"Watt Group is a pharmaceutical company, and these superheroes are the least valuable assets." Standing by the window of the office on the top floor of the psychiatric hospital, Shiller spoke to a woman sitting behind the desk.
"That's no reason for you to kill them at will. You will pay for it." The woman kept a poker face. She wore a uniform of the Watt Company, with a name tag on her chest that reads "Manager Madeline".
Shiller killed Storm in the psychiatric hospital. The moment Storm died, the Watt Company had already locked onto this location.
This mental hospital was a secret experimentation site. They couldn't use large-scale weapons for the attack, and could only send squads of superpower users. However, all those who came here vanished without a trace.
It seemed like a secret trap. The Watt Company, upon receiving the dreadful news of their demise, couldn't even discern from the last raw footage how they died.
The Watt Company initially planned to dispatch the Super Seven, but they were currently embroiled in trouble. An unknown group was continuously causing problems for the superheroes. The Invisible Man went missing, and with growing internal conflicts within the Super Seven, the Watt Company had to manage their issues first.
Until one day, in the final image captured before death by one of the members of the last super-powered team dispatched here, a man appeared who identified himself as "Dr. Rodriguez" and expressed a desire to talk with the Watt Company.
The footage was terrifying. This man, known as Dr. Rodriguez, dissected the body wearing the recording device with a scalpel while carrying on a conversation.
Madeline had heard this phrase from Shiller in the footage before. Shiller began his speech again, "Watt Company is a pharmaceutical company, and superheroes are the least valuable assets."
"There could have been better ways to utilize them. But now, see what you have done?"
"You've ended up with a cadre of super babies, feeding and caring for them, and even worrying about their moods and willingness to work."
"When one of them encounters heartbreak, you need to comfort them, mediate arguments between two of them, or even encourage whoever doesn't want to work…"
Turning around to face Madeline, Shiller said, "You fancy yourself their manager, their superior, yet in reality, you're no more than a nanny, dealing with all of their petty issues. Tell me, Madeline, are they worth it?"
Madeline's expression grew colder, but Shiller, smiling, walked up to her. The crisp sound of his leather shoes striking the floor echoed in Madeline's ear, reminiscent of the tolling of a clock in the Watt Building's executive offices.
Whenever Madeline stood there, she had a bird's-eye view of the bustling city, making her feel superior and having achieved accomplishments that many others couldn't in their lives. It's because she could order around these immensely powerful superheroes.
But Madeline also knew, her moments of tranquillity were short-lived. Soon, her phone would ring again, and the person on the other end would inform her of whatever mess their heroes had made, or tell her about a fistfight that broke out due to a disagreement between members of the Super Seven...
Meanwhile, Shiller's words echoed in Madeline's ears. "I know you're being monitored. Many more from the Watt Company's top ranks are listening to our conversation, but that doesn't matter, because I'm not here to shake your faith."
"It's not that I want you to join me. It's that I want to join you."
"Honestly, I'm sick and tired of these superheroes and the entire lot of you glorifying them. We both know this situation can't last. They're just test subjects, and they're demanding too much."
Through Madeline's earpiece, signals traveled thousands of miles, and a black man taking notes in a meeting room paused his writing.
"In maintaining the perfect superhero image, the company spends too much and gains too little. They become increasingly conceited and extreme, and such accidents keep plaguing us. If this doesn't change, you'll have major headaches in the future."
"The Watt Company is a pharmaceutical company, and they can produce as many of these test subjects as they need. They're merely expendable commodities. Why bother granting them so many human rights?"
"They should be kept incarcerated in experiment cabins, deployed when needed to work for you, and left to lie down otherwise."
"If someone fails to complete their tasks well, you can surely toss them into the incinerator and proceed with another expendable specimen. Isn't this the most cost-effective approach?"
"Oh, I get it, perhaps your drug is quite expensive, and it's not easy to cultivate powerful superheroes. But does it matter? Is the current Seven as perfect as your propaganda claims?"
"Since it's all manipulation and packaging anyway, does the strength of the material behind the packaging even matter? If they're weaker, they might be easier to control, or at least, they won't make much noise when thrown into the incinerator."
"Of course, you possess this kind of power. Those who refuse to let superheroes become weapons, simply cannot comprehend the contribution you're making to human civilization."
"I don't understand what you're talking about," Madeline said, standing still with a blank face. But the slight twitch in her eye revealed that even for someone who worked in such a company, Shiller's words were somewhat anti-human.
"Watt Company is a law-abiding corporation, and we always aim for human progression above all."
