Annie swallowed hard and glanced around the room.
When her eyes met Queen Maeve's, Maeve leaned back in her chair and gave a casual nod. Translucent only sneered in response. As for The Deep, Annie had the strange feeling that he was not fully present, like his body was there but his mind had wandered elsewhere.
None of it reassured her.
Her hands trembled slightly. Just as the tension started to overwhelm her, Black Noir walked into the room without a sound.
"Hello, I'm Starlight, I…"
The moment he entered, Annie instinctively stood to introduce herself, but her voice trailed off halfway.
Black Noir did not acknowledge her at all. He simply walked to his seat and sat down with mechanical precision. His back was perfectly straight, hands resting on his knees. Just looking at him made Annie feel uneasy.
She sat down again, trying to steady herself. Gathering what little courage she had left, she straightened her posture to match his and spoke again.
"Everyone… um, Homelander is our leader, right? So he should be the last to arrive. That means the next person must be the other newcomer, A…"
"Shut up!"
The Deep and Translucent snapped at her at the same time.
Startled, Annie flinched and shrank back into her seat, no longer daring to speak.
The room fell silent.
Then the conference room door opened.
Annie immediately looked up, her eyes filled with anticipation. At a moment like this, she needed someone on her side, someone she could relate to.
In her mind, even if Axel was late, he would not arrive after Homelander.
But what she saw shattered that expectation.
Homelander stepped into the room, calm and composed, standing at the doorway as he silently looked over everyone present.
Only Annie reacted. She quickly stood up again and bowed slightly.
"Homelander! Hello, I'm Starlight, I just joined… I mean, I'm part of The Seven now, I…"
"Haha, looks like everyone's already here. Good. We should properly welcome our new teammate!"
Before she could finish, a lively voice came from behind Homelander.
Axel.
He casually draped an arm over Homelander's shoulder while speaking, then pushed him forward into the room.
To Annie's shock, Axel guided Homelander straight into A-Train's former seat. Then, without hesitation, Axel walked over and sat in the main seat at the head of the table.
He leaned back comfortably and waved at her.
"Hello, Starlight. Welcome to The Seven.
You don't know me yet, right? I'm Axel. We'll get along just fine.
People outside think this team is strict, but honestly, we do not have that many rules. Relax a little. No need to sit like a statue.
Now, go ahead and introduce yourself properly."
"Ah… I… you… Axel?"
Annie stared at him, completely thrown off. Then she looked at Homelander, her confusion only deepening.
Homelander's expression was strained. He inhaled slowly, then pointed at Axel, silently urging her to listen.
He did not say a word.
Annie felt the strange tension in the room settle over her. Swallowing nervously, she stood up again and forced herself to continue.
"I… I'm from New Jersey, and I'm twenty-one.
I've always wanted to join The Seven. My mom took me to superhero auditions ever since I was a kid, and I…"
Her voice faltered.
The room had grown too quiet.
Under their gaze, her prepared speech fell apart. She lowered her head, unable to continue.
What bothered her more than the embarrassment was the confusion.
Why was Axel, who should have been just another newcomer, acting like he was in charge of everyone, including Homelander?
Why were their positions so different?
Axel suddenly clapped his hands, breaking the silence.
"Well, that was… something.
Anyway, let's all welcome our second new member."
He started clapping.
Immediately, Homelander and The Deep followed.
Homelander shot The Deep an annoyed glance while clapping. The Deep was clapping too fast, almost outpacing him. The thought alone made Homelander tense.
The applause continued, and Annie gradually relaxed.
She smiled, clasping her hands together.
"Thank you, everyone. I really didn't expect this.
You've all been so kind. Just a moment ago, I was an ordinary girl from New Jersey, and now I'm here with all of you.
You're heroes. My heroes. I watch your videos all the time. I'm really a fan, a huge one.
I've dreamed about this for years. I just never thought it would actually happen."
Her confidence began to return.
But then Axel shifted in his seat.
The moment he moved, the applause stopped instantly.
Everyone turned to him.
Axel rotated his chair to face her directly.
Then he spread his legs and gestured toward himself with a grin.
"You're our fan? That's perfect.
So what are you waiting for? Get over here."
"Ah…?"
Annie froze.
"I… I don't understand…"
Axel's expression darkened slightly.
"Stop playing dumb. Even if you don't understand my words, you can see what I'm doing.
So what, you're pretending now?"
Annie's face turned pale.
She backed away quickly, retreating toward the door. Her eyes darted toward Queen Maeve and Homelander, searching for support.
"I… I understand what you're implying, but I can't accept it.
You're supposed to be heroes. I grew up watching you. And this… this is what it really is?
This is disgusting."
She reached the door, breathing unsteadily.
Maeve hesitated, then reached across the table and grabbed Axel's hand.
"Axel…"
There was a trace of pleading in her voice as she met his eyes.
Axel did not even look at her properly.
"Stay out of it."
===
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