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Leaving the hospital was not difficult.
Just as when they entered, they didn't attract anyone's attention at all.
It seemed that apart from this security team, there was no one guarding the place.
Kevin didn't know if this was normal, but since they had already left smoothly, he didn't care about it anymore.
Compared to these things, Annie's current state was the most worrying.
After leaving the hospital and getting back into the sports car they had parked nearby, Kevin was about to start the car to leave when he suddenly heard Annie ask:
"You knew all this, which is why you wanted to stop me, right?"
"..."
"You knew all along, didn't you?"
Annie turned her head and looked at Kevin, who was sitting in the driver's seat.
Her eyes were red, and tears welled up, looking as if they would fall at any moment.
Kevin looked at her, slowly pulled up the handbrake he had just released, organized his thoughts, and then met Annie's gaze:
"...Mr. Edgar told me when we met two days ago."
Hearing the answer she wanted, Annie closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her face.
Kevin was prepared to hear Annie complain and blame him, perhaps for not telling her sooner.
But unexpectedly, Annie didn't do so; she just cried, her voice choked as she spoke of something else:
"She told me... I was chosen. From childhood, every day, every minute, every second, I worked hard because of this 'special' chosen status, but...
"There is no 'divine selection' at all. We are not children of God; we are just... monsters!"
Annie mentioned 'she.' Although she didn't say a name or use any other pronoun, Kevin could guess that Annie was talking about her mother.
It was her mother who injected Annie with Compound V for fame and profit, making Annie the way she is now.
And Annie was not an exception.
Apart from a few who became Supes for other reasons, everyone else, including Kevin and Maeve, was the same.
Kevin was never very good at comforting people. Seeing Annie's emotional outburst, he could only remain silent.
After a while, he silently released the handbrake and started the car.
Kevin planned to drive in circles within the city, trying to make Annie feel better this way.
But after driving for a short while, Annie, who had been quiet for a long time, suddenly said:
"...Take me to the airport."
"Hmm... Huh? The airport!?
Kevin immediately understood Annie's meaning:
"You're going back? But tomorrow's Faith Expo..."
"That's no longer important."
Annie was going to attend the Faith Expo. On one hand, she was indeed a Catholic believer and had often participated in this event since childhood.
It was just that in the past, she participated as a confessor, but this time she was participating as a guest and listener.
On the other hand, it was also to get close to Ezekiel and uncover the truth about Compound V.
But now, neither of these points mattered anymore.
Her own superpowers were not bestowed by God, but merely due to Vought's serum, and there was no God in the world at all.
And the truth about Ezekiel had been uncovered; his relationship with the serum was no longer a secret in Annie's eyes.
So Annie no longer needed to attend the Faith Expo; she had more important things to do.
She wanted to confront her mother and ask why she injected her with that damned serum.
"Although I'm not trying to dissuade you, you should know that if you leave like this, many people will lose their jobs tomorrow..."
"Kevin!"
Annie interrupted Kevin's incessant talking. She took a deep breath and tried to ask Kevin in a calm tone:
"...Please."
Looking at the un-dried tear stains on Annie's face and her slightly red eyes, Kevin realized for the first time that he couldn't bear to see a girl cry.
After confirming that Annie was serious, Kevin stopped nagging, opened the map navigation on his phone, and headed straight to the nearest airport.
During the drive, the two of them didn't exchange any more words.
It wasn't until he dropped Annie off at the airport that Kevin asked:
"When are you coming back? Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No need, Kevin, and... thank you."
Annie thanked Kevin, and Kevin didn't know why she was thanking him.
Perhaps it was because he let her know the truth, or perhaps it was because he brought her here.
After thanking him, Annie turned and walked into the airport.
Kevin watched her leave until her figure disappeared before restarting the car and driving away.
After today's events, Kevin's skill points indeed increased by 1 again, bringing the total to twelve points, leaving only four points until he could upgrade a LV4 skill to LV5.
But Kevin didn't feel much excitement; he was thinking about Annie and what happened to Kevin in the past.
Annie's attitude after learning the truth was not difficult to understand.
Not just Annie; if Kevin were the old Kevin, the Kevin with gills on his chest.
He would probably be angry about it too.
Just for their parents' self-interest, these irresponsible parents turned their children into monsters that were out of place with ordinary people.
Yes, Kevin and Starlight were among the successful ones, possessing superpowers that ordinary people could hardly compare to, becoming Superheroes, standing in the spotlight, enjoying the love and adoration of the crowd.
But there were many more people whose awakened superpowers were like trash, and they were eventually abandoned by their parents like trash.
Kevin actually didn't want to discuss such heavy matters, after all, he was a beneficiary; as long as he lived well, why care so much?
However, despite saying so, his current mood wasn't particularly good.
For the first time, he had an urge to do something.
But he didn't know what he should do.
"...Let's go back."
He exhaled, shook off the Boredom in his heart, and drove away from the airport.
...
"What? Are you kidding me?! The advancement is all ready, and you're telling me Starlight is out of contact?!"
The next day, at the Faith Expo, as soon as Kevin arrived, he heard Ashley, disregarding the health of her hair, grabbing her hair and shouting into the phone.
The Faith Expo was about to begin, and Starlight, as one of the most important guests, had to be there.
Because many activities today were related to Starlight.
Conversations with confessors, pre-arranged speeches.
All of these schedules were already set, but now Starlight, one of the most important roles, had lost contact?
Ashley was in charge of this event, or rather, most of the events involving Superheroes were her responsibility.
Now that Starlight was missing, if anything went wrong with this event, she would be fully responsible!
"Just go find her! Contact the Crime Analytics Department and have them locate Starlight!"
"Ashley."
Kevin, who was drinking the milk tea he bought at the venue, stood up after hearing this.
He stopped Ashley from continuing and said:
"Don't bother Starlight today; just leave her work to me."
"What? Are you sure?"
Ashley looked at Kevin in surprise.
When she saw Kevin, Ashley's tone instantly softened by a few points.
Because she knew that Kevin was no longer the one she could arrange at will.
Not only had Kevin's value rapidly increased, subtly showing a tendency to become a top member of The Seven.
More importantly, Ashley felt something in this Superhero, who was once at the very bottom of The Seven, that she only felt from Homelander.
This made Ashley no longer dare to shout at Kevin.
Even so, Ashley didn't want to back down on something as important as Starlight:
"I know, Kevin, you're very popular now, but there's other work today, Starlight, she..."
"I said, just leave it to me, understand?"
Taking a step forward, Kevin said seriously to Ashley.
Ashley wanted to refuse, because this was really not something Kevin could decide with just one sentence, but facing the current Kevin, Ashley found it hard to speak.
Until someone came in to 'save' her.
"If I'm not mistaken, you shouldn't be the main character today?"
Homelander walked in from outside, smiling as he interjected into their conversation.
Seeing Homelander enter, Ashley became even more nervous, while Kevin turned to look at Homelander:
"You're quite early, Captain."
"Not as early as you. You just finished comforting the survivors of Flight 37 and now you're here for the expo. You're a bit too eager to climb the ranks, Kevin."
Kevin and Homelander were both smiling, and the scene looked quite harmonious.
But Ashley, standing nearby, only felt restless.
Although she didn't know what was happening, she still understood that she probably shouldn't stay here now.
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