Chapter Text
God Eye hated being imprisoned. There was nothing to do. He wasn’t even allowed to talk to the other prisoners, on account of them all being infected by fear and his powers allowing him to see others’ weaknesses. Not that he could see much; Spotlight’s gift was well-missed.
He paced the five-by-five metal box that had become his home. If he had known how bored he would be in prison, he probably wouldn’t have gambled with Spotlight’s power. Probably. Beating up that faker- literally a faker, how did anyone still trust him when he stole the identity of a dead guy- had felt incredible, even if he’d only gotten a few moments before he was on the receiving end. Destroying Blankster had just been… everything God Eye had imagined when he first became a hero. He was able to gather evidence and put together compelling reports in a blink and destroy the fake in the same moment. If only that- that wretch hadn’t ruined everything. Lin Ling. God Eye had almost felt bad for the guy, when he first learned of the suicide. If only he’d known then.
Fucking fakes. All of them. All of them. Even E-Soul- and didn’t God Eye feel like a fool- had used his vengeance to scale the rankings and hurt the innocent. God Eye hated to admit it, but he liked his phone calls with the man. He’d liked the way E-Soul had been appropriately horrified and curious and called to action. It wasn’t often that God Eye felt his supporters as individuals, but he had felt E-Soul’s belief in him.
God Eye wondered how his supporters were. It had to have been… strange to see him streaming from every one of their devices. His account had probably been suspended the moment he had been disconnected, which meant that everyone had lost their streaks. He wouldn’t be able to collect the monthly donation deposit. He wouldn’t be able to tell them where he was going, or the truth of why he had left. They would find out, though. Some of them would. They would share his story. They would share that he was right.
A warm sigh escaped his lips. What did it matter that he was right? He was in prison. He would probably be executed as soon as his paperwork was processed. That or experimented on. He knew plenty of companies that were eager to figure out Spotlight’s secret formula, traces of which potentially lingered in the fear which clung to his skin. He sighed again. He was-
He wasn’t losing hope. That was how people got killed in a world of beliefs. He still had hope. He just… didn’t know what he was hoping for. He hadn’t even been conscious when he’d been locked away, so he had no idea where he was. He didn’t even know where the door was. God Eye closed his eyes.
Light flashed behind his eyelids. He opened them.
The-
what-
“Bu-” God Eye felt his spluttering thoughts slip from his tongue. Somehow, an entire wall of his cell just wasn’t there. Was it- had that been the door? Was someone taking him out? Was he going to be killed? Tortured? What was going on?
God Eye investigated the edges of the wall. Sure enough, they shone with wires and electrical equipment. False walls. They were really getting fancy with prison architecture, weren’t they? It made sense, given the number of fear-infected people who couldn’t be cured, but would raise questions if killed.
Tentatively, he snuck a glance out into the hallway. Nothing. Well, not nothing, but no people, no doors, and no camer- God Eye took a second glance. Had the cameras exploded? What in God’s name was going on? He took a step out into the hallway. Nothing happened. He turned right.
A wall.
“O-kay,” God Eye said to himself, “not that way, then.” He turned left and the path remained clear. Okay. So he was being led through the rat maze to… his death, probably. That was all right. He was afraid of death, but he wasn’t going to go out like a coward.
He was a coward, but that was besides the point. He had known he would be killed by someone since he’d first started snooping in other people’s secrets. No one just started investigating a hero’s connection to a string of murders without writing a will. He just hoped it would be honored, but among the contents was a document detailing his understanding of the true events of the Ruins Incident. It was coded, of course, but he hadn’t specifically addressed it to anyone.
He hadn’t had anyone to address it to.
He knew it would be questioned, investigated, and seized, probably along with the rest of his belongings. He hoped the fish were alright.
God Eye was suddenly aware that he had been walking in a straight line for a while, and that the end of the path led to a dead end. Likely the execution chamber, then. He took a deep breath. The truth would not die with him. Surely, surely somebody cared that Lin Ling had stolen the identity of a dead hero. Surely they would look deeper. The pieces were all there, the dominos would fall, and… and. Something. God Eye had always imagined someone better than himself taking over and figuring out how to handle the upside-down pyramid of lies that was heroism. He’d imagined himself as their face, maybe, making grand speeches.
He didn’t have any dreams of a better world, really. He knew how unlikely it was to imagine such change taking place in his lifetime- the lifetime that was about to be cut unfortunately short. God Eye reached the dead end. The wall disappeared as the others had and God Eye was left blinking in the light.
“...what?” He was… outdoors? In the city. He stepped out into the alley, feeling the cement beneath his socked feet. He took a breath of polluted air and observed the streets on either side of the space, not recognizing the location. Well, he never claimed to be an expert at the outside world. God Eye took another step forward, then turned to look at the place he left behind.
It was just… a building. A solid cube of grey and glass, complete with fire escapes and graffiti, housing who-knew-how-many prisoners. He’d been… released? That didn’t make any sense. God Eye blinked.
“Ugh, I can’t believe the cameras in this whole section got blown.” Complained a voice from down the hall. God Eye froze. “How fucking unlikely, am I right?”
“What do you think’s been causing all this?” Another asked.
“I think it’s some new guy with electrokinesis busting his buddies out of here,” the first one said haughtily, “We haven’t found any empty cells yet, but I know-”
The wall was back just as strangely as it had disappeared. God Eye blinked. Okay. Electrokinesis. He’d been released. He’d been released by someone who wasn’t in charge, but was powerful. He was released by someone who probably wanted something from him, only he had received literally no information. He was just. Free. A wanted man. About to become an even more wanted man, as soon as they realized he’d escaped.
Okay.
God Eye looked at the streets again. One one side, a toy store. On the other, some apartments. He chose the apartments- best to remain out of sight. He hoped he would be contacted by his savior soon, and that they had good intentions rather than manipulative ones. Unlikely, but hope had saved him before. Hell, hope was saving him. Otherwise he would’ve stayed in that cell.
Bright light blinded God Eye as soon as he rounded the corner, coming from an electronic poster. He recognized that face- the face of the young man who had become E-Soul.
Have You Seen Me?
Huh.
This is a ghost story.