The Boys: Season 1 - Harbinger Rising

Chapter 16: A Forbidden Truth

(With Season 3 coming out soon, I'm putting this story on active once more. I intend to write this, the sequel to Biohazard, and another story I've planned. College is going on well. I will use what time I have to write these three stories. I will also go over the chapters of Harbinger Rising to correct any mistakes I may have made.)

After being burned out, we had to withdraw to another place Frenchie and his allies knew to lay low. Vought was on our case real bad, and I knew it was a matter of time until they found us again unless we found a safe place where they could never find us. I knew one place the Merc web once used in the 70s to hand out contracts. It resides in the Bronx and hasn't been used since the arrangements went online. Its name varies between mercs, and aside from the base in Washington and the one we're using here in Manhattan, it was the safest place I knew.

In one room, M.M. went over what he and the others discovered during their investigation, while in another room, I was sitting on the sofa reading a book while our female friend was drawing on the floor nearby.

M.M.: "Samaritan's Embrace. Led by Ezekiel but bankrolled by Vought, has been shipping Compound V to 53 hospitals across the country since 1971 and gift wrapping it . . ."

M.M. sighs in annoyance as the female goes to grab more drawing utensils. I've repeatedly watched her draw the same thing for the past few minutes, I could tell it was a symbol of some kind, but since she can't speak or doesn't want to, I could only make educated guesses.

M.M.: "gift wrapping it as polio vaccine."

Butcher: "Are you telling me God's not reaching up the twat of American girls and blessing babies?"

M.M.: "Butcher, can you leave God out of this?"

Hughie: "H-Hold on, hold on. So, no hero was born? None of them? They're all just kids dosed with the blue shit. I mean, even. . ."

Butcher: "Even fucking Starlight."

The room remains silent for a minute. Hughie has been seeing a Supe named Starlight, a Seven member. He told me that she seemed like a nice girl who wanted to make an actual difference. A hero who WANTS to be a hero. That was a first for me.

Hughie: "Do you think-- do you think they know...what really happened to 'em?"

Me: (Loudly) "Doubt it."

Butcher: "What about Homelander?"

M.M.: "Homelander's a black hole. Never had any public records and never will. However, every single other Supe-- juiced-up lab rats."

Me: (Thinking) "Then he's a special case. If he's a black hole, then something was done to him differently than the other Supes. Whatever it was, it left him dangerously unstable and turned him into a ticking time bomb that could explode at any given time."

As I was thinking, our female accomplice goes for more paper and drawing utensils, once again disturbing the meeting, knocking some paper to the floor.

M.M.: "My God. I'm trying to give a tremendous fucking TED talk here, and this...Frenchie, can you control her, please?

Frenchie: "I do not 'control' her."

M.M: "Do you see what I'm dealing with here?"

She reenters the room I'm in and goes back to drawing the same symbol. I soon grow curious and put my book down to get a closer look. It was circular in design and showed what seemed to be four or five curved spikes facing upwards. As she was drawing, I grabbed a piece of paper for a closer look.

Me: "What does this mean to you?"

She stops drawing when Hughie enters the room.

Hughie: "Hey."