Butcher ended the call with Allen.
"..."
Butcher was still out looking for Compound V with the team. His expression seed to waver for a mont after ending the call but then returned to its serious and determined state.
Butcher's plan seed feasible: strike at Vought where it hurt the most, its popularity, public adoration, and above all, its finances. But Butcher being Butcher, his main target was not Vought itself but Holander. To do that, he needed to make Allen and Holander fight once again.
Butcher needed to gauge how well Allen could stand up to Holander and decide how they would proceed afterward. If Allen's strength was close to Holander's, Butcher could look for a way to weaken Holander so Allen could kill him. But if the difference was too great, Butcher would seek another thod that didn't involve a direct confrontation between Allen and Holander. Of course, Butcher was a bastard, manipulative, and willing to cut off his own arm if it ant killing Holander. However, he understood that he couldn't deceive Allen.
During their conversation, Butcher felt that Allen must have realized his true objective, yet it seed not to bother him.
'You're growing on , kid,' Butcher thought as the others in the car looked at him suspiciously. It wasn't common to see the rabid dog smile without his usual psychotic expression.
Butcher was right. Allen knew that sooner or later he would have to face Holander. This would continue several tis, and unless there were variables or external elents, it would keep going until one of them died.
Butcher parked and got out of the car with The Boys. They all looked at the dingy place they had arrived at.
The plan was for a stealthy infiltration. After a simple plan and a few exchanged glances, they entered. Luckily, except for Hughie, none of them were novices, and they managed to reach the basent without drawing attention.
Butcher checked several places and beca frustrated when he couldn't find the Compound V. They had arrived too late.
"Damn it!" Butcher exclaid. "I hope he has better luck than us"
"Frenchie?..." MM noticed that Frenchie was distracted and went to check on him. Frenchie was in front of a cell where a girl with black hair was watching cartoons.
"What are you doing, Frenchie?"
"I'm going to free her."
"What?!, buddy, she's in a reinforced cell for a reason."
MM's argunt made sense, but Frenchie didn't like the idea of leaving her locked up. Hughie and Butcher approached. Butcher agreed with MM that it was a bad idea, but Hughie argued that they should let her go. Frenchie let her out in a mont of distraction.
The woman got up and looked at them. That look devoid of pity sent chills down their spines, and at that mont, they realized they had made a mistake.
"Don't let her out!" yelled one of the ard Japanese n who had noticed this, but it was too late.
"Ahhh!"
The woman ran and leaped toward him with panther-like agility. She knocked him down amidst screams and repeatedly stabbed him in the abdon with hands that resembled claws, doing so like a wild beast.
"She's a supe!" shouted Hughie.
Everyone was terrified as they watched her rcilessly kill every ard man who entered. She was agile, strong, and had regenerative abilities and bullets didn't affect her.
The Boys scrambled into the cell to protect their lives, and the woman snarled as she tried to reach them. She was like a female Wolverine having a bad day. After realizing it was impossible, the woman seed to rember sothing and left, disappearing sowhere. Everyone glared at Frenchie in frustration, as his actions had almost led to their deaths.
"I... I'm sorry..."
"Listen, Frenchie, next ti you see a woman locked in a reinforced cell surrounded by ard n, don't free her or I'll kill you!" Butcher exited the cell, followed by the others.
"What do we do now?" Hughie asked nervously, looking at the dismbered bodies of the traffickers.
"Hm?" Butcher raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Hughie ant.
MM patted Hughie's shoulder, then smiled at him and looked at Butcher. "Should we go after her?"
Butcher stopped and looked at them with an irritated expression. "Most likely, the crazy Asian will kill us. Do you still want to pursue her?"
"Butcher, can't we call Petit Marcheur(Little Walker) and ask for help?"
Everyone looked at Frenchie but didn't bla him for starting the ss. Besides, using a Supe to catch another was a good idea.
"Listen, we need to focus on the Compound V. But if the kid decides to help with this, I won't stop him..." Butcher sneered. "Besides, Frenchie, I'd call him that if you don't want to end up tossed in Antarctica, haha."
Frenchie swallowed hard. Today, he would either improve things or fall into chaos. None of them had any idea what would happen next, not even Butcher could foresee what would unfold after that day.
