Saving Starlight Annie

After leaving Vought Tower, Lu Heng was in no rush to return to his apartment.

He flew above Brooklyn, hovering to take in the scenery.

A news notification popped up on his phone.

[Vought International Official Statement: Guardian officially joins the Vought system as a Special Consultant for Superhuman Threats, and will conduct high-level crime suppression operations independently of The Seven.]

Below the text was a professionally retouched photo—the one of him saving a mother and child at the fire scene.

He didn't know if that reporter had a shot at a Pulitzer, but Vought's PR department had certainly bought the photo to use first.

Talk about fucking efficient!

The comment section was polarized.

One side felt that Guardian had been co-opted by Vought, becoming just another lapdog for capital.

The other side believed that by joining Vought, Guardian would be able to truly spread his wings; after all, going rogue couldn't compare to being officially sanctioned.

The two sides were arguing incessantly, and regardless of whether they reached a conclusion, it certainly kept the topic trending.

Current Ability Points: 34,287 / 100,000

He was still over sixty thousand away from Lv.3.

Lu Heng opened his panel to check the list of key characters.

The key characters he had already encountered were marked with a checkmark: Hughie, Homelander, Maeve, A-Train, and Madelyn.

On the list of those yet to be encountered, one name was highlighted by the system.

[Annie January (Starlight) — Expected to join The Seven within three days]

[Key Event Warning: On the night she joins, The Deep will assault her.]

Lu Heng recalled the plot.

On the night Starlight joined the team, she was threatened by The Deep and forced to kneel in the locker room.

The young girl's starstruck rose-tinted glasses shattered completely that very night.

Now that he thought about it, the writers of The Boys probably had a deeper metaphor in mind with that plot point, didn't they?

Three days was a wait he could afford.

Following this, Lu Heng threw himself into the work arranged by Vought.

In his capacity as a Special Consultant, he handled two superhuman crime cases, both of which were powered by Vought's intelligence department.

Originally, Madelyn had Ashley arrange a script, but Lu Heng insisted on authenticity.

In the end, they had to grant him a special exception.

However, there was a silver lining: at least he didn't have to prepare for scripted shoots.

The final marketing results were surprisingly good!

Because Guardian was different from other superhumans, he had precise control over his power, unlike the rest of The Seven, who were always overdoing it.

What were supposed to be staged fights with actors ended up causing actual casualties.

It got to the point where the villains Vought hired for shoots now had to be recruited from death row inmates in prison.

Lu Heng carried out crime-fighting operations day and night, never needing to rest.

Especially at night, criminal activity in Brooklyn and Queens was endless.

It was just that superhuman crimes had decreased significantly of late.

The scattered crimes that remained were small-scale, usually just petty theft, and didn't contribute many ability points.

During this time, he paid another visit to Hughie's electronics store.

"Hey!" Hughie's expression was noticeably warmer than the last time they met. "Did you really join Vought? It's all over the news... We need heroes like you!"

"Oh, I'm just a consultant."

"So... do you have to go to meetings with The Seven and stuff?"

"Occasionally."

Hughie hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice. "That day with A-Train... was he really being mind-controlled?"

Lu Heng looked at him.

This kid isn't stupid!

He had seen A-Train's expression while fighting Guardian with his own eyes; that hadn't looked like someone under mind control at all—he had looked exactly like a high-as-a-kite junkie.

"What do you think?" Lu Heng countered.

Hughie's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

His idol was A-Train, and deep down, he couldn't bring himself to believe that A-Train could be that kind of person behind the scenes.

[Key Character: Hughie Campbell]

[Emotional Change: Trust deepened / Beginning to question the grand narrative of Vought's PR]

[Ability points gained: +1,344]

The third night.

Vought Tower was brightly lit.

Today was the induction ceremony for the newest member of The Seven.

Annie January, codenamed Starlight, was officially joining The Seven.

The induction ceremony was a high-profile internal event, not broadcast to the public for the time being, though Vought had sent a camera crew to record the entire process.

The footage would be edited into promotional clips later to build hype for Starlight.

Lu Heng attended the welcome ceremony in his capacity as a special consultant.

He stood in the corner of the venue, holding a bottle of champagne, taking a sip every now and then with a style that was rather... uninhibited.

He was certain that not a single person present welcomed him.

Except for the newcomer, Starlight.

On stage, Annie wore a white and gold battle suit.

Young, blonde, with a bright smile.

Aside from being a little nervous, she was practically the gold standard for America's sweetheart.

She hit every mark of the American public's preferences perfectly.

Lu Heng looked at that face, feeling quite nostalgic.

By the time he had caught up to the final seasons of the show, Starlight's face hadn't looked like this at all.

