Bab 179: Chapter 177: Vought's Uproar
[Ding! Side quest updated: Judge at least 20 disgraced superheroes. Current progress: 3/20.]
[Ding! Your legendary mission has been updated: Judge a thousand sinful souls across all worlds. Current progress: 83/1000.]
After handling Neuman, Jon initiated a solo raid on the Church of Collectives, causing complete chaos. Now, Jon no longer had concerns about misjudging anyone, as his "Penance Stare" allowed him to see the sins of others and clearly distinguish between the good and the evil.
Having absorbed the memories of both A-Train and Neuman, Jon had gained significant insights into the Church members.
However, to Jon's dismay, there were hardly any superheroes at the church headquarters; in fact, many had escaped during his devastating gravity wave attack on the building.
It became clear that most superheroes were not genuinely committed to the church but instead used it as a mere stepping stone for their careers. When the church encountered real danger, they quickly abandoned their allies and fled.
Among the few superheroes left, some were not disgraced, leaving Jon's side quest progress less than halfway complete after his raid on the church.
[Ding! Side quest updated: Judge at least 20 disgraced superheroes. Current progress: 6/20.]
[Ding! Your legendary mission has been updated: Judge a thousand sinful souls across all worlds. Current progress: 85/1000.]
Luckily, Jon could now freely explore these superheroes' memories. Each superhero was connected to a network of friends, and many maintained hidden relationships with supervillains behind the scenes.
Using their knowledge and networks, Jon continued to hunt down more superheroes one by one.
A week passed, and during this time, Jon, in the guise of the Phoenix, continued to build his popularity, appearing frequently to lay the groundwork for his future inclusion in The Seven.
At the same time, he continued to assassinate disgraced superheroes, causing considerable trouble for Vought and The Seven.
***
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of The Seven, a heroes' meeting was taking place.
five members of The Seven sat around a round table. Homelander, Starlight, Stormfront, Black Noir, and Queen Maeve took their usual seats, with Homelander as usual sitting at the head, signifying his leadership role.
Dressed in his star-spangled suit and cape, Homelander clapped his hands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there's just one thing that brings us together today!"
Typically, Homelander, no matter how dark and dirty his heart, always presented a sunny, smiling facade, the perfect idol. Even those who knew him best would usually hear him speak in a warm tone, unless someone deliberately provoked him or he was extremely angry.
But now, Homelander's tone was unusually grim, clearly angered by the matter he was about to discuss.
"Can someone tell me where this new supervillain came from?" Homelander gestured toward the large screen in front of him, prompting everyone to look.
Ashley, clearly flustered by the intensity of Homelander's scrutiny, adjusted her glasses nervously. "We're doing everything we can. He's elusive, and it's like he knows our moves before we make them. It's almost supernatural."
Homelander scoffed, his gaze piercing through the tension in the room. "Supernatural or not, he's making fools out of us. We're The Seven, the most powerful beings on this planet. And yet, this nobody from Cranberry Street is outplaying us."
The he chimed in, his voice laced with frustration. "He's not just any thug. The guy has skills that none of us have seen before. I've heard from the street that he's using some kind of dark magic or something."
Queen Maeve rolled her eyes. "Magic or not, it doesn't change the fact that he's a threat. We need a new strategy."
Over the week, Jon had been hunting down disgraced superheroes using their memories to find them and strike discreetly. No matter how well-prepared the superheroes were, Jon always found an opportunity to kill them and disappear without a trace using his magic.
As a result, The Seven couldn't catch Jon no matter what. However, Jon had miscalculated one thing; his identity as a superhero hunter now overshadowed his role as Phoenix Fighter. Homelander was too busy to care about this new superhero, as The Seven were now focused on the superhero hunter, with no mention of the Phoenix.
"You are my family, I trust you, so I've given you this task to complete. Is this how you repay me?" Homelander said sternly.
Homelander didn't care about the superheroes being killed, but he cared about the influence of superheroes because, as the top superhero, as long as superheroes had significant influence in this world, so would he.
Jon's actions in hunting superheroes had significantly weakened their status in the eyes of the public, and there was even a growing trend of people worshipping the superhero hunter, something Homelander absolutely wouldn't allow.
"Stormfront." Homelander turned his head to look at the woman in black uniform and cape sitting beside him.
This was Stormfront, Homelander's lover and one of the main antagonists of season two, a centuries-old female Nazi.
"It's a simple task, I wouldn't bother you with it, but you're the only one I trust now. Take him out." Homelander said gravely.
***
Meanwhile, inside a Vought building, a black man sat intently staring at a computer screen in his office.
He was Edgar, the current boss of Vought Corporation.
On the screen, footage from a week ago played, showing Jon, disguised as a Caucasian, in a standoff with Neuman, who was then suddenly killed.
Neuman was his daughter from an orphanage, one of his trump cards, yet now she had been killed by another supervillain he didn't know about, who had also killed countless superheroes within the week.
Vought tried to analyze Jon's motives. He discovered that all the superheroes Jon killed had blood on their hands that had gone unpunished, without exception, leading him to suspect that Jon might have a judging complex.
Looking back, a lot had happened recently, and it all seemed to start a week ago when the supervillain Mech Marauder suddenly went mad, and a superhero named Silk Slinger coincidentally appeared.
