The Deep felt very wronged.
"I didn't shove it in, it was Fang Yuan who really shoved it in," he thought to himself.
But no matter what he thought, it was useless now.
The most important thing now was how to calm things down. Since The Deep caused the problem, he had to bear it himself.
So, next was the standard celebrity opening statement—
"I'm very sorry for occupying public resources... I've been reflecting... I'm willing to accept punishment... suspending all activities if necessary, wait... everything?"
As The Deep read the script, he felt something was off. Before he could think it through, the on-site director shouted, "You're out of character, let's do it again!"
Helpless, The Deep had no choice but to get back into character and pretend to apologize sincerely.
But in this situation, The Deep's apology was tantamount to self-destruction, merely setting up a target for the public. All accusations and insults immediately rained down on The Deep.
At first, The Deep could handle it; being a Vought celebrity meant having no shame. But as things progressed, he couldn't sit still.
"To protect The Seven's image, the company has decided to temporarily remove you from The Seven's roster," Madelyn informed him in her office.
Internal unspoken rules were originally a minor issue at Vought, but Starlight exposed them publicly, so Vought had no choice but to deal with it.
Since apologizing was useless, they had no choice but to sideline The Deep.
Superheroes other than Homelander were like this; even members of The Seven were mere pawns in Vought's eyes.
The Deep stood frozen in disbelief, completely unable to understand how he had been kicked out of The Seven.
"Can't you handle it like before?" The Deep still tried to fight for it.
He was referring to Vought cleaning up their messes as they used to, but Madelyn's top priority now was operating the Military-Industrial Complex. She had neither the energy nor the need to help The Deep turn the tide.
"This is our solution this time," Madelyn said firmly.
The Deep left the office disheartened, moving like a zombie, his dazed expression lingering for a long time.
Many people saw him, including Starlight and Fang Yuan.
Starlight was also very shocked to learn of The Deep's predicament. She didn't expect Vought to be so decisive, dismissing a member of The Seven just like that. Now even she felt a little sorry for The Deep, after all, she herself had no losses.
But Fang Yuan felt that The Deep wasn't pitiful enough.
"Now the invitation is half-printed. When you're banished to the corner, feel Vought's indifference, and finally become disheartened, my invitation can be sent out," Fang Yuan calculated in his mind.
He valued The Deep's abilities, but while The Deep was still one of The Seven and the Pride of the Ocean, it was unlikely he would switch allegiance to him. Even if Homelander intervened, he might end up like Invisible Man, becoming an informant, and then Fang Yuan would have to eliminate The Deep.
So, letting The Deep fall into the abyss, and then Fang Yuan pulling him out, would make The Deep much more reliable.
As the old saying goes, "When Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering."
If The Deep wanted to switch to Fang Yuan's good side, wouldn't he have to suffer first?
What?
The Deep: "I don't want to!"
Fang Yuan: "No, you do!"
"I'm the boss!"
However, even though The Deep was punished, Starlight, the other protagonist of this incident, didn't feel happy either.
Because Vought's next move after sidelining The Deep was to mold Starlight into a new image of someone who dares to speak out and represents women's rights, further increasing her fame through The Deep's incident.
The Deep had asked Madelyn how to respond, but Madelyn had only told him half of it.
This was Madelyn's complete response strategy. Since The Deep's reputation was already damaged and his commercial value greatly diminished, they might as well use The Deep, the former Vice-Captain of The Seven, as a stepping stone for new member Starlight, elevating Starlight to gain higher commercial value.
Again, the house always wins.
It is conceivable that Vought's next step would be to have Starlight, now the new public benchmark for The Seven, help promote the importance of Vought joining the Military-Industrial Complex.
Although Madelyn handled it well, it involved a member of The Seven, and the positive impact of Flight 37 was exactly offset, essentially returning to square one.
Madelyn sighed deeply, as if an invisible hand was manipulating things from behind.
Fang Yuan: "Not at all, it's being done right in front of you!"
Madelyn didn't know that her bad days were just beginning.
On MIB's side, The Boys continued their work. However, because Vought had learned how to handle public relations, Vought often managed to get the Superheroes arrested by MIB released through various means.
This led to a situation where MIB did play a role in regulating Superhero behavior, but it was limited, and many Superheroes who committed crimes could not receive their due punishment.
So Black King proposed another method.
"The root cause is that Vought's Superhumans are so rampant because of an imperfect system. So, I plan to apply, in MIB's name, for the enactment of the 'Superhuman Registration Act' to legally restrict their behavior!"
