It had been months since Betsy Granger, aka Starbright, had been initiated into the Elite. What had once been her dearest wish had become a desolate reality; she realized quickly that the Supes weren’t at all who they were made out to be.

The Vast and B-Train were still making her life in The Tower a living hell. Having kept her mouth shut about everything so far, Betsy had silently taken the abuse, relieved that their threats of force hadn’t come to pass. Queen Dolly still avoided her, keeping to herself and doing whatever she was told by Jenna or the producers. Red Noir secluded himself completely, though he surprised Betsy constantly with some of the unusual hobbies he was into. Beastlander barely had a word for her unless she was grouped in with something during a team meeting. Even Stormfury seemed less enamored of her these days, though Betsy couldn’t help to notice that she disappeared a lot during the days after stressed phone calls.

Thankfully, her days were always so filled with appearances and events that she barely had time to notice.

On this particular day, she and Beastlander would be making an appearance at a religious festival just outside of the city. Hordes of Supes were invited to participate, all of them hoping to earn a place in the Elite if they impressed. Fans from all over the United States would be there, just to catch a glimpse of their favorite hero in person. Sitting in front of the mirror in the tent they’d set up for the women, Betsy looks at what BoB Corps had turned her into. The wavy, blonde extensions in her hair added to its thickness and luster. Her functional, modest super-suit had been forcefully traded in for the skimpy romper she now rocked. Even her makeup was done accordingly, little dabs of gold and silver splashed across her cheeks and around her eyes. Living this life in silent agony had been the worst experience of her life so far.

And that’s not even including the fact that she hadn’t seen Howie since that fateful afternoon on the park bench.

Often, the good-looking stranger who had overheard her meltdown flitted across her thoughts. Those soulful brown eyes, that warm smile, even the surprising strength in his touch… She was often surprised by how much she yearned to see him again. Often, Betsy would make her way back to that park bench and wait, hoping that perhaps one day, he’d take the seat next to her once more.

The day had yet to come.

Feeling increasingly discouraged by the chances of another encounter, Betsy had stopped going to the bench. She kicked herself every day for not giving him her number while she had the chance. Caught up in the moment, she had foolishly believed that he would always be on the park bench when she arrived.

Focus. Now was not the time to long for what you never had.

Sighing, Betsy finishes crimping her natural locks and adjusts her costume to cover herself as much as she could. It was going to be a long day and she needed to be mentally prepared for it. Wondering about Howie would have to wait.

There’s a gasp and a flood of bright sunlight when the flap suddenly opens up on the women. Uninvited, Beastlander walks arrogantly into the tent and scans the small space. It doesn’t take long for his probing eyes to fall on Betsy. He looks her up and down before giving her a nod of approval.

“You look perfect, dear. It’s time to go do our first appearance of the day.”

She nods mutely, rising to her feet and reluctantly walking to where Beastlander stood. It hadn’t taken long at all for her to learn that his facade of nice after her interview had been exactly that. Underneath the charming smile and baby blue eyes was the cold heart of a ruthless man. Beastlander cared for nothing and no one, often laughing at the misfortune of “smaller” people. Betsy had stood by in horror as she watched him massacre a village, taking multiple civilian casualties along with the terrorists they were meant to fight.

“Thank you, sir. I’m ready when you are.”

He nods and exits the tent, much to the relief of Betsy and the other female Supes. His reputation in the community was spread through all reaches of the US, and nobody was particularly keen to find themselves alone with The Beast. Several of the other lady Supes had already whispered their sympathies at having to deal with such a sociopath on her own.

They had no idea how bad things had been.

In her short time with the Elite, Betsy had not only witnessed him callously cutting down innocent villagers with his laser beam eyes; she had been with him and Queen Dolly on a rescue mission that had gone awry. Terrorists had hijacked a plane, all they had to do was neutralize the terrorist and bring the plane down. In all his mentally unstable wisdom, Beastlander had cut down one of the terrorists, who had shot the pilot, and in doing so, took out the entire flight control panel. When it was obvious that everyone on the plane was doomed, Queen Dolly and Starbright had begged Beastlander to save the passengers. He laughed them off when they suggested he go outside and secure the plane's landing using his inhuman strength. Starbright begged then that he come back for the passengers in groups; that’s when he had turned his laser eyes on her for the first time and had ordered her to shut the fuck up. Queen Dolly had begged him to at least save the children, to which he vehemently denied her, claiming that they would go to every news outlet with the story.

