The press conference held by Vought ended in failure. It was unable to mitigate the immense damage caused by the initial incident, and it even caused larger losses through the sudden incident.
On top of that, their Compound V and "baby plan" were somehow exposed to the internet, pushing them further to the center of attention! And the wave caused by this information breach was countless times greater than the incident between Homelander and Thunderclap!
The shocking news sent the public into a frenzy. They had learned for the first time that superhumans were not born nor blessed by God as they had previously thought!
It turned out that superpowers were entirely artificial phenomena produced by the chemical called Compound V, which Vought International had mastered and kept secret for decades.
Vought International had kept Compound V secret and used it to conduct clandestine human experiments that produced Supes, who would later be recruited as superheroes to deceive the masses and bring profit!
Legally speaking, Vought had done nothing wrong up to this point. At the end of the day, Compound V was a technology developed by the company itself, and it had no obligation to reveal its secret or let people interfere with the way it used the technology.
But the people couldn't stand the feeling of having been deceived for so long. They had thought that the superheroes that they worshiped were saviors sent by God to save the people. They were horrified to discover that the superheroes were the result of a twisted scientific experiment made by humans.
To put it bluntly, the superheroes that they had adored turned out to be abominable mutants that no longer deserved to be called "humans."
Humanity was a fickle species. They would strive to protect species of dumb beasts that were weaker than them. Yet the moment that a species evolved to be stronger and more intelligent than humans, their first reaction would always be to destroy that species!
To give a comparison, despite the little progress humanity had made in the field of Artificial Intelligence, they already showed worries about true artificial intelligence destroying the dominance of the human species.
It was the same with superheroes. They had thought that superpowers had occurred naturally, some sort of divine gifts that a god or a being similar to it had given on a whim to select mortals. This mysterious and distant aspect contains untraceable randomness. Nobody knew whether their children would develop superpowers that someday would save humanity from danger!
However, the revelation of Compound V broke this beautiful fantasy. They couldn't accept that this reagent was all it takes to gain a superpower, and the people kept in the dark had no chance to become superhuman.
The testimony from the passengers that survived the flight only worsened the situation. They conveniently forgot about Thunderclap, whom they had cursed just moments ago and who had truly fulfilled the image of a superhero of justice that saved the people from danger.
They instead focused on Homelander, whom they thought used to be an ordinary person before gaining power through Compound V and becoming cruel towards the lives of others!
Jealousy, fear, or anger emerged in the hearts of countless people. They had lost all trust in the superheroes, even including Thunderclap, who had saved them. They no longer believed in Vought!
...
What happened after the secret about Compound V was revealed was predictable. The people all denounced Vought International! In the so-called country of freedom, it was the tradition for the people to take over the street when something this big occurred!
For the first time, people had overtaken the streets of the cities with signs that denounced Vought International and superhumans. Even the Vought Tower was surrounded by a mob of shouting, angry people.
Fortunately, or rather, as expected from one of the largest companies in the world that had a market value of over 100 billion USD, their security measures were unmatched. They even employed retired elite soldiers as security guards, complete with guns and live bullets. Nobody dared to step too close to the tower!
Of course, the public opinion wasn't entirely negative. There were many people who supported Vought International and called for the sales of Vought's Compound V as a product. After all, becoming a superhero was everyone's dream!
This support was too little too late, however. Madelyn was already maddened by the unending incidents. It was unbearable for her!
The government officials that called her not only asked about Compound V, but they also vaguely hinted at buying it! The military also asked to buy Compound V at a bulk price!
In different circumstances, this interest would've been a good thing. After all, if Compound V could become a popular commodity, Vought International would benefit greatly!
But none of them knew about the secret that stressed Madelyn out Compound V was actually a technology from the Second World War!
The technology was still immature back when they first obtained the technology. They needed a lot of time, manpower, and resources to progress to the point that they could create a super baby that grew up in their laboratory!
And this first true superhuman was Homelander, the most powerful superhuman! However, just as the doctor who created Homelander said, Homelander was a failed experiment: Homelander, who grew up in the laboratory, lacked any trace of humanity!
...
But there wasn't really that much progress in the research on Compound V itself afterward. They failed to use Compound V to give adult humans superpowers. In the worst case, the subject might immediately die!
They discovered that only babies with special characteristics could successfully develop superpowers after long-term injection of Compound V! Therefore, it was impossible to sell Compound V in the open market, no matter how much people would pay!
Vought International instead came up with a better idea to package superhuman children as superheroes and "sell" them as public figures!
Through a special method, Vought gained access to blood samples of babies born in hospitals to find babies that met the requirements.
Then, Vought International would contact the parents. If the parents agreed to sign a confidentiality document, Vought would then tell them about their children's potential to become a superhuman who could join Vought International as superheroes with thousands of fans!
What parents wouldn't want their children to be dazzling superstars? Vought International's offer was unbeatable! Thus, the Baby Plan launched with great and immediate results, and now there are more than 100,000 superhumans in the world!
...
The current mayhem was, of course, caused by Li Yue. He ordered Dummy to release information regarding Compound V and the Baby Plan under the Thunderclap name.
However, before Li Yue could be happy about his actions, his emotions crashed when he heard Dummy's voice!
"Sir, Miss Starlight is calling. Do you want to answer?"
Li Yue forgot that Starlight was also a product of the baby plan!