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92.59% The Boys: Reborn as Soldier Boy / Chapter 23: An understanding

Chapter 23: An understanding

"… and after landing in JFK, you would think I could finally rest. NO!! Instead, I had to act like that coward Noir and sneak into MY!! FUCKING!! CITY!! For 40 years, I had envisioned my return. I dreamt of being greeted with a parade of salutes and adoration. Instead, your fucking dick was my only salute." I growled at my ordeal as I crushed the whiskey glass in my hand to dust.

Whilst a part of me was exaggerating my anger so as not to arouse suspicion of a massive personality change. Another part was genuinely livid at hiding from beings I could snap in half with a whisper.

Silence filled the room as Blarney took in my outburst. Unlike his usual lively self, throughout the entire hour-long explanation, he barely interrupted except for the occasional snort of cocaine and disgusted glances towards Jamie.

'Who could hate such a cute, harmless furball.'

After being backstabbed once, I wanted to be careful and decided to exclude any mention of my additional abilities or Jamie's. Most importantly, I did not mention my other life.

'The name Ambroise Lefort dies today.'

I'm not sure what I assumed his reaction would be once I stopped talking, but the last thing I expected was for him to suddenly break down in laughter and spill almost all the precious whiskey in his glass.

'Does he find this shit funny?'

My brows furrowed into real anger, but before I could express it, he quickly noticed my reaction and stopped. He took a moment to wipe some tears from his eyes and then downed the remnants of his drink.

"So let me get this straight, that backstabbing cocksucker Edgar colluded with your old teammates and gave you to the Slavs? Who then experimented on you for nearly 40 years, all because they wanted to trade a hero for a stage-managed silicone doll? Not only that, but there is also another evil, possibly Russian, organisation hidden within Vought with access to weapons beyond Vought's capabilities?" Blarney questioned in disbelief as he poured out another glass of whiskey, "If it weren't you telling me this shit, I would not believe a single word. I always knew those corporate pig-fuckers were soulless, but I never took them for incompetent schmucks."

My initial anger quickly faded to surprise. No longer blinded by my rage and interested in what he meant, I gestured for him to keep talking.

"Do you not get the issue here? They gave the first-ever fucking supe to the Reds and somehow lost their one monopoly to some wannabes. They shot themselves in the fucking brain and balls with one goddamn bullet. Not even The Firm would do something like this, and you know my issue with how they operate." Blarney wildly stated as he gulped down whiskey alongside his 3rd snort of cocaine since our conversation began, "Vought can't even see the most obvious problem with their plan. You!! Who knows what the commies fucking learnt and did besides giving you a new pair of shiny peepers. That organisation could be what it is today because they had you. For fuck sake, they could've turned you against us for all we know…."

'Probably Vought's go-to smear campaign if I ever escaped and came after them.'

I tuned out from the rest of the conversation and began thinking about what possible plans they had installed for my return.

"….I was hoping you would tell me, but since you haven't. Who is the kid, and why do you have a fucking vermin on your lap?" Blarney's question made me focus back on his rambling. "I know you supes can have weird preferences, but I always found yours palatable. I'm not one to judge, but finding your deadbeat supe of a son shoving a rodent up his asshole changes a man. Now, I just can't look at the fuckers the same. That shithead ruined Ratatouille and anal play in one fell swoop. So, whilst I can let some things slide, I ask that you leave it out of my home. I can't relive tha..."

I instantly knew what he was implying and felt sick to my stomach at even the idea of what must be crossing his mind. However, my disgust was temporary as Jamie interrupted by blasting my mind with angry thoughts.

~What the fuck did his pup do?!! How dare he call me vermin when his own offspring does such repulsive acts!!"~ Jamie seethed as he hissed at Blarney, who responded by flipping him off, ~Let me eat this one's eyes, Master Ben. I'll make sure his racism is met with justice.~

~Calm down, Jamie. We need him for now,~ I responded mentally, ~Act normal, and I'll talk with you after.~

Jamie huffed in response and turned his back to Blarney in defiance. I then angrily glared at Blarney, who stopped talking as he realised he fucked up.

