Madelyn’s office.
Under the watchful eyes of Madelyn and Homelander, The Deep opened the galvanized metal box.
When she saw what was inside, Madelyn couldn’t hold it in.
She grabbed the trash can and began to vomit.
It was a box of minced meat, bloated from the seawater, a sickening mixture of red and white.
Countless shredded internal organs were squished together.
Even The Deep felt his stomach turn.
Only Homelander remained entirely expressionless.
He stared at the viscous pile of flesh, where the shredded meat and organs were almost indistinguishable, and plunged his hand right in, rummaging through it.
A moment later, he pulled out a damaged microchip.
Soggy bits of meat clung to his red glove, dripping onto the floor with a wet splat.
At this sight, Madelyn, who had just finished throwing up, hugged the trash can again.
The Deep thought: *Madelyn, save some room in there.*
Even Madelyn’s vomit looked more appetizing than this pile of minced meat.
Homelander turned the damaged chip in the light, smiling.
“Translucent is dead.
But he, or they, are coming for me.”
Madelyn propped herself up against the desk.
She looked pale, with a thin trail of saliva still hanging from the corner of her mouth—a sight that made Homie crave her all over again.
Madelyn asked, “John, how do you know they’re coming for you?”
Homelander put his hands behind his back, looking utterly proud.
“My X-ray vision can’t see through zinc, and this box is galvanized.
And…”
Homelander pointed at the box.
“…the words on the box.”
Madelyn glanced at the box.
Written on it was: [coming for you].
Madelyn frowned.
“Translucent has diamond-hard skin.
What kind of super strength could tear him apart like this?
Aside from you, I can’t think of a single Supe with that kind of power.
Has a powerful new Supe emerged?”
Homelander scooped up a handful of minced meat, brought it to his nose, and sniffed.
“Oh!
That’s the smell of C4.
I’m afraid the one who killed Translucent wasn’t a Supe at all, but an ordinary human.”
*Ugh!* Madelyn gagged again.
The Deep kept his expression as calm as a placid lake, but in his mind, he was cursing up a storm.
Homelander had super smell, yet he just had to scoop it up and sniff it.
Aside from pure, sick enjoyment, there was no other explanation.
Madelyn couldn’t stand the sight of the meat any longer.
She called Ashley in, ordered her to take the box away, and told her to have the tech team analyze it for clues.
The Deep wanted to use the opportunity to slip away with Ashley, but Homelander and Madelyn called out to him in unison.
“The Deep, you can stay and give us your opinion.”
Sometimes, being too highly valued wasn’t a good thing.
The three of them sat on the sofa.
Madelyn spoke first.
“Translucent’s diamond skin shouldn’t be destroyed even by a C4 explosion, right?
How did they cut open his skin to plant the explosives?”
Homelander also knit his brows in deep thought, unable to find an answer.
Had Translucent gotten depressed and committed suicide?
“The asshole!
It’s the asshole!” The Deep offered a hint.
“No matter how tough Translucent’s outer skin was, his internal organs were only as strong as a normal human’s.
They just had to shove the C4 up his ass, and the rest would be easy.”
The two of them suddenly realized the truth.
Madelyn couldn’t help but praise him.
“The Deep, your intelligence is beyond my expectations.”
The Deep wanted nothing more than to punch this woman to make her shut up.
When Madelyn praised him, he felt no joy whatsoever.
Instead, he kept his eyes on Homelander the entire time, clearly seeing the corner of Homelander’s eye twitch.
*Madelyn, if you want me to live another two days, stop showing how much you appreciate me.*
Homelander’s possessiveness over Madelyn was far greater than his possessiveness over Maeve.
But Homelander wouldn’t kill him just over a single compliment.
As everyone knew, Homie was an extremely sensitive and love-starved individual.
This psychology made him intensely possessive of everyone around him.
Not just Madelyn and Maeve—Homie actually showed a lot of leniency toward the other members of the Seven, and even toward his rival, Butcher.
He said the harshest words, but he always held back.
Even when he threatened you with his laser eyes, he always stopped just in time.
