Chapter 7 – Speed Kills You Know?

(Los Angeles – Outskirts, abandoned industrial park)

The car raced faster down the street as the driver swerved to avoid the incoming traffic when suddenly the side of the car was struck by a truck.

Vought Studios presents: The movie event of the summer

The driver, bleeding and coughing blood, cuts himself free from the car as the seat crashes to the ground, wincing and groaning when the broken glass cuts his skin. However, as he pulls himself free from the car his eyes land on a pair of polished business shoes, forcing him to look up at a man in a white suit looking smugly at him.

"You'll never win. Superm-" The bleeding man is suddenly cut off as a gunshot rings out and red blood sprays the bald man's white suit.

Prepare for an action-filled, sky-high, adrenaline-fuelled Super Adventure

"No, Agent Smith, I think I will." The bald man says calmly as he wipes the blood from his face with a handkerchief and then snaps his fingers.

A pair of shadowy henchmenmove forward, kicking over the corpse and pulling out a hard drive from his jacket pocket. They then give it to the man in the bloodstained white suit who smiles as he receives his prize.

With Dakota Fanning as Vicky Vale

An attractive young blonde woman stands on a balcony as the rain pours around her, she steps to the edge looking up. Her face is marked with tears as she wears clothes overly revealing for the weather she is standing in. She has a look of desperation on her face and her voice trembles, clutching her open jacket as she pleads for help.

"Please, they killed my father and now they have the hard drive." The woman spoke with desperation as thunder cracked in the background briefly illuminating her low-cut top. "You have to believe me, they framed him, you are my only hope!"

And Bryan Cranston as Dr. Tux Holler

"Sir, Miss Vale is looking for him…. what do you want us to do?" A heavily armed man stood facing a shadowy figure that was seated behind an ornate carved wooden desk.

"Send Mr. White… he created this mess by killing Agent Smith." The figure leaned forward revealing a man with a full greying bread and an aged yet still charming face. "Tell him I don't want Miss Vale to reach him, if she does then we're finished."

In

"Well?" The blonde woman asked, still looking up into the sky as the storm raged all around her, she suddenly took a step back as a figure in blue landed on the balcony. "Please, give me my chance for revenge against Dr. Holler."

Superman: Steel Justice

"I don't do revenge Miss Vale…but I will give you justice." Superman stepped forward, another crack of thunder sounded, and his S crest was illuminated

In Cinemas August 1st 2019

(July 26, 2019 – Lois Lane Apartment – New York)

"Wow!" Lois shook her head as she looked at the TV from her sofa, wearing an oversized shirt in her underwear and sipping the cup of coffee her guest had made her. "…that looks really…...shit"

Clark chuckled at the assessment of the movie from her kitchen and couldn't find it in himself to blame her, he had been involved in making the movie and mostly felt the same way. Although it was predicted to be the highest-grossing movie of the year and possibly break a few box office records, its main star felt it was crappy cinema at heart. Even after he had forced multiple rewrites and largely gotten the violence and sex toned down, the result was still mostly a power fantasy film relying more on explosions, cleavage, and violence than storytelling.

Lois couldn't help but glance at Clark, which turned into a longer gaze than she intended when he walked back into the room. Although nearly every professional bone in her body was telling her dating a Supe was a bad idea and her head warning her of how dangerous it could be, she found herself unable to try to break things off. The relationship between them was very new and had started with a nice simple dinner but since then things had escalated. Whilst she wasn't sure what to call it, she knew it wasn't something easily dismissed as the occasional hook-up or something of that ilk.

Beyond the obvious physical attractions she had to Clark, which was easy to explain, there was a niggling of something deeper. She found that he was indeed humble, modest and unlike any man she had ever met before in her life, but it was something even beyond that. She didn't have the word for it, which as a reporter irked her to no end, but the two of them just clicked, she found it easy to relax in his company and she believed he felt the same way. Which was why she had returned to LA for a few follow-up interviews with the man of steel, which he had not protested in the slightest.

"Yeah, it's not great." Clark sighed out as he joined Lois on the sofa, currently shirtless as Lois had taken his top to keep warm. "…...but most of the money is going to charity, and- is that my shirt?"

"Uh-huh," Lois replied noncommittally as she continued watching the TV, not bothering to respond to Clark's question.

"Hmm, and you do know I will need that back, right?" Clark teased her by giving her a gentle nudge which she just smiled back at.

"Why? The view is better without it." Lois teased back leaning over to him and whispering in his ear before slumping back onto the couch a triumphal grin on her face as she saw the forlorn look on Clark's face.

"Lois I really need my shir-" He started to lean forward but stopped when he heard a groan escape from her lips.

