This ti, the Asian owner of the barbecue restaurant did not see just two superheroes.
He counted them. Six in total.
Benjamin, in his dark green Supersuit, walked at the front. Behind him ca the blond man in the red cape, a female warrior, a blond girl with a high ponytail, and a bald man in dark green.
The owner was extrely nervous. He forced down his wildly pounding heart, silently pushed two tables together, added two more chairs, then turned and went into the kitchen to chop up two more racks of ribs.
Smoke from the charcoal drifted out from the kitchen, mixed with the charred aroma of cumin and sizzling fat.
Six glasses of ice-cold beer lined the table, foam sliding down the sides and leaving rings of water on the wood.
...
"Starting today, does Vought belong to you?" Holander asked, raising his beer glass.
He sat on Benjamin’s right, his cape removed and draped over the back of his chair.
Although Edgar’s words still bothered him, Holander knew this was not sothing he could rush. Sooner or later, he would ask Vogelbaum and the others about it.
And when the ti ca, he could bring Soldier Boy along too. After all, this was his grandson.
Benjamin picked up a beef rib and took a bite. Grease ran down the corner of his mouth, and he casually wiped it off with a napkin.
"You’re half right. But it’s not just mine."
He put the rib back on the plate, then drew a circle on the table with his finger, including everyone sitting there.
"It fucking belongs to all of us."
Maeve, Starlight, Deep, and the others all looked at Soldier Boy.
"Vought used to be a fucking pharmaceutical company."
Benjamin raised his beer and took a sip, foam clinging to his upper lip.
"To be exact, it made Compound V. Every one of your powers ca from Compound V. They weren’t natural. They weren’t given by God. They were produced in Vought’s factories. Most of you were injected when you were kids, so you don’t even rember. We’re just fucking drugged-up drug dealers, not so naturally born superheroes."
Benjamin could not be bothered to keep the secret anymore. The Boys would leak it before long anyway.
No, to be precise, Starlight would. But even if Starlight never joined The Boys, soone else definitely would. So rather than hide it, Benjamin might as well say it himself. Besides, he already had the perfect scapegoat.
Everyone was shocked, except Holander.
...
The chicken wings on the grill were turned over, and oil dripped onto the coals, bursting into a small shower of sparks.
No one spoke.
"So Vought needs to transform."
Benjamin set his beer glass down heavily, the base striking the table with a dull thud.
"From a disgusting, damned pharmaceutical company into a real superhero company. From now on, it does one thing only: train people who already have powers into real fucking heroes."
"I understand."
Holander nodded.
There was no hesitation in his tone. In his heart, Vought was already rotten.
Whatever decision Benjamin made, he intended to agree with it and carry it out.
After all, he was his dad.
"You understand? What about all those Supervillains you created by spreading Compound V everywhere? You need to clean up that ss. You let them loose, so you bring them back. Don’t be irresponsible. Just like . Back then, I jerked you into a cup, and now I’m back, aren’t I? If it weren’t for fucking Vought, I wouldn’t have co back this late. Fuck."
Holander was silent for a mont, then nodded again.
"I know. I’ll find them one by one."
"Once you find them, don’t rush to kill them. They were victimized by Vought too. Compound V was injected into their bodies as an experint, and many of them had no idea what they would beco."
Benjamin picked up a grilled corn cob and poked at the char marks with his chopsticks, his voice lowering a little.
"Of course, I’m talking about the ones who didn’t do anything bad after getting their powers. Capture them alive, bring them in, and focus on calming them down. Tell them all of this was that bastard Edgar’s doing. And if they want to go back, my Chest Blast can strip away their powers and let them live as normal people. Oh, right. Especially that Asian woman Supervillain."
Holander looked up. "An Asian woman?"
He thought back to the bad things he had done before, placing an Asian woman in New York as a Supervillain. He just had not expected Soldier Boy to know about sothing that specific.
That was right. Kimiko.
Benjamin was referring to Supervillains. In the original show, Holander had created many Supervillains by distributing Compound V everywhere. Kimiko was one of them, and so was the Syrian terrorist who could blow up his entire body.
To be honest, Benjamin did not know whether The Boys had found Kimiko yet. According to the plot, maybe they had, but they had not fully gotten Kimiko to accept them.
