The Good Life: You've Been Hit By A Smooth Criminal (ch. 22) (Patreon)

Everything was on fire. Well, not literally, though that could quickly change in a couple of minutes as Cinder perched on a building, overlooking Times Square. The military was rolling in with everything short of tanks, and they had instituted a curfew. In all honesty, they should have been calling for an evacuation of the city, but that had its own inherent dangers.With her bow in hand, she watched on from above as a platoon of soldiers marched towards their target.

Frost and ice crunched underneath their feet, the entire square a testament to Arctic's powers. He was a Supe that had been tentatively on her radar for a possible team up -- fire and ice, a classic for good reason. For the most part, she chose him due to the fact that his powers weren't flashy despite being strong. Arctic was forbidden from using them at full strength -- bad optics from the property damage. His ice was cold, partially liquid nitrogen, and with prolonged exposure to brick, glass, and steel…

He, like many others, had fallen prey to Heartless and was terrorizing the city. There were traces of it everywhere -- frozen statues of dozens of people permanently locked in terrified flight as they tried to flee when the chaos began. Even in the noon sun, frost covered the surrounding area as one of the buildings was half converted into an ice fortress made of pykrete from harvested trees. The fortress sat at the heart of the lake, which had been completely iced over.

In short, it was an admittedly impressive display of power that Cinder hadn't thought Arctic capable of. However, perhaps that was due to him being aided by Waterworks and Overload. Waterworks was a C-lister hydrokinetic, who helped Arctic shape the surroundings while Overload was a D-lister with a rather unique power of energy transference. Simply put, he could take the kinetic energy from a fired bullet then give it to someone tired so they would instantly be brimming with energy.

Given the circumstances, Overload was a D-lister simply because no Supe needed help killing normals. However, in this new world where Supes were brushing against the military? Against other Supes? Overload was proving to be quite dangerous.

"Wait for them to be killed before moving in," Stan Edgar said in her ear, his voice like iron. Cinder's gaze flickered over to Vought Tower, which hadn't escaped unscathed from the chaos. They had a causality shortlist, and it seemed Madelyn was on it. Bad luck that was, her office being ground zero. Still, Cinder was glad for the demise of an obstacle, especially one who had denied her what was hers. Even if Cinder didn't have the pleasure of killing her herself.

"Understood," Cinder replied, a smile in her voice as she continued to watch the military. Stan was rather impressive, but foolish. He was doing his damnedest to bail out a sinking ship, but that was impossible at this point. And Vought was very much a sinking ship. It simply couldn't survive. Not something like this.

New York was in a state of absolute chaos. Of madness. Throughout the night, though concentrated in New York, Supes had slaughtered hundreds of civilians. Those heroes were primarily affiliated with Vought. A deliberate move, Cinder suspected, but it could also be a coincidence. Vought scouted those with the strongest, flashiest powers. Heartless seemed to have scouted those same Supes for this disaster.

"I would be careful, Mr. Edgar. Heartless is insane, but he wouldn't do something like this unless there was an underlying goal," Cinder ventured as the show began. The air became filled with the sounds of gunfire and explosions as the military fired rocket launchers at the fortress.

"I will take that under advisement," Stan replied curtly before hanging up. She took no offense. If anything, Stan was demonstrating impressive self control. She was merely balancing the scales -- earning brownie points, so to speak. This chaos was a fine opportunity to stand out, but at the same time, there was little point in standing out on a sinking ship. Vought would never recover from this. Ever.

"I suppose I should contact my lawyer about breaking my contract," Cinder remarked to herself. From Vought, someone else would rise from the ashes. And no matter what, Cinder was determined to be on the winning team.

Her attention was stolen when the three Supes stepped out of the fortress as it began to crumble under the constant fire and rocket barrage. It would be simpler to send a missile at the fortress, but no senator or general wanted to be the one to put forward such a motion. As always, optics mattered more than people. Especially soldiers, she mentally tacked on when she felt a breeze of cold air. She saw trails of ice rushing forward before spikes erupted within the squads that were firing upon the Supes.

