The open-air plaza outside Vought Tower.
Countless camera flashes joined together in a sheet of blinding white.
Annie stood at the microphone in her red-and-white star-spangled costume, unsure what to do with her hands and feet.
Her mother had sewn it herself.
It was witnessing the first day her dream came true.
Madelyn had finished speaking.
The Deep stood beside Annie in his green, scaled costume.
He wore the standard, gentle smile of a veteran hero.
He raised a hand, draped it skillfully over Annie's shoulder, and waved to the reporters and fans below.
"Thank you all for supporting Vought International."
The Deep's voice carried across the plaza through the speakers, calm and assured.
"Starlight was chosen from hundreds of outstanding candidates. She has a pure and righteous heart."
"As her senior, I'll personally teach her and help her get acquainted with the Seven."
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.
Annie's cheeks flushed as she bowed and thanked the cameras again and again.
Chen Mo stood among the crowd below the stage.
He wore a baggy athletic jacket and chewed on a mint.
With his arms folded across his chest, he watched the show onstage.
But through Emotion Sensing, the picture was quite different.
The light around Annie was a pure, brilliant white, mixed with excitement and a little timidity.
The Deep, standing beside her and saying all the right things, was surrounded by a murky yellowish brown.
Arrogance, greed, and a sickening lust.
Chen Mo curled his lips and blew a pink bubble.
It looked like the confrontation from the story was about to begin.
The press conference moved along quickly.
The Deep led Annie off the stage, through security, and straight into Vought Tower.
"You did great, Annie."
The Deep smiled at the young woman beside him as they walked.
"That innocent look you had just now was very appealing. You're sure to be popular."
Annie clutched the hem of her costume, her palms slick with sweat.
"Thank you, Mr. Deep."
She looked up at the hero statues in the lobby, her voice full of excitement.
"I've watched your documentaries since I was little, and I even have your poster in my room. I can't believe I get to fight alongside you all. It's like a dream."
The Deep's smile deepened as he listened.
He led Annie into the elevator.
"Just call me Deep."
The elevator rose smoothly, with the bustle of half of New York visible through the windows.
"Vought Tower isn't like that place you stayed out in the country."
"There are rules for survival here."
"If you want to gain a foothold, you need someone reliable to guide you."
Annie nodded vigorously.
"I understand. I'll work hard to learn, and I won't hold the team back."
Ding.
The elevator doors opened on the Seven's exclusive floor.
The Deep walked ahead and pushed open the doors to a spacious conference room.
"Come in. Nobody usually uses this room, so we can have a good talk about your future."
Annie walked in without suspicion, stepping onto the soft carpet.
A giant group photo of the Seven hung on the wall, with Homelander's perfect smile right in the center.
The Deep casually shut the heavy carved doors behind them and pressed the electronic lock beside them.
Click.
The soft sound was especially clear in the quiet room.
Annie turned and looked at him, a little puzzled.
Instead of going to the sofa, the Deep leaned directly against the edge of the large conference table.
The gentle smile slowly vanished from his face, replaced by a superior, flippant look.
"Annie, do you know whose word carries the most weight on this team, besides Homelander's?"
Annie shook her head, suddenly feeling a little uneasy.
"Mine."
The Deep puffed out his chest, his gaze beginning to wander over Annie's tight-fitting costume.
He looked at her as though she were merchandise.
"I'm the number two in the Seven."
"One word from me to the PR department, and every shot of you can be cut. Your contract will be put on hold indefinitely."
"I could even say you won't follow orders, and tomorrow you'll be sent packing back to your crappy little town to carry on being a hick."
The color gradually drained from Annie's face.
She took a small step back, her throat dry.
"Mr. Deep, I don't quite understand what you mean."
The Deep sighed, wearing an expression that said, Why are you so slow to catch on?
He raised a hand and placed it on his belt buckle.
There was another crisp metallic sound.
The Deep deftly unzipped his pants and spread his legs wide.
"What's so hard to understand, new girl?"
He leaned against the table, speaking as though it were only natural.
"Take off your pants, or get on your knees. Show me how badly you want to stay."
Annie's eyes went wide and her mouth fell slightly open, but she couldn't get a word out.
Her stomach churned, and a wave of nausea rushed to her head.
All the beautiful fantasies she'd had since childhood, the rose-tinted view she'd had of superheroes, shattered at that moment.
"What are you saying?"
Annie's voice trembled, and as her powers slipped out of control, the conference room's video wall began flickering with black-and-white static.
"Put your pants back on. This isn't funny."
The Deep dropped his superior expression, his gaze turning cold and gloomy.
"You think I'm joking?"
"If you don't do what I say, your dream and your mom's hopes for you will all be finished."
"It'll only take a few minutes. Don't make yourself regret this."
Annie's breathing grew heavy, and her eyes turned red.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her flesh.
Should she give in?
Or give up the dream she'd spent more than a decade striving for?
The suffocating despair trapped her in its grip like a net.
Boom!
Someone kicked the heavy locked doors of the conference room apart from outside.
Broken planks and metal parts flew everywhere.
Annie flinched and hurriedly turned to look.
The Deep also grabbed his waistband and looked toward the door, his face full of shock and anger.
Wearing A-Train's face, Chen Mo sauntered in.
He had one hand in his pocket and a freshly opened bottle of ice water in the other.
Without so much as glancing at the two of them, Chen Mo walked straight to the sofa and dropped heavily onto it.
"Fucking unlucky."
He tipped his head back and took a long swig of water, then casually wiped the corner of his mouth.
"Don't you like fucking fish? Now you're trading power for sex too. Oh, sorry, my mistake. You don't have much power."
