The outskirts of New York.
Venetian blinds sliced through the morning light, leaving streaks across the oak floorboards.
Chen Mo pushed open the door and came in, carrying several large paper bags.
He had shed his A-Train disguise and returned to his delicate-featured Asian face.
Allen was sprawled over the table, snoring beneath a small blanket, drool all over the keyboard.
Mia was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. At the sound of the door, her eyes snapped open.
The little girl ran over barefoot and hugged Chen Mo's leg.
"Big brother."
Mia tilted her head up, her voice soft.
Chen Mo set the bags on the table and ruffled her dry hair.
"Go wash your hands. I brought that cheesy grilled meat you've been asking for."
The aroma of meat and cheese instantly filled the room.
Allen's nose twitched twice, and he shot up from the table in a daze.
He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on the foil containers on the table.
"God, I feel like I haven't had a hot meal in a century."
The three sat around the table.
Mia buried her little face in her meal, sauce smeared all over her mouth.
Chen Mo pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.
"Slow down. No one's going to take it from you."
Mia swallowed the meat in her mouth and looked at Chen Mo with sparkling eyes.
She put down her fork and grabbed Chen Mo's sleeve with her small hand, as if she had made up her mind.
"Big brother, are you still looking for those bad people?"
Chen Mo set down his glass and looked at her.
"Yes, those bad guys who locked you in a cage."
Mia pressed her lips together, fear flashing in her eyes.
"I wasn't in that cage before."
She held out a finger and drew circles on the table.
"They brought me out of a really dark place."
"There were lots of pipes, and you could always hear water dripping. The air smelled all moldy."
Allen stopped chewing and looked at Chen Mo.
Mia lowered her voice.
"I heard the people in white say it was some kind of water plant."
"There were lots of big monsters locked up underneath. They fought every day, and the people in white watched from above."
Chen Mo narrowed his eyes.
A water plant?
That place wasn't in the original story.
But the plot had already gone pretty much off the rails.
From Mia's description, the place sounded more like an underground fighting arena.
They were playing superhuman Pokémon.
"You've been a huge help, Mia."
Chen Mo smiled and tapped his fingers twice on the table.
"Allen, this is up to you now. Find out everything you can about all the water plants in the area."
Allen swallowed his meat and nodded with a pained expression.
"Fine. I knew this meal wasn't free."
Chen Mo got up and walked over to the window.
He watched the street outside gradually grow busier as the Blacklight Virus stirred restlessly inside him.
He had a new lead on his feast.
But before making a move, he had to go back to work at Vought Tower.
He couldn't let those suspicious insects get suspicious.
Night fell.
Vought Tower, the Seven's private lounge.
Wearing A-Train's face and a set of designer casual clothes, Chen Mo pushed open the doors.
As soon as he entered, he saw Annie sitting on a barstool.
Starlight wore her skintight suit and held a cup of warm water, looking exhausted.
Chen Mo walked over, pulled out the stool beside her, and sat down.
"So, the big star's first day on patrol is over?"
Chen Mo tapped on the bar and asked the service robot for a whiskey on the rocks.
Annie turned and looked at the Black face.
Yesterday in the conference room, this foul-mouthed bastard had slammed The Deep into a wall.
"That wasn't a patrol at all."
Annie lowered her head and looked at her reflection in the water.
"PR planned my route, and a cameraman followed me around."
"I walked down the street, smiled for the camera, and pretended to stop a robbery that never happened."
She sneered, her voice full of self-mockery.
"A ridiculous reality show. That's not what the superheroes I dreamed of were like."
Chen Mo picked up his whiskey and took a sip.
"Welcome to the real Vought, rookie."
He pulled his lips into a grin as punchable as could be.
"What are superheroes for?"
"Saving the world? Punishing evil and doing good?"
"Come on. That's comic book stuff to fool kids."
"We're products. Our job is to stay in character and sell merch to those idiot fans."
Annie gripped her cup so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"But I did do something today."
She raised her head and looked Chen Mo straight in the eye.
"On the way back, I didn't take the route PR gave me."
"In an alley, I saved a girl who was almost raped by two thugs."
A glimmer of light appeared in Annie's eyes.
"I broke both their legs and took the girl somewhere safe."
"No one arranged it, and there were no cameras. I just did what I was supposed to do."
Chen Mo's hand paused on his glass.
He looked at the stubborn blonde in front of him and clicked his tongue inwardly.
"You'd better hope those two thugs aren't dead, or that nobody caught you on camera."
Chen Mo leaned back in his chair and spoke indifferently.
"If the media catches you taking the law into your own hands, those vampires will skin you alive."
Annie looked at him and suddenly asked, "Why did you save me yesterday?"
Chen Mo didn't even lift his eyes.
"I hate The Deep. That's all."
Annie didn't argue. She just gave him a long look.
"Whatever you say, I'll remember it."
She stood up and walked toward the corridor with her cup.
"You might be a rough guy, but you're a lot better than that bastard."
Chen Mo watched her leave and smiled silently.
Calling me a good guy?
If this girl knew he'd already eaten the real A-Train, she'd probably be scared witless on the spot.
No sooner had Annie left than the lounge door opened again.
Maeve strode in on her long legs.
She wore dark red armor and held a long, thin, unlit cigarette.
Maeve glanced down the corridor, then headed straight for the bar.
She didn't order a drink. Bracing both hands on the counter, she turned and stared at Chen Mo.
She looked ready to interrogate him.
"Did you take the wrong meds yesterday?"