Supes were bulletproof. Not sort of bulletproof either. Most Supes could take concentrated 50. caliber fire and walk away with nothing more than bruises. However, with Overload, his hands on the backs of Arctic and Waterworks, they weren't just not accomplishing anything with small arms fire, they were making the duo stronger. They proved as much when a wall of ice erupted from underneath the military transport, skewering everyone within. The end result almost looked like a tree with red branches.

Lambs to the slaughter, Cinder thought the phrase was. All because the military was afraid to lean on Supes. Rightly so, considering the circumstances, but even the correct decisions often had the most dire consequences. And Stan was using that hesitation to his benefit -- where the military would be seen failing, one of Voughts few remaining Supes would swoop in and save the day. That plan was the only reason that Cinder didn't jump ship. It was an opportunity to increase her own prestige and when it came time to leave Vought, she would be that much more attractive.

Within a handful of minutes, the platoon was cut in half, and what was left made a full retreat. More corpses were turned into frozen statues and the three were patting each other on the back. They thought nothing of the slaughter, and nor should they. In the end, normal people were… normal. Average. Unremarkable. It was only natural that they were beneath the extraordinary. It was as they were in the middle of their retreat that Cinder touched her earpiece. "Starlight, draw their attention."

Starlight didn't respond for a long few seconds. She was getting rebellious. Cinder thought that using Deep as an outlet would curb this issue, but it would seem that Annie would need a more… hands on approach. "... fine," Starlight replied before Cinder saw a bright light flash as industrial floodlights feed Starlight her power. From across the central square, Cinder watched a bright light growing in intensity. Just bright enough for the trio of Supervillains to take notice of it as well.

Naturally, they turned to face the incoming threat and completely opened themselves up to Cinder, who in a single smooth action, formed her bow and notched an arrow.

A split second before Starlight fired her beam of light, Cinder released the arrow. This world lacked fire dust, but it did have its own unique innovations. A trail of fire marked the passage of the arrow, and by the time it reached the three, the main trigger activated -- a high pitched wailing that made all three of them flinch. Even as Starlight's blast raced towards the three, Cinder was already on her way. She dropped to the ground, landing lightly on her feet, and broke into a dead sprint while her bow became two shortswords.

She got a front row seat to the concussion blast that sent up shards of ice and frost upon the impact. Arctic tried to create a barrier, only for Starlight's blast to punch right through it. She may have needed the home field advantage, but in the end, Starlight could be quite powerful. The three were blown back, directly at Cinder and with bright, if not strictly necessary, streaks of fire, she slashed at them. In the end, while their bodies could stand up to bullets, it was easier to cut them, if only marginally.

The three fell dead on the ground with little fanfare, and Cinder made sure to strike a pose as the frost settled, letting any who had been recording the battle see her victorious moment. Swallowing a smirk, Cinder pressed her earpiece again. "Get down here. We must sweep the fortress. We have reports of missing civilians," Cinder instructed and she was met with a curt reply.

Hm. Starlight was going to try to pull the leash, Cinder ventured as she strode up to the damaged entrance. If nothing else, the structure was sturdy. Cinder could see that they were going with a medieval castle feel, but it seemed that their fine control wasn't quite up to the task. What she did notice, however, was that there was a floor below the lake surface. Meaning it was possibly four floors up and four floors down.

Starlight arrived not long after, her expression tense. As if she were preparing herself for something. Even her posture was rigid. Cinder pretended to not notice in favor of eying the staircase that led down, "If there is anyone left then they're being held below." She remarked, purposely turning her back to Starlight as she stepped down the uneven spiraling staircase. They were below the lake surface now, and the only light came from lights embedded in the ice wall. There was an undeniable chill in the air.

They found four floors, with the bottom one being at the lake bed. What they didn't find was any living hostages.

"Oh, God," Starlight muttered, looking at the petrified corpses in various humiliating positions. They were almost arranged like mannequins, adorned with silly hats and clothing, acting as if they were in the middle of a party. It was a rather disturbing scene, Cinder had to admit. "How… how could they do this?"

