Let Madelyn Eat Shit

"Why? Aren't we doing pretty well right now?" Translucent was utterly baffled.

He had voiced what the others were thinking.

"Relax, I'm still your captain." Homelander answered with a self-admiring smile.

Soldier Boy rolled his eyes. "All right, let Clara explain it to them."

Stormfront arrived in high heels.

She strode forward with an imposing air. "Because competition itself has value."

Stormfront's voice wasn't loud, but it briefly silenced the conference room.

Everyone was sizing up this new teammate.

Stormfront was also sizing up The Seven. Her gaze swept over them one by one, and she nodded in satisfaction.

Good, all white supes...

Wait, what was that black thing in a cast?

Her gaze wasn't particularly friendly.

In Stormfront's misguided Nazi ideology, a black person with superpowers was no longer an ordinary black person. She had to find a way to eliminate him.

A-Train's scalp prickled under her stare. "You got a problem?"

His tone wasn't particularly friendly. He thought Stormfront was an ordinary person with some worthwhile ideas, so there was no need to tread carefully.

Soldier Boy coughed. "Clara, keep going."

Stormfront read the warning in his eyes, smiled, and explained the idea of expanding to form a second Seven team.

Queen Maeve looked thoughtful, while Translucent harbored vague worries about losing his standing.

A-Train also fell into thought. If the teams expanded in the future, his position seemed unlikely to be as precarious as before.

As for The Deep...

The less said, the better. The guy was grinning lewdly again and seemed very supportive of the idea. He was probably imagining having more newcomers to bully.

"I have a question," Maeve suddenly said. "Who will manage these teams?"

Stormfront smiled and slowly turned toward Homelander. "The strongest person, of course."

Homelander froze for a moment. Although he loved being praised, Stormfront's blatant flattery still caught him somewhat off guard.

"Homelander will serve as joint captain and supreme commander of both teams. He will be responsible for all teams, and all operations will be reported to him."

Stormfront's voice grew increasingly stirring.

Homelander's breathing grew a little heavier.

Watching Homelander's expression, Soldier Boy nodded inwardly. This was exactly what he wanted.

Rather than letting Homelander fixate on Madelyn's little supply of breast milk all day, it was better to give him something worthwhile to do. A man ought to have ambition.

"All right, it's about time." Soldier Boy stretched. "Let's go welcome our new teammate."

Starlight had arrived and was in the chauffeured car downstairs.

A large number of staff had already gathered in the lobby. The red carpet had been rolled out, and the media cameras stood ready.

This was a live broadcast arranged by Vought, and countless viewers were waiting in front of their televisions for the new superhero's debut.

Homelander stepped out of Vought Tower first, followed by Stormfront and Soldier Boy, with the others behind them.

At last, all of The Seven appeared together in the same frame, something that hadn't happened in the original plot.

The atmosphere instantly reached a fever pitch as camera flashes fired furiously.

"Oh my God, Starlight, get out of the car!" Ashley Barrett sat in the front passenger seat, her eyes wide.

Madelyn had fired her, but just when she was losing all hope, Soldier Boy had remembered her and brought her back with a single word.

He had also put her in charge of The Seven's miscellaneous affairs, replacing Madelyn's last shred of authority over the team.

"But it's not the scheduled time yet," Starlight said hesitantly.

Ashley Barrett opened the car door. "They've all come down to welcome you. Forget the schedule. Let Madelyn eat shit."

Starlight froze and looked in the direction Ashley Barrett was pointing.

"Oh my God." Starlight's mouth opened wider than an egg.

The idols she had only ever seen on television, posters, and in magazines were actually all standing before her at once.

Starlight even forgot to breathe. Ashley Barrett had to grab her arm and practically drag her out of the car.

"Hey, blondie." Soldier Boy waved, a cigarette between his lips.

The camera flashes grew even more intense.

Starlight's heart pounded, her steps unsteady as she walked up to The Seven almost unconsciously.

"Welcome, Miss Starlight. You're even more beautiful than your file suggested." As captain, Homelander graciously held out his hand.

Starlight's cheeks flushed. She hurriedly shook it and said softly, "Thank you, H-Homelander."

She stole a glance at the others. Only Stormfront was an unfamiliar face.

Her gaze passed over Soldier Boy and paused. She felt that he didn't look like a superhero. With that unmistakable air of an asshole, he looked more like someone who had come to wreck the event.

The Deep beamed. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, brimming with youth. Most importantly, she was innocent. One look told him she'd be easy to fool.

Stormfront kept nodding beside them. A textbook white supe, worth cultivating.

The Seven swept Starlight along with them into Vought Tower amid the media's cheers.

Soldier Boy ground out his cigarette butt, and the system's voice rang out.

[Ding]

[Key character detected: Starlight.]

[Mission issued: Prevent Starlight from being bullied by The Deep.]

[Mission reward: Exchange Points*200]

The Deep was still indulging in his sordid fantasies when he suddenly felt uncomfortable all over, as though someone had set their sights on him.

Phew.

Onstage, Starlight finally delivered her last line.

It was her first official appearance. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't nervous.

Luckily, someone was there with her.

With his own little agenda, The Deep led Starlight into The Seven's Private Conference Room.

Starlight could barely take everything in along the way. Finally, she looked toward the conference table. "Is that Homelander's seat?"

"Want to give it a try?" The Deep elegantly pulled out Homelander's chair.

Starlight was overwhelmed by the favor. "I don't think I should."

She was a girl with a strong sense of boundaries, and she went to look around elsewhere.

"Deep, actually, my idol isn't Homelander. It's you," Starlight said, gathering her courage with her back to him.

"Really?" The Deep took off his pants, eagerly waiting for Starlight to turn around.

Starlight smiled innocently, but the moment she turned around, her mind went blank.

Her childhood idol stood there with his pants off and a lewd grin on his face.

But she quickly reacted, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. She backed away a few steps, then turned and hurried off.

Like a startled fawn.

The Deep called after her. "Hold on, miss. You know, I'm second-in-command here. All it takes is one little word from me, and you'll have to crawl back home."

Starlight stopped, listening to her pounding heart.

She couldn't move.

"I'll blacklist you, so you'll only be able to get bottom-rung jobs."

"Your family will be disgraced."

"All your hard work will go down the drain."

The Deep kept advancing, vividly describing things he had no power to do.

"It'll be quick. Maybe just a few minutes."

Starlight felt as if a huge rock were pressing down on her chest, and helplessness and hurt welled up inside her.

She wanted to run, but her legs felt like lead, leaving her unable to take a step. She could only glare at The Deep, her face pale and her fists clenched.

"Come on, baby. It'll be quick." The Deep felt he was about to succeed.

Just then, someone crawled out from beneath the conference table.

"Here I come, baby."

Soldier Boy loosened up his limbs and walked toward The Deep impatiently.

"What?!"

The Deep stumbled backward, knocking over several chairs, his pupils trembling involuntarily.

He had intended to coerce an unsuspecting young woman, but at the critical moment, just as he was about to succeed, someone had crawled out from under the table.

And that person was Soldier Boy, Homelander's biological father and the United States' legendary World War II hero.

From his perspective, the scene was as bizarre and terrifying as a horror movie.