"Still no sign of Starlight?"
In the hospital, Ashley, now a Senior Vice President at Vought, who had brought The Deep in for emergency treatment, asked her assistant, also named 'Ashley'.
The assistant shook her head and then cautiously looked towards the emergency room:
"The Deep… is he okay?"
"You're asking me?" Ashley was barely holding it together. She clutched at her hair, her voice tight with suppressed anger as she gritted out:
"How would I know if he's okay?! Damn it!!!"
As she yelled, Ashley didn't control her strength and pulled out a good amount of her hair.
This made the assistant wince, thinking how much it must hurt.
But Ashley seemed oblivious, continuing to rub her hair in the waiting area outside the emergency room, as if she wouldn't stop until every strand was pulled out.
Ashley had no idea what Homelander was raving about today.
First, he destroyed Stormfront's trailer, then he punched a hole through The Deep's chest. If Maeve hadn't found him in time and brought The Deep to the hospital, The Deep would probably be dead by now!
And the crucial point wasn't even there.
If Homelander did these things in private, Vought wouldn't be unable to do damage control and gloss over the matter.
But the problem was, it was on set!
The crew members and actors from other entertainment companies were all watching!
Who knew if they had recorded it?!
And who could guarantee they wouldn't spread the word?
If they leaked it to the media, then everything would truly be over!!!
Although Ashley was prepared, temporarily sealing off information from the set and having Vought personnel talk to everyone there.
To ensure, to the greatest extent, that this matter wouldn't spread.
But ultimately, too many people had too many mouths. Ashley couldn't possibly silence everyone.
So, she had no idea how to handle this situation now.
Ashley repeatedly clutched at her hair, and the assistant beside her didn't know whether to console her or not.
After a while, the light in the emergency room finally went out, and the attending physician in charge of the operation walked out.
Ashley immediately rushed up to him:
"How is he? Can he still be saved?"
"…"
The doctor looked at Ashley and gently shook his head:
"…He's a Supe, his skin is very tough, so the surgery was already difficult, plus… he was injured in a vital area."
"What do you mean?"
Ashley was a bit unwilling to accept Reality.
The doctor, also from Vought, knew Ashley's current predicament. He looked at her with pity and said:
"His heart was damaged; he can no longer be saved."
"…"
"Alright, to be clearer, The Deep is dead."
"…"
Upon hearing this news, Ashley's eyes rolled back, and she fell backward.
…
As Ashley fainted from the shock, inside Vought building, Edgar personally came to The Seven's meeting room and questioned Homelander:
"What the hell are you doing, Homelander?"
Homelander faced the window, staring at the city outside, not acknowledging Edgar.
Edgar was quiet for a moment, and when Homelander didn't reply, he continued:
"I've sent people to control the set, trying to prevent the news from spreading, but this can only be hidden for a while, not forever. You need to come up with an excuse quickly to face the upcoming public opinion.
"The company is very busy right now; we don't have time to clean up your mess."
"How is The Deep?"
Homelander suddenly asked.
Edgar exhaled deeply and calmly replied:
"He's dead."
"…"
"That's why I need you to deal with this as soon as possible. Infighting within The Seven—that's not good news."
Edgar spoke to Homelander as if it were a routine matter, then turned and left.
After he left, Stormfront, who had just passed him, entered the meeting room.
She looked at Edgar's retreating back, then at Homelander in the room, and after a moment's thought, walked over to Homelander and asked:
"What happened while I was gone? The Deep, he…"
"You didn't even come to the group meeting."
Homelander interrupted Stormfront before she could finish.
Their current relationship was romantic. Ever since Stormfront helped Homelander deal with the public opinion that had been bothering him, Homelander and Stormfront had become a couple.
This period had indeed made Homelander very happy. He believed that even if Madelyn were still alive and still loved him wholeheartedly, she couldn't have made him this happy.
But what Homelander couldn't accept was Stormfront's deception.
Originally, because of the nightmares he'd been having these past few days, Homelander had thought of relaxing and specifically bought Stormfront a bouquet of flowers to make their 'game' more interesting.
But then Stormfront said she had to leave for something.
Homelander accepted it.
Worst case, he'd just wait a little longer.
But Stormfront made him wait too long, so long that Homelander couldn't help but go to Vought to find her.
As a result, Homelander didn't find Stormfront, who had said she was coming back for a meeting, here.
No one in the entire Vought had seen her.
The anger of being deceived, combined with the frustration of consecutive nightmares, caused Homelander to lose control of his emotions, leading him to destroy Stormfront's trailer and kill The Deep.
So, Stormfront was largely responsible for The Deep's death.
Seemingly sensing Homelander's rage, Stormfront pursed her lips and took two steps forward.
"I can…"
"Explain?"
Homelander turned around, cutting off Stormfront's words.
He slowly walked towards the woman he loved, gazing deeply at her, his eyes filled with an indescribable chaos.
"I suddenly thought, what reason do you have to explain to me?"
Homelander's words were calm, but it was precisely this calmness that was terrifying.
