Free Web NovelChapter 11: 11: Starlight’s Savior
There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.
~ Lord Voldemort
___
After leaving Vought Tower, Hillel took his time heading back to his apartment.
He flew over Brooklyn instead, hovering up there to soak in the view.
A news alert buzzed on his phone.
[Official Vought International Statement: The Guardian has officially joined the Vought system. He will serve as a special advisor on Supe threats and carry out high-level crime-fighting operations independent of The Seven.]
Below it sat a slick photo—the shot of him pulling that mother and kid out of the fire.
He had no clue if the reporter was gunning for a Pulitzer, but Vought’s PR machine had already snatched the picture and put it to work.
Those bastards moved fast as hell.
The comment section was a total shitstorm.
One side screamed that The Guardian had sold out and turned into another corporate lapdog.
The other side cheered that joining Vought International would finally let him cut loose for real—going rogue never carried the same weight as official status.
The two camps tore into each other nonstop. Whether they settled anything or not, the topic stayed red-hot and trending.
[Current Ability Points: 34,287 / 100,000]
Still more than sixty thousand short of Level 3.
Hillel pulled up his panel and scanned the key character list.
The ones he’d already interacted with were marked off: Hughie, Homelander, Maeve, A-Train, and Madelyn.
In the uncontacted section, one name glowed with a system highlight.
[Annie January (Starlight) — Expected to join The Seven within three days]
[Key Event Warning: On the night she joins, The Deep will attempt to assault her]
Hillel thought back to the plot.
The night Starlight joins, The Deep corners her in the locker room, makes her get on her knees, and threatens her until she breaks.
That’s the moment her shiny little idol filter shatters for good.
Looking at it now, The Boys probably packed some heavier meaning into that scene, didn’t they?
Three days was nothing. He could wait.
Next, Hillel dove into the work Vought lined up for him.
As special advisor, he handled two Supe crime cases fed straight from Vought’s intelligence department.
Madelyn had Ashley set up some scripted bullshit at first, but Hillel demanded real situations only.
In the end they caved and gave him the exception.
The upside? No need to rehearse any fake-ass scripts for the cameras.
And the marketing numbers at the end? Fucking excellent.
Because unlike the rest of the Supes, The Guardian kept perfect control over his power. The other members of The Seven would go overboard at the smallest excuse.
When they filmed scenes with actors, those poor fucks often ended up as actual casualties thanks to the lack of restraint. It had gotten so bad that Vought started pulling their on-screen villains straight from death row.
Hillel fought crime around the clock, no breaks needed. Especially at night in Brooklyn and Queens—there was always something popping off.
Supe-related crimes had dropped off hard lately, though. What little shit popped up was small-time crap: petty thefts that barely moved the ability points needle.
During this stretch he dropped by Hughie’s electronics store again.
"Hey!" Hughie’s face lit up warmer than last time. "You really joined Vought? The news is all over it... we need guys like you!"
"Oh, I’m just an advisor."
"Then... you still gotta sit in meetings with The Seven and all that?"
"Occasionally."
Hughie hesitated, dropping his voice. "That day with A-Train... was he really mind-controlled?"
Hillel just looked at him.
This kid wasn’t dumb.
He’d seen A-Train’s face up close during that fight. That wasn’t mind control—that was a junkie flying high as a kite.
"What do you think?" Hillel tossed back.
Hughie opened his mouth, then closed it again. A-Train was his idol. Deep down he couldn’t stomach the idea that the guy could be that kind of piece of shit when the cameras were off.
[Key Character: Hughie Campbell]
[Emotional Change: Deepened trust / Beginning to question Vought’s grand PR narrative]
[Ability Points Obtained: +1,344]
...
On the night of the third day.
Vought Tower blazed with lights.
Today was the induction ceremony for the newest member of The Seven. Annie January, codenamed Starlight, officially joined the team.
The ceremony was a big internal affair, not broadcast live to the public yet, but Vought had a camera crew on site recording everything. The footage would get chopped up later into hype videos to push Starlight’s launch.
Hillel showed up as special advisor. He hung back in a corner of the venue, nursing a bottle of champagne and taking the occasional swig. His whole vibe was pretty loose.
He figured nobody in the room actually wanted him there.
Except the new girl, Starlight.
Up on stage, Annie stood in her white-and-gold suit.
Young, blonde, flashing that bright smile.
Nervous as hell, sure, but she was the textbook American sweetheart—exactly the kind of look the public ate up.
Hillel watched her face and felt a weird hit of nostalgia.
In the later seasons of the show, Starlight didn’t look anything like this.
Good thing this version didn’t have body issues—she’d stay this damn beautiful.
