The 99th floor of Vought International.
The CEO's office.
Stan Edgar stared expressionlessly at the screen in front of him.
Two starkly different sets of footage played on a loop on the screen.
Yet both pieces of intelligence pointed to the same conclusion.
One was high-definition footage transmitted from outer space by a spy satellite.
A black-haired man in black robes suddenly appeared in the center of the satellite's frame.
For dozens of hours afterward, he hovered silently in the deathly stillness of space, the enormous, blazing Sun behind him.
The other was footage a field agent had risked his life to record.
Homelander, Vought International's most perfect product, was following that man around like a lapdog.
Edgar tapped his index finger rhythmically against the smooth desktop.
He discarded his previous conjecture.
Inwardly, he formed a new conclusion, one both extraordinarily bold and certain.
Homelander had not found Soldier Boy.
Instead, he had found himself a new dad.
A monster who had appeared out of nowhere, powerful enough to survive in outer space.
"An out-of-control product, plus an unpredictable Pero..." A cold glint flashed through Edgar's eyes as he held Ashley's tablet.
The resident information displayed on the tablet bore none other than Pero's picture.
"Things have become more troublesome than anticipated."
He had long since resolved to purge Homelander, along with the entire concept of superheroes, from Vought International's business empire.
In his mind, Vought International was a pharmaceutical company, not an entertainment company made up of a bunch of agents and film crews, as it was now.
And now, that plan needed a little catalyst.
He picked up the internal phone on his desk and dialed a number.
"Bring every file on Soldier Boy to my office. Now."
After hanging up, Edgar picked up his personal phone and