Bad Company

Qi Li noticed the earpiece Frenchie was wearing. He snatched it at once, then patted Frenchie down and pulled out a smashed walkie-talkie. Though it was completely busted, it proved one thing beyond doubt: the sleazy fellow in front of him hadn't been lying. Up until he was yanked down from the ceiling, he had been in constant contact with his partners. Which meant... "Hey, I was just passing through up there, looking to swipe a few valuables—you know, A-Train's running shoes, Queen Maeve's underwear, that kind of thing. I didn't see anything, honest! Besides, I'm a habitual offender. Add up all my prison bids and I've done over ten years behind bars. Even if I went out and blabbed, nobody would ever believe me." Seeing that Qi Li hadn't killed him on the spot, Frenchie let out a hurried breath of relief and rushed to explain, "Let's just pretend this never happened. I don't know you, you don't know me, and we both walk away clean. How about it? "I really need to check in with my crew, too. If I go quiet for too long, I'm worried they might do something that won't end well for any of us. "Okay?" Frenchie grinned wide, his eyes stretched open in an expression of earnest, fawning compliance as he pitched the idea to Qi Li and Kate. He aimed it particularly at Qi Li, knowing full well who was calling the shots. Qi Li merely tossed the earpiece and walkie-talkie to the floor and said without looking back, "Kate." Kate understood instantly. Before Frenchie could react, her hand came to rest against his neck, and she commanded in a flat tone, "Quiet." Frenchie's eyes glazed over in an instant, and his entire body froze, stiff and unmoving. Kate turned to Qi Li. Qi Li wiped away a stray smear of blood between his fingers that he hadn't noticed earlier, then looked up. "Have him take me to his pack of lowlife friends." Since this guy was in such a hurry to see his partners, Qi Li figured he might as well see the good deed through and personally escort him there. After all, wasn't the best way to handle a problem cutting the grass and pulling it up by the roots? As for Frenchie's offer to go their separate ways and pretend nothing had happened—sorry, he wasn't qualified to negotiate. Kate nodded, leaned in, and whispered a command into Frenchie's ear. Frenchie's eyes shifted at once. Taking a step forward, he waved eagerly to Qi Li. "Let's go! I'll take you to meet my crew right now." Qi Li, however, was looking at Kate. He noticed a web of red veins spreading through her eyes. Kate caught his gaze and realized what he was seeing. To keep him from worrying, she quickly flashed a brilliant smile and explained, "It's fine. I've just been using my superpower a bit heavily. It'll pass in a little while." Earlier, she had repeatedly used her power to control the crowd outside the door. Adding Frenchie on top of that had pushed her past her usual limit for such a short window, leading to this slight strain. Qi Li looked at her charming smile and, seeing that she wasn't forcing herself to endure real harm, slowly nodded. "Don't push yourself." "Of course not." Kate raised a hand in promise, then gave a brisk wave. "Go ahead, Qi Li. Don't worry, leave this place to me. Luke is already on his way." Qi Li took it all in. In the past, he had only seen Kate's softer, feminine side; now, he was seeing how she handled business. If nothing else, this level of calm composure made her far superior to the many superhumans who panicked wildly at the first sign of trouble. Satisfied, Qi Li wasted no more time and followed the now-eager Frenchie out to track down his partners. *** Inside Metropolitan Football Stadium, the sprawling stands were packed to capacity. Butcher sat blended into the crowd with a cold drink in hand, utterly inconspicuous. Before long, however, he touched his earpiece, his face darkening. He had suddenly lost contact with Frenchie. It couldn't be an accident. In their line of work, they never believed in accidents. There was only one explanation: Frenchie had been compromised! With no time to dwell on the fallout of a blown operation, Butcher immediately activated their retreat protocol, radioing Marvin and Hughie to pull out at once. Marvin's end went smoothly, but Hughie—who was off with Starlight—had turned off his walkie-talkie and couldn't be reached. "Fuck!" Butcher cursed under his breath, his eyes darting as his mind raced. Finally, he dumped his drink, spun on his heel, and strode briskly away. *** "Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention back to the track..." By the time Qi Li returned to the main stadium, the public address system was announcing the upcoming race between A-Train and Shockwave. The arena erupted into a roar of anticipation. Frenchie pushed through the crowd, heading single-mindedly toward Butcher's section. Qi Li followed close behind. Glancing upward, Qi Li noticed Homelander and Queen Maeve standing side by side on a platform not far above. Both wore flawless, picture-perfect smiles, waving to the roaring adoration of the crowd around them. When Homelander's gaze swept in his direction, Qi Li instinctively averted his eyes. Why did it feel like he had become the big villain here? Oh, right—what he was doing right now was villain work. And the Super Seven were, without question, the shining paragons of justice. Then there was no problem at all. "Racers, take your marks!" The announcer's voice echoed through the stadium once more, and a collective hush fell over the stands as spectators held their breath. Qi Li spared a glance down at the field. A-Train and Shockwave had finished their warm-ups and were locked into their starting blocks. Right at that moment, Frenchie, still diligently searching through the crowd, suddenly began to shudder violently. His eyes rolled back several times, and his footing went unsteady, as though he were crashing from severe withdrawal. "Set... Bang!" The starting pistol cracked in tandem with the final prompt. Whoosh— Whoosh— Two violent gales tore across the track in an instant. In the blink of an eye, before the spectators could even process the blur, the race was already over. To almost nobody's surprise, the victor was still A-Train. Qi Li pulled his gaze back from the scoreboard displaying the final stats: A-Train at 371 meters per second, Shockwave at 342. Unlike everyone else, Frenchie had snapped out of his shuddering fit just as quickly and was back to searching earnestly for his crew. However, A-Train's victory had sent the stadium into an absolute frenzy. Countless spectators leaped to their feet, cheering, screaming, and throwing their arms around one another, completely choking the aisles. Qi Li couldn't very well start plucking them out of the way like weeds and tossing them aside. In that single moment of distraction, Frenchie vanished from his sight, slipping away without a trace. "Huh?" Qi Li stared in surprise. Had Kate's mind control worn off? On an ordinary human, no less? What the hell? Frowning, Qi Li scanned the immediate area. Frenchie was nowhere to be found. Instead, he spotted Starlight. And standing across from her was a tall, thin man who, at first glance, radiated the unmistakable air of a meek pushover. Even from this distance, Qi Li could catch the scent of children's shampoo drifting off him—strawberry-scented, no less. Qi Li's eyes flickered, and he began walking toward the two of them.