While he was checking her out, her eyes were sweeping over everyone below the stage like a kid who just started a new job and was trying to figure out the lay of the land.
When her gaze landed on Hillel, Starlight paused.
In the middle of this fancy welcome party, how the hell was someone kicking back that casually?
She didn’t get long to wonder.
Homelander stepped up to the mic and gave his speech, welcoming the newest member.
The raging psycho Homelander and the polished PR Homelander were night and day. Right now his smile was flawless, his words smooth, and he even tossed in a couple jokes that got the whole room clapping like seals.
The Deep stood on stage too, his eyes glued to Annie the whole time.
A new prompt flashed on Hillel’s panel.
[Key Event Countdown: The Deep assaults Starlight]
[Estimated Time of Occurrence: Tonight 23:00 - 00:00]
[Location: The Seven’s Exclusive Floor]
Two hours later the guests started clearing out.
Hillel didn’t leave.
He still had some "work" to take care of.
Time ticked by.
Hillel’s super hearing picked up movement—two people heading the same direction.
The Seven’s meeting hall.
Hillel stood up.
He flew straight out the window, shot up two floors along the building’s exterior, and slipped into the room right next to the meeting area.
"Do you know what it takes to survive in The Seven? It’s not your powers, and it’s not that pretty face."
"It’s connections."
"And I... can help you build those connections."
No question—that was The Deep’s voice.
"But I... I don’t need—"
"You don’t need them?" The Deep’s tone flipped, turning cold and nasty. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Some fresh-faced newbie who just walked in—what the hell makes you think you can say you don’t need them?"
"Get on your knees."
Hillel nodded. Showtime.
He walked straight to the meeting room door and booted it open.
He didn’t hold back much, so the whole doorframe ripped out of the wall. The door flew inward and slammed onto the conference table with a massive crash.
"Who the fuck—"
The Deep, pants halfway down his ass, jumped at the flying door.
Everything in the room froze.
The Deep stood in the middle of the meeting room with one hand on Annie’s shoulder, trying to shove her down.
Annie’s knees were already bent, her face twisted with humiliation and fear.
Both of them whipped their heads toward the door at the same time.
Hillel floated in slow, his sleek suit giving off a cold, hard shine while the V rune flickered faintly.
He stared The Deep down like the guy was a piece of shit on his shoe.
The Deep yanked his hand off Annie’s shoulder fast.
"Let me explain, th-this isn’t what it looks like—"
Hillel dropped to the floor. The concrete cracked under his boots.
"Shut the fuck up!"
He cut off The Deep’s bullshit and turned to Starlight.
Annie’s eyes were already red, tears running down her face.
"You okay?"
Annie opened her mouth but nothing came out. She just shook her head.
Hillel turned back to The Deep.
"Get out."
The Deep’s legs were shaking like crazy, but he still tried to act tough. "You can’t order me around! I’m one of The Seven, a fucking veteran!"
Hillel raised his hand.
It was barely a twitch, but The Deep looked like he’d seen the devil himself. He spun around and bolted.
He didn’t even stop to wonder if Hillel would actually hit him.
A-Train’s beatdown was fresh as hell. freewёbnoνel.com
This guy had zero taboos—he’d even gone after Homelander, and Homelander couldn’t touch him.
Soon, only Hillel and Annie remained in the meeting room.
Starlight stood there frozen, gripping the hem of her suit so hard her knuckles went white.
"He’s just a pathetic piece of trash who doesn’t mean shit in The Seven. Don’t let that fucker get to you."
Annie wiped her tears and nodded hard.
She used to really like The Deep, but that illusion got smashed to pieces tonight.
Nothing hurts worse than getting fucked over by someone you looked up to.
The panel started flashing like crazy.
[Key Character’s Fate Significantly Rewritten!]
[Annie January (Starlight): Originally destined to be sexually assaulted → Event prevented]
[Key Character’s Emotions Fluctuating Wildly: Fear → Grievance → Gratitude → Trust established]
+3,847
+2,156
+1,934
[Milestone Achieved: Prevented a Key Evil Act (First Time)]
[Milestone Reward: +5,000]
Total this time: +12,937
Current Ability Points: 54,676 / 100,000
Fucking excellent!
Hillel kept the wild grin off his face. Just like he thought—Starlight was the real jackpot.
He grabbed a clean towel from the meeting room cabinet and tossed it to her.
"Wipe your face and go get some rest."
"Come find me if you need anything."
Annie took the towel, wiped her face, and sniffed hard.
"You... The Guardian, right?"
"Yeah."
"T.. Thank you."
"No problem."
Hillel turned and left.
Starlight stood there watching his figure fly off, rooted to the spot for a long time.