Her stomach churns uneasily in her stomach as she relives the moment they watched the plane crash, killing everyone inside instantly. She on one side, Queen Dolly on the other, and Beastlander holding them both as they floated in the air and watched.

“Starbright, get the fuck out here!”

Beastlander’s authoritative tone interrupts the dark thoughts swirling through her mind. Forcing the publicity smile to her face, she nods and gets to her feet, heading towards the door. A moment later, the Elite Supes are side by side, smiling and waving at the adoring fans that had gathered around them. Holding out his hand for her, Beastlander looks over at Starbright with a reassuring smile that sets her teeth on edge. Determined to keep up the charade, Starbright accepts his proffered hand and they walk down the red carpet together, playing up for the crowd.



“Beastlander! Starbright! Over here, over here!”

Blinding flashes from the camera bulbs still manage to deter her vision, even under the bright, sunny sky. It causes her to stumble over a stray wire that she hadn’t seen; Beastlander catches her smoothly before she can fall entirely. She flashes him a grateful smile, but his eyes are empty and not even a hint of a smile graces his face.

“Hold it together, for fucks sake.”

He kept his tone low enough for only the two of them to hear, but Starbright heard the menace lurking beneath. She’s aware that he’s still holding her in a slight dip position and for one wild moment, Betsy wonders if Beastlander would drop her on purpose. A moment later, after several pictures snapped and a rousing cheer, Beastlander snaps his face back into the friendly public persona he puts on and sets Starbright back on her feet. They make their way down the rest of the red carpet incident-free and eventually disappear through a set of doors. Inside is a group of VIP fans, lined up for their photo opportunities with the two Supes. A group of excited young girls rushes over, all holding their autograph books open excitedly. Charmed by their little faces, Starbright drops to a knee and begins engaging with them happily, giving each of the girls a hug after signing her name in their autograph books.

“Hey Starbright, show us your tits!” One of the men in the crowd yelled, his voice slurring with the early morning alcohol he’d been drinking.

Looking over at him with a bewildered expression, Starbright shakes her head and ignores the comment, turning her attention back to the children. That was until his buddies joined in on his drunken request. Suddenly, there was a loud chant through the crowd.

“Show your tits! Show your tits!”

Appalled, Starbright gets to her feet, first shooting a desperate glance at Beastlander. He returns her expression with an emotionless one of his own and shrugs, turning back to his fans. Struggling to ignore their disgusting demands, Betsy turns away and takes her marked spot and the line begins to move. Much to her chagrin, the group of men acting like pigs was in her line, leering at her as they inched closer and closer. Her heart pounded nervously when she looked up and saw that they were next. There were three of them, all much larger than her, not that it would make any difference. They surrounded her, still looking at her as though she were a meal; after a few seconds, one of them put an arm around her shoulders, allowing his hand to fully cup her left breast. Another of the guys puts his arm around her waist and allows himself a palmful of her ass. The third guy kneels behind her and pushes his head between her legs, smiling trollishly. Anger causes her powers to flare, but that’s the least of their problems. Before another moment could pass, she squeezes her legs together, nearly taking off the third asshole's head. Pulling her body away from the other two, she grabs the first guy's arm and swings him around to collide with his other buddy. This sends the first two crashing into the third, who is still sputtering and red-faced.

The crowd goes berserk, those closest to Starbright cheering her on, while those towards the back screamed in confusion. Beastlander was at her side in a flash and pulled her out of view; once he got her securely secluded, he digs his fingers into her arms and shakes her violently.

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

Starbright gapes up at him, shocked at his reaction. “What do you mean? I was defending myself from those assholes; thanks for the backup, by the way.”

“Don’t you take that snippy tone with me, young lady,” Beastlander growls, shaking her again. “You never, EVER, put your hands on those civilians, no matter what the fuck they did to you. There is security you call to have them handled.”

“Security should have had them removed the moment they started asking to see my tits. This is supposed to be a Christian event and there are fucking children in there!” she hisses back, forgetting for a moment who she was talking to. “Security wasn’t worth dick, so I handled the situation myself.”

