The camera cut to what looked like a military camp—
No, to be precise, it was clearly a film set.
Inside the studio, they were shooting a promotional video. Homelander and Queen Maeve stood on either side of a Black soldier, speaking into the camera and urging the public to support the military.
Just then, a woman with a trendy haircut burst in holding a phone. She seemed to be livestreaming, her tone flippant, showing no respect or fear toward Homelander like most people did.
She even told her audience outright that they were on a set, and that Homelander and Queen Maeve were just putting on a show.
"If I remember correctly, her codename is Stormfront?" Tony rested his chin on his hand.
"I've heard Clark and Bruce mention her before — supposedly, she's almost as unlikeable as you, Homelander. Honestly, I thought you two would get along great."
Homelander frowned. His opinion of Stormfront was anything but favorable — both from what he'd seen in the future videos and from his actual encounters with her.
In reality, when Superman, Wonder Woman, and others had moved against Vought, Stormfront had been brought in to help. But the first time they actually met face-to-face was after Superman had beaten Homelander into submission.
The Seven had been utterly routed that day. Homelander's face was a bruised mess, and Stormfront's hair was in wild disarray.
Far from sympathizing, she'd been furious at his surrender, calling him a coward who had betrayed Vought, America's honor, and the public's trust — peppering her rant with plenty of profanity.
If Superman hadn't been there, Homelander would've gladly ripped that foul mouth right off her face.
After that, both of them were detained at the Defenders headquarters and had no further interaction.
Now, seeing her in this "future video," she was just as infuriating as ever.
On screen, Ashley tried to block Stormfront, but she shoved the camera right at Homelander and Queen Maeve.
Even though he was seething inside, Homelander put on a dazzling smile for the livestream audience, spouting a few polite lines before getting ready to leave.
That's when Stormfront cheerfully said, "Don't mind me — they just wanted me to meet you two in advance. After all, I've already replaced Translucent as the newest member of the Seven."
True to her performer's instincts, when she mentioned Translucent, she even made the sign of the cross for the camera, feigning solemnity.
Homelander stopped mid-step, his mood clearly souring. Not long ago, he'd already disposed of one utterly useless new recruit — and now, this surprise.
Ashley, seeing his expression change, nearly burst into tears as she rushed to explain she had nothing to do with it.
Queen Maeve was simply surprised — she hadn't expected such an odd woman to suddenly join the Seven without any prior notice.
As for Homelander, even with the camera still streaming, he kept his smile plastered on, repeating "Great," and "That's wonderful" over and over.
"Hahaha! Look at how much our dear Homelander is suffering," Tony Stark chuckled. "Honestly, I think I might be starting to like Stormfront."
Erik shrugged. "I'll give Homelander this — his acting's good. If you didn't know the truth, you'd never realize that smile was fake."
Natasha helpfully added, "If you cover the lower half of his face, you'll see it — there's not an ounce of warmth in his eyes. Honestly, he's better suited for espionage than hero work."
Homelander clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles popped, grinding his molars hard enough to creak. "It's all fake! You idiots are letting yourselves get fooled by lies! I have nothing to say to fools."
Back in the video, Homelander stormed back to Vought Tower and headed straight for the 82nd floor to confront CEO Stan Edgar.
He was furious that Edgar had approved Stormfront's addition to the Seven without consulting him, calling it a sign of blatant disrespect.
He even threatened to terminate his contract:
"My deal's up this year. Tell me, what do you think your precious board will say if I go to another agency?"
To most people, such a threat from Homelander would've either left them shaking or white as a sheet.
But Stan Edgar wasn't most people. He met Homelander's glare head-on, his expression calm and his eyes completely devoid of fear.
Outside the video, Tony let out a whistle. "Not bad. I've met the guy before, but I didn't realize he had this side to him."
Erik crossed his arms, intrigued.
"What I want to know is, if negotiations break down, will you kill him? Like you did Madelyn?"
"Shut up! I didn't kill Madelyn!" Homelander snapped, glaring daggers at him. "She's alive and well. Everything in those so-called future videos is fake!"
Erik held his gaze without flinching. "You need to understand something — when someone's not afraid of you, shouting only makes you look scared. So, what are you afraid of? That you might kill Madelyn? But if what you say is true, and the videos are fake, then why be afraid?"
Homelander closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't need to explain myself to idiots."
On screen, after a tense standoff, Stan Edgar began telling the story of Vought's founder, Frederick Vought.
Back in World War II, Vought had developed Compound V while working for Nazi Germany, carrying out human experiments with impunity.
Later, he defected to the Allies, using Compound V to create super-soldiers that helped win the war. For that contribution, he was granted a pardon.
Like many great inventors, he went on to start a company — and in business, he achieved remarkable success.
Homelander had little interest in the history lesson.
But Stan Edgar drove the point home:
"If you think Vought is a superhero company, you're wrong. Vought is a pharmaceutical company. And our most valuable asset isn't you — it's Compound V."
___
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