Ivan didn't have to wait long. Hughie and Butcher moved fast.
The very next day they rolled up to Vought Tower in a car.
Inside the vehicle, Butcher stuck the tiny bug on the back of Hughie's phone case.
Hughie walked up to the security gate trying to look calm, forcing a smile over his obvious nerves.
The alarm screamed the first time he passed through the metal detector.
"Sir, please empty your pockets," the security guard said.
Hughie went back, dumped everything onto the tray, and tried again. This time he cleared it clean.
The guard gave the items a lazy check and handed them back.
Hughie let out a quiet breath of relief, thanked the guy, and headed straight for The Seven's private meeting room.
From across the lobby, Ivan watched every second of it.
If he was right, Hughie would try to plant the bug in the bathroom. The poor bastard was so jittery he accidentally walked into the women's restroom, dropped the device outside, and didn't even realize it.
What he didn't know was that a certain invisible pervert basically lived in there, spying on women every chance he got.
Half an hour later, Hughie walked out of Vought Tower looking perfectly normal.
"Translucent's got some patience," Ivan muttered, sipping a Coke while patrolling the first floor.
It took another five full hours before he finally sensed Translucent's brain waves leaving the building.
"Buddy, I'm heading out. Rest of the shift is on you," Ivan told the guard at the door.
"No problem, sir. Have a good night."
...
The second he stepped outside Vought Tower, Ivan changed into the clothes he'd prepared and morphed his face and body into Yuuji's appearance.
He pulled out his phone and followed Translucent at a safe distance while running the full analysis on the supe's powers.
Roughly ten minutes later, the panel lit up.
[Analysis Complete.]
[Talent Skill: Carbon Hyper-Shift]
[Fusion Condition: Kill Translucent within three minutes]
[After fusion, the player can transform their skin into Carbon Hyper-Shift material, granting extreme defensive capabilities. It also allows light to bend around the body for invisibility. In addition, overall physical constitution will receive a minor boost.]
Pretty solid talent. Too bad, from what Ivan remembered of the original story, the power had a nasty weakness to electricity.
Still, he figured that once fused, Homelander's laser eyes would lose most of their bite.
Lasers were still light, after all. They could be bent. Maybe even reflected. Of course, that only worked if the beam didn't pack enough raw power to burn straight through the carbon skin.
...
Translucent soon slipped into the music and video store where Hughie worked.
"Who the fuck are you?" a voice suddenly spoke up.
Hughie jumped hard, whipping his head around. There was nobody in sight.
"Fuck! What the hell?" He shot up from his chair, thinking he was losing it.
"I'm standing right in front of you, asshole. You really thought I wouldn't find this?" Translucent slammed the tiny bug Hughie had planted under the meeting room table onto the counter.
Before Hughie could react, Translucent punched him square in the face, then dragged him over the counter.
"Hey, looks like a fun party. You doing some invisible mime act, buddy?"
Ivan pushed open the door and stepped inside with a lazy smirk, still wearing Yuuji's face.
"Fuck you! Get the hell out if you don't wanna die!" Translucent snarled at Ivan.
"Translucent? Oh, you're that pervert who likes hiding in the women's bathroom."
Ivan took a few calm steps forward and slapped his hand straight onto the invisible face. He leaned in close and whispered, "Your invisibility doesn't seem to do shit against me."
The furious supe tried to fight back, but Ivan's palm split open and a thick tentacle shot straight up his nose. It drilled into his skull and twisted his brain into mush in seconds.
"Some human organs really are pathetic," Ivan muttered. He dropped the body and casually wiped the blood and brain matter off his hand onto Hughie's shirt.
As Translucent died, his corpse finally flickered into view. The sight was disgusting — blood mixed with chunks of grayish-pink slime slowly leaking from his nostrils.
[Congratulations, player. You have killed a major canon character. +800 Fantasy Points.]
"He's… he's dead," Hughie stammered, eyes wide with terror as he stumbled backward.
"Who.. Oh My GOD! Who the fuck are you? You just killed Translucent! You just killed a supe?!"
"Does it matter who I am?" Ivan smiled. "I just did what you wanted to do anyway. Keep up the good work. I'll be watching from the shadows."
Ivan gave a casual wave, still grinning, and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Hughie stood frozen, staring at the corpse on the floor. His mind was spinning with a hundred questions. How the hell did he kill Translucent? Why did he do it? How did he know what they were planning? And why the fuck was he encouraging him?
It felt like he'd just stepped into one trap and immediately fallen into an even bigger one.
Crash!
A black car suddenly smashed through the store's glass front and screeched to a stop right in front of him, nearly running him over.
"Shit! Are you trying to fucking murder me?!" Hughie roared at Butcher, still shaking.
"What the hell happened? Why is Translucent dead?"
Butcher had seen Hughie getting punched from a distance and rushed in to save him. He never saw Ivan walk in after that.
"I don't fucking know!" Hughie snapped. "Some guy just walked in, slapped his hand over Translucent's face, and when he pulled it away the bastard was dead. What the hell? TV always says he's supposed to be bulletproof. Total bullshit."
Butcher ignored Hughie's panicked ranting and crouched down next to the corpse, checking the wounds.
After a few seconds his face turned serious. "Translucent's skin is tough as hell, but the inside is just like any normal person. If I'm right, the guy destroyed his brain instantly somehow."
Butcher stood up, voice heavy. "Did he say anything?"
"Let me think…" Hughie frowned, trying to remember. "He called Translucent a pervert who spies in the women's bathroom. Said he knew what we were doing… and told me to keep going."
"Sounds like he's at least on our side," Butcher said calmly. "He knew Translucent well. Could be a hitman supe working for Vought. The situation could be worse. Just don't know why he won't tell us who he is."
"Fuck it, doesn't matter right now. We need to deal with this body fast. We're in deep shit."
___
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69