Bringing Annie to Butcher's hideout for the second time was surreal. The first time, she'd been a reluctant ally, uncertain and scared. This time, she walked in with purpose, ready to commit.
Butcher's reaction was predictably hostile.
"You brought her back? Are you taking the piss? I thought we agreed—"
"She figured it out," I interrupted. "She knows everything. And she wants to help. For real this time."
Annie stepped forward, pulling off her cap and sunglasses. "I know you have no reason to trust me. I'm a member of The Seven, I represent everything you hate. But I've seen what Vought really is now. What they protect. And I can't be part of it anymore."
"Oh, well that's lovely," Butcher said sarcastically. "You've had an epiphany. Congratulations. But forgive me if I don't just take your word for it."
"Then test me," Annie challenged. "Alex can read minds, right? Have him verify I'm telling the truth."
All eyes turned to me. I'd been avoiding using my telepathy on Annie out of respect, but now she was explicitly asking for it.
"You sure?" I asked.
"I'm sure. I need you to trust me, and this is the only way."
I reached out with my telepathic abilities, gently probing her surface thoughts. What I found was genuine—anger at Vought, disgust at what The Seven had become, determination to do something meaningful with her powers.
But I also found fear. Terror of what she was committing to, of the danger she was putting herself in, of the moral lines she was about to cross.
"She's genuine," I confirmed, withdrawing from her mind. "Everything she says is true."
Butcher studied her for another long moment, then sighed. "Fine. But same rules apply—you step out of line, you betray us, and I'll kill you myself. Supe or not. Clear?"
"Crystal."
"Right then. Welcome to the revolution, Starlight. Hope you're ready for it to get messy."
MM pulled up our files on remaining targets. "If we're doing this, we need to be strategic. Vought's already suspicious after The Deep, Translucent, and Compound King. They're going to beef up security, maybe even assign guards to The Seven."
"Good," I said. "Let them waste resources on protection. Meanwhile, Annie feeds us intelligence from inside, and we target Supes outside The Seven's umbrella. Build up my power base before we make any moves against the big players."
"How many more powers do you need?" Hughie asked.
I considered the question carefully. With eight powers now, I was formidable but not unstoppable. Homelander still outclassed me in raw power, and there were other Supes with abilities I couldn't counter yet.
"Conservatively? Another dozen. But the right dozen—abilities that complement what I already have. Energy manipulation, matter control, enhanced healing, sensory powers."
"So we're talking months of operations," Frenchie calculated. "More killings, more risk of exposure."
"Unless we accelerate," Annie said. Everyone looked at her. "There's a Supe convention next month. Vought's organizing it—hundreds of C and D-list Supes all in one place, trying to network and get contracts. If we could identify the worst ones, you could take out multiple targets in one event."
Butcher's eyes lit up. "A target-rich environment. I like it. But security will be insane."
"I'll be there as one of The Seven," Annie continued. "I can get Alex in as my plus-one. Maybe even help identify which Supes are actually dangerous versus just desperate for attention."
It was risky, audacious, and exactly the kind of bold move that could accelerate my timeline significantly.
"We'd need to be surgical," MM warned. "Can't just start killing people in the middle of a convention. We'd have every Supe in the building coming after us."
"Not if I hypnotize them first," I said, the plan forming in my mind. "I make my targets come to a secluded location one by one, eliminate them quietly, absorb their powers. By the time anyone realizes something's wrong, I'll have absorbed enough abilities to fight my way out if necessary."
"And what about cameras? Witnesses? The inevitable investigation?" MM was playing devil's advocate, but he had valid points.
"We plan for every contingency. Frenchie handles the security systems. I use invisibility and hypnosis to avoid detection. Annie provides cover and early warning if something goes wrong. Butcher and MM stay on standby for extraction if things go sideways."
We spent the next hour hammering out details, identifying potential complications, building contingency plans. It was the most ambitious operation we'd attempted yet—and potentially the most dangerous.
But if it worked, I'd gain enough power to finally challenge the top tier of The Seven.
If it failed, we'd probably all die.
"I'm in," Annie said when we'd finished planning. "Whatever it takes to bring them down."
"Whatever it takes," I agreed.