It Was All a Setup

Lucian looked away. The phone in his pocket vibrated twice.

Lucian walked into the shadows in a corner and took out his phone.

Sender: Iowa.

"I'm going crazy. They want me to wear that new uniform. You have absolutely no idea what that thing looks like. It's not a uniform at all. It's no different from a swimsuit!"

Lucian looked at the screen, his fingers flying over the virtual keyboard.

"Congratulations. Maybe that outfit will double the company's merchandise sales."

Two seconds later, a reply came: "Can't you ever say anything nice? I refused! I told the head of PR that I would never wear something like that in public. I'm a superhero!"

"And then?" Lucian replied. "Did they tell you that if you didn't wear it, they'd kick you out of the Seven and send you crawling back to Iowa to attend supermarket openings in the sticks?"

There was a full minute of silence from the other end.

"How did you know?" Starlight's message carried a teeth-gritting helplessness. Even through the screen, he could feel her falling apart. "That's exactly what Madelyn said. She threatened me with a smile, saying there were a hundred girls lining up to wear that outfit."

"I told you, Iowa. A sense of justice is contraband there. So is self-respect."

"I hate that tone of yours, like you've seen through everything," Starlight replied. "You're like some coldblooded bystander. Does no one in this world actually care about right and wrong?"

"Some do. But they usually don't live long," Lucian typed. "By the way, how's that fish-man coworker of yours who loves dropping his pants? I heard they sent him to shoot an aquarium promo?"

Lucian was fishing for information. He needed to confirm the Deep's movements to pin down the timeline outside.

"The Deep? He seems busy lately. He's even been appearing less on the shows he used to do." Starlight replied quickly.

Lucian's gaze shifted slightly. If the Deep was busy, that meant the Vought Executives were sending him everywhere to search for that signal.

"That's good news," Lucian replied. "At least you don't have to worry about seeing things you shouldn't in the elevator anymore. Keep a low profile, Iowa. When mad dogs start biting each other, don't join in. Don't act too smart, or you'll draw attention."

"You're always telling me to keep a low profile." Starlight sent another message, a hint of probing between the lines. "What about you? Are you really just an 'ordinary' student at Godolkin? I saw your school's latest internal rankings. Top 13. That's anything but ordinary for a freshman."

"I think it's pretty ordinary." Lucian typed the line and sent it. "Looking forward to the day we're coworkers."

After sending that, he put his phone straight back into his pocket and ignored the vibrations that followed.

He looked up. Andre and Luke were heading out with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing without restraint about whatever they were discussing. Cate had already packed her bag and left alone like a shadow.

Lucian watched Cate's retreating figure, his gaze deep.

The game was about to enter its next stage.

Meanwhile.

Brooklyn, New York.

Inside an audiovisual shop that smelled of mildew and cheap motor oil.

Several old CRT televisions were stacked on a rusty metal rack, their screens flickering with an eerie blue light and giving off an electrical hiss.

Hughie Campbell sat on a grease-stained folding chair, staring fixedly at the screen. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands clutched his pant legs tightly.

On the screen was a blurry street surveillance video.

A blur in a blue-and-white bodysuit tore down the street, moving so fast that even the camera's frame rate couldn't capture him. All he left behind was a hazy blue trail and a cloud of blood bursting in midair.

That was Robin.

Hughie's breathing quickened, his stomach churning violently. He closed his eyes, but that cloud of blood was branded onto his retinas and wouldn't go away.

The footage changed. Another superhero was beating a passerby on the street.

"These are the heroes you used to worship." Billy Butcher leaned in a dark corner, toying with a military knife. He wore his signature black trench coat, his face covered in stubble, his eyes like those of a wolf that hadn't eaten in three days.

"Drugs, fucking around, murder and robbery. They're not God's chosen people. They're just a bunch of scumbags with superpowers." Butcher walked behind Hughie and planted both hands heavily on his shoulders.

Hughie's eyes snapped open, the fear in them overtaken by a twisted anger.

"Are you sure... he's on drugs?" Hughie's voice trembled, but he enunciated each word with unusual clarity.

"Frenchie dug that intel out of Translucent's arsehole." Butcher sneered, twirling the knife between his fingers.

"What we need to do now is find his supplier. Then we'll shove the evidence of that bastard's drug use right in those Vought bitches' faces."

Hughie looked at the blue blur on the screen.

Once, that had been his favorite superhero. Now, he was an enemy Hughie dreamed of killing.

"How do we find them?" Hughie looked up at Butcher.

Butcher bared his teeth in a cruel grin.

"An informant said the bastard's got a secret girlfriend. Let's ask your Supe bodyguard for a little help."

When his phone vibrated, Lucian had just stepped out of the training room showers.

"Hello." Lucian answered the call and pulled open his locker.

"Enjoying college life, big boy?" Butcher's rough voice, thick with a London accent, came through the earpiece. Electrical crackling and Hughie's heavy breathing could be heard in the background. "Heard you're a star student now? Is Vought already getting ready to print your face on condom wrappers?"

"Get to the point." Lucian pulled on a clean black T-shirt and raked his wet hair back.

"A-Train's on drugs." Butcher wasted no time getting to the point. "We're going to investigate. Once we get proof of his drug use, we can destroy him completely and get Hughie some proper revenge."

Lucian paused. Things were moving a little faster than he had expected.

"So?" Lucian asked.

"So we need your help, mate." Butcher lowered his voice a little, something coaxing in his tone. "He's got a secret girlfriend. We need to find her. You're at Godolkin University. That's Vought's talent pool. There's bound to be a file on that woman or some leads. Use your access to look into it, or just go fish for information."