American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

456. The Expert.

"Wait, you... you want to kill him!?"

Hughie, who had been sitting quietly, finally reacted. He jumped to his feet, his voice trembling in disbelief.

"That's the Translucent, a member of the Seven, one of the most famous people in the world! And you're planning to murder him?"

Butcher, MM, and Frenchie exchanged glances, each reading the bemusement in the others' eyes. The trio was momentarily rendered speechless by Hughie's naïveté and ignorance.

"We didn't bring him here to treat him to a Burger King meal." Butcher said gravely.

"I thought..." Hughie hesitated. "That's the Translucent! He's one of Vought's top figures. He must have a ton of intel. Can't we at least interrogate him?"

Butcher shook his head, clearly exasperated but patient enough to explain. "We don't have that kind of time. As soon as Vought realizes the Translucent is missing, they'll mobilize everything they have to find him. When that happens, we're all dead. Understand?"

"But... but..."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"No buts, Hughie. Listen to me. If you're dead, you can't get revenge for your girlfriend. Think about it. What did A-Train do after killing her? Nothing. He even joked about it over drinks like it was some kind of party story."

Butcher cut Hughie off sharply and, seeing no point in continuing the argument, turned back to discuss with MM and Frenchie how to eliminate the Translucent.

The Translucent's powers weren't psychic-based, nor were they like Susan Storm's in Fantastic Four. His ability stemmed from altering the alignment of his skin's materials to refract light, enabling optical invisibility.

To achieve this, his skin wasn't made of normal cells but rather a carbon-based supermaterial, harder than diamond.

"Maybe we can suffocate him," MM suggested. "He's still human. If we cut off his oxygen supply, we can kill him."

"That won't work. People have tried," Frenchie interjected. "A group of Dominicans attempted that back in 2007."

"And?"

"And they're all dead now. If that method worked, the Translucent wouldn't still be alive for us to capture."

"Then let's try electricity," Butcher proposed. "His body's material doesn't resist electricity. We can ramp up the voltage and electrocute him."

Frenchie shook his head. "You've already used enough electricity to kill a buffalo, and all it did was knock him unconscious. To actually kill him would require an even higher voltage. And gathering that kind of power in our situation? Vought would be on us instantly."

"So this doesn't work, that doesn't work. What do you suggest we do with this bastard?"

"We need to find a way to penetrate his skin," Frenchie said.

"Great. How?" Butcher pressed, staring at Frenchie.

Frenchie shrugged. "I don't know."

And so, the problem came full circle.

"Maybe I can experiment with other materials to make specialized bullets," Frenchie suggested. "Keep trying until something works. Every supe has a weakness. I don't believe he's invincible."

"You've already tried using special materials similar to his skin. Guess what? Not even a scratch," MM reminded him.

"Then what do you want me to do? If we don't deal with this soon, Vought will come knocking, and we're all screwed," Frenchie said irritably. "Are we seriously waiting for this so-called 'expert' Butcher mentioned?"

"I don't know who he is," MM admitted, "but if he managed to kill Lyle, maybe he can help us out here too."

"Ha! That's rich. You think we have the luxury of waiting? We don't even know how far away this guy is. Are we going to put our lives in his hands and let him clean up our mess?"

As Frenchie ranted, a rhythmic knock echoed from above.

The room instantly fell silent.

Everyone froze, like skittish animals sensing a predator. The safe house was supposed to be off the grid—no one should know about it, and no one should come knocking.

Frenchie and MM instinctively grabbed their weapons, their faces tense and serious, fearing that Vought had tracked them down.

But to their surprise, Butcher smiled at the sound of the knock.

He placed a hand on Frenchie's gun and slowly pushed it down, winking at him. "He might be closer than you think."

Though the knocking followed a code, Butcher didn't completely let his guard down. He ascended the stairs, right hand resting on the gun at his hip, and opened the small window in the door.

"Oi."

Outside, Alex raised a hand in greeting, looking for all the world like a neighbor dropping by for a visit.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Alex had taken on the appearance of the white man Butcher had first met.

"Small world, huh? I just happened to be in the neighborhood."

Alex wasn't lying. After all, he'd just left Vought's headquarters. The moment he got Butcher's call, he headed straight over.

"Missed you, mate," Butcher said, scanning the surroundings to make sure no one was watching before pulling Alex inside quickly.

