At noon…
A message made A-Train frown. Shockwave—that guy who'd always wanted to take him out—had issued him a challenge with the company's tacit approval, once again fighting him for the title of the fastest man in the world.
"Fuck!"
A-Train was furious, because he knew that if Shockwave beat him and became the fastest man alive, Vought's next step would be to hand over a chunk of his resources to Shockwave. And then Shockwave would naturally slide into his spot as a member of The Seven—because The Seven never needs second best. They only need the best. If you're not the fastest, you get cut.
"Maybe the only thing that can help me now is Compound V."
A-Train turned it over and over in his head. To keep his position, he couldn't think of any other way besides using Compound V again—even if it would push his body into a manic state and make it hard to control himself, even if using it had already led to that earlier disaster where he'd splattered Hughie's girlfriend…
After that, all of Vought stayed busy with A-Train's showdown with Shockwave, as well as the PR campaign for Jovian as the brand-new superhero, Freeman…
It wasn't until the afternoon, under Jovian's call, that the members of The Seven finally gathered in The Seven's office to hold Starlight's initiation ceremony.
"Everyone—lately we've all been busy. Especially Homelander. Not only does he have to keep a handle on the company's big matters, he also has to coordinate with the media and deliver handsome, powerful photos to every city. But we absolutely can't neglect our beautiful new teammate…"
Jovian was still occupying the main seat. He acted like the captain of The Seven, giving a speech in front of everyone.
"Haha…"
"Don't tease me about the photo shoots. A superhero standing there like some celebrity while people snap pictures nonstop… it's ridiculous."
Homelander seemed to be in a great mood. After hearing Jovian, he chuckled and mocked himself with a bit of humor.
"If anyone could stand still, let people take a few photos, and make five hundred million dollars off it, I think they'd be so excited they wouldn't sleep for two weeks. So even if you are a celebrity—an actor—you're still the most expensive one in the world."
Jovian shook his head, continuing the flattery.
"Hahahaha…"
Homelander smiled without replying, as if accepting what Jovian said by default.
"Hm?"
A-Train, just coming in, raised an eyebrow when he saw Homelander and Jovian chatting and laughing like old friends.
"Hey, Maeve—since when did those two get along this well?"
A-Train lowered his voice and asked Queen Maeve.
"I have no idea."
Queen Maeve shrugged. Who the hell knew why those two monsters suddenly made up.
"…"
Black Noir sat there as always, silent.
"Anyway—let's give Starlight a round of applause."
After circling around, Jovian steered the topic back to Starlight.
"Thank you, everyone! Really—thank you so much!"
"You're all my idols. I never would've dreamed I'd be chosen to be one of The Seven…"
"I… anyway, I'm just really grateful you gave me this chance."
Starlight looked around the room at the superheroes she normally only saw on TV. She stumbled over her words. It was all straight from the heart—no fake lines, just emotion.
"Congratulations."
Queen Maeve stood first and shook Starlight's hand.
"Congratulations!"
Next was A-Train, since he was closest.
"Learn well from Freeman. He's your example. And I'm rooting for you."
Then came Homelander, confident and bright-eyed. He seemed a little perfunctory—like he was in a hurry.
"You've got something later?"
Queen Maeve asked, seeing how rushed Homelander looked.
"Two more photo sets I haven't finished. I already spent the whole morning with the photographers, but they said you can never have too many shots of me."
Homelander turned back and spoke to Maeve with an exasperated tone that still carried a hint of bragging.
"So, sorry everyone—I'm heading out first…"
After saying that, Homelander turned and walked out of the meeting hall.
"Then I'm gonna go get ready for my race too. Anyway—good luck!"
The moment Homelander left, A-Train immediately found an excuse and bailed as well.
"You too! Don't lose!"
Kind-hearted Starlight encouraged A-Train.
"Of course. I'm the fastest."
A-Train put on his goggles, and in an instant, he vanished from the room.
"Then I'm out too. Enjoy your little date~"
Queen Maeve left with her usual swagger. She had an endless pile of messes to deal with, too.
"…"
Black Noir gave a thumbs-up—like that was his special way of showing goodwill—then he also left The Seven's hall.
"They're always so busy!"
Jovian watched them all scatter after barely arriving. In a blur, he was suddenly right in front of Starlight, lifting her small face in his hands.
"I… I know…"
Starlight stared at Jovian's face, so close she could feel his breath. Her heart went thump, thump.
"Come on. Let's go get some air…"
Before Starlight could say anything else, Jovian wrapped an arm around her slim waist and once again flew out through the open window of The Seven's headquarters, shooting up into the sky.
"Hah…"
Homelander tilted his head up. With his x-ray vision, he seemed to notice what Jovian and Starlight were doing. He shook his head lightly, as if thinking Jovian was still too green.
