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Neither A-Train, The Deep, Translucent, nor Queen Maeve wanted to join the fight. They were here to make money, not to risk their lives. But they were firmly under Vought's control.
Vought had gone to great lengths to keep them in line. First, there was Compound V. The Seven knew about it, but they all chose to stay silent. They had no power to stop Vought from continuing its experiments.
Vought, which controlled Compound V, could mass-produce superhumans at any time. The Seven understood this, which made them wary of the company.
Then there was the issue of checks and balances. Vought had hundreds of superhumans under its control. If any of the Seven dared to rebel, Vought could simply send others to deal with them. If one wasn't enough, they'd send two. Anyone who disobeyed would be punished.
Finally, there was economic control. Vought managed everything for the superhumans—packaging, publicity, advertising, and the entire production line. The Seven were like celebrities, relying on Vought for their high salaries. Without the company's support, even as superhumans, they'd lose their fame and comfortable lifestyles overnight.
Take Crimson Countess, one of the original Seven, for example. After losing her income, she had to make money by doing live streams with her fans at night. She didn't look like a former superhero at all.
Vought had the Seven under its thumb in every way. Neither Homelander nor A-Train could afford to lose their status as members of the Seven. They thrived on the attention and cheers of the public and would do anything to keep it.
Even when facing Norin, who had beaten Homelander to a pulp, they hesitated for a moment but eventually chose to attack together.
Of the five, Black Noir was the most obedient. He charged forward first—and was sent flying back even faster. When the others looked closely, they saw his chest was caved in, blood gushing out like a fountain.
Fear flashed in their eyes.
This was too much!
Could they really take him down?
"I suggest calling for more backup. The enemy is much stronger than we thought," A-Train suggested.
Madelyn looked at the group, who seemed to be waiting for her to do something, and couldn't help but tremble with anger.
'Is this still The Seven? What a bunch of cowards!'
'Every one of them has no backbone!'
"If you don't act now, once he's dealt with Homelander, we'll be next. And Edgar won't let you off the hook—not even me," Madelyn said slowly.
The others' expressions changed. They all knew the big boss's temper. If he found out they'd disobeyed, their lives would be miserable.
Thinking this, they exchanged glances and charged at Norin together.
Homelander was growing more desperate.
Norin was only slightly stronger than him. But he had the rest of the Seven on his side. And it seemed Vought hadn't abandoned him yet—they'd send reinforcements, maybe even troops.
'Beat one with many—the advantage is mine!'
Even though Homelander usually looked down on his teammates and didn't consider them real allies, he had to admit they were somewhat capable. Except for The Deep, of course.
Take A-Train, for example. He could move faster than the speed of sound. Just delay Norin for a moment, and Homelander believed…
Bang!
While Homelander was still fantasizing, he saw A-Train, who was about to launch a sneak attack, get slapped away by Norin, who had superhuman reflexes.
'It's fine, not a big deal.'
A-Train was just a little slow. Homelander only needed to focus a bit to hit him. But they also had Translucent, who was nearly undetectable when invisible.
If Translucent could distract Norin, Homelander could land a few punches and win…
Before he could find the right moment to attack, he saw Norin fire a heat beam to the right without even turning his head.
Blood splattered in the air, and a figure was sent flying, smashing through the wall behind him.
"..."
Homelander even caught a glimpse of disdain on Norin's face. Against vibration perception, Translucent's sneak attack was as useless as throwing a rock.
"They're all trash!" Homelander cursed inwardly, but then tried to comfort himself.
'It's fine, we still have The Deep…'
Wait, where was The Deep?
Homelander spotted him hiding in the crowd. When The Deep noticed Homelander looking at him, he frowned and quickly retreated behind the others.
The Deep knew his strengths and weaknesses. In terms of combat power, he ranked sixth among the Seven.
Not because he was strong, but because there were only six of them now. Unless he was fighting in the ocean, he was like a stranded shark—useless.
Finally, Homelander turned his attention to Queen Maeve.
She was his hope. The hope of the Seven.
At this moment, Homelander forgot all the threats and insults he'd hurled at her. She was like an angel, his only chance at salvation.
Queen Maeve was strong enough to be second only to him in the Seven. Her physical prowess and combat skills could definitely help him take down this fake Homelander.
Under Homelander's expectant gaze, Queen Maeve stepped forward.
She really came.
Walking toward him under everyone's eager eyes.
Wait, no—she was standing in the wrong place.
Why was she going to the other guy?
'No way, she's betraying me!'
Homelander was stunned. He hadn't expected Queen Maeve to surrender to Norin so quickly.
Norin glanced at Queen Maeve.
"Smart choice."
With that, Norin walked toward Homelander, not even bothering to watch his back around Queen Maeve.
Queen Maeve stared at Norin's back, unsure if her choice was right. But the oppression she'd endured from Homelander was too much.
Every day, she felt like her life wasn't her own. Talking to him was nerve-wracking, fearing one wrong move would set him off.
She'd had enough of this life.
Before, no one had the strength to resist Homelander. But now, Norin's appearance gave her hope.
The only question was, what was Norin's goal? Would it provoke a full-scale attack from Vought?
Could he withstand Vought's wrath?
The world-famous Seven didn't last more than three minutes against Norin. Some surrendered, some were severely injured, and some hid behind the crowd.
Now, only Homelander remained, and the fight returned to one-on-one.
To be honest, Norin hadn't expected this. He thought it would be a fierce battle, but it turned out like this?
Just by using Kara's powers, he could dominate The Boys universe.
What a waste of all his preparations.
Norin was disappointed.
A single Homelander couldn't push him to his limits.
He even wanted to bring out Soldier Boy early to stretch his muscles and improve his combat skills.
Every time Norin took a step forward, Homelander took a step back. When he had no more room to retreat, he noticed the cameras held by the onlookers outside.
His miserable state would likely be broadcast everywhere.
Homelander felt a mix of humiliation and rage. He roared and charged at Norin, firing his heat vision wildly.
But this time, all the attacks passed straight through Norin's body.
The heat vision was absorbed.
Confused, Homelander punched through Norin, only to find his fist meeting air. He stared at the illusory enemy, fear spreading through him.
New abilities.
Norin not only had all his powers but also abilities he didn't possess. This move alone made him immune to all attacks.
How was he supposed to fight this?
The next second, Homelander shot into the sky without looking back.
But with a simple raise of Norin's hand, the telekinetic power of a Level 5 mutant—Jean Grey—yanked Homelander back to the ground, slamming him hard.
Before Homelander could react, Norin grabbed him by the throat.
The feeling of suffocation, the darkness of death...
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Homelander was truly terrified this time. He looked like a child scared by a bully, snot and tears streaming down his face, mixed with blood.
It almost made one feel guilty for bullying him.
Looking at this scene, who could believe this was the same man who killed without hesitation?
Norin suddenly felt bored.
The strongest in The Boys Universe? Tsk!
Norin turned to Madelyn. Without her realizing it, his mental power surged into her brain, extracting everything he wanted to know.
The location of Stan Edgar, the real boss of Vought Corporation.