Allen stopped Harley from continuing to kick Love Sausage, although it wasn't necessary since he had resilience on par with the Seven, so Harley's kicks caused more psychological damage than physical.
Allen left the man, who could no longer proudly call himself "Love Sausage, and went to the end of the hallway.
As he approached, he heard Frenchie's confession followed by Lamplighter's regret. Allen remained silent and waited for them to finish before entering.
Inside, the atmosphere was heavy.
When he knocked, everyone became alert.
"It's me..."
Allen's voice brought relief to everyone except Lamplighter, who tensed up. Kenji used his powers to clear the door's blockade, and Allen entered. As he stepped in, Lamplighter's face turned pale upon recognizing him, despite having been mostly away, he was well aware of what was happening at Vought—the death of Translucent, the accusations against Homelander, the disappearance of Stan Edgar, and course, the "villain" who dared to breach Vought tower twice and kidnap Starlight.
Allen scanned the room; the emotional tension was palpable.
Harley entered behind Allen with her bat slung over her shoulder, chewing gum. Her demeanor contrasted sharply with the somber atmosphere, making everyone uncomfortable.
"Hey Daddy, there are lots of expensive things here~" she smiled, "Can I break them?~"
"No..."
"Ehh~" Harley hung from Allen's sword, "Just a little, and I promise I'll be a good girl for the rest of the day~... even a good girl at night... unless you'd prefer I be bad🖤~"
Allen raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to destroy this place?"
Harley could be chaotic but wasn't usually violent without reason.
"Of course!" Harley's eyes gleamed dangerously and murderously, "This place has caused you so many problems, it must be eradicated to its foundations!"
Everyone was stunned by the appearance of such a "peculiar" girl alongside Allen.
Butcher was the only one who managed to keep his composure. He approached Allen.
"Kid, how did it go?"
"All done Butcher... but there are problems outside..."
Butcher smiled and patted Allen on the back. The greatest uncertainty of this incursion was not whether they could find Lamplighter or subdue the staff, but the Supes.
Allen was able to take away Supes' powers?!
That news was something surreal that made everyone skeptical.
"This place is full of involuntary supes, not like the ones from Vought who grew up with superpowers and are accustomed to orgies, excesses, and indulging all their darkest secrets. Many here aren't even aware of what Vought did to them because of their mental issues."
There were the Supes like Homelander who always knew the truth about Vought and then there were the Supes like Annie who lied to them for many years.
Unfortunately, if Allen could not have taken away their powers... Their only fate would be death or confinement in government cells. There were murderers and criminals but also innocent civilians.
Butcher placed his hands on Allen's shoulders, "Will it work with him?"
If Allen could steal Homelander's powers, it was checkmate, end of story.
"I can..."
"...!"
Hughie, MM, Frenchie, Kenji, and Popclaw held their breath, Allen's assertion was so incredible they couldn't even breathe.
"However, only with one..."
The world where Charlotte's ability to snatch powers originated consisted of users with a single ability, so individuals like Homelander, with super strength, invulnerability, flight, laser eyes, super senses, and super speed. (In The Boys: Diabolical, Homelander demonstrated super speed), they are problematic.
The best scenario would be for Allen to snatch Homelander's invulnerability, after that, it's game over for him. However, no guarantee that will happen, as both his strength and laser eyes are powerful. Butcher listened to everything and nodded; he didn't expect it to be easy, yet Allen could weaken Homelander, and that was already incredible.
...
Allen and The Boys exited the place, Hughie was very curious about the girl holding Allen's hand affectionately as they left but decided not to ask.
On their way out, everyone was shocked as the traces of destruction caused by Allen were visible.
Butcher focused on the men and women lying on the ground, there were bodies of Vought personnel.—that was the work of the Supes, but instead, the Supes were just lying there, hurting, some moaning, some unconscious. There were some of Supes' corpses but they were killed by gunshots.
