Conduits vs Supes : Civil War

Hello, there ! *insert Obi Wan gif* How are you since wenesday ? I won't be long ! The following chapter is about the light shone on the Empire City situation and how Vought takes it. Tell me what you guys think, please !

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The Seven Tower, New York.

Two months have passed since the now worldwide known tragedy called the Empire City's Blast. Two months since more than a thousand people lost their lives, their loved ones forever mourning them. Two months since chaos took over the streets. A chaos the authorities were powerless to stop as the gangs all seemingly possessed super-powered people to impose their will, commit their crimes and take the lives of citizens, criminals and policemen. Two months since the initial suspect and branded terrorist of the event started his crusade to try and return the city to order.

Two months… That's what it took for the people of Empire City and then the world to know the name of the true culprit : Kessler. Leader of the First Sons, CEO of F.S.Kessler Inc. and contractor for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The man, an elderly gentlemen, had appeared on National Television by means unknown for a private broadcast. He'd admitted to being behind the Blast, revealed that what they all thought was a simple bomb, was in fact a project to activate a dormant gene present in a small percentage of the population. This gene gave people powers… According to Kessler, the reason behind this act of terrorism was actually to push the human race towards unleashing their full potential.

During these two months, the media spoke about the events almost daily. Some, like the ones belonging to Vought, were quite harsh against the presumed suspect, Cole MacGrath. When Kessler made himself known, they swiftly countered that Kessler's confession was a lie, mentioning the video sent by Cole MacGrath to the authorities. They portrayed him as an extremist…

And yet, social media, more and more, revealed the man to act like a hero, uncaring for personal praise. The two versions of truths constantly battled in the court of public opinion. The one's believing Vought : after all, the Seven supported this version ! And the one carried by VTL and DDH-88. The former denouncing Vought's version as yet another lie, while the latter exposed the truth behind the Conduit Electric Man, as his supporters had taken to calling him, and the war he waged to restore order in the city.

Two months too long for Homelander ! And now, the only thing he wanted to do was fly over Empire City and burn the entire city to the ground with his heat vision. Still he felt a bit of conflict : Conduits were kind of like Supes, even though the way they got their power was different. Meaning they were superior to normal humans… And if he and the other supes were meant to rule over the world, didn't it mean that Conduit had their place in it too ?

However, the fact was that the city was a cesspool of sedition against him and Vought. Whether it was the female streamer or the influencer using a cartoonish image of his likeness, or even the followers originating from the city and propagating their videos far and wide, they all seemed to want to oppose him. And if there was one thing Homelander hated, it was to have his will challenged ! He and the Seven had decided that Cole MacGrath was a terrorist, the villain behind the tragedy of Empire City… So that's how it was ! People should just accept it as fact and throw stones at the man !

Instead, Empire City's denizens cheered him on as he foolishly battled against his own kind, as he put the regular criminals in their place under his boot. While he liked the latter action, he despised the former. In his opinion, Supes should stick with Supes. So what if a few hundred regular humans died in the crossfire of a gang war between conduits ? Or if a few thousands expired for a handful of conduits to rise in their place ? They were billions more where they came from ! They should be honored that their pathetic, meaningless lives finally found some in its twilight !

The truth was… It wasn't just because MacGrath fought against his own kind that he was so annoyed. He was their symbol, as he was the symbol for all Supes… And yet, they didn't respect his authority ! Homelander didn't like that. No, the word was weak : he hated that ! The media had really made the comparison, yet but he did. And the idea that he'd lose control over his people, over the sheeps that composed the human race… He couldn't bear it ! That and Cole MacGrath was so weak and flawed it wasn't funny ! Homelander and he had nothing in common !

This was why Homelander walked purposely, but not hurriedly toward Vought R&D department. He had tasked them weeks ago to figure out a way for Supes to go there without being affected by the… whatever it was that made them weak. They better have delivered !

Yet another reason why he wasn't sure what to feel about the so-called Conduits. If they made Supes sick and weak, even though they had superpowers, he wasn't sure how they could coexist.

Given his power-set, he was only very mildly surprised that Madelyn Stillwell had been waiting for him there. What surprised him however, was to find The Deep, this monumental Supe joke, there, along with a few other unknown supes. They were obviously testing whatever equipment the R&D had designed… and Homelander couldn't help but frown seeing it : it looked like a hazmat suit, in a dark blue-green, disgusting color. What were they thinking ? There was no way he was gonna wear this !

« John ! There you are ! » Madelyn said in a pleasant tone. Although her tone was pleasant and masterfully controlled, Homelander still caught the slight off-beat of her heart showing how she truly felt. In this case, she was apprehensive about something. Thankfully for his growing annoyance, she quickly gave a good explanation : « I know that you've wanted to deal with the situation in Empire City, but… I don't think you should. How would that look that we send you, our most powerful and beloved hero over there ? It'd just give those bioterrorists more importance than they deserve. »

« That's true… » He conceded. Inwardly, he was still struggling with his beliefs : were supes and conduits the same ? If so, given the fact that he was the champion of all supes, perhaps he should allow them to join him. Or at least, give them a chance… Then again, why should he personally go ? Madelyn was right : at the moment, they were nothing ! On the other hand who was he ? Fucking Homelander ! The best hero, leader of the Seven, a God descended on the Earth to rule over all the peons !

He glanced back at the supes gathered. Except for Kevin's face, he didn't recognize any of them. Thankfully, Madelyn provided an introduction :

« What do you think of this line-up ? I thought a member of the Seven had to represent you in this team. As for the three others, you remember Mesmer, of course. The other two are Polarity and Crimson Countess. » She glanced at Homelander and added : « The final decision is yours, obviously. Or if you want to change it, just tell me and I'll make it happen ! »

Homelander considered the group in silence for a long minute. As he deliberated, everyone fidgeted, thinking he was somehow dissatisfied. While Only Madelyn and the Deep knew his personality intimately, they were rumors among supes and Vought personnel. Besides, given how much power the man held, nobody wanted to piss him off.

Before anyone's nervousness made them speak out of turn, Homelander declared :

« This is great ! Listen, guys, your mission is an important one. You can not let those terrorists act like they own the city ! Put them in their place, by whatever means necessary. » He paused before adding : « And bring me Cole MacGrath. Alive ! »

Homelander didn't dawdle after issuing his orders. He knew his minions would carry them out to the letter. Or else ! The group stayed rooted in place and in silence for a while. Mesmer and Polarity weren't sure if they should speak or not. On the other hand, Madelyn Stillwell and the Deep, had an inkling about what was going through the hero's head. Madelyn, especially. Over the years, she'd learned what made the man tick. As for Crimson Countess, while she hadn't personally dealt with Homelander, she had a relationship with a surprisingly similar character : Soldier Boy.

So, the silence stretched on for a while until Madelyn turned on a white noise machine, designed to cover their conversation from eavesdroppers. She didn't plan on saying anything that might annoy John off, but… She couldn't be sure about the others.

The Supes immediately reacted to the white noise, rubbing one of their earlobes annoyedly. She turned to the group and opened her mouth :

« You heard him ! Also, Vought want you guys to find the device that caused the Blast. Our R&D department are extremely interested in it and would like to reverse engineer it. »

Kevin spoke up then :

« What's the most important mission ? And if we can't accomplish all the objectives, can we choose what to drop ? »

« They're all important ! Vought wants the device at all costs. And of course, you know what'll happen if Homelander's not happy with you lot. »

With that, she too parted from the group. She was too tired to deal with this moron… Not for the first time, she thought the use of Compound V on that man had been an utter waste.