Jersey City. Inside a rundown, abandoned diner.
Frenchie had run out of patience. He stormed over to Butcher, grabbed him by the collar, and snarled right in his face.
"Fuck you! How much longer are you gonna drag this shit out? That kid's a hopeless fucking coward, a spineless pussy. A goddamn pig has more balls than him. He still hasn't dug that tracking chip out yet."
"It's been over twenty-four hours since Translucent vanished. Even those Vought retards should've noticed something's wrong by now."
"Oi, calm your tits." Butcher, just back from outside, pulled a few photos from his pocket and shoved them at Frenchie. "God bless our lucky stars. First target already gave us something."
"That A-Train and his girlfriend?" Frenchie asked, scanning the pictures.
"Exactly. She's the only person he's been tight with lately. She's got to have what we need." Butcher was in a decent mood now that he had a lead. He walked into the kitchen and spotted Hughie snoring on the table.
"Wake up, Homelander's coming." Butcher slapped Hughie's cheek.
"Homelander! Where the fuck is he?!"
Hughie shot upright like he'd been electrocuted, eyes darting around in panic.
"Relax. Just messing with you."
"Shit. That joke's not funny at all."
Hughie dragged a hand through his bird's-nest hair, looking completely wrecked. Pulling trackers out of corpses was pushing him to the edge.
A week ago he was just a regular guy selling audio equipment. Now here he was, expected to carve up a dead supe. He was close to snapping.
Butcher gave his shoulder a firm pat and looked over at Frenchie. "Go get the explosives ready. Before we leave, I wanna leave Homelander a nice little present. Hope the bastard enjoys it."
...
Vought Tower.
More than twenty-four hours since Translucent went dark.
Homelander himself walked into the Crime Analytics department and asked Annika for Translucent's location.
By the rules, the Seven aren't supposed to stick their noses into Crime Analytics. But if Homelander gave a shit about rules, he wouldn't be Homelander.
"Sorry, I need to notify Ms. Madeline first," Annika said.
Homelander stared straight into her eyes and smiled that perfect, terrifying smile. "I'm Homelander. I can do whatever the fuck I want."
He got the location.
...
Meanwhile, Ashley pushed open the door to Ivan's office in Security.
"You'd better be able to deliver exactly what you promised on the phone. If you waste my time, it usually ends badly for the idiot who did it." She locked the door behind her and dropped into the chair across from him.
"You'll like this," Ivan said, sliding his phone across the desk.
Ashley watched the video. Her bored scowl melted away. Her eyes lit up and the corner of her mouth curled into a hungry grin. "How the hell did you get this?"
The footage showed the entire incident. Uncut. Put this online and the narrative would flip in seconds. Starlight's numbers would probably shoot right back up.
"I asked Starlight where it happened," Ivan shrugged. "Figured someone might've caught the whole thing. Turns out some kid had it on his phone."
"Really? That simple?" Ashley narrowed her eyes, studying him like a shark smelling blood.
Ivan's face didn't twitch. He smiled. "Yeah. Simple as that."
"Great. Hand over the video."
Ashley reached for the phone. Ivan pulled it back.
"What the fuck?"
"Umm.. Nothing. Just feels like a waste," Ivan said, leaning back with a sly look. "Whole thing blew up this big and we end it with a quick fix? Seems a shame."
"You want to milk this?" Ashley asked, already guessing where Ivan's twisted mind was headed.
"Yeah. Let the shitstorm cook a little longer. Starlight isn't pathetic enough yet. We need the public to feel sorry for her after all this. Once the hate hits peak level, then we drop the bomb."
"First, we leak some sweet clips of her visiting orphans or lonely old folks. Make everyone think Vought's trying to bury the scandal. Then we film her 'breaking down' from the backlash. Tears, snot, the whole pathetic package. The worse she looks, the better. After that, we release the real video."
"Most important: we need the rescued girl's tearful thank-you statement and the thugs on camera apologizing and crying about what they did."
Ivan took a swig of Coke and kept going. "This way we don't just save Starlight's ass. We boost Vought's image too. Show the world that even off the clock, supes are out there fighting crime and protecting regular people."
Silence filled the office.
Then Ashley started slow-clapping.
"Fucking perfect. Absolutely perfect. If you ever want to move to Talent or PR, my door's wide open."
"I'd love to work with you one day," Ivan replied with a charming smile.
Once Ashley left, Ivan leaned back and stared at his monitor again. For her, the truth didn't matter. Only the results. If it all went smoothly, Vought would get a much more popular, much more loved supe.
The entire Seven's approval rating would climb. More money, bigger profits. And Ivan's own position would probably get a nice little bump.
Best possible ending for everyone.
Well… especially for him and Starlight.
She wanted to be adored? After this circus, her numbers would explode. At least she'd pull in a ton of female fans. Hell, she might even earn herself a shiny new title: Protector of Women.
Down the hall, Ashley reached Madeline's office door and gave it a light knock. "Wait a second. Hold on."
Homelander stopped in front of his own giant portrait hanging right across from Madeline's office door.
With his x-ray vision he watched her inside, casually using a breast pump. When the knock came, she calmly fixed her clothes, capped the bottle, and tucked it into the mini-fridge.
Homelander's tongue slid across his lower lip.
"Come in," Madeline called.
Ashley gave Homelander a tight, respectful nod, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"I've got a solid PR fix for the Starlight situation. High chance of success."
___
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69