"Listen closely, as I'll only say this once. If you ever suggest that I would fuck a child or an animal again, I will make that day your last," I coldly stated before gesturing at my two companions, "This is my daughter Dawn and our pet hamster Jamie. I don't care what your pedo animal-rapist son is into. You will respect them as if your life depends on it. Because it does."

'I don't need Vought getting any ideas on how to discredit me.'

Blarney's shocked face had become the norm for me to witness over the duration of our conversation. However, my threat and the revelation of my 'daughter' seemed too much for him. I could almost see the circuits in his brain fry as he spat out more of his whiskey.

"You shouldn't waste good whiskey like that, Blarney," I told him snarkily as I took another glass and poured myself a large amount of the expensive liqueur.

'For him to come to that conclusion shows how much I need to work on my image. Once I have him on board with my plan, I'll show him that the future of this world is not only safe in my hands but a necessity.'

It took him a few minutes to respond, and when he did, I almost wished for the original silence.

"Well, that's a fucking relief. I'm sorry, Ben, but you can never be too careful with supes nowadays. I don't even talk to my son anymore after he decided to butcher the sanctity of my name. What kind of supe goes by Blarney Cock," he anxiously explained before bombarding me with questions, "Enough about the little shit. I suppose congratulations are in order. I'm here to help in any way. Who is the lucky mother? How did this happen? Your daughter sure can sleep. This reminds me of that one time Jodie Foster came banging on my door at night…"

Unfortunately for Blarney's nosiness, I had enough of sharing and knew he would continue to babble on unless I decided to get to the point of what I needed.

I lightly rapped my knuckles on the table to get his attention and calmly said, "Listen, Blarney, after Studio 54, you owe me. I want my supe equipment and your contacts in The Firm to review what I found in Victor's place. After that, we will be even. Anything more, and we can negotiate."

'I need to urgently know more about this new organisation and find a way to help Dawn.'

"I know I owe you, Ben, but I don't speak to 'him' anymore and haven't been with The Firm in years. We had a bit of a falling out, and I'm no longer…" Blarney began saying carefully before gulping at my glare and changing his tone to a warm one, "Of course, my friend, I'll get right to it. Besides, while the Hollywood business is a nice retirement, I do miss the good old days."

'I know The Legend, and unless he has something to gain, he will sell me out for a nice lay.'

"I'm not going to pussyfoot around, Blarney. There's a reason I'm here and not with any of my other contacts. So, If you want to finally use your disturbed brain for something more useful than taking advantage of desperate celebrities, I think you should listen closely to what I have to say next..." I said calmly with a smirk as I sipped on the whiskey.

.....…

Over the next few hours, I carefully told him snippets of my plan to entice him. Knowing Blarney, I assumed he would jump at the opportunity I was presenting. Even so, I was still stunned at how quickly his hesitance disappeared into a desire for us to get started.

Realising the scale of what I was suggesting, he scrambled to create a more appealing environment for our business discussions. If I didn't know he was powerless, I would have assumed he had some form of super speed with how quickly he cleaned the cocaine from the table, dressed himself appropriately, and brought out my suit and shield.

We went back and forth for a while, with neither side backing down, but in the end, we came to an understanding, spat in our hands and shook on it.

"I'll need to lay low for a few days before I start to right some wrongs. How long will it take for your contacts in The Firm to review the phone, computer and documents I found?" I questioned the eager man before me as I caressed my shield.

Unlike in the comics and films, every supe has numerous versions of our 'one of a kind' suits and weapons. But this shield was different. It was my first, and I always left it out of the field for anything too dangerous

'Time to bring you out of retirement, old girl.'

Blarney suddenly coughed, making me look up from the shield to see him smiling at my infatuation. In response, I gave him a slight nod to carry on speaking, carefully hiding my embarrassment behind a calm facade.

'I need to get a handle on my emotions.'

