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Let's set aside the skill points for now.
After his conversation with Alastair of the Church of the Collective, Kevin continued to meticulously plan and arrange things according to his original goals.
There was still no clue about the serum that could depower Supes, and Kevin temporarily held no hope for that.
On the other hand, Hughie's Superhero suit was ready, and he could begin his Superhero work at any time.
"Not bad."
At The Woods, Kevin looked at Hughie, who had changed into a tight-fitting suit, and nodded in satisfaction.
Hughie's combat suit was designed by Vought's image design department, with inspiration provided by Kevin.
Because tests had shown that Hughie could not only teleport his own bodily matter but also the bodily matter of others.
Therefore, Cardosa didn't need to clone Hughie's body tissue; by simply collecting enough hair, he could create a Hero uniform for Hughie.
Although it was unclear why Hughie couldn't teleport items like sweaters or silk, which were also made from biological hair, as long as he had clothes to prevent him from running around naked, it was fine.
It was better for Hughie to research his own abilities.
In any case, based on Hughie's abilities, the design department used hair tissue to create a unique suit just for Hughie.
Not only the outer uniform, but also the underwear was designed.
The overall style of the uniform looked somewhat similar to the 'Captain America version' of the Fantastic Four's uniform, but the color was black, and there was no numerical icon on the chest.
Although it was his first time wearing a Hero uniform, Hughie, after putting on the clothes, looked quite like a Superhero at first glance.
"It feels… a little strange…"
Hughie looked down at himself.
Although there wasn't much fabric on the uniform, and he was wearing underwear, the thought that everything on his body was made of other people's hair made Hughie feel very strange.
"At least it's better than running around naked. Alright, let's try it out and see if you can teleport with the clothes on."
After observing, Kevin said to Hughie.
Hughie composed himself, nodded, and then activated his ability.
With a peculiar soft sound, Hughie, along with his clothes, vanished from Kevin's sight.
Then, in the next second, Hughie's figure appeared in the corner of the room.
"Wow!"
Using his ability again, and being able to teleport with his clothes, Hughie finally let out an excited shout.
Previously, because every teleportation resulted in him being naked, Hughie didn't dare to use his ability in front of others.
This was true even in front of The Boys.
At most, he would use his ability to enjoy himself when he was alone.
Despite gaining Superpowers and becoming a designated Superhero, the use of his abilities had various restrictions. Even if Hughie didn't say it, he still felt a bit sad inside.
But now, dressed in his uniform, able to unleash his abilities without restraint, Hughie finally experienced the exhilaration of being a Superhero, of being a Supe.
This feeling was as refreshing as drinking a cold cola on a hot day!
"Very good. Now, let's decide on your Hero name. What do you want to call yourself?"
With his abilities and uniform sorted, the last question now was Hughie's name after his debut.
Perhaps because he had been thinking about it all these days, when Kevin asked, Hughie's answer almost blurted out:
"Blink! Uh… what do you think of that name?"
"…It feels like it clashes with someone else's name, and I think 'Wonder Boy' suits you better."
If Kevin remembered correctly, Hughie's name in the comics was Wonder Boy, and he had thought that under the influence of the world's will, Hughie would also choose such a name for himself.
But he didn't expect him to want to be called Blink.
Although blinking around certainly fit the name 'Blink', perhaps because he watched too much X-Men, whenever Blink was mentioned, Kevin would always think of the female mutant who had a minor role in 'Days of Future Past'.
It just… didn't feel quite right for Hughie.
"Wonder Boy… I guess that's not bad either?"
Hughie mumbled, hearing the name Kevin mentioned.
He did think his own name was better, but since it was a name given by Kevin, Hughie decided to respect the decision of his idol and boss.
"Then it's settled. From now on, you are Wonder Boy. This afternoon, I will have the public relations department issue a statement about your official debut, and then you can begin your Hero activities."
Having decided on Hughie's name, Kevin immediately began to plan Hughie's debut activities.
Not all new Heroes, like Annie, become members of The Seven upon their debut.
Most new Heroes are assigned to a certain city to act as local resident Heroes. Only after gaining enough fame and prestige do they decide whether to take on endorsements, commercial performances, or make movies and create music.
Or even directly become a candidate for The Seven.
Of course, most Supes do not have this qualification.
As a newcomer personally brought into the company by Kevin, Hughie should, in theory, receive good treatment.
But what Kevin wanted Hughie to do was to approach the Church of the Collective and become a pawn for him to infiltrate the Church of the Collective's interior.
So… Kevin decided to let him be an eighteen-line Hero first, to gain contact with the Church of the Collective.
Originally, within the group, because Hughie was brought in by Kevin, they had already prepared for extensive publicity for Hughie.
But Kevin didn't want Hughie to become too famous, which made the people in the group's publicity department very confused.
However, when the boss spoke, as subordinates, they had no choice but to listen.
