章 17: Chapter 17
The brief conversation left a strong impression on both troublemakers who watched Homelander with suspicious eyes.
MM looked at Billy who had decided to reunite their team for a major operation.
He began to realize how reckless it had been to get involved in this mess again.
This time, it was far more serious than it had been with Lamplighter.
It was too dangerous especially for his family.
"What do you say?"
MM muttered, furrowing his brow.
Billy knew that they had already been exposed, but he hadn't said a word about it.
"I say I want a drink."
Billy replied calmly, heading towards the parking lot.
MM looked at the retreating figure and followed him.
After taking a quick walk around the fair, Hughie returned and looked at them in surprise.
MM merely waved his hand, inviting Hughie to follow them, and he complied without protest.
He didn't ask any questions when immediately sensing the oppressive atmosphere surrounding these two.
Soon, they reached the parking lot and suddenly witnessed Butcher's aggression towards the tire of the van they had arrived in.
"Fucking bastard! Motherfucker! AAAHHH!!!"
Billy yelled relentlessly, kicking the van's tire.
It was terrifying, so much so that Hughie hid from the potential gaze of "The Butcher" behind MM's broad back.
"What happened?"
Hughie asked anxiously of the only one of the two who still seemed calm.
"Homelander happened,"
MM replied briefly but effectively, conveying the essence of the shit they were in.
"What?"
Hughie only manages to croak.
"Ugh… Fuck!"
Billy kicked the tire once more, finally calming his nerves a bit and noticing Hughie's outburst.
He smirked, looking at Hughie's frightened face.
"What's up, Hughie? Did you shit your pants?"
"Leave the kid alone, Butcher."
MM stepped in to defend him, looking straight into his eyes.
"What is it that you haven't told us but we should know?"
"Homelander flew to my place and then left. He just gave me one last look with his red eyes."
Billy sighed and admitted.
"That's it. So, relax."
"Relax? Relax?!"
Hughie couldn't hold it in, yelling at Butcher.
"Yeah, just be a man already!"
Butcher shouted back.
"Pull yourself together. Nothing has been decided yet."
"Decided?"
MM frowned.
"What are you planning?"
"We'll continue what we started. You're going to Ezekiel and showing him this."
Butcher said, showing a video on his phone where a rubber-clad pervert was making out with two sweet boys.
"That was in that club."
Hughie recognized the location in the video.
"But Homelander..."
"If he wanted to stop us, he would have done so. Even right now... but no. We need to take advantage of this opportunity."
"Butcher, tickets for a private meeting with him cost fifteen thousand."
MM tried to reason with him.
"We'll just take one from one of the lucky ones."
Butcher smirked, causing MM to roll his eyes.
That's exactly what he had expected from this psycho.
...
It wasn't even funny... preparing to go on stage...
Homelander was annoyed that he would have to speak on behalf of idiots who themselves had little idea of what they were trying to achieve.
There are more words supporting the idea that superheroes should join the military, but he didn't like any of them.
The whole situation stinks.
He even considered deliberately sabotaging that mission with the plane, and then he wouldn't have to worry about any of this.
However, he quickly dismissed these thoughts when realizing he'd go mad under the weight of his actions.
He wasn't a monster… or was he?
"Are you getting ready?"
Starlight entered the tent, pulling him out of his heavy thoughts.
"Not really."
John smiled, turning to her.
"But I'm trying."
"At least you won't have to read from a teleprompter."
Annie huffed, clearly displeased with the idea.
"Well, I see only one way out of this situation."
John smirked, approaching her almost closely.
"And what's that?"
She asked with anticipation.
"Don't read, just speak."
He announced solemnly, dramatically burning the papers in his hands with a single glance.
"Will you take over?"
"Why not."
Starlight smirked with burning eyes as she looked at him. She kissed him in a burst of emotion, but he didn't mind at all.
After a while, she left the tent due to a search by Ashley, leaving behind a pleasant aftertaste.
John laughed at his own thoughts as he shook his head and looked down at the ashes of the paper with deep thought.
However, the ringtone on his smartphone in his suit pocket distracted him. He stared in surprise at the caller's name before answering.
"What's up, Deep?"
John asked immediately, not wanting to waste time on pleasantries given the upcoming appearance.
"Homelander, hi."
Deep replied uncertainly.
"I'm calling about 'Ocean Land.'"
"And what about them? Do they want to cancel the contract with you?"
John rolled his eyes, knowing that Kevin would talk about some minor issue that was irritating him.
"No... that's not it. There are dolphins, and they're suffering because of their departure. I've told them many times about this and even recently spoke to Stillwell about it, but they haven't listened! They don't understand that they're alive!"
"Yeah, yeah, calm down."
John said when recognizing from Deep's voice that he was very drunk and extremely unstable.
Still, the fear of Homelander was so strong that Kevin couldn't even speak out, let alone shout.
"I can't take it anymore! She's screaming, begging me to take her away from there!"
Kevin yelled into the phone, not even trying to lower his volume.
"Understood, wait for me. Kevin, I'm coming over now. Where are you?"
John said in a calming tone, not thrilled about rushing somewhere and calming an idiot.