"It should only be a few days before they get you what you need. I could have it sooner, but knowing 'him', he'll make negotiations hard. Once 'he' agrees, I'll have 'him' put Guiseppe on it. If that genius can't sort through it, no one can," The Legend said as he placed a cigar in his mouth and offered me one. My only response was to raise one eyebrow and point at Dawn. He reluctantly put down both cigars before continuing to talk, "In the meantime, mi casa es su casa. You and the kid can have my guest room. I'll have you know I once had Elvis and Cher in that very bed, so take care of the Egyptian cotton. I don't remember who was in who, but it was a fun night."

'I forgot how much he loves a name drop.'

"We're not planning to stay more than a night or two. Once I've found out who has my fucking money and property, we'll leave," I appreciatively said as I poured the last of the whiskey into our glasses and handed him one, "Vought has wasted their chance. It's time that people who knew what they were doing were in charge, L'chaim, my friend."

"L'chaim!!" Blarney responded with a grin as we downed our drinks, "And Stilwell had the chutzpah to call me washed. Well, who's laughing now? I'm here alive and thriving, whilst that bitch is buried 6ft under. May she rest in pieces."

He flipped off the floor with a grin before suddenly going quiet. It was evident that he wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure how to go about it.

"Out with it, Blarney. I'm too tired to play games," I growled as I scratched a small spot under Jamie's ear that made him roll on his back in pleasure.

"All right, I'll be straight with you, Ben. I know you dealt with them before. However, you need to be careful with that smug asshole Butcher and his lap dogs. Now, Marvin, he's a good egg, and we both owe him one, so I would appreciate you not killing him. Butcher, on the other hand, is a fucking schmuck that doesn't give up. That's his shtick, and I suggest you either deal with him or never cross him. The last time I saw that shit stain, he cost me this, and that was with me on his side," He agitatedly proclaimed as he raised his prosthetic left leg. "Do you know how hard it is to properly fuck with only one leg? You lose the pump, Ben. The fucking pump."

'I may owe Marvin, but I'm not in the business of being told who I can and can't kill.'

"I'll handle it. They'll have their use and be happy for it," I offhandedly said as I stopped petting Jamie and put the pouting hamster back in my jacket next to a fast-asleep Pixie. Once the hamster was secure, I looked Blarney in the eyes and spoke coldly. "But If the wild dogs bite, I'll put them down for good."

Blarney shivered slightly at my tone and stayed silent.

'I need to remind him that I'm not someone he can cross.'

Cracking my neck, I got up from the chair whilst holding on tightly to Dawn and leaned in close, "Blarney, a word of advice. Don't ever tell me what to fucking do again. I may appreciate your help but don't mistake my lack of choice for trust. If you betray me, I will make you regret the day your mother got creampied by half the men in this city. Does 'The Legend' fucking understand?"

Blarney looked up and nodded stiffly. This time, fear was evident on his face.

"Good, it's time we create a true powerhouse," I said in a warmer tone as I patted him on the shoulder. I then proceeded to make my way towards my room. I was almost out the door when I remembered a small, insignificant detail, "Oh, and I almost forgot, a pest in the alleyway across damaged my car. I dealt with the fucking nuisance but left a small mess that needs cleaning and a car that needs repairing. I'm sure you know what to do. After all, you are the best 'cleanser' in the business."

Ignoring the flash of pain that crossed his face while reminded of his past, I smirked and left to finally shower and sleep on a bed for the first time in nearly half a century.

'Soon, all of it will be mine, and no one can stop me.'

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Authors note

Hi everyone, here's a second chapter for you all to hopefully enjoy. It was initially two chapters. However, I put them in one as the flow felt interrupted as two. From the votes, it seems like the Inquisition has won as the name for the organisation. I will potentially include the second choice, CAPE,as a different organisation in the future.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
MM_Inferyes MM_Inferyes

Fun fact: In the comics, Blarney cock is the Legend‘s and Queen Maeve's son, and his real name is Martin Nurse.

Chapter 24: The reveal: Milk’s POV

"..Are you recording."

"Yes."

"As you know, the subject's skin has demonstrated remarkable durability. Which includes internal tissue."

"BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!"

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!"

