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Far from the venue of A-Train's race, a small truck converted into a camper was speeding away on an elevated bridge. Inside the vehicle were mbers of the Boys: Butcher, Hughie, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk.
Frenchie was driving, Mother's Milk was in the passenger seat, Butcher was inspecting his firearms, and Hughie, who looked quite nervous, turned to Butcher and said, "We… we don't really need to run, do we? Holander didn't seem to want any trouble with us…"
"Yes, he won't look for trouble. He'll co straight over and use his damn heat vision to cut off your head and shove it up your arse!" Butcher spat out, his language peppered with F-words.
Hughie disagreed, "I think you're too tense. Not all mbers of the Seven are bad, and you don't even know Holander."
"Do you?" Butcher retorted, "Do you know Holander? Kid, wake up. You don't know anyone. Just because you like Starlight, doesn't an the Seven are good people. All supes… all of them… are a bunch of damn bastards! Including A-Train, who killed your girlfriend!"
Hughie was speechless. He had once been a fan of A-Train, his room filled with A-Train figurines and morabilia.
But after A-Train turned his girlfriend into a splatter of gore right in front of him, Hughie could never forget holding her only intact remains—her arms.
Mother's Milk, sitting in the passenger seat, asked, "So, what do we do now? Holander said he would find us. Our vehicle can't block his heat vision."
"Head to a crowded place, the busier, the better! Holander won't kill us in front of a crowd of unard people," Butcher suggested.
Mother's Milk was incredulous, "That's your plan? Run to the city and wait to die?"
"What else? We have no evidence right now. Our only option is to stay alive in his hands first!" Butcher responded.
"Hey, guys!" Frenchie interjected, "I think things might not be that bad. Look, he saw but didn't arrest , right? Is there a chance he's also an enemy of Vought?"
"Frenchie, don't forget Lamplighter!" Butcher reminded him.
Just as they were about to argue, there was a sudden noise from the roof of the camper.
Bang, bang, bang.
Everyone fell silent, exchanging glances. Butcher and Mother's Milk each grabbed their guns, aiming at the roof, fingers on the triggers, ready to shoot.
Suddenly, a familiar voice ca from the driver's side window, "Guys, honestly, your lack of trust really hurts my feelings. Didn't I just let one of your mbers go?"
"F**K!!!" Butcher and Mother's Milk cursed simultaneously upon seeing Roger's head pop down from above, instinctively wanting to fire.
Before they could, a startled Frenchie jerked the steering wheel. Mother's Milk, in the passenger seat, managed to hold on, but Butcher and Hughie, in the back, lost their balance and slamd into the walls of the camper.
From the outside, the camper looked like a raging bull, careening wildly down the road.
Roger hadn't anticipated such a reaction to his greeting. He was about to speak when he noticed a car coming straight at them!
Or rather, the camper, steered by Frenchie's sudden turn, was now in the wrong lane, heading for a collision.
"Damn it! You guys really know how to create trouble." Roger quickly flew off the camper and towards the oncoming car.
"F**K—! Frenchie!! Turn! Turn!!!" Mother's Milk shouted.
"I'm turning!" Frenchie yelled back, yanking the steering wheel to the other side.
The camper veered back onto the correct path, but it was too late for the oncoming car to avoid a collision.
The left side of the camper sustained damage to its headlight and front bumper. However, the small car couldn't withstand the impact; its left side lifted, and it began to flip over, spinning in the air like a whirlwind.
"Ahhhh!!!" scread a young girl inside the car, along with her father. Seeing the car about to crash into the bridge and fall, Roger sprang into action.
Ripping off his shirt to reveal his hero costu, Roger flew towards the spinning car, matching its rotation to absorb the impact.
After a few seconds, the car ca to a stop in mid-air. Roger hovered, holding it aloft, and gently set it back down on the road.
"Oh my God… my God!" The father and daughter climbed out, the father checking his daughter first before looking at their wrecked car and exclaiming, "Holander! It's you… thank goodness! Thank you for saving us! Without you, we… we…"
The red-nosed father was overwheld with gratitude, but Roger, patting him on the shoulder, said, "Hey, I know you're shaken up, but you need to stay calm, okay? We're still on the bridge, so set up a warning triangle fifty ters behind your car, then call the fire departnt. And most importantly…"
Roger glanced at the man's young daughter, who looked around eight or nine, and softly said, "You need to comfort your daughter. She must be scared out of her wits."
"Yes… yes, thank you! Thank you, Holander!" The father thanked Roger profusely.
Roger nodded, then turned to look in the direction where the Boys had fled.
The culprits had already made a run for it. Using his super vision, Roger saw they had driven far and were heading into the city. His expression darkened.
He wasn't angry that the Boys had escaped; he was furious that they had caused an accident and hadn't even stopped to apologize!
Although the camper losing control was partly his fault, Roger had saved the victims and would ensure Vought compensated them.
But the Boys? Their first instinct was to flee!
"Alright, alright, I know I'm scary. I'm not mad…" Roger muttered to himself, trying to calm down as he flew into the sky to search for the Boys.
He decided that when he found them, he'd give them a good thrashing. Their reckless behavior was infuriating.
"Are you sure we're safe here?"
After finally 'escaping' from Holander, the Boys walked through a bustling city street, chatting.
Butcher had one hand in his trench coat pocket and the other holding an ice cream he'd just bought from a roadside vendor. He pointed at the surveillance caras scattered around the street and said, "Of course we're safe. First, we're law-abiding citizens now, at least on the surface. Second, look at all these caras. Holander can't afford to do anything here that would hurt his image."
"But I don't think running away was a good idea," Hughie suddenly interjected. "I don't think Holander ant us any harm. After all, he chose to save those people in the car instead of chasing us."
