When Homelander turned his laser vision on criminals, people cheered. His fans called him great, invincible—a true national hero.
But now, seeing those same lasers aimed at innocent civilians, even children, left everyone stunned and outraged.
"God, is this really the same Homelander we knew? He's become a monster. He doesn't deserve to wear our flag—that's an insult to it!"
"Superhero? He's a killer, plain and simple. Honestly, out of the Seven, Homelander's acting is by far the best. He's so convincing in front of the media—you'd never guess the truth is this horrifying."
"It's all fake—Homelander, the Seven, even Vought! We should boycott them all!"
Only a few die-hard fans—either out of blind loyalty or perhaps under Vought's manipulation—still defended him. Even if Homelander truly was a monster, they were willing to forgive him.
But any rational person couldn't accept what they had just seen. He hadn't just attacked civilians—he targeted children. That crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.
Inside Vought's headquarters, Madelyn took a deep breath and sighed, her face full of frustration.
"He shouldn't have lost it like that… Now things are even worse."
Homelander had completely snapped. He'd lashed out at the projection with his laser vision, but the image remained untouched—ironically, this only made it more credible.
After all, if the video were fake, why would it trigger such a strong reaction?
Madelyn was visibly troubled. The other members of the Seven exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts.
The Deep and A-Train put on serious, grim expressions, but inside they were practically giddy. They couldn't wait for Homelander to screw up—his spotlight meant their mistakes would be ignored.
Translucent, though, looked nervous, worried that he might be the next to be thrown under the bus.
Unbeknownst to him, that was already the plan. Vought's higher-ups had decided that once this scandal blew over, the company—and the Seven—would undergo a complete restructuring.
Queen Maeve looked conflicted as she sighed.
"How much worse can this get? All the secrets… they're going to be exposed."
Ashley muttered under her breath,
"…I have a feeling things are going to get worse."
Madelyn glanced around at them, frowning.
"That video... it's going to make people think I was the one who killed Steve…"
"You weren't?" Ashley blurted out, looking genuinely surprised. She immediately realized her mistake and tried to backpedal. "Uh, I mean—of course not! People won't think that. Homelander's the bigger story here."
Madelyn held her gaze for a moment but didn't curse or yell. She just let out a long sigh.
"No. I'm not crazy enough to do something like that."
The others looked at each other, no one saying a word. No one willing to vouch for her, either.
---
In the Eternal Space, Deadpool was back at it, rambling excitedly.
"Hahaha! This is like an evil Superman fanfic gone rogue! God, this is amazing! Superman fans must be losing their minds right now! This guy's dragging Supes' name through the mud! And don't get me started on the Deep—he's making Aquaman look like a joke. Hilarious!"
Thor narrowed his eyes at him. This foul-mouthed lunatic was getting on his nerves, and he was seriously starting to wonder who Deadpool really was. He seemed to know him, Stephen, Spider-Man—and now Superman and Batman too.
Just what world did he come from?
The video on the screen ended. A new prompt appeared:
[Who killed Translucent?]
[A: Billy Butcher
B: Frenchie
C: Hughie Campbell
D: Homelander]
Outside the screen, Hughie stared at the question and the options, his brow furrowed.
"This one seems pretty easy, right? Based on the last video, I gave Translucent the final shock, so… the answer should be C?"
Billy glanced sideways at him.
"You sure about that? You think he died just like that? I took a pretty nasty jolt myself, and look—I'm still here."
Hughie froze.
"You're saying… he didn't die back then? Someone else finished the job later?"
Annie turned to look at them, first glancing at Hughie, then locking eyes with Billy.
"Who's Frenchie? Another FBI agent?"
Billy shrugged.
"If I'm guessing right, he's… an old friend of mine. Definitely not FBI."
Stephen Strange raised a brow.
"If you ask me, you're not FBI either. The way you operate—it's more like a private investigator or a mercenary."
Billy snapped his fingers, a smirk playing at his lips.
"Not a bad observation, Doctor Strange."
Hughie blinked, confused.
"You're not FBI? You lied to me?!"
"Buddy, sometimes it helps to wear a badge, y'know? Gets things done faster. But I'll tell you this—I've got connections in the FBI. Those super-powered freaks? They're tough, but they've got enemies. Lots of 'em. You get what I mean?"
Billy was being uncharacteristically talkative. Truth be told, he was starting to like Hughie—saw potential in him.
Thor coughed.
"Back to the point—who do you think killed Translucent?"
Annie raised her eyebrows.
"I'd rule out option D. Homelander might be brutal, but I doubt he'd kill one of his own. He has no reason to, right? So the killer has to be one of the others."
Billy let out a cold chuckle.
"After what we just watched, you still think that? Homelander doesn't give a damn who you are. Get in his way, and you're toast."
Hughie frowned.
"But why would he do it? I mean, he doesn't care about money, or pleasure… Could Vought be controlling him somehow? Think about it—what if he's their ultimate weapon?"
Billy pointed at him.
"You should be writing sci-fi, not working in a shop."
Then he gave a quick smirk and added,
"I think I've figured out what Homelander really wants. But we'll get to that later. As for the question? If it were up to me—I'd go with option A."
He was, of course, confident in choosing himself.
And honestly, Annie's logic wasn't wrong either.
If Translucent had betrayed the Seven, maybe Homelander would've taken him out—but the odds of that were slim.
Too slim.
----
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