Chapter 44: Chapter 44
[Homelander's POV]
The first person to enter the room was not A-Train.
It wasn't even the person who was usually always inside the tower. I'm talking about Black Noir, who is currently sharpening his knives.
I wonder if he does this to calm himself down or if he's actually preparing for a fight?
If that's the case, he needs sharper weapons or at least more suitable ones.
Instead, the first person to arrive was someone I didn't expect to see here at all.
Deep decided to surprise me with his appearance. He got there twenty minutes early, even though no one called him.
"Sir?"
Deep couldn't stand my thoughtful gaze.
"Yes, Kevin?"
"Are you alright?"
"If you're asking about my health, then everything is just great."
I said with a sarcastic smile, inspecting my suit for any damage.
"If you're asking about the situation around me, you can find everything you need to know on the internet or any news channel."
"Sorry. I just recently learned about it and still can't accept it."
"We'll leave that discussion for later when the whole team is assembled. For now, tell me, Kevin. Why are you still in the tower?"
"Where else should I be?"
He asked with an unbelievably silly expression on his face.
"I remind you that I recently sent you home to your mother."
"I... bought tickets for tomorrow."
"Well, you only have one left instead of two days with your family. The filming of the new movie is starting, if you haven't forgotten."
"Is it the right time? I might want to stay.?"
He asked, glancing doubtfully at the script I was holding.
"Do you really want to cancel your trip?"
"No, no, of course not! I wasn't planning to, just asking."
"Don't lose your head, Kevin,"
I sighed quietly when I saw a familiar fear in Deep's eyes for the first time in a long time.
"Sit down. You can read the script while we wait for the others."
He took the script from my hands and carefully relaxed into his seat, glancing at me occasionally.
My frustration only grew seeing his reaction.
How much effort and time it took to eradicate such attitudes towards me!
It only took one super to ruin everything.
What if Becky's reaction is similar?
How will Ryan react?
Well, I'll just have to hope they at least listen to me.
While I was thinking, the team managed to assemble.
There was silence while they awaited my next move. Starlight had it the worst, but everyone was at least confused.
She was the one who saw me just before I went on the mission.
What's it like to learn that the person you had a pleasant conversation with in the café later massacred a crowd of people?
She looked at me too closely and tried to read something from my face.
Maeve looked more severe than the others.
She was extremely tense and also kept an eye on me.
I sometimes forget that this woman is very warrior-like, and now she is ready for quite predictable actions.
It felt as though everything had rolled back, making me wince.
Stormfront was the only one who was silent and watched the rest of the team with interest.
Their fear and uncertainty clearly amused her, causing a faint smile to appear on her lips.
It was slightly irritating.
"I'll start with the main point: We're in deep trouble."
The carefree smile contrasted slightly with the announcement, causing a stir among those present.
"We?"
Maeve asked with a hint of sarcasm while smiling.
"That's right, dear. The Seven are currently in a very dire state in terms of reputation."
"Wait, the Seven were behind that massacre in broad daylight?"
Stormfront asked with surprise, deciding to join the conversation.
"That's quite a news!"
"Unfortunately, that's how it is in the public, Stormfront. Homelander is the leader of the Seven and the face of the brand. And everything that concerns him will reflect on the team itself."
Starlight explained kindly, giving her a once-over.
"This means that if he goes down, we're next in line. They will likely dig into our dirty laundry to find something similar."
Upon hearing this, Train-A tensed up considerably.
The media certainly hadn't forgotten either, and everyone has their own body count.
However, Deep hadn't been caught in anything like that yet.
"Thank you, my friend."
Stormfront smiled, but there was no sincerity in it.
"So, Homelander is going to resign?"
Kevin looked at me in shock, evidently unable to believe such an outcome.
"That hasn't been decided yet."
I responded to the question, drawing attention.
"The situation is quite unclear."
"Unclear? Hundreds of people were sliced through by your beams live on air!"
Maeve slammed her fist on the table because she was emotional, causing cracks to spread across its surface.
A sturdy table, unlike the one in my office.
"Maeve! Calm down!"
Starlight shouted, rushing to her to prevent any hasty actions.