Beastlander lets out a deep-throated growl and slams her hard into the wall. “If you pull another stunt like that, you’ll be out of the Elite faster than B-Train on a hooker… And that’s if I don’t snap you in half like a twig. Do you understand me?”

Shocked into silence, Starbright nods, willing herself not to break down in front of Beastlander. He nods, finally releasing her; stretching his neck and readjusting his collar, he disappears through the curtains and heads back to the waiting crowd. Starbright takes a few extra moments to compose herself, causing Jenna to peek her head through the curtains.

“Jesus Christ, will you pull it together already and get out here? Your fans are waiting!”


---------------

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Later on, Starbright found herself wandering through the crowd. She had just finished a session with a gaggle of young women who were just entering the adult world. Despite her willingness to open with the girls about love and sex, the minister beside her had constantly shaken his head no. Through gritted teeth, she told the girls about how she was a virgin and would be until she was married. When they asked about Drummer Boy, she could barely hide her smirk as she lied about the nature of their relationship. By the end, she felt dirtier than she would have by telling those girls the truth. And in just a few hours, she would have to get on stage in front of the entire congregation, made up of thousands of fans and religious nuts, and lie to their faces again. As she walked blindly around, reflecting on how everything in her life had become a scripted lie of perfection, she realized that a male voice had been calling her name repeatedly.

“Betsy! Is that you?”

His voice tugged at her recent memory and her heart flooded with hope. Turning around slowly, she finally brings herself to look…

… And finds herself face to face with Howie.



Unexpected emotions flood through her as she looks up into his gorgeous brown eyes and takes in that excited, albeit surprised, smile on his face. He’s dressed in blue jeans, a black t-shirt with a blue blazer over that. Around his neck is a press pass; at least now she knew what he did for a living.

“Howie! I can’t believe this, it’s so nice to see you again!”

Without thinking, she rushes over to the near-stranger and hugs him tightly. He’s taken off-guard for a moment, but finally puts his arms around her too and hugs her tightly. They stay like this for a while before Howie breaks the hug and escorts her to a more private area so they could talk. Once they are alone, both begin talking quickly at the same time.

“Howie! I can’t believe you’re here, I was just wondering about you today.”

“Betsy! I can’t believe this, you’re Starbright? Being in the Elite, that was the job that had you so rattled up the day we met?”

They stop at the same time and look at one another before bursting into laughter. For the first time in months, Betsy felt completely comfortable around someone; without thinking, she reached out and touched his arm gently as she laughed. He looks down at it before looking back at her, sobering up suddenly as something behind him catches his eye. They sit down on a nearby bale of hay, putting their heads close together to keep the conversation as private as possible.

“Yeah, I’m Starbright, and yeah… That phone call you caught was about the Elite. Certain members have… Made it a point to make my life hell.”

“That’s fucking terrible. I’m sorry to hear that… And surprised. I thought the Elite were the good guys?”

Betsy nods, feeling her stress levels beginning to rise again. “You’d be surprised at the shit that goes down in that tower... Oh, but you’re with the press? I shouldn’t be telling you all of this!”

Howie grabs her hand and squeezes it gently. “Don’t worry, Betsy; anything we talk about here is strictly off the record.”

And just like that, it was like a dam broke inside of her. Before she can stop herself, the words are tumbling from her mouth. “The Vast has been making my life hell ever since I refused to suck his dick my first night in the tower… His brain-dead buddy B-Train has joined him. They send notes and threaten to rape me constantly if I don’t come willingly soon. Beastlander is so self-involved, he doesn’t notice anything that goes on beyond Stormfury’s tits. He’s sent to save the day and it ends up a massacre, and he just licks the blood off his hands like it’s dessert. I…” her voice cracks, but she forces herself to continue. “I’ve been forced to stand by and watch him kill innocents… The people he was meant to save, cut down just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And all he can say is ‘oops’ and brushes it off, and BoB just covers it up like nothing happened. It’s getting harder to live with myself…”

She hides her head in her hands as the tears begin to fall freely. Howie holds his arms out awkwardly to hug her, but he looks up and sees his associate giving him a stern look. Not wanting to test Axer’s patience today, Howie allows his arms to drop uselessly to his sides. Torn between wanting to comfort his pretty new friend and carry on with the task set to him by his crew, he allows the first words in his head to pop out of his mouth.

