Hughie and Butcher came up empty at the support group. No decent leads at all.
Frenchie, on the other hand, remembered a guy named Mesmer. The supe had a nasty little gift: he could read your thoughts just by touching you.
From what Frenchie heard, Mesmer was supposed to pop up at a hero signing event in about a week. This one had nothing to do with Vought. It was a pathetic little gathering thrown together by a bunch of washed-up supes trying to scrape by signing autographs and snapping photos with their dying fanbase for pocket change.
Back in the day, before Vought sunk its claws in him, Mesmer helped the NYPD crack a ton of cases and shot to fame fast. But the second they realized he could read minds, Vought came calling.
The offer they dangled was pure poison candy. They promised to turn him into the next A-Train: fame, money, all the pussy he could handle. Mesmer caved and signed the contract.
At first it was heaven. The skyrocketing popularity hit like crack. Thousands of people screaming his name, worshipping him. Addictive as hell. But after a while he noticed Vought slowly erasing him. Gigs went from every two weeks to every two months, then every six months, until they straight-up buried him in storage.
A supe's shelf life is short, especially when fresher meat keeps showing up.
Pretty soon the public forgot Mesmer even existed.
He tried to quit Vought, but they slapped him with a breach fee so massive it made his balls shrivel. One look at the number and he shut his mouth. He couldn't pay that even if he sold his own asshole.
Later, Vought used his power for insider trading on Wall Street. Once they'd milked him dry and stacked their cash, they tossed him aside like a used condom. His name got dragged through the mud, multiple hedge funds sued the shit out of him, his wife divorced him, and he lost custody of his kids.
...
The next afternoon.
The All-Star promo event opened on schedule at New York Plaza.
Madeline had thrown the whole thing together to wash away the stink left by the plane crash.
Homelander went on first. Gone was the usual cocky swagger. Instead he played the charming golden boy, smiling like sunshine the whole time. He waved at the crowd and even shook hands with a guy down in the front row.
"Homelander! Homelander!" the guy screamed, pumping his fist like a maniac. The rest of the crowd jumped right in, roaring his name.
Homelander's smile got even brighter. He stepped up to the mic. "Welcome, everyone, to the All-Star promo! I'm your headliner today. So fucking glad you're here!"
Being this close to their idol drove the fans insane. They answered with pure noise.
"I've been asking myself, why do supes even exist?" Homelander said. "Then I look at all of you and it hits me. This is why. Keep believing in me. My job is to protect America. Supes exist to keep regular people safe!"
Madeline, watching on the monitor, gave a satisfied nod. It was rare as hell for Homelander to actually stick to the script she gave him. Looked like the plane crash had finally knocked some sense into the prick.
Then Starlight took the stage and Madeline's face froze solid.
Starlight straight-up dropped the bomb: right after she joined Vought, she'd been sexually harassed. The whole crowd went dead silent for a second, jaws on the floor.
When the tears started rolling down her cheeks, the place exploded. The audience in the square and everyone watching online lost their fucking minds.
"Starlight! Tell us his name!"
"Was it A-Train? Or Black Noir?"
"Don't tell me it was Homelander!"
The crowd was foaming at the mouth, dying to know which supe had stuck his dick where it didn't belong.
Ashley, who had planned every second of this event, stood there with her face completely blank, all her careful scripting blown to shit. In front of her screen, Madeline looked ready to burst into flames. If looks could kill through a monitor, Starlight would've been a smoking pile of ash.
Meanwhile, back in the green room, The Deep let out a long, shaky breath of relief.
He still couldn't forget what Homelander had hissed at him a few days earlier while walking past.
"Congrats. Looks like your numbers are about to pass mine. Maybe I should hand over the team leader spot to you, huh?"
The second those words left Homelander's mouth, The Deep felt ice crawl up his spine. That was why, when Ivan came to him with the plan, he'd practically kissed the Frenchman's feet in gratitude.
"Starlight showing the balls to talk about that disgusting shit she went through? That takes real courage. Respect," Homelander said calmly as he stepped up beside her, acting like her bombshell didn't surprise him at all.
He put on a serious face and gave her shoulder a firm pat. "I had no idea something like this was happening inside The Seven. I take some responsibility for that. Go on, say his name. I've got your back. Homelander will always stand with you."
His little speech earned him a fresh wave of cheers from the crowd.
A lot of people started wondering if the plane crash really was his fault after all. No hard proof had ever come out pinning him as the guy behind it.
"Thank you," Starlight said, glancing at his profile. Then she added, "I'm sorry. He just got some success recently. I don't want to ruin that."
She turned and walked straight off the stage.
Boom. Starlight's words hit like a fucking nuke.
Everyone started guessing who the sick bastard was. The story blew up overnight and became the hottest topic online for the next two or three days straight.
After that, Vought International's stock, which had been creeping up, started sliding back down.
The shareholders wanted Madeline's head on a plate. So, naturally, Ashley got thrown under the bus as the scapegoat.
...
A few days later the scandal was still raging.
Just like Ivan predicted, Starlight's brave act won her support from over ten million women. She got named the new face of the Women's Protection League and even helped Vought slow down the bleeding on their stock price.
Vought Tower. Vice President's office.
Madeline sat there grinding her teeth, trying to figure out who the hell to put in charge of Talent and Public Relations.
Her original plan was to let Ashley hide out for a while, wait for the storm to pass, then quietly slide her back in with some bullshit excuse.
But a few of the major shareholders flipped the script and started putting serious pressure on her. They wanted a new department head named yesterday so shit like this wouldn't happen again with nobody in position to handle it.
___
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69