Looking at Allen, the expressions of all the Supes were filled with terror and panic, leaving the boys silently observing Allen, who simply shrugged—it was inevitable they would be scared after Allen arrived and left them powerless.
When they walked out the front door, CIA agents had already surrounded the place, with several special buses filled with agents.
Butcher frowned. This wasn't supposed to happen; it was a blitz operation.
It seemed that these agents were just for show since in the end, they did nothing, however, they managed to delay the information as long as possible. No electricity, no signal, and with roads were closed. All this was to prevent the Seven from finding out, but still, Stormfront and Golden Boy appeared.
Aizen – Stan Edgar...
Urahara – Ya~ I wouldn't be surprised if he has a tenth of the agents present under his power...
Tony – Then who reported this were the CIA agents themselves?
Thor – Bastards without honor
Superman – Now I see, and given that only Stormfront and Golden Boy, who have a close connection to Stan Edgar appeared, we can assume it was him.
Gilgamesh – Nothing less from half-breeds, capable of throwing their loyalty and morals away for a few gold coins.
Athena – A reckless move to bring so many agents that ultimately were useless, it would have been better to just have a small group who could guarantee their loyalty.
...
Allen whispered something in Harley's ear and she nodded but demanded a kiss in return. Allen agreed but only when she returned from her mission.
"I'll be waiting for it~," she said.
Harley disappeared from everyone's eyes but in reality, she became invisible and transformed into her doll form.
Harley – 'Hahaha this is fun!'
Harley flew into the sky while Rebecca chased her.
Rebecca – 'Wait you fool!'
Allen smiled and let Harley play with her new abilities.
For his part, he separated from the others and went to where the bodies of Stormfront and Golden Boy lay.
2B, Rebecca, and Artoria had explained to him in detail what had happened. Stormfront and Golden Boy had died, two of the Seven's supes.
Allen approached a group of agents trying to stop him, though they were scared.
Allen used his telekinesis to keep them in place.
"Gentlemen, there's no need to be afraid, I just need a moment."
Allen approached the corpse of Golden Boy, or what remained of him.
Artoria – 'I didn't hold back out of respect for his bravery...'
Allen smiled, 'You don't have to justify yourself, he came here of his own will intending to kill us...'
This was censored for Chat, it can only be said that less than half of Golden Boy remains.
Allen's eyes glowed...
[Skill Acquired: Thermonuclear Powers]
Allen already knew it but it's no surprise how strong Golden Boy was compared to someone like Lamplighter who has Pyrokinesis.
Allen moved away and headed to another location. There he found the body of Stormfront covered with a blanket, this time the agents didn't stop him and watched him cautiously.
"..." Allen observed the decapitated woman, he really had no interactions with her, so he felt nothing, not even disdain though he knew how unpleasant she was.
[Skill Acquired: Plasma Manipulation]
Allen was surprised to obtain Stormfront's power, he had thought it was electrokinesis but it was not so, her electrokinesis is a derivative of her real power.
"It makes sense..."
Allen had already suspected it but both Stormfront and Golden Boy had unique powers, otherwise, they wouldn't be so strong. Allen made the right decision and this time, he recovered the powers of both because they were valuable.
Felicia – Did it really work?
Kara – I thought you needed to enter a person's body to take their power
Rogue – It sounds creepy if you did that with what remained of Golden Boy.
"Don't worry..."
As usual, Allen can bend some rules as long as he is willing to use fragments, in this case, it cost him ten fragments to obtain the powers of both without needing to obey the rule of the ability.
Now Allen only needed to obtain the power of Lamplighter and he would be finished here.
...
"Allen!"
Starlight, Cate, and Kimiko ran toward him as soon as they saw him, they had been busy with some patients who took advantage of the chaos caused by Stormfront and Golden Boy to escape through the forest.
Kimiko found them and despite no longer having their main powers, some still had superhuman strength.
