...
At the Cornell University, New York campus, a small lecture hall was packed with student spectators.
"First of all, thank you both for taking the time out of your busy schedules..."
"Not busy, not busy at all. There haven't been any races lately, and your track is quite nice. I just ran sixty-six laps over there to warm up."
"Haha! It is an honor that you like it!"
Host: "Mr. Marathon's answer is something we ordinary people could never imagine. Perhaps that is the body of a superhero."
"I can't imagine it either. I play with fire; I don't have his kind of speed."
Lamplighter chimed in from his seat. He wore a dark green hero robe, had a stubbly beard, and deep eyes. The cylindrical torch, which looked like wood but was actually made of alloy, sat quietly beside him, making him look like a mysterious fire mage.
This look was incredibly striking, especially since he was already a powerful and explosively famous signature superhero.
The students attending the seminar below, particularly the girls, all gazed at the two superheroes on stage with shining eyes, their adoration evident.
The host immediately threw another question at him: "Mr. Lamplighter, as a superhero, what is the biggest challenge in your daily life?"
"It is control."
Lamplighter looked profound: "You might think a Superpower is a gift, but it is also a scalpel that you never dare to let go of. If you loosen your grip just a little..."
'Boom~~!!'
The cylindrical torch placed to the side suddenly flared with high flames, and the intense heat seemed to instantly spread throughout the entire classroom.
Lamplighter: "If you are not careful, someone will die."
"Wow~~!!"
A gasp of exclamation came from the audience below. While they were startled by Lamplighter's casual demonstration, they were also filled with excitement and admiration.
"Oh my god, he is so profound..."
"I can't take it, sisters~!"
In the front row, several attractive female students gripped each other's hands tightly. One of them, wearing a camisole, had her chest heaving with excitement, almost breaking free from her restraints.
'Appearance 85 points, figure 90 points. The resources at Cornell University are just great.' Lamplighter's eyes were deep as he quickly selected a target.
He thought this seminar was truly worth coming to.
...
"Pfft..."
On the school lawn, Shawn, dressed in casual attire and wearing black-rimmed glasses, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Mira asked, confused: "What's wrong?"
Mira's 'Super Senses' were at LV3, and at such a distance, she couldn't hear clearly enough.
"Iya haha~~"
Three children were playing happily beside them, seemingly very interested in the public areas of Cornell University.
Shawn's blue eyes looked in a certain direction, signaling: "Over there, Lamplighter and Mr. Marathon are holding a seminar. It looks like they are screening for fans to flirt with."
"Tsk tsk~" Mira stretched her attractive figure, "I don't know what they are talking about, but I know they are going to get into trouble soon."
Mira said, her beautiful eyes signaling in another direction.
"Heh, how interesting."
Shawn didn't expect that just strolling around campus to relive his old college days would lead to running into acquaintances—or more accurately, not just Mr. Marathon and Lamplighter.
Under the shade of a tree not far away, three men dressed in low-key black robes were sitting in an inconspicuous corner feeding pigeons, appearing as if they were relaxing and chatting.
But in reality, their motives were not so simple.
The reason he found it interesting was that the images of these three people overlapped with characters in Shawn's memory.
They were the main members of The Boys: Butcher, Frenchie, and Mothers Milk.
'It's only 2012, they've already gotten together this quickly?' Shawn was a bit surprised.
However, considering that Butcher, Frenchie, and Mothers Milk were old acquaintances who knew each other before the plot began, the scene before him was actually reasonable.
A high-level CIA official, Grace Mallory, established a team to monitor superhumans and prevent them from doing whatever they wanted.
She personally recruited the madman Butcher, and it seems the team has already started adding members and is now operational.
This could likely be considered the predecessor to The Boys.
Speaking of Frenchie and Mothers Milk, their backgrounds and experiences were not those of ordinary people; they were explosive existences anywhere, otherwise they wouldn't have been chosen by Butcher.
...
[Name]: Frenchie
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 27
[Bloodline]: Ordinary Human
[Evaluation]: Arms dealer, drug dealer, hitman, genius-level expert in engineering, chemistry, weapon manufacturing, and modification
...
[Name]: Baron Wallis (Mothers Milk)
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 31
[Bloodline]: Ordinary Human
[Evaluation]: Calm-headed, outstanding organizational skills, expert in weapons and medical treatment, a human male proficient in tactical support
...
Theoretically, with these skills, they could live very comfortably doing anything.
However, both Mothers Milk and Frenchie had their own motivations, and it was clear they had already boarded Butcher's pirate ship, preparing to do something about the reckless superhumans.
There were also a few hidden superhumans at Cornell University, mostly obscure with lackluster abilities.
The trio's target was clearly not these people, but rather Mr. Marathon or Lamplighter, who were chatting obliviously with female students in the distant classroom.
Mira had long since noticed something was wrong with them and asked Shawn: "Darling, what do you think they are planning to do?"
Mira didn't know the three men including Butcher, only that their behavior was suspicious, and their experienced tailing methods had nowhere to hide in front of her 'Super Senses'.
"I don't know, but either Mr. Marathon or Lamplighter is being targeted by them, so they must have done something wicked."
Shawn said bluntly: "These three have a CIA background. The one with the beard is called Butcher; I've seen him once before."
Mira was a bit surprised: "A friend?"
She didn't think Shawn needed to know people like that; although they tried hard to conceal it, the aura of the three men was not much different from that of violent criminals.
"NONONO~!"
Shawn shook his finger, shifting his gaze away from the tall, burly figure in the black robe, and laughed: "I was buying a gift in a store before, and he even secretly cursed at me."
'A dumbass who looks like a girl?'
That seems to be what he said. Shawn never felt that he held grudges; he was just expressing his sincere feelings.
Butcher has a foul mouth.
Of course, in the The Boys X universe, people with clean mouths seem hard to find, so much so that it makes the butcher seem quite normal.
"Taking non-conformity as personality, there are just too many guys like that in America."
Mira instantly lost any good feelings toward the three. She also smelled drugs on that Frenchman, the kind that would warrant a one-punch knockout if encountered in an alley at night.
Mira called the children back to her side, then said to Shawn: "Shall we go back?"
She didn't want to stay any longer, nor was she interested in what this group was up to.
The battle between the heroes under Vought International and the CIA didn't seem to have anything to do with them as a couple.
Shawn thought for a moment, "Wait for me for a second."
PS: Support the new book, please!
plz support my patreon
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AZofficial
patreon.com/AZofficial
it is 30 chapter ahead