Edgar picked up the university project file and fed it into the shredder with a blank face.

Madeline might have gone for Ivan’s idea, but Edgar was in charge now and he had zero interest.

He had already cut Ivan off during the meeting. He had no plans to waste energy raising more supes.

To him, supes were nothing but test subjects for Compound V. The whole reason Vought pushed the drug publicly was to gather real-world data on its effects.

Vought wasn’t an entertainment company. It was a pharmaceutical company. The superhero business was just a side hustle.

Ever since he took over from founder Frederick, Edgar had known Vought’s true endgame: developing a truly stable version of Compound V.

That was why the Compound V research labs had the highest security clearance. Even Ivan needed Edgar’s approval to get inside.

Besides, he was sick to death of these superheroes. The shameless bastards did nothing but create headaches for the company, and every time shit blew up, he had to clean up the mess.

On top of that, they only generated a few dozen billion dollars a year in profit. Nowhere near the insane margins from pharma and weapons.

"If we could unlock the full potential of Compound V, I wouldn’t have to put up with these idiots anymore." Edgar picked up the five-year plan, stood up, and locked it away in the nearby safe.

When the time was right, Edgar would drop the entire superhero division without hesitation and cut Vought loose from it.

That made Ivan’s plan a complete waste of time in his eyes.

He didn’t want his chosen successor pouring too much energy into the supe business. That was why he had repeatedly stressed to Ivan, right to his face, that Compound V was Vought’s real foundation. With a stable version, they could turn anyone they wanted into a supe.

...

On the other side,

Ivan asked awkwardly, "Your webs don’t come out of... that place, right?"

He couldn’t help picturing the kid swinging between skyscrapers with his bare ass out. The image was too much.

"How did you know?" The boy sniffed loudly, sucking snot back up.

"Let me show you—"

The boy started to speak but Ivan cut him off immediately.

"Never mind. I already have the picture. Which of these figurines do you like? I’ll give it to you as a reward for participating." Ivan pointed at the Starlight and other supe figurines on the table.

"Can I have all of them!"

The boy dashed over eagerly, eyes full of greed as he stared at the collection.

"Here, take Homelander. Now go on, don’t keep your mom waiting." Only kids thought they could have everything. Adults knew better. Watching the boy run off the stage holding up his pants with one hand and clutching the figurine with the other, Ivan let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Next," Ivan said to Pete, one of the judges sitting beside him.

Soon another boy was escorted onto the stage by staff.

"Tell us your power."

Only the second contestant and Ivan still had high hopes for what was coming.

"My power is time stop!" The boy looked extremely confident.

The audience erupted in murmurs. They had never heard of anything like that.

Ivan’s heart skipped a beat at the words "time stop." Was he really this lucky? Sure, some supe powers weren’t in Vought’s database, but getting a jackpot on the second try?

Still, he asked cautiously, "Does your power have any drawbacks?"

The boy nodded.

"Drawbacks are normal. Go ahead and describe it," Ivan said, fingers laced together, full of anticipation.

"My power can make everything around me stop for ten minutes."

At the same time, the audience below completely lost it. Stopping time was the ultimate male fantasy power. Seeing that this perfect ability belonged to some clueless little kid nearly made them crack their back teeth.

"What’s the drawback?" Ivan asked, barely holding back his excitement.

Honestly, even if the flaw was huge he could live with it. This was a time-based power, after all.

But the boy’s next words almost made Ivan snap.

"If I stop time for ten minutes, I also get frozen for those ten minutes."

"Give him a gift and get him the fuck off the stage. Now. Immediately!" Ivan said through clenched teeth.

Right then, a backstage staff member rushed over and apologized.

"Sorry, Mr. Greevs. This kid wasn’t on the list. He just ran up here himself."

"I know. Take him down." Ivan waved his hand weakly.

The next few contestants had bizarre powers. There was Cruz, whose hair could grow super fast but only worked on himself. Then Tino, the invisible boy who could make just his arms disappear. The only mildly interesting one was Owen, the kid who could control emotions.

The second he stepped on stage he used his power on Pete.

The two of them ended up holding their stomachs and laughing like lunatics for ten full minutes. Ivan finally couldn’t stand it anymore and called an ambulance to haul them off to the hospital.

"Next," Ivan said, sounding drained.

Only now did he truly understand how rare someone like Starlight really was.

It also came down to the tiny number of supes. Compound V still wasn’t widely available, so the total number remained low. Even after operating for over half a century, Vought hadn’t created that many.

"Isn’t that Vought Vice President Greevs?" Since Mouse’s death, Butcher had temporarily put his search for Becca on hold. Kimiko spent every day crying while Frenchie comforted her. Mother’s Milk was a homebody who hated going out.

Only Hughie wandered around all day with a fake mustache and nothing better to do. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He had come out today hoping to see Starlight. A week ago in that drainage tunnel, she had talked Homelander out of killing him and convinced him to let the law handle Hughie instead. That was the only reason he was still alive.

So he wanted to buy her a gift. But Manhattan stores were way too expensive for his empty pockets. He ended up taking the bus all the way to Queens.

He never expected to spot Vought’s Vice President here.

"What the fuck is this guy doing?" Hughie pulled his cap lower and slipped into the crowd.

___

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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69