Hunted by Secrets ~The Boys

9~ Thief

I narrow my eyes and conjure energy into my hands. "Who are you?"

"Calm down sweetheart," the strange man holds his hands out. "I just want to talk."

I can tell he's lying, and I feel the energy of someone else creeping up behind me. Just as they're about to attack me from behind I whirl around, blasting them back and holding them in the air.

It's a small girl who looks to be around 14 or 15. She's a supe. I can feel her power through my hold on her, she was planning to knock me out.

I let her drop to the ground and turn back to the man.

"Getting a kid to do your dirty work?" I narrow my eyes.

"You used to be that kid," he huffs in his thick accent.

How does he know that?

"I'll ask again," I sigh, feeling my eyes turn red, and my vision become sharper. "Who are you?"

"The names Butcher," he says. "I'm just a messenger."

"A messenger for what?" I let out a laugh, "What do you want?"

"Well, the person I'm workin' with wants you dead," he sighs. "But I believe you could do so much more for us alive. So, I have a proposal for you."

I take a step closer to him, and he stands his ground, lifting his chin up a little.

"You don't want me as an enemy, Butcher," I smile, "I could kill you with a single thought."

"But you haven't," he cocks his head. "Because you're intrigued."

"Maybe," I say, "What's in it for me?"

"Well," he raises his eyebrows. "I know about Project V Ten, and I know all about your fucked up past."

I let out a small gasp, my mind being transported back to the testing rooms from my childhood. I'd heard them talking about this 'project' many times. Project V10. It could make a supe's power 10 times more potent- If they survived it.

Most of the test subjects they used couldn't handle the drug. It would disfigure them, disable them, and sometimes even kill them. I was one of the later test subjects, and one of the first for it to actually work on.

"How?" I ask, "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter," he says, "We don't have much time. That little distraction I made won't last long." He smiles slightly, "Tell me something- What motivates you?"

I furrow my brows, "What do you mean?"

"What makes you do Vought's bidding? Money? Power? Fame? Why do you do what you do?"

"I-" I look down at the ground for a second, then meet his eyes again. "I don't know."

He nods, like he already knew my answer. "We'll be seeing each other again very soon-Witch."

He gives me one last smile before I hear something bang on the roof behind me. I turn, expecting another attack from the girl.

There's no one there. The little girl from earlier is gone.

"Wait, you said you know about my past?" I turn back to Butcher, but he's also disappeared.

I shake my head, thinking maybe it was all just a hallucination.

No, it was definitely real. But how does he know about V10? About me? The only answer I can think of is that he used to be a scientist at the tower.

I hear Maeve talking to civilians down at the crash site and decide I should get back. I make my way down to the street, though the thought of having to go to A Train's race slows my pace.