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Circling back, Kevin never expected to get involved with The Church of the Collective in the end.
However, unlike the Deep's almost 'enslaved' relationship with The Church of the Collective, Kevin now stood on equal footing with The Church of the Collective.
Perhaps even higher.
Even Alastair, the leader of The Church of the Collective, might not have been able to meet Kevin without inviting him in this manner.
Ultimately, The Church of the Collective was still a small church; while it might have some influence, its public recognition wasn't very high.
Kevin, on the other hand, was the Vice President of Vought, so meeting Kevin naturally required some formalities.
After briefly glancing at the Supes on either side, Kevin finally spoke to Alastair:
"No need for pleasantries. Tell me why you invited me here. I imagine… bringing Eagleshaw and Blindspot isn't just to thank me for getting Shockwave into The Seven."
That's right, the Supes on either side were the two Supes who appeared in the second season.
Eagleshaw, whose prototype was 'Hawkeye', using a bow and arrow as his weapon, was the master archer of the The Boys world.
Blindspot, whose prototype was 'Daredevil', had heightened senses except for his eyes, and in the original work, Homelander gave him a double ear clap.
They sat together on Alastair's side, directly opposite Shockwave, one looking at Kevin with considerable trepidation, the other, though his eyes couldn't be seen, Kevin could feel his heart beating very fast.
Kevin had already largely guessed why they were here.
But he needed Alastair to say it.
Listening to Kevin's question, Alastair glanced at Shockwave on the other side.
He pondered for a moment, then said with a smile:
"It seems, Mr. Moskowitz, you already knew Shockwave was one of ours."
"I was only suspicious, but after seeing you here, I'm pretty much certain."
"That's strange. Our church's movements aren't very big, and most people wouldn't pay much attention to us, Mr. Moskowitz, you…"
"If you keep spouting nonsense, we don't need to continue this dinner."
Kevin interrupted Alastair.
Perhaps because The Church of the Collective had exploited the original Deep quite badly, Kevin didn't have much goodwill towards this church, and The Church of the Collective itself was also very dangerous. Kevin wasn't good at beating around the bush, so it was better to be direct.
Despite being impolitely interrupted by Kevin, Alastair did not get angry. He followed Kevin's words and continued:
"Alright, Mr. Moskowitz, you are impatient, I understand. Then let's get straight to the point… Mr. Moskowitz, you will soon be leaving The Seven, won't you? May I be so bold as to ask, have you chosen the next new member yet?"
"Hmm, your 'bold' truly is quite bold. Am I to understand that you are currently trying to probe our Vought's commercial secrets?"
"No, no, I'm just curious, and also to offer you a small suggestion, Mr. Moskowitz. If you don't have a suitable candidate, then what about these two?"
Perhaps knowing Kevin didn't like suspense, Alastair didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose.
And the two Supes beside him, hearing Alastair mention them, immediately puffed out their chests, while also being wary of each other.
"Eagleshaw, Blindspot, I know them. They are both decent Superheroes, but what makes you think I would listen to your suggestion and choose them for The Seven? Mr. Alastair, any decision made by Vought is not something an outsider like you can interfere with."
Kevin knew what Alastair meant, but that didn't mean he would actually accept Alastair's suggestion to let members of The Church of the Collective join The Seven.
To put it bluntly, The Church of the Collective wasn't even qualified to meddle in such matters.
Shockwave was just an accident; if Kevin couldn't find a suitable replacement for A-Train at this stage, he definitely wouldn't have chosen Shockwave.
Kevin's rejection was within Alastair's expectations.
"I know, of course I know, outsiders like us can't interfere in such matters, but with all due respect, Mr. Moskowitz, you don't seem to be considered one of their own within Vought, am I right?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Mr. Moskowitz, although our Church of the Collective is a small organization, our intelligence is quite extensive. We know a lot about you, Mr. Moskowitz, even including today's attack…"
Attack?
Kevin instantly remembered the billboard that smashed his sports car today and almost thought that The Church of the Collective was behind it.
But on second thought, Kevin felt that was impossible.
Because The Church of the Collective didn't have the guts, nor the ability to do such a thing, and even if they did, it wouldn't align with The Church of the Collective's interests.
They might truly just want to cooperate with Kevin through this information.
"What do you know?"
Becoming slightly interested in The Church of the Collective, Kevin inquired.
Alastair smiled and said:
"Not much. I only know that there seems to be a division within Vought right now, and you, as a Supe entering Vought's upper management, don't seem to be liked by them. So I thought…"
"Cooperate with me."
"Yes, our Church of the Collective can help you, Mr. Moskowitz, establish yourself within Vought, and all you need to do is arrange for one more of our people to get in."
The Church of the Collective was seeking cooperation with Kevin.
They possessed a lot of compromising information on Superheroes, and also many secret details related to Vought's high-ranking officials.
But without a suitable backer, The Church of the Collective didn't dare to truly use this information to go against Vought.
Kevin was the backer The Church of the Collective chose.
