Chapter 27 Waiter, a Pepsi, please.
Lucas ignored Butcher’s attempts to sow discord.
Before draining them of all their value, he could not just kill them off willy-nilly.
For a Viltrumite to become stronger, aside from breaking through limits in life-or-death battles and natural aging, there was only the insurmountable chasm of bloodline.
The royal bloodline was naturally stronger than the ordinary Viltrum bloodline.
He had to climb... step... by step... to the very top!
He wanted to be the Ancestor!
"Butcher, I have a rough idea of your background."
Lucas slowly picked up Translucent’s corpse, a faint red glow flickering deep within his eyes.
Omega Beams.
He vaporized Translucent’s head on the spot.
It served as a warning to Butcher.
"You hate Homelander and want to kill him; that’s none of my business, but you’d best not do anything unnecessary."
"My abilities are not as restricted as Homelander’s."
Lucas flew off directly.
Leaving The Boys shivering in place.
"Damn it! Butcher, what kind of guy did you provoke?"
Frenchie had been scared shitless, and after recovering, he began to curse loudly.
Mothers Milk also wore a look of relief, grateful to have survived.
A moment ago, he had been lifted up directly by Guardian, nearly slaughtered like a little chicken.
"Bah!" Butcher ignored his two companions’ complaints and turned to look at Hughie, grinning, "Scared back into your shell, kid? Welcome to the world of daddies!"
One minute later.
Lucas tossed Translucent’s corpse into the conference room.
Ashley jumped up on the spot, terrified.
"My mission is complete. If anyone doubts this isn’t Translucent, just run a full DNA test."
"Oh, man! You are simply my superman!" Homelander said, excitedly pressing down on Lucas’s shoulder.
He didn’t even glance at Translucent on the floor.
He knew that was indeed Translucent, not some corpse Lucas had randomly found to impersonate him.
[Key Character · Homelander — Satisfied, Dependent, Trusting]
[Evolution Points Gained: +3,120]
...
Current Evolution Points: 11,978 / 250,000
Just like that, it went up by three thousand!
Awesome!!
Homelander wanted to invite Lucas for a deep exchange to discuss the true meaning of a hero’s heart.
But Lucas wasn’t interested.
He vanished into the horizon like a shooting star.
Homelander watched Guardian fly away, told Ashley to file a report, and began muttering to Translucent’s corpse.
...
"Didn’t even get to eat that steak; might as well go back and sleep."
Lucas yawned.
His biological clock was ringing.
No, better head to the pier and grab some fries.
Just as Lucas was about to place an order, a message popped up on his phone.
[Starlight: Guardian, are you busy right now? Let’s go out and grab a bite to eat ( ´ ・ ω ・ ` )]
Starlight was asking him out for dinner?
Could there be a next step in the operation?
[Guardian: Sure, you pick the place.]
[Starlight: Ninth Avenue, there’s a 24-hour Greek restaurant.]
[Guardian: Uh, haven’t been there.]
[Starlight: Sent you the location! It’s easy to find!]
[Starlight: ヾ ( ≧ ▽ ≦ * ) o]
[Starlight: Hurry up! I’m already here!]
[Starlight: ( ｡ • ́ ︿ • ̀ ｡ ) It’s so awkward sitting here alone.]
Lucas looked at the emojis popping up one after another.
Well... that was kind of cute!
One minute.
Lucas used 3 seconds to travel there.
The remaining 57 seconds were spent searching for that damn Greek restaurant.
After circling a few times, he discovered that the restaurant’s sign had half a corner blown off by the wind.
The restaurant’s storefront wasn’t large, flanked by a laundromat and a tattoo parlor.
Beside a utility pole on the edge of the road, a few punks were leaning.
Unless they opened their mouths to show their teeth, others wouldn’t even notice two people were standing there.
However, the interior decor was quite a contrast to the street outside.
Wooden tables and chairs, with Greek landscape oil paintings hanging on the walls.
In the corner, an old-fashioned jukebox was playing jazz, the tune lazy and atmospheric.
Starlight sat by the window, looking listless and not very happy.
Clearly, when she was sending emojis earlier, she seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
Seeing him enter, Starlight waved immediately, forcing a smile onto her face.
Lucas picked up the menu.
It was all in Greek, damn it.
"I’ll order for you! Their roast lamb chops are especially delicious, and they have lasagna too. See which one you like."
"I don’t mind. Just order a few more things; I’m a bit hungry."
Although Viltrumites could endure hunger, they also liked to consume high-protein food occasionally.
It helped with recovering stamina and injuries.
Starlight ordered a whole table full of food in a flurry.
Roast lamb chops, salad, lasagna, pita bread with hummus, and fried calamari rings.
"And another order of fries."
"Oh, and a bottle of white wine."
Lucas glanced at her.
"Kids shouldn’t drink."
"I’m nineteen, I’m an adult!" Starlight insisted that the waiter serve the wine.
"Besides, I need a drink right now."
Seeing that Starlight was indeed in a bad state, Lucas didn’t stop her.
But it looked like he wouldn’t be sleeping peacefully tonight.
"I... I broke up with my boyfriend!" Starlight’s voice was low, and her expression was a bit dejected.
Oh, GG!
He had thought Starlight had some serious business, but it turned out to be her personal life.
"Uh, when did this happen?"
"A few days ago, but he came back to ask for reconciliation today, and I didn’t agree."
Starlight sniffled.
She recounted the whole story.
Lucas roughly understood the whole situation: Starlight’s boyfriend had previously seen the first half of the video from the conference room.
He mistakenly thought that Starlight had submitted to The Deep’s lascivious power in order to become famous.
He couldn’t stand being cuckolded, so he broke up with Starlight.
Then, Vought International released the full video, clarifying that Starlight hadn’t given herself away.
Her boyfriend then happily came back to talk about getting back together.
"Your boyfriend is Supersonic, right? Is he also a Supe?"
Starlight nodded, "Yes. I also discovered that he cheated on me."
Oh, double GG!
The openness of foreigners once again opened Lucas’s eyes.
To have such a beautiful girlfriend and still cheat, tsk!
"Well, congratulations on getting rid of a scumbag."
Lucas picked up his glass and took a sip.
He shook his head.
He couldn’t figure it out.
Was Supersonic an idiot?
"Thank you. You’re the best; you were willing to help me from the very beginning."
Starlight had no one left around her whom she could trust.
Ever since A-Train was exposed for drug use, as an internal member, Annie had learned about compound v.
Later, she asked Ashley, and Ashley, thinking Starlight was one of Guardian’s people, told her the secret of compound v.
She realized she wasn’t a natural-born Supe at all, but had been sold by her mother to Vought International as a test subject since childhood after signing an agreement.
The double betrayal by her family and boyfriend left Starlight with no one to confide in.
Then she thought of Guardian.
Lucas was currently devouring his food.
As he ate, he said, "To be honest, with your looks, the men who like you could line up from Brooklyn to Paris. Why pine for just one flower?"
"You’re abandoning one tree, but there’s an entire primeval forest out there!"
"Sorry, these fries are dry! Waiter, bring a bottle of cola, Pepsi!"
Starlight watched Guardian just focused on eating, devouring his food wolfishly, and felt her mood improve unconsciously.
She didn’t eat much; after finishing a bottle of white wine, she ordered a bottle of whiskey.
"Alcohol tastes terrible."