The ladies split up.
Ashley went to get the stuff at her boss’ orders while the woman herself led him to the meeting room of The Seven.
On the way, Mason made sure to take his time and observe every mural, bust, and visual attraction he came across.
This inevitably slowed them down, and though the vice president wanted to say something, she had enough experience dealing with supes to know better. Besides, she couldn’t shake off the stare of death she suffered earlier.
Mason had really wanted to kill her. And it made want to put as much distance between them, but the job was the job.
They arrived after a short while since there wasn’t much to look at. Inside the room, the V shaped glass table sat in the middle while the members of The Six and Stan Edgar sat around it.
Stan sat at the head of the table with his face stone cold, the view of the city visible at his rear. Homelander sat on his right, the petulant look he wore drawing mild interest.
Maeve looked disinterested. Starlight reminded him of a little girl who looked ready to run from the big bad man her parents warned her about. A-Train spun idly in his seat and looked on with interest.
Noir offered a stiff, comical wave that made Mason designate him as the bad man Starlight wanted to run from, and The Deep...
Well, let’s just say he had nothing. Seriously, his mind came up blank when the Aquaman rip off walked up to him for a handshake.
“Hey bro. Welcome to—”
“Get the hell away from me.”
He walked past the stunned "hero" and went toward the large monitors displaying all sorts of things. Not one glance was spared toward the heroes or the one who held their leashes.
Stan didn’t like that.
“Mr. Sloan.”
“So you guys really have satellites.” Mason kept watching the feed on the monitors. “I couldn’t think of a worse group to have that kind of power.”
“I assure you, everything we do here at Vought is above board.”
“Heh…” Mason spun to face everyone, chuckling. “Save that crap for those with a taste for it."
He went to the end of the table opposite Stan and pulled the empty seat there to sit on it.
“You must be curious why I'm really here. Truth is, my visit is about consequences. When people cross lines, do things they aren't supposed to, punishment is something that should follow. It's the law of the universe... or it should be. Some people, like you, have disrupted the natural order.” He hit the table with a finger, sending a tremor through it. “And I don't like that.”
He hit the table again and again, staring down the man behind it all without missing a blink.
Assured and confident of his position, Stan met the unspoken accusation head on with his blank, wooden stare.
“Is there something you want to say Mr. Sloan?”
“I know it was you.” Mason stopped hitting the table to point squarely at the man.
Everyone looked at him, then Stan, then at him again, their confusion evident.
“You have that look, that smug, ‘it is what it is’ look. It’s not obvious, but I bet you’re the kind guy who'll order the slaughter of an entire village and when asked about it, you’ll give that stupid, soulless answer. You know the one I’m talking about. Guys use it all the time to justify your inhuman policies and the atrocities.”
Mason changed his voice, doing his best to mimic Stan. “It’s simply the cost of doing business.”
There was a snort, and every available eye in the room shifted to Homelander. He had his gloved hand clenched near his mouth and though most would be embarrassed or ashamed, his facial muscles quivered in a smirk as he ignored everyone.
“I’ve said enough.” Mason spun his seat around and found just the person he was looking for. Ashley was back, with more papers on her clipboard than she left with.
“Is that my stuff?”
She looked to her boss for answers, as if that alone didn’t answer the question.
“Go on.” Madelyn gave her the okay and both women flanked him. Ashley set the papers down one by one while her boss gave the explanations for each.
“Mr. Sloan, are you sure you don’t need a lawyer?”
He ignored her and picked up the papers as Ashley set them down, speed reading each and every one. He wouldn’t say he understood every single thing, but the ample time allowed him to get the gist.
They weren’t playing any tricks. It would’ve been better if they did, considering what he was about to do.
“Is this everything?” He bunched the sheets together and turned to Ashley.
“Umm… yeah.” She shifted her gaze all over the place, looking for support. “You sign those and you get everything that was promised. Though for your enrollment into God U, we’ll need your—”
“Stop. Stop.” Mason waved at her and pulled his phone out. He first checked the time and then the message that caused it to vibrate. With a grin, he opened his account on the gram and started a livestream.
He grabbed the sheets again and brought them into frame before spinning around to capture the agitated heroes and people.
