189. Chapter 189: As Expected of Vought International, They Truly Don't Act Like Humans
It turned out that eight years ago, he and his two best friends, Shirley and Jay, were still hooligans who hung around the street all day, doing their fair share of despicable things like robbery and theft, but they were never caught. However, during a robbery five years ago, the three of them were unfortunately arrested. Just as they were about to be sent to prison, Mallory found him.
"She said my brain was flexible, and continuing to mess around like that was just a waste of youth. She thought highly of me and wanted me to join a secret team dedicated to fighting Supes. She promised that if I agreed, she would release my best friends and erase our past criminal records. Finally... I agreed."
Frenchie closed his eyes in pain.
"Later, I received the instruction to track you. When I thought everything was going smoothly, I received a phone call from Shirley. On the phone, she told me that Jay was critically ill due to drug overdose and urgently needed emergency treatment." Frenchie clutched his head. "On one side were the critically ill lives of my best friends, and on the other was the important mission Mallory had given me."
"I thought that once you entered the nightclub, you wouldn't come out for a while, so I returned to my residence and desperately tried to save Jay, who had already gone into shock. But after I successfully saved him and returned to the nightclub, I lost track of you in just half an hour. I searched high and low but couldn't find you..."
After saying all this, Frenchie seemed to feel much more relaxed.
"What about Jay? Why didn't I hear you mention him later?" Billy asked.
"He died." Frenchie gave a self-mocking smile. "A few months later, he overdosed on drugs again and ultimately couldn't be saved. He still died."
"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?"
Mother's Milk was somewhat puzzled.
"What happened has happened. There's no point in me explaining further. In the end, it was still my mistake that killed those children."
Speaking of this, Frenchie looked angrily at Lamplighter. "You're worse than an animal! How could you bear to lay a hand on such young children? You should fall into Hell and be tormented by devils every moment."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Lamplighter retorted excitedly, "You think I wanted to? I wanted to kill your superior."
From his mouth, Billy and the others heard another story.
Combining the two stories revealed the truth behind the Mallory case that year.
It turned out that Lamplighter, as a member of The Seven at the time, had always been known for being mysterious and powerful. But Mallory, through some means, obtained a video of him being unrestrained in a nightclub. If this video were to be transmitted, the image Vought had painstakingly built for him would be ruined.
At that time, his popularity would plummet drastically. In a severe case, he might even be kicked out of The Seven, losing everything he possessed.
Mallory used this video to threaten him, demanding information about Compound V and crime from Vought International.
"But I wasn't willing to be under control, so I snuck into Mallory's residence under the cover of night. Originally, my plan was to kill Mallory and retrieve that video, but... but I didn't expect..."
"But you didn't expect that when you set fire to Mallory's bedroom, Mallory wasn't actually home. There were only a few children waiting for their grandmother to come back and tell them stories on the bed. So when you heard their cries, you panicked. By the time the fire truck arrived, it had already been burned to ruins." Billy said with a cold face, adding some details for Lamplighter.
"For so many years, I've felt incredibly guilty, so I voluntarily proposed leaving The Seven and chose to fade from the public's line of sight. Afterwards, Vought International arranged for me to go to Sage Grove, specifically to manage and eliminate some Supes who didn't follow orders. Besides you guys, I haven't told a second person about this." "What's Stormfront's relationship with Sage Grove?" Billy asked.
"She's the manager of Sage Grove. She always has been, even before I came, she was."
Lamplighter basically answered whatever was asked.
"Has she been to the Psychiatric Hospital recently?"
"No, I find that very strange too. Normally, she would come at most every two days, but for five consecutive days recently, I haven't seen her."
Billy, deep in thought, exchanged a glance with Mother's Milk and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"So what exactly is Sage Grove? Where did those Patients locked in the Hospital Rooms come from? Is Vought experimenting on them? What is Vought's ultimate purpose, to develop an adult version of Compound V?" Billy pressed on with his questions.
Subsequently, Lamplighter answered Billy's questions one by one.
"Sage Grove, as you see it now, is actually Vought International's secret research facility. There should only be one such place, because it requires a powerful manager to control those guys.
As for their source, they were indeed sent from Mental Hospitals. Vought locked them in Hospital Rooms, claiming they could help cure their mental illnesses, but based on my observation, some Patients aren't actually mentally ill. They have clear will and act and speak no differently from ordinary humans in their daily lives."
"I later learned that some of them were voluntarily sent to Sage Grove for treatment due to alcohol abuse or illegal substance abuse."
"As expected of Vought International, they truly don't act like humans. I estimate that place is already in chaos. Those guys who escaped will definitely retaliate wildly against Vought International." Billy said with a gloating smile.
"Oh, right, there's a bald woman among them who is very strong. I think she could even threaten Homelander."
"Are you talking about Cindy? Her superpower is indeed very powerful, and she's also the Patient Stormfront values the most. Her intelligence is very high. It seems she was captured by the Police because she personally killed her entire family and six classmates, and she was on the run for a long time in between. But because she presented a Psychiatric Evaluation Certificate in court, she was sent to Sage Grove."
Mentioning Cindy, a hint of fear flashed in Lamplighter's eyes, because he had personally seen her use telekinesis to crush someone's head, and her physical defense is also very strong. Even if hit by Stormfront's lightning, she would at most be paralyzed for a while and couldn't be fatally injured at all.
"Actually, you guessed correctly. Those people are Experimental Subjects. Vought wants to develop a stable Compound V."
"You mean the current Compound V is unstable?"
Hughie asked curiously.
"The current Compound V is extremely stable only for babies. As for injecting it into adults, there are only three results: either they become Superheroes, or they explode like watermelons, or they turn into Freaks, like Elephant Nose Man. His... thing is ten times bigger than an ordinary human's."
(End of Chapter)