Stormfront didn't disappoint.

On the rooftop of the apartment building, she had Kimiko by the throat and was squeezing tighter.

To save his sister, Mouse, who had been about to use his telekinesis to escape, turned back. But the two of them together were no match for her.

A lightning bolt hit Kimiko and paralyzed her whole body. She could only watch helplessly as Stormfront snapped her brother's wrist with a sickening crack.

The scene was pure despair.

"Now you can't pull that pathetic little trick anymore," Stormfront sneered down at Mouse as he knelt in front of her. She released Kimiko and grabbed Kenji by the neck. "You know, I love the moment when the light in someone's eyes goes out."

Right as she was about to twist his neck,

Kenji's face turned red as he choked out, "You're strong, but there's someone stronger. He'll kill you. He'll fucking kill you."

"Who?" Stormfront's curiosity was piqued.

"It's a—" Before he could finish, Kenji hooked an arm around her neck, planted his feet, and launched both of them off the rooftop.

"Run!" Kenji roared in asian with everything he had.

"You fucking subhuman monkey!" (Ok, this Nazi seriously needs to die a gruesome death.)

Mid-air, Stormfront snapped Mouse's neck with a sharp crack.

Thud! His body smashed into the ground from high above. Then Stormfront descended like a savior in front of the reporters.

"He was the threat behind this terrorist attack. Now he's dead." Stormfront forced down her rage, planted one foot on Mouse's crushed skull, and smiled at the cameras.

The crowd erupted in applause. Reporters went wild with their shutters.

Facing the storm of flashes, Stormfront naturally struck various victorious poses. This pissed off Homelander when he finally arrived. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "You should have left him for me."

"You were too slow. Glory doesn't wait around for old men." Stormfront smiled back sweetly.

Thanks to the media frenzy, Stormfront quickly became the hero who saved everyone from disaster. For the moment, she completely overshadowed Homelander.

Homelander realized then that Stormfront didn't just want to be a superhero. She had much bigger ambitions.

Later, Ivan presided over Vought's first public press conference since the Compound V scandal broke.

At the event, Ivan stated clearly that Vought and The Seven had no knowledge of Compound V. It was all orchestrated by Madeline alone.

The press conference took place in the lobby of a hospital in New York, packed with victims of the attack and their families.

"To prove this, we have invited Starlight's mother. She will now show everyone the contract."

"Not just her. Many parents of supes signed Madeline's confidentiality agreements."

After Starlight's mother displayed the evidence, Ivan continued. "On behalf of every employee at Vought, I offer our deepest and most sincere apologies. But there is another urgent issue we must face: the terrorist attacks carried out by super terrorists.

According to official figures, this incident caused fifty-nine casualties. This proves these terrorists have declared war on America. They will stop at nothing to smuggle themselves in and launch attacks without restraint.

We must admit this could have been far worse. Thankfully, Stormfront acted quickly and prevented an even greater tragedy. We want to make it clear: Vought will be the last line of defense protecting the American people. Now, please welcome Stormfront to the stage."

Amid thunderous applause, Stormfront stepped up to the flashing cameras.

Meanwhile, Butcher and the others were crammed into a tiny room, staring silently at the TV.

...

A full week had passed since the attack.

Vought Tower had returned to its usual rhythm, though the Marketing department was slammed. Stormfront was red-hot, and they had to strike while the iron was hot with a full lineup of promo events for her.

Ivan's plan was already rolling out.

The search for the new Seven was blowing up everywhere. Tons of supe parents had signed their kids up, while plenty of others were asking Vought how to get their hands on Compound V injections.

Supes might have lost the "God's chosen" label, but Vought was still known as the top supe talent agency. Superhero culture had spread across the globe.

Joining Vought and becoming part of the idol group meant money, fame, and everything normal people dreamed of.

Some movie stars had even approached Ivan directly, begging to become supes. He had dealt with more than enough temptation lately.

In the training room on the thirty-third floor of Vought Tower, Ivan Greevs and Homelander were reviewing Ryan's progress.

A row of soda cans sat on the table in front of Ryan. He was supposed to blast them one by one with his heat vision.