"So, what's the situation now?" Alex asked curiously as he looked around, noting that the place seemed like an abandoned restaurant or bar.

"No rush on that. Follow me; I'll introduce you to some friends. They're the members of my little team," Butcher said, putting an arm around Alex and leading him further inside.

"You have a team now?" Alex feigned a look of surprise.

Butcher smirked but didn't elaborate further.

When they reached the basement, familiar figures came into Alex's view—Hughie, Frenchie, and MM. If they added Kimiko the Female, the team would be complete.

Alex naturally recognized these people but was surprised to see MM here. At this point in time, Butcher wasn't supposed to have recruited Mother's Milk yet.

As Alex assessed them, the group was also scrutinizing him. Each of them wore a skeptical look, sizing up Alex with curiosity. They were genuinely puzzled about how someone who seemed so ordinary could be referred to by Butcher as an "expert."

After introducing Alex by his codename "Crow," Butcher turned to him and began explaining the current predicament.

"Well, mate, I've got a surprise for you. Trust me, it'll blow your mind."

"I'm intrigued," Alex replied, already having a hunch about the situation.

With a dramatic gesture, Butcher signaled MM, who immediately opened the bathroom door, revealing an empty steel cage inside.

The cage was incredibly sturdy, with steel bars that were electrified to emit a high-voltage current at the slightest touch.

"It's not who I think it is, is it?" Alex asked, pretending to be unsure even though he already knew.

"It's exactly who you're thinking of, mate." Butcher stood behind Alex, clapping a hand on his shoulder and grinning. "This bloke's body is harder than diamonds, and killing him isn't easy. So, any bright ideas?"

"Of course," Alex replied casually, shrugging without hesitation.

He placed a large bag he had brought with him onto a nearby table and stretched his wrists as if preparing for action.

Seeing Alex's demeanor, everyone in the room was slightly taken aback. MM widened his eyes in surprise and asked, "What's in the bag? Is it some kind of advanced material that can penetrate his skin?"

"Huh? Oh, this?" Alex turned around and opened the bag, revealing several takeout boxes inside.

"These are just some snacks I brought for myself. I picked up a few extra portions just in case. You guys hungry? Can you handle Chinese food? If not, I've got a few burgers here too."

For a moment, the entire basement fell into stunned silence.

MM stared at Alex and the food on the table, momentarily at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, regretting he had even asked the question.

Behind him, Frenchie walked over to Butcher and whispered sarcastically, "This is the 'expert' you brought in?"

"…"

Butcher's face remained stoic, saying nothing.

Their reactions didn't faze Alex in the slightest. His focus was already on the cage and the Translucent trapped within.

Truthfully, dealing with the Translucent wasn't a particularly difficult task. His strength mainly lay in his invisibility and impenetrable skin, which made him like a human tank.

But these strengths also exposed his greatest weakness—his unprotected internal organs, which were no different from those of an average human.

As long as you inserted explosives into his rectum and triggered the detonator, one of the world's most powerful superheroes would explode like an overinflated balloon.

This was the method used in the original story. Butcher and his team managed to eliminate one of the Seven by employing this strategy, with Hughie pressing the detonator himself. This marked Hughie's true descent into a war against superhumans.

While this was how the team dealt with him in the original story, Alex had far more efficient methods at his disposal.

He could use Professor X's telepathic abilities to induce brain death, Rogue's powers to drain him dry, Kitty Pryde's phasing abilities to bury him in the Earth's core, or simply teleport him into space.

Even breaking through his skin directly wouldn't pose much of a challenge.

After a brief pause, Alex decided to hold back. If he wanted to leverage Butcher and his team effectively, he couldn't present himself as a threat greater than Homelander.

With that in mind, Alex took a deep breath, turned around, and said with a smile, "I think I've got it. Have you guys considered putting a bomb up his rectum? His defense seems limited to his outer skin, right?"

The suggestion was a revelation.

MM was the first to react with excitement, as he immediately recognized the feasibility of the plan.

Frenchie froze, his technical mind quickly calculating the high success rate of such a method. He was also a little annoyed at himself for not thinking of it earlier.

Butcher's grin returned. He clapped Frenchie on the shoulder and said, "Yeah, that's why I brought in the expert!"

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
457. Helping Each Other.
458. The Translucent's Breakdown.
459. Infiltrating the Sage Grove.
460. The Lamplighter and the Iceman!
461. Anti-Pollution!