You have to admit, Vought—the company that manages superheroes—really knows how to do damage control. Their crisis response team moved fast. In no time, they showed up at Hughie's house with a non-disclosure agreement and a few thousand dollars, hoping he'd sign and stay quiet.
Hughie was furious. He wanted to throw the cash and the papers right back in their faces. But in the end, he couldn't summon the courage. All he managed to say, meekly, was: "I'll think about it."
Watching from outside the screen, the present-day Hughie looked absolutely mortified. Self-loathing washed over his face as he muttered, "Look at that coward—what a joke. Hah! That coward, that clown… that's me!"
"Don't be like that…" Annie sighed. "No one wants to go through this kind of thing. Hughie, it's not your fault."
Billy Butcher gave a dismissive snort. "Well, he's not exactly brave, is he."
Deadpool burst out laughing. "Listen up, coward. If I were you, even if I knew I'd die doing it, I'd still punch that smug bastard right in his perfect face! I gotta say, your whole weak little act is really cracking me up!"
Thor wasn't fond of cowardice either, but even he felt these two were going too far. He cleared his throat. "Enough bickering. Let's keep watching."
Billy shrugged. "I think it's about time I made my entrance."
He was right. The footage shifted to show him.
While Hughie was distractedly working in his electronics shop, Billy showed up, claiming to be an FBI agent. He got straight to the point—he'd heard what happened to Robin, and he wanted to help. What he really meant was: he wanted to take on Vought's superheroes.
According to Billy, Vought's heroes might look squeaky clean on the outside, but behind closed doors, they were hiding a mountain of filth. What happened to Robin? Not the first time—and definitely not the last.
But every bit of negative press had been buried. Hughie was stunned and asked him why.
Billy dragged him outside to the busy street, pointing at the towering superhero ads everywhere. "Movie tickets. Merch. Theme parks. Video games. Billions of dollars in global industries.
All that money and influence buys them political protection. But the real reason you never hear about the bad stuff? It's because the public doesn't want to know.
They love that superhero high. Those shiny golden freaks flying through the skies, saving the world—that fantasy keeps people happy.
But if they knew even half the sick, twisted stuff these guys do... it'd make your skin crawl. And that... is where I come in."
Annie looked back and forth between Hughie and Billy. "Wait, you're actually FBI? Why didn't you say that earlier?"
Deadpool chuckled. "Billy, you're real smooth with that manipulative crap. Poor Hughie didn't even see it coming."
Hughie shot him a glare. "Right around then... that's when the light came down, and we all got transported here."
Billy gestured toward the screen. "Forget the rest of the video for now. Answer me, Hughie—are you in? Will you stand with me to avenge your girl?"
Hughie's eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his jaw. "YES. Of course I will. You know what? Even back then, I was leaning that way. And even without this crazy game, I think I still would've made the same choice!"
In the footage, though, the Hughie back then didn't answer right away. He hesitated—held back by fear.
After all... these were superheroes.
Each one had powers a normal person couldn't even dream of. Compared to them, regular people were like ants—fragile and tiny.
And Hughie and Billy? They were just two ants.
Billy didn't wait for his answer. He turned and walked off. Hughie hesitated for what felt like forever before finally chasing after him.
Billy led him to a strange bar—a bar that catered exclusively to superheroes. And the crowd made the whole place feel... bizarre.
Then they saw it. A man with powers like Ant-Man shrank down to insect size... and dove straight into the body of a woman escort.
Outside the footage, Deadpool and Thor stared in stunned silence—then burst into laughter.
Deadpool gasped between laughs, "That's some next-level creativity. God, I love these freaks. They really know how to party!"
Thor grinned mischievously. "We can't copy that move, but I bet my ant-sized friend already has. Hell, he's probably done it in secret a dozen times."
Even Stephen couldn't help shaking his head and laughing. Superhumans really were something else.
The men couldn't look away. Annie, on the other hand, looked deeply uncomfortable. Thankfully, that part didn't last long.
The video cut to Billy showing Hughie a surveillance clip. It showed A-Train chatting with a friend, casually joking about killing Robin.
Billy even turned up the volume.
"You know how fast I was going?" A-Train said with a chuckle. "I ran so fast through this bitch that I swallowed one of her molars. Like a bug on the fucking freeway."
"Damn, that's nasty!" the friend replied, and both of them burst out laughing.
A life, snuffed out. And to them, it was just a punchline—something to joke about over drinks.
Hughie's face went pale. "Robin's death... it was just a joke to them. And they're laughing..."
The footage ended there.
---
Back in the Eternal Space.
Hughie looked calmer than he had in the video. Maybe he'd had time to mentally prepare.
Annie hesitated for a moment, then softly said, "I'm sorry, Hughie. I—"
Hughie raised his hand. "I don't need your apology. I need A-Train's. I want him to say it to my face."
Billy smirked. "Is that all? That's not gonna cut it."
Annie frowned. "What do you want, then? Take down Vought and the Seven completely?"
"You!" Billy jabbed a finger at her. "You're one of Vought's little soldiers too. Trying to pump me for intel now?"
Annie raised a brow. "I don't need to. If this game is being broadcast, then everyone already knows the truth."
Billy gave a cold laugh. "I told you—people don't always care about the truth. And who do you think defines what the truth even is?"
"You naive little girl."
Thor raised his hand. "Hey, maybe ease up on her, man. You can't just paint all supers with the same brush."
Billy shook his head and said nothing more.
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