He was confused for a moment until he turned towards the TV and saw what was causing her discomfort. The news report about Homelander and Queen Maeve saving lives had ended and had been replaced by a commercial for Lois' new show, Hosting Heroes, which was set to air next Saturday. He couldn't help but chuckle which just earned him a half-hearted glare that ended when he raised his hands. The channel was suddenly changed with a hit of the remote causing Clark to groan this time as another advert for his upcoming movie appeared, earning a triumphal smirk from Lois.

"You know what? Keep the shirt, I packed a spare." Clark finally decided to move back to the bedroom.

"Wait, you packed a spare shirt? …..Wait, you packed?" Lois asked, confused as the visit had been a spur-of-the-moment decision when she had called him last night.

"Yeah, er, I mean no, I didn't pack specifically for coming over." Clark clarified as he reappeared in from the bedroom with a flannel shirt on and carrying a large rucksack that Lois had failed to notice last night. "It's from my 'Go-bag' here."

"Go-bag?" Lois asked, looking at the large back that seemed to be packed to near bursting, oddly it seemed, with an assortment of things from shampoo and spare socks to bandages and emergency glow sticks.

"Yeah, it's a habit I got into when I started helping out outside of Kansas," Clark explained. The bag was dropped next to the sofa before he retook his seat. "First time I responded to something truly out of Kansas was this mine collapse in Alaska, 78 people trapped. It was before I really got the hang of the whole flying thing so I felt exhausted after helping. Without the energy to head home I had to spend the night, only…."

"You didn't have any spare clothes," Lois finished his sentence earning her a nod from Clark.

"Yeah, had to borrow a shirt from a local shop and worse was all the mining chemicals that got stuck to my skin and hair." Clark elaborated with a chuckle as he remembered his first truly independent save across state lines. "It stankto high heaven and would not come out in the hotel shower. So since then when I travel out of state I take a Go-bag with me. It started out as spare stuff and just sort of… morphed over the years."

"I can see that." Lois joked pointing to the overpacked bag that had just toppled under its own weight, earning a laugh from Clark. "So, when are you heading back to LA? They must be missing you."

"Not really, crime's at an all-time low and if anything comes up, I can get back in no time. So, I was thinking of taking in some sights, like Vought Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and Times Square. That's enough to catch before heading back" Clark shrugged, having finished up a massive sweep of the west coast before coming over and had set up numerous alerts if something went wrong. He wasn't worried about getting back just yet.

"Yeah, right." Lois chuckled thinking Clark was joking before looking over and seeing the frown on his face. "Oh, wait, you're serious? I mean sure, I actually have most of the day so I could take…..wait, have you never been to New York before?"

"Nope, first time in the city." Clark gave an honest smile. "This is the furthest East I've ever been, actually. When I was younger, I was told the Seven had it covered and when I got older I was sent out West."

"Wow," Lois' eyes widened before her burrow furrowed and her brain went into reporter mode as she noticed a question that she really should have asked. "So, you really never met Homelander or any of the Seven?"

"I met Queen Maeve once when I was 9 at one of those Vought Super Sports events, but that was just a photo and a handshake." Clark's expression turned thoughtful as he tried to recall the heroes he's met. "As for the others, the only other one I've met is the Deep, he responded to an oil rig fire off the coast of Texas around the same time I did."

"And how did you find him?" Lois asked, her voice quiet and her gaze analytical, wanting to judge Clark's reaction. He had been honest with her, but she wanted to know just how honest he was when it came to something as big as the Seven.

"Deep was, well…." Clark trailed off trying to find the right words to describe his brief and bizarre encounter with the Deep. "He was weird, went pale when I showed up, hardly said a word when helping out and swam off as soon as the save was over."

"And that was it, nothing else?" Lois couldn't help the surprise in her voice as her eyes widened at Kal's brief interaction with one of the Seven, who were usually a team that did plenty of showboating and local interviews.

"Yeah, that was it. I guess it's hardly a surprise that the fish guy is just weird." Clark joked with a smile, but it faltered as he saw Lois' narrowed eyes and thoughtful expression. "Lois, what's wrong?"

Lois didn't answer straight away. Her mind was racing as she processed everything that Clark's words had revealed. Since meeting Clark, she would admit her perception of the man had shifted for the better and after researching the man, she had reached the reluctant conclusion that he was the real deal, something the cynic in her found difficult to accept. However, although she did accept it, it had not changed her views of other Supes at all, she had uncovered too much for her belief in the entire industry to shift.

In a business that banked on the sensational interactions between superpowered celebrities, Clark had seemed to have actively been kept away from the Seven and Homelander specifically. She had spent enough time searching through Vought's garbage to spot one of their falsehoods from a mile away, and Clark having been kept from the East coast because the Seven had it handled was textbook corporate BS. It was also Deep's in-person reaction that sealed it for Lois.

"Clark, what would you….." Lois was about to reveal everything Perry and her research had told her and ask what would he do about someone like Homelander murdering people, but stopped herself.