Yeah—Jovian only likes them young, unlike Homelander…
Jovian and Starlight flew for a long time, until night fell. Only then did Jovian bring Starlight back down to the ground.
The two of them went to their favorite restaurant and had dinner together, staying out until late.
"Go back and get some rest early, okay?"
Jovian gently tucked a strand of Starlight's long blonde hair back, smiling as he spoke.
"Mhm!"
Starlight's cheeks were flushed. She nodded softly, turned around, and slipped into her house without saying another word.
She ran into her room, wrapped herself up tight in her blanket, and peeked through a corner of the curtain. She kept watching as Jovian rose into the air and disappeared into the night sky.
Click.
Just as Starlight stared into the darkness, her pitch-black room suddenly lit up.
"So… that's your man?"
A mature woman's voice—teasing, amused—reached her ears.
"Mom…"
Starlight looked back at the mature woman behind her, her eyes full of helpless complaint.
After dropping Starlight off and saying goodbye, Jovian turned into a streak of lightning and shot into the sky. He still had other things to handle.
In the basement beneath a ruined factory on the outskirts of the city…
"Did that bastard agree yet?"
Billy Butcher, back after a long day, asked Frenchie and Hughie, who had stayed behind.
"Not yet. Gotta say—aside from his powers being pathetic, everything else fits his 'member of The Seven' status. Like his willpower. Stubborn as hell."
Frenchie rubbed his chin, joking.
"Hey! It's been a whole day. A whole day and nobody came to save you. Admit it—The Seven already forgot about you. Maybe they're even looking for your replacement right now. Working with us is your best choice."
Butcher stared at The Deep, who was lying inside a cage, and spoke in a low voice.
"Go fuck yourself!"
The Deep cursed at Butcher from inside the cage. There was no way he was cooperating with the guy who'd done this to him. And most importantly, The Deep believed Freeman—the one who'd handed him this job—would definitely come investigate personally once he realized The Deep hadn't returned. And when that happened, it would be the end for these bastards.
"Looks like you won't take the polite offer. Don't blame me for getting nasty, then."
Butcher sighed. Right in front of The Deep, he pulled a salmon—still flopping—out of the backpack behind him.
"What are you doing?"
The Deep's eyes went wide with rage.
"As you can see, I'm gonna eat it raw. Right in front of you."
Butcher stroked the fish's body and smiled at The Deep.
"Fuck! How can you be that cruel? How can you eat a living fish raw?"
The Deep hadn't expected Butcher to be this vicious.
"Hahahaha…"
Butcher burst out laughing.
"Sorry, Mr. Fish. If you're in pain, tell the superhero in the cage, yeah?"
Butcher was deliberately provoking The Deep. The best way to make someone submit was to anger them—and then show them they were powerless to change anything.
"Go fuck yourself!"
The Deep was furious. Really furious—because the fish was begging him for help, and he couldn't do a damn thing. He didn't even have the strength to get out of the cage.
"You'll get what's coming to you!"
"You'll be punished!"
"Freeman won't let you get away with this!"
The Deep kept cursing Butcher.
"Sigh…"
Butcher let out a helpless breath.
"You asked for it."
Butcher grabbed the cleaver beside him and chopped the salmon in one blow. Bright red blood sprayed out, splattering all over The Deep's face inside the cage…
"AH!!!"
The Deep roared, like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Hey—he doesn't seriously think fish are his people, does he?"
Frenchie asked, watching The Deep scream.
"If you could talk to dogs, maybe you'd treat them like your people too."
Butcher smiled faintly at Frenchie's words.
"You're such a bastard."
Frenchie's face fell. He could tell Butcher was insulting him while pretending not to.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Right as the two of them chatted, The Deep melted down, and Hughie started to feel sick watching it, a heavy impact rumbled into their ears.
Beep beep beep…
The next second, outside the ruined factory, countless car alarms started wailing.
"Motherfucker!"
Butcher's face instantly collapsed—because he knew that landing sound far too well.
"Shit!"
Frenchie looked at Butcher panicking and immediately realized how dangerous it was outside.
"Shh…"
Butcher looked rattled. He lightly blew on his fingertips.
"Everyone stay calm. Don't make a sound. He won't find us."
Butcher kept his voice low as he spoke to them, and he switched off the lights. Darkness swallowed the room, and they could only make out each other by the faint glow from a few machines still running.
"I know…"
Frenchie felt his heart hammering in his chest. He swore he'd never been this tense in his life.
"I…"
Hughie tried to say something.
"Shh… Don't make a sound!"
Butcher was irritated and anxious, terrified Hughie's voice would alert the monster outside.
As the three of them held their breath, barely daring to breathe at all, the whole building—and the street outside—fell silent.
"See? I told you. No problem."
Butcher wiped sweat off his forehead and forced a strained smile.
"I'M HERE! I'M HERE!!"
Just as they were starting to think everything was fine, The Deep—who'd been lying in the cage—suddenly screamed.
