Optical invisibility only worked on his own body. Nothing attached to it could be concealed.
Clothes, bloodstains, dust, and rain could all instantly outline his invisible form, completely exposing his position.
In other words, he had to be naked to become perfectly invisible.
The corner of Solomon's mouth twitched. He was thoroughly disgusted.
He could never indulge in Translucent's perverse behavior, wandering around naked all day and even peeping in women's restrooms, without any limits or shame.
But he had to admit that this was the easiest and safest superpower for him to obtain at this stage.
The world of The Boys had all sorts of superpowers and no shortage of powerful figures, but every metahuman of any renown had formidable abilities and complicated connections. He had no way to make a move against them.
He had also tried asking around about the city's orphanage for superpowered children, which housed large numbers of metahumans injected with Compound V in childhood. Once inside, he could harvest a variety of powerful abilities.
But the orphanage was highly secretive. With neither power nor influence, contacts nor connections, he could not even find its exact location, and even if he did, he would have no way to sneak in.
But now, everything had changed.
With optical invisibility, once he found the orphanage's coordinates, he could slip inside unnoticed and easily harvest at least ten superpowers, achieving a qualitative transformation!
At that thought, Solomon deactivated his ability, and his figure slowly appeared in the back seat.
Just then, the door beside the car was flung open, and Butcher, Hughie, and Frenchie came out one after another.
Solomon did not get out. He leaned quietly against the seat and watched coldly as Butcher went through the familiar motions of screwing over his old teammate.
Frenchie stepped forward and opened the trunk. At first, the sight of its empty interior left him looking somewhat bewildered.
Only when Butcher pressed Solomon's high-voltage stun baton against Translucent, producing a shrill electrical crackle and a cry of pain, did Frenchie's pupils abruptly constrict and his whole body tense.
"Fuck! Translucent?! Translucent from The Seven is in your trunk?!"
Frenchie flew into a rage, drew a revolver, and jammed its muzzle against Butcher's chin, radiating murderous intent.
The rest of the plot unfolded as expected.
During their argument, they learned of the deadly danger posed by the Vought-exclusive tracking chip hidden inside Translucent.
Once the chip's signal spread, it would not take long for Vought's superheroes and armed forces to surround the place.
After a fierce verbal back-and-forth, Frenchie ultimately failed to stand his ground against Butcher. He suppressed his anger, put away his gun, and swore through gritted teeth:
"Butcher, you're still the same fucking bastard! Follow me!"
He quickly went back inside to pack his equipment and supplies, then got into the car. The moment he looked up, he spotted Solomon sitting calmly in the back seat. His guard instantly went back up, and he nearly drew his gun again.
"Whoa-wait, Butcher, why's there someone else in the car?!"
Butcher started the car without a care, his tone casual and dismissive:
"This is Solomon, Hughie's coworker. He's the one who took down Translucent."
Frenchie raised his eyebrows slightly, dropped his guard, and held out a hand, looking somewhat surprised and impressed.
"Wow! I'm Frenchie. Nice to meet you. You're impressive, managing to catch Translucent!"
Solomon shook his hand and gave him a brief hug, speaking frankly.
"I had no choice either. I saved this bastard, but then he threatened me into coming along."
Frenchie gave him a knowing look, entirely unfazed.
"You'll get used to it. That's Butcher, a complete and utter bastard!"
Rather than getting angry, Butcher laughed, stepped on the gas, and drove off:
"Thanks for the compliment!"
The car began another long journey and, under Frenchie's directions, finally stopped beside an abandoned shack in a remote, desolate area.
The three of them dragged Translucent, who had yet to fully regain consciousness, inside and locked him in a sturdy iron cage. They hooked up a circuit to keep the cage electrified, then covered the roof and walls in layers of radio-frequency shielding foil, completely blocking the signal from the chip inside him and preventing Vought International from tracking his location.
Throughout the process, Solomon stood to one side and watched, keeping his hands to himself without the slightest intention of helping.
Butcher and the others all knew perfectly well that Solomon still harbored resentment over being forced into their criminal enterprise, and tacitly refrained from urging him to help.
Before long, Translucent slowly woke up, sweeping his gaze over everyone and taking in their faces.
Butcher glanced at Solomon with a smile.
"Shen, now you're involved in this!"
Solomon looked up, gave him an indifferent glance, and silently raised his middle finger.
The door was firmly shut and locked, and those inside began quietly discussing how to execute Translucent.
Solomon knew perfectly well that Translucent's carbon skin was virtually indestructible, comparable to diamond, but his internal organs were still as fragile as an ordinary person's.
Detonating a sufficiently powerful bomb inside his body would easily kill him.
However, he said nothing. According to the original plot, Translucent was not supposed to die until tomorrow, and Hughie would extract crucial information from him.
Killing Translucent was the pivotal moment when Hughie finally shed his innocence and matured.
So, after careful consideration, Solomon decided...
Fuck character development!
I'm already superhuman. Why should I still be such a coward?!
Butcher and Frenchie were still discussing how to kill Translucent, while Hughie was still naively hoping they could spare his life.
Solomon stopped watching and abruptly spoke.
"A bomb!"
Frenchie paused, then instinctively waved a hand in rejection:
"No use. His skin's as hard as diamond. An ordinary bomb can't get through it!"
Solomon's gaze was calm, his tone certain as he enunciated each word.
"Only his skin is tough. His internal organs are still like an ordinary person's. Stick a remote-controlled bomb up his ass, and then we'll be the ones deciding what questions he answers and what information he gives us."
Frenchie's pupils instantly constricted, his face filled with astonishment.
Butcher's eyes lit up, and his face filled with excitement. He stepped forward and clapped Solomon hard on the shoulder, his voice excited and approving:
"Oi! Shen! I knew I was right about you. You-you're so fucking clever! Frenchie, get to work!"
Frenchie immediately got moving and began making the bomb.
Beside them, Hughie froze completely, staring at Solomon in disbelief.
He had never imagined that his normally mild-mannered, levelheaded coworker could devise such a cruel and lethal method.
Half an hour later, a finely crafted miniature remote-controlled bomb was ready.
Butcher and Frenchie used high-voltage electricity to subdue Translucent and knock him unconscious again. Fighting their discomfort, they pushed the miniature bomb through his anus and deep into his intestines.
"Oh God, that's so disgusting."
Watching the scene, Hughie could not help muttering a complaint.
Another ten minutes passed before Translucent slowly regained consciousness. He immediately sensed something wrong inside his body and roared in fury.
"What did you do to me?!"
Before you continue