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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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As the golden duo of that year, Queen Maeve knew Homelander's strength better than anyone.
And that day, when she and Starlight faced the demon called Smoke Eater, they were utterly helpless against the demon's magic.
So, logically speaking, Homelander, whose strength was only "slightly stronger" than hers, shouldn't have been a match for Smoke Eater.
Yet, the truth was, Homelander not only defeated Smoke Eater but also successfully took down the other six demons.
How did he do it?!
"It's simple, because... I am God!"
Perhaps satisfied with Queen Maeve's change in attitude, or simply out of a desire to show off, Homelander answered truthfully without any reservation:
"Or, as those demons would say, I am God's Agent in the human world, so the magic they release is utterly useless against me, a God Chosen."
"Alright, now that I've told you the truth, you can scram!"
However.
Queen Maeve fell into a silence, as if making some important decision in her heart.
A moment later, under Homelander's somewhat impatient gaze, she spoke something astonishing:
"I also want that kind of power. As long as you help me, from now on, I will follow your lead!"
Σ(°△°|||)︴
This was a bit awkward.
Although Homelander was very tempted by Queen Maeve's proposal.
But the problem was, even he didn't know where that power came from.
Was he supposed to tell her to act like him, talking to herself in the mirror all day?
Just then.
In the midst of it all, that magical voice sounded again.
"Agree to her. Establish your own cult. The more followers you have, the more blessings you will receive, and the stronger your power will become!"
"My... cult?"
At this moment, although Homelander still didn't know where the mysterious power on him came from.
But he clearly sensed that as long as he could make more people feel the existence and influence of this mysterious power, he could become even stronger!
That's right.
The Slaanesh Cult is that simple and direct.
At the same time, this is precisely the true horror of the Slaanesh Cult.
Even in the highly stratified warhammer 40k, where the Ecclesiarchy reigns supreme, Slaanesh's followers are the most pervasive and the most difficult to detect.
They can not only perfectly infiltrate all levels of society.
In fact, most fanatical followers, until the moment of their death, still don't know what they are worshiping and believing in.
That's because Slaanesh's divinity exists in "pleasure" and "ecstasy"!
This means that any creature with emotional fluctuations will basically be affected by him.
Anything that can bring even the slightest hint of pleasure to "mortals" can become the key for Slaanesh to open a breach in their minds.
Especially those "fated laborers" who try to use fleeting pleasure to escape for a moment from a life devoid of dignity, like beasts of burden, are completely defenseless against Slaanesh's power.
Simply put, the stronger your desires, the deeper you fall!
As for those high-level followers who know the name of the Lord of Pleasure.
They will spare no effort to subvert the values of others and corrupt as many people as possible, to gain even more stimulating perverted pleasure, thereby pleasing the god they worship.
Therefore, even if the cult Homelander establishes does not explicitly worship Slaanesh.
As long as it is influenced by his power, a corresponding projection will still form within the Warp, continuously contributing faith and power to Slaanesh.
S-sister has always liked to complete the harvest in a pleasant and elegant way!
Whoosh—
Homelander stood up, pulled down his pants to his ankles, then pointed to the origin of life and said:
"As long as you serve it well, like before... I'll tell you how!"
Queen Maeve's face immediately showed an expression of extreme disgust and fear.
Obviously, his actions made her recall some bad memories from the past.
And it was precisely because of that tragic experience that she gradually changed her sexual orientation...
However, even if Queen Maeve really wanted to rush up and blow Homelander's beastly head off.
But the reality before her forced her to compromise.
To keep her place in The Seven, she had no choice!
And so...
Queen Maeve, suppressing the discomfort in her heart, slowly bent down and leaned her head closer.
...
...
In a hospital room.
Starlight, who had fallen into a deep coma due to soul damage, lay quietly on the hospital bed.
Her body was covered with various medical instruments monitoring vital signs and maintaining breathing.
And by the bedside, Starlight's boyfriend, Hughie Campbell, was having a heated argument with Starlight's mother, who was on a video call with him.
"You can't just give up on Starlight so easily, she's your daughter!"
"I'm sorry, Hughie, I know you love my daughter very much, and I don't want to make this decision either... But do you know how expensive the daily medical expenses are?"
Starlight's mother put on a pitiful and helpless act, sobbing into the camera:
"She has been expelled from The Seven, and Vought Corporation has withdrawn her insurance policy. I alone simply cannot afford such a huge expense."
"So... Hughie, I'm sorry, I have already agreed to the hospital's request for organ donation. This way, at least they will arrange a decent funeral for Starlight free of charge."
"Wait a minute."
Hughie Campbell interrupted indignantly, "The money Starlight earned in the two years since her debut, it's at least several million. It should be enough to cover the subsequent medical expenses, right?"
"Where's the money?!"
Starlight's mother on the other end of the video was visibly stunned.
She clearly hadn't expected her cheap son-in-law to know so much, and then, with evasive eyes, she choked out:
"I still need to keep that money to deal with Vought Corporation's lawsuit. After all, her unauthorized action this time brought a huge negative impact to Vought Corporation..."
"Also, I have already formed a new family, and I also need money to maintain our life going forward."
Just then.
A young, handsome man walked into the background of the screen. He looked to be in his early twenties at most.
But he put an arm around Starlight's mother, who was on the video call, and urged her intimately:
"My dear lucky star, hurry and come back to the card table with me!"
