Crack!
A sharp crack of bone rang out as the hand The Deep swung at Dean got snapped clean into an inverted V-shape.
“Aaaah!
My hand!
My hand!” Clutching the arm bent into a perfect V, The Deep dropped to his knees, tears streaming from the sheer agony.
Seeing The Deep kneeling with his head right at crotch height, Dean took two quick steps back and cursed.
“You damn sissy, don’t even fucking think about getting a taste.
Go buy yourself a pair of kneepads and blow your sea buddies instead!” Then he stepped in and drove a brutal knee straight into The Deep’s forehead.
The Deep flew backward, slammed into the lockers in the breakroom, and went out cold.
The Deep’s annoying screams finally stopped.
“Damn it, some people are just gluttons for punishment.
They won’t listen to a single word of reason until you beat the shit out of them!” Dean walked over to the unconscious Deep, ripped the number badge off his chest, and kept mocking him.
No one else in the breakroom dared step forward to stop him.
Instead every single one of them clutched their own number badges tighter.
Dean sneered.
“Heh.
What a bunch of useless trash.
Stop clutching your chests like a pack of sissies.
If I wanted your badges you’d already be on the floor next to this stinking fish!” He did not give a single shit about making enemies.
He just blanket-insulted every person in the room.
That instantly set the whole place on fire.
Everyone glared at Dean, cracking their knuckles, ready to jump him.
Which was exactly what Dean wanted.
He had already scanned the room.
Outside of The Deep, who was a familiar face, every other contestant was a complete stranger.
And any face that never even showed up in The Boys universe was almost guaranteed to have powers even more garbage than The Deep’s.
Dean planned to take over The Seven and eventually all of Vought.
Cleaning out this trash early would save him the trouble of dealing with them later.
“Stop!
Everyone stop!
What the hell is going on in here?!” Right when the fight was about to explode, a squad of heavily armed security stormed in with guns ready.
Leading them was a blonde woman in her thirties.
Every candidate supe in the room recognized her the second they saw her face.
She was the main person running the entire Seven selection—Madelyn Stillwell, Senior Vice President of Hero Management at Vought International.
She held the power to decide whether any of them would ever join The Seven and become all-stars of the supe world.
The moment Madelyn appeared, the crowd that had been ready to swarm Dean cooled off instantly.
One brown-nosing supe stepped forward to kiss ass and gave her the full play-by-play of what had just happened.
In reality Madelyn had already watched everything on the surveillance feeds.
She still pretended to be surprised, walked straight up to Dean, and held out her hand.
“Oh, are you Dean?” “We’ve met a few times at banquets before.
I wonder if you still remember me?” “Vought’s youngest Vice President, Ms.
Stillwell.
Of course I wouldn’t forget.” Dean shook her hand, a perfect gentleman’s smile sliding back onto his face.
He looked nothing like the guy who had just broken someone’s arm.
Madelyn’s smile got warmer.
“Don’t be so formal.
Just call me Madelyn.
After all, Vought and Osborn have always been on good terms.
Who knows, maybe we’ll be colleagues soon.” Dean’s smile deepened right along with hers.
“Then please look after me in the future, Madelyn.” The meaning behind Madelyn’s words could not have been clearer.
She was already preparing to open a back door for him.
She figured that as long as Dean showed even a little real ability in the trials, he would lock down a spot on The Seven without any trouble.
Having the eldest son of the Osborn family join The Seven was nothing but pure upside for Vought.
Sure enough, once Dean accepted her goodwill without hesitation, Madelyn’s face lit up with pure delight.
She turned to the crowd and announced: “Alright, I’ve reviewed the details of the incident with Dean.
Contestant Kevin Moskowitz started the physical altercation.
Dean only acted in self-defense.
Since Kevin Moskowitz is temporarily unable to compete, his ranking will be deferred.
Dean will take the vacant number 11 spot.
That is all.” With that she gestured to the tactical squad.
Several of them stepped forward, hauled the unconscious Deep out of the breakroom, and carried him away.
Watching Madelyn’s blatant favoritism, the other contestants were furious, but not one of them dared open their mouth.
Because Dean and Madelyn had not bothered to lower their voices, everyone now knew the young man who had the balls to beat someone senseless on Vought’s own turf was the eldest son of the Osborn Corporation.
They might have powers, but they were not Superman.
Offending the heir of a top-tier conglomerate like that was a fast way to get ruined, powers or no powers.
An elite family like the Osborns had a hundred quiet ways to destroy them.
So they swallowed the anger and stayed quiet.
Still, the contestants holding numbers 12 through 20 traded looks and quietly clustered together.
Dean noticed.
He did not give a single shit.
No matter how many ants you piled up, they were still just ants.
One stomp from him and the whole swarm was finished.
Madelyn paid zero attention to the little huddle forming.
She kept chatting with Dean, clearly eager to lock in a solid relationship with him.
If she could secure a real connection to the Osborn Corporation it would be a massive boost for her future campaign to become the next CEO of Vought.
She had already decided that if Dean’s powers were even halfway decent she would simply appoint him co-Captain of The Seven on the spot.
Dean knew exactly what was running through her head.
This woman was useful to him too, so he had no problem developing a deeper relationship with her.
Of course he meant a normal professional relationship.
Nothing sexual.
He had zero interest in his younger brother’s leftovers.
What neither of them noticed was the man floating above the breakroom, star-spangled cape draped over his shoulders, staring straight through the ceiling.
Homelander watched Madelyn fawn over Dean with a face full of pure jealousy.
This was Homelander, who had just flown over from Vought Tower to the selection venue.
Madelyn was another emotional counterweight Vought had carefully arranged for the affection-starved Homelander.
His wet nurse.
So when Homelander saw his wet nurse acting all warm and flirtatious with someone else, it felt exactly like getting cuckolded.
His teeth itched with jealousy.
Those deep blue eyes flared with a dangerous red glow, like he was one second away from laser-beaming Dean into ash while the guy stood there chatting happily with Madelyn.
“Look, it’s Homelander!
Homelander is here!” “Oh!
Homelander!
It’s really Homelander!” “He’s flying in the sky just like Jesus!
You’re so cool, Homelander!” Right when Homelander was on the edge of losing control and exploding, a wave of excited screams suddenly erupted from the nearby spectator stands.