When Kimiko Miyashiro woke up on a surgery table, she was not surprised.
Nor was she surprised when the doctors that surrounded her body completely ignored her regained consciousness and prepared their medical tools as if it was an ordinary surgery.
It was not.
This wasn't the white, sterile hospital room she was used to seeing on TV but rather a cesspit of disease. The walls were stained brown, streaked with patches of mould creeping into the corners. The floor was sticky in places, littered with discarded bandages, used gloves, and dried blood splatters that have not been properly cleaned.
There was a surveillance camera and four armed guards in the room as well as another four outside guarding the door not to mention the fact that her arms and legs were chained to the table.
"She is awake," One doctor said as he looked at her with disgust.
"Give her another dosage," Another doctor said. Kimiko recognizes that particular voice, it was Doctor Shichiro. The one who gave her that strange blue substance.
The one who turned her into a monster. She was fortunate enough to survive, the nine others were not
The doctor grabbed a syringe from the table, Kimiko numbly stared back as the doctor as he got closer. She didn't bother fighting, she had made three escape attempts so far and neither ended well for her. The first ended when she was mercilessly gunned down.
Doctor Shichiro poured acid down her throat as punishment.
He liked doing stuff like that all the time, he seemed to take pleasure in having a test subject that never died no matter how hard he tried. Shichiro would constantly come up with crazy experiments that were just aimed at breaking her.
'How much voltage can the monster take?' He'd ask to his bosses, and they'd entertain him but ask him not to take things too far.
And he'd always answer the same way, 'We can always make more, the brother is still around. He should be just as accepting to the substance as the girl.'
Her second and third escape attempts ended the same. The third one hurt the most, not because the punishments but because it was her own brother that got her caught. When she gouged out those soldiers' throats and offered her bloody hand to him, he ran not with her but from her and towards their kidnappers, the very same people who killed his parents.
That was when she knew that her brother was lost, she should have seen it coming had she been paying attention like a good older sister, but she was too occupied thinking about the next great escape and when she wasn't doing that, she was dreaming about how some hero will fly down here and carry them back home.
But it never happened, Homelander didn't fly down to save her like in the stories.
None of them did
Because the truth was that heroes weren't real, they were just monsters like her
'Last time they took one of my lungs out. I wonder what they'll take this time?' Kimiko darkly thought as drowsiness eventually took her. 'Kenji…'
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(POV: Stan Edgar)
Stan Edgar was a man of control. He maintained control of his emotions, his company, and his life, having every second from the moment he woke up to the moment he slept all scheduled and accounted for but sometimes that control can wane.
"You know, Freddie and I used to fuck here."
Case in point, the infuriating woman sitting in front of him.
"I'm afraid I have no interest in hearing about our founder's sex life," Stan said bluntly as he observed his surroundings
The cafe they resided in was dead silent and still, its wooden chairs neatly tucked beneath round marble-top tables, waiting for the morning rush. A dim golden glow spills from the hanging pendant lights, casting shadows across the polished floor. The scent of stale coffee lingers in the air, mingling with the faint aroma of rain drifting in through the slightly open door.
Through the large front window, the Eiffel Tower stands in the distance, its iron frame bathed in a soft golden shimmer, twinkling against the midnight sky. The streets are deserted except for the occasional passing car, its headlights briefly illuminating the cobblestone pavement. The only sound was the slow ticking of the clock on the wall.
"So, I heard you kicked Lamplighter out." Stormfront said with a coy smile.
Stan maintained his composure, "Lamplighter has been struggling to cope recently, and his performance has been getting lacklustre. I took no pleasure in kicking out someone who has been here since the Seven's founding, but the approval ratings speak for themselves."
Stormfront hummed as she took a sip from her drink, "Let me guess you already have someone ready to replace him."
She was right of course. The moment Lamplighter left the 99th floor Stan Edgar already had a list of candidates to replace him. Starlight was the most promising out of them and it wasn't hard to see why. A suburban, blond haired, god-fearing girl brought lots of marketing opportunities to the Seven. Unfortunately, it wasn't like they could just bring her onto the Seven immediately after getting rid of Lamplighter. It would seem like the company placed no value onto its Supes if they were to replace a founding member to quickly.
A year should do nicely, enough time for the public to forget about Lamplighter and move on to the next best thing.
