◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones. or 500 Collections
◇ You can read 90 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 are free Chapters. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
"For me, it's not difficult, but the problem is..."
Homelander stared blankly at Victoria Neuman and asked, "Why should I help You?!"
"Ah?"
Victoria Neuman was momentarily stunned by the question. After a long while, she finally reacted and said, "Aren't we allies?"
"Allies?"
A mocking curve appeared on the right corner of Homelander's mouth. He seemed to scoff at the word and said disdainfully,
"Are You referring to that useless 'Bureau of Superhuman Affairs' You specifically established to restrict Vought Corporation and The Seven, or the 'Anti-Superhuman Bill' You secretly submitted to the Vice President?"
"You... how did You know?"
Victoria Neuman was startled at first, then quickly reacted and hurriedly explained, "Ah, no, listen to me. Actually, I didn't submit that bill. It's just that if I want to join the Vice President's campaign team, I have to come up with some decent proposals."
"Neuman, that's exactly the problem."
Homelander didn't listen to her explanation at all. He raised his index finger and warned, "You want to build an image of a glorious female fighter who opposes Vought Corporation and superhumans in front of ordinary people, and at the same time, You want to secretly gain huge benefits from Vought Corporation and me..."
"Tell me, where in the World is there such a good thing that allows You to have it both ways?"
"So, Neuman, it's time to pick a side!"
"What do You mean?"
Victoria Neuman looked at Homelander with a wary expression, but He said calmly, "It's very simple. It's time to reveal your identity and let everyone know that You are actually a superhuman as well."
"This way, I and Vought Corporation will fully support your campaign, and in the future, we will also help You run for Senator, Vice President, and even President..."
"No."
However, before Homelander could finish speaking, He was interrupted by Victoria Neuman. She roared with anger,
"Don't You know that I've been trying to keep this secret my whole life? For this, I even collaborated with You to send my adoptive Father to prison!"
"In my opinion, secrets corrupt your soul," Homelander retorted in the same tone. "And when You speak it out, You will never have any burden again, so You should thank me!"
"No, I don't accept this proposal," Victoria Neuman protested firmly.
"Then there's nothing to talk about."
Homelander leaned forward slightly, adopting a very aggressive posture. "Listen to me, Neuman, we can change the World together, even for our next generation, and their next generation... I believe You still remember the fate of the Mutants clearly, right?"
"Do You want your daughter to end up like them?"
At this point, His tone softened slightly, and He tried to entice her, "Try to imagine, the first superhuman female President in America's history?!"
"No, You're thinking too simply, Homelander."
Victoria Neuman shook her head and refused. "If I did that, I'm afraid I would be impeached and removed from office before I even became President... and I might even be targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Heh, S.H.I.E.L.D., who cares about them?" Homelander put on a look of disappointment, spreading His hands and saying, "Why should we care about the thoughts of those useless pieces of trash?"
"If I wanted to, I could kill my way through S.H.I.E.L.D. anytime, anywhere!"
"Neuman, new World, new rules... If anyone dares to stop us, shouldn't we just blow their heads off?"
"Neuman, You'd better face reality as soon as possible. From the moment You helped me take care of Stan Edgar, our fates were already intertwined. You only have me as a 'friend' left now..."
"So, as long as You reveal your true identity, I will push You onto the presidential throne. Then, You must obey me completely, just like a puppet on strings in my hand. If You show any resistance or try to be sly, I will ensure that your daughter Zoe lives a life worse than death for the rest of her life, and You... will receive a part of your daughter's body as a Christmas gift every year for the rest of your life."
"Do You understand what You need to do now?"
Facing Homelander's barrage of crazy output, Victoria Neuman's expression changed from initial shock to anger and helplessness.
She immediately stood up, wanting to say something, but was defeated again in the face-off with Homelander. Undoubtedly, she couldn't kill Him, nor did she dare to directly confront Him.
So she could only hastily say, "I still need to think about it carefully," and then fled from Vought Corporation like she was escaping.
...
Night.
Victoria Neuman curled up alone in the corner of the living room, like an injured cat, quietly licking her wounds in the darkness.
Not far away, the television was broadcasting the news.
A tall, bald man who looked as strong as a human bear was talking eloquently to the camera.
"Good evening, people of New York. I am Wilson Grant Fisk. I love this city, New York, because it is where I was born and raised..."
"But in the past two years, I have watched it fall into seemingly endless chaos. Putting aside those alien Invaders, just the chaos in the streets is already reaching a lawless state. Those self-proclaimed street heroes and organizations with grand names are acting recklessly under the guise of justice..."
"But in the end, it is still the people of New York who suffer, and the excessive behavior of those people has also caused a large number of good police officers to feel fear and be blamed by the public, while some bad police officers mixed among them are completely indifferent to external criticism and unaffected."
"This city, and every street... are no longer safe for good people who are kind and have a sense of justice. So I have to step forward at this critical moment and use my strength to stop the situation from developing in a worse direction."
"Yes, I have decided to officially run for Mayor of New York City."
"I promise that if I can become the new Mayor of New York, I will improve the system, improve our city, and most importantly, I will find a way to bring peace back to the streets... We don't need vigilantes with devil horns on their heads or people in spider costumes to save us."
