"Ryan, this is the Seven's private living area, with the lounge and the preparation area."
"Except for your father's room, all the other members of the Seven live here."
On the 99th floor, Ashley walked alongside him, introducing everything as they went.
Homelander had gone off somewhere. Ryan had been waiting so long that he was getting bored, so he decided to look around. He needed to get familiar with the place he'd be living in the future.
Besides, it would be nice to make a few new friends.
Of all the members of the Seven, the one he liked best was Queen Maeve.
At this point, well... Homie had already bullied her pretty badly, but she probably hadn't completely turned against him yet. She was still torn.
"Up ahead is the common area..."
Giant portraits in neat rows, each in a gold frame, covered both walls of the corridor. They captured every superhero at the height of their glory.
A few workers were busy in front of one of the portraits.
Ashley noticed him stop to look and immediately explained, "That's A-Train's portrait. He's no longer a member of the Seven, so it has to come down."
She pointed to another empty spot on the wall, her tone as casual as if she were discussing something trivial.
"This Gallery of Glory only displays current members. Once someone is out, whether they've been released from their contract or expelled, every image of them is removed immediately."
"And this one is The Deep's."
Ryan looked over the portraits on the wall one by one.
Aside from A-Train's portrait being taken down and The Deep's spot already empty, the only portraits left were those of Homelander, Queen Maeve, Starlight, Black Noir, and Stormfront.
There weren't many of them.
Once he got rid of Stormfront, only four would be left.
And of those four, Black Noir could be killed by his dad at any moment. The only question was when his grandpa would make his comeback.
Save him?
He couldn't. Ryan didn't think he could save Black Noir.
After all, aside from Homelander, he had no influence whatsoever over that old popsicle who'd been experimented on for decades and woke up with revenge as his sole purpose.
He'd leave that headache for tomorrow.
Ryan made conversation for the sake of it and casually asked, "Ashley, why did A-Train leave the team?"
"Because..."
Ashley stammered.
Just then, a voice came from behind them. "Because your father, Homelander, kicked him out."
"Starlight?"
Ashley frowned slightly and reflexively retorted, "A-Train left the team for health reasons. And Starlight, weren't you supposed to be filming today?"
The superhero who appeared behind them was none other than the evil...
Ryan flashed her a bright, enthusiastic smile. "Hey, Starlight. I've seen your debut performance. Your song was really good. I liked it a lot."
"Stormfront's gone, Maeve's gone, and the production's been put on hold."
Starlight answered Ashley as she walked over, then turned to Ryan and spoke gently. "Thanks. I really enjoyed your interview show too."
She paused, as if she still had more to say, then added, "You did something most people couldn't. That was amazing, Ryan!"
"Was that... when I apologized to that mother?"
Starlight hesitated, then smiled and nodded. "That's right. Whether it's you or me, when we make a mistake, we have to be brave enough to admit it. That's impressive. Remember to keep it up, okay?"
"Okay!"
Ryan responded with an enthusiastic nod.
He smiled brightly at Starlight, while secretly thinking to himself.
Starlight seemed to be working undercover at the moment. Oh, right. She must already be Hughie's girlfriend too. Otherwise, setting her up with Homie would've been a great idea.
Too bad she was already taken.
And she'd been through it all, so she'd be harder to fool.
Hmph. No matter who ended up being his stepmom, he absolutely couldn't let Stormfront take the position.
Ryan was already plotting to put another leash on Homelander, one called love. When he came back to himself, Starlight had quietly walked away.
He wondered how his mother, Becca, was doing now.
He waved goodbye to Starlight's retreating figure, thinking that he could learn how Becca was doing through her.
Besides, Starlight would definitely pass along news about how he was doing over here. He could use that.
"Let's keep looking around, Ashley. What's that over there?"
"Oh, right. That's the Combat Training Room, but there's usually no one in there..."
"Bang! Bang!"
"Switch! One more round!"
Ashley's introduction was interrupted once again. The sounds were coming from the Combat Training Room they were approaching.
Ryan hurried forward and eagerly peered inside from the doorway.
The spacious, austere training room was brightly lit, every inch of the fighting arena clearly visible.
In the center of the room, on a modified boxing ring, Queen Maeve was battling several superhumans with enhanced bodies. Her curves were graceful, but every move was deadly.
They were fighting fiercely.
Their terrifying battle cries, the blood that occasionally sprayed through the air, and the sweat splattering onto the ring all spoke to how seriously they were taking this training session.
Boom!
Suddenly, Ryan felt the ground tremble.
Queen Maeve's punch, thrown into empty air, smashed straight through the ring. Several sparring partners turned pale and hurried out of it.
Once he was down, one of them asked in a low voice, "Maeve, did you almost lose control again?"
"Yeah."
Queen Maeve spotted the little figure at the door and waved to the sparring partners. "That's enough for today."
"You there. Yes, you, kid. Come here."
Ryan was still thinking about how to strike up a conversation and get to know her when Queen Maeve had already called him over.
The first thing Maeve said when they met was a blunt criticism. "Ryan, you're too weak. You need to train!"
?
Ryan was full of questions. He timidly replied, "Uh... I'm only eight."
Maeve acted as if she hadn't heard him, simply pressing on with her point. "You're different. You have to become strong."
"I watched your interview yesterday."
Yes, everyone did. I know.
Ryan thought, That was one of the reasons I went on the show: to let you see a little hope in this rotten world.
But, Queen Maeve, isn't this happening a bit fast?
I haven't even tried to fool you... no, I mean, I haven't even shown you my charming personality yet. How are you already this receptive?
"But why do I need to be strong?"
He kept playing along.
Maeve replied with a double meaning, "Because you're Homelander's son, Ryan!"
"Ha ha ha..."
Suddenly, that pleasant laughter rang out from the doorway again.
But the person who walked in to the sound of that cheerful laughter was Homelander, whose thoughts were even more unsettled and whose heart was even more uneasy.
As soon as he entered, he said, "Maeve, I admit your fighting skills are impressive."
"But?" Maeve tilted her head slightly.
Homelander patted Ryan on the shoulder, then pulled him close and replied, "But just as you said, Ryan is Homelander's son."
"He inherited my bloodline..."
But he won't inherit my madness!
"He's destined to be strong, just like me..."
But deep down, he's nothing like me!
Before you continue