Mechelle's upgrades went smoothly. It was mostly a matter of transferring her data out of her body, making the changes needed to her body, then transferring it back. Took a while to do though. I had to remove a lot of her inferior parts. Her musculature needed no upgrades, nor did her weaponry, but her software had to go, replaced with faster more advanced systems of my own design, with much larger storage space. One day she'd get the advantage of quantum and emerald computing, but this was a good stopgap measure till then.

Colin did his own upgrades in the meantime. And while both of them were getting more advanced, I kept an eye on The Boys.

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Hughie

"Butcher, I'm not so sure about this," Hughie said as he stared at the ray gun in front of him. "I'm not great with guns."

"Oh come on, it's barely a gun!" Butcher said excitedly. "It's mostly electronics. I just want you to take a look, make sure there's no tricky buggers in it."

"I already told you there wasn't, just some of the most beautiful internals I've ever seen," Frenchie said in his thick accent, walking over with a drink in his hand.

"Yeah, but a second look never hurt, now did it?" Butcher said, sounding just a bit annoyed before giving Hughie a devilish smile. "Come on now. Ain't ya just a little bit curious?"

Hughie stared at him. "Okay, Butcher, what's the real reason you want me to look into this?"

Butcher's smile fell. After a moment, he sighed. "Look, you damn… you ain't a supe, right?"

"Not last I checked."

"But you're a pretty bright shit. So if you can look into this and understand the tech in this water pistol, then I know this Eggman doesn't need to go on the list."

"You have a list?" Hughie asked.

"Everyone has a list," Frenchie said helpfully.

"I don't!"

"A-Train." When Hughie stopped to stare at Butcher rather than respond, the Brit only smiled. "Come on, Hughie, take a look at let me know if you think this guy is a supe, or just a fella with magnificent fuckin stache."

Frenchie rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Petit Hughie, I'll pull you away if anything happens, okay?"

Weirdly enough, that helped. Frenchie was weird. Confidently awkward, some might say. But he was also a nice guy.

Sighing, Hughie reached for the tool box Frenchie had left nearby. The gun had simple screws holding it together, which, even with the metal giving the gun heft, still made it seem very toy-like. Hughie opened it gently, then stared at what was within.

"...Wow."

"Wow as in, 'this is impossible supe shit', or-" Butcher asked before Frenchie interrupted.

"No no, I agree. It is very wow. But not supe."

"Yeah, I mean," Hughie slowly and carefully looked over the guns internals. "It's, uh, probably expensive as hell to make one of these. But I can recognize some of it. That's from an Apple phone, some of the new Ivotech chips there, the lenses are from Microsoft, maybe? It's like some genius brought together the pieces of regular tech to make, well-"

"A fucking laser gun." Butcher said, smirking. "So. He might be a supe?"

"Ahhh, I disagree, Butcher," Frenchie said, rubbing his chin.

"Yeah, I mean, this shit is pricey. You'd be spending like ten thousand dollars to rip out pieces from the phones and stuff you'd be getting, but I think even I could make one of these."

"...Can you?" Hughie glanced up. Butcher had a wide grin on his face. A very dangerous one. Hughie swallowed.

"U-Uh, maybe. No promises though. This is just after a glance, maybe there's a component in the inner workings that I can-"

"Relax," Butcher patted him on the shoulder. "We'll leave it for next time. For now, I need to go meet someone. See you lot at the truck, okay?"

Butcher left, leaving Frenchie and Hughie to stare at the open laser gun, then at each other.

"You should not have mentioned that," Frenchie teased. "I think he was about to kiss you, eh?"

Hughie shuddered in horror at the thought.

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As I watched Hughie shudder under Frenchie's teasing, I leaned back thoughtfully in my chair. In truth, Hughie being able to replicate the laser gun was impossible. Well, improbable, really. Without certain components installed in a precise order, the gun would simply be very expensive paperweights. But the fact he was even able to figure out where most of the pieces went was to my benefit.

I kept an eye on Hughie and Frenchie, and tracked Butcher's movements. He was heading to Mother's Milk, as expected. Everything was going well… Too well.

