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Homelander was not deceived by Stormfront's words.
He stared at Stormfront, still suspecting that she wanted to usurp his position as leader of The Seven.
However, despite his lingering thoughts, Homelander was not as hostile towards Stormfront as he had been initially.
He closed his eyes slightly, adjusted his mood, then opened them again to look at Stormfront: "I don't need your help, nor anyone else's."
"Is that so? Including Kevin?"
"..."
Stormfront mentioned Kevin again, and Homelander's gaze turned gloomy once more.
Stormfront took two steps back, sat on the resting bed behind her, and said to Homelander: "Although I think you are excellent, and it's true, I have to say that, as it stands, Kevin is clearly doing better than you..."
"Don't look at me like you're about to explode. I'm telling the truth. While you were still focused on the position of leader of The Seven, he had already become Vought's CEO."
"From an unnoticed nobody to a famous idol, then to a Senior Vice President, and finally taking over Edgar's position to become Vought's true decision-maker."
"Controlling everything, and also controlling The Seven, and even trying to extend the power of Supes into the government. Kevin has always been moving forward, towards a certain goal."
"But you... are still just the leader of The Seven."
Stormfront looked at Homelander with a regretful gaze.
Homelander only wanted to be the leader of The Seven, but another member of The Seven kept moving forward, step by step, until he surpassed Homelander.
Compared to that Supe, who was excellent in both superpowers and other abilities, Homelander was indeed much inferior.
And this clearly hit on something Homelander was unwilling to face. His expression became even uglier, his facial muscles twitched slightly, and his breathing became somewhat rapid.
Seeing this, Stormfront stopped provoking him. She smiled again and said to Homelander: "Actually, you're not worse than him. The only thing you lack is the desire to be better, and I can help you, help you take care of everything."
"..."
Stormfront once again offered to help Homelander.
But this time, Homelander did not refuse as decisively.
He stared at Stormfront in silence, and after a while, turned and repeated: "I don't need anyone's help!"
He was about to leave after saying that.
Stormfront watched his retreating figure, leaning on the bed: "Alright, but if you change your mind, you can always come find me. My door is always open for you."
Amidst Stormfront's sincere voice, Homelander left, looking somewhat disheveled.
He could ruthlessly eliminate anyone who opposed him, but he couldn't do anything too extreme to those who clearly supported him, loved him, and stood by his side.
Homelander was starved for love and desperately wanted someone to love him.
And Stormfront, who unreservedly showed affection to any excellent Supe, was precisely Homelander's kryptonite.
It was fine when the two didn't understand each other, but now that they were communicating, and Stormfront showed her 'love' for Homelander, Homelander naturally couldn't continue to oppose Stormfront.
But that was the extent of it; getting him to cooperate with Stormfront would still take time.
At least until Kevin clearly showed signs of wanting to remove Homelander from his position as leader of The Seven, Homelander wouldn't truly align with Stormfront.
...
Kevin learned that Homelander had gone to see Stormfront that same night from Ashley's report.
Kevin wasn't surprised by this at all.
Homelander was not a very patient person to begin with, and Stormfront was provoking him so much now, even secretly manipulating online public opinion to build momentum for herself while he remained silent about the online rumors.
It would be strange if Homelander could endure it.
But what Kevin found strange was why there wasn't a clear conflict between the two.
Had they reached some kind of agreement?
Judging by Homelander's expression when he left, it didn't seem like it.
However, regardless, Stormfront's matter needed to be dealt with quickly. It would be a problem if Homelander truly ended up with Stormfront, just like in the original timeline.
After instructing Black Noir, a member of The Seven who used to be under Edgar and was now under Kevin, to monitor Stormfront and Homelander's situation, Kevin continued to focus on the research progress of the vaccine against Compound V.
Unlike Compound V, the research on a vaccine that could make Supes lose their powers was progressing slowly.
Cardosa had been doing his best recently to extract the key components of the drug and try to create a new type of vaccine, but ultimately, there were still no results.
Let alone results, he couldn't even produce a trial version.
For this, Kevin even specifically arranged for Vought's research team, but Vought's research team, along with Cardosa, also failed to research what Kevin wanted.
It was as if the effects of Compound V were simply irreversible; once superpowers were obtained, no drug could make a person lose them.
But while drugs couldn't do it, someone could.
"Soldier Boy..."
Kevin thought of the Supe who was still being held and researched in Russia, Homelander John's genetic father, and once Vought's perfect product.
Soldier Boy was once the leader of Vought's [Payback] and also the leader of the original hero team.
His position in Vought at that time was almost identical to Homelander's current position in Vought.
He was also adored by the public and Vought's most prized product.
The difference, however, was that Soldier Boy's glory only lasted a few years before he was betrayed by his teammates, captured by the Russian army, and subsequently subjected to decades of experiments by them.
