Fallout

Maya had changed into fresh clothes after stepping out of her superhero suit.

She was now wearing a simple tee and jeans.

She looked around, feeling completely out of place in this huge, luxurious dining room. The ceiling-high windows, glittering skyline view, and massive dining table all seemed unreal. She let out a breath, trying to settle in, but instead, she kept thinking of Scott.

『Maybe I should talk to him… just explain everything.』

Maya started rummaging through her bag for her phone, but just then, a room service attendant appeared, clipboard in hand, ready to take her order.

He gave her a polite, expectant look.

"Good evening, Ms. Rivera. What would you like for dinner?"

The man asked with a slight bow.

Maya blinked.

"Uh... I'll just have a burger and fries. Maybe a Coke?"

The attendant's polite smile faltered and his eyebrows raised slightly. He looked around at the elegance of the room, clearly thinking her order didn't match the setting.

"May I suggest, perhaps, the filet mignon with truffle sauce and a side of roasted vegetables? Or a caviar starter? And we have a 2005 Château Margaux, an excellent vintage."

He hoped she'd go for a more "fitting" option.

Maya shrugged, a little lost.

"Uh… sure. Whatever you said. That sounds… fancy."

The attendant nodded thoughtfully before disappearing through the double doors.

Moments later, he returned with a gleaming silver trolley, topped with an impressive spread: a meticulously plated filet mignon, garnished greens, wine bottle, and crystal glassware.

Maya watched as he laid out each item, feeling both amused and out of her depth. As she adjusted her plate, she suddenly heard a familiar voice from the other room.

"Maya's phone. This is Vincent Lakewood."

Maya stiffened as her eyes bulged out.

『VINCENT HAS MY PHONE──?!』

She stood up and headed toward the sound, only to find Vincent standing by the window, casually holding her phone as he talked.

『This… fucker…』

As she got closer, she caught part of the conversation.

On the other end, she heard Scott's voice.

He sounded cold and serious.

"This is Maya's boyfriend, Scott McQueen. So, let's choose your words REALLY carefully."

Vincent froze for a split second.

Vincent was a bit surprised at how sloppy he'd gotten.

It'd been a while since he last tried to drive a wedge between a client and the worthless person they were dating. The last time he'd pulled something like this was a few years back with a pregnant woman and her talented husband—who ended up becoming a popular hero with TitanTech Industries.

Now, seeing how close Maya was with Scott, Vincent made sure to block Scott on all her social media accounts so he couldn't contact her. He even deleted Scott's number from her phone, though it seemed he'd missed blocking the line before deleting it.

That detail annoyed him, but it also gave him an idea, one that felt toxic but tempting.

Because of this, a smirk crept onto his face.

"Ah… Scott, right? The BOYFRIEND."

He raised his voice just enough to make sure Maya could hear.

"Let me guess… you're the disgusting parasite holding Pulsar back from becoming a megastar."

Maya's breath caught, and she stopped in her tracks, gripping the doorframe.

"Excuse me?"

Scott sounded just as stunned.

"Pulsar? How… who are you?"

Vincent didn't even hesitate.

"I'm with Priority Solutions, the most respected talent management company under the Hero Agency. We're TitanTech's official partner, and as of a few days ago, I also happen to be Maya Rivera's agent."

On the other end, Scott's blood froze.

He quickly put two and two together.

『So what Gwen was saying that time… the newbie superhero that's trending is… it's her…』

His voice turned cold.

"So… you're the guy who's got her all over Instaflick, parading her like she's your latest product?"

Vincent chuckled, completely unbothered.

"She is my client, and yes, Scottie, branding is part of being a hero these days. You wouldn't understand. While you're messing around in that public toilet you call a high school, we're creating the next big star."

Scott's grip tightened on his phone, so hard that tiny cracks spread across the screen. Gwen noticed and shot him a wary look, trying to follow the conversation.

"Put Maya on the phone…" Scott said, his voice cold as steel.

Vincent just rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, no can do. I'm not going to waste her time on—what was it? Oh, right—a disgusting parasite."

He laughed, clearly enjoying this.

"Put her on now…" Scott repeated with a tone so harsh that Gwen blinked in surprise.

Vincent sighed theatrically.

"Well, I think we're done here."

He started to pull the phone away.

"I have actual work to get back to."

"PUT HER ON THE PHONE!"

Scott's voice rang through the speaker so loud that even Vincent flinched.

That was enough for Maya.

She rushed forward and practically yanked the phone from Vincent's hand with blazing eyes. She didn't even look at him as she held the phone up to her ear.

━ ━ ━ ━

Maya took a deep, unsteady breath and gripped her phone tightly. She could feel her heartbeat picking up, her palm growing warm and a bit sweaty around the phone as she mumbled softly.

