Homelander Complains

Chapter 10: Homelander Complains

The conference room.

The two of them entered one after the other, about thirty seconds apart, making it look as if they'd arrived separately.

The Seven were already seated.

The Deep spotted Lu Heng and immediately put on a smile. "Hey! Guardian! I watched your video online. That slap was really..."

He glanced at A-Train out of the corner of his eye and swallowed the rest of the sentence.

"...really impressive."

A-Train sat in the corner. The speedster recovered quickly, and there was hardly a mark left on his face.

But his guilty expression gave him away.

When Lu Heng walked in, A-Train's shoulders visibly hunched.

A reflex, plain and simple.

Maeve sat by the window, holding a mug. Lu Heng's superhuman sense of smell told him it was straight whiskey.

Whiskey at three in the afternoon. The queen's state of mind was certainly worrying.

Homelander was the last to enter. He took his seat at the head of the table.

The moment he sat down, everyone else instinctively breathed more slowly.

Black Noir noticed something odd about Homelander's suit, but he spaced out and silently urged the Donald Duck on the table not to say anything.

Queen Maeve and the other supes weren't fools. They could feel the tremors coming from outside.

The two of them had definitely clashed briefly. And since Lu Heng had still managed to walk in, things had gone just as the rumors said.

After that, Madelyn joined remotely by video and briefly introduced Lu Heng's position and duties.

Special Advisor on Superhuman Threats.

Independent of The Seven.

Responsible for dealing with high-level superhuman crimes.

In plain terms, he was a hound kept beside The Seven. Officially, he was there to guard the door, but everyone knew the dog could bite.

The meeting was nothing to write home about.

Business schedules, brand endorsements, and several staged crime-fighting scenarios they needed to complete.

Lu Heng listened quietly the whole time, taking note of everyone's demeanor.

The Deep had the lowest standing and seemed especially anxious and ingratiating. A-Train, meanwhile, looked tense.

He knew he'd caused a major mess. His actions had come to light, and even the big boss had been alerted.

Queen Maeve was the most checked out, wearing an expression that said she didn't care what happened.

Translucent was trying to look cool, the bastard, thinking nobody could see him.

As for Homelander—

He put on a flawless performance the whole time: friendly, funny, and authoritative.

But the fist beneath his glove had stayed clenched ever since he walked in.

Forty minutes later, the meeting ended.

The others filed out one by one.

Lu Heng got up and headed for the door. As he passed Maeve, she slowed her pace.

"How did your fight with him go? You don't look dead, or even hurt."

She didn't look at Lu Heng. Her tone was casual, as if she were talking to the air.

"More or less a draw. I couldn't do anything to him, and he couldn't do anything to me."

Queen Maeve took a sip of her drink. "Then you'd better watch out. Homelander isn't someone to trifle with. Don't make yourself a target."

With that, Queen Maeve walked off.

Was that woman actually trying to warn him out of goodwill?

[Key Character: Queen Maeve]

[Emotional Change: Indifferent → Slightly Favorable]

[Ability Points Gained: +876]

At the same time.

The seventy-second floor, Madelyn's office.

The door crashed open.

Homelander strode in, his expression dark and volatile. He could no longer maintain his trademark smile.

He slammed a fist onto Madelyn's desk. A crack split the solid wood down the middle. The coffee cup tipped over, spilling its pale, milky liquid across the desk.

Homelander glanced at it without thinking, then turned his attention back to her.

"You made another one!"

Madelyn stayed seated. She'd expected this.

"He isn't one of ours—"

"Shut up!" Homelander bent over, bracing both hands on the shattered desk and bringing his face close to Madelyn's.

"Bulletproof, super strong, can fly, and my Heat Vision couldn't punch through him... And you're telling me you didn't make him?"

"He definitely isn't in the Compound Five database. I already told you that."

"Then where the hell did he come from?"

"We're still investigating."

"Investigating?" Homelander laughed, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Do you know what he did to me in the hallway?"

Madelyn's expression shifted.

"He hit me hard! With one punch..."

Homelander slowly straightened and pulled open his cape, revealing a bruise and an unhealed streak of blood on his chest.

Madelyn's pupils contracted.

In all the time she'd known Homelander, she'd never seen him injured.

Not once!

"One punch!" Homelander held up a finger and wagged it in front of Madelyn. "Just one!"

The office fell silent.

Madelyn was terrified.

She feared Homelander might lose control and go on a rampage, and she was also shaken by Lu Heng's power.

The guy hadn't been bluffing!

He really could stand up to Homelander!

"So now you're going to tell me..." Homelander lowered his finger, his smile vanishing completely.

"What the hell is he?"

"Some kind of tool you made to keep me in check?"

"Or... a better replacement for me?"

As Homelander spoke those last words, a red glow flashed in his eyes.

His Heat Vision was ready to fire.

Madelyn didn't back down. Fighting her fear, she walked around the broken desk and went to Homelander.

She raised a hand and rested it against his chest, gently stroking the bruise with the tenderness of a mother soothing her own child.

"Listen to me."

Homelander's eyes dimmed, and his breathing grew heavy.

Madelyn didn't dare look up. If she'd met Homelander's eyes, she might have noticed a glimmer in them.

He looked just like a child afraid his mother would abandon him.

"You're not a replacement. No one can take your place in The Seven!"

"You're Homelander, the greatest hero in this country."

"Guardian is nothing. You're the god in the hearts of every American!"

Seeing that Homelander had calmed down, Madelyn let out a breath of relief and continued to reassure him.

"Edgar brought him in only to handle the PR crisis over the A-Train incident. He's just a pawn. Once we're done with him, we'll toss him aside!"

Homelander stared at her, looking aggrieved.

"But he hurt me!"

"It's only temporary!" Madelyn straightened his cape. "Once we figure out where he came from and find his weakness, everything will go back to normal!"

"You're still the strongest!"

"You always will be!"

Homelander let out a long breath, seeming to be gradually won over.

"You'd better hurry and get to the bottom of everything."

"If this guy really isn't one of yours, maybe some anti-Vought group sent him!"

"Edgar was too reckless. How could he put someone like this beside The Seven..."

Madelyn's expression changed. She reached out and covered Homelander's mouth.

Up close, Homelander could smell Madelyn's scent.

That warm, motherly fragrance.

It was intoxicating!

If he could, Homelander would lose himself in her gentle embrace forever.

"All right, someone might see us." Madelyn patted Homelander on the back.

Homelander reluctantly got to his feet. "So what am I supposed to do? Let him boss The Seven around?"

"Not quite. We won't let him get too involved. Guardian isn't trustworthy."

"In the meantime, keep an eye on him and report back to me whenever anything happens."

Homelander seemed to accept a great responsibility.

"No problem. With me around, he won't be able to stir up trouble!"

The door closed.

Madelyn stood where she was, her heart beginning to race.

One Homelander had been more than enough trouble. Now there were two damn supes to deal with!

Two!

She picked up the phone.

"Mr. Edgar... there's a situation."

"Guardian is far stronger than we estimated."

"Homelander's Heat Vision had no effect on him. In close combat, Guardian even left visible injuries on Homelander."

There was a long silence on the other end.

"Keep observing," Edgar said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Now that we've confirmed his strength, use a conciliatory approach. Don't try to escalate the conflict."

"Sir, Homelander has already—"

"I said, don't escalate the conflict."

"Let things stay as they are. Two predators wary of each other are safer than one predator with free rein."

The call ended.

Madelyn held the receiver, at a loss for words.

What right did they have to play one predator against another?

Besides, Guardian was nothing like Homelander. He wasn't the sort of supe they could control so easily.