Come to think of it, what would Clark do? She was pretty sure he would do what she expected he would do, which was to confirm what she said. Then stand-up to reveal Homelander's nature to the world and help the government put him in jail. Whilst that was a nice idea, and she was sure everyone would ideally want that; Lois was a pragmatist and knew the world didn't work like a comic book. It wasn't as black and white as The Man of Tomorrow swooping in to punish the bad Supes and everything would be okay, no, reality would be far harsher.

Homelander would never go quietly, he would fight back and even if Clark could take him, which she wasn't a hundred percent sure about, the battle between the two of them would likely level everything in a hundred miles. Beyond the potential apocalyptic fight they would have, she was sure it would rip the country's soul in two. Homelander was the undisputed leader of the Supe community and was hugely popular across all demographics across America. It wouldn't be a simple affair to just reveal what he was, the man would likely just claim that his competition was making fake news and rally people to his side. Clark blowing the lid off the true nature of most Supes would likely spark a civil war in the Superhero community unless Homelander was taken out in the first opening move.

And that was the sticking point, Clark would have to take out Homelander. He was the only one who could, and the leader of the Seven was too powerful to be placed in any prison. If he was left alive then he would likely try to destroy everything he could get his super-strong hands on as one last fuck-you before being stopped. Lois wasn't sure Clark had it in him to do that, having spent more time with him and researched everything she could, she could say with absolute certainty one thing: Clark wasn't a killer.

"Lois?" Clark asked with concern creeping into his voice as she trailed off.

Lois swallowed the lump in her throat and decided she needed to think more before she pulled the pin on this grenade. "…..what would you want to start with? Times Square? it isn't too far from here."

Clark's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt Lois' change of attitude. Something didn't feel right, and he could tell she was holding something back. However, without an inkling of what was wrong he was forced to let it slide.

With practised movements, on went a pair of glasses and a baseball cap. Shoulders slouched forward and a shy, non-threatening grin transformed Clark Kent from a superstar into an awkward farm boy in the big city. "Well then Miss Lane, let's uh, push off shall we?" He decided to enjoy the day for the time being and talk about what was bothering her later.

(6 hours and One visit to Time Square Later- Several Dozen Blocks from Time Square)

"Okay, I think… it's this way?" Lois said as she held up her phone again trying to get the GPS to work properly.

"How can you be so bad at this when you live around here?" Clark joked. Lois had gotten completely lost after insisting they get off at a subway station three blocks back.

"Hey! New York is a big place okay; do you know all of LA like the back of your hand?" Lois asked, but immediately held up her hand when she saw the small smirk that Clark gave her. "Wait, don't answer that! Just give me a minute. I think it's the cell reception."

"Really I think you're ju-" He started to tease but cut himself off as soon as he heard the sound of rushing wind and fast-paced footsteps.

Clark turned his head and widened his eyes before he shot forward like a cannon to grab Lois. Despite the speed, he made sure to position his hands right to prevent injury. Lois was safely lifted and spun out of the way as New York's resident speedster A-Train blitzed through the street without care, barreling away like he was at one of his races. What caused the most alarm for Clark however, was not simply the stupidly unsafe velocity A-Train was going at or his lack of awareness but the fact that the man was covered in blood and gore as he rushed past without even bothering to stop.

Lois' version of the events was just a blur of motion. She had been trying to get a signal on her phone to get her stupid app to work, then she was suddenly several feet away from had been. Clark's strong arms had prevented her head and neck from getting whiplash, but her phone hadn't survived the wall it had been flung into due to the speeds she had just travelled at. She was about to speak when Clark suddenly moved her over to a trashcan near them, and before she could protest she suddenly felt her stomach churn.

"Grrgh! Blrr! Wha-aat was that?" Lois managed to get out between laboured breaths as she emptied the context of her stomach into the trash can.

"I don't k-" Clark's attempt at an explanation was cut off when the sound of screaming reverberated down the street prompting them both to look in its direction.

"AAAAAAAAHHH! NOOOO! NOOO! ROOOBIIINNN! OH MY GOD! ROBIN!" A man was screaming at the top of his lungs, and it was clear he was about to hyperventilate.

Clark turned to Lois who merely just nodded prompting him to rush down the street. However, when he reached the scene, he froze. Splattered haphazardly across the street were the remains of a human being, if they even could be called that. The body had been reduced to gore and pools of blood, with little pieces of bone and flesh floating in them as they drained into the sewer system. The man who was yelling was standing with his face and front covered in blood as he cried out one name over and over, "Robin," holding all that remained of the victim: two severed arms.

"Oh god! Sir, sir are you all right?" Clark was careful to move around the pool of blood and try to calm the man down.

"R-Robin she, she, was, was, was.. huh, hhhhhhhh-" The man couldn't speak. He was clearly in shock as he started to gasp for air, desperately looking at the spot his girlfriend had been.

