I sank into the white leather sofa in my penthouse, towering over Manhattan and all its shining, restless energy.
Through those massive windows, the whole city glittered, but beneath me, I could feel a storm gathering.
Homelander kept Vought’s black-ops squads moving nonstop, shredding the city’s underworld for any trace of the guys who managed to break into Sub-Level 50.
Fallout was coming, no question.
I needed to get ready.
“System,” I said, hearing my voice echo against the empty walls, “display status.” Blue light shimmered into view, hovering right in front of me.
[User Status: Viltrumite (Elite Tier)] [Current System Points: 242,500] [Active Quests: Shatter the Canon, The Architect’s Game] 242,500 points.
Ridiculous, really, and most of it pilfered straight out of Vought’s Compound V reserves.
I’d been hoarding, planning for that big ‘Pureblood Viltrumite’ upgrade someday.
But with Homelander losing his grip, I needed something right now—something that’d help me survive if things went sideways.
“Open the skill tree.
Filter by defensive physical upgrades.” The screen danced and scrolled, rows of enhancements flickering past.
Then I spotted it.
[Skill Selected: Smart Atoms – Advanced Molecular Density] [Description: Exponentially increases the density of the user’s cellular structure, granting near-absolute invulnerability to extreme heat, kinetic impacts, and atmospheric friction.
Renders the user immune to all Earth-based conventional weaponry and Class-A Supe energy projection.] [Cost: 150,000 Points.] “Purchase.” [Transaction Confirmed.
Deducting 150,000 Points.
Balance: 92,500.] [Initiating Cellular Restructuring…] Suddenly, it felt like lead got poured into my skeleton.
My blood flashed hot, barely a second, as my muscles pulled tight, dense and heavy—like I’d been reforged from living metal.
I clenched my fist.
Air snapped around my knuckles with a sharp pop, pressure coiling beneath my skin.
If Homelander tried his heat vision stunt on me now, it’d barely tickle.
I drew a slow breath and let the sensation fade as my body adjusted to its new normal.
Then I walked to the window, shut my eyes, and reached out—searching for Annie.
I didn’t hear some battle-hardened cynic prowling the alleys.
I heard a girl, heart cracked in two, stumbling through the city, desperate for a reason to keep moving.
Annie January was wandering down a gray, dim sidewalk in Hell’s Kitchen, swallowed up by a too-big hoodie and a pair of jeans.
Her hands stayed buried deep in her pockets.
She felt empty, like somebody’d scooped her out.
Her mom had sold her for a paycheck.
Her whole religion, a farce.
Her powers, pure chemistry in a vial.
Vought had molded her life from scratch, and all of it was just a public product.
She thought about quitting.
Seriously.
Go back to Iowa, pack up her heartbreak and her streetlamp powers.
But she couldn’t be that girl anymore.
“Normal” got left in the dust miles ago.
Now she was a brand.
Help!
Somebody!
Annie froze.
The voice was raw, full of panic—echoing from a side alley.
Two days ago, she’d have checked in with Vought.
See if this hero stuff worked for their PR story.
Tonight?
She just ran.
There were two guys in the alley, roughing up a panicked woman, hands clawing at her purse.
One flashed a switchblade.
Annie didn’t strike a pose.
She didn’t spit out a catchphrase.
She went straight for the streetlamp overhead.
Her eyes exploded with golden fire.
“Let her go!” The force in her voice rattled brick and bone.
The thugs spun around, squinting against the glare.
Knife guy lunged blindly.
Annie slid sideways, twisted his wrist, the blade dropping with a clatter.
She lit the air with a burst of searing concussive light, knocking both men into a heap of garbage bags.
All that swagger, gone.
In a heartbeat, they scrambled and vanished into the night.
She didn’t chase.
The anger, heavy and brief, drained away.
Annie walked over to the victim and held out her hand—a soft, steady glow lighting her palm.
“Are you okay?” The woman stared up, awe-struck.
“I know you.
You’re Starlight.
You’re… a superhero.” Annie’s throat tightened.
She looked at her own hands—Compound V pulsing beneath the skin, that fake blue miracle.
Then she saw the woman she’d just saved.
“I’m trying to be,” Annie said, barely louder than a whisper.
A new voice echoed from the alley entrance, rough and sharp.
“Ain’t that a lovely picture.” Annie spun, fists blazing gold.
Billy Butcher leaned out from the shadows in that familiar black coat, eyes watching every twitch.
He’d been at her heels ever since the archive room, waiting to see how hard she’d crack when all the lies crashed down.
“Go home,” Annie told the woman.
She bolted—no hesitation.
Annie kept her power focused on Butcher.
“Relax, Starlight.” He flashed a crooked grin, hands up in fake surrender.
“Just wanted to see if you did your homework.
Judging by the hoodie and your new moonlighting job, I’m betting you opened the ledger.” “I found it,” Annie said, her words scratched raw.
“And I know what you want.
You want me to play rat, sneak files, open doors.” “You catch on quick,” Butcher shot back, smirking.
“So?
What’s the answer?
Vought made you, Annie.
Help me put them down.” She looked right through him.
In her mind, she saw that warehouse, all blood and shadows, and the memory of Butcher pressing a gun to her chest.
The light in her hands slowly faded, but her eyes never dropped.
“Vought gave me Compound V,” she said, voice leveling out, hard and sure.
“But they didn’t give me my conscience.
I’m a superhero.
I actually mean it, even if they don’t.” Butcher’s grin flickered, losing its edge.
“I’m taking Vought down,” Annie told him, stepping forward.
“I’m going to shine a light on everything they’ve done.
For real.
On the record.
But not with you.
You’re just another monster in a different coat.
Stay away from me.” She brushed past him and strode away, leaving Butcher in the dark, alone with his own stubborn brand of hatred.
He watched her go, jaw working.
Couldn’t spin her, couldn’t break her.
She actually believed she could make a difference the right way, blood off her hands and all.
Back up in my aerie above the city, a holographic message glowed across my field of vision.
[CANON DIVERGENCE: The Independent Hero.] [Starlight has rejected Billy Butcher’s alliance and chosen a solo path.] [Reward: 15,000 System Points.] I laughed under my breath and took a long drink.
Annie’s moral compass hadn’t bent an inch.
She wanted to topple Vought—real justice, no shortcuts.
Brave move.
A good one, even.
But once Homelander picked up her scent, that path was suicide.
For now, she didn’t want Butcher’s help.
Sooner or later, though, the walls would close in.
And everyone crosses a line in this city—the only question is when.
Your daily votes cost you nothing but help this fanfic climb the rankings and reach more readers.
Thank you for the support!