"The company will handle all of this. You just need to cooperate with the reporters and issue a public apology. It's all formulaic platitudes, you know what I mean."
Faced with Madelyn's solution, A-Train hesitated. "I understand, ma'am, but won't this damage my approval rating? You know, Shockwave has been really close to me lately, and I don't want this to affect the work of the Seven."
Not a single word about an apology or compensation for the deceased.
When you hit and killed that poor woman, why didn't you use your pig brain to think for a couple more seconds?
Madelyn rubbed her temples, forcefully calming her turbulent emotions. She then smiled and reassured him. "No. As long as your apology is sincere enough, the public will forgive a superhero who's busy saving the world."
"I'll attend the press conference with you. Don't worry. Everything will be alright."
A-Train finally nodded repeatedly with a sigh of relief, a genuine smile appearing on his face. "I know what to do. Thank you, ma'am!"
After seeing that damn speedster off, Madelyn breathed a sigh of relief.
If he weren't one of the few valuable commodities in the Seven, she would have already given this idiot a thorough dressing down. He only knew how to cause trouble and had no brains to clean up the mess.
As executive vice president, she spent half of each day cleaning up the messes left by the superheroes under her management.
Furthermore, the stronger and more popular the troublemaker, the more complicated the subsequent cleanup became.
Fortunately, she maintained her position precisely because she had the ability to handle these special "business matters" well.
Just then, the landline on her desk rang.
Madelyn glanced at the caller ID. Her secretary and assistant, Ashley. She immediately answered. "Hey, Ashley, what's up? You'd better have some good news."
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I have some bad news to report."
"Just a short while ago, Homelander rushed out of the building, and falling glass killed an African American—uh, I mean, an unfortunate citizen. He was a taxi driver. Now the first floor of the building is packed with people. What should we do?"
Madelyn frantically scratched her head, trying to pull the stress from this barrage of bad news out of her mind.
"I have a question. Is there any CCTV footage showing Homelander doing it?"
Upon hearing Madelyn's question, Ashley paused, as if confirming something with someone beside her.
She quickly replied. "The technical department has searched all surrounding surveillance footage and all mobile phones in the same area at the same time, and found no evidence of Homelander's actions."
"Okay. Then there's no problem."
Madelyn let out a long sigh of relief and leaned back in her chair. "Ashley, this is your job. Listen—"
"Just remember this: that guy's death has absolutely nothing to do with our great Homelander, okay?"
"Understood. I know what to do."
"Cool. You know what, Ashley, that's what I love most about you. Just go for it. I'll talk to the finance department this month and give you an extra ten thousand dollar bonus."
"Oh, my boss, you're so kind! Don't worry, I'll handle it!"
"Wait a minute. While you're at it, get someone to clean up my office. The smell that idiot left behind is absolutely disgusting."
"Uh... received. Coming right away!"
After finishing her work, Madelyn breathed a sigh of relief, got up, took an empty baby bottle from the office refrigerator, and prepared to address some problems caused by her overdeveloped mammary glands.
A knocking sound rang out. She turned around in surprise, immediately seeing Homelander floating outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
In an instant, a flattering and gentle smile skillfully appeared on Madelyn's face.
The motherly smile that most easily calmed Homelander, as determined after countless experiments.
After composing herself, Madelyn tilted her head playfully, gesturing for Homelander to come in.
Only then did she realize that Vought's perfect god didn't seem to be looking so good.
"The glass that smashed that poor bastard to death—it must have fallen from Vought Tower, right?"
"No way. There are so many buildings nearby. It's possible it could have been blown down from a distance by high-altitude air currents."
"Oh my God! What on earth happened? Did terrorists storm the tower to seek revenge on the superheroes?"
On the ground, the accident scene was surrounded by a crowd, with flashes from cell phones and cameras going off incessantly as people speculated and discussed their theories.
When it came to rubbernecking, Americans who loved courting death definitely ranked at the top.
Jordan, who'd just said goodbye to Homelander, also came here. This time, he wore the God of War baseball cap he'd bought in M-City.
A figure moved swiftly from afar through the sky—Homelander, also returning to the tower. He circled silently around Vought Tower a few times, paused for a moment, then landed inside.
Homelander didn't realize that the superhuman he'd just fought was among the crowd below.
Besides Jordan, no one else knew about Homelander's arrival. People's attention was not on the heavens, but on the unfortunate victim.
Soon, Jordan also learned from the discussions around him about the tragedy that had just occurred at the foot of Vought Tower.
As he flexed his fingers, he found them getting a little itchy.
It seems those punches I gave Homelander before weren't enough. Next time we meet, I should unleash a full-on Ora.
Just then, a loud and forceful shout came from not far away, causing quite a commotion.
Jordan's gaze turned in that direction.
"What fucking terrorists!"
A muscular, hairy man in a black coat spat on the ground and sneered. "I guarantee it was those superpowered bastards who did it."
To his left, a thin, bespectacled boy looked at him with a determined gaze.
"Hey! I won't allow you to insult the Seven like that! They're superheroes who have saved the world countless times!"
Upon hearing this, the man in the black coat turned around, grabbed the boy's shoulder, and grinned with roguish menace—a sinister smile that could stop a child from crying.
"It's your business if you like following celebrities, but if you continue to stick to your views, be careful I'll twist your head off and stuff it up your ass, understand?"