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....
"So, what on earth is happening? Can someone explain this to me?"
In the vice president's office, Madelyn yelled into the phone.
On the other end, Ashley, who was holding the phone, nearly burst into tears as she said to Madelyn, "I... I don't know... There were only our people backstage. Everyone has been investigated, and we didn't find any strangers who had gone in..."
"Keep investigating!"
"Yes! People are already looking into it. All the nearby surveillance cameras are being checked, but it will take some time to find clues..."
Ashley said, trembling. The idea of organizing this rally and having Homelander and Starlight appear was hers.
Her main responsibility was to handle all of Starlight's publicity and ensure that she would become famous across America today, achieving a popularity equal to that of the other Seven members.
However, with such a severe incident at the rally, Ashley would also have to bear the responsibility. They couldn't possibly blame Homelander, as he wasn't the planner of the event.
"We must uncover the truth before the baptism starts this afternoon! Now, have the PR department issue a response to the media, stating that the footage shown at the venue is all slander against Ezekiel!"
"Will... will they believe it?"
"If they don't, then we'll just abandon Ezekiel. Do I have to teach you this?" Madelyn said, restraining her anger. Then she asked, "By the way, where is Homelander?"
"He's calming the crowd."
"Have him move the baptism up, then give his speech, and bring Starlight's performance forward too."
"But... Starlight's powers are best displayed at night..."
"We can't worry about that now! Just suppress the scandal!"
Madelyn issued a series of orders, and Vought's PR department quickly carried out each of her instructions.
However, before Madelyn could catch her breath, someone ran into her office and said, "It's bad! The private life of superhero Crimson Countess has been exposed, and... and the news about Translucent... Translucent's death, everyone knows about it now!"
"..."
The sudden news left Madelyn in a daze. She couldn't fathom why all these terrible things were happening at once. Furthermore, right after hearing this news, the phone in Madelyn's office rang.
She instinctively picked it up, and the news from the other end made her breath catch.
It was an informant from Vought in the White House, informing her that the Department of Defense was currently in an uproar over the issue of incorporating superheroes, and that the discussion might be postponed.
Additionally, the senators who had previously considered voting in favor of the proposal were now in a neutral and observant stance.
This meant that the issue of incorporating superheroes into national defense might be delayed indefinitely, or even be rejected, which was the worst possible outcome for Vought.
Bombarded with these bad news, Madelyn sat dumbfounded in her chair. After a long while, she picked up the phone and called Ashley, "Get me Homelander."
...
Standing backstage at the rally, Roger watched the chaos in the venue while rubbing his chin.
After obtaining the dirt, he had begun working with the Boys. Frenchie and Hughie infiltrated the venue, hacking into the backstage player to broadcast Ezekiel's scandalous footage with Roger's cover.
Outside the rally, Mother's Milk and Butcher spread the dirt on other heroes and revealed the news of Translucent's death.
A series of attacks had caused Vought's stock to plummet continuously in just half a day.
The public also started digging up more dirt on the superheroes.
Regardless of whether it was true or not, it was the hottest topic at the moment.
Even fabrications would be created if necessary, and if they turned out to be false, they could always apologize later. The point was to gain the spotlight.
Under these circumstances, the Department of Defense began reconsidering the issue of integrating superheroes.
Previously, the idea had gained some traction because these superheroes, who played the roles of saviors, symbolized justice, light, and power. Additionally, the rescue of Flight 37 by Roger and Maeve had further convinced them to give it a try.
But now, with the superheroes who were supposedly embodiments of 'justice' and 'light' engaging in sordid activities behind the scenes, the Department of Defense naturally hesitated and even reconsidered.
Although no dirt on other members of the Seven had surfaced yet, who could say they were truly clean?
For instance, just recently, A-Train ran someone over. If not for Vought's powerful PR team turning black into white, that incident alone would have thrown A-Train into a storm of public outrage.
Other members had their issues too. Homelander had engaged in improper relationships with women and accidentally killed innocent people during rescue missions.
Maeve, though she hadn't done anything particularly scandalous, if her indifference to life were exposed, her image would also be shattered.
As for The Deep, he had forced other women to perform oral sex on him and insulted aspiring superheroes. It didn't matter if he acted out of insecurity; what he did was what he did.
Black Noir, at first glance, seemed the most mysterious and low-key superhero, not attending parties or getting involved with women. But whenever the company needed someone assassinated, Black Noir was the one sent out. Secretly, he was an assassin, not a superhero.
Translucent often spied on women's bathrooms and dressing rooms, and Vought used him to steal state secrets.
The company had so much support because Translucent and another hero capable of shapeshifting into others gathered dirt on the politicians, blackmailing them.
Even the former member Lamplighter had burned many innocent people, including a child. The Department of Defense might not know all these things, but that didn't mean they couldn't guess. Now that one superhero had fallen, it gave them a perfect excuse to reject the integration.
Roger considered each hero's dirt, thinking that Madelyn must be on the verge of a breakdown now. What should have been smooth sailing had turned into a mess, and she was probably furious.
And Roger was right; though Madelyn wasn't completely unhinged yet, she was close. It didn't take long for her to send Ashley to find him.
After composing himself, Roger took Ashley's call, and Madelyn's voice came through, "Help me check if there are any suspicious people at the venue. Also, there are a few changes needed in the speech later. I've sent the new script to Ashley. She'll show it to you."
"No problem."
Roger agreed readily, then asked, "Is everything okay on your end? I heard... the news about Translucent's death was leaked? Who did it?"
"We're still investigating. Don't worry about this; the company will handle everything."
With that, Madelyn quickly hung up.
Roger raised an eyebrow as he handed Ashley's phone back to her. "The company will handle everything, huh?"
He smiled, curious to see how the company would deal with the dirt that had been exposed.
...
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