The Boys went their separate ways...
Butcher received information that Madelyn Stillwell had called a press conference at the airport. Vought wasn't a joke when it ca to organizing such events.
But everything was part of Butcher's plan, and it amused him.
...
(Vought International)
Inside a modern yet elegant office was a man of color with a piercing gaze and a commanding presence, as if nothing in the world could threaten him.
His na is Stan Edgar, Director of Vought International, Madelyn's boss, the person who is above all of Vought. He is essentially the reason Supes exist in the first place.
Stan Edgar looked at his phone, waiting for a report from Black Noir about the situation. In fact, it was unusual that Black Noir hadn't called yet. Of course, it wasn't the first ti Black Noir had been late with a report, and that was due to the "fun" Stan Edgar was aware of. However, this ti Holander was in the Atlantic, there was no one or nothing to entertain Black Noir.
Stan closed his eyes for a mont. He managed Vought like a shadow and often let Madelyn make the decisions, yet he knew everything that happened—or rather, nothing happened without Stan Edgar's knowledge. Since the incident with A-Train, the attack on the Supes bar, the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Translucent... and of course, he knew it was Holander who had killed him.
Stan Edgar was the only person to whom Holander still showed respect and even a bit of fear, though not openly.
As Madelyn spoke passionately in her speech, the image on the screen in front of Stan changed. The face of Allen appeared before him.
'Who was he?'
Están's gaze was filled with brightness and interest....
This was a topic that intrigued Stan. It was absurd to have a Supe capable of facing Holander, yet there he was, the little albino villain who almost destroyed The Seven.
As the Director of Vought International, Stan Edgar was aware of every Supe's existence, including the illegal ones created when Compound V ended up in the hands of those other than Vought. However, he had no idea who, how, when, or where Allen had been created.
...
Stan pondered but ca to no conclusions. He already had people investigating; all he could do was wait.
He looked at his computer screen, where Madelyn's speech was being broadcast. He sensed sothing odd about all this. Madelyn's actions seed rushed as if soone had pushed her to turn this event into a worldwide news story.
It's here...
Stan stopped thinking about them and leaned back in his chair, watching the screen...
...
JFK Airport (John F. Kennedy)
Madelyn ensured that reporters from around the world were present and gathered them near the runway, causing several flight delays. Such an arrangent couldn't be made without considerable influence or, alternatively, leveraging or calling in favors.
"As always, it's all about the money," Butcher thought with disdain as he entered the airport and blended in with the reporters using a fake press pass.
After a while, Butcher received a ssage from Allen saying he had managed to rescue the plane and would be heading to Chicago.
Butcher – "Kid, bring the plane to New York. I've got a surprise for you, hahaha!"
Allen – "I have a bad feeling about this, but I don't care anymore -_-"
...
Madelyn took advantage of the press conference to update everyone on her progress in capturing the albino villain, among other things.
"We are pleased to report that The Deep is doing well and sent us a ssage from the hospital."
the screen behind Madelyn lit up, and everyone saw The Deep lying in a bed with his face bandaged. Unable to speak, he began mumbling and raised his thumb.
Madelyn imdiately looked at Ashley, who hurriedly cut the feed. They had instructed The Deep not to speak to avoid looking foolish. It was already bad enough that he was the only mber of The Seven knocked out during the invasion.
Unfortunately, The Deep demonstrated once again just how foolish he could be. Ignoring the instructions, he seed to forget that half of his face had been mangled by a at grinder. As he attempted to speak, he experienced excruciating pain. Before Ashley could cut the transmission, viewers saw The Deep writhing in agony.
"It seems our hero... is on the nd," Madelyn forced a reaction and continued.
Butcher shook his head, thinking that if all Supes were as stupid as The Deep, he could easily take them all down.
Madelyn apologized and moved on to the next topic. The Tower of The Seven hadn't suffered as much damage as initially believed, thanks to the efforts of The Seven.
"You lying bitch, haha," Butcher knew that the only reason that building wasn't destroyed by Holander was that Allen prevented it.
