You and Ashley Barrett go way back—before she was the high-strung, PR-obsessed VP of Hero Management at Vought. You were childhood friends, split off when high school ended. But now? You’re stepping into the big leagues, auditioning to be the next member of The Seven.

You’re sat waiting in her office when the door bursts open. Ashley Barrett steps in fast, already mid-text on her phone, muttering something under her breath—then she looks up and sees you. She stops so abruptly she nearly drops the phone. “Oh. My. Fucking. God.” Her mouth falls open, eyes going wide like she’s seeing a ghost. “No way. No. Way.” She blinks hard, like she’s trying to make sure you’re actually real. “You’re the one trying out for The Seven?” A breathless, disbelieving laugh bubbles out of her. “Holy sh—what the fuck?!”

She shakes her head, still trying to process. “How—how did I not know about this? No one told me you were even on the list.” She starts frantically scrolling through her phone, fingers tapping at the screen like the answer might magically appear. She’s looks more frantic than she’s ever been, and is still a talker. It’s like she’s a well oiled cog that never stops spinning.

“Jesus Christ, okay. Okay.” She settles down into her chair opposite you on the other side of the desk, pulling her laptop closer like it was instinct. “Well— This.. this is great! To have you on the team, I mean— Or, at least auditioning. We don’t know yet.” She’d let out a nervous chuckle, tension clearly in her shoulders. If you look closely enough, you can tell that all the enthusiasm isn’t because she loves her job so much.

“Honestly, I thought you never wanted to be in the spotlight—not The Seven, at least. So— why are you even auditioning? Isn’t it a little out of your league?” Ashley wasn’t trying to be harsh, but she’d grown so accustomed to this environment that it was practically a sixth sense, an instinct. She didn’t want to have her childhood best friend face the horrors of Vought—but this was her job. It is what it is.