On the other side, the Deep shrank back, knowing very well who Homelander was referring to as "trash."
There used to be people who shared the blame, but now A-Train is dead...
He now missed that idiot who only knew how to consume calories all day long.
"I was in the bathroom... uh, no, I overheard some news that another new member seems to have been specially recruited by the board of directors."
As he spoke, Translucent revealed his true appearance: a greasy middle-aged man with his hair slicked back with gel. Because he could control his carbon skin to achieve complete optical invisibility, he would often strip naked and hide in certain corners to eavesdrop on intelligence.
Fortunately, he also possessed superhuman physical abilities, and his years of exhibitionism hadn't caused him any health problems.
"It's said that another newcomer possesses A-Train-level speed and uses a pair of high-tech pistols capable of releasing electric currents as weapons, which is also one of his selling points."
Hearing that the new member also had exclusive high-tech equipment, the Deep looked somewhat displeased.
"Why has the technical department never mentioned that such equipment exists? I feel that I could use similar weapons as well."
Aside from his advantages in water, his combat ability was arguably the weakest among the Seven.
Although the deadbeat A-Train wasn't good at fighting, he was still quite destructive when he ran.
In the United States, the vast majority of crimes tended to occur on land.
This made the Deep look like a nobody whenever he participated in team-based hero activities.
Even though his physical body was strong enough to withstand machine gun bullets.
"If you want to electrocute yourself in the sea, you can apply for it."
Translucent sneered.
Seeing that the Deep remained silent, he then turned to Homelander.
"Boss, that's all I know."
"They find a replacement for A-Train? I understand."
Despite saying that, Homelander still had some doubts.
Among the speedsters, besides A-Train who had consistently ranked first, the most competitive was Shockwave, a white hero whose speed could also reach the speed of sound.
As far as he knew, Shockwave hadn't made any statement recently. Given his personality, if he were to replace A-Train in the Seven, it would have been common knowledge by now.
Perhaps I could ask Madelyn...
Homelander's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, his mind filled with the image of Madelyn's warm, maternal embrace when he'd sought comfort yesterday.
Never mind. I won't bother her with such a trivial matter.
Anyway, he'd know the answer when the official press conference was held tomorrow.
"Alright, let's move on to the next agenda item."
Homelander made his decision, immediately stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and looked at his teammates with a highly aggressive expression.
"A-Train is dead, which means his share of the profits is temporarily vacant, as is the Lamplighter's share."
"Before the new members join, feel free to say anything you want to say."
"If it's a suitable suggestion, I will consider adopting it."
Upon hearing this, the eyes of all the heroes present lit up, including Black Noir, who straightened his posture slightly.
Aside from that man, no one could resist money.
Superheroes were no exception.
A discussion about profit division quickly began, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually became heated.
At this moment, only Queen Maeve, with her long chestnut hair, seemed a little indifferent.
After briefly expressing her opinion, she looked listlessly out the window at the sky.
It was as if the argument among the people at the meeting table had nothing to do with her.
Once upon a time, Maeve had also joined the Seven with a dream of becoming a hero.
Now, all those lofty heroic dreams had been worn down by the stench of money in reality.
Superheroes were just ordinary people who'd accidentally gained superpowers, and their personalities were even worse than those of ordinary people.
She'd long seen through this fact and was inevitably assimilated by it.
For her, being a superhero was just a respectable job.
To put it bluntly, it was just giving up.
Clock in, clock out. Decent income. That was all.
Starlight, with her golden curly hair and wearing a white and gold battle suit, stepped out of a luxury car sent by Vought Corporation with her mother, Donna.
Standing on the red carpet laid out in advance, the towering Vought Tower was right in front of her.
For Starlight, who'd been striving to enter this place since childhood, all of this seemed like a dream.
It had been drizzling just moments ago, but that didn't dampen the fans' enthusiasm.
As one of the lucky ones who'd stood out in the audition, Starlight had gained a large number of fans with her sweet girl-next-door appearance and strong personal abilities.
Even though she hadn't officially joined the Seven yet, her official support rate on the website had already surpassed that of the recently deceased A-Train.
It was well known that the fighting power of thirsty fans and hardcore supporters was always evident in fandoms.
The screams and flashes of light never stopped from the moment she appeared, plunging the girl from the Midwest into a state of great surprise and disbelief.
"Are they all here to greet me?"
Upon hearing the incredulous question from Starlight, Ashley, who'd been waiting for a long time, plastered a professional smile on her face.
"Of course, sweetheart! Never underestimate your charm!"
Ashley naturally had to treat this shining money tree seedling with utmost care and respect.
In fact, besides serving Vice President Madelyn, she was also the shared agent and assistant for the Seven.
The fact that she was willing to put aside her work and wait here for half a day was enough to show how much Vought valued newcomers.
Starlight felt a little embarrassed by what she said, turned around and hugged her mother, waving back at the fans' enthusiasm as she followed Ashley quickly toward the passage.
"Miss Ashley, I heard that two new heroes are joining the Seven today. Where is the other one? Has he arrived yet?"
Ashley smiled apologetically and spoke rapidly as they walked.
"No, darling. You're the only new hero attending today's press conference."
"But don't worry, Vice President Madelyn will warm up the crowd for you before you go on stage, and Vought has also sent a 'signature hero' to help you garner votes."
"So there's nothing to worry about. You just need to touch up your makeup and smile at them."
Starlight vaguely felt that this wasn't quite the hero's debut she'd imagined, but as a newcomer, what could she possibly argue against?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