"Scott…?"

In that moment, her voice was very fragile.

There was silence on the other end.

A suffocating silence.

She swallowed and tried again.

"Scott…? Are you there?"

Finally, he spoke, but his tone was cold and restrained.

There was just a razor-thin line holding back the full brunt of his anger.

"I have one question for you, Maya."

Maya's breath hitched. "Wh-, What… what is it?"

He didn't pause, didn't soften.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

She felt her stomach twist into knots.

"No! No, Scott, of course not, I—"

"Don't──!"

He cut her off.

His voice was sharper now, like glass shattering.

"You lied to me, Maya."

The force of his words made her freeze.

She'd never heard him like this… Scott, the person who'd always been her steady ground, now sounded like he was holding back something dark, something painful.

Maya bit her lip, feeling like a kid caught doing something way worse than she ever thought possible.

She knew Scott couldn't stand being lied to… honesty was one of the most important things to him. He was ready to tell her everything about himself, even the truth about the System and his secret identity, and had just been waiting for the right moment.

But now, her lie seemed to mess all that up.

In the background, Gwen watched him, eyes wide with shock as she picked up on the intensity of the moment.

『I knew she'd hurt him…』

She never liked Maya Rivera.

And this… this simply reinforced her hatred.

Scott finally drew a shaky breath while his voice softened just slightly, as if trying to manage the storm within.

"What do you want, Maya Rivera…?"

The question was simple, but it felt like a thousand-pound weight pressing down on her.

She searched for the right words, but everything came out wrong, stumbling and stammering.

"I-, I don't know… no, I do, it's just… I want to matter, Scott. I want to be more than just another face in the crowd. Not a superhero celebrity, but… a symbol of hope. Something… something that actually makes people smile, that gives them a reason to look forward."

Scott listened, and with each word she spoke, she could feel the heavy silence between them, like her words were just draining him. When he finally replied, his voice sounded almost empty, like he was barely keeping himself from losing his cool.

"You know… you've said all that, and somehow, I don't even hear my name in any of it. I get it, Maya. I'm just your boyfriend, not your husband. But I thought maybe… maybe we were starting to take this seriously."

Maya's throat felt tight, her mouth dry.

She couldn't find the words to explain, to justify herself.

"Scott, it's… it's not like that. I care about you, and…"

"It's fine."

He cut her off, not wanting to hear her excuses.

For a moment, she thought he'd hung up, but then his voice returned, softer, drained.

"I know you want to make your mark, to do something great like your dad and his scientific breakthroughs. But, Maya, this… this isn't the way. You're not a commodity. You're not here to entertain the world. You're here to serve it, to help people who don't have the power to save themselves. These companies don't care about that. They care about profit. The minute you stop making them money, they'll drop you faster than you can imagine."

Maya swallowed hard as his words struck something deep inside her.

She hadn't thought about it that way.

She wanted to be something more, yes, but Scott made her question if this was really the path she wanted.

"Maya… you already matter to me. You don't need a fancy agency, or some big brand deal to prove that."

She felt her heart tighten, but something stubborn still lingered, a desire to at least see where this road led.

"I get that, but… I still want to try, Scott. I want to see what's out there. You don't always have to protect me. I can handle myself."

"No, Maya, you can't…"

Scott snapped as his voice broke with frustration.

"That's exactly what they all say. And the moment these heroes taste fame, they lose themselves. They become—"

"Corporate slaves?"

Maya's tone was defensive as her voice rose.

"I'm not a child, Scott! I know what I'm doing. Just because you weren't born superabled doesn't mean I need you constantly lecturing me."

Silence dropped like a bomb.

She immediately regretted it.

Heavy guilt bloomed in her chest.

Quickly, Maya tried to backpedal.

"Scott, I didn't mean it like that, I just…"

He stopped her with a sigh.

"No… you've said enough."

His voice was devoid of warmth, like he'd finally reached his breaking point.

"Anything more, and I might actually end up hating you."

A shiver ran through her, and her voice caught.

She couldn't get any words out.

She just bit her lip, took a step back, and handed her phone over to Vincent with a face of deep regret.

On the other end, Scott exhaled shakily, prepared to hang up when Vincent's voice interrupted him.

"Hello again, Scott."

Scott responded flatly, "What?"

Vincent's tone was self-assured, irritatingly smug.

"Do us a favor, would you? Don't call this line again. Soon, you won't be able to anyway."

"I don't care." A calm reply from Scott.

"Oh, really?"

Vincent sounded entertained.

In the end, this was all a fun game.

"Well, in that case, maybe it doesn't matter to you that Maya's set to pair up with a certain high-profile superhero who'd be excellent for her image. Not to mention he's got the wealth and status to—"

Scott cut him off. "I don't care."