That Syrian exploding Supervillain could be killed, no problem. But with Kimiko, the best outco would be bringing her into Vought and training her into a superhero.
Of course, Kimiko would most likely be unwilling. But even if she refused, Benjamin would still have to remove her powers and send her back to her country. By the final battle in Season 5, Kimiko had actually awakened the sa Chest Blast as him and successfully erased Holander’s powers.
This was not just to make it up to Kimiko. It was also to prevent that shitty ending.
His powerful son should not die in such a pathetic way.
Now that he was here, he could definitely prevent that tragedy.
...
"You know what I’m talking about. Be a real fucking superhero, Holander. Got it?"
Benjamin pointed at Holander and spoke seriously.
On the other side of the table, Starlight’s hand stopped beside her beer glass, her fingertips trembling slightly.
Her lips moved twice. The first ti, no sound ca out. The second ti, she finally squeezed the words out.
"Sir, what do you an?"
She looked at Benjamin, then at Holander, before her gaze returned to Benjamin.
"Pharmaceutical company... Supervillains... and Compound V. What are those things? From what you’re saying, our powers aren’t natural? They were made in a factory?"
Her voice trembled with fear.
"I’ve been able to make my hands glow since I was little. I thought it was a gift. My mother thought it was a gift too. No... did my mother sell to Vought for experints and let them inject ?"
Maeve said nothing. Her expression looked terrible. She picked up her beer, took a large gulp, then set the glass back down. The sound of its base hitting the table was heavier than usual.
Sweat began to bead on Deep’s bald head. "Then... then what are we? Products?"
"You used to be products."
Benjamin looked at him.
"What you beco from now on depends on you. Starting today, I’m shutting down Vought’s factories. There will be no new Compound V injections. Those who have already been injected can choose to keep being heroes, or they can choose to quit. Either way, no one gets to use Compound V to hurt anyone again. This isn’t a request. It’s an order."
Starlight lowered her head and looked at her hands.
Under the light, her fingertips glowed gold. That was the power she had possessed since childhood.
Products...
Superheroes...
Starlight had been inspired by Soldier Boy’s words, but she was still deeply hurt. She hated her mother.
It was even possible her father had left because her mother sold her to Vought.
"What about our press conference?" Holander asked, breaking the silence.
"It goes ahead as planned."
Benjamin said, "Oh, right. We might as well reveal Compound V at the press conference. Let that damned Edgar take the bla. He’s dead anyway. Dead n can’t argue. Then tell everyone that Vought used to be a pharmaceutical company, that it secretly produced a compound that granted superpowers, and that it injected large numbers of people without inford consent. The mastermind behind it was Stan Edgar and the forr Board of Directors. Now Edgar is dead, the Board of Directors has been dissolved, and Vought will fully disclose all information on Compound V, cooperate with the federal investigation, and compensate every victim..."
Maeve leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath.
She had been holding that breath for ten years.
Maeve asked, "You’re going to turn Vought’s deepest secret into a press release?"
"Not its deepest secret."
Benjamin raised his beer and took a sip.
"It’s its stinkiest fucking wound. If you don’t rip open a wound, it’ll never heal. If Vought wants to fucking transform, the first step is to cut out the rotten flesh and show everyone you’re doing it. Fuck."
Deep whispered, "Sir, this... this will destroy Vought’s stock price."
"It’ll destroy Edgar’s Vought stock price. Not our Vought. Besides, Vought doesn’t need to survive on its stock price. What Vought fucking needs is credibility. From now on, every one of you wimps needs to stand in front of the public and let them see sincerity in your eyes. You need to make them understand that you’re not acting. You’re truly doing good."
"We will, sir."
Starlight lifted her hand from the table, raised her beer glass, and clinked it against his.
Maeve’s glass ca next.
Deep hesitated for a mont, then clinked his glass too.
As for Holander’s glass, it had already been waiting there.
Five glasses ca together amid the charred aroma of charcoal and the greasy smoke of grilled at.
Although Holander still did not quite understand why Benjamin had to make things so complicated. Hadn’t he done plenty of good deeds before too, the sort of things superheroes did, even if most of them had been staged?
But it did not matter. Soldier Boy was his father. He would do whatever his father told him to do.
Wasn’t it only natural to listen to his father?
...
The Asian owner felt his scalp go numb, his whole body trembling.
What the hell had he just heard?
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