"Okay, okay. Just take a deep breath. I'm Clark, what's your name?" Clark tried to speak slowly and calm the person down before his shock got worse.

"I-I-I I'm Hughie, Hughie, Hughie Campbell." Hughie managed to stutter out while his brain shut down in horror at what he was seeing. "Oh god Robin, she's, she's…."

"I know, Hughie, I am sorry, just take a deep breath. I'm here to help. Let's put these down first…."

Hughie stopped responding. His eyes remained locked on the bloody limbs clutched in his hands. Clark could see he was fully in shock, and moved to pat him gently on the wrist.

"Hughie, please, look at me. You have to let go. There, now let's sit down and I'll get help, okay?" Clark's words seemed to have the desired effect as Hughie gently passed him the arms which he placed carefully on the floor and managed to seat the other man on the curb.

"Clark what's…. OH SHIT!" Lois had arrived running after Clark, once she had finished emptying her stomach, only to feel like throwing up again at the scene.

"Lois, I need you to call 911, get the police and ambulance here quickly," Clark spoke calmly as he rubbed Hughie's back whilst on one knee trying to calm the man down.

"I can't! My phone was totalled," Lois responded, looking desperately around for something to do.

"That's okay, it's okay." Clark responded gently not wanting Lois to panic over thinking she couldn't help, which just wouldn't help the situation. He took his own reinforced phone out and handed it over whilst keeping his eyes on Hughie. "Take my phone, make the call. I'll help Hughie here."

"Hughie, can you hear me? I need to know if you're hurt in any way?" Clark turned his attention back to the man sitting on the ground whilst Lois called for help.

If his words had made it through, Clark truly did not know as the young man while babbling hysterically. It was mostly random thoughts his traumatised brain must have been thinking about before whatever it was had happened: there were mumbles about Billy Joel, a raise, Pizza Rolls, and an apartment. However, there was one thing he did repeat over and over again that caused Clark to freeze and start to puzzle out what had occurred.

"A-Train, A-Train, A-Train, A-Train, A-Train, A-Train. Couldn't stop, he couldn't stop, couldn't stop, couldn't stop, couldn't stop," Hughie kept repeating those words in-between the rest of the gibberish his shocked mind was pouring out.

Lois heard the words too and immediately saw a brief flash of emotion cross Clark's face. It wasn't sadness or sympathy or even empathy, it was sheer indignation and unbridled rage, which quickly left his face as he focused on helping the person in need sitting next to him. Lois wasn't sure what was going to happen next but she knew one thing, she didn't want to be A-Train when it happened.

(Annual Shareholder Event - Vought Tower/The Seven Tower – August 3rd, 2019)

Annie wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing, the rush of people around her was beyond insane. She also couldn't believe she was here in The Seven Tower, about to be unveiled as the next member of THE SEVEN, not only that but the second female member as well. She would be following in the footsteps of Queen Maeve, the Empress of the Other-World, the most inspiring woman who ever lived! Never in her wildest dreams had her life taken such a turn, even after a few days ago when she got the call. The only thing missing was Clark.

She had tried to call him and had left several voicemails about the whole crazy ride she was on, but where he usually responded with a witty text or left a voice message of his own, he had gone silent. She hadn't heard a peep out of him for nearly a week now, the closest she had got to seeing him was watching the new VNN show Hosting Heroes with Lois Lane. The piece had been overly flattering for Clark, with the typically intrepid and hard hitting reporter Lois Lane having seemingly willingly sold out to giving free publicity with an honest smile.

However, Annie's thoughts on Clark were abruptly halted when she heard two Vought employees talking nearby, obviously ignorant she was within earshot. She knew she wasn't supposed to be hearing this as the woman who had been guiding her, Ashely, had suddenly rushed off after getting a frantic call over her headset. Apparently, the Tower had an intruder who was threatening to crash the Annual Shareholders' meeting.

"So, how's everything going on your end in the PR department with this Star-babe chick they've brought in?" Evan Lambert, one of Vought's top PR consultants, asked casually as he picked at the spread that had been laid out backstage.

His comment caused Annie to frown. That wasn't what she expected from people who worked with premier superheroes. She had half a mind to barrage over to him and demand he apologise for the sexist and disrespectful term he had used, but her curiosity got the better of her and she kept her mouth closed and ears open. She wanted to know what Vought thought about her from an unfiltered viewpoint.

"Honestly, fuckin' fantastic, I am so glad to be moving away from the A-Train bullshit. Guy has no sense of public image at all, and did you see his apology? Guy absolutely butchered my lines, what a schmuck." Evan's coworkerSeth Reed responded, picking up a glazed doughnut. "We already got cracking on a new costume for her, I'll bring you in on it, you did great work on Ice Princess' outfit."