Bab 180: Chapter 178: Stormfront
In Manhattan, New York, Jon, cleverly disguised as a Caucasian man, stood before a residential building. He scrutinized the structure meticulously, ensuring it was the correct target before gearing up for his assault.
Jon typically initiated his attacks with a devastating gravity wave, aimed at annihilating the residence. His ultimate goal was to draw out the superhero dwelling within and eliminate him in direct combat. Jon's strategy was crafted to create the impression of a killer with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, adhering rigidly to a specific modus operandi. This facade served as a safeguard, deterring any potential connections between the name Phoenix and these murderous acts. Although it seemed unlikely anyone would make the connection, Jon preferred to err on the side of caution.
But today's events took an unforeseen twist. As he raised his hand to launch the attack, he detected a presence behind him.
Simultaneously, he sensed a distinct, almost intoxicating aura of malevolence.
"Searching for a hero to slaughter, Gravity Psychopath?"
A figure clad in a black bodysuit and cape descended from above, landing with grace behind Jon.
"It's Stormfront!" exclaimed several bystanders, clearly taken aback.
Jon, however, remained composed and unsurprised by her appearance. In his recent escapades, all but two members of the Seven—Homelander and Stormfront—had pursued him, yet he had consistently eluded capture with the aid of his mystical abilities.
"Let it go, Stormfront. You and I both know he's no hero—just a regular person enhanced with Compound V," Jon retorted as he turned to face her. "And really, 'Gravity Psychopath'? You must agree that you can come up with something more original for a supervillain's nickname."
Unfazed by Jon's sarcastic tone, Stormfront, who had endured for decades as a female Nazi, brushed off the taunt. Simple provocations like these were insufficient to rattle her.
"Looking for a more flattering nickname? I'm afraid that's not something a villain of your caliber is worthy of," Stormfront snapped back. "In just the past week, you've taken down numerous superheroes, notably ten who were white. By focusing your attacks on them rather than those of color, you reveal yourself to be the true menace of this world, a betrayal to your so-called noble race."
As she spoke, Stormfront's hands crackled with electricity, her body surrounded by a growing storm of energy, signaling her readiness for confrontation.
Just as she moved to strike, another voice interrupted from behind her.
"Stop, villain! Surrender now!"
A voice rang out from behind Stormfront, distinctly righteous yet tinged with a hint of cringe. She turned, her expression twisting into a frown, only to find a figure cloaked in a fiery red battle suit. This suit bore an exaggerated phoenix emblem on the chest and a cape adorned with flame runes.
It was Phoenix, another guise of Jon, made possible by using Alessa's power to create illusions. This technique allowed him to temporarily split into two, mimicking a cloning effect.
Phoenix's dramatic entrance stirred the crowd once more.
Stormfront's gaze shifted to Phoenix, her eyes a cocktail of disgust and hatred. As an extreme nativist and adherent to white supremacist ideologies, she believed that people of color sullied the purity of the noble white race. During her missions, she would occasionally exert lethal force on minorities, later pinning the blame on supervillains.
Despite her fervent beliefs, Stormfront maintained a level of rationality. Mishandling the situation could draw unwanted scrutiny to the Seven. Although such concerns about public image didn't personally bother her, she upheld the supremacist notion that beings like herself and Homelander were destined to dominate and cleanse the world, establishing a regime dominated by white supremacy.
Taking a deep breath, she managed a patronizing tone. "Wow~! You're the new guy? But if you're here to catch the Gravity Psychopath, you can leave because I'll handle it~!"
Phoenix responded with a calm demeanor, "No, upholding justice is the duty of every superhero. I won't let you fight alone."
He then addressed the villain as Stormfront had referred to him, "Surrender now, and your life will be spared!"
Stormfront fought to keep her rising anger in check. While she could easily eliminate an unarmed human, she couldn't risk the public's wrath, particularly not when Phoenix, a new hero, was gaining public support, potentially surpassing even the least popular member of their group, Shockwave.
But then, the unexpected occurred once more. The Gravity Psychopath burst into laughter. "Hahaha, think you can catch me? Let's see if you have what it takes~!"
With a menacing grin, he aimed his palm at the ground, unleashing two potent gravity waves. The ground trembled violently beneath them, and suddenly, the ground beneath the Gravity Psychopath collapsed.
"Damn!" Stormfront cursed under her breath, but it was already too late.
Chapter 178: Stormfront
The Gravity Psychopath, capitalizing on the disturbance he had created, launched himself off the crumbling ground and soared skyward. "Let's follow him!" Phoenix exclaimed, propelling himself in pursuit.
Reluctantly, Stormfront trailed behind. They rocketed across the Manhattan skyline, but by the time they reached where the Gravity Psychopath had been, he had vanished without a trace.
"He got away again, just like the last few times!" Stormfront said, her expression souring as she shot a sharp glance at Phoenix. She had intended to capture the Gravity Psychopath herself, fulfilling an assignment from Homelander and reveling in the slow ebbing of life from her target. But Phoenix, the new interloper, had disrupted her plans.
Her resentment toward Phoenix deepened, and she plotted to find a pretext to confront him directly today, consequences be damned.
As she contemplated her next move, Phoenix suddenly turned to face her. With a mocking sneer, he challenged her, "Hahaha~! Now, it's your turn, bitch~!"
Stormfront recoiled, stunned by his audacity. His words sliced through the air, leaving a palpable tension. Had this new hero really just insulted her directly? This bold, reckless provocation was unlike anything she had expected from him.
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