The Comedic Performers

Just as Hughie was wallowing in his sorrow, the door was roughly pushed open. The Deep, sporting stubble and a ridiculously tight costume, strode into the shop. Perhaps it was a sixth sense between unfortunate souls, but he had indeed found Hughie.

"The Deep..."

Hughie's heart pounded as he looked at The Deep suddenly entering the store. He felt like a naughty child caught by the teacher right after pulling a prank—nervous, scared, and a little... excited?!

"Listen, tell me what this thing is! Or you'll regret it!"

The Deep pulled a circular listening device from his palm and placed it on Hughie's desk, threatening him in a manner he'd seen on TV from FBI agents interrogating criminals.

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

Hughie shook his head, pretending ignorance.

"Hey, stop playing dumb!"

"I saw you put this thing in the Superhero Seven's hall with my own eyes! Do you think I'm blind?!"

The Deep spoke off the cuff. Honestly, he hadn't seen Hughie plant the device in the Superhero Seven's office. In fact, he wasn't even at Vought Tower when Hughie arrived; he was seeing a therapist.

"You've got the wrong guy."

Hughie shook his head, insisting The Deep was mistaken.

"You're forcing me. You're forcing me to use violence. I didn't want this, you forced me."

The Deep pointed a finger at Hughie's nose, unsure if he was threatening Hughie or hypnotizing himself.

"Hey, buddy! Look over here."

Just as The Deep was relentlessly threatening Hughie, a voice sounded from behind him.

"Huh?"

The Deep turned his head in confusion.

A fist the size of a sandbag came flying at him.

"Bang!"

With a single punch, The Deep lay on the ground, clutching his nose in agony.

"My nose, you broke my nose!"

Tears welled up in The Deep's eyes. He just wanted to ask why the guy planted a listening device in the Superhero Seven's office. He just... he just wanted to protect the dolphins. Was that so wrong?!

"Zzzzt!"

Billy Butcher, having returned, pulled a taser from his pocket. Holding the taser, Billy Butcher pressed it against The Deep's body.

"Ugh..."

Electrocuted by the taser, The Deep's body convulsed. He then lay motionless on the ground, like a beached fish.

"WTF?! You knocked out a Superhero?!"

"First, allow me to correct you, it wasn't me, it was us!"

"Second, he can only talk to fish, he's not really a Superhero!"

"Now, help me put him in the trunk. I have some questions for him."

Billy Butcher wiped the sweat from his brow and said to Hughie.

"What? Why should I help you? Don't you need me anymore?"

Hughie was still a bit angry.

"Of course, you don't have to help me, but remember one thing: the guy lying on the ground right now has seen your face, but he didn't see mine. Guess who he'll come looking for when he wakes up?"

Billy Butcher frowned and said to Hughie in a low voice.

"F*ck!"

Hughie looked at the mess on the floor and pressed his head in frustration.

A few minutes later, Hughie tidied up the store a bit and, along with Billy Butcher, they drove away with The Deep.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Baltimore, who had severely extorted Starlight using information about Compound V, forcing her to agree to a partnership for $230 million instead of the originally quoted $300 million, was now flying in a private jet with his family through a sky filled with dark clouds.

After a bout of turbulence, the mayor's son, who was happily looking at his signed Homelander poster, suddenly looked out the window.

Outside, a man clad in the American flag was flying through the air.

"Dad, look! It's Homelander! Are you friends with him?!"

The mayor's son, a boy of seven or eight, shouted excitedly.

"Hmm? What's he doing out there?"

The battle-hardened mayor sensed something unusual and pulled his son close.

"Zzzzt..."

Just as the mayor was wondering, Homelander's eyes began to glow red.

"WTF?"

The mayor stared at Homelander, whose eyes were shining, and hugged his son, slumping onto the airplane floor.

The next second, two red beams flashed across the sky, slicing the flying plane in half.

Homelander stood still in the air, arms crossed, and in the next moment, without even looking at the plane he had rushed, he flew towards the Vought Family Tower.

A few minutes later...

A white figure, holding two people, one large and one small, flew out of the sea. It wasn't until they reached the land closest to the sea that the figure put them down.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

"F*ck! This is murder! You Vought are committing murder!"

The mayor of Baltimore pointed at the white figure who had rescued him and roared.

"Listen to me! I just saved you and your brat from that damn seawater. You would have been dead without me."

The white figure, hearing this, grabbed Steve by the neck and lifted him high.

"Are you f*cking calm now?"

The white figure roared at Steve.

"Mhm! Mhm! Mhm!"

Steve felt like he couldn't breathe and nodded continuously.

"Very good."

The white figure looked at Steve's reaction with satisfaction and put him down in front of him.

"Listen! Remember everything you saw today. Don't make a sound when you get back, and continue the cooperation with the Vought Family as usual. Be careful not to alert the enemy. However, you can secretly post all negative news about Homelander online. As for today's events, wait for my signal, and then we'll get revenge all at once and completely destroy Homelander, who treated you like a drowning dog. Remember, your enemies are only Homelander and the Vought executives behind him. Understand?!"

The white figure yelled, pointing a finger at Steve's neck.

"I, I understand."

Steve nodded repeatedly. Now that he had calmed down, he felt a surge of fear, but his mind was filled with thoughts of revenge. Although he might not be able to destroy the Vought Family, Homelander, who had nearly killed him, had to pay the price. As for the new top star of the Vought Family who had just saved him, as long as they had common interests and enemies, they could be "good friends." In the adult world, the word "friend" is very cheap. What makes someone a friend? It only depends on whether they can bring enough benefits.

"Very good..."

