The following day, Edgar and his bodyguards drove to where Luthor told him to meet him. It was at a barber shop in Jersey City.
"I am glad to see you've decided to accept my offer." Luthor said. Instead of a suit, this time he was wearing a strange purple jumpsuit with glowing green strobes that went around his chest like an "X". Dead center on his chest was a glowing yellow hexagon with a green "Y" dividing the interior into three pieces.
"And what is that exactly, seeing as how you've essentially called me to the middle of Jersey City." Edgar replied.
"I know the Justice League is working with your company and I came to warn you what will happen. The Justice League will ruin their "branding". Your company mascots, "The Seven" will be utterly humiliated by them." Luthor told him.
"Exactly why should I consider taking your advice?" Edgar questioned.
"Mainly due to Homelander's chief rival. I've also read about who your team has been struggling to deal with." Luthor said. "I know all about William Butcher and his rowdy band of miscreants, and I can assure you they would not be a threat in my world." Luthor explained.
"Butcher and the rest of his gang have disappeared. We suspect they might be in your world." Edgar told him.
"Really?" Luthor remarked, sounding amused. "Then I guess his run will come to an end." He added.
"You're certain?" Edgar asked.
"The power the League has is beyond your quaint team. They even have some of the most intelligent minds, who only barely rival my own. Their resources are arguably significantly more vast than that of your company. Even Homelander is barely a fraction as powerful as Superman." Luthor further explained. Edgar noticed Luthor's tone when he mentioned Superman.
"I suspect you're speaking from experience." Edgar stated.
"Because I practically am you, Stan. Think about how Superman is my Earth's Homelander or Wonder Woman your Queen Maeve, I believe I am you. It was why I wanted us to meet in the first place. I was once the CEO of a company called LexCorp for quite a while. He'll destroy the reputation of Vought and the image of your super team unless you allow me to help you." Luthor said, his bitterness much more apparent.
"How do you intend on doing that?" Edgar asked this time, sounding relatively curious. "We haven't even officially started production of V-24." He added.
"I need Compound V, just a single sample." Lex said.
"It's that simple?" Edgar asked.
"Creating V-24 is easy enough for me. However, we'll need a story to create it." Luthor said.
"I am well aware of the problems that have occurred from The Seven. I know all about their various personal and psychological issues. Especially those regarding Homelander." Luthor said.
"Elaborate." Edgar told him.
"I have already established my knowledge about his half-baked Compound V supervillain creation scheme. I know he attained your company's greatest secret and distributed it to terrorists like candy to children. Because of him, your company was at great risk and he's dangerously unstable. I've worked with some of the most unstable minds and know what to expect: it will backfire on you. Sure he wants to be loved by the public, but he will decide to do so with direct force one day. I'm also aware of how difficult Queen Maeve has been regarding the new image your company has in mind for her, A-Train's heart issues, Stormfront's controversial history, and just The Deep in general." Luthor brought up. "Why deal with such destructive forces when you can grant temporary powers to the real heroes? Imagine, Homelander has gone rogue and who is there to stop him. Not Superman, but a squadron of US Marines powered by V-24 that your company provided them." He told him.
"Are you suggesting we let Homelander go rogue?" Edgar asked sounding concerned.
"Yes, if he goes rogue he's the perfect scapegoat. His Compound V trafficking scheme, and all the dead bodies you've buried for him. What could you and your company do to stop such a powerful monster? You are after all only human." Luthor said.
"Regarding Homelander, we already have a backup in mind." Edgar told him.
"Yes, I know about the boy. As well as the unfortunate circumstances regarding his conception. Tell me something, are you really going to wait another decade for a new Homelander? Or let me rephrase it, do you really want to spend another decade with that man childish time bomb?" Luthor questioned Edgar.
"Ryan is supposed to be our ace in the hole when it comes to controlling Homelander, he is not in any way his future successor." Edgar told Luthor.
"Which is why you did not want him to find the boy in the first place?" Luthor said.
"Yes." Edgar said.
"I can assume your agreement to let members of the League watch over Ryan. They invited him to their watchtower so he could hone his powers." Lex said.
"What are you on about?" Stan asked.
"You've made a fatal mistake, with the League watching over the boy, especially with it being someone close to Superman. They'll show him a new idea of heroism, one that is not focused on preening to the media and filming asinine summer blockbusters all for the sake of being a glorified company spokesman. You'll find that one day his allegiance to Vought will be secondary. If you're even that lucky." Lex added.