Frowning, I looked at another screen. This one was focused on the factory floor, where the spy was working.

Yes, a spy. Granted, he was barely a spy. When he'd applied it was under some pseudonym with a very solid story behind it. Not enough to really throw me off of the trail, but good enough. After some research I'd found he wasn't a corporate spy, but a national one. I was unsure what nation, but obviously one interested in the technology behind the US military's new toys.

Except that the spy was incredibly, boringly, patient. He ate with people during lunch, did his job efficiently on the line, never seemed bothered by the fact he couldn't sneak out any files, photos, or technology, and all around was a model employee. If it wasn't for me tracking down CIA and NSA files from a decade ago showing him sharing classified knowledge with Russia, I would have thought he was great.

Ugh. That was what sucked about real life spies. They were boring!

Still, whoever he worked for, I'd find out down the road. Right now it was all a waiting game. I'd wait until he acted, then I'd spring on him. And hell, maybe when he was done trying to betray me, I could keep him on. As I'd said, he was a model employee.

Putting that aside, I looked over at the AI I'd been developing. Almost done. Soon enough I could make some larger moves. Starting with the day that I'd been waiting for.

Race Day!

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A-Train vs Shockwave, the race of the century! A poster on the wall declared as I walked in. Mechelle was right behind me as we roamed through the stadium. The two of us made what I considered impressive figures, striding towards our seats. We'd paid for the best ones. Not VIP, since those tended to be for people Vought wanted to personally impress, dignitaries and the like, but still damn good spots.

Sitting down at the small table with a good view of the race, I sighed.

"All this money, all this ostentatiousness, for a race that will last all of a second," I mumbled to myself. "You would think someone would have suggested something more. An obstacle course maybe. A run around the city. Anything beyond a sprint that lasts less than an eyeblink."

"Cost benefit, sadly," Mechelle said, a charming smile on her face. "Renting out a simple track field is cheap, and people will come just because it has superheroes in it. They can draw in the numbers, stretch out the airtime with advertisements and long speeches… Ah. There is our girl."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

I looked where she indicated. My sadly organic eyes weren't as good as hers, but I could still easily make out the white uniform and almost blindingly bright blonde hair, standing next to a black clad figure.

"...I cannot believe they still put her in the same damn uniform," I grumbled. "I mean, the gauntlet and boots are great, but leaving that much of her chest open is just screaming for a weapon to slice her heart out."

"You knew that they would," Mechelle pointed out. "Besides, this is still better than what happened last time, isn't it?"

"Barely," I sighed. "I don't like the idea that I'll have to make her bleed to get her into better armor."

"She can take it," Mechelle said mildly. "How long do we wait?"

"Until all the major players are available," I said. "Once we know the Boys are here, then we make our move. Colin?"

Over the tiny earpiece hidden in my skull, the man himself spoke. "Everything is prepared, as you ordered. I do find it funny that you are complaining about this event being boring, considering your plans."

"I am, at heart, a showman," Even as I said that, Homelander came dropping out of the sky, landing next to where Queen Maeve was being interviewed. As everyone cheered, I checked my watch. "Hm. He's on time. So Noir and Starlight should be…"

Both heroes stepped away. For a moment, just a moment, I thought about interrupting what was going to happen next. A bunch of assholes interrupting what was going to be a sweet moment. But I had to let it happen. Hughie and Starlight would need to meet.

That didn't mean I couldn't benefit from it. I got up, Mechelle following. "Let's go meet the pair."

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In a small crappy restaurant, the kind all stadiums had with overpriced junk food, Starlight and Hughie sat across from each other, talking happily. Hughie said something, Annie giggled a bit. She said something, he blushed while grinning goofily.

It was adorable. I almost felt bad for casually chewing on a very leathery salad just behind them while cloning their phones.

Phone cloning, as it turns out, is easy, but I needed access to the phones in question to do it. It didn't take long, thankfully. Annie and Hughie had their meet-cute, and I stole their information. Later, both walked away, and Mechelle and I went back to our seats. I was genuinely surprised it went so smoothly. I'd expected something insane to intrude. Explosions or something.

