People have been inventing heroes for as long as prose has existed.
Humans have always been drawn to ideals and stories, so it should come as no surprise that tales about idealized figures have always been popular.
Superheroes and comic books are simply a more modern way of expressing the same idea.
But what happens when those stories aren’t just stories?
What if they’re real?
What if it’s the world you actually live in, where the life of an ordinary person means nothing, and the fate of millions is decided by gods who are just as capable of displaying the ugliest flaws and vices of human nature?
A similar scenario was depicted in Watchmen, where ordinary people took matters into their own hands and decided to dispense justice themselves.
The outcome was inevitable.
Heroes were outlawed and forced outside the law.
This world is slowly heading in the same direction.
The only difference is that instead of one godlike being, there are more than a thousand of them.
I’d rather not see an indiscriminate slaughter of superhumans begin, especially now that I’m one of them.
Vought has spent years creating superhumans from children and turning them into a brand.
Tens of thousands of comic books, hundreds of movies and TV shows, advertisements everywhere you look.
And there are thousands of supes, with more appearing every year.
The Seven are simply the most popular team at the moment, made up of the most promising candidates.
Judging by Vought’s steadily increasing profits, the company certainly didn’t make the wrong choice.
But like anyone who achieves something significant, the company’s executives want more.
Their next goal is to secure a military contract and start marketing supes as effective weapons.
There’s just one important detail they’re overlooking.
These heroes have never fought against an overwhelming force.
Supes rely entirely on their powers, and they’re notoriously independent and difficult to control.
The military understands that perfectly well.
So getting them ready for actual combat will take more than a few years.
Maybe more than ten.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there can be no doubt that we are witnessing the dawn of the superhero business. Our revenue has increased by fourteen percent. Our latest film, Agents: World War, brought in just under 1.7 billion dollars worldwide. And this fall, we will be opening a theme park near Paris. The possibilities for branding are truly limitless.”
Madelyn addressed the entire hall with her usual smile, reading from the speech that had been prepared for her.
As always, there wasn’t much emotion on her face.
“But you know, none of that really matters. Because what matters most to us is the management, support, and guidance we provide to the brave heroes who put themselves in terrible danger every single day for our sake. Please, direct your attention to the screen.”
The woman gestured toward the screen behind her.
A series of pointless but attention-grabbing clips began playing, footage that had cost an absurd amount of money to produce specifically for an American audience.
A voice-over said something in the background, but I didn’t bother listening.
As always, it was probably something inspirational and painfully boring, with a thick layer of patriotism sprinkled on top.
Exactly the kind of thing Madelyn Stillwell had been exploiting for the past twenty years.
And, strangely enough, she’d been very successful at it.
The annual shareholders’ meeting was held every year, which was rather logical.
The company used it to ramble on about future plans and stock growth.
As always, everyone was fed a generous dose of smoke and mirrors before they eventually got around to announcing that the stock price had gone up slightly.
Homelander had refused to participate.
He simply wasn’t interested.
Today, however, a new member of the Seven was being introduced in this very hall.
Years ago, Homelander himself had stood before this same audience at an event just like this one.
Back then, Stillwell hadn’t been the company’s vice president.
She’d merely been the handler assigned to a hero nobody knew yet.
That position had previously belonged to Stan Edgar, who handed it over to her after becoming CEO.
Almost everyone currently in the Seven had received a similar introduction.
“So many memories,” Madelyn said with a smile as she came to stand beside me.
“Do you remember…”
“I remember everything perfectly well. I don’t think I need to remind you that my memory is practically perfect.”
I turned toward her with a quiet scoff.
I didn’t like how much influence she had over Homelander.
“Are you upset with me about something?”
She forced a smile onto her face, but there was a slight nervousness beneath it.
I probably wouldn’t have noticed.
Not if I hadn’t heard her heartbeat.
That was what immediately made me suspicious.
“You know I don’t like it when people hide things from me.”
I smiled and stepped closer until there was barely any space between us.
My hand moved almost instinctively to her chin, gently forcing her to look directly into my eyes.
“And it would be much better if you told me yourself rather than letting me find out on my own. Understand?”
“I…”
Madelyn stammered as her heart began pounding wildly in her chest.
And at that moment, I knew I’d hit the mark.
“You…?”
“I… have to go.”
Stillwell smiled and took a couple of steps away from me before calmly walking toward the stage.
“Interesting.”
I smirked.
Whatever this secret was, it clearly had something to do with my predecessor.
Which meant it concerned me as well.
“And now, I have a big surprise for you.”
Madelyn continued speaking with the same confident smile, although her racing heartbeat told a very different story.
“Please welcome the leader of the Seven, the greatest superhero on Earth, in the flesh… Homelander!”
The woman waved toward me.
All I could do was smile and walk onto the stage to a wave of cheers and applause from the crowd.
When I reached her, I gave her a brief, friendly embrace before moving to the center of the stage.
“Thank you. Thank you very much.”
I smiled at the audience, letting my gaze sweep across the entire hall.
“After a long and distinguished career with the Seven, my good friend and colleague, Lamplighter, has retired. Let’s give him the thanks he deserves!”
The crowd erupted into another round of applause and cheers.
Smartphone cameras immediately turned toward me.
I’d grown accustomed to strolling across a stage as though I owned the place, basking in their completely undisguised admiration.
I definitely liked being treated this way.
Just need to make sure it doesn’t go to my head.
“And now, as we turn our eyes toward the future, I’d like to introduce you to someone very special. Someone I’m looking forward to working with.”
I paused for effect.
“Give her a warm welcome. Starlight!”
A blonde girl practically ran onto the stage.
She was wearing a homemade costume, although I had to admit that the craftsmanship wasn’t bad.
Still, my eyes caught every imperfection.
I could say with absolute confidence that the thing would tear apart under even a relatively minor amount of strain.
Even the Deep’s costume offered better protection, and that wasn’t exactly because of his own efforts.
“Smile and wave to your future fans.”
I demonstrated by smiling and waving toward the audience.
Annie, as she was known outside her superhero persona, quickly recovered and followed my example.
She smiled and waved at the crowd.
However, the excitement shining in her eyes was impossible to miss.
They were literally glowing with a golden light because of the sheer intensity of her emotions.
It was obvious what this moment meant to her.
Her childhood dream had come true.
It was honestly rather adorable.
Which almost made it a shame that I’d eventually have to be the one to shatter those charming rose-colored glasses.