"This is Sage Grove Psychiatric Hospital. You can also call it Sage Grove."
After getting out of the car, Stormfront curled her lip in disgust and clicked her tongue twice. "Same old tricks. Do you remember how many of these labs you've built, Edgar?"
Edgar gestured for her to follow. "This way. There are 137 labs of various levels scattered around the world. I remember the name, research project, and current progress of every one of them."
"That's my job, and I've always done it well."
"Yes, well enough to let a Black man take charge..."
"Ms. Vought!"
Edgar cut her off. "Careful of that door. There's a test subject inside, brought in by Maeve just this morning. The drug is almost out of his system."
Stormfront asked curiously, "What's his superpower?"
"A toxin release ability that suppresses genes. It can effectively inhibit the active factors in the Compound V inside another person's body."
After a pause, Edgar added, "It works through skin contact or by dispersing the toxin into the air, but its effects aren't permanent. And the stronger someone's Steel Body is—like Maeve's, or yours—the less effective it becomes."
"Useless power!"
Stormfront's interest waned.
She waved away the increasingly strong smell of chemicals in the air and impatiently urged him on. "Where are the people you prepared?"
"We're here."
Edgar opened the door and Stormfront followed him inside.
Aside from three researchers, there was someone in the room whose presence took Stormfront completely by surprise.
"Lamplighter? Didn't you leave the team... Oh, I see..."
Stormfront smiled as she looked over Lamplighter's work clothes. "So retirement just meant changing outfits and getting sent here to do grunt work."
"Please spare us your sharp commentary, Ms. Vought."
Edgar stopped Stormfront's blunt mockery, then gave the order. "Let's begin."
At his command, the lead researcher, dressed in a sterile lab suit, immediately nodded. "Yes, Mr. Edgar."
"Following your instructions, we've prepared five live subjects. This is the first..."
As he spoke, the other two researchers worked together to roll out a coffin-like upright device from the isolation chamber at the back of the lab.
The man inside was restrained behind thick, high-strength transparent glass, his eyes closed and his consciousness deeply suppressed.
Yet his skin was tinged with a faint flush from the stress response, and the muscles in his limbs were taut. Even unconscious, his body remained poised to burst into a sprint at any moment.
The lead researcher stepped forward and brought up a floating data panel, then reported calmly, "Subject number: G-73. His ability is classified as a single speed-specialized superhuman ability. He has no enhanced physique, energy attack, or Self-Healing ability."
"After testing him with Temp V24, his speed threshold increased, but..."
Just as the lab staff were presenting their findings in a calm and orderly manner, Edgar's phone rang. He carried it with him to receive calls about important matters only.
He nodded calmly. "Continue explaining things to Ms. Vought."
Then he walked off to answer the call.
But after hearing only a few words, the calm composure on his face vanished.
"Why am I only hearing about this now?!"
"Sir."
"We have no authority to investigate Top Secret Lab No. 1. We followed the usual procedure and conducted a security patrol every two hours. It wasn't until the team on duty arrived just now that we confirmed..."
The security guard's voice began to tremble over the phone. "Not a single researcher, guard, or caretaker at the facility survived."
"Their deaths... were... absolutely horrific!"
"Did you find..."
Edgar was about to ask whether they had discovered who destroyed the lab, but the answer had already surfaced in his mind.
Homelander!
When the security guard confirmed his suspicion, the atmosphere around Edgar immediately grew colder, dropping straight to freezing.
Did he regret it?
Yes, Edgar regretted it.
But it wasn't the slaughtered secret lab that he regretted.
It was that he shouldn't have dangled a piece of succulent meat in front of a beast that had been starving for decades and that no one could control.
He'd made the wrong move by stirring up trouble between them!
He should have been on guard from the moment Homelander killed Madelyn and then challenged his authority. The beast, caged for half his life, had already been on the verge of breaking free.
Yet he'd ignored that warning sign. He'd even been so arrogant as to think he could keep wearing down the beast's fangs with political maneuvering and a grasp of human nature.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
A chill spread through Edgar's heart.
"This beast has snapped two chains with his own hands..."
Madelyn!
She had been tenderness, indulgence, a false intimacy, the dependence he had yearned for all his life, and the only emotional connection he had left.
The lab!
It was his origin, his mother, the place that had shaped him, the shackle he should never have been able to escape, and the anchor that defined his humanity.
"What does he have left now?"
Edgar had always believed in working behind the scenes. He was exceptionally good at making others do his dirty work, creating crises, and then reaping the rewards. Now he suddenly realized—
Homelander had only Ryan!
Perhaps he had half of Edgar, too!
Clara Vought couldn't replace Madelyn. She might even have the opposite effect.
So the plan had to be stopped at once...
From the moment he received the call, it had taken Edgar only a moment to work through the implications.
And his execution was every bit as good as his judgment.
But just as he prepared to go back and call it off, his gaze quietly fell on Stormfront.
A strange look appeared in his eyes.
Why call it off?
The original plan had been to keep Ryan and Homelander apart, leaving Stormfront enough of an opening to make her move.
But things had taken an unexpected turn. In trying to outsmart Homelander, Edgar had pushed him one step closer to complete madness.
Fortunately, he'd come to his senses in time.
It wasn't too late to mend the damage.
The plan would stay the same, but the outcome—and its ultimate purpose—would change.
Edgar looked at Stormfront with a darker expression. Ryan had to stay by Homelander's side.
The false symbols from the past had already proven they couldn't restrain a beast that had been starving for so long.
Because what was false would always be false.
But what about the bloodline that represented something real?
Even a god among men could still be controlled by humans if he had a weakness.
"Edgar, are you sure those losers can cause that kid any trouble?"
Stormfront turned to him, thoroughly dissatisfied. "That's his son! And have you confirmed what powers he inherited?"
"Ms. Vought, I think you should have a little more faith in me."
Edgar had already hidden his strange expression. He walked back as if nothing had happened, then explained further. "We have to wait until Homelander is present to get information on Ryan's abilities. Otherwise, if he throws a tantrum, I won't be able to calm him down."
"You told me he flew off."
"So I don't know where he went, but my people have been keeping an eye on the company."
At this, Edgar chuckled. "When he gets back, he'll receive my request. And I guarantee he'll agree to both of my perfectly reasonable demands."
"Are you satisfied, ma'am?"
Stormfront shrugged, her mood improving as well.
Finally, she said, "I've been thinking. Just to be safe, maybe that superhuman we saw when we came in could be useful too."
Before you continue