Chapter 30
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Two stories were running across the news.
The first was about the masked man who had confronted Homelander at Believe Expo. The footage did not show Adam's face. It did show Homelander stopping in front of him.
Every channel asked the same question: was the masked man Homelander's friend or his enemy? Reporters placed the zinc mask beside the Flight 37 footage and tried to prove that both men were the same hero.
The same clips played all day. People recognized the mask now, but no one knew the man's name.
The second story was Starlight.
Her speech had started a new harassment movement online. People demanded the name of the Seven member who had hurt her. Supporters stood beside Starlight while television panels guessed at every man on the team.
Both stories hurt Vought. By that afternoon, the company had started a whitewash campaign.
The new advertisements talked about the heroes' struggles and showed their lives away from the cameras. Vought wanted viewers to see the Seven as normal people again.
Vought wanted the public to forget the abuse and talk about the heroes' childhoods instead.
Homelander was taken to a fake childhood home so the ad could present a warm story about the boy he had once been. Cameras followed him through rooms dressed to look warm and familiar. Queen Maeve had her own campaign to film. She sat through it without listening while the people around her discussed camera angles and fed her prepared lines.
Maeve kept hearing the words of the child from the plane.
She had visited that child after Adam saved the flight. Maeve had expected the child to refuse the meeting. If the child agreed to see her, Maeve expected anger and harsh words about being abandoned on the plane.
The child had only looked at her and said, "You are not heroes. You are villains." The child kept looking at Maeve. "A hero is here now, and one day his team will stand before the world. They will come for all of you."
Maeve knew the girl had exaggerated after seeing Adam only once. Even so, she had said every word while looking straight at Maeve. There had been no doubt in her voice.
A director called for another take and told Maeve to smile. Maeve faced the camera and tried. All she could think about was the plane and the crying passengers. You are villains.
At a restaurant, Adam sat across from Annie. She looked lighter than before. "You look relieved today," Adam said.
Annie let out a breath and smiled. "Because I am. It feels like a weight came off my shoulders. You have no idea how good it feels. For the first time since joining the Seven, I feel like I can breathe again."
"I am proud of you," Adam said. "If I were in your place, I do not know if I could have done it."
Annie shook her head. "No. You kept reminding me who I wanted to be, but you never forced me. Without you, I might not have said it on that stage."
Adam smiled.
'She would have done it without me,' Adam thought. 'But I am glad I helped.'
"Are Vought people pressuring you?" he asked.
"They are under pressure too," Annie said. "But I am not bending again. I am going to stay who I am."
Adam leaned back a little. "You know," he said, "telling the truth made you look even cuter."
Annie's smile became shy. "Was I not cute before?"
Adam pretended to think about it for a second.
"You were," Adam said. "Now it is more."
Back at the hideout, everyone had gathered again. M.M. stood near Frenchie while Butcher watched Hughie and the Female.
Hughie looked toward the door. "Adam is not here. Should we wait for him?"
"Leave it," Butcher said. "Start."
M.M. and Frenchie looked at Butcher, but neither argued. His tone told them why he did not want to wait. No matter how often Adam helped, Butcher still saw a Supe. Adam's closeness to Starlight had made that distrust worse.
Hughie glanced toward the door again, then stayed quiet.
M.M. explained what they had found.
Compound V was being moved through fifty-two hospitals, and the records reached back to the seventies. Vought had hidden the work behind charity programs and medical treatment. Supes were not born special because of God. They were made after Compound V was given to them as children.
Hughie looked sick after hearing it. Butcher stood with his jaw tight while Frenchie turned toward the Female.
The Female kept pushing papers toward Frenchie, trying to pull him away from the discussion. Strange symbols covered every page.
Frenchie sat beside her and looked through the pages. "I do not understand what you are trying to tell me," he said.
M.M. and Hughie studied the symbols, but neither understood them.
The Female pushed the papers toward Frenchie once more and struck one symbol with her finger. Frenchie tried again, but he still could not understand the warning.
Frenchie turned toward Butcher. "We need to know her past," Frenchie said.
Butcher looked at the pages, then at the Female.
"Leave this cult's past to me," Butcher said. "I will dig it out."
===== Upcoming Teasers =====
1. Chapter 31: M.M. and Adam bring Mesmer into Kimiko's story.
2. Chapter 32: Kimiko's past points toward Vought's bigger plan.
3. Chapter 33: Homelander receives the faces of the Boys.
Read ahead on P@tr3on or K0‑fi "AlphaBoss169'' page and unlock +20 extra chapters.
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