This mysterious “ninja” hero who had been active for Vought since World War II carried a body full of injuries and still beat the other nine supes into the ground.
Even A-Train, whose lightning-fast runs had the crowd screaming wave after wave of cheers, ended up getting stomped under Black Noir’s boots.
The entire match Black Noir never once pulled out any of the flashy superpowers the other contestants loved to show off.
He just used pure strength and combat skill and methodically took everyone down the most straightforward way possible.
[The one still standing at the end of the first match is Black Noir, who has been carrying out the duties of a superhero ever since the World War II hero team Payback!] [Now let’s give him every bit of our applause, shall we?] Madelyn’s emotionally charged voice rolled out of the giant screens and nearly a hundred thousand people in the stadium roared Black Noir’s name in unison.
Down in the arena Black Noir showed zero reaction to the attention of tens of thousands.
He stayed exactly as cold and detached as an asexual robot from start to finish.
That was both the result of his past and the exact persona Vought had built for him.
Up on the high platform Homelander was watching Black Noir soak up the cheers and was so worked up he was practically about to piss himself.
In his head he had already swapped places with Black Noir.
He was the one standing in the center of that stadium getting every single cheer.
His eyes burned.
He swallowed against a dry throat and turned to Madelyn.
“Madelyn, I suddenly feel like just appointing me Captain of The Seven is kinda shitty.
How about you set up a match for me too?” Madelyn sitting next to him knew exactly what was going through his head.
She rolled her eyes so small nobody else would notice.
When she turned to face him, though, her expression was pure pampering adoration.
“Oh, my darling, I know you crave fair competition and don’t want to look like you’re just playing the lone hero.
But your strength has never been in question.
You don’t need the screening that inferior products require.
You were born to be the best.
You were always destined to be the Captain of The Seven!” It had to be said—being the woman Vought picked to keep Homelander on an emotional leash, Madelyn understood every corner of his needy little heart.
She rejected the request, yet left Homelander with zero room to complain.
Instead her words made him feel warm and validated.
Complacency spread across his face.
“That’s true too.
I am the strongest.
I don’t need to compete with a bunch of inferior products!” He still wasn’t completely ready to let it go, so he tried a different angle.
“Then when did Black Noir say I needed to go down there and show off my strength?” Before arriving at the stadium Homelander—who had never faced this many people in his life—had been a little socially anxious.
But after the crowd in the lounge recognized him and drowned him in excited cheers, it felt like someone had kicked open a brand-new door in his head.
Now he wasn’t anxious at all.
Now he wanted even more people staring at him.
This time Madelyn didn’t shut him down.
She simply nodded.
“Today, after the five matches finish, you’ll have a friendly match against the five group champions.
It’s scheduled for eight o’clock tonight during the highest-rated time slot.” Homelander was so happy he almost bounced out of his seat.
That meant everything he did tonight would be seen by people across the entire country… maybe even the whole world?
Just the thought of it already had him ready to jump out of his skin.
Right now he wished he could fly like the Superman in the comics, speed up the Earth’s rotation, and skip straight to eight o’clock tonight.
“Calm down, darling.
Let’s start the next match first, shall we?” Madelyn smiled once she saw Homelander had been successfully soothed.
“Okay, okay, then hurry up and start!” Homelander just wanted the whole thing over with so his own match would come sooner.
Of course he agreed.
Down in the stadium the previous group of contestants had already cleared the arena.
Staff finished the quick repairs.
Madelyn unmuted the microphone and her voice filled the stadium again.
[Thank you for waiting, dear audience and friends.
The brief intermission is over.
I believe after that exciting first match everyone has already taken the chance to hit the restroom, so let’s welcome the second team of competing supes in our absolute best state!] And the first one to step out was naturally Contestant Number 11—Dean Osborn!
His short profile flashed up on Vought’s giant screens.
[Name: Dean Osborn] [Hero Codename: None] [Height: 190 cm] [Ability: Lightning Storm] The second Dean appeared the entire stadium locked onto him.
The crowd was stunned by pure looks alone.
Cheers for his name exploded, and for the first time the women’s voices completely drowned out the men’s.
Anyone who did not know better would have sworn the stadium was hosting some idol’s concert instead of a supe tryout.
There was still no shortage of men screaming their heads off either.
Harry and Peter, sitting in the front row of the family section, were already on their feet, hands cupped around their mouths, roaring Dean’s name at full volume.
While he shouted, Harry also bragged to the people next to him.
“Hey!
Look quick, that’s my older brother, and he’s a superhero!” Every other person in the family seating area rolled their eyes at him in perfect unison.
Wow, so he’s your brother, and your brother is a superhero.
That is so amazing, right?
Hehe.
Amazing my ass.
Who the hell sitting in this section is not a superhero’s family member?
What the fuck are you even bragging about?
Peter stayed a little calmer.
He noticed the pure disdain in everyone’s eyes and quickly yanked Harry back down into his seat.
“Harry, Harry, stop talking.
Everyone here is family of competing supes.
Their relatives are all superheroes on that stage too…” Harry thought about it and realized it was true.
A little awkwardness crept in.
But he immediately dug his heels in.
“That’s different.
My brother is a superhero who’s destined to join The Seven—one of the seven strongest superheroes in the whole world.
Their relatives are just ordinary superheroes!” Surrounding family members: ???
Every single one of them shot Harry unkind looks.
Even Peter, who still had not gotten spider powers yet, could already feel the prickly glares stabbing into him from every direction.
He clamped a hand over Harry’s mouth with a tearful expression.
“Harry, for the sake of our lives, please shut up.
Dean is a superhero, but we sure as hell aren’t…” Up in the stands Harry and Peter got to enjoy the full hatred of the entire family section.
Down in the arena Dean was enjoying the exact same hostile stares from the other nine supes in his group.
Apparently those nine had formed a temporary alliance because of the shit Dean had pulled in the lounge and decided they were taking him out first.
Dean’s answer was to raise a middle finger high and spit the words with pure contempt.
“No matter how much dog shit you pile together, it’s still shit.
At best it evolves into a slightly bigger piece of shit!” “So come at me all at once, you pile of shit, and die neatly together!”