"Aahhh!"
The Deep let out a long scream as he was hurled high into the air.
Now plummeting back toward the sea, he glanced down, seeing the water bubbling furiously. Suddenly, the surface of the ocean exploded as Homelander burst out of it, flying toward him.
"Wait! Boss, let me explain!" The Deep shouted, flailing in panic. But Homelander didn't bother to listen. He sped up, colliding head-on with The Deep.
The impact forced the air out of The Deep's lungs, his face turning beet red as his stomach churned violently. Before he could catch his breath, another powerful force struck his abdomen, sending shockwaves through his body.
Secondary Impact!
The Deep screamed as he was launched higher into the sky. Homelander shot up after him, suddenly appearing beside him and smashing a fist into The Deep's face.
A tooth flew out of The Deep's mouth. Before he could even register the pain, another Secondary Impact slammed into him, whipping his head to the side as his body flew off course.
Homelander chased him down, relentlessly punching and kicking. Each blow was followed by the Secondary Impact effect, compounding the damage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deserted ocean echoed with the sound of thunderous explosions.
Moments later, Homelander was holding The Deep up with one hand, the man barely clinging to life. The Deep weakly lifted his head, eyes fluttering. With the sun glaring down from behind Homelander, all he could see was a dark silhouette.
In the next instant, two red lights began glowing from the figure's face.
---
At the pier, an old man was fishing.
Suddenly, he heard a faint rumbling sound coming from the ocean. Off in the distance, something flashed for a brief moment.
"Thunder?" The old man muttered, confused. Just then, a strong gust of wind blew his cap off, sending it flying into the air.
A hand reached out and caught the cap.
A figure slowly descended onto the pier.
The old man rubbed his eyes, certain he was seeing things. He couldn't believe it. "Homelander?"
Homelander smiled slightly, returning the cap to him. Then, glancing out toward the sea, he asked, "Caught anything?"
The old man chuckled. "Not bad, not bad."
"That's good," Homelander said, placing a hand over his chest and giving a slight bow. "Have a good day, sir."
The old man quickly adjusted his cap, smiling back. "You too."
With another smile, Homelander rose into the air, turning and flying back toward the Seven Tower.
---
A short while later, Homelander stepped into the command room.
Queen Maeve and Starlight were chatting, while Black Noir and Translucent sat silently in their seats.
At the sound of his footsteps, everyone turned to look.
Homelander smiled at them as a greeting.
Maeve glanced behind him. "Where's The Deep?"
Homelander walked over to his usual spot, standing with his hands behind his back as he gazed out at the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
He sighed lightly.
"There was an incident."
"We've lost The Deep... forever."
"What a shame."
"I suggest we hold a three-minute moment of silence in his memory."
The command room fell into an eerie silence. Even the sound of breathing seemed to fade away.
Maeve and the others exchanged uncertain looks. Starlight, in particular, was stunned. She had just seen The Deep earlier that day, and now, he was gone.
After three seconds, Homelander turned around, smiling again. "Alright, no need to be too sad."
"As long as you remember The Deep, he's never truly gone."
He turned to Starlight. "Could you go fetch Ashley for me?"
Starlight nodded but hesitated before leaving." Sir, may I ask you something?"
"You can just call me Homelander," he replied with a smile. "What's on your mind?"
Starlight glanced up at the ceiling of the command room. "I heard from Mr. Edgar that you were the one who removed me from the selection process. Can I ask why?"
Homelander nodded thoughtfully. "If this were the old Seven, I'd have gladly welcomed someone like you—full of energy, adorable, and with so much potential."
"But you've heard what I told the press, right?"
"The Seven is taking on real hero responsibilities now. That means we'll be facing many challenges, some of which could cost us our lives."
Homelander's eyes swept over her. "When I saw someone as cute as you wanting to join, I couldn't help but hesitate. I just didn't want you getting hurt."
"Does that reason work for you?"
Starlight bit her lip gently. "Actually, I'm not afraid of sacrifice."
With that, she left the room.
Maeve shrugged. "She's young, but she's not stupid."
"If she's smart enough, she should quit now," Homelander replied with a smile. "Rather than playing this so-called hero game with Edgar."
Then, he turned to Translucent.
"I need a favor."
"Keep an eye on Edgar for me. See what he's working on behind the scenes."
"I'm pretty sure he's got his labs cooking up something to take me down."
"If you find anything, will you let me know?"
The command room grew heavy with tension. It felt like concrete had been poured into the atmosphere.
No one expected Homelander to openly talk about targeting Edgar, the company's CEO, just like that.
Didn't he fear someone ratting him out?
Maeve suddenly realized something.
The "incident" with The Deep.
She instantly understood what Homelander was implying.
He wasn't afraid of sharing his plans.
But if anyone dared to betray him—well, they just needed to look at The Deep!
Translucent hurriedly stood up. "I'll get right on it."
Homelander waved him off.
At that moment, a line of text appeared on his retinas.
[Warning: Disaster event in 1 hour and 11 minutes.]
The text vanished just as Ashley walked in.
"You called for me, Homelander?"
Homelander nodded. "Prepare an obituary. The Deep died in an accident during his assessment."
Ashley's face froze in shock.
She resisted the urge to pull at her hair and forced herself to smile. "Of course. Anything else?"
"Bring me the updated candidate list."
Homelander glanced around the room. "Looks like we'll be getting a new member soon. I'm excited—aren't you?"
---
Walmart Department Store.
It was a day like any other, with shoppers milling about inside the mall.
On the first floor, a gift company was holding a lottery event, drawing a crowd of curious customers.
Rick, the head of mall security, moved through the crowd, watching everyone who passed by with a keen eye.
Rick had been in this line of work for over ten years. A retired special forces officer, he was methodical and diligent. Since taking over as head of security, there had been no major incidents at the mall, something he was particularly proud of.
As he made his rounds, his walkie-talkie crackled to life.
"Mr. Rick, you'd better come to the control room. We have a situation."
"On my way."
A few moments later, Rick entered the control room. The security team was on high alert, staring at the large screen.
The screen was filled with a single face. The person was wearing a rabbit mask, only their green eyes visible.
"Listen up. There's a bomb somewhere in the department store. When it detonates, it'll release a lethal gas that will kill everyone inside within five minutes."
"If you don't want anyone to get hurt, you'd better do exactly as I say."
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