"What makes you say that?" Edgar asked. Although he was starting to understand what Superman had meant during their first meeting.
"Because, again, I used to be like you, Stan. It was why I wanted us to meet in the first place. At first, I had tried to employ the alien, only to be shot down. That was my first mistake. Superman sought to bring me down, so I had to create certain beings to oppose him. Most of them tried to betray me. That was my second mistake. It was there that I realized that these super-powered beings cannot be controlled unless their powers are temporary and managed. So I decided to acquire enough power to do so." Luthor said. "Unfortunately, it did not pay off. I am now one of the most wanted men on the planet. Of course, a lesser man would have just given up and waited for oblivion, but I wouldn't even entertain that train of thought." Luthor said.
"I wish to see your lab." Stan said.
"Of course." Lex smiled and turned towards the barbershop. "Follow me." He simply said as he walked towards the entrance.
Edgar and his guards followed him.
It seemed like any other barbershop. The smell of shampoo polluted the entire area.
Lex sat down on a chair. He motioned Edgar to do the same.
They obliged Luthor's nonverbal request. Luthor pressed a button on his watch when all of a sudden yellow light surrounded them. They were now somewhere else. The walls were made of a strange metal. Green automatons surrounded the area armed to the teeth with strange guns and cannons. There was a massive computer down the corridor with a chemistry lab to the side.
Edgar was amazed by this new location.
"Welcome to my lab, Mr. Edgar." Luthor said with a proud grin on his face.
"Fascinating…" Edgar said sounding intrigued. "What do you want Vought and myself to do?" Edgar asked.
"Let things play out, try and nudge any suspicion onto Homelander. In fact, there is something you might find concerning, relating to Homelander's plan." Luthor said.
"I'm sorry what?" Edgar asked.
"I am not responsible for this in any way, but some of the so-called Super-Villains of my world have apparently taken an interest in Compound V. Someone from my world is bringing in them over to your world as we speak, as you saw with The Joker. My leading suspect for this is Doctor Thaddeus Sivanna." Luthor said.
Edgar was stunned to hear this.
Homelander was in the conference with Stormfront and Ashley. He was disappointed, his fist closed with his elbow on the table waiting for results.
"Nothing?" Homelander questioned. "You have nothing? The alien has to have made mistakes in the past. He can't be perfect, it's too good to be true."
"It's too good to be true." Ashley said. "He's 6 foot 4, has black hair, blue eyes, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke and tells the truth."
"The truth? I decide what's the truth. What about your internet flying monkeys?" Homelander addressed Stormfront. "We can access their internet, they must have something."
"Some podcaster from his world did a pretty good job making people hate Superman," Stormfront said. "She got powers, became a supervillain and now nobody trusts people who don't like Superman. But we got info on the others. Plastic Man has a criminal record longer than your johnson and Wonder Woman broke a guy's neck in front of the whole world. They're not perfect."
"Research did find some homophobic quotes from Green Lantern." Ashley said.
"Gardner or Stewart?" Homelander asked.
"Neither, Sentinel, the old one. We even have some disapproving answers from another hero called Obsidian…"
"Why would I give a fuck?" Homelander interrupted. "The best you found was some grandpa who doesn't understand PR? Get out."
Ashley immediately left. Homelander got up from his chair, walked around the room, and approached Stormfront with his finger on her face.
"Edgar was right." Homelander said. "They're humiliating us, they are going to shut us down and everybody is going to forget me."
"They won't," Stormfront said and got up. "You're the Homelander. You're traditional to this whole world, they're unfamiliar and don't fit here. Do you really think your demographic like it when they let psychopaths live? You stand for what Frederick stood for, they don't. I have Logan digging down their internet. Look at them. They put themselves on a pedestal, the bigger they are the harder they fall, we'll find something we can leverage."
"That's not true."
Homelander tried to turn his back on Stormfront, but she pulled him back to her and looked Homelander in the eyes.
"You decide what's the truth."
After what felt like an hour, The Boys were at the front of the line to the Iceberg Lounge. Beforehand, Frenchie took the liberty of getting them the appropriate clothes for this occasion.
"Welcome to the Iceberg Lounge, how many are you seating?" The receptionist at the front desk asked.
"Six." Butcher said.
"You may sit at the bar until we get your table ready." The receptionist said allowing them in.
"Thanks." Butcher said.
