The Boys: Viltrumite Evolution Panel

He braced himself against the ground, struggling as he tried to get back up.

"Whoosh!" A figure appeared out of thin air. Lucas stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at him from above.

"Now I’m the one behind you!"

"Soldier Boy!"

Soldier Boy swayed a few times, staring at the young man before him who seemed to have teleported.

Flight, Super Strength, super durability, teleportation... Is Vought insane?

How did they manage to create such a powerful Supe?

"Fuck you..." Soldier Boy squeezed the words out through his teeth.

"Fuck you, too!" Lucas raised his middle finger at him.

"Benjamin, your face is full of stories, but I don’t believe you’re truly willing to just die like this." Lucas hauled him up from the ground.

"Get lost! I don’t want to fly!" Soldier Boy looked resistant.

He had Super Strength and could naturally leap into the air, but he didn’t like doing so.

"Wait, you aren’t afraid of heights, are you?" Lucas acted as if he had discovered a secret.

"Shut your stinking mouth!" Soldier Boy lost his composure.

"Yo, yo, yo, getting flustered? Don’t tell me I guessed right!" Lucas had a wicked grin.

"A dignified old-school founding superhero, actually afraid of heights? Did you suffer some sort of psychological trauma that makes you refuse to use super-leaps? That ’lack of funding’ excuse is just too lame!"

Soldier Boy refused to answer.

"Tsk tsk, on the screen last century, you played the image of a tough guy, but inside, you’re still just a scared little boy!"

"No wonder you’re called Soldier Boy, not Captain America."

"Your immaturity, your fear, your resentment—they all stem from your original family. You crave recognition, but no one ever gave you a thumbs up for your efforts."

"You took your anger out on your teammates, bullying, humiliating, treating them like they weren’t human..."

Soldier Boy looked uncomfortable. He wanted to retort, but Lucas was gripping his neck, preventing his vocal cords from making a sound.

"You were sold to the Russians, right? Spent decades as a test subject, suffering all sorts of agony. Your defensive capabilities are indeed stronger than many Supes!"

"And it’s not just your outer defenses; your internal organs are quite resilient, and you’re even immune to all poisons. Except for not being able to fly, you’re basically a land-based tortoise."

"If you ask me, you should have just laid low when you got back... why go looking for revenge?"

"You deserve it, damn it!"

Lucas felt not a shred of sympathy. Soldier Boy began to struggle, but Lucas continued to sneer. "You think you’re a victim? Don’t make your daddy Lucas laugh!"

"If it were me, you would have been tossed into the sun and burned to ash long ago; you wouldn’t have lived to see the day you were sold to the Russians!"

"You think you’re some tragic hero?"

"Pah!"

"You’re just a good-for-nothing coward without an ounce of responsibility!"

"At the end of the day..." Lucas looked disdainful. "You’re just a big bully wearing a hero’s costume. The fundamental difference between you and Homelander is that you know what you’re doing!"

"And Homelander... he’s actually sick."

Soldier Boy was completely broken. These words had stripped him bare.

For decades, he had kept his hatred buried deep in his heart, which was the only thing that helped him endure torture time and again.

Yet this kid was attacking his psychological weaknesses?

A bully!

When I was fighting for my country, your ancestors were still building railroads, you know that?

...

[Soldier Boy — Emotional State: Furious, exposed, collapse of self-cognition, recognition of a "Real Man"]

[Evolution Points Gained: +13,500]

...

WTF!

Is this guy a masochist?

Why does Soldier Boy’s favorability go up whenever he gets cursed at?

Did he transmigrate into the The Boys world, or is this giving off some weird Gachimuchi vibes.

From Soldier Boy’s perspective, everything was simple. He had lived for a century and seen many people. He looked down on those who kissed his ass.

Those who feared him, or even those who plotted against him behind his back, all deserved a beating. Those people, without exception, were the biggest cowards of them all.

But this guy in front of him was different. The opponent possessed strength that crushed everything, dared to speak the truth, and didn’t coddle him at all.

Guardian could clearly squash him to death, yet he sat there and laid out the logic for him.

Fuck!

This... this is what a real man is!

Soldier Boy belonged to the old-school tough guy... no, that wasn’t right. He admired old-school tough guys and was intentionally imitating that style. Therefore, deep down, he only respected one type of person: a man stronger, tougher, and more courageous than himself!

"You kid..." Soldier Boy grinned, revealing a bloody smile.

"Your damn mouth really stinks!"

"Even worse than mine back in the day!"

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Right back at you."

"Alright, enough talk." Lucas let go of the old popsicle. "The offer I gave you still stands. Work for me, and I’ll let you shine again. And by the way... I know where all your old teammates are!"

Soldier Boy’s breathing quickened.

"Whether you want revenge or not, I couldn’t care less. Anyway, you trash from back then killed plenty of innocent people; it wouldn’t be a pity if you died."

"But I have someone else you’d be very interested in. Clara, sound familiar?"

"Your old flame from back in the day."

Soldier Boy’s pupils constricted.

"She’s living quite comfortably now!" Lucas watched his reaction. "Your old lover has hooked up with a young Aryan, a blue-eyed, blond-haired Supe!"

"That woman wants to hold him in the palm of her hand, and the two of them are lovey-dovey every single day. They’ve long forgotten about you, a guy rotting in a Russian cellar!"

"Doesn’t that make you angry?"

"I’m angry for you, boy!"

Soldier Boy clenched his hands tight, his bones making a teeth-gritting sound.

Lucas didn’t tell Soldier Boy that Homelander was his son; that would be more interesting.

Two generations of father and son, fighting over the same woman—a grand drama was about to unfold.

He was definitely going to bring a bucket of popcorn to watch the show.

Didn’t Homelander love pulling petty tricks?

Give him a little shock from his daddy!

Lucas brought Soldier Boy back to Vought.

This incident caused quite a stir in the upper echelons of Vought.

Edgar sighed.

What else could he do? Just coax him along!

"Guardian, do you mean to say that after we sold Soldier Boy to the Russians, he developed a new ability that can wipe out a Supe’s powers?"

"Yes!"

"Don’t you think this will cause trouble if Homelander finds out?"

"Him? Should he take a punch from me to test his fortune?" Lucas looked completely indifferent.

"Even ignoring Homelander, Soldier Boy returning to The Seven? Isn’t that a bit too childish?" Edgar said.

"A few days ago, Soldier Boy just gave the public a big show on the streets, and you’re recruiting him now?"

Lucas waved his hand. "I didn’t recruit him, you did, the brilliant Edgar!"

Edgar: "..."