Madelyn Stillwell was the Vice President of Vought and Director of Hero Management.
She was in charge of managing Vought's superheroes and had served as Homelander's manager for years.
Rumor had it that once Stan Edgar retired, she was slated to take over as Vought's CEO.
She was, for all intents and purposes, the company's number two in plain sight.
Her office was on the ninety-ninth floor.
When Qi Li followed Poppy through the door, Madelyn came forward to greet him, extending a hand with a warm, cordial smile.
"Bronze. This must be the first time we've met."
Hired directly by the big boss himself, Qi Li shook her hand. Something crossed his mind, and he offered a slight smile, deliberately remarking, "Mr. Edgar asked me that exact same question the first time he met me, Miss Stillwell."
"My answer is the same: if we don't count Vought's news coverage, then yes, this is our first time."
Hearing this, Madelyn's smile beamed even brighter. "It seems Mr. Edgar and I share quite an unspoken rapport."
She led Qi Li over to sit on the couch and introduced the two men who had arrived earlier and were waiting on the opposite sofa.
"Let me introduce you. These two are Seth and Evan from Marketing. Now that you've joined the Super Seven, Bronze, your publicity needs will be much heavier, and the public will expect new highlights. As it happens, they have some wonderful ideas for your upcoming marketing strategy. I invited you here to listen."
Qi Li had no objection.
Seeing his compliance, Madelyn nodded toward Seth and Evan, who were dressed in plaid shirts—one Black, one white.
"Gentlemen, if you please."
Seth and Evan exchanged a glance, drawing in a deep breath.
"Okay?"
"Okay!"
Once ready, they turned to Qi Li in unison, officially launching into their thoroughly rehearsed presentation.
With a gleam in his eyes, Seth took the lead. "Picture this! A poor boy from rural California, a genius youth whose meteoric rise left everyone breathless, breaks all records to be drafted into the Super Seven!"
Without missing a beat, Evan chimed in, eyes animated. "The Goddess of Fortune knocked at the country boy's door—and he threw it wide open! Now he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the heroes he once looked up to, fighting for truth and justice!"
Listening up to this point, Qi Li thought it sounded pretty decent.
Seth continued the pitch. "The public only sees his glamorous exterior, blind to the grueling hardships he endured behind the scenes."
Evan let out a heavy sigh. "His first set of foster parents only cared about his monthly adoption checks, never giving a damn about his health. Poor boy, starved down to skin and bones since childhood."
Qi Li pressed his lips together.
Seth and Evan went back and forth, trading lines like a relay race.
"Fortunately, fate stepped in early! His first foster parents were stripped of their custody rights, and he was placed with a second family!"
"They loved him dearly, showing him affection he had never known before!"
"Except there was one catch—they had a deeply unsavory hobby, and they wanted him to join in so they could become a 'real' family. They said, 'Start education while they're young—he can't lose at the starting line!'"
"He refused! Young as he was, he had loved superhero comics since he was a kid. Soldier Boy and Homelander were his idols! He resolved to become a superhero who saves the world! He would never stoop to darkness!"
"He engaged in a relentless battle of wits with his second foster parents! Until finally, one day, they fell gravely ill and died!"
Qi Li leaned back against the couch, arms crossed over his chest, one leg resting over the other.
Seth and Evan grew increasingly impassioned.
"He was taken in by a third set of parents, poised to live happily ever after. But who could have predicted..."
"His third foster father was a deeply closeted pedophile!!"
Qi Li: "..."
He slowly uncrossed his legs, his right hand clenching into a fist.
Fortunately, Seth cut in just in time. "Yet! He was no longer the helpless boy he once was! His superpowers had awakened! He brought down the predatory foster father who preyed on him, but he didn't kill him. Why?"
Seth turned to Evan with an exaggerated look of perplexity.
Evan adopted a solemn, reverent expression. "Because his uncle had always taught him: 'With great power comes great responsibility!'"
Qi Li really couldn't hold back anymore. He interrupted, "Wait a second! Where did I get an uncle from?"
Seth and Evan exchanged a glance. The former spread his hands, answering casually, "He doesn't have to be a blood relative. Like the friendly neighborhood mailman you always saw growing up. Of course, we could also invent a real uncle. As for which route to take, we'll run some market research."
Madelyn spoke up then. "Bronze, please hear them out. Go on, gentlemen."
"Right, right!" Evan hastily slipped back into character, closing his eyes in theatrical emotion. "'With great power comes great responsibility!' His uncle had imparted those words to him time and again, etching them into his soul. That was why he didn't abuse his powers to take revenge on his third foster father—instead, he chose true independence!"
Seth's tone surged with dramatic fervor. "From that moment on! He embarked on a glorious crusade against crime! He became the friendly neighborhood hero of Los Angeles, a celebrated boy whom everyone adored! Thus, the superhero known as 'Bronze' was born! All of it was to honor his uncle's dying words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"
'Fine, so my uncle's dead too.'
Qi Li rolled his eyes, mentally roasting them into oblivion.
Evan's voice dropped to a somber register. "Yet the teenage superhero carried his own burdens. He was terribly lonely. He had no loving family, no friends to share hearty laughter with, let alone any personal time. Most of his hours were spent patrolling the streets, stamping out crime. 'What if, because of my negligence, a child loses their mother, a father loses his son, or a husband loses his wife? What then?' That was always his answer to anyone who urged him to rest."
Qi Li's ears pricked up.
Now that sounded pretty slick.
Then he heard Seth turn to Evan with a wistful sigh. "Until one day, he met a girl!"
Evan looked back at him, dripping with melodrama. "A girl who also hailed from the countryside."
"Starlight!"
"Also out there fighting crime!"
"At that moment, he saw the light!"
"He fell in love with her!"
"Yet she never knew!"
"She left!"
"And he could not abandon the city he swore to protect!"
"Until one day!"
"At the Super Seven selection, their names crossed paths once more. But this time... they were rivals!"
With that grand crescendo, Seth and Evan whipped around to face Qi Li, their eyes blazing as if firing twin beams of heat vision.
Standing off to the side, Poppy, who had grown thoroughly absorbed in the pitch, looked over with a deeply moved expression.
And finally, there was Madelyn, looking entirely in control.
Qi Li wore a thoroughly constipated expression.
Looking at this room full of ordinary mortals, he suddenly felt they were far more exhausting to deal with than any enemy he had ever faced.
He let out a faint sigh.
"Just kill me now."
Chapter 87