Vought International
In the office of Vice President Madelyn Stillwell
Madelyn was sitting, browsing through her files and scrutinizing the company's stocks and accounts—how to multiply funds and profits.
The past two days had been difficult for her. The disappearance of Translucent had put the company in a critical position. Translucent had shows, commitments, and tasks—he needed to appear before his audience periodically to maintain engagement and enthusiasm.
The technology and tracking department had tried to trace Translucent's chip, but each time there was interference. He would appear in multiple locations, and they couldn't pinpoint him with sufficient accuracy.
This put her in a difficult position.
Madelyn was one of those personalities who loved innovation. This trait had placed her at the top of the hierarchy. She had even managed to tame Homelander—and that was what gave her the most influence in the company.
While she was scrutinizing files, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Ashley entered. "Madelyn, Homelander is in the Seven's meeting room. He's requesting your presence urgently!"
Madelyn stood, surprised by the request. It was unusual for them to ask her to attend.
Madelyn arrived at the Seven's meeting room and saw Homelander, the Deep, and a metal box placed on the conference table.
Madelyn smiled politely at Homelander. "What makes our number one hero request my presence so urgently?"
Homelander looked at her with a warm smile. "This is a surprise. You should open it yourself. Go ahead."
Madelyn approached to open the box. As soon as she opened it, she was hit by a foul, putrid smell—a decaying corpse!
Madelyn screamed and recoiled from the box.
"Is this Translucent's body?!"
"How did they manage to penetrate his skin and kill him?! And where did you find the body?"
Homelander looked at Madelyn. "Deep, what is the one thing my eyes can't penetrate?"
"Zinc, Homelander," the Deep replied.
Homelander continued, "And what is this box made of?"
He asked but received no answer. Homelander was surprised!!
"Zinc, Homelander," the Deep responded in his foolish manner.
"Whoever killed Translucent are smart people. They know and understand my abilities and my limitations. They've started declaring war on me!"
Madelyn looked at Homelander. "How do you know they're declaring war and targeting you?"
Homelander approached the box and opened it. On the box's lid, it read: "WE'RE COMING FOR YOU!"
Madelyn looked at the written phrase and sank into thought. The only thing that came to mind was the mental institution—or rather, the base for human experimentation. Could it be the same people who destroyed that base?
"Ashley, instruct all units to review Translucent's last known location. We might not find the killers, but it could lead us to a thread. And I want you to check all cameras—restaurants, markets, everything."
Ashley replied, "Yes." Damn, work is going to increase. Damn you, Translucent—even dead, you're exhausting us.
---
Meanwhile, Butcher, Hughie, and Frenchie were in a closed van. Frenchie and Hughie were sitting inside, waiting for Butcher.
The van door opened, and Butcher entered—with someone!
As soon as Frenchie saw the person, he couldn't help but curse. "What brought this bastard here?!"
Mother's Milk didn't stay silent either. "No, what are you doing here, you wretch? Do you think I want to see you or ever work with you again?"
They immediately started arguing upon meeting.
Butcher tried to intervene to resolve the conflict when suddenly Mother's Milk's phone rang in a comically ridiculous way!
After Mother's Milk answered in a sarcastic manner, everyone laughed at him.
"Damn you all. Fine."
Suddenly, the screen changed, and Roger's voice came through. "Alright, boys, let's get to work. A-Train's girlfriend has arrived home. I'll hack the house cameras so you can see clearly."
On the screen appeared multiple angles of A-Train's girlfriend's house.
"Listen, you'll enter her house under the guise of fixing the internet network—a network outage. I'll hack the network and shut it down for five minutes. During that time, I want you to go to the table under the television. Her personal bag is there."
"Open her bag. Inside, there are vials and syringes of Compound V. Hurry, because A-Train could arrive any moment! Understand?"
"Yes."
Hughie and Mother's Milk carried equipment and dressed in telecom worker uniforms. They knocked on the door.
After a short while, the door opened. A-Train's girlfriend stood before them—Charlotte, formerly a hero known as Popclaw.
"Is there a problem?"
Hughie looked at Charlotte. "Actually, ma'am, the network system in your building needs maintenance. Try opening your phone and connecting to the network—you'll see there's an issue."
Charlotte opened her phone and found she couldn't connect to the network. She realized there was indeed a problem.
She stepped aside from the entrance. "Come in this way."
Hughie and Mother's Milk entered the house. After reaching the computer, Hughie pretended to work.
Charlotte didn't pay much attention, but Mother's Milk looked at her. "Ma'am, I can't believe it—you're Popclaw! Your movies were among my favorites."
Charlotte was happy someone remembered her and her films. She thanked him and went to the bathroom to shower.
Meanwhile, Mother's Milk looked at the bag under the television. He didn't hesitate.
He opened it and saw the syringes neatly arranged. He collected them in his coat pocket, careful not to damage them.
After this operation, he returned the bag to its original position and even arranged it exactly as before, so Charlotte wouldn't suspect anyone had moved it.
After all this, Mother's Milk raised his voice. "Our work is done. The network is back to normal. We're heading to the other rooms."
"Is there anything you need, ma'am?"
Charlotte replied from inside the bathroom. "You can go."
Hughie and Mother's Milk didn't hesitate. They left and headed straight to the van, entering it.
This time, they didn't encounter A-Train—they had saved time by being quick.