Dark Currents Rising

New York, in the Sheriff's office at Federal Police Headquarters.

Sheriff Carl put down the phone and looked at the woman before her. "Sorry, ma'am, I can't get in touch with Miss Ashley from The Seven."

"Something may have held her up. I'll try again later."

The attractive woman said, "But I've already been waiting for days, Sheriff."

"Now, a Superhero has gone missing."

"And twenty-four hours after he disappeared, I began seeking police assistance."

"But I didn't get to see you until today."

"And now you want me to go home and wait. Maybe while I'm waiting, Blue Hawk will be murdered!"

Sheriff Carl rubbed her face. "First of all, Superheroes don't die that easily."

"Besides, Superheroes all fall under Seven Tower and Vought. You should have gone directly to Seven Tower."

The woman said irritably, "Here we go again."

"The local police told me only Police Headquarters could handle this matter."

"Now you're kicking responsibility over to Seven Tower."

"If I go to Seven Tower, will they tell me that if someone goes missing, I need to find the police?"

"Ha, is this how you treat taxpayers?"

Sheriff Carl said with a headache, "Fine, fine, fine. Let me think of something."

"How about this? I'll call Seven Tower's Public Relations Department. They might be able to provide some assistance."

The Sheriff picked up the phone again. A moment later, she said happily, "There's progress, ma'am."

"The Public Relations Department said they would contact the Criminal Analysis Department."

"Every Superhero registered with Vought has a tracker on them, making location and rescue easier."

"I'm sure we'll have news of Mr. Blue Hawk soon."

Only then did the woman nod. "I hope so."

Seven Tower, eighty-eighth floor.

Edgar watched Homelander's dazzling smile on the television as he spoke.

"Yes."

"From this second onward."

"The Seven will conduct no rescues and no activities."

Edgar took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

Then there was a knock at the door, followed by a sweet voice. "Mr. Edgar, you have a visitor."

"It's Mr. David, who made an appointment with you earlier."

A moment later, a man in a white lab coat entered the office. He wore glasses, had a brownish-yellow beard, and fat cheeks.

He eagerly placed a suitcase on Edgar's desk.

"There's progress, Mr. Edgar."

"I've made a sample, and the experimental results are fairly good."

The fat man opened the suitcase. Inside was only a test tube filled with a golden liquid resembling orange juice.

Edgar looked at the thing. "What is it?"

"It's what we discussed before, something that can suppress the Superpower Factor."

"I haven't officially named it yet. Hmm, how about calling it 'Davy Particles'?"

Edgar picked up the test tube. "How is it used? By injection?"

David shook his head. "No, no. Homelander has a body like steel. If it were administered by injection, I don't think there's a needle in the world capable of piercing his skin."

"So from the beginning, I designed it to spread through the air."

"These particles are highly volatile. Once exposed to the air, they will spread throughout the surrounding area in seconds."

"Oh?"

Edgar suddenly smashed the test tube against the floor. With a crack, it shattered, and the liquid inside immediately spilled out.

But just as David had said, it evaporated rapidly and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

While the fat man was still bewildered, she suddenly saw a naked figure appear in the corner.

Edgar turned around and smiled. "Hello, Translucent."

Then she said to the fat man, "It seems your Davy Particles work quite well."

The fat man hurriedly said, "No, no, no. It's still in the experimental stage. It can only suppress the Superpower Factor for anywhere from one to three minutes."

Looking at Translucent, whose form had appeared, Edgar narrowed his eyes. "One minute is already enough to do a great many things."

"Don't you think so, Translucent?"

"This is absolutely insane!"

"What is this supposed to mean? Is Homelander expressing dissatisfaction with the Security Bureau?"

"Or is he throwing a childish tantrum?"

"Could our Guardian be an immature overgrown baby?"

"Otherwise, why would he openly declare a strike after the Supreme Court demanded that he attend a hearing?"

"Colonel Yuri, as a soldier, what is your opinion on this matter?"

On the television, the camera shifted, and an officer appeared on the screen.

Seeing this, Senator Hope, thick around the waist and holding a wineglass, smiled at the tall, thin, pale man beside him, whose brown hair was tied into a braid behind his head.

"It seems attending the hearing really angered our Homelander."

"Look, he couldn't wait to come out and strike back."

"But he doesn't know that this retaliation will only put him in an even worse position."

"Whether he attends the hearing or not, Vought will have nothing to do with this year's Department of Defense Arms Procurement Project."

"Congratulations, Mr. Arnold."

"With Vought left out in the cold, the Department of Defense can only deal with your Olga Company."

The braided man smiled. "This is all thanks to Senator Hope. Without your efforts, the Security Bureau would never have filed charges with the Federal Court."

The Senator laughed heartily, then said darkly, "That damned Homelander didn't care in the slightest whether I lived or died when I was taken hostage last time."

"From that moment on, I knew he was no Guardian at all!"

"He only cares about playing his hero games!"

"Someone like him should be locked in a prison built specifically for him, not allowed to fly around wherever he pleases!"

The man called Arnold smiled. "I agree."

The Senator frowned again. "However, I heard that your company previously went so far as to give Battle Armor to certain criminals in order to collect the necessary data."

"If this matter isn't handled properly, the Department of Defense likely won't cooperate with you. Even I could face impeachment."

Arnold looked stunned. "Giving Battle Armor to certain criminals?"

"Something like that happened?"

"Why do I know absolutely nothing about it?"

He immediately took out his phone and made a call.

Then he smiled at the Senator. "It's been cleared up."

"It turns out it was one of our engineers, Mr. Jeff."

"Without my consent, he sold Battle Armor to criminals."

"We have already fired this engineer and reported him to the police. I believe he will soon face legal punishment."

The Senator froze for a moment, then understood. He burst into laughter and gave Arnold a thumbs-up.

"You're ruthless indeed, Mr. Arnold."

"Come, here's to a happy partnership."

"To a happy partnership!"

The two wineglasses clinked softly.