Vought Tower.
Homelander was in a foul mood—very foul.
Three full days had passed, and these three days had been the most painful of his life, second only to the time spent in the laboratory.
He had already been furious about the situation with Madelyn, but now the Vought Corporation had completely shifted the blame onto the former head of Vought, Madelyn.
To help the Vought Corporation get through this crisis, they needed to make a scapegoat. It was impossible for the public and Congress to accept an unknown person, and ordinary people couldn't reach such a high position. So, this scapegoat had to be Madelyn.
This was the decision made by the top leaders of the Vought Corporation, and as for Madelyn's thoughts—well, they didn't matter much anymore.
As the former head of Vought International, no one knew the Vought Corporation's methods better than Madelyn. If she refused, they would undoubtedly threaten her with the life of her newborn child. Worse, anyone connected to her would be in danger.
Because of this, Madelyn had already lost the option to refuse. Once she was taken in, it seemed unlikely she would survive. For the Vought Corporation, a "suicide from guilt" was much safer than a prisoner.
Madelyn was a businesswoman, not a resilient warrior. Once in prison, the CIA and FBI had many methods to extract information from her.
This was something the Vought Corporation could not allow.
So, with no way out, Madelyn reluctantly agreed, hoping at least that her own life would spare those around her. That was enough.
The House of Representatives and Congress took this matter very seriously. Due to the overwhelming public outcry, they had no choice but to begin the trial ahead of schedule.
The verdict on Madelyn's illegal creation of Compound V and over a hundred other charges had been delivered the day before. She would face life imprisonment, but many knew she wouldn't survive for long.
Congress understood this, but they also knew the abilities of the freaks under the Vought Corporation's control, so they could only assign people to try to protect Madelyn, though no one could guarantee the outcome.
At the time of Madelyn's sentencing, Homelander was unaware. He had been participating in a press conference to shift public opinion of the Vought Corporation. This was the seventh such press conference he had attended in just a few days.
This didn't even include the speeches he had made to address the protests outside the Vought Tower.
When Homelander returned to his room, conflicted and exhausted, he saw the televised re-broadcast of Madelyn's trial. At that moment, he curled up and wept bitterly.
Homelander understood—he had lost his "mother."
He had considered rescuing Madelyn. After all, she was the only person in the Vought Corporation with whom he had ever felt love. For her, Homelander was willing to do anything.
But...
Homelander couldn't let go of his approval ratings.
At this point, Homelander still didn't know that Madelyn had secretly concealed the existence of a son. On one hand was Madelyn, the woman he considered the most precious person in his life, and on the other was the public's respect and admiration for him.
Homelander was caught between these two invisible forces, and the pull from both sides nearly tore him apart. It was the first time he truly understood the feeling of not being able to have both the fish and the bear's paw.
In the end, Homelander succumbed to his own inner desires.
Madelyn—she was just a "mother." Without her, he could find a replacement. Homelander understood clearly that he could never lose the people. They were the hope for his life, the very meaning of his existence.
He wanted to be praised, he wanted to be loved by everyone, as though only through that could he find the meaning of his life in this world.
After a night of torment, Homelander thought the matter was behind him, that it was all over. He could go back to being the world's strongest superhero.
But what he didn't expect was that as soon as he entered the Seven's conference room, he saw the worried expression of Ashley and Starlight sitting silently in a chair.
After scanning the room and confirming that only the two of them were present, Homelander gritted his teeth and softly asked,
"Where is everyone else?"
"Uh..."
Ashley glanced at Starlight before nervously looking at Homelander, seemingly struggling to speak, or perhaps too afraid to.
Seeing Ashley's expression, Homelander's heart sank. He quickly stepped toward her and stared at her silently.
In an instant, Ashley felt as if she were standing on the shore facing an oncoming tsunami. The terrifying pressure nearly made her feel as though she were suffocating.
"Uh, sir..."
Ashley stammered, attempting to speak.
"Alright, the mission... the mission failed, sir. The terrorist at the Sage Grove Center was also a super-powered individual, and his strength is far greater than we anticipated. Even Maeve...,"
Hearing Ashley's report, Homelander's expression instantly changed. He clenched his jaw, his lips twitching, and muttered a few words.
"What do you mean... Maeve and the others... what happened to them?"