"People will always value their own life more than strangers," Cinder replied, leaving the ghastly display behind her. "These Supes feel like their lives are in danger, and because of it, they can justify anything." She continued to another room. This one was less gruesome than the last, but no less disturbing.

This was where they were killed, Cinder felt certain of it. The excess ice in a corner gave it away from where the victims were frozen. More notably, however, it was a dungeon. A sex dungeon, to be precise. Whips, chains, dildos, and more.

"I wouldn't," Starlight swore and Cinder fought a smile as she strode across the room, idly observing the shelves built into the wall that seemed to house a sex shop's worth of sex toys.

"Is that so?" Cinder asked, coming to a stop in front of one. She fought a smile as she could feel Starlight's gaze burning a hole in her back. This was the best position to provoke a fight, Cinder reasoned. This was where Starlight would be her weakest. "I'm not so sure about that. You got to your knees for an empty threat," she remarked before grabbing the dildo and presenting it to Starlight.

A Deep inspired dildo.

"Seem familiar?" Cinder prodded, a smirk on her face while Starlight snarled, her hands clenching into fists as the dull light flickered in the room.

"You- you vile bitch!" Starlight shouted, and Cinder felt vindicated. She had a sense for these things. Though, there was the question of why Starlight suddenly felt like she could pull on her leash. She had been so obedient until recently. Had seeing her getting fucked into a puddle of goo really inspired such confidence? "What the fuck is the matter with you? How can anyone be this fucking evil! You and Heartless deserve each other!"

Cinder simply smirked even as she vowed to make Starlight pay dearly for the insults. It wouldn't do for her pet to think she could talk back. "Spare me. You are merely an empty headed little girl that thought heroes were supposed to be heroic. Worse, you lacked the spine and the conviction to hold on to that ideal," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, you're so fucking clever. You got a video of me. And you're right. I bent. I should have told you to go to hell, but I didn't, so I'm doing it now -- GO TO HELL!" Starlight screamed the words at the top of her lungs, everything that she had swallowed down bubbling back up. Someone was certainly feeling confident. She nearly bent over from the force of the shout, and nearly out of breath, she continued, "You aren't the only one that can blackmail someone."

There it is.

What was it? A recording of her having sex? Damaging, but she could spin it. Unlike Starlight, she was intelligent enough to hand the issue over to Vought to handle. Evidence of their relationship? Cinder already had things in play that could spin it against Starlight -- that she was a jilted lover who posted revenge porn after a bad break up. None of it would be ideal, of course, but that was the nature of damage control.

And Starlight so helpfully revealed what exactly she thought she had over her. "You're fucking Heartless and I can prove it," Starlight snarled at her and it took considerable effort to keep her surprise off her face. Cinder replayed the statement in her head, that being the very last thing that she expected Starlight to say.

Then she considered it. Truly considered it.

And one by one the pieces fell into place.

The information. Was it really a coincidence that Heartless rose to power after Law fed her information about various gangs? The favors. Without fail, any information that she provided was acted upon by Heartless. It made perfect sense. How could she not have seen it before? She merely thought that Law was connected to Heartless in some way… but the final piece of the puzzle came when she thought of their fucking. She thought it was unnatural how… pleasurable it was. And that was because it wasn't natural at all. He used his power on her and she hadn't even been aware.

"That is quite the accusation," Cinder replied, sounding unruffled even as she reexamined every single interaction she had had with Law. He never said that he was Heartless, but at the same time, he never said that he wasn't. Just as she never said who she thought his master was. One thing was clear, though -- this could very well be damaging information. At best, she would look like a fool and at worst, she would look like a double agent. "Where is your proof?"

Starlight couldn't resist, thankfully. No more than Cinder had been able to when she finally decided to fight back. She whipped out her phone and played two videos stitched together. One of Law entering Vought HQ and a video of Law at the rally outside of the building. "He practically told me you two were working together, so I knew what to look for. And it won't be long before Vought makes the same connection that I did, so unless you want to spend your life in a cell, you better do what I fucking say or I'm sending this to Stan."