We will restore glory, I will make this great city great again, and give all New Yorkers a new era full of hope..."
Victoria Neuman, who had buried her head in her knees, suddenly lifted her head. Her tear-stained cheeks were once again filled with determination.
She would absolutely not allow Homelander to act recklessly towards her daughter... So, to prevent it from happening, she decided to strike first and find a way to eliminate Him!
But in this case, she needed a good helper who could help her deal with Homelander!
This person needed to have a clever mind and the courage to not fear Homelander. At the same time, she could only think of one person who possessed both of these qualities.
That is, her adoptive Father, Stan Edgar, whom she had personally pulled down from the position of Vought Corporation CEO and sent to prison before!
Thinking of this, Victoria Neuman, who had already made up her mind, slowly stood up, then grabbed her coat and drove away.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Hell's Kitchen.
At the top of a newly constructed skyscraper.
On the rooftop, Wilson Grant Fisk... that is, Kingpin, was standing embracing His wife, Vanessa Marianna, looking at the dark night and the brightly lit streets below, talking about something.
"My dear, becoming the Mayor of New York... is this the life You want?" Vanessa Marianna rested her head on Kingpin's chest and asked softly.
Kingpin did not answer her question directly, but said with double meaning, "I am different from before. I have a higher pursuit and mission!"
"Mission?"
"Yes."
Kingpin gently wrapped His thick arms around His wife, looking intently at the distant starry sky, and whispered in a voice only He could hear:
"All of this is arranged by the Lord of Change!!"
...
Inside a certain prison.
Stan Edgar, wearing a blue prison uniform, pushed open the door of the visiting room and was met with a slightly haggard but familiar face.
"Child, I knew that one day, You would come here to find me personally."
Stan Edgar's face showed a fatherly smile, as if He had never resented the woman opposite who had personally sent Him to prison.
"I need help..."
Victoria Neuman said, both helpless and stubborn.
"I know."
The smile on Stan Edgar's face became even more pronounced. He first unhurriedly pulled out a chair and sat down, then pointed to the tear stains remaining at the corners of Victoria Neuman's eyes, and said in His usual unique way of speaking, calmly:
"How about it, You should understand now, Homelander is not as easy to control as You imagined?!"
Victoria Neuman's eyes turned red again, but she stubbornly held back from speaking. Her appearance was like a rebellious teenager in her rebellious phase, stubbornly refusing to bow her head and admit her mistake to her old Father!
Stan Edgar did not get angry at this, but continued, "The reason You came to see me so quickly must be that Homelander's threat to You has suddenly escalated, reaching a point where You are helpless..."
"Neuman, to me, You are like my own daughter... Even if You betrayed me at that time, it was not your fault, but because I deliberately trained You this way since You were young, so no matter what You did, I will not blame You."
It seemed that Stan Edgar's words had an effect. The stubbornness on Victoria Neuman's face finally crumbled, and she said with a trembling voice:
"You are right, Homelander is completely out of control now and won't even listen to a single suggestion. He wants me to reveal my identity and promises to push me into the President's position."
"But if I really do as He says, then in the future I will undoubtedly become a puppet in His hands... But if I dare to resist, then He... He will lay hands on Zoe!"
"He dares?!" Stan Edgar's eyes widened sharply upon hearing this. He clearly did not expect Homelander to be so despicable, using His 'granddaughter' to threaten His adopted daughter?
Truly shameless.
"Homelander is absolutely capable of doing that," Victoria Neuman grabbed Stan Edgar's hand and choked out in a voice close to pleading:
"Help me, I can get You acquitted, and I can even give You custody of Zoe. As long as You can help me defeat this demon, I will absolutely not allow anyone to threaten my daughter's safety!"
As she spoke, Victoria Neuman took out an unconditional pardon document from her pocket. As long as Stan Edgar's name was signed on it, He could leave this prison immediately.
As a Congresswoman and the head of the Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, it was not difficult for Victoria Neuman to get a pardon through her connections.
However, Stan Edgar did not look at the pardon document. Instead, He held Victoria Neuman's hand seriously and said solemnly:
"Silly child, even without this, I would absolutely not stand by... because I also will not allow anyone to harm my granddaughter!"
...
An hour later.
Victoria Neuman and Stan Edgar appeared at Starlight's bedside.
"Why is our first stop here?"
Victoria Neuman looked at Starlight, who was pale in the hospital bed and had been unconscious for who knows how long, and asked somewhat confusedly:
"Didn't You say You had a secret weapon that could defeat Homelander?"
"Wait a minute..."
Victoria Neuman suddenly reacted, pointed at Starlight in the hospital bed, and exclaimed in disbelief, "The secret weapon You mentioned, it couldn't be her, could it?"
"Of course not," Stan Edgar smiled and shook His head. "However, if we want to defeat Homelander, we need some decent people... and she is undoubtedly very suitable."
"But..." Victoria Neuman said, half-understanding, "In her current state, it seems she can't help us deal with Homelander, right?"
Stan Edgar did not speak, only showed a mysterious smile. Just as Victoria Neuman was about to speak again, the ward door was suddenly pushed open by a burly man. Then, the man respectfully handed a syringe gun containing a dark blue liquid to Stan Edgar.
"Sir, this is what You wanted."