Inside The Seven's hall…
Jovian stood quietly at the far end with his hands behind his back—standing right in Homelander's spot.
Click.
"Uh… am I the first one here?"
With a soft sound behind Jovian, a man in a blue, skin-tight suit stepped into the room.
Jovian heard him and turned around.
"Huh?"
"Hey—wait, you're not Homelander?"
The man froze for a beat. Seeing Jovian—taller and broader than Homelander—he finally realized the guy in the main seat wasn't Homelander at all.
"Of course I'm not Homelander."
"I'm—just call me Freeman."
Jovian smiled brightly as he introduced himself.
"Freeman? Oh, I know—so you're the new guy joining The Seven to replace Lamplighter, right?"
The man in blue looked like he'd cracked the case… when in reality, if he'd paid even a little attention, he would've known the one replacing Lamplighter was Starlight—not Jovian.
"Good to meet you."
He spoke as he reached out his hand toward Jovian.
Jovian glanced at the hand, then at the man in blue, and simply smiled—shaking his head instead of taking it.
"Someone else is coming, buddy."
Jovian's smile didn't change.
"Huh?"
The man in blue turned toward the main doors.
Click…
When the doors opened, four faces appeared at once.
A blond, muscular guy draped in an American-flag cape with a blinding smile.
A woman who looked like a hardcore Wonder Woman cosplayer.
A brown-haired guy who stood there silent and limp like a washed-up couch potato—and, in truth, he really was one.
And a man who looked like he'd sprinted straight over from the set of Cobra Kai, wrapped head-to-toe in black armor.
"You're Freeman, right? Yeah, I know you. I've heard about you…"
Homelander started bullshitting immediately. In truth, all he'd heard was Jovian's name—plus an order from upstairs to come meet him.
"Oh, look at your cape. And that suit."
"Let me guess—you're a fan, right?"
Homelander's eyes flashed with a hint of malice as he looked at Jovian standing in his spot, but he forced it down for the moment and kept that sparkling smile on his face.
"A fan? Of course not."
Jovian glanced at his suit and shook his head.
"Mm?"
Homelander's expression stiffened instantly. For a second, he looked like he didn't know where to put his face.
"Buddy, the seat you're in belongs to Homelander."
"This is your seat."
The washed-up guy walked over to the spot that used to be Lamplighter's and pointed it out to Jovian.
"No. I think this one suits me better."
Jovian shook his head and dropped straight into Homelander's chair.
Yeah—he only sat in the main seat.
"New guy… you clearly don't understand how things work around here."
The washed-up guy rolled his wrist and started toward Jovian, like he wanted to put on a little show in front of Homelander.
Snap.
Before he could do anything, Homelander grabbed his wrist and stopped him cold.
"Uh…"
The washed-up guy flinched, fear flashing across his face. He lowered his head and silently retreated to stand behind Homelander.
"New guy…"
"You really don't understand the rules here."
Homelander walked up step by step until he was right in front of Jovian, smiling down at him.
"I'm the rules."
Jovian looked up at Homelander with the exact same smile and lowered his voice to emphasize it.
"…"
Homelander's face dropped. Veins tightened along his forehead—he felt humiliated.
Click…
Right as Homelander's restraint and rage were fighting for control, the door opened again.
Stillwell—older, but still carrying herself with plenty of presence—walked in.
"Homelander. Sit down. Don't start trouble."
Stillwell ordered the moment she entered.
"Huh?"
Homelander turned, furious—then the instant he saw Stillwell, all that anger evaporated.
His eyes locked onto her chest.
She was leaking through her blouse.
"Slurp…"
Homelander licked his lips as casually as he could, then pulled out the seat beside Jovian and sat down.
Jovian watched Homelander's back and shook his head.
What a fucking freak.
And honestly, seeing it up close almost made Jovian want to act right now.
But considering the consequences of throwing hands in Vought Tower, Jovian held it in. He decided to play it smart—find somewhere quiet later and erase Homelander without a sound.
"A-Train, The Deep, Queen Maeve, Black Noir!"
"You four—take your seats and listen."
Seeing Homelander sit down, Stillwell exhaled in relief and addressed the rest.
"Sure."
Queen Maeve nodded lazily and returned to her chair. She was the least invested out of everyone—who Homelander fought didn't matter to her anymore.
A-Train's eyes kept flicking between Homelander and Jovian, like he was calculating something.
The Deep's expression kept shifting, dark and unsettled.
As for Black Noir… who the hell knew what he was thinking.
"First, let's congratulate Freeman—Mr. Jovian Grayson—on joining The Seven and replacing Translucent!"
Stillwell opened with goodwill toward Jovian and began clapping first.
"What?! You replaced Translucent—not Lamplighter?!"
Everyone froze.
They'd all assumed Jovian was taking Lamplighter's slot. But apparently, the situation was a lot crazier than they'd imagined.
"Heh."
Jovian answered with nothing but a faint smile.
He didn't care whose spot he took. If he'd run into A-Train first, he'd replace A-Train. If he'd run into The Deep first, he'd replace The Deep.
It just happened to be Translucent.
"Yes. Translucent retired."
"Upstairs decided Freeman will fill the opening."
Stillwell explained.
"That breaks the rules."
Homelander stood up, voice sharp.
"This is Mr. Edgar's decision."
"If anyone here is unhappy, you're welcome to go upstairs and complain to Mr. Edgar. I'm only delivering the message."
"I hope you can coexist peacefully."
Stillwell finished, gave Jovian a small smile, then turned and walked out with her folder.
"Wait, Stillwell—"
Homelander moved immediately, shooting Jovian a vicious look before chasing after her.
"Fuck! I saw Translucent this morning—how the hell did he 'retire'?"
The Deep looked completely lost, like the amount of information being thrown around had overloaded the tiny fish-brain capacity in his head.
"Yeah. Fish-fucking asshole, you're right."
"I saw Translucent in this hall too."
"Then I gave him a slap, and he retired."
Jovian stared at The Deep with pure mockery—like he was watching a clown try to do math.
"Shit!"
The Deep went cold all over. He stood up and hurried toward the door.
"Fish-fucking asshole, don't you guys do external fertilization anyway?"
"What are you in such a rush for?"
Jovian asked with 'curiosity,' watching The Deep flee.
The Deep didn't answer—he just kept his head down and ran.