“Hey, we all have to deal with some rough shit at work sometimes, am I right? It’s all about how we overcome it that makes us who we are.” Betsy looks up at him, utterly nonplussed. Guilt tears away at him, but he continues. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to have the power to get me a pass to go to the real festivities, would you? Press passes only get a man so far, but there're so many more Supes here that I’d love to pick the brains of.”

Stunned out of her tears, Betsy swallows back the sudden grief and rage that floods through her body. Nodding stiffly, she straightens her shoulders and clears her throat. “Yeah, of course… I’d be happy to.”

-----------------

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While Starbright was busy speaking with a high-ranking government official, Howie looked around in sheer awe at the mass gathering of Supes in this one tent. Beastlander had been joined by Stormfury and they were currently entertaining Big Preach, a Stretch Armstrong type of fellow with a passion for the Good Book. Nearby, he spotted Theo Pryce was deep in conversation with Sparkler, a young Supe who had recently discovered her power over electricity. Looking around, it slowly dawned on him that he was one of a handful of non-Supes who had made it that far; the revelation set his heart racing as he gripped at the fake press pass he wore around his neck. He turned back towards Starbright to tell her of his dilemma and found himself face to face with a beaming Beastlander. Despite the friendly smile on the Supe’s face, Howie noticed the threat lurking underneath. He takes a hasty step backward to compensate for the sudden invasion of his space.



“Howie Miller, I’m guessing? Starbright was telling me about you…”

Recovering, Howie nods and accepts Beastlander’s proffered hand as he manages to stammer out a reply.

“Only good things, I hope. Yeah, I’m Howie; I believe you need no introduction, however.”

“I should think not,” Beastlander says with a bored chuckle.

At that moment, Big Preach approaches them, clapping a hand over Beastlander’s shoulder. “Are you one of the normies getting baptized by Beastlander today? He’s an ordained minister, after all; come, allow him to absolve your sins!”

This gets Starbright’s attention and panic stabs at her heart. Even though she was still angry at his motives, the guy didn’t deserve to get dunked into gross water by Beastlander. Before she could step in to object, however, Howie answers loudly.

“Yeah, of course; I’d be honored.”

Suddenly distraught, Betsy quietly slinks through the crowd, disappearing to the female’s changing tent to be alone. Howie doesn’t even notice as he’s whisked away by Big Preach to join the other saps preparing to be baptized by Beastlander.

---------------

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Another few hours had passed and the sun had gone down completely. Starbright wandered around behind the giant stage, preparing for her speech to the crowd. As she went over the blandly worded cue cards again, she missed Beastlander coming up quietly behind her. Turning on her heel to pace back towards the stage, she gasps to find him standing before her, no expression on his face. His blue eyes were completely dead, his lips set in the straightest, thinnest line possible. Her heart began to pound nervously as she froze in her place, wondering what was going on.

“Who was that boy you invited back into our private space today?” Beastlander inquires, his voice dangerously calm and quiet.

Swallowing hard, Starbright forces herself to answer as calmly as possible. “His name is Howie-”

“No fucking shit, Starbright, I got that his name is Howie. Who the fuck IS he and WHY was he in OUR private space?” Allowing his temper to take over, Beastlander closes the gap between them, his eyes glowing dangerously red. His hand reaches out and wraps itself around her throat; shaking her violently, he stares into her eyes as his hand tightens.



Gasping for air, Starbright struggles to answer. “He’s just… a guy… I met… In… the park…” Feeling her head growing fuzzy, she claws at his hands desperately. “What… do you… think.. He… is…” her voice turns to a breathless gurgle as her eyes roll up inside of her head.

Disgusted, Beastlander tosses her back to the ground and turns his back on her. Scrambling away as quickly as possible, Starbright sucks in the night air desperately. Her throat whistles every time she inhales, but her wide eyes never leave Beastlander. His hands behind his back, he stares up at the moon for a few moments before turning back to Starbright. “Get yourself together, you look like you just rolled around in the hay with the hired hand. You have a speech in ten minutes.”

