Death of Translucent

Steve sat aboard a private plane bound for Baltimore, waiting for Madelyn to call him back.

Madelyn could not ignore his threat. The truth about Compound V would not only ruin the superheroes' reputations; it would bring Vought International crashing down with them. By comparison, the money it would lose on a cheaper contract was insignificant.

His phone rang.

Steve picked it up. Sure enough, it was Madelyn.

"Miss Madelyn, I never expected you to call," Steve said with feigned surprise.

He had been waiting for this call and had known she would make it. He only said that to make her uncomfortable.

Madelyn's earlier posturing had failed to make Steve yield. By calling him now, she had plainly lost the upper hand. A hint of embarrassment crept into her voice. "Steve, I've thought it over carefully. I'm willing to lower Tank-Top Master's price to two hundred and thirty million dollars a year."

"That's a reasonable price. I'm sure we'll enjoy working together over the next three years," Steve replied without hesitation.

There was no answer. A busy signal sounded from the phone.

Apparently, Madelyn could not even be bothered with a polite closing. She had simply hung up.

Steve smiled. Whatever had happened along the way, he had won this negotiation.

The final price of two hundred and thirty million dollars a year meant both sides had given a little ground. Refusing to budge any further would have been foolish.

Vought International held an extraordinary position throughout the Federation, with influence in business and politics that no one could ignore. As the mere mayor of Baltimore, he did not dare challenge it openly.

Getting even a small concession out of Vought International was already quite an achievement.

Steve looked at his son beside him. The boy was studying the postcard of Homelander in his hands.

He clearly loved the little gift Madelyn had given him.

Every child dreamed of being a superhero.

The plane suddenly began to shake.

Steve patted his son's shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. It's probably just turbulence. It'll pass soon."

Boy nodded.

Then he looked out the window.

A Blond Man in a blue bodysuit hovered on the other side of the glass, smiling and waving at him.

He looked exactly like Homelander on the postcard.

Excitement and disbelief spread across Boy's face.

He nudged Steve, who had been about to close his eyes and rest.

"Dad, look!" Boy pointed outside.

Steve looked out. Homelander was flying high above the ground, keeping pace with the speeding plane.

Steve was stunned.

What was Homelander doing here?

Homelander turned toward him. A dazzling red glow filled his eyes.

Terror seized Steve. He grabbed his son and cried, "Don't—"

Before he could finish, two laser beams shot from Homelander's eyes and carved a huge gash through the fuselage.

The plane instantly lost its balance and plummeted toward the ground.

Early the next morning, Madelyn sat in her office watching a live television report on the Baltimore mayor's plane crash.

The Deep, a member of The Seven, appeared on screen.

He was soaked through, his face full of grief.

"I'm sorry to tell you that I've found the wreckage of the Baltimore mayor's private plane. It's at the bottom of Hudson Canyon, about two miles down. There were no survivors, and I haven't found the black box yet. The crash may have been caused by engine failure, but I'm still investigating the exact cause..."

Madelyn turned off the television.

Homelander walked in carrying a silver metal briefcase.

"Have you heard about the Baltimore mayor?" Madelyn asked without preamble.

"Yeah. His plane went down. I heard it was engine failure or something," Homelander said.

He set the briefcase on the floor and paced around the office, pretending to be calm.

"It's unbelievable. I only saw him yesterday, and now this has happened." Madelyn put on a regretful expression.

"All the more reason to appreciate the present, right? You never know whether tomorrow or disaster will come first." Homelander spread his hands.

"That's true." Madelyn nodded and walked toward him. "I want to share something interesting with you. The Deep called me about it just now. I'm the only person he told."

Madelyn stopped in front of Homelander and looked him straight in the eye.

Homelander's gaze darted away. He realized she might already know something and instinctively tried to avoid her scrutiny.

"The Deep told me he found two burn marks piercing the fuselage of the crashed plane. The strange thing is, they're almost perfectly parallel, and the gap between them is about as wide as the distance between a person's eyes."

With a hint that obvious, Homelander had no reason to keep pretending.

"Say what you mean." Homelander straightened his chest.

He looked at Madelyn with the air of someone who was saying, I did it, but I'm not apologizing.

There was no blame in Madelyn's eyes. Instead, she spoke with the gentle concern one might show a child. "You need to understand that you represent Vought International. Even when something upsets you, there are things you shouldn't do yourself."

Homelander frowned. "Madelyn, I saw and heard everything through the wall. He was threatening you."

His voice was utterly firm. "I won't let anyone threaten you. Anyone who goes against you deserves to die."

"I know you wanted to protect me." Madelyn reached out and gently stroked Homelander's face, as though doting on a swaddled baby.

"But I don't need your protection. It should be the other way around. You should remain pure and sacred, like God. I'll have someone else do all the unpleasant things for you."

As Homelander felt her gentle touch, his emotions slowly settled.

Madelyn soothed him for a while, then returned to the chair behind her desk. Once more, she was the cool, aloof executive.

"Now, tell me what you came to see me about."

Homelander picked up the silver briefcase and placed it on her desk.

"Do you know where Translucent went? He's been missing for days," Homelander said.

Translucent disappearing without explanation was nothing unusual. His ability to turn invisible made it easy for him to indulge in all kinds of disgraceful behavior.

Translucent often spent days and nights in women's bathhouses and liked to hide in the company restrooms to spy on people. His shameless use of his Psychic Powers left even Queen Maeve and Starlight unable to guard against him. Madelyn often had headaches over it too.

So although Translucent had not been seen for several days, Madelyn had paid it little attention.

Who knew what sordid place he was hiding in this time?

But the fact that Homelander had brought him up made his disappearance unusual.

Madelyn looked at the silver briefcase on her desk. A possibility occurred to her, but she quickly dismissed it.

Translucent's skin was harder than Diamond. His Psychic Powers were of little use in a fight, but when it came to defense, few Espers could match him.

Even Homelander probably could not hurt him easily.

When Madelyn said nothing, Homelander put a hand on the briefcase.

"As it happens, one of The Deep's dolphin friends found this case on the bottom of a harbor. The Deep gave it to me."

Homelander paused.

The Deep again. He certainly seemed to know about everything.

"I'm not sure you'll want to see what's inside, but you should brace yourself."

Homelander slowly opened the briefcase. It was filled with bloody severed limbs and mangled organs.

Madelyn's face went pale, and she let out a cry.

"Is this... Translucent?!"

A stark line had been spray-painted in black on the inside of the lid.

[You are the next.]