Things You Said
A large area in the center of the platform was cleared up, and Butcher and the others consciously moved to the side, giving the space to the Deep.
Under Maeve's puzzled gaze, the Deep gradually walked to the center and closed his eyes.
Before long, a stream of water, seemingly from nowhere, gathered behind the Deep, starting as droplets and eventually flowing up to the ankles.
Inside the wall, the fire hoses emitted a muffled hum.
Soon, streams of clear water seeped out from the cracks in the pipe wall.
Like countless tiny, transparent snakes, they meander down the wall, eventually converging at the foot of the Deep.
The water gradually rose into the air in front of him, twisting into three thick water whips.
This is... water control capability?
How could that be?
Maeve frowned as she watched the Deep's series of actions.
You know, in any previous situation...
Even during the environmental advertising shoot, which is a favorite part of the Deep culture, he never demonstrated any ability to control water.
What does he usually behave like?
He chatted idly with the fish and befriended the shrimp and crabs at the seafood restaurant.
He even sneaked into the aquarium in the middle of the night just to save a dolphin.
At this point, he acted like an idiot who could talk to marine life, and his problem-solving skills were worse than those of a young husky.
Beyond that, they mainly operate in the Deep under high water pressure, retrieving things, and don't have any outstanding abilities.
There might still be some, but they're fucking disgusting.
Homelander once told her that the Deep also has a habit of harassing octopuses.
Although she had never seen it before.
Based on all of the above points, the Deep has never revealed that it has the ability to "control water".
So, where does this "water control" ability come from?
After ruling out the least likely scenario— the Deep hiding something—the most chilling possibility emerges.
A new drug has been developed that can promote the further evolution of Superman injected with Compound V.
If that's the case, then the situation is even more serious.
Although she didn't trust Vought, society remained relatively stable under Vought's basic control and supply chain surveillance.
If this new "drug" falls into the hands of other terrorists, things will become even more dangerous.
She needed to know what had really happened behind the scenes.
Not far away, the Deep suddenly flipped his wrist.
Three gleaming water whips shot out from his palms, striking Maeve's face, chest, abdomen, and ankles in three separate attacks.
The water whip pierced the air, rushing in with a whistling sound.
Upon seeing this, Maeve let out a cold snort and twirled her sword wrist in a sleek flourish.
Then, the longsword flashed out diagonally with a sharp whistling sound, its silver blade leaving three afterimages in the dim tunnel.
Swish swish--swish--
Three faint cracking sounds almost overlapped as the sword blade easily sliced through the water.
The next second, the water whip snapped into several pieces, turning into countless tiny droplets that crashed to the ground, splashing up a fine spray of water.
Maeve sheathed her sword and stood there, the blade pointing diagonally at the surface of the water, water droplets sliding down the edge of the blade along with the cold light.
Is that all?
Before the words were finished, the scattered stream of water suddenly stirred.
They seemed to be pulled by invisible threads, their flow interrupted and then receding in the stagnant water.
Then, it transformed into hundreds of fine, hair-like water threads, densely packed like a swarm of lurking snakes, meandering along the slippery ground, silently coiling towards the soles of her boots.
At the same time, more water gushed out of the pipes on both sides of the wall, condensing into seven or eight water whips in mid-air.
Then one after another, they were drawn in turn, one after another, without interruption.
Maeve's feet moved erratically, her figure weaving and shifting among the layers of water.
The longsword danced, forming a dense, impenetrable mass of silver light, and with a single slash, several streams of water were instantly severed.
But even if Maeve cuts off a batch, a new stream of water immediately replenishes it.
Water is an invisible liquid; no matter how sharp a sword is, it cannot cut through flowing water.
Therefore, while cutting off the water flow, she kept shrinking forward.
Once you get close enough, you can quickly control the Deep and then swiftly defeat it.
Thinking of this, during her defense, she suddenly seized a crucial moment between the alternations of the water whips.
He then stomped his foot hard on the ground, causing the water to splatter outwards.
Immediately afterwards, he shot out like a cannonball, his longsword pointing straight at the heart of the Deep.
But just then, seeing Maeve's sudden sneak attack, the Deep not only didn't panic, but instead grinned lewdly.
I've been waiting for you.
Upon seeing this, Maeve's heart sank.
At this moment, the Deep suddenly twisted his hands inward and clenched them.
With a splashing sound, the wastewater pool next to it seemed to explode as if hit by a water bomb, with huge sprays of water bursting up.
Immediately afterwards, the dark brown sewage inside surged up in waves several meters high.
The massive sewage, under the control of the Deep, reformed into a giant whip, lashing fiercely at Queen Maeve's face.
That damn the Deep... that disgusting beast!
Maeve saw the giant whip of sewage, gritted her teeth, and instinctively tried to dodge it by sidestepping.
