now losing all hope of Elena ever answering it.
"Fuck." She angrily cursed after taking her phone from her sorry excuse of a costume. She then began pacing around the room she was in, thoughts wildly inconsistent as she continued to smoke. The stick was already consumed to its limits as she flicked it away and tried to gather herself.
It had been a few weeks since the 'Gehenna Incident'.
A few weeks since the entirety of Vought was now circling down the drain as multiple allegations, protests (even the violent kinds), and revelations had stirred the public to condemn their individual brand as well as the Seven's.
Maeve, completely absent from any such issues due to her basically floundering with her own actions had just recently realized the cost and repercussions that this had on her and everybody else related to Vought.
It was… harrowing, to say the least. Most of her comrades were now riddled with problems as high as their own aforementioned Tower, and Homelander…
Homelander was…
John had not been the same since that night and even with her 'rousing' speech made a night before the Gala, he was still sane. Nowadays, she could barely see him, and when she did it was only through his obsessions that he still kept the façade up.
Despite knowing that the world's focus had shifted.
Elena's phone was still not picking up her ails as Margaret's slightly shaking hands shoved them back into her costume. She then took a deep breath as she tried to stop her hand from shaking. She was trying to be sober again given her very long track record lately…
Because when she continued to flounder with that attitude in mind, the world around her jus-
"Ma'am?" A voice cut her train of thought as she stared at the officer. A fairly handsome man with olive-colored skin and a red tinge in his hair. He and many others who just entered the evacuated convenience store were starting to stare at her as they handled their equipment.
"Sorry… I'll be out in the moment." She stated with a strained smile, but enough to fool the man to a degree of security while he nodded.
"Not that we don't appreciate the help ma'am, but you need to leave the premises, might tamper the evidence and such." The man sheepishly explained as she nodded back.
"I know the drill officer, I'm just um… thinking."
"Yeah. Thinking." The man muttered as they both stared at the three bodies, cold and dead on the floor right next to her. The convenience store was left in some degree of ruin to her antics as Margaret, not Queen Maeve heavily sighed.
"I'm sorry again." She said as she began walking away while the police stared at her.
Yet this was something she dreaded, the moment she stepped outside…
BWANG! A heavy enough object narrowly missed her head as she instinctively dodged to the side. The sunlight opened Margaret's eyes again to the world as she met face-first with a welcome that she was now far too expecting of these past few weeks.
"FRAUD! GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR TOWN!"
"PRETENDER! WE DON'T NEED YOU HERE!"
"MURDERERS!"
"FIENDS!"
"FUCK THE SEVEN!"
They kept screaming as soon as she came out appearing in front of them. They were a vocally loud group of protesters this time. It… was not as bad as her prior engagements given that a good majority of the crowd were just aiming their cameras and phones at her direction but the stares that she received just said it all.
Worse, those same stairs were also present on the first responders. They tried to hide it away but they couldn't. Margaret just saw through them as the angry, small but substantial picket line kept throwing things at her direction whilst the police tried to back them away along with the incessant media hounds.
Margaret at first, did not care about this when this whole deal first started, but each encounter gnawed at her. Each subsequent turn of events ate at her very being…
SPLAT!
An egg hit her face as the screams of the vocally loud group intensified.
The smudge of its contents dripped down her cheeks as Margaret stopped.
She tried to blur the voices away with her mind as she reached for her phone. She tried calling Elena again as the voices around her once more turned up to another level.
The ringtone kept going…
The dread within her heart increased as the tense repeats of the dial tone continued.
The voices seemingly broke the walls that she had flimsily propped up…
"Margaret?"
Until a voice from her phone pulled her right back.
She sighed securely in comfort as her weary shaking almost instantly disappeared.
"Elena?" Margaret asked, begging for this voice to be real.
"Yeah? W-Where are you? Why is it so loud? I had to go outside to not wake up Maya."
Her heart broke.
The mention of the name made her go still. Days prior when she tried to sober up, she called Elena and asked how she was doing and the very first thing she heard from the call was the voice of a little girl. It broke her even further when she knew "Maya" was Elena's child. She quickly ended the call before Elena could even explain…
But now, she was here again like an addict feeling an intense relapse back into the loop.
Yet she held onto the phone.
Happy to even hear Elena's voice.
"Margaret? Where are you? You're starting to worry me."
"I…
She just had no words.
Deep down a thousand things sprang up in her head.
Things to worry.
Things to say…
But she just didn't know how to let it out.
TO BE CONTINUED…
AN: Oh, sweet Margaret. Elena hasn't replaced you. She just adopted a kid, wishing to cope for the absence of your warmth. But eh, I believe she's worried about a lot of things.
Chief amongst them, is how Homelander is reacting to such a similar event.
As for Olympia.
There's a reason why they're mostly absent in this chap. Haha.
The Translucent Backstory was inspired mostly by how I think Garth Ennis would have explained why he is the way he is. So it is an original tidbit but based largely on the authorial intent that Garth had with his… admittedly deranged and caricature-like characters. Pulling out and reading comic Herogasm was a decision I regret. But context clues reveal a bit of the Seven there… and I'm very much NOT proud of saying that I researched that just for this small tidbit.
But hey… it's there. I'm fine with it now.
One more thing, Annie's training was inspired heavily by that episode of Samurai Jack, the one where he dueled the Robot Ninja as Daylight faded.
Just with more enemies.
Anyhow, Stay tuned for the next….