The likelihood of Homelander attacking Translucent was just too low.
That meant option D could be ruled out. And among the remaining three, option C could actually be dismissed as well.
In the earlier clips, everyone had seen that Hughie was just a regular, decent guy. He had a sense of justice, sure, but he was also timid and hesitant. When pushed to the edge, he might take a stand—but he didn't seem like someone capable of killing, especially not taking lethal action against a Supe. Even Hughie himself didn't think he had it in him.
Yes, in one of the previous videos, he had landed a heavy hit on Translucent and electrocuted him—but if given another chance, Hughie wasn't sure he'd be able to do it again.
So, when the countdown began, Hughie chose option A. Everyone else did too, except for Wade and Thor, who chose option B.
Hughie buzzed in first, but when the timer hit zero and the correct answer was revealed—it was actually C!
[Player Hughie Campbell answered incorrectly. 4 points deducted. Player Billy Butcher, player Annie January, player Stephen Strange, Player Wade Wilson, and player Thor Odinson also answered incorrectly. Each loses 1 point.]
The group stared at one another, stunned. The answer had completely blindsided them.
Annie looked at Hughie, her expression mixed with surprise and disbelief. "I just can't picture you killing Translucent."
Billy was just as shocked. "Hughie, you've got more guts than I gave you credit for. Damn good job. Those bastards aren't invincible, y'know!"
"I…" Hughie looked the most shell-shocked of them all. His face was pale and dazed. "I killed him? How? Does that make me a murderer?!"
Wade gave a casual shrug. "We're all curious, man. If you had a bit more confidence in yourself, you wouldn't be down those points."
Meanwhile, back at Vought headquarters, Translucent looked like he'd been struck by lightning. He shook his head repeatedly. "What the actual fuck?! No way. No fucking way! That soft little bastard killed me?!"
But then he noticed the looks others were giving him—sympathy, pity—and suddenly, everything felt unreal. He was still breathing, still standing there… yet to everyone watching, he was already a dead man.
The question ended, but instead of jumping into the next clip, the screen first displayed the updated leaderboard. Shockingly, the new top scorer was the ever-unserious Wade, sitting at first place with 7 points.
Billy Butcher was close behind with 6 points.
Hughie, after losing 4 points, now had 5—tying with Thor for third.
Annie sat at 4 points. Strange was in last place with just 2.
Below the rankings was a note: When the game ends, the two players at the bottom will be eliminated. Elimination means not just a score reset, but also receiving a punishment from the game.
The top-ranking players, on the other hand, would receive mysterious rewards—the higher the rank, the better the prize.
Wade grinned smugly when he saw the board. "Everybody see that? I'm number one! Hughie, I gotta thank you, man. If it weren't for you screwing up, this spot would've been yours."
But Hughie was focused on something else entirely. He looked at Thor anxiously. "Hey, Thunder God… do you know what kind of punishment the eliminated players get? I mean, specifically?"
He was clearly asking on behalf of Annie and Strange too, who both looked over, equally worried.
Thor shrugged. "There are lots of different punishments. Based on past games, they usually take away one of your abilities. Like… your voice, your sight, your hearing… stuff like that."
The more he said, the worse Hughie, Annie, and Strange looked. Wade and Billy seemed calmer—Wade because he was ahead, and Billy because he'd seen worse.
Hughie couldn't help but shout, "So you're telling me that if we're eliminated, we could go blind, deaf, or lose a limb?!"
Thor shrugged again. "It's all random. Could even take away something bad, like an illness. You might lose your cancer or something."
Wade gave him a sideways glance at that.
"If you've got powers, those usually get stripped first," Thor added.
Now it was Annie's turn to give him a sharp look.
Finally, Thor shrugged one last time. "Then again, this round's punishment might be something else entirely. Guess we'll find out soon enough."
The moment he finished speaking, the video on the screen resumed, cutting off any more questions.
The footage picked up right after Hughie and Billy had taken down Translucent.
They had stuffed his unconscious—or possibly dead—body into the trunk of a car. During this process, Billy revealed something major: he wasn't actually an FBI agent. That had all been a lie.
In reality, he was an "independent contractor"—a private investigator of sorts, someone who handled dirty jobs for people who didn't want to get their hands messy. He'd done work for the FBI before, sure—but unofficially.
Hughie freaked out when he found out. He'd agreed to work with Billy because he thought Billy was with the government, someone who could shield him if things went south.
Now? He was terrified he'd become a wanted murderer.
But as the two drove away from the scene, it became clear the trouble wasn't over—Translucent was still alive and starting to stir in the trunk.
Hughie was overjoyed. "He's not dead! That's great!" He urged Billy to pull over so they could dump the guy and move on.
But Billy crushed his hopes with one sentence: "Translucent saw our faces."
Hughie immediately wanted to get out of the car. He didn't want anything more to do with this.
Billy leaned in, challenging him. "Don't you want revenge for your girlfriend? Or are you just gonna sit around for the rest of your life, full of regret?"
Outside the video, Billy's voice turned grim. "There was a more practical reason, too, Hughie. You think you could just walk away from this? They wouldn't let you."
Hughie's face went pale. He swallowed hard, a twisted smile forming on his lips, one that looked more like a grimace. "Yeah. I'm in too deep already."
Annie shot Billy a glare. "You never should've dragged Hughie into this. You ruined his life."
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T/N:
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