Homelander had been deeply frustrated these past few days. He was supposed to be the most powerful person in the world, possessing unmatched superhuman abilities.
Yet he'd been brutally beaten by an armored warrior—and it wasn't just him, but all of The Seven together who'd been completely humiliated.
Worse still, Vought's executives were expressing clear dissatisfaction with his leadership of The Seven. If they weren't afraid of his power, those corporate parasites would probably say far worse things.
The veiled mockery from company officials and ridicule in news media made him, leader of The Seven, burn with rage.
But he had to restrain himself. Vought possessed countermeasures against superhumans.
Despite their tremendous power, the corporation could easily suppress them, temporarily nullifying their abilities entirely.
This wasn't a trivial concern. Until he found a way to neutralize Vought's hidden weapons, he'd have to endure their control.
Once he discovered and destroyed Vought's safeguards, he'd no longer need to fear the company. Then it wouldn't be Vought leading him—he'd lead Vought.
Thinking of this future, Homelander's mouth curved into a slight smile. He could already envision what awaited him.
Even when he controlled Vought, he wouldn't rule directly. He'd let his favorite woman—Vought's vice president—wield power while he pulled the strings.
The fantasy was beautiful, but he didn't realize his soul was being steadily corrupted by void energy.
As time passed, he would become increasingly paranoid and reckless.
When that moment arrived, The Seven's fate would be sealed.
During his city tours, Marcus had gained a thorough understanding of the urban landscape and observed The Seven's activities.
These superhumans were truly just profit-generating tools for Vought—and they weren't even the corporation's most powerful assets. Even Homelander fell into that category.
However, Vought clearly prioritized Homelander and A-Train, likely studying both men's physiological data extensively.
As the architect of A-Train's transformation, Marcus naturally understood that situation. Regarding Homelander, he could guess why Vought paid such attention to him.
Homelander was different from the others. He'd lived in Vought's laboratories since childhood, possessing abilities no other superhuman had matched.
Most importantly, Marcus remembered that Homelander had a son.
His child was fundamentally different from Homelander himself. While Homelander had gained abilities through massive Compound V injections, his son was a natural-born superhuman possessing power that exceeded his father's.
Obviously, Homelander's offspring held greater value. Perhaps Vought understood his unique nature, explaining their intense focus on him.
"Speaking of which, the next generation beyond Compound V should be Compound V-24, right? I suspect Homelander's son is the key."
Marcus spoke softly, genuinely intrigued by the child.
After all, this was someone who could seriously injure Homelander—a man who couldn't even be scratched by his own heat vision—using identical laser beams.
"Come to think of it, the woman who bore Homelander's son is Billy's wife!"
He recalled The Boys' storyline from before his arrival. Billy's wife had been raped by Homelander, but under his threats, she'd given birth to their child.
Despite the traumatic circumstances, Billy's wife genuinely loved the boy and carefully taught her gifted son.
"I should find an opportunity to locate them. That little guy has excellent potential."
Marcus intended to teach the child proper control over his abilities, curious to explore the boy's true limits.
With this thought, Marcus smiled and transformed into cloud form, flying outside.
Time to visit The Seven again and have some fun.
The clone materialized as clouds, racing between buildings until it locked onto a high-speed moving figure.
"A-Train? His power enhancement seems to be slowing down."
Observing the speedster's movement, the cloud accelerated and collided head-on with A-Train in a flash of light.
At the moment of impact, Marcus activated the clone's Iron Staff ability, allowing it to raise the Ruyi Jingu Bang and absorb A-Train's energy-enhanced charge.
For the first time, A-Train—who could usually demolish anything in his path—found himself completely blocked, nearly killing himself on the impact.
The clone stood like an immovable pillar, absorbing all of A-Train's kinetic force.
When the defensive ability ended, the clone swung the golden staff violently, unleashing a devastating counterattack that released several times the absorbed destructive power.
The already-dazed A-Train was launched through the air, suffering multiple fractures throughout his body.
The clone had shown considerable restraint, not using full strength—just redirecting several times the impact force. Even this restrained response nearly killed the speedster.
"Good thing the clone held back, or I'd need to find a new chaos agent."
Marcus exhaled in relief. While A-Train wasn't crucial, he was a planted seed of discord who would intensify conflicts within The Seven at the critical moment.
The severely injured speedster struggled to rise but couldn't move with every bone in his body broken.
Fortunately, all Seven members carried special tracking chips. Whenever problems arose, Vought could respond immediately.
"Why is this guy so powerful? He beat me instantly."
A-Train thought desperately, feeling genuine terror at the armored figure's overwhelming strength.
Marcus had no intention of killing A-Train—instead, he planned to enhance the speedster's abilities further.
The clone approached slowly, terrifying the fallen A-Train. He was probably going to die here.
But he couldn't accept this fate. His abilities were still improving—given enough time, he'd become unstoppable, capable of defeating any opponent.
Now he'd probably never get that chance. In his current condition, he couldn't possibly survive this armored warrior's attention.
The clone lifted A-Train with one hand, the speedster's broken bones making him completely limp. If the attack hadn't carefully avoided vital areas, A-Train would already be dead.
"Last time we met, your speed was pathetic. Still is!"
As he spoke, energy quietly flowed from the clone's hand into A-Train's body.
Marcus had released this power personally. A-Train's enhancement rate was slowing, so he decided to intensify the corruption, accelerating the speedster's power growth
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