Chapter 127: The Deep’s Hesitation
The Deep hesitated.
Everyone watched him, watched the arrogant Lord of the Seven Seas fall silent under Adana’s calm, steady threat.
Then the corner of The Deep’s mouth curled up again. "Forget it. I’m not scared. Go ahead and leak it. You’re all dying here tonight anyway, so what the hell does it matter?"
Adana’s gaze sharpened, and his brow creased slightly.
Not scared? How was that possible?
"Heh... Then let’s just burn it all down together."
Adana laughed.
"You kill every last one of us, sure. No problem.
But have you thought about what happens after I die? My people won’t just leak your dirt.
They’ll leak everything they’ve collected on every superhero.
Every Supe under Vought. Every member of The Seven. All of them get ripped apart on the same damn day."
The Deep’s pupils tightened.
He stood there, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
"I’ll believe you don’t give a shit about yourself."
Adana’s smile turned more pointed.
"But what about the others? Will Homelander give a shit? Will Soldier Boy?
What about all those second- and third-tier Supes who make a living off their public image?
When they find out it was your impulsive bullshit, The Deep, that caused all of this, that you brought down the credibility of Vought’s entire superhero system overnight, do you think they’ll forgive you?"
The Deep stood frozen in place.
Seeing him hesitate, everyone in the warehouse held their breath and stared at him, unsure whether The Deep would let them live.
The truth was, even The Deep wasn’t sure what he should do next.
What if all the dirt got exposed? Not just his, but Homelander’s, Soldier Boy’s, Maeve’s, every superhero’s.
He didn’t know what would happen to Vought then, but one thing was certain.
Every person he dragged down with him would come after him.
He couldn’t take that risk. But he couldn’t let these people walk away either.
Once he figured that out, The Deep moved.
He punched Adana straight in the face, holding back just enough.
Adana flew backward and slammed hard into the warehouse’s concrete wall with a dull thud. Then he slid to the floor, blood splitting the corner of his mouth.
Everyone froze.
Mallory’s hand went to the grip of the gun at her waist. The security personnel instinctively raised their weapons. Sameer huddled in the corner, completely stunned.
None of them had expected The Deep to attack so suddenly.
Hadn’t he just been hesitating? Struggling with it? How had he gone for the kill in the blink of an eye?
Adana pushed himself up from the floor, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at The Deep. For the first time, surprise showed in his eyes.
"You..."
His voice was hoarse and confused.
"You’re not afraid of the dirt getting leaked?"
"As long as you’re alive, you can keep checking in and telling them you’re safe."
The Deep shook the blood off his fist and walked toward Adana step by step, his pace steady and certain.
He looked down at Adana on the floor, a smile returning to his face.
"I’m not gonna kill you. I just need to keep you breathing so you can contact your people every few hours and tell them you’re safe and sound.
As for everything else, we’ve got all the time in the world to play.
We’ve got ten thousand ways to torture you. One of them’s bound to teach you how to behave. Wanna try the first one?"
Adana’s expression changed.
He hadn’t expected The Deep to come up with that.
It was nothing like the stupid, arrogant image The Deep usually showed people.
But no one had time to sit around analyzing The Deep’s IQ.
Almost at the same instant, the security personnel raised their guns and opened fire, every barrel aimed at The Deep.
Bullets poured out like a storm, muzzle flashes flickering across the dim warehouse one after another.
The Deep just stood there without moving, letting the bullets rattle against his body.
The rounds struck his uniform, leaving tiny dents before ricocheting away and clattering sharply across the floor.
His body didn’t move back even half a step from the impact.
"Stop being stupid! Guns don’t work on The Deep!
His durability is second only to Homelander and Maeve!"
The gunfire cut off abruptly. The security personnel looked at one another, then at the smoke rising from their barrels and the completely unharmed The Deep, realizing Sameer had been telling the truth.
The Deep turned his head toward Sameer, who was still trembling in the corner, and gave him a genuinely approving smile.
He raised his hand and gave Sameer a thumbs-up.
"Smart, Sameer. Knew Vought people were better than these amateurs."
Sameer’s expression still looked terrible.
Just then, without anyone noticing, Adana quietly slipped a hand into his pocket from where he lay on the floor.
His fingers brushed against a cold metal object. A syringe filled with some kind of green liquid.
In that instant, his eyes turned complicated, then resolute. He drove the syringe into the outside of his thigh, pressed the plunger with his thumb, and pushed all the green liquid into his veins in less than a second.
The Deep heard the faint clink of metal and turned just in time to see Adana pulling the empty syringe out of his leg.
His composure vanished. His brows snapped together, and he lunged forward.
Even an idiot could tell something was wrong.
But it was too late. Adana was already on his knees, both hands clamped around his own throat, letting out a hoarse roar as if he were in agony.
The Deep tried to punch him in the head, only to find he could barely move him. Or rather, he couldn’t do much damage at all.
Before long, Adana dodged one of The Deep’s punches and stood back up. His eyes were bloodshot as he raised his hand.
The Deep’s body was locked in place by an invisible force.
He stood there completely motionless, his arms pinned hard against his sides. Every muscle in his body strained desperately, veins bulging from his neck.
But no matter how hard he fought, that force didn’t budge.
The Deep was pinned to the ground.
What kind of superpower was this?
Immobilization?
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