241. Chapter 241: Parting Ways! Homelander's Setback!
"Late last night, an extremely bizarre fire reduced the 'Supe' nightclub to ash. By the time police and firefighters arrived, the raging flames had completely engulfed the nightclub. However, soon after, thanks to the efforts of the firefighters, the rapid fire was contained."
"Tragically, no survivors have been found in this fire so far. Based on the number of skeletons found by police at the scene, the total death toll of this accident can be estimated. The current official count is one hundred and twenty-six people. Behind this cold number are countless vibrant lives. Please allow us to mourn the deceased."
"Furthermore, police discovered in their subsequent investigation that most of the deceased were Supes. Logically, they all possessed superpowers and shouldn't have all perished in the inferno. Eyewitnesses reported hearing gunshots from inside the nightclub before the fire even broke out."
"Therefore, we have reason to suspect that the ones who killed them were also Supes, and powerful superhuman terrorists at that."
"This makes us worry whether terrorist attacks like this will occur frequently, and who can truly protect our life safety?"
"Next, let's turn the camera over to Senator Neuman, who will help us resolve our confusion."
The oversized LCD screen hanging on the wall was broadcasting the morning news from New York.
"What happened to your eyes?" Stan Edgar glanced at Homelander on the sofa.
Besides Stan Edgar and Homelander, Mr. Jervis and Stormfront were also in the office at this time.
"You wouldn't know?" Homelander reached out and touched the scar near his eyes. After he unleashed that overloaded Heat Vision last night, his eyes immediately went blind and were left with scars that were difficult to heal. Initially, the scars were much more gruesome than they are now, with crimson cracks spreading around his eyes like a spider web.
Fortunately, the blindness only lasted less than a minute, and the wounds around his eyes gradually healed under his self-healing ability.
Stan Edgar frowned. "How would I know? I didn't put a camera on you. However, I guess it must be the Mysterious Person. Besides him, I don't think there's anyone else who could hurt you."
Seeing Homelander's sullen face, remaining silent.
He could only look at Stormfront: "You brought them here. Tell me the specific situation."
While observing the two, Stormfront recounted what happened last night. Unfortunately, both of their reactions were very natural; at least, she couldn't see any hint of suspicion. Besides, there was no point in hiding these things from Stan Edgar. Assuming the Mysterious Person was truly Stan Edgar or Mr. Jervis.
Neither she nor Homelander could do anything about the other party for the moment.
After listening to Stormfront's retelling, Stan Edgar's face was filled with gravity. "No wonder you suspected me. That guy's ability is very special; he can imitate others like a Doppelganger. He might be the Doppelganger who was previously lurking around Madelyn Stillwell."
Stan Edgar picked up his mobile phone and dialed Ashley Barrett's phone number.
"Help me contact the Doppelganger. If he's still in the United States, have him get to Vought as quickly as possible."
While waiting, Senator Neuman on the screen said with a solemn expression: "Our Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs will do its utmost to investigate the truth behind the scenes of the fire. If it was truly the work of a Supe, I promise the public across the United States that even if it costs a great price, I will bring him to justice and ensure he faces legal judgment!"
At this moment, Hughie, standing behind her, had a slightly complex expression. The scale in his mind constantly swayed between friendship and justice.
Last night, Mother's Milk told him everything. After learning about Billy's crazy action, Hughie was stunned for a full half-minute. Then he drove to find Billy and cursed at him. In the end, the two parted on bad terms and chose to go their separate ways.
Billy left The Boys alone, choosing to continue slaughtering Supes.
He and Hughie were like two sides of a coin. He advocated killing all Supes to cleanse the world. In fact, his idea had never changed; he had just been suppressing it before. But now that Becca is dead, Billy has no more attachments and can devote his whole body and soul to hunting Supes.
Hughie, on the other hand, advocated using the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs to manage and restrict Supes. He firmly believed they could be managed in a more peaceful way.
"Fuck! Did that supe chick make you feel good? Don't forget who killed your poor ex-girlfriend." These were Billy's harsh words before he left! Beep beep beep!
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stan Edgar, I can't reach the Doppelganger. He doesn't have any relatives or friends, so he's impossible to find," Ashley Barrett said nervously from the other end of the phone.
"Okay, I understand."
Stan Edgar wasn't surprised by this result. He looked at Mr. Jervis and said, "The Mysterious Person is an absolute dangerous element for us at Vought. He not only shattered the trust between us but also injured Homelander. Therefore, we must find him and confirm his true identity as quickly as possible."
"Are you sure?"
The silent Homelander suddenly spoke, "I'm afraid that's not what you're really thinking, is it?"
That's right, everything above was just Stan Edgar's perfunctory remarks. Since he couldn't deal with the Mysterious Person, there was no need to delve deeper. He even suspected that the Mysterious Person might be related to the US Government. One must know that their means weren't much cleaner than his own. Stan Edgar wouldn't believe, even if you beat him to death, that they weren't secretly researching Compound V.
That's as ridiculous as a cat not stealing fish.
Furthermore, Homelander's setback might not be a bad thing; at least it's beneficial for him to better manage Vought International.
"I have something else to do, I'm leaving now." Homelander got up and left the office. He could finally understand how A-Train felt back then. Homelander would never allow anyone to be stronger than him; he was the strongest Supe!
"Does he want to inject Compound V?" As the saying goes, 'No one knows a son better than his father.' Stan Edgar, who watched Homelander grow up, naturally understood Homelander's temper extremely well. "His superpowers have long been stable. Injecting it again would only harden his blood vessels. Compared to the insignificant improvement, it's completely not worth the loss."
Stormfront shook her head and said, "The Mysterious Person dealt him a big blow. It's normal for him to have such an idea. However, he also knows the consequences of doing so. Unless it's absolutely necessary, he shouldn't inject Compound V."
(End of Chapter)