I continued to watch with a complicated look as the man who had haunted my waking and sleeping moments underwent torture way beyond anything I could have imagined.

'How was he able to survive this?'

Despite feeling sick, I could not pull my eyes away from the horrors on screen. Maybe it was a morbid fascination, a sense of victory or even perhaps a speck of sympathy.

"How the fuck's that cunt still breathin'," Butcher suddenly interrupted from behind me.

After everything he had done, I didn't bother giving him the satisfaction of a reply.

"Twenty sieverts of radiation, sulphuric acid cocktails. More or less shoved Chernobyl right up 'is arse." He continued whilst watching over my shoulder, "I'll wager that's how he got 'em nasty new powers."

'Fucking hypocrite.'

I stayed silent and stared intently at the video before me for what felt like the millionth time.

'He deserves this.'

Or that's what I kept telling myself as I analysed every piece of footage repeatedly. The acts were so disgusting that only the most fucked up person would wish this on anyone, and before today, I would've watched it all with a smile.

'It would have been so much easier just to carry on hating him. Why did he have to apologise? Why.'

After he looked at me with those eyes of fire, I could not deny the guilt and pain they held.

'Have you really changed?'

"What am I thinking? Of course, that racist piece of shit hasn't changed," I angrily whispered as my eyes grew stern.

'I almost fell for that motherfucker's bullshit.'

I was shaken from my thoughts by Butcher patting me on the shoulder.

"Listen, mate. Don't let 'im get in your 'ead. He's the Ivan's problem now," he said with false concern as if we hadn't just made the world a worse place.

'How can he act like this?'

"You don't give a shit about who gets hurt, do you? All you care about is Homelander. Fuck anyone who gets in your way, right?" I bitterly said as I paused the video and shrugged his hand off me.

'I always knew he was an asshole, but never thought he was a cruel one.'

"Oh, come off it, mate. You and I are two fuckin' peas in a pod. The only difference is I'm willin' to do what it takes. So it all went belly up, and I took a fuckin' drug? In case you forgot, I saved your ungrateful arse," He replied with a smug look.

His response and how easily he used his abilities made me come to one very quick conclusion.

'This isn't the first time he's done this.'

With that realisation, I finally stood up and gave Butcher a hard look.

"You killed gunpowder, didn't you." I spat with some disbelief before adopting a sneer of disgust, "Did you use your little laser eyes?"

"You're too fuckin' right I did, an' it felt good," Butcher arrogantly said as he leaned in close, "For once, I levelled the fuckin' playin' field."

'Does he not get it.'

"Butcher, the whole point of what we do, the whole goddamn point. Is that no one should have all that power," I said as I looked him in the eyes, hoping to get him to understand that compound V should never be an option.

We can't allow ourselves to stoop to their level. It would be spitting on the memory of my father and everyone we've lost if I ever permitted us to cross that line.

"Well, ain't that just fuckin' fairies and dancin' dildos. You fuckin' saw how easily that cunt took us out. Now, imagine if I weren't suped up. I happen to live right down 'ere, mate, on planet Earth." He angrily said before walking out of the room.

I stood there for a few minutes, staring at the door whilst a battle raged inside my head. A part of me knew that without compound V, we would have been dead. Another part was scared of what a man like Butcher could become with that power, or worse, who I could become if I ever let temptation take its hold.

'Am I wrong about compound V?'

Letting out a sigh of frustration, I was about to sit down to watch more of the torture fest when a slight noise in the corner caught my attention.

'I'm surprised I didn't notice the smelly frog and his newly neutered puppy sooner. He's gotten better at snooping.'

"How long have you been there, Frenchie." I slowly said as I sat back down and rubbed my head at the headache that was this clusterfuck of a day.

"Long enough, mon ami. Do not let Monsieur Charcutier get to you," Frenchie warmly stated as he and Kimiko came out from behind the side door they had been leaning against, "He's a stubborn imbécile. Trust ton cœur and you will find a way."

'So he's come to a decision.'

