Chapter 48: Edgar and Madelyn Take the Fall
The third reporter’s hands were shaking as he stood up to question Holander. "Mr. Holander... after learning about everything your father went through, what are your feelings?"
Holander took the microphone. "I fucking hate the pieces of shit who did this to him. I hate Edgar, and I hate everything Vought used to stand for..."
He looked dead into the cara lens and continued, "But more than anything, I am incredibly proud of him! My father crawled his way out of hell to return to Arica. He endured all that torture... but it didn’t break him. He is the most powerful superhero in the world, and he is my father. Through this ordeal, my father and I will completely eradicate the internal corruption and filth within Vought. Together, he and I will build a true superhero company!"
Holander grew increasingly worked up as he spoke. As he finished, the entire audience erupted into thunderous applause, the stage lights bathing him in a brilliant glow. Holander felt absolutely on top of the world.
Soon, a fourth reporter stood up. "President Barrett, you ntioned that Vought needs to pivot, and you spoke about the truth behind superheroes. Could you elaborate on that?"
Ashley nodded, turning to a new page in the file before her as she took a deep breath. What ca next was the real nuclear bomb of this press conference.
"Before addressing the future direction of Vought’s pivot, I need to formally confess a truth to the public that has been concealed for nearly a century. A secret that Stan Edgar and Madelyn Stillwell refused to disclose until the day they died..."
"Vought International’s predecessor was a pharmaceutical company. Early in the twentieth century, our founder, Frederick Vought, developed a compound designated as V, which is Compound V. Its effect is to permanently rewrite human genetics, granting ordinary people abilities that transcend natural limitations. Every single superhero you in this room are familiar with derived their powers from this substance. Supes obtaining their powers is not a natural gift, a miracle, or an act of God. Every single Supe is a manufactured product engineered in a laboratory."
She flipped a page, her gaze sweeping across the rows of breathless faces below. The atmosphere had completely shifted; everyone was struck by absolute shock. Supes... were just humans pumped full of drugs?
"Furthermore, during his decades-long tenure, Stan Edgar, in collusion with Madelyn Stillwell, covertly pushed a massive, illegal global injection program. Thousands upon thousands of ordinary citizens were injected with Compound V without their knowledge or consent. These victims included children, pregnant won, military veterans, and the holess. Edgar and Madelyn treated them like lab rats. Many superheroes still have no idea that their so-called ’gifts’ are actually nothing more than a numbered, archived laboratory experint entry under Edgar..."
The briefing room fell so silent that you could hear the faint hiss of the air conditioning vents overhead.
"What is far worse," Ashley’s voice grew significantly colder, "is that Edgar and Madelyn did not stop at covertly injecting innocent civilians. They established a global black-market trafficking network for Compound V. They sold Compound V at exorbitant prices to criminal organizations, terrorist syndicates, and private militias, deliberately engineering a massive influx of Supe-Terrorists. The existence of these Supe-Terrorists served as Vought’s constant pretext for expanding superhuman affairs. Edgar manufactured the disasters first, then dispatched superheroes to clean up the ss, reaping astronomical profits and public influence in the process. It was a flawless closed loop. And those victims who lost control after being injected went to their graves never knowing they were rely pawns in a corporate business plan. All of this was executed under Edgar’s direct authorization, completely bypassing the knowledge of the vast majority of Vought’s board of directors. Prior to today, Vought’s mid-level managent, myself included, along with all the Supes, were completely in the dark regarding these atrocities..."
Hearing this, Holander maintained a serene expression. Though he felt a bit guilty inside, Benjamin had told him that he needed to fix and reform the sses he had made himself. Besides, these matters were being pinned entirely on the deceased Edgar and Madelyn. Even so, Holander’s actions in distributing the compound had initially carried Edgar’s tacit approval anyway...
Ashley turned to the final page of the docunt.
"Today, Vought International is prepared to turn over the complete body of evidence against Edgar and Madelyn—including their private communications, financial transactions, black-market accounting ledgers, and classified experintal records—to the FBI. Furthermore, Vought announces that effective imdiately, the production, sale, and injection of Compound V has been halted completely and permanently. We will systematically dispatch superheroes to seize and shut down all Compound V production lines and black-market warehouses operating under Edgar’s na. From this mont forward, no human being on this earth will ever be turned into a Supe by Compound V again. The sole operational lines Vought will retain are Superhuman Affairs Managent and the operations of The Seven. Our objective is singular: to ensure that superheroes are no longer manufactured products engineered in a laboratory, but true protectors fully trusted by the public—real superheroes!"
Another massive commotion rippled through the briefing room, followed imdiately by a deafening roar of thunderous applause from everyone in attendance.
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In front of the television, the entire crew of The Boys was utterly dumbfounded.
Butcher murmured to himself, "The exact thing we were fucking trying to do... Soldier Boy and Holander went ahead and beat us to the goddamn punch? What the hell was the point of us doing any of this?"
He still held a massive mountain of evidence, just waiting to bring Vought down alongside CIA Deputy Director Susan Raynor...
"So... should we just call it a day, pack up, and head ho?" Frenchie asked, glancing around at the group.
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A/N: Want to know what happens next? You can read up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on:
/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).
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