Translucent

The superhero known as Translucent was stark naked.

Ryan chatted with him for a bit and found that he was not actually a bad person.

At least, he was different from The Deep and A-Train.

Translucent bore him no ill will.

Since arriving at the Seven Tower, Ryan had not met a single completely normal superhero.

It was easy to see.

For some reason, The Deep had an inferiority complex. Whenever he met someone, he wanted to put them down, and the best way to do that

was to make them swallow their pride.

Ryan recalled an old saying from back home: making someone kneel and sing in submission was one way to feel good about yourself.

In the conference room, Ryan shifted his gaze to A-Train.

That superhero was indifferent to everything beyond himself. He cared about his reputation and his results.

He was crazy enough to risk everything for them.

Then Ryan looked at Translucent.

None of the people here were saints, and this man was certainly no exception.

Sure enough, what Translucent said next made Ryan wish he had stopped listening.

"Do you know the best thing about being invisible?"

Translucent spoke with a smug look on his face.

Ryan kept a straight face and motioned for him to go on.

Then he heard it.

"Peeping."

Translucent made the perverse declaration with undisguised pride.

Ryan, naturally, did not agree.

"That's the kind of thing that gets you punched."

"It's the thrill of knowing I'd get beaten up if I were caught that makes it irresistible."

"You use invisibility to peep on people, and you call yourself a superhero?"

"Yes. A hero is someone who benefits the public. I've spied on criminals making shady deals and stopped them."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Exactly."

Translucent nodded as if Ryan had proved his point, then kept talking.

"I've watched girls bathe, and joined them."

"?"

"I've watched people take a shit. It really stinks."

"Enough. Shut up."

"I've watched people pull the oxygen tubes from their elderly parents. Despicable people."

"True."

By then, Ryan had learned enough about Translucent's peculiar tastes. He waved for him to stop.

But Translucent kept chattering away in the conference room, recounting one peeping incident after another.

His face twisted with excitement.

The pervert was clearly enjoying himself.

Ryan decided the man was beyond saving. He got up and put his feet to work.

Still sitting in his chair, Translucent noticed Ryan approaching.

The young man laid a hand on his shoulder with a gentle touch.

Even his voice sounded kindly.

"Didn't I tell you peeping causes people trouble?"

"..."

By the time Translucent sensed something was wrong, it was too late. A force he could not resist hurled him to the floor.

A foot struck him in the face.

Then in the chest.

Then in the stomach. The merciless kicks began to cave his body in.

Each blow produced the sound of hard objects colliding.

Ryan frowned. Kicking Translucent did not feel good; the man was remarkably hard.

Puzzled, Ryan looked back and saw The Deep and A-Train watching him.

Their stares grated on him, and Ryan was in no mood to be polite.

"Jealous? Want a couple of kicks too?"

"No, no, no."

The Deep hurriedly waved both hands. He sat back down and stole a glance at Translucent beneath Ryan's feet.

It looked grim. A few more kicks, and The Seven would become The Six.

A-Train did not wave his hands. He ran over to Ryan and helpfully explained Translucent's powers.

"He might look like his power is invisibility, but what he's proudest of is how tough his body is."

"How so?"

Ryan kept kicking as he asked, curiosity in his eyes.

A-Train did not hold back. He told Ryan exactly what Translucent relied on.

"His Carbon Skin can turn into Diamond. Even if you fired a Sniper Rifle at him from close range, the bullet would just bounce off his skin."

"Another tough guy, huh."

"At this rate, you're going to kick that tough guy to death."

At that reminder, Ryan finally looked down at Translucent's chest, where he had taken the worst of the kicks.

It had caved in completely. Broken bones had probably pierced his organs, and red liquid was trickling from his lips.

Translucent himself lay unconscious, eyes shut tight.

Ryan had not expected him to be so easy to kick apart. He withdrew his foot, disappointed.

"A-Train."

"I'm here."

"Carry him to the Infirmary."

"I carried The Deep last time, too."

"You're fast. Do you expect me to carry him?"

"No, no. I've actually been meaning to practice running with weights."

Seeing the look in Ryan's eyes, A-Train broke into a cold sweat. His hairs stood on end, and he hurriedly scooped Translucent off the floor.

He vanished from the conference room.

The room fell quiet again.

With nothing else to do, Ryan decided to go back to his room and play games.

But as he was leaving, The Deep caught up with him.

"There's a meeting for The Seven the morning after tomorrow. Are you coming?"

"Am I already one of The Seven?"

"If you want to be, you are."

Ryan did not refuse. He said he would stop by if he had time.