During the long experiments, Soldier Boy, who originally had no special abilities beyond physical prowess and a shield, awakened a new power.
His body could emit massive explosions and radiation, and this radiation could make Supes lose their superpowers.
Although Supes who lost their powers could regain them after injecting Compound V, this was undoubtedly a trump card against Supes.
If a drug that could make Supes lose their powers couldn't be researched, Kevin might have no choice but to find a way to rescue Soldier Boy.
But Soldier Boy was very dangerous, and even harder to control than Homelander.
Homelander could at least be controlled with 'care,' but Soldier Boy was a staunch American supremacist, and Kevin couldn't find any means to control him.
Unless he got Cate at her peak to help.
"Russia has been researching him for so long, and they haven't found anything useful from him. It must be very difficult to extract a drug that makes Supes lose their powers from him..."
Kevin thought it over and decided it was better not to touch Soldier Boy for now.
Although the world view of The Boys is similar to other American dramas, routinely demonizing Russia, at least in the show, Russia's scientific research and military strength should not be weak.
And after researching Soldier Boy for so long, Russia hasn't produced similar Supes or anything that could make Supes lose their powers, which proves that they haven't made any progress in researching Soldier Boy.
Even those Russian scientists couldn't find anything useful from Soldier Boy, and Kevin didn't think that the current experts at Vought would be able to research the drug he wanted.
"Mr. Moskowitz? You seem... a little distracted? Are you perhaps dissatisfied with the banquet I arranged today?"
While Kevin was distracted, someone suddenly interjected.
Kevin looked up to see Alastair, the leader of The Collective Church, looking at him in surprise.
Only then did he come back to his senses, remembering that he had been invited by Alastair to attend their church's dinner party today.
Looking down at the steak in front of him, Kevin calmly picked up his knife and fork, smiling as he said to Alastair: "No, not at all. It's just... you know, as CEO now, I have a lot of work, and it's not as easy as it used to be."
This was to tell Alastair that his time was precious and that he should get to the point, otherwise Kevin wouldn't stay there any longer.
Alastair also laughed, apologizing: "That was my oversight. Alright then, sir, let's get straight to the point. As everyone knows, your group's Homelander seems to be facing a small problem recently."
"It's fine, everything is under control. But Mr. Adana, the things you're concerned about seem a bit too broad."
"Actually, I don't mean to focus on these things, but in this matter, one person seems overly conspicuous. You should know who it is, right?"
Alastair picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and leisurely said to Kevin.
With his right hand, Kevin cut along the grain of the steak, placing the medium-rare piece of beef into his mouth and chewing gently.
After chewing slowly for a while, he cut another piece of beef, while also saying to Alastair: "The matters of The Seven are not for outsiders to meddle in. If Mr. Adana came to see me today just to talk about these things, then I think... this conversation can end."
"My apologies, I overstepped, and I wasn't clear enough. In that case, I'll just say it directly."
Alastair apologized to Kevin again.
Unlike their first meeting, when Kevin was just a Senior Vice President, Alastair had the confidence to bargain with Kevin.
But now Kevin's position had reached a peak that Alastair could not currently touch; he could no longer speak to the other party with his previous casual tone.
By lowering his posture and showing enough respect, they could continue the conversation.
As the leader of The Collective Church, Alastair was Apprentice at knowing when to yield and when to assert himself.
He put down his wine glass, sat up straight, and seriously said to Kevin: "Stormfront, this 'veteran' character arranged into The Seven by Edgar, I believe she must be a headache for you."
"It's alright. At least for now, she's still behaving."
"Is that truly the case, sir? I think you should have investigated thoroughly. The incident where Homelander accidentally injured ordinary citizens, why has it been impossible to suppress it until now? It's all because of Stormfront, isn't it? She's trying to blow this matter up in a corner where none of us can see."
"Blowing it up is bad, very bad. The bigger this matter gets, the more Vought's interests will be damaged, and I believe you will also face a lot of accountability from Congress."
Alastair paused slightly here, as if organizing his words.
Kevin looked up at him, cooperating by asking: "So?"
Alastair then smiled and said: "If you wish, I can help you eliminate Stormfront, leaving a new position open in The Seven, where you can insert anyone you want."
"You should know that I will be leaving The Seven soon. At that time, this position will be taken over by someone else, so there's no need to eliminate Stormfront. I can still arrange whoever I want."
"But as long as Stormfront remains in The Seven, your arrangements will still face many restrictions. For example, if you want to arrange members in The Seven in the future, you won't be able to choose anyone other than Caucasians. This seems very unfavorable for the diversified development of The Seven."
"And it's very unfavorable for your future development of the Super-Hero Association."
At the end, Alastair brought up the Super Hero Association, which Kevin had mentioned in front of reporters.
And this was actually Alastair's true purpose in inviting Kevin to the banquet today.
He had also set his sights on the Super Hero Association, wanting a piece of the pie.
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