"Thanks man, I really need to get in on the ground floor of something big. But I'm surprised Countess, Nadia or Moonshadow didn't get the spot." Evan responded while taking a plate and grabbing a handful of pastries from the table.

"You didn't hear?" Seth's eyes went wide and his tone made Annie look around and then moved closer to catch what the man had to say.

"Hear what?" Evan's curiosity was only outmatched by Annie's.

"She only got the spot because Superman pulled some strings." Seth responded with a conspiratorial whisper, making it difficult for Annie to overhear. "Dig this, he dialled up Stan Edgar and told the bossman that she had to be the next member of the Seven."

"Wow….. so, what, he's fucking her?" Evan asked the crass question so casually it caused Annie to both go red with embarrassment and infuriated with the insinuation.

"Maybe, I don't think so, she's too small-time for him. What I heard is that he only sleeps with high powered types, A-list celebs, you know, top grade supermodels or Tier-1 Supes." Seth just shrugged his shoulders like the statement about her best friend was common knowledge. "I only know he has a different woman most weeks and throws the most primo orgies in town."

"Well he is the only Supe in LA and California, the proud city and state of porn stars." Evan responded with a snort. "I'm guessing he's just raising her profile a bit so that he can keep up his rep of sleeping only with the best. I mean, he used to date Lana Lang, now that woman's fuckable"

"Yeah, what a piece of ass. But Superman always kept his shit bagged like a shopping spree, supposed that's what happens when your aunt is Mary Clark." Seth joked, causing his friend to laugh at the harsh fact that was slowly turning Annie's view of her friend on its head. "Even without her, the guy's incredible. I'd love to work in his PR department any day. Look at what he did to Lois Lane, took a fire-breathing tiger and turned her into a pussycat."

"Yeah, one that gets her milk straight from the source if the gossip around the newsroom can be believed." Evan revealed his own little knowledge about Clark that caused Seth to look at him in disbelief, not having heard that rumour. "Son of a bitch, and she's just his type: fuckable, hot, famous and connected. Heard he gave her a 'really personal' interview that got her coming back for more."

As Seth laughed at the very unsubtle comment on Clark's relationship with women, Annie suddenly felt her head spin while a churning started in her gut.

'Clark's always had rumours swirl around him but come on, he's Clark they can't be true… can they?' Her mind was starting to go to dark unsure places that she never liked to dwell on and had prefered to ignore. Every famous person had a cloud of gossip around them, but her friend didn't just have a few; he had hundreds and hundreds, many of which were similar to the ones she just heard.

'He did get awfully funny with me when I joked about doing crazy stuff in LA. We don't have the best track record with male Supes being honest with us either. Remember Alex and the whole "Oh no I'm clean" act we bought for years.' Annie's mind started to put the pieces together and she wasn't liking what conclusions she was drawing, all of it was starting to add up and…. 'AND MOM KNEW! Oh god, she knew I was going to get this position! She snuck out to speak with Clark that night when she thought I was asleep, dear Jesus, and she always wanted me with him!"

Annie was starting to feel sicker when suddenly a more rational, more sceptical part of her mind butted in to calm her down.

'You idiot, this is Clark Kent! The boy who wouldn't even stand next to Holy Mary unsupervised, let alone look at her for god sakes, he's literally your best friend. We should talk to him, get his side before we throw anyone under the bu-' This reasonable side was cut off when, like magic, the subject of her thoughts appeared before her, complete with his Superman suit! Her friend was muscling past a team of security guards and pushing his way through the backstage, causing the two PR guys to jump to the side as he appeared.

"Mr. Kent please!" Ashely was trailing close behind, clearly frantic for him to stop and listen to her, and by her tone she was getting desperate. "Please, let me get you your own box to watch the meeting or maybe an espresso or, or, or anything you want! Please, just stop!"

"I want to talk to Stillwell, now" Clark responded, his voice going into a tone that Annie had never heard before. "Or you can just give me A-Train."

"Um, um, I ca-ca-can't do that, sir."Ashley stuttered out, not sure how to deal with a pissed-off Supe, certainly not one of the most powerful on the planet.

"Yo, Superman." Suddenly the Deep strolled past the curtain, having heard the commotion. His polished smile started gleaming when he saw Clark, who the new appearance had actually managed to stop in his tracks. "You here for the show, buddy?

"No, but maybe you can help. Have you seen A-Train?" Clark focused hard on the Lord of The Seven Seas as he asked the question, his face still fixed in a grimace.

Ashely started to furiously shake her head behind Clark and started signalling with both hands in every way possible that the Deep was to keep his mouth shut. The other hero's eyes widened as his public persona started to crack, looking between Ashely's pleading eyes and Clark's stone-cold ones.

"I, I, um well I-" The Deep started to flounder but was saved when Madelyn Stillwell appeared having been signalled Clark was there and had managed to get off stage briefly to deal with it.

