join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories
Kevin, dressed in a suit, stood gracefully on the stage below, bowing like a gentleman to the audience.
"I believe everyone knows me, so I won't introduce myself."
After bowing, this was Kevin's first sentence.
A wave of good-natured laughter erupted from the audience. Kevin found Annie and Kimiko in the stands and winked slightly at them.
Then he continued:
"You must be wondering why I'm here. Is there a Supe criminal here? Or is there suddenly some event? I'm sorry, neither. I'm simply here on vacation with my family, that's all.
"As for my family, you should know one of them, my girlfriend Starlight, and the other… I think most of you probably saw her in today's news."
As Kevin explained, sharp-eyed audience members also found Starlight and Kimiko in the audience.
Kimiko was somewhat flustered by so many people staring at her. Starlight immediately hugged her, frowning as she looked down at Kevin.
She knew Kevin could see her expression.
Seeing that Kimiko seemed to be frightened, Kevin immediately drew everyone's attention, saying:
"She's my younger sister, and she's quite shy around strangers. I hope everyone won't stare at her too much, after all… I'm the one performing now."
With that, Kevin snapped his fingers.
The next second, the water in the pool beside Kevin flew out of the pool, gathered in the air, and condensed into a long bridge made of water.
The long bridge surrounded Kevin on his left, right, and above, with dolphins swimming in the clear water.
Under Kevin's miraculous display, the audience's attention was drawn to him, and they no longer focused on Kimiko.
Even Kimiko herself ignored the gazes of others, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the clear water flowing around Kevin.
Kevin continued to raise the water, and the staff behind the aquarium, knowing what Kevin was going to do, cooperatively kept pouring water into the pool, allowing Kevin to continue manipulating the water.
It wasn't until Kevin had transformed the entire stage into a world of water that he stopped and, through the microphone connection, spoke to the outside:
"You might be wondering why I'm performing here, and why there was no prior announcement. The reason is actually very simple: I made my girlfriend a little angry."
Annie: "…"
Annie, in the audience, was a bit speechless when she heard this. She explained to the live camera:
"I'm not angry, really."
"Ahem, saying angry might indeed be inappropriate… In short, she wasn't in a very good mood, so to cheer her up, I came up with this current plan.
"So everyone, that's all for the explanation. Next… please enjoy the performance by me and the lovely animals."
Facing the surrounding cameras, Kevin openly announced Kimiko's identity and his feelings for Starlight. He nodded in satisfaction, confirming that the audience had posted this information online, and then began his performance for the day.
He manipulated the water and telepathically communicated with the surrounding aquatic creatures, coordinating with them to perform one incredible move after another.
Even Kevin himself entered the massive, suspended Water Ball, playing and frolicking with the animals.
Not only that, within the giant Water Ball, Kevin also used the 'Fighter's Dance' skill, making darker water swirl around his body.
Based on different water densities and the cooperation of the surrounding marine life, Kevin used water and these animals to write his affection for Starlight within the giant Water Ball.
Text appeared in the water, and dolphins danced around.
Under the gaze of the audience and in front of the live cameras, Kevin wrote a love letter to Starlight Annie in his own way.
Kevin knew that confessing in this way was awkward, and even Kevin himself felt his face flush because of his actions at that moment.
But it must be said that girls like Annie really fall for this kind of thing.
Her glowing eyes and the tears welling up, representing tears of joy, were the best proof.
…
"At XX Theme Park, The Deep Expresses Deep Love for Starlight!"
"It's His Sister!? The Deep Releases Statement!!"
"What's it like to buy a regular ticket and end up watching a member of The Seven perform live…?"
News about The Deep was spreading like wildfire online, most of it describing The Deep himself, and a small part envying The Deep and Starlight's relationship.
There was also some discussion about The Deep's sister, from The Deep's rise to fame to his family background, debating whether The Deep actually had such a sister.
Hughie Campbell sat in the driver's seat, eating bread while scrolling on his phone, and casually posted a comment on a fan website wishing 'Starlight-Deep' a long and happy relationship.
That's right, he was also a member of the 'Starlight-Deep' fan club, and a very seasoned one at that.
The T-shirt under his jacket was a limited edition 'Starlight-Deep' themed T-shirt.
Hughie had also bought many of the joint merchandise featuring The Deep and Starlight.
And all the previous merchandise, posters, stickers, and other miscellaneous items related to A-Train that he had at home had been thrown into the trash by Hughie and burned.
The day his girlfriend was killed by A-Train, Hughie's love for A-Train had ended.
Later, when A-Train died of a heart attack, Hughie's last bit of obsession with A-Train also dissipated with the wind.
He instantly let go of everything, throwing away and burning all the things he had previously been reluctant to discard, as a farewell to his immature past self.
Now, the person he idolized was The Deep.
And Annie, by extension.
"Hey, kid, stop playing on your phone. Pay attention to your surroundings in the car later."
Hughie was still scrolling through comments on the fan website when Butcher, who was outside, tapped him on the head through the window, bringing him back to his senses.
"Can't you be gentler?"
Hughie, who had been hit on the back of the head, rolled his eyes at Butcher.
