Marathon and Supersonic

Ashley slapped a stack of documents onto the table.

"The Seven is down to only four members. A-Train, The Deep, and Translucent are all out. We need to fill at least three spots."

"Vought's shareholders have sent three emails asking for progress, and the advertisers are asking too."

"We need to choose replacements and get the roster back to full strength as soon as possible."

Homelander sat at the head of the table with one leg crossed over the other, idly flipping through the files.

They were all pathetic trash, not even as good as A-Train and the others.

Just looking at them made him tired.

The quality of supes really did get worse with every generation.

Starlight and Lu Heng sat together, and the atmosphere between them was rather harmonious.

They had already done it, so there was no need to be coy about it.

Annie felt they could work on their relationship later. There was no need to give him an answer right away.

It wasn't like they were getting married.

Ashley Barrett only needed a few glances to tell that something had happened between the two.

"Seventeen supes have submitted applications so far, but only two are worth discussing."

Ashley continued, turning on the projector.

Two photos appeared on the screen.

On the left was Marathon.

A B-tier hero under Vought. His ability was super speed, but his top speed was only Mach 1.5. He was a faded star with a commercial value of a few hundred thousand dollars.

Lu Heng knew this man.

Marathon—the speedster Homelander had personally kicked off the team because he was too slow.

He really was slow.

Homelander cruised at Mach 1.8 normally, could burst up to Mach 5, and could even break into hypersonic speeds at full throttle.

The system only gave baseline assessments.

But all supes had their own explosive limits.

Mr. Marathon's ceiling was locked there.

He had no potential worth cultivating.

"Who is the other one?" Homelander suppressed his displeasure and continued asking.

"Supersonic."

Ashley displayed the photo.

Supersonic was an A-tier hero under Vought. Handsome, with twenty-three million social media followers and enormous commercial value.

When Annie saw Supersonic's photo, her heartbeat wavered slightly.

I want to stab someone.

Homelander flipped through the file. "I think Supersonic is pretty good. He's got the looks, audiences like him, and he can bring The Seven plenty of attention."

"As for this trash Marathon... he can't even run as fast as I walk. What's the point of keeping him?"

Ashley nodded and made a note on her tablet.

"Guardian, what do you think?" Homelander subconsciously sought Lu Heng's opinion.

He did not know why he had done that.

Maybe he had gotten used to it.

Starlight wanted to say something, but she did not dare disobey Homelander's orders.

Lu Heng tapped the table with his fingers. "Ashley, pull up Supersonic's detailed file."

"Detailed file? Isn't the one on the projector enough?"

"I want the internal file. Vought's security department definitely has a completely different version."

Ashley froze for a moment, then immediately began searching.

Homelander waved a hand indifferently.

Ashley tapped her tablet a few times and found Supersonic's internal file.

She now had authorization to access most superhuman files.

Lu Heng took the tablet and glanced at it. Just as expected...

"Supersonic, real name Alex."

"In March 2012, Vought Security received a report that Supersonic used illegal drugs at a private party. Public relations buried the matter."

"In July 2013, he was reported again for using illegal drugs at a party, while also being involved in..."

Lu Heng paused and looked at the wording.

"Improper conduct involving group sexual activities."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Group sexual activities... wasn't that just an orgy?

Lu Heng set the tablet down.

"Drugs, orgies—doesn't that remind you of two people?"

"We just kicked A-Train out, and now we're bringing in another guy rotten to the core?"

"If another scandal comes out later, heh heh!"

Homelander immediately straightened up.

"Right, that's exactly it."

Lu Heng said, "No matter how good Ashley's PR skills are, she can't keep doing damage control forever, can she?"

"Then Marathon?" Homelander frowned.

"He's way too slow. By the time he starts running, I'd already fly a lap around Manhattan, go home, and sleep."

Homelander was exaggerating a little, but his point was sound.

Lu Heng, however, saw it differently. "Marathon is just decoration. The Seven only needs a speedster. Whether he's one Mach faster or slower doesn't matter."

"His advantage isn't his speed. It's that his record is clean. He usually just likes making little movies and rarely causes trouble."

"Bringing in a disposable tool who won't blow up in our faces is the best choice."

Homelander thought it over and found it very reasonable.

"Fine. Marathon it is."

He trusted Lu Heng's judgment more and more now.

"What about the second spot?"

"Is there anyone suitable among the remaining fifteen?"

Ashley shook her head.

"If we want a supe without any dirt, there are still a few left, but none of their powers are particularly impressive."

"Then recruit from Godolkin University again. Students have to be cleaner than people out in society, right?"

Lu Heng's logic had always been simple and blunt.

Besides, Godolkin University had produced members of The Seven before.

Their character just had not been very good.

"That works. Guardian, want to make another trip?" Homelander asked.

Lu Heng nodded.

He had been worrying about how to find an excuse to inspect Godolkin University and farm some ability points.

Cate and Jordan had already called him several times.

The others gradually filed out.

Homelander stood up and gave Lu Heng several very friendly gestures.

"Not bad, not bad, Guardian. You're becoming more and more suited for this job!"

He even pretended to be close and punched Lu Heng lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm just carrying out my justice."

Homelander spread his arms.

"So are we. Justice needs everyone to protect it together—that's why you're called Guardian!"

"It's just that I'm called Homelander... you know, the one who protects a nation... the meaning of my name is more specific..."

"Of course, I'm not saying yours is bad... it's just..."

Lu Heng waved a hand and cut him off.

"You're a symbol of America. Your name carries great historical meaning. I still have a long way to go."

One sentence ended Homelander's competitive streak.

Homelander's personality was immature, like a child.

A little praise, and he would start handing out rewards.

"Did you reject Supersonic because of me?" Starlight moved closer after the conference room had emptied.

"Of course. This is nothing. I have a hundred ways to deal with him and make his orgy a huge scandal, so everyone knows what a scumbag he is," Lu Heng said.

Starlight said awkwardly, "N-No... you don't have to go that far, do you?"

"It's not too far. Not even close."

Not using the Viltrumite Hand Chop on him had already been merciful.

"Then... it's time to take care of serious business."

Lu Heng moved closer, and panic appeared on Starlight's face.

"Are you crazy? This is Vought's conference room. There are surveil—"

"After The Deep's video was exposed, I had the surveillance in the conference room removed..."

"Even so—"

Annie did not even get the rest of her words out.