"Unfortunately, we just lost two of our most capable people."
With his hands behind his back and his trademark sunny smile on his face, Homelander slowly walked behind everyone seated at the conference table.
"But the good news is, we've replenished our ranks with fresh blood in time."
As he spoke, he placed both hands on Translucent's shoulders, frightening him into an instinctive shudder, but ultimately only gave them a gentle squeeze, as though showing concern for a subordinate.
"Translucent, how long has it been since you were as lively as you were today?"
"Ummm..."
Translucent gave a dry laugh and shrugged. He knew perfectly well that if the newcomer beat him up, Homelander would definitely laugh and applaud rather than step in to help his longtime teammate.
Before he could speak, Homelander left him and turned toward another corner of the long conference table.
"And you, Maeve. Where did all that passion go from back when you and I were together?"
"That was too long ago. I'm not young anymore."
Queen Maeve remained perfectly composed in the face of his teasing, merely smiling and shaking her head.
After teasing the two of them, Homelander, feeling respected, returned to his seat.
"Before today's meeting begins, I feel that, as captain, I need to give everyone here a reminder."
"The Deep's death is a very good example. If any of you still have any dirty business, you'd better clean it up yourselves in time."
As he spoke, a trace of coldness crept into his smile, and he sneered, "Do you know how many cities I flew to in a single day to clean up his mess?"
"I had to come up with a new speech every time. That's no easy job."
Seeing everyone sitting upright and silent under his imposing presence,