Vincent chuckled, the sound low and taunting.

"That's right. After all, you're just a high school kid with no future in this world, aren't you? You and your legacy. Don't think we haven't checked."

Scott's grip on his phone turned bone-white.

He was right on the edge, teetering dangerously close to losing all composure.

Vincent's voice dropped to a dark murmur.

The final push.

"Interesting background your mother had. I didn't realize she was the—"

Scott's roar of anger cut him off as he hurled his phone at the wall and shattered it on impact.

━ ━ ━ ━

"OHHHH YESSSSS!!"

Vincent eagerly kicked one leg out like he was in an action movie and then raised his fist in even greater excitement. He paused for a moment to think about the aftermath of Scott's confrontation.

It went exactly as he had hoped.

"Perfect."

He muttered as he tapped on his wireless earphone.

"This is just the beginning."

Vincent whipped out his smartphone and flicked through his contacts until he found his assistant, Sarah.

"Sarah. I need you to schedule a meeting with The Peak. Let's get one of Metro City's youngest rising heroes paired up with Pulsar ASAP!"

"Isn't Pulsar already in a relationship?" Sarah replied.

Vincent threw his head back and laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's all about the narrative. Make it happen. I want them to have a date as soon as possible. Trust me, the public will eat it up."

"Got it. I'll set it up."

Sarah gave a quick answer and hung up.

Moments later…

Vincent approached Maya's bedroom and could feel the gloominess in the atmosphere. As he got closer to the door, he started to hear muffled sobs coming from inside her room.

"Maya?" he called softly, knocking gently on the door.

"Go away!" she sniffled.

Vincent opened the door to find her curled up on her bed with puffy, red eyes.

"Are you alright?"

He did his best to act concerned.

Maya sluggishly looked up.

Her face was a huge mess of anguish.

"I… I'm not really okay. I just need someone to talk to. Maybe I can call a friend or something, right?"

Vincent's expression brightened.

"Maybe if this was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but haha, it's not! Now go rehearse the scripts you'll be using when you go live. If you can keep this crying up until then, it'll be perfect. Fans love a good heartbreak drama!"

"Is that all you can think about?"

Maya shot back at Vincent.

She could no longer hide her frustration.

But Vincent just kept smirking.

"Listen… you might think I'm evil, but what's even more evil is wasting a plate of perfectly good filet mignon."

He gestured towards the untouched meal on her dining table, perfectly plated and looking as if it had come straight from a five-star restaurant… which made sense considering this was Crown & Compass Resort.

Maya glanced at the food with disinterest.

"Vincent, this isn't a joke."

"It's not a joke, it's strategy. Use your emotions. The more you pour your heart out, the more people will connect with you. We need that connection, especially now."

Maya shot him an incredulous look.

She was half-laughing, half-crying.

"Really, Vincent? You want me to fake cry for the camera while I'm here… feeling like this?"

"It's not faking if it's real emotion!"

A greedy grin spread across his face.

"Besides, we're in the entertainment business, darling. People want the drama. Let's give it to them."

He said as he gave her a small pat on the head.

Maya still looked very sad.

However, Vincent still kept pushing the idea.

"Just imagine the headlines, Maya! 'Pulsar's Heartbreak: Rising Star Rebounds with The Peak!' The media will eat it alive! Oh my fuckin' gawd I miss this so much!"

"…"

Maya's tear-stained face soured even more.

━ ━ ━ ━

Back at Westerfield High…

Gwen let the uncomfortable silence settle even more.

She wanted to be sure Scott had a chance to breathe out some of his anger before she would talk.

"Scott?"

No response.

"Scott!"

Gwen tried again with a more urgent voice.

Still nothing.

Gwen's heart raced as she took a deep breath and shouted his name one last time, louder this time.

"SCOTT!"

Finally, he turned to her.

"What?"

There was something strange.

Something absolutely wrong.

His expression disturbingly calm.

Gwen studied him closely.

She easily noticed the forced smile on his face.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Scott replied easily.

But Gwen wasn't convinced.

The smile felt hollow, like a mindless body grinning without a single spark of will power.

"Scott, really… are you okay?"

He looked at her as a flicker of something dark crossed his empty face before he turned away.

"I have to go do something."

"What about the glowy thingy we came here for? Weren't we going to test it?"

Gwen pointed at the glowing object on the workbench.

Scott didn't answer; he simply walked past her and shut the heavy door behind him with a definitive thud.

Gwen's heart sank as she watched him leave.

Something was off, and she could feel it in her bones.

What Gwen didn't realize was that this would be the last time she'd see Scott for the next two weeks.