Near Vought International, Alvin leisurely enjoyed his afternoon tea.
Vought International probably never would have imagined that the audacious criminal who had kidnapped The Invisible Man and sent them a threatening package was right under their noses.
Alvin wasn't worried. The package had been sent in a way that made it impossible for Vought International to trace its origin.
Besides, The Invisible Man was already dead, and his tracking chip had been thoroughly destroyed.
In these circumstances, unless someone at Vought International had a power related to "prophecy," there was no way they could find him.
"Heh. If nothing unexpected happens, Vought International will probably choose to keep this quiet."
Alvin looked toward Vought International's high-rise, more or less able to guess what they would do next.
The sudden appearance of someone who knew the secrets of Homelander's past meant there was a very real chance that something beyond their control might happen.
And since Homelander was Vought International's most important "asset," Vought would never allow anything to go wrong.
So Vought would first suspect the insiders who had been involved in the project back then. Then, to make sure Homelander didn't slip out of their control, they would inevitably place restrictions on him.
But the more they restricted him, the more they would provoke Homelander's rebellious streak.
Alvin had long prepared a second "surprise" for Vought International and Homelander, but it wasn't time yet.
"Excuse me, could I sit here?"
A voice spoke up. Alvin turned and saw a very young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, her hair tied in a ponytail and her clothes casual.
"I don't think anyone could turn down a beautiful woman like you," Alvin said with a charming smile.
"Thank you."
The woman blushed a little and shyly sat beside him.
There weren't many benches in the park, and the other spots were occupied by homeless people. Then she spotted the young man sitting alone on a bench.
He had a rare, delicate kind of beauty, with perfectly proportioned features and a face like a Greek sculpture. His deep brown eyes were especially striking, as if they held an ocean of tenderness.
"Hello, I'm Annie." The woman sneaked a glance at Alvin, then worked up the courage to introduce herself.
Annie?
Alvin paused for half a second and took another look at the woman beside him. "Are you Starlight?"
"You—you know me?" Starlight looked surprised. Her eyes brightened, and a hint of delight appeared on her face.
At this point, Starlight hadn't joined The Seven yet. Alvin reacted quickly and came up with a lie. "Of course. I watched your pageant. You were amazing!"
"Honestly, I wasn't. Lots of people are better than me." Starlight lowered her head shyly, her eyes furtively drifting toward the handsome young man. Her heart thumped wildly despite her best efforts.
"Please don't say that. You really are amazing."
Alvin switched personas in an instant, putting on the air of a fan. He took the young woman's hand, his gaze sincere and fervent. "I know you'll become one of The Seven!"
"R-really?"
With the handsome young man holding her hand, Starlight grew even shyer. Her earlobes turned pink, and her voice became as faint as a mosquito's. "Th-thank you. You're the first person to say something like that to me."
Of course, this approach wasn't something you could use on just anyone. The only person Alvin had to thank was his predecessor, for leaving him with such a handsome face.
"Getting to meet my idol up close is the real privilege."
Alvin held her soft little hand tightly and gazed at the already-flushed Starlight with eyes that could make even a dog feel adored. "Miss Starlight, I think God must have heard my prayers and brought me here to meet you. Today is absolutely my lucky day."
Starlight's head was spinning. Unlike other supes, who slept around, she'd been an innocent girl all her life, eagerly hoping for and dreaming about what love might feel like.
And today, the handsome young man she'd met by chance in the park made her feel as though love had finally come.
Watching Starlight sink into her fantasies of "love," Alvin's lips curled slightly. He silently thanked his predecessor once more for this handsome face.
He wasn't a simp, and he had no interest in Starlight.
His reason for pretending to be smitten was simple: later on, Starlight would join Vought International and become one of The Seven.
Besides, Starlight's powers weren't weak. Her durability, in particular, was first-rate—she could keep Black Noir from getting through her defenses for most of a day. Building a little rapport with her could only help with his plans.
"N-no, don't call me Starlight. You can call me Annie."
Starlight's face was bright red, like a flower just beginning to bloom. She was even starting to imagine how many children they might have someday.
This was crazy. Her heart had never beaten so fast, as if those tender eyes were going to pull her right in.
Starlight gazed at Alvin with affection and slowly closed her eyes.
Does she expect me to kiss her?
Alvin's eye twitched. He'd only wanted to get closer to her; he hadn't planned on offering himself up.
Fortunately, his phone rang at just the right moment, breaking the intimate atmosphere.
"Sorry, I have to take this."
Alvin glanced at the screen. It was Butcher, so he answered.
"We got what you wanted. When do we make the exchange?" Butcher got straight to the point.
"Good. Send me the address, and I'll head over in a bit."
Alvin nodded calmly. After hanging up, he looked at Starlight apologetically. "Sorry. Something came up."
"Um... will we still be able to see each other?" Starlight bit her lip. Her watery eyes held a hint of hope.
"Of course, Miss Starlight."
Keeping his tender gaze, Alvin wrote his phone number down and handed it to Starlight. "If anything ever happens, you can come to me. I'd be happy to be your most loyal listener and fan."
"G-goodbye, Alvin."
Starlight carefully took the number and waved. "I'll call you~"
Only after Alvin had disappeared from view did she suddenly realize something and lament, "Oh no, I forgot to ask his name!"
"This is the meaningful thing you were talking about?"
Marvin glared at Butcher, who was chewing on pizza. "You said we were investigating Compound V, so I agreed to come back. And this is what we're doing—spying on that damn Claw Woman?"
"My dear brother, don't get so worked up."
Butcher swallowed the last piece of pizza, licked his fingers, and gave a familiar grin. "According to my intel, Claw Woman is Locomotive's lover."
"So you want to watch them put on a show?" Frenchie didn't understand why they were watching Claw Woman either.
Butcher put it simply. "The reason's easy. She's got Compound V at home."
"Wait, stop arguing!" Hughie spotted their target leaving through the surveillance camera. "Claw Woman's going out. She's probably going to livestream a workout. We should have about an hour."
"Good. Hughie, stay here and keep watch."
Butcher rolled up his sleeves and stretched. "Marvin, Frenchie, come on."
The three of them dressed like maintenance workers and sauntered into the apartment building. Frenchie showed off his little skill, picking the lock with a piece of wire.
"We've only got an hour. Move faster!"
Butcher glanced around the apartment and called out, "Marvin, search the bedroom. Frenchie, search the bathroom and kitchen. I'll take the living room!"
Time was tight, and none of them wasted a word. They immediately got to searching.
"Found it!"
Marvin suddenly discovered something in the bedroom.
He came out holding a box of dark blue vials and looked at Butcher. "This should be the 'Compound V' you mentioned, right?"
Butcher glanced at the vials. "That's got to be it."
Just then!
Hughie's urgent, panicked shout suddenly came through their earpieces. "N-no, this is bad! Claw Woman's suddenly back! Get out of there!"
At that, all three men's faces changed. They looked at the apartment, which was a complete mess, and knew there was no time to clean up.
Are you kidding?!
If Claw Woman caught them, all three of them would die here!
"Move!"
Butcher hurriedly urged the other two to get out.
But the moment they opened the door, they ran right into Claw Woman at the stairwell.
The two sides stared at each other in stunned silence for several seconds. It was as if the air had frozen, filled with an eerie tension.
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