Hunted by Secrets ~The Boys

2~ Introductions

"-And I'm very pleased to introduce the newest member of the Seven! Please welcome, Scarlet Witch!"

That's my cue. The applause gets insanely loud as I walk out onto the stage. The cameras focus on me and the spotlights point at me, almost blinding me. My heart is racing but my nerves don't show on my face.

I smile, waving to the crowd and making my way to where the Deep is standing in front of the mic. I notice him looking me up and down, and I can almost hear his thoughts without even reaching into his mind. I smile sweetly at him, already hating him. He smiles back, gesturing towards the mic and stepping away from it.

I step up to the mic, letting the applause die down.

"Thank you everyone," I smile, looking out at the hundreds of faces. "And thank you Deep," I say, smiling at him again. "I'm so grateful to be standing up here in front of you all," I lie, reading the cues near the camera, "Vought took a chance on a young girl from Maine, and I know I won't let you down." That earns more cheers. God that script is so basic, a kid could've wrote that.

The Deep starts talking again with me standing next to him. He starts talking about my powers, which is my cue to do a demonstration.

"Come on Scarlet," he nudges me, "show us something."

More cheers from the audience, I hear them yelling for me to show them what I can do. I smile, a real one this time.

I lift up my right hand and call a little of my energy to it. It flows around my hand, and I call it to my other hand, lifting that one also. The flowing energy is red and misty, just itching to be used for more than show and tell. I force my eyes to turn red and suddenly I can hear Deep's thoughts loud and clear. I try to block them out, focusing on making the trails of red whip up into pretty flares. I make a red orb of my the energy and control it with both hands. People ooh and ahh, cheering and whooping.

His thoughts keep pushing their way back into my head though, so I fill his brain with a different thought. I let myself into his mind, not trying to block him out. I make him see a dolphin dying, which for some reason is among his deepest fears. His face visibly drops and I hear him make a small whimper.

I stop the power show with a dramatic flick of my hand. It wasn't even close to what I could actually do, and I almost felt giddy thinking about using them again.

The rest of the show goes smoothly, and when the curtains finally close I let my face relax.

"They fucking love you Scarlet," Ashley exclaims, leading me back to the dressing room.

"Scarlet?" I ask, usually she calls me by my real name.

"Yes! They love the name! Well, conservatives and Christians don't like the witch part, but everyone else does! This is a big win! Your ratings are super high!"

I make a face, wanting more than anything to leave.

"Tomorrow you'll meet the rest of the Seven," Ashley starts typing on her keyboard. "Oh, and Deep has volunteered to show you around tonight, even though you already know where everything is, he doesn't know that. Just humor him, okay? The others need to believe your story."

I nod, and she walks away without another word.

"Scarlet?"

A timid looking Deep is poking his head through my dressing room door.

"Yeah? Is it time for the tour?" I ask, standing up.