"Of course, for the advancement of the human race, the sacrifice of some test subjects is necessary, isn't it?" Shiller approached Madeline, standing very close to her, then he looked into her eyes and said,
"I know, I've killed a lot of such disposable items, but that's okay, I can compensate you with more, as long as you let me participate in this game, I'm willing to pay a high price for the ticket."
While speaking, Shiller magically came up with a fine test tube and waved it in front of Madeline. The cold light shone on her face through the tube, leaving a bright spot between her eyes.
"Infinite serum, a drug that can greatly extend the human lifespan, but will not grant any superpowers."
In the conference room, the black man knocked the tip of his pen on the table, making a "da" sound. Madeline in the room asked, "How can you prove it?"
"Can you guess how old I am?"
Madeline glanced at Shiller, thinking he must be in his thirties. She didn't speak, but signaled Shiller with her eyes. Shiller shook his head and said, "No, I was born in the year the Battle of Stalingrad started, and I've lived in East Berlin since the end of the war..."
"Perhaps my words alone are not enough evidence, but I can provide you with a spy list from the Soviet era, which has never been revealed in history. Vought Corporation can confirm its authenticity with the Central Intelligence Agency, to verify if the list I provide is correct."
Shiller walked back to his desk, took out some papers, and placed them in front of Madeline. Madeline was still staring at his eyes, and then she took the papers with her hand. She found that they were all filled with names and resumes.
Madeline put on a pair of glasses and scanned the content on the papers into the glasses, which then transferred to the Vought Corporation's headquarters conference room. The man with the pen, the leader overseeing everything, quickly began to investigate and confirm the information.
During this time, Shiller tapped the test tube in his hand, "I think, a globally renowned pharmaceutical company, how could it not have a research and development project team for the elixir of life?"
"You must have achieved some results, haven't you? But I think, the biggest difficulty of extending the human lifespan, is how to do it without side effects."
"Many of the superhumans you've created have longer lifespans, but in your eyes, having superpowers is actually a drawback, because they are completely uncontrollable."
"If this drug can't be used on you, then those you want to impress with the drug will not buy into it."
"I can provide a dose of the drug for you to research. Soon you would find out that it works. We will talk then."
When Madeline left, she took a vial of Infinite serum with her. Even as she walked out of the doors of the mental hospital, she was still amazed.
She wasn't expecting to get it this easily. She thought she would have to send the Super Seven to engage Shiller in a physical confrontation to force him to hand it over.
But such easy acquisition made her question the efficacy of the drug. However, Shiller was not worried because what he gave to Madeline was indeed the real Infinite serum.
It was something he'd asked for from Nick during his time in the Marvel World. Nick has managed to live since World War II because of this serum. When he asked Nick for it, he received 100 doses. It may seem like a lot, but in reality, it wasn't because the serum had to be continuously injected to prolong life.
Shiller wasn't concerned about the Vought Corporation deciphering the formula for the serum. The Infinite serum, also known as the SSS compound, has very complex origins. It was initially developed by Newton to prolong the life of the great seer Nostradamus. However, a severe side effect at the time was that although people could live, their brains would become senile.
Later, human scientists obtained part of the Infinite formula, and then developed a new version of the SSS compound that could slow down human aging indefinitely. The Winter Soldier was also injected with this compound, so like Captain America, he was also able to live forever.
But as previously mentioned, this drug needs to be injected continuously to maintain the state of immortality and rapid aging, leading to death, would occur once the injections ceased.
During his time in the Marvel World, Shiller had confirmed with Nick that without the content of the Infinite formula, it would be impossible to make this drug. Rather than calling it pharmacology, it is better classified as mysticism.
As expected, Shiller soon received an offer to join the Vought Corporation. But he knew that Vought Corporation did not sincerely want him to join. All they wanted was to get his secret of immortality from him and to develop a perfect elixir of life.
Vought Corporation confirmed that the drug was effective, and the outdated spy information provided by Shiller was all true, even containing details that the Cia didn't know about. They wanted to handle Shiller in the same way they dealt with superheroes, that is, first to win him over, and then to control him.
In this way, Shiller became the planning director of Vought Corporation's Superhero Management Department, half a level lower than Madeline.
While Madeline was responsible for all external and internal affairs of the Super Seven, Shiller's department was responsible for packaging or rather, faking.
Yes, this department was for weaving heroic stories for the Super Seven, effectively a complete office job without any direct contact with the superheroes. Perhaps this was the position Vought Corporation provided to guard against Shiller.
But that's fine. Rather than serving as a nanny to the superheroes taking care of their day-to-day needs, Shiller was better suited to being a director, or... a con artist.