Without another word or even a glance in her direction, Beastlander walks away quickly. The dangerous expression on his face disappears the moment he’s back in the public. Starbright shudders as she hears his laugh float back to her from the crowd. Hugging herself tightly and fighting back tears, she walks briskly towards hair and makeup for a touch-up. As she’s being worked on, Jenna arrives, looking harried and wild-eyed. Her eyes land on Starbright, and her sour face puckers even further. Rushing forward, Jenna grabs Starbright by her arm and yanks her out of her chair, dragging her towards the stage.

“You don’t have time for this, you need to be on stage YESTERDAY! MOVE MOVE MOVE!” Screeching, Jenna gets Starbright to the stage and shoves her to the wings. Big Preach is finishing up his sermon and glances over. Relief fills his face when he sees Starbright has finally arrived. Wasting no time, he ends his sermon by introducing her onto the stage with him.

After they’ve exchanged their pleasantries, he disappears, leaving Starbright alone with her microphone. Looking out at the sea of faceless worshippers, she looks for the one that could make this experience a little better. Howie pushes his way towards the front, but doesn’t quite make it; however, the commotion is enough to grab Starbright’s attention and she finally relaxes. Holding the mic up to her lips, she begins the speech she had pretty much memorized off the cards.

“It’s been such an honor being part of this amazing festival; looking out into the crowd, I see the faces of the devout and it makes my heart sing. Like you, I’ve devoted my life to carrying out the word of the Lord, spreading the Good Word, and turning my cheeks against those who… who would… trespa…”

Her words begin to trail off as the same, slimy feeling from earlier begins to creep in again. Shivering against it, she opens her mouth to continue, but only a squeaky breath comes out. Her heart begins to race as she feels the eyes of the crowd on her; her mouth turns to cotton as the whispers begin to spread. From the crowd, Howie watches her, wishing like hell he could rescue her from the awkward situations. Starbright looks around again, before looking off to the side and locking eyes with Beastlander. His face is composed, though it isn’t hard to see how much strain that takes him. He rolls his wrist around, motioning for her to continue. Something within her shifts and she finally turns back to the crowd. When she speaks again, her voice is confident and strong.

“I can’t do this; I can’t give you this corporate stock style speech with an honest heart. The fact is, all of this is bullshit.”

There is a collective gasp through the crowd. Off to the side, Beastlander can barely contain his fury while Jenna looks absolutely beside herself. Howie begins to beam, quietly encouraging Starbright to continue. He wasn’t disappointed.



“Everything I’ve told you today has been manufactured lies to protect a certain image, but fuck that noise. The fact is, I’m not as pure as fresh snow. To those girls who asked earlier what the nature of my relationship with Drummer Boy was; he was my first and oh my god ladies when I tell you it was good… We all know how his powers work, now imagine that on your… Well, you know.” She winks playfully into the crowd, most of whom are shocked into total silence. “Everyone wants to believe this image that BoB Corp has created for their Supes, but none of it is real. I’m not the Virgin Mary Sue they want you to think I am; I’m a normal, twenty-five-year-old woman with normal hopes, dreams, and feelings. Queen Dolly, same deal; she was thrust into this shit way earlier than I was and I don’t know how she’s managed to survive this long. That woman is made of some of the toughest materials out there. But none of that compares to my first night in the Tower… Do you want to know how I was welcomed into the Elite my first night? Ask the Vast… Ask him how he thought it was okay to try and shove his dick down my throat because I confessed to having a little bit of a crush on him.”

Jenna passes out cold next to a furious Beastlander. His eyes are glowing dangerously as he gestures for her to cut herself off and exit. Meeting his eyes, she shakes her head and continues.

“And you know what the corporate puppets and so-called ‘brave leaders’ did to help me? Not a fucking thing; I was told to keep my mouth shut and carry on. Nothing was done to discipline The Vast and because of this, he and B-Train continue to torment me to this day.” Reaching into her cape pocket, Starbright produces a pile of the crudely done drawings from the aforementioned Supes. “This is what my life has been like in the Tower since my arrival. Constant threats of rape and other forms of torture if I don’t comply with their disgusting demands within a certain amount of time. Yes, my brothers and sisters, this is what your so-called heroes are truly like behind the smiles. In most cases, you’d all be better off allowing the sociopaths and serial killers to run the streets because the ‘heroes’ BoB Corps sends out to ‘rescue’ you are no different from the scum they were sent to round up.”

