Chương 83

Adam was flying through the sky when he looked down. He changed direction and landed at the place below. Three men were standing there. Another man lay on the ground in front of them, and it looked as though he had been beaten badly. Adam looked at the man before turning toward the other three. As he approached them, one of the men stepped forward.

"Sir Adam, you are here. We caught the Supe. You can take him into custody now." Adam was surprised. He also felt disappointed. He released a deep breath. Adam had a countermeasure against Victoria, but it was not something he could activate yet. Until the right moment arrived, Victoria remained the only path open to him. By taking that path, he had indirectly placed himself under Vought. Adam could stand against everyone involved if he chose to, and he knew he could do it. He did not want to make that move yet.

For the time being, he wanted to stay where he was and let things continue. He looked at the captured Supe again.

'If they had already caught him, why did they call me?' Over the past few months, Adam had become a real superhero. He was not a hero like the Supes working for Vought. To the public, Adam now represented the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. The FBSA could now act as Supe police because Adam's power stood behind it. Even some Supes who had been created illegally were being trained under the Bureau. The position made Adam uncomfortable.

'I have to get out of this. I need to leave the FBSA.' Adam took the captured Supe and left. At FBSA headquarters, soldiers were stationed throughout the building. Adam handed the Supe over to them and continued toward the offices. Victoria was pleased when she saw him. Hughie sat at the desk across from her and looked happy as well. Adam released another breath.

'At least I pulled Hughie out of his depression, just like the original timeline did.' One thing still bothered Adam. Hughie had a new girlfriend now. In the original timeline, Starlight had been Hughie's girlfriend and the person closest to him. That path no longer existed because Annie was with Adam. Somehow, Shana had stepped into the empty place beside Hughie. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Whenever Adam saw Shana, an instinct inside him warned him that she was dangerous. The warning came from somewhere inside his own mind or senses. He was not ready to rush into anything because the main plot had moved into the background. Nothing major was happening for now. It was only the calm before the storm. Victoria looked at Adam.

"Because of you, we have brought much of the Supe activity in this city under control. Even the government is considering promoting you." Adam did not react.

"Is your favor over?" Victoria's smile disappeared.

"Remember, Adam, getting your name removed from the Supe terrorist list was not a small feat. I have told you that many times. When this favor is over, I will tell you." Adam's eyes began glowing red. Victoria stared at them in surprise and moved back with her chair.

"It doesn't feel that way to me," Adam said.

"It seems you have forgotten how dangerous I am. Maybe I should have brought you a video showing the condition of the strongest Supe in this entire country.... No, the strongest Supe in the entire world." Victoria understood that he was talking about Homelander.

"You know what will happen if you try to harm me, don't you?"

"Two more days," Adam replied.

"Give me whatever work you want during those two days. After that, my favor to you is over." Victoria stood up and ignored his threat.

"You said you would stand behind me." Adam stopped. He remembered making that promise. He had told Victoria that he would stand behind her if she removed the Supe terrorist label from his name. At the time, he had needed that result by any means available. No member of the Boys had ever received this much negative attention in the original timeline. Adam also knew that cleaning his public image would not have been enough. The government would not have removed the designation even after Liberty's truth came out.

Vought would have kept targeting him harder. Victoria had been the only path left to him.

"I just remembered exactly how powerful I am," Adam said. Fear appeared on Victoria's face. Those words sounded like something another person she knew well would say.

'Fucking bastard,' Adam cursed himself. He had never wanted to accept Homelander's way of thinking. Yet Victoria was forcing him to use the same kind of personality here.

"You are forcing me to become a real Supe terrorist." Victoria opened her mouth to answer. Heat vision flashed from Adam's eyes and struck her in the chest. Adam shut it off immediately. Victoria dropped back into her chair. The impact had not forced her down. The burning pain had.

"Sometimes I think I should tell the whole world everything about you," Adam said.

"Especially the things you do with Edgar." Victoria's eyes widened further. Adam raised an arm and started walking out of the office.

"Two days. Only two days."

'Consider those two days my favor to you.' When Adam had first entered, Hughie had still been sitting inside the office. Adam had gestured toward Victoria, and she had sent Hughie outside. Now Hughie watched Adam come out. Hughie's hesitation showed that he knew something had happened. Adam's mood stopped him from going closer and asking about it. Adam left the building and flew away. A short time later, Adam sat across from Annie.

"I have been thinking," Annie said.

"Why shouldn't I become co-captain of the Seven?" Adam knew that no matter how much he tried to stop her, Starlight would not change her mind. He released a deep breath.

"If that is what you want, then you can become co-captain." The tension visible on both their faces showed that something was wrong between Adam and Annie.