A-Train immediately broke into a cold sweat.
It wasn't because he feared Butcher or Malrick—it was the math. Ten times per person meant at least twenty times in total. Twenty times! Even a whale would be exhausted. He wasn't sure he could even walk out of the War Room after this.
For a moment, he wondered if his betrayal had been exposed, enough that Homelander wanted him dead.
"Sir, I, I might not be able to…" A-Train stammered, trying to voice his hesitation.
But The Deep, who moments ago had been ready to snap at him, stepped forward. He raised his voice and declared, "A-Train says he's more than happy to!"
Clapping A-Train on the shoulder with force, The Deep first flattered Homelander, "This idea is brilliant, sir! Truly punishes those two intruders." Then he pointed at Malrick and Butcher, "You two, hurry up and help A-Train, give it everything you've got!"
A-Train gaped, incredulous.
Homelander, amused, turned to The Deep and nodded approvingly. "Good, very well said."
Then his gaze snapped back to Butcher, crimson light beginning to flare in his eyes. The four Vought members in the room instinctively swallowed hard. Homelander's mood swings were legendary, and none dared oppose him.
Yet the two standing at the door were undaunted.
"You can try," Malrick said with a half-smile.
Butcher chuckled. "Damn it… Homelander, if someone doesn't tell you off, that mouth of yours never shuts."
Homelander blinked, surprised that Butcher dared defy him, and that an unknown newcomer even joined in the challenge.
"Heh…" He laughed, red-gloved hand pointing at Butcher. "Still reckless, never worrying who dies because of you."
Each word hissed through clenched teeth, twisting his smile into a grotesque expression.
Then, without warning, he lashed out with crimson rays from his eyes toward Malrick, intending to kill him in front of Butcher, to spill blood across the ceiling.
"Hahaha… hmm?"
He expected Malrick to fall, but the young man remained perfectly intact. Not a hair out of place, not even a tear in his clothing.
Homelander froze, momentarily dumbfounded.
Malrick's smile was calm. "Is that all you've got?"
Homelander's eyes narrowed, recalling the 'Suck-Foot Boy' incident from before. His hands tightened behind his back. "You… are you from the company?"
"Heh, who I am doesn't matter," Malrick replied. His steps echoed as he walked directly in front of Homelander. "What matters is this: now I want to see you obey The Deep. Go on, do it properly until he's in shock. Then you may stop."
Malrick strolled to Homelander's seat, pulled out a chair, and rested his legs casually on the half-collapsed conference table.
"I want to see it too. Oi, don't keep us waiting," Butcher added, eyes glinting like a cat discovering a new toy. He followed Malrick, sitting opposite The Deep and A-Train.
Homelander's face hardened, lips pressed tight, every muscle straining to release the anger boiling inside him. The other four were squeezed to the side, giving Malrick and Butcher space. The Deep tried to shrink back, hiding behind his companions.
"I don't know who you are," Homelander muttered to Malrick. He struggled to contain his fury. "You might have been sent by Vought. Perhaps there's a misunderstanding—let's clarify it first…"
"Stop talking nonsense," Malrick interrupted coldly. "Do as I said, now."
Homelander's face twisted with rage, eyes splitting with crimson fire, ready to unleash destruction. His usual calm testing of the waters vanished.
"You! I gave you a chance, now I want you to… what? Wait, what's happening? My body… my arms… no, what?"
He could still move, but an invisible force restrained him, pulling him toward The Deep like a puppet on strings.
"This is impossible! Who are you? Where did Vought send you from?"
Panic overtook him. The invincible image he projected crumbled, revealing the helpless child within. Homelander, raised in cruel laboratories and a capitalist system, always longed for approval, for love, but his superego had convinced him he was a god. That illusion was shattered.
Desperate, he glanced at Ashley, The Deep, A-Train, and Black Noir for help. The four were frozen, unsure how to react, watching the mighty Homelander reduced to a panicked, manipulated figure.
Malrick turned his gaze to The Deep. "Be sensible, or I'll stuff your head where you don't want it."
The Deep froze, swallowed nervously, then hesitantly stepped forward from the space cleared by the others.
"Ho-Homelander… you, you…" The Deep stammered, looking up at Homelander, who now resembled nothing more than a child drowning, grasping for a lifeline.
___
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