"Starlight... this topic is sensitive. We have reports claiming that our innocent Starlight was kidnapped by the villain, but there are also videos contradicting this. Until we find Starlight, we cannot confirm the truth..."
'Haha, that sweet blonde is already sharing a bed with my boy!' Butcher almost burst out laughing.
Madelyn coughed and regained her composure. At this point, she realized just how much everything had gone to hell in just a few days. They had gone from celebrating box office successes and preparing for new legislation to facing constant scrutiny and a severe lack of public trust.
"With the unfortunate death of Translucent, a part of us was lost," Madelyn smiled. "But I am optimistic that a new dawn will brighten our future!"
Half of the reporters applauded, while the rest remained skeptical. People at ho were excited, cheering, and smiling.
...
Two fifteen-year-old sisters were arguing in their living room.
"You see, I told you The Deep wasn't dead!"
"I can't believe you like The Deep. The guy was knocked out cold by a single blow from the villain. anwhile, Holander took over a hundred cowardly hits protecting the building and the people during the attack!"
"Ah?! Don't be silly. The Deep was injured saving Starlight from certain death but he could not prevent the villain from taking her away. Now he blas himself... what a noble soul!"
"Girls, stop fighting."
"Yes, Mom!"
"By the way, do you want pudding?!"
The two girls stopped watching TV, went to get so pudding.
This scene was repeated everywhere. Vought knew how to downplay their failures and even twist the truth. Sohow, The Deep sacrificed himself to protect Starlight, and Holander defended the building, so he couldn't chase the villain. It sounded ridiculous, but people ended up believing it when Vought said so.
Vought International had a firm grasp on the dia, allowing them to turn black into white if they wished. That's why, no matter how bad things looked or what news ca out, they could always spin it.
Butcher looked around and saw serious reporters from all over the world.
CNN (USA) BBC (UK) Al Jazeera (Qatar) Reuters (UK) The New York Tis (USA) Deutsche Welle (Germany) Sky News (UK) NHK (Japan) Euronews (EU) Xinhua (China) RT (Russia), etc.
A curious fact is that this was not necessary, since Vought's superheroes did not leave the country, so for other countries they were only human weapons.
'Heh, half of the world's major dia outlets sent representatives... wow, Madelyn~, you've done your job very well~' Butcher mocked Madelyn sarcastically. He and his "friends" had pushed her into this.
While in the live-action story, The Boys were sowhat informal due to circumstances that caused them to lose governnt support, the comics presented a different scenario. The Boys, and of course, Butcher, never ceased to be a secret organization with governnt backing.
In this world, it was a mix of both scenarios. Butcher had problems with his previous team, to the point where they all died, which led to reduced support due to the danger. Nevertheless, Billy Butcher never stopped receiving support.
Butcher is a tornted and hateful man who will use everything at his disposal, whether it's governnt power, a dangerous new Supe, a killer bomb, or even Satan himself, to take down Vought, the Supes, and kill Holander.
Butcher looked up at the sky as his sadistic smile disappeared and was replaced by a serene look. At the sa ti, Madelyn's speech was interrupted by the sound of several helicopters approaching.
The truth beca clear as the helicopters escorted a comrcial airplane that was descending slowly. The most absurd part was that it descended too slowly and too vertically, making it obvious that it wasn't moving naturally.
Butcher watched this in silence, his expression unchanged. Then he noticed Madelyn's mouth opening in shock, her phone fell to the ground.
Reporters stood up and ran toward the plane's landing site. Butcher lit a cigarette and smoked while Madelyn knelt on the ground.
It wasn't Holander!
That was the thought that stunned Madelyn. Ashley rushed to help her, but she remained unresponsive.
It wasn't Holander... why wasn't it Holander?
Clearly, both he and Maeve had gone to intercept Flight 37. However, the plane appeared along with an unknown superhero.
What does this an?!
"Hahaha, maybe Holander is dead... hahaha."
Butcher laughed without rcy. Madelyn lifted her gaze and imdiately beca furious. "BILLY BUTCHER!!"
She knew. It made sense when this bastard, who had wanted to take down Vought for so long, appeared.
"He's... he's yours!"
"The kid would get mad if you said that in front of him, but if you're referring to us working together, then Yes, b*tch!"