The interior was much nicer than they expected. Mainly the giant iceberg pool in the middle of the place with actual penguins.
"She didn't even card us." Hughie said sounding worried.
"This place likely attracts every low life in this city, we're nothing too special here." Butcher said.
They all sat at the table.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Annie asked.
"We make a distraction, sneak in, and bug the place." Butcher told her.
"What's the distraction?" Hughie asked.
"First we need to look around, you two lovebirds stay at the table. We'll take in the scenery." Butcher said as he got up from his chair. He walked towards the bar and looked around. All while ordering a drink.
Mother's Milk went to the bathroom taking notice of any place that might be where the more illicit activities were being undertaken.
Kimiko and Frenchie went over to the Penguins, the latter seemed to be more fond of the birds. As she watched them in childlike excitement.
As they sat at the table, Hughie and Annie noticed that the Penguin was on the upper floor greeting his guests. Needless to say, his appearance matched his namesake as closely as humanly possible with his short height and beak nose. He wore a black and white tuxedo with a black top hat. In his hand looked to be an umbrella with a penguin on top of it. On his left eye, he wore a monocle, which might have given away their position. Startling them both which only worsened as he started to walk down the stairs. He practically waddled towards them.
"Good evening, and welcome to the Iceberg Lounge!" The Penguin said showing them his hand. He spoke in a British accent, his sounding much more traditional Queen's English than Butcher's rough cockney.
"It's nice to be here." Hughie stammered out nervously.
"I am Oswald Cobblepot, the owner of this esteemed establishment, might I have your names please?" He asked, his gaze more focused on Annie.
"Oh, my name is Gary Camp." Hughie said stopping himself from telling the rest of his last name.
"I'm Mary Shaw." Annie said remembering Maeve's last name.
"Gary and Mary?" Penguin asked incredulously.
"Yes, we've known each other since High School." Hughie lied.
"Our friends set us up as a joke." Annie said.
"Oh I see, tell me you seem quite young. I would have expected a couple of your age to go to a more lively venue." Penguin said, they noted his disgust upon saying the word lively.
"Well, my uncle from England. He came down here for a business meeting." Hughie said.
"Oh, really where is he?" Penguin asked.
"He's over by the bar." Hughie said pointing out Butcher.
"Oh lovely, why don't you bring him over, I spent most of my childhood in England. I'm Gotham by blood, but London helped make me the man that I am." Penguin said.
"Sure." Annie said rushing over to the bar.
She tapped him on his shoulder.
"We have a slight problem." Annie told Butcher pointing out Penguin.
"I told you to stay at the table." Butcher scolded her.
"We did, he spotted us." Annie said.
"Does he know?" Butcher asked.
"I don't know, he spent some time in England and wants to talk to you about it." She said.
Butcher smiled thinking he could use this to his advantage.
"Give me the run down on what you and Hughie told him." He told her.
"Hughie said his name was Gary Camp, he told him that you're his uncle from England here for a business meeting. I told him my name was Mary Shaw." Annie said.
"Right, I got it. Now watch a professional." Butcher said.
He walked towards the Penguin.
"So you must be the bloke of this establishment, James Camp." Butcher said smiling enthusiastically and shaking his hand.
"You must be the English uncle. I am Oswald Cobblepot. Tell me, your nephew mentioned you were here on business. Where do you work for?" Penguin asked.
"Wayne Enterprises." Butcher said.
"Oh I see, you know with all this news of travelers from another world. It's nice to see something more mundane." Penguin replied.
"I can imagine, you saw what happened to that Homelander-bloke, right? What a freak?" Butcher added.
"Indeed." Penguin said letting out a laugh.
Butcher let out a chuckle.
"Why I would hate to be outwitted by that, oedipal ignoramus," Penguin added.
Butcher stopped laughing and tried to hide his feelings of anger.
"I don't really think that's funny. I mean apparently Joker killed sixty people." Annie brought up.
"Yeah and Mary means no offense Mr. Cobblepot." Hughie spoke up.
"Oh no worries, I apologize if I was being insensitive. In this city, it helps to keep a strong sense of humor. Though to be fair, to Homelander, I've never seen The Joker use that style of bomb before." Penguin said.
At a grocery store in New York, Maeve was busy buying as much beer as she could manage incognito. Originally she planned on stopping at twenty liters, but all the Brave Maeve advertisements made her double.
"Quite the party you must be having." She heard a woman call to her.