Because the calmer he was, the angrier Homelander was, even more… furious than the rage he had previously shown.
Stormfront understood Homelander, especially after becoming involved with him.
And because of that, Stormfront couldn't say anything now.
She knew that if Homelander truly intended to kill, she wouldn't last a minute in his hands.
"…I'm sorry, I… I'm very sorry, I…"
Knowing that Homelander was already angry, Stormfront whispered an apology, but Homelander interrupted her again:
"No need to apologize, and you don't need to apologize to me. Anyway, I already understand your true nature."
"No, you misunderstood… I…"
"Shut up!"
Homelander forcefully silenced Stormfront. He raised his hand, clenching his fist at Stormfront, then, after a deep breath, lowered his fist:
"I don't want to hear anything right now. Go do what you need to do, Stormfront."
Having said that, Homelander intended to leave.
Stormfront quickly called out to him:
"I can help you with The Deep's situation this time!"
"No need! And, from now on, I won't need your help anymore."
Homelander spoke to Stormfront like a pouting child, then turned and left without looking back.
And Stormfront watched Homelander's retreating figure, lost in thought for a long time.
She didn't know what exactly had happened, but she was certain that if this matter wasn't handled well, her relationship with Homelander would likely be over.
…
The Deep of this Reality was dead.
When Kevin confirmed this news through A-Train, he was also full of shock.
Kevin truly couldn't understand why, when he had done nothing and hadn't even met Homelander, the plot of this Reality had undergone such a drastic change.
The Deep of The Seven, that Black Robe comedian who had lived well through three seasons, had actually died at Homelander's hands.
Kevin estimated that The Deep of this Reality probably couldn't understand why Homelander would kill him so brutally before he died.
Yes, why? Kevin couldn't understand either!
Had The Deep of this Reality ever provoked Homelander?!
"No, I need to go back and check."
The more Kevin thought about it, the more he felt something was off. He had a feeling he might have overlooked something.
He didn't plan to continue acting with The Boys. Instead, he decided to go back first to carefully investigate the cause of this incident.
To figure out what happened, Kevin left The Boys.
Of course, to prevent what happened in the TV show—Hughie getting injured by a Supe running out later—Kevin specifically waited until the riot at Sage Grove Center occurred and a Supe ran out, only then did he leave after dealing with that Supe.
Kevin didn't even glance at the small amount of skill points he gained for this. He immediately turned back to find A-Train and Barry.
The first thing Kevin did when he found A-Train was to reconfirm The Deep's condition.
"Are you sure The Deep is really dead?"
Back in the presidential suite where Barry was staying, Kevin asked A-Train, who was pacing anxiously.
A-Train immediately replied:
"It's confirmed! The Deep died after failed resuscitation! What should we do? Did… did Homelander find out something? Will he… will he come to kill me too?!"
A-Train's expression at the end showed clear panic.
Whether The Deep died or not actually had nothing to do with A-Train; it wasn't him who died, after all.
A-Train's only concern was whether Homelander had discovered his involvement with the other Kevin, which was why he killed The Deep of this world.
As for why he killed The Deep instead of Kevin.
It was very likely because Homelander didn't know they were two different people, and thought they were the same person, which led him to be so ruthless to The Deep.
Anyway, A-Train was extremely panicked now. He felt like Homelander would burst in any second and hit him with Heat Vision, making him follow The Deep's fate.
"Calm down, Homelander isn't someone who would casually kill his teammates."
"…"
Kevin tried to calm A-Train, but A-Train looked up, silently staring at Kevin.
If Homelander wouldn't kill teammates, then what about The Deep?
"…Alright, it seems things have changed a bit. Barry, get ready later. I'll figure out a way to get your powers back first."
Homelander attacking The Deep, the reason was still unknown.
But given the current situation, it was indeed not suitable for Barry to remain in a powerless state.
Kevin planned to take the opportunity to return to Marvel World, first to get Compound V from Banner, and then inject it into Barry.
At that time, whether Barry truly recovered his Speed Force or didn't recover Speed Force but awakened other abilities, Barry would at least have the power to protect himself.
Kevin could also safely stay in this world and continue his investigation.
Otherwise, who knew if Barry would die from an unknown AOE one day.
"A-Train, go investigate what happened again."
Before preparing to return to Marvel World, Kevin once again ordered A-Train.
A-Train looked astonished:
"Me?"
"That's right, you. Don't worry, as long as you act normal, Homelander won't say anything to you. Of course, even if you do say something, it doesn't matter; Homelander won't believe it."
Kevin smiled at A-Train.
If The Deep hadn't died before, and A-Train said something happened between him and The Deep, the Homelander of this world might have believed it.
But now, The Deep was confirmed dead. If A-Train said he collaborated with another The Deep… Homelander would probably think he was an idiot.
So, Kevin wasn't worried at all now that A-Train would tell Homelander about his affairs.
In fact, he was even faintly looking forward to it.
Looking forward to what Homelander's expression would be when he found out that 'The Deep' wasn't dead yet.