"Me? I'm in the van, right in front of "Ocean Land.""
Kevin's confused voice came through after a few tense seconds.
"I'll be there soon, don't do anything."
John ended the call, looking with irritation towards the stage.
He sighed and flew to the stage, where he landed to cheers from the crowd.
John smiled, waved at the audience, and approached Ezekiel who looked at him in surprise.
"Sorry to interrupt your performance, Ezekiel. But I'm in a hurry. You don't mind, do you?"
John asked, patting him in all white on the shoulder.
Ezekiel's appearance was unremarkable.
He was a simple blonde with long hair and a neat beard, and his outfit was also plain, all-white, and unsuitable for superhero activities.
It made sense that his reputation was one where physical violence was out of place.
However, sexual violence was best left unmentioned.
"Of course, Homelander, brother."
Ezekiel replied with a smile, extending his hand towards the backstage. He then pulled his extended hand back and handed John a microphone.
"Thank you."
Homelander nodded and turned to the audience, eagerly awaiting his words.
"I'll be brief. Vote for the bill to include superheroes in the army because it will bring you absolutely... nothing."
The crowd exchanged puzzled glances upon hearing his words.
Ashley's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, and she frantically began dialing Stillwell's number.
Everyone else was shocked too, except for Starlight, who stood quietly to the side.
"Yes, don't be surprised. None of this is in your or American citizens' interest!"
Homelander raised his voice while surveying the assembled crowd and meeting Butcher's frowning gaze.
"This is for those who rank higher than you and higher than me. They want their crap cleaned up by me, swooping in and dealing with the problem. They want us to kill whoever they point at."
A murmur of discontent grew among the people, reflecting their feelings about this.
"They wanted me to turn you a story about how wonderful your lives will be thanks to this bill. However, I don't want to lie to you, and I'm tired of being used as a puppet in their behind-the-scenes games! Because if I stay silent now... I won't be able to change anything. I hope you make the right choice. That's all from me."
He threw the microphone to Ezekiel and then shot up into the sky.
John smirked, imagining the stir his words were causing on social media.
It made him want to check how people responded, but it wasn't the right time to check his phone.
He had to talk to Kevin and possibly sort out his problem with... dolphins.
John arrived just in time to see the celebrated sea hero emerge from the van, but as it turned out, a few seconds later... not for decisive actions to save marine life.
"Are you okay?"
John asked out of courtesy as he approached the still-puking guy.
"Ahem... Fully."
Deep straightened up abruptly, looking at his figure with fear.
"Water?"
"I wouldn't say no, sir."
Kevin nodded, expecting a more aggressive conversation.
"Well then, let's go."
John smirked and headed towards the nearest store.
A few minutes later, they sat on a rooftop, looking at the "Ocean Land" building.
The aquarium that he had been promoting for several years and which mistreated dolphins and other marine creatures in less-than-humanitarian ways.
After hearing about this place, John asked the only question.
"So, you literally planned to steal a dolphin and release it into the sea?"
"She's not doing well here."
Kevin nervously justified himself.
"I see. I know I'll regret this…"
John sighed, looking at the desperate young man with hopeful eyes.
"…but I'll help you."
"Steal a dolphin?"
"Of course not."
John chuckled, looking at the building.
"We'll use a more legal method."
...
Hughie was breathing slowly and calmly while reminiscing about how he managed to get Ezekiel to reveal where they had taken Compound V.
He could now peacefully enjoy a burger and fries, waiting for results from Butcher and MM.
However, the peace didn't last long as Homelander appeared before him as he took his first bite.
The sudden appearance startled him so much that he almost fell off his chair.
"Hello, Hughie."
Homelander greeted him brazenly, taking a fry and popping it into his mouth.
"Hey! That's rude."
Hughie was outraged.
"I know, and that's probably why it was so delicious."
Homelander smirked.
"Where are the others?"
"I don't know."
Hughie pouted.
"Hughie, I understand you think I'm a monster, and you'd be right. But you've known me since childhood. Why would you think I'm a villain?"
He smiled, taking another fry.
"Remind me, who kidnapped The Translucent, the single father and superhero with minor flaws, and blew him up?"
"He has a child?"
Hughie asked with shock.
"Yes, a son. He's a teenager."
Homelander sighed.
"You have no idea how hard it was for me to comfort a child who suddenly lost his only loved one."
"I didn't know…"
"Few did, given he always kept his personal life a secret."
Homelander nodded.
"But let's get back to where we started."
"I... don't know."
Hughie pouted, causing Homelander to frown.
"This is about Compound V, right?"
Homelander guessed when confirming his suspicion by Hughie's changing pulse.
A smirk appeared on his face as he grabbed another fry.
"And the most popular hero you can pressure here… Ezekiel!"
"That's..."
"So if you've managed to get this far, they're probably already in the nearest hospital."
Homelander smiled when seeing the horror on Hughie's face.
"Stop!"
He managed to shout before he disappeared.
He frantically pulled out his phone, only to remember a second later that it was waterlogged and not working.
He hurried to find someone who could lend him a phone so he could make the call urgently.
Oh, and he had to hurry up very quickly.
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