American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

482. We Need a Soldier!

On the other side, Butcher and the others, after helping Soldier Boy retrieve his battle suit, regrouped and headed to the safe house that Colonel Mallory had prepared for them.

"Hiding our tracks is impossible. The Vought Corporation must already know our movements, though they probably won't find us right away," Butcher said as he sat on the sofa, looking around at everyone present. His gaze finally settled on Soldier Boy, and he spoke in a serious tone.

"They've likely started preparing to deal with you. You should thank the Crow—that kid single-handedly sent the rest of the Seven to the ICU, except for Homelander. For now, the situation is somewhat in our favor."

Soldier Boy didn't seem too impressed by this. He didn't think it was worth boasting about. To him, the current Vought Corporation was full of nobodies, aside from Homelander, who had taken his place.

At that moment, Soldier Boy gave Colonel Mallory a rather suggestive look.

"I've said it before, a beauty like you shouldn't be on the battlefield. Look at you now, even more captivating than before."

Colonel Mallory was no longer the dashing female commander of the past. Strictly speaking, she was of grandmotherly age now, but apparently, Soldier Boy was into that.

Listening to Soldier Boy ramble on about Mallory instead of staying on topic, Butcher glanced at her with a peculiar expression on his face.

"I didn't expect you two to have... history."

"I have no history with this bastard," Colonel Mallory said coldly, leaning against the doorframe and shooting a sharp glare at Soldier Boy. "My comrades all died at the hands of Payback. If it weren't for the fact that you're useful now, I'd have already put a bullet in your head."

"Hah! If that's how you see it, you should be blaming Vought. Those bastards were acting on Edgar's orders. Even if your people were killed, it's because Edgar didn't want the truth to come out," Soldier Boy said with a casual shrug. "If you weren't a commander with connections, do you really think they would've let you live?"

"Their goal was to kill you. If you hadn't brought those freaks to my camp, my people wouldn't have died, and I wouldn't be in this position," Mallory retorted sharply.

Mallory had often thought about why she hadn't been killed back then. It was partly because her family had some influence.

Though Vought had significant power at the time, they couldn't extend their reach into the military. They wouldn't risk killing her outright. If she had died in enemy territory, that would've been the ideal outcome for them.

Unfortunately for Vought, the shell that hit her didn't finish the job, and their plan failed.

"I only went to your camp because Edgar set me up. Otherwise, do you think I'd have been anywhere but the front lines, killing enemies?" Soldier Boy said with a chuckle.

"Cut the crap. You've never killed an enemy in your life. You were nothing more than a clown in the circus of World War II," Mallory snapped, not holding back as she tore into Soldier Boy.

Hearing this, Soldier Boy's expression darkened immediately. He had always believed himself to be a hero and an outstanding soldier—an undeniable truth in his eyes.

So when he heard Mallory's words, he stood up abruptly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—calm down, mate. We're not here to fight each other," Butcher quickly interjected, standing up and stepping between Soldier Boy and Mallory.

Seeing Butcher's exaggerated reaction, Soldier Boy slowly broke into a grin. Instead of escalating the situation, he walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a bottle of liquor, and returned to his seat.

"That little girl from back then... she's grown more charming with age."

"Charming?" Butcher initially thought Soldier Boy was being sarcastic. But then he realized Soldier Boy was serious. He couldn't help but glance back at Mallory.

"You mean her?"

Soldier Boy smirked, took a sip of his drink, and swirled the liquid in the bottle before raising an eyebrow at Butcher.

"Women are like fine wine. They get better with age."

"Oh, for f's sake! I've had enough of this," Mallory snapped, rolling her eyes before storming out of the room.

As Mallory's hurried footsteps faded, Butcher slowly turned his head back toward Soldier Boy.

"Happy now?"

Soldier Boy, still as nonchalant as ever, leaned back in his seat and sipped his drink leisurely.

"All right, I'm done with the small talk. Back to the real issue—Vought is definitely preparing to counter us. They're not stupid; they know exactly what your return means."