Beastlander is livid now, but he remains rooted to his spot. Jenna has come to and sits on her ass, staring at Betsy in horror.

“I came here today to spread my truth and be a positive influence on those looking for guidance. I couldn’t live with myself if I left here today knowing I lied through my teeth because the corporation wants to paint a certain image. All of you deserve better from them, from the Supe community, and me. Here and now, I apologize for my part in the public deception; but I will dedicate my life to cleaning up the corruption within BoB Corps and making your streets a little bit safer.”

Lowering her mic, Betsy runs her gaze through the deadly silent crowd. She can feel Beastlander’s eyes burning into her and begins to wonder how she’s going to make it out of there. A buzzing starts to echo through her head, growing louder by the second as the crowd continues to watch her in stunned silence. Then, from somewhere in the middle of the sea of faces, a slow clap begins. Just one, but it cuts through the silence like a scream through the night; looking out, her heart leaps when she sees Howie, standing on a chair.



His clapping becomes more emphatic as he begins to cheer loudly, ignoring the incredulous faces of the crowd around him. Betsy smiles, and drops the mic, quickly rushing off the stage opposite of where Beastlander and Jenna are waiting.

She hurries through the massive crowd, hoping to put as much distance between her and Beastlander as she can. All too aware that the tracking chip in her neck would give away any location, she turns on the spot helplessly, wondering what to do next. Tears blinded her vision, allowing panic to surge through her violently. When a pair of strong hands grab her by the shoulders, she yelps loudly as she jumps away. She spins around into a defensive stance, only to lock eyes with Howie. Relief floods through her and she sags heavily into his arms.

“Betsy… That was amazing!”

Fear of what was to come didn't allow her to return his enthusiasm. Grabbing him by the arms, her expression turns desperate as she finds her voice again.

“I have to get out of here, Howie… But I don’t know where to go. They put a chip in my neck the day I was made a member of the Elite; no matter where I go, they’ll always find me. I don’t know what to do…” she begins to weep helpless, burying her face in his chest.

He wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly, allowing her to cry it out.



When he looks up and locks eyes with Axer, who watches the scene play out; his expression is murderous. An idea sparks in Howie’s mind and he gently pulls Starbright out to arm's length. She sniffles as she looks up at him, tears still falling down her cheeks.

“If you come with me and my crew, we might be able to help... “

--------------

---------------


“Are you sure this is going to work?” Howie asks, watching on apprehensively as Betsy sits down in the chair.

After a heated discussion with Shawn Axer, the unofficial leader of Them Boys, they whisked Starbright away from the religious festival. She had long abandoned her phone, and now one of the crew, a Portuguese man they called Tugu, stood over her with a small, circular saw. The plan at the moment was to get the chip out of her neck and toss it away somewhere to throw BoB corps off their trail. She holds Howie’s hand tightly as Tugu feels around her neck for the chip; when he finds it, he gives her a nod.



“Brace yourself, girlie; Supe or not, this is going to sting,” he warns her in his thick accent.

She nods her permission and he wastes no time getting to work. The entire van of people, minus Father’s Food who was driving, leaned in to watch the proceedings. Axer watched from the back by the doors, his expression as grumpy as his mood. Father’s Food and Tugu had greeted her politely enough; then there was Kimi, a Supe they had rescued from an underground drug and sex ring. She didn’t speak at all, but upon meeting Betsy, had given her a huge hug and welcomed her through warm eyes. As the blade cuts through her skin, she doesn’t flinch, though she can feel the fascination from her audience. The blade hits the second, thicker layer of muscles, making a disconcertingly wet popping sound as it penetrates. Betsy gasps loudly and squeezes Howie’s hand; a tick later, Tugu holds a pair of tweezers before her eyes, showing her the small, cylindrical chip.

“What do you suppose we put this in?” he asks of her, setting it down on the rolling tray beside him. He turns back with an antiseptic and a bandage only to find that the wound had already closed up and healed.