Maeve's voice was cold.
Chen Mo swirled the ice in his glass, making it clink sharply.
"I don't know what you mean, Your Majesty."
Maeve sneered and tossed the cigarette onto the counter.
"Don't play dumb with me, A-Train."
"Even a turtleneck can't hide those marks on The Deep's neck."
"You beat up The Deep for some new airhead?"
She leaned forward, bearing down on him.
"That's not like you."
"Since when were you so kind? Playing the knight in shining armor?"
Chen Mo put down his glass, his face betraying nothing.
Through the Blacklight Virus's Emotion Sensing, the woman's confusion and wariness had already gone off the charts.
She was world-weary, but not stupid.
A-Train's strange behavior had made her suspicious.
"I'll say it again. I can't stand that stinking fish."
Chen Mo lifted his head, putting on A-Train's trademark arrogance.
"Who the hell does he think he is?"
"I'm the fastest man in the world. Why should I stand by and watch some moron who talks to dolphins throw his weight around?"
Maeve stared into his eyes, looking for a flaw.
"That's it?"
Chen Mo bared his teeth in a savage grin.
"People change, Maeve."
"Especially when a monster nearly twists your head off."
He tapped his temple with a finger.
"I'm sick of hiding in my shell."
"Now, if anyone pisses me off, I'll shove their head up their ass. Except our dear captain, of course."
It was a perfect explanation.
A drug-abusing addict becoming volatile and irritable after a brush with death.
It made sense.
The wariness in Maeve's eyes eased slightly.
She was just about to say something else.
The air went cold without warning.
It was as though they had suddenly fallen into an ice cellar.
Chen Mo's back tensed.
He didn't need to turn around to know what had appeared behind him.
A massive, dangerous heat source burning with golden light.
Homelander.
He wore his trademark Stars and Stripes cape, with the perfect smile that captivated the public on his face.
His footsteps were silent.
"What are you talking about, guys?"
Homelander's voice was gentle, but it sent a chill down their spines.
Maeve's body went rigid in an instant.
She turned around, the coldness leaving her face, replaced by a neutral expression.
"Nothing, Captain."
"A-Train, congratulations on getting your spirit back."
Homelander approached with a smile, his gaze lingering on Maeve's face for two seconds before shifting to Chen Mo.
In those deep blue eyes.
Nothing but condescending scrutiny and unsettling suspicion.
"I heard about it too."
Homelander walked over to Chen Mo and placed a hand on his shoulder.
A terrifying force came from that hand.
With just a squeeze, this body would be crushed.
"A-Train, I heard you put on quite a show in the conference room yesterday."
The smile on Homelander's lips widened, but his eyes grew colder.
"You became Starlight's knight in shining armor."
"The Deep complained to me that you nearly crushed his throat."
Chen Mo forced his heart to beat a little faster.
He had to act out A-Train's bone-deep fear of Homelander.
"Captain, that guy The Deep is bad-mouthing me."
Chen Mo hunched his shoulders and averted his eyes, looking guilty.
"I wasn't trying to be anyone's knight in shining armor."
"You know, I just went through that goddamn attack, and the PR department's telling everyone I'm injured."
He swallowed, his tone eager and greedy.
"Ashley's even arranging for that guy Shockwave to challenge me."
"I was just a little pissed off. That guy The Deep actually had the nerve to go around claiming he was second-in-command."
Chen Mo looked up with a fawning smile.
"Honestly, who but you gets to declare who's second-in-command of The Seven?"
"Am I right, Captain?"
The air was deathly still.
Homelander stared at Chen Mo without blinking.
He was judging.
Chen Mo sat in the chair, looking scared shitless.
Beneath his skin, countless black and red viral fibers pulled taut, ready to strike.
At the slightest sign of Homelander making a move.
He would spring into action and punch a hole in the blond bastard's face.
Ten seconds.
As long as a century.
At last.
Homelander's hand came off his shoulder.
He burst out laughing and patted Chen Mo's cheek.
It wasn't hard, but it was deeply insulting.
"That's the A-Train I know."
Homelander's smile grew bright again.
"I like the way you put it."
He turned around, hands on his hips.
"But I'm warning you."
Homelander didn't look back. His voice was cold, every word piercing both their ears.
"The Seven are a team, and you're all my people."
"I don't like you pulling petty stunts behind my back over jealousy."
"If this shit happens again, I'll have you race in the challenge from a wheelchair."
"Understood?"
Chen Mo hurriedly lowered his head, looking like he'd just survived a disaster.
"Understood, Captain."
Maeve also kept her head down and said nothing.
Homelander nodded in satisfaction, swept his cape aside, and strode away.
He had come to warn and probe them.
Now it seemed A-Train was still the same sort of person, no threat.
Only when Homelander's footsteps had completely faded away.
Did Maeve let out a long breath.
She lit the cigarette on the bar and took a deep drag.
"You really should go into acting, A-Train."
Maeve exhaled smoke and gave Chen Mo a complicated look.
"For a moment there, even I believed you'd really changed."
She stubbed out her cigarette and turned to leave.
Chen Mo sat alone at the bar.
He picked up the glass of whiskey, its ice half melted, and drained it in one gulp.
The liquor slid down his throat.
Chen Mo lowered his head and looked at the ice chips at the bottom of the glass.
Deep in his eyes, a dark red light churned like magma.
Acting?
Of course I have to act.
If I don't keep you bastards happy, how can I focus on getting stronger?
Homelander.
Sooner or later, I'll devour you.