"When are you leaving?" I questioned as his face twisted due to guilt. Before he could say anything more, I stood up and grabbed him in a crushing hug, "Don't let that motherfucker convince you to stay. This has never been about what's right. It's about what's right for him."

A few moments passed before I pulled back and gave him a weak smile, "Don't be like me and lose what makes you happy. Especially for a fight that's not yours."

'If only I could do the same and get that racist fucker out of my head.'

I turned away but was stopped by Frenchie pulling me back into the hug.

"I know that you have lost a lot, mon ami. But not all is perdu. Your daughter is waiting for you," Frenchie slowly said as he held me tightly, "Leave this all behind and be with your daughter while you still can. You owe nothing to anyone. The dead are gone. It is the living we must protect."

'Forgive me, Janine, I wish I were strong enough.'

"I-I-I can't Frenchie. I just can't. You don't understand. That motherfucker didn't just take my grandad that night. He also took me and my dad," I shakily responded as I separated from the hug and locked eyes with him, "Now, I'm just a fucking dead man walking. I won't put this on Janine. I won't let that piece of shit curse her too."

Frenchie gave me a sad look, and I could tell he wanted to say more.

"I appreciate your help, Frenchie. But just like you've made your decision. This is a choice I made long ago," I stated firmly towards him.

I nodded at the slightly injured Kimiko hiding behind him and patted Frenchie gently on the shoulder before sitting back on the chair. As I was going to continue my research, I noticed that a sombre Kimiko began signing intensely at Frenchie.

"No. I will not tell him. It will only upset him and won't change anything. S'il te plaît, Mon cœur leave it alone." Frenchie softly replied as he cupped her face in his hands.

She responded by slapping his hands away in frustration.

'Monique used to do the same thing when I riled her up.'

Reminiscing about a life I once had, I failed to notice that Kimiko had walked off and returned excitedly with a pad of paper and a mangy, chewed-up pencil.

I realised that some tears had begun to well in my eyes and quickly wiped them away before either of them noticed.

'I've made my choices. I don't deserve any pity.'

Suppressing the thoughts of what could have been, I turned to Frenchie to see if he could explain what the fuck was happening with his women. Surprisingly, he wouldn't look me in the eyes and even tried to stop Kimiko in her path.

'I'm not in the mood for some domestic shit.'

Whilst no longer a supe, Kimiko had no issue pushing past the flustered and concerned croissant muncher. Once in front of me, she grabbed a chair and sat down. A few seconds went by as she wrote something on a piece of paper, and then, with a warm smile, she gently placed it into my hands.

'She's a weird one.'

Tentatively smiling back, I took the paper and immediately felt the smile drop from my face.

"Is this a joke?" I asked her slowly as I reread the piece of paper.

She had written on it, 'Soldier Boy has changed. His eyes were nice even when fighting us. Maybe you could speak to him and be free like I am.'

She shook her head and reached for the pad again. However, not wanting to entertain the conversation any longer, I threw it to the side.

"It doesn't matter what you think. What I know is that we just unleashed that motherfucker on the world. Whatever happens next is on all our hands, even yours," I growled before glaring at an apologetic Frenchie to take her away.

'Does she think that because he didn't kill us? That his hands are wiped clean. That the blood and tears of everyone he has hurt, killed, tortured and broken just disappear? Standards are fucking low.'

A now agitated Kimiko tried to once again reach for the pad. However, this time, Frenchie grabbed her and gently pulled her to the side.

"Leave it be, Mon cœur. It's not our business anymore. Once we get to New York, we'll take our things and leave for Marseille. You have your freedom now, your humanité." Frenchie gently whispered in her ear, calming her down and getting a reluctant nod of agreement.

I ignored the rest of their conversation, and with my mood now soured, I focused on watching videos of the tests the Russians had performed.

'I need to find a way to fight Soldier Boy on my terms. Dad would have wanted that. There must be something that will work.'

I knew I would have to sort through hours of footage and files to find something to take him down for good. However, I was more than prepared to do so.

'It can't be a coincidence that Soldier Boy developed the ability to remove powers.'

.....

