The Beginning

"Reports say A-Train wrote a letter formally announcing his retirement. He has not been heard from since."

"Shockwave, the newest member of The Seven, expressed regret and said he wished his predecessor had received a better send-off."

The news played on as usual. This change in the lineup was hardly a surprise.

A-Train had not just lost. He had lost badly.

Vought International had given him time to bow out with dignity, and somehow his farewell had even taken on a romantic air.

Elsewhere, his older brother received news that made his world collapse.

"He's dead?"

As A-Train's coach and the eldest son in the family, Nathan took the document with trembling hands.

"He injected too much of the drug. You know, the one that lets him run faster."

The man made no attempt to hide it. Nathan cared about his brother's reputation and was hardly going to tell anyone.

"Sign the confidentiality agreement, and we'll start the compensation process."

Precise and methodical, as though they had done this countless times before.

This time, it had simply been A-Train's turn.

"Are you serious? My brother really died because of that stuff?"

Nathan still could not believe it, but he took the document and signed his name.

He knew how powerful the people behind the man were. All he could do was go along with Vought International.

For all his brother's faults, A-Train had always had drive.

As his coach, Nathan had seen how hard he used to work.

The two brothers had won him the title of "The Fastest Man in the World" together.

But as time passed, A-Train had grown obsessed with women, money, and being in front of every camera he could find.

Not even his own brother could bring him back to his senses.

His training runs before the race had been lackluster, too.

That was why Nathan was so certain his brother had used underhanded means.

"We'll bring his remains over shortly, but the damage can't be repaired. For the children's sake, try not to let them see him..."

With that made clear, the Vought International lawyer gave a polite bow and left.

The man had been deferential throughout, yet the way he spoke had left Nathan no room to refuse.

Vought International had extended a hand to Nathan, and Nathan had to take it.

At least he would never have to worry about money again. He could live out the rest of his life in comfort.

"Are we sure we didn't kill the wrong person?"

Marvin still found it hard to accept.

He had seen the look on A-Train's face at the end and heard him sob, "Charlotte, I'm sorry."

"Trust me, the crimes he committed behind the scenes would add up to three or four hundred years in prison."

"When he was hurting people, he ignored their screams. Now that it's his turn, does a little sob story get him into heaven?"

Rorschach casually wiped down his gun barrel.

Marvin wisely fell silent.

After moving so many times in a row, they needed to lie low for a while.

With Rorschach sitting there in silence, no one on the team dared speak.

Then Kimiko quietly approached him and gave his sleeve a gentle tug.

"Frenchie?"

Rorschach was at a loss when she started signing again.

The girl's defensive reflexes had not eased yet. She had already crushed three smartphones.

Frenchie had recently been trying to get close to her, and she had dislocated his joints seven or eight times.

Once, she had nearly broken a bone.

Yet around Rorschach, she was as docile as a house cat.

"She's asking when she can see her brother," Frenchie said softly.

A-Train's death had been gruesome. He had smashed through a house three stories tall, leaving it in ruins before it collapsed on top of him.

They had watched from across the street until Vought International's reporters and camera crews arrived first.

In the end, Vought International had covered up A-Train's death and turned the public's attention toward Shockwave and Stormfront.

And toward the rising Starlight—she already had her own TV series.

"Before Butcher sees his wife. Probably next week."

The veins on Butcher's forehead nearly burst, but Rorschach's next words calmed him.

"Funny thing. In that old comic I found, Superman's powers were almost exactly like Homelander's, though they were portrayed much more dramatically."

"But he had a weakness. Was it a substance called Kryptonite, or a quality called kindness?"

"Does being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, really make you untouchable? I don't think so."

"Don't worry, Butcher. I'll help you get a weapon that can kill Homelander."

Butcher finally grinned, his face taking on its usual savage look.

"You'd better keep your word. And don't die before I do."

Butcher had not gone to the CIA. He knew that even if they found out, the most they would do was impose restrictions.

Samaritan's Embrace had delivered all those vaccines through customs and obstacle after obstacle, all the way to neonatal intensive care units.

It would be giving the US government far too little credit to think it knew nothing about it.

After all, on the National Defense Act, the government had kept Vought International firmly in check.

"How much longer do you think it'll take them to find me?"

Frenchie sounded deflated. He had left his comfortable hideout to go on the run with this lot.

Sure enough, he had barely appeared on surveillance footage once or twice before A-Train came after him.

If Rorschach and Kimiko had not been there, he was sure he would have died.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," Rorschach said without elaborating. With Wolf Girl nearby, three or five ordinary special forces soldiers would not even get close to Frenchie.

"You didn't call us here just to discuss the royalty split again, did you?"

Maeve sat down with an irritated look at Homelander's back, then glanced at the large box on the floor.

Black Noir remained silent, scribbling on a sheet of paper.

Starlight swallowed and struggled to keep her composure.

Shockwave looked utterly confused.

Stormfront lifted the lid. Inside lay a bloody corpse, soon to be delivered to Coach Nathan's home.

"His knees were broken, then he was injected with an overdose of Compound V. His heart couldn't take it. Those are the autopsy findings."

"Everyone, we need to stand together. Someone has declared war on us!"

Stormfront leaned against Homelander and smiled.

Except for Black Noir, the others were still staring in shock at the mangled corpse.

Even Translucent made his face visible again, revealing an expression of sheer horror.

"A... war?"

A startling possibility occurred to Starlight.