By evening, Starlight arrived at an amusement park.
After making inquiries in several places, she confirmed that Crimson Countess of the former Payback team had been performing here for many years.
Basically, Crimson Countess lived in the amusement park.
It didn't take much effort.
Starlight found Crimson Countess's residence, a simple house.
To avoid attracting attention, Starlight did not put on her highly recognizable suit.
Ever since the Super Meteor incident, her popularity had skyrocketed. She currently had more than 100 million fans worldwide.
Everyone recognized her white-and-yellow suit with the star pattern, but when she put on ordinary clothes and tied her hair into braids, no one recognized her even when she walked around the amusement park.
She came near Crimson Countess's house and began to hesitate.
"How should I explain why I'm here without causing a misunderstanding?"
"Or maybe I could just say…"
"Good evening, ma'am. I'm your fan. Could I get your autograph?"
"That's not a bad idea."
"But how do I continue the conversation after that? I can't exactly say, 'You know, ma'am, your good friend Soldier Boy is back.'"
"If I say that, she'll probably reward me with a blast of 'Crimson Flash.'"
While Starlight was racking her brain, she suddenly saw two figures walking toward the house.
An older woman and another relatively short man.
Starlight hurriedly hid herself. She saw the two of them arrive nearby, but instead of knocking on the door, they walked around the house once.
Inside the house, the no-longer-young Crimson Countess was having a video call with a man.
When she wasn't performing, she also did some part-time work, such as streaming paid programs, the kind that children were of course forbidden to watch.
At that moment, a man was sitting expectantly in front of the computer screen, with an entire bottle of lubricant beside him.
["Baby, can we start?"], the man asked impatiently.
Crimson Countess said with a smile, "Of course. You'd better prepare plenty of tissues."
The man laughed, ["I already have."]
Crimson Countess took out some props. It was clear that she got quite wild with these paid programs.
"Then, enjoy your passionate time."
Crimson Countess blew the man on the screen a kiss and was about to get started when the door was suddenly kicked open violently. She had only just turned around when a dazzling arc of electricity covered her.
"What the hell!"
Crimson Countess cried out in surprise before being struck by the electricity, sending her flying and knocking over the screen.
Her whole body convulsed, her eyes rolled upward, and she appeared to have lost consciousness.
The man on the screen shouted, ["What happened?"]
["Is anyone there?"]
["Damn it, I paid for this."]
["I'm going to complain!"]
Someone kicked out the computer's power cord, and the image on the screen disappeared.
Under the lights, Mallory looked at Crimson Countess, who was still convulsing on the floor.
Then she looked at Frenchie, arcs of electricity still jumping across his hand, "How does it feel?"
Frenchie nodded, "Great. I feel like I can do anything."
"At least now I have the power to deal with these superhuman bastards."
Mallory nodded, "Looks like it was right to have you inject Temporary Compound V ahead of time. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to take down Crimson Countess so easily."
"No matter what, she was a member of Payback. She was pretty powerful back then."
"Come on."
"Doesn't she like bondage?"
"Then tie her up like a turkey."
Frenchie walked over, picked up some props, then carried Crimson Countess to a chair and tied her up with them.
"What are you planning to do with her?"
"A present, Frenchie."
Mallory took out her phone, "A present for Soldier Boy."
"A present?", Frenchie turned to look at her.
"Yes."
"You and I both know that Soldier Boy was captured by the Soviet Union. His team was 'instrumental' in making that happen."
"Crimson Countess was also his lover, so after returning, the first person Soldier Boy will definitely look for is Crimson Countess."
Mallory said, "Maybe we can use this woman to make a deal with Soldier Boy. The power he has shown is extremely strong."
"If he can help us deal with Homelander."
Frenchie nodded, "I understand."
Mallory's expression became serious. Into the phone, she said, "I've found Crimson Countess."
"Yes, I'm requesting to speak with the President."
Hearing the words "the President," Frenchie couldn't help looking toward Mallory.
As Mallory waited for the result, she shrugged, "What, did you think I was acting on my own?"
"Of course not. I only did this after getting authorization from the President."
"Otherwise, how do you think I was able to send you to Russia?"
Frenchie shrugged, clapped his hands, and stood up, "All right. She's not going anywhere."
At this moment, Mallory heard a deep voice coming from the phone.
["I'm Rick Archibald."]
———
[Outside the House]
Starlight quietly came to the window and carefully looked inside through it.
She saw Crimson Countess tied to a chair, with the short man standing beside her, while the woman was making a phone call.
Because the window was closed, she couldn't hear what was being said inside. She could only roughly make out the words "Soldier Boy" and "Homelander" from the woman's lip movements.
Starlight's eyes widened. Unable to believe what she was hearing, she quickly crouched down below the window.
One thought after another rose in her mind like bubbles.
'Soldier Boy?'
'Why is that woman mentioning a hero from forty years ago?'
'Wait. Soldier Boy and Crimson Countess were lovers.'
'Homelander told me to find Crimson Countess.'
'The woman inside also mentioned Soldier Boy.'
'Could it be that the superhuman villain who caused such destruction in Midtown today was Soldier Boy?'
'Homelander already knew he was Soldier Boy?'
'Oh my God.'
'Since Homelander already knew, why didn't he say so and instead have me look for clues?'
'Could it be that he knew from the beginning that someone would come looking for trouble with Crimson Countess?'
'Then what should I do?'
'Should I go in and stop them?'
'No, wait, Starlight, calm down.'
'Your mission is to find clues.'
'Observe for now.'
She looked through the window again.
Inside the room, Crimson Countess had already woken up.
She discovered that she was tied up, then saw Frenchie and Mallory, and immediately shouted.
"What are you doing?"
"Untie me!"
"Do you know who I am?"
Mallory had finished her phone call and nodded, "Of course we know who you are."
"Don't you recognize me?"