Said people immediately sensed something brewing, and they didn’t like it, evidenced by the looks they shared while shifting on their feat and in their seats.
He gave Ashley a brief glance before focusing on the heroes, setting fire to the papers.
“You guys are truly special. What ever made you think I was going to sign these?”
Blue flames engulfed the stack of sheets as he waved them. Beside him, Ashley and Madelyn urgently stepped back and away at the casual display, both struck dumb by what was happening.
Mason focused the camera on Edgar before holding out a hand as the remnants of the sheets burned silently in his open palm. He blew the ash away and gave the old man his attention once again.
“Did you really think I was going to take anything from you? After you tortured and killed those kids? After you blamed that on me so your,” he waved at The Six dismissively "...heroes, could kill me and cover your tracks? After you killed all those people and tried to kill me at congress?
You must be hella confident or supremely stupid on a scale which hasn’t been seen since you guys created your own terrorists so you can stay in business. Yeah, I know about that too.”
There was a commotion in the hallway right outside the room and Mason leaned back to take it in and leaned forward once more, grinning from ear to ear when he confirmed what was happening.
“Guess who else knows.”
The swish of the jackets and the stomp of arrogant feet announced the presence of the new arrivals. He ensured to capture everything.
“Stan Edgar. You are under arrest on federal charges.”
Men and women boldly identifying themselves as members of the F.B.I. with their jackets, badges and patches walked past him towards the man of hour.
“Turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
The members of The Six and their den mother stared wide eyed as the seemingly untouchable man got helped up from his seat before he was forced to comply with the commands stated.
It was sobering and mind boggling at the same time how much he looked like a regular joe being arrested on the street, cuffed and dragged away with no dignity.
Still in his seat, Mason made eye contact for the briefest of moments where it was possible and savored the shock to the old man’s system.
He would never get tired of watching people eat the boot of consequences when it was forced into their mouths. The suits cleared the room as quick as they arrived and that was his cue to leave.
“I’m done here.” He tapped the table with his index again and this time sent cracks through it. He betrayed a satisfied smirk before leaving his seat and walking out of the room, savoring the stunned looks being sent his way.
Last night, he’d gone to sleep—well not to sleep but you get it—playing out multiple scenarios of how this morning would go. If there was one thing he got right, it was how much he’d enjoy this.
‘Time to call Lexi and share the good news with her.’
Maybe they could even have another podcast discussion so he could give an update on his side of things. Knowing her though, she’d probably want to celebrate before that.
Not that he was complaining, but her… appetite scared him sometimes.
Anytime the slightest chance presented itself, she behaved like a kid who dropped in a land where everything was made of candy. Again, it wasn’t a complaint, just an observation.
One that made him worried she was using him as a sort of medication, as weird, presumptuous, and disturbing as that sounded.
He needed to talk to her, and it couldn’t be on a podcast.
.
.
.
.
The past month had been all sorts of hell for Starlight. And to think it all began with her induction into The Seven, the realisation of a dream she’d had since she could have those.
First, she capitulated to The Deep, choosing her continued stay in what she’d come to know as nothing of what it was supposed to be over her dignity. That particular act of debasement had come with some haunting self-realizations.
Still, she’d been taken advantage of by someone she’d perceived as a superior. It wasn’t as violent or forceful as the more intense and harrowing cases, but it was no less traumatising.
She hadn’t even begun to process the ordeal properly when the end result of Mason’s effort hit the news.
Turned out it was all a load of bullshit!
She wasn’t chosen by God. She wasn’t special. She was like every other person, a normal kid whose parents let their daughter get injected with some drug in exchange for money.
If The Deep’s actions had peeled back a layer that had covered her eyes this whole time, the Compound V reveal was a searchlight that drilled past her eyes into her brain, into her very soul.
And the truth they uncovered was… nothing. She was nothing. Her whole life, her whole existence was a sham. Her identity was non-existent. Starlight wasn’t real. It never was. As for Annie, the story on that front was even sadder.
As though this existential crisis wasn’t enough, congress happened and it further reinforced what she’d come to know about herself. People died in droves around her, and she couldn’t do anything but watch and panic about her own head.
