Madelyn's heart tightened slightly, and she immediately pressed him.
"What about JS? Do you need me to kick him out of the Seven?"
Homelander did not even turn his head, his tone cold and curt.
"No. Do as he said. Keep Ashley."
The instant the words left his mouth, he vanished from the office doorway.
Silence instantly settled over the office. Madelyn alone remained seated where she was, her brows tightly knitted as a powerful unease rose within her.
This was an extremely dangerous sign.
Vought had spent years raising Homelander, always doing everything it could to control him, restrain him, and find ways to wear down his edges, turning him into Vought's obedient blade.
Although that control often failed, the situation had barely remained within manageable limits.
But Solomon's words today had planted the idea that "the Seven stood above Vought, and Supes need not answer to ordinary people" in the already unruly Homelander's mind. They might cause him to fully develop ambitions of breaking free of control and placing himself above company rules.
A cold edge flashed in Madelyn's eyes as thoughts raced through her mind.
In Vought's eyes, no superhero had ever been irreplaceable.
The so-called Seven had always been nothing more than products Vought carefully packaged to turn a profit.
Even someone as powerful as Homelander was merely Vought's most valuable tool, a dog kept in captivity.
Tools should know their place, and dogs should obey.
A disobedient tool would eventually be discarded.
A disobedient dog would eventually be dealt with.
The more they indulged Homelander in controlling personnel and interfering with company decisions, the more inflated his ego would become, and the harder he would be to control.
Today, he could interfere with whether Ashley stayed or went. Tomorrow, he would dare meddle in Vought's