Though the digital department employees couldn't fathom Richard's intentions, the serious expression on his face made it clear he wasn't joking.
"Um... Mr. Wesley, is this Vice President Stillwell's directive?" A middle-aged manager in a light blue shirt approached Richard respectfully.
"No, it's my decision," Richard replied calmly.
"In that case, I should first consult with Vice President Stillwell," the manager said, reaching for his phone.
Before he could retrieve it, Richard's voice cut through the tension. "If you make that call, I can guarantee today will be your last day at Vought."
Though Richard understood the manager's instinct to seek Madeline's approval, he had no patience for such corporate protocol.
Hearing the threat, the manager's expression darkened immediately.
"Let me repeat myself," Richard continued, his tone glacial. "I don't want to see any videos or comments deleted." He surveyed the room slowly. "I've killed three hundred people tonight. I wouldn't mind adding a few more."
He's serious!
After processing this realization, the manager quickly yielded. "No problem. We'll all head home after our shift."
As soon as he finished speaking, the digital team members who had been frantically controlling comments and deleting videos stood up and hurriedly filed out of the office.
Within minutes, Richard was alone in the vast workspace. After clearing the department, he proceeded to the server room and used his heat vision to melt the fiber optic cables, completely severing the digital department's network connections.
Having accomplished his objective, he teleported back to his luxury suite on the 96th floor of The Seven Tower.
News of his visit to the digital department and his dismissal of its staff quickly reached President Edgar and Vice President Stillwell. Unlike the confused employees, Edgar and Stillwell required only moments to deduce Richard's motivations.
Vought's publicity strategy had always been to package superheroes as benevolent, law-abiding metahumans. Richard was clearly pursuing an alternative approach.
Though they couldn't fully comprehend why he'd adopted such an extreme strategy—killing criminals to combat evil—neither Edgar nor Stillwell decided to intervene immediately. In truth, they hoped Richard would create enough chaos to justify removing him from The Seven.
At this moment, they remained unaware that Homelander, captain of The Seven, had been thoroughly dominated by Richard hours earlier, and that America's greatest hero had surrendered under threat of death.
Without Vought's digital department working to suppress the content, videos of Richard brutally executing criminals spread across the internet unchecked. Unsurprisingly, his name dominated headlines across major websites and news outlets, generating far more attention than Vought's shareholder meeting earlier that day.
While the world frantically discussed and condemned his actions, Richard—the orchestrator of this chaos—reclined calmly in his bathroom's marble tub, savoring his relaxing soak.
After his bath, he rose from the water and used Firaga's high-temperature power to instantly evaporate the water droplets from his skin. Then, wrapping a towel around his waist, he returned to the bedroom.
The next morning.9:00 AM.
Richard entered The Seven's exclusive restaurant to enjoy his breakfast. The dining area, reserved solely for team members, was nearly empty—in fact, Richard was the only one still eating.
Homelander and Queen Maeve had either finished already or didn't habitually eat breakfast. Normally, at this hour, others might still be sleeping, but not today. Today marked The Seven's regular weekly meeting, scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM sharp.
Which meant Richard was running late.
Despite the meeting's imminent start, he had no intention of rushing. Breakfast held more value to him than some tedious procedural gathering.
The restaurant's chef, hired by Vought at considerable expense, prepared what most would consider exceptional cuisine. Yet Richard found the typical American breakfast offerings underwhelming. Homelander and Queen Maeve might appreciate these meals, but Richard preferred traditional Chinese breakfast dishes.
We need to hire some Chinese chefs, he thought decisively.
Just as he finished eating, Ashley—Madeline's assistant and head of talent relations—hurried into the restaurant.
"Mr. Wesley, The Seven's meeting has already begun. Would you like to join now?" she asked politely.
"They can wait until I've finished breakfast," Richard replied without looking up.
Though American breakfast wasn't his preference, the restaurant's offerings were acceptable enough.
Hearing his dismissive response, Ashley opened her mouth to object. But recalling the videos she'd seen the previous night, she wisely chose silence.
