Chapter 107: 107: Starlight Is Getting Cocky

After sealing the deal with Sheffield, Ivan got straight to work on The Deep’s mess.

He made two calls — one to The Deep, one to Starlight.

The Deep showed up like a whipped dog. The second he got Ivan’s call, he practically sprinted to the office.

"Yo, bro—I mean.. Good morning, Mr. Greevs. What can I do for you?" The Deep asked, voice dripping with respect. He knew exactly why he’d been summoned. His harassment scandal was still blowing up online and his numbers had taken a serious hit.

"Take a look at this."

Ivan slid the freshly printed crisis management plan across the desk.

"It’s got all the data on your popularity drop, plus some other metrics. Oh, and plenty of fan comments. Read it carefully." Ivan stood up, walked over to the water cooler, and poured The Deep a glass.

"Thanks." The Deep took the water and kept flipping through the document.

"From the numbers and the comments, it’s pretty fucking clear what people are talking about. They’re questioning whether you still belong in The Seven. To them, supes are supposed to be symbols of justice, bravery, and goodness. You’re not some Hollywood celebrity. Your audience is massive — basically the whole damn country, even the world."

"So a lot of parents are worried. They don’t want their kids looking up to a guy who might turn them into sexual predators." Ivan sat back down, keeping his tone casual.

The Deep looked visibly nervous now, staring at Ivan with desperate puppy eyes, silently begging not to get kicked out of The Seven.

"Mr. Greevs... I know I fucked up. But I’ve done a lot for environmental causes. Those parents shouldn’t only focus on my mistakes." The Deep tried to defend himself but Ivan cut him off.

"Here’s how it works. When a complete piece of shit does one good thing, people forget all the evil shit he did before. But when a so-called good guy does one bad thing? They crucify him. They latch onto that mistake and ride it until they drag you through the mud and leave you for dead."

"And since you’re a supe, pulling you off that pedestal gets them off even harder than drugs."

Ivan’s words hit home. The Deep was living proof right now.

"Mr. Greevs... is Vought planning to fire me?" The Deep asked, voice tight with panic.

Ivan’s lips curled into a smirk. He pointed at the folder in The Deep’s hands. "Use your brain. If we wanted to fire you, there wouldn’t be a crisis plan. Check the last few pages. That’s how we fix this."

"Lovesick guy... failed pursuer of Starlight?" The Deep flipped to the end and read the headline quietly.

"This... this can actually work?" He sounded shocked that something so simple could save his ass.

"You tell me. One makes you a sexual predator. The other makes you a clumsy lovesick idiot. You think those are the same thing?"

"Oh... damn, damn, damn! I get it now!" The Deep’s face lit up as the plan finally clicked. "You are a fucking genius, no cap, on god, bro."

Right then, Starlight finally showed up.

Ivan smirked, "Oh, hey, Starlight, you came at the right time—"

But the moment she saw The Deep standing in front of Ivan’s desk, her expression turned icy. She spun around to leave without saying a word.

Ivan: ".."

"Walk out that door and you don’t need to come in tomorrow," Ivan said flatly.

Starlight stopped in her tracks. "Are you threatening me?"

"Take it however you want." Ivan leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

She was getting cocky.

Ever since she started pushing back against Madeline, she clearly thought nobody could touch her. As long as she moved the stock, she figured she was untouchable. Even Ivan.

"You!" Starligh was going to say something, but Ivan just shook his head and sighed.

"Sigh.." Ivan sighed softly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He spoke to her with care. "It’s not a threat, Annie. It’s reality. Sit down. Please."

"Deep, hand her the file," Ivan ordered.

Starlight took the document from The Deep, barely holding back her rage. When she reached the last pages, she couldn’t contain it anymore. "This is your brilliant plan? Oh, fuck you. You really are a piece of shit."

Her eyes started glowing gold. The lights in the office flickered wildly.

Ivan leaned forward slightly, keeping his voice soft and patient. "Annie... this plan helps him and you. For every 7 good comments, there are 3 negative comments from The Deep’s fans. Plus, the Vought executives have started to think that you’re becoming difficult, unapproachable. Trust me, Madelyn is not happy after your previous showdown with her. This shows you as someone compassionate enough to help a struggling teammate. It makes you look good. I’m only trying to help.."

Starlight laughed bitterly. "Of course. Of course you’d spin it that way. You’re really going to sit there and ask me to lie so this fish fucker rapist can keep his job?"

God.. this bitch, why doesn’t she want me to become the next CEO?!

"I’m not asking you to lie about what happened," he said carefully. "I’m asking you to frame it differently. For the company. And please don’t start to believe your own words, this stupid ass just showed you his Wiener and got humiliated, it’s not like you had to—"

"Greevs!" Starlight snarled. She stormed right up to his desk, fists clenched like she was about to swing. The Deep quickly stepped between them.

The nice guy tactics weren’t working, so Ivan finally snapped, shoved The Deep aside and stared Starlight down with cold eyes. "You’re right. I can’t fire you. But I can bury you so deep you’ll never see daylight again. Believe me, starting this afternoon, every single appearance, every endorsement, every bit of Vought’s promotion for you gets cut off."

"And if I remember correctly, you’re from that shithole Des Moines in Iowa. Small town in the middle of nowhere. You really want to crawl back there?"

The threat was raw and direct.

Then Ivan smiled again. "Of course, if you agree, I’ll crank up Vought’s support for you. All you have to do is shoot one short video forgiving The Deep. It’s easy. I know you’ll make the smart choice."

Starlight stood there frozen, glaring daggers at him. Inside, she was torn to pieces. A voice in her head kept screaming: Starlight, what the fuck are you waiting for? Throw that shit in his face and walk out.

Another voice pushed back hard in her head. Do that and Vought will bury you for good. You’ll lose the supe glow. Everything you’ve built, all the fame and glory, gone. You’ll just end up crawling back to Des Moines as a nobody again.

Half a cup of coffee later, Starlight finally let out a long breath. She was actually missing Ashley right about now.

"You’re a fucking asshole," she spat, dropping the folder on the desk. She turned and walked out of Ivan’s office without looking back.

Ivan watched her leave, smoothed out the wrinkles on the document with his hand, and muttered with a smirk, "Takes one to know one."

...

At the same time.

Shit was hitting the fan on Butcher’s end. Hughie got a call from his dad’s number, but the second he picked up, A-Train’s voice came through the line.

A-Train, Homelander’s favorite errand boy for dirty work like silencing loose ends.

"Fuck," Hughie hissed. He slammed the call off immediately.

"It’s A-Train. What the hell is he doing at my house? Goddammit, someone talked." Hughie’s stomach twisted with a nasty mix of fear and rage. Fear because his family might get hurt. Rage because some rat had sold them out to Vought or Homelander.

___

After Season 5, Starlight ain’t worth it. Getting bamboozled by that dog of a man Dogknott, why do you want to do close combat? Well, no worries.

Then getting rolled by Oh Father.. ok, all right..

BUT! Let me remind you.. She didn’t know about The Deep and the sea creatures falling out, yet she still took the fight from the White House to the seashore where The Deep would have been the strongest...

[]~(￣▽￣)~*

Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69