"Focus. This should be easy for you." Homelander was getting impatient watching Ryan struggle to fire off a single beam.

"I can't. I still can't do it."

Ryan blinked hard a few times, but nothing came out.

"Don't rush him. The more you push, the harder it gets for him to concentrate," Ivan said, shifting in his seat.

"You think you know more about shooting lasers than I do?!"

Homelander's face turned ugly. He whipped his head toward Ivan, red glow flickering in his eyes. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Ever since Stormfront stole the spotlight that belonged to him, Ivan hadn't seen the man crack a smile in a week.

Add in Ryan's pathetic performance and Homelander's mood was in the gutter.

"You want me to teach you myself?" Homelander stood up and walked over to Ryan. He gripped the boy's shoulders and demonstrated the right way.

Two precise beams shot from his eyes and sliced clean through every can on the table.

"If you still can't do it, then go run back to your mommy and be a good little baby."

"Can I?" Ryan actually sounded hopeful.

"Fuck!" Homelander was pissed beyond words. He wanted to crush the kid's shoulders, but since it was his own son, he forced the rage down.

He turned to Ivan with a dark voice. "Don't call me until he learns how to use his powers. My patience is waning. Don't make me teach him personally."

With that, Homelander stormed out of the training room.

Once he was gone, Ryan cautiously approached Ivan. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. "Someone slipped this under my door yesterday afternoon. Is everything on here true?"

Under Mesmer's guidance, Ryan's relationship with Ivan had grown much closer day by day. Ryan still refused to call him godfather, but they were way more comfortable around each other than before.

"Some things you need to see with your own eyes. Come on, I'll take you to the selection event. We can relax a bit."

Ivan glanced at the paper and spoke.

Butcher and his crew had reacted pretty fast. They were clearly trying to drive a wedge between Ryan and Homelander. The accusations against Homelander were mostly true, but the evidence was a messy mix of real and fake, so credibility was low.

...

"Ryan! Ryan!!"

At a selection event in Queens, New York.

Ryan's arrival triggered loud cheers from the crowd. Thanks to Vought's heavy marketing, he had picked up titles like "Son of Homelander," "Future Star," "Once-in-a-Century Supe," and "The Perfect Heir to Homelander." All that hype had earned him a solid fanbase.

"Don't be nervous. You'll get used to this," Ivan said, patting Ryan's shoulder when he noticed the kid looking awkward.

"Yeah."

Ryan had become famous even earlier than Homelander. If Homelander could get lost in fake praise, Ryan stood no chance. When he saw fans waving at him, he instinctively copied his father and flashed a shy, sunny smile.

"Mr. Greevs, here are your seats."

A staff member brought over two chairs.

"I'm not here to supervise. Don't mind me. Keep the auditions going." Ivan sat in the center of the long table. The other judges quickly scooted their chairs outward to give him space.

Since it was only the preliminary round, the setup was basic: one stage and a huge superhero poster. Security was present, but the whole thing was meant to feel casual and approachable.

Soon the first contestant stepped up, a little boy. After a nervous, stuttering introduction,

Ivan asked, "What's your super power?"

The boy shyly tugged at his cartoon spider shirt and mumbled, "I can shoot webs."

"Webs? Sounds like a cool power. Why don't you show us?" Ivan hadn't expected the very first kid to catch his interest.

He knew this one well. Some guy in red and blue spandex had the same trick.

"Right here?" The boy fidgeted, looking embarrassed.

"Don't worry, no one's going to laugh. It's a badass ability," Ivan encouraged him.

"Okay."

The boy started pulling his pants down. Ivan quickly stopped him.

"Kid, if you need the bathroom, I can have someone take you. This is a public area."

Ivan thought the boy just really had to pee.

"If I don't pull my pants down, how am I supposed to shoot the webs?" The boy had already exposed half his butt cheek and looked annoyed at being interrupted.

"...."

Suddenly, Ivan realized he had overlooked a very important detail.

At the same time,

Two documents sat on the Vought CEO's desk. One was the university project Ivan had given him. The other was Vought's five-year development plan.

___

[]~(￣▽￣)~*

Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69