Inside the van, the small space had been converted into a temporary command center, with wires chaotically connecting several screens.
Butcher, Frenchie, and Wade sat around the main monitoring screen.
Two other split screens showed real-time chest-cam views from Hughie and MM.
They were standing in front of an apartment door, knocking, attempting to install a surveillance backdoor in Popclaw's home under the guise of providing free fiber optic maintenance.
Inside the van, Wade shifted his gaze from the screen to Butcher.
"Did you use the medicine I gave you?" He sat on a leather suitcase, swinging his legs. "How did it feel?"
Butcher sneered, grabbed half a bottle of whiskey, and took a swig. "Use it? Do I look like that brainless greenhorn?"
He pointed the bottle at the screen, at the perspective facing a computer tapping out code. "Only that kid would dare inject something of unknown origin into his veins."
"Is that so? I thought... for the sake of achieving your goals, you'd be the one most willing to pay any price." Wade picked at his fingers and continued, "So, has Hughie shown any abnormalities?"
Butcher didn't answer immediately, just took another swig. 'This guy's origin is unknown, his abilities are a mystery, and he's at odds with Vought. More importantly, he has good stuff... I don't care what kind of monster he is, as long as he can make those sons of bitches miserable, he's a good card to play.'
He pondered for a moment, recalling, "The kid was hungry enough to swallow a cow afterward. And... hmph, he always thinks he can float or command bugs, shadowboxing at nothing whenever he has a spare moment."
Wade produced a small notebook and pen from somewhere, quickly recording:'Side effects of the drug. Abnormal hunger, residual cognitive and physiological dependence...'
Just then, Frenchie, who had been scrolling through a tablet, suddenly whistled and turned the screen toward everyone.
"Hey, guys, looks like our old friend Vought's appetite is getting bigger and bigger."
A news flash was playing on the screen, with the headline: "Supe Defense Application and Integration Authorization Act" officially submitted to Congress for review!
In the footage, Speaker of the House Damon Webb was being interviewed by the media; the white-haired old man spoke with complete composure.
Wade watched the news and turned his head to say, "See that? The enemy is about to get an official government skin. How does it feel to go up against the state machine?"
Butcher wiped his mouth indifferently. "Success? Bullshit! Those old foxes in Washington won't trust Vought that easily. This is just a bargaining act."
"They don't trust Vought," Wade rubbed his fingers, mocking, "but they trust green cash, they trust votes, and they trust the big promises made by lobbying groups. Interest will push this bill through like a tide. By then, if you dare to act, the nature of it will change; you'll be attacking 'defense assets'."
Butcher took another swig and muttered, "We'll have time once we get Vought's dirt and leak it."
"You think Vought's PR department is useless? Suppressing information is easy for them." Wade countered Butcher verbally, but his heart sank.
'If Vought really gains a foothold in the military and monopolizes the channels, what sales prospects will my temporary potions have in North America?'
'Do I have to tuck my tail and run overseas to start over? No, I must find a way to ruin it! The dirt I have now and the footage of Translucent are explosive enough, but they might be handled by PR. They aren't enough to influence a bill of this level.'
'Why is there no news from Thomas Shaw yet? Has he contacted high-level government officials? If he leaks the fact that Homelander privately attacked politicians, then there's a chance.'
Just then, the van door was pulled open, and Hughie and MM climbed in.
Hughie quickly sat down at a laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he accessed the surveillance backdoor program just installed at Popclaw's home: "Done!"
The main screen lit up instantly, showing four clear angles inside Popclaw's apartment.
Popclaw and A-Train were lying on the living room sofa, being intimate.
"Babe, listen, this race is crucial for me..." A-Train looked up, panting, speaking with a hint of anxiety.
"Crucial? You say that every time!" Popclaw stood up and pushed him away, complaining, "How long has it been since you came to see me? Do you only show up when you need 'that'?"
A-Train scratched his head in frustration. "You don't understand! Those rookies are getting faster and faster! My body... it's not like it used to be!"
"Using too much of that stuff is bad for you; the risk of losing control of your powers is too high," Popclaw whispered, taking his hand.
"I need 'compound v' to maintain my form. Without it, if I lose, I'll be kicked straight out of The Seven!" A-Train hugged her and murmured, "What will we do then? Neither of us can maintain this lifestyle anymore!"
"Then, when will you go public about us? Didn't President Madelyn agree?"
"Help me this time. After I win the race and get a new contract, I promise you, I'll announce our relationship to the media! Let everyone know!"
Popclaw stared at him for a few seconds and sighed several times.
She turned toward the bedroom and returned a moment later with a red cloth shoulder bag, reluctantly stuffing it into A-Train's hands.
"Remember what you said."
"Of course, babe, of course I remember."
A-Train pulled out a bottle of deep blue potion as if it were a precious treasure and tucked it into his nearby backpack.
Inside the van, there was dead silence.
Hollow sweet nothings drifted from the surveillance footage.
Hughie stared at A-Train's face on the screen, his fist clenched, his body trembling slightly. "This damn drug addict... was it because he lost control after taking that compound v that he..."
MM crossed his arms and snorted, his face full of disdain.
Butcher's eyes sparkled, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "Now we have evidence... we need to find a way to get those drugs. Then we'll have physical proof!"
"Evidence? Getting the drugs?" Wade covered his face and laughed softly. "Hahaha... you're planning to steal from a speedster? And you want to use this video to confront him face-to-face? Expect to be smashed into pieces at 350 meters per second!"
Frenchie immediately raised his hands in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. "Hey! I'm not planning to race anything that can move at supersonic speeds. My old legs still want to dance disco for a few more years."
With lightning-fast hands, Wade plucked the milky-white potion from Hughie's inner jacket pocket and held it up before everyone.
"You can certainly go steal 'compound v', but let me tell you what I know first. That potion grants random superpowers, and adults who use it suffer uncontrollable mutations due to illness; addiction and loss of control are the norm... just like the guy on the screen."
He turned his gaze to Butcher. "And you, Billy Butcher. You want to get your hands on that stuff for yourself, or for your friends?"
"Do you want to create out-of-control Supe teammates, or do you want to watch them become the next A-Train with your own eyes?"
Butcher's face instantly darkened, and he stood up with an angry shout, "What the fuck did you say?!"
"He's right, Butcher." MM chimed in, his voice deep and his brow furrowed. "We're here to deal with those Supe criminals, but that doesn't mean we have to become them. Don't even touch that blue filth."
Before Butcher could explode, Wade tossed the milky-white potion into the air. "But my product is different. The power it gives is temporary and targeted. It makes you strong enough to fight a Supe, but it won't make you a slave to the drug... once used, the power fades, like a lucid dream."
He threw the bottle back to Hughie. "Aside from being a bit tired and a bit hungry, do you still crave that power again?"
Hughie put the potion back in his pocket and shook his head. "No... after using it, I just feel hollowed out, like I'm not interested in anything."
"See?" Wade jerked his chin at Butcher. "A lucid nightmare is better than an endless descent into depravity, isn't it?"
Butcher stared intensely at Wade, his chest heaving as he sat back down, the fierce light in his eyes not diminishing in the slightest.
He knew MM was right, but being called out to his face by this face-changing mysterious drug dealer left him fuming with rage.
Wade lightly kicked the leather suitcase beneath him. "Now, shouldn't we have a proper talk... about business?"
"Better go somewhere more discreet."
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