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However, Ashley only dared to yell at The Deep, Starlight, or A-Train.
The Deep used to be a pushover, unable to look up to anyone with slightly higher status, and Starlight was a newcomer, with a good-girl image, so Ashley felt no pressure lecturing her.
As for A-Train…
He's Black.
Yeah.
Of course, the staff at Vought International weren't fools; they wouldn't openly display discrimination or differential treatment.
But the truth was, the attitudes of the higher-ups towards the members of The Seven varied.
At least Ashley wouldn't dare speak to Homelander or Queen Maeve like that.
After subtly hinting at Ashley's future 'hair loss,' Kevin strolled into the elevator, preparing to go to Madelyn's office to talk to her.
But as soon as he entered the elevator, Kevin noticed there was another person inside.
It was Starlight.
For some reason, the young girl looked at Kevin with a slightly admiring gaze and inexplicably said:
"Deep, I support you."
"?"
Kevin was initially puzzled. As he pressed the button for the 99th floor, he instinctively responded:
"Thanks?"
It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that Kevin reacted: "Wait, you heard my conversation with Ashley?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but… the door wasn't fully closed, so…"
"I see. No problem, it's nothing major anyway."
As the elevator ascended, Kevin leaned against the handrail, looking nonchalant.
Starlight, however, became interested and asked with great curiosity:
"So you left work early yesterday to better fight crime? You really took down a dozen gangsters? Did they have guns?"
"…"
Wait, was the Starlight I remember this lively?
Kevin was full of questions as he watched Starlight suddenly become a chatterbox.
But it wasn't anything unspeakable, so Kevin casually replied:
"Not that many, barely ten people. They did have guns, but guns don't affect me. Also… I didn't leave work yesterday to fight crime; I just happened to stumble upon it."
"I understand. Oh, it looks like my floor. I'll get off now, talk to you later."
Starlight left the elevator with a smile that said, 'I understand.'
Watching her back, Kevin's mouth twitched twice.
You understand jack shit!
Just by Starlight's expression, Kevin knew she must have misunderstood something!
I hate these guys who inexplicably delude themselves!
Kevin rolled his eyes at Starlight's retreating back but didn't go up to stop her and explain.
The more you talk about such things, the more mistakes you make, and if he rushed over to stop Starlight, it would be easy for others to misunderstand something.
Doing nothing was the correct choice; given time, Starlight would come to know what kind of person Kevin was.
Ignoring the little interlude with Starlight, Kevin slowly walked towards Madelyn's office.
Madelyn's office was also on the 99th floor, not far from the conference room.
Occasionally, he would even see Homelander standing next to Madelyn's office, staring blankly at his own giant photograph.
Everyone else thought Homelander was admiring himself, but Kevin, who knew the original story, was aware that this guy was actually using his x-ray vision to observe Madelyn inside the office.
Tsk, this Homelander, with his severe mother complex, was beyond saving.
However, Kevin didn't see Homelander today, perhaps because it wasn't his working hours yet.
Or maybe he was doing some event.
It was best not to see Homelander; honestly, Kevin was a little afraid of this guy.
Not only because of The Deep's original inner fear of Homelander, but also because Homelander was indeed difficult to deal with.
More importantly, Kevin's current strength was no match for Homelander.
At times like these, it was best to be a coward if possible, otherwise, Kevin wouldn't have gone on a killing spree on the boat yesterday to silence witnesses.
Standing at the door of Madelyn's office, Kevin knocked.
Inside the room, Madelyn was watching some videos on her computer. Seeing Kevin, she paused the video and looked him up and down, her eyes as if seeing him for the first time.
"Boss? What's wrong? Ashley told me you were looking for me?"
Since the boss didn't speak, Kevin had no choice but to ask first.
Madelyn gave Kevin a deep look, then turned the laptop on her desk around, the screen facing Kevin.
"See for yourself."
"?"
Kevin was puzzled.
Madelyn rewound the video to the beginning and played it, and then Kevin understood what Madelyn meant.
The location in the video was a police station.
It was the same police station Kevin had visited yesterday.
The person who filmed the video, hidden in some corner, had completely captured the scene of a superhero entering the police station and then being taken away by the company.
During this time, there was no narration, perhaps due to poor phone quality, coupled with the noisy surroundings, so none of The Deep's or the other police officers' words were recorded.
There was only this messy footage.
Seeing this, Kevin understood something.
Indeed, Madelyn slowly said:
"If the PR department hadn't been prepared, then this morning, you would have seen headlines like 'Superhero The Deep Arrested by Police' on all the major news outlets…"
'If'...
So, it seemed this matter had been handled by the PR department.
Kevin understood the deeper meaning in Madelyn's words.
He thought for a moment, appearing slightly nervous, and asked:
"Then… this matter…"
"The PR department has already gone to handle it. How does a headline like 'The Deep Fights Crime Late at Night' sound to you?"
"Oh, thank goodness."
Kevin breathed a sigh of relief.
In modern society, where online information is extremely developed, sometimes even a small matter can be taken out of context, turning a good deed into a bad one.
The Deep was a public figure, a member of The Seven, a superhero and a superstar. Many eyes were on him. If Vought International hadn't helped handle it, this incident could easily have been exploited, leading to The Deep's ruin.
This might sound a bit alarmist, but it was indeed true, and Kevin's current relief was not feigned.
"So, The Deep, what exactly have you been thinking lately? Do you want to change your image?"
Madelyn had no intention of letting Kevin off the hook. She continued to interrogate Kevin, asking about his thoughts.
Kevin had indeed been acting strangely these past two days. Yesterday, he shaved his beard, almost making a fool of himself in front of the shareholders' meeting, and then in the evening, without any company arrangements, he went off to play the game of fighting crime.
The Deep in Madelyn's memory was not the kind of guy who would actively seek out trouble for himself.
He was timid, cowardly, as if anyone could bully him.
Although he was a superhero, all the 'good deeds' he did were under the company's guidance; he never did these things when there were no cameras around.
Madelyn had no objections to this initially. The company chose The Deep to be a member of The Seven not because he was particularly responsible or had powerful superpowers.
It was simply because The Seven needed diversity, and required a superhero like The Deep who had achievements in the marine field, nothing more.
Therefore, The Deep's persona had always been that of an 'environmentalist,' and his strength was not particularly noteworthy.
But last night, The Deep had actually killed a dozen gang members in one go.
While doing a good deed, he had displayed extraordinary superpowers.
This was not normal, at least not for The Deep's previously exhibited personality.
Madelyn felt that she needed to talk to The Deep, whether it was about what he was doing now or his newly emerged superpowers.
They both needed to have a good talk.
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