The Human, The Killer, and the Hero [Hero Killer x The Boys]

The Killer, part 2

"No way."

Ihwa stared down the man in front of her. He stared back, giving her an odd look. His name was Mother's Milk, and he was a founding member of The Boys. He didn't seem scared of her, but he was certainly on guard. Since he was working at a detention center, Ihwa couldn't blame him.

(Yet, Ihwa noticed the picture of his daughter. It's clear he wasn't heartless.)

Butcher himself was standing next to her, Hughie on her opposite side, trying not to sweat bullets. He was failing, of course.

The tension was thick, growing more so by the second. Ihwa kept staring, red eyes like daggers. Then, finally, Mother's Milk let out a deep sigh.

He held out a hand. "Fine. Nice to meet you... Hero Killer." He shook his head. "Great name."

("Says the guy called Mother's Milk," muttered Hughie.)

"No gift," Ihwa observed, her gaze intensifying. Yet another one. It seemed that lack of a gift was what made The Boys a unique type of vigilante group.

"Not with Vought's ass," M.M grunted.

"If everyone's gotten to know each other," Butcher interrupted, "we can get discussing that plan you were on about, Hero Killer."

And Ihwa nodded, clenching her fist. If Chaos was right... this would be interesting. Not just for her, but the Boys as well.

...

Despite it all, Ihwa knew not to doubt those who didn't have any power. In a way, they could be smarter than the gifted, using other means to make up for what they lacked. In the end, though, most of them could not match up to their gifted peers, akin to survival of the fittest. All the IQ and scholarships still couldn't match up to someone who could literally laser you in half.

And then there was Compound V. A substance that made the gifted stronger, and the normies gifted. In other words, a substance that could blur the lines.

The potential for a group like The Boys to get power... well, maybe not Hughie, but someone more like Butcher. What would happen to him if he got a hold of Compound V? He was already fairly dangerous just as a normie. A dangerous gift Ihwa could steal...

"Are you okay?" Hughie asked her.

They were sitting together, deep within The Boys' new stronghold, hidden under a pawn shop. The table was covered in plans and drugs and stained blood. Frenchie sat on the far end, near Mother's Milk. Butcher was closer to Hughie and Ihwa.

On the wall was a diluted screen, showing one of Vought's buildings. It was tense, lights flashing inside. Fire burned.

"Shut up," Ihwa told Hughie.

Hughie sighed. "Well, sorry for trying to be nice."

"If you kids are done fighting," Butcher snapped, "you gonna tell us your big plan, Hero Killer?"

Everyone in The Boys was staring at her now. Frenchie got up and leaned against the wall, fiddling with a cigarette lighter. M.M was sitting on his chair, almost nervous, almost furious. Butcher himself was calm and complacent, whereas Hughie had simply tilted his head.

"You don't believe me about Compound V," Hero Killer said.

Butcher turned to Hughie. He hunched closer into himself, almost like a turtle going into its shell.

"A Train," he said. "A Train was... going to get some of it. And..."

"He ran into your bird," Butcher said.

"Yeah," Hughie finished.

His expression was pained, but not as pathetic as before. He was more serious. Ihwa could've almost been proud of him.

Then, Butcher smiled, much to Ihwa's horror. The most evil-looking family man she'd ever laid eyes on.

"We all want the same thing," he said, arms around Ihwa and Hughie.

Frenchie and M.M did not look so interested. The former was shifting uncomfortably, and the latter was deepening his brow. They were more cautious, careful. They were the brains.

"Revenge or not," Ihwa said, "if we get the upper hand..."

"We get a leverage on them," M.M finished. "But you said this building is-"

KA-BOOM

And the video shattered.

"That's our signal, Boys," Butcher grinned.

...

The group ran in the dark, like a pack of wolves, a group of deadly predators.

Chaos had given Ihwa his card - this would allow her to access the hero database, surpassing security and allowing her to get a glimpse at the one who killed her sister.

Of course, Hughie had been there during their conversation, so he knew about it, too. However, it turned out this was a blessing in disguise since Hughie was somewhat of a tech wiz himself. He could help her locate her sister's killer for sure. She would kill them, then leave the normies behind.

In the meantime, the rest of The Boys would focus their attention on Compound V. Of course, Ihwa would get to that. But first, she needed information.

She and Hughie split off from the pack. They infiltrated from the other side, breezing through the shattered window. The chaos and screams meant the guards would safely ignore them for quite a while.

"Slow down," Hughie called out.

Man, travelling with normies was such a pain. Were they all this slow?

Ihwa reached out, grabbing Hughie's arm, dragging him up behind her. He yelped, his legs hitting the stairs.

"Hey!" he snapped. "You could've ripped my arm off!"

"Then keep up," Ihwa replied.

"Asshole," Hughie muttered.

She covered his mouth; a guard was walking by. Ihwa signalled Hughie to follow. They crept along the halls. She could feel him trembling from behind her. The poor guy, honestly.

BOOM!

Of course, another of Chaos' surprises... how many bombs had he planted? Not enough to truly annoy the Hero Clan.

The ground was roaring, the windows were shattered. The screaming was barely audible over the roar of flame.

Then, like a movie, the heroes showed up.

"Ihwa!" Hughie cried out, but she was already taking off.

Heroes. This was the prime opportunity. This was what she was waiting for. She would get ahold of another gift.

Then she nearly went blind.

The first thing she saw before darkness was a flash of brilliant, blinding gold. The first thing she thought was, I want that gift.

She slowly opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was the newest addition to the Seven, Starlight. She was holding out her arms, her golden cape flowing behind her.

Ihwa approached, cautiously.

"Stay back," Starlight held up her hands. "I know what you are."

"Starlight...?"

The question came from Hughie, who was peering over Ihwa's shoulder. Starlight hesitated, lowering her hands.

"Hughie?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"