Chương 22

The Boys were heading toward the train station. A little earlier, they had passed through a shop, and Frenchie had told them he might know where the girl was hiding now. Butcher did not waste time. He kept walking, and M. M. stayed close behind him. They entered the station area. A news screen was playing nearby. Butcher saw it and stopped. M. M. followed his eyes, and Frenchie also turned. On the screen, a replay showed the masked man carrying Flight 37 down toward the field. The plane settled on the ground.

Then the masked man tore open the aircraft door and went inside. A few seconds later, he flew away while reporters shouted from below. M. M.' s eyes widened. He hit Butcher's shoulder without looking away from the screen.

"Is that Adam?" M. M. asked.

"Tell me that's Adam. Can he do that?" Butcher did not answer. He kept looking at the copper-covered body on the screen. He knew that rough mask. He knew that covered look. Adam had worn the same thing when he went out to take on Homelander in front of them. Frenchie stepped closer to the screen.

"If Adam is that powerful, then why are we not using him? We can beat Homelander, or catch him, and ask him about Compound V." Butcher cut him off before Frenchie could say more.

"No." Frenchie looked at him. Butcher finally pulled his eyes away from the news.

"It isn't that simple. We have work in front of us. Move." He started walking again. M. M. and Frenchie followed him, though both of them looked back at the screen before they fully turned away. For a few steps, their necks stayed turned toward the same news. Butcher's face stayed hard.

'Can the kid fight Homelander?' Butcher thought. The news did not show what had happened in the sky before Adam brought the plane down. It only showed the rescue after it was over. Butcher did not know if Adam had faced Homelander there. If there had been a real fight, the screen was hiding it. He did not know if Adam had won, or if he had only survived. Still, Vought would see this too. That was what bothered him.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Vought could use a story like this. That kind of clip could make people listen to whatever Vought said next. A flying hero saving a plane in front of cameras was exactly the kind of thing they needed while pushing The Seven toward the military. Butcher clicked his tongue and kept walking.

"Frenchie, find her before someone else does." A-Train brought Popclaw into a hotel room in Mexico and locked the door after putting the bag near the bed. Popclaw stayed on the bed with her arms held close to her body, looking scared as she glanced at the window and then back at him. A-Train sat in front of her and said, "Look, I got you out of there. You're safe here with me." Popclaw did not speak.

"No one is coming for you now," A-Train said. His voice came out soft, but his hands would not stay still. He was trying to convince her, and he was hesitating at the same time. Before that, in a meeting room at Vought Tower, Homelander had called A-Train in. A-Train entered fast, then slowed down when he saw Homelander waiting alone. Homelander looked at him with a flat face.

"Who is she talking to?" A-Train stayed silent. Homelander stepped closer.

"Who leaked this?" A-Train's mouth opened, but no words came out. Red light appeared in Homelander's eyes. A-Train took a small step back.

"I think..." A-Train said.

"I think it might be my girlfriend." Homelander's face changed.

"Then find out who she told. And kill her." A-Train looked up. Homelander came closer until A-Train could not look anywhere else.

"If you don't, I kill both of you. Find out who is behind this first. Then clean up your mess." A-Train lowered his head.

"I understand." He left the room after that. Homelander stayed where he was.

'Trouble keeps coming one after another,' Homelander thought.

'Everything is slipping out of my hands.' His jaw tightened.

'Someone is doing this on purpose. Is it the masked man? Is he behind this too?' Homelander did not know yet. That made him angrier. Back in the hotel room, A-Train moved closer to Popclaw.

"I left everything for you. I am trying to save you. Why don't you understand that, baby?" Popclaw looked at him.

"Please," A-Train said.

"Tell me who they are. I promise nothing will happen to you." Popclaw hesitated for another breath before lowering her eyes. She kept them down and started talking.

"When you said you were single at the conference, I got angry. I took Compound V because of that." A-Train froze as Popclaw swallowed.

"Then I made a mistake. I don't even know who those people were. They used the video to blackmail me, and I had no choice." A-Train looked at her like he had been hit. Popclaw reached out and held his face with both hands.

"I'm sorry, baby. I was helpless. I didn't know what else to do." A-Train closed his eyes. Then he stood.

"It's okay," he said.

"I'm not angry at you." Popclaw looked relieved. She had expected him to shout at her or blame her, so his calm voice made her shoulders loosen. For a second, she looked happy that he had forgiven her. Then A-Train vanished from his place and appeared again before Popclaw could even move, like he had teleported. Popclaw blinked. Her eyes dropped to her hands. Both of her hands had two syringes each. Her breath stopped, and she slowly raised her head. A-Train stood in front of her with pain all over his face.

Popclaw tried to speak, but her body shook before any words came out. She fell back on the bed and struggled there. A-Train watched her die. Only then did A-Train stand there with a broken look on his face.