Chương 21: Chapter 20

Author's Note:

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Hello Author-san here, let's just say that I've gotten amped up today to finish ahead of schedule today. Things are going to get interesting soon, you'll just have to see soon.😈

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(3rd POV)

Walking into the Exodus, Reggie led the group down the expansive entrance of the cargo bay. The sheer size and scale of the space left everyone stunned. Frenchie, trailing behind, spun slowly as he tried to take in every detail.

The cavernous room seemed to stretch on forever, filled with gleaming machinery and advanced technology.

"Dear Holy Mary, this is just the cargo area?!" Frenchie exclaimed, his voice echoing in the vast space.

Reggie grinned and called back, "Yup! Try to keep up!" Frenchie cursed under his breath and jogged to catch up with the others.

As they walked, Mallory stepped closer to Reggie. She couldn't shake off the feeling of awe mixed with suspicion. "Where are we going?" she asked, her tone a mix of curiosity and caution.

Reggie glanced back at her, his expression serious. "We're heading to the command center. There, I'll show you the information I have on Vought." His words hung in the air, promising revelations that Mallory had only begun to suspect.

She fell silent, her mind racing with questions she didn't yet know how to ask. 'What has he discovered? And how deeply are we all implicated in this mess?'

But Butcher, ever the blunt one, voiced the thought that lingered in the air. "Oi, Reggie, was it? How in the name of all that's holy, did you manage to have this built? The money? The materials?"

Reggie smirked, a cold, knowing smile. "Let's just say I have connections for the materials in the black market. As for the money? Well, many criminal organizations all over the world are having temper tantrums over their missing moolah."

He chuckled darkly, the sound sending a shiver down Mallory's spine. Butcher muttered something about bloody supes, while MM, his eyes scanning the intricate architecture, nodded in begrudging approval. 'The kid's resourceful, I'll give him that,' MM thought.

"And how exactly did you come up with this place? I know for sure it ain't Vought," MM said, suspicion lacing his voice. "Otherwise, this would've been sold to the highest bidder like honey to a bee."

Reggie didn't turn around, his voice steady as he replied, "When you're the world's fastest man alive, if you have the aptitude to learn, you can speed-read a lot of books on such subjects. All the technical know-how is right there, just waiting to be absorbed."

The group's jaws collectively dropped, struggling to wrap their minds around the sheer scale of his capabilities.

Hughie, ever the innocent, voiced the group's incredulity. "Wait, wait, so what you're saying is that this... you built this? How?!"

"Speed," Reggie answered simply, leading them into the command center. The room was a marvel of advanced technology, with supercomputers lining the walls, each displaying different streams of data: news, weather patterns, cryptocurrency trends, and countless other technical feeds.

It was a hive of information, pulsating with energy. 'This place... it's like something out of a sci-fi movie,' Hughie thought, feeling both awed and overwhelmed.

The sight left the group in stunned silence. A small robot floated toward Reggie, beeping softly. Its screen displayed a pair of glowing eyes, which seemed to brighten with excitement, forming an eye smile.

Reggie smiled warmly at the sight. "Are they ready, SPADE?"

The robot, SPADE, the eyes disappeared temporarily as it responded with a thumbs-up emoji on its screen, and Reggie chuckled, rubbing the top of its head. "Well done. You can stick around for now."

SPADE spun around him beeping, its robotic wing-like ears flapping in a joyful dance. The sight of the little robot brought a small, soft smile to Reggie's face, contrasting sharply with the current tension in the room. 'This little guy always knows how to lighten the mood,' Reggie mused.

"Whoa! What the hell is that?" MM asked, eyes wide with surprise.

Reggie spared him a glance. "This little ball of sunshine is SPADE—Systematic Personal Assistant and Data Explorer. In other words, the AI system I created."

Butcher, ever impatient, cut in. "All of this is fine and dandy, but can we get on with it?" His harsh tone startled SPADE, who darted behind Hughie, peeking nervously over his shoulder. Hughie, caught off guard, felt a strange urge of protectiveness toward the small AI. 'Poor little guy, Butcher can sure be a real jerk sometimes.'

Reggie stepped in, his voice calming. "SPADE? The info, please." The robot floated in front of Reggie, doing its work as the massive screens in the room flashed rapidly as it processed and displayed an overwhelming stream of data.

Mallory, struggling to keep up with the flood of information, spoke up. "SPADE, could you please slow down and show it one at a time?" The AI responded with a beep and crescent-eyed smile before slowing the feed to a manageable pace.

"Dear God!" Mallory whispered, horrified as she absorbed the content on the screens. The atrocities committed by Vought were laid bare: unethical experiments, manipulation of the media, and worst of all, the systematic creation of Supes through Compound V. 'I knew they were bad, but this... this is just beyond monstrous.'

Butcher's grin widened into something feral as he approached the screens. "Well, well, well. God's given gifts, my arse. The bloody Supes are drug babies! Hahaha, absolutely fucking diabolical!"

His eyes gleamed with a mixture of glee and fury. 'Finally, the proof we needed to take those bastards down.'

MM, scanning the information, shook his head in disbelief. "Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Texas... All these years, these bastards are shipping Compound V to hospitals and clinics all over the country!! drugging up infants. Supes... they ain't born with gifts; they're fucking made!!"

Frenchie, already settled into a chair with his feet propped up on a desk, popping a pill glanced at the group. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think we should pay one of these places a visit, no?" He then raised his hands in mock surrender, putting his feet down when Reggie shot him a warning glare. 'Always the smartass, Frenchie,' Reggie thought with a hidden smirk.

Butcher, his expression darkening with determination, stepped forward and tapped a location on the map displayed on one of the screens. "Well, boys, I suggest rest up for now. Tomorrow, we're hitting here and getting ourselves some V."

His voice carried a dangerous tone, with a promise of the havoc to Vought. 'Tomorrow, we start making these bastards pay.'

"I'll take you to your quarters then, follow me." Reggie already moving, taking the group to the living quarters he arranged for them. Getting there after a while, he showed them a massive hallway aligned with doors.

"Take any room you like, it has everything that you would ever need. Should you be hungry there's a canteen to the right, it has many options that you could find suitable to your taste." Said Reggie pointing towards the direction of the canteen, he continued

"if you need anything else, there's a button for room intercoms. If you feel do bored, we have entertainment and recreational zones here. Just call out for SPADE to guide you." He finished.

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