Cate threw herself into Allen's arms but Kimiko got in the way and Cate bumped into her back.
Kimiko didn't mind that Cate looked at her with murderous eyes. Kimiko proceeded to hug Allen tightly.
"Good job, girls, I understand there were unexpected problems but you managed them well."
Starlight, who was about to get jealous, also stopped and lowered her head. Allen patted Kimiko on the head and she understood and let him go.
Allen approached and hugged Annie. It took a minute before she spoke.
"In the end, it was Artoria and 2B who defeated Stormfront and Golden Boy... I didn't do much."
Allen lifted Annie's face and tapped her on the forehead.
"Do you have any idea who Stormfront was?" Allen teased the frown on Annie's face. "She was the first super, old enough to be your grandmother, she had her powers for many decades, it's incredible that you could fight against her and only end up with a few bruises."
Annie blushed and buried her face in Allen's chest, feeling better after his words.
Kimiko grabbed Allen's clothes, pointing to herself.
"I know Kimiko, Golden Boy was a walking nuclear bomb, there's no shame in not being able to defeat him," Allen lifted his hand and stroked her head, "Regardless of the outcome, all of you stood firm against two of the most powerful supes."
Kimiko smiled, and Allen looked at Cate who seemed down because she wasn't a fighter.
"Of course, if our Cate had wanted, with just a touch of her hand, the fight would have ended."
Cate blushed and smiled shyly, her powers were her curse, and she always regretted what she had done, but now she was a bit happy because without those powers she wouldn't have met Allen.
The four of them smiled, ignoring the onlookers.
Rick – *Burp* Look at him managing three women at the same time and half of the Chat can't even get a girlfriend Hahaha
McDragon – That was uncalled for :(
PercyJ – Hey, that was unnecessary :/
...
Allen returned to where Butcher, Hughie, and the others were. Soon, Susan Raynor, the deputy director of the CIA, approached with an astonished look.
The Seven had been one of the main problems for many people, the government wasn't stupid, they knew the supes were a bunch of degenerates and murderers, but it was dangerous to make any move against them. More than once, an official or politician mysteriously disappeared when they opposed Vought too much, and that's why many cases against Vought and valuable Supes were dismissed. However, on this day, two of the Seven fell, Raynor witnessed firsthand how a woman in armor finished off Golden Boy and also how a woman in a black dress decapitated Stormfront.
"Butcher, it looks like everything went well..." said Raynor in disbelief and a hint of panic about what was coming.
"Yeah, but it's dangerous, make everyone leave!" Butcher was annoyed that these CIA agents treated the place like a common crime scene.
"Don't worry, Homelander and the rest of the Seven are currently in an interview so we have some time."
Susan looked at Allen with a mix of fear and caution, she thought of the saying about using a dragon to kill a tiger. Could Allen Walker and his women be an even greater danger than Vought itself?
'Starlight, Cate Dunlap, Kimiko Miyashiro, the blonde woman in armor, the woman in the black gothic dress, the short girl with green hair, and now the girl with pink and blue pigtails... each one of them is quite powerful, especially those who killed Stormfront and Golden Boy... all of them revolve around Allen Walker...'
Initially, Raynor dismissed Allen's existence, she trusted that he was an ally and Butcher swore he wouldn't be an enemy, but now she couldn't shake a feeling of vulnerability being near him...
Allen noticed Raynor's gaze and smiled at her, Raynor's eyes widened as her fear seemed to dissipate, was she affected by some mind control?
"What are you doing?" Butcher growled impatiently at Raynor's silence.
"I'm sorry, we won't leave once we take the last one..."
Allen calmly intervened in the conversation, "I hope you're aware that many of them are civilians, I wouldn't like any trouble if they're treated unfairly."
Susan coughed, "Don't worry Mr. Walker, the civilians will be evaluated both mentally and physically, and once done, they will be returned to their homes."