Butcher didn't return to the sofa. Instead, he stood in the center of the group, addressing everyone seriously about the situation they were facing.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Other than Mallory, members of Payback, and Edgar, they all know the truth about what happened back then. Vought Corporation will definitely set traps around those people, waiting for us to fall into them."

"Those fools aren't much of a problem," Soldier Boy dismissed the concern, showing no regard for them.

"But don't forget, big guy—it was those same fools who took you down back then," Butcher retorted, shaking his head mockingly.

"That was a sneak attack," Soldier Boy paused, then took another sip of his drink.

"Whatever the reason, we absolutely can't act recklessly this time. I know you're strong, but even you can't take on that many supes," Butcher said earnestly.

Soldier Boy, however, scoffed and replied, "Supes? Hah, they're just ants, no matter how many there are. How many could they possibly have? Dozens? Hundreds?"

"Vought International now has a university specifically for training supes," Frenchie chimed in.

"..."

Hearing this, Soldier Boy fell silent.

In his era, while Vought had quite a few superheroes under its banner, their total number didn't exceed a hundred, and most of them were weak, posing no real threat to Soldier Boy.

Someone like the now-renowned Polarity was just a nobody back then—a kid playing in the dirt while Soldier Boy dominated the battlefield.

But now, upon hearing that Vought had established a university solely for supes, the number of powered individuals was likely in the tens of thousands, if not more.

In such a scenario, if Vought were to rally all those supes in a scorched-earth strategy, even Soldier Boy—leaving Homelander out of the equation—couldn't face that many opponents alone.

Butcher slowly walked up to Soldier Boy, patting him on the shoulder.

"The times have changed, old man. You can't view things with the same perspective as before. Vought has been entrenched here for years; they're like a towering tree now. Taking them down won't be easy."

This was all part of Butcher's strategy. Initially, if they had infiltrated quietly, letting Soldier Boy act alone, Vought wouldn't have been overly concerned upon spotting him.

But with Butcher openly moving alongside Soldier Boy, the situation had drastically shifted.

Previously, Vought only had to deal with Soldier Boy as an individual. But if he was seen aligning with the resistance, it would be a direct challenge to Vought International.

Given the public backlash and the near-annihilation of the Seven (save for Homelander), Vought would stop at nothing upon realizing Soldier Boy had sided with their enemies.

This, ultimately, was Butcher's way of tying Soldier Boy firmly to their cause.

"My goal is simple: vengeance," Soldier Boy said in a deep voice. "I don't care what state Vought is in now, but anyone who stands in my way of killing those bastards will be sent straight to hell."

"I understand. But to achieve that, you need to stick to the plan. You're a soldier, aren't you?" Butcher asked.

At the word "soldier," Soldier Boy's expression shifted. He raised his head, staring intently at Butcher.

"I am a soldier. But what makes you think you can be my commander?"

"I'm not claiming to be qualified," Butcher said with a slight smile. "That's why I've decided to give the command to you."

At this, MM couldn't stay calm. No one hated Soldier Boy more than he did—his grandfather had died because of a mission led by Soldier Boy.

Hearing Butcher suggest putting Soldier Boy in charge, MM immediately stood up, and Frenchie followed suit, staring at Butcher in disbelief.

Expecting this reaction, Butcher raised his hand to silence them before they could speak.

Then, with a calm smile, he continued, "Soldiers can sometimes be commanders too. And you're the best soldier we've got, aren't you? I'll provide you with all the intelligence we've gathered. From there, it's up to you to decide how we complete the mission."

"You're serious?" Soldier Boy leaned back against the sofa, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

Butcher maintained his smile and nodded. "Of course. Right now, what we need most is a soldier."

No one noticed the phone in Butcher's pocket, which had been on a call the entire time.

.....

📢30 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
483. The Prelude to Battle...
484. The Hero Appears.
485. Gathering at Vought Tower!!!
486. Ready to Explode!
487. Chaos!!