After having beaten A-Train for a while—A-Train had been knocked unconscious twice, only to be woken up by Benjamin’s punches—he truly understood the feelings of Black Noir and the others from Payback.
Benjamin intended to leave, but suddenly realized something.
His cold eyes looked down condescendingly at A-Train, who lay on the ground.
As someone who had transmigrated and knew the situation well, Benjamin was very clear about his current circumstances.
He had just saved Robin, who would otherwise have been torn apart by A-Train, and had also taken the opportunity to beat up that drug addict who was under the influence of Compound V.
But this was New York, Vought International territory.
It was possible that the security cameras on the corners, or even the satellites passing overhead, had already recorded the scene that had just taken place.
Given Vought International’s intelligence network, especially that of its enigmatic CEO Stan Edgar, it was only a matter of time before they discovered his identity as Soldier Boy.
There could be some problems, such as Edgar sending numerous superpowered individuals or devising a plan to drug him, which would cause him to be frozen again before he could even contact Homelander.
Moreover, Benjamin couldn’t be sure if he would wake up again after being frozen.
Although Butcher might wake him, Benjamin didn’t want to interact with that man.
Since he couldn’t hide, he might as well turn the tables right now.
If he revealed his identity as Homelander’s “biological father” right now, considering Homelander’s twisted longing for family affection and his extremely unstable mental state…
Vought International’s top brass wouldn’t dare to act rashly.
This was his best way to break the deadlock.
Benjamin searched A-Train’s body.
He completely ignored A-Train’s fierce but cowardly glare, crouched down, and calmly pulled out a mobile phone.
“You…
cough cough…
who the hell are you?!”
A-Train held his broken ribs, coughing up blood while threatening him severely, trying to use the Vought International brand to intimidate his opponent,
“If you touch me, Vought International won’t let you get away!
Homelander…
Homelander will tear you apart!”
“Shut up, you coward who only knows how to hit women.
If you have the guts, why don’t you try hitting me?”
Benjamin looked at him coldly.
The fury contained in that gaze made A-Train feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, forcing him to swallow the second half of his threat.
A-Train didn’t dare to speak, let alone try to hit Benjamin.
Given this old man’s physical resistance, he would be the one who ended up injured or even killed by the impact.
Benjamin swiped his finger to unlock the phone screen.
Since facial recognition failed, he put the screen directly in front of A-Train’s face, which was covered in cold sweat.
With a “click,” the phone unlocked.
“Listen, you coward who hits women.”
Benjamin crouched down, grabbed A-Train by the neck, lifted him halfway up, and shouted:
“Now, find Homelander’s number in your contacts and call him.”
A-Train’s face contorted in pain, but under Benjamin’s fierce gaze, he tremblingly extended a finger and tapped the number on the screen, a number he normally wouldn’t dare to dial easily.
The call went through.
Benjamin grabbed the phone and pressed the speaker button.
“Beep—beep—”
After a few rings, a magnetic male voice, extremely arrogant and annoyed, came from the other end of the line:
“A-Train?
You’d better have something important.
I’m in the middle of shooting those damn promotional videos with the PR department.”
Benjamin straightened his body.
He spoke into the phone with a firm, old-fashioned voice:
“John.”
The breathing of the person on the other end of the line noticeably stopped for a fraction of a second.
In this world, very few people dared to call Homelander by his real name.
Even fewer with such a condescending tone, almost like an elder.
“I’m Benjamin.
Perhaps my other name is more familiar to you: Soldier Boy.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly.
At the curb, Hughie Campbell’s mind went blank.
Although he was an ordinary person, he had grown up reading superhero comics.
“Soldier Boy”?
The legendary hero who sacrificed himself to save a nuclear power plant in the eighties?
A-Train, on the ground, was completely stunned.
Enduring the unbearable pain, he looked up and stared at the man before him, dressed in a retro green jacket, with a physique as imposing as a mountain.
The old posters on the ground floor of Vought Tower that he remembered began to perfectly superimpose in his mind with the chiseled, cold, and indomitable face before him.
This face, like that of the readers, was perfect.
Holy shit!…
He’s Soldier Boy?
That legendary first-generation superhero?
But Benjamin’s next words were what truly detonated this nuclear bomb.
“The autumn of 1980,”
Benjamin’s voice was as calm as if he were recounting a trivial event from the past.
“I was called to Vought International, to that old bastard Vogelbaum’s laboratory.
It was a top-secret genetic experiment.”
On the other end of the line, there was a grave silence, only faint breathing could be heard.
“Then, I…
in a broken cup.”
Benjamin said:
“That lunatic Vogelbaum used those things to create a child.
In the spring of 1981, this child was born.
A male.”
“And that boy is you, John.”
Silence.
A suffocating silence.
At the top of Vought Tower, at the other end of the line, Homelander stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
His pupils trembled violently, and his mind went completely blank for a moment.
At first, Homelander didn’t want to believe it, but his sixth sense told him it was all true.
“Father,” “Life story,” “Test-tube baby”…
Benjamin ignored Homelander’s emotions, which were on the verge of collapse.
Regarding this cheap son.
He had no intention of engaging in any interaction related to “filial piety” at that moment.
Because the goal had already been achieved.
In the series, that’s exactly what Soldier Boy said.
And Homelander naturally believed it.
Of course, after Soldier Boy finished speaking, he consulted some secret files.
What bothered Benjamin a little was that at this moment they were in the first season, and Homelander, being controlled by Madelyn Stillwell, didn’t yet have that ability.
But it didn’t matter; sowing the seed of doubt was enough.
And Benjamin didn’t mind waiting until Homelander took power.
He completely ignored the terrified and horrified expressions of Hughie Campbell and Robin.
He also ignored A-Train, who was completely dumbfounded and questioning his life on the ground.
Benjamin said coldly into the phone: “Take my words to Vought International and to that damn Stan Edgar who thinks he can control everything.”
“I’m back.”
“Click.”
Benjamin hung up the phone and prepared to leave.
“Soldier Boy…”
Hughie called out to stop Benjamin.
Benjamin turned his head and examined the protagonist of The Boys.
“What?”
“Thank you, thank you for saving Robin.”
“Next time, stay away from that damn curb.
There isn’t a single Super with Super-Speed who knows how to brake in time.”