"Oh? Really?"
A few meters away, The Deep's questioning voice came with a laugh.
"Of course, it's true, although…"
Starlight said as she turned around. She wanted to say that there were others, more specifically Queen Maeve.
But the sight that greeted her when she turned around made her jaw drop, stunned.
"What's wrong? Don't you admire me?"
The Deep, with only the upper half of his clothes on, was quite nonchalant, as if nothing was amiss, and said proudly with his hands on his hips.
"Oh, sh*t…"
She came back to her senses, flustered, utterly shocked, and then disgusted, feeling humiliated. She quickly walked out, as if fleeing the place.
"Hey, hey, no way, are you just going to leave?"
As she reached the door, The Deep, with his arms crossed, spoke with a threatening tone.
"It looks like… you don't really want to join The Seven!"
"What do you mean?"
Realizing she was being threatened with an unspoken rule, Starlight turned back angrily, raising her hands, immediately wanting to use her power to teach The Deep a lesson.
On the screen in the room, electric sparks flickered, and energy was drawn from the air, converging on her.
Her ability allowed her to absorb light and electrical energy to launch attacks.
"Oh, oh, calm down.
I know you might be strong, but you need to understand that I am The Seven's number two, the biggest after Homelander. I have the right to decide whether you stay or leave!"
The Deep raised his hands.
"Starlight goes crazy, has a nervous breakdown, attacks The Seven's The Deep, and is not suitable to be a superhero. How do you like that reason for expulsion?"
He was full of confidence, as if holding great power and looking down from above, speaking slowly with a hidden meaning in his tone, stepping closer.
"I heard you've wanted to be a superhero since you were little. Think about your mother who supported you, think about your fans who like you. Are you going to disappoint them?"
"I…"
Starlight's hand, ready to unleash her power, hesitated.
Her mother had sacrificed too much for her to become a superhero, working from a young age to support her in this profession, enduring a lot of hardship.
And there were also the fans who had silently encouraged and supported her when she was not famous.
"But… do I have to give in to this disgusting guy?"
She gritted her teeth, thinking to herself.
"Relax, everything is actually not that difficult…"
Seeing her hesitate, The Deep smiled confidently, full of assurance, ready to persuade her further. He was confident he could make this girl, who had longed to be a superhero since childhood, taste his The Deep caviar.
Click!
Suddenly, the high-tech door opened.
A figure slowly walked in.
"Damn it, who let you in?!"
Seeing an unfamiliar outsider enter, The Deep's momentum immediately collapsed. He quickly pulled up his pants, retreated in disarray, and shouted in annoyance.
Although he was submissive within the team, he still had some power and status in Vought Corporation.
"Justice compelled me to walk in."
Sitting casually by the conference table, Ron leaned back, tapping the armrest of the chair with his fingers, as if watching an interesting farce.
"I just couldn't stand to see a certain Joker pretending to be powerful and using unspoken rules on a new team member."
He said slowly.
"By the way, do you know he's at the bottom of the totem pole in The Seven?"
As if remembering something, he looked at Starlight, a single sentence exposing The Deep's lie.
"What?"
Starlight was startled.
"He's just a good-for-nothing. Even Invisible Man ranks higher than him."
Unlike The Deep, who was all bluster and easily exposed, Ron exuded a faint sense of power and confidence in his every move.
"No… no, it's not like that." The Deep's face showed panic, wanting to argue, but he had already been exposed.
"You disgusting bastard!"
Thinking that she had almost been deceived and threatened by such a person, Starlight angrily pushed with both hands.
With a crackle, a powerful current shot through the air, and The Deep was blasted away from a distance.
"Who told you all this? Who exactly are you?!"
Blasted over ten meters away, The Deep clutched his chest and scrambled to his feet in a sorry state, his face flushed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, as he furiously questioned Ron.
Who? Who leaked the secret that he was the lowest-ranked member of The Seven?!
This shouldn't be something outsiders could know.
"Me?
I'm the one here to inform you that you've been expelled from The Seven."
"Expelled? Impossible! Why?"
"Because I'm joining The Seven, and you need to make way for me."
Ron slowly explained the reason.
"Why should I?"
The Deep's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. He had rendered services to the company and earned money for it; the company couldn't just replace him so easily.
"Who are you? I've never seen you in Vought's superhero archives!"
Starlight, standing by, was somewhat puzzled. The Seven had always only had replacements, never outright substitutions. Was this true?
Had The Deep's attempt to use unspoken rules on her already been discovered, and Vought Corporation was dealing with it so quickly?
"Because of this!"
Ron sat in the chair, expressionless, his eyes glowing with a scarlet light.
Sizzle!
Scarlet laser beams scorched the air, traveling through space at the speed of light.
"Ah, Ho… Homelander!…"
The next second, The Deep clutched his lower body, screaming in agony as he collapsed.
The ability, familiar beyond familiarity, made him instinctively cry out, wanting to beg for mercy, but halfway through, he realized why it was being used by another person. However, his consciousness was quickly overwhelmed by pain, and a mental blow.
He writhed in pain on the ground, his body arched like a shrimp being seared on a hot plate.
"Ah, it's gone, I can't feel it, ah ah ah…"
A tragic sight that would make anyone who heard or saw it weep.
"Shut up, you're a bit noisy."
But Ron, utterly unsympathetic, reprimanded him.
His recent actions seemed to have nothing to do with him, and he coldly told The Deep to shut up and stop screaming.
"He… he probably can't do that."
Starlight, by the side, was so scared she clapped a hand over her mouth. Even she, who disliked The Deep, felt this was perhaps a bit too much to ask. She shrank her neck, saying cautiously.
What male creature could endure such pain?
"No… I, ah ah!"
Fear permeated his body and mind, but The Deep was in so much pain his consciousness was blurred, unbearable, and he continued to scream.
Frowning at the noise, Ron's eyes glowed crimson again.