And so, two days later, without anyone knowing, an unremarkable, low-profile Hero named Wonder Boy began his Hero activities.
And sure enough, on the third day of Hughie's Hero activities, someone from the Church of the Collective began to approach him.
Of course, that member of the Church of the Collective didn't immediately reveal their identity to Hughie; they were just tentatively making contact with Hughie.
If they hadn't constantly offered Hughie orange soda for no reason, Kevin probably wouldn't have noticed these guys.
"The Church of the Collective's actions are faster than expected…"
Kevin, who was constantly monitoring Hughie's progress and knew that the Church of the Collective had started to approach Hughie, felt a slight sinking feeling in his heart.
Although Hughie's current fame was not high, and his Hero activities were in a remote city with little profit, at first glance, it looked like he had offended someone and was exiled to that place.
But no matter what, he was a new Superhero.
He was a new Hero who had only joined Vought a few days ago.
As soon as he became a Hero, the Church of the Collective came running to try and recruit him. No matter how you look at it, they were extending their reach a bit too far.
This was openly competing with Vought for control over Supes.
Thinking of this, Kevin's impression of the Church of the Collective plummeted even further, and what surprised Kevin even more was that the Church of the Collective's 'ambition' did not stop there.
Just a few days after Alastair of the Church of the Collective and Kevin's talks broke down, Neuman called Kevin:
"Sir, someone from the Church of the Collective contacted me, saying they want to cooperate with Congress. What do you think…?"
After realizing they couldn't get the benefits they wanted from Kevin, Alastair, without hesitation, turned around and sought out Congress, which was openly opposed to Vought!
And he even found Neuman, who had always been at odds with Vought!
What this implied was self-evident.
"Don't worry about him for now. Just keep him stable. If necessary… you can act against him."
"…Alastair Adana?"
"Yes, you know what to do."
Kevin said coldly.
Perhaps because Kevin's attitude was too benevolent, Alastair thought Kevin was easy to talk to, which made him dare to freely communicate with various forces, attempting to give the Church of the Collective more power.
But in reality, Kevin had always disliked the Church of the Collective. His good attitude towards Alastair was only because the Church of the Collective was a good partner.
In dealing with Supe issues, Kevin needed the Church of the Collective, but that didn't mean he couldn't do without them.
Alastair Adana was becoming increasingly excessive. If Kevin let him go unchecked, who knew if he would eventually try to ride roughshod over him.
It would be better to simply find an opportunity for Neuman to silence him.
Let him return to his original fate.
...
"Wonder Boy?"
Hughie, who had just finished his Hero work and was about to have a drink at a bar to relax and report his recent situation to Butcher, heard someone call out his Hero name.
At first, when he was called that, Hughie was still a bit unaccustomed, but now, upon hearing the name, he immediately knew it was for him.
Yes, he was no longer an ordinary person; he was the Superhero Wonder Boy.
"You are…"
Hughie turned around and looked at the person who had called him.
This was a Black man, carrying a longbow on his back, with a quiver for arrows.
It was clear that he was also a Superhero.
"Eagleshaw, nice to meet you."
The Black Hero extended his hand to Hughie, and only then did Hughie remember that the other person was a Superhero also responsible for this city, named Eagleshaw.
Although they were Superheroes in the same city, Hughie hadn't had much interaction with Eagleshaw before this.
Let alone interaction, this was only their first time meeting.
Because their jurisdictions did not conflict, and their assigned areas were separated, they would have no interaction unless there was a joint operation.
Therefore, Hughie was curious why Eagleshaw had come to find him.
"I'm happy to meet you too… However, I don't recall us having a joint operation recently?"
During his few days at the group, Hughie had also learned some of Vought's 'insider information', and just like Annie, he quickly got used to everything in a few days.
And he fully understood the rules set by Vought.
Hughie looked at Eagleshaw with surprise. Eagleshaw sat next to him, ordered a drink from the bartender, and said to Hughie:
"No, we don't. I just happened to run into you here and thought, since we're colleagues, I'd come over and meet you."
"Oh, I see…"
"You seem a bit shy?"
Seeing Hughie's relieved expression, Eagleshaw asked curiously.
Hughie held his glass, thought for a moment, and replied:
"It's just… I'm not very used to talking to strangers who actively greet me."
"So you're not from the academy? What a coincidence, neither am I."
The Heroes within Vought were actually divided into factions.
They were the academy faction from Godolkin University and the freelance faction from unconventional backgrounds.
The representatives of the academy faction were self-explanatory: A-Train, Queen Maeve, The Deep, Translucent—anyone who graduated from Godolkin University counted.
The representatives of the freelance faction were Annie and Black Noir.
As for Homelander, he belonged to no faction.
He belonged only to Vought.
And Eagleshaw was clearly also a freelance, and now believed Hughie was a freelance just like him.
This was not difficult to distinguish, because any Superhero who did not graduate from Godolkin University belonged to the freelance faction.
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