Black King said to Billy Butcher.
Butcher strongly agreed after hearing this: "Exactly, it should have been done a long time ago!"
Instantly, he felt admiration for Black King. While they were still thinking about how to kill a certain Superhero, Black King was already thinking about a permanent solution for Superhumans.
No wonder others can be the boss, right?
"But we lack strong evidence to give those senators a reason to challenge Vought," Fang Yuan said.
Butcher immediately understood and said the keyword in a deep voice: "compound v!"
If compound v were exposed, it would be a very heavy blow to Vought, and it would also be completely sufficient for the government to enact a law regulating Superhumans.
Butcher cheered up.
Last time, it was due to Homelander's unexpected interference that they couldn't get clues. This time, Black King should have new clues.
Indeed, Fang Yuan quickly announced the mission location.
"Intelligence indicates that Vought is transporting compound v to many hospitals through the charlatan Ezekiel's religious organization, specifically to create Superhuman children."
"The pediatric intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital recently received a batch of compound v."
Butcher immediately became energized: "I'll take my team there right away!"
"I'll still be near you," Black King reassured him.
However, Butcher felt it definitely wouldn't be needed. Last time was bad luck; he refused to believe he would encounter Homelander again this time.
After Butcher left, A-Train appeared on the scene.
"I found out the information you wanted. What about the heart? Haven't you found the heart yet?" he asked Black King anxiously.
It was clear that A-Train's complexion was very poor now; he looked much more haggard.
He had been using compound v too frequently and was now severely addicted, and his heart condition was getting worse, desperately needing a heart transplant to save his life.
"We've found a few potentially matching targets, but further examination is needed." Black King first reassured A-Train, then said with dissatisfaction, "Did you tell Homelander the information last time? Otherwise, how did he get there so quickly?"
"I didn't!"
A-Train quickly shook his head and waved his hands, indicating it had nothing to do with him.
But not having anything to do with it didn't mean he was unaware. He knew that was where Homelander secretly manufactured Superhuman Terrorists, so Homelander would certainly be anxious if something happened there.
He hadn't told Black King about this, just as A-Train hadn't told Homelander that Black King was inquiring about compound v.
As a servant of three masters... er, a triple turncoat, A-Train only did what his employers asked him to do. He wouldn't proactively reveal other things if his employers didn't ask, after all, he didn't know which boss could find him a matching heart.
This time, Butcher's trio acted more cautiously. Butcher specifically chose to depart late at night, and he had Frenchie disable all hospital surveillance. To avoid too many guards, they also carefully studied the hospital's layout.
Butcher's idea was simple: prepare various contingency plans to ensure nothing went wrong.
But he couldn't foresee that there was a director behind this play.
"Someone has been appearing frequently near Mercy Hospital recently, and he also appeared around Uncle Egg's Noodle Shop before?"
Homelander was very surprised to hear A-Train's report. He wasn't surprised that a clue was found, but that A-Train was the one who found it.
Homelander looked astonished. A-Train... could think now?
With that smoky wooden head of his?
"I know you need... so..."
A-Train stammered an explanation.
He didn't know why Black King wanted him to disclose this information. After much thought, the only possibility was to ambush Homelander, so A-Train spoke without much confidence.
But his demeanor, in Homelander's eyes, was simply a sign of being inarticulate.
Homelander immediately laughed, his wrinkles scrunching together.
He liked people who worked silently. A-Train was already highly trusted by him, and now, in Homelander's eyes, A-Train was his loyal dog.
Definitely one of his own.
"Excellent!" Homelander smiled brightly, patted A-Train's shoulder, and then, after a moment of thought, said, "I'll find a way to help you with your heart condition."
"Uh... Th-thank you!"
A-Train smiled awkwardly but politely. This was already the third boss who said they would help him with his illness.
Since he knew their target, Homelander naturally had to keep an eye on them.
At this point, A-Train still felt a bit soft-hearted, and also afraid that if Homelander was ambushed, he would come back to hold him accountable, so he proactively asked, "Do you want to call for backup?"
Homelander immediately thought of Fang Yuan. With Fang Yuan, he wouldn't be afraid even if he encountered Black King.
However, Homelander quickly shook his head.
"No need!" he said.
How can a child cry every day, or Homelander lose every day?
Black King couldn't possibly be those guys' babysitter, following them all the time, could he?
He refused to believe that he would encounter Black King again this time.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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