Free Web NovelChapter 36: Chapter 36: Beginning the Revenge on Payback [Bonus]
Chapter 36: Beginning the Revenge on Payback
"I’m sorry, sir. I—I was just curious," The Deep said quickly, finally realizing something was off.
Starlight kept her attention fixed on Benjamin, completely ignoring that clown, The Deep. This handsomely rugged older man was picking up his coffee cup, taking a sip while skimming the agenda Ashley had handed him, his movements as casual as if he were sitting in his own living room. Although the score between Starlight and The Deep hadn’t been fully settled yet, as long as Benjamin sat in that chair, The Deep wouldn’t be able to make any waves. She was absolutely certain of this, because she trusted Soldier Boy.
"Meeting’s called to order," Benjamin said, setting down his coffee cup. "First item: The Deep rejoins the team. One-month probation. You screw up one thing during probation, and you’re out. Any objections?"
"No," Starlight’s voice was calm and direct. She hadn’t expected herself to agree so quickly, but once the words were out, she found it wasn’t that hard.
"No," Maeve said.
"No," Homelander said.
Looking around the room, The Deep stood up and bowed to everyone. "Thank you, everyone. It won’t happen again." The Deep looked at Benjamin gratefully, a certain submissive docility in his eyes.
Benjamin frowned slightly. Leaning forward, he muttered, "Do you need some kneepads?"
A blank look crossed The Deep’s face. "What, sir?"
"The way you’re looking at me makes it seem like you’re about to get down on your knees and blow me... so I’m asking, do you want some goddamn kneepads?"
Embarrassment washed over The Deep’s face. Off to the side, Starlight nearly burst out laughing.
"I’m sorry, sir... I didn’t mean to."
"Then sit your ass back down and stop looking at me with those creepy, repulsive eyes. I swear you’re just a brainless, stupid fish. You’re irritating as hell to look at. Disgusting," Benjamin barked. The Deep quickly sank back into his seat, no longer daring to look at Soldier Boy with such eager eyes.
"Second item: Translucent is still missing. Deep, go investigate." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Yes, sir," The Deep blurted out. He needed to prove himself; he had to find Translucent. In reality, according to the original plot, Translucent’s remains should have turned up by now. However, because The Deep had been kicked out, the discovery of Translucent’s boxed pieces had been delayed. Still, it didn’t matter. They were bound to clash with the Boys sooner or later.
"Third item." Benjamin unlocked the tablet Ashley had handed him, skimmed the latest metrics, and turned the screen toward the room. "The public narrative from last night flipped this morning. Homelander’s approval ratings are bouncing back. From their lowest point, they’ve already climbed up four percentage points. Maeve, Deep—yours are heading back up too. Good work, keep it up."
Everyone in the room looked up. Homelander stared at the red curve ticking upward on the screen, his lips moving slightly. His expression didn’t change much, but his posture instinctively straightened even further.
Benjamin placed the tablet back on the desk and picked up his coffee cup. Edgar had blinked. Those negative trending topics had been wiped completely clean overnight, and the major media outlets had unified their talking points to exonerate Homelander. Even the female reporter who had aggressively questioned if it was a publicity stunt had issued a lengthy apology. He hadn’t pieced this together from reading the news reports; he read it from the precise mechanical rhythm of the shifting data curve. This wasn’t an organic reversal; someone had flipped a switch. And the hand on that switch was undoubtedly Stan Edgar’s.
"Alright, that wraps up the meeting. Anything else?" Benjamin scanned the room. No one spoke. Homelander was privately ecstatic over his climbing approval ratings. "Meeting adjourned. Homelander and Ashley can hammer out any remaining details." ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Everyone began getting up to leave.
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In the afternoon, The Deep returned to Ocean Shores alone. Waves lapped against the sand and receded, leaving behind trails of fine white foam. Out in the distance, a few dolphins were floating lazily in the shallows, soaking up the sun; one of them recognized his silhouette and let out a sharp, piercing whistle. He squatted down beside a boulder, and that was when he spotted a box. Tearing open the lid, a sickly sweet stench of decay rushed into his nostrils. The Deep stumbled backward, landing hard on his ass on the sand. Inside the box were the mangled chunks of Translucent’s corpse.
