Chương 52

Adam drew in a breath while the Deep and the whale disappeared beneath the water. He turned toward the wake behind the moving boat and blew. The air left his mouth in a white stream. Ice spread over the water, trapping the fish that had been following them. The frozen sheet kept growing until it covered a wide part of the lake. Fish struck the ice from below and stopped. The water behind the boat became a field of frost, forcing anything still following them to dive beneath it or turn aside.

Frenchie leaned over the side and laughed.

"Yes! Freeze everything, mon ami!" Adam stopped before the ice reached the boat. His freeze breath was useful, but it was still far below what Superman could do at full strength. Butcher looked from the ice to Adam. The sight reminded him how easily Adam could kill anyone aboard. The water ahead rose. The whale surfaced in front of the boat, with the Deep holding its back. He had gone under the ice and moved ahead of them. Now the whale turned across their path and filled the route to shore. M. M.

pulled at the controls, but there was no room to turn.

"Brace for impact!" Adam could have stayed aboard and flown through the whale first, clearing the route with his own flight. He refused. Whale blood and flesh were not going to cover him if he had another choice. He jumped from the rear and flew behind the boat. The bow struck the whale. The whale split open, and the boat drove through the gap before scraping onto the shore. It remained behind with an opening through its middle. The impact threw everyone forward.

Blood poured across the deck as pieces of flesh struck the windows. The engine screamed until the hull reached sand, then stopped with the bow buried near the entrance. M. M. climbed out first. Frenchie followed with Kimiko and Kenji. Blood covered their clothes and ran from their hair. Butcher came next and looked back when Hughie failed to appear. Hughie was still sitting inside the boat. He stared at the blood around him and refused to move.

"Hughie, get out," Butcher called. Hughie shook his head. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Butcher climbed back through the torn opening. He caught Hughie by the arm and pulled him toward the shore. Hughie's feet moved only because Butcher forced him to walk toward the cave. A cave-like entrance stood beyond the beach. The opening led into an underground facility. Adam landed near the others while the Deep crawled to the whale and pressed his head against it.

"Lucy," the Deep cried.

"I'm sorry." The Boys entered the facility before the Seven reached the shore. Adam paused at the entrance. His hearing caught movement in the distance, and he recognized Homelander before he saw him. The rest of the Seven were approaching with him. One heartbeat remained steadier than the others. Adam knew that rhythm belonged to Homelander. Several sets of feet followed, spreading out as the Seven prepared to search different passages. Starlight reached the whale first. The Deep stood and moved into her path.

"Starlight, wait. I need to tell you how sorry I am. What I did to you was wrong. I want to make it right." He held his hands away from her and waited. The apology had been prepared during his time away, but Starlight did not soften when she heard it. Starlight stopped long enough to look at him.

"I will never forgive you." She walked past him and entered the facility. Stormfront followed without giving the Deep more than a glance. Homelander landed near the whale. The Deep turned to him as if he expected sympathy.

"They killed her," the Deep said.

"They killed Lucy." Homelander stared at him, then pointed toward the Deep's chest.

"Cover those disgusting gills and stay here." He went after the others. The Deep looked down at his chest and sank beside the whale again. The hope he had carried about returning to the Seven disappeared. He had believed stopping the boat would earn his place back. Instead, Lucy was dead. Starlight had rejected him, and Homelander had looked at him with disgust. Inside the facility, Homelander moved ahead with one purpose. Adam had exposed him at the Believe Expo and embarrassed him in front of the public.

The tunnels gave him a place where no crowd could witness Adam's death. He could bury Adam beneath the facility and let Vought decide what story reached the wider American public. Black Noir followed while carrying a knife and a gun, ready to use either weapon. Stormfront and Starlight took another route through the underground passages. Farther inside, Adam slowed his pace and looked behind him. Butcher and Hughie had stopped. Hughie lowered himself to the floor and lay against the wall.

He had not recovered from the whale, and his legs would no longer carry him.

"Keep going," Adam told Butcher.

"I'll bring Hughie." Butcher did not argue. He left Hughie with Adam and continued after the rest of the team. Hughie watched Butcher vanish around the next tunnel turn. Adam stayed between him and the approaching footsteps, giving Hughie time to push himself upright against the wall. Adam listened to the steps coming through the passages. They were closer now.

"Get ready, Hughie," he said.

"They are here." Light appeared around the next turn. Starlight stepped into the passage. Her eyes glowed as electricity gathered around her hands. She had expected to find the fugitives, but Adam was the first person waiting for her. The annoyance she often showed him was gone. Fear took its place. She knew Homelander was behind her, and she knew what would happen if Adam refused to move. Adam looked past her into the tunnel.

"How long are you going to hide, Homelander?" His voice carried through the facility.

"Come forward." Adam's eyes turned red. His feet left the floor, and he rose into the air. Starlight and Hughie stared at him in shock.