Fortunately, this Starlight had no cosmetic anxieties; she would only stay this beautiful forever.

Just as Lu Heng was sizing Starlight up, her eyes were also scanning every face in the audience, like a little girl who had just moved to a new place, observing her new work environment.

When she saw Lu Heng, Starlight's gaze faltered.

In such a high-end welcome party, how could someone be so relaxed?

However, reality didn't let her daze for long.

Homelander took the stage to give a speech, welcoming the new member.

A furious Homelander and a professional Homelander were two completely different people; at this moment, his smile was perfect, his wording was appropriate, and he could even crack a joke or two, drawing thunderous applause from the audience.

The Deep was also on stage, his gaze lingering on Annie in a way that was hard to ignore.

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A panel popped up with a notification.

[Countdown to Key Event: The Deep assaults Starlight]

[Estimated time: Tonight 23:00-00:00]

[Location: The Seven's exclusive floor, locker room area]

Two hours later, the guests had gradually dispersed.

Lu Heng did not leave.

He still had some "work" to take care of.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Lu Heng's super-hearing picked up a signal: two people were moving in the same direction.

The Seven's conference hall.

Lu Heng stood up.

He flew straight out the window, ascended vertically along the outer wall of the building for two floors, found the room next to the conference hall, and slipped inside.

"Do you know what it takes to survive in The Seven? It's not your superpowers, and it's not your pretty face."

"It's connections."

"And I... can help you build those connections."

That was undoubtedly The Deep's voice.

"But I... I don't need..."

"You don't need to?" The Deep's tone changed, becoming cold and hard. "Who do you think you are? A newcomer who just walked in, what right do you have to say you don't need it?"

"Kneel."

Lu Heng nodded; it was time.

He walked to the door of the conference room and kicked it.

He didn't hold back much strength, so the door frame tore right out of the wall, and the entire door flew off, slamming into the conference table with a deafening crash.

"Who's there?"

The Deep, his pants halfway down, was startled by the flying door.

The scene in the room froze.

The Deep stood in the middle of the conference room, one hand resting on Annie January's shoulder, attempting to press her down.

Annie's knees were slightly bent, her face a mix of humiliation and terror.

Both of them turned their heads toward the door at the same time.

Lu Heng flew in slowly, the surface of his streamlined combat suit emitting a cold, stern light, the Viltrumite runes flickering faintly.

He cast a cold glance at The Deep.

It was as if he were looking at a disgusting insect.

The Deep pulled his hand back from Annie's shoulder.

"Listen, let me explain, this, this isn't what you think—"

Lu Heng landed, the floor beneath his feet cracking and splintering.

"Shut up!"

He cut off The Deep's sophistry and turned to look at Starlight.

Annie's eyes were already red, tears sliding down the corners of her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Annie opened her mouth, unable to speak, and finally just shook her head.

Lu Heng turned back to look at The Deep.

"Get out!"

The Deep's legs went weak, yet he still forced himself to stand his ground. "You don't have the authority to order me around. I'm a member of The Seven, I'm a veteran!"

Lu Heng raised his hand.

It was just a slight movement, yet The Deep looked as if he had seen something terrifying and turned to run.

He didn't doubt for a second whether Lu Heng would attack him.

The cautionary tale of A-Train was right there for all to see.

This guy was unhinged and feared nothing; he even dared to provoke Homelander, and Homelander couldn't do anything about him either.

Soon, only Lu Heng and Annie remained in the conference room.

Starlight stood where she was, her hands gripping the hem of her suit, her knuckles white.

"That was just a pathetic piece of trash. He's insignificant in The Seven; don't let yourself be fooled by him."

Annie wiped her tears and nodded heavily.

She had actually quite liked The Deep, but his actions had secretly shattered the heart of a young girl.

People are always hurt most deeply by those they like the most.

The panel flickered frantically.

[Major alteration to the fate of a key character!]

[Annie January (Starlight): Originally scheduled to suffer sexual assault → Incident prevented]

[Key character experiencing intense emotional fluctuations: Fear → Grievance → Gratitude → Trust established]

+3,847

+2,156

+1,934

[Milestone event achieved: Prevented a key act of evil (First time)]

[Milestone reward: +5,000]

Total for this event: +12,937

Current Ability Points: 54,676 / 100,000

Nice, very nice!

Lu Heng suppressed the wild joy in his heart. As expected, Starlight was the real deal.

He pulled a dry towel from the conference room's storage cabinet and handed it to Annie.

"Wipe your face, then go back and rest."

"If you need anything, come find me."

Annie took the towel, wiped her face, and then sniffled hard.

"Are you... Guardian?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Lu Heng turned and left.

Starlight watched his retreating figure as he flew away, standing frozen in place for a long time.