…
Seeing that Butcher seemed stumped by his request, Leon wasn't in a hurry. After all, haste makes waste. There were only a handful of female Supes who met Leon's criteria.
And the number Butcher could realistically get in touch with was even smaller.
Leon was practically just short of spelling out the name for him.
But that would've been out of character for the "Soldier Boy" persona he was currently playing. And Leon prided himself on being a professional actor.
Click.
He flicked off the safety of the Desert Eagle. Following the classic three-point alignment, he raised the pistol with both hands and aimed straight at Butcher's head as the man stood lost in thought.
[Query: Would you like to perform today's Daily Sign-In?]
"System, act cute for me."
[ Daily Sign-In complete. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: 'Curse of the Gunslinger Stratos.']
[Curse of the Gunslinger Stratos: Due to your abysmal marksmanship, you have been cursed by the Gunslinger Stratos. When using firearms, the more you wish to hit your target, the more you will miss. The less you wish to hit your target, the more you will still miss. However, the probability of hitting your target will never be zero.]
[Description: From a rational standpoint, this curse has approximately zero practical effect on you.]
"What the hell?!"
Bang—
The first "reward" Leon received after arriving in The Boys universe pissed him off enough that he immediately pulled the trigger.
A gunshot rang out.
Even though the muzzle of the .50 AE Desert Eagle was practically pressed against Butcher's forehead, the bullet still deviated—barely grazing the man's right earlobe.
"!!!" ×3
The sharp sting at his ear snapped Butcher awake instantly. Inside the room, Mother's Milk jolted upright from the gunshot, and Frenchie spun toward the doorway in alarm.
Only the heavily injured Hughie remained unconscious on the bed, completely unresponsive. Kimiko, curled up in the corner hugging her knees, merely smacked her lips in her sleep and continued dozing peacefully.
"What the hell was that?" Butcher asked darkly, touching the blood at his ear.
"Nothing," Leon replied flatly. "Just remembered something from the past."
He holstered the Infinite Desert Eagle at his right thigh. For the foreseeable future, he had no intention of drawing it again.
That so-called Gunslinger Stratos had to be jealous of Leon's prodigious "edge-tracing" shooting talent.
Afraid that Leon's unique brand of marksmanship might one day threaten his divine status, the bastard had preemptively cursed this future god of guns.
That had to be it.
Leon firmly believed this.
"…Right."
Seeing Leon show no further signs of violence, Butcher swallowed his frustration. No point provoking the man further.
Just then—
From the stairwell of the motel came a blonde woman wrapped up tightly, a mask covering her face, her thin frame almost skeletal. She hurried toward the room.
Ignoring Leon and Butcher at the door, she stepped inside, pulled off her mask, and went straight to Hughie's bedside.
"Oh my God…"
"Hughie—"
Starlight's face was filled with distress as she cupped Hughie's pale cheeks in both hands.
At the doorway, Butcher raised an eyebrow at Leon, who was openly sizing Starlight up. Leaning in, he whispered, "So? What d'you think?"
Whoa.
Leon didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shot Butcher a strange look.
You're really Hughie's best mate, huh? Already offering up your friend's girl?
…Impressive.
Leon was starting to feel like he wasn't depraved enough to truly fit in with The Boys. When it came to doing whatever it took, Butcher was in a league of his own.
Leon admired that ruthlessness—merciless to enemies, ruthless to friends, and ruthless to himself.
Damn.
Leon hadn't even considered it before.
Now that Butcher had stirred the pot…
Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea?
"She barely qualifies," Leon said lazily. "Too skinny. Let her put on some weight first. Got anyone with more curves? I prefer them fuller. Older's even better."
"After all—"
"Women are like fine wine. The older, the better."
He finished with one of Soldier Boy's signature lines.
Leon had practically spelled it out. If Butcher still couldn't figure out who he meant, then maybe The Boys weren't worth keeping around.
Leon was only playing this little game with them for convenience. Hunting down and slowly courting someone himself would be too much trouble—and forcing things wasn't his style.
"Where you off to?" Butcher asked as Leon headed for the stairs.
"Going for a ride," Leon replied without turning back. "And picking up my uniform and shield."
He gave a casual wave over his shoulder.
…
After leaving the motel, Leon took several turns before entering a relatively secluded underground parking garage.
He charged up his Chest Beam slightly—just enough for the pre-ignition radiation burst to fry the surveillance cameras—then seized the opportunity to summon Arcee and his Soldier Boy Suit from the System Storage Space.
"Kept you waiting, my beauty."
He tossed the Soldier Boy Suit into Arcee's cockpit in Motorcycle Mode, then swung a leg over her sleek frame and gave the rear a playful pat.
"Leon, could you at least pretend to behave? Stop groping me," Arcee protested.
Despite her words, she'd long since stopped resisting. Leon never listened anyway.
Still, she had to keep up appearances. Otherwise, how would she be any different from the other women in his life?
That was part of the dynamic.
…
Meanwhile—
Butcher, moving swiftly as ever, had already left the motel alone and secretly contacted Queen Maeve, one of the current members of The Seven.
As mentioned before, it was Maeve who had supplied him with Temp V.
They shared a common goal: taking down Homelander.
Without anyone else knowing, Butcher had already established a covert line of communication with her.
"What did you say?!"
"Soldier Boy is alive?!"
When Maeve arrived and heard Butcher's report about Leon, it felt as though her world collapsed.
"I agreed to work with you so we could kill that bastard Homelander!"
"And now you're telling me you've unleashed someone even worse—and stronger?!"
"Fuck you, Butcher!!!!"
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