They would help Kevin deal with the enemies he wanted to deal with, and the price Kevin would pay was merely allowing The Church of the Collective's people to enter Vought.
That was all.
The Church of the Collective's intentions were clear, and Kevin carefully considered the feasibility of it.
Vought was indeed excluding Kevin from the core leadership, and coupled with today's attack, these things made Kevin somewhat annoyed.
Originally, Kevin had thought about releasing Compound V to disgust Vought.
But if The Church of the Collective could become a tool in Kevin's hands to disgust Vought, then Kevin didn't need to reveal the Compound V matter right now.
Thinking of this, Kevin became slightly more serious, observing Eagleshaw and Blindspot.
A moment later, he frowned and said:
"I admit, Mr. Alastair's proposal… is very tempting, but I'm sorry, neither Eagleshaw nor Blindspot are qualified to join The Seven."
"Why? The Seven is almost entirely white now, and Eagleshaw is African-American, Blindspot is Asian, which would be perfect for building diversity in The Seven…"
"Strength, Mr. Alastair, the most basic requirement for The Seven, besides diversity, is also strength, and the strength of Eagleshaw and Blindspot…"
To put it bluntly, they probably couldn't even beat the Deep from before Kevin's Crossing.
After all, the Deep was the sixth-ranked student at Godolkin University.
Kevin stopped there, not completely shutting down the conversation, leaving some face for the two Superheroes, and continued:
"…In short, if you want to cooperate with me, then please have them improve their strength and reputation, or find someone else, then I might consider it."
"Mr. Moskowitz, are you agreeing to cooperate with us?"
"Not yet. I'm just observing. If you can truly bring me what I want, then cooperation is not out of the question."
Kevin didn't commit entirely.
He didn't plan to cooperate with The Church of the Collective immediately, but he also didn't plan not to cooperate with the church.
In short, he would keep them on the hook, and when they brought Kevin tangible, concrete benefits, Kevin would then decide whether to cooperate with them.
This sounded very irresponsible, almost like a scumbag leading on a backup, but Alastair let out a hearty laugh.
He didn't care that Eagleshaw and Blindspot were both eliminated in front of Kevin, and with a cheerful smile, he said:
"Good, with that from you, Mr. Moskowitz, I'm satisfied… Mr. Moskowitz, would you like a bottle of orange soda?"
"No, I don't like soda. Let's end our conversation here today. If anything comes up later, you can have Shockwave contact me."
After finishing their discussion, Kevin prepared to leave.
Alastair also stood up with him and asked:
"Aren't you staying for dinner?"
"No appetite. That's all. See you later."
After a perfunctory farewell to Alastair, Kevin left the dinner.
The Church of the Collective has a long history, with many Supes joining over time, and even Stormfront was once a member of The Church of the Collective.
Because of this, they held a lot of information, or rather, compromising information, on many Superheroes.
Kevin needed this compromising information, and The Church of the Collective could provide Kevin with assistance; this was the basis of Kevin's cooperation with The Church of the Collective.
But beyond that… Kevin didn't think The Church of the Collective could help him much.
His cooperation with them could only be described as better than nothing.
After meeting with the people from The Church of the Collective, Kevin thought for a moment and didn't go home, but instead returned to his office in Vought Tower, asking Ashley to organize his schedule for tomorrow.
The impact of the attack wouldn't simply disappear. As the person involved, Kevin, besides expressing condolences to the victims of today's incident, also had to hold a press conference to classify the event as a 'Super Villains' incident.
This was a decision from the group's upper management.
Not only that, Kevin also had to meet with members of Congress, using this as an opportunity to further promote Superheroes taking on important government positions.
These were all things he, as Vice President, needed to do.
Kevin was busy in his office, incidentally watching the news on TV.
But just then, there was a knock on the office door, and then someone pushed it open and entered.
It was Homelander.
"Coming to see me this late, that's rare," Kevin said casually upon seeing Homelander.
Homelander walked around Kevin's room with his hands behind his back, then sat down on the sofa in the room and replied:
"Aren't you too? I've never seen you working at the company this late."
Kevin adhered to a no-overtime policy, usually leaving work on time. Even if there was work, unless it was particularly urgent, he would generally leave it for the next day.
Homelander had truly never seen him voluntarily working overtime at the company like this before.
Kevin smiled at that and said directly:
"Alright, no need for pleasantries. What do you want? If it's about the selection for The Seven, please talk to Mr. Edgar. Stormfront's inclusion is already a confirmed matter."
"No, it's not her."
Homelander shook his head and suddenly asked:
"Do you know Rebecca Butcher?"
"…?"
Hearing the name, Kevin's typing hand paused, then returned to normal:
"Sounds familiar. What about her?"
"She used to be an employee in Vought's public relations department. Something… happened between us, and then she disappeared."
Homelander spoke about Rebecca, openly revealing what he had done to Rebecca in the past.
Hearing this, Kevin finally stopped his work and looked at Homelander.
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