Billy Butcher's attitude toward superhumans was aggressively extreme—anyone could see that. The thing was, aside from Hughie and Billy himself, everyone else in the group either already had supernatural powers or would likely awaken them soon.
From their perspective, someone like Billy—who always insisted on lumping all superhumans together and treating them like enemies—was naturally hard to get along with.
But Billy didn't bother arguing with them. He probably didn't see the point in wasting his breath.
Just then, a new question popped up on the holographic screen:
[After Starlight/Annie January joined the Seven under Vought International, which of the following was the first to give her a welcome gift?]
[A: Homelander
B: Queen Maeve
C: The Deep
D: A-Train]
Annie straightened up, clearly surprised and excited that the question was about her.
She said seriously, "Before I got here, I was preparing for my first public appearance as a member of the Seven. The welcome gift must've happened after that, meaning it's something from the future. I haven't even met most of the team yet, so I honestly don't know who'd give me anything."
"Let's rule out A-Train first," said Stephen, who had just shaken off the emotional impact of the previous question. Now that he realized the game could help save his girlfriend, he was more determined than ever to answer correctly.
Analyzing calmly, he added, "A-Train's caught up in a scandal. He has his own mess to deal with, no time to care about new recruits. That leaves us with A, B, or C. Annie, do you have a gut feeling? Out of those three, who seems the most welcoming to you?"
Annie hesitated, then smiled wryly and shook her head. "I… I'm not sure. If you'd asked me before, I'd have said Maeve. She's the only other woman in the Seven. I've looked up to her my whole life. She always came off as warm and generous in public interviews. But now… I really don't know."
Even though the earlier footage only exposed A-Train's skeletons, it didn't take a genius to guess that the rest of the Seven—or more accurately, Vought's so-called "heroes"—probably weren't any better.
And honestly, it wasn't all that surprising. Once someone has superpowers, very few would use them solely to help others or save the world. Most people would, naturally, look to benefit themselves.
Vought's years of media grooming, combined with the way public focus kept shifting in a sensationalist society, had successfully buried the truth. Most didn't care to dig deeper.
But now, with the truth being forced into the open, some might still look the other way—but not Annie. She couldn't help fearing the collapse of her childhood idols.
Thor stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If I had to pick, I'd go with B. Maeve left a good impression on me."
Deadpool shrugged. "I'm picking B too. Women tend to treat other women more nicely—it makes sense."
Hughie looked toward Billy and asked directly, "What's your take?"
Billy sneered. "You're all idiots. Who says a 'welcome gift' has to be something nice? My pick is A."
"Homelander sees himself as the boss of the Seven—and he is. When a newbie shows up, of course he'll 'welcome' them… probably with something to remind them who's in charge."
Hughie nodded, and just then, the countdown timer started ticking.
Everyone was unsure of the correct answer. After a brief moment of hesitation, they started pressing their buzzers.
Deadpool buzzed in first and chose B. Thor and Annie followed, picking the same.
Billy, Hughie, and Stephen all picked A.
Then the correct answer was revealed—C.
[Player Wade Wilson answered incorrectly. 4 points deducted.
Player Thor Odinson, player Stephen Strange, Player Annie January, player Billy Butcher, and player Hughie Campbell all answered incorrectly. 1 point deducted each]
"Shit!" Deadpool yelled. "We were this close to the right answer!"
Annie blinked as if something had just clicked. "Wait… I did see The Deep at the event. Could it have been afterward that he gave me the gift?"
Billy glared at her. "And you didn't think to mention that before we answered?"
Even though Annie now had her doubts about Vought's heroes, she still didn't like Billy. Her expression turned cold. "I don't owe you anything. If we're being honest, we're competitors in this game, aren't we?"
Hughie raised his hand, trying to defuse the tension. "Okay, okay. I believe she just overlooked it. Either way, we all got it wrong. Let's just watch the rest of the footage."
Billy didn't press the issue. As the video started revealing the correct answer, his attention naturally shifted to the screen.
The scene showed Starlight at home, hard at work training—pushing herself to become a better superhero.
You could tell she was giving it her all, tirelessly committed.
Offscreen, Deadpool whistled. "You've got a great figure, you know. Among the lady heroes I've seen, you're definitely top tier."
Annie felt a mix of embarrassment and awkwardness, though her tone remained modest. "I've been like this since I was little. It's nothing special. There are probably lots of girls out there like me."
Billy shot her a glance, eyes unreadable.
Annie's mother also appeared supportive—though more like a stage mom. She clearly wanted her daughter to make it into the Seven, to "bring honor to the family." It was a bit like those overbearing parents pushing their kids into child stardom.
The footage cut to Annie recording a video—a formal VCR to submit to Vought for the Seven's recruitment.
She wore her custom battle suit, looking both nervous and reserved.
She introduced herself, listing her personal details and powers. She had enhanced physical abilities and could absorb surrounding light, converting it into wide-area energy attacks.
Then came her in-person interview at Vought, also being recorded.
In that clip, she talked about her past, her dreams, and why she wanted to join the Seven:
"I was born with powers. My mom was thrilled—took me to all sorts of little hero pageants, though I hated every minute of it...
But during the Q&A rounds, they'd always ask: 'What's your biggest wish?'
And I always said, 'To save the world.'
The judges would just smile, like I'd said something cute. But I wasn't joking.
Somewhere along the line, 'hopeful' became confused with 'naive.'
But if you're not in this to make the world better, then why do it at all?
That's the dream I've always chased.
That's why I want to be part of the Seven."
__
T/N:
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