He parted ways with The Deep, went back to his room to play games, and visited the Video Store that evening to watch Billy bully Hughie.

And just like that, the day was over.

The next day, Starlight arrived at the Seven Tower to report for duty. Ryan and the other superheroes met the newcomer.

None of them knew her well, so they exchanged a few pleasantries and fell silent.

Starlight was Annie.

At the Seven Tower, the superheroes generally addressed one another by their hero names.

When she saw Ryan, the only person she knew in an unfamiliar place, she could not help going over to chat.

But Ryan did not have much to say to her, either.

In the end, all they managed was small talk.

"Good morning."

That was Starlight's opening line.

"Yeah. Morning."

Ryan's reply was so brief it barely counted as one.

An awkward silence followed.

Starlight was the one who changed the subject.

"What did you have for breakfast?"

"Eggs."

"What are you planning to have for lunch?"

"Eggs."

"Want to get dinner together?"

"Can you stop bothering me?"

Ryan gave Starlight a speechless look and walked away.

Another day passed.

In the morning, Ryan pushed open the conference room door and found quite a few people seated around the table.

Even superheroes had meetings at the Seven Tower.

Apart from Homelander, who had not returned from another state, and one other female superhero, almost everyone was there.

That included Translucent. Wrapped in bandages, he looked at Ryan with an expression that pleaded, Please don't kick me again.

Ryan was not a rough person. He was kindhearted and could not bear the sight of Translucent looking ready to fall apart.

So he told Translucent to turn invisible. Out of sight, out of mind.

When an invisible person spoke, it sounded as though the voice came from thin air. That was how Translucent sounded now.

He answered plaintively.

"All right."

Only an apparently empty chair remained, its depressed cushion the sole sign that someone was sitting there.

Morning Glow streamed through the glass into the conference room. Ryan wasted no time taking the seat at the center.

The superheroes' meeting officially began.

Despite the atmosphere, Ryan interlaced his fingers on the table.

His grave expression made it seem as though he was about to announce something momentous.

"I hear drinking too much hot water can burn your Esophagus."

"..."

"..."

Sitting closest to Ryan, The Deep did not dare tell him he was wrong. He merely watched Ryan with his beady eyes.

Then he nodded as though he had learned something.

Only then did Ryan signal for The Deep to speak.

After all, he had no idea what these superheroes were supposed to discuss at their meetings.

Prompted to speak, The Deep picked up the conversation.

"First item: Lamplighter's retirement from The Seven."

"Lamplighter?"

Ryan tapped the conference table, asking him to explain.

The Deep chose his words and began laying out the details.

"Lamplighter used to be their teammate, and he's a superhero too. Now that he's retiring, we naturally have to announce it to the media. Then we'll stand before the cameras and give a grand speech about how much we'll miss him."

"Will you miss him?"

"Lamplighter? I barely know him."

The Deep had explained it clearly, and Ryan understood what they needed to discuss.

Lamplighter's retirement was also why they had recruited a new hero and brought in Starlight.

The new replaced the old, whether in Kabukicho or among the celebrated members of The Seven.

There was no difference.

Ryan said little after that. He listened as the heroes finished discussing someone else's retirement.

Then they moved on to the second item.

The Deep explained that one as well.

"Second, we talk about the good deeds superheroes have done."

"Good deeds?"

Ryan asked outright.

The answer was simple enough. The Deep gave a few examples.

"On the smaller end, how many criminals we've taken down. On the bigger end, how many times we've saved the world. We're superheroes, so we need to discuss whether our actions have made the world a better place."

"Have they?"

"Making the world a better place isn't something heroes like us can do by playing pretend. Instead of worrying about that, we'd be better off deciding what to have for lunch."

In the end, The Deep admitted that everyone at the table was a commercial hero. None of them was driven to work toward a brighter tomorrow for the world.

They were just lucky people with a few superpowers, living ordinary lives while the public showered them with attention.

But the discussion still had to continue.

The Deep picked up the document in front of him on the conference table and began reading out what he had done.

"I, The Deep, protected the safety of the ocean. Earlier, I found some people fishing offshore without permission, so I tied their boat to a whale. The salty sea breeze blew, and the waves surged all along the way. Unfortunately, when I got back to shore, I discovered the boat had capsized at some point, and the people had fled. That was my mistake. Next time, I'll throw them straight into the whale's mouth."

With that, The Deep looked toward the next superhero. He was a reserved man, even when talking about how he had stopped the unauthorized anglers.

Not a trace of pride showed on his face.

For a superhero, fighting evil was only natural.

Next, A-Train picked up the script on the conference table.