After the eting ended, the mbers of The Seven got up and left one after another.
Maeve and Starlight walked out of the conference room side by side, quietly discussing sothing.
Before long, A-Train arrived outside Benjamin’s office, looking hesitant.
"Mr. Soldier Boy."
A-Train walked in, shut the door behind him, and stood in front of the desk with his hands hanging at his sides.
"I wanted to ask... can Popclaw and I make our relationship public?"
Benjamin froze for a mont.
Popclaw.
The woman A-Train had killed with his own hands in the original story.
After The Boys discovered Compound V, they threatened Popclaw into revealing where Compound V was kept. Then Holander ordered her silenced, and A-Train carried it out.
But in this tiline, the bla for Compound V had already been pushed entirely onto Edgar and Madelyn, and Holander had long since stopped the black-market circulation.
Popclaw did not have to die.
"You’re asking about sothing that small?"
Benjamin frowned and asked, "Who the hell cares about your private life?"
A-Train said quietly, "Madelyn said before that going public with my relationship would affect my market value and my future, and then affect the company’s profits... The fans like A-Train single. Going public would make my approval rating drop, and sponsors would pull out. So she wouldn’t let tell anyone."
"Heh."
Benjamin leaned back in his chair and said coldly, "Vought has its own hands full right now. The stock is crashing, the PR departnt is working overti until dawn every day. Who the hell cares who you’re sleeping with? I approve. Go public if you want."
A-Train blinked, clearly not expecting that answer.
Benjamin had answered without the slightest hesitation.
"And besides, that dead old whore is already out of the picture," Benjamin continued. "I’m the one running Vought now. With , who you date and who you sleep with is your own business. As long as it doesn’t affect your missions, and as long as you don’t do drugs, don’t shoot up, and don’t run people over, handle the rest however you want."
"Thank you, sir."
There was a sincerity in A-Train’s voice that had never been there before.
He looked at Benjamin gratefully.
Aside from the fact that Benjamin liked hitting people, he really was far better than Madelyn in every other way.
While A-Train had been in the hospital, Popclaw had been busy running around and taking care of him.
The reason A-Train had not made their relationship public before was not entirely because the company forbade it.
He had also enjoyed the fan worship that ca with his single image.
Those female fans screaming, "A-Train, I love you."
Those young girls at races holding up signs that said "Marry ." All of it was vanity he had not wanted to give up.
But during his hospital stay, only his brother and Popclaw ca to see him.
Maybe coming so close to death had made A-Train understand a few things.
And there was one more thing.
A-Train did not dare imagine, if Soldier Boy had not co back and Popclaw had done those things, would Holander have spared his girlfriend...
Probably not...
"One more thing."
Benjamin cut off A-Train’s thoughts, raised a finger, and pointed at A-Train’s chest.
"Your heart problem doesn’t look like sothing that’ll be fixed just because you stop shooting up. Find a way to deal with it. The Seven has always been the world’s top Supe team. If your speed really can’t keep up with Shockwave, or with other second-tier speedsters, then by that point, it might not be up to . Holander will consider replacing you with soone more suitable. Understand?"
A-Train gritted his teeth, his expression turning serious.
He knew this was not a threat.
Shockwave really was more stable than him, and there was nothing wrong with his heart.
"Yes, sir. I’ll get my speed back."
"Get out."
Benjamin waved him off.
...
At the sa ti, Holander was investigating sothing else.
He had handed Translucent’s case over to The Deep and Maeve, while he put all his energy into another lead.
Before Edgar died, he had revealed one thing to him. Holander had a son.
Now Holander finally had ti to look into the truth.
Through his own thods, Holander found so rough information.
He had a son, and the boy’s mother was Becca, Billy Butcher’s wife.
Becca had once been Holander’s assistant. Eight years ago, Holander overheard Butcher running his mouth about him and wanted revenge. Becca had also been drinking, and one thing led to another before they ended up in bed.
After that, Becca disappeared. He had not taken it to heart, and everyone thought she was already dead.
Butcher thought she was dead, and the whole world thought she was dead.
But Vought had hidden her away.
Because Becca was pregnant, and the child was his.
Holander’s child had been secretly hidden by Vought all this ti, and the exact whereabouts of both the child and Becca pointed to one person.
Dr. Vogelbaum.
Vought’s forr chief scientist, and one of Holander’s creators.
Back then, it was Vogelbaum who deceived Soldier Boy, telling him it was only genetic modification. In reality, from the very beginning, the goal had been to cultivate the most powerful Supe in the world: Holander.
Now, creating him had not been enough for Vought. They also wanted to keep his son.
Basically, three generations, grandfather, father, and son, had all been under Vought’s control... though of course, the current Soldier Boy was definitely not.
At that mont, Holander’s fingers were trembling slightly.
Madelyn knew about this. Edgar knew about this. All of them knew.
They would rather have him shoot a family promo in front of a fake piano than tell him he really had a child...
He buried his face in his hands, his breathing growing heavier and rougher until he was panting, his shoulders rising and falling with each rapid breath.
Madelyn was already dead, but he still wanted to kill Madelyn. He hated Madelyn.
Holander even wanted Doppelganger to turn into Madelyn so he could shoot her dead all over again.
...
Just then, Benjamin ca to Holander’s side.
He had noticed from far away that sothing was wrong with Holander’s mood. Starlight had just asked him to lunch, but for now, he could only check on his son first.
Benjamin figured Holander had found the truth on his own. As for this son of his, almost everyone in the company was under Holander’s control. Benjamin had given him extrely high authority. Basically, within Vought, Holander now had the highest power after Benjamin himself.
Finding out the truth had only been a matter of ti.
"You okay?"
Holander suddenly lifted his head, his eyes red as if they had just been washed out by laser vision.
"I’m fine... I’m good..."
Benjamin looked at him.
"You look like a junkie high out of his mind. No, you look more like a kid who hasn’t had milk in at least half a month."
For Holander, going half a month without milk really would be the sky falling.
"Dad, I want you to co sowhere with ."
"Where?"
"Dr. Vogelbaum’s house."
Holander spoke slowly.
"Vought’s forr chief scientist, and one of my creators. He should know where my son, your grandson, is. He knows the whole truth."
Benjamin did not hesitate.
"I’ll go with you."
He happened to have a score to settle with Vogelbaum too.
That damn doctor had lied to him, saying it was only genetic research.
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