Fortunately, they were sitting next to each other.
"Please."
The men on the team chose to stay silent, and Train-A decided to slightly move his chair away.
He didn't seem eager to sit next to her especially in her current state.
"Homelander, we all want to know what happened. It couldn't have happened just like that, could it?"
Starlight looked at me with a pleading gaze.
"It couldn't."
I confirmed her words under their intense stares.
"That's why the situation is unclear."
"Maybe you'll tell us why?"
Stormfront was unable to hold back and seemed eager to hear my explanation.
"I won't deny that I killed those people. But not by my own will."
I finally spoke up once I was allowed to do so without constant interruptions.
"A supervillain with telepathy appeared. After realizing what had happened, I killed him, and the only one who can confirm the presence of this telepath is me."
I paused to let the information sink in.
They all stared at me, waiting for more, but my mood seemed to have faded.
It's time to wrap this up.
"And now, the reason you were gathered. You should calm down and simply await the results without contacting journalists or anyone else. Until a strategy is developed."
I said, standing up from the chair and glancing at the newcomer.
"This applies primarily to Stormfront. That's all for now. We'll meet at the film shoot."
After telling them what I wanted, I just left the room, leaving them behind.
I was tired and needed rest.
Ideally, I would be in bed with rain pouring down outside, and I could gloomily watch the raindrops sliding down the window.
Cliché
Unfortunately, it was sunny in the city, and no rain was expected. So, I used a universal remedy to solve this problem.
"Is he upset?"
I heard Stormfront's voice before I flew up the stairs.
Am I upset?
Why?
Maybe they just didn't meet my expectations?
In the end, even the conversation with Stan Edgar turned out to be more good than I had anticipated.
As for Adam and Seth, I won't even start on them!
They really managed to lift my spirits.
So what went wrong?
Lost in such deep thoughts, I didn't notice I had reached my destination.
As soon as I realized it, I abruptly stopped, floating above the raging ocean.
It was pouring down rain like a bucket, and I soon got totally soaked. This was a small problem, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the view.
There were meters-high waves in front of me falling to the water's surface without anyone to take under their weight.
The water was dark and swirling for miles around.
The majestic, breathtaking, awe-inspiring scene evoked a sense of horror with its power and certainty.
I shot out heat visions on the water, and raindrops simply evaporated before reaching the beams.
However, the ocean stirred violently upon contact with them.
I spent over twenty minutes like this until I felt a slight burning sensation in my eyes.
This caused me to stop abruptly and close my eyes.
The burning sensation subsided when I blinked and took a few breaths.
I felt better knowing some of my limits. It meant I wasn't all-powerful, and that was very reassuring.
After contemplating things and releasing my stress, I flew away.
I just flew around, enjoying the wind in my face with no one bothering me.
However, this time of fun ended quickly, and I had to return to reality.
I returned home only when it was deep into the night when all the people should be asleep.
Just like a couple of days ago, I climbed through the window of my room.
I had no desire to accidentally run into Ryan or Becca. With a sigh, I removed my water-soaked suit and threw it on the floor.
At that moment, I had a burning desire to simply throw the suit in the trash and forget about Homelander's existence.
Honestly, that seemed too easy.
It's better to face the problem head-on than to run from it.
I had invested too much effort to just give up so easily.
There were still countless chances to make things right despite the fact that I couldn't bring those people back to life.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and I saw Becca standing on the other side in a nightgown.
She looked incredibly alluring, but the situation was not conducive to what I might have wanted.
"John, you're back?"
"Yes."
"If you're hungry, I left some food in the fridge."
She said after a brief pause, glancing uncertainly at the door before her.
"You just need to heat it up."
"Thank you, Becca."
She nodded and returned to her room, turning around before entering.
After changing into casual clothes, I went down to the kitchen.
I had dinner silently, heating up the cold soup with my heat vision.
It was a tough day, and a hearty meal was more welcome than ever.
I still hadn't talked to them, but I admit today wasn't the best day for conversations.
It felt like I had lost all my energy along with my reputation.
"Tomorrow, I need to talk to Stan."
I said gloomily, looking at the empty plate.
It's important to get everything clear as soon as possible.
...
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