Erasmus could feel Ashley going completely still behind his back, but her heartbeats were frantically loud against his head.
"Ashley?" he said as he turned toward her. "Everything alright?"
"Umm, okay. Yes, yes," Ashley said, her breathing rapidly picking up as she started backing away toward the exit doors. "You guys keep doing what you were doing. I have to go to... um, to my next thing. Um, at noon."
"Ashley," Erasmus called out, stopping her dead in her tracks. "I asked a question. So, I expect an answer."
He already had a perfect picture of what was going on. While he was casually eating his steak, he had been systematically reading everyone's mind in the room, except for Stormfront, whose twisted brain was too disturbing to linger in even for him.
He saw it all clearly in Starlight's head: she had blackmailed a very interesting supe named Gecko into giving her a vial of Compound V, which she then handed off to Butcher and his crew to leak to the press.
Butcher and the Boys. Erasmus internally sighed. How did he keep running into them? No matter where he went, their paths always seemed to cross.
Ashley turned around, her mouth opening and closing, entirely unsure of what to say. But before she could speak, the heavy doors slid open. Edgar walked in, flanked by Vought security guards who immediately and forcefully kicked the irrelevant Adam Bourke out of the room.
"Stan?" Erasmus called.
"Vanguard?" Edgar asked. He hadn't expected the boy to be here, and especially not in the specific chair he was currently occupying. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm filling my father's boots," Erasmus replied, leaning back.
"I see you've made yourself comfortable. I was unaware our Hero Management meetings had shifted their dress code to barefoot, or that our catering budget was now extended to un-housebroken animals."
"Well, I did say I was filling his boots," Erasmus said smoothly, mirroring Edgar's unblinking stare. "I just left them by the door. Now, before we continue our conversation, I need to call my dad. One second, please."
With that, Erasmus picked up his brand-new phone and dialed. When the phone connected, he placed it flat on the glass table and turned on the speakerphone.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, buddy! How are things going down there?" Homelander's booming voice echoed loudly through the conference room.
"It was going good, until it just turned into a hot mess."
"What happened?" The cheerfulness instantly vanished from Homelander's tone.
"Oh, Compound V was leaked. And Stan is here," Erasmus said casually, watching Edgar's face. "But about that, I wanted to ask you: what should I do with Starlight?"
A suffocating, heavy silence slammed into the room. Starlight completely froze, her breath catching in her throat as the color drained from her face. at the unexpcted twist.
A-Train felt his stomach drop into a bottomless pit. His failing heart started thumping frantically against his ribs, making his vision blur. He cut his eyes toward the exit doors. If Starlight was caught, then he was next on the chopping block.
While the others looked around confused and alarmed, Stormfront simply leaned closer to Erasmus, sipping on her smoothie as she wholeheartedly enjoyed the scene. She was thoroughly satisfied with how he was handling things. Meanwhile, Maeve sat perfectly still; though she was completely shocked, she chose to stay quiet and didn't say a single word.
Noir simply turned his head to face Starlight, his blank mask holding her in place. Meanwhile, The Deep became extremely smug. His new bro was actively punishing the woman who had ruined his life. Eat my absolute shit, you bitch, Kevin thought, happy with petty vindication as he watched her world collapse and her terrified face.
"Wh... what to do with Starlight?" Homelander asked, completely confused through the line, his mind racing as he wondered what kind of absolute mess could have possibly exploded the second his back was turned.
"Oh, yeah. She blackmailed a supe named Gecko today during the press conference to sneak her some Compound V, and then she handed it off to be leaked. Do I kill her right now, or do I just keep her here until you get back?"
The room became so quiet you could hear the puppies panting on the floor. Starlight's hands began to tremble and shine under the table, her eyes darting to the exit and towards the silent Edgar.
Edgar didn't react on the outside, but his eyes narrowed as he locked his gaze onto starlight then back to boy, finally seeing the true, terrifying intelligence behind the boy's calm demeanor.
