The Boys: I'm the New Hue, I Need More Power

Chapter 9: The Limits of Invulnerability

" Okay, so Translucent is still not talking. And Butcher is getting impatient. Which means things are about to get… messy. And probably involves a lot of shouting. And maybe some very questionable interrogation techniques. And that hum. It's still there. A low, persistent thrumming, like a broken washing machine in my chest. It's reacting to Translucent's stubbornness, to Butcher's escalating frustration. It's like my internal 'tension meter' is going off the charts. And I'm pretty sure it's going to explode. Probably before Translucent does. This is fine. Everything is fine. I'm just going to stand here and try not to accidentally reveal that I know the entire plot of 'The Boys' TV show. Because that would really complicate things. "

The boiler room felt like a pressure cooker. Days had turned into a week, and Translucent remained stubbornly silent, his carbon skin an impenetrable fortress, both physically and metaphorically. Butcher's patience was wearing thin, replaced by a simmering, dangerous frustration. He'd tried everything: sleep deprivation, blaring heavy metal music, even forcing Hughie to sit inches from the cage, hoping the "hum" would somehow break Translucent's resolve. It didn't.

"Still nothing, mate?" Butcher growled one morning, glaring at the invisible Supe. "You really want to play this game, eh? Fine. We can play all bloody day."

"Butcher, we're not getting anywhere," M.M. argued, his voice strained. "He's not breaking. And this… this isn't right. We're not torturers."

"We're not getting anywhere your way, M.M.," Butcher retorted, his eyes hard. "My way, we get results. And right now, results mean getting this git to spill his guts. One way or another."

" One way or another. That's Butcher's philosophy. It's like he has a 'problem-solving' flowchart, and every single branch leads to 'extreme violence.' And I'm just here, witnessing it all. My moral compass is officially spinning wildly, pointing somewhere between 'righteous vengeance' and 'impending psychological trauma.' And that hum… it's vibrating with a strange, almost desperate clarity now. Like it's trying to tell me something about Translucent. Something beyond just his mood. Something about… his power. But I can't quite grasp it. It's like trying to hear a whisper in a hurricane. "

Butcher began to escalate his methods. He'd bring in various tools, not to physically harm Translucent, but to intimidate him. A buzzing stun gun, its arcs of electricity snapping in the air. A high-powered drill, its whine echoing ominously. He'd describe, in graphic detail, what he could do, what Vought would do, if Translucent didn't cooperate. Translucent would flinch, his body tensing, but he wouldn't break. His carbon skin, impervious to physical harm, seemed to extend to his will.

Hughie was forced to witness these attempts, his "hum" a constant, overwhelming presence. He'd feel Translucent's fear, his defiance, his raw, unyielding stubbornness. But he also started to notice something else. Subtle shifts in the hum. It wasn't just reacting to Translucent's emotions anymore. It was reacting to his power.

When Butcher would hit the cage with a crowbar, the hum would spike, a sudden, sharp vibration that seemed to echo the impact, but then it would settle, a low, resonant thrum. It was like Translucent's skin was absorbing the energy, taking it in, but not releasing it. Hughie found himself subconsciously focusing on this, trying to understand the subtle nuances of the hum. It was like a new sense, a terrifying, inexplicable one.

" He's like a sponge. A really, really hard sponge. He just soaks it all up. All the kinetic energy. All the impacts. And it just… stays there. Inside him. Building up. Like a really bad case of indigestion, but for physical force. And that hum… it's vibrating with this realization now. It's like it's screaming, 'He's a capacitor, Hughie! A giant, invisible, naked capacitor!' This is either a brilliant deduction or I'm officially losing my mind. Probably both. My brain is starting to feel like a faulty circuit board. "

Frenchie, ever the scientist, was also conducting his own experiments. He'd use various sonic frequencies, electromagnetic pulses, trying to find a weakness in Translucent's carbon skin. He'd hold strange meters up to the cage, muttering about energy readings. Hughie, with his "hum," found himself drawn to these experiments, offering observations, even if he couldn't explain how he knew what he knew.

"The resonance, it is different when I use the sonic emitter," Hughie would say, pointing to a reading on Frenchie's device. "It's like… it's like it's vibrating with it, but not breaking. It's absorbing it. Like a… a tuning fork, but it just keeps getting louder, not breaking."

Frenchie would look at him, a flicker of genuine awe in his eyes. "You feel this? The absorption? Magnifique. It is a unique sensitivity, mon ami. A gift. Or a curse. Depending on how you use it."

" A gift. Or a curse. Right. Currently leaning towards 'curse.' Because it just tells me I'm in a room with a very angry, very invulnerable Supe who's about to get even angrier. And I'm the one who figured out his secret. So, I'm probably next on his hit list. After Butcher, of course. Always Butcher first. Unless I accidentally say something else brilliant. Then I'm definitely next. And that hum… it's buzzing with a strange, almost desperate clarity now. It's like it's trying to push me towards something. Something dangerous. Something that feels… inevitable. "

M.M.'s moral crisis deepened with each passing day. He'd pull Hughie aside, his face etched with worry. "Hughie, this isn't us. This isn't what we do. We don't break people. We expose them. There's a line, Hughie. And Butcher's crossing it. And you… you're right there with him."

Hughie would just shrug, his eyes fixed on the flickering outline of Translucent. "What choice do I have, M.M.? He killed Robin. Or, you know, he's part of the system that killed Robin. And he punched me. And he's not talking. We need answers. And if this is the only way to get them… then I have to be here. I have to listen to that hum. I have to understand."

He felt the weight of complicity. He was horrified by Butcher's methods, by the psychological torment they were inflicting. But he also understood the ruthless pragmatism behind it. In this world, decency felt like a luxury they couldn't afford. And the hum, that constant, unsettling vibration, was whispering to him, telling him that this was the path. The only path to survival. The only path to justice. It was a terrifying, seductive whisper.

One evening, as Butcher was describing a particularly gruesome scenario to Translucent, Hughie felt the hum spike to an almost unbearable level. It was a high-pitched, frantic whine, vibrating through his entire body. He looked at Translucent, whose body was trembling, his eyes wide with terror. He was at his breaking point. And Hughie felt a sudden, terrifying clarity. The hum wasn't just detecting his fear. It was detecting the pressure building inside him. The energy. The kinetic force that his carbon skin was absorbing, but couldn't release.

" He's going to pop. He's going to explode. From the inside out. Just like I thought. And I can feel it. I can feel the pressure building. It's like a giant, invisible balloon, inflating, inflating, until… pop. And that hum… it's screaming this truth now. It's undeniable. This is not just a feeling. This is… knowledge. Terrifying, horrifying knowledge. And I'm the only one who knows it. And I'm the one who's going to have to tell them. And then what? Do we just… make him explode? Oh, God. This is getting dark. Really, really dark. "

The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow. He didn't have powers, not active ones, but he had a terrifying, intuitive understanding of them. He was a human conduit, a receiver for the unseen energies of the Supes. And right now, that conduit was screaming the unspoken truth about Translucent's fatal flaw. The limits of his invulnerability. And the terrifying potential of that knowledge.