What Gives Ron the Right?

Unlike Starlight, who sat at the far end, Ron occupied the seat at the head of the right side of the inverted V-shaped conference table.

That had originally been Translucent's seat.

But now, Translucent was probably in a hospital, listening to a plastic surgeon recommend what kind of nose would best suit his face.

"Looks can affect a person's entire life. A chance to change his fate fell from the sky—I hope he holds on to it."

Ron leaned back in his chair, propping up his head as he looked out at the scenery, sighing inwardly.

His posture was casual, showing not the slightest respect for Homelander, the captain seated beside him. He wore a combat suit dominated by black and silver-gray.

Beneath the skintight suit, which looked as if it were made of carbon fiber, his full, solid pectorals, sharply defined abs, and nearly perfect physique seemed forged from steel. No one could doubt that every muscle contained explosive power.

Unlike everyone else's colorful, flashy suits that looked like stage costumes, his suit was solemn and imposing, making him seem more like a true superhero.

Starlight was slightly stunned. Ron today felt completely different from Ron in a suit yesterday. He had a far stronger masculine appeal. Although she had seen part of his muscles yesterday, it had not carried the same impact as seeing his complete physique.

Ron had designed the suit himself. It resembled the black suit Superman wore after his resurrection, only without a cape, making it cleaner and simpler. His method of flight was rather unusual, so a cape would only be a burden for now.

Instead of the S representing hope, there was something more like a pitch-black black hole surrounded by a ring of stars on his chest.

"Need me to introduce you?

"Starlight, this is the one joining the team with you... Oh, right, what was your name again?"

Homelander seemed as though he were kindly making introductions, but halfway through, he turned and asked.

His smile looked bright, though it carried a hint of insincerity.

He deeply disliked this teammate who had parachuted into the team, driven Deep away before even officially joining, and sent Translucent to the hospital.

The Seven had always been his territory, and he felt that his authority as captain had been challenged.

Silence!

The atmosphere in the conference room froze, and everything fell quiet in an instant.

Queen Maeve said nothing. A-Train trembled nervously, because Homelander was obviously in a bad mood.

No one wanted to provoke Homelander when he was in a bad mood, if they still wanted to sit here safely tomorrow.

"Ron."

Ron turned away from the scenery outside. Completely ignoring Homelander, he looked at Starlight and casually said,

"You can also call me by my codename, Dark Star, or Death Star."

A superhero inevitably needed a codename. He had picked one at random. He had no intention of seriously being a superhero anyway, and he would only be using it in this universe.

Left hanging where he stood, Homelander's smile gradually stiffened.

No one had ever humiliated him like this. Never!

"Thank you. Thank you for finally telling a girl you abandoned your name today."

Thinking of what had happened yesterday, and how he had treated her like that without even knowing her name, Starlight wanted to blurt out her anger.

But when she saw Homelander's frightening expression, she opened her mouth yet still could not say it. Letting out a breath, she gave Ron a meaningful look, telling him to look beside him.

Because the strongest superhero on Earth was staring at him, the coldness in his eyes enough to freeze and shatter steel.

But unfortunately, Ron seemed not to see it—or simply ignored her warning.

"Dark Star, a star that foretells death, a star in Ursa Major designated eighty, a celestial body representing death in astrology?

"That doesn't sound like a good omen."

Though fury burned in his heart, Homelander once again put on a smile. As he spoke, he walked behind Ron and placed both hands on his shoulders, as if offering friendly advice.

"How about changing it?"

With both hands on Ron's shoulders, all it would take was a light twist to snap someone's neck.

Maeve grew even more tense, afraid that the temperamental Homelander would suddenly act. The new member might be sent to the hospital—or simply to the graveyard—on his first day.

Black Noir, who was usually quiet and indifferent to everyone else, stopped the pen he had been doodling with. A-Train did not even dare breathe.

"The ill omen isn't for me. It's for my enemies."

Ron refused without the slightest politeness, his voice utterly calm.

"Is that so?

"Madelyn actually approved a name like that for you."