Minutes ticked by. After leisurely finishing his coffee, Richard finally teleported from the restaurant.
In an instant, he transported from the 97th floor dining area to the conference room on the 99th floor. Upon arrival, he found Homelander, Queen Maeve, and the others already gathered.
Every other member of The Seven was present. Even Translucent had materialized, wearing his uniform and occupying his designated seat.
When they noticed his late arrival, Queen Maeve, A-Train, and Translucent made no effort to hide their annoyance. Black Noir likely shared their sentiment, though his expression remained concealed behind his mask.
Just as they expected Homelander to reprimand Richard for his tardiness, America's hero instead calmly stated, "We were just discussing last month's revenue figures and merchandising issues."
What?
Queen Maeve and the others stared at Homelander in disbelief. They had anticipated anger over Richard's lateness. Instead, Homelander not only refrained from scolding him but politely summarized what he'd missed.
Is this really Homelander?
Since when did he become so accommodating?
None of them—not Queen Maeve, A-Train, or Translucent—knew that Homelander had been thoroughly defeated by Richard the previous night. They could never have imagined that their temperamental, narcissistic leader could become so docile.
After hearing Homelander's summary, Richard didn't take his assigned seat. Instead, he walked deliberately toward Homelander's position at the head of the table.
"I prefer this position," Richard stated, pointing to the empty seat that had belonged to Homelander. "You sit there."
Is he insane?
If Homelander's submissive behavior had surprised Queen Maeve and the others, Richard's bold demand left them utterly stunned. Not only the veteran members, but even Starlight—who had joined The Seven just yesterday—immediately sensed something was seriously wrong.
Although Homelander's name wasn't physically inscribed on his chair, everyone understood it was the captain's seat. Yet Richard, a brand-new member, was openly demanding Homelander surrender this position in front of the entire team.
Unlike the shocked expressions on the faces of Queen Maeve and the others, a flash of rage crossed Homelander's features at Richard's command. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he stood without a word and walked toward Richard's assigned seat.
Queen Maeve and the others exchanged looks of disbelief.
What happened?
Why is Homelander obeying Richard?
Though burning with curiosity, neither Richard nor Homelander offered any explanation for this dramatic power shift.
After Homelander vacated the main seat, Richard calmly took his place, picked up the document in front of him, and scanned it briefly. "Let's continue the meeting," he said as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Though bewildered by Homelander's uncharacteristic compliance, Queen Maeve and the others raised no questions and resumed their discussion of revenue and anti-piracy measures.
Time passed steadily. Half an hour later, after the team had covered all scheduled topics, Richard spoke again.
"Regarding The Seven's revenue structure, I have a new proposal," he announced. "From now on, all revenue generated by The Seven will be consolidated into a single pool." He leaned forward slightly. "I will receive 40% of this total, and the remaining 60% will be divided equally among the six of you."
Every member of The Seven—from veterans like Homelander and Queen Maeve to newcomer Starlight—immediately frowned. The Seven had always maintained separate revenue streams for each hero, with collective distribution only for joint ventures like movies or commercials where everyone participated together.
Now Richard was not only demanding they pool all revenue but claiming a disproportionate share for himself. Even Starlight, despite her inexperience, recognized the inequity of this arrangement. Queen Maeve and A-Train were visibly outraged.
"This distribution is unfair," A-Train exclaimed, unable to contain himself. "Why should you alone take 40%?"
Though A-Train was the only one speaking, Queen Maeve and Translucent clearly shared his sentiment.
Under their collective glare, Richard replied with unsettling calm. "Even if all six of you combined your power, you wouldn't match me." He gestured toward Homelander. "Your captain didn't believe this last night, so I demonstrated it physically. To be precise, he lasted less than thirty seconds before losing consciousness."
Richard made a dismissive gesture. "Don't misunderstand—I'm not singling anyone out. I'm stating that all six of you are beneath me." His voice hardened. "I'll give you two options: Accept the distribution method I've proposed, or I'll kill you immediately and recruit more obedient replacements. You have ten seconds to decide."