"Hold her. I will be right back," The line went dead.
Erasmus casually pocketed the phone before turning his head toward the silent figure. "Noir, can you fetch me Gecko, please?"
Black Noir gave a slow nod and stood up, leaving the room to bring the supe back.
"Sir..." Starlight started, her voice shaking as she desperately attempted to save herself.
"Shhhhh," Erasmus raised a single finger, silencing her effortlessly. "There is no need to talk to me. I'm just an employee in this company, just like yourself. The one you should really address is poor Stan here. You just made his life a shit-ton harder."
"How can you possibly know any of this?" Edgar finally asked. For the first time in his career, he had been completely outplayed, his corporate chess board flipped upside down. Then slammed directly onto his head.
"I have super-hearing and very good eyes, so I saw and heard the whole thing," Erasmus said simply. "Really, the security here is at an all-time low. I mean, I know supes don't exactly need protection, but still... wow. And doesn't Cate read minds?"
"Well then, Vanguard, you just did the company a great service," Edgar said, a smooth, practiced smile stretching across his face.
Edgar hated admitting it to himself, but he infinitely preferred this boy to his father. Erasmus was brilliant. He was cold, hyper-perceptive, and utterly devoid of the messy, pathetic emotional outbursts that made Homelander a corporate nightmare.
The boy was everything Vought had spent billions trying to cultivate in the original product.
But there was a terrifying catch, one that kept Vought's entire legal and executive board awake at night: the boy was a loose canon entirely without a leash.
Homelander was easy to handle because he was a deeply insecure child trapped in a god's body. He could be controlled, guided, and manipulated simply by threatening his public relations approval ratings or withholding the corporate love and validation he starved for. Erasmus, on the other hand, didn't care about the cameras, the merchandise, or the crowd's applause.
The only thing this boy cared about was his father's presence and approval. He was fiercely, illogically loyal to Homelander, and a god who answers only to another god is an asset that Vought could never truly own.
"No thanks are needed. I mean, I am very happy and satisfied here. I have food, luxury, money, and good company, meet Robert and Brian, who delivered my food today," Erasmus said. He leaned back in his chair, casually waving a hand at the two silent security guards who had been standing behind him this entire time. "But there is one selfish request I hoped you could help me with."
Edgar and the others in the room were immediately curious about what he would ask for. The only exception was Annie, who currently existed outside of this physical plane entirely, trapped inside her own mental house of horrors on the chopping block.
"Anything," Edgar said, his smile remaining perfectly in place as he played along with the boy's antics.
"The Vogelbaum estate," Erasmus stated. "I grew up there, and I like it. I was hoping I could get it back, with the entire staff. Oliver, Marco, and all the others."
"I will see what our legal team can do," Stan said, leaning forward as his calm mask returned. "But since you made a request, it is only logical that I can make one as well."
"No, not really. I mean, I just uncovered this whole treason plot, so the estate was more of a repayment. But since you are paying me and I did sign a contract, sure. Ask away. I'm feeling generous today."
"Thank you. Since you are feeling generous, I intend to take full advantage of that," Edgar said, offering a small nod.
One of his security personnel stepped forward and laid a sleek tablet on the glass table. The screen flickered, displaying a high-resolution satellite feed of a cargo boat out at sea. Zoomed-in captures highlighted several figures moving on the deck, faces that Erasmus recognized immediately.
Billy Butcher and the Boys.
"These individuals are the recipients of the Compound V that Ms. January so recklessly leaked," Edgar explained. "Furthermore, our intelligence indicates they are currently harboring an undocumented, hostile supe. I need you to locate this vessel, intercept them, and terminate the threat permanently."
At the mention of those words, Starlight finally snapped. Seeing Hughie's face captured on the satellite feed blew past whatever terror was holding her back. She rose to her feet, her eyes and hands burning with pure white energy.
Erasmus slowly stood up as well, his eyes flaring with a cold, menacing violet glow that instantly cast a harsh shadow across the glass table.
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