Butcher raised an eyebrow as he noticed Raynor started addressing Allen respectfully.
Harley stuck out her tongue and clung closer to Allen.
Susan was annoyed at being underestimated by a girl, 'Girl, I'm married, I wasn't targeting Allen.'
If someone in the Chat heard Susan's thoughts, they would mock her, saying, "That didn't stop you from having an affair with Butcher!"
Gwen – Wow, that woman is shameless, she clearly was afraid of Allen a minute ago and now seems to want to call him young master!
MJ – Well well, that's how public servants are, they know how to flatter important people... still, she is unpleasant...
Tearju – Don't be so harsh on her, she's just doing her job...
Carol – Bootlicking isn't a decent job hahaha
Maria Hill – Oh my god, the sky is falling, Carol just made a joke!
Emma Frost – Objectively that woman didn't do anything wrong but wants to rip her head off...
Felicia - Don't worry, girls, she is one of Victoria Newman's victims... unless Allen decides to avoid that fate she may be an unfaithful b*tch but she is an ally~
Allen coughed as he saw how the comments filled with criticisms towards Susan, however, Felicia's comment was right, Allen must deal with Victoria Newman before she feels like blowing everyone's heads off.
...
The CIA people left after finishing, leaving the processing of the bodies to the police, and the boys also left, however, one last event was about to occur.
Once away from Sage Grove Center, a car appeared in front of the vehicles where everyone was traveling. Allen decided to follow The Boys instead of going back directly to see what fate would follow in this world.
Grace Mallory, who previously held Susan Raynor's job and also was the founder of The Boys, got out of her car without hesitation.
"Where is he?!" she shouted with a broken voice.
Frenchie stood in front of Mallory, "He's over here, madam, but may I have a word?"
"Serge, I've been waiting for this day for five years, WHERE IS HE?!"
Frenchie opened the door of the SUV, and there was Lamplighter, handcuffed, unlike in the series The Boys, where he was forcibly subdued.
"You damned bastard!"
Mallory looked Lamplighter in the eyes, and all that pain and suffering returned to her.
Allen was about to get out of his vehicle when his spider-sense activated.
Leaving everyone including the Chat and Allen himself speechless, Mallory shot Lamplighter, not just shot him, she emptied the magazine on him.
"You're Bastard!!"
"Madame!"
"Grace!!"
Bullets pierced Lamplighter's body, broke bones, tore muscles, and penetrated organs.
It was all too sudden.
Normal bullets wouldn't do anything to Lamplighter, but these bullets were special, Mallory created them for the day she had Lamplighter in front of her.
Allen quickly got out of the car, this had taken a different turn, Mallory didn't let Lamplighter live.
'Maybe it was because of me...'
Allen's existence brought many changes, some more obvious than others.
You have to understand that Mallory and The Boys in the original timeline were desperate. Originally, Mallory let Lamplighter live so he could testify against Vought, it was her best option, but with Allen's existence and his girls, they didn't need to depend on Lamplighter's testimony.
Frenchie remained silent looking at Lamplighter's corpse, maybe it was his imagination but he could see him smile before dying.
Allen sighed, if anything characterizes this world, it's that expecting happy endings with villains evangelized is silly, it's a very raw and cruel world.
Butcher approached and supported her, "Grace, are you all right?"
"No, I feel horrible..."
Butcher frowned, Mallory had fulfilled her vengeance, but that didn't make her feel better because, in the end, her grandchildren were still dead, maybe she did Lamplighter a favor by killing him.
Mallory walked away from Butcher and staggered to her car.
Annie grabbed Allen's hand, and he watched Grace Mallory's frail figure.
"That day Lamplighter left a hole in Mallory's chest, she filled that hole with pain and covered it with resentment and hatred, now that she has fulfilled her revenge, that hole is empty again."
===
A/N: I thought it was unfair that Mallory didn't get revenge if they were going to kill Lamplighter in the next chapter anyway...
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