Maeve turned around and saw the woman she saw in the crowd during the press conference.
"Jesus Christ!" Maeve blurted out completely startled.
"No, I'm sorry for disturbing you. My name is Donna Milton, I'm new here." She said defensively.
"You're from Earth-One?" Maeve asked.
"Yes, I am, but if I'm being honest I think I prefer your world." Donna said.
Maeve scoffed at her notion.
"I'm being honest, it feels good to be in a world that seems to bury the truth. Wouldn't you agree?" Donna said.
"I'm not sure I get what you're talking about." Maeve lies.
"Oh, you poor thing. It must hurt having to now compare yourself to her. There's nothing to be ashamed about that though, few can." Donna said.
"Are you trying to insult me?" Maeve asked.
"No, quite the opposite, I can help you Maeve." She replied.
"Help with what?" Maeve asked.
"What if I told you, that I can help you pick up the pieces of your life? You would no longer need to worry about Homelander ever again not just in your life, but for those you love." She told her.
Maeve paused and processed what Donna told her before she was given a card by her. On the card was her phone number.
"Call me, and please keep this discussion a secret between us." Donna told her before walking away.
MM and Frenchie watched from the bar Butcher talking to the Penguin.
"We were not supposed to call any attention." MM remarked.
"Don't worry," Frenchie said. "I put my special little mix in that guy's drink, in a few seconds, nobody is going to look anywhere but at him."
The guy in question was jumping excited with a crazy look on his face. He was young, had auburn hair and freckles, his tuxedo was blue and he had a golden pin on his tie. He kept jumping and yelling cuss words in excitement.
"You sure that's safe?" MM asked.
"Perfectly safe, I even took some of it myself once. But I never did it again for a good reason."
The guy jumped on the bar, took two opened bottles, and started to run while spilling on the floor. His arms were open like wings and he wouldn't stop yelling he could fly. The security positioned themselves and tried to catch but he was too fast and kept causing havoc. The Penguin was visibly pissed and loudly ordered his guards to catch the man.
"Jesus, Frenchie. What did you put in that stuff?" Hughie whispered to himself.
MM and Frenchie were able to walk across the staff-only corridors in the middle of the confusion. They walked down what seemed like an underground deposit. Frenchie should plant a bug and leave but he needed to see what happened there to know if it was the right place. Going further, the pair saw a curious scenario: Two pairs of identical twins talking to each other.
A pair had tousled brown hair and thin beards, they wore leather coats. The other two were freckled-faced gingers wearing gray suits with blue shirts and bow ties.
"Where's Penguin?" A ginger twin asked.
"Mr. Cobblepot has to show his face in the club for the guests to remember who runs this place." A thin bearded twin answered.
"Where's the stuff?" His brother asked. "You asked for the Penguin but your boss doesn't show up and sends you two knuckleheads alone."
"Who are you calling knucklehead!?" The other ginger shouted.
Their argument was interrupted when a portal opened in the deposit. Two-Face and Solomon Grundy stepped out. Grundy was a big creature with chalky white skin and hair. His clothes were a torn suit with no sleeves left and a noose around his neck. Two Face took the small box from Grundy's face and opened revealing a dose of Compound-V. He gave it to the thin bearded twins and they paid him the money.
"Two hundred and twenty-two thousand dollars and twenty-two cents." The twin said about the money.
Solomon Grundy pointed in Frenchie's direction to indicate there was something wrong. They were about to search for what it was until Two-Face flipped his coin.
"Leave it." Two Face ordered, the ginger twins and Grundy ignored.
"You're not our boss." The other twins said at the same time and put out their guns.
By the time they got there, Frenchie and MM were long gone.
"I'll plant the bug you go back, just in case." Frenchie told him.
"I don't like leaving you here, man." Mother's Milk told him.
"I'll be safe, vas y." Frenchie ordered.
MM heeded Frenchies' words and left. When MM was out of sight, Frenchie found a door that looked like where meetings might be held.
With the bug planted, Frenchie was about to go back to the Lounge. Still, the second he got to the corridor, he faced a man wearing full body armor, guns all over him, a bo staff, and a broad sword on his back. His helmet was half orange and half black with no way for him to see on that side. Frenchie immediately drew a pistol, but it was countered as the armored man grabbed his wrist and held his fingers. Frenchie's arm was then put behind his back before his face was slammed against a door. He blacked out upon impact.