Homelander secretly prepared to exert force and teach this new teammate a lesson, starting by making him change that name.

He would show him that in this team, he ought to respect Homelander as he respected God.

"Why wouldn't she approve?

"I didn't see any sign that she objected."

As soon as the words fell, Maeve and the others wore strange expressions.

Why would she not object? Superheroes were practically products launched by Vought, and products could not decide their own names. Their names had to help attract fans and sell merchandise.

Even their "life experiences" were carefully designed promotional material.

How had Ron's codename been approved?

He had parachuted into the team, acted however he pleased, and the company had not stopped him. How had he received such special treatment?

"Enough small talk. The meeting is starting."

Temporarily giving up on establishing his authority through force, Homelander hesitated for several seconds before returning to his seat with a grim expression.

There had never been a situation like this before. Among the more than two hundred superheroes in the company, his status had always been the most exceptional.

If the vice president had not been Madelyn, whom he liked, then apart from the president, no one had held a higher status than him. He could do whatever he wanted.

But now, it seemed there was another person who could do the same.

He had thought the newcomer simply did not understand the rules, but now it seemed Ron did not need to understand them at all.

"Like me, as long as it doesn't involve fundamental interests, the company's rules will make way for him on their own."

But he was the strongest superhero on Earth. What gave this Ron the right?

Homelander secretly glanced at Ron beside him.

During the meeting, Ron did not listen to any of the so-called content.

Everyone took turns reporting their crime-fighting achievements for the week, all of which had been arranged in advance by Vought. It was purely a waste of time.

It was merely meaningless chatter, meant to keep them from immediately revealing their true faces and frightening the new members.

He looked at the panel before him.

Ability Points: 56,000

Recorded Template: Homelander. Price: 340,000.

Their brief physical contact had allowed the system to record Homelander's template.

"It is forty thousand less than Ryan's."

By purchasing a template, he could directly reach the level to which its owner had developed their abilities.

Ryan's template cost three hundred thousand points. The Ability Points were so high because the Homelander Physique he possessed as a child had tremendous potential and required time to grow and develop.

"Buying Homelander's template would let me reach the peak in one step."

It would save him twenty or thirty years.

But his current Ability Points were nowhere near enough to buy Homelander's template.

"Driving Deep away, injuring Translucent, and having a little 'friction' with Starlight only earned me a little over twenty thousand Ability Points."

Ron shook his head inwardly.

The three were not particularly strong, and changing their fates would not have much impact. The fact that they had added so many points was already because they were important plot characters.

He looked at Queen Maeve, who sat across from him.

"Queen Maeve, one of the few powerful heroes beneath Homelander."

"If I can make her fate completely unrecognizable, I should be able to get over a hundred thousand points."

Queen Maeve was a very important character in The Boys Universe, and her abilities were impressively well-rounded. She was comparable to Wonder Woman of the Justice League. Though she lacked a body full of divine artifacts, she was no worse in any other respect.

A speeding truck had crashed into her while she stood still, shattering on impact without moving her even slightly, demonstrating her astonishing strength.

And she had emerged completely unscathed. Her defense was far stronger than Wonder Woman's; Wonder Woman still needed her bracers to block bullets.

"And A-Train..."

After the meeting ended, he turned his gaze toward A-Train again.

"He should be worth tens of thousands of points too."

Among The Seven, aside from Homelander and Queen Maeve, A-Train was the strongest.

The fastest superhero on Earth, comparable to The Flash, though his speed was not even a fraction of The Flash's.

But that was mainly because the Speed Force was simply too overpowered.

Not long after the meeting ended.

Someone from the company approached Ron and cautiously asked whether he was willing to take part in a crime-fighting operation tomorrow night with Queen Maeve.

On the other side would be Starlight and Black Noir. It was an old-hand-with-newcomer joint operation, a promotional event for the two new members joining the team.

In Vought International's eyes, fighting crime meant an event that could be filmed from start to finish to promote popularity.

"Queen Maeve?

"Sure."