"Maeve suffered severe damage to her abdomen, seven broken ribs, some gastric bleeding, and lung damage. She's currently in a coma, but her condition is stable. With her recovery abilities, she'll likely be up and moving soon," Ashley forced a smile, trembling as she spoke.
"What about the others?" Homelander's previously tense heart relaxed a bit, but he quickly asked again.
"Black Noir was injured by his own grenade, which caused internal brain injuries. He's still in emergency treatment. A-Train's leg was broken badly, and even if he recovers, it will take time. As for the Deep..." Ashley sighed. "His gills might have suffered permanent damage. We can't be sure if he'll ever be able to filter underwater again. It's possible he won't be able to dive again for the rest of his life."
Listening to Ashley's report, Homelander felt dizzy, a sense of spinning overwhelming him. He closed his eyes slightly, trying to compose himself.
When he reopened his eyes, his gaze slowly shifted to Starlight.
"Who was the enemy?" he asked.
Starlight knew he was asking her. She raised her head, paused to choose her words carefully, and then slowly replied, "I don't know. I've never seen anything like him."
"What do you mean?" Homelander wasn't satisfied with this answer.
"He's male, but I can't determine his age or identity. He also has the ability to change forms, and the most crucial thing is, every time he transforms into a different person, he gains a different superpower—and each one is stronger," Starlight explained without holding back. She knew she couldn't hide this information, and if A-Train and the others woke up, they would also recount the battle.
So, as soon as Starlight returned to the Vought Tower, she reported everything—from the start of the battle to its end—to the senior officials at Vought. Now, telling Homelander was no different.
"He turned into a silver-haired youth, faster than A-Train. He turned into a green-skinned giant, stronger than Maeve. He became a red-clad man, more skilled in combat than Black Noir."
Starlight didn't mention how The Deep failed because it wasn't important. The three examples were enough. Besides, considering The Deep's combat abilities, being the weakest in the Seven, it was perfectly normal for him to fail.
Upon hearing this, Homelander's eyelids twitched. He suddenly turned his head toward Ashley, as if asking for confirmation.
"That's correct. The tech team retrieved Black Noir's tracker, and the enemy's abilities were incredibly powerful. In some ways, they were even stronger than the Seven," Ashley said. She immediately closed her mouth as she saw Homelander's expression darken, realizing she had misspoken. She quickly corrected herself.
"But of course, no one can compare to you, sir. You are the world's strongest superhero. No one is stronger than you."
"Are you sure?" Homelander smiled, but his smile was terrifying. Then he shifted his gaze back to Starlight.
"Tell me, Annie, how did he deal with you?"
"I…" Starlight opened her mouth, unsure of how to begin.
"Tell me, Starlight, why is it that the others in the Seven are in the hospital, but you're sitting here, perfectly fine?" Homelander took two steps forward, closing in on Starlight as he pressed for an answer.
"I—I used a temporary tactic. Even Maeve wasn't able to defeat that person, so there was no way I could. Instead, I tried a different approach to gain his trust and extract some useful information," Starlight said.
These were the words Starlight had prepared before returning. She knew that with no injuries, she would definitely be suspected by the Vought Corporation.
Moreover, during her conversation with that man, A-Train had been screaming just thirty meters away. Everything she said was heard clearly by him, and there was no denying it.
So, she had to come up with a good excuse to explain her actions, at least something that could pass the surface-level scrutiny and prevent the Vought Corporation from finding anything suspicious.
As expected, her explanation was approved by the Vought Corporation's consul. Based on their votes and team assessments, they concluded that Starlight's actions were correct under the circumstances.
However, Homelander was not the same as Vought.
Before Starlight could finish, Homelander raised his hand and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground and slamming her into the massive floor-to-ceiling window of the conference room.
Luckily, the glass was specially made, or normal materials would not have been able to withstand that level of force.
Ashley, who was standing nearby, was already terrified out of her mind. She quickly covered her mouth, fearing that even the slightest sound would disturb Homelander.
Starlight felt a sharp pain in her neck, followed by a terrifying sensation of suffocation. Facing Homelander, she felt like a helpless little rabbit, completely powerless.
Struggling to raise her eyes, she saw that Homelander's eyes were now glowing with a sinister red light.
"Ever since your little boyfriend, I've suspected you. You're a spy sent into the Seven."
.....
📢30 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
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481. Fear!!
482. We Need a Soldier!
483. The Prelude to Battle...
484. The Hero Appears.
485. Gathering at Vought Tower!!!