Cinder smiled and immediately, Starlight's guard went all the way up. In Starlight's hands was a silver bullet, Cinder knew that much. However, having a silver bullet meant nothing if you didn't know how to use the gun. And, as a heroically inclined fool, Starlight overplayed her hand. "You were close," Cinder replied, her voice soothing and confident. "But not quite there."

"What do you mean by that- don't come near me!" Starlight shouted as she threatened to press send on the video. A video that would unravel her plans.

Cinder didn't miss a step as she continued to approach. "I know what you did," Cinder told her and that made Starlight go still. "Heartless instructed you to do it, didn't he? Maybe you could have gotten away with that excuse before this mess happened, but I doubt that people are going to accept it now." Cinder ventured, putting the pieces together herself.

She had thought it odd her pet did something so unlike herself when she thought no one was looking. Just after her confrontation with Heartless- Law, she supposed. But it made sense in hindsight. Especially now that she knew the true connection between Law and Heartless.

"I-" Starlight gaped like a fish, her confidence crumbling like a sandcastle in the face of the tide. She froze. She had been so sure of her victory that she completely locked up when it didn't manifest. "You- how-"

"You can use your trump card if you like, Starlight," Cinder lied, coming to a stop in front of her before she reached up and caressed her cheek. Starlight flinched from her touch and her gaze went to the floor. There was the submissiveness that she had cultivated. "I've always had my bags packed and kept one foot out of the door. It means nothing to me if you send your little video. You, on the other hand? Well… I won't have any reason to protect your little secret now will I? I'll be out, free with Law… and you'll be in that cell you thought I was going in."

Starlight was trembling, her mind racing, and her breathing told Cinder that she was on the verge of a panic attack. So close. So very close. Just not close enough. "Or…" Cinder trailed off, brushing her thumb of Starlight's lips, "You can keep being a good girl. Will you be a good girl for me, Starlight?"

Cinder didn't need to make any more threats. Starlight would have been well aware of the consequences when she did what Law asked her to do. Starlight's only mistake was thinking that Law alone held the sword over her head. She was so desperate to escape Cinder's tender care that she bet it all on the chance that Cinder didn't know. That she wasn't told. And on that point, she was right, but she simply underestimated how much attention Cinder paid her favorite toy.

"I'll… I… I'll be good," Starlight whispered and Cinder smiled.

"I don't believe you," Cinder replied, making Starlight's gaze snap to her, her eyes wide with panic. "You were very naughty just now, Starlight. How can I believe that you'll be good without any punishment? If you want me to believe it, then you'll have to prove it to me."

Starlight knew exactly what Cinder meant. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if bracing herself. Cinder took that moment to push her to her knees, which she allowed without complaint even if she did keep her eyes closed. As if she could pretend what was coming next wasn't happening as Cinder put on the Deep inspired strap-on, smacking six inches worth of fake dick onto her face. "It's a lot bigger than what you dealt with last time, but I believe in you, Starlight," Cinder said, no mercy to be found in her voice.

Pressing forward, Starlight hesitantly parted her lips and the sob that tried to escape her was forced back when Cinder savagely thrust forward, making Starlight gag. Starlight's hands were clenched at her sides as she learned what it really meant to have her mouth raped. The dildo gave Cinder no pleasure, but Starlight's sputtering, gagging, and choked sobs was all the pleasure that she needed as she gripped Starlight's head and mercilessly face-fucked her. She was a Supe. She could take it.

All the while, her mind wandered.

She was leaning towards joining Heartless, but learning that he was Law… he had put her in a compromising position.

He had used his powers on her.

For that, he had to pay a price.

…

"Are you alright?" Robin asked me as I walked down the street, idly kicking a loose rock in my path. "I understand that it must have been a difficult conversation," she ventured as I took in a deep breath and released it as a sigh.