"Kid, listen up. Every 'heroic' act that superhumans do is orchestrated by Vought. Even if it isn't, they only do good deeds because it benefits them," Butcher replied.
"But... there weren't any caras back there," Hughie argued. If all superhero actions were just a show for the caras, how did Holander's decision to save the people in the car instead of continuing to pursue them fit into that narrative? There were no caras back there, and the nearest surveillance cara was at least 300 ters away.
"There could have been soone filming with a hidden cara, or a passerby with a cara phone, or even a dashcam from a passing car! Who knows?" Butcher took a bite of his ice cream and listed several possibilities. Hughie licked his dry lips and said, "I still think Holander might not be what we think he is."
"Butcher, I think the kid might be onto sothing," Frenchie suddenly said. He began listing points, "Look, Holander saw in the lounge, right? But he did nothing. Then, after the car accident, his first instinct was to save those people, not to continue chasing us! Butcher, not all supes are bad, just like not all humans are good."
"Wow, Frenchie, did you hit your head or sothing? Are you starting to believe in supes again? Think about Mallory! Think about her poor grandson who got burned to death! That's what we got for trusting a supe! Do you really want to go through that again?" Butcher retorted angrily.
They had once trusted supes. Lamplighter, who used to be a mber of the Seven, was a supe they trusted. But he ended up burning Mallory's grandson alive. The incident led to the disbandnt of the Boys. With such a tragic precedent, how could the Boys trust supes again?
Mallory's grandson was a permanent scar on Frenchie's heart because he was the one assigned to monitor Lamplighter. He'd left his post for just half an hour, and that was when Lamplighter went to Mallory's house and burned her grandson alive. When Butcher brought this up, Frenchie had no response.
Butcher finished his rant and was about to continue their stroll through the crowded street. But as he turned, he bumped into Mother's Milk's back, who had stopped walking. The large, muscular black man stood like a brick wall, and Butcher nearly fell over from the impact.
Seeing Mother's Milk frozen in place, Butcher asked, "What? Do you agree with Frenchie and the kid?"
"No," Mother's Milk replied, swallowing nervously and pointing ahead. "Holander..."
"WTF..." Butcher followed Mother's Milk's finger and saw Roger, now dressed in casual clothes with a baseball cap and glasses, standing less than five ters away, watching them. "I hope I'm not interrupting," Roger said.
In that mont, the Boys felt a wave of tension wash over them. Even Frenchie, usually quick with words, was speechless. Though they were in a busy area with countless surveillance caras, they were face-to-face with a superhuman who could kill them instantly.
Butcher, however, looked at Roger with eyes full of anger and hatred and said, "If I say you're interrupting, will you turn around and leave?"
"I think you should speak more politely. First, I haven't attacked you and have shown nothing but goodwill. Second, I think you owe an apology for the hit-and-run earlier," Roger replied.
"An apology, to you?" Butcher retorted.
"Of course not. To that poor father and daughter. Their car is still on the overpass waiting for help from the fire departnt. If it weren't for , one or both of them might have died."
"If it weren't for you, the accident wouldn't have happened," Butcher said, glaring at Roger.
Roger was losing his patience. He looked at Butcher and said, "Is that what you think?"
"Hmm?" Butcher responded with a defiant look.
Roger smiled in exasperation, then suddenly disappeared from his spot and reappeared next to Butcher. Before anyone could react, he grabbed Butcher with one hand and Hughie with the other and flew into the air, quickly leaving the city behind.
Frenchie and Mother's Milk were stunned. By the ti they processed what had happened, Butcher and Hughie were already gone, leaving behind the ice cream Butcher had just bought, lting slowly on the ground.
Butcher's strategy had worked to so extent. In the city, due to his 'celebrity' status and the risk of bad press, Roger couldn't do anything to them. But they seed to have forgotten that Roger was a superhuman, the strongest of them all. He might not be a master of strategy, but he knew how to use his strength.
In the face of overwhelming power and speed, all plans were futile. Roger simply took them to an abandoned factory far from prying eyes. There were no caras here, no witnesses. If he wanted to kill them, no one would know, and there would be no scandal.
As for whether Frenchie and Mother's Milk would call the police? The Boys were engaged in illegal activities, so they wouldn't dare involve the authorities or Vought. Besides, both the police and Vought were on Roger's side. In a place like Arica, money was everything.
Roger had no intention of killing Butcher. He wasn't a sadist; he just wanted to teach Butcher a lesson.
Bang!
Roger threw Butcher to the ground, not too forcefully. Despite his super strength, Roger had to be careful not to accidentally turn Butcher into a pile of mush. Although Butcher seed to be in a lot of pain, Roger had held back significantly.
"You...!" Butcher was furious from the pain. He got up and swung his fist at Roger. Roger easily caught Butcher's arm and, with a flick, tossed him away like a sack of potatoes.
Bang!!
This ti, Butcher hit the wall and slid down, blood trickling from his mouth, indicating internal injuries. Seeing Butcher struggle to get up, Roger asked, "Are you calm now?"
"Calm? You @!#￥@... pfft!" Butcher cursed, but Roger cut him off with another round of beatings.
Roger lifted Butcher high above his head and then let him fall, causing Butcher to see stars from the impact.
"Calm now?" Roger asked again.
"F**k..."
Bang!!
Another round.
"Calm now?"
"..."
This ti, Butcher didn't respond.
A trembling Hughie timidly said to Roger, "S-stop! He... he seems to have passed out..."
Seeing Butcher unconscious, Roger used his X-ray vision to check Butcher's body and, confirming there were no fatal injuries, said reluctantly, "Fine, we'll wait till he wakes up."
Hughie thought he detected a hint of regret in Roger's voice, as if he regretted not being able to continue beating Butcher.
...
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