A few hours passed, and I barely got anywhere with what we had grabbed from the lab. All I knew was that they had used a form of gas, potentially halothane, to sedate and weaken him.

'Shouldn't be too hard. We used it on Kimiko easily enough.'

However, a more pressing issue was plaguing my mind. As much as I tried not to let it get to me, Kimiko's insistence on Soldier Boy had watered a seed of doubt and led to one nagging thought.

'What if he has changed.'

Fortunately, my self-torment was interrupted by Butcher returning to the room all high and mighty, telling us he got us a jet home.

'Finally, I can get back to Janine.'

It didn't take us long to reach the airfield and board a surprisingly luxurious jet. Butcher tried to speak to me, but I walked past him. I had nothing left to say to the hypocrite.

The flight was initially uneventful, with mostly everyone sleeping and keeping to themselves.

However, as we flew across the Atlantic, a small decision would uncover disturbing news.

Out of curiosity and to get my mind off of Soldier Boy, I decided to look up anything they had on his supposed daughter and their suped-up hamster.

To start, I decided to go through what they did to the hamster. As expected, it was a case of standard animal testing taken to new, disturbing heights. I knew our government had probably done worse, but I would never understand the cruel treatment of animals beyond what was necessary. Astonishingly, their vigorous tests led to them creating a version of compound V that worked on animals.

'Knowing our luck, this will bite us in the ass at some point. '

Finished with what little I could find on the hamster, I decided to read up on the child, Aurora. The scientists named her after the fable of sleeping beauty due to her never waking up, only ever stirring in the presence of Soldier Boy or Compound V.

'I wonder what is causing her to be like that.'

From what I was reading, she was indeed the daughter of Soldier Boy and was the product of the Russian's most ambitious goal, Project Scion.

'This doesn't mean he hasn't lied about the rest.'

Pushing aside my doubts, I continued to rifle through more of the files. I noticed that while Aurora had the body of a 4-year-old, she was, in fact, only two years old. The science was beyond me, but I quickly understood that they had used Soldier Boy's fun time juice to forcefully impregnate a female supe prisoner in an outpost outside Russia. Alongside this disgusting act, they somehow manipulated the pregnancy to occur within only a month whilst she was in an induced coma.

'Fucking white people.'

From the notes, I could see that Project Scion aimed to create a supe army using the genes of two immensely powerful supes. A big loss for their project was the escape of the female prisoner, who seemed to be the only viable 'Broodmother' they could find, with their attempts at IVF failing and every other female subject combusting immediately after fertilisation.

'Broodmother? What the fuck is wrong with these people?'

Unfortunately for them, Aurora only grew rapidly to the biological age of 2 before ageing at a regular 'chronological rate'. From what I read in their reports, the scientists would usually terminate a failure. However, with the escape of the female prisoner, Aurora was their only chance at a future project.

'That's fucking disgusting. The scientists were waiting for her to be 'fertile'.'

Fortunately, according to their documents, alongside being permanently asleep, there was also some form of golden light protecting Aurora from harm. This meant that any disgusting act they had in mind was impossible.

'Is that her ability?'

Everything I read was disturbing, exciting and distracting, just like I had hoped. However, that all changed when a seemingly insignificant file fell from the pile. Picking up the document, I casually skimmed through it. My partial interest quickly turned into shock, and that got progressively worse the more I read. On the smudged report, I could see the summarised medical information of the child, and on the top left corner, next to Soldier Boy's information, was the description of the Mother.

'Motherfucker!!'

———————————————————————

Authors note

Hey everyone,

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I would love to know if you want me to do more POV chapters as we move along.

The next chapter will be an interesting POV from an OC, and then it's back to good old SB.

If you have any ideas or plot points you think could be fun, let me know, and I might consider including them in the story.

I would also like to thank the reader evolution-500 for pointing out that I had been spelling Vought as Vaught. That should now be fixed throughout. If not, please let me know.

Once again, thanks for reading :)


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
MM_Inferyes MM_Inferyes

Fun fact: Mother’s Milk is the only member of The Boys to not have killed anyone (On screen).

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