"I'll be fine," I answered, and that wasn't quite as convincing as I would have liked it to be. There was that saying -- Never meet you heroes. That seemed to perfectly summarize my meeting with Homelander. And it opened my eyes a bit. I saw how tightly I had been clinging to my idealized version of him. So tightly that I turned a blind eye to the truth just because I couldn't accept it.

I couldn't accept that Homelander was anything less than a Superhero. The Superhero.

But I accepted it now. He all but threw it in my face, but I couldn't say that the wound still didn't sting. I felt almost hollowed out, depressed even… "I'll be fine. If it wasn't for Mirko and what the Dias represents, then I probably would have given the whole thing up," I admitted to Robin. Even now, Mirko was bouncing from fire to fire, fighting my heroes turned villains. Her world had true heroes… It was a light at the end of a dark tunnel. It would take me some time to get there, but so long as I could see that light, I didn't care how many steps it took.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this," Robin replied. Yeah, she knew. She just didn't tell me. Didn't want to rain on my parade. I was thankful. It was better that I discovered it on my own, in my own way. A hand reached into my pocket, taking out my phone to play the video that I had watched on repeat.

Homelander talking to Madelyn. Him lashing out, reducing her head to fine mist, before he and Stormfront dismembered the body.

A video from a secret camera that I had Starlight place in Madelyn's office. One of many to give me the cards I needed to subvert Vought from the inside.

Another sigh escaped me. That had been the piece of evidence that finally broke the camel's back, something that I couldn't explain away or pretend that I didn't see. Homelander was a murderer, and Madelyn wasn't his first kill based on how casually he dealt with her corpse.

"It will be something to use against him," Robin ventured and I nodded.

I thought I would feel more resentful. Bitter even. My idol wasn't who I thought he was. Instead, I just felt… disappointed. "When the moment is right," I replied, tucking my phone back into my pocket. I didn't resent Homelander, but at the end of the day, that just meant he was another Supe to me. Just another fake hero on the Seven.

It'd be a lie to say it wasn't personal.

"For now, I have other concerns. The Dias?" I asked her, forcing Homelander from my mind as I continued on my way, joining a crowd of people that were flowing in one direction. Picket signs and microphones. I went completely unnoticed as we began to march past the Washington Monument and toward the White House

"We have what Asami requested," Robin confirmed. That was a relief. "We'll arrange a remote location to make the delivery. New York is in shambles at the moment. Your plan is working perfectly."

"Oi. You don't have to sound so surprised, you know?" I grumbled, but not displeased. I could make decent plans. I just preferred not to. Giving the Supes enough rope to hang themselves with would get the reaction I wanted -- Supes would go wild, revealing who they truly were. The public would panic. Their trust in heroes would be shattered beyond any hope of repair. The government would mobilize the military and it would prove ineffective because the average grunt wasn't equipped to deal with Superpowers.

All of this culminating in an emergency meeting in the White House.

"I'm not surprised. Merely pleased," Robin deflected. I didn't really know what her deal was yet, but she did seem to have it out for the government. She was surprisingly all for this plan.

I chuckled as I reached into my backpack and pulled out my Heartless mask and secured it to my face, "It'll all work out so long as the others do their part."

There was nothing crueler in this world than false hope. I knew that from experience. There was absolutely nothing I could do to another human being that would hurt more than seeing their last hope turn out to be a lie. And that was precisely what I was going to inflict upon Stan Edgar. Vought couldn't possibly survive what came next. Not unless they were offered a life raft. A government bailout where the US took control of the company and its Supes.

From the current president and his cabinet? Stan would be a fool to take that offer.

However, if, say, Victoria Neumann wound up President? I imagine he would be much more inclined to take that offer. Even better, he would think me a fool because from his point of view, Victoria was a natural ally with her stances on Vought. He wouldn't second guess the lucky break.

"Of course. They're just waiting on your signal," Robin replied.

Naturally, the plan required that every single government and military figure between the current President and Victoria die, but… well…

Eggs and omelets.