"In response to the attack that just took place, Vought has decided to launch a public survey. The question is simple: do you support the legalization of Compound V? We invite every citizen of the United States to take part. If support tops sixty percent, Vought will throw its full weight behind making Compound V legal."
Edgar straightened his back, face solemn. "If support falls below sixty percent, Vought will voluntarily halt all research and use of Compound V."
"The survey begins next Monday and runs for one week."
"Sorry to interrupt, sir. There's a comment asking what happens if Compound V doesn't get legalized. Will it affect people's daily lives?" A staffer standing in front of the conference-room screen fed Edgar the pre-prepared question.
"Of course." Edgar sat back down. "Picture this: a super-terrorist storms into a school and starts a massacre. Who protects those kids? The security guard? The teachers who can't even kill a chicken with their bare hands? Every second counts.
But if Compound V is legal, Vought can partner with the police for immediate rescue. At Homelander's speed he can reach any point on the American map in minutes.
Beyond that, the Department of Defense and other agencies will have their own supes. That is how you protect American lives."
"And if it doesn't get legalized?" the staffer followed up.
"No legalization means Vought has no authority to respond. Vought and every superhero under our banner get blacklisted."
Edgar's plan clicked into place inside Ivan's head like a well-oiled machine. Classic Vought CEO move. He'd clearly mapped the whole thing out in advance.
First stage a terrorist attack through Victoria at the hearing. Then go live and prove Vought had nothing to do with it. The casualty list even included Vought staff. If a sitting vice president like Ivan had died in the attack, it would have been perfect.
Since Ivan survived, the next best option was to pin the whole mess on Starlight and wash Vought's hands clean.
Then, while the public was still panicking, announce a survey to push Compound V legalization. Sixty percent support? With the current climate, forget sixty. Even a ridiculous ninety percent was possible.
The survey result was already written. In the end, even if the government didn't want to legalize Compound V, the pressure from the people would force the bill through. That was public opinion. Every citizen held a ballot in their hand. If the President still wanted another term, he had to respect the will of the voters.
"Thank you, Mr. Edgar, for answering that viewer's question. Here's another comment: does legalizing Compound V mean everyone can become a supe? Can regular people just walk into a hospital and get injected?"
The staffer nodded at Edgar.
"Hmm. Interesting question. Unfortunately Vought has no plans in that direction for the time being. Too many complicated social issues involved."
Half an hour later Edgar finally signaled for the livestream to end.
Once everyone else had left the conference room, Edgar kept only Ivan behind.
"You're in charge of next week's survey. I don't care what methods you use. Support must clear sixty percent. I'll speak to Finance myself, so budget won't be a problem. Starlight's seat needs filling. That plan you floated earlier works fine. As for A-Train, he still has some utility."
"You'll also handle his marketing push. If the workload feels too heavy, you can hand that part to Ashley."
"Give it to Ashley. I've still got the Little Superheroes selection event to run." Ivan's voice was low and steady.
"Fine."
Edgar was quite pleased with how cooperative Greevs was being. Lately the man's popularity had climbed a little too high for a manager's comfort.
...
A few days later the Superhero Selection Tournament officially kicked off at the New York Stadium. The place was packed wall to wall, every seat taken.
Meanwhile, in the lounge, Ivan flipped through the last few days' newspapers.
The U.S. government had promised the public it would spare no effort investigating the "accident" at the hearing, but four days had already passed with zero results.
They had lost the people's trust. Under the shadow of super-terrorists the public's sense of crisis kept growing heavier, and right now the only thing that still gave them any feeling of safety was Vought. Overnight the topic of legalizing Compound V shot to the top of every social media trending list.
On every street corner in America you could hear people arguing about Compound V.
Under the crushing weight of public pressure the President formally declared a national state of emergency. One single hearing had flipped every negative story about Vought into a spectacular reversal. On the stock market Vought's share price climbed in an unstoppable straight line.
"Mr. Greevs, here's the list of contestants and their powers."
The deputy head of Marketing pushed open the lounge door and handed Ivan a file.
"When does the tournament start?"
The man checked his watch. "Ten minutes."
"Got it. You can go."
Today was the grand final. It already carried plenty of attention on its own, and with Vought's recent media storm the heat around the event went nuclear. Hard to believe tickets priced at twenty dollars sold out in three minutes. On the secondary market they were already going for a hundred and twenty.
From tickets alone Vought pocketed 1.6 million, and that didn't even count the merch, which was the real money-maker. Tickets were nothing. A hundred-and-fifty-dollar Homelander T-shirt was pure profit. God only knew how much extra cash this tournament had poured into Vought's pockets.
"Yes, Mr. Greevs. Rest for now. I'll come get you when the event begins."
"Mm." Ivan opened the list of finalists.
Forty-eight contestants total, split into seven groups. Each group kept two for the finals, then six would be chosen from the remaining fourteen to form Vought's Little Seven.
Ivan skimmed the names. A few of the powers caught his eye.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69