The atmosphere in the conference room was strange.
Annie stood there like a post, tears still clinging to her eyelashes.
The Deep's face turned a purplish red. The aura he'd just built up had been completely kicked away.
"A-Train!"
The Deep gritted his teeth, fumbled his belt back into place, and strode forward.
"Don't you know to knock before you come in, you brain-damaged idiot?"
"I was giving the new member her orientation, and you interrupted my work."
Chen Mo set down the water bottle and only then turned his head.
His gaze swept over the Deep's pants, which weren't properly zipped, and he gave an intensely mocking sneer.
"Orientation?"
Chen Mo's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a slap in the face.
"Using that little worm of yours, the one that's less than two inches long?"
The Deep's eyes went wide, as though he'd suffered the greatest insult imaginable.
Beside them, Annie bit her lip as hard as she could, afraid she might laugh out loud. The oppressive feeling in her heart miraculously eased quite a bit.
"You're asking for death!"
The Deep roared and swung his fist at Chen Mo's face.
He was a superhuman, after all, and his punch cut through the air with a whistle.
But in Chen Mo's eyes, the movement was slower than a snail.
A faint stir of air.
A blue-black afterimage flashed past.
The Deep's fist stopped in midair.
Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his neck.
One of Chen Mo's hands clamped around his throat like an iron vise. He hadn't even gotten up from the sofa.
The powerful momentum sent the Deep's entire body flying backward.
Bang.
The Deep's back slammed hard against the panoramic glass window.
The special bulletproof glass gave a mournful groan as cracks spread rapidly across it like a spiderweb.
"Cough, cough."
With both feet off the ground, the Deep desperately tried to pry Chen Mo's fingers apart.
His face turned purple from lack of oxygen, and his eyes bulged with fear.
"You dare lay a hand on me with skills like that?"
Chen Mo tilted his head, his eyes full of brutality.
"Did you think that because I've been recuperating lately, even trash like you could come and step on me?"
His five fingers tightened again.
Grinding bones made a grating creak.
The Deep opened his mouth and let out a broken wheeze, his eyes full of fear.
He felt as though his neck was about to be snapped.
When did A-Train get so strong?
"Do you know what I hate most about you, Deep?"
Chen Mo leaned closer, his voice icy.
"What I hate most is that fishy smell on you that won't wash off."
"The next time I smell it, I'll dig out those two ugly gills of yours and stuff them up your nostrils."
With that, Chen Mo let go of him as though throwing away trash.
The Deep slammed heavily onto the carpet and curled up in a ball.
Clutching his neck, he retched violently and gulped down air.
At that moment, he had truly seen the Grim Reaper.
Chen Mo couldn't be bothered to spare another glance at the piece of filth on the floor.
He turned around and picked up the bottled water on the coffee table.
Annie stood a short distance away, completely stunned.
She looked at the Deep, a pitiful mess on the floor, then at Chen Mo, who was walking over with an indifferent expression.
Her mind couldn't keep up with everything happening before her eyes.
Chen Mo paused as he passed Annie.
He looked Annie up and down.
There was no lust in his gaze, only the mockery of someone watching a show.
"The new outfit looks good."
Chen Mo's lips twitched into a wicked smile.
"But you have terrible taste. Next time you pick an idol, you'd better check whether there's something wrong with them first."
He shook the water bottle in his hand and strode out through the battered door.
Cold air blew in from the hallway, bringing the temperature in the room down considerably.
Annie stared blankly at the open door. Her legs gave way, and she fell into the chair.
Relief at having survived the ordeal welled up alongside the dismay of having her worldview shattered.
She looked at The Deep, still dry-heaving on the floor, and her rose-colored view of him crumbled to dust.
This man was no guardian of the ocean. He was just a disgusting bastard who abused his authority.
And the person who had just saved her.
A-Train.
He seemed to have a short temper and a filthy mouth, a crude man.
Yet this very man had used the crudest means to preserve the last of her dignity.
Annie took a deep breath and wiped away her tears.
The Deep finally caught his breath and struggled to his feet, supporting himself against a table leg.
Several purplish-black finger marks were clearly visible on his neck, and they hurt whenever he moved.
The Deep stared at the empty doorway, the fear in his eyes yet to fade.
Fuck, what the hell got into A-Train? Didn't everyone do this?
The Deep swallowed and turned to Annie, embarrassed beyond measure.
"What are you still looking at?"
The Deep stiffened his neck, trying to salvage some dignity.
"Not a word about what happened today to anyone, understand?"
Annie stood up.
Her eyes were no longer fearful; a hard chill had entered them.
"I didn't see anything, Mr. Deep."
Annie straightened the hem of her suit, her tone flat.
"All I saw was a senior showing me how to get thrown on the floor like garbage."
She walked toward the door without looking back, leaving The Deep staring after her.
The Deep's face turned scarlet as her words left him speechless. He raised a hand, intending to smash something, but in the end he let it fall limply.
At the corner of the hallway.
Chen Mo leaned against the wall, listening to the conversation inside, and smiled silently.
Now that Starlight was on her guard, she should be all right.
Chen Mo tossed the empty water bottle into a nearby trash can.
He slipped his hands into his pockets and headed for the elevator.
He had forcibly thrown the original show's course off track.
Hughie hadn't joined The Boys out of hatred, and there was no telling how the changes to the story would play out from here.
But Starlight's side of things might come in handy when dealing with Vought later.
Wearing A-Train's face, Chen Mo walked slowly onward.
"I probably can't keep using this face for much longer. I need to hurry."