It's true she could withstand the force of the water whip, but she couldn't stand the filth covering her body; it was fucking disgusting.
Thinking of this, Maeve's face instantly darkened, and her brows furrowed.
Not far away, the Deep laughed smugly, his hands flying as he mischievously imitated the printing technique from a certain Japanese ninja anime.
Then it manipulates the sewage to transform into various insidious shapes.
For example, it could transform into a fist-sized sewage bomb and hurl it at Queen Maeve.
Even the Deep, with its twisted sense of humor, condensed a millstone-sized Dick of sewage, which, accompanied by a muffled gust of wind, assaulted her from all directions.
Go as far as you can.
At this moment, the stench of the sewage overwhelmed us, filling the air with a foul odor.
Maeve had to parry the attacks while deliberately avoiding getting the dirty water on her, which inevitably made her movements a bit sluggish.
Several times she wanted to rush over and twist that wretched head off the Deep.
But every time she tried to move forward, a thick wall of sewage would block her way.
The viscous black substance inside the sewage wall writhed continuously, like a living wall of excrement, emitting a nauseating stench.
She didn't even want to touch it, so she could only grit her teeth and back away.
After a few back and forth, they were forced to retreat by the Deep, their boots making a squeaking, sticky sound as they stepped into the puddles.
" Maeve, try this."
After saying that, the Deep clasped his hands together, and the churning sewage in mid-air instantly condensed into a super-sized island nation-style water-stimulating massage device.
With a whistling sound, it crashed down on Maeve's head like Mount Tai.
Maeve's expression hardened, her teeth clenched, and she decided to stop dodging.
She gripped the sword with both hands, her arm muscles suddenly tensed, and she held the long sword horizontally above her head, meeting the attack head-on.
BOOM!
A deafening roar, like a muffled thunderclap, exploded inside the tunnel.
The sewage splattered onto the sword, shattering it into pieces.
Countless streams of dark brown, dirty water splashed out, drenching Maeve completely.
It was everywhere – on his face, in the ends of his hair, and in the folds of his leather jacket.
The stench instantly filled her nostrils, making her vision go black for a moment.
Sewage slid down her chin and into the corner of her mouth, bitter, astringent, mixed with the stench of decay and the earthy smell of mud, like swallowing a mouthful of rotten, dead fish.
vomit...
Maeve suddenly bent over and then began to gag.
Even if she were Superman, she couldn't withstand the attack of biological weapons.
That is, that momentary lapse in concentration.
The Deep's eyes narrowed, and he slammed his hands down on the ground.
Thump!
The water beneath Maeve's feet suddenly burst open, and a thick column of water shot into the sky, striking her wrist as she gripped her sword.
The immense force of the water surged through her wrist and into her arm, causing a sudden numbness in her wrist and a loss of strength in her fingers.
The longsword flew out of his hand in an instant.
Before she could react, countless streams of sewage wrapped around her like living ropes.
First the wrists, then the waist and abdomen, and then the ankles.
The cold, viscous sewage constricted her limbs, and the thickest stream of water coiled around her neck like a giant python.
The water flow tightened, constricting her trachea and causing her to suddenly stop breathing.
"Ughhhh--"
Maeve struggled fiercely, slamming her fists hard against the tangled water.
But water is invisible and intangible, so hitting it only splashes up more dirty water, covering her face completely.
Just then, more sewage rushed in, binding her limbs tightly and slowly suspending her in mid-air.
The Deep tilted his head and slowly walked over, standing directly below her and looking up at her.
"How are you, Maeve?"
"See? Compared to before, I've found the meaning of my existence..."
He took a half step forward, then suddenly noticed the stench of sewage emanating from Maeve, and his expression instantly became quite interesting.
The villainous image that had been painstakingly created crumbled instantly, and the actor began to gag in response.
Maeve glared at him, unable to utter a single sarcastic sound.
Her neck was being strangled tightly.
Moreover, the amount of air in the lungs decreases.
Her thoughts gradually became sluggish, and the edges of her vision continued to darken.
At this moment, the Deep couldn't hold back any longer. Looking at Maeve's state, he couldn't even manage a smile.
He could only awkwardly cover his nose and mouth, and snap his the Snap forcefully again.
At that moment, the dirty water on Maeve's body instantly disappeared, replaced by a rush of clean water from all directions.
They quickly coalesced into a massive, impenetrable sphere of water around the dazed Maeve.
The water sphere completely enveloped her.
A large amount of water was forced into her mouth and nose, and an even stronger feeling of suffocation surged up like a tidal wave.
Just as Maeve was sinking into the water sphere, she went from struggling violently to gradually becoming still.
From deep within the tunnel, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
That's enough.
Just one word, the Deep seemed to realize something, his body shuddered, and then he immediately snapped his the Snap.
