Stephen might not be great at office politics himself, but that didn't mean he was inexperienced. Workplace bullying was nothing new to him.
People with experience know how to defuse those situations—or at least protect themselves better.
It's usually the rookies who fall for it.
Annie looked a little downcast as she said, "Ever since I was a kid, I worked hard to become a superhero. For me, joining the Seven was the best job I could dream of... Well, at least it used to be."
Billy scoffed and said mockingly, "I bet there's a lot more dirt coming out from this game. Who knows, maybe you actually ended up fitting in with them after all."
Among the members exposed so far—The Deep, A-Train, and Translucent—none of them came out looking good. And judging by Queen Maeve's cold attitude, it wasn't hard to imagine the whole team was toxic through and through.
If Annie had truly blended in with them, that basically made her guilty by association.
But this time, Annie didn't even try to argue with Billy. She was already full of doubts about her future. She just muttered, "Maybe... maybe this video getting out will change something."
---
Vought Tower
In the CEO's office, the Seven had all been called in. The dirt spilled during the Quiz session had thrown Vought into a PR nightmare, and damage control was proving near impossible.
As soon as Translucent, The Deep, and Maeve appeared in the clips, Madelyn, the VP, had immediately ordered every member of the Seven to return to headquarters.
No way were they going to let them get cornered by the media and accidentally make things worse with a careless word.
"The Deep, congrats! You're famous now. Everyone knows you're the 'Three-Minute Man!'"
Homelander laughed as he slapped The Deep on the shoulder. "I'll bet your name's now trending higher than mine. Higher than Maeve. Higher than A-Train!"
He wasn't even hitting hard, but every slap made The Deep flinch and shrink a little more, until he looked like he was about to collapse in on himself.
And that smile—Homelander's smile—made his knees shake. That wasn't a friendly smile. It was the kind that made everyone in the room sweat. Hell, who wasn't terrified of Homelander's grin?
The Deep was trembling so badly he couldn't even get a word out. Maeve frowned and said, "Looks like we're in serious trouble. These really are clips from the future?"
"It's like someone secretly recorded them during a shareholders' meeting," Ashley said as she glanced at her tablet. Her tone turned urgent, "The stock's down again. Dropping fast. And now there are protestors outside!"
"Protesting what?" Homelander's face darkened as his icy gaze locked onto her.
Ashley, even more spineless than The Deep, swallowed hard several times before managing to speak clearly:
"They're protesting A-Train for deceiving the public and committing murder... and also The Deep for workplace harassment. Actually, the harassment scandal seems to be drawing more attention. His approval rating just hit an all-time low."
The Deep looked like he was about to cry. "Why? I didn't even kill anyone!"
A-Train was already in a foul mood, and hearing that pushed him over the edge. He glared daggers at The Deep—you shit, don't drag me into your mess.
Homelander glanced down at the streets below. Sure enough, he spotted crowds of protestors gathering.
He clenched his jaw, then slammed his hand down and snapped the balcony railing clean in two. "Goddamn it! This can't go on—we need to act now. We'll hold a press conference right away, tell the public the truth—this was all a plot by aliens!"
"No. Now's not the time."
Madelyn had just returned from making a phone call and caught Homelander's outburst. She quickly stepped in, her voice gentle and persuasive, "I've already spoken with the higher-ups. They're working on ways to divert attention, but we need to help… starting by handling The Deep. The public needs someone to blame."
The Deep was stunned. Wait, what? I just did a bit of workplace harassment—not like I killed anyone. Why am I the one getting thrown under the bus?
A-Train literally has blood on his hands!
But with Homelander's murderous glare focused on him, The Deep didn't dare defend himself. His lips quivered, eyes filled with helpless frustration.
Maeve looked like she couldn't bear it. She asked, "Why The Deep?"
A not-so-subtle way of saying: Why not A-Train?
A-Train shot her a vicious glare in response. Really? You're turning on me now?
Madelyn motioned for Ashley to explain.
Ashley furrowed her brows as she checked the data on her tablet. "From what we're seeing online, most people aren't actually that concerned about A-Train's case. People die all the time—this one's only strange because of the circumstances."
"But The Deep's incident caught the attention of women's rights groups and LGBTQ+ advocates. It's gone viral. A ton of celebrities are speaking out in support of Annie."
Ashley wasn't slacking off. She even held the tablet out for The Deep to see. One glance was enough—his screen was flooded with angry comments tearing him apart.
He was completely broken.
'Why me?!'
'People don't care about a goddamn murder but they're jumping down my throat for this?!'
---
Back in the Quiz video feed, a new question popped up on the screen:
[Who was the first to go after Hughie Campbell?]
[A: Translucent
B: Homelander
C: A-Train
D: Queen Maeve]
Reading that, Hughie's scalp went numb. "Wait, wait—why is someone trying to kill me?!"
"Buddy, read carefully," Deadpool grinned. "It says 'first'—meaning more than one's gonna come after you. You've got an exciting life ahead!"
Stephen gave Billy a glance and said calmly, "Billy's going after the Seven, and you're helping him. Of course that's going to bring danger. It's only logical."
No. No, it wasn't logical at all!
Hughie had lived a quiet, honest life for over twenty years. How the hell was he supposed to accept a future where he'd be hunted down?
He stammered, "But... but Billy's with the FBI! I'm just giving him a statement, maybe some intel. That's not enough to get me killed, right?!"
Billy rolled his eyes. "...Forget the FBI part. You seriously haven't figured it out yet? These bastards—do you think they're just gonna let you walk?"
He paused, then added with a smirk, "Anyway, it's too late to back out now."
Hughie's face turned white, then red, then dark as his anxiety took hold. He clearly wasn't used to this kind of pressure. After a long pause, he mumbled, "Fine... I can take the heat. I'm just worried I'll drag my dad into this."
Billy said nothing.
Then Thor broke the silence, "Alright, focus up. Let's talk about this question. Any thoughts?"
Stephen thought for a moment and said, "C seems the most likely. Hughie's going after A-Train, and naturally A-Train would try to retaliate."
__
T/N:
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