Open for Business, Superheroes

The next day, The Seven's conference room.

Today was a rare occasion where all surviving members were gathered in one place.

Due to a series of unavoidable incidents involving Vought International and Homelander, the members hadn't been able to sit together like this and happily discuss their beloved careers for a long time.

Vaguely, they remembered the last time...

That was back when they were united to save their home—the Vought International Compound V scandal leak—chasing down a cunning criminal, which had somehow ended with them following Homelander into a sewer, just watching the drama unfold...

No, that wasn't it!

It was that time their beloved, heroic leader, Homelander, stepped up to protect everyone from evil forces, only to be buried under bricks and rubble by the enemy.

It was also after that incident that A-Train left the team for unknown reasons.

So, what was it this time?

Starlight asked her good friend Maeve with her eyes.

The Queen gave her a "the person is broken, do not disturb" look before continuing to lean back in her chair, physically and mentally exhausted.

"Excellent, everyone is here."

At the head of the long conference table, bathed in sunlight, Homelander rose elegantly.

His posture was both noble and flamboyant; every movement was filled with infinite charismatic appeal, naturally drawing all focus to himself.

"Everyone here is my family—Maeve, Black Noir, Starlight..."

When he reached Stormfront, his tone faltered, carrying a hint of reluctance: "And Stormfront, you have always known one thing."

"That is, I never hide anything from you, so yes, I have a son."

"Oh~ oh~ oh!"

Azu's signature rhythmic laughter rang out, accompanied by him pointing his finger at each person in turn: "I have to say, guys, sometimes I'm jealous of you."

?

Jealous of us!

Something is terribly wrong, Level One alert!

Except for Black Noir, whose expression was impossible to read behind his mask, everyone else was practically dizzy from Homelander's circular logic.

They couldn't help but start feeling anxious.

What kind of madness was he going to pull now?

But soon, Azu provided his reasoning: "My son, Ryan, while learning about my heroic life, has told me many times—'Dad, you have a great group of friends, I like them!'"

At this point, Azu pressed his hands onto the table, and with a joyful expression, a warning gaze, and words full of irony, he continued:

"Ryan likes you, and I believe you will like him too. You will provide him with the most sincere attitude, the best advice, and enough confidence to confirm this movie script the company has tailored for him."

"Right, everyone?"

Making a movie? For your son?

Scared me to death, is that all it is!

Maeve nodded, still not saying a word.

Stormfront, knowing full well the private calculations behind this film, also nodded in silence.

Black Noir... skip him. Ever since Starlight joined The Seven, she had never heard him say a single word; she even suspected he was a mute.

"Starlight?"

"Yes, Homelander. I mean... um, no problem. I've met Ryan, he's very cute, and I will help him make the right choices."

"Very good! Ashley..."

Outside the conference room door, Ashley responded with a grimace and walked in.

As soon as she entered, the first thing she did was actively admit her fault and offer a sincere apology: "I'm sorry, sir, I—I know this meeting is very important, I shouldn't have brought her up, but..."

Azu frowned slightly, tilting his head, waiting for an explanation.

Then, there was no need for Ashley to explain, because two crows had already flown in through the door ahead of her.

"Caw! Caw—"

Following closely behind them came a series of excited, high-energy, boastful commentary: "Family! Did you see that! A historic moment, I bet you've never seen The Seven's..."

"What? Who said A-Train was interviewed here?"

"When did that happen? Forget it, that's not important. At this very moment, I announce that I have stepped into the exclusive conference room of The Seven, bringing you an exclusive live stream across the entire web, a close-up experience of the superheroes..."

"Mitchell, they're all looking at you."

Ryan's voice rang out from behind the Countess of Crows, cutting through her incessant, oblivious excitement.

"Ah!"

Mitchell let out a startled cry, only to immediately realize that every gaze in the room had already converged upon her.

Her two little darlings, Cameron and Russell, were also huddled on the floor, shivering and not daring to flap even a hint of a breeze.

"Uh, uh... I..."

Ryan was very considerate. "It's okay. Dad already agreed to your livestream; I just didn't have the chance to tell him yet."

After saying this, Ryan paid her no more mind and turned to face the long conference table.

His gaze first locked with his loving father's.

Then, he put on a shy expression and explained, "Dad, I found out yesterday that I was going to film a movie with you, and I was so happy that I went to find Mitchell to share my excitement."

"And then..."

He paused, giving Azu time to process this.

Ryan then made a long face. "I, I think I caused trouble again. Everyone already knows about this, and they're a bit impatient to confirm the news."

At this moment, the Countess of Crows had already smoothly shifted the camera toward the superheroes.

In an instant, just as the camera began to move and before it had even found its focus, the superheroes behind the long conference table all seemed to share a telepathic connection, instantly changing their demeanor.

The postures that had been lax, indifferent, and stiff just a moment ago were, without exception, adjusted in the blink of an eye.

Their spines straightened instinctively, and their faces were all plastered with identical, proper, and warm smiles.

Even Black Noir, whose face gave nothing away, quietly struck a pose.

Azu, who had a stronger desire for performance and cared more about his public image, even went out of his way to give the audience a thumbs-up.

Only after the camera finally stopped and captured their heroic figures did he speak slowly: "You did the right thing, son."

He affirmed first, then skillfully switched into his public persona: "The original intention behind us filming this movie is to inspire everyone, to let people be as resilient, face adversity, and never back down just like you!"

"Mm!"

Ryan felt encouraged and puffed out his chest.

He looked back at Azu with pride and fervor: "I'll remember that, Dad. Never back down!"

"It's just..."

"What is it?"

"I have some other thoughts regarding the plot of this movie. I discussed them a little with 'them,' and now I don't know if it's righ—ah, sorry."

Ryan left a cliffhanger there, not directly telling Azu that he wanted to change the script.

Remember, never say "NO" to Homelander's face.

Often, when facing resistance, one should know how to take a turn and use a little finesse to maneuver around it.

Therefore, Ryan decisively cut the topic short and turned to look at the other superheroes.

"Dad, shouldn't I get to know them first?"