The Seven Tower, Vice-President's Office.
Madelyn finished her work and suddenly remembered it was Homelander's livestream day.
These broadcasts are routine, nothing major, yet Ashley had flagged that Homelander had changed the venue, so Madelyn switched on the TV.
The instant she saw Fang Yuan on-screen, her face drained of color.
"This is bad!"
As Vought's VP, Madelyn's top priority is controlling Homelander; she knows every facet of him.
She's fully aware of the history between Subject 071 and Homelander. Vought shredded nearly every file on Fang Yuan, but Stan kept a backup.
He'd warned her never to mention the name in Homelander's presence. Luckily "Fang Yuan" is rare in the United States; had he picked George or Jack, Vought would probably have forced employees to change their names.
Madelyn instantly realized why Homelander had switched the broadcast location.
Rescuing a victim in public—Vought can't touch Fang Yuan now, can they?
But what shocked her more was: where had Subject 071 popped up from?
She rushed straight to group chairman Stan Edgar's office—to report and to pass the buck.
She hadn't been in charge when Subject 071 blew up; this fallout could be huge, and she wasn't going to carry the can.
Stan turned on the TV, saw Fang Yuan himself, and his eyes bulged in shock.
"Oh… we're in trouble now." He rarely lost composure.
"But how is this possible?"
Stan distinctly remembered confirming again and again that Subject 071 had been blown into mincemeat—he should be dead.
Unless… Stan hit on a plausible explanation.
Someone had deliberately hidden the truth.
And only a handful of people could have pulled that off.
Stan phoned Voughtbaum at once; the first words out of his mouth were: "Subject 071—did he actually die back then or not?"
Voughtbaum sighed, and that sigh sank to the pit of Stan's stomach.
"He died, but his body healed itself."
Voughtbaum retold the whole saga of Black King and Subject 071.
"That's the story. Predel privately bankrolled the project; looks like he had an accident while studying Black King, and that's how everything surfaced," Voughtbaum theorized.
It's all Predel's fault!
Madelyn had never seen Stan Edgar so furious—he panted, eyes bloodshot; she wouldn't have batted an eye had he ordered a hit squad to gun down Voughtbaum right then.
But Edgar is a seasoned operator; after a moment he calmed himself and didn't press charges.
The deed is done; the urgent thing now is how to respond.
Besides, Voughtbaum is sitting on a mountain of Vought's dirty laundry; any move against him must be handled with care.
"I recommend John bring Fang Yuan back," Voughtbaum said.
"Bring him back? You know how toxic Subject 071 is to Vought; bringing him back could compromise our control over Homelander!"
Stan's brows knit; since hearing the news his complexion had gone from dark to pitch-black.
Voughtbaum was ready: "But for years he never woke up; in that state he's actually easier to control."
Stan pressed: "You're certain he'll stay unconscious?"
"For the past thirty-plus years, he has," Voughtbaum answered quickly.
"Then do it. Let Homelander escort Subject 071 back—but he must not wake up!" Edgar decided.
He knew Homelander's obstinate streak; defying him could backfire badly, so this solution suited everyone—
provided Fang Yuan truly never wakes.
Edgar rubbed his temples; ever since Black King appeared, curve-balls had been flying at him, giving him splitting headaches.
He'd been on the verge of retirement.
If this keeps up, he worries he won't last till retirement.
Switching to retirement matters, Edgar asked, "How are preparations for Lamplighter's retirement ceremony?"
"Going smoothly," Madelyn said quickly.
"Speed it up. MIB has evidence he killed civilians; if Robert hadn't spoken up, they'd have come knocking."
Stan revealed inside info only they knew.
"So push Lamplighter out fast; that way any future scandal won't taint The Seven's market value."
Madelyn nodded repeatedly.
Homelander didn't head straight back to Vought Headquarters.
He swaggered alongside the medical convoy transporting Fang Yuan's cryo-pod, personally escorting it from Arizona to New York, the whole route lined with adoring fans—like a nationwide victory parade.
Homelander is not only Vought's unique asset; to the outside world he stands in a league of his own.
