Vought International

The helicopter landed on a helipad, and Ryan stepped out.

A skyscraper rose into the clouds not far away.

Even among the city's many high-rises, this building stood apart like a tower.

Madelyn stepped out after him and noticed where he was looking.

"Welcome to the Seven's headquarters, the Seven Tower."

"The Seven Tower?"

"Vought International has hundreds of heroes working with law enforcement around the world. The seven best are gathered here."

"The seven with the best publicity are gathered here."

"You can know that. Just don't say it."

Madelyn shook her head and invited Ryan inside.

Ryan had no reason to hesitate. He glanced at his hand. The power he'd been born with gave him the confidence to go anywhere and the means to protect himself.

He wasn't afraid of any tricks Madelyn might pull, so he entered the building with her.

Before he went in, though, he looked at its gray-white walls.

Cities had mountains too.

Unlike the living, tree-covered mountains of the wilderness, a city's mountains were gray and white, its buildings rising in layers.

Cold and solemn.

Ryan followed Madelyn to an elevator, which carried them toward the top of the Seven Tower.

Inside, Madelyn told him about the Seven.

"The strongest member of the Seven, and the one you'll most need to keep in check, is Homelander."

"I've read his file. He has a great reputation."

"Reputation doesn't tell you everything. He can fly, so he'd never take an elevator like this one."

"Does he prefer the stairs?"

"Homelander likes to fly up the outside of the building."

"Whatever gets him there."

As he finished speaking, the elevator doors slid open onto a simply decorated corridor.

A relief of the Seven covered one side of the corridor.

The figures looked almost alive.

Reliefs seemed made to commemorate something. Just looking at this one gave Ryan a sense of honor.

He couldn't help studying it. Seven people were carved into the wall.

"Are those the seven who work here?"

"They're also Vought International's seven most famous heroes."

Madelyn answered Ryan and led him onward.

She knew he'd grown up in that little house behind the walls.

He was little different from a kid raised in the countryside.

What puzzled her was that, even after arriving in the city and coming to the top of this building, Ryan showed so little curiosity.

He was curious, of course. But Madelyn had spent half her life navigating crowds.

Keeping her thoughts off her face had become a habit. Without a flicker of expression, she brought Ryan to a door.

Madelyn opened it without knocking.

A spacious room lay beyond.

Windows filled an entire wall, every pane polished spotless.

Warm sunlight passed through the glass and fell quietly across the desk.

The desk was enormous and U-shaped, with seven places arranged around it.

Several people were seated there.

"Have you come to give me a bonus?"

A man in a blue jacket and spiky hair stood up to greet Madelyn.

His face appeared on sneaker billboards along the streets of New York.

A-Train.

The superhero A-Train.

Beaming, A-Train spoke to Madelyn. He had barely said two sentences when he saw Ryan come in behind her.

He could never forget.

The kid had nearly torn his guts out back then. Ryan looked like a teenager now, but the fear he'd inspired was seared into A-Train's mind.

The smile vanished from A-Train's face. He pointed a tense finger at Ryan.

"He... he..."

Madelyn paid no attention to his nerves and gave Ryan a brief introduction.

"This is your new teammate. It seems you already know each other, so I'll spare you the introductions."

"He's the one who did that to me back then."

Hearing Madelyn introduce Ryan by name, A-Train nearly exploded. He would never accept the person who had kicked him back then

joining the revered Seven and taking a seat at this desk, where it was an honor even to speak.

So he added,

"Besides, Madelyn, Homelander doesn't like you interfering with who joins the Seven. That's his business."

He meant that only superpowered people Homelander approved of could work beside him in this room.

What gave Ryan the right?

A-Train hadn't minced words. Madelyn had been about to scold Ryan for hurting him, but now she had lost the inclination.

"If Homelander isn't happy, he can come to me."

As their exchange grew heated, Ryan realized they'd forgotten about him. He didn't mind. He looked around the room with interest.

Then he picked a seat and sat down.

"Where's this Homelander you keep talking about?"

The voice A-Train could never forget made him whip around. Ryan sat there, looking perfectly calm.

"Homelander's away doing interviews. He won't be back for a few weeks."

"I see. Busy man."

Ryan looked at A-Train, whose expression changed remarkably fast.

First came gloating, then alarm, and finally a warning he couldn't hold back.

"Do you know whose seat you're in? Homelander will kill you."

"It's just a seat. Would he really?"

"Absolutely. If you're going to work here, the first thing you need to do is respect Homelander."

A-Train sounded utterly serious. Ryan remained unmoved.

"Not minding that he's sat here is respectful enough."

It was undoubtedly the best spot at the whole desk, close to the sunlight streaming through the windows. Ryan leaned back in the chair.

From there, he could look up and see the sun on the horizon.

Whatever happened, Ryan had no intention of giving up the seat.

Watching him lounge there, A-Train figured he simply didn't understand how terrifying Homelander was.

He turned to Madelyn, the person who had brought Ryan here.

His actual boss.

"Aren't you going to stop him?"

"No need. You two have fun and get to know each other. You'll be colleagues from now on."

With those empty pleasantries, Madelyn left the room.

A-Train was still stunned. Ryan had injured him back then.

It had taken him ages to recover and leave the hospital. Seeing Ryan brought that day rushing back.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He wanted to fight.

A-Train remembered that Ryan had caught him off guard last time. If he hadn't been injured, he might have kicked Ryan to death instead.

The thought made him eager to try.

But before he could move, someone else in the room acted first.

It was a man dressed in dark green, as though he were wearing fish scales.

The superhero, The Deep.