Rubbing her neck, Betsy looks around. “I honestly don’t care, just get it as far away from me as you possibly can.”

Before any ideas could be thrown out, Kimi snatches up the chip and drops it to the floor. With a mighty stomp of her boot, she smashes the chip to splinters. Gathering them up, she opens up the passenger side window and allows them to be blown away.

“Well… I guess that takes care of that easily enough.” Howie says, chancing a glance at Axer, who still doesn’t look happy.



“Do any of you believe that’s going to be enough to keep BoB Corps off our asses? Once they figure out where Starbright went, the rest of us get burned. They will not hesitate to eliminate us, one by one if they consider us a big enough threat. So tell me again how bringing her along is the best idea we have?”

Turning in her seat, Betsy glares at Axer. He merely looks down at her, his face neutral; this irritates her even more. “What is your problem, guy? I’m on your side here, I want to tear BoB Corps to the ground piece by piece. Why act like such an asshole?”

Smirking, Axer leans against the doors, crossing his arms. “You said it yourself, Supes can’t be trusted to do the right thing. Why should I believe you’re the exception?”

“You know, I could plead my position to you, but I’m not going to. I’ve been dealing with your type of narrow-minded, prejudiced mindset for the past six months. I’ve been under the scrutiny of another bully who thinks just like you, and he wears the American Flag as a cape.” Her heated words cause Axer to push himself away from the doors and lean forward.

He gets directly into her face and stares at her for several minutes in silence. Tension fills the air as everyone else holds their breath, waiting to see what’s going to happen. After an eternity, Axer leans back and chuckles, giving Betsy the friendliest look he can muster. “Alright then, I suppose we’ll see just how good of your word you are. Tell me, Starbright… Have you ever heard of a chemical BoB Corps developed called Compound B?”

Confused, Betsy shakes her head, glancing around at the other occupants of the cramped van. “I haven’t; is that some sort of super drug for Supes?”

Axer smirks again and reaches into his thick, leather jacket; he produces a thick envelope and hands it off to Betsy. As she looks through its contents in shock and horror, Axer continues. “Hate to burst your bubble, Princess, but none of you Supes were born to your powers. Everyone from Stormfury to Beastlander to, yes, even you, were given this chemical at birth. All of you Supes are a randomized, over-glorified science experiment.”

Jaw-dropping, Betsy can only gape stupidly at Axer, who looks smugly satisfied. Howie puts a comforting arm around her shoulders as she attempts to absorb this revelation. “But… How can that be? We were told that we were born to this… Mom always said that my powers were a gift from the Lord to use for good…”

“Your mother is a filthy liar who fed you a whole lotta bullshit your entire life,” Axer says, looking genuinely sympathetic despite his smug veneer. “None of you Supes are special, everything you are came out of a lab in BoB Corps. Right there in the very building where you take up residence.”

“Used to take up residence…” Betsy said, the reality of her situation suddenly hitting her. “I have a feeling between my soap-box speech and chip removal, Bob Corps won’t be too happy to see my face.”

“They’ll likely shoot you on sight.” Father’s Food chimed in as he maneuvered the van into an underground parking lot. Or they’ll lock you up until you die. Either way, unless you can find a way to blackmail your way back in, you’re finished in the Elite.”

A heavy feeling falls over her chest and she struggles to breathe right for a moment. Howie tightens his grip and tries to smile at her reassuringly. “Hey, look… Just because Vinnie Lane and Theo Pryce are shading business dealers and BoB Corps is directly responsible for creating Supes… It doesn’t make you any less important. And who knows, that speech might have boosted your popularity so much, they have no choice but to keep you around.”

Nibbling nervously on her lower lip, Betsy follows the group as they pour out of the van. They lead the way to an underground sanctuary that had everything from a weapon designing room to a kitchen that was stocked with everything Tugu needed to create the perfect meal. It was dimly lit and dirty, but Betsy hadn’t felt this much at home anywhere else in a long time. Even with Axer keeping a watchful eye on her, the rest of Them Boys made her feel welcome without a second thought. She joins them for a tactical meeting as they begin to discuss the ways they could out BoB Corps on their shady experiments and business dealings…



Part Three Coming Soon!

FORMER