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Two hours later, The Seven’s conference room. The zinc-plated box sat dead center on the long table. Total silence. Homelander stood directly in front of the box, his arms crossed over his chest, his blue eyes boring into the container. His expression wasn’t one of grief; it was pure, unadulterated fury.
"Zinc," his voice was dangerously low. "I can’t see through it. They specifically picked a material that blocks my X-ray vision, packed Translucent’s chopped-up corpse inside, and left it right on the beach where The Deep always goes. There’s a line carved into the box: Coming for you." He raised his hand, rapping his knuckles against the lid. "It wasn’t written to The Seven, and it wasn’t written to Vought International. It was written to me. Someone slaughtered one of my people, stuffed his pieces into a box I can’t look through, and pointed it directly at my goddamn face..."
Starlight stood near the window, clamping a hand over her nose. She had only seen Translucent’s name in her orientation brief and didn’t have any real attachment to him, but the sheer reality of a human being blasted to pieces and stuffed into a container made a cold shiver run down her spine. Maeve stood right beside her, staring down at the box, remaining completely silent.
Homelander turned around, his gaze sweeping across every single face in the room before locking onto The Deep. "You investigate this. Maeve, you’re with him."
The Deep gave his bald head a rub and nodded. Maeve didn’t pull any punches either, grunting a flat "Got it." The Deep felt like he had been running himself ragged lately. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was because A-Train and Black Noir were both out of commission, leaving him to do all the heavy lifting. Man, caught constantly between the crushing pressure of Homelander and Soldier Boy while executing task after task, The Deep was utterly exhausted. I just hope Maeve doesn’t bust my balls during the investigation, he thought silently to himself.
Having received their orders, The Deep and Maeve turned and exited the conference room. Once the door clicked shut, the room was left with only Homelander, Starlight, Ashley, and Benjamin, who had sat in the head seat without uttering a single word the entire time. Benjamin stood up, hooking his shield onto his left arm.
"Are you going to handle this?" Homelander turned to ask.
"No. A trivial matter like this is for you, Maeve, Deep, and Starlight to deal with." Benjamin walked over to the doorway, pausing at the threshold. "I have other business to attend to. By the way, if you find anyone suitable to join The Seven, Homelander, go ahead and bring them in if you think they fit. You don’t need to consult me. Ashley, don’t go making executive decisions on your own; everything goes through Homelander. As for A-Train, don’t kick him off the roster just yet. If he gets himself a healthy heart, he might still be able to clock his peak speed again."
"Right away, sir," Ashley nodded frantically. Benjamin pushed open the conference room door, the sound of his footsteps fading steadily down the corridor.
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Returning to his office, Benjamin propped his shield against the desk and pulled a manila envelope from his drawer. Inside was a slip of paper with Crimson Countess’s address, courtesy of The Legend... Right. Benjamin intended to exact his revenge on Payback. Even though it was technically the original Soldier Boy’s score to settle, Benjamin still wanted to wipe the slate clean to prevent any future liabilities.
Beyond that, there were the TNT Twins—the siblings Tommy and Tessa. They had to be holding hands to detonate their energy. Back in the jungles of Nicaragua, the final image burned into his mind was that brother and sister standing side-by-side in the smoke, their hands locked together as brilliant arcs of electricity exploded from their palms. Mindstorm—his greatest asset wasn’t standard combat, but burrowing into your brain to exhume your worst goddamn fears... It was Mindstorm who had used his telepathy to briefly suppress Soldier Boy’s consciousness back then, giving the other members of Payback their opening to strike.
Crimson Countess—the original’s ex-girlfriend, the bitch who sold him out. He hadn’t visited the scribbled address on The Legend’s note yet, but he had every single letter memorized. As for Black Noir, he was already dead, Homelander having punched a hole clean through his chest cavity. The first name on Payback’s roster had already been permanently crossed out. "It’s time," Benjamin muttered to himself.
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A/N: Bonus Chapter is here!! Next goal: 450 Power Stones = 1 bonus Chapter!
And if you want to read ahead and find out what happens next right away, you can get up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on:
[email protected]/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).