"WTF?!"
Butcher's expression flashed with anger. He snatched up a glass from the table and hurled it at The Deep.
Smack!
The glass slipped through the bars and cracked The Deep right on the head.
"Mother f—"
The Deep didn't even finish before dark blood spilled down his forehead. His eyes rolled back, and he went limp in the cage.
"Go. Get him out of the cage. We're moving right now. This place is exposed—it's not safe anymore."
Butcher knew their location had been compromised. With what he knew about that thing, it would find them fast. Staying here was just waiting to die, so whether it was safe outside or not, they had to move.
"Okay."
To make sure The Deep wasn't faking it, Frenchie grabbed a civilian stun gun off the table for protection. Step by step, he moved toward the cage as quietly as possible.
Frenchie got close enough to see The Deep's forehead bleeding inside the cage. Even so, he still planned to hit him with the stun gun a few times, just to make sure The Deep didn't wake up halfway through and ruin their escape.
Crackle crackle…
Frenchie turned it on. Blue arcs danced over the prongs.
"Baby, don't wake up. This'll be over quick."
Frenchie spoke as he thrust the stun gun toward The Deep.
BOOM!
At the exact moment Frenchie lunged, the ceiling above them exploded apart. A figure dropped from above, landing right in front of the cage—separating The Deep and Frenchie from Butcher and Hughie.
"Fuck!"
Frenchie saw the shadow behind him and immediately whipped around, driving the stun gun at the newcomer.
"Adults shouldn't wave children's toys around."
The white-clad figure caught Frenchie's wrist with lightning speed and squeezed.
"Ah—!"
Frenchie's face twisted as pain shot up his arm. He let out a cry and dropped the stun gun.
"You like this toy so much? Fine. I'll give it back."
The white-clad figure casually took the stun gun, aimed it at Frenchie, and pressed it down.
Crackle crackle…
When the electricity hit Frenchie, the punk put on a "shocking" dance routine right in front of the white-clad figure—then collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
"You cranked up the output?"
The white-clad figure frowned at Frenchie, already unconscious. He glanced at the civilian stun gun in his hand—normally, this model didn't hit anywhere near that hard.
"Don't move!"
At that moment, the bearded Billy Butcher pulled out a handgun.
"What? Are you fucking with me? You're threatening me with a handgun?"
The white-clad figure stared at the gun, speechless. What a joke. Unless that thing was made of vibranium and fired near light-speed, it wouldn't even tickle him.
Bang bang bang bang…
Butcher didn't hesitate. He fired—not at the white-clad figure, but at The Deep inside the cage behind him!
Yeah. Butcher had never believed his bullets could hurt the monster. His target had always been The Deep. No matter what, if he died today, taking out one member of The Seven would make it all worth it. The only regret was that he'd never get to put that damned Homelander on trial.
Bang bang bang bang…
When the smoke cleared, Butcher tossed the gun aside and raised both hands high.
"You think bullets can hit someone in front of me?"
Just as Butcher started to grin, the white-clad figure stepped right up to him. In front of Butcher's eyes, he opened his palm—revealing a bunch of bullets crushed into a lump of metal…
Of course, the white-clad figure didn't care whether the fish-fucking idiot in the cage got shot or not. But if that idiot got killed by bullets right in front of him, it would make him look bad.
"WTF… you're not Homelander. Who the hell are you…?"
Only when the white-clad figure stood right in front of him and tossed the mangled bullets into his face did Butcher realize this man wasn't Homelander at all.
"You don't even know who I am?!"
The white-clad figure grabbed Butcher by the throat with one hand and lifted him off the ground.
"Fuck! You should at least know what your savior looks like!"
The white-clad figure yanked Butcher closer, jabbed a finger at his bearded face, and roared.
"Uh…"
"Freeman—he's Freeman!"
"We met once at Vought Tower. I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding between us."
Hughie spoke up in a panic. By the light of the lighter in his hand, he finally recognized the white-clad figure's face.
"Fuck! What misunderstanding?! Find me a chair. Brew the best black tea you've got in this moldy dump. Then tell me what brilliant plan you came up with—using that brain that's even more useless than a fish's seven-second memory—to deal with Vought and Homelander."
The white-clad figure let go of Butcher's neck, letting him drop from midair and tumble onto the floor. Then he humiliated Butcher and Hughie for good measure, barking orders at them.
"What?"
Butcher clutched his throat, staring at the white-clad figure like he was seeing a ghost.
"Don't make me say it twice. And turn the fucking lights on. You're stealing power off public lines and you still won't turn on the lights? Who are you saving the electric bill for? If we're gonna talk, we talk in the open."
The white-clad figure pointed at Hughie's nose.
"Okay."
Hughie immediately switched on the lights…
In an instant, the whole room was "bright"—bright in every possible sense.