This situation reminded her of the mutants in the Marvel universe. Those individuals who had gained superpowers through genetic mutation were similarly shunned by humanity. Many humans harbored intense hatred for mutants.
The most heinous offenders, without a doubt, were the factions that sought to control these superpowers and claim them for their own.
In the Marvel universe, countless groups continuously hunted mutants, subjecting them to inhumane experiments.
These factions didn't see mutants as equals. They treated them as freaks or animals, ruthlessly dissecting their bodies, destroying their spirits, and testing every chemical compound imaginable on them—all in an attempt to annihilate this emerging species.
And in The Boys universe, wasn't it much the same?
Here, the superhumans weren't born of genetic mutation but were created by Vought International through Compound V. However, precisely because of this, Vought's methods of experimentation were similarly appalling.
To Vought, all humans were mere lab rats. The superhumans they created weren't even considered "products" but tools for profit and power.
Even in their darkest hours, mutants in the Marvel universe had two leaders willing to stand up for them. Despite their ideological differences, both fought tirelessly for their species.
They united the mutants, working in their own ways to ensure the survival of their kind and striving to integrate into society.
But in The Boys universe, nearly all superhumans were scattered and disorganized. They couldn't distinguish between right and wrong, nor did they understand what their powers truly meant to them.
These superhumans were like driftwood in a storm, doing little more than keeping their heads down amid the chaos Vought created. They didn't even entertain the thought of resistance.
In the end, superhumans were still human, and Vought's greatest strength lay in exploiting humanity's weaknesses to brainwash and control these individuals for its benefit.
Vought divided superhumans into tiers. No matter the level of power, every superhuman grew up under Vought's influence, becoming a cog in their system.
While some superhumans indulged in luxury and debauchery in grand hotels, they couldn't care less about the others like them, suffering in dark cells in some remote corner of the world.
Or rather, even if they knew, what would it matter? If it didn't happen to them, they wouldn't care.
Sitting in front of the computer, Wanda was pulling up the files on all the superhumans in the facility.
There were 27 superhumans in total, 19 of whom were adults transformed using Compound V. However, the compound's instability in their genes meant they were at constant risk of sudden death.
The records showed that at its peak, this facility held 43 superhumans. However, many had died due to genetic instability.
The remaining individuals were mostly recent subjects, with the longest having been injected with Compound V less than two weeks ago. They were still in the observation phase.
Besides these individuals, there were also some highly dangerous superhumans. While their abilities had fully manifested, their control was unstable. If they escaped, they would undoubtedly cause catastrophic damage.
This, however, was precisely what Vought wanted. They kept these uncontrollable, destructive superhumans locked up, constantly torturing them to fuel their anger and nihilism.
When the time was right, Vought would release them into the world as "supervillains," creating chaos that the Seven could step in to resolve, bolstering their image.
Initially, this had been Vought's plan.
But they hadn't anticipated Homelander secretly distributing Compound V to terrorists worldwide to earn Madelyn's praise. This led to the emergence of superpowered terrorists, forcing Vought to redirect its efforts to dealing with these threats along the borders.
As a result, the superhumans originally intended to serve as supervillains remained confined here.
Wanda was done looking up bios, she stood up, preparing to leave.
At that moment, the door behind her suddenly unlocked and slammed open. A moment later, the sound of a lighter flicking reached wanda's ears.
"who's there!!,come out or I'll melt your face"! a low voice growled.
Lamplighter saw the two guards strangely frozen in place when he returned.
He immediately assumed this was the handy work of a super powered criminal.
After knowing this, he confidently barged in, intending to apprehend the intruder.
Being a former member of the seven has inflated his ego to such extent that he even ignored basic precautions. Him barging in without knowing his enemy could cost him everything.
Wanda waved her hand, a cold gust of mist drifted towards lamplighter. Startled, before he could even fire his power he was turned into a popsicle.
He was frozen to the bone. As for why she didn't obliterate him instead, his face resembles the mutant Iceman but his power was fire, she wanted to correct it on her own way.
She has already collected all the information she needed, now it was time to initiate the next step.
_______
Late at night, at the Port Llf New York.
The newly recruited Starlight was once again standing alongside The Deep. According to Vought's intelligence, criminals were about to appear here.
Feeling the evening breeze against her face, Starlight didn't hide her disgust for The Deep. She didn't even spare him a second glance.
The Deep noticed her expression and smiled, shaking his head.
"You're not still thinking about what happened before, are you? Please, that wasn't even a proper date. Besides, you said you admired me, so it was a perfectly normal thing."
"Shut up!" Starlight angrily turned her head. "You forced me into it, and I asked around—you're not even second-in-command, not even third! No one cares about you. You're just a useless man who can talk to fish."
The Deep's expression froze for a moment, a bit of awkwardness showing.
No one knew better than him the reality of his situation. The Seven had only allowed him to join because they wanted a "sea, land, and air" team.
There were many water-based superhumans, but none could breathe underwater like him and communicate with marine life, with surveillance spread across the ocean.
In a way, The Deep did play a role, but in reality, only The Deep knew that Vought valued him because of the traffic he brought. Compared to the powerful abilities of others, he was nothing.
"But I'm still your senior, aren't I?" The Deep said dryly.
"After this mission, I want you to tell Vought to disband our team. Otherwise, I'll burn your eyes out." Starlight glared at him, feeling disgusted. "God knows how I ever believed your lies!"
The Deep was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered, putting a smile back on his face.
"Time to act."
With that, The Deep leaped into the water, his form sinking smoothly with perfect grace, disappearing beneath the surface.
Seeing this, Starlight quickly snapped out of it. Hearing a sound behind her, she swiftly turned and released a burst of light from her palm, sending a criminal who had attempted to ambush her flying into the wall.
The criminal crashed heavily to the ground. Not bothering to check on him, Starlight activated her powers again. Instantly, the lights around her flickered rapidly, and her eyes glowed brightly.
Compared to Starlight, a superhuman, these ordinary criminals had no ability to resist. In just a few moves, she knocked them all unconscious.
A few criminals tried to escape but were stopped by The Deep, who had been waiting nearby. After a brief skirmish, they were all taken down.
As Starlight was preparing to continue the fight, a group of people carrying cameras rushed over.
Starlight's eyes flickered with panic and confusion as she recognized who they were—Vought's news team.
Leading them was Ashley, who quickly approached Starlight and whispered, "Smile for the camera, quick. Step on this guy's body and say, 'This feels great.'"
"What?" Starlight stood frozen, not understanding what was happening.
Behind her, The Deep had already grown accustomed to the situation. He even waved at the camera crew, cheerfully asking the photographers if they had captured his handsome dive into the water.
Starlight stared at this scene, feeling for the first time a sense of personal insult and defeat.
She had genuinely thought she was part of a real superhero mission, but she never expected that she was walking into a pre-arranged 'script.'
She wasn't surprised that the mission would make it to the morning news, but the question was, how many people knew that these so-called criminals were all actors?
Starlight didn't understand how many people had been deceived by Vought all this time, nor did she know how many were still in the dark.