"I knew it! I always knew it! You and your Boys always trying to be a pain!"
"Yeah, you knew and even mocked us. We were just governnt dogs, unrecognized, so you thought we were trash!"
Madelyn bit her lip until it bled. "How... how did you get him?... How?"
"How did we manage to raise a Supe better than Holander?!" said Butcher indifferently.
"...!"
Madelyn choked. Even though that thought crossed her mind, she didn't want to admit it. It shouldn't be possible; there was no way a Supe could be superior to Holander. It didn't make sense.
But here was the reality: Holander did not return, but this young man did.
Madelyn was terrified. Before, she just saw Butcher and his attempts to stop Vought as silly and even amusing. But deep down, why should she be afraid? She had hundreds of superhumans at her command who could do anything with her orders.
Vought International had beco a monster they couldn't defeat, and Holander was the greatest proof of that.
Butcher took a drag from his cigarette and turned to the distance. His gaze was on Allen, who was slowly bringing the plane down.
Madelyn Stillwell looked at Allen. There was no way to top that, and Madelyn knew it. Even the reporters, instead of taking photos, stood in stunned silence, watching Allen descend.
...
Descending slowly as if the plane were being held up by the sky itself. The plane with a faint golden glow, ca down accompanied by the sunlight.
Allen seed concerned about not damaging the plane, setting it down gently, and looking at everyone present while remaining airborne with his cape fluttering.
There was a different feeling in the air, it wasn't the oppression that accompanied Holander's appearances. It was a sense of tranquility, peace, and nostalgia, like seeing a distant relative after a long ti.
Allen didn't do anything extraordinary. He wanted to leave and cursed Butcher for getting him involved in this.
Allen coughed and proceeded to open the plane door. The inflatable slide is detached to allow passengers to disembark.
One by one, the passengers exited, thanking Allen while laughing, crying, and smiling.
"I get it, stop being so thankful!"
Allen wasn't used to receiving so much gratitude and felt a little uncomfortable, which made his Chat laugh.
Upon touching the ground, many knelt, thinking they would never return ho.
"Brother!"
A girl shouted at Allen from the plane door. Allen hesitated and seed ready to leave, but the girl looked like she was about to cry, so Allen floated over and picked her up.
"You're quite the blackmailer," Allen grumbled with a half-smile.
"I'm sorry!~" the girl apologized, though she was more excited and eager to fly. "Brother, can we fly to the sky?!"
"No, your mom would be terrified, and the FBI would chase if I took a kid with ."
FBI: "Nah, go ahead and take the kid. We're aware you're a decent guy... *at least fifteen agents are docunting and recording this in detail...*"
'Liars!'
Allen felt he couldn't trust anyone anymore.
Despite the girl's complaints, he gently lowered her to the ground. When he touched down, reporters held their breath, and passengers gathered around Allen once more to thank him.
Allen simply felt uncomfortable and wanted nothing more than to leave, but everyone kept surrounding him, even the girl clinging to his neck to prevent him from going.
The Chat loved this situation as nothing was better than seeing Allen having problems and because he was sincere thanks Allen couldn't refuse him.
...
Butcher didn't sense the slightest danger from Allen. He couldn't feel any resentnt, frustration, or fear. Despite Allen having apparently surpassed Holander and being even stronger than him, Butcher felt no desire to confront him.
Butcher had seen hundreds of Supes, and while he considered many to be harmless, none had made him lower his guard like this.
"Madelyn, we didn't create him... he's... real."
"...!"
Madelyn froze, and so did Ashley. Both won watched Butcher walk away.
...
[Host it looks like you're one step away from being the savior~]
'I refuse! people's gratitude is very heavy, that's why I prefer my Chat who on receiving a "thank you" cos accompanied by an insult'
[That sounds masochistic....]
'Shut up, I prefer that to this cloying situation, I don't know how there are people who put up with this...'
[Get used to it... Superhero~]
'No!'
===
A/N: I hope the Chapter wasn't too cheesy ;3
Allen - Damn!
Author - hahaha
Allen - Don't laugh, you got into this!
My new patreon is: Patreon/_Aizen
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