Homelander stood at the head of the long mahogany table in Conference Room A on the ninety ninth floor of Vought Tower.
He was standing with his back to the room, staring out the floor to ceiling windows at the city that sprawled beneath him like a nervous subject. His hands were clasped behind his back, his cape hanging perfectly still.
The rest of The Seven filed in, one by one, their boots clicking on the expensive carpet. They moved with a strange mixture of arrogance and wariness, like wolves entering the den of a hungrier wolf.
Queen Maeve entered first, her expression bored. She dropped into her seat, smelling faintly of mouthwash and stale vodka.
Black Noir followed, taking his place and folding his hands on the table.
The Deep walked in, looking around nervously, desperate to gauge the mood of the room.
A-Train was the last of the veterans, his leg jittering, his eyes darting around the room with the frantic energy of a man whose heart was beating too fast.
And then there was Starlight. She walked in with her head held high, wearing the revealing costume Vought had forced upon her.
She took her seat.
No one spoke. No one dared to break the silence while Homelander was staring out the window.
The silence stretched for a minute. Two. Three.
Finally, Homelander turned.
His face was a mask of paternal disappointment. It was the face he wore on talk shows when discussing a national tragedy. But his eyes... his eyes were blue ice.
"We have a problem," Homelander said, his voice soft, modulated perfectly to carry across the room without raising a decibel.
He picked up a remote from the table and clicked it.
The large screen at the far end of the room flickered to life. A high resolution image appeared.
It was Hughie Campbell.
Starlight felt her stomach drop through the floor. Her breath hitched in her throat and she had to use every ounce of her willpower to keep her face neutral.
"This," Homelander said, pointing a gloved finger at the screen, "is Hugh Campbell. A retail employee from an electronics store in the city."
He clicked the remote again. A new image appeared. It showed Hughie and Billy Butcher standing together on a platform.
"He and his little friends," Homelander announced. "They kidnapped Translucent. And they killed him."
Starlight's mind was racing.
"That..." Starlight started, her voice trembling slightly before she steadied it. "That doesn't make sense. Look at him. He's... he's just a human. How could he kill Translucent? Translucent is indestructible."
Homelander looked down at her. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Indestructible on the outside, Annie. You all have soft spots."
He walked back to the head of the table. "But that's not all. This little group... they've also been blackmailing."
He turned his gaze to A-Train. "Why don't you tell the class about your girlfriend?"
A-Train flinched as if he'd been struck. He looked up, sweat beading on his forehead. "Homelander, I..."
"Tell them," Homelander commanded.
A-Train swallowed hard. "She... she was my girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend. She... she was leaking secrets."
Starlight stared at him. "Leaking secrets?"
"To them," Homelander interjected, pointing at the screen. "To Campbell and his butcher friend. She told them things she shouldn't have. She betrayed us. Betrayed you, Reggie."
A-Train nodded jerkily. "Yeah. Yeah, she did."
"And what happened to her, Reggie?" Homelander asked, his voice deceptively gentle.
"She... she died," A Train mumbled.
"How?"
"Overdose," A Train said, his voice barely a whisper. "Heroin."
"An overdose," Homelander repeated. He looked at Starlight. "Everyone seems to be dying of accidents lately. Which brings me to you, Starlight."
The room went deathly silent.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Mr. Campbell," Homelander said.
Starlight froze. "I... we went on a date. Once. I didn't know he was... this."
"Didn't you?" Homelander asked. He leaned down, his face inches from her ear. "It's a hell of a coincidence, Annie. Dating the very man who killed Translucent."
"I swear," Starlight said, turning to look at him, putting every ounce of sincerity she possessed into her voice. "I didn't know. He seemed nice. I had no idea."
Homelander stared at her. His eyes scanned her face, her pupils, her pulse.
His eyes began to glow. A red light bathed the side of her face.
"If I find out you're helping them... " Homelander whispered, the sound like grinding stones.
"She didn't know, John," a voice cut through the tension.
Homelander looked up. Queen Maeve was leaning back in her chair, looking bored.
"Look at her," Maeve said, gesturing vaguely at Starlight. "She's a corn fed cheerleader from Iowa. She probably thought he was cute and harmless. She's got bad taste, not a death wish."
Homelander looked at Maeve, then back at Starlight. The red glow in his eyes faded.
"Bad taste," Homelander mused. He squeezed Starlight's shoulder, hard enough to bruise, then let go. "Let's hope that's all it is."
He walked back to the window, dismissing them.
"Find him," Homelander commanded, looking out at the city. "And when you do... bring them to me. Alive"
"Meeting adjourned."
Starlight stood up, her legs shaking. She walked out of the room, forcing herself not to run.
…
The afternoon sun in the penthouse was warm.
I was lying on the massive sofa in the living room, a tablet in my hand, scrolling through the encrypted reports from the clones at Spencer Industries.
The "purge" of the traitorous elements was nearly complete, disguised as a corporate restructuring. The funds were flowing back in.
Kimiko was sitting on the other end of the sofa, her legs tucked under her. She was watching TV… an American sitcom this time, something bright and loud with a laugh track. She was wearing a pair of grey leggings and a white t-shirt.
She was laughing at something on the screen, a shaking of her shoulders.
I watched her for a moment. She had come so far in such a short time. But there was still a wall. A barrier that separated her from the world.
Her voice.
She wasn't mute because of a physical injury. It was because of severe psychological trauma from her childhood
PS: We need 77 more Power Stones for the next bonus chapter. Come on guys, let's push hard and try to finish this novel this month, haha.
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