Butcher ignored him and turned to Frenchie in the car, asking:
"No anomalies detected, right?"
"No, at least not on my computer."
Frenchie pointed to the laptop in front of him. The screen displayed monitoring data that only Frenchie could understand. He was using the car's radar to scan the surroundings for 'suspicious individuals.'
Although… they themselves were suspicious individuals.
"OK, then Mother's Milk and I will go meet Susan later. You two stay on standby in the car. If you find anything wrong, drive away immediately. Don't worry about Mother's Milk and me, understand?"
Once everything was ready, Butcher gave the final instructions.
Hughie was somewhat puzzled by this:
"You're just exchanging information with an old friend. Is it necessary to be so cautious?"
"Nonsense, don't forget Vought is still hunting me! While Susan won't betray me, that doesn't mean Vought won't track her. We must be extra careful, understand?"
"…Won't The Deep help us?"
"His help doesn't mean other people in Vought will help us! Idiot!"
Butcher cursed Hughie again.
Frenchie and Mother's Milk were already used to this. Ever since Hughie became a fan of The Deep, Butcher would always find an opportunity to curse Hughie, and arguments like this had happened more than once.
But each time, it was limited to verbal arguments; there had never been any actual physical altercations.
Hughie, being cursed by Butcher, shut his mouth and silently ate the bread in his hand.
Butcher didn't continue to scold him, mainly because he had already seen CIA Deputy Director Susan's car.
Seeing Susan drive to the designated location, Butcher turned to look at Frenchie.
Frenchie immediately understood what he was going to ask and replied:
"No suspicious personnel monitored in the vicinity. She came alone."
"Good, Mother's Milk, let's go."
Butcher took Mother's Milk to meet Susan. Hughie finished his bread, watched their retreating figures, and turned to Frenchie, asking:
"The CIA didn't help us before. Will they still help us now?"
"Who knows. Perhaps this incident of Supe terrorists entering the country will make them take it seriously."
Frenchie casually chatted with Hughie.
The reason The Boys were meeting Susan this time was that they had found a video evidence related to Vought.
The video showed an undocumented immigrant who had arrived in New York through human trafficking, using Supe abilities to move an entire smuggling boat onto the shore and smash it into people.
Clearly, this was a Supe criminal from abroad.
Subsequently, through Butcher's investigation, he discovered that this smuggling team seemed to be connected to Vought.
In other words, Vought was secretly transporting Supe criminals from abroad into the country.
This discovery was extremely important, and it was this video evidence that made Butcher decide to meet Susan.
On one hand, it was to exchange information they had obtained, and on the other, Butcher wanted to get news about his wife from Susan.
He couldn't confirm the address The Deep gave him last time through his own means, as his current identity was somewhat shady, and he didn't have such a large intelligence network, so he could only rely on the CIA's help.
Susan, for her part, trusted Butcher. Even knowing that Butcher was the one who killed Madelyn, she dared to come alone to meet him.
Sometimes Hughie wondered if there was something fishy between these two, like if they had been involved in something together in the past.
"…I can't hear what they're saying."
Picking up another small piece of bread and stuffing it into his mouth, Hughie mumbled to Frenchie.
"I can't hear what you're saying either right now. Can you swallow your food before you speak?"
"Sorry, I'm a bit hungry. I didn't eat lunch."
"Neither did we…"
Bang!!!
Frenchie was about to talk to Hughie, but a sudden loud bang made both of them freeze.
They looked towards the direction of the bang, which was exactly where Butcher and Susan were talking.
That spot had been peaceful, and the conversation between Butcher and Susan had been quite pleasant.
But now, that spot was filled with blood. Butcher and Mother's Milk were running towards them, covered in blood, while Susan, who had just been chatting happily with them, was now just a body, her head gone.
"Run!!! What are you standing there for!! Run!!!"
Hughie and Frenchie were still stunned, but Butcher and Mother's Milk immediately got into the car.
Perhaps startled by Butcher and Mother's Milk's current appearance, Hughie, sitting in the driver's seat, almost reflexively started the vehicle.
The moment the two got into the car, Hughie immediately launched the van, which shot out from its spot and sped out of the parking area like a bullet, exceeding the speed limit.
"What happened?! What's going on!? Susan, she…!?"
As the vehicle drove, Frenchie finally came to his senses and asked Butcher, who was wiping blood off himself.
Butcher's expression was grim, his face covered in blood making him look quite savage. He casually told Frenchie:
"Susan was killed, blown up by a Supe! It must have been Vought!"
"!?"
"Damn it! Is Vought assassinating high-ranking government officials openly now!?"
Butcher was still shaken.
God knew what kind of psychological trauma it left him, watching his old flame's head explode right in front of him.
Wiping his face repeatedly with a towel, Butcher finally calmed down. He suddenly remembered something, quickly took out his phone from his pocket, and dialed someone's number:
"Hello? This is Butcher. I think we need to meet, yes, right now!"
Listening to Butcher's phone call, and looking through the rearview mirror at the red and white splotches on Butcher and Mother's Milk, Hughie couldn't eat his bread anymore.
He even felt that he probably wouldn't need to eat dinner.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories