He Was Asian

Vought International headquarters.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of the top-floor conference room, New York blazed with light.

More than a dozen Vought International executives sat on either side of the long table.

Among them were members of the Board of Directors, military representatives, and department heads responsible for Superhero marketing, public relations, and political lobbying.

Two files filled the large screen at the end of the table.

On the left was Joanna.

Blond, she wore a blue combat suit whose preliminary design was complete, with a red cape draped behind her shoulders to evoke the American flag.

File designation: [Homelander]

On the right was Lin Mo.

He had black hair and dark eyes. In his file photo, his expression was calm and unsmiling, giving nothing away.

The file designation field, however, remained blank.

Stan Edgar sat at the center of the table, his hands clasped before him.

"There's been no dispute for some time about the plan to put Joanna in The Super Seven."

His voice was steady. "What we need to discuss now is Lin Mo."

A white board member across from him frowned.

"I don't think there's anything to discuss."

"Lin Mo isn't suited to join The Super Seven."

Edgar looked at him.

"Why?"

"His abilities are certainly sufficient."

The board member opened the file in front of him.

"According to the Research Center's assessments over the past few years, his strength, durability, and recovery speed exceed those of the vast majority of active Superheroes. He's a top-tier superhuman."

"But we don't select members of The Super Seven on strength alone."

"We have to consider public image, market acceptance, and whether the American public would embrace him as a national hero."

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Edgar's expression did not change. He remained as unruffled as ever.

Lin Mo had once wondered whether Edgar had taken Compound V himself and gained the superpower of never changing his expression.

"Let me put it more plainly."

The board member raised his head.

He glanced at Edgar before speaking slowly.

"He's Asian."

The air seemed to freeze.

Another executive, this one from marketing, immediately chimed in.

"The social climate in America is extremely sensitive right now."

"Economic competition with Japan, Asian immigration, and rising ethnic tensions in some regions could all affect how the public receives him."

"Joanna has already been chosen to lead The Super Seven. There's no need to add an Asian man who could spark political controversy."

Edgar looked at the speaker and drew a deep breath.

"So, in your view, Lin Mo's abilities, his upbringing, and his relationship with Joanna matter less than the color of his skin?"

"This isn't about skin color."

The man denied it at once.

A faint sneer appeared at the corner of Edgar's mouth.

"Of course."

"Whenever you talk about skin color, the first thing you say is that it isn't about skin color."

The atmosphere in the room grew even more strained.

An older board member at the head of the table tapped its surface.

"Edgar, watch your tone."

Edgar turned to him.

"What's wrong with my tone?"

"As a businessman, I'm looking at the company's interests as a whole."

"I'm not singling out any race."

The older board member's face darkened.

"Don't twist an ordinary business discussion into a racial issue because of your own identity."

At that, the room went completely silent.

Several executives who had been about to speak closed their mouths.

They all understood that the remark was no longer aimed solely at Lin Mo.

Edgar was Black.

Even though he had risen to the heart of Vought's leadership and oversaw its most important Superhero project, some still believed he did not belong in his position.

Edgar regarded the older board member in silence.

"My identity?"

His voice remained calm, but it was colder than before.

"I thought we were discussing Lin Mo."

"It seems some people object to more than just an Asian joining The Super Seven."

Anger flashed in the older board member's eyes.

"Are you accusing the Board of Directors of racial discrimination?"

"I'm only repeating what you just said."

Edgar leaned back slightly.

"Lin Mo is powerful enough."

"There's nothing wrong with his image."

"His intelligence, emotional control, and judgment in the field are better than those of most of the company's active Superheroes."

"Yet the one issue you keep raising is that he isn't white."

A public relations director hurried to smooth things over. "It's not that simple."

"The Super Seven represents America."

"We have to choose heroes whose image best matches the mainstream public's expectations."

Edgar cut him off.

"Aren't Asians American?"

"That's not what I said."

"Then what did you mean?"

The director opened his mouth but could not answer.

Edgar did not let him off the hook. His voice hardened as he continued.

"According to population statistics, the Asian community is growing rapidly."

"They have a higher average level of education and considerable spending power."

"Vought has long wanted to expand into Asian markets, yet you won't let an Asian join the company's most important hero team. You want their money, but you're worried about an Asian face appearing in The Seven."

"That's what you call business judgment?"

The head of marketing frowned and objected. "The Asian market and the American market are two different things."

"Besides, Lin Mo has no experience making public appearances. He hasn't even completed his hero-image training."

"He can be trained."

"His personality is too cold."

"That can be worked on, too."

"He has no attachment to the company."

At that, Edgar paused.

Then he looked toward Joanna's image on the screen and asked another question.

"Do you think Joanna has any attachment to the company?"

No one in the room answered.

They all knew the answer. Edgar's reports over the years had made it clear.

Joanna complied with Vought's arrangements because Lin Mo was by her side.

She agreed to train, film promotional videos, and learn heroic lines she did not understand for the same reason: Lin Mo would praise her afterward.

Vought could control Joanna not because the company meant so much to her, but because it controlled Lin Mo.

Edgar picked up the remote on the table and brought up their psychological evaluations.

"Eighteen years of research have established that Lin Mo is Joanna's only stable and irreplaceable emotional anchor."

"If Joanna joins The Super Seven as Homelander, she will demand that Lin Mo leave the Research Center with her."

"And then?"

"How do you intend to answer her?"

"We can refuse," a board member said coldly.

Edgar looked as though he had heard something so stupid he could barely keep from laughing.

"Refuse?"

"How exactly will you refuse her?"

The blunt question made more than a few faces in the room change.

Edgar collected himself and continued, "As she is now, she could destroy the entire underground Research Center in a minute."

"Once she's the leader of The Super Seven, with a public identity and a huge following, you plan to tell her Lin Mo has to stay in the lab?"

"Do you think she'll accept that?"

"Or do you think Vought's current security forces can separate them again?"