"During the time you were gone, it's as if all my good luck ran out. I've already lost over two hundred thousand... If this continues, we'll lose all our living expenses for next month."
"Oh, my adorable little unlucky one, you really can't do without me."
Starlight's mother showed a doting expression, not at all annoyed that the other party had lost over two hundred thousand in huge sums, but instead gently comforted him:
"Don't worry, I'll be done here in a moment..."
Then, without waiting for the bewildered Hughie Campbell on the other side to question her, she hurriedly said:
"Hughie, don't you love my daughter? Didn't you say you would take care of her for life? Well, now is the time to put that into action..."
"If you really think Starlight still has a chance to wake up, then please take good care of her for me."
"Afterward, I will give you the right to decide Starlight's fate. Whether or not to sign the organ donation agreement with the hospital is entirely up to you!"
"Um, I have some urgent matters to deal with here, so I'll just leave it at that... Remember not to contact me again in the future. I will pray for Starlight every day!"
With that, she directly hung up the call, leaving only the stunned Hughie Campbell, staring at the gradually darkening screen, his mind unable to calm down for a long time.
He never imagined that Starlight's mother could be so selfish?
He had only occasionally heard Starlight mention how her mother forced her to perform on stage while sick or injured when she was a child.
But Hughie only sympathized with her plight, never truly taking it to heart.
However, that last scene completely overturned his worldview!
The other party claimed to have no money to pay for Starlight's subsequent medical expenses, while at the same time allowing her young toy boy to squander money on high-stakes gambling?
And finally, she didn't forget to morally blackmail Hughie, directly dumping the comatose Starlight on him.
Is this really something a human being would do?
Most importantly, Hughie simply couldn't afford Starlight's medical expenses right now!
"Hey, Hughie, how is she doing?"
At this moment, Billy Butcher, the Captain of The Boys, arrived at the hospital room with the other members to visit Starlight.
Hughie Campbell, seeing this, shook his head in pain, and then recounted Starlight's current situation and everything that had just happened.
"What?"
Frenchie said with an exaggerated expression, "Are you sure that bitch you're talking about is Starlight's mother?"
The others all nodded in agreement.
Such a scumbag doesn't deserve to be called a mother!
Only Billy Butcher, who had seen countless deaths and betrayals, was relatively calm. He first looked at the unconscious Starlight on the hospital bed, then asked meaningfully:
"Hughie, what are you going to do next?"
"I will never give up on her, but... I simply don't know where to get such a large sum of money."
Hughie Campbell pulled at his hair with both hands, his face twisted in extreme pain.
Since The Boys is a vigilante private organization, its members usually don't have salaries.
The expenses of their operations also relied entirely on the small amount of secret funds Billy Butcher managed to get from Grace Mallory, the current Director of the CIA, just to get by.
So, many times, they couldn't even afford slightly more powerful firearms.
If it weren't for the unexpected acquisition of Kimiko, a Compound V supe, during a previous operation.
They probably wouldn't even be qualified to cause trouble for Homelander.
And Hughie Campbell was previously just a salesman at a small electronics store.
His meager monthly salary was barely enough for his own expenses, let alone saving money.
So now, asking him to suddenly come up with a large sum of money to pay for Starlight's medical expenses was harder than climbing to heaven.
Looking at Starlight's pale face on the hospital bed, Hughie Campbell couldn't help but recall the scene of his first girlfriend, Robin's, tragic death.
Sadness and anger began to intertwine in his heart.
"Damn Vought Corporation, damn Homelander!" Hughie Campbell couldn't help but roar viciously:
"This animal not only expelled Starlight from The Seven, but also terminated the insurance clause in her contract, otherwise Starlight wouldn't have ended up so miserably."
"I... I will personally kill him one day!"
Billy Butcher reached out and patted his shoulder, about to say a few comforting words.
But just then, a dark figure suddenly walked in from outside the door.
"Son, if you want to get revenge on that scumbag Homelander, maybe I can help you!"
Nick Fury walked into the hospital room as if no one else was there, his gaze sweeping over the members of The Boys, finally settling on Billy Butcher as he spoke:
"I hear your recent operations seem to have reached an impasse..."
"Not only have you failed to take down Homelander, but you've also watched his fame grow day by day, even being called a hero by those foolish commoners. I imagine that feeling isn't very pleasant, is it?!"
Nick Fury had the most to say about such feelings.
Because hadn't he himself watched Karl rise from obscurity to rapid prominence, causing him unbearable hatred?
"Who are you?"
Billy Butcher warned warily, "I advise you to stop prying into our affairs, that way at least you'll live a little longer!"
"Oh, Mr. Butcher, please don't misunderstand, I have no ill intentions."
Nick Fury completely ignored the threat, pulled over a chair, and sat down confidently.
Looking at the wary people opposite him, he continued:
"I think we need to have a calm discussion now... Maybe Starlight's medical expenses will be taken care of because of it, you never know."
Hughie Campbell's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, as if he had grasped the last straw, and he said eagerly:
"As long as you can save Starlight, I don't care what you make me do!"
Billy Butcher glanced outside the hospital room at the heavily armed and wary S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, knowing that this man in front of him must be someone important.
So he sneered unhappily, "Just say what you want to say. I don't like guys who beat around the bush."
"Very good."
Nick Fury didn't waste any more words. He immediately handed over the file folder in his hand and explained to everyone, "You will never be able to get rid of Homelander by relying on those underhanded petty tricks."
"Inside this, there might be information that can help you break the deadlock..."