It was like teasing your own pet puppy.
Sometimes, when the mood struck, you might flick its balls for no reason just to see it look pitiful and aggrieved, making you laugh out loud.
Homie viewed himself as a god, the lord of all, who had to show fatherly love to his subordinates.
Even if his puppy tore the entire house apart, Homie would comfort himself, thinking: *I raised this dog.
Its sins are my sins.
Don’t get angry, don’t get angry.*
That was why someone as stupid as The Deep could survive from the very beginning to the final episode.
But there was one thing Homie absolutely could not tolerate—betrayal.
That was his ultimate red line.
Touch it, and you die.
So whether it was Madelyn, Black Noir, Maeve, or even his own biological son, if they betrayed him, Homie would kill them without a shred of hesitation.
The Deep understood Homelander’s psychology perfectly.
As long as he didn’t try to get fresh with Madelyn, he could be forgiven for almost anything.
But this was only true for the early stages.
In the later stages, Homelander would view anyone who didn’t revere him as a god as a traitor.
And it wasn’t just verbal reverence.
He would even find a telepathic Supe to read your mind.
If your faith in him wavered even a tiny bit, his laser eyes would blast you the next second.
This made The Deep resolve that while he could ride Homie’s coattails and act tough in the early stages, staying with him in the later stages would be nothing short of suicide.
To this end, The Deep made two preparations: he would show his loyalty to Homelander, but he would also secretly support The Boys’ anti-Homelander activities until he grew strong enough to counter him.
He didn’t even need to defeat Homie.
He just had to hurt him enough, and Homie would immediately change his attitude, upgrading him from a dog to a fellow god on equal footing.
As Homelander and Madelyn eagerly discussed who the mastermind could be, The Deep sat quietly to the side, nodding in agreement from time to time, playing the role of a loyal lackey to perfection.
He had to appear smart, because Homelander hated stupidity.
But he couldn’t be *too* smart and steal Homelander’s spotlight, or he would be resented.
Being around Homelander really was like living with a tiger.
The two discussed for a long while without reaching a conclusion.
Finally, Homie shot The Deep a look, and The Deep knew it was his cue to leave.
He immediately took his leave of them, leaving the “breastfeeding room” to the two of them.
Madelyn escorted him to the door, smiling as she invited him, “The Deep, I’m hosting a salon tomorrow evening.
A lot of celebrities will be there.
If you have time, you should come.”
“I’ll definitely be there, Miss Madelyn,” The Deep replied with a smile, then closed the office door behind him.
As the lock clicked into place, The Deep, having none of Homie’s bizarre fetishes, walked straight to Queen Maeve’s office.
“Oh!
My Queen.
Your punching bag—The Deep—is at your service.”
Queen Maeve had her arms crossed.
Her face was grim and gloomy, but when she heard The Deep’s ridiculous tone and saw his silly pose, she couldn’t help but crack a smile.
This shameless bastard.
“Maeve, what’s wrong?
You seem very angry today.”
“You want to hear about it?”
“Of course.
In case you’re heartbroken over a breakup, I can swoop right in and make my move.”
*BOOM!!!*
A loud explosion echoed.
The Deep was launched into the air again!
The corner of Queen Maeve’s mouth curved upward.
“Make your move on me?
Beat me first.”
“Maeve, dammit, if you don’t want to let me touch you, just say so.”
“I’ll let you.
But you have to beat me.”
*Bang!
Bang!
Bang!*
The sound of fists hitting flesh repeatedly exploded in the training hall.
Inside the hall, there were only afterimages of Maeve and the hollowed-out fist prints left on The Deep’s body.
In the blink of an eye, a hundred punches knocked him flat on the ground.
His face bruised and battered beyond recognition, The Deep lay on the floor, looking at Maeve with a defiant grin.
He stuck out his tongue and made a V-sign with his index and middle fingers on either side of it.
*Blehhh!*
*Maeve, kill me if you can, because sooner or later, I’m going to ride you.*
“Good show!
Worthy of a reward!”
Maeve stomped her foot, burying The Deep’s head straight into the concrete floor.