Free Web NovelChapter 16: 16: Have You Seen The Comments About Him!?
Opinion is the mistress of fools.
~ Damn, I wrote that shit, and it makes perfect sense xD. Original: Experience is the mistress of fools
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Ashley turned to Hillel, her eyes begging for backup.
But Hillel ignored her completely.
He strolled into the conference room, dropped into the empty seat next to Starlight, and crossed his legs.
"I think Homelander’s right."
All eyes snapped to him.
Especially Homelander’s.
"What is The Seven? It’s the symbol of justice for all of America!"
"If it’s a symbol, it has to stay clean and pure!"
"There are rotten apples in the team. Leave them in and they’ll drag the whole group down eventually."
Hillel glanced at The Deep on the screen, then at A-Train slumped in his chair like a dead man.
"Better to act first instead of waiting for a scandal to explode and playing defense. Show the public that The Seven can clean its own house."
"This boosts Homelander’s image and protects The Seven’s long-term brand."
"Capital is short-sighted. They only care about squeezing every dollar right now and never think about the future."
He turned to Ashley.
"Short-term commercial losses? Vought can eat that with their deep pockets. But if The Seven’s credibility tanks, that’s the real disaster."
Ashley’s lips trembled.
Bullshit. Easy for you to say when it’s not your money on the line!
I’m the one who’s gonna get fired!
Ashley was on the edge of a full breakdown.
Homelander, on the other hand, looked thrilled.
The way he stared at Hillel actually carried a hint of approval for the first time.
"See? The Guardian backs me up, and Edgar himself put him here to help run The Seven!" Homelander stood up, cape flaring behind him. "It’s decided."
He looked at Ashley.
"Get the PR team moving and set up a press conference."
"What?" Ashley’s voice cracked.
"I want every American to see with their own eyes that Homelander’s team has zero tolerance for trash."
A-Train completely fell apart.
The Deep cut the feed instantly.
He was probably hate-fucking that octopus right about now.
Translucent, Black Noir, and Maeve all reacted in their own ways.
Only Starlight showed strong support for Homelander.
[Key Character: A-Train — Emotional Breakdown]
[Ability Points Gained: +1,247]
...
[Key Character: Queen Maeve — Curious, Appreciative]
[Ability Points Gained: +876]
...
[Key Character: Homelander — Excited, Inflated, Sense of Approval]
[Ability Points Gained: +1,533]
...
Current Ability Points: 71,726 / 100,000
The conference room door opened again.
Everyone turned.
Madelyn stood in the doorway.
She wore a perfectly tailored black suit, makeup flawless, face locked in forced calm.
Hillel’s super hearing caught her heart rate.
It had spiked past 100.
She was choking down her rage.
"I heard!" Madelyn’s voice shook just a little, but she kept it steady. "Our team leader has some ideas?"
Homelander met her eyes. They stared at each other for a beat. Madelyn walked in smiling, one hand resting naturally on Homelander’s arm.
Her chest pressed against him lightly, trying to soothe him with the contact.
"Shall we talk? Outside? Or right here?"
Homelander glanced around the room.
"Right here is fine. Nothing between us needs hiding!"
Madelyn didn’t want to do this in front of everyone, but Homelander left her no choice.
"Fine." Madelyn switched gears. "I heard your plan from Ashley. You want to clean up the internal mess, show it off to the public, and polish your image, right?"
"Correct."
"That’s a very good idea."
The second Madelyn said it, everyone froze in shock.
Even Homelander thought he’d heard wrong.
He had a whole speech ready to shut down Madelyn’s pushback, but she just agreed?
"But your approach is too blunt, not smart enough!" Madelyn changed her tone. "Think about it. If you publicly announce kicking out A-Train and The Deep, how will the media spin it?"
"They won’t say ’Homelander is wise and decisive’ or ’Homelander is an epitome of justice’!"
"The headlines will scream ’Infighting in The Seven, Power Struggle Exposed’."
"’Vought Management Out of Control, Private Capital Running Supes Insults Taxpayers’."
"’Superhero Team Crumbling, Where Does Public Trust Go?’"
Madelyn’s words slowly brought Homelander back down.
Her hand slid from his forearm to the back of his hand, soft skin pressing in, chipping away at his resolve.
This woman knew exactly how to handle him.
"Listen to me. Public opinion isn’t something you control alone. These things need a professional team behind them!"
Madelyn leaned in close to his ear. "Let me handle it, okay? I’ll get A-Train and The Deep out in the most dignified way possible while boosting your image to the max!"
"It’ll only take... one week!"
She looked up into his eyes, gaze soft like she was staring at her own child.
...
[You should know, Madelyn has a kid. That kid is her real family. You’re just a job!]
...
Hillel’s words suddenly rang in Homelander’s head for no reason.
A crack of suspicion had already formed.
Homelander was paranoid and sensitive by nature. Right now Madelyn’s moves felt way too familiar.
For the past ten years she’d always used this exact tactic to keep him in line.
First agree, then gently guide, mix in some physical touch and that motherly glow.
While Homelander sat there doubting her, Hillel dropped the perfect assist.
"Madelyn makes a good point."
Everyone turned to him.
Only Madelyn’s eyes filled with caution.
"But I’ve got a question."
Hillel crossed his legs and tapped his fingers on the armrest. "You said give you one week to handle it the most dignified way."
"So let me ask, how long did Vought take to handle A-Train’s drug mess and that hit-and-run last time with dignity?"
Madelyn’s smile froze.
"Three days!" Hillel answered himself. "In three days, Vought’s PR team cooked up a ’mind control’ story, paid off some big media outlets, and flipped A-Train from perpetrator to victim."
"It was handled with real dignity."
"But what was the actual result?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
He reached for his phone—emmm... yeah, Homelander smashed the damn thing yesterday.
Hillel looked over at Homelander. "Bro, you still owe me a phone."
Homelander didn’t answer, but the corner of his mouth twitched hard.
Hillel turned to Starlight. "Annie, mind if I borrow yours?"
Starlight paused, then pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it over.
Hillel opened social media, went to the A-Train topic page, and shoved the screen toward Madelyn.
"Check the comments."
[@HomeFapper: Mind control? Who the fuck are you kidding? A-Train’s a junkie. He’s just dragging down The Seven’s name!] 25k likes. 3k replies.
[@GuyInTheKnow: Vought whitewashing again, fucking disgusting.] 21k likes. 1.5k replies.
[@MoistCritical: Does Homelander know his teammate’s on drugs? If he knows and does nothing, how is he any different from A-Train?] 1M likes. 20k replies.
[@MilkLover: @HomeFapper, A-Train’s a junkie, yeah, but you think Homelander’s clean? He’s probably the biggest cancer in The Seven!] 6.9k likes. 67 replies.
[@Ironmouse: Bottom line, I don’t trust The Seven anymore. Everyone sees through Vought’s scripted bullshit!] 3k likes. 69 replies.
Hillel read them out loud, one by one, making sure the whole room heard every word.
Homelander’s face turned visibly darker.
Especially the last couple of comments that went straight for him.
Truth was, the internet was always like that. No one was perfect. Even a living saint would catch shit online.
But Homelander was never that rational.
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