"Deep, they need you to run lines. Ashley, I've got this," The businesswoman gave them her most professional smile, and both quickly recused themselves while Annie just barely managed to slip behind a nearby curtain. "Well if it isn't Mr. Kent, Man of Steel himself. you here to take me up the exclusive management offer I made to you with the Seven?"

"I want to talk to A-Train. Your office has been dodging my calls for a week now," Clark responded coldly, signalling he was not there for a social chat.

"I might be able to arrange something, maybe a public training session, or a race? That would generate a lot of buzz…" Stillwell offered, trying to steer the conversation away from whatever Clark wanted to talk about.

"Don't try and play me." The sound of a single superhuman footstep rang across the room and Annie watched as Vought's VP of Hero Management recoiled in fear. "It's gone on long enough. You know why I am here; I will speak to A-Train."

"I-I-I know it's a tragedy what happened, but rest assured we are…. managing the situation." Stillwell managed to recapture her composure as she tried her best to meet the powerhouse's steely gaze. "A-Train is just distraught over what happened, I can assure you that this will all get sorted."

"Sorted? Managed?" Kal asked in disbelief, scoffing at Stillwell's words as he leaned in close. "A-Train ran through someone, and I want to make sure he gets the message."

"I can assure you that he's already got the message, he won't make the mistake of doing it again…. in public at least. But you have to accept some level of collateral damage in our line of work." Stillwell's blatant disregard for the loss of life chilled Annie who went pale at the words and looked at Clark.

He didn't respond verbally and due to the curtain she still couldn't see his face. Annie was begging every higher power she believed in for him to disagree, anything to shatter the nightmare she was in but he just stayed quiet. 'Oh god….it's Alex all over again. What an idiot I've been.'

Clark for his part was trying to stay calm while he digested the suspiciou that the rumours about certain members of the Seven were true. He wasn't silent because he agreed or accepted Stillwell's words, but because his parents had taught him to be polite. He also doubted whether the iron grip he had on his anger would hold if he opened his mouth. Which given how fragile people were was not a good thing, so he was opting to compose himself before responding.

"That's… I want to talk to him." Clark stated again, taking a deep calming breath.

Although his words were given as an ultimatum, Annie was past seeing things in a hopeful light as despair and negativity swirled in her head. Every niggling doubt and fear she had that her friend was not as pure as he seemed rushed into her head, clobbering any hope at reason prevailing at the time.

"Look, Mr Kent…. Clark, that's not going to happen. You might be Stan Edgar's golden boy, but this is still The Seven who collectively earn 14 times your annual revenue and are the premier Superhero team in the world." Stillwell shot back deciding she had enough of walking on eggshells, if she could deal with Homelander she could deal with this jumped-up hick. "…..and I am not Lois Lane whom you can fuck to do what you want. Oh yes, that's right, I know all about you two."

"Starlight! Has anyone seen Starlight!" Ashely's voice called out causing Annie to jump and rush away from the conversation, something she was glad to do as she was starting to feel sick.

However, Annie's sudden departure resulted in her missing Clark's very visible reaction to Stillwell's comment on him. He moved so suddenly that Stillwell staggered back and Clark's eyes flashed red with an unspoken threat. However, as quickly as his anger came it left him, as he calmed himself not wanting to stoop to the low level of using his powers to frighten others.

"My relationship with Miss Lane is none of your concern; in the future, you will speak of her more respectfully." Clark's eerily calm nature after his flash of anger actually made Stillwell feel more unnerved than ever.

With Homelander she knew how to control him because the man was pure Id, just push the right buttons, satisfy his appetites, and you got him to do what you wanted. In fact, nearly every Supe she knew was like that; they wanted to be famous, wanted the power and to stand in the spotlight. However, the man in front of her gave off a vibe she wasn't used to. Here was a hero with ideals, with control, both of which she had no idea how to exploit.

"There is a man, Hugh Campbell Junior. The person killed was his girlfriend and the love of his life. I want you to make sure he is taken care of, A-Train apologises publicly, and this doesn't happen again. EVER." Clark gave his ultimatum just wanting to leave now as he was feeling sick to the stomach dealing with Stillwell. "Or A-Train will wish it was just words."

He didn't bother waiting for a response but instead turned and walked away pushing through the small click of people that had gathered to watch the confrontation. Stillwell released a deep breath that she had been holding in and looked down to see her right-hand shaking. Steadying herself she gave a quick glare at the gathered people who quickly fled and returned to their work as if nothing had happened.

'Great, that's just what I need, Superman showing up and threatening one of the Seven, all just to sell his image as the golden boy of the Supes. Honestly, Mary is taking her PR stuff way too far, I mean, we've all heard the rumours of LA's underground scene' Stillwell mentally sighed to herself, trying to recompose before returning to the stage and her speech. 'I'll just get the legal department to up the compensation by a couple of grand and get the networks to re-air A-Train's apology.'

