The Seven conference room.
"Hi, Dark Star.
How does it feel on your first day joining the company?"
"Have you encountered any trouble?"
In the conference room, Ashley, the PR Director and Assistant for The Seven, saw Ron walk into the room, her face wreathed in smiles, fawningly greeting him and reaching out to shake his hand.
Ron walked past her expressionlessly, ignoring her, glanced at Starlight, and sat down in his seat.
Ashley, the Assistant for The Seven, had a personality completely at odds with her beautiful name; she was snobbish, cowardly, bullied the weak, feared the strong, and engaged in promiscuous relationships.
He didn't want any physical contact with such a person.
Sitting nearby, Starlight secretly felt envious.
When she had arrived at the conference room, Ashley had only exchanged a few casual pleasantries with her, nowhere near as enthusiastic as she was with Ron.
"Both of you, tomorrow night, you will undertake your first mission."
Ashley, who had been ignored, awkwardly coughed twice, pretending nothing had happened; although Ron was new to the company, his status was special, as Madeline, the Vice President, had specifically instructed.
"The company has assigned me and my colleagues to explain the important points you need to be aware of…"
Queen Maeve and Black Noir were already familiar with these things; Ron and Starlight were different, as two newcomers, they needed prior training.
"That's great…"
Although Ron treated her like a stranger, which hurt and angered her, thinking about her first mission joining The Seven, Starlight's face lit up with surprise and some excitement.
"Vought's operations are different from what you imagine."
Ron said coldly, crossing his arms.
Soon, this girl from a small town in Iowa would no longer be so naive, and she would witness a dark corner of Vought.
"What do you mean?"
A puzzled Starlight pressed for an answer, but received none.
Ashley led the people from the Crime Analysis Department to begin explaining the details for tomorrow night.
After more than ten minutes, as she listened, Starlight fell into confusion and bewilderment.
The company had designed a separate operational route for each of them, where they would combat crime led by veteran members.
At several points along the routes, based on the company's intelligence, crime was highly likely to occur, ensuring opportunities to 'show off their skills' along the way.
"Excuse me, may I interrupt, is this intelligence accurate?"
She hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask.
"Our department specializes in processing satellite data, combined with other sources of information, to summarize and identify; based on analysis, there's over a ninety percent chance of crime occurring at the locations you'll pass through tomorrow night."
The person from the Crime Analysis Department spoke with confidence, then added dismissively.
"Even the New York Police's intelligence isn't as good as ours."
"Why… why don't we inform the Police and cooperate? If multiple cases happen simultaneously… we might not make it in time."
Having received a confirmed answer, Starlight asked hesitantly.
"Starlight, don't you understand that Superheroes and the Police are in competition?"
Ashley and the employee exchanged glances, as if they had heard a funny joke, and mocked.
"Are your first publicity events going to be outshone by the Police?
If the Police deploy a large number of personnel to simultaneously prevent and solve several crimes that night, while you and Dark Star each only solve one?"
"Please, the public will think you can't even compare to the Police, so how will they like you?"
After saying that, she and her employee left the operational routes behind and departed, but before leaving, seeing Starlight's naivety, she sternly instructed.
"Starlight, this is a company order, not a discussion; you must execute it this way tomorrow night."
Only Ron and Starlight remained in the conference room.
Starlight sat in her seat, lost in confusion by herself, but wasn't this treating ordinary people's lives as a game?
Weren't the duties of Superheroes and the Police both to protect citizens?
How could two parties who could clearly cooperate be in competition?
"That's just how Vought's Superheroes are."
Ron stood up and scoffed, calling out to the bewildered Starlight as he walked out, signaling her to follow him to a place.
"Come with me, I'll take you somewhere."
"Where? A hotel or a guesthouse?
Or your home?"
Starlight, in a foul mood, looked up, recalling yesterday's events, and couldn't help but say angrily.
She thought Ron was going to try his 'old trick' again in a different location.
"A place where you can see the true private lives of many Vought Superheroes."
Ron left after throwing out that sentence, not caring if she would follow.
He believed that Starlight, who had just glimpsed a dark corner of Vought and realized something was wrong, wouldn't fail to follow.
"The true private lives of Superheroes?
Wait for me."
Thinking of The Deep and Maeve, who were different from their TV portrayals, Starlight briefly hesitated for two seconds, then quickly caught up.
"Where are we going?"
…
That night, in front of a deserted alley, there was a tightly shut iron gate.
"Go up and knock."
Ron gestured.
He brought Starlight to a private club that Vought Corporation secretly arranged for Superheroes' private entertainment, aiming to shatter Starlight's naive illusions.
"What is this place?
Why don't we enter through the front door?"
Looking around, faint music could be heard from inside; this looked like the back entrance of a nightclub or bar. Starlight, who had changed into casual clothes and tied up her golden hair, looking much prettier, went forward and knocked on the iron gate, while turning back to ask curiously.
"This club is only open to a very small number of people; it has no sign, no front door, and no windows."
"Why?"
"Because everything inside cannot see the light of day."
Someone inside opened the peephole, saw Ron's face, and after comparing it with their records, quickly opened the iron gate, welcoming Ron and Starlight inside like honored guests.
"Welcome, Mr. Dark Star."
Starlight awkwardly followed the expressionless Ron inside.
…
Ten minutes later.
"Superheroes? These are the Superheroes I've admired for over twenty years?"
The scene shifted; in the alley, Starlight's eyes were blank, and she walked out as if sleepwalking, mumbling.
Her entire being seemed broken, and her worldview had been shattered.
Ron simply took her on a quick tour of the club; he did nothing else, yet that alone shattered her twenty-plus years of admiration and longing for Superheroes.
Inside, she saw many familiar Superheroes: Termite, Ghost, Captain Parallel… and even Ezekiel, a Superhero revered as a representative figure by devout followers.
But they were completely different from how they appeared under the spotlight and on television.
They were surrounded by women, embracing them.
Everything inside was without limits, so filthy and depraved it defied imagination. People were snorting 'white powder,' reveling freely and shamelessly, making one nauseous.
"The abilities of Superheroes allow them to excel in certain aspects to the fullest."
Stepping out of the nightclub and breathing in the fresh air, Ron, who was also visiting this place for the first time, looked back and couldn't help but comment.
"In a sense, these people are also talented."
Saying this, he glanced at the nearly ten thousand Power Points he had gained, and prepared to leave.
"Yesterday, you shattered my illusions about you, and today, you shattered my illusions about all the Superheroes in the World."
Leaning against the wall, recalling the scenes inside, all that disgusting stuff, Starlight felt nauseous but couldn't vomit, her face pale.
"Are you just going to leave like this?"
"What else?"