In the safe house, Billy and Hughie were watching the video of The Seven's defeat, studying the superheroes carefully.
"Why don't we research this guy instead?"
Hughie pointed at the clone in the video. He thought that instead of looking for The Seven's weaknesses, they should focus on finding this mysterious warrior.
The clone was the real powerhouse—someone who could single-handedly defeat all of The Seven despite their history of atrocities.
"Of course I want to study him!" Billy rolled his eyes at Hughie. "But this guy isn't from Vought. All my plans are completely useless against someone like that."
He was actually more interested in the clone than Hughie was. The armored figure was the most powerful superhuman he'd ever encountered, and most importantly, he clearly had a grudge against Vought.
But Billy couldn't find any trace of the mysterious warrior. The armored man who'd effortlessly defeated Homelander seemed to have vanished like an illusion.
Unable to locate Marcus, they could only continue studying The Seven's weaknesses, planning how to bring down these bastards.
Through the razor butterfly's surveillance feed, Marcus understood exactly what the vigilante team was doing.
"Interesting. Are they looking for me?"
Marcus chuckled, directing his cloud form to change course toward their safe house.
"Perfect timing for them to find the Compound V formula. I don't want to sift through memories one by one."
He planned to have his clone meet The Boys directly, recruiting them to locate Compound V's formula while he acted as their protector.
After all, he didn't want to spend time searching his memories for the precise formula. He knew Vought would never entrust something so valuable to a single person—even manufacturing likely required multiple specialists working together.
This kind of tedious work would take far too long if he handled it alone. Better to let The Boys investigate while he entertained himself with The Seven. Bullying the weak was always satisfying.
Soon, the cloud arrived at the safe house where Billy and Hughie were still replaying the battle footage obsessively.
"Keep watching and you'll go blind!" Marcus warned through his clone.
Hearing the voice distorted by void energy, both men spun around instantly, aiming shotguns at the armored figure.
"Good reflexes. Want to join me?"
The invitation stunned them both. They'd never expected this incredibly powerful being to recruit them personally.
This was someone who'd dominated The Seven—superhumans with tremendous power had been helpless against him.
"Someone as powerful as you really wants us to join?" Billy studied the clone suspiciously.
"Of course. I need help solving certain problems too."
The admission confused them. They hadn't expected this super-being to need assistance with anything.
"Since we share the same goal, why not work together? You help me investigate Vought's Compound V, and I'll provide security."
The proposal immediately captured their attention.
"Compound V? Is that what caused A-Train to lose control and kill my girlfriend?" Hughie's eyes widened.
In Billy's surveillance footage, Compound V was the substance that had made A-Train unable to control his speed.
"Not quite. Compound V doesn't cause ability loss—it enhances superhuman strength. He simply couldn't fully control his amplified powers."
Marcus's explanation finally made sense to Hughie. Having seen The Seven's true nature, he now had only one goal: eliminate Vought's management and their affiliated superheroes.
"Don't worry. You investigate Compound V for me, and I guarantee your safety."
Several razor butterflies that had been perched motionlessly on the light fixtures suddenly descended, landing before the two men.
"These butterflies look beautiful, but they could kill you both easily." Marcus allowed one to rest on his fingertip. "Remember Vought Tower's explosion? That was a razor butterfly's work."
Hughie and Billy stared in shock. These small, elegant mechanical insects had caused that devastating blast?
"The invisible man discovered your surveillance device. He was going to threaten you with it, but unfortunately became the razor butterfly's first victim—killed instantly."
"You mean both explosions were caused by something this small?" Billy asked in amazement.
"The first one, yes. Homelander destroyed the second butterfly himself."
Both men shuddered. In their eyes, Homelander was pure madness incarnate.
Seeing their hesitation, Marcus understood their concerns.
"You don't need to worry. The razor butterflies are just for daily protection. If you encounter serious danger, I'll intervene personally."
The offer was genuinely tempting. With such a powerful bodyguard, they wouldn't have to fear exposure. But they couldn't determine Marcus's true motives.
The armored figure hadn't revealed his real name or appearance. It was difficult to trust someone so mysterious.
"If you agree, let your blood touch the razor butterflies. They'll follow and protect you at all times."
After consideration, both men realized they had little to lose. What could someone this powerful possibly want from them?
"I agree!"
Billy cut his palm, letting a drop of bright red blood fall onto the razor butterfly. The crimson immediately spread across its metallic surface.
Seeing this, Hughie readily agreed, adding his blood to his assigned guardian.
The blood ritual was actually unnecessary—the razor butterflies would obey Marcus's commands regardless. But he wanted to emphasize their importance to his new allies.
Both Hughie and Billy felt the significance, especially when the butterflies perched on their shoulders. They experienced immediate relief.
After all, these were the same creatures Marcus claimed had killed Translucent—weapons capable of destroying The Seven. Carrying such protection made them feel genuinely safe.
Still, they remained curious about Marcus's grudge against Vought. Why target the corporation so specifically?