Date time

Lucian changed into his new clothes in the cramped restroom off the motel hallway: a dark jacket, jeans, and a pair of newly bought skate shoes. At least they fit far better than last night's hiking boots, which had been two sizes too big. He stuffed his old clothes, flecked with mud and scorch marks, into a plastic bag and threw them in the trash.

He smoothed his hair down with water. A layer of dark stubble had sprouted on his chin, but he couldn't find a razor, so he left it alone. With a face like his, he couldn't look too scruffy no matter what.

Twelve forty-five, Central Park's south entrance.

He had arrived fifteen minutes early.

He found a bench, sat with one leg crossed over the other, and scrolled through his phone. On the surveillance feed, the four babies were still sleeping peacefully.

One oh two.

A blonde girl wearing a baseball cap and oversized sunglasses hurried over along the path from the east. Denim jacket, canvas sneakers-not a trace of a superhero.

Annie January had disguised herself well.

But the rhythm of her steps gave her away, a little faster than a stroll, a little slower than someone in a hurry. She was clearly eager to get there, yet insisted on pretending she wasn't.

Lucian stood and lifted his chin toward her.

Annie spotted him and faltered for a moment before approaching at a normal pace. She took off her sunglasses, revealing brown eyes.

"You got here even earlier than me."

"Habit."

They walked along the lakeside path. Central Park was crowded on Saturday afternoon, with people walking dogs, jogging, and pushing strollers. Nobody gave them a second glance. Two young people walking side by side in a New York park couldn't have been more ordinary.

At first, Annie stuck to harmless small talk. The weather was nice, the squirrels in the park were getting bolder around people, and she'd spotted some oddly flavored chips at the supermarket yesterday.

But after about ten minutes, it was as though someone had opened a floodgate.

"Do you know what Vought wanted me to do last week?"

"What?"

"Go to a children's charity gala wearing that new suit. The one I told you about, the one Vought insisted I switch to." Annie stared at the path ahead, her hands in her denim jacket pockets.

"And then?"

"Then I bailed." She paused. "But Madelyn threatened me. She said her patience had limits, and if it happened again, she'd suspend me and make me pay up and get out..."

Annie didn't go on.

Lucian didn't rush to respond, either. He simply waited.

A few seconds later, Annie turned to look at him.

"My life's a mess, isn't it?"

"Maybe. But I think she's bluffing. You were chosen through a nationwide competition, and you're getting plenty of attention right now. If they really shelved you, Vought's marketing department and sponsors would panic before you did. But if you ever really can't take it anymore, you can contact me anytime."

Annie looked ahead again. A few seconds passed, and she suddenly smiled.

"You really are different from the people in Vought Tower."

"I don't work in Vought Tower."

Annie nudged his shoulder with hers. "Only a matter of time. I saw your ranking on your school's website. It's shooting up like a rocket."

They sat on a bench by the lake. Annie bought two hot dogs and a bottle of water from a nearby stand. Lucian was about to take out his money when she held out a hand to stop him.

"My treat. I said I was paying."

"Do you have enough in your entertainment budget? After deducting Vought's forty-seven-million-dollar contract penalty."

Annie nearly choked on her hot dog. She coughed several times before shooting him an annoyed glare.

"Could you not bring up that number while I'm eating?"

Lucian tore open a ketchup packet and handed it to her.

"Annie, have you ever thought about something?"

"What?"

"Vought makes you change your suit, change your persona, even controls how you say every line. What exactly are they doing?"

Annie bit into her hot dog without answering.

"They're manufacturing a product. That product is called 'Starlight,' but it isn't you. At least, not entirely." Lucian wasn't looking at her, either. His gaze rested on a flock of pigeons fighting over breadcrumbs on the lake.

"You could try letting people see the real Annie January. Not Starlight, not America's Sweetheart packaged by Vought. Just an ordinary person who gets angry, makes mistakes, and stands in front of a supermarket shelf agonizing over a bag of weird-flavored chips. Just yourself."

Annie didn't answer right away.

The wind blew in off the lake, stirring the loose strands of blonde hair beneath her cap.

"Do you think anyone would like that version of me?"

"How will you know unless you try? Things can't get any worse. Besides, Vought can create another 'America's Sweetheart' persona, but they can't make a second Annie January."

Annie lowered her head and stared at the half-eaten hot dog in her hand. After a long while, she murmured, "Mm."

They sat a while longer, chatting about this and that. Annie told him embarrassing stories about entering talent competitions in Iowa as a child. Lucian told her about getting hit in the face with chips by a drunk while working at a convenience store. Annie laughed so hard she rocked back and forth, nearly dropping her sunglasses into the lake.

All afternoon, Lucian never said a word about Translucent, as though that supposed VIP pass had never been his reason for coming.

As the sun began sinking in the west, Annie checked her phone.

"I have to go. There's an online meeting at six."

She stood, took a folded envelope from the inside pocket of her denim jacket, and handed it over.

"For you."

Lucian took it and opened it.

A printed schedule. Next Wednesday, Translucent would hold a fan meet-and-greet at a community center in Brooklyn. The time, location, security arrangements, and entry and exit routes were all clearly marked.

"Didn't you say your roommate wanted to meet Translucent? Give him this. He can go straight through the VIP entrance." Annie added with feigned casualness, "I thought you'd forgotten all about it."

Lucian folded the envelope and put it in his pocket.

"I actually almost did."

"Then you came today just to..."

"You asked me to come, so I came." Lucian crumpled the hot dog wrapper and tossed it into the trash. "With or without that piece of paper, it makes no difference. You can come to me anytime."

Annie froze for a moment.

The shadow of her baseball cap hid most of her face, but beneath the brim, her lips first pressed together, then slowly curved upward.

"All right. I thought you really were some clueless old man."

"I'm only eighteen."

"Mentally, at least fifty-eight." Annie turned and took two steps back the way she'd come, then stopped and looked back. "You don't need to walk me out. Too many people around who might see."

Lucian nodded.

Only then did Annie keep walking. Three steps later, she suddenly doubled back.

Fast.

So fast that Lucian barely caught a blurred outline before Annie rose onto her toes, her cap brim brushing his forehead, and softly touched her lips to his right cheek.

A brief touch, then gone.

When she pulled away, she couldn't suppress her smile. Annie walked backward, waving a hand in the air.

"I'm looking forward to the day you really join The Seven."

Annie's voice reached him from three meters away. The setting sun spilled down behind her, gilding her blonde hair with warmth.

"Then we can be seen together openly, just like Maeve and Homelander!"

She turned and walked faster and faster, her blonde ponytail swinging behind her cap as she quickly disappeared into the park's evening crowd.

Lucian said nothing. Maeve and Homelander? That really wasn't an auspicious example. He stood there, raised his right hand, and lightly touched the spot she had kissed with his fingertips.

That little patch of skin still held ketchup that smelled of hot dogs and a warmth he couldn't quite describe.

He lowered his hand and glanced down at the schedule in his pocket.

Next Wednesday.

Brooklyn community center.

"Translucent's" fan meet-and-greet.

Lucian headed for the park exit.

The setting sun stretched a long shadow behind him. At its far end, in the direction Annie had disappeared, an ice cream truck was jingling out an off-key tune.