Free Web NovelChapter 8: 08: A Meeting With Madelyn Stillwell
A wise prince will seek to create opportunities for himself rather than wait for them to come.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
___
Hillel landed on the rooftop of an abandoned apartment building and pulled out his phone.
#TheGuardianVsATrain was the number one trending topic in the US, completely burying the presidential debate and all the Super Bowl buzz.
The videos from every angle had already racked up over 100 million views across all platforms.
One hour. One hundred million views.
The top comment in the section read:
@NewYorkObserver: I watched it fifty times. A-Train was running flat out and this guy slapped him away with one hand. One slap! You get what that means? Homelander is only a little stronger than A-Train. If The Guardian can stop A-Train’s full sprint with one hand, the gap between him and Homelander might not be as huge as everyone thinks.
Replies under @NewYorkObserver-
@HomelandFapper: Are you kidding? Homelander can take 10 A-Trains at once!
@Azaroth: @HomelandFapper That sounds sus..
@HomelandFapper: Yeah, now that you mentioned it.. But you get my point!
@ThePeakFan: Guys, the most powerful person in the Seven is undoubtedly The Deep! He’s literally the King of the seven seas!
@NewYorkObserver: @ThePeakFan Shut it.
@HomelandFapper: @ThePeakFan Stop dihh riding the fish fucker mate. Homelander is like a god.
@MilkLover: I don’t get all this nonsense, my favourite supe is Black Noir. The deadliest and coolest of them all.
..
.. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
NewYorkObserver’s comment already had twenty thousand replies and it was total chaos.
Everyone was arguing power levels, some idiots even dragging in comic book characters.
The whole comment section had turned into a massive flame war.
No matter the world, the second power scaling comes up, the comments go straight to hell.
Hillel scrolled through a bit then closed the app.
He didn’t know if that @NewYorkObserver was just guessing, but one thing was clear: the gap between him and Homelander really wasn’t that big.
If they actually went at it...
It’d be close to fifty-fifty.
He might even have a slight edge in close combat.
Viltrumites were a warrior race by nature. They automatically turned every fight into muscle memory and stored it in their genes.
Homelander only got some fucked-up psychological training growing up, which was basically a debuff. When it came to real hand-to-hand, the guy had zero technique. He just relied on raw power.
But this wasn’t the time to get cocky.
Vought’s reaction had come faster than he expected.
Sure enough.
His phone buzzed.
Text from an unknown number.
[Mr. Guardian, I am Madelyn Stillwell, Vice President of Vought International. I’d like to meet with you to discuss today’s events and your future.]
[Tomorrow at 2:00 PM, 72nd floor of Vought Tower. If you’re willing.]
Typical Vought. They’d already dug up his number.
Should he go?
Hillel barely thought about it.
Of course he would.
He needed Vought’s platform.
For the money, the fame, and all the key NPCs inside that building.
There were at least ten key characters in Vought Tower alone.
If he wanted to farm ability points efficiently, he had to get close to these people and mess with their fates.
...
The next day, 2:00 PM.
Vought International Tower.
Wearing his Viltrumite Soldier suit, Hillel walked straight through the main entrance.
Dozens of people in the lobby turned to stare at him all at once.
A security guard reached for his walkie-talkie, but one glare from Hillel and the guy froze.
The receptionist at the front desk forced out a professional smile.
"Mr. Guardian? Please come this way. Ms. Stillwell is waiting for you on the seventy-second floor."
Inside the elevator, Hillel watched the floor numbers climb.
After all, this was the Vought Tower.
Headquarters of The Seven.
The most important location in the entire Boys series.
Ding!
The doors opened.
Madelyn Stillwell was standing right at the elevator entrance in a perfectly tailored gray skirt suit. Her hair was flawless, makeup on point, and a polished smile sat on her lips.
Classic Vought executive. And Homelander’s favourite mommy milker’s obsession.
"Mr. Guardian," she said, offering her hand. "Thank you for coming."
Hillel shook it.
She led him down the hallway into a huge conference room.
Floor-to-ceiling windows gave a full view of the Manhattan skyline.
Coffee, fruit, and fancy-looking desserts were laid out on the table. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Madelyn Stillwell sat across from him, hands folded neatly on the table.
"I’ll get straight to the point," she said, her smile fading into something more businesslike. "We’ve already done a full internal investigation on yesterday’s incident."
"After the community run, A-Train was hit with remote mind control from a supe criminal. It left him in a delirious rampage."
"Fortunately, you stepped in and stopped him before anything worse happened."
Hillel almost laughed in her face.
Mind control.
Classic Vought PR bullshit.
They turned A-Train’s drugged-up rampage into "poor victim controlled by a villain." Just like that, his image flipped from reckless asshole to injured hero.