Back at the race, I checked the clock again. Almost time. Things had to be perfect. Before A-Train could ruin things.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said. Shockwave walked out jauntily. A-Train was eyeing him carefully. I grinned. "Here comes Shockwave!"

As everyone cheered, I felt my grin grow almost big enough to hurt. "Now."

The music in the stadium stopped. The screens went black. And in a moment, the Eggman appeared on screen.

"HELLOOOOOOO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Eggman's voice echoed in the stadium, blowing through the place. "WELCOME TO THE MAIN EVENT!"

Mechelle and I shared a look, then looked back at the screen, watching as Eggman laughed jauntily. The crowd murmured, confused, while Homelander's smile fell. "Sadly, what Vought had is boring! A simple sprint around a track? That's the best you have!?"

Music began to play over the speakers. Metallic Madness Zone Act 2 Sonic Mania

The camera zoomed out from his face, revealing Eggman standing before a giant map of the city. "No, no, no! What kind of contest is that!? Where is the punch, the pizazz, the wow factor!?"

Eggman spun around, pointing at the map behind him. "You should demand better! And thus, I bring you, the Eggman Obstacle Course! A full map of the city, with enemies to fight, items to obtain! Believe me folks, the Eggman knows his speedsters, and I refuse to face any less than the best!"

Eggman then leaned into the camera, grinning just a bit. His small glasses fell. Dark pits could be seen underneath them, small pinpoints of red glowing out of them. "Of course, you need an incentive. So here it is. I have placed bombs within the whole arena. Each one defended by my Badniks. If anyone who isn't able to run at superspeed tries to leave the arena, every single one goes off. And to prove I'm serious…"

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Screams began to echo around us. Eggman's voice continued to echo. "That would be the entrances. How lucky that no one died. But that can change. HAHAHAHA!" Eggman clutched his belly, laughing. "You see! Far more fun! So, A-Train, Shockwave! You have your task. Race across the city, fight my badniks, compete! And no cheating, Seven! That means you, Homelander."

I could see the blonde supe scowling angrily, glaring at the screen.

"The race begins in 5! 4! Counts too slow, 321 NOW!"

Shockwave and A-Train hesitated. They looked over at their managers, A-Train sharing a look with his brother and asking him something. I rolled my eyes.

"Colin."

BOOOOOM! Out in the parking lot, cars exploded apart. Eggman glared out of the screen.

"I. Am. Serious. Run. Now."

"GO!" Someone in the crowd shouted. Others began yelling, until the whole crowd was screaming at Shockwave and A-Train. Someone in a business suit, presumably from Vought, came running towards them, shouting as well while he held a phone to his ear. The pair finally read the room and disappeared, rushing out into the city.

"FINALLY! Now, let's follow our heroes, shall we!?" Eggman disappeared, replaced with footage of Shockwave and A-Train sprinting.

Yes, of course I was able to film them while they ran. It didn't matter how fast they were, even the slowest versions of that damned blue hedgehog could run circles around them. Mechelle and I rose, and I cracked my neck dramatically.

"Well Mechelle. Let's go be heroes."

The Boys and the Seven should have still been on site. I could see Homelander speaking to reporters further in the arena, smiling with false confidence and assuring them. I ignored him, moving on to enter the arena. Eggman was speaking as well, dramatic and confident.

Colin was doing a great impression thus far.

While that went on, the arena was full of shouting civilians. Queen Maeve was somewhere, trying to speak to the crowd, and I could see Starlight doing the same. I approached her.

"Annie!" I shouted, rather than the people yelling her hero name. That brought me attention. She looked at me.

"Sir, I know this is scary, but we're going to keep you safe-"

I cut off her attempt to calm me down. "I can help find the bombs."

Starlight's mouth slammed shut. She stared at me now. "You can?"

"I can. I'm Julian Ivo, I'm a tech specialist. If you can get me the right tools, I can figure out a way to find the bombs and disable them. As long as you and the rest of the Seven can help me fight off the Badniks, we might be able to stop this."

As Starlight stared at me, surprise on her face, I fought the urge to smile evilly. All according to plan.