Take the Stars-and-Stripes uniform he's wearing: it isn't Homelander trying to milk the U.S. for publicity—the U.S. government itself is now using his image to polish its own brand.
Homelander deliberately skipped the flight and drove back to New York; the roads were jammed with fans who'd come to see Homelander. What should have been a two-hour flight turned into a seven-day roadshow.
The crush of fans caused massive traffic jams, and every time the cars stopped Homelander would step out to greet them, never once showing impatience.
If Vought hadn't leaned on local authorities to clear a path, Homelander would still be out there bonding with fans.
After this over-the-top spectacle, the whole world knew Homelander had rescued a handsome stranger.
Stan and Madelyn read the signal perfectly: he wanted the situation too loud for Vought to quietly dispose of Fang Yuan.
Still, the two had already decided to accept Subject 071 first and improvise later, so they didn't hurry him along.
Once back in New York, Homelander carried Fang Yuan's stasis pod straight into The Seven's tower.
Inside was a fully equipped medical team.
"Vought's medics are world-class; they'll wake this victim up. Upholding justice is my duty—Homelander out!"
With that sign-off he finally killed the live feed, and the camera crews fled as if released from prison.
Homelander could run for days on end; the crews, rotating shifts or not, were at absolute collapse.
"Homelander, the CEO and Vice-President want you in the conference room."
Ashley delivered the summons the instant he stepped off set.
Unlike the others, she wasn't calm: as Madelyn's most trusted deputy, Ashley had sensed something off in Stan and Madelyn's behavior long ago.
"Thanks, Ashley," Homelander answered with a smile.
But after he left she shivered; that smile had felt dangerous.
Inside The Seven's boardroom, Stan hit the lockdown: every electronic device died, and extra steel doors sealed every exit.
"Is it him?" Stan cut straight to the chase.
Seeing the heavy security, Homelander's tone hardened. "Absolutely."
Madelyn stepped in to play good cop.
"Homelander, don't blame the company. After all these years you know Vought's procedures." Her voice stayed mild.
Stan added his own defense: "I could've wiped your memories of Subject 071—"
"His name is Fang Yuan!" Homelander snapped.
"Fine—Fang Yuan."
Stan nodded, refusing to argue.
"I could have wiped him from your head, but I didn't. That proves I'm not targeting him; I'm just doing my job."
Homelander's face relaxed; he knew Stan was telling the truth—Vought could erase his memories if it wanted.
"Still, since he's alive, we can call it a happy ending." Stan's words rang hollow; he was praying the pod would explode the next second.
But he couldn't—and daren't.
If anything happened to the pod, Homelander's first suspect would be Vought.
Stan's bet was now that Fang Yuan would simply never wake.
After thirty-plus years, if he were going to wake he'd have done so already.
From Stan's perspective the negotiation had gone well.
Homelander hadn't turned against Vought, and Vought promised to do everything possible to wake Fang Yuan.
Of course, it was only a promise.
And even if they wanted him up, they couldn't: the body in the pod was just a Kryptonian-tech clone Fang Yuan had grown as a decoy.
Staff soon noticed Homelander visiting the sleeper far too often—several times a day.
Employees kept quiet, but members of The Seven were bolder.
One day Homelander headed to the ward just as Deep Sea and A-Train passed by.
Deep Sea muttered to A-Train, "Did Homelander haul back Sleeping Beauty?"
He turned—and Homelander stood right behind him, face like thunder.
There's no official record of what followed; The Seven's media account simply posted that Deep Sea had suffered an accident during a sea rescue—eight broken ribs and a month's enforced rest.
For supes, busted ribs are minor, but a month off the calendar means zero appearances and serious lost income.
After that, no one dared gossip behind his back.
Fang Yuan, of course, had no intention of playing Sleeping Beauty forever.
Staying unconscious was just his way of boiling Vought like a frog; accept a harmless coma and they lower their guard.
Now that he's inside Vought, waking up here will catch them off guard—and let him reunite openly with little John.
So Fang Yuan made his move.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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