Translucent didn't just have the ability to go invisible—he was clearly stronger than your average person too. At least when it came to dealing with Hughie Campbell, a completely untrained working stiff, it was a total beatdown.
Hughie's head smacked hard against the counter. Before he could even recover, Translucent yanked him out from behind the counter and slammed him bodily into the door.
After that brutal combo, Hughie was a mess—black and blue all over, barely able to stand.
Translucent interrogated him about Billy Butcher's identity. It was obvious the guy was playing the long game. Back when he didn't act inside Vought, it was all part of the plan—to follow Hughie and use him to reel in everyone behind him in one go.
Outside the video feed, Hughie visibly trembled, almost as if he were reliving it all. Fear crept across his face. "They're going to kill me…"
Thor just shrugged. "Buddy, if you were gonna die that easily, the last question would've been 'Who kills Hughie Campbell?'"
Stephen frowned. "So all the Seven are like this? Beating up powerless civilians—what kind of hero does that?"
Billy let out a cold snort. "Didn't I already tell you? These Supes are all sons of bitches."
Annie stayed silent. Her mind was in chaos. Everything she'd believed about the world was starting to fall apart. Vought and the Seven—what they were showing now—left her completely disillusioned.
Most of the group took a critical stance. Deadpool, though, was fascinated by the Translucent's powers. The idea of turning invisible just by stripping naked? To him, it was practically divine.
He shouted excitedly, "I swear, this is every man's dream superpower! Women's restrooms, bathhouses—you name it, you're in!"
His shameless babbling earned a look of pure disgust from Annie.
Just then, Billy gave Hughie a rare bit of praise: "See, Hughie? You're braver than you think."
Back in the video, despite the beating and how terrified he was, Hughie didn't cave. He stuck to his story, claiming Billy was just his Uber driver. The guy actually had some guts—taking the fall like a man.
Of Course translucent didn't buy it. He decided it was time to crank up the pressure.
He stormed over and ripped a massive TV off the wall, hoisting it up as he stalked back toward Hughie. As he approached, he ranted:
"Don't think I'm buying that Uber crap! You think I'm stupid? Tell me — why did you bug me? We're the Seven, damn it! We're supposed to be untouchable, the strongest humans on Earth! So spill — what's really going on here?"
His high-and-mighty speech, paired with his violent threats, came off as wildly absurd and hypocritical.
For viewers from other worlds, it was just another crazy scene. But for people from the Vought universe, these bombshell revelations were absolutely earth-shattering.
The crowd of protesters gathering outside Vought's headquarters was the clearest sign of the storm brewing.
"Oh my god, that's the most disgusting thing I've heard today! The Deep, A-Train, Translucent—this is how they protect us?"
"I'm devastated! I used to look up to them so much. I can't believe how shameless they are!"
"We don't need heroes like this! They're not protecting us—they're just criminals who do whatever they want!"
Of course, Vought still had its loyal defenders:
"Oh come on, it's not that big of a deal. The Seven are cool as hell! They're basically gods—of course they deserve some perks."
"If you ask me, that FBI agent was shady too. He was clearly spying on Vought. That poor kid just got caught in the middle."
"Yeah, if someone planted a bug in my house, I'd be just as pissed as Translucent!"
The debate between both sides quickly escalated into a full-blown shouting match. No doubt about it—things were spiraling out of control.
Under growing pressure, Vought was forced to hold a press conference, trying to get ahead of the PR disaster.
Their first scapegoat? The Deep.
He didn't even get a chance to apologize in front of the cameras. He just sat backstage, alone, listening to the spokesperson drag his name through the mud.
He felt utterly abandoned by the world.
Muttering under his breath, he cursed, "Bunch of sanctimonious bastards! I just made a mistake every man's made at some point—why the hell am I getting crucified? A-Train killed someone!"
There's a saying: it's not inequality people hate—it's unfair inequality. It applies to both rewards and punishments. At the end of the day, people want justice.
The Deep felt he was being treated unfairly. Compared to what A-Train had done, workplace harassment and bullying Annie felt like small potatoes. But somehow, he was the one getting singled out.
Vought had clearly cut ties with him. They kept pushing the narrative that his actions were all personal moral failings, totally unrelated to the company. Just like the angry mob outside, Vought had taken the moral high ground and was now attacking him without mercy.
The Deep was completely numb. He couldn't understand how these protesters thought. Weren't murders a bigger deal?
Then he heard the crowd again—this time screaming and cursing at Translucent.
He froze for a second, then lit up with joy. Hell yeah.
One more bastard dragged down with him!
Before the question game exposed his secrets, the Deep was firmly on Team Vought. He saw the Quiz as a threat. But now, tossed aside like trash, he was all for it. If he was going down, he wasn't going alone.
'Beautiful,' he thought, perking up.
Inside Vought's executive offices, the mood was grim. Their leadership and the rest of the Seven looked downright murderous. The headaches just kept coming.
Translucent, who had been enjoying the show a moment ago, was now the main character of this trainwreck. His expression turned dark. A-Train caught it and couldn't help smirking.
He was thinking the same thing as the Deep—once the Deep was out, he was next. So naturally, he hoped the Quiz game would keep the dirt coming. If the rest of the Seven got exposed, at least he wouldn't be alone.
Back on screen, just as Translucent raised the TV to smash it down on Hughie, something unexpected happened—
A Jeep burst through the storefront and rammed right into Translucent, sending him flying.
It was Billy behind the wheel. He stepped out of the car with effortless cool.
"You all right? That was diabolical!"
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T/N:
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