The white figure nodded slightly, then turned around, seemingly about to leave.

"Wait..."

Just as Steve was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the white figure suddenly turned back and went to Steve's child.

"Wh-what are you going to do?"

Steve shielded his child and looked cautiously at the white figure.

"F*ck! Why are you still holding that idiot's poster?"

The white figure cursed, took Homelander's signed poster from Steve's child, and tore it to shreds in front of the child.

"Remember, when you were helpless, it wasn't Homelander, wearing that ridiculous cape, who saved you, but me, Free Man. Take this home, frame it, and pray to it whenever you can. It's more effective than praying to God."

The white figure, still muttering curses, took out his own poster from a waterproof bag he was carrying, signed it, and stuffed it into Steve's child's hand.

"Boom!"

This time, the white figure finally flew into the sky amidst a roar and did not return.

"Dad, can I frame this?"

After the white figure flew away, little Steve, holding the poster with stars in his eyes, excitedly asked big Steve.

For a seven or eight-year-old child, he wasn't scared at all. Instead, he was unusually excited, as if being attacked by Homelander and then rescued by Free Man was the most boast-worthy topic he could bring up at school.

"Sh*t!"

Steve looked at himself, who had been reduced to a drowning dog, and was furious. He didn't consider himself a good person, and now that the drowning dog was ashore, some people were going to be unlucky.

At least, from the fact that Free Man had immediately rescued them after Homelander attacked them, it showed that the Vought Family was not a monolithic entity. As long as the enemy was not invincible, he was confident that he could completely bring them down.

He, Steve, the mayor of Baltimore, was not someone to be trifled with...

The next morning, the news reported that Steve's family had been attacked, and that Steve and his child had miraculously been rescued.

"WTF?!"

Looking at the morning news, Homelander's face turned ashen. While he was panicking, he decided to eliminate Steve as a potential threat.

"Homelander!"

Just as Homelander's face turned pale and he was about to go find trouble with Steve, Starlight entered the conference room of the Seven and called out to him.

"I know I messed up, Starlight, but don't worry, I'll take care of it cleanly very soon."

Homelander looked at Starlight, his expression grim, and kept assuring her.

"What are you talking about?! You did a great job!"

Starlight raised an eyebrow at Homelander's words.

"Hmm?"

Homelander looked confused, not understanding what Starlight meant.

"Steve just called me. He said he's really grateful for your help yesterday, so not only does he plan to sign the Prince of Nubia, he also wants to make you their city's ambassador for five hundred million. You don't have to do anything, just lend them your most handsome photo and you'll earn five hundred million! Five hundred million a year! F*ck, I've never seen such expensive photos, and I'm this big."

Starlight walked up to Homelander, kissing him on the left cheek then the right, and said, "After finishing, she didn't wait for Homelander's reply. She turned around and walked forward excitedly. When she reached the entrance of the Super Hero Seven's hall, she didn't forget to stop and turn back to look at Homelander behind her."

"Well done! You've really done a great job this time! Homelander, I'm proud of you!"

Starlight looked at Homelander, praising him constantly. The gloom she felt from losing seventy million dollars after being threatened by Steve with Compound V was completely swept away by the five hundred million dollars that fell from the sky. She was now nothing but excited. After repeating her praise to Homelander several times, she finally turned around excitedly and left with a cheerful stride.

"WTF!?"

Finally, the flustered Starlight left Homelander alone and bewildered in the Super Hero Seven's conference room.

"..."

Jupiter, who was quietly making coffee in the conference room, lowered his head and smiled without speaking. He couldn't wait to see the moment everything turned around, and Homelander's furious face.

Meanwhile, in a dark basement.

"Save me?! Who will save me?! Free Man? Homelander? Where are you? I'm so scared, there are demons everywhere! Devils! And the wretched, terrifying, cruel dolphin-killers from Huodao! I'm so scared, I, I, I F*ck their whole families!"

Deep Sea, who had interrupted his mission to save dolphins in Huodao, was locked in the basement, his mouth open, cursing incessantly. He felt like he had been forgotten by the world. It was too hard for him. Now, it wasn't just about saving dolphins; the person who was supposed to save them desperately needed to be saved.

"Will locking him up here be enough?"

"Of course!"

"This guy is only formidable at the aquarium. Outside of that, he's worse than an ordinary person."

"Honestly, I've never understood why he joined the Super Hero Seven. Wouldn't it be better to be an animal trainer at a zoo or aquarium?"

Outside the cage, three burly men chatted while looking at Deep Sea.

"So, what are we going to do with him?"

Hughie looked at Billy Butcher beside him and Frenchie, who had just been tricked by Billy Butcher, and asked.

"That depends on whether he's willing to cooperate with us."

"As long as he agrees to be our mole in the Super Hero Seven, we'll let him go immediately. Really. If you can't stand it, you can go persuade him. You can walk up to the cage and say, 'Hey, little Deep Sea, as long as you swear to work for us, we won't detonate the bomb placed inside your a**.'"

Billy Butcher smiled as he watched Deep Sea struggle in pain. They had done a great job today, actually capturing a member of the Super Hero Seven.

And if nothing unexpected happened, they would soon have a mole who could move freely within Vought and possess complete authority. Then, he would be able to investigate the Vought Family thoroughly, and his wife's matter...

That seemingly upright, but actually damned hypocrite, Homelander, would definitely pay the price for this! A terrible price!

"Hmm?"

Jupiter, having finished his coffee, looked at the coffee in his cup and was slightly stunned.

"Did I forget someone?"

Jupiter raised an eyebrow and fell into thought. After a few seconds, he slowly stretched. Forget it. Things he didn't remember were usually unimportant.