With events rationalised and her thoughts settled, Madelyn plastered a smile back on her face and moved to return to the stage. Someone still needed to save the audience from the dreadfully boring man from the accounts department who was going into the fine detail of VI's stock prices and market fluctuations.

(The Seven Tower – Conference Room – Late Night, August 3rd, 2019)

"Whoah! I mean, wow…"

Annie couldn't hold in her amazement as she entered the most elite and sophisticated room she had ever seen.

In truth, she was glad for the distraction and wanted to revel in her success. So what if Clark had pulled strings to get her this, it was still her moment to shine, and if he wanted something for it he was sorely mistaken. She was a member of the Seven now, Earth's Most Mighty, the shining example to all other heroes. The sweet, honourable kid she had known from Kansas might have been gone and replaced with a sleazy, devious LA playboy but the Seven were still the Seven.

"Pretty cool, huh?" The Deep's voice brought her out of her short musings as she gave him a grateful smile for showing her around so late. "Oh hey, check this out. We have two World-View-4 Satellites in geocentric orbit. We can basically read a getaway car's license plate from 380 miles up."

"That is just…... I mean…." Annie was at a loss for words. The sheer contrast to the world she had just left for this one was creating the ultimate diversion from her troubled thoughts. "God- I was working with a police scanner that I bought on EBay, with money I borrowed from Cla-"

Annie cut herself off not wanting to remind herself or talk about her friend whose true nature had been suddenly shoved in her face. Thankfully, the Deep didn't seem to mind or care about the abrupt cut-off, he just chuckled.

"Yeah, well, not anymore you're not." The Deep joked before gesturing to her to follow him over to the Seven's table. "Oh and wait till you check out the dining room. We may or may not have stolen Miro from Gramercy Tavern. Yeah, he's fan-fucking-tastic."

"That's his, isn't it?" Annie stopped herself as she pointed to the head chair at the Seven's Table, the chair that arguably belonged to the one man who could rival Clark.

"Homelander's? Yeah." The Deep replied as he moved to touch the chair pulling it out slightly as he talked. "But you'll have your own soon. Here, come on. Give it a test drive."

Annie just shook her head, not wanting to risk angering the one man who could help her deal with Clark if he didn't take her rejection well. The thought paralyzed her for a moment: deal with Clark, my god, things had become so messed up in less than a day. Her friend had gone from the guy she could always rely on to someone she might need protecting from.

"Come on." The Deep pushed with a chuckle thinking she was just nervous but suddenly looked a little concerned before seeing her freeze up. "Oh, you okay?"

"Oh yeah, great." Annie quickly recovered for once thankful for her mom's acting lessons for those awful pageants she used to do. "It's just….I used to stand in the mirror, imagining, pretending to be where I am right now. Back in Des Moines, with the Young Americans, we didn't have anything like this. It's a dream come true."

'Although I always thought Clark was going to be next to me when I made it.' Her mind just had to dredge up the fact, but she again shoved it to the side.

"You know something?" The Deep moved forward, starting to lay the charm on thick as he saw his opportunity. "On my first day I, uh….well I felt like a fraud. Yeah….but the good news is, everybody feels that way."

"Thank you." Annie chuckled and was grateful for the statement that was making her feel so much better after the day she had.

"And, hey, we're a team now." The Deep smirked as he moved back over to the table area already adjusting himself for what he craved. "We'll help each other out. You know, I bet growing up you had a poster of Homelander on your wall?"

"Well, no, actually I….I don't know, Homelander's so…Like Jesus or something. His kindness, his incredible wisdom…" Annie responded, giving a small chuckle as she tried to sum up her reasoning.

Not mentioning the real reason was that the man had reminded her so much of Clark growing up having a crush on Homelander would have felt weird, like a crush by proxy. That wasn't even touching on the rumour she heard when little that Homelander might actually be Clark's biological father. She loved the Kents but when anyone really looked at Jonathan and Martha next to Clark, it was near impossible to see any similarities, so rumours had spread if Jonathan or even either of them were Clark's real parents.

"If you want to know the truth, I actually had a poster of you." Annie got herself back on track hoping the funny story of her youth would ease her transition into the team.

"Really?" The Deep responded as his hand crept closer to his zipper when Annie looked away mistaking his tone for a friendly interest rather than that of a predator about to pounce.

"Yeah, yeah, my friends used to tease me about it," Annie responded, by friends she meant friend and by a friend she meant Clark. "I kind of- OH MY GOD!"

Annie turned around only to be met with the shocking sight of The Deep, trousers unzipped, currently stroking himself in full view. She was paralysed for a moment. The sheer shock of what was happening caused her mind to stop working before his voice stirred back to reality.

"What?"