After delivering this ultimatum, Richard ignored A-Train, Queen Maeve, and the others completely. He retrieved his smartphone from the System Space and began searching for mentions of himself online.
As expected, his name dominated the trending headlines across major websites. Unlike his reception in the Marvel Universe, nearly every comment and post condemned him for killing in the name of heroism, labeling him a psychopathic serial killer.
Beyond public outrage, various U.S. government agencies had issued formal condemnations. Most prominently, Congresswoman Victoria Neuman—had denounced his actions in the strongest possible terms.
Richard remained utterly unfazed by the backlash. This wasn't his first experience being universally vilified; he'd weathered similar storms in the Marvel Universe. Public opinion, while a force, couldn't inflict physical harm. With sufficient mental fortitude and unwavering resolve, one could remain unscathed even under worldwide condemnation.
The ten seconds elapsed quickly. Queen Maeve, Starlight, A-Train, Translucent, and Black Noir maintained their silence, offering no response.
Then Homelander's voice broke the tension: "I agree with Richard's distribution plan," he stated, barely concealing his resentment.
Queen Maeve and the others, who had initially planned to resist through collective silence, quickly reassessed their position after Homelander's acquiescence.
"I agree."
"Agreed."
"Me too."
One by one, Queen Maeve, Starlight, and the rest fell in line.
Observing their compliance, influenced by Homelander's surrender, Richard nodded with satisfaction. This was precisely why he'd spared Homelander the previous night. While eliminating Queen Maeve and the others would require minimal effort, forming an entirely new team would prove troublesome. As long as they remained obedient, he saw value in keeping them around—their presence would serve to further highlight his supremacy.
"Excellent. Since everyone agrees to the new revenue structure, we'll implement it immediately," Richard declared. "Now, let's discuss another matter."
He gestured to his phone. "I've been monitoring online reaction, and nearly the entire internet is condemning me for killing 'innocent people' last night." His lips curved into a slight smile.
"They've bestowed numerous nicknames upon me: Silver Devil, Silver Demon, Silver Grim Reaper, Silver-haired Butcher, Silver-haired Killer, Hell's Executioner, Son of Satan, Killing Angel, Death Archon, Scarlet Hand, Life Reaper, Hell's Messenger, Death Knight..."
He leaned back in his chair. "While not particularly positive, they're quite creative. I'm growing tired of 'Silver Angel.' Which of these alternatives do you think would better suit me as a new codename?"
Richard genuinely sought their input. However, asking for their opinions proved less effective than making his own decision—each member suggested something different.
"Never mind. I'll decide myself," Richard concluded. "You're all dismissed."
Homelander immediately stood and exited the conference room without a backward glance. Queen Maeve and the others followed closely behind.
Soon Richard sat alone in the empty conference room. After brief contemplation, he decided to select a nickname at random. He sorted the list of names given by internet users, then visited a random number generator website.
Number nine?
After checking the ninth nickname on his list, he called Ashley.
"Notify the marketing department that I'm changing my hero codename," he instructed when she answered. "Death Archon. From now on, my hero codename is Death Archon."
Death Archon?
"Of course," Ashley replied promptly. "I'll contact the head of marketing and promotion right away."
Though "Death Archon" hardly qualified as a conventional hero name, Ashley recognized that Richard was informing her of his decision, not soliciting her opinion.
Richard ended the call without further discussion and teleported back to his luxury suite on the 96th floor. He had no intention of addressing the public criticism—at least not immediately.
At 9:00 PM, he once again teleported to the Bronx to resume his nightly activities. Whether because the criminals in this universe feared death more acutely or because they'd been shocked by his killing spree the previous night, the results differed dramatically. After nearly an hour patrolling the Bronx, he'd encountered and eliminated only thirty criminals.
Discovering the Bronx unusually quiet tonight, he teleported to Queens to continue his hunt.
...
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