"Welcome to The Seven," Ashley said, already moving. "You were supposed to be received by The Deep, but due to circumstances, I’ll be giving you the tour."
She didn’t elaborate on the circumstances. She didn’t need to.
Annie followed, taking in the building—clean, controlled, everything designed to look intentional. Ashley moved fast, tablet in hand, checking things off without breaking stride.
"Your rollout is already in progress. Image, messaging, audience alignment. You’re trending in a few regions which is good, so we need to move."
Annie frowned slightly. "My rollout?"
Ashley didn’t slow down.
They stepped into a studio. Lights already set, backdrop in place, photographer ready with his camera up. Two assistants stood nearby waiting for direction.
"Few shots first," the photographer said. "Just relax your shoulders."
Annie looked at the setup, then at Ashley.
"Is this really necessary? I’m here to be a hero, not—"
"There’s no difference here," Ashley said, turning to face her fully for the first time. "You’re going to be in front of people regardless. We control how they see you from the start." She gestured toward the backdrop. "This isn’t optional."
Annie stood there for a second, then stepped forward.
As they moved on afterward, a screen mounted on the wall caught her eye. Footage from a street. One of The Seven on the ground. A figure walking away.
"Is that The Deep?" Annie asked.
The footage was looping on the screen. Shaky phone video.
A figure with their face covered, standing in the middle of the street while red beams tore through the frame in short controlled bursts. The next clip was The Deep on the ground, struggling, the camera catching just enough before whoever was filming ducked away.
Ashley glanced at the screen and kept moving.
"He showed up yesterday with some threat against The Seven, followed through today." She checked something on her tablet.
"The public appearance we had scheduled for your introduction—the one where you were supposed to present yourself as the newest member—that’s been pushed."
Annie looked back at the screen one more time as they moved past it.
"Aren’t we going after him?" she asked. "He looks dangerous."
Ashley glanced at her briefly.
"That’s not your concern right now," Ashley said, still walking. "Right now your concern is making yourself irreplaceable in The Seven."
Annie smiled slightly, almost to herself.
"I still can’t believe I actually got in," she said. "This has been my dream since I was a kid."
Ashley glanced at her.
"That’s a good story," she said. "Girl follows her dream, works her whole life, finally makes it. We can use that." She was already typing on her tablet. "People respond to that narrative."
Annie opened her mouth, then closed it.
They turned the corner and ran into The Deep.
He was moving fast, jaw tight, the kind of expression someone wears when they’ve just been spoken to in a way they can’t respond to.
Madelyn’s orders were clear—stay out of public, no photographs, don’t give the press another image of a beaten member of The Seven until the story cooled down.
He saw Annie.
Something shifted in his expression. New recruit. First day. He started moving toward her with the particular energy of someone who had already decided how this introduction was going to go—
Then he took a step and stopped dead.
His hand dropped instinctively as pain flared low, something not working right, and the thought hit—he should go to a hospital, figure out if it was temporary or permanent.
He stood there for half a second, expression tightening, then kept walking without a word or a glance back.
Annie watched him go.
"Did I do something?" she asked. "He seemed annoyed. Is it me or—"
"He got kicked in the groin a few hours ago," Ashley said, low enough that it wouldn’t carry.
Annie stared down the hall where The Deep had disappeared.
"Oh," she said quietly.
After the formalities were done Annie slipped into the bathroom, closed the door behind her, and stood in front of the mirror.
She looked at herself for a long moment.
Then smiled.
She’d done it. Every practice session in the backyard, every small town show, every year of pushing toward something that had seemed enormous from a distance—and she was here. Actually here.
One of The Seven. She could do real good now. Actual good, the kind that mattered.
The door opened and Queen Maeve walked in.
Annie turned immediately.
"Oh my God," she said before she could stop herself. "You’re Queen Maeve. You were my role model growing up, I had your poster on my wall, I used to—" She stopped herself. "Sorry. That was a lot."
Maeve looked at her for a moment.
"Don’t be yourself," she said flatly. "Never be yourself. Smile, wave, say the right things. That’s the job."
She moved past Annie toward the mirror, checked something briefly, and headed for the door.
"Welcome to The Seven," she said without looking back.
She paused with her hand on the door.
"Don’t look over there," she said, nodding toward the corner. Then she left.
Annie frowned and looked at the corner.
Nothing. Just an empty corner.
Then Translucent materialized. Naked. Completely, entirely naked, standing there looking at her with an expression that had no business being as casual as it was.
Annie stared at him.
Maeve leaned back through the doorway.
"Pervert," she said, pointing directly at Translucent. Then she was gone.
Annie looked at Translucent one more time, then walked out without another word.
*****
A/N: Advanced Chapters are available on Patreon.
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