*Chapter 217: The Seven*

The formation of "The Seven" seemed like nothing more than a ridiculous circus in the eyes of Director Nick Fury.

Vought International, of all things, had decided to hold a talent show to offer a high bounty for superhumans, allowing the audience to vote for their favorite seven to form a team and wield the power of justice.

Vought had certainly found a clever loophole.

President Ellis signed legislation to adapt to societal changes. After all, in recent attacks, human military power had proven ineffective against alien threats like Zod and Doomsday. On top of that, top-tier powerhouses like Kratos, Wonder Woman, and Superman ignored the U.S. government.

The only real top-level asset, the Hulk, was too uncontrollable, always on the verge of going berserk.

Thus, Vought stepped in.

It didn’t take a genius to see how shady Vought was.

Did they think superhumans were as common as cabbages, ready to be picked?

Turns out, they kind of were!

Unlike Superman, who was rarely seen, a handsome white guy named Homelander boldly stepped into the public eye.

Unlike Captain America's calm demeanor, Homelander had a more flamboyant personality and was incredibly media-savvy.

Dressed in a deep blue suit with scales, gold wristguards, a gold eagle shoulder pad that rednecks loved, and red gloves, not to mention his golden hair and an American flag cape, his appearance sent conservative audiences into a frenzy.

Under the spotlight, during his first public appearance, he made grandiose statements.

"Superman? Kratos? They’re nothing but cowards hiding behind masks. I—Homelander—am here to tell them and the world..." He paused dramatically, capturing the attention of everyone watching on TV. Once the room fell silent, he delivered the iconic line:

"Who is the real hero?"

Compared to Homelander, the rest of "The Seven" paled in comparison.

There was The Deep, a watered-down version of Aquaman, A-Train, a weaker version of The Flash, Translucent, who was completely useless but incredibly perverted, Queen Maeve, who claimed to rival Wonder Woman in strength, Black Noir, and The Butcher.

At least when they debuted five and a half months ago, the hype was real.

Shortly after their debut, they resolved a high-profile armored truck robbery.

Queen Maeve, in her sleek costume, descended from the sky and, despite her seemingly frail body, stopped the speeding truck with brute force. The two robbers inside were bloodied but refused to surrender. As they staggered out and took hostages, guns pointed at Maeve, Homelander swooped in and melted their weapons and hands with his laser vision.

This incident shot "The Seven" to fame.

Vought International, riding the wave of "The Seven's" success, took advantage of the booming era of superheroes. Using them as their banner, they began recruiting people with superpowers across the country, deploying them to cities to help maintain order.

In just six months, Vought turned their hero brand into a massive empire, earning billions monthly just from movie deals and merchandising. Their ranks of superhumans quickly exceeded two hundred.

Vought's rapid rise deeply worried Director Fury.

He pressed a button, and soon Black Widow entered the room.

"Director, you called?"

"Yes. Give me a report."

"Sorry, we haven't had any intel on Kratos or those female heroes around him for nearly six months. It's as if they disappeared."

Indeed, someone had crossed dimensions and, upon returning, found that six months had passed. He had no idea how much the U.S. had changed in that time.

Nick Fury nodded. "We'll deal with Kratos later. I need you to monitor 'The Seven' and, if possible, uncover the formula for Compound V, the latest version."

"Understood," Black Widow replied.

Countries and major U.S. corporations focused on genetic research had long been working on mass-producing superhumans.

With the recent alien attacks and the dissection of General Zod’s corpse, several companies claimed breakthroughs in artificial superhuman production, including Vought.

Vought’s CEO even pitched Compound V to the White House for a staggering trillion-dollar price tag.

Naturally, neither the White House nor Congress would agree to such extortion, so "The Seven" served as the shining stars of Vought’s arms showcase.

The ability to mass-produce superhumans!

The American elite were tempted, knowing that price wasn’t the real issue. It was whether it was worth it.

If the Federal Reserve was short on cash, they could always fire up the nuclear-powered printing press.

Inflation? That’s the world’s problem.

If the U.S. had an army of superhumans, defending against aliens wouldn’t be the only goal—they could also dominate the planet.

Recently, "The Seven" had been delivering solid results.

After all, Homelander was a knockoff Superman, still formidable even if not the real deal.

Many U.S. elites were ready to bite, but they wanted more rigorous field testing.

At the same time, they feared being scammed.

With Tony Stark as Iron Man, the Avengers had a strong foundation, preventing collapse. But several corporate experiments had nearly destroyed cities like New York and Gotham.

Thus, the upper echelon tasked Fury with probing Vought's true capabilities.

And so, Fury sent Black Widow.

Meanwhile, Angor was in full spectator mode.

In a villa, Diana rested her chin in her hand, grumbling, "There are so many superheroes in America now. When I go out in disguise, there’s no work left for me."

"Here’s the real question—why is looting still on the rise?" Atreus teased with a grin.

"I have no idea."

Catwoman chimed in, "I bet they’re planning to use those Seven to take down the big bad guy who doesn’t follow government orders."

Atreus laughed heartily. "Haha! Are they going to declare war on me?"

"Pfft!" The women burst out laughing.

Waging war on the god of war? Now that would be entertaining.

The only real way to beat Atreus would be to overwhelm him with stronger individual power in a close-range ambush. A one-on-one would be even better.

But how many people could actually pull that off?

Not to boast, but Atreus strength was at least planetary level. Above him were only cosmic entities like Odin in his prime or Dormammu.

Even Superman would need to hope he was in the right version of the comics to stand a chance.

Normal Supes? He’d be running for his life.

(End of Chapter)