She had powers, she was a hero, yet in that moment she did nothing, because she was nothing.
A lot of things had happened in that timeframe, but none of them ignited a flame in her dead soul like Mason’s visit and the events that followed. Seriously, how was he younger than her but more courageous and more of a hero than she ever was?
Even Homelander deferred to Stan Edgar whenever the latter was present, whether the premier supe knew or liked to admit or not. Yet Mason looked this invincible figure straight in the eye and told the man exactly what he thought of him.
He called him stupid and a murderer. She didn’t know about the former, the latter however couldn’t be hot air since the feds had involved themselves. Right?
With the same dismissive look he’d been shooting at them since he first arrived, Mason swept his gaze past the heroes and people present before leaving with his hands in his pockets, his stride that of a man walking in his own territory.
Soon after he left, Madelyn and Ashley followed. Homelander was all smiles as he stood up and clapped, rubbing his hands together. “Looks like the old man’s crimes finally caught up to him. I always knew something was off about him. Glad I was right.”
Starlight jumped in her seat when he patted her shoulder on the way out. Since her thing with The Deep and that of Translucent in the bathroom while she cried and puked her guts out, she’d been on edge around and in the tower.
It wasn’t just the weird vibes Homelander gave off. The way everyone seemed to know what happened to her but pretended not to. No, pretend wasn’t an accurate description. They knew it, accepted it and moved on, like it was just another HR violation.
That was the norm around here. Sexual assault committed by a hero who’s face was plastered on everything from billboards to the candy eaten by little kids, who was an inspiration to children and adults like everywhere was considered normal.
How could she not be on edge all day everyday? If that was normal, where did blackmail rank? Where did murder? Coercion? What other crime and infringement on free will was accepted in this place?
Did they have supes who didn’t play ball locked up somewhere in the building? Is that where they'd send her if she acted out?
“So… what’s gonna happen now?” A-Train craned his neck back after ensuring their illustrious leader had truly left. He looked to the others for answers.
Maeve and Noir brushed him off, leaving their seats and the room entirely. That didn’t bother him at all since the people he was talking to were the ones left in the room with him.
“I don’t know.”
Starlight offered, breaking her furious and vindicated gaze away from The Deep. Though still shaken by the shocking event that just took place, she found the sulking and destroyed look on her abuser’s face a healing balm like no other.
Seeing that he wouldn't get the answers he needed here, A-Train scoffed and vacated the premises. Ashley and Stillwell were the ones who could help him, even though they would most likely rub the fact that he killed a girl in his face again.
Unwilling to be in any place alone with the fish creep, Starlight hurriedly left right after her speedy colleague.
Was this her chance to do what she’d been afraid to do this whole time?
Since The Deep, the Compound V reveal, the congress massacre and her enlightenment with regards to the culture within Vought, an overwhelming desire to run far away as fast as she could had been birthed within her.
This wasn’t the dream she chased her whole life, dedicating every waking hour of everyday to reaching. It was nothing remotely close to it.
The right reaction had come late, but she’d choose her freedom over whatever this parody of super heroism was.
Another pang of regret nearly swallowed her up. She should’ve just said no when that asshole shoved his dick in her face. No, she should have bitten it off. Too bad she didn’t know better.
And now she was stuck. If she left, she’d have debased herself for nothing. She wanted to emulate Mason and expose everything for the world to see. Unfortunately, she was too embarrassed and afraid.
Maybe he could help her? He didn't seem to fear anyone or anything.
‘What am I thinking?’ Starlight scoffed in self deprecation, plopping herself on the bed in her private suite. ‘He hates Vought and everyone associated with them. I would too if it were me.’
She sank into the bed and the numbness in her soul while she scrolled through his social media. Mason’s brief livestream had already gained wings and spread to every other noteworthy app.
In mere hours, a majority of the world would know what she and everyone in the tower knew.
Mustering up what little courage she had, she tapped his profile, opened his dms and paused there. She typed in some stuff, deleted it and repeated the process over and over before she gave up entirely.
Her finger was millimeters away from the home button when the person she'd been agonizing over the last few minutes sent her a message.