He didn't even bother to stop moving his hand as he spoke, causing Annie to become more revolted somehow. "I mean, you said you had a crush on me. I figured that, you know…"

"What- what's the matter with…." Annie couldn't finish her sentence as she spun away and started all but running for the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey." The Deep moved too, reluctantly pulling his trousers up but without zipping them as he knew he wouldn't have too. "Look, you're gorgeous. I'm not talking about sex, just a little bit of pole-smoking."

Annie, however, didn't stop or respond just moving faster to the door but her dazed state slowed her allowing the Deep to catch up with her. Stopping at the bottom of the small steps that lead to the doors a confident smirk on his face.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." The Deep smug voice carried clear to Annie's ears and what followed stopped her in her tracks. "It's just a question of how bad you want to be in the Seven."

Annie stopped dead in her tracks as she felt a well of righteous anger rear up inside of her causing her to turn and activate her powers, her eyes glowing gold as she did so. Her powers caused the lights to flicker and the screens lining one wall to crack, as her power surged to life.

"Excuse me?" Annie's voice was all threat as she stared down at her fellow Supe with his cocky grin.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy there, firecracker." The Deep chuckled as he moved towards Annie, ego rolling off of him. "Settle down. We're just talking. And look, I know you're powerful. I get it. Your powers are no joke."

The Deep gestured to the cracked screens with one hand whilst he used the other to keep his trousers up. That simple action caused Annie's skin to crawl as it implied a brash carelessness about what was happening like this was somehow normal.

"The thing is…..I'm the number two around here. And you only got here because my pal, Superman, didn't want to lower himself sleeping with, well, a B-lister." The words froze Annie's blood, causing her fears from earlier to rush back and quench the fire that was building in her. "So, like, if I say so, you know, you'd be out of here. Especially since you attacked me."

"I what?!" Annie finally found her voice, shocked that Deep or anyone could think to play the victim in his shoes.

"Yeah, look." The Deep pointed to the cracked screens that were still showing static to prove his claims. "I mean, Iowa's sweetheart, the Defender of Des Moines, just went psycho and attacked the Deep. I mean that, plus the fact that Superman would back me up since you ruined his fun….well that would put you out of business."

"I, no, I mean no one would be-" Annie tried to respond but started to feel her resolve crack as the reality of what was happening crashed around her.

"Believe who? The Deep and The Superman, over a chick whose hands glow." The Deep responded and found himself readying his waistband again as he saw his ploy was working. "You heading home to the corn belt, back to mommy, tail tucked between your legs, all those kids disappointed. Whilst we just get another girl willing to play the game in."

Annie felt tears starting to well up in her eyes as she found herself for the first time in her life powerless. Not even able to react as The Deep dropped his trousers again, a sickening smirk on his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I mean, that's not what you really want is it?" The Deep asked as he brushed a few stray hairs behind her ears, his touch revolting but Annie was so terrified she couldn't react. "So, all you need to do… is play the game, do your part and all your dreams can come true. So what do you say, firecracker? Ready to blow this candle?"

The hand on her shoulder felt like lead as it gently pushed her down to her knees. Annie wanted to shout, scream, to run or fight back but all she could hear in that moment was her mother's voice. It gave the same heart-wrenching, gut-churning advice Annie had heard her whole life.

'Keep smiling, Annie, the show must go on'

So Annie January didn't fight back, she just allowed herself to be forced forward as The Deep cupped the back of her head, and felt sick to her very soul.

(Lois Lane's Apartment – New York – Early Morning, August 4th, 2019)

"Annie, it's Clark again, please call me back. I know things must be crazy busy for you but I'm starting to get worried. Please just let me know you're okay." Clark spoke into his again after receiving another automated response from Annie's number.

"She still not replying?" Lois asked. Although not a fan of Supes she was still worried for Annie because she was Clark's friend.

He replied with a deep frown, "Yeah, which is not like her. Usually, I'm the one missing calls from her." He was growing more concerned with each minute Annie wasn't messaging him. "There were times in the past where I literally came back to a voice box full of messages from Annie. I'm worried"

"What did Stillwell say?" Lois asked, wanting to find out as much as possible before advising Clark on what he should do.

"Nothing really, and what she did say isn't worth repeating." Clark's voice took on a harsher tone as he crossed his arms after putting down his phone as a pensive thought crossed his face. "I'm starting to feel like this whole thing runs deeper than I first thought."

"What are you thinking?" Lois looked at Clark curiously as his face became one of calculation, his hand coming up to stroke his chin. She felt a twinge of hope in her chest at his words but didn't want to say anything in case it ruined it.

He didn't reply straight away, his mind clearly busy working something out as he thought long and hard about the issue at hand. However, after a few minutes of thinking he finally realised what he should do.

"I think I need to call my Aunt." Clark's grin became larger as he picked up his phone again and speed dialled his aunt. "There's a race I need to crash, and everyone I want to talk to is attending."