The one to blame wasn’t Vought at all. It was that mysterious supe criminal.
Whether the guy actually existed didn’t matter. Vought’s prisons and underground labs had plenty of test subjects they could use.
And this story conveniently gave Hillel the perfect role.
"Because of this incident, we’ve realized there’s a serious problem," Madelyn Stillwell went on, her tone turning serious.
"Supe crime is getting worse every day. Ordinary people are suffering, and even members of The Seven can become targets. We need a... more professional way to handle it."
She looked straight at Hillel, not a trace of shame on her face for the obvious lie.
People like her really do have thick skin.
"You are that solution."
Hillel raised an eyebrow.
"Vought’s leadership all agree that the power and style you showed are completely different from the usual superheroes. You don’t do shows or performances. You just get shit done." She opened the tablet in front of her and showed him a document.
"We want to invite you to join a brand-new project. You’d be a superhero operating outside The Seven, focused entirely on taking down high-level supe threats."
"Reporting directly to the highest level of Vought management."
"Free from The Seven’s daily schedule bullshit."
"Full independent operational authority."
"And... salary, benefits, and resources better than what The Seven get."
Madelyn Stillwell slid the tablet over to Hillel.
A contract filled the screen.
Vought International, Special Consultant for Supe Threat Response — The Guardian
Hillel skimmed the important parts.
Annual salary: Twelve million dollars.
Exclusive apartment in Midtown Manhattan.
Dedicated team — agent, PR, logistics.
Media exposure priority: S-class, same as The Seven.
Operational clearance: A-class, second only to Homelander.
Contract length: Three years, renewable.
Liquidation damages clause.
That part was left blank.
Interesting.
They didn’t fill in the penalty numbers, which meant Edgar wasn’t trying to trap him with fine print.
Edgar had to be the one calling the shots here. From what he remembered of the show, Madelyn Stillwell didn’t have this kind of strategic brain.
Smart move.
With one play, they fixed A-Train’s PR nightmare and neatly turned The Guardian from enemy into asset.
You want to play hero? Fine, we’ll give you the stage. But you do it on our platform.
Vought’s real PR power wasn’t the suits in the offices. It was the puppet master on the top floor.
"Your video blew up. I don’t think that was an accident. You know how the internet works. We need to fix our image, and you need exposure and resources."
Seeing Hillel hesitate to sign, Madelyn put her cards on the table.
"We both win."
"So the official story is..." Hillel closed the tablet.
Capitalists might be greedy, but they weren’t idiots.
"Vought has always taken supe crime seriously, and your appearance gave us the perfect solution," Madelyn Stillwell said right away. "The A-Train incident proved how dangerous this threat really is. Vought has decided to create a dedicated punisher position."
"You are both a hero and a guardian... protecting ordinary people while also shielding superheroes from being used by criminal scum."
She paused.
"We’re giving you the chance to be a judge."
Hillel stayed quiet for a second, then agreed without hesitation.
"The contract... I can sign it..."
Madelyn Stillwell’s lips twitched. A faint sneer flashed in her eyes.
So much for fighting for justice. He was just another guy waiting for the right paycheck. All that noble act was bullshit.
"But I have two conditions." Hillel held up two fingers.
"Go ahead."
"First, I want access to The Seven’s internal stuff — meetings, mission briefings, media events, all of it."
"Even though I’m not in The Seven, I need to know what they’re up to. My job is responding to supe threats, so I need to stay in the loop on Vought’s supes."
Madelyn Stillwell’s smile stayed locked in place, but Hillel caught her heart rate spiking.
"Very well. I’ll arrange it."
"Second."
"Is Homelander off doing commercials somewhere? He hasn’t shown up in forever. I want to meet him."
He wants to meet Homelander too? Is this guy really that ballsy?
Madelyn Stillwell’s fingers twitched. She would love nothing more than for Homelander to rip the man in front of her into pieces, but Edgar was the one who actually decided who lived or died.
If she fucked this up, not even Homelander could save her from getting fired.
"...Of course!" She recovered her composure fast. "Actually, he wants to meet you very much as well."
More like he wants to kill me, right?
Hillel stood up and grabbed the contract.
"That’s settled then."
He pushed open the door and walked out.
Madelyn Stillwell stayed seated. Only after Hillel’s figure disappeared down the hallway did she slowly lean back in her chair.
She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
Then she picked up the phone.
"Mr. Edgar, he signed."
There was two seconds of silence on the other end.
"A clever man, as expected. Any extra conditions?"
"Yes. Access to all of The Seven’s internal activities, and..."
Madelyn Stillwell paused.
"He wants to meet Homelander."
Another two seconds of silence.
"Let Homelander size him up. But don’t let it get too ugly. I prefer having a backup plan."