Instantly, the entire water sphere seemed to be paused, and all the water flow stopped on the surface.
The next second, the water sphere burst open with a splash.
All the water was pushed aside by an invisible hand, flowing along the ground, forming streams, and orderly flowing into the depths of the tunnel.
As the water balloon dissipated, Maeve fell from mid-air due to gravity and crashed heavily into the water.
By this time, her hair was completely wet, sticking unsightly to her face in clumps, and her battle clothes were covered in stains, making her look extremely disheveled.
Moreover, having just emerged from a state of suffocation, Queen Maeve could only support herself on the ground with one hand, her head drooping due to dizziness.
His shoulders were trembling slightly, indicating that he had lost the ability to fight.
The entire subway station was completely silent.
In the darkness, a tall figure slowly emerged, then stopped after the light and shadow shifted.
The light from the incandescent bulb shone on the man's face.
(This is a tribute to the scene in the original work where Homelander emerges from the shadows.)
He wore a faint smile as his eyes swept over the mess on the platform.
The light swept across the Deep, then over the silent, nose-pinching the Boys Squad, and finally landed slowly on the disheveled figure on the ground.
At this moment, Maeve still had her head down, her wet hair covering most of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
The Deep, however, was the first to act. He turned around and scurried over to the man's side, a smug smile plastered on his face.
"Look, boss."
He licked his lips.
"I took care of Maeve; I just locked her in a water balloon."
She was completely paralyzed and almost suffocated... Oh right, she even seemed to have peed herself in fright.
The man, as usual, ignored the Deep's daily boasting and stopped a few steps away from Queen Maeve.
He saw everything that just happened.
After being injected with the New Compound V, the Deep's overall combat capabilities experienced a qualitative leap.
Moreover, in less than a week, the Deep has already been able to perfectly control the flow, combination, and dispersion of five tons of water.
With his and Frenchie's help, he even brushed up on his junior high school physics and roughly understood the principle of water pressure...
However, this idiot doesn't know how to use it yet.
However... achieving this effect is already quite good.
Thinking of this, the man raised his head again, looked down at Maeve not far away, and a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
Maeve...
His last memory of Maeve was that he gouged out her eyes, and then he and his biological father died together...
Looking back now, it's been a long time since I've seen him.
After all, they were indeed a real couple for a period of time.
Just then, Maeve, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly moved.
No one saw how she made her move.
Just moments ago she was too weak to stand, but in the next instant she sprang up like a mother leopard that had been poised for a long time.
At that moment, she had somehow retrieved the Queen's Sword that had fallen to the side.
Although the sword was covered in dirty water, it still gleamed coldly and exuded a chilling killing intent.
This time, Maeve mobilized all her muscles, channeling all her strength into her arms.
Then he slashed down fiercely at the figure in front of him, whose face had not yet fully revealed itself.
"Buzz--"
This sword strike was both incredibly fast and incredibly ruthless.
Since Maeve was prepared to go all out and finish off her opponent, she would no longer hold back.
The sword blade transformed into a floating silver thread, slicing through the air and producing a piercing whistling sound.
When Maeve fell to the ground, she had already anticipated the man's momentary lapse in attention, gambling on this opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.
bite--!!!
A sharp, almost ear-piercing clang of metal clashing suddenly erupted in the empty subway station.
The lingering sound reverberated and vibrated, striking the surrounding walls and echoing back and forth for a long time.
However, the blade stopped in mid-air.
In front of it, there is only one finger.
A regular, long, clean finger, with even its nails neatly trimmed, gently rested against the very tip of the sword blade.
right.
That single finger acted like a mountain, forcefully blocking Maeve's all-out sword strike.
The immense recoil surged back along the blade, causing Maeve's entire arm to go numb.
"How... how is this possible?"
Maeve froze on the spot, her hand gripping the sword hilt trembling uncontrollably from the recoil.
"Oh?"
One hand hovers in the air, with the knuckles resting on the front of the sword.
The man in the shadows slowly raised his eyes.
Those eyes, which were originally clear and had a rhinestone hue, had now turned completely crimson.
Like two burning flames, or two bottomless abysses, they carry a natural indifference and a condescending scrutiny.
Upon hearing Maeve's words, a familiar, playful smile appeared on his lips, along with a hint of the amusement of a cat playing with a mouse after a long separation.
" Maeve."
"Haven't seen you for a long time."
Maeve saw that extremely young, familiar face, as perfect as a classical sculpture.
His pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with disbelief.
"Father... Homelander?"
(Sometimes I have this urge to write about Homelander traveling to various worlds, but the art style is different. For example, the Three-Body Problem, The Wandering Earth, or Mysterious Resurrection. I don't know if anyone would read that. It would also be difficult to write, since it's a superpowered story.)
(I'm taking a day off today, will post this after midnight)