V. G. D. Global Defense Base, late at night.
The huge alloy gate slowly slid open to both sides, making a dull hydraulic sound.
Homelander stepped into the command center.
"Welcome home, sir."
Steve·Rogers stood in front of the podium, his posture as tall as a pine tree.
"Don't do this, Steve"
Homelander took off his gloves, threw them on the table, and showed a relaxed smile.
"It seems like you're adapting well." Homelander walked over and patted the World War II veteran on the shoulder. His familiar gesture was like meeting an old friend again.
"It's better than I imagined." Steve looked back at the students who were still sweating on the night training ground, with soft eyes. "There are not so many intrigues here, and there are not so many lies that 'must be concealed for safety'. These kids... they are very pure."
"They regard you as their idol." Homelander said with a smile, "I asked Ashley to do an internal poll, and your support rate among the students is almost catching up with mine."
"All they need is a direction." Steve looked at Homelander solemnly, "Thank you, Anthony, for giving me and giving them a home."
Homelander responded with a smile, "As long as you keep it safe, it will always be your home."
"Okay, let's go and rest early, captain. I still have some personal matters to deal with."
50 meters underground, Cyberdyne T-850 production line.
The elevator dropped rapidly, the temperature in the air began to drop, and a cold smell of engine oil and metal hit your face.
The elevator door opens.
What appears in front of you is a huge underground factory.
Countless robotic arms were waving in the air, sparks flying. On the conveyor belt, silver-white metal skeletons were being assembled and welded.
This is Homelander's private arsenal.
"Welcome back, Mr. Starr."
An emotionless synthesized voice echoed in the empty factory building.
"How's the progress?"
Homelander stopped in front of a machine that was performing skin lamination.
The metal skeleton was soaked in a pink biological solution, and active skin tissue was growing rapidly, covering the cold metal.
Their appearance is no different from ordinary people, and they even have the function of mating for better penetration.
"The T-850 production line has been fully rolled out." Skynet reported, "According to your instructions, the appearance parameters of each machine have been randomized. Race, age, and body shape completely simulate the human social distribution model. There are no two machines with the same appearance."
"Very good." Homelander nodded, "Where's the progress?"
"Currently, 51 finished products have been rolled off the production line. Each machine has been loaded with tactical modules, language modules and human behavior learning programs."
"Ahem..."
The sound of high heels behind him interrupted the conversation.
Ashley walked quickly with her tablet in her arms, her expression solemn. This strong woman Vought rarely shows this expression unless the matter is really big.
"Sir, we need to talk about money." Ashley said nothing and directly projected a financial statement into the air through a holographic image.
She pointed to the red curve.
"The cost of a single T-850, including the super alloy skeleton, dual hydrogen battery core and the expensive set of simulated skin culture materials, is as high as 10.2 million US dollars."
"If we operate at full power, in one year..." Ashley paused for a while, with a serious tone, "...37 billion US dollars will be burned."
Homelander raised his eyebrows. "Vought can't afford it?"
"It's affordable." Ashley looked directly into Homelander's eyes, "But this is pure cash flow expenditure. There is no repayment and no profit. This will seriously squeeze our budget in media, movies and other fields. If this continues, the financial report will be ugly and affect the operation of our other businesses."
Homelander was silent for a moment.
"That makes sense."
He suddenly called the Snap, turned around and gave instructions to Skynet.
"Skynet, adjust the production plan."
"T-850 regular model, produce another 3,000 units, then stop the production line and enter maintenance mode."
"3000 units?" Skynet's data stream flashed, "I need to remind you that this number is not enough to launch a full-scale war against the world."
"Have I ever said that I would launch a total war?" Homelander rolled his eyes, "Even if I want to rule, war is the lowest method."
"Deploy 50 units to serve as Vought Headquarters's internal security and guard underground facilities." Homelander continued to order, "As for the rest..."
"Scatter them all out and make them human."
"Let them become traders of Wall Street, interns of Capitol Hill, engineers of Silicon Valley, or even directors of CNN."
"Let them penetrate every corner of the world."
The voice of Skynet sounded at the right time, "Mr. Starr, to achieve perfect penetration, I need to access the global Internet to forge the human identity resume, social security records and past traces of these organisms."
Ashley's face changed. "Sir, this... allows an artificial intelligence to connect to the Internet? Will it launch a nuclear bomb?!"
"It won't." Homelander didn't hesitate at all. He still believed in the quality of the system. Besides, a nuclear bomb couldn't kill him.
"Authorization passed."
"Connecting... identity generation... penetration protocol started." Skynet's data stream flashed across the screen crazily.
"One more thing."
Homelander walked towards an independent isolation room in the factory.
"Is that 'special customized model' ready?"
"It was offline ten days ago." Skynet replied, "The model is completely based on the data you provided. The skeleton is cast by Vibranium. It is also equipped with more advanced combat modules and tactical algorithms."
The door to the isolation room slowly opened.
The white air-conditioning dispersed.
A naked man stood inside.
He has an angular and stern face.
If Steve·Rogers were here, he would definitely recognize this face.
Brock·Rumlow.
S.H.I.E.L.D. The captain of the rapid response special forces, also known as Crossbones.
But this is not Rumlow.
This is a T-850.
"Model Vibranium, the cost... I won't ask, it must be an astronomical figure." Homelander looked at this masterpiece and nodded with satisfaction.
He reached out and patted "Rumlow" on the shoulder.
"Wake up."
The originally dim eyes suddenly lit up with red light, and then quickly disappeared, turning into brown pupils that were no different from those of humans.
It turned its head, looked at Homelander, and lowered its head slightly.
"Commander." T-850's voice is exactly the same as Rumlow himself, and even the gangsterism is perfectly imitated.
"From today on, you are Brock·Rumlow."
Homelander's voice echoed in the empty factory, with an eerie chill.
"Go find the original. End him. Replace him."