Mallory realized there was no use pretending anymore—Russell knew too much.
"You look like you're just a high schooler. How could you possibly know about top-secret events from the last century?"
"Tell me," Russell said calmly, ignoring her question, "or the person next to me will gladly find a way to make you talk."
That was the Butcher's role. Russell didn't want to dirty his own hands, so he brought the Butcher along.
"How did the Russians manage it? Did they drop a hydrogen bomb in Nicaragua? No, something that big would never go unnoticed."
The Butcher was pacing excitedly nearby.
He didn't care about Soldier Boy. What excited him was the possibility that if someone as powerful as Soldier Boy—on par with Homelander—could be captured, then perhaps the same method could be used on Homelander.
The moment Russell mentioned him, Butcher stepped forward. Still simmering from years of betrayal, he pointed a furious finger at Mallory and started cursing.
"Mallory, what you did was downright rotten.
You knew I've been desperate for a way to deal with Homelander, yet you never said a word. You think it's funny watching me run around in circles?"
"Tell us everything we want to know.
Or else, I won't be responsible for what happens next!"
That was just who Butcher was—aggressive, ruthless, always ready to turn on a dime. If it helped him take down Homelander, he'd stop at nothing.
Especially since Russell held the key to his wife Becca's whereabouts.
"I'll never talk," Mallory said, unfazed by the threats.
This weathered woman was, in some ways, admirable. She had survived World War II, fought with the Allies on the front lines, dodging bullets without even blinking.
She had lost her entire family and lived alone ever since.
Russell found himself at a loss—there wasn't much he could do to threaten her.
But Butcher was another story.
He was a master of backstabbing—and he knew Mallory well.
Only someone who knows you best can strike at your most vulnerable spot.
"Do you know the safe in your house? Not the obvious one, but the one hidden in the wall behind the photo of George H. W. Bush. I was curious about what you were hiding in there.
I found a directory listing agents stationed all over the world. If that list gets out, how long do you think they—and their families—will survive?"
"Butcher!"
Mallory's expression finally changed.
"This is why I didn't tell you. I was afraid your hatred would consume you. That list contains the names of dozens of innocent people—innocent families."
"I don't care! I'll do it. So you'd better start cooperating…" Butcher growled, grabbing her by the collar.
Mallory was humiliated and furious.
But in the end, she gave in and told Russell what he wanted to know—the coordinates of the military base where Soldier Boy was being held.
"Our deal's done.
Your wife is alive, being kept in a secluded facility arranged secretly by Vought International.
Where exactly? You'll have to find that out on your own."
Having gotten what he wanted, Russell didn't mind giving Butcher the lead on Becca. He figured the look on Butcher's face when he discovered she had a child with Homelander would be priceless.
A gust of wind swept past.
Russell vanished.
As for Butcher, he kept pressing Mallory about how Soldier Boy had been subdued. Russell wasn't interested in that.
Soldier Boy had been arrogant and domineering, thinking only his opinion mattered. Vought, who felt they couldn't control him anymore, secretly encouraged his lover and teammates to betray him.
While others attacked him, Mindstorm used his powers to mentally stun him for a split second. Then, his lover, Crimson Countess, took him by surprise from behind and dosed him with Novichok—one of the deadliest neurotoxins in the world—knocking him unconscious.
"That method… might be worth trying on Homelander too.
The only question is whether he can withstand the same poison that took down Soldier Boy."
But hope was slim.
Russell tore across the ocean, wind howling past his ears, and in the blink of an eye, landed on Russian soil.
"If Butcher knows Novichok can bring down Soldier Boy, even if there's just a one percent chance it might work on Homelander, he'll try it.
And if Homelander ever loses control, CEO Edgar would probably consider repeating the same tactic."
Unfortunately, it likely wouldn't work.
Homelander had probably been tested for resistance to Novichok during his early lab experiments.
The reason Vought replaced Soldier Boy with Homelander was because the latter was superior in every way—including, perhaps, toxin resistance.
"But I've got to try. First things first—secure Soldier Boy's template."
Following Mallory's coordinates, Russell arrived at the facility where Soldier Boy was imprisoned.
WHOOOSH!
A concrete military base lay sprawled across the earth like an ancient beast.
Rusted barbed wire fences whistled mournfully in the wind, like the cries of a dying creature.
Several tanks were parked in the yard, and soldiers in full gear patrolled with rifles in hand—though their expressions were casual.
Ever since the collapse of the great empire, the weaponization project surrounding Soldier Boy had been shelved for decades. It was clear no one was paying it much attention anymore.
"Doesn't make a difference."
No matter how elite the garrison was, it wasn't going to stop Russell—he could walk right through. Inside the base, everything felt old and outdated.
Even the chemical storage tanks looked like relics from the last century.
Moving at lightning speed, Russell descended into the deepest level of the facility, arriving before a giant iron chamber.
It was a cylindrical metal cell over two meters tall, its special alloy walls as thick as those on a nuclear submarine.
Twelve hydraulic locking mechanisms clamped the door down like spider legs. Red Russian text nearby warned: "DO NOT APPROACH / EXTREMELY DANGEROUS."
Through the blast-proof viewing window, Russell stroked his chin. Behind a thick fog of high-concentration halothane gas, he could just make out the silhouette of a tall, heavily muscled, naked man with a dense beard.
Special restraints bound Soldier Boy in a standing position, holding his unconscious body in place.
"Wouldn't just a look be enough?"
Russell had hoped that merely seeing Soldier Boy would allow him to copy his ability template, especially since the man was as good as dead—motionless and unresponsive.
Unfortunately, no luck.
Immortal heroes who suffer extreme damage enter a near-death state where they appear dead, and unless reassembled, remain in that frozen condition.
"Soldier Boy isn't quite that far gone. Is that why the system won't register his template?"
Looks like he'd have to get hands-on.
CLANG… SCREEECH!
With a tooth-grinding metallic groan, the thick door bent and tore away under terrifying force, thrown aside like scrap.
The halothane gas—potent enough to take down an elephant—billowed out like white smoke from a fire, revealing the tall, muscular figure inside.
Slowly, eyes unused to light flickered open.
Soldier Boy awoke.
........
[300PS= 1Bonus chapter]
If you want to read 30 advanced chapters before they get Thanos-snapped, check out my p@treon.com/INTRAX (Replace @ with 'a')