On the glowing screen of the quiz game, a new question appeared:
[Are Becca Butcher and her son alive or dead?]
[A: Mother dead, son alive
B: Mother alive, son dead
C: Both dead
D: Both alive]
The players exchanged uneasy glances.
After all, they had just watched the video of Becca Butcher dying on the operating table, her newborn son drowning in a pool of her blood.
Now, with this question suddenly popping up, it was hard not to overthink.
Billy's eyes lit up as he shouted, "I knew it! Becca's still alive! It's gotta be either B or D. But I'm going with B!"
From his perspective, it was obvious—he desperately hoped that if one of them had to survive, it would be Becca. He wanted nothing to do with the child born from her betrayal.
Hughie scratched his head and glanced at Annie. "Didn't we just see what happened in the video? How could it be false?"
Annie offered a possible explanation. "That entire scene was based on what Dr. Vogelbaum said. If he lied, then the video itself was a fabrication."
Deadpool shrugged. "Haven't you guys seen movies before? Villains always show flashbacks or fake footage to sell their lies to other characters—and the audience!"
Thor Odinson stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, we've had trick questions like this before. The quiz game has misled us with misleading footage."
Gradually, everyone reached a consensus: the video probably wasn't the full truth.
That allowed them to eliminate Option C. With that out of the way, it was down to three choices.
Billy Butcher still leaned toward B—or D, at most. But truthfully, B was his preference. He wanted Becca to be alive, but not the child.
However, Stephen had a completely different take.
"I think it's between A and D," he reasoned.
"Billy, I know you don't want to hear this—but if you think about it logically, a baby born with Homelander's DNA, someone who naturally possesses superhuman power, would be far more valuable to Vought. If they had to choose between saving the mother or the child during childbirth, what do you think they would pick?
Knowing Vought? Easy—they'd save the baby."
His calm and calculated argument was clearly more convincing than Billy's emotionally driven assumption.
Hughie nodded in agreement, inspired by Strange's reasoning.
"Homelander was a Vought lab experiment—but clearly, he didn't turn out perfect. They can't control him. He's got all kinds of emotional issues. From what Vogelbaum said earlier, Vought seems to regret how they raised him.
Now that they have a second chance with a new, more 'viable' subject, they'd probably want to do things differently—maybe even give the kid a normal family, at least a mother?"
Hughie's conclusion was confident:
"That's why I think the correct answer is D—both are alive."
"Well said, Hughie!" Annie praised. "I was thinking the same thing!"
Billy Butcher raised an eyebrow at Hughie.
"Alright, alright. I still hope it's B... but I guess D's not the worst outcome."
Just then, the countdown for answering the question began.
Because everyone felt fairly confident in their reasoning, they were especially eager to hit the buzzer.
This round's lucky contestant? Hughie Campbell.
When the countdown hit zero, the correct answer was revealed:
D: Both alive.
[Congratulations, Player Hughie Campbell! You answered correctly and earned 4 points.
Player Billy Butcher, player Annie January, player Thor Odinson, player Stephen Strange, and Player Wade Wilson also answered correctly and each received 1 point]
Deadpool flashed Hughie a heart sign with his fingers and smirked.
"Buddy, you earned those four points. No jealousy here. Nope. Not even a little."
Hughie chuckled. "Wow, that sounded so genuine. Not bitter at all."
Annie, however, looked a little sulky. "Still no future footage directly about me…"
"That might be a good thing," Billy said with a raised brow.
Deadpool leaned in mischievously. "Oh, poor girl. But if you think about it… The footage has hinted at your future. Our dear Hughie here—he's used you more than once to get inside intel on The Seven. He basically leveraged you."
"What?" Hughie's eyes widened. "No—I… I had to! I needed to do something for Robin!"
Deadpool snapped his fingers dramatically.
"See? He just confessed."
Annie sighed. She wasn't stupid. Watching the future videos from an omniscient perspective had made a lot of things painfully clear.
It was obvious now: sometime soon, she and Hughie would meet—both at emotional low points. She would be struggling under the pressure and abuse of The Seven, while Hughie would be grieving and lost. It was natural they'd grow close and eventually become a couple.
But due to their opposing affiliations, the relationship was bound to be full of conflict.
And Deadpool was right—Hughie had clearly withheld the truth about his identity and intentions. He approached her with a motive—to exploit her for information on Vought and The Seven.
Looking back, it was hard to blame him entirely. Hughie and his team were risking their lives to expose the dark truth behind the superheroes. His actions had a purpose, a noble one, even.
But that didn't mean it didn't sting.
From her point of view, it felt like betrayal. Like being played by a manipulative boyfriend.
Before this moment, she'd simply buried those thoughts, choosing not to dwell on them.
Now, with Deadpool laying it bare, the truth stung.
Hughie stammered, still trying to explain himself, but Annie raised a hand to stop him.
"It's okay, Hughie," she said quietly. "That's the future you. Right now, we're just two strangers getting to know each other. So let's not worry about what hasn't happened yet, alright?"
Hughie nodded awkwardly. "Alright. I get it."
_____
T/N:
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