"First, let me tackle the first issue. Franko, you say Vought can't afford to support that many supes. But have you considered that Vought doesn't need to take responsibility for them at all? We can just sell them off as products.

Everyone knows how much money the manpower business pulls in. Now imagine the profit when the product is actual supes."

Ivan knew Edgar was a pure businessman who only cared about the bottom line. As long as it looked profitable, he'd even let Homelander secretly create super terrorists.

Sure, the death rate for adults injecting Compound V wasn't that high, like with Butcher and his crew in the original stories. But that was only for the first few shots. The more you pumped into a normal person, the faster they dropped dead. Turning someone into a real supe could take God knows how many needles.

"The logic checks out. So the university plan you mentioned earlier is about building a complete supply chain," Edgar said.

"Exactly. As for funding the schools, we can turn their daily lives into reality shows, documentaries, or scripted series. Might not all blow up, but it should at least cover costs." Ivan laid it out smoothly while the others sat there thinking through how realistic the whole thing actually was.

"Let's put that aside for now. We're here to fix the PR crisis."

Edgar tapped the table with his fingertip, steering the discussion back on track.

"Sorry about that." Ivan gave an apologetic smile.

"The third step to flipping the narrative needs a trigger. A super terrorist attack on American soil. We make the public realize Vought is essential. Only we can keep them safe. Once Homelander and the others take down the terrorist, we blast that message everywhere.

At the same time we push the line that Vought and the superheroes are victims of this tragedy too. Finally, have Starlight and the rest step up and say they don't regret becoming supes. They'd rather give up normal lives to protect America as heroes.

This part is all about winning public sympathy. That's everything I've got."

The second Ivan finished, Franko couldn't hold back. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, Mr. Greevs, I'd swear you spent a month or more cooking this up. It's incredibly complete and actually workable. I'm fully on board with your plan."

Edgar looked around at the others. "Anyone have a different take? If not, we go with Greevs' approach."

The executives all shook their heads. They weren't idiots. The boss's face made it clear he loved the plan. Even if one or two had doubts, they kept their mouths shut tight.

"Since there are no objections, this meeting—" Edgar was about to wrap it up when his phone buzzed with a text from the Department of Defense.

The message was short: NYPD had been attacked by a super terrorist off the coast. They needed The Seven deployed immediately to neutralize the threat.

Edgar read it, set the phone down, and looked up.

"Emergency situation. A super terrorist has appeared on the East Coast. The Department of Defense wants The Seven out there ASAP. We'll extend this meeting by two hours. I'll have someone set up a live feed from the scene."

...

Meanwhile,

On the yacht less than a kilometer from shore, Butcher was jabbing a finger right in Frenchie's face and screaming at him. After checking the cabin, he had found the pieces of the soda can Frenchie left behind.

While Frenchie was getting chewed out, Hughie suddenly pointed at the TV screen, grinning. "Holy shit, look! They're running the Compound V story. Vought's stock is down sixty-eight percent in one morning and it's still dropping. If the CIA charges stick, those Vought bastards are each looking at ten to fifteen years."

"Oh, so Vought's about to eat shit. Means I'll get to see my family soon." Mother's Milk broke into a big smile.

"It's finally over. We actually did it."

Hughie spread his arms wide, looking stunned and thrilled at the same time. "I don't even know how to describe what I'm feeling right now. Vought is finished, and we're the ones who took it down."

Everyone except Butcher got pumped listening to the news anchor. Butcher's mood had already hit rock bottom after fucking up with Mouse. He didn't give a damn about Vought or Homelander anymore. All he cared about was finding his wife Becca.

As time passed, the pale golden coastline appeared in front of them.

Suddenly the yacht under Butcher's feet shook hard, like it had hit something. Moments later, a bunch of shark fins sliced through the water and charged straight at them.

Butcher didn't hesitate. He grabbed the rifle nearby and opened fire on the sharks, but it barely did anything.

"Here." Butcher realized they had a much bigger problem.

He tossed the rifle to Mother's Milk and rushed down to the bottom of the cabin. The sight that greeted him was exactly what he didn't want to see. Seawater was already pouring in and about to flood most of the hold.

"Sharks smashed through the hull! Everyone abandon ship now!" he yelled.

He jumped into the inflatable dinghy beside them. Once everyone was aboard, he cut the rope connecting the dinghy to the yacht.

At the same time, several news vans pulled up on the beach. Along with them came Homelander descending slowly from the sky, with Stormfront hovering beside him wrapped in crackling lightning.

Their entrance stole the show. Especially Stormfront. Her looks made people do a double take.

"Hi everyone! I'm Stormfront. So nice to meet you all." The moment she landed, Stormfront flashed a bright smile and waved at the people on the beach.

Seeing his spotlight getting stolen by Stormfront, Homelander's face soured for a second.

But when he spotted the cameras poking out from the news vans, his mouth curved into a friendly, wholesome smile.

A-Train and the others soon arrived on scene. From where they stood, the yacht on the water looked like a tiny black speck. The Deep was currently riding on the back of a humpback whale, directing the shark pack to attack the dinghy. Faint gunshots drifted across the sea wind into Homelander's ears.

In Homelander's opinion, The Deep could handle Butcher and his crew by himself. No need for him to get his hands dirty.

___

[]~(￣▽￣)~*

Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69