**Chapter 73: How About I Just Give You This Captain's Position?**
Instead, Frenchie thought of a man named Mesmer. His superpower was very special; he could see what others were thinking through physical contact.
As far as he knew, the other party was expected to appear at a Hero Autograph Session in a week. As for this Hero Autograph Session, it had nothing to do with Vought International. It was spontaneously organized by a group of Supes whose popularity had waned. These Supes relied on signing autographs and taking photos with their former fans to earn a meager income.
It's worth noting that before joining Vought, Mesmer had helped the New York Police solve multiple cases, quickly rising to fame. However, with his mind reading ability, he was soon targeted by Vought.
The olive branch Vought extended to him was quite tempting. They promised Mesmer that if he joined Vought, they would train him to become a superhero like A-Train, with fame and money aplenty. Ultimately, Mesmer couldn't resist the temptation and chose to join Vought International.
At first, everything was normal. He did enjoy the thrill of soaring popularity; that feeling of being adored by countless people was as addictive as a drug. But gradually, Mesmer discovered that Vought was constantly diminishing his presence, slowly reducing his activities from one every half a month to one every two months, then every six months, and finally completely shelving him.
A superhero's shelf life isn't long, especially as more and more superheroes emerge.
Soon, Mesmer, with his mind reading ability, was forgotten by the public.
Initially, Mesmer wanted to leave Vought, but he was told he had to pay a large penalty fee. Looking at the long string of numbers for the penalty fee on the contract, Mesmer fell silent. Such a large sum was more than he could afford even if he sold himself.
Later, Vought even used his superpower for stock trading on Wall Street. After completing their primitive accumulation of capital, they discarded him like a hot potato, ruining his reputation and causing him to be jointly sued by several financial companies. He got divorced and lost custody of his child.
...
The next afternoon.
The Superhero All-Star Promotional Event opened as scheduled in New York Square.
Madelyn Stillwell's purpose in holding this All-Star Promotional Event was to eliminate the negative impact the previous Air Disaster Incident had on Vought.
First on stage was Homelander. Compared to his usual arrogance, he was gentle at this moment, a sunny smile constantly on his lips. He greeted the fans and even shook hands with a white man in the audience.
"Homelander! Homelander!" The white man excitedly cheered with raised arms, continuously shouting Homelander's name.
Seeing this, others echoed him. The reaction from the crowd was quite enthusiastic.
Seeing this scene, the smile on Homelander's face brightened a few shades. He walked to the microphone. "Welcome everyone to the All-Star Promotional Event today! And I am the chief guest! Welcome!"
Being able to see their idol up close, the crowd below the stage was indescribably excited, only able to respond to Homelander with roars.
"I've always wondered, why were superheroes born? It wasn't until I saw you all that I understood the meaning of a superhero's existence! Please always believe in me, my responsibility is to protect the entire United States. Superheroes are born to protect ordinary humans!"
Watching on television, Madelyn Stillwell was very satisfied with Homelander's speech. It was rare for Homelander to follow the speech manuscript she had provided beforehand. It seemed the Air Disaster Incident had indeed made Homelander rein himself in quite a bit.
However, Starlight's subsequent speech left Madelyn Stillwell stunned.
Starlight actually revealed that she had been sexually harassed immediately after joining Vought, instantly leaving the audience dumbfounded.
As Starlight shed tears, the audience both at the venue and Online became enraged.
"Starlight! Please bravely say the name of that person." "Is it A-Train? Or Black Noir?"
"Could it be Homelander?"
The crowd below the stage wanted to know who the bastard who sexually harassed Starlight was.
Ashley, standing nearby, hadn't expected the Promotional Event she had meticulously planned to turn out like this and was instantly terrified, unable to control her expression. As for Madelyn Stillwell, watching on television, she was absolutely furious. If looks could kill across the screen, Starlight would probably be burned to ashes by the rage erupting from Madelyn Stillwell's eyes.
However, The Deep, in the Locker Room, breathed a sigh of relief.
He still couldn't forget what Homelander had said when he passed by him a few days ago.
"Congratulations, it seems your popularity is about to surpass mine. How about I just give you this Captain's position?"
The moment he heard these words, he felt a chill run down his spine, a wave of coldness surging into his heart. That's why when Xia Shang found him, he was so deeply grateful to Xia Shang.
"For Starlight to be able to speak out about her terrible experience is enough to show that her courage is admirable." Homelander calmly walked over to Starlight's side, as if completely unsurprised by Starlight's revelation. He patted Starlight's shoulder with a serious expression: "I never expected something like this could happen within The Seven. I also bear responsibility for this. Tell us, say his name. I, Homelander, will always be your solid backing."
His speech won him a lot of goodwill from the audience.
It also made many people begin to doubt whether the Air Disaster Incident was truly related to Homelander, as there was still no concrete evidence proving Homelander was the instigator.
"Thank you." Starlight looked at Homelander's profile, then said, "Sorry, he only recently achieved success. I don't want to ruin that."
With that, Starlight turned and left the Promotional Event.
Boom! Starlight's words were like a heavy bomb! Countless people began discussing who that bastard could be. The matter quickly escalated, becoming a hot topic of discussion Online within just two or three days.
After this incident, Vought International's stock, which had been slightly rising, gradually declined.
Vought's shareholders wanted Madelyn Stillwell to account for it, and unfortunately, Ashley Barrett became the sacrifice for this incident.
...
A few days later, the incident continued to escalate. Just as Xia Shang had predicted, Starlight's brave action won her the support of over ten million women. She was even nominated as the spokesperson for the Women's Rights Protection Association and simultaneously helped Vought withstand the trend of continuous stock decline.
Vought Tower, Vice President's Office.
Madelyn Stillwell was troubled by the choice for the Head of Talent and Publicity Department.
Originally, her plan was for Ashley Barrett to lie low temporarily and then, after the storm passed, find any excuse to transfer her back to the company.
But several shareholders in the Shareholders' Meeting uncharacteristically pressured her to quickly confirm the candidate for supervisor to prevent similar incidents from happening again with no one to handle it.
(End of Chapter)