Do Your Best? No, You Must Fight for Your Life!

"Welcome everyone to Dodger's livestream."

"I'm your friendly neighbor, your good buddy, Dodger Wesson, always bringing you the inside scoop."

"It's been a while, and some of you said I've gone under."

"That's a rumor. I'm still in the fight, folks."

"I'm still pushing to uncover the truth for you!"

"Like this time—Homelander's been shoved into the spotlight again."

"Now even the National Security Agency can't look the other way. Yeah, what have the superheroes really given us all these years?"

"Are they actually protecting us?"

"Or is protecting us just a fun little game in their eyes, and they couldn't care less?"

"Otherwise, why would there be so many victims of superheroes?"

"From what I know, plenty of innocent people have been hurt, even killed, because of superheroes."

"I know one woman—she was saved by a hero, but when he rescued her, he never once considered how fragile a normal person's spine is."

"And so, sadly, she'll spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair."

"There are plenty more examples like that."

"And the number of these unlucky souls—people hurt or killed by superheroes—each year is horrifying."

"If you ask me, Vought should release that data. Superheroes should follow the law, and when they're playing their hero games, they need to think about us regular folks!"

In a room, Butcher took a drag of his cigarette, a smirk curling on his lips as he watched the Freelance Writer spit and rave in front of his phone camera.

"The livestream's viewer count is skyrocketing. Didn't think this guy had it in him."

Beside him, a small man fiddled with a computer.

Suddenly, a dumbbell slammed onto the table, nearly crushing his laptop.

The small man threw up his hands. "Damn it, Mammal, don't toss your crap around."

"Shut up, Frenchie, or do you want to throw down?"

A burly black man said, hands on his hips.

Frenchie flipped him off, then turned to Butcher. "But public opinion alone can't kill Homelander."

"And honestly, don't you think we should start with a smaller, weaker target?"

"Like an onion—we peel it layer by layer. Not this. Homelander's no onion; he's a cactus, and a big one at that."

"One wrong move, and we're full of needles."

Butcher turned around, eyeing his old partners. He'd spent plenty of time and breath getting these two pains in the ass to team up.

"Public opinion won't kill Homelander, but it'll drag him through the mud."

"He's in trouble now, and we're gonna throw more fuel on that fire."

"Whether it burns him to death doesn't matter. What matters is it draws his attention. Got it, morons?"

Mammal checked the time. "You'd better get to the point. I've got to pick up Jenny from school."

Frenchie whistled. "Wow, our Mr. Mammal's a good dad now."

Mammal grabbed him by the collar. "Say one more word, and I'll stuff you in a trash can."

"And yeah, I am a good father. Always have been."

Frenchie pressed a pistol into the black man's ribs from below. "Let go, or I'll feed you a bullet. Hope you like these hard little treats."

"I said enough, morons."

Butcher jerked his chin. "You two gonna keep bickering, or are you gonna tail a hot piece of ass for me?"

"Which piece?"

The Frenchman and the black man split apart.

Butcher snorted. "The Female. A-Train's woman."

"Maybe she knows why A-Train was tearing through the streets."

Mammal spread his hands. "A-Train's already dead. What's the point of investigating him now?"

"Don't know. You got a better idea?"

"Or do you two want to go pick a fight with Homelander yourself?"

Butcher pointed at the door. "If the answer's no, then do what I said."

*

*

*

Seven Tower.

Just after dealing with the reporters, Ashley, already overwhelmed, received another notice: Homelander was looking for her.

"Should I just quit?"

"I can't do this job anymore."

Despite the complaints, before stepping into the command hall, Ashley adjusted her mood in time, put on a smile, and walked in with full energy.

"Homelander, what can I do for you?"

Azu glanced lightly at this woman and smiled. "Miss Ashley, do we have a guy in the company who can shapeshift?"

"Transmuter?"

Ashley nodded. "There is such a person."

"Call him over. I have something to discuss with him."

Twenty-five minutes later, a sexy white woman with big wavy hair, blonde and blue-eyed, walked in.

"Good afternoon, Homelander."

Azu's eyes flickered faintly with golden light. "Show me your real form. Don't waste my time."

Seeing the complete lack of smile in Azu's eyes, the blonde beauty immediately shifted, turning into a greasy-faced, fat-headed man.

Only then did Azu curl his lips slightly, then turned around to face the city outside the floor-to-ceiling window. "I'd like to ask you for a favor."

The Transmuter was flattered. "It would be my honor to serve you."

Azu nodded. "Though I'm not a government official, common sense tells me that the Supreme Court accepting the Security Bureau's complaint so quickly and preparing a Hearing within three days..."

"That seems a bit unbelievable, as if someone's been pulling strings behind it all, greasing the wheels the whole way."

"I know you have ways to sneak into government departments, so I want you to find out who's behind this."

"Who wants me in prison that badly."

The Transmuter shuddered. This was no easy job—the waters here ran too deep, deep enough to drown him.

He couldn't help hesitating.

Azu didn't rush him either, hands clasped behind his back, as still as a stone statue.

Time ticked by, minute after minute. The Transmuter was drenched in sweat, and in the end, his fear of Azu crushed everything else.

He wiped his brow. "I'll do my best on this."

"No, no, no."

"Best isn't enough."

Azu turned around. A dark cloud seemed to drift in from nowhere, blocking the sunlight outside, dimming the command hall considerably.

In the Transmuter's eyes, Homelander became an overwhelmingly oppressive figure, and then that figure's eyes lit up with gold, as if hiding the sun inside them.

"You have to give it your all."

"Give it your all to dig up the truth. Understand?"

The Transmuter's teeth chattered slightly. "Understood, Homelander."