"Despite what you might think Lamplighter is irreplaceable to Vought. Trying to find someone who can reach even half his potential is turning out to be an insurmountable challenge" Just because Stormfront was right doesn't mean Stan had to admit it and so with a straight face he lied.
Stormfront gave a knowing look, "Sure, whatever you say." She took another sip and sent a look to the untouched glass of wine that was right in front of him, "I noticed you haven't touched your glass. Rejecting my hospitality is just bad manners on your part."
Stan picked up his glass and twirled it, "For all I know this might be poisoned."
Stormfront gasped in shock, "You think I would do such a thing?" She sent a hurt look his way that did little to move his heart.
"Absolutely." Stan knew that if Stormfront had it her way he would have never been CEO. She was the reason his promotion had been delayed for so long. If he had blue eyes she would be jumping to put him in charge.
She let out a heartfelt chuckle, "You are right I would do that. Still, you are missing out, this wine was given to me by Oppenheimer, and I've been saving it for a special occasion." She looked outside towards the Eiffel Tower, "During the German occupation, Fredrick and I used to come here often during the occupation. It was always so cozy in the morning, and it offered the best view…."
Stan kept quite silent unsure of what to say in the moment, but Stormfront continued, "Whenever Freddy would get worn out with the meetings and the constant demands from the higher ups, he'd just take me to this café where we'd laugh, talk and cry until the sunset. For a moment we almost seemed like normal people until the next day came and Freddy went back." She traced her finger across the rims of the wine glass, "Once we gained a sizable wealth in America, we bought this place and planned to return."
She looked up with renewed light, "And then Freddy kicked the bucket before we could." She shrugged as she smiled to herself, "That guy, always leaving me hanging."
Stan would admit it was a touching story that would make anyone feel bad for her until you remembered that Stormfront was and still is an avid member of the Nazi party while Fredrick Vought used Jews as test subjects for compound V.
That soured the otherwise tragic love story.
"Why have you brought me here Klara. If you wanted to reminisce about the past and share drinks, I'm sure you could have done that without dragging me halfway across the world."
"I could dance around the issue like an ass but let's get straight to the point,".She leaned forward as she interlocked her fingers, "You've been keeping him from me, and I want to know why."
"Things are far too complicated to involve you," Stan said professionally.
Stormfront laughed when she heard that before instantly stopping and staring back with a glare, "Wrong answer, try again."
"He is already a mess, he's mental fragile and immature. It's a miracle that things have gone well so far but as it stands, I know that involving you will just make things worse. You'll enable the worst of him and make my life far more complicated"
"I can keep him under control." Stormfront countered as she grew more heated.
Stan wouldn't deny Stormfront's capacity to manipulate others to a concerning degree but that was exactly why he didn't want her anywhere near Homelander. She would have him spouting off her nazi rhetoric by the end of the year, even less if she really wanted to actually try especially considering how poorly she's hidden her lust for him.
John's particular… issues will make him too susceptible to her advances especially once he realizes she's an older woman.
"What do you know of Empire 88?" Once those words left his mouth Stan heightened his sense to their limit in search of any detail that would reveal her hand.
A slight twitch of the hand
Avoidance in eye contact
Shallow breathing
She frowned as she tilted her head, "I can't say I'm familiar with the term. I should I know it?" There was genuine curiosity in her voice as she stared directly at him.
She knew. There was no reality where the Nazi didn't know of a forming Nazi organisation, especially a supe led one. Stan knew she was involved; he knew of the close relationship she had with All-father, the group's suspected founder
"It's nothing, just a rumour I've been hearing. An organisation of Supes using their influence to spread their ideals of Superhuman-supremacy, can you believe such nonsense?"
The two shared a laugh with each other as they talked till the sun came up. They negotiated, they argued, and they told stories. This was common form for the two, having done this hundreds of times and will continue to do so till one killed the other.
They knew how this would end, but that was just how the game was played.
They shook hands with their right and sharpened knives with their left.
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This is a slower and shorter chapter meant to show what Stan had been up to while Homelander is busy cleaning house., and before anyone asks no this isn't a Worm crossover (but it kind of is in a way?) I just took the E88 because I felt like that is something that should exist in some form in The boys Universe and upon further thought, i realized that it would fit nicely into the story.
You'll find that I'm going to do this quite a lot with different characters and organizations from different